Psycho Pass: All Alone With You

Until Death...Do Us Part? - ACT 5

In a back corridor on the east side of the theater, Kagari hopped down a series of three, wide stairs to the next landing above a much longer staircase, which led farther down into a basement annex beside the stage. Having previously investigated this section of the theater for human stragglers, he was familiar with the corridor and the row of vending machines tucked away in a shadowy side passage.

Hands pressed against the glass, he looked over the sweets and tried to decide what was more appealing to him. His stomach grumbled in anticipation. Unable to make up his mind, he peered closer as if proximity might assist his choice. "Can't believe the Inspectors took the easy job of going through the preserved relics and sent the rest of us on a wild goose hunt," he complained on a secured channel.

"That's what hounds are for," Kogami replied. "I doubt they'll find anything. Someone would have noticed before those antiques were put in their display cases."

"Makes sense, but this is like looking for a needle in a hay field. Forget the stack."

"Kagari, I meant to ask you. That video game you played: Silent Redemption? How did it end?"

"Wasn't easy, let me tell you. I'm not one of those gamers who races through the quest content as fast as possible, just so I can finish the damn game. I'm a devoted completionist," he boasted. "If there's a side quest that pops up, I'm on it."

"I don't need a strategy guide," Kogami complained. "Did you ever finish it?"

"Hell yeah, I finished it. Once you knew what you needed to find in order to get your revenge, all you had to do was guide the living to the item to unlock the clue. Once you had all the items and the clues, justice was swift; revenge was sweet; and redemption was had. No more earthbound spirit. It was time to head into the light."

"Now that Gorou isn't here to hinder them, you'd think Asura Rai or Kazuya would have led us to whatever it is holding them here."

"Maybe they have, and we just weren't listening. It's very frustrating trying to get the living to understand your needs without scaring them away entirely. That's what made the game so challenging." His eyes widened in delight. "Ah, strawberry pocky—you are all mine!" He put his money into the coin slot.

"Are there any chocolate ones?"

"Yeah, want some?"

"Not for me. Akane must be starving. The call for this case came in at what? Midmorning? I wasn't paying attention at the time."

Kagari laughed at Kogami's subtle joke about being semi-unconscious in the medical bay. At Ginoza's insistence, the team physician had to use stimulants to bring him around to reality. Tucking the candy boxes in his pocket, he returned to the main corridor with a stick of pocky in his mouth and trotted down the final staircase to a back exit, but the security gate was down.

"Still not getting out through there. This whole nightmare is like being stuck in a video game where you have to beat all 100 levels before you can wake up and go home. Tsk!"

Grumbling under his breath, Kagari ran back up the steps to the landing. A young woman with black hair and dressed in a white gown ran passed him. She smiled pleasantly at the startled Enforcer and continued down the flight into the lower corridor. A chill followed after her, and Kagari could see his breath as a mist in the frigid air.

"Ko?"

There was no answer.

As he turned to follow her, Kagari tapped his wristcom. "Kogami?"

Still, there was no answer.

Kagari opened communication to all channels. "Can anybody hear me? I think I'm about to have a close encounter of the paranormal kind." He slowly started back down the stairs. "I should have taken that bathroom break when Ginoza suggested it. How embarrassing would it be if I wet my pants?"