Act 3-4: Ties That Bind
Suffice to say, now I understood why we hadn't been able to accost the Pilots at all through the entirety of our 'stay' on the airship.
It had been an hour since the pilots had disappeared from the ballroom, and we were nowhere close to finding out where they were.
It was close to a miracle that, after wearing my soles thin speed-racing around the ship, my shoes didn't seem to be in any state of disrepair. Then again, I did get them from a very high-quality cobbler, so it did make a certain amount of sense.
What didn't, was the fact that I knew Jackie had been doing the same, if not more, exercise as me, and in high-heels. And they looked just about as good as that one woman's heels in that dinosaur movie I saw over the summer.
"How…" I trailed off, as Jackie brushed me away. Maybe now wasn't a good time?
"...you know, it's not that easy for shoes to wear down. They can't do that over the course of a day," pointed out Matthew matter-of-factly. "Not on floors like this, anyway. You'd have to be running on sandpaper. As for Jackie, practice makes perfect, I suppose."
"Oui," she stated proudly. "Walking in zhees is hard, but one can develop quite ze natural resistance over time."
"Yes, it's...quite impressive." Matthew didn't sound like he actually particularly cared.
"So...shoes aside, have you found anything?" I asked slowly.
Matthew sadly shook his head. "...No. Unfortunately not. Though we're...likely not the best searchers. I'm sure someone else has. Statistically speaking, it's a small plane, after all."
"...Alright, then." Knowing the pilots I wasn't so sure, but I bid Matthew and Jackie farewell in the hopes that someone else might have found something.
The next couple I approached was no help either. Faen and Johan knew absolutely nothing, and Faen, it seemed, was a phenomenally slow runner.
"...My...sincerest…" He paused to take a breath. "...apologies…" he muttered slowly, attempting to catch his breath from running down one hallway. "...Butlers don't typically have to be all that physically fit."
"Neither do babysitters, but look at me," Johan pointed out. "Wait, I have an idea…"
"Johan, what is this idea you're-" Faen was cut off as the Babysitter lifted him up effortlessly.
"M-M-Mr. Otto?!" he stammered, and I was half-about to giggle at his expression - Faen now looked like one of those rubber chickens you could buy for a dollar at the gift shop.
"Okay, you're officially much easier to hold than eight babies." Johan smiled, before waving to me. "See you around, Ashley."
He proceeded to jog away, Faen over a shoulder, humming something that sounded suspiciously like a nursery rhyme.
Well. That was truly a sight to behold.
"No kidding," Lucille agreed as she walked out of a nearby door. "Zhat takes a good amount of strength for sure. Faen is not short."
"Yeah…" I sighed. That was something else entirely. "Hey, have you found anything?" Lucille was pretty fast, so I figured asking wouldn't hurt.
"Non." She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Doesn't look like anyone else has found anything either." I sighed. "The pilots sure are good at hiding."
"What did you expect? Zhey're ze pilots!" Lucille grumbled. "I'm willing to bet moi career that they're the ones who made this airship in the first place, so it'll take forever for us to find them!"
I raised a finger, but dropped it soon after. "Point conceded."
After saying goodbye to Lucille, I walked around for a while on my lonesome, at this point rather tired of running. Most of the time was spent looking in one room or another. In one of said rooms I found Eric, doing what looked like fencing moves on thin air with his rapier.
"Eric, what are you doing? Aren't you looking for the pilots?" I asked politely.
He whirled around, sword clattering to the ground. "Ashley! Christ, you fucking scared me!" He cursed, dropping his accent in shock.
"Um, sorry." I looked at him. "What are you doing, though?"
He sighed and bent over to pick up his sword. "...I gave up. I'm far from the best at searching, and my mobility's taken a piss so I can't move around quite as fast, so I decided I'd rather practice my moves. Y'know, so I can give those bastards the ol' one two once someone else finds them."
"...Sounds to me like you were just lazy."
This time, I was just as shocked as Eric. Maya walked into the room, a very familiar gleam in her eyes - one that served as an omen of bad things to come.
"Bloody 'ell, Maya!" Once Eric saw who it was, though, he relaxed, if only slightly. I quickly stepped to the side once he started moving towards her. "You very nearly gave me a heart attack-"
"It slipped." She raised an eyebrow. "Your fake accent slipped earlier."
"Hey, it's not bloody fa-"
She stood up, pulling her sword from her back and taking a step menacingly towards the Stage Fighter. "Oh, trust me, Eric, I've failed at imitating accents - but I still know when somebody's trying to play the rest of us. Now, why are you faking who you are?"
"I-" He faltered.
She took another step closer. "Or perhaps that bravado of yours is just an act?"
"M-Maya…" He took a slow step back, then another, and then continued to stumble backwards right into a wall. "I...don't want to fight you." He half-threatened, half-admitted.
For a moment, there was something about Maya's expression that made her look...conflicted?
"Excuse us, Ashie," whatever it was, it faded off as Maya returned to her normal grin. "It's about time lover-boy here understands just what he's getting into."
She didn't have to tell me twice. Poor Eric.
I ducked out of the room and continued my search, only to run into Nico inside the casino, which looked nothing like the day before, and instead more like the casino I had seen on the first day we were captured.
"Hey, Ashie," she greeted, before gesturing to the roulette table. "D'you think the pilots just went back to wherever they came from through the glass chamber downstairs? It'd make sense, I think."
She did have a point - knowing the pilots and their nature, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume they were leading us on a wild goose chase. Still…
"Maybe, but I don't think they'd try to hide." I responded. "Clearly, they want us to find them - we just don't know where to look."
"Yeah…"
It was then that I noticed something slightly...off. Specifically, while I was used to Nico hanging around closer to me, this time, she was keeping a bit of distance. "Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Uh…" she twiddled her fingers, "Just being completely honest with you, Ashie, but I've got to be a bit on my guard around you." She shook her head. "Not that I don't trust you - you're my best friend up here, but I'm just...y'know, with the motive and Hideki and all."
I was torn between blushing and feeling mildly insulted, though I understood the latter. I guess it wasn't too hard for her to pick up on Sigmund- no, Hideki and I, and considering the shit he almost tried to pull two nights ago, it would make sense for Nico to be apprehensive about him. Still, I was sure that Hideki wouldn't do anything stupid...right?
"At least, I'm pretty sure I can trust you, and this heart knows why." She put a hand to her chest, and I understood. "I'll just ask you to be on your guard. I've got more reason to, since I'm an easier target to pick off, but you're the glue that keeps us together. Be safe, yeah?"
I nodded, and hugged her. "Thank you, Nico. Now, let's go find the Pilots."
"Al-right!" she cheered. "They still owe me one breakfast, and I sure as hell am gonna collect!"
"Collect?"
That was a new voice.
"You really think they're gonna give you shit? Quit deluding yourself." Sasha sighed as they entered the room. "Those two are pure fucking evil, Birza. They're never giving you anything."
"Well excuuuuuse me, gender-neutral-term-for-a-princess-I-don't-remember-or-know!" was her response. "A sheila can hope, y'know?"
"..." Sasha just frowned at her. "...whatever you say, Birza." They sighed, leaning back against the wall. "...speaking of the damn pilots, either of you find anything? I haven't found shit." They sounded really irritated, possibly by Nico's comment.
"Nothing on the first floor as far as I can tell." She turned to me, "And I'm pretty sure Ashie doesn't have anything either."
"Yep. On the bright side," I giggled slightly, "I now know what Faen's surprised face looks like! If any of us can get a camera, we need to take a picture of it and frame it."
"Ooh! What was it, like, just a-" Nico opened her mouth in the shape of an 'O', "-kind of shocked face, or a-" she bulged her eyes and animatedly gasped, "-'oh no, I am a dude-in-distress!' kind of look?"
"It doesn't matter. We are searching for a couple of psychos. The gossip can wait." Sasha sighed, glaring at Nico. "Look, they've gotta be somewhere, right? We can't just give up searching for them because it's hard. Life is hard. We might as well just gather ourselves and deal with it. Where's Kenta?" They sighed at the very mention of him. "He's annoying as hell and super condescending but at least he's...competent."
"I don't know. He's the only person I haven't seen yet," I said slowly.
"Alright, then. Want to help me look for him? I haven't seen him either." Somehow the invitation seemed more aimed at me than Nico.
"He was around the medical room last I saw him if I remember correctly," Nico offered, not seeming very eager to help. "If you want to go look for him I'd start there."
"...thanks." Sasha stood up from their perch against the wall, staring pointedly at me. "Either of you care to come with me?"
"Uh...Can I decline for now?" Nico shifted her eyes. "I think the two of us would work better separately than together, y'catch my drift?"
Sasha nodded. "Yeah. I'm inclined to agree with you. Ashley?"
I wanted to go with them, but something told me the two of us had different goals in mind for when we found him. "Maybe we should search on our own? We can cover more ground that way."
Sasha seemed a bit saddened, but nodded. "Yeah. You're right." And with that they turned and left.
We left for our separate ways after that. I eventually did find Hideki, sitting down by his lonesome in one of the ballroom's alcoves. He was looking over...something.
"Oh, Ashley," he greeted, his singular eye not leaving the papers strewn on the table. "If you're wondering what these were, they're all I have left of JJ's files - my own records."
"I see…" I took a seat opposite him. "What's...going through your mind?"
"Hm?" He looked up. "Why the question?"
"Y'know, the motive and whatnot." I sighed. "It's not like I don't believe in you, but after what happened, I don't know if anyone really trusts you anymore. And it's even worse because you're…" I trailed off, unsure of how to put it.
"One of the people who could benefit from it?"
Ah, there you go.
"I understand your concerns, just as I understand how there's a huge target on my back for my sins." He grunted. "I assure you that I have no wish to attempt any more murder upon this airship, especially not for a reason as petty as this one."
I took his hand. "Stay strong. I know we can get through this. Together if that's the case."
His features softened, and he nodded, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "Of course! I still have some measure of pride I need to keep alive."
Before either of us could continue any further, Maya popped her head into the room. "Oi, lovebirds," she yelled, "You might wanna get your asses upstairs! Tweedledee and Tweedledumbass are at the swimming pool!"
Wasting no time, we followed after her.
1st Floor Aft
2nd Floor Aft
Selected Level: 2nd Floor Aft
Swimming Pool
Changing Rooms
Arcade
Gym
Fast Food Place
Laundry Room
Selected Area: Swimming Pool
When I got there, Yukari was taking pleasure in trying to shoot down Sasha amidst a flurry of Russian curses.
With Nerf bullets.
Huh. That's...an odd change of pace.
"One does not simply waste real bullets on a comrade." Yukari drawled, and I blushed. I must have been talking out loud again. "It costs four hundred thousand dollars to fire one of my guns for twelve seconds, and even more to make sure I don't kill them with any of the rounds. S'not fun to shoot people when they're dead."
"For once, I disagree." While she was still toying with the Political Activist and simultaneously keeping the rest of us at bay with the ostensibly-real pistol in her other hand, Ataru was busy doing...something.
"Depending on the person, there's usually some schadenfreude in shooting their corpses just to spite the people unlucky enough to be alive and watching," he murmured, knocking his knuckles across the floor under the waterslide's staircase. "Okay, maybe I should have at least marked out which damned tile it was."
"Take all the time you want, Ataru dearest," Yukari replied in a sing-song manner, before reloading another clip of styrofoam bullets and taking aim. It was off, and Sasha dodged the bullet, with it hitting-
PING! "Fuck!"
Maya turned to the blonde-haired girl, growling angrily. "The hell did you shoot a bullet at me for? I don't care if you have beef with the wack hacktivist-"
"Hey!" PING! "Blyad!"
Ignoring Sasha's attempted interruption, she continued, "But I do have a particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you, because," she pulled out her Electro-ID, "I'll find a way to make your life a hell without breaking any of your fucking rules. And you can't exactly kill me otherwise, can you?"
The Pilot took one long, hard look at her, before shrugging, and shooting Maya in the forehead. "Then I guess you're gonna have to just be collateral damage." Yukari simpered.
Oh, you've done it now...
Before Maya could presumably do what she was going to do (and believe me, if what she said was true about how she could get away with it, I was all onboard), a loud, mechanical click sounded throughout the otherwise spacious swimming pool. What was one click quickly burst into a cacophony of clicks, as more steps began to unfold from the staircase.
Simultaneously, I felt the ground begin to shake. The tiles beneath my feet rumbled, before the area where Ataru was crouching by folded into itself.
Slowly, a new stairwell formed itself, leading down from the base of the staircase into the unknown. Satisfied, Ataru got up, before pulling out his Electro-ID.
PING! "Oooow!" I groaned, rubbing my forehead where I'd been shot.
"Eyes off, Jubilee. He's my boyfriend." Yukari sneered.
"Okay, jeez, what's your problem?" Nico spoke up, slightly angry. "You don't have to indiscriminately shoot us as you please!"
In response, Yukari shot her as well. "Meh. Deal with it."
A series of loud beeps echoed out through the room, before both Pilots looked at each other and nodded, satisfied.
"Well, our job here is done." Ataru pointed at the new set of stairs leading down. "Enjoy your next and final unlocked area - the basement of this airship of ours. Have fun."
As the two left, all of us looked at each other uncertainly, silently encouraging the others to take the first step and go down. None of us really dared to, though - I admit I was afraid it could be a trap.
"Well, since it looks like I'm the most expendable, yet again…"
Maya strode forward, before jumping over the railing onto the top step. "Get in, losers, we're going shopping."
Act 3-4 FIN
11 Students Remaining
A/N:
A summary of why this took so long:
[00:33:39] SDproductions: Well, I'm waiting for you, really.
[00:33:47] Limeade Space Dorito: WELL I WAS WAITING FOR YOU
[00:33:50] SDproductions: Huh.
[00:33:58] Limeade Space Dorito: Miscommunication shenanigans. Let's get to work.
In all seriousness, however, this year is National Examination year for me, and right after posting this chapter, I have to brush up on my physics. It's not a good time to be an Asian - on TV or off it.
RIP Woo, you were a badass Ninja. - SD
And I've been sorta dying on the inside this entire time. Regardless, I'm happy to have AFoFD back distracting me from my constant misery. And I have a question of the day for you guys - is there a visible difference between SD's writing style and my own? Like do you read certain passages and know that one of us wrote that passage in particular? I'm sorta curious. -Lime