02's Dorm
MX-Z0: With a knock. MX-Z0 waits at the door.
(Sigh...of course they make me the delivery bot. At least I enjoy a chance to talk with Stranger...)
MX-Z0: ...Huh. No answer. Maybe the dude's still sleeping?
Knock knock. Knock knooooock.
Stranger: "Gh- Hold on!"
Thereeee he is. Slowly getting up from his bed, he walks over to the door, opening it. "Uh...s-sorry, Mixzo. Guess I sleep a lot, don't I?"
MX-Z0: "That's alright, Stranger..."
She peeks behind him, only to see some unusual things on his bed...orange pillows.
"...Are those...?"
Stranger: He turns around. "...They are."
Sigh. "Figured...that maybe, keeping some of them in my room would comfort me a bit. And, that fan--" He gestures to the fan standing against his desk, "Is from Bryan's room...a little bit of both of them."
MX-Z0: ...Hm. She lets out a small smile. "I see. Well, I'm sure they appreciate the sentiment...wherever they are."
God, she's bad at comforting people. Her antennae beep. Right, she came here for a reason.
"...Gust has requested I come get you. She is...demanding a meeting for everyone, in the Living Room."
Stranger: "Really? A meeting? Last time one of those happened it didn't go well...what for?"
MX-Z0: "In the nyric's words...'Establishing order'."
She herself seems confused by all of this, lacking that air of confidence (or at least collectedness) she usually has. Regardless, she begins walking off, expecting Stranger to follow behind her.
Stranger: ...Which he does, just as stumped about what Gust's wish is.
The Living Room
Gust: "Gust is telling you guys!" The nyric yells as everyone sits around...most of them looking agitated or just bamboozled. "If Gust makes everyone reveal their sins now, the motive won't do anything! We'll all be safe!"
MX-Z0: MX-Z0 and Stranger return from their little discussion, the two of them sitting somewhere next to each other.
Stranger: "Uh...what are you talking about, Gust? Why did you make this meeting?" He still seems a bit groggy from all that sleeping.
Gust: "Oh! Everyone's here! Okay!" Gust's little wings flutter.
"Gust will say it again! If we reveal our sins now, the motive cannot hurt us! Therefore, nobody will kill! Therefore, we are all safe!"
And then, she stops her claws onto the ground. "So everyone! Say what you did wrong now! I'll start!"
...There's a moment of silence as Gust thinks...what could she have done wrong? ...Oh, she knows!
"Right! There was that one time Gust tried disobeying master, and escaping Gust's stable...but he made sure to teach Gust! Now Gust is a great steed!"
The nyric still seems exhausted, even as she prances around. "That was easy! Now prawn cannot hurt Gust! Someone else go next!"
...
...
...
...Silence.
Clober: "...Wowww, this animal is REALLY REALLY brainwashed, aren't they?"
She speaks up, her eyes seeming...less shiny than they did a moment ago. More cold. More calculating.
Gust: "...!? Brain...wash? What does Clober mean!?"
Clober: Hopping off of the random box she was sitting on, she walks up to the big beast. "Isn't it obvious, you dumb bird!? You're a cop's pet! Their playtoy! I could smell the stench on you this entire time, and now you're basically confirming it!"
Gust: "G-Gust doesn't know those words! Gust just wanted to help her master--!"
Clober: "And your master was a DICK." Her voice suddenly snaps. That cutesy voice she always does? Gone. She bops the nyric on the nose with her finger.
"I don't know why you think anyone is going to listen to you, Gust. Nobody here likes you or any of the rules you're suddenly trying to make, so just-"
Gust: SLASH.
Gust: Suddenly, in the middle of Clober's speech, the nyric instinctively slashes at her back.
Clober: She falls to the floor, writhing. "Ghhaahh---shit--!! Shit!!"
The wound is light, but still hurts like hell. Small droplets of blood trickle onto the ground.
Arsenic: "W-What the fuck!? Gust--!?"
Arsenic is the first to run over and begin helping Clober, with Seven Stones and Hitori following to try and help. "A-Are there any medical supplies in any of the rooms!? The backstage, maybe!?"
Gust: She just...stands there.
"Gust...need to...keep order."
Her voice sounds almost vacant. Hazy. Monotone...unusually robotic.
"So Gust...will make sure everyone is safe. By making sure nobody breaks the rules, ever!"
Arsenic: "...You bastard."
Arsenic takes her hands off of the injured Clober, letting Seven Stones and Hitori to do what they have to. She walks up to the nyric, wrecking ball of a tail lashing. And without thinking--
swoosh! BANG.
She wrestles the creature to the floor, fur flying. Surprisingly, Arsenic is able to gain the upper hand, pinning Gust to the floor.
"Maybe Clober is RIGHT! Maybe you ARE just a government ass-kisser, huh!?"
Gust: "Ghhk--!"
Gust almost chokes from the sudden assault, but quickly adjusts herself. She hisses.
"Gust--- Gust---!"
The Destroyer: DING DING DING.
The Destroyer: "Attention, everyone! It's time to spin the wheel! Get out your tablets to watch the wheel spin, and see which sinner reveals their sin this time!"
The Destroyer: . . .
The screens on everyone's tablets reveal the name of...
...Gust.
Gust: "...!?"
Gust: "B-But- But Gust-!"
Before she can finish her sentence, a hand comes out of the ceiling and drags her away.
Arsenic: ...Leaving Arsenic lying there, confused, and watching as Hitori runs back from the backstage room with some bandages.
The Memory Chamber
Gust: ...And here she is.
Stuck in that same void Tarnish was, teeth bared, in defensive position...
Until, suddenly, light.
Memories.
Chaos.
The Riots.
Gust: She watches herself being ridden by her master, racing alongside a bunch of other Nyric Agents into the fray....her old self. That younger nyric, looking terrified and exhausted as ever.
"Suppress the crowds! Get these riots under control! NOW!" A mysterious voice shouts from her master's walkie-talkie. Her master talks back.
"What can we do to suppress them?"
"Anything! Just make sure the riots stop. That's an order."
Gust: "Roger that."
Her master kicks her on the side, and its like her body moves on its own, racing into the fray of the insanity. Her old self didn't know where she was going or who she was targeting...and frankly, she believes her master didn't either.
But once the group saw that crowd, some kicking in a car, others just running around in a panic, their sights became set on eradicating them all.
The other Nyric Agents immediately raced in-- in a time like this, the other nyrics knew not to think. Not to disobey their master, for fear of pain and agony. They just went in there, and began attacking. It didn't matter if any of them died or were just injured, so long as they stayed down long enough for their masters to cuff them and take them away.
....But Gust was new to all of this. And so, Gust hesitated, just standing there.
Big mistake.
Gust knew what was coming.
Gust: "Move, you stupid animal!" Her master cried. In an instant, the shockwhip came out. Gust felt her neck tighten and her body grow cold. Like her physical form had evaporated-- all that existed was the shockwhip as it smacked her old self's flank. She heard herself cry out in agony, the electricity coursing through her veins, as she flailed herself into the fray...she didn't know what she was doing, who she was hurting, or how much she was hurting them. But she tasted blood on her fangs and felt blood on her claws...but all that mattered was not feeling the shockwhip again.
The entirety of the room became a bloody haze. Gust knew she didn't remember much of what she did that night...and it manifested in the room growing fuzzy, filled with nothing but countless images of gore, carnage, and the sound of protas screaming in terror.
And then, it all became clear again.
Gust saw her old self standing right in front of a young protalet, already injured and looking terrified, crying out for their mother.
She had a claw in the air, ready to strike the child down as her master commanded.
...But she hesitated.
Gust: The shockwhip came again, hitting her in the flank.
And the world turned crimson once more.
The Living Room
Gust: ...She came back down from the ceiling. plopping onto the floor.
...She seemed weak, her confidence entirely deflated. Everyone was staring at her...with looks of disgust, pity, or sympathy. But in all of those faces, she only saw the former.
"...Gust....Gust..."
Her voice was quiet. All of the exhaustion and fatigue she had been holding back was on full display.
"....Gust only hurts people."
And she ran away, despite the cries of other sinners in the crowd.
Stranger: "G-Gust--! Wait--!"
Hitori: "Aaah-!"
Too late for them both. Nyrics are fast creatures...
Now all that was left was everyone else, and a feeling of unease.
Clober: "...Did...what happened...?"
Clober seemed a bit more stable now, her torso wrapped in bandages. She looks around, only to see that Gust was completely gone.
Rue: "...Gust was chosen by the wheel, Clober. Things did not go well."
Clober: "..."
By the looks on everyone elses faces, this wasn't the time to start insulting Gust again, even if she still wasn't over her anger. She just...got up, and left herself.
Paradi: ...And the next person to speak was Paradi.
"...If I am to move on from that...event..." Paradi says, casting a momentary glance at Tarnish.
Tarnish: ...Yeah, Tarnish seems a bit creeped out. He quickly wipes the fear from his face, though, upon seeing Paradi looking over, and gives a supportive wave.
Paradi: "...Gust was right about one thing. If we all, hypothetically, were to reveal our sins now...Then nobody would have a reason to play in to the motive."
Seven Stones: ...Seven Stones silently danced out of the crowd as Paradi spoke.
Firestarter: "Yeah, yeah, I don't think anyone wants to listen to you, ya crazy fuck." Firestarter responds, clutching her flamethrower to her chest.
Arsenic: "...You're a pyromaniac, Firestarter."
Firestarter: "A pyromaniac with STANDARDS!"
Paradi: They ignored those two, continuing.
"But I believe at least some of us do not want to say such things...I know I do not. So, perhaps we should try to find a way to ease the tension?"
They looked at Tarnish again. Wink wink. Nudge nudge.
Tarnish: "...What?"
Paradi: "Your party. Your party, my dear worldburner."
Tarnish: "Ahh!" Tarnish sprang up, suddenly remembering his plan. "Yes, yes! After yesterday's events, I figured we needed some sort of joy in this insufferable land! And so, I invite you all to a feast, tomorrow at 8! I will be the one cooking, obviously."
Firestarter: "Oh shit, food!? Food! Food! I love food!"
Ivan: "Treats, you say!? Treat?? Treat??"
Lotus: "T...Treat? Really, Ivan...?"
Tarnish: "Yes, treats! I urge you all to come, I promise I, with my cooking skills gained from ages in the abyss, shall come to your aid on this day!"
Stranger: ...Seems like the prospect of food was enough to ease tensions on its own. Slowly, people begin speaking up, commenting on their favorite foods and hopes for this hypothetical "party". It's like Tarnish is a celebrity, taking answers from the press...and Tarnish seems to eat up the attention.
Stranger, meanwhile, sits in the back. His mind not entirely off the recent situation...with Gust, that is.
Is she going to be alright? Where was she now? The look in her eyes, the way she spoke...
An idea popped into his head, and fear overtook him. Was she going to...!?
His thoughts came to a halt. A gentle hand touched him on the shoulder.
MX-Z0: "...Stranger? Are you alright?"
Stranger: "W-Worried, really. That's all." He replies...wow, he didn't know MX-Z0 just being here calmed his nerves this much...
MX-Z0: "That is fair," She responds, turning her attention to the chatter of the others for a moment.
Rue: "I was unaware you could cook, Tarnish. Perhaps I could assist you with that?"
Tarnish: "Of course! I didn't know you would have an interest in that either..."
MX-Z0: ...A small smile shown on her face again. "I may be incorrect, but I feel as though things will turn out alright. If you are worried about Gust, however, we can go try to find her."
Stranger: "...P-Probably. Just to make sure."
And with that, Stranger and MX-Z0 headed off, giving a friendly farewell to the others before going.
Ivan: Most of the people eventually leave...but in the end, only two remain. Ivan and Lotus...
...Ivan attempts to walk off as well, but Lotus grabs him by shoulder, stopping him.
Lotus: "W-Wait-!"
Ivan: "Hm? ...What is it?"
Lotus: "All of that talk, it...it gave me an idea, and...I-I don't want to hurt you, Ivan, so..."
Ivan: "Wait- Hurt me!? What do you mean??"
Lotus: "I-I-I just...I want to tell you what I did....I feel like I need to."
Ivan: Silence fills the room. Lotus speaks in a whisper.
Ivan: ". . ."
Ivan: ". . ."
Ivan: "...!!!"