No. 00X - The Fourth Wall

[reminded]

[There sure is a lot of excitement this morning. After getting a vague grip on the situation by talking to some of the wingless newcomers, Layton decides to take a stroll around the village, trunk in hand, and observe. Something very unusual is happening, and there's no point in missing it by staying indoors.

Occasionally, he takes a seat on a bench or at a table and scribbles notes into his journal. Or puzzles into his puzzle index. Because no matter how much hubbub there is, you can never stop the puzzles.]

Comments

[trainwrecking]

Y-yeah. T-they said my memory would... c-come back to me eventually. [ He sniffles and rubs at his arms, very slowly warming up. He's still off-color, but the threat of literally freezing is gone. Which begs the next line of questions: ]

You... s-said something a-about catching a cold. S-so we... we c-can get sick in this place?

nppp

[reminded]

[Very strange. Oh well, Layton isn't one to pry without reason. He begins to walk further into the store to free up the entrance.]

Well, yes. We have a number of skilled doctors in the village--or healers, if you're so inclined. However, death here is impermanent. You'll be revived in about a week, though given a penalty for the trouble.

\o/

[trainwrecking]

A week for revival? That isn't s-so different from home... [ Of course things had to start getting weirder. The idea of a penalty is a new concept, however. ]

Uh― w-what kind of penalties? [ As an aside, he eyes the clothing racks. This stuff is all free for the taking...? ]

[reminded]

[Though Otonashi (or anyone, really) won't be able to see it, Layton's eyebrows rise underneath his hat. A world other than this one where people are revived from death?]

Typically, a loss of some kind. Sight, voice, or memory, for instance. Penalties can be removed, but only with the consultation of an individual from the Malnosso named John.

You say revival happens in your home as well? Where do you hail from?

[trainwrecking]

Mal... nosso? [ So he has to be much more careful about death here. That sits just fine with him, because he never adjusted to the idea of death not sticking. And it should not be hard...

... Unless Noda is here, but he won't linger on that. ]

Ahh... yeah. It's... nn. Y-you seem level-headed, so you might not panic the way I did... haha... I came from... sort of an afterlife.

[reminded]

[Well, that does make him pause.]

The afterlife, you say? Fascinating... We have our fair share of the deceased arriving, but I have yet to hear about an afterlife. Would it be all right if I asked more about it?

As for the Malnosso, remember that they are the ones who experiment on us. In some cases, they'll perform services for us as well.

[trainwrecking]

Right... You said that already, huh. [ Now that he's warming up, he's slowly regaining those crazy motor and brain skills. He's paying attention, honest! And with more focus now that he almost has feeling in his limbs. ]

S-sorry... But, ahh―

Of course you can ask. I've been asking you about this place, so... I-I'll tell you anything you want to know as best as I can.

[reminded]

[Being frozen to death can be pretty distracting.]

Thank you. By the way, there's a chance you'll find your original set of clothes among the racks. I'll help you look for them, if you'll describe them for me. [It's a bit awkward to be standing around in a clothing store without browsing the wares, after all.]

Now then, I suppose the most pressing question is: what is it like? One hears so many beliefs about the afterlife that meeting someone who has experienced it is quite the opportunity, if you'll pardon me for saying so.

[trainwrecking]

My original clothes..? [ Why would those be here..? Maybe Layton means the afterlife's default school uniform, not the customized ones he and his friends wore.

Fair enough, he would describe the original uniform. ]

I-it's just a black high school uniform with a red...ish... necktie. It's p-pretty― [ He sniffles. ] ―nondescript. And a white dress shirt goes u-under... underneath the jacket. [ But he can also look for it himself! ... Once he gets over the whole oh gosh this won't be considered stealing, right? ]

I don't know if... my s-story of the afterlife is a good indication. Everyone there was high-school aged... It was like a― a section?― for young people who had... passed on. It was as if... the world was designed for us.

[reminded]

[Layton nods and gets to looking. Many of the styles in the store are unusual by his standards, so maybe this won't be as hard a task as it seems.]

"Designed for you"? Do you mean so in the manner of a paradise?

[trainwrecking]

[ He looks around and spots a white dress shirt. However, he hovers over it, his fingers shaking. Maybe he should pick something thicker? ]

Not... exactly paradise. It looked just like a normal high school would. Except there were... non-sentient students alongside us. They― no, we called them NPCs. Non-Player Characters... [ Just in case Layton wasn't familiar with gamer lingo. ]

When I first showed up, I was told not to interact with them.

[reminded]

[It's a strange term to him, but he takes it for what it is. He has to wonder if a high school afterlife would be heaven or hell for the average teenager.]

Why not? What harm could they do you?

[trainwrecking]

Nothing directly... They were usually harmless, unless you... went up to them and attacked one, I guess. N-not that I would! But enjoying a normal school life with them― [ He pulls a thick, longsleeved shirt off the rack, though he never size-checks it. Oh well! ]

― it meant you would disappear from the world. The, uh... the theory was you would be reincarnated, but... none of us knew for sure.

[reminded]

[... Some sort of purgatory?]

So it becomes a gamble on whether or not there's a life after afterlife. I can see why you and your fellows would hesitate to find out.

[trainwrecking]

That's what I thought too. [ He sneezes. Eww... at least none got on his new shirt. Talking like this is doing wonders for him, though. It makes him think instead of worry, and has him warming up. The teeth-chattering is down to a minimum. ]

But what I found... was that nobody was really afraid of reincarnating. They were all fighting for a cause... And fighting against the unfairness of life. Everyone I talked to there― all of them died with some kind of regret.

[reminded]

... Hmm. [A thought occurs to him, but... no, he won't entertain the notion.]

So their regrets were preventing them from moving on, so to speak. Are you not in the same situation?

[trainwrecking]

Y-yeah, that's exactly right... [ If this had been a puzzle, Layton would have solved it with impressive accuracy! And here Otonashi thought it might be too much for anyone else to swallow.

Still, his breath hitches at the last bit of Layton's statement. ]

I... guess I must be to be there, but I can't remember anything about who I was when I was alive. I'm not sure how to jar lost memory.

[reminded]

[He slows a bit in his perusal of clothing. As curious as he is to hear more about this, he's getting the feeling that this is sensitive territory. It might be better left for another time.]

To be frank, I don't think there's much to be done. Contrary to what stories will have you believe, there are no miracle cures for amnesia, least of all strong blows to the head. It is only a matter of time.

[trainwrecking]

That would just make it worse, wouldn't it?

[ He rubs the side of his head. ]

I wouldn't try a blow to the head on purpose. I, uh, tried to open a door that was hammer trapped once... that hit me pretty... hard... haha. [ Hahaha... hm. Suddenly, he can appreciate the trouble that his friends must have had explaining the afterlife to new arrivals. This is so surreal. ]

[reminded]

[He's finding it strange that Otonashi would feel any pain at all, buuut there's no use questioning these things.]

You could even say that it nailed you, I suppose. Ha ha! [He couldn't resist. But he'll at least try to be helpful by picking out a few uniform-looking blazers and draping them over the racks for Otonashi to give a yea or nay.]

But in all seriousness, that's a bit too dangerous a prank for me to condone.

A+ for that tag... BD

[trainwrecking]

[ He slumps a little, but he did set himself up for it. ]

Are you... trying to kill me with that joke? [ He can do it too, see! Except he can't take credit for the killing dead people gag. Looking over the jackets, he indicates one of them with a nod. It looks close to the uniform he has in mind. ]

My critique aside... It wasn't exactly a prank. It was a defense mechanism meant to... uh, do you in. Dying there was more like passing out... e-except with all the pain.

B)

[reminded]

[Is he allowed to laugh at that joke? He isn't quite sure what the proper etiquette would be in this case, but he can't help but chuckle just a bit.]

Dying as a defense? What could be more fearsome than death?

[trainwrecking]

[ Otonashi's laugh is more sheepish, but it still counts. ]

Dying 100 times... [ He mutters this, shaking his head. ] Er, they were called Anti-Angel traps, so they were designed to keep someone else out. If we happened to get caught in them, then...

[reminded]

Which is to say that angels are not friendly beings?

[You're blowing his mind, bro.]

[trainwrecking]

It... d-depends...

If you're following the rules, she's friendly. She's very tame and quiet... I'm curious about her. If you ask the wrong question..? Ahhh... I guess I brought her attack upon myself. [ Because prove to me that I can't die! isn't something you should say, under duress or not. Still, it's confusing to be somewhere strange and new.

Indeed, he feels for you, Layton... ]