[Heart Game - Ed, Maya, Roxy]

[carptricks]

[It's dark. You're trying to move forward, but it feels like your limbs are weighed down by chains and shackles. Still, you push. You push and you pull and those chains are pulled taut and strained until suddenly--]

[Something snaps]

[You tumble forward, wind blowing past your face, until you lose awareness of anything around you. . .]

((another run ran concurrent to this one here))

Comments

[soulping]

[the cloak deflects the slime from his head pretty well, keeping him nice and clean! some splashes onto the rocks above him, though]

[it'll be tricky going forward from here on out]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Or it would be.]

[If Ed didn't already plan for this and just climb over to the corner and begin operation 'Brace self on walls to climb.']

[soulping]

[it's still a little difficult, as the hand and foot holds are slick to the touch, even if he's bracing himself against the wall as he climbs]

[but if he moves slowly, then he should be able to make it to the top]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Slow and steady will win the race.]

[Or the. climbing. mission.]

[Finally grabbing for the top.]

[soulping]

[VICTORY!]

[The dark figure takes a little bow as the door behind it opens, and before Ed knows it, its slips away]

[The victory noise chimes through the room again]

"Congratulations! You've crossed obstacle number two!"

[fuhrinkaed]

[Through the door.]

Shadow guy, get back here and give me those hands!

[soulping]

[shadow guy does not seem interesting in listening]

[You enter the third room. As predicted, the door shuts and locks itself behind you. The room is comprised of a tile floor and white walls, and for now it seems. . . empty]

"Final obstacle: solve the jigsaw puzzle!"

[What jigsaw puzzle-- ooooooh. If you look down, you might notice that each tile has a strange, disjointed pattern painted on top of it. Further inspection reveals that you can pick up and remove the tiles super easily. Nifty!]

[. . .]

[Oh dang that's one huge jigsaw puzzle]

[The dark figure leans against the door on the opposite end of the room. It isn't holding anything other than the clocktower hands this time, luckily for you. Better get to puzzle solving!]

[fuhrinkaed]

[The hardest part of this for Ed is legit moving the tiles. It's a clover. It's definitely a clover. And starting at the corners and moving in makes life very easy.]

[soulping]

[the figure snaps its fingers]

[one of the tiles Ed is holding disappears in his hands and reappears on the floor several feet away]

[WELL. IT HAD TO INTERFERE SOMEHOW]

[fuhrinkaed]

[...]

[what if I hit him in the face with that tile.]

[it's big.]

[soulping]

[well]

[you can try to do that]

[but man that dark figure is fast. it blinks in and out of existence to dodge the tile before it connects. now it is on the opposite side of the room]

[grinning at you]

[fuhrinkaed]

...Oh come on, only I get my magic blocked?!

[:T!!!]

[FINE THEN. SOLVING THIS PUZZLE LIKE A BAWSS.]

[soulping]

[I'M A HEART CONSTRUCT I DO WHAT I WANT]

[The puzzle has been solved. A bright green clover, no longer disjointed but finally whole again, stretches across the floor. The door clicks open, and the figure quietly slips through it. Do you follow?]

[fuhrinkaed]

[OF COURSE.]

[soulping]

[You enter what looks like a backroom gaming area! There's a television set up in the center of the back wall, and it has a entire game system hooked up to it with an impressive collection of games. Two bean bag chairs are placed in front of the tv in case you feel like indulging. In addition to that, there's a table set up in the center of the room with cards and various papers strewn across it. Next to the table stands the figure, who is still holding the clocktower hands. Only it isn't a dark figure anymore]

[It's a man with a mustache, smiling warmly at you from ear to ear]

That was quite the impressive showing, if I do say so myself. You must forgive Kaito-kun. He has a very. . . odd sense of humor.

[The whole area seems to fill you with a sense of mischief. You get the feeling someone from very far away is laughing at you]

[Gotcha]

[fuhrinkaed]

[....]

I've been tricked into doing something largely pointless to waste a lot of time in this heart, haven't I?

[soulping]

[The man-- Kuroba Toichi, clearly-- laughs jovially]

Ah! But didn't you have fun?

[fuhrinkaed]

Of course I did.

And I mean, this is the ideal way to deal with this game anyways. Spin my wheels, do tiny things... all of that.

But, I did promise I'd finish the quest... so I'll be needing those clock hands eventually.

I hope I didn't scare you when I swung that tile or anything...

[soulping]

They are quite safe with me, but I trust they'll be safe with you as well.

[smiles warmly and immediately holds the clocktower hands out for Ed to take]

And of course not. You were quite impressive, but I consider myself rather impressive as well.

[he says that last part with a twinkle in his eye]

[fuhrinkaed]

Course they will be. I promised, and a man always keeps his word.

[Taking the clocktower hands, smiling warmly back.]

You were impressive, definitely.

And you raised a really nice son.

[soulping]

[his hands drop to his sides, and he takes a small bow]

Thank you for your kind words. He can be a bit. . . troublesome at times. You may find it more difficult to return those clocktower hands than it seems.

[fuhrinkaed]

...Right.

I'm sure I'll figure something out, though. It's what I do, y'know?

[soulping]

Certainly.

[spreads his arms wide, the simle returning]

He's quite lucky to have friends like you.

[fuhrinkaed]

Friends... yeah.

...

Well, I do what I can, even if I worry him sometimes.

A lot of the time.

...Pretty much any time I tell him what I'm planning on doing.

[soulping]

[Toichi chuckles lightly]

You do worry him, yes. He has faith in you, but he also is not very good at accepting loss.

[lifts a hand and places it over his heart]

Those are the scars that Kaito-kun has yet to allow to heal.