well, that was going to give them plenty of time, depending on how stubborn sigma was. that phone thing definitely wasn’t going anywhere, after all. especially if he kept dialing in nonsense numbers…
she followed after phi, leaving sigma to deal with the phone situation.
“we should compile what we know,” chiaki stated plainly. “if this is a puzzle game, then the best way to solve it is to take notes. i can draw up a map of the area as we know it…i should have something in my bag for that.”
she pulled her bag off her back. it was a little worn now, and it had been patched up several times, but it had been with her as long as she could remember. something about it seemed a little off, though. she didn’t realize what it was until she reached in to fish out her notepad and pen and found something smooth and solid in place of her usual game cases and portable consoles.
“wh…” her face paled. “what is…?”
she dropped the bag, and it hit the floor like a sack of rocks. and as she tipped it over, it turned out it was a sack of rocks. they cascaded out in a line, until the only thing left was air. chiaki stared in shock at the pile, her brain stuttering to a stop as she tried to process this.
then she fell to her knees in front of the pile, and began searching frantically.
“my games…” one would think she’d lost a loved one or something. “where are my games!?” on the one hand, she could understand why he’d take them. on the other hand, what was she going to do if he left them, drop the AB game entirely and just start playing mario!? not even she was that crazy!
Phi stared in shock as the literal, physical rocks scattered across the floor.
This, at least, cleared up one question she had - how in the world was Chiaki able to keep a whole bag, when everyone else had their personal possessions removed? No phones, no smart watches, nothing. And this answered it. Whoever Zero was, he’d removed everything in her bag and replaced it with enough stones that any shifts in weight would be negligible.
There were no answers to how Zero would be able to pull this off, or how Chiaki could get this far into the Nonary Game without noticing it, but... this, at least, made it a little easier to trust her. It was now far less likely she was Zero.
Letting out a deep breath, Phi hit the buttons on the side of her watch. They still had a while before the next set of Chromatic Doors opened, but... sorting through stones didn’t seem like the most optimal use of their time. She’d say something comforting, but... empathy wasn’t really her strong suit. All she could really think to ask were the productive questions.
“What was in the bag originally? Anything important? Anything that Zero Sr. could want, or could use against us?”