graveyard

[productions]

the theatre



You awaken in a darkened theatre.

In front of you is an enormous cinema screen. On it plays everything that's currently happening in the castle, accompanied by appropriate sound effects and background instrumentals when fitting. The seat you're sitting on is large and plush, and while there's many of them, there's enough room in the theatre for you to fully recline the seat into a comfortable bed if you wish. Under each seat is a sleeping mask and noise-cancelling headphones, in case you'd like to take a break from watching the show.

Follow the stairs up and you'll reach what should be the projection room. There are no projectors in here, however; it is simply a large and well-lit room above the main seating area, and a good place to hang out with your fellow eliminated contestants if shouting at each other across the aisles proves too much to handle.

If you leave the theatre through the door in the back, you'll find yourself in a hall. On one end is a concession stand. It's stocked with standard movie snacks - popcorn, candy and the like - but if you're feeling the urge for something else, you'll be able to find it stocked somewhere in the back. On the other end is a table with thirty wrapped bags and a placard reading 'A star for our stars! Please accept these lovely giftbags as a token of appreciation for your hard work, sponsored by [illegible smudge]'. Each bag has a tag bearing the name of someone in the mansion; you will only be able to open the bag with your name on it. As soon as you open it, any memories that have been taken from you, including those of the other people in the mansion that you may have forgotten, will be returned in their entirety. Within the bag are also objects from your home that you may want for your stay here, though you will find no weapons.

Past the hall is another door, this one wooden and seemingly decayed. If you go inside, you'll find a fairly simple, wooden room, that is empty except for a very large machine. It is difficult to tell what the machine is for; it has a touch screen that appears to be a control panel, as well as a large open space that seems to be part of the machine, but the machine is dead and won't turn on no matter what you do.

Still, at least you aren't alone here. You have your fellow players, as well as a few guests to keep you company.

Oh, and one more thing. At midnight following each execution, once all those who've died that week have woken up, a video will begin to play on screen.

Comments

[roadroller]

[...Sure enough, though, memories do come flooding back. Of the most unexpected kind. Her hands grip the corners of the bag, creating huge crinkles in its sides.]

N-No way... ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou watches her anxiously as she opens, and he's not sure what to make of that reaction.]

Are you ok?

[roadroller]

[Rin shakes her head, still gripping the bag. Her shoulders are shaking, but she doesn't cry.]

Don't know... I don't know...

[After a moment of silence, she quickly turns to walk out with the bag back into the theater and take a good look around.]

... and Kanaya's here too... [what's this? A MINUTE AGO SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHO THAT WAS]

It wasn't deja vu. I've done this before. But why? ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou trails worriedly after her.]

Kanaya-san? I thought you didn't... [He trails off, his eyes growing wide when Rin says she's done this before.]

Yuyuko-san remembered a place like this too... She said a lot of the people here were at that place!

[roadroller]

... Huh?

[that seems to distract her from her almost daze.]

No, Yuyuko-san wasn't there... [how to explain.] The pictures in the hallway, Ryou-kun - you remember those? ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

Yeah... [He knits his brow.] Kanaya-san, Rapture-san, and that other lady were on them.

[roadroller]

[Rin nods, though she doesn't know exactly who he means by "that other lady."]

They're what I just remembered.

I'm... a past contestant on this show... ♪

[her free hand reaches to grab the tie on her shirt and wring it anxiously.]

[onethirdthesoul]

...Oh, Rin-chan. [Ryou looks frightened, both of this "game", and for her.]

I'm so sorry...

[roadroller]

["Sorry." That's all she's been hearing out of everyone. She understands why, but... she wishes there was something anyone could do.

Though if nothing else, the new memories seem to have given her an increase in bitter apathy. She isn't crying anymore - she's gone beyond it.]

I was a victim, you know. And they didn't bring me back at the end... because they thought they could just fix me.

[she doesn't really remember how that turned out, after Alice took her back to her world. But somehow, Rin was put back in the game. So who knows. She just shrugs sadly.]

... Well, no one will think that this time. ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou continues to stare at her in shock, rendered utterly speechless. He wants to do something, to say something... But it's just more apologies. More promises he might not be able to keep, more false hope.

Finally, he manages the strength to speak.]

T-that's horrible...

[His lips twist, both with an effort to keep composed and with anger.]

You may be a robot, Rin-chan... But you have a soul. That's not something somebody can just fix.

[roadroller]

... [his anger is touching, in a way. Rin doesn't feel much of anything right now, but she smiles for him a little.]

It's all right. I know you're not like them, Ryou-kun. Actually, this round of players seemed a lot kinder than your predecessors... I'm at least glad for that. I was a lot happier with you and the others. Though, I did manage to make some good friends last time, too. ♪

[it was just too little, too late in some of their cases.]

[onethirdthesoul]

... [Ryou has a short fuse when it comes to staying mad. He deflates a little at her smile, pursing his lips in a pout.]

If I were still alive, I would have told Apollo to shove it.

[He sighs rubs the back of his head, looking down at his feet.] But I was happy with you and the others too, Rin-chan. I just wish we could have met under different circumstances.

[roadroller]

You would?

[Rin looks back up at him, certainly noticing the lack of honorific.]

...That would have been pretty funny. ♪

[well, she'll sigh a bit herself. She would have gladly not met them if it meant Len wouldn't have died, honestly. But ... yes, under different circumstances. Wishing never hurt anyone - well, unless that wish came in the form of a weekly incentive.]

Everything except that was terrible, so yeah. ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

...Yeah. [Ryou starts to move back towards the main theatre, but he only takes a few steps before stopping, his back to Rin.]

Rin-chan, can I ask you something?

[roadroller]

Umm... sure. ♪

[she's a bit hesitant, because there are honestly a lot of things he could ask her about with what just happened.]

[onethirdthesoul]

Were you mad when you found out I'd been lying to you? ...When I let you search my room, and vouch for my innocence?

[roadroller]

.... [she'll just be honest here.] Yeah, I was for a while. I mean, I really believed it couldn't have been you, and I felt really stupid when I was wrong. And then the next week, when Len was my hostage, I was angry again, because ... because you already got yourself killed, and I didn't want to lose anyone else.

But, I couldn't have understood. I knew that too. Even when I was mad at you, it was always complicated. ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

I thought so... [Ryou nods a little, glancing over his shoulder at her before tentatively turning to face her again. He still can't meet her eye just yet.]

Rin-chan, when I saw that you used my room to kill Chihiro-chan... I don't think I've ever felt so betrayed. I gave you my keys, and then you used them to... to do that! [His voice cracks as he's still pretty upset over it, but Ryou hushes himself as he continues.] I... was really mad, I felt like I couldn't trust anyone anymore. Even when I found out what your real incentive was, I was still upset until Kanaya-san talked some sense back into me.

I-I realized that... We should still take responsibility for what we do, but a place like this where we're tricked into killing each other, it's not going to do us any good to turn against each other. Sometimes good people do bad things, and even though you did something like that... [He starts to cry, sniffling and trying to stop so he can keep talking.]

I was wishing you would have gotten away with it, because I didn't want to see you die! [Ryou takes in a breath, and there's a sort of finality to it.] So I think, th-that makes us even.

Let's never hurt each other again, okay?

[roadroller]

[it's probably a good thing that Ryou wasn't looking directly at Rin, because as he goes on, her first impression is to slip into annoyance, crossing her arms. Is he trying to say that his feelings should have been more important than Len's life? Fuck no. Rin had to use whatever resource she could to save him. So this thing that he's whining about - it couldn't possibly matter. If he's planning to use her feelings on his murder to justify that, then he'll have another thing coming.

But ... as he goes on and begins to sob, her expression does soften. It seems like he really is just going through the same phases she did... for Rin, the realization hit when she saw him holding his letters to Amane. And she ended up just playing games with him instead of telling him off at all. And further still... her poker face cracks a bit, the corner of her lip shaking as she grips her shoulders a bit tighter. She quietly admits,]

I wished you had gotten away with yours, too.

[and then she uncrosses her arms, letting them fall to her side, and then raising her hand again to offer a handshake.]

You're right, Ryou-kun. Absolutely. ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

I don't know what I wish happened... [But he understands why she says it, and it makes it hard to keep himself from crying again.

His hand is shaking a bit when he takes Rin's, gripping it tightly and awkwardly shaking it.]

But I... I know what I want right now. [And for that, he can manage a smile. Rin's friendship felt like one of the only things he had left.]

[roadroller]

[Rin squeezes his hand, looking down at it with likely more gentleness than he was used to seeing from her. Having a hand to hold, even if it was just a handshake from a friend, was comforting in a way. She wasn't sure if he could forgive her for what she'd done, but if nothing else, she wouldn't be losing him again. That thought warmed her heart just a little.

Though at the words on his wavering voice, she looks up at him suddenly with somewhat wide eyes.]

Wh-?

[Rin's not sure, but that sounded - almost like a confession. Her hand continues holding his as she stares. How can he think of that at a time like this? She looks away, a bit embarrassed, but ... still holding on.]

... What are you saying? ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou doesn't seem to hesitate at all in his convictions. He just continues to smile warmly at her, inclining his head a little at the question with a slight crease in his brow.]

I'm saying that being friends with Rin-chan is more important than holding petty grudges. [Petty would be a massive understatement were they anywhere else, but give this place, and given what he'd already done...] Both of us have already lost so much...

I don't want to lose anybody else.

[roadroller]

Oh, then you didn't mean... never mind.

That's fine. Let's be friends even after this show is over... ♪

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou gets a little side-tracked there, blinking curiously down at Rin.]

I didn't mean what?

[roadroller]

Ah, nothing...

Just that what you said, sounded kinda like a confession or something. I was a little shocked, but it was just a misunderstanding. ♪