Author's Note: Beep boop, Shin Megami Tensei IV is great.
Also hey I posted my 3DS friend code on my profile.
Please hang out with me.
The story is now on ON.
Chapter 6: The Unfun Attractions
The Batter had a good idea on where the pedalo appeared. He led his duo of Add-Ons away from the Gomez Galleries (which was still being eaten up by flames). Upon reaching the library, they took a right and went down the next path to the west side of Bismark, where the mainland faced the far-off amusement park. Thankfully, the Batter's hunch was right, as, bobbing in the liquid plastic, was a nice pedalo.
Omega scrunched his thoughts together, trying to figure out why a button in the northern part of town would spawn something in the western part. "Hmm... I-I believe that the b-button we found in the shopping gallery is used for a monetary factor. I-If I recall, the amusement park has free admission, s-so naturally, some people want to make money off of it. Yes... the merchants at the Gomez Galleries most likely charged people to get rides to the island. That... that makes perfect sense."
"Why are you always rambling?" the Batter openly asked.
"...I-I'll be quiet..."
The Batter got into the water vehicle, setting his feet against the pedals. Alpha floated closely to the vehicle. He stared into the plastic, recalling the fight against the Valzong-Burnt; then he started to speculate what effects the burning mall would have on the citizens. "Those Elsens better not turn into Burnts because of that fiasco..."
Omega was curious about his change in demeanor. "Are you saying that because... you're... worried about the Elsens."
"Pffft. No. I'm just tired of fighting stupid Burnts. Yeah."
"All Elsens eventually become Burnt, in time." the Batter murmured.
"Hmm? What do ya mean by that?"
"Recall the Elsens in Zone 1. They were stressed, they were tired, they were overworked - which lead to them taking their spectral forms." The Batter started pedaling, the rows making nice splashing sounds, which was comforting in comparison to the sound of churning meat. "If things continued to run its course, many Elsens would have become Burnt. The offices would become graveyards and the meat would contain more blood than it naturally contains."
Alpha quietly admitted in his head that he was probably right.
"All Elsens in this world will become Burnts, spurned on by a variety of troubles - good intentioned people being filled with grief and becoming monstrous abominations. The same will run its course here - the Elsens here are notably more paranoid."
"That... is a tragic truth." Omega confirmed. "I've heard some stories... of Elsens locking themselves away in their homes... the, um, comforts aren't enough to quell their paranoia."
"Exactly. However, if I purify the Zones..." the Batter was interrupted as the pedalo slammed into the tiny island that has the staircase that leads underground. "Oh, we're here."
The man disembarked. From there, he could see that the amusement park was on a raised platform (presumably because of government regulations. Or something.), so the only way to go was down.
There was a well-lit tunnel underground, which goes in the direction of the park; most likely, it's an underground entrance.
"Omega, do you know anything about the amusement park?" the Batter requested.
"Indeed I do!" the Add-On answered, joyful that his information laden rants were finally going to be useful. "T-the amusement park was constructed by... a man named... Zacharie, commissioned by this Zone's guardian."
"Zacharie?" the other Add-On asked.
"Yes. Do you, um, know him?"
"He's the mask wearing chump from earlier."
"Oh, really now? That's fascinating! Although, he doesn't... er... look like a chump to me."
"Maybe it's because you're a chump too."
"Wha-? I-I am no "chump"!"
"Well, you sure as hell act like one."
"W-why I never..."
"Please don't fight." the Batter interrupted. "Continue, Omega."
'Right. Acting belligerent isn't, um, good." the intelligent Add-On coughed. "Now, back on topic. The park consists of three attractions: a balloon popping game that's a variation of the logical Game of Nim challenge, a pedalo ride through sweet smelling plastic, and a rollercoaster. However, um, recent public displeasure has lead to the old rollercoaster being shut down and replaced with, er, a new, more family friendly and less danger prone ride. There is a rumor that there's a switch in the pedalo ride attraction that grants access to the old rollercoaster, but, it's m-merely speculation."
"I-interesing." his handler replied.
"...? Is something wrong, Batter? I noticed you stammering."
"I'm fine." the man insisted. They finally reached the end of the tunnel and they ascend up to the surface.
The sun, or whatever constituted as the sun in the world of OFF, shined above the amusement park's entrance; nearby the sun, the structure of a rollercoaster was seen, as if it was trying to reach for it. Like the rest of Bismark, the park is a relaxing pink, easing visitors as they tour around.
They were in the queue to the amusement park, which was devoid of any other souls; considering that the only way in what inaccessible until that point, of course it would be empty, you ding dongs. However, there was something... ominous in the queue. The trio of heroes, forced by social and game mechanics, had to slowly go through the snaking path, heading ever so closer and closer to the thing. The object floated ominously as they approached and...
...the balloon exploded, jarring Omega.
"Aaaah!" the startled Add-On screamed.
"Chump." coughed Alpha..
The Batter crouched down and sifted through the remains of the balloon (probably made of plastic or something) and then pulled a prize from its carcass. "A free Fortune Ticket? I'll accept it." He pocketed the ticket and they continued on their way. There was no one there to sell them tickets, so they continued unhindered; maybe Omega was right about the whole monetization thing.
The entrance led to an in-doors plaza, which had a few Elsens milling around. How they even got there is anyone's guess. One greeted the Batter and the Add-Ons as they entered. "Welcome to the amusement park, off the mainland of Zone 2. It's... a nice place, isn't it?"
The Batter looked around. While the place looked nice, it was dead silent. Which was the opposite of what parks should sound like. "I... suppose so."
"Yes. It is here that ordinary citizens can pursue fun activities to ease their boredom. It's located far off from the main city so that, uh, we won't bother people. As one of the three comforts, the amusement park is the most important.
"Without the amusement park, people will be bored. They will become restless until they descend into madness."
"...Sir..." Omega said. "I... I doubt that the lack of an amusement park would cause a city to, well, descend into... er... insanity."
"Well, regardless of what you believe, I hope you, er, have an enjoyable time. I know I am." the Elsen cracked a little smile. "I am having the time of my life, standing around in this lobby. The o-other attractions are just too... hhh... extreme for me."
The Elsen briefly had a recollection about the park's attractions.
He promptly doubled over and threw up.
"...We should leave." Alpha said, to the agreement of his other two teammates. They went down the hallway to their right, where they find an Elsen blocking the door in the middle of the hallway.
"I-I'm sorry, you cannot enter this room." the Elsen rasped. "Only the boss can enter... u-unless you're an acquaintance of his."
The three heroes glanced at each other, questioning if they're close enough with Zacharie to enter his room and take his shit.
"...Before you ask, buying things from him does not constitute as... a proper friendship."
Rejected by the guard, the three went back to the plaza (the Elsen that had thrown up was now unconscious due to trauma from throwing up). They had several questions in their minds, however, the most important question that they were all subconsciously agreeing on was...
"What now?" they said in unison.
"I'm not sure." the Batter stated. "As far as we know, this place is completely irrelevant to our goals."
"It has to have some importance though, right? That barricade from earlier was practically asking for us to go around the fucking place to press that damn button." Alpha pointed out.
"We need to investigate further before we, ah, jump to conclusions." suggested Omega.
"Right. To investigate this place quickly, we should split up. Again." plotted the Batter.
"Hopefully, no more arson will be committed."
"I'll try not to."
"Alright. I'm going to check out the pedalo attraction. Don't try arguing with me." Alpha said, floating down the hallway they just walked through before the others could choose.
"Ooookay... well, my choice is f-fairly obvious - I choose the balloon popping game." said Omega. "I know about the Game of Nim, so I may be able to outmaneuver my opponent."
Despite it being a sensible choice, the Batter actually raised an objection to it. "But... I don't want to go to the rollercoaster."
"You... don't want to...?"
"I-I mean..." he stammered before composing himself to his usual stoic self. "I don't want to go yet. I'll ask around for information first before I do so."
"Oh, I see! For a second, I had the impression that you have a phobia of rollercoasters!"
"That's utterly ridiculous."
Despite that, the Batter found himself shaking a little.
Luckily, Omega had already turned his back. Or... whatever qualifies as his back. "Good luck on your end, Batter."
"You too."
After his Add-On left, the purificatory hero let out a rather loud sigh of relief, lifted up his hat a bit, and brushed away the sweat that was forming on his forehead.
Surprisingly, Alpha was enjoying the attraction.
He had foregone the pedalo at the entrance, instead, opting to float over the plastic. The plastic gave off a warm aura, relaxing the Add-On's spherical body as he slowly traversed across the liquid, the scent of flowers invading his senses. It was like Heaven, if Heaven is rose-scented. The whole experience had him forgetting things, such as the fact that he's essentially helping a guy who's sociopathic (at best) murder the leaders of the world.
Along the way, he encountered balloons such as the one at the entrance, all containing prizes, which he made sure to get. The prize-collecting was fun to him, especially since he wasn't being hindered by the hidden rollers in the plastic that would have pushed away pedalos trying to get prizes.
Then, he came across something: a switch that was on on, with a sign telling him not to switch it.
So of course, he chose to switch it on off.
"Should I explain the rules to this game?"
Omega was outside with an Elsen behind a booth that was running the balloon popping game. There were 13 balloons floating between them and Omega had already formulated a strategy; as long as he avoided getting stuck with 5 balloons, he could lead himself to victory.
"Yes, I am aware of the rules." the Add-On answered; they take turns popping one, two, or three balloons and the person left with one balloon left loses.
"Okay. But I warn you, this game isn't for, ah, the faint-hearted."
"Er... I can take it."
"Ah... well, I feel the need to mention that if you lose, you may become, um... depressed, so be careful. Of course, if you win, you get... a grand prize, so there's that to consider. Now, let's... begin." the Elsen prodded a single balloon and it popped.
Suddenly, a scream resonated from the plaza. "The sp-specters are upon us!"
The man running the game ignored him. "Your turn."
Omega popped one balloon. The Elsen popped three. Omega took out three, ensuring his victory. The Elsen popped one. Somewhere, more Elsens screamed from the sound of popping. Omega then eliminated three.
The Elsen stared blankly at the final balloon, as if in a trance. Then, he slowly said, "I... I lost? That's... hhhh... impossible. I've cheated the whole time."
"What?" the Add-On seemed more confused than outrage. "It's... it's impossible to cheat at this game. You'd have to be blatantly popping more balloons than allowed to-"
"You... you..." the Elsen pointed a pale, bony finger at him as smoke started to spill from his mouth. "You bear me much ill-will!"
Then, with a pop that was more resounding than the pops of the balloons, the Elsen's head combusted. Omega quickly backed away, frightened by the sudden transformation. He watched as a Valzong-Burnt approached from where the game runner was once standing.
"This... isn't... g-good." Omega said to himself.
The "new" rollercoaster was only a coaster in name. Chairs spread into rows, affixed to the ground held Elsens in seatbelts. Despite the ride being completely stationary (and not a ride at all), its occupants were terrified. One Elsen at the very front had his head hanging to the side, as he had fallen unconscious due to how extreme the ride was. Another was crying. Even the Batter found the whole thing pitiable.
However, even the Batter had fear in his heart, but it wasn't toward the new rollercoaster.
The Batter glanced at the old rollercoaster, which was blocked off by a gate. The wooden structure stretches into the sky, being strangled by the clouds. He briefly imagined being up there and became almost as nauseous as the Elsen in the plaza.
He was scared of heights. He could handle scaling up a tower if he was indoors, but he was frightened when a chance to fall and splatter on the ground was presented. The holy mission he was on could be cut short by just a fall - specters can be killed, but not the laws of physics, and don't we all want to kill physics?
Thankfully, the area the Batter was in was fairly safe and oh shit wait, is that the gate opening? Oh yeah, it's opening. It's as if someone somewhere flipped a switch. Regardless, go investigate, Batter.
"I..." the Batter clenched his fist. "O-okay."
He advanced toward the rollercoaster, trying to maintain his stoic composure. At the very base of the coaster was a stall with an Elsen inside it.
"...? How... did you get in here?" the Elsen asked.
"The gate's open now." the man paused. "On that note, how did you get in here if the place was closed?"
"I've been trapped here... since the rollercoaster closed."
"Oh."
"I... I keep waving at the people beyond the fence, but they say that it's too dangerous to... attempt a rescue." he then coughed and changed the subject. "Since the gate's open I... suppose this ride is now open. Every ride is free and comes with a free commemorative photo. It's fun. For the whole family."
"...and... how do I get on?"
The worker pointed at a narrow staircase leading up toward a slightly unstable platform.
"...Of course."
Alpha had dipped himself in the plastic and was now enjoying the rose-scented liquids as if it was a hot tub. Ah.
Meanwhile, a bruised Omega was flying around the area of the balloon popping game, occasionally turning to hit the Valzong-Burnt that was chasing him.
"S-Sir, you are over-reacting!" screamed Omega.
"Aaaaaaargh!" screeched the Valzong-Burnt in reply. He pounced toward the floating right, burnt claws outstretched. Omega let out a scream and striked back with Optimised Blur. A horrible cracking noise came from the Burnt as the hit connected and the monster was knocked aside.
"O-o-oh no! Are you... alright?" asked Omega, appalled by what he did himself; sure, the Elsen was aggressive and started the fight, but he didn't want it to end like this.
"You... you... win..." the Valzong-Burnt stammered. He put his hand in his pocket and shakily brought out a small box as he started to fade. "Take... it..."
Then he died.
Now Omega was feeling worse, considering that the Valzong-Burnt still honored the game by giving him a prize. The Add-On opened the box, to see if the whole thing was worth it.
He pulled out a necktie.
"...I... I m-murdered somebody over a necktie?"
The Batter finally reached the top of the stairs, after several minutes of taking careful steps. A rollercoaster cart was on the tracks right next to the platform, in pristine condition, despite not being in use for awhile. The platform was also barren... with the exception of a stone statue of Zacharie - the likeliness was uncanny.
"I-I should ride in front." the Batter told himself, planning to take his fear head-on in hopes of quelling it. Before he got in, however, he glanced at the statue once again.
Then, he remembered the Elsen guarding Zacharie's office and the photo that would come with the ride.
With that, an idea clicked into his head...
When Alpha entered the plaza after a relaxing time, he found that everyone inside was running around and screaming.
"I h-hear explosions! It is the end!"
"Why can't I get over this wall! The sp-specters will devour me!"
"Wow, look at these pools of plastic indoors. What a crazy concept."
"I don't want to expire!"
"Aaaah I'm screaming!"
However, there didn't seem to be any specters in sight, so Alpha didn't really care. He was concerned, though, when Omega arrived, bruised and bloody. "Oh shit, what happened?"
"I... I have committed a crime..."
"...How hardcore was that balloon popping game?"
"..." Omega was silent.
"Ooookay." Alpha dodged to the side to allow a running Elsen pass him. "Let's see how the Batter's doing."
The Batter flopped out of the rollercoaster car and started crawling, legs too shaky to support him. "How degrading..." he thought. He resisted the urge to void the contents of his stomach, at least until he reaches the commemorative photo stand.
"Hello, sir. Are you... feeling well?" the Elsen asked as he spotted the tunic wearing man crawling toward him.
"Eventually." the Batter answered, pulling out a Belial's Meat and chewing on it in hopes of making him feel better.
"Right then. Here's your photo... oh my, you've ridden with the boss? You are a lucky man."
The Batter looked behind his shoulder and sees the stone statue of Zacharie in the rollercoaster cart, which he pushed in himself. He slowly got up, pulling himself together. He thanked the Elsen for the photo and swiped it out of his hands before walking away with an air of relief.
When he returned to the new coaster site, he found his Add-Ons there, waiting for him. "Hey Batter, I got some sweet shit." said Alpha, handing all the prizes he found in the pedalo attraction.
"Thanks." the Batter turned his head toward Alpha and frowned. "What happened to you?"
"I have d-done a heinous deed..."
"Okay." with that, the Batter casually healed him.
"So, are we leaving this place already?" asked Alpha.
"Not yet. I have something that might get us into Zacharie's office." they went over to where the Elsen guard was (on the way, the Add-Ons had to explain that the Elsens were panicking for no reason to prevent the Batter from going on a specter hunt).
"...Y-you again?" the Elsen said, who was sweating furiously and was trying to keep himself from freaking out like his brethren.
"I have proof that we're friends with Zacharie." the man pulled out the commemorative photo.
"Oh! Y-you've ridden with the boss? How wonderful. That's something friends do. You may enter; now, if you excuse me..." the Elsen started to run in circles, freaking out as bad as nearly everyone else before bumping into a wall and knocking himself out cold.
"What's on that photo? Lemme see." Alpha demanded.
The Batter looked down at the photo. It showed him screaming his head off and holding on for dear life while Zacharie's statue screamed lifelessly. He faced Alpha and said, "I don't know."
"I know something's on there! Show it to me!"
Without any reasonable method to get rid of his embarrassing moment, the Batter opted to stuff the photo in his mouth and swallow it.
"...Ooookay." the Add-On backed away from him.
They entered the office, which seemed to be less of an office and more of a place to stash things. There were several treasure chests in the room, which the heroes were eager to open up in hopes of advancing their goal. Unfortunately, there was nothing plot relevant in the chests - only orbs of different colors.
"What are these...?" a legitimately confused Batter questioned.
Omega seemed to recognize them. "Oh... these are orbs. Using them on one's self st-stengthens their attributes, such as physical strength and the mental strength that empowers Competences."
"Are these relevant to our goals?"
"No, no they're not."
"So... what exactly did we accomplish?" inquired Alpha, wondering if there was a point to this whole amusement park area that's been going on for 2000+ words so far.
"These orbs are useful, but not exactly what we were looking for." the Batter said with a scowl on his face.
"...I murdered a man over a necktie." Omega said quietly.
"A necktie?"
Omega sadly nodded. Or shook. Whatever, he's a fucking onion ring.
They shared the orbs, the people needing them the most raising their attributes, before leaving the office. The amusement park area was calmer than it was earlier; of course, that's only because a majority of the frenzied Elsens conked themselves out during all the hysteria. As they exited out to the park's entrance, they started to wonder where they should go next, and whether it'd actually be worth it or not.
A cat licked his fur in victory, another horde of phantoms banished.
Japhet, or rather, Valerie, stood out on one of the library's balconies near the top of the tower, overlooking the city. There was much more work to be done about the specters, and some of them still lingered in the tower itself like the dusty, untouched books.
His eyes wandered over to the northern part of the city, which was now nothing more than smoldering ruins. On one hand, the specters in that area were all extinguished. On the other hand, it no longer existed, which was definitely a problem.
"That tunic-wearing felon... he must have done this..!" Valerie said to himself in a bitter tone "He's a threat to my people... nay, to the Queen's world! That man must be rid of!"
His eyes continued to look down on the dreary buildings. Then, among all the pink, he spotted what looked like a white cloud, floating toward the residential district.
"...Hold on... real clouds do not float that low..."
The main party reached the mainland, riding in a new pedalo. The Batter and stretched his legs while Alpha complained, "That was a waste of time; a nice waste of time but still a fucking waste of time."
"Yes, I doubt that a-anything we did back there was relevant. I only hope that this necktie will be, uh, important."
"Alright, so, what part of the city have we not been to aside from the higher floors of the library?" asked the Batter.
"We haven't been to the east side." Alpha suggested.
"Perfect. If we don't find anything there, we can just wait for the Judge to come around to see if he knows anything." said the Batter.
After a few minutes of walking, they arrive at the other end of the city. The residential area of Bismark is boxed in, with a blockade at its only entrance, like a gated community. There was an Elsen near the blockade, who gave them a suspicious look.
"I-I'm sorry sirs, but I cannot let you... in. Only residents may enter. You must understand that it's for the... hhh... safety of our citizens."
The three turned away from the Elsen to discuss how to get in. "Maybe there's a switch somewhere?" Alpha suggested quietly.
"Maybe. There's usually a switch." the Batter whispered back.
"Or could we just bribe the guy?"
"With what?" Omega replied.
"That stupid tie you're carrying, maybe?"
"Tie...? ...Hold the phone!" Omega shouted, jarring his two allies. "Batter, hold still!"
The Batter, although shocked, chose not to question the Add-On as he flew around him, tying the necktie to his neck.
The Elsen looked at him and had a sudden 180. "Oh! I apologize, I didn't recognize you as a citizen, um, at first!"
The Batter and Alpha were baffled as to how the tie managed to convince him, but they were glad that they were having some progress done. Without any visible method, the Elsen lowered the blockade to allow the Batter through. However, before Alpha and Omega could enter, the Elsen blocked their way.
"Sorry!" the Elsen looked apologetic. "Even if you're, um, friends with him, you still cannot enter without, well, a valid reason. How about you spend time in... the library? It's nice and safe there."
"Er... we do have a reason." Alpha said, with an awkward cough that told the others that he was totally making this up on the spot.
"Oh?"
"...We're from the union."
The Batter had a look of dismay while Omega looked befuddled.
"The union?" the second Add-On asked.
Alpha nudged him. "Yeah, the union. We're, uhhh... here to check the homes of the workers! To see if they're safe and cozy, or some shit."
For a moment, it looked like Alpha had said something incredibly stupid. Thankfully, the Elsen is still a dipshit. "Oh... why didn't you say so? Please, come in. The safety of others come first, I suppose."
The Add-Ons entered - Alpha in particular was surprised that had even worked.
"Please never bring up the union ever again." the Batter muttered to Alpha.
"You guys are actually participating in a union?" asked Omega.
"We founded it. Not that we wanted to..."
The residential area is a nice, idyllic part of the Zone, where nothing usually happens - exactly how its citizens would prefer it to be. Just like with the rest of the city, it was unusually quiet, the only noises coming from the plastic streams that runs through the city. At least, it was supposed to be quiet.
In the northernmost part of the area, a voice could be heard. "...you must heed my warnings! Specters will be upon us any minute now and you must evacuate while I deal with the situation!"
The Batter, Alpha, and Omega went toward the voice and in the area's plaza, they saw Valerie, at the top of a set of stairs, trying to get attention from the Elsens there. However, it seemed that the cat was the judge of an unruly court, trying desperately to rein their attentions back to the matter at hand.
"Where is that voice coming from...?"
"Are the... sp-specters real?"
"No, it's presumably somebody throwing their voice, trying to prank us."
"Yes. This place is very safe."
"No! No it isn't!" screamed Valerie with a mixture of desperation and frustration.
"Where is the voice?"
"I only see an old cat..."
"See? Someone's pretending that the cat is speaking. What... a mean prank."
"C-cat? ….Cats sometimes carry diseases. I find that... unsettling."
"Listen to my pleas! I am Japhet, the creator of this city! I may not look like it, but..."
Valerie's begging was absorbed into nothingness as the Elsens started to speculate who was "pranking" them. Meanwhile, a light fog started to set it, as the situation worsens.
"What's with this damn fog?" Alpha openly asked. "Even I know that fog just doesn't come from nowhere."
Even the Batter and Omega were at a loss. Out of curiosity, the Batter tried to use Wide Angle to scan the Silent Hill like phenomenon. Then, the expression on his face flickered into a scowl when he identified it. "This isn't fog."
That's when the true nature of the fog revealed itself. Cackling came from deep within the fog, which alarmed everyone. Then, a smiling face appeared in the fog. Then another. Then another. Faces kept appearing until it became apparent that the laughter came from the fog itself. The villainous faces of the specters stared down at the Elsens, who started to panic.
"T-the specters are real!" one screamed while twitching.
"Hhhhh... won't... I won't let them get me!"
The Elsens then scattered, running into different directions while screaming. The fog then began to break off and separate into different parts; large specters with multiple faces forms, yet some of the faces were clamorous to break off into different bodies. However, one thing they shared other than a body was the desire to spook the shit out of the civilians. The phantoms started to float off, in pursuit of the Elsens. The self-proclaimed guardian let out an angry cry and launched himself at one of the specters, cutting it up with his claws.
The Batter and his companions looked at the hysteria surrounding him. Omega was as panicky as the Elsens. "Th-the sp-specters are everywhere! W-we need to r-r-restore order, or they'll continue to r-run amuck!"
"That's not the only thing to be concerned about." the Batter looked at the intense fear that the Elsens displayed on their faces and the light smoke spilling through their mouths.. "As I said, all Elsens will become Burnt sooner or later - this is only speeding up the process. If we don't deal with the specters quick enough, they won't be the only enemies to deal with."
The story is now on PAUSE.
Author's Note: Originally, this chapter would have had both the amusement park area and the residential area, but due to chapters constantly getting longer and longer, I only wrote the beginning of the residential area part of the game. However, the next chapter will finish up Zone 2; hopefully I finish it before I go to school.
...
Please don't let me go back to school.
I don't want to be burnt.