I don't own Harry Potter or Virtue's Last Reward.
When many jumps are required part 1
Harry glared at the inside of the AB room before immediately jumping to the AB game behind the yellow door and pressing ally. He exited the AB room as soon as he could and walked over to the projector. He frowned as the results appeared. This time, the results of the AB game were flipped, at least for his group. He stared as the three turned into a one.
"Sigma… Phi… Harry… I'm sorry…." Tenmyouji stared at the floor.
"Why?" asked Harry.
"Tenmyouji chose betray?" asked a confused Sigma. "He chose ally last time…"
Harry raised an eyebrow as he looked at Sigma.
"Last time?" asked Tenmyouji. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, um, nothing…"
"Right…"
"Anyway, why?" asked Harry as he tried to distract the man.
"Look, I'm sorry. I swear."
"Yeah, well, mind if I don't trust your word."
"Sum, I know that I acted out of order but past events with you caused me to act irrationally around you."
"Sum?" Harry frowned. "Why are you calling me Sum?"
"So that's what you meant," Tenmyouji mumbled to himself. "Just like Seven…"
Harry opened his mouth to ask more of the man but Phi spoke before he had the chance.
"See? I told you Sigma. A soft heart is the easiest to break. Do you understand what kind of game this is now?"
"There's always a way," interrupted Harry. "Just because one world is doomed doesn't mean that another is doomed."
Phi frowned at him.
"And you know exactly what I'm saying Phi."
"I see. You're saying that there's hope if we made different choices, influenced the past…"
"Just tell me one thing Tenmyouji," said Sigma. "Why did you do it?"
"Because it brings back unpleasant memories?" asked Harry. He didn't know where the words came from but he knew it was the truth. "Perhaps you've been in a similar situation?"
"Are you serious?" Harry knew he hit a mark. "Someone's dead and not just dead, murdered. I've got no reason to think that that murderer wasn't one of you. Only an idiot trusts someone he's never met when there's a killer on the loose. You think we had a choice?"
"If only we had some luminol," mused Harry. "The killer would still have some blood on them, no matter how well they cleaned it off. That would find the killer."
Tenmyouji stared at him. There was a barest hint of a smile. "That sounds like the person I know. Anyway, I never did thank you for helping to save Akane all those years ago. Even if trouble follows you like a stray puppy."
"All those years ago?" Harry frowned.
"I think that's enough from me. I'm old and tired. So tired…"
Radical 6…
Tenmyouji shuffled off.
Harry caught the last words of an argument.
"…you're a jerk!"
"I can agree to that. And Quark, I believe you when you say you didn't press the button!"
"That's nice of you Harry."
Harry barely listened as Zero Jr closed the gates and the announcer said that they had closed. He only paid attention when everyone announced their colours.
"Mine's magenta now," said Sigma.
"Mine's magenta too," said Clover.
"Me too," added Quark. "Hey, wait. It wasn't just the colour that changed. I'm a solo now."
"Looks like Clover and I are still pairs though," commented Sigma.
"Huh. I'm still black," said Harry as he held his arm out for the other's benefit. Of course he already knew he'd be that colour. "I guess I'm stuck with it, right?"
"Correct Hattie!"
"I'm a yellow pair now," said Alice.
"I am yellow as well but it seems I'm still a pair," said K.
"Then who's the yellow solo?" asked Alice.
"Me," said Dio."
"Still a solo," said Tenmyouji. "Looks like I'm cyan."
"I'm a cyan pair," said Luna. "Aren't you one too?"
"Yeah," agreed Phi.
Harry zoned out again as he considered the options. He barely listened to the others conversation.
"You alright Harry? You've changed," said K.
"Uh, I'm fine. Just trying to make sense of this situation." Harry pressed the wall where he found the hat and put it on.
"Hey, Hattie. How you're doing?"
"I really don't want to talk to you right now Zero."
"Aw, but you're going to have to put up with me. You're stuck with me and the bracelet for life!" Zero giggled.
"Psycho rabbit."
Harry pressed the buttons on the side and watched as the colours changed. He jumped back in time and discreetly copied the colours and parings of the others before returning to the future.
He wandered around the facility and copied the other's colours. Eventually, he ended up in the infirmary.
"Is Quark alright?"
"He just collapsed," explained Luna as she scanned him.
"I know what's wrong with him. I feel terrible saying this but Quark is... Quark has a viral infection."
"Oh no..." whispered Phi
"Radical-6," added Harry.
"Have you heard of this virus?" asked Sigma.
"I told them about it before they left for the lounge," said Phi.
"What? No, that can't be right." Tenmyouji looked to be in a state of shook. "Quark can't be...there must be seeing we can do! How can we cut him?"
"Well, the ADAM says there is a serum called Axelivir. It's the only way to counteract the virus. If we inject him with some, he should be ok," explained Luna.
"Where is it?!"
"Was there none in the infirmary?" asked K.
"We looked everywhere. We didn't find anything," explained Phi.
"We didn't find anything in the crew quarters either," added Clover.
"No link in the lounge," added Dio
"Oh God. Then he's going to...Oh God no." Tenmyouji collapsed to his knees.
"Quark?"
Turning to the machine, everyone looked at Quark.
"Quark! Oh thank God. You're awake!"
"Get away from me!" Quark picked up a scalpel and prepared to stab himself.
"What? Quark, what are you...?"
"Sorry grandpa. I can't. I have to..."
"Have to what? What are you using about?" demanded Tenmyouji.
"Isn't it obvious? I have to escape."
"But how?"
"Like this."
Quark's hand moved like lightning. Sigma stopped him.
"No! Let go! Let go off me!"
"Pretty tough kid," muttered Sigma. "I could use a little help here."
"Stop it! Let go off me you jerks!"
"Tenmyouji! What the hell are you doing? Get over here! Tenmyouji! Can you even hear me?"
"Oh. Right."
"Damn you! Bastards! Why went you let me go! I have to get out of this body! They can't lock away the soul! Once my body's gone, my soul can escape! Please! You have to let me go! Let me go! I'm trapped here! Let me die! I have to die! Kill MEEE! Somebody! Anybody! Kill MEEE! Kill MEEE! Kill MEEE!"
His cries were heart breaking. Harry closed his eyes and wiped the tears away.
"Jesus, this kid has lost it," muttered Sigma. "Someone get that scalpel away from him."
Clover grabbed it.
"Good job Clover." Quark didn't notice as he continued to struggle. "What are we going to do? We've got to calm him down."
"Luna! Are there any tranquilizers in here?" asked Phi.
"No. Well, I mean..."
"What?"
"There's Soporil β."
"Soporil?" asked Dio.
"That's the anaesthetic," reminded Clover. "The one in our bracelets."
"Good. Perfect," said Phi. "Hit him with that."
"What?" asked Tenmyouji incredulously.
"He'll be fine! It's just an anaesthetic."
"Made up your minds! This boy is sure strong," complained Harry. Luna injected Quark before turning to the screen.
"Everything's normal. He's in a very deep sleep."
"I guess we're good for now," said Sigma in relief.
"How long will he be out?" asked Phi.
"A few hours."
"He was strong for such a little guy," commented Dio.
"I think that might be the virus," said Luna. "It could attack the past of the brain that controls reason. With that down, his body was using everything it had."
"How do you know?" asked Dio.
"Other viruses could do a similar thing," suggested Harry.
"So, when Quark tried to kill himself, was it because of radical-6?" asked Clover.
"I think so."
"So, what kind of virus is Radical-6?" asked Sigma. Everyone looked at the newspaper article.
"Is this a quarantine zone?" asked Clover.
"That's not possible." Dio shook his head.
"Why not?"
Harry zoned out. He only zoned back in when they walked to the Chromatic doors. They opened.
"They're open! We need to hurry!" exclaimed Clover.
"Who's going to go in which door?" asked Luna.
"Uh… What are our options?" asked Sigma.
"We're almost out of time," said Phi. "Pay attention, we've only got time to do this once. Just like before, there are three possible options."
The magenta pair could go with the cyan solo through the blue door. The cyan pair could go through the green door with the yellow solo. The magenta solo could go through the red door with the yellow pair.
The second option was that the magenta solo go with the cyan pair through the blue door. The magenta pair could go through the red door with the yellow solo. The yellow pair could go through the green door with the cyan solo.
The last option was for the magentas to go through the green door, the cyans to go through the red door and the yellows to go through the blue doors.
Three minutes remain until the chromatic doors close.
"So, how do we want to pair up?" asked Sigma.
"It doesn't concern me. I can go with anyone," shrugged Harry.
"I think the people with the greatest disadvantage should chose," said Alice.
"What do you mean?" asked Sigma.
"The people with one BP," explained Alice.
"So you, Phi, Luna, Sigma and Harry?" asked Tenmyouji.
"Yes, exactly."
"Alright then. Who do you want to go with Alice?"
"Anyone but Dio. I'd rather die than get paired up with that prick. Just anyone but him."
"Damn, that's a lot of hate," muttered Dio.
"What did you expect?! You betrayed me!"
"Hey, I told you already! That was Quark!"
"I don't believe you!"
"What, are you telling me that you trust him more than me? Anyone other than Dio could mean Quark you know. You willing to pair up with him?"
"He's asleep! I don't really think I need to worry about him voting."
"All right Phi. Who do you want to go with?" asked Clover.
"Anyone other than Tenmyouji is fine. My reasoning is the same as Alice's. He betrayed me last time."
"I guess that's fair…" muttered Tenmyouji.
"If we want to honour Alice and Phi's requests, then we can go with any option besides C," stated K. "So A or B."
"Hold on," interrupted Tenmyouji. "We've got three other people with one BP although I guess it doesn't really matter which door Harry goes through. How about you Luna?"
"I… I don't really have a preference. Clover and K did betray me last time but…"
"They're both pairs now. And since you're a pair too, there's no way you'd end up going through the same door as them," concluded Sigma.
"Yeah."
"Alright then Sigma. How about you?" asked Tenmyouji.
"Uh, let's see…" Sigma thought for a second. "I'll take Dio. That means the red door for us."
"Whoa. Betting on the dark horse, huh?" asked Dio. "Feels kinda weird to say that about myself. Anyway, might as well be polite. Thank you."
"Are you ok with that Clover?" asked Sigma.
"Well, I don't really trust him but if Alice really wants to go with option B…"
"Yes, this works fine," agreed Alice. "K, Tenmyouji and I will take the green door. It's not great but it's better than Dio. I'm good."
Dio snorted.
"I'm willing to do option B," said Tenmyouji. "Quark should be fine if he's with Luna."
"Ok. I'll take good care of him. I promise."
"What about Phi and K?" asked Sigma.
"No problems here. I'll take Quark and Luna and we'll do the blue door."
"I also approve of option B," said K. "I will take the green door, correct?"
"Yeah, good. Looks like we're all set." K handed Quark to Luna.
Ten seconds left until chromatic doors close.
"Come on guys! Hurry! The door's already closing!"
"Coming!"
"I know, I know!"
Harry leapt into the red door with them. The door closed behind them and they continued onto the junction.
"What is this?" asked Sigma. "There's three different doors."
"Kinda noticed that," said Harry as he stretched.
"Which one do we take?" asked Dio.
"Dunno but it looks like they're all locked anyway," commented Clover.
"So this is a dead end?" asked Dio. "Great."
One of the locks beeped as Harry pulled the lever.
"What?" he asked as everyone looked at him. "It's the only thing we could do."
"Looks like the others are still locked though," said Dio as he glanced at the other two locks.
"Through the centre one then!" exclaimed an excited Clover. "Forward!"
Harry followed her through the door.
"What is this place?" asked Sigma as they stared around the room.
"It's a laboratory," said Harry.
"That's what it said on the door, right?" asked Dio. "I figure that means that they're dissecting frogs or building mind rays or something."
"A laboratory huh…"
"Do you think they might research stuff like viruses here?" asked Clover. "If they do…"
"Good idea!" exclaimed Sigma. "We might be able find some of that Axelivir!"
"If we do, we can cure Quark!" exclaimed an even more excited Clover.
"You really think it would be that easy?" asked Dio.
"There's nothing wrong with a little hope," said Harry. "As long as you don't get too depressed."
"Shut it. Just saying that this place hasn't been set up for us to succeed so far."
"Well, we won't know until we look," said Sigma. "So let's get started."
Harry picked up some seeds.
"Is this a microscope?" asked Sigma.
"Looks like one," said Harry with a shrug before studying a nearby machine.
"It's pitch black in there," said Dio as he peered in it.
"There's four holes on top," said clover. "Do we need to stick something in them?"
Harry picked up two empty capsules and more seeds before flicking through the binders. Sigma found yet more seeds. Fiddling with the pipes, Harry filled the beakers.
"So, what's your story?" Harry hissed as he heard Dio's voice from right behind him. "I mean, you have been fainting on us for a while."
"Don't ask me anything about that. I have no idea why that happened. It only started when I came here."
Harry crouched down and started to match the seeds with the beakers. He collected the capsule that appeared.
"You've turned not very trusting all of a sudden."
"There's a reason for that. I don't know any of you Dio. For all I know, you could be a clone of someone as well as a terrorist."
Dio flinched as Harry said that. Picking up some saline solution, Harry studied the shelves before picking up the frog. Walking over to the drain, he tipped the ethanol down and placed the frog on the bench. Finding a scalpel, Harry sliced it open to Clover's protests and collected the blue capsule. Fiddling with what apparently a DNA extractor, Harry got a yellow capsule and placed them into the microscope to reive a password. Inputting the password into the safe, they opened it.
"What have we got here?" asked Sigma. "First is a map."
"And some moon cards," added Harry as he pulled them out and handed them over before pulling out a notebook. Flipping through it, he frowned. "I don't think this is English though."
"Is that medicine?" asked Clover as Sigma pulled out a bottle. "What does it say on the label?"
"Axelavir…"
"That's the medicine Quark needs," said Harry. "The cure for radical 6."
"Whoa, hold on. Let me see that." Dio tried to snatch it from Sigma.
"Later! We need to get out of here as soon as possible!"
"Yeah, we need to get this stuff to Quark," agreed Clover.
Harry picked up the key and unlocked the door.
"Hey, hold on a minute," said Dio as they made to go through the door. "There's something… No, I guess there's a couple of things I wanna double check. Well, one of them is not really significant I guess…"
"Huh?" asked Clover.
"First off, this machine. We didn't even end up using this thing, did we?"
"Yeah," said Sigma.
"I was just wondering what it was."
"Well, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer that…" Sigma trailed off. "Hmm. Look at the side here. There's a name or something. 'IG replicator'?"
"Replicator makes it sound like it makes copies of stuff," said Clover.
"So it's like a copy machine?" asked Sigma.
"Yeah. Probably copies… IG. Whatever that is."
"A medical term probably," said Harry with a shrug. "Or a science thing."
"Any ideas?" asked Sigma.
"Who knows," said Clover. "Ice Cream by the gallon?"
"Of course! This machine must be here so we can make all the ice cream we want," said Sigma sarcastically. "Are you nuts?! You're one idiotic girl, you know that? In other words, an IG."
Harry sniggered.
"Oh, good one," said Clover.
"Hey, this isn't the time for stupid jokes," snapped Dio. "There's a helpless child back there who needs our help. At any rate, as long as awe don't know what IG means, we can't do anything with this machine, right?"
"That's right," agreed Clover.
"Makes sense," continued Dio. "On to the second issue. Sigma, you found a journal and some sort of vial in the safe, right?"
"Yeah…"
Harry frowned. Dio was up to something.
"The vial… could you show it to me again?"
"Why?" asked Sigma.
"I didn't really get a good look at it before. You guys were in there so close I could barely see it. Was it really Axelavir?"
"Yeah, definitely," said Sigma as he pulled it out of his pocket. "See, it's written right there on the label. Axelavir."
"Heh. You really are an idiot."
"Huh?" asked Sigma. Harry realised what Dio was doing.
"Sigma, move away from Dio."
"Heh. Looks like the kid is clever after all. I guess in this case the G in IG stands for Guy."
"What? I don't…" Dio snatched the vial from Sigma as soon as he got the words out. "Hey! What gives?!"
"What are you doing?" asked Clover.
"Getting blackmail," said Harry bitterly as Dio slipped the vial into his pocket.
"I'll keep it safe. I'll even give it back to you later."
"No, not later," snapped Sigma. "Give it back now!"
"I don't think do. If you want it back, you're going to have to listen to my request."
"Request?" asked Clover.
"Yeah, that's what I said. If you want this back, in the next AB game, you have to choose ally."
"Ally?" asked Sigma. "Wait, is that why you took the medicine? To blackmail me?"
"That's horrible," said Clover. "You're using Quark's life as leverage."
"You're a sick bastard Dio," said Harry as he glared at the man.
"Well, I've got some really good reasons to do so," said Dio. "I'll be happy to give it back if you just do as I say."
Sigma curled his hands into fists.
"Ah ah ah. I wouldn't try to take it back by force if I were you. You make any sudden moves and I'll smash it." Dio patted his pocket gently. "Oh, and one more thing. Don't tell those other idiots that you found some Axelavir in here. I hear one word about it and the next thing you hear will be little bits of glass shattering on the floor."
"Damnit," muttered Sigma.
"That's not fair," protested Clover.
"This game isn't about compassion," pointed out Dio. "And it's not about being clever. It's about one thing. How well you can manipulate people to your advantage. How unfair you van be. So, what are you gonna do? Ready to promise me you'll pick ally?"
"Fine," muttered Sigma after a pause. "I promise."
"Sigma!"
"And you Harry? You are alone after all. Sigma can't speak for you."
"I really wish I could kill you right now but fine, I promise not to pick betray."
Dio laughed. "I knew you'd say it eventually. I'm glad you understand how this works. But don't think about trying anything funny. Break your promise and you know what happens. See you chumps later. I'm really looking forward to the next round."
Dio strutted out of the room.
"Are you really going to do what he says?" asked Clover.
"Yeah…"
"Sigma, Harry, you've only got one BP right now," pointed out Clover. "If Dio betrays you, you will die."
"Have you ever heard of self-sacrifice Clover?" asked Harry. "It doesn't matter about me as long as Quark gets better."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because there aren't any options left Clover. Unless there's something that I can use to save my life. If only we have some neostigmine."
"Well, we should get back to the upper floor," said Sigma. "Everybody else is probably finished already. I bet they're waiting for us."
They walked back towards the elevator.
Warehouse
Harry ignored the announcement
"Sorry. I went ahead and opened it a bit early."
"Dio…" muttered Sigma as he looked at the moon key in Dio's hand.
"You don't mind, right? I figured you, Harry and Clover would get up here right away. Besides, I though t it'd be best to get this out of the way before you lose your nerve. I donno about you but I'm really looking forward to the next round."
"Urg…"
Harry glanced at Alice and K as they arrived. Phi had also arrived.
"Where's Tenmyouji and the rest of them?" asked Sigma.
"They're in the infirmary," explained Alice.
"We carried Quark to one of the beds," added K. "Tenmyouji and Luna are looking after him."
"I see."
"How's the little guy?" asked Harry."
"Hi situation hasn't changed."
"So what was your room Sigma?" asked Alice.
"A laboratory."
"Is that so…" muttered K.
"Did it look like the kind of place where they'd be researching viruses and DNA and that sort of thing?" asked Alice.
"Yeah, it did," said Clover.
"Was there any of that Axelavir?" asked Phi. Harry winced slightly and phi looked at him.
"No. nothing."
"I see…"
"So, how'd it go with you?" asked Sigma. "Find anything interesting?"
Phi shook her head. Alice and K shrugged.
"Hmm… where does that leave us?" asked Alice. "We've still got about forty minutes until voting ends."
"What are you going to do?" asked Clover.
"I'm a little curious about that lab you found. I thought I might go take a peek at it."
"I'll show you the way then."
"That would be wonderful."
"I think I'll go have a look at the room Alice, K and Tenmyouji found," said Dio. "Never know, you might have missed something. Perhaps there's some Axelavir hidden somewhere in there…"
"Then I will take you there," said K as Harry glared at Dio.
"What about you three?" asked Alice. "Where are you going?"
"I'll… I'll… hmm… Well, I think I'll start by heading over to the infirmary to see how Quark's doing," said Sigma.
"Then I will too," said Phi. Harry nodded in agreement.
"Glad that's settled." Alice and Clover disappeared through the magenta door. Dio and K followed them.
"Ok then," said Sigma. "Guess we should be going."
"Hold on. Show me that journal first."
"Uh…"
"Dio told me about it," explained Phi. "He wouldn't tell me anything about the lab except that you found, in his words, a journal in some sort of bullshit language. He said you had it so I was hoping I could take a look."
"Yeah… one sec…" Sigma pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Phi who started to look through it.
"This is Latin."
"Latin?" asked Sigma.
"Language of the romans," said Harry. "Wait, if you can understand Latin, can you tell me what 'Nostra facimus Fortuna' means."
"Something like we make our own fate."
"You mean you can read it?" continued Sigma.
"Yeah, with time and a dictionary."
"So, in other words, no."
"Pardon me for not being able to translate a dead language on the fly. This looks like some kind of research log. It's not going to be some sort of 'I took the dog for a walk today. It was nice,' sort of stuff. I can understand a little of it, mostly conjunctions and things like that but most of those words I've never seen before." Phi leafed through the book again and stopped. "Wait. I can read this bit. Page… page 216. This isn't research notes. It looks like a personal entry."
"What does it say?" asked Sigma.
"Tell us," begged Harry.
"Don't rush me. This is going to take a minute… hmm…" Silence. "Interesting. Alright, I think I got it. It looks like they're talking about Radical-6."
"What? Why are they talking about that?" asked a confused Sigma.
"Not sure. Let me read it to you. Keep in mind that I'm paraphrasing. 'When the body is infected with Radical-6, the processing speed of the brain is reduced. If we assume that the brain currently operates on a 1:1 basis in regards to time, Radical-6 reduces this to 1:√(1/6) or approximately 1:0.408. This means that for each second that passes 'outside,' the patient feels that only 0.408 seconds have passed 'inside.' Therefore, when one second has passed 'inside,' approximately 2.25 seconds or √6 seconds, have passed 'outside.' In other words, when ten seconds pass in the real world, a person infected with Radical-6 would feel as if only four seconds had passed. This is why the virus has been termed Radical-6. Radical is another term for what is also known as the root operation, the function inverse to the taking of a power. In a less mathematical sense, it can also be used to refer to something that is extreme or severe. Those infected with radical-6 eventually develop a powerful urge to commit suicide. The exact cause is unclear, and although there is as of yet no direct link between suicidal urges and the reduction in mental processing speed, many believe that they are not unrelated. Those infected with Radical-6 perceive the world to be moving at a fever pitch, as if it were a video cassette being fast forwarded. For instance, although the patient believes that only ten seconds have passed, in fact 24.5 seconds have passed. Given this increased speed of input, maintaining the ability to observe and reason would become a herculean task. One theory holds that the disparity in time perception causes the brain to be flooded with massive amounts of data. Unable to keep up, the brain begins to fail. Whatever the cause, the infected individual invariably attempts to take their own lives which is arguably the most terrifying aspect of the virus. Research suggests that a targeted antiviral could kill or at least disable radical-6 but we have been unable to develop one. It seems our best hope now is to harvest antibodies from someone with a natural immunity to the virus. Thus far, however, we have been unable to locate a suitable subject so I have continued my efforts to discover an alternate means of treatment. Given my current rate of progress, I predict that I will have a workable treatment within a decade or two. It is my fervent hope that humanity so be able to survive that long. The bodies of those dead from suicide are piled up along the road kidding into and out of town. The entire area reeks with the stench of decay and the sky is filed with the constant buzzing of files. At times, their swarms are so think that when one passes, it feels as if a cloud has gone over the sun. Every day I see more crows and rats are everywhere, feeding on the dead. Ironically, the only healthy looking creatures are the cats who have grown fat on a plentiful rodent diet. The few humans that have survived the outbreak have been locked away by the government in underground shelters. I don't know how many were saved but I fear only a handful. Their survival is the only hope that remains for the human race. Oh, Lord please... let your future be a bright one.'" Phi stopped reading.
"Whoa, that's a lot of information," said Sigma.
"Also morbid," said Harry.
"Now we know what the virus does to you though," continued Sigma. "If you get infected, your brain gets slowed down by the root of one sixth. That's... what, about 40%?"
"That isn't the important part. 'Those infected by radical-6 eventually commit suicide.'," said Phi.
"Yeah... You're right. That would explain why Quark was... well, trying to kill himself."
"Poor little guy," said Harry.
"There are two other things in here that worry me. First, the bit about how they haven't managed to develop a treatment for it yet. What do you make of that?"
"Well, we don't know how long it has been since that entry was written," said Harry. "A treatment could have been found."
"What are we supposed to make of it?" asked Sigma. "There's a drug called Axelavir that cures it."
"Exactly. But the journal says it might take twenty years to make something like that."
"Hold on a second. I'm getting confused. When was this thing even written?"
"December 29th. No year."
"Well, there's no way out was written this year," said Sigma.
"Yeah, probably not."
"And a cure could have been found sooner that person expected," added Harry.
"Anyway, moving on. The second concern I have is about the underground shelters it mentions. The newspaper article said something about quarantining people too. After we read it, we all thought the same thing. What if this was one of those quarantine facilities? But this journal seems to suggest the opposite. 'The few humans who survived the outbreak have been locked away by the government in underground shelters.'"
"You're trying to say that this place might be one of those government shelters," said Sigma. "Which means we were all supposed to be uninfected. We would have been thrown in here to keep us safe."
"Except we're not," said Harry as he glanced at his bracelet.
"Yeah. I mean there's no way to say for sure at this point but it seems possible," said Phi.
"But Quark's been infected, right?" asked Sigma.
"Then maybe the virus got in somehow."
"Oh joy," said Harry. "We have a suicide inducing virus and you're telling us that it's floating around in here. We could all be infected by now."
"Just think about it for a minute. If this is one of those shelters, a lot of things start to make sense. Maybe we've been here for a long time. Like, maybe they put us to sleep somehow. Made us sleep for years, maybe even decades. While we were sleeping, the pandemic that newspaper article talked about happened and whoever had this journal made this entry."
"And once the antiviral medicine was finished, they woke us up?" asked Sigma. Harry sighed.
"Uh, Phi, I don't think that works. Remember when I'm from?" Phi stared at him before nodding.
"What are you talking about?" asked Sigma.
"Nothing. It's just speculation after all."
"No, that doesn't make sense. I mean, it seems like a pretty plausible scenario but we were all captured before the pandemic started, right?" asked Sigma.
"Yeah."
"And how would they have put us to sleep for that long? How would they have known to do that? But most importantly, why the hell are we playing the Nonary Game if the point of this place is to save us? Throwing a bunch of people into a game that might kill them is a pretty weird way to protect them from a pandemic."
"Yeah, you're right," said Phi after a second's thought.
"See?"
"We don't have enough information to make any real conclusions. I think we should have a look to see if we can find anything else."
"Hey, weren't you coming to the infirmary with me?" called Sigma as Harry chased Phi to the magenta door.
"I changed my mind! Tell me about Quark later!"
Phi ran through the door.
"Man..." muttered Sigma before releasing a sigh and headed towards the infirmary. Harry paused before following him.
Infirmary
"How's he doing?" asked Sigma as they arrived.
"He seems to be stable as far as I can tell," said Luna.
"Still sleeping," added Tenmyouji.
"I see. Mind if I take a look?"
"Please, go ahead," said Luna.
They made their way around the partition to Quark's side. Harry thought about what he could do in the next AB game.
"Grandpa... Grandpa..."
Sigma's fists tightened.
Ten minutes remain until Ambidex Game polling closes. All players please enter your votes. If no votes are recorded, all non-voting parties will default to ally.
"Looks like it's almost time," said Tenmyouji. "You two should head back."
"What about you?" asked Sigma.
"Not going. I'm worried about Quark."
"But you're a solo. If you don't vote..." Luna trailed off.
"I'll automatically ally. I know. I heard the voice on the intercom just like you."
"What are you going to do if K and Alice betray you?" asked Sigma.
"Well, he's not going to get penalised," said Harry.
"Nothing I suppose. Just means I lost that round. I'd just be voting ally anyway. You know who my opponents are, right? Alice only has one BP left. If I picked betray and they choose ally, I'd kill her. In not so desperate for escape that I'm gonna kill someone for it. And even if I was, I wouldn't leave Quark behind. Ya see? Doesn't matter if I go into the AB room or not. My vote's the same either way."
Harry made his way into the AB room and everything went black.
AB room
"Huh?" Harry checked his bracelet to see a three. He tried to jump back but got knocked back. "Oh joy."
He jumped forward to the choice of chromatic doors.
"I'll take Tenmyouji do we'll go through the blue door," decided Sigma. Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. It wasn't the first time that Sigma had made a different choice.
"Me?" asked a surprised Tenmyouji. "But I picked betray last time."
"Exactly," agreed Sigma. "So I'll just make you pick ally this time. Well, I guess I should say that you won't have a choice."
"Is that so? Mind telling me how you'll do that?"
"Heh. I'd love to but we don't really have time. Ask me again later, ok?"
There was a tense pause.
"Fine. You're on."
"So, we're doing option A," said Phi. "That means Luna, Dio and I will go through the green door."
"Which leaves the red door for Quark, K and me," finished Alice.
"Any objections?" There were none. "Good. Let's go."
"Listen... take care of Quark, right?" asked Tenmyouji.
"Don't worry," reassured K.
"I'll watch out for him," added Alice.
Harry ran through the blue door with Sigma. The doors closed behind them. They followed the path to the now familiar intersection.
"Three doors…" muttered Sigma. "Which one should we take?"
"That seems like kind of a silly question," replied Clover. "I mean, they're all locked, aren't they?"
Harry pulled the lever and the middle door opened.
"Hey, it looked like one of them opened," commented Sigma.
"But only one," pointed out Clover.
"I guess that's where we're supposed to go." Harry strode through the door and through the corridor behind it.
"So this is the exit huh?" asked Sigma as they entered the room and looked at the door. He tried to open it but, as usual, it was locked. "So what the heel is this place?"
"The door said PEC," said Tenmyouji. "Housing it is not for working out."
"It looks like it's probably an acronym or abbreviation or something but what? Prepared emergency chocolate? Private ecclesiastical commode?" asked Sigma.
"Ohh, wait a sec..." Everyone turned to Clover. "There's a manual here... I think it's explaining what this room is for..."
"What's it say?" asked Sigma.
"Hold on... this facility is pressurized, maintaining much higher air pressure than the surrounding environment. Airborne viral contagions..."
"What?" asked a surprised Sigma.
"Quiet," snapped Tenmyouji. "Keep reading Clover."
"Right. Airborne viral contagions have necessitated this step, which is intended to prevent contamination of the installation."
"Didn't work very well as Quark's ill," commented Harry.
"So persons wishing to exit the facility may do so though this pressure exchange chamber. Once the chamber had been sealed, the pressure can be lowered to match the surrounding environment. Before the PEC can be depressurised, all occupants must be wearing level A hazmat suits to prevent infection. The PEC will not function unless all occupants are wearing appropriate protective equipment." Clover finished reading.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here?" asked Sigma. "Are they trying to say the air out there is full of some horrible virus?"
"Sounds like it," said Harry.
"I don't think it's just any virus," said Tenmyouji.
"It had to be Radical-6," said Clover.
"Oh man," muttered Sigma. "Then that newspaper article was true."
There was a period of silence. Eventually Clover opened a locker.
"Is this one of this hazmat suits the manual was talking about?"
"Yeah, I figure they probably are," said Tenmyouji.
"We won't be able to get into the pressure exchange thing unless we've got those things on," added Sigma.
"And getting that room to decompress is the only way to get outside," finished Clover.
"As long as the door on the other side isn't locked," pointed out Harry. "Or doesn't lead to a dead end. Do you think Zero would leave such an obvious way out?"
Silence.
"So, where is the actual decompression room?" asked Sigma after a couple of seconds.
"Downstairs I guess," said Harry. They stepped on nearby lift and rode it down to the room below.
"This room's divided into two floors, upper and lower," commented Sigma.
"Thanks for stating the obvious," muttered Harry.
"We're on the lower floor right now. Earlier we were on the upper one," added Clover.
"Then this is the actual pressure exchange chamber," said Tenmyouji as he looked at the room next to them. He tried to open the door but failed. "No good."
"Why is everything locked around here?" asked Harry. "It's a bit inconvenient. Don't answer my question."
"Let's humour me for a second," said Sigma. "Let's go put on those suits, come back here and try the door again. Maybe, just maybe, we can get out."
"I bet you five quid that we won't be able to," said Harry then stared at everyone's confused Looks. "I forgot you were Americans. Never heard of five pounds?"
"I see. You're British then?" asked Tenmyouji. "I thought you had a strong accent."
"Hey, to me, you're the ones with a strong accent."
"But you have a point. Do you really think it would be that easy?" asked Tenmyouji as he looked at Sigma.
"It's hard to believe that Zero Sr would make that big of a mistake," commented Clover.
"Well, let's have a look around anyway," said Sigma. "Maybe we'll find something about that virus."
"Yeah, good idea," agreed Clover.
"Not like we've got anything else to do," added Harry.
"What are we standing around for then?" asked Tenmyouji. "Get to it."
Harry walked over to the door and studied the panel. He touched it.
Before entering the decompression chamber, please put on your viral protection suit. Failure to do so will prevent you from entering the decompression chamber.
Sigma tried to open some lockers behind Harry but it sounded like they were locked.
"Is that a barometer?" asked Clover as she studied a dial. "The needle's in the middle. It says it's one point five atmospheres. That must be the normal pressure for this building. Remember? It said something in the manual about the pressure in here being higher than the pressure outside."
Harry entered the lift and crouched down.
"Is there something there?" asked Clover. "It looks like the glass panel is supposed to open."
"Then there are these numbers. 25113," read out Harry as he tried the glass but it was locked. Why did he expect any different? Everyone climbed on and they returned to the upper level. Harry collected an instruction manual for the pressure exchange door. There were some symbols that Harry quickly memorised then everyone pulled a protective suit on and returned to the door on the floor below. Sigma tried to open the door but it was still locked.
Harry touched the screen and connected the dots," causing the door to open and they entered. He grabbed a tablet then memorised the numbers on the bench.
"A model of Zero Jr huh?" muttered Sigma as he looked at the big rabbit. "It looks like it's plastic."
"Yeah, it's inflatable like a beach ball," said Tenmyouji.
"Well, it's damn creepy, that's for sure," said Sigma. Harry had to agree with him. "And that door is wielded shut."
"You owe me a fiver," said Harry with a straight face.
"I'm going to get this off," said Clover. "There's no point in having it on."
She walked out and headed upstairs. Something rumbled.
"What the hell was that noise?" asked Sigma.
"I don't know… but I've got a bad feeling about this," admitted Tenmyouji.
Preparation complete. Now beginning decompression. Three… Two… One…
"What the fuck!" yelled Sigma as the air began to be sucked out the room. "Why did that happen?!"
"Hell if I know!"
"Let's get out of here," shouted Harry. He tried the door but it wouldn't open
Pressure differential is too great to open door.
"Damn," muttered Tenmyouji. "I guess we'll have to equalise the pressure before we can get it open."
Sigma turned. "Gah! It got big!"
Harry ran to the machine next to the glass. "The needle's all the way to the left!"
"0?" asked Sigma. "That means we're in a vacuum!"
Harry hit the red button but an error noise beeped.
Insufficient power for repressurisation. Please rout additional power.
Sigma poked the rabbit and it exploded. Harry took the metal plates off the wall then collected some laser emitters and inserted them into the wires. Something powered on and Harry hit the red button again.
Repressurisation preparation complete. Repressurising… now.
The pressure returned to normal. Harr collected the Zero Jr doll and they walked over to the door. Harry reopened it and they exited the room. Unlocking the lockers, Harry rummaged through a cardboard box to find junk. He opened another one to find a blank journal with a slip of paper inside. They headed back upstairs.
Can we take these off now?" asked Sigma.
"Yeah, I think so," said Clover. "I mean. We unlocked the door to the decompression chamber, right?"
"Yeah. No point keeping the damn things on now," said Tenmyouji. The three pulled them off and Clover put them away. Harry placed the doll on a chair and connected the tablet to the USB cable but nothing happened. Pressing the button on the lift, Harry collected the key and unlocked the locker. He put the small protective suit on the doll and put it back on the chair. He quickly solved the puzzle and collected the password then opened the safe.
"Hooray! It opened!" cheered Clover. They started to pull everything out. There was the traditional map, the cards, a memory card and a key. He unlocked the door and they walked through the corridors to the Floor B warehouse.
"Is this another warehouse?" asked Sigma.
"Looks just like the one on the last floor," commented Tenmyouji.
"There's even a big old door in the same spot where the number nine door is in the other warehouse," said Clover.
"True but it's rusted over. I don't think it's opening any time soon," said Sigma.
Harry closed his eyes. He was feeling a little bit sleepy.
"No lever to open it anyway, that I can see…" said Tenmyouji.
"I want to know what those are," said Clover as she gestured to the white chromatic doors.
"Those white doors?" asked Tenmyouji.
"Are they Chromatic Doors?" asked Sigma.
"Probably," said Harry with a shrug. He ignored the rest of the conversation.
An Ambidex gate has been opened. Forty five minutes remain until Ambidex game polling closes.
"What?" asked a surprised Sigma.
"One of the other teams opened the gate early!" exclaimed Clover.
"What in the hell would the y do that for?!" asked Tenmyouji.
"Come on. We don't have time to talk." Harry strode towards the door and followed the corridors to the elevator.
Once they'd got to the floor A Warehouse, they found two people waiting for them. K and Dio.
"Where's quark?!" demanded Tenmyouji.
"We took him to the infirmary," explained K. "At the moment, Phi, Alice and Luna are looking after him."
"Is he alright?!"
"I don't know if I would describe him as alright but apparently his condition has not worsened, if that's what you mean. He is still resting. However, we…."
"Good," interrupted Tenmyouji. "I'm going to the infirmary."
"Ah! Tenmyouji! Please, wait!" called K. Tenmyouji ignored him and ran through the yellow door.
"Oh dear," muttered K. "He's gone. There was something I needed to tell him."
"Well, it's not like it matters," said Dio. "The girls will just tell him when he gets there. He oughta calm down once he's seen the kid."
"What are they going to tell him?" asked Clover.
"Well, you see…" K explained what had happened.
"What?" asked a surprised Sigma.
"You found virus medicine in the laboratory?" asked Clover.
"Yes. Unfortunately, we found only a single vial."
"Then we can cure Quark's radical six," said Sigma excitedly.
"So it would seem."
"Well, I guess we should head over to the infirmary," said Sigma. "And see how he's doing. C'mon, let's go."
"Right behind you."
Harry followed the two to the infirmary.
"He'll be fine now," said Luna as they entered. "It might take some time for him to fully recover but the worst is over."
"Is he really going to be ok?" asked Tenmyouji as Luna put the injection gun away.
"Yes. We analysed the vial and confirmed it was definitely Axelavir. Now that I've administered it…"
"The Axelavir should eradicate the virus completely, given enough time, right?" asked Phi.
"Yes, that should be the case," agreed Luna.
"Thank goodness," said Alice in relief.
"Yeah, what a relief," added Clover.
"He shouldn't even be here," said Harry. "Not in this game."
"Things were pretty sketchy there for a while, that's for sure," said Phi.
"Phew," muttered Tenmyouji. "Alice, you and K… I don't know what to say other than thanks. You saved his life. I don't have the words to tell you how much that means to me."
"Oh please," said Alice. "It was nothing, really. We just happened to be the ones who went through the red door."
"Where is K?" asked Tenmyouji. "He's not in here."
"He's still in the warehouse," answered Clover. "Dio and K stayed behind."
"They stayed behind to wait for you guys while we came back here," added Phi. "We figured someone should explain what was going on so you wouldn't come back to an empty warehouse."
"So Dio and K were the ones who opened the AB gates?" asked Sigma.
"Not both of them," said Clover. "There was only one door open."
"Well, we should get back and tell them how Quark's doing," said Alice. "K will want to know at least."
"Yeah, you're right," agreed Sigma. He headed back to the other side of the room.
"That's right."
"Huh?" Sigma turned to Tenmyouji as Harry joined him.
"You know that memory card we found?"
"This thing?" Harry pulled it out of his pocket.
"Yeah. I think I know how we can take a look at it." Sigma looked confused. "What, you don't remember? There was a memory card just like it that we used to solve the puzzles in here."
"Yeah, he's right," said Phi as she joined them. "There's a slot next to the screen. It should work for this one too."
Harry slotted it in. a wave appeared on the screen.
"Is there an audio file on here?" asked Luna. "Why don't we turn up the volume a bit?"
Luan tapped a few buttons a voice drifted out of the speakers.
"This is control. How's it going over there? Bet you missed the sound of my voice, huh? Well, I've gotta be honest, it's getting pretty lonely over here too. Feeling like howling at the moon, lone wolf style. Speaking of which, I'm looking at it right now and the old girl is beautiful. Never seen a moon this full and that colour... tonight is that eclipse, remember? What a way to end 2028, huh? The moon's this amazing red… if it wasn't so beautiful, it's be kind of ominous. Wish you guys could see it too but… Ah, sorry, forgot. You're supposed to be on Mars, aren't you? So, um, how are Phobos and Deimos looking right now? Sure hope I'll get to look up at them someday too. Anyway, over." Silence. "Something wrong? Talk to me guys. What, you're playing hard to get because we haven't talked in so long? Enough jokes, alright? Knock it off. Where are you guys? Is there something wrong with the radio? You're saying everything's green? Well ten, what the hell's going on here? Why aren't they responding? No, the video feed's online. Look, you can see all nine of them, three at each table. What?! Someone hacked our feed? What do you mean, this isn't live? An old clip on repeat? Who would do that? What in the hell is happening here? This is control, repeat, this is control. Please come in. I'm asking you to respond!"
"This is…"
"Oh thank God. You really had me worried there. What happened?"
Silence.
"Six of us are… dead."
"What?"
"Counting myself, there are only four of us left."
"How? Why are…?"
"They were killed."
"What?!"
"I guess you could say I killed them. No, no. that's not quite right. Not just them. Not just these six…. All of them. All six billion. Soon I will have killed six billion people."
Silence again.
"Are you there?!" the voice was in a panic. "Respond! Damnit… This is control, I repeat this is control. We have an emergency situation! We have an unconfirmed report of six deceased test subjects! Deploy rescue and escort teams to the test site immediately! Shit… what the hell happened in there?"
"Is that it?" asked Sigma as the voice disappeared.
"Yes," said Luna.
"What was that?" asked Harry. "It sounded like something bad happened. Six billion people… perhaps that was the release of Radical 6."
Alice looked thoughtful. "That's a possibility."
Tenmyouji wasn't shocked like everyone else.
"Do you know something Tenmyouji?" asked Clover.
"Yeah, I think I do. It's probably a transmission from the Mars mission test site."
"Mars?" asked Luna.
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Phi.
"You mean some kind of space travel?" asked Clover.
"What kind of test site was it?" asked Alice.
"Did you know that the government is developing spaceships with particle annihilation engines?" asked Tenmyouji. "These ships would be able to get humans to Mars a lot faster than old chemical rockets. But they don't want to just send a manned Mars mission off half cocked. That was the idea behind this test. They built a whole complex on this old Air Force base in Nevada. The idea was that it would be a simulation of a manned mission to Mars with a crew of nine men and woman. They'd monitor the whole thing and use the data to plan the real thing."
"So what we listened to was a transmission from that project?" asked Sigma.
"Yeah."
"Why is something like that here?" asked Clover.
"Donno why. We found it in the safe, no explanation. Dollars to donuts, it's got something to do with Zero's plan."
"You mean, we were meant to hear what was on that card," said Phi.
"Yeah," agreed Tenmyouji.
"Zero must be a bit of a psycho," said Harry with a head shake.
"That's all very interesting but how exactly do you know about all this?" asked Alice.
"About the simulated mars mission?"
"Yes."
"I was involved with the project."
"Involved?" asked Sigma.
"The intent was to create as accurate a simulation as possible," continued Tenmyouji. "That meant we'd need to simulate the radio silence we'd experience during conjunction."
"What's a conjunction?" asked Clover.
"It means two things in space are close to each other. In this case, we're talking about a superior conjunction where Earth and Mars are on the exact opposite sides of the sun. So unless we get some kind of relay there'll be a period of time where we won't be able to communicate with each other. What we heard on that card was when the simulated conjunction was scheduled to end."
"That's when they died," said Luna.
"No, we don't know that. They could have died long before that conversation. All we know is that was when it was discovered."
"This is turning kind of morbid." Harry shivered.
"So six of the test subjects died, right?" asked Phi.
"Yeah."
"Well… do you remember what she said?" asked Sigma. "There was something about how she didn't just kill six people. She said six billion. What the heck did she mean by that?"
"Just what the hell happened there?" asked Alice. Tenmyouji looked down at the floor.
"The truth is that there's a possibility that a virus escaped from the test site."
"A virus?" asked Clover. "Wait, you don't mean…"
"Yeah. Radical-6."
"What?" asked a surprised Luna. "How can that be?"
"I'm just telling you what I know, ok? Nobody was sure how Radical 6 got in there in the first place but one of the subjects might have been infected when they entered or the virus might have been an intentional part of the simulation. The test site deaths became the index case for a pandemic. Anyway, prevailing wisdom says it got out somehow and once it was out, it spread pretty quickly. All across the planet."
"And it killed six billion people?" asked Phi.
"Well, not directly. Best numbers only put a third or so of those deaths were directly caused by radical 6. The other four billion dies from the collapse caused by the deaths of that first third. The whole world just fell apart."
Everyone was silent.
"Wow. Um… damn. I have a lot of questions. I don't even know where to start. I don't even know where to start knowing where to start," said Sigma. "Well, no, take that back. Explain that date. Unless I heard this wrong, the day the Radical-6 got out was December 31st, 2028."
"Yeah."
"But the day I got grabbed by the guy in the gas mask was December 25th, 2028."
"Me too," agreed Phi. "Christmas day."
"I was kidnapped on Christmas too," added Luna.
"Clover and I were taken three days earlier, on the 22nd," said Alice.
"Yeah," agreed Clover.
"Then you see what I'm saying, right?" asked Sigma. "That recording was made close to a week after we were all picked up. What the hell is going on here? That thing is from the future!"
"Or the past," pointed out Harry. "We don't know what the date is."
"You see…" Tenmyouji was interrupted by the announcer saying that they had ten minutes left before voting closed. "We're out of time. We need to go back to the warehouse."
"Wait," protested Sigma. "You haven't answered…"
"Don't care. I'd need more than ten minutes to explain everything."
"Leave it for now Sigma. We can ask him again later," said Harry. "Right?"
"Right." Tenmyouji nodded. "Half-assing it is just going to make you more confused. Get moving."
"But…"
"That's enough! Shut your damn mouth or I'm picking betray!"
"Hey, c'mon now," said Clover nervously.
"Fine. Do what you want but I need to get back to the AB rooms. I'd like to stay here with Quark but he seems to be doing alright."
"I'll stay here with him," offered Luna. "Phi can do the voting for our pair. I can trust her. Is that alright with you?"
"Yeah, sure," said Phi slightly dismissively.
"Well, if you're willing to do that, I'd be much obliged. Thanks Luna. Take good care of him."
"Of course. I'll make sure everything goes fine."
Tenmyouji gave her a nod before dashing out of the room.
"Well, that's that, I guess," said Tenmyouji. "We should be going too."
"Yes," agreed Alice. "We'll have to wait to hear the rest of what he has to say later."
"I'd rather just get it all out in the open now but there's not much we can do," said Phi.
"Yeah, we have to wait," said Harry. "Come on. We have to vote."
"Let's get going then," said Clover and they walked out the room.
"Hey, where's Dio?" asked Sigma as they entered the warehouse and explained the situation to K.
"He has gone into his AB room," explained K.
"Already?" asked Alice.
"Indeed."
"Then he was the one who opened the first AB Gate, right?" asked Clover.
"Of course."
"That sounds just like him," said Harry.
"This is bad. I won't be able to talk with him," said Phi. "This is going to limit my choices."
"You've only got one BP left, don't you?" asked Alice.
"Yeah. Luna's the same."
"If Phi choses ally and Dio picks betray…" started Clover.
"Phi and Luna will penalised," finished K.
"What a bummer," said Harry.
"I don't have a choice. I'll have to pick betray. The risk with ally is just too great."
"Hey, Alice, don't you have one BP too?" asked Sigma.
"That's right. But K and I will be playing against Quark."
"And he'll default to ally," said Clover. "I guess you don't need to worry about getting penalised then."
"But what if Alice and K pick betray?" asked Sigma.
"You needn't worry. That will not happen," reassured K. "Even though, as you told me, Quark is revering, he is still weak. Moreover, he is only a child. To betray an innocent child would be…"
"Yeah. That would be unthinkable," agreed Alice. "Even if you ignore his age or condition, it would be unfair to take advantage of someone who can't vote."
"It better not happen," said Harry.
"So you'll vote to ally?" asked Sigma.
"Yes."
"Of course."
"Well, shall we go?" asked K.
"Yes."
The two disappeared into an AB room as did Phi.
"Do you remember what you said to me when you chose the blue door?" asked Tenmyouji. "Something about how you'd convince me to choose ally. Seems like now is the time to let me know how you're going to convince me."
"Well, it's not that complicated. I promise you that Clover and I will vote ally. That's it, pretty much," explained Sigma.
"Hmm. I see. And you figure I'll believe you because you've only got one BP. Once you've told me that you plan to choose ally, I can't chose betray. Since if you're telling the truth…"
"You'd kill both me and Harry," finished Sigma.
"Not a bad plan but it assumes that I've taken killing you off the table. Seems like a risky bet for you."
"I disagree."
"And why is that?"
"Clover's BP is six. If you ally and we betray then she'd have enough points to escape. She could run off through the number nine door as soon as this round is over."
"I'd never…" protested Clover.
"That's easy for you to say. But think about it from my perspective. Sure you'd might not but you also might. If I guess wrong then that's a pretty big loss for me."
"Well, what if Clover tries to seduce you to get what she wants?" asked Tenmyouji.
"Huh?" asked Clover.
"That's just an example. What I'm trying to say is that once you two are in that room, Clover may try to make some kind of bargain with you. I'm asking you what you plan to do if that happens. Are you sure you'll still choose ally?"
"I don't have that problem," said Harry. "I'm always alone."
"Seduce me, huh?" muttered Sigma.
"Hey! What are you staring at, you perv! There's no way on Earth I'd do anything like that! As if! In your dreams creep!"
"Well, that's that then," said Sigma as Clover calmed down slightly. "Not gonna lie though, I'm a little disappointed."
"So I can trust you?" asked Tenmyouji. "You're going to choose ally?"
"Yeah," agreed Sigma.
"You can trust us."
"Promise?"
"Of course."
"We promise."
Harry nodded his head.
"All right. I guess I'll vote ally too then."
Three minutes remain until Ambidex game polling closes.
"Well, it looks like we don't have much time left. I'm trusting you."
"I'm trusting you too," replied Sigma. Harry walked over to the AB room and pressed his hand to the scanner. The gate opened and he stepped in. moving over to the back of the room, Harry hit ally as soon as he could. The gate opened again once the voting was finished and he walked over to the projector. The results showed up and he relaxed once he saw that everyone in his group had allied. Only Luna, Phi and Dio had chosen betray and that was to be expected. Glancing at his bracelet, he saw the three.
"Looks like you managed to trust me," said Tenmyouji.
"Well, it seems like I made the right choice," said Sigma.
"And it's not like I would do anything else," added Harry.
"Only did what I said I would."
"You really helped me out," said Sigma. "Thanks."
"I could say the same thing. No need for thanks."
Clover looked less than pleased. "That was a bad choice Sigma. And after I told you I'd listen to anything you said."
"Did something happen?" asked Harry.
"Aw well. Whatever." She sent Sigma an annoyed look before stalking off. Harry turned to watch Phi and Dio arguing.
"You tried to kill me and Luna. Can't say I'm surprised."
"Oh, don't give me that. You knew exactly what I was doing. I knew you weren't stupid enough to pick ally. You'd defend yourself with betray, just like I would. Wait. Where's Luna?"
"In the infirmary, looking after Quark."
"Is that where Alice went too?"
"Alice? No, she went into one of the AB rooms with K."
"Yes, we did indeed enter together," agreed K. "When the doors opened however, she left, somewhat unsteadily, in the direction of the Cyan door."
"She left the warehouse?" asked Phi.
"Indeed."
"Without even checking the results?" asked Dio.
"Correct. There was little reason to check them."
"Yeah, it's not like Quark was going to betray you," agreed Phi.
"Indeed."
"And you two still chose ally? Man… what a pair of bleeding hearts."
"If you say so. Being mocked for my compassion is a small price to pay for retaining my humanity."
"Well, not everyone is like you Dio," said Harry. "Some people don't like to take advantage of others."
"Where did Alice run off to?" asked Clover.
"While we were in the AB room, she mentioned something about being quite tired. Perhaps she went to one of the cabins to rest."
"Oh. Well, I guess that would make sense."
A rumble filled the warehouse as the gates closed. Harry ignored the announcement.
"We can open the gates as many times as we want?" asked Sigma.
"That means the star keys can be used to play the AB game any number of times. If I understood that announcement correctly, that is," said K.
"Hey, didn't Zero Jr say something about this?" asked Dio.
"Yeah, he did. Can you show me your bracelets?" asked Sigma. "I want to see what our colours and groups are this time."
"There's no point in me doing that," said Harry. "We all know what I'm going to be. I am stuck as a black solo after all."
Everyone else showed their bracelets.
"Huh? It looks like all the colours are weird," said Sigma. "Clover's a cyan pair and Phi's a magenta pair but Tenmyouji is a yellow pair."
"The three solos are red, green and blue. K's red, you're blue and Dio's green," said Phi.
"Then how are we supposed to group up for the Chromatic doors?" asked Sigma.
"They're white, remember?" asked Harry. "To make white, you combine red, green and blue. As the solos can't go together, the pairs are cyan, magenta and yellow to make up for it."
"In this case, the option would be that the yellow pair, Tenmyouji and whoever else had the yellow bracelet, group with Sigma, the blue solo, the magenta pair, me and the other magenta, go with Dio, the green solo, and K, the red solo, goes with Clover and whoever else is in the cyan pair," explained Phi. "That's the only option. There's no other way we can group up to make white. And black doesn't go into white…"
"It's fine Phi. My colour changes when I get close to the white doors," explained Harry. "That's the only time I've seen them change."
"But…" Phi looked confused then understanding. "I see. Anyway, Alice, Luna and Quark aren't here to show us their bracelets so we don't know for sure what their colours are but it's pretty clear that they'll all be pairs as the solos are taken."
"So they'll be magenta, yellow and Cyan, right?" asked Sigma.
"Right."
"Alright, what now?" asked Dio. "We've got plenty of time until those white doors open."
"Yeah, about an hour," agreed Sigma as everyone checked the time.
"I'm gonna go find Alice," decided Clover.
"Of course. I'll come with you then," decided Phi. Clover shrugged and they left through the cyan door.
"Do I really need to say it?" asked Tenmyouji.
"The infirmary, right?" asked Sigma. "You're going to check on Quark."
"Yeah." Tenmyouji left through the yellow door.
"What are you going to do?" asked Sigma.
"I don't know," said Harry. "I've got nothing to do."
"I think I'm going to head over to the lounge and have a drink," said Dio. "You wanna tag along K?"
"Are you making fun of me?" asked K. "I find it rather hard to drink with this mask on."
"Oh, right, of course. My bad. Well, I'm out. Later!"
Dio slouched towards the magenta door. K followed him.
"Hey, what is this? You following me?"
"No, you must be mistaken. I hope to investigate floor B further. There are still several rooms I haven't visited."
"Ok, ok, you don't have to tell me your life story. See ya."
Harry raised an eyebrow as they stepped through the door.
"Alright. What should I do?" muttered Sigma. "Of course. I need to get the rest of that story out of Tenmyouji!"
"Mind if I come with you?" asked Harry.
"Do whatever you want kid."
They walked to the infirmary and found an empty room.
"Huh?"
"I don't see them leaving this room," muttered Harry.
They peeked around the partition to see Tenmyouji holding a picture. He must have heard something because he looked up and shoved the picture away.
"What was that?" asked Sigma. "It was a photo of something, right? Was it yours?"
"Forget it. It's got nothing to do with you."
"I suggest you do as he says," said Harry.
"But all of the stuff we had with us when we got grabbed was taken away… Why were you hiding it?"
"Why should I tell all of you about one measly photo?"
"Um, anyway, where's Luna?"
"I asked her to leave. I wanted to be alone with Quark for a bit."
"Reasonable." Harry shrugged. "You really care for him, don't you?"
Tenmyouji remained silent for a minute. "So, why are you here?"
"I wanted to hear the rest," explained Sigma. "Harry here tagged along."
"The rest of what? What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about that simulated manned mission to Mars," explained Sigma. "We heard that recording about it."
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about. I'm getting old. Memory's not what it used to be. I seem to be forgetting a lot of stuff lately…"
"Hey! Nice try pal but you're not getting away with it this time! You remember something alright! You remember so much you told it'd take way more than ten minutes to tell it all!"
"Calm down Sigma," suggested Harry.
"You really sure you want to know?" asked Tenmyouji.
"Huh?"
"Maybe I'll tell you and then you'll regret it. Maybe you'll wish you'd kept your fool mouth shut. Just think about all the hopes you've got for the future and all the happy memories you have of your past. What if I have to tell you makes everything you've ever believed ring hollow and the whole world just crumbles around you? You sure you want that?"
Harry snorted. "My parents are dead and my relatives made me live in a cupboard. Not very many happy memories in my life."
"You don't need to threaten us," added Sigma.
"This isn't a threat. I'm being honest here. Are you really, truly prepared?"
"Of course…"
Phi exploded into the room.
"Good! There you are!"
"Has something happened Phi?" asked Harry.
"Alice… Alice is…" Phi couldn't finish her sentence. "Look, just come with me, alright? She's in the number two cabin!"
Phi ran out of the room without waiting for a response. Harry chased her.
"What's going on Phi? Is Alice dead? Again?"
"Again?" asked Phi.
"Please tell me you haven't forgotten! You know, that timeline jumping ability of ours? Please tell me you've visited a timeline where Alice dies!"
Phi glanced back. "I see. I think I remember something about that."
They skidded to a halt once they arrived at the cabin. Harry sighed in sadness.
"Alice!" Sigma looked stunned. "No... Why did this happen?"
He slowly walked towards her and pressed his fingers to her neck. It was pretty obvious she was dead though. Her bracelet had fallen off.
"No… No, it's not true… why?"
"Radical-6 possibly," said Harry as he looked at the scalpel buried in her chest. "She could have easily gotten it from Quark. But we can't rule out the possibility of murder."
"Who… who did this…?" No one answered Clover's question. "Say something! Answer me!"
"Please Clover, calm down," pleaded Luna. "We don't even know she was killed…"
"Then what happened?! An accident?! You think a scalpel just dropped from the ceiling and stabbed her?!"
"Cool it kid," said Dio.
"You did it, didn't you?!"
"Hey, let's not be throwing round accusations," said Harry. "There's no proof that Dio did it."
"Are you nuts?" asked Dio.
"Then who did it?! Who killed her?!"
"Clover, even if we assume that she was murdered, that doesn't necessarily mean the killer was one of us, does it?" asked K.
"Wait a minute… you went into the AB room with Alice in the last round, didn't you? Something happened in there, didn't it?"
"No, nothing happened…."
"Don't lie to me! There's no way Alice would just run off like that! She wouldn't leave me! Something happened! If she was going to leave, she'd tell me! She… She…"
"Hey Clover. Don't you think just assuming Alice was murdered is jumping the gun a little bit?" asked Phi.
"How can you look at her and say that?! Scalpels don't just stab people all by themselves!" Silence. "Oh, I see. I see… I get it now. You're all in on it, aren't you? It wasn't just one killer… it was seven! No wonder you're so anxious to say this wasn't a murder!"
"Well, judging by Quark's earlier reaction, Radical-6 makes you suicidal," said Harry. "That's if she was infected though."
"Clover, please, just settle down," pleaded Tenmyouji.
"Hmph. Fine. Show me some proof then. Prove to me in ten seconds that you didn't murder my friend or I'm going to kill every last one of you bastards! You're all going to die just like she did!"
"Hey, hold on a minute," pleaded Sigma.
"Nine! Eight! Seven!"
"Clover!"
"Six! Five! Four!"
"Clover!"
"Three! Two! One!"