[[ NINE ]]
Suddenly, the lights go out, and thanks to the windowless nature of the building, it’s nearly pitch. The sound of popping fireworks erupts in the halls of the Coin Rush, illuminating the dark building’s interior in bright flashes. To me, it’s a little too similar to gunfire, and I nearly kick the table over for cover. I have to steel myself over whatever's coming next, vaguely recognizing I’m completely safe…
“L~adies~ an~d~ Gen~tlemen~!”
A voice is amplified over the thin crowd of people at the Coin Rush.
“Oh…!” Magnolia seems surprised, placing a hand over her lips in the darkness. “I recognize this voice!”
“Ge~t~ re~ady~~~!”
The Casino itself is built around a rather large 360 stage. At its center, spotlights began to light up one by one, illuminating four colorful figures frozen in various poses.
“Returning to you LIVE after a mission on the surface~~~!”
More fireworks are going off, and i find myself perturbed, but unmoving. On the stage, more lights begin to reveal the four actors on stage. They’re… NIKKEs?
“I~T’S DIE X FOUR, YOUR FAVORITE B-TIER SQUAD THAT PERFORMS WHEN 777 IS AWAY~!”
“Oh, how cute!” Magnolia says amid the chaotic sound of their announcements. “Tetra Line recently released the Die x Four, this must be their second performance since being formed! They’ve been on the surface for a little while since debuting with their first performance. What a treat!”
“... Yeah…” I say, still rattled by the fireworks.
“It’s Dai Die!”
“With Akai Die!”
“The~n~ Pa~i~ Die~!”
“And Wai Die, yep!!!”
Four clowny NIKKEs resume motion from their frozen stances as they announce themselves, a spotlight flashing onto their forms as their voices are heard. They break into jaunty little dances as music begins to play in different increments with every name they give, waving their hands at the mini crowd within Coin Rush. First is Dai Die; long blonde hair with a red-and-blue bodysuit and ruffled collar with a singular silly purple tie sticking out from its white ruffles. Akai Die has red hair in two neat pigtails, black ribbons keeping them up. She wears more of a blue-and-yellow dress with oversized sleeves, nearly hanging to her feet. Pai Die has pink hair and has a more sporty look with tied up hair that reaches her shoulders and a purple-and-cyan dress, this time with your average length sleeves. Finally came Wai Die, a blue-haired clown with a short trim; she sported a purple and blue striped top, blue pants, and a purple-and-blue polka dotted jester hat. and looked like the matron of the group. They all were eye-catching in their own rights as performers. I could roll with it, I guess, but I don’t recognize these girls from the game’s release. It starts to make me think I’m not in my game’s universe after all…
“Tonight~, we ha~ve~ a verrrry~ special performance for you!”
“Tonight, we will be showing you something toooootally amazing!”
“Tonight, we have even gotten special permissions to be able to directly hurt each other so it’s even MORE thrilling for you!”
“Tonight, that means our inhibitors to prevent attacking fellow NIKKE and humans are OFF, OFF, OFF!”
Off? They were able to get permission to turn them off? The audience gasps. Some don’t even know what it means, but they can see there’s a real thrill in the air now.
They all strike a hush pose to the audience.
“”””It’s OUR little secret, okay~?””””
They didn’t actually get permission?!
“To pro~ve~ to you we actually ha~ve our inhibitors off~, I’m going to demonstrate ju~st how spoo~ky it is to be able to hurt a fellow NIKKE!”
“Do it to me, Pai Die!”
“Yoooou~ got it, Dai Die!”
With that, Pai Die takes out her gatling gun with a massive THUNK! seemingly out of nowhere, charges it up and lays into Dai Die with a massive stream of bullet rain! I hold my breath and grip the counter I’m seated at, watching Dai Die get absolutely railed by this gun. But, she doesn’t fall apart. Red bloodlike material spews from a few wounds that are gathered over time, and Dai Die actually moves around to accept every bullet shot so it doesn't wind up in the audience.
“OWWIE OWWIE OWWIE OW OW OW! Rubber bullets HURT!” Dai Die yelps, but it’s clear she’s taking the pain all in good fun.
It’s something I can hardly envision, but watching them pull it off is as invigorating as it is unnerving. That much is proof enough for the audience to believe them, and several particular individuals in bunny suits are talking amongst each other tensely, clearly not happy with this development. I’m still not sure how it’s possible myself. I look over to Magnolia, and she gives a half-invested shrug. Looks like she doesn’t know anything about this, but she doesn’t look like she’s about to report this to Mustang either. That is, if everything goes to the clowns’ plans.
“Don’t worry everyone, all our weapons have RUBBER bullet ammo! We are IN THE CLEAR!”
Everyone seems sated, even the NIKKE that were murmured to one another before, but they’re clearly on the defensive. I, too, feel defensive, but Magnolia is clapping along.
“TONIGHT, we will be choosing o~ne luck~y~ guest~ to be our te~st subject~!”
“TONIGHT, we will be testing our aim on one lucky guest! We need to be so bad we couldn’t land a boo-boo if we tried!”
“TONIGHT, we give you… a game of RISK!”
“Except not really~,” Dai Die says, winking and blepping out her tongue. “Because we’re one of the Ark’s best squads right now! We’ll make our mark -- NOT on the human’s body! Yep!”
“Which one of you is it gonna beee!!”
The spotlights go insane. They swivel their beams all around the room wildly. Suddenly, I’m blinded by all four of them, and I can’t see anything but blinding white. I can hear Magnolia gasp from across the table, but her expression is hard to make out.
“Our lucky guest has been CHOSEEENNNN!”
“Iiiitt’s…”
“... Who~a~! It’s a NIKKE Comman~der~! We’ll be in BIIIG~ trou~ble~ if we mess up on this guy~!”
“You’ve got that right! Let’s get him on STAGE!”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Two of the clown NIKKEs hop off the stage and land with a loud thud, bolting their way to me.
“H-hang on--” I try to say, putting my hands up as the two apprehend me and take me away from my date. “-- This is wildly prohibited, we can’t just--”
“Yeah, yeah!” Akai Die says, slapping me hard on the back. “We’ll let you tell us what-for AFTER target practice! I promise you’ll be fine!”
This is insane -- this never happened in the game! Then again, it didn’t happen to the protagonist, and I'm not him. The sky's the limit for a random NPC, and that’s exactly who I am right now!
“He-help!” I yelp to the audience, but it’s no use. Their cheering drowns out my voice. “I really don’t wanna be on stage like this!”
I look back, and Magnolia’s giving me thumbs up. “You’re funded if you live!” She hollers, and I can’t help but gawk at her in shock at her lack of faith in these NIKKE. I’m not afraid of getting hurt…
… I’m afraid of being on stage!
Within seconds, I’m carried on stage by two powerful women and forcibly pinned up what looks to me entirely like a torture device. Any other guy’s dream, I’m sure, and maybe it’s mine too, but I’m on stage in front of a crowd of people! I want down! I want out! But if I show any more resistance, it’s going to make me look weird! As a Commander, I should be furious, okay, but not afraid! So I suck it up and glare my best glares at the four girls. They all jitter excitedly at my discontent.
“Ooh, he’s mad!”
“Do you think he’ll tell on us?”
“Play it cool, Commander!”
You’re lucky I have to!
The lights pan to us. A projector puts an image on me that I can’t see, but it’s a target practice board the girls apparently made themselves. Various places on the wall I’m strapped to have different point values in very tiny locations, and the girls are gathering their distance from me to make the shot even harder. The crowd is murmuring and chattering away, some in worry, others in enthusiasm. Meanwhile, I’m trembling like a leaf, my body vibrating just finely enough to make it hard for the audience to tell. There are… so many eyes on me right now. I’m gonna pee myself.
“Aaaalright, everyone! We’re gonna start firin’ away! Since Pai Die got to show off her weapons on me, I get to show off now!” Dai Die says, and brandishes a goofy looking rifle from who-knows-where. “Ba-bam! Time for shooty-tooties!”
With precise aim, Dai Die fires away at my direction, blowing a complete hole through the wall I’m pinned to within seconds.
“Waha! That’s 1000 points for me! And lookit that; the Commander is unharmed!”
“Sure, but you play it safe! I’m gonna shoot even closer to his nuts on my turn!” Akai Die says, hefting up a goofy rocket launcher from thin air. She takes a knee, and I’m jaw agape wondering if rubber rockets are a thing. Feeling a slight bit of danger in front of the rocket launcher, the silly weapon jets out a powdery rocket that explodes harmlessly between my legs, which are positioned apart, making something shrink inside of my body. Ah, those are my balls, aren’t they? Oh, that felt awful. A shower of glitter rains down from the explosion.
“You guys are soooo~ silly~!” Pai Die says. “It’s my~ turn again~! I’m gonna aim for the head! Aim for the head! Aim for the head! Aimforthehead!”
She readies her gatling gun again, and for a moment, something is off. I see a red flash in her eyes. It doesn’t register at first, but by the time it does, Pai Die’s gatling gun has charged fully, and a volley of rubber bullets pelt my right eye. I let off a cry of terror, and the audience mirrors me.
“Aiiiim for the head!”
Pain shoots through my skull, and I jerk my head aside just enough to where the precise aim of the NIKKE is overwritten by a new position. Instead of righting herself, Pai Die’s aim veers off.
“”“Pai Die?!”””
Oh, no.
She’s… She’s corrupted?!
“Do something!” Akai Die says to Wai Die, pushing her. But Wai Die can see it too.
“Stay back! She’s showing signs of corruption!” She bellows, and Akai Die and Dai Die take multiple steps back in shock. Wai Dai stands in front of them, and all around the room the sound of rubber bullets pelting various fixtures can be heard like a broken orchestra. Glass is shattering, people are screaming, and I have to do something.
I pull my hands free from the loose confines. They weren’t going to actually tie me down and winked at me when they fastened me up. The pain from Pai Die’s gatling gun is still stunning, but I manage to loose myself and draw my firearm. It’s a special grade weapon every Commander has, specifically meant for moments like this. I was just hoping it would remain irrelevant. Pai Die’s bullets are going everywhere, and while it’s not fatal, that doesn’t mean the audience isn’t at risk for injuries.
“Aim for the head! Aim for the head! A̸̡̼̙͔̜̫͇͍̮̦͛̒̊͛̋̋̄̇͘͠į̷̡̛̝̱͖̱̘̣̍̊̾̂͋m̵̟̜͕͔̝̽̋̄̏̃͗͌̂́̊ḟ̵̠̻͍́̀̀̓́̈́̉̚ö̷̪̠͈͙́̏͑̈̈́́͠͝͠r̸̡̬̗̫̱̮͎̊t̷̜̼̜͂h̴̡̢̨̛̥̼̘̦̝̻̺̆͋e̸̯̺͚̻͘̕͝ḩ̶͖̒̅͝e̵̢͖͓̥̞͕̠͉̱̊̀̓͜ȃ̴̝̂̌̊͋̿̿͝d̶̼̭̦̘͈̙̹͖̋͛̄̑̔͛͑͘ͅ! Aim for the ḧ̸̢͍̰̦̖͔̊͂̔̉e̷̡͍̪̻̓͑a̵͚̳̫͙̭͔̠̹̘̿̈́ḑ̷̬̼͓͚̔̍̽͘͝!”
Pai Die’s repetition only makes it as good as confirmed in my book that she’s corrupted. Was the corruption set with a timer, or did she somehow get corrupted in the Ark somewhere like Marian? I can’t understand how this happened. I don’t need to right now, though; all I need to do is line up my shot.
“A̴̡͝-̶̲̊ả̴̫̠̖̈͂-̷͙̤̝͒̽a̶͚͈͉͛̎-̵̛͓ȧ̴͙̞͕͑̀í̵̭̍m̸̗͒̋̏…̴̩̣̘̚ ̵͇̺̐͘F̵̮̮̺̎-̶̢͎̅͠ͅf̸̹͎̳̌-̴͔̯̲̀̚f̸̝̱̉-̶̧̞̋f̷͈̬͐-̵̡̄f̷̡̃͜-̸̩̏f̷̛̞̬o̶̻͝ṛ̷͈͊̿…̴̘͛́͝ ̶̡̛̳͙͆̇T̷̟̏̇̆ḧ̴̨͇ͅ-̴̼̳̕͜t̶̜̪͐ḩ̶͍̏̀ͅ-̸͎͈͆̐ͅṯ̸̘͕̈́h̵̻͔͠-̵̰̰͆ṭ̷̟͊̓ͅh̴͉͛͆̚ẻ̶̬͙́̔…̸̘͎̆͛͘ ̶̯͈̝͗̇H̶̜̍ę̴̣̐͒̀-̴̭͆͂̒ĕ̶̹̱̹͘-̷͕̀ȩ̷̫͗̚-̵͔̦̀̑͝e̷̞̳̦̊a̵͙̦͐-̸̲̟̒́͜e̴̖̣̭͒á̴̬̎-̶̜͕̃̇́ȟ̸̡̹̫͋e̶̗͕͍͒ḁ̶̮̟̏̑d̶̲̭͈͊͆͘!”
I grit my teeth. There’s a cure for this. If I can just get her in stasis, I could…!
“Commander, do it!” I hear Magnolia yell from the audience, and with that final goad, I pull the trigger and fire an unseasoned shot at the back of Pai Die’s skull.
“A̶̩̯͙̣͔̝̹͕̭͋̀̊͊̊̏͐̓̋̈̐ͅi̷̢͔̳̻̫̥͇̔̀̂̓̏̈́͋͒̀̍̈m̴͕͔̼̜͕̤̱̫̪̥̏̅̐͆̉͆̿̕̚͘ ̵͓͍͌̈́̈́͌̓̃̊f̷̲̣̮̥̻̳̬͋̋͒̄̌͜͜͜ͅơ̶̧̡̤̰̬̬̙̲̺̫̋̊͊̎̽̋̅͘͘͠r̵̛̛̪̹͖̫̤̥͔̥̾̇́͆́ ̷̢̢̬̣̦̪̖͖̂̐͗̆́̄̈́̕͝ṯ̵̨̞͉̑̓͗̀̏͂́́̋̈̑̚̕̚͝h̷̖͈̗̰͈͕̟̞͇̿͜͝e̵̤̲̩̰͉̱̠̹̬̦̞̍͗̉̚-̶̳̞̦̟̰̀̐̌-̶̡̝̥̘͓̙͇͚̦͇͇̲̩̳̿̏̆̑̿̽̋̓̋̓̚̕”
The specially made bullet impacts with a red burst, and the scraps of Pai’s impacted brain splatter on her teammates. Pai goes motionless, her gatling gun running out of ammo and sputtering to a halt as the girl falls to the floor.
Dai Die is sobbing, covering her eyes from the horror.
Akai Die is covered in synthetic blood and brain viscera, wide eyed and enraged.
Wai Die is silent.
“What have you done?!” Akai Die bellows, her pigtails bouncing as she begins to run to Pai Die’s side. She’s grabbed by her collar by Wai Die, and Dai Die lets off a low sobbing moan of despair. Akai Die runs in place for a moment in a cartoonish fashion before realizing she’d been held back. She fights against her sister’s grasp. “Let me go! Pai Die! Pai Die!”
“Don’t move,” I say, training my gun on Akai Die next, her repetition of Pai Die’s name setting me on edge. “... P-please, don’t move. I don’t want to fire this again. You all need to be evaluated for corruption post haste.”
“Why don’t you just go ahead and shoot us then?!” Akai spits, and I feel a burn of dread and guilt wash over my muscles. I just killed a NIKKE.
“I don’t want to shoot you.”
“He’s a Commander,” Wai Die says; “We have to listen.”
It’s not so much that they have to listen themselves…
I shot a glance at the group of bunny-eared playboy girls. NIKKEs, on standby. I have to use this to my advantage.
“Apprehend the three gently and get them away from humans. They need to be tested for Corruption as soon as possible.”
“””Yes, sir!””” The lot responded promptly, distressed but ready to return to order. They’re not exactly ‘gentle’ with the three girls, but their inhibitors are on and they’re unable to cause any real harm to the clowns they’re apprehending. There are groans in the crowd; there were injuries sustained.
“The rest of you, tend to the wounded,” my voice is shaking, and my aim lowers as the bunny-eared NIKKEs carry away the remaining Die x Four, who have all been stunned into silence. I’ve forgotten about my eye for the time being. There are others more important than me in the crowd… “Magnolia… Magnolia! Are you alright?!” I call into the ant pile. The blinding lights of the stage make it hot and hard to see.
“I’m fine!”
I hear her holler back, and for a moment, I find myself ascertaining safety once again. Pai Die has died, and the other three could be corrupted as well. But… I could -- I could save them. I could save them if I could just get my hands on…
“Commander!”
I feel myself fading with the adrenaline subsiding. I fall to my knees, and a hand goes up to my eye. It’s damaged, but aside from the pain, I’m hardly concerned. This can’t get out to the public. It’ll destroy any possible timelines if I’m in the game’s universe, and if I’m just in the NIKKE world, it’ll cause a massive outcry. Magnolia’s suddenly at my side and speaking to someone on a direct line; a video call is inactive and it’s only audio. Strings are being pulled already to cover this up. In some regards, I’m relieved. In another, I’m still devastated.
“I could’ve… saved her…” I mutter in distress, and Magnolia isn’t listening to me. For a moment all I feel is the pain in my eye and the blood rolling down my cheek. It’s staining my white suit… I probably paid a lot for that… I’m sure I could get my hands on some… Hydrogen peroxide… If I… Wow, I feel… really… light headed… Adrenaline’s craz…y…
[[ CHAPTER 07 END ]]