#walker.txt

[kkrbvrai]

“Mr. Coolatta, Tommy, dinner’s ready!”

Darnold’s voice rings clearly from nearby, and Tommy smiles in his direction. They beckon with a wave.

Tommy: “D-Darnold, can you g-get everyone to come over? I-I think we s-should thank the spirits o-one last time before w-we turn the camera off.”

Their boyfriend’s reply is muffled, but soon the Players join Tommy and Gin in front of the camera. They turn to you, O wandering spirits. Smiling, waving. Faces that you’ve come to know, saying a goodbye to the voices that guided them to this new life. And their farewell rings out as a chorus:

“Thank you!”

KAKURENBO VR, BUT THE AI IS SELF AWARE: END.

[nyasprite-blog]

Sorry, I Got Carried Away. Sorry For My Outburst 

[mysophobic5-blog]

When your dash stops loading at the same time that your netflix starts buffering :(

[kkrbvrai]

Very quickly, the Players’ bravado is punished.

The demon wearing a father’s face cackles as she snaps her fan open. It only takes a flick of her wrist to send out a gust of wind that sends the heroes sprawling. Walker very nearly cuts himself on his own sword in the tumble.

“Rushing me all at once? Come now, you’ll have to do better than that.” Giggles Oni-Sama

Mac springs up first, with a speed that belies his age.

Mac: “Alright, if we’re playing dirty, let’s get DIRTY.”

Green ones and zeros flash into existence as he removes his knuckledusters for the time being.

Mac: “Keep her off my back if you would, team. I’ve got to finagle some code!”

Pyre gets to his feet, shaking himself like a dog.

Pyre: “Oh, I’ve got a distraction for her!”

Lunging forward before the demon can launch another attack, the older man snatches up one of the nearer ropes. It ignites as if dipped in kerosene, fire zipping up its length like a fast-motion fuse. Oni-Sama screeches in pain, yanking the leg attached to that rope free of its coil.

Sunny notices something as the demon spasms with rage.

Sunny: “H-her leg is l-limp now! M-maybe if we disconnect a-all the ropes, she won’t be able to m-move!”

Walker: “That sounds like a great plan, let’s get to work!”

[kkrbvrai]

The stage is apparently the large, red structure near the bonfire.

Benrey solemnly leads Gordon up the stairs, onto the top tier. They insisted on it being just the two of them, not wanting to cut the others’ fun short. Fireworks intermittently dot the starless sky behind them as Benrey takes a few silent paces away.

Benrey: “...okay.”

Benrey: “you ready, gordon?”

Gordon: “For...what? You haven’t really explained what we’re doing exactly.”

The demon hesitates, then shrugs sadly.

Benrey: “we’re doing what we gotta so you can get your son back.”

Benrey: “I gotta go boss fight mode.”

Gordon: “Wha-? Benrey, I’m not gonna fight you-”

He starts to take a step towards them, but a wave of sudden energy pushes him back.

Benrey...changes. Eyes open and shift colors. Fangs and horns sprout where there were none. Their ears and fingernails grow pointed. A sword manifests in their hand.

SPIRIT-TAKER HAS REAPPEARED.

[kkrbvrai]

In the moments after the death of Oni-Sama, it is quiet.

One by one, then with increasing speed, the masks dissolve into pale orange light. Firefly-like they drift up and through the ceiling. Where they touch, the building itself starts to flake off, becoming pixels, then data, then nothing at all.

Gordon’s armor dissipates as well, and he stumbles as his body becomes fully his again. Thankfully Mac is there to steady him, looping a solid arm around the hero’s shoulders.

Mac: “Are you alright, my boy?”

Gordon: “Yeah, I think so...just uh...lil’ overwhelmed.”

Sunny: “Thank g-goodness, you s-scared us...”

Gordon: “Sorry, Sunny...”

Tag, Solute, and Benrey burst through the dissolving doorway, looking panicked.

Benrey: “where’s-”

Benrey: “...walker?”

Tag: “What the hell man, are you ok? I mean, you look ok...”

Solute: “Tag said you were dying!”

Pyre: “Well he was, but then he went all avenging angel on her ass, and now he’s fine.”

Pyre: “...you are fine, right?”

Gordon, still reeling, just let out a breathless laugh and nodded.

[kkrbvrai]

I am perpetually so proud of this team, you're all really cool and you've come so far and done amazing things. I love all of you, good luck in the finale! I'd offer a hug but alas I do not have a physical form.

Sunny: “Let’s group hug in solidarity!”

Tag: “I...could use a hug.”

Pyre: “Softies. Get over here.”

Mac: “I love hugs, I give great ones with my Super Strong Arms!”

Walker: “Bring it in, guys.”

The team shares a long, gentle hug, before turning to face the temple door...

[kkrbvrai]

Oh shit! Is Tag gonna be okay without his mask?

Mac: “Yes, he’s only in danger of possession if he trades both his [Name] and [Mask]-”

Interrupted by a yawn, Mac’s eyes flutter a bit.

The fog has wrapped around the group.

Mac: “So h-he..’s...fine...”

He sways on his feet, then topples.

Walker: “Mac! Are yo....you...”

Walker, already the most vulnerable because of his blood loss, hits the ground next. Then Sunny and Solute. Pyre struggles, but can’t fight the magically induced sleep. Tag sags to his knees, staring up at the unaffected armored figure looming over the group.

Tag: “B...Benrey...? What’re you do...ing...”

And then he’s out too.

Benrey: “it’s...it’s going to be ok. I promise.”

[kkrbvrai]

Obvious question first: Does anyone have a cucumber?

Tag: “Maybe if I’d packed lunch? But no.”

Walker: “Unless that’s my Blessing? Nope.”

Pyre: “Why not try it, Walker?”

Walker: “Ha ha, laugh it up.”

Sunny: “Any ch-ch-chance you h-have o-one, Solute? Y-you l-like plants...”

Solute: “I...no? Sorry, fresh out.”

Mac: “Oh, to have a gourd from a creeping vine...”

[kkrbvrai]

walker what do you do in your daily life? like what's your job?

Walker: “I work from home teaching an online physics course! It’s a program by the local university for people who have trouble learning face-to-face.”

Walker: “I learned ASL when Joshie was little, because he used to be almost completely nonverbal. When I pitched the class to the university board, they liked the idea of helping students who struggle with classroom interaction, especially when I presented both in ASL and verbally.”

Walker: “In the summers I also teach an ASL class at the community college!”

He pauses, looking down at his missing hand.

Walker: “I...really hope this won’t translate to my actual body.”

[kkrbvrai]

Then how is dis going to work

Gordon: “Oh I got an idea. It’s gonna work like this!”

Suddenly, Gordon rushes the demon. Benrey braces for an impact, but finds arms wrapping gently around their body instead of a burst of pain.

Benrey: “h-huh? whuh?”

Gordon: “I have played games before, Benrey. And I know that they don’t always have to end in a boss fight.”

He squeezes the demon tight, and hears Benrey’s sword crash to the floor.

Gordon: “Sometimes...sometimes all you gotta do is understand the boss. Befriend them.”

Benrey hesitates, then returns the hug. They cling to Gordon like he’s the only thing anchoring them. Their demon form fades away.

Benrey: “bbbbb...p...pacifist run?”

Gordon: “Yeah, bud. Pacifist run.”

With a soft whimper, they bury their face in Gordon’s shoulder. He rubs their back as they let their emotions flow free in a nice, cathartic cry.

[kkrbvrai]

This best date minigame is the best! I can't wait to see what Gordon and Benrey have lined up!

As Coomer and Bubby begin to set up their purloined fireworks, the ground begins to shake. The two older men look up in alarm.

Bubby: “What the hell, did some other demon get in or something?”

Coomer: “O-oh dear, I hope not-”

Part of the clearing the festival is set up in grows much wider as a steel structure bursts from the ground, rocketing up into the air as the Players watch in awe.

From their position at the goldfish scooping game, Tommy squints upwards at the behemoth.

Tommy: “I-Is that...?”

Forzen: “A rollercoaster...?”

Triumphantly, at the top of the tallest slope, Benrey and Gordon wave down at the others.

Benrey: “what’s up gamers, I gave gordon hacks!”

Gordon almost loses his balance laughing, Benrey putting a hand on him to steady him. He sobers slowly, looking at the tack contemplatively.

Gordon: “...shit. How do we get down?”

Darnold: “Ahaha, oh my god...”

[kkrbvrai]

BENREY! YOU MADE IT! YOU'RE HERE! I'm flipping out, you had me worried back there Bro, I didn't know what would happen. I'm so happy you're here! How are you doing?

Benrey: “I did make it! and I’m good bro.”

Benrey: “real life is pretty sweet...gordo took me in no questions asked.”

Gordon: “Well I wasn’t about to leave you out on the street.”

Benrey: “bbbbbbb...!”

Gordon: “This guy here wasn’t going to mention to us that he’d go down with the ship after Oni-Sama died.”

Benrey: “you guys had enough to worry about without thinking about me.”

Gordon wraps an arm around Benrey’s shoulders and squeezes gently.

Gordon: “Well luckily we did anyway!”

Gordon: “Since a couple of us had gotten what we wanted over the course of the game, we had plenty of options to wish Benrey free. Darnold was actually the one to do it.”

Benrey: “love that funky potion man.”

[kkrbvrai]

So now what?

Gordon: “Good question...”

Mac: “Oh, that’s easy!”

The older man disengages from the group hug, and stepped forward. He gestures grandly towards a large flashing icon.

It begins to type.

“CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE GAME OF KAKURENBO.”

There’s a pause as the text fades out, then more replaces it.

“WHAT IS YOUR WISH?”

Mac: “Walker, make yours first. You’ve certainly earned it.”

The other players release Gordon, and he smiles tiredly as he steps up to the gargantuan letters.

Gordon: “I wish...”

[kkrbvrai]

With a boost from Tag, Sunny stretches up their hand as far as it can go.

A beam of brilliant yellow light bursts from their open palm, shooting up into the sky.

Benrey, stationed anxiously on the steps of the bell house, perks up when they sees the glowing beacon flare to life.

Benrey: “holy shit, they pulled it off!”

They lean abruptly into the small structure, startling Solute. The mixologist had been pacing uneasily around the bell, and nearly knocked into it when he jumped in surprise.

Solute: “W-what is it!?”

Benrey: “ring that bell, bro! we got a demon to displace.”

Solute: “Oh...? OH!”

Scrambling for the nearby mallet, Solute reels back and slams the heavy instrument into the bell. A single, pure peal of sound rings through entire stage, which seems to shudder with the unseen force of the note.

The masks lining Oni-Sama’s hall creak, then crack as they open their open their mouths in a cacophonous scream, underscored by the demon’s own. The three players in the room clap their hands over their ears to protect their hearing.

A black mist begins pouring off of Oni-Sama’s former body, coalescing into a writhing blob of darkness over the collapsed G-man.

Walker: “T-that...doesn’t look good.”

[kkrbvrai]

Oni-Sama replies to the assault on her ropes by casting out paper talismans.

Tag and Sunny manage to skip out of the way of the incoming projectiles, but Walker isn’t so lucky. The slip of parchment sticks itself across his eyes, and he goes sprawling to the ground again. As he reaches up to try and tear it away, a jolt of electricity shoots through his body, wringing out an agonized cry.

Pyre’s hit too, though his strike is more intentional. He leapt in the way of a talisman that was headed for Mac. Mac grimaces as his partner is shocked, but doesn’t stop working with his data.

Sunny takes a knee near Walker, managing to rip the paper away from his face.

Sunny: “A-are you okay?”

Walker: “Oogh, Walker hurtin’...”

Meanwhile Tag moves for cover, ducking behind a pillar as more talismans fly past, almost clipping him. He spots a writhing rope nearby and summons his spear. As the metal pierces into the fibers, the rope is suddenly saturated with bright red light. It chases up the length, resulting in giving Oni-Sama a shock of her own. She screams and snaps her talisman-wielding arm free, leaving it dangling limp and useless.

Tag: “Oh-KAY! Three more to go...”