10th Aniversary Mind Control!

[[NPC] Naru]

The moment Naru spirits herself, Ai, and Asami into the room is the moment Ultra Black Naru decides to separate. Both of them are caught completely off guard.

Finding the younger Black Naru, Ai removes her memories and takes her back to the night before where she's loaded into the back of the delivery truck.

Meanwhile, Naru is still furious at Black Naru for killing Ai last night. Naru's spirit is able to overpower Black Naru thanks to her Burning Justice!

Naru is not having Black Naru turn this episode into another gore thread, so instead of using physical Legendary Spears she's using astral projections. They can impose Naru's influence over Black Naru without any of the mess. Ai returned half a second before she left and got to see the whole thing. Naru has subjugated the remaining Black Naru. A monitor on the wall in front of them turns on.

Hey! Did you get them separated?

Yeah. There's only one left now.

I don't freaking believe it. There really are two of them.

So there's a whole universe with evil clones of everyone?

Not evil, opposites. They're everything you're not and do everything you won't. Mine would probably be another of the sheeple out in the world since I'm so woke.

Would he have better taste in music?

**** you!

Better taste or not, I'm pretty sure they're horrible people if none of us go around eating babies or other messed up shit.

Yeah. Just thinking about a me out there that acts like "that" makes me sick.

Hey! Evil Naru! Will you eat shit!?

[[NPC] Black Naru]

Do you have 1,000,000 zenny?
Hey if you're good at something you don't do it for free.

Liking you already.
New question! Is there a Gemini version of me in your world?

Don't see why not, but I've never met her sooooo, who knows? As for the rest of you, I'm pretty sure they're all dead...

...Because I killed them all!

You know, maybe she's not all bad.

She's definitely bad.

Even your Gemini selves thought I was dangerous and tried to keep me locked up, and that didn't turn out so nice for them in the end! What makes you think you'll be ANY DIFFERENT?!

Hey! Hey Naru! Can I see Black Naru for a minute?

Get in line! It's no secret everyone wants a piece of-

Wh- Wait- When did- What is she doing in here?! A-Aren't you worried I'll tear her to pieces?! I could do it, you know! It'll be like breaking a twig! You wouldn't want that, w-would you? You better spirit her out of here, or she could get seriously hurt!

What's wrong? It's not like you to be worried about someone else, especially our mom.

THAT THING IS NOT MY MOM! I DON'T EVEN HAVE A MOM! I'M TELLING YOU GET HER OUT OF HERE OR I'LL SERIOUSLY **** HER UP!

Nooooo! I wanna stay and play! Come on! Let's have some more fun!

NO! NO KEEP HER AWAY FROM ME!

OKAY! OKAY! YOU WIN! I- I WON'T CAUSE ANY MORE TROUBLE! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME IN HERE WITH HER!

Naru spirits herself and Ai out of the room. Black Naru is left alone with Asami.

NO WAIT COME BACK!

Ai, can we leave? I wanna visit Soup Con now.

You go on ahead. Zarath and I will meet you there.

We'll make sure to let your mom out when she's done.

Hey Black Naru, my mom's going to be a guest at this event, so if you know what's good for you you'll stay in this vault and not cause any more trouble!

Naru spirits herself to Soup Con.

Zarath?! Zarath you can't leave me in here! I thought we were friends!!!

Zarath?! Ai?!

EEEYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Travis was messaging his superiors back at the subway station when Zarath spirits the party next to him.

I gotta go. Talk to you later dude...

Hey, welcome back!

[[NPC] Michi]

Michi was too busy brooding to find Black Naru's torture enjoyable. What nearly happened earlier that day in the dining room, in addition to something Ai said has brought up some bad memories from her past that made her feel depressed. She's normally very good at hiding when she's troubled, but right now she's finding it very difficult.

Michi has become distracted. Her accuracy will be lower than normal until the end of her next combat encounter. She'll have to roll a 15 or higher for actions to succeed.

Michi has a call from Drossel.

Hello?

Mizuki-san! I've finished mapping the mansion!

Is that what you were doing this entire time?

I started yesterday!

It took you a full day to finish?

There were three floors and a roof I had to map out. I would have finished it sooner, but I got my measurements from yesterday wrong and had to start over. I was worried that I'd spend all day today working on it, but my future self came to help!

I'm sure the only thing anyone cares about is "How do I get from A to B?" The map doesn't have to be perfect.

Yes it does!

Okay, okay. Thanks for the update. We're all in the basement if you want to meet up.

Oh... I uh...

I forgot there was a basement. How big is it?

Well there are six floors and a subway station.

......

Hey, Hanasaku, there wouldn't happen to be a map of the underground we could look at, would there?

Glad you asked! Remember those printed maps of the park I mentioned earlier this morning? Those also include all floors of the underground. We're still working on digital copies, but first we've got to set up a LAN network for the park.

Here, take a look.

Ai hands a map to Michi. Sure enough there's a dedicated page for all floors of the basement.

Hey, good news Drossel. We got a map of the basement already made.

Oh thank goodness...

Wait, how detailed is it?

Pretty detailed. All the rooms are labeled. There's a library, a rec room, a med room, a...
Wait, there's an alchemy lab here?

There's an Alchemy Lab?!

I thought the Passive World hated magic.

Alchemy isn't magic!

Sorry, what I meant to say was, "I thought the Passive World hated fun."

Travis told me this place was built during the Cold War. Maybe paranoia of international espionage made the Freedom Fighters desperate?

Can I go check it out?!

Nobody's stopping you.

Priscilla runs upstairs ahead of the group.

I should take a look for myself.... j-just to double check!

You should, we're having a party down here and no one else is invited.

[[NPC] Ai]

Does anyone have any other questions about the underground they would like answered?

Oh, yeah, can we get a working elevator? I don't want to walk half a mile whenever I want to visit the lowest floor.

Grim wants the elevator to be repaired, but we don't have anyone that knows how to fix one.

Could we just smack another Bend Gate through the door frames?

Well... hmmm... An elevator can take you to any floor you want, but a Bend Gate can only take you to one location.

What about that android scientist guy? Maybe he could help?

I'd prefer someone who knows the building's layout and has experience in public safety. I don't want the elevator breaking, crashing, or getting people killed, and I don't want Anetic installing rocket boosters to make it go faster.

Do... Do you guys hear a train coming?

A subway train? No, that's impossible. This station has been inactive for twenty years, and even if it was in use Grim would have closed it down. It's probably just an echo from another track.

No, I definitely hear a train, and it's coming this way.

I think he's right Ai. There's a subway train pulling into the station. I can see the light from inside the tunnel!

Impossible! They would have crashed into the barrier!

Maybe it's a Ghost Train?

OOOH A GHOST TRAIN!

I don't like this. Everyone keep your distance.

Well whatever it is it can't possibly be worse than anything Fadbury brings along with him.

A subway train stops at the station. There's a tense moment of silence before the subway doors open to reveal...

[[NPC] Prime Minister]

ASAMI! HOW THE HELL HAVE YA BEEN!?

Mr. Wyatt!!!!

Hey Mr. Wyatt! Glad you could finally make it!

Glad to finally be here Mr. Travis! Who else do we got her-

Chihiro! Aw it's been ages! How's my favourite guild master bee-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31g0YE61PLQ

Michi takes an escape rope out of her inventory and leaves the underground. Her party has 1x Escape Rope remaining.

Milan, realizing he's not obligated to stick around for this, turns around without saying a word, and leaves.

......
...Asami-chan! Konnichiwa gozaimasu!

Hello Mr. Wyatt!

Wh-Who the heck are you and how did you get inside the park!?

This is Mr. Wyatt. He's the Prime Minister of Pantheria.

We're best friends!

The best of best friends! How's little Naru doing?

She's not little anymore. That's as far as I know.

Oh that reminds me! Guess what I brought with me?

Unmailed Package

A cardboard box that hasn't been mailed yet. It's fairly hefty.

Forgot to mail the usual package. Hope you don't mind it being late a month or two.

Wyatt hands Asami the cardboard box.

How the heck did you get past the barrier?!

I paid the guard a handsome tip and he happily let me in! How else am I suppose to check in on my favourite family?

THERE ARE NO GUARDS! THE BARRIER IS ASTRAL BASED!

It is? Well, good thing I have my anti-astral spy equipment on me. Can't be too careful, after all.

Anti-astral- THAT LITERALLY DOES NOT EXIST! YOU'RE- YOU'RE-

...You're making shit up! Just... straight up making shit up!

Excuse me? I'd rather you not drag my good name through the mud, young lady! I'm a politician, and politicians never lie!

[[NPC] Ai]

Ai draws both her Rollback Magnums on Mr. Wyatt. She doesn't intend on hurting him, but if he's found some kind of breach in the barrier, then that means other civilians could wander in here and potentially get killed.

Talk!

How. Did. You. Get. In. Here.

Oi careful now! You'll poke someone's eye out with those! No need to go all Rambo up in here!

Then tell me how you got in here. Tell me how you got a subway train in here, for that matter!

Aw let me tell you, it wasn't easy. Had to take the whole blasted thing apart bit by bit I did. Then I had to reassemble the whole thing once on the other side! Good thing there were instructions online. I tell ya, technology, ain't it incredible?

I'm wiping your memory.

Whoa whoa! Hold on there! Don't you got a sense of humour? That was just a joke!

I'm not laughing.

Aw don't be like that! Everyone loves a little nonsense every once in a while.

My parents tolerate nonsense. I don't.

Alright, fine, if you're going to be that way I took the private subway car because I heard Asami's family was holding an event here.
I flew all the way in from Pantheria because Bugsy messaged a bunch of us. Just wanted to pop in and say hi and... you know, not get shot.

Then how did you get through the barrier?!

Errrr yeeeaaaahhh... abooooouuuuut thaaaaat...
To be perfectly honest, I didn't even know there was a barrier.

Must have just passed right through. Might want to have that checked, because it certainly didn't keep me out.

You sure you didn't just time traveller, Mr. Wyatt?

Zarath he came in on a subway train. He did not time travel in here.

...Maybe the train came with him?

How did an entire train come with-
*sigh* Fine, I'll try carbon dating him, but I'm telling you...

Ai carbon dates Mr. Wyatt. He is exactly 0 years, 0 months, 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0.01 seconds from the future. Ai just stares at the readout dumbfounded.

This is an omen. This is a sign that something terrible is about to happen.

Sounds like an adventure to me!

Whatever. This means the barrier is fine and... so are you. Sorry about all that. No hard feelings?

Oh of course not, love! The TSA didn't trust me either, and I'm the Prime Minister! You wanna know the worst part? The Freedom Fighter Syndicate created the TSA. Yeah. They're on OUR payroll. Can you believe it?!

You know- You wanna know the worst part? Guess who had the privilege of scanning me at the airport? Bloody Jeffrey, that's who! Yeah! I know, right?! I thought we were buddies, but apparently once ole' J3 is given a badge he thinks he's soooo much better than me now! Thinks he's king of his own bloomin' castle he does! I tell ya, power is a terrifying thing it is. You should never. Ever. Ever hand it out all willy nilly.

I'm guessing you work for the Freedom Fighter Syndicate then?

Still do! I could show you my old room if you like! Moved to the one in Pantheria as soon as it was built, but I was stationed here when we were on the lookout for Ruthenian spies.

Do you know anything about replacing an elevator? The one in this building is broken. We're looking for someone who can fix it.

Oh! Oh yeah I did that. That was me.

Huh?

I cut the suspension cables so no one could use the Elevator to sneak in here. Not like we were going to ever use this place again, right? Pretty clever huh?

......Um, yeah, yeah I can see that making sense... But there's a service ladder inside the elevator that anyone can get to. Very easily.

...Oh...

I knew that. That- That was also part of my plan.

Wh- It was?... How?

I can't tell you! It's top secret!

Can you fix it?

Can I fix it? Who do you think you're talking to? I'm only the sole Chief Infrastructure Expert of the Freedom Fighter Syndicate's Pantheria Division. I practically built this whole underground area myself! I figured we'd need to activate the elevator again and broke it in a way that only I would know how to fix it.

But didn't you just say-

Oh never mind...

[[NPC] Ai]

Ai decides it would be wise to know Mr. Wyatt better before putting him in charge of anything at the park. She makes a mental note to call Bugsy later and ask if he would recommend him.

At the very least, Ai could use someone who knows the layout of the underground, and she could probably trust him with fixing the elevator... under supervision.

Well if you don't already know, I'm the event manager Mr. Lapin put in charge of this event. Ai Hanasaku, but you can just call me Ai.

Raymond Wyatt, but you can call me Mr. Wyatt, Ray, or "Teh Ray" as the folks back home call me. Whatever you fancy.

Ai does a courteous bow towards Mr. Wyatt. Wyatt responds in kind and offers her a stick of pocky in friendship. Why he's just carrying around a box of pocky is anyone's guess.

Oh yeah, here's your Paradox Bandit.

Paradox Bandit

A watch modeled after the clock in Central Park. Primarily used to correct any paradoxes inflicted on the wearer.

Whenever you leave the park, just press this end down and you'll be taken to the opening ceremony where you can visit the event again and again for as many times as you want.

As many times as I want?!

As many times as you want!

AAAH!!!

Another Ai appears right behind Mr. Wyatt, scaring the crap out of him. The first Ai takes this as her cue to leave and has Zarath spirit them both to Soup con to meet up with Naru. Mr. Wyatt does a quadruple take between where the first Ai was and where the new Ai is standing.

[[NPC] Prime Minister]

Mr. Wyatt tries pressing the button on his Paradox Bandit, but nothing happens because he's still inside the park. Frustrated, he presses down on the device harder to get it to do something. The button gets stuck. Ai and the others do not notice.

Oh yeah you guys can go back upstairs if you want. The door to the underground is unlocked, so don't be afraid to use the facilities down here.

Wait wait wait...

Where did that other you go?

Probably to meet up with Naru at the convention center downtown.

Wait what? Naru-chan's not here?

Future versions of her are, but I told present Naru to take a break. Her and past me are at Soup Con right now.

Anyway, I got to speak with Mr. Lapin about you, and he said-

Soup Con?! To hell with all this then I'll tag along as well! I've got front of the line privileges everywhere I go!

Oh, sorry Mr. Wyatt, but since you're a time traveler you can't leave the park. The barrier has to keep all time travelers inside so they don't try to alter history outside the event.

Wh- WH- Bu- Whaaaaat?! But that's ludicrous! That's- That's not even fair! I'm from less than a second in the future I am! That's- That's not enough to do anything now is it?! You couldn't even microwave a pizza in that amount of time! The hell does it think I'll do with my fraction of a second of foresight?! Blink the wrong way and cause a hurricane in some southeastern country?!

Can't you just let me have some special privileges to enter and leave the park as I please?

Sorry. There's nothing I can do.

Didn't you give me special per-

Nope. Nope. Nothing I can do, Travis. Nothing I can doooooo.

It's okay Mr. Wyatt! You can just use your anti-astral spy equipment to get out!

Okay to clarify, I was being a bit facetious when I mentioned that. I don't actually have anti-astral spy equipment, so if you could I would appreciate it if that didn't become a running gag between you and your other friends, alright?

Mhehehehehehehe~

Want me to show you where the Elevator is Mr. Wyatt?

Yeah... yeah fine...

Not so fast. I don't want you messing around in there without an emergency medical assistant on standby. Safety first, Mr. Wyatt.

I'm a white mage. Want me to come?

Thanks, I'd appreciate it.

Meanwhile, Priscilla has found the Alchemy Lab. For some reason, a group of androids are waiting inside, huddled around each other in the far corner of the room with all the lights turned off.

Wh- Oh sorry! I didn't know this room was occupied.

Why are you all crowded in here anyway?

Analysis: This is the girl Commander Andromeda reported to us.

......

Affirmative. This is the girl that suffers.

I'm... just gonna come back later...

Priscilla backs out of the room. As she turns around, more Androids move out from behind the corner.

Analysis: Subject is in a constant state of dysphoria and experiences symptoms of anxiety.

You are in pain. We can remove pain forever.

We have been given orders to protect the event guests from all harm.

Subject must be repaired immediately. Subject must be converted immediately.

S-SEN-SENSEI!!!!!

Priscilla tries to escape through the door on the opposite end of the Alchemy lab, but there are androids waiting outside there as well. The androids behind her pull her into a headlock and drag her back inside.

SENSEI!!! SENSEI HELP!!!

JIM! I JUST HEARD SOMEONE SCREAM! IT CAME FROM DOWN THE HALL!

HELLO? IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT DOWN THERE?!

DON'T JUST ASK IF THEY'RE OKAY, JIM! COME ON, WE'VE GOT TO HELP THEM!

( N-NOOOO!!! )

Error. Error. Subject not found.

Guest Priority not found. Subject information missing.

Priscilla isn't sure how, but she's become momentarily undetectable to the androids. Using the opportunity, she slips through them and escapes down the hall as fast as she can. Less than a second later, Jim and Amy enter the room, failing to notice Priscilla as well.

...androids?!

Alright you! What have you-

......

Amy do you remember what we were in such a hurry for a moment ago?

UGH JIM WE WERE-

......

......What were we doing?

Greetings. I am x50i Model number 00134. How may I be of service, Mr. Fadbury?

[[NPC] Priscilla]

While running from the androids, Priscilla collides directly into Bugsy. She finds him, North, and Ai hanging around the elevator shaft.

Whoa. Easy there Pillow Mint. Where's the fire?

Pillow Mint?

Oh hey Cilla. Didn't see you the.
We found a friend in the subway. He's crawling around in the elevator shift rn.

AAUUGH! I LOOKED DOWN! DO NOT RECOMMEND IT!

AAUGH I DID IT AGAIN!

AAUUHH!! AUGH!

Did you ever find that Alchemy Lab?

Priscilla turns back the way she came. None of the androids have followed her.

......yes.

Um, I have a question.
Say, hypothetically, a guest is harassing another guest and they want to try and hide from them. Where would be the best place for them to hide?

Well if there's a guest harassing another guest then they need to be reported. Is someone harassing you? I can make you a VIP if you want. No one will bother you if they don't want to risk getting kicked out-

NOOO!

I mean...
I said hypothetically! Hypothetically!

Easy Cilla. Hanasaku wasn't there. She doesn't know any better.

Wasn't there for what?

Well... ummm... Our boss, Mizuki told us certain people we know could become guests at this event, and that could be a problem because she said these people, and I quote, "only know how to start shit." She wanted us to be on the lookout for them and to inform you of what they might try to do.

Yeah! That! They can be really dangerous too! That's why we were wondering if there was anywhere someone could go to avoid them.... i-in an emergency... situation.

Well if all you need is somewhere they won't find you, The Zoo is the perfect place to hide.

OKAYCOOLTHANKS!

Priscilla runs off again.

What was that about?

What was what about?

BAT! BAT! BAT! AH! GET AWAY! GET AWAY!