Episode 11: "Searching for An Escape"
The group found themselves hopelessly lost in what was seemingly a giant maze.
No matter how much they moved forward, everything around them seemed to repeat ad infinitum. Above them, they could see an almost endless amount of suspension bridges.
No one had any idea where they were, or how long it was going to take to reach their destination.
All they could do was continue running with each other.
Nevertheless, all Yo could think about in this moment was...
That despite the fortress stretching on ever onward, he had spent so long locked up in the 'village.'
As he pondered how much time had passed, his body began to feel heavy.
But then he looked over at Tsuki and Sui, realizing it's better to focus more on running than ruminating for now.
The priority should be getting out of here for now.
Tsuki Iroha
"Eeek!!"
Out of nowhere, Tsuki let out a piercing scream.
At the same moment, Yo found his vision growing incredibly blurry.
Yo Kuronaka
"Guh!"
The ground beneath the two suddenly opened wide and swallowed them whole.
He couldn't tell if they had triggered some type of trap, or if the system merely malfunctioned.
But Yo quickly came to his senses, the most important thing right now is bracing for impact.
Yo Kuronaka
"Oof!"
Thankfully, the impact didn't hit so hard due to him properly preparing for the sudden stop. But...
Tsuki Iroha
"Ah!"
The next thing he knew, Tsuki had landed right on top of him.
Yo Kuronaka
"Hng..."
Tsuki Iroha
"Y-Yo?! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!"
Tsuki shot up like a bullet and offered her hand to Yo.
Yo Kuronaka
"Yeah... I think I'm okay."
Yo took her hand, and slowly stood up.
After giving themselves a quick once over, they began to look around.
The metallic walls and floor looked identical to earlier, but now the hallway they were in was dim and narrow.
When they looked up, they couldn't quite make out where they had been. Perhaps the floor that opened up above them had closed?
If that's the case, there's no doubt about it. They triggered some kind of trap.
A beep suddenly echoed out from Tsuki's pocket.
It sounded like a smartphone notification.
Tsuki Iroha
"Oh, it's NINE!"
Yo Kuronaka
"...NINE?"
Tsuki Iroha
"It's a messaging app everyone from earlier uses. It's pretty basic."
As she explained, Tsuki showed Yo her smartphone.
Tsuki Iroha
"I think it's installed on your phone too! You should check!"
Yo pulled out and checked his smartphone. Turned out, Tsuki was right and NINE was installed.
When he opened up the app, he noticed he had a message from Kazuki.
NINE (Kazuki Aoyama)
"We heard a loud scream, are you two okay?"
Tsuki quickly began tapping away at her phone.
NINE (Tsuki Iroha)
"Yup! For some reason, the floor swallowed us up and...well, I might've crushed Yo a bit."
NINE (Sui Yakumo)
"So you used Yo like a cushion? Good!"
(What part about any of that was good?)
NINE (Kazuki Aoyama)
"Well, this is a problem. I didn't expect us to get split up. Tsuki, you remember where the escape pods are, right?"
NINE (Tsuki Iroha)
"Sure do!"
NINE (Kazuki Aoyama)
"We'll go on ahead then. Think you two can meet us there?"
NINE (Tsuki Iroha)
"You bet!"
NINE (Sui Yakumo)
"By the way, Yo isn't responding. You didn't knock him out, did you?"
Yo began tapping away frantically.
NINE (Yo Kuronaka)
"I'm okay, it's just been a while since I've used a smartphone, so I'm a little rusty..."
NINE (Sui Yakumo)
"...Oh, right. Anyway. We'll be waiting for you two at the escape pod bay. Tsuki, it's on you to keep Yo safe."
The conversation ended there.
Tsuki Iroha
"Okey dokey, let's get going! Follow me close, okay?"
Just as the two started to run...
Another beep emanated, but this time from Yo's pocket.
Yo Kuronaka
"Wait, was that my phone this time?"
Tsuki Iroha
"Sure sounded like it! Mine didn't boop, so I don't think it was the group chat."
Yo opened up NINE again.
There was a message from someone he didn't recognize. Their name was just simply NEON.
NEON
"My apologies for the sudden message. You can call me NEON."
Tsuki peered over Yo's shoulder at his screen, a suspicious look adorning her face.
Tsuki Iroha
"NEON? Who in the world is that? Do you know this person?"
Yo shook his head.
And then another message arrived.
NEON
"Please do not be alarmed. Much like you, I've been wronged by Zero.
Your situation is quite dire, and I am rather worried for your safety."
Yo Kuronaka
"Wronged by Zero, huh..."
NEON
"We both believe that Zero's tyranny cannot be allowed to continue.
That is why I have decided to aid in your endeavors by providing you with information I possess.
I would like to support you wherever I can, so I felt it was the proper time to contact you and introduce myself.
I hope I can count on you as well."
The messages stopped after that.
Yo couldn't tell if he should trust this person or if he should even bother to respond.
Tsuki Iroha
"Well, that was real weird. We should probably get a move on."
Yo Kuronaka
"Ah, yeah, good point."
As soon as Tsuki snapped them back to reality, they both began running toward their destination.
Only the sounds of their footsteps and breathing reverberated throughout the hallway.
After some time, they both heard another beep.
Yo checked his phone, and found a new NINE message from Kazuki.
NINE (Kazuki Aoyama)
"We're just about there. What's your status?"
NINE (Yo Kuronaka)
"We're making good progress on our end."
NINE (Kazuki Aoyama)
"Good. We'll be waiting. In the meantime, we'll be doing some cleaning up."
Yo put away his smartphone and continued running.
The passageway began branching into different paths, but Tsuki made her selections without any hesitation.
Yo trusted Tsuki entirely and continued running right behind her.
Tsuki Iroha
"Don't worry, Yo! I got this!"
Tsuki began speaking as she ran.
Tsuki Iroha
"I bet you're worried I might get us lost!"
Yo Kuronaka
"Not one bit. I trust you, Tsuki."
Tsuki Iroha
"Really? That's awesome!"
Tsuki responded cheerfully.
Both of them continued running ever onward through the dim metallic passageway.
After passing through a few more branching paths, they finally arrived at a small open area.
