After they accidentally landed in a deep place and kept going… they found something strange… a city beneath the ground.
The Gift: "…What does this… mean."
Sophie: "…hmm…"
Jill: "I… think I know what it is… it's a bunker city."
The Gift: "A bunker?"
Jill: "Yes."
Sophie: "Ahhh… I get it… I've heard of those—Sir Eisenberg once said something about it… that the Black Eye also had a bunker…"
Jill: "After the Second World War… the air was ruined by the atoms; people coughed blood, vomited up their organs, some died standing… their skin turned blue and their tongues hung out, probably because the body was desperately trying to gulp fresh air."
Sophie: "1945… yeah… that makes sense… that's where it started… in Germany… and in Japan, of course."
Jill: "Japan was even worse… 90 percent of Japan is gone—it's a wonder Kenn is even here."
Kenn: "Oh… I am Japanese, but I was born in America Mirica; my parents grew up there too, and so did my grandparents."
Sophie: "Mmm… if I'm not mistaken, the Black Eye tortured and abused me in one of their bunkers there and used the Human Sirus project on me—after the Gift, I became the second Human Sirus…"
Jill: "You have Sirus blood in you…"
Sophie: "Liza too—after all, she was also snatched by the Black Eye when I was a commander…"
Liza: "Mhm… they took us there… well, Sophie and me. Because Sophie refused to kill children and parents, and because she started to rebel against the Black Eye."
Jill: "You've got real guts… Sophie…"
Sophie: "Hey… I always hated them… I was just afraid… I'd been tortured there since I was six and was even… touched… I don't think I need to explain."
Jill: "Why did they capture you?"
Sophie: "Sir Eisenberg found me after my parents were murdered—after it came out that our grandparents had ties to the Black Eye… but my parents weren't Black Eye… we… were a normal family… loved everyone… well… apparently that didn't matter to the others…"
Jill: "Damn."
They looked around.
Jill: "Bunker… it even has the number—Bunker No. 441."
Jill stepped closer and touched the wall.
Jill: "Seems really old… I'd guess… at most 1960."
Sophie: "I thought the bunkers lasted 30 years…"
Jill: "Not all of them… most were lost. The air inside was fresh… but humans need something called sunlight… and it was very hard to get water—countries had many problems… countries like America Mirica had issues too… Germany was abandoned, and so was Japan—not because they couldn't be saved, but because people thought they deserved it… because they started the wars, after all… but the innocent… the children… they were abandoned even though they had nothing to do with it… yeah… civilians now suffer the most."
The Gift: "…hmmm… we should keep going and search… maybe there are good supplies here… we could even live here."
Sophie: "Huh?"
Liza: "Excuse me… here?"
The Gift: "No Crimsons… no Sirus… so many houses—if food and water are good here too… it's perfect."
Sophie: "…hmm… he's not entirely wrong…"
Liza: "Mhm."
Zoe: "…hmm."
Sophie: "Either way… we have to find medicine for Zoe's foot; we wrapped it, but that's not enough…"
Jill: "Mhm…"
Hansel: "Mhm."
They went on; the houses looked like those from cowboy times—or old times in general…
Kenn: "Oh…"
Sophie: "Hmmm…"
The Gift: "Let's split up—how about it."
Dante: "And where do we meet then?"
Jill: "Here—look there… there's a map…"
Sophie: "Hmm."
There was a huge map. On it: "Map of Bunker 441."
Liza: "Huge."
Sophie: "…guys, I… don't think this is just a regular bunker… this is… a damned city!"
Jill: "Mhm… look… here… see this clock… it's the tallest building… we'll meet there… but be careful… who knows if there are surprises here."
Sophie: "Well… main thing is we're finally far from man-eaters."
They moved on, separated this time: Kenn and Sophie in one group; Liza, Dante, and Jill in another; The Gift with Zoe, Hansel, and Dylan.
Liza: "Wow…"
Dante: "Mhm."
Jill: "It reminds me of the one in England… Big… Ben… I think it was called."
Dante: "How do you know so much about the old world?"
Jill: "My dear, there are many ways… better than sitting around in a cold room."
Dante: "Huh?"
Liza: "Cold… room?"
Jill: "Oh… forget what I said… long story…"
Dante: "Okay."
(Meanwhile)
Kenn: "Hahh."
Sophie: "…hmmmm… what's wrong, Kenn?"
Kenn: "…just a bit exhausted…"
Sophie: "…are you?… hehe… want to take a short break…"
Kenn: "Hmm…"
Sophie: "Rest up… there's a sofa—I'll search the building."
He sat while she searched.
Sophie: "Hmmm…"
Kenn: "…are you feeling better now?"
Sophie: "Mhm…"
Kenn: "…that's good."
He noticed she was only using her right hand to pull things down.
Sophie: "Hmmm."
Kenn: "…hmm…"
He stood up.
Sophie: "Well now."
He took her left hand.
Sophie: "Ow…"
Kenn: "…let me see."
Sophie: "It's… just a scratch…"
Kenn: "Uh-huh… then let me see…"
He took a breath and rolled up her sleeve—her arm was badly hurt, a deep wound.
Kenn: "Damn."
He looked at Sophie.
Sophie: "Hmm…"
Kenn: "What was that about."
Sophie: "I'm sorry… I didn't want to be dead weight."
Kenn: "When will you stop enduring your pain like this…"
Sophie: "…hmmm…"
She pushed his hand away.
Sophie: "…no reason for you to worry about me."
Kenn: "Of course… I worry… what—"
Suddenly she cupped his cheeks and kissed him on the cheek.
(Smack!)
Kenn: "Ugh…"
Sophie: "…it's okay…"
Kenn: "Sophie… what was… that…"
Sophie: "…uhm… I kissed your cheek…"
Kenn: "…ugh…"
Sophie: "(blushing)…"
She looked at him.
Sophie: "Hmm."
Kenn: "…I thought… you were avoiding me."
Sophie: "I tried… but… I love you… Kenn."
Kenn: "Ugh… what…"
Sophie: "…hehe…"
Kenn: "(blushing)… I thought only I… had feelings for you… you… have feelings… for me… since when?"
Sophie: "No idea… not really sure…"
Kenn: "Oh…"
He held her cheeks.
Kenn: "Oh… does that… mean… you want to be my girlfriend?"
Sophie: "Ugh… uh… um… if you don't mind…"
Kenn: "…hmm."
Sophie: "You do realize I… like with Hansel… killed your sister…"
Kenn: "It wasn't you… they lied to you—Heinrich did that… you didn't know she wasn't sick and you didn't make that decision—he did… she was already dead by the time you learned of it."
Sophie: "Hmmm."
Kenn: "So… what… do… you… say?"
Sophie: "Mhm… okay… fine… Kenny-dear… from now on I'm your girlfriend… but don't tell anyone… for now…"
Kenn: "Okay."
Sophie: "Mhm… by the way… you… know… I'm not a virgin, right… you know my past…"
Kenn: "It's not your fault… you were abused without your will…"
Sophie: "…hmm… wouldn't you rather… you know… start a family with a woman who's… completely a virgin…"
Kenn: "…no… wait… family…"
Sophie: "Uh… only if you want to."
Kenn: "…I think that's… a bit early… but… maybe later—I mean we just now got engaged…"
Sophie: "So you've got your girl…"
Kenn: "And you've got your partner now…"
Sophie: "(sweats)… your sense of romance… needs some work…"
Kenn: "Huh?"
Sophie: "Hehe… anyway… let's keep going… before someone walks in and sees this…"
Sophie: "…you still can't stare at me."
Kenn: "I never did."
Sophie: "…suspicious…"
Kenn: "Okay, I did."
Sophie: "Okay…"
(Meanwhile)
Kenn and Sophie are in the left sector; on the right are The Gift, Hansel, and Zoe.
The Gift: "Hmmm."
Zoe: "Ow…"
Hansel: "Is your leg still that bad?"
Zoe: "A little…"
The Gift: "There should be medicine here…"
Hansel: "Bunker No. 441… how many bunkers are there?"
The Gift: "…I heard that in America Mirica alone there were several—especially in the USA Mirica… there should have been at least 450 bunkers… ten of them huge."
Hansel: "How old are you, anyway? Hard to tell because you always wear that mask."
Zoe: "Yeah, why?"
The Gift: "…wounds… some people know them—Liza and Sophie have seen them… at the camp."
Zoe: "Are they that bad… at least tell us where you're from."
The Gift: "I can give you a few hints."
He showed his hand—bad wounds; his skin quickly began to inflame.
The Gift: "I suffer from an infection due to Black Eye projects…"
Zoe: "Hmm."
The Gift: "…well… Sophie also has many problems because of those projects… if you've noticed, she doesn't really control her despair sometimes… it's because she became schizophrenic from all the torture…"
Zoe: "What?"
Hansel: "With me and Gretel… there were no problems."
The Gift: "At first they didn't know how to make a Human Sirus, so they used torture methods to strengthen the projects… many died from the torture alone… methods like gas, gunshot wounds… in Sophie's case it was even abuse of her body… in my case it was the tear in my jaw… which is why you can see my teeth and gums."
Hansel: "And the clothes."
The Gift: "I had different clothes… but they looked drab, and Sophie always teased me about the brown coat—she said I looked like a cowboy—so she stitched another for me… at least this coat… she made it…"
Zoe: "Do you… like Sophie or something?"
The Gift: "Friendship… nothing more… we both know pain… besides, I respect her for her age—having to endure so much… I'm the oldest among you."
Zoe: "How old… 25?"
The Gift: "Close… I'm 27."
Hansel: "Oh…"
The Gift: "Liza is tough too… she's kind, endures a lot… we were tortured by the Black Eye—by strangers… but she was tortured and abused by her own parents… you'd have to cry inside every day."
Hansel: "She doesn't cry."
The Gift: "Doesn't she?… but her spirit… it cries… look at her eyes… Liza's eyes are the eyes of someone full of grief… probably crying every day, maybe even suicidal thoughts."
Hansel: "How… do you know."
Zoe: "He's right… I saw a scar on a vein on her… looked old."
The Gift: "Maybe she didn't go through with it… or changed her mind at the last second… Jill, too… seems to have been through a lot…"
He looked around.
The Gift: "…this chaos… shows… that we humans… can be more monstrous than the Sirus themselves… the Sirus only do it out of hunger…"
His suit was completely black, even his hat, which looked like a cowboy's; he had black gloves, the mask covered not only his mouth but also part of his nose and cheeks; his eyes were brown, his hair black.
Zoe: "Show me your face…"
The Gift: "You'll be scared."
Hansel: "We won't…"
Zoe: "Yeah…"
The Gift: "Alright."
He removed the mask—his mouth was torn; it was bound, but still partly ripped; the left cheek wasn't only torn, it was badly smashed, like something had fallen on it.
The Gift: "Satisfied."
Zoe: "Ugh…"
Hansel: "…looks… painful."
He put it back on.
The Gift: "It is—and I stitch it myself…"
Zoe: "No one else helps you?"
The Gift: "Liza helped me once… but only the part where my mouth meets the mask; as for the stitching itself, I did it once with Sophie's help—only once—then always by myself… but Liza often asks if I need help—sometimes I say yes, sometimes no. Sophie taught me the stitching—not on my face, but on a doll… weird, but it let me learn how to make it hold… for a while… and, like I said, Liza once helped—only on the top part. That was when I saved you, when we arrived in that little place… she found me and helped me… truly a kind lady… though… she once actually saw my face when she took the mask off."
(A few days earlier)
Liza: "Hmm."
The Gift: "Ghh…"
Liza: "Hey, Gift… something wrong?"
The Gift: "It's The Gift!"
He glared.
Liza: "Sorry…"
The Gift: "What do you want?"
Liza: "I saw you in pain… just wanted… to check."
The Gift: "Get lost…"
Liza: "…but you need help."
The Gift: "What… with my face… oh, right…"
He stood up.
The Gift: "I don't think you want to see it…"
When he turned around, Liza suddenly held the mask and took it off his face.
Liza: "Oh…"
The Gift: "…oh…"
Liza: "…you poor thing…"
The Gift: "What…"
Liza: "…looks bad…"
The Gift: "Aren't you afraid?"
Liza: "Afraid?… nope…"
The Gift: "Disgusted."
Liza: "…did you ask for wounds?"
The Gift: "No."
Liza: "Then… you're not stitching it very well…"
The Gift: "Sophie taught me…"
Liza: "Sophie's a good woman… but when it comes to sewing… she's not that good… at least not like me…"
She showed a scar on her hand.
Liza: "Look… I know this stuff… let me help—sit down."
The Gift: "I don't want to…"
Liza: "…mmm."
She pouted.
Liza: "…do you want me to get mad?"
She took his arm and pressed, making him sit.
The Gift: "Hey…"
Liza: "Now hold still…"
She leaned in very close.
Liza: "Hmm."
The Gift: "Hey…"
Liza: "I'm not underage… relax."
The Gift: "(sweats)… huh?… okay…"
Liza: "Hmmm…"
She held his cheeks—without making sounds of disgust…
Liza: "Okay… okay… maybe don't move so much…"
She started binding it…
Liza: "Mhm… okay…"
The Gift: "Ghh…"
Liza: "Sorry…"
The Gift: "It's fine… you're really kind… you know that."
Liza: "…hmm… I don't know…"
She began stitching his cheek.
Liza: "Sophie did teach you to sew… but only enough that… it wouldn't get worse… sadly, even I can't do that much. I… think it'll just hold longer…"
The Gift: "It's fine… you're already like Sophie in that way…"
Liza: "In what way?"
The Gift: "Sophie wasn't afraid of my wounds either…"
Liza: "I think that's how it should always be… no one should be ashamed… of their wounds…"
She slowed, then cut the thread with her teeth.
Liza: "There… done…"
The Gift: "…not much better than Sophie's."
Liza: "It'll hold a bit longer that's it sorry…"
The Gift: "Hmm."
She stood up.
The Gift: "…hmm… thanks… Liza…"
Liza: "Huh?… it's okay."
She smiled and left.
(Back to the present)
The Gift: "Hmmm."
Zoe: "And… what are you going to do after this?"
The Gift: "Hmm?"
Zoe: "You wanted to leave… but you stayed."
The Gift: "I did want to go, but… I'll stay… for now, I guess…"
Dylan: "Hey, guys… what's this here…"
Zoe: "…Dylan?"
Hansel: "Right—where were you…"
The Gift: "…hmmm…"
Dylan: "Come here a second."
The Gift looked down as Zoe and Hansel approached.
The Gift: "…ugh… wait!"
He stretched out his hand to stop them.
The Gift: "…something's wrong…"
(Patch)
It was Dylan… but… something was off.
Dylan: "…come… here… I think something's wrong with… me…"
Suddenly black fluid ran from his eyes and he collapsed.
(Crash!)
The Gift: "Ugh…"
Something was in the building… suddenly other things fell to the floor.
The Gift: "Ugh… hahhh…"
Dylan held a book… the cover read "Lala Pay."
The Gift: "Necromancer… what is that?"
Zoe: "…hmmm?"
Hansel: "…reminds me of… Lovecraft's stories…"
The Gift: "Lovecraft?…"
Hansel: "Oh… a writer…"
Zoe: "…but… what does this mean…"
Suddenly the book opened by itself… and then… hands came out…
(Crack!)
The undead…
The Gift: "…ugh… what the… hell."
Undead: "…Lala… Pay… Abyss… abysss..."
It carried a long scythe.
Undead: "Hrrrr… death… and curse… upon… the… living…"
The Gift: "Hmm…"
(Meanwhile with Dante, Liza, and Jill)
Liza: "Ugh… huh?…"
She turned around…
Liza: "Hey…"
Dante: "What?"
Jill: "Something wrong?"
Liza: "Something… isn't right… I suddenly felt something…"
Jill: "…Hmmm…"
(Dong!) (Dong) (Dong!)
Jill: "Ugh."
Dante: "What the hell is going on now."
Liza: "Huh…"
Jill: "The clock… it's still working—that's not good… this clock can't work unless someone starts it."
Dante: "How do you know that."
Jill: "Think—there… there shouldn't be any power here… no energy source… how can a clock work without a power source… damn."
Dante: "Ugh…"
Jill: "…Huh."
(Whispers)
(The living… the living… the… living… shall… to the abyss)
Jill: "Do you hear that."
Dante: "Yeah… thought it was my imagination…"
Liza: "What's going on here…"
Jill: "Ugh…"
She looked around and started to examine the building.
Jill: "Hmmm… there must be something here… a sign… something… ghhh… my eye hurts…"
Dante: "…Makes sense… you lost your left one."
Jill: "…hhh… huh!"
She found a drawing.
Jill: "A… drawing."
She picked it up.
Jill: "…four… skeletons… with scythes… a big clock… a Lala Pay book… and a… black hole?…"
Dante: "What's that supposed to mean."
Jill: "No idea… anyone have a pen…"
Dante: "Here."
She took it, uncapped it with her mouth.
Jill: "…This must be a clue… someone must have drawn it…"
Dante: "Who…"
Jill: "No idea… one of the people who lived here… Lala Pay… Lala Pay… ugh… I've got it… abyss… Lala Pay."
A book fell—on it: "by Zephyr, the Dark Prince…"
Jill: "Hmmm?"
She picked up the book.
Jill: "…hmmm… a fairy tale?…"
Dante: "We don't have time for this."
Jill: "Calm down… okay…"
She laid the book on the table, then slid it into her bag…
Jill: "I really have no idea what Lala Pay is… or why the clock is ticking… but I think… we're not wanted here…"
Dante: "By ghosts or what."
Jill: "…maybe… no idea… or the Crimsons are doing it… we need to get out of here… better not meet in front of the clock… we should meet the others somewhere else."
Dante: "Where, then."
Jill: "I don't know…"
(Crash!)
Something hit the floor… a metal piece.
Jill: "I've got it…"
Dante: "What are you planning."
Jill: "You'll see."
She grabbed it—the metal chunk was crumpled like a loudspeaker. Jill took something—a table leg—then tied the metal piece to it, held it up, and yelled into it.
Jill: "Can you hear me."
Dante: "Ghhh…"
Liza: "Yes… too loud."
Jill: "Better… that way."
She opened the windows.
Jill: "Guys!!!!!!!"
She shouted loudly.
Sophie: "Hmmm?"
Kenn: "What's going on…"
Sophie: "That's Jill."
They looked out the window.
Jill: "Quick… you have to leave… wherever you are… leave!… Something's wrong here… let's meet at the place where the bunker number was—Bunker No. 441… hurry!"
She shouted loudly.
The Gift: "Means…"
Hansel: "this place is really dangerous…"
Zoe: "let's get out of here…"
The Gift: "Problem is…"
Undead: "…death… to… to… to the living!"
The Gift: "It's on our tail…"
Hansel: "…do you mean we should use our Sirus powers…"
Jill: "Sorry to say this… but I… don't think that'll work… Sirus powers work on Sirus… or humans, maybe Crimsons… but… when it comes to ghosts…"
The Gift: "Then what do we do…"
Hansel: "Ghhh…"
Jill: "Hahhh…"
(Meanwhile)
Sophie: "We have to get out… fast."
Kenn: "Okay…"
Sophie ran to the door—even though it was open… she couldn't get through and smacked her nose into it.
Sophie: "Ow!"
Kenn: "…what's wrong."
(Bam!)
Kenn: "Oh man—fuck—my nose…"
Sophie: "Uh… Kenn…"
Kenn: "What—I'm busy with my nose…"
Sophie: "Be busy… with what's behind us instead."
Kenn: "What… is that… a ghoul…"
He turned around—it was a figure in a cloak and hood, made of shadow.
Kenn: "…uhm…"
Sophie: "…what is that…"
Undead: "…death to the living...… The Abyss is the home of corruption… oh… mother of the abyss… is… angry…"
Sophie: "Mother of… the Abyss…"
Kenn: "…she was pregnant by an Abyss?"
Sophie: "(sweats)… Kenn, not everything is about sex…"
Kenn: "Oh… (sweats)…"
Sophie: "…I… don't know—it's not attacking…"
Kenn: "Yeah… must be a friendly ghost…"
(Crash!)
Suddenly the wall behind them exploded—the attack missed them by a hair.
Sophie: "Mmm… guess not…"
Kenn: "…hehe… I think I just soiled myself."
Sophie: "…I just want to sleep… lie in a bed… and take a nice relaxing… bath."
Kenn: "Oh… thought you were going somewhere else with that."
Sophie: "Hmm…"
It attacked again.
Sophie: "Ugh—woah…"
Kenn: "Down!"
They ducked.
Sophie: "Ow…"
Kenn: "Ugh…"
Sophie: "This is too much… I miss the days when my biggest worry was my period."
Kenn: "No time for that now…"
Sophie: "I know…"
They hid behind a table.
Sophie: "Hahh…"
Kenn: "Ghhh…"
Sophie: "Hmm."
Kenn: "What should we do…"
Sophie: "No idea… I can't do hocus pocus…"
Kenn: "We… have to run…"
Sophie: "Question is how… when whatever this undead is keeps attacking…"
(Crash!)
Sophie: "And it's also crap at aiming…"
Kenn: "Ghhh… but the attacks are strong enough…"
Sophie: "I've got it…"
Kenn: "What."
Sophie: "…distract it… sure, it's undead… but it can still be distracted…"
Kenn: "And how do we do that."
Sophie: "…rock-paper-scissors for who distracts it."
Kenn: "No."
Sophie: "Yes."
Kenn: "No."
Sophie: "Yes."
(A few seconds later)
Kenn: "Rock, paper—"
Sophie: "Scissors…"
Kenn had paper… Sophie had… scissors.
Sophie: "(sweats)…"
Kenn: "…I knew it…"
Sophie: "…oh… don't be sad… if you survive, you can kiss me."
Kenn: "Ugh!"
He jumped up immediately.
Kenn: "I'm right here, you jerk!"
Sophie: "(sweats)… that… was… fast."
(Meanwhile)
Jill: "Okay… let's go."
Dante: "Okay…"
Liza: "Mhm…"
They moved toward the street… when suddenly they heard something.
Dante: "Hmm?"
Jill: "Ugh…"
Liza: "…ugh…"
The ground shook.
Liza: "What… now?"
Jill: "Don't know…"
(Patch)… (patch)
Jill: "Ugh…"
They suddenly saw a massive surge of water rushing toward them.
Jill: "What!"
Dante: "Is this a joke."
Jill: "Come on—we have to get higher… somewhere…"
Liza: "Let's climb up on that bus there."
They scrambled up.
Liza: "Where is all this water coming from now…"
Jill: "I don't know… anyway… I'm not sure this has anything to do with the undead."
Dante: "Man…"
Suddenly someone put hands on both Jill's and Dante's shoulders.
Dante: "Mmm!"
Jill: "Ugh…"
Liza: "What…"
It was a ghost—an undead—tall, its teeth visible.
Jill: "Hold… still…"
Liza: "What…"
Jill: "Hold still… for some reason… it's just looking at us."
Undead: "Hhrrrr… death… to the living…"
Jill: "Ugh—huh!"
Liza: "Ugh!"
Suddenly the whole bus sank down.
Liza: "Whoa!"
Jill: "…ugh!"
Dante: "Fuuuuck!"
(Splach!)
Liza: "Gahhh… gahh…"
Dante: "Ah… damn…"
Jill: "Gahhh… ghhh…"
Dante: "What… a shitty day!"
Jill: "Oh… damn…"
Liza: "Huh…"
She saw something swimming toward them.
Liza: "…ugh!"
(Splach!)
(Hrrrrrrrrrrrr!)
A dead figure—the same as before.
Liza: "Ugh!"
Jill: "…Okay… that's it… I want to go home."
Dante: "…Watch out!"
Undead: "Hrrrr… death to the living!"
Jill: "Woah!"
Liza: "Ugh…"
(Meanwhile)
The Gift: "Hhhh…"
Zoe: "That's it… this can't work."
Hansel: "How are we supposed to fight a figure that comes out of this book called Lala Pay…"
(Dong!)… (dong!)… (dong!)… (Dong!)
Zoe: "Ever since that thing started, they've been here… how are we supposed to fight undead with this noise."
(Back to Jill, Dante, and Liza)
(Dong!)
Jill: "Ugh… I've got it… the bell…"
Dante: "What…"
Liza: "Huh?"
Jill: "Ever since the bell started… these undead keep coming…"
Dante: "And… we're supposed to stop it… how?"
Jill: "…Hahh… we have to somehow… get there…"
She started swimming.
Dante: "Are you crazy."
Jill: "…I'm trying."
He looked at her. She swam on; he swam after her.
Liza: "Wait…"
Dante: "Can you distract it…"
Liza: "Ugh… okay… I'll… try…"
Liza glowed faintly; plants wrapped around her body.
Liza: "Alright then… I'll use my Sirus powers…"
Undead: "Hhrrrr… Lala Pay… mother of the Abyss… is angry!"
Liza: "Mother… of the Abyss…"
Jill and Dante swam on.
Dante: "Jill… are you sure."
Jill: "Trust me…"
She swam until she arrived.
Dante: "How do we get to the door…"
Jill: "…hmm."
She dove; Dante followed. Jill found a window and swam through after breaking it with her foot.
(Crash!)
Jill: "Mmm…"
She went through and continued until they reached the stairs.
Jill: "Hahh… hahh…"
Dante: "Bhahhh… just for the record… I don't like swimming with a minor."
Jill: "I don't like swimming with someone who blames my friends…"
She climbed the stairs.
Dante: "I'm sorry about Sophie…"
Sophie had been hurt—Jill knew that too.
Jill: "You hurt her… she saved my life… she saved Liza's life… she saved Kenn, Hansel… but she couldn't save herself and got badly injured."
Dante: "She couldn't save your eye either."
Jill: "Sophie wasn't there then… I meant in the cellar… when we were inside and saw the Crimsons open Melinda's belly… I wanted to scream, but when I looked at Sophie I saw that she was afraid too, and still she held it together… so we wouldn't get caught—she only looked at me because she was worried about me…"
Dante: "I know—that's why I'm sorry."
Jill: "Then don't apologize to me—apologize to Sophie…"
Dante: "Hahh… I will…"
Jill: "Good… you also need to apologize to Zoe and to Kenn."
Dante: "I will…"
They kept climbing; suddenly they heard something.
Dante: "Hmmm."
Jill: "Hahh… see… that…"
Dante: "I can only hear it… can't see it."
Jill: "I mean up there by the bell… someone's standing there."
Dante: "What?"
He looked up—someone really stood there. She suddenly turned… it looked… human—not a Crimson… not an undead… a woman dressed like a witch.
Witch: "…hmm… seems you figured it out."
Jill: "What… who are you."
Witch: "I am the daughter of ruin—called Nita…"
Dante: "Are you… a witch or what."
Nita: "Indeed… witch of the Abyss… You are unwelcome here… final warning… leave this place… now…"
Dante: "Hahh."
Jill: "We… just wanted medicine… for the injured… and food and water… we're hungry."
Nita: "…hahh… hmm…"
For a moment she looked surprised… then serious again.
Nita: "I… cannot allow that…"
Jill: "Please… we'll leave after… really."
Nita: "…you humans killed my family… 800 years ago… I can't trust you…"
Jill: "So you're not human."
Nita: "A human?… yes… but cursed by the Abyss… any human who ends up there… becomes immortal… or rather… stops aging…"
Jill: "Hahh…"
Nita: "I'll give you 30 minutes… take… your things and go…"
Jill: "Hah."
Dante: "That's not enough."
Jill: "Shhh…"
Nita: "Hmm?"
Jill: "…Understood… okay… okay…"
She looked at the bell… raised her staff… and suddenly a portal appeared.
Nita: "Hurry… preferably… before I change my mind."
She vanished.
Jill: "Ugh…"
Jill hurried to the bell and tried to stop it.
Jill: "Ghhhh… help me here…"
They had to pull something.
Dante: "Ghhhhh…"
The bell stopped.
Jill: "Oh…"
Dante: "Ghhh…"
(Meanwhile)
Liza: "Hmm?"
Undead: "Hhrrr."
It vanished.
Liza: "Uh… it… worked."
(Meanwhile)
Kenn: "Hahh… aaarggh…"
Suddenly it stopped.
Undead: "Hrrr…"
It vanished.
Sophie: "Huh?"
Kenn: "Ugh… um… did I beat it or what?"
Sophie: "Hmmm… don't know…"
(Meanwhile)
Zoe: "Hmm."
The Gift: "Ugh… what now."
Hansel: "Hmm."
It just looked at them… then went back into the Lala Pay book. The book… vanished as well.
The Gift: "…I think we're done here."
Zoe: "…okay…"
Hansel: "So when the bell stopped… the bell was the cause."