damedana | [UMINEKO SPOILERS] Heart (Scored)

It's a bedroom. Or rather, a guestroom. A western styled guestroom with two beds, a nightstand where an old turn-style phone sits, a dresser, a table with a basket of candy sitting on it and a couple of chairs pushed under, and wardrobe sitting out on the floor. There are windows on one of the walls, doors on two other walls. One leads to a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and tub with shower head. The other is the exit, locked as evident by the chain lock firmly in place on the door.

You know instinctively: <in order to get to your goal, you must find a way out of this room>

That might prove to be a little difficult when the room you're standing in the middle of is covered in blood. Puddles of the red substance pooling in various locations throughout the room. It looks just like a crime scene of some mass murder--including a dried out corpse sitting cozily on a bed--y'know. If there wasn't streamers in black and orange spelling out HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

What a relief, it's just a Halloween party.

Except there are words written in that same red substance on the wall where the purple thorny vines have spread to, covering some of the words with loops and curls that seem to resemble letters of their own:

They owed their fortunes to the Golden Witch.
They were cursed by their own greed.
The culAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

It's uncomfortable. The darkness growing deeper outside as the wind howls and the rain can be heard beginning to fall, the backdrop to this scene that you don't want to believe is real, know is real, can't accept as real, forced to remember always as the reality--you don't want to be here, you don't want to be here! The feeling of someone, or something watching in through the windows, taking such delight in the scene before you, is oppressing and you know that the only way to escape it is to leave the room.

The moment the chain lock is removed, the door swings open without issue. The lights flicker. The sound of chains moving echo in the room again, and you can feel the weight on your throat get heavier, the pressure tightening. Reaching up to your neck still reveals nothing is physically there.

You exit the room. Whether you intend to just now or not, there's not really an option. There's a strangling pull against your neck, the invisible collar attached to an invisible leash. The sound of chains is a roar of noise--blood thrumming in your ears, as you're dragged forward.

You made this choice to continue.

You chose to go further and deeper.

You chose to lose those precious seconds to get air and start to choke.

You're running out of time. At this rate…

You're reaching, desperately grabbing hold--

You lose your grip.

You gasp for air even when you know you shouldn't.

You can't breathe.

Your eyes sting.

Your lungs and throat burn.

You're screaming her name.

There's no sound at all.

The lights go off again. You can't see anything. But you know you're now in another room. And you can breathe just fine.

[Merlot, for his part, is still in a State from the last thing that he experienced in that last room, which is why he just puts a finger to his lips and shoves his mouth open in a gasp, other hand at his throat, sword clattering beside him, as he inhales, inhales, inhales.]

[and then, in a voice that's not nearly enough of a whisper, he whines:]

Oh, please, daddy - please - harder next time -

[but eventually he has to collect himself, right, and actually focus his eyes on the horrid tableau before him.]

Well. What a sight this is ... fortunately, I do like eating sweet things while I think.

[and so, taking some of that candy.]

You like happy memories of a 9 year old handing out candy to the family during her trick-or-treats, right--?

Oh, no wait.

It's now this scene.

Ushiromiya Maria loved to hand out candy in the trick-or-treats during the family convention. Ushiromiya Battler ~~always thought it was cute.~~ would also like to shove candy down people's throats until they burst.

Oh.

[he has a split second moment of what might be genuine sympathy or might be just dull shock because of not expecting candy to come coated with the memory of guts]

[and then he puts his gloved hand to his face.]

Oh, your faces .. the agony you must've been in. You didn't realize such cruelty was even possible in the world, then, did you? Like children. It's good to have a teacher like Beatrice, isn't it? Someone who understands how the world works, and can take you by the hand through it all until you're forced to come to terms with what it means to be alive.

And I suppose ... oh, I'm not stupid; I suppose I'm meant to change your mind about this, somehow. Unfortunately, stuffing candy down people's throats until they burst is disgusting, and cruel ... and someone who can do such a thing with a smile on their face is inarguably cute, and worth protecting.

How selfish of you to hide such an adorable little sister from me, aspirational father! I would've loved to meet this ... oh, what is the word for her, to me? Cousin? Aunt? Niece? Oh, whatever.

What's this you've put on the nightstand, though ...

[and thus, he goes to pick up the receiver of the phone.]

Good news, the phone works!

There's also a voice on the phone if you put your ear to the phone. A familiar girl's even. She seems to be breathing kind of harshly into the receiver, like she's in terrible pain. Words coming out in a garbled mess as if she's having trouble speaking, "Hello? Hello? Please... is anyone there?"

Except that can't be possible, you(?) saw Jessica's face.

There wasn't a face left for her to speak with.

Yes? Hello, miss?

[suddenly brisk, and attentive, and polite, and oh so eager to please.]

[(she must not realize she's dead. wouldn't it be something, when she does.)]

Where are you? Are you in danger? How can I reach you?

"I--who is this? I need to--Maria... Battler! They're the ones in danger!"

An Ushiromiya household servant, obviously - [he refrains from amusing himself by asking "Who else would I be?"] - how much danger? Are you sure you don't want someone to come help you right now?

[he is pretty sure, in fact, that Maria's doing just fine. but he won't tell her that.]

"Heh? T-that can't be--... no, you're not..."

Please, let me reassure you - I'm not Kanon, but he's been like a brother to me in my time working here.

Is it safe to come find you, miss?

".... n-no. It's... is Kanon there? Can I..." There's a broken sob like she can't really make the sound less... distorted. And wet. "Is he there? Please I want to talk to him..."

Please try and hold on a moment longer, miss. I'll be right back.

[and he leaves the phone off the hook and goes to the wardrobe. for reasons. Kanon-related reasons, perhaps.]

Sure, except you can probably hear the click and dial tone of a disconnected line as you make your way over to the wardrobe.

Hm.

... well, be a shame not to peek ...

[so yes, he's opening the wardrobe anyway, even as he has to walk through a few shallow pools of blood to do it. spish spish spootsh]

It's time to witness this lady just get murdered lots.

Pretty sure you'll enjoy that.

[you'd be correct.]

[but that doesn't answer the burning curiosity Merlot has about what clothes Battler keeps in his wardrobe.]

It's an empty wardrobe. There's only wire hangers with nothing on them. This isn't his bedroom, Merlot, gosh.

[well]

[perhaps not]

[but it could've been]

Not even Big Brother Kanon's clothes, huh ... ah, well. they wouldn't fit me anyway.

[so he goes to try the phone again, because while that obviously meant something he's unfamiliar with a disconnection tone entirely, and so.]

There's no voice on the line anymore, just dead (ha) air.

By the way, you got some red on your hands from touching the phone. That's fun.

[puts that stain up to his lips]

[and licks it off his fingers, contemplatively, as he's already shrugging away from the phone and moving towards the door, leaning down to pick up the sword where it fell.]

It would be very unfulfilling if the same trick works twice, father. Just so you know. But I'll respect your commitment to personal integrity, all the same. It's a kind of honor, and I understand that.

[but he is going to try and cut the chain with the sword, again, anyway.]

Probably there is a feeling of seeing a faceless girl laying on the floor to bring some delightful horror upon licking.

The thing about this chain is that... in fact, the sword will not work against it. There is a key lock attached to the chain lock in addition to everything else to keep it sealed.

[oh. well. so this one actually has a key, for real, this time.]

[the first thought Merlot has, then, is "perhaps the key is buried in the candy-basket?" and so that's what he's going to check first.]

There are no keys in the candy basket. And you already got that memory, so...

A... Room

3rd Exit

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