The abandoned house looked like all the other houses, well, at least the outside did. Noodle and 2D looked around the large room, seeing pieces of junk standing in front of them.
"What is all this stuff?" asked Noodle. "I don't know, but let's look for that fail-safe." said 2D.
The two split up and searched the house. Noodle went upstairs while 2D searched the ground floor. They turned over every electrical device they found, looked at every little detail, but nothing stuck out. The fail-safe wasn't there.
After an hour of searching, they re-grouped in the living room. "What are we going to do, where could that fucking switch be?!" demanded Noodle. "I don't know, this is the only place it could be since this is where Braun likes to go all the time." sighed 2D. The girl ran a hand through her hair, eyeing the gnome before her.
"Why is all this junk out anyway?" asked Noodle. She poked it for there to be a small sound before a buzzer. "What the hell was that?" asked 2D. "I-I have no clue." said Noodle.
She tapped the gnome again for the same noise and then the buzzer. 2D looked at the rest of the junk and nodded. "Maybe the fail-safe is hidden and can only be accessed by a password." said 2D. "So then these things aren't junk, they're part of the password." said Noodle.
2D nodded and looked at the objects. A bottle, the gnome, a cinder block, a pitcher, and a broken radio. "The gnome made a sound in a D key, so maybe the password is a tune?" wondered 2D. "You know a lot on music?" asked Noodle. "Ya, whenever I was alone, I'd play around with some musical things." confessed 2D.
Noodle smiled and she looked at the objects. "Well, let's find out what keys we have to work with." said Noodle. She touched each object, getting the different tunes. The bottle made an A key, the cinder block made a B key, the pitcher made a C key and the broken radio made an F key. "Okay, so what song or tune needs these key sounds?" asked Noodle.
2D thinks for a moment, he couldn't think of a tune with these sounds. "Wait, Noodle, have you heard any songs while trapped here?" asked 2D. "No, well, just this one on the radio, but it just plays over and over." said Noodle. "Can you hum it for me?" asked 2D.
The girl gives a small nod and hums the tune she's been hearing for four months. Noodle made sure to hit the exact notes, and the bluenette smiled. "I think that's the password, let me try." said 2D. He goes to the objects, toughing each one. "F, C, D, C, B, D, A." muttered 2D.
They waited a few seconds before they heard a large static-like noise. The two looked towards the right wall to see it disappear, being replaced by a large terminal. "That's it, we did it!" cheered Noodle. "Ya, now let's get out of here." said 2D.
The bluenette went to the terminal and turned it on. There were a few diary entries, all about different simulations that Braun ran before growing bored of it. Plus one talked about the fail-safe, that he would live, but the rest of the residents would die.
"Noodle, if we do this, the people in here will die." said 2D softly. The young girl patted his arm and sighed. "2D, these people are already dead, in the real world, here, they are like Old Lady Dithers, trapped in this endless hell." said Noodle.
The small boy looked at her as she smiled sweetly. "They're trapped, and forced to be this sadist's playthings, they need to move on, 2D, this will be showing them something Braun never did, it'll show them mercy." said Noodle.
2D nodded and looked at the terminal, she was right, this was what was best for the residents. They were already dead, their minds were just trapped, a mercy killing is what they need. 2D smiled and pulled up the program for the fail-safe, about to activate it.
"Stop!" yelled a voice. The two turned to see Betty, well no, it was Braun. "Don't activate that." ordered Braun. "You can't tell us what to do, we're getting out and setting everyone free." said Noodle.
"They'll all be killed, they'll never come back." said Braun. "A mercy killing, they're already dead, they just need to be able to move on." said 2D. Braun looked at him to smile.
"But I've shown you mercy, Stuart." said Braun. "Ha, since when?!" demanded Noodle. "I used what I could to bring your parents back, they exist here, and if you want, I can make you your original age again, hell, I can even bring back ALL that you lost." said Braun.
2D was shocked when a see-thru version of Murdoc and Jonas appeared. "Mudsy, Jonas." muttered 2D. Noodle was horrified and grabbed his arm. "Don't fall for it, it's a trick!" said Noodle.
The little girl just laughed and looked at the bluenette. "It's your choice, you can stay here and have everything you wanted, or go back to that pain filled world where you're all alone." said Braun.
2D was silent as he looked at the see-thru versions of Murdoc and Jonas. He missed them so much, as well as his parents. He wanted them back so badly.
2D was unsure, till he looked at the Murdoc hologram and remembered. Back to when they were first traveling the wastes and they told their stories, and to when Murdoc was hesitate to return to Grayditch. They couldn't move forward till they faced their pasts, and they also couldn't let their grief stop them.
This Murdoc he was seeing, it wasn't HIS Murdoc. His lover was still alive and out in the Wasteland, he needed him.
Jonas and his parents were gone, and no computer could ever bring them back. He's accepted this thanks to Murdoc, and he can't abandon him.
How could he abandon Murdoc for something that isn't real?
"Jonas and my parents are gone, no computer can bring them back, and Murdoc, he's still out there, waiting for me in the Wasteland, I refuse to abandon him." said 2D. Braun was shocked and before he could do a thing, 2D had turned and activated the fail-safe. "2D." said Noodle softly.
It was silent till loud screaming and gunshots could be heard. Braun was already gone and the two kids ran outside. 2D and Noodle were shocked to see Chinese Soldiers running around, shooting, killing the residents.
Then, they saw Old Lady Dithers. She wasn't running, but looked at the two and smiled. She mouthed 'thank you' before she too was shot.
"Where's Braun?" asked 2D. "The island." said Noodle. The two ran to the island, avoiding the Chinese Soldiers.
Braun was watching, a pissed look on his face. "Well, you ruined everything, now I am stuck in here." said Braun. He sighed and looked to the ground before sitting. "Alone in here, forever." said Betty.
She shut her eyes and suddenly, a door appeared. "Is this the way out?" asked Noodle. "Ya, now go, I can't, I'm dead too, but I can't be killed in this simulation, guess this is punishment for all that I did." sighed Betty. 2D and Noodle would have felt bad, if not for the knowledge of all the horrible things he did.
Noodle ran through the door and 2D went to follow. "Stuart, before you go." said Braun. The Bluenette looked to see an old man in a Vault 112 jumpsuit. Braun had returned to his original form. "You truly are a worthy opponent, so I wish you luck in finding Murdoc." said Braun.
2D was shocked as the old man slowly walked away. "Now leave, it's time for me to begin my solitude." said Braun. The blueneet nodded and looked at the open door.
Without another thought, 2D ran through the door, and back to the Wasteland.
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in forever, I've been caught up in life. Anyway,we now end the Tranquility Lane adventure. 2D and Noodle have escaped and Braun is left alone to rot in the simulation. What will happen next? Stay tuned and plz review.