Not long after the Obelisk's collapse, both Fiddleford and Marco will feel a tug toward the Arcade. When either of them steps inside, they'll find themselves in what seems to be the main area of the Arcade - except dark and empty, with only the nearest screens lit up with static. If they don't arrive together, the missing person will find the compulsion to check on the Arcade exponentially stronger until they come. And if only one of them's there the place will play glitchy hold music until the other arrives. On Repeat.
As soon as both of them are there, they'll feel a faint chilling sting on their ring fingers, leaving them with their new markings. The screens near them will display:
youve both done so much good for everyone! and youve helped me so much too!!!! i know priests aren't supposed to get married but i thought maybe it would be okay if it was to each other that way we can all be together forever : )
However they respond to this, the screens will flicker off, then return with a new message:
i want to show you something important follow me :)
After about a minute, these screens will dim, and ones further along will brighten and wait patiently for the two of them to head over. Arcade machines and ceiling lights will keep brightening and falling dark to lead their way until they reach the old prize counter, an open door, and an unguarded pair of stairs. Wires trail down the walls as they descend, more and more tangled and plentiful the deeper Marco and Fiddleford go. The walls are oppressive and close, and unless they move very carefully, their footsteps will echo endlessly. Finally, they'll pass an open doorframe into a room overflowing with electronics - screens all over the walls, some flickering with static and others with what may or may not be visions of the world outside. Hundreds of radios hiss in a discordant mess, the sound echoing in the great wide room. Wires drape over everything, cables line the walls in circuitboard patterns and bracketing the door - all reaching towards a center. Free electricity jumps between open cables; Marco and Fiddleford should watch their step.
In the great center of it all, a young boy's body lies motionless. All the cables have made their way towards him, wrapping around his limbs carefully and holding him as if cradled. He’s a pale child, with fine hair that is near white, and unblinking pale eyes. Though his eyes are open, the body of the boy hangs limp- hooked into everything, the center of a great mass of cords and cables. He doesn't even seem to be breathing. The body looks... abandoned.
The radios fall silent, suddenly, then crackle back to life in a child's voice, light and pleased, no hint of static, as if he’s right there beside them.
"See? This room is where I really am! Do you like it? I wanted to show you both. Because... I trust you, very very much.”
He pauses, and every screen in the room goes black.
"But that's not the important part."
One by one, they light up again: scenes of forests, rivers, mountains, cities, deserts and tundras... none of them, however, are familiar. They're not places on the peninsula.
“This all used to be real. All of it. Skämd used to be a lot bigger! There was a whole world out there. But it’s gone now. The Fog God didn't like it. So she ate everything, and now we're all stuck here. Everybody. All because of her. It’s not just us. Not even just our friends. She wants to take everything.”
The screens slowly shut down again, leaving a single one with a ": (" displayed in the network's colors. “We need to destroy her and then we can get rid of the bad parts. All of them. Then she'll never hurt us again. She’ll never hurt anyone ever again.” There's a short pause, and he adds, sounding gleeful, “And because you guys have done so much, I can help you better now. I’m better now. Better than I used to be. And it’s all cause of my friends. Friends like you. I’ll make sure you can always call for help when you need it. And if the bad guys get too rough, you can just hit pause and walk away!"
The room will go dark, all the screens dying suddenly until only the smaller lights and snaps of electricity remain around the body of the god. If they're looking closely, it'll almost seem as if the body, with its wide empty eyes, is smiling.
Then, darting from the god along the cables of the floor and the walls, a burst of electricity will erupt and catch both Fiddleford and Marco. They both will feel a sudden burst of power, like that electricity is flowing through their veins, and as it grows and charges they’ll hear the laugh of a child before they both black out.
When they wake up, they'll find themselves carefully supported by a bed of wires, similar to the one that supports the god. They'll each have their new abilities when they wake. The screens will have arrows directing them how to get back out, and a message.
stay as long as you need to you know what i need you to do :)
Nothing will interact with them on the way out, from the screens to the radios, and once they leave the room, the hall will disappear, though there is a card reader in the wall where the door was.
Their cards now have a special bar of neon code alongside the first. If they so choose, they - and they alone - can return to the room, if they ever wish.
GRANTED
And if only one of them's there the place will play glitchy hold music until the other arrives. On Repeat.As soon as both of them are there, they'll feel a faint chilling sting on their ring fingers, leaving them with their new markings. The screens near them will display:
and youve helped me so much too!!!!
i know priests aren't supposed to get married
but i thought maybe it would be okay if it was to each other
that way we can all be together forever : )
However they respond to this, the screens will flicker off, then return with a new message:
follow me
:)
After about a minute, these screens will dim, and ones further along will brighten and wait patiently for the two of them to head over. Arcade machines and ceiling lights will keep brightening and falling dark to lead their way until they reach the old prize counter, an open door, and an unguarded pair of stairs. Wires trail down the walls as they descend, more and more tangled and plentiful the deeper Marco and Fiddleford go. The walls are oppressive and close, and unless they move very carefully, their footsteps will echo endlessly. Finally, they'll pass an open doorframe into a room overflowing with electronics - screens all over the walls, some flickering with static and others with what may or may not be visions of the world outside. Hundreds of radios hiss in a discordant mess, the sound echoing in the great wide room. Wires drape over everything, cables line the walls in circuitboard patterns and bracketing the door - all reaching towards a center. Free electricity jumps between open cables; Marco and Fiddleford should watch their step.
In the great center of it all, a young boy's body lies motionless. All the cables have made their way towards him, wrapping around his limbs carefully and holding him as if cradled. He’s a pale child, with fine hair that is near white, and unblinking pale eyes. Though his eyes are open, the body of the boy hangs limp- hooked into everything, the center of a great mass of cords and cables. He doesn't even seem to be breathing. The body looks... abandoned.
The radios fall silent, suddenly, then crackle back to life in a child's voice, light and pleased, no hint of static, as if he’s right there beside them.
"See? This room is where I really am! Do you like it? I wanted to show you both. Because... I trust you, very very much.”
He pauses, and every screen in the room goes black.
"But that's not the important part."
One by one, they light up again: scenes of forests, rivers, mountains, cities, deserts and tundras... none of them, however, are familiar. They're not places on the peninsula.
“This all used to be real. All of it. Skämd used to be a lot bigger! There was a whole world out there. But it’s gone now. The Fog God didn't like it. So she ate everything, and now we're all stuck here. Everybody. All because of her. It’s not just us. Not even just our friends. She wants to take everything.”
The screens slowly shut down again, leaving a single one with a ": (" displayed in the network's colors. “We need to destroy her and then we can get rid of the bad parts. All of them. Then she'll never hurt us again. She’ll never hurt anyone ever again.” There's a short pause, and he adds, sounding gleeful, “And because you guys have done so much, I can help you better now. I’m better now. Better than I used to be. And it’s all cause of my friends. Friends like you. I’ll make sure you can always call for help when you need it. And if the bad guys get too rough, you can just hit pause and walk away!"
The room will go dark, all the screens dying suddenly until only the smaller lights and snaps of electricity remain around the body of the god. If they're looking closely, it'll almost seem as if the body, with its wide empty eyes, is smiling.
Then, darting from the god along the cables of the floor and the walls, a burst of electricity will erupt and catch both Fiddleford and Marco. They both will feel a sudden burst of power, like that electricity is flowing through their veins, and as it grows and charges they’ll hear the laugh of a child before they both black out.
When they wake up, they'll find themselves carefully supported by a bed of wires, similar to the one that supports the god. They'll each have their new abilities when they wake.
The screens will have arrows directing them how to get back out, and a message.
you know what i need you to do
:)
Nothing will interact with them on the way out, from the screens to the radios, and once they leave the room, the hall will disappear, though there is a card reader in the wall where the door was.
Their cards now have a special bar of neon code alongside the first. If they so choose, they - and they alone - can return to the room, if they ever wish.