Zero Time Dilemma Part #68

Part 68: Door of Truth

Part 68: Door of Truth

Only one option here.

Let's see where Diana and Sigma ended up when they transported.

This time, it's the export pods that are lit up and making the high-pitched screaming noise.

Light flares from them, washing out the screen.

Music: Quantum Computer Dome (Q)

The doors to the export pods slide open. They look a bit different, but I think it's because the room is dark.

Diana steps out of one.

More footsteps, as presumedly Sigma exits from the other.

The pair look around.

Did it...really work...?

Well, we got into the input pods. And we came out of--

The export pods...

Diana, look at your watch.

18:05...

Sigma nods, but is that really true?

Good point.

Or even three or four years.

Even what we see on this watch...

Um, Sigma? Can I ask you something?

Sigma cocks his head to the side a bit, but doesn't otherwise answer.

You were the one who prepared everything on the input console, right?

Yes.

Missing Lip Animations: 54

I couldn't read any of the text on the display, so--

Did he figure it out any better the second time around? Where exactly did we send those babies?

Music: Extreme Urgency (What Will You Decide?)

We're off to search Ward D again. Starting with Manufacturing...

It doesn't look like she's here.

More running...

Looks like the Healing Room is next?

...I think they found something.

Th-This is...

Oh.

Oh no.

Figure it out yet? Diana's about to show us, anyway...

There's a reason I pointed out the room in which each team was executed. The "D-Team Executed" scene takes place in the Healing Room. And it seems like we popped into that timeline, some time after that execution took place.

Sigma's off running again.

W-Wait, Sigma...!

Diana quickly follows.

Looks like they're going into the Locker Room now.

All that work, and they ended up in another timeline with no Phi.

Not that Sigma's going to admit that.

The music suddenly stops.

A very loud click is heard.

What was that...?

Looks like Zero has us trapped in another puzzle room.

We'll talk later.

Did Zero somehow have a contingency set up for Diana and Sigma showing up after they'd been executed, and set up the Locker Room to trap them inside in that case? Seems a little odd.

Music: Locker Room

Anyway, welcome to the Locker Room. Believe it or not, this room is the last puzzle room in the game. Well, it's actually possible to get here as your second puzzle room (after the Transporter, of course), but for us it's last in line.

I'll start with the door again.

...It's locked. Of course.

Let's search the room. Maybe we can find a way out of here.

One light is on, the other off.

Yup.

We should turn the light on if we want to search here.

Guess we'll be messing with the lights at some point.

I would even go so far as to think it could be dangerous... Don't step inside.

Well, moving on to the next part of the room that's lit...

Ah... Let's take a little break.

Let me...just...slowly...sit... Oh God. I sound like an old man!

Maybe we can actually do something with this thing.

Right.

Oh, well, that was easy.

Okay, let's check it out.

We'll have to open it to examine it. It must be here for a reason...

I don't think we need a screwdriver for this... Maybe just something thin and hard.

Hinting at using a coin again, I think...

It doesn't look like it's broken though... Let's keep searching around for now.

Okay, let's see how many of these lockers we can raid without jumping through hoops.

Seems straightforward enough. Just have to restart the power supply...somehow.

Huh? Um, Sigma, did you just...

Ah, if you can't tail, I kind of have a litter tic. Whenever I talk about cats, I...

Uh, all right. I guess it's okay...

If you were waiting all game for that callback to VLR, well, there it is. I guess it's a good thing that Gab's a dog and not a cat, huh?

We can convert 2-pronged plugs to 3-pronged ones.

Isn't it usually more the other way around? All my 2-pronged plugs fit just fine in 3-pronged outlets already. Anyway...

One more for the road.

Third and fourth lockers each have a lock.

Don't really know what to do with either of these, yet.

It looks like a music box, just with a large disc.

Why is there a music box inside a locker...?

Hm? It says "runs on water" up here.

A music box that runs on water... Um, where do we put the water?

There's a hole for a pipe at the bottom. That's probably it.

What a strange music box. I wonder what it plays.

So the music box will play once water enters from this spot...?

I believe so... Let's think of a way to do that.

But wait, there's more...

Hmm... How do we get the water from the shower to here?

We need a long hose or something similar to do that.

Anyway, that's enough with the lockers for now. What's with that fan in the corner?

But I don't see a power switch, and we can't reach the blades with our fingers...

I guess we'll have to find a different way.

Again!

I think we need to get a strong wind going to turn the blades like a propeller.

Wind...

Oh, maybe that hair dryer will work. But first, the outlet.

I think the conversion plug will fit in the outlet, but why plug it in by itself?

Right, I'm still holding the conversion plug. Let's put that away and try again.

This outlet has three holes.

...Thanks. How about the hair dryer?

I'm a little afraid of getting shocked. We have so much water surrounding us...

If you try to plug in the two-pronged hair dryer plug directly into the three-pronged outlet:

Huh? This hair dryer only plugs into a 2-hole outlet. It won't fit here.

We have to combine the hair dryer with the conversion plug. Not exactly our hardest puzzle.

I've attached the conversion plug to the hair dryer!

Now we can use the 3-hole outlet.

And what do we do now? Give ourselves fantastic blowouts with it?

Um... Oh! Maybe spin the fan up there?

Oh, yes. The word "spin" is on the wall next to it. Let's try it out.

Anyway, we have to actually click on the hair dryer again.

Yes, it says "spin" over there. It can be used to spin the blades.

And look, it's turning.

I see something in the back there...?

It says...violet, white, blue, and red.

Names of colors?

Note taken. Now if only I could find someone to tell me which one was blue vs violet.

It looks like it's plugged. Maybe we should unplug it?

The water drains out of the right sink and fills up the left sink instead. Somehow.

Let's take a look.

Maybe they're linked together somehow.

I'm not an expert in plumbing, but that seems rather strange to do. Why are they like that?

And something's at the bottom of the drain... Still can't reach it.

The second click tells us what to do:

I can see something at the bottom of the drain... We can't reach it yet.

Maybe if we put more water in the other sink it'll come up?

If these sinks are connected, then...it's worth a shot at least.

Maybe the faucet will work now?

Water isn't coming out from this faucet.

If it did work, it'd be so easy to get the thing at the bottom...

Then we'll just have to bring water from somewhere else.

Well, that's the whole lit part of the room. Only one thing left we can do here.

Time to guess at what colors are what. The red and white are easy for me, but that blue and violet are almost indistinguishable to me - I can barely tell that they're different, let alone which is which. (I later realized these were both the same, and both blue.) Anyway, here's my attempts at double speed:

Attempt #1 was me first thinking I had to press the buttons in a certain order, then realizing I had to make the order match the words behind the fan (violet-white-blue-red). And then mixing up violet and blue anyway. Fortunately they were easy to switch back.

Yes! It's unlocked!

Let's see what's inside.

Well, that might not be true. We could decide something with it.

A coin toss? I guess so, if we can make a decision...

...Uh, I take that back. Both sides are the same image, so we can't use it for a toss.

No leaving it up to luck. We have to make our own decisions.

Um, no, not yet.

Anyway, we can use the coin to take out this screw.

We'll just open it with this coin!

Let's check what's inside.

I think we can put something in there, I just don't know what by only looking at it...

The shower side of the room lit up! But now the locker side is dark...

It purposefully only lights up one side at a time? That's not annoying...

You have no idea...

The note we got said the door would unlock after we restart the power supply.

Yeah, but this isn't responding when we push it.

Sure enough, the lockers are now dark and can't be interacted with right now.

The showers are lit up, but we can't get to them with the water in the way. Time to use the button I guess.

A drain cover opens up, and the water drains out. Looks like something is left behind, too.

And the odd water drained out!

Now we can search around safely!

The game tries to trick you by going back out to the main view, but I'm not about to leave a clue behind.

Did Zero set this up?

Most likely. It's too strange otherwise. I doubt it was originally in this shelter.

So that means there must be a meaning behind it...?

I end up closing the drain cover again for some reason.

The first shower stall.

There's a bucket here. Is that for cleaning?

Dunno, let's take it.

...I think we can find another use for it aside from wearing it.

Talking with a bucket on your head gives you this really loud echo.

It makes me happy that you're trying to cheer me up, but could you take that off your head?

Still no water.

Not here, either.

Whatever, let's try stall number two.

It's clearly out of place... I suppose that's a good reason to examine it.

Oh! There are water plants in here. Is Zero planning on getting some fish?

And of all places, he puts it in here...

Who cares, I want the shiny!

Ah, there's a small part inside the tank.

Could be a decoration... But I'm intrigued. We can't take the cover off so we can't reach it.

Why can't we take the cover off?

Oh, there's a cover here.

But it's screwed shut...

Can we use the coin we got?

Hmm... I think the screw is too small. If only we had a screwdriver...

You could get a nice, fresh cup of coffee if you put a cup here.

Or, you know, water plant and tropical fish soup.

Okay, okay, I know it wasn't possible, but I just wanted to imagine it...

That's probably the pump for cycling or changing out the water.

Doesn't look like the pump is working right now.

Only this one is different than the others. I wonder if there's a reason for it?

It sort of looks like a private room. For VIP only maybe?

Fully submerge?

Still no water in the previous stall, so onto the last one.

Oh, right, I was still holding the bucket.

Well, might as well fill it up, now that we finally found water.

I remember always swinging full buckets like this when I was young...

S-Stop that! The water's spilling!

Hm. This showerhead is a little crooked. Are the screws loose?

Looks like we have two uses for a screwdriver, should we find one.

Anyway, to put the bucket of water in the sink, we need to switch the lights back.

Oh, that's actually a good idea. Good thing I was still holding the bucket of water.

...Huh? Nothing happened.

Machines near water are usually waterproof. We'll have to really submerge it.

One moment while I put the bucket away...

The light on the locker side of the room turned on. But now the shower side is off...

Seems like this is designed so only one side of the room can be on at a time.

I see! Let's test it out.

The right sink fills up.

Then slowly drains back into the left sink. Where something pops out of the drain.

Okay, let's take a look.

It's...a key?

Yeah, that would be so much easier...

Let me go switch the lights again...

The light on the shower side of the room turned on. But now the locker side is off...

So the device can't turn both sides on at the same time?

There's a hose here. Hm, what could we use it for...?

We can use it to transport water, or blow air.

The door closes after we get the hose. Was there anything else inside?

Ah, wait! I'll come too!

You're right. There are no gaps between the frame and the door. It's totally closed up.

...

...L-Let's get out, yeah?

Ah! Um, y-yes, we should...

D-Team's dialogue is so much more fun when you know how they're related...

Nope, it doesn't seem to be the right size. The hose won't fit here.

Umm, I'm out of stuff. And out of ideas. Please stand by...

Turns out I messed up by closing the lid. But you get some extra dialogue out of it!

That's a weird thing to have a remote control for. You can just use your hand...

And why would you ever need a lid on a drain...

Anyway, the remote only works when the shower side is lit up. And I need it open when I switch the lights...

Because there's a big fat clue if you look at the drain lid with the lights off on the shower side.

Huh? Yeah, it's lighting up... Must be fluorescent paint?

I think those are numbers... What could they be for?

Look, drawing with a mouse is hard, okay?

Anyway, that 9-number grid goes with this 9-button lock.

Let's see if we can get it unlocked.

The buttons don't have anything on them. The clue just tells you in what order to press them. Here's the solution at double speed again:

Woo! Way to go, Sigma!

Heh. Leave it to me.

So what do we have inside here?

Something's displaying on this monitor.

Oh, another rotating block puzzle. With a bunch of funny shapes on it. At least it's not color-coded this time! The triangles actually make it pretty easy (only three options for those), and there are plenty of dragon segments and clouds to line up. Here's the solution at 4x speed:

You know, you with a tool in your hand just looks right.

R-Really? Well, I do work with them often.

Huh? Your reaction... Do people tell you that a lot?

No... I just remembered someone said something like that long ago. It's nothing.

We have to flip the light yet again...

You're right. Let's use the screwdriver...

Um, you took it off instead of screwing it on...

Eh, details.

There's a pipe here, still. I think we can attach something to it.

How about the thing we found earlier?

Good point, not interested. Instead we'll use the screwdriver to get this cover open.

We opened the cover.

Well awhile back we got a round piece, let's see if it goes in the round hole.

I see... So this piece is a button.

The water drains a bit, and the weird part is sucked out.

The pump started working! Then this is a button to operate it.

Something came out of the tube. Let's see what it is.

It got sucked out by the pump and came out here.

What can we use it for?

Well, let's see if we can use the hose where the shower head used to be.

I think the hose will attach here.

Oh, then we can connect the other end to the music box to try to get it to play.

Right. But the locker side is dark right now. We should get both sides bright first.

That's crap. I could hook up the hose here, toss it over to the other side, then switch the light and hook it up to the music box.

Anyway, the C-shaped piece goes in the C-shaped hole.

Oh... The light turned off. I wonder what stopped working?

Maybe the connection between the switches is broken?

Hm, that's highly possible. All right, let's try changing the switch then.

Now both sides are lit up!

Oh, then we can connect the other end to the music box to try to get it to play.

You're right. Let's try it.

The first two lines are the same, but now we get to actually do it!

Music: Blue Bird (Music Box)

That's also the last soundtrack in the game. The playlist in the second post of the thread is now complete!

Yes, but...this is it? I thought something else would happen...

I like the sound this makes. And this melody... It just makes me want to sing.

Of all times, you...

La la, lala la... La la la lala la...

...

Lalala la la la...

...

You're right! Who would've thought that my singing would open it...!

Uh, yes. Sure. What you said...

Music: Locker Room

Still have to actually click the open drawer...

Oh! There's a note inside.

Can do.

The camera pans back to show that half the job has already been done for us. The water is gushing out where the shower head used to be.

No clue. But this is bad... At this rate, the whole room will be full of water.

N-No! The door out is still locked...! I don't want to drown!

Me neither. But we still have some time. We have to stay calm and think!

We won't drown, no matter how long I wait here. But that wouldn't be any fun!

Y-You're right, but what should we do about that water...

The door won't open, and we can't stop the water... There must be something we can do.

Sigma gets all judgy if I play with anything else in the room right now. Anyway, the drain seems to still be working.

Let's change that...

We're still not actually in a hurry, but there's only one thing left to do. Besides examine the closed drain again.

The water won't stop...! It's filling the room really fast!

Calm down, we're still okay. ...It's only a matter of time though.

We have to do something, fast. Oh, what should we do...!

We must consider things carefully to find a way to survive this...

Good thing we have this handy sealed shower to hide in!

The door holds, barely. I choose to believe this is a time lapse, rather than the room entirely filling and draining in seconds.

I think the water is all drained away now...

Oh, wow, that was scary... You think it's okay to go out?

The room is all dark now.

The backup power must be on.

...I'm glad it's not completely dark.

...What about the power supply? Does that still work?

In case you weren't already drawn to the only thing still lit up, the game outright tells you what to do next.