Phase 2: Learn about the game in progress

You thought you understood what Namaste meant about the highest stakes game in the world: if they were somehow dictating the actions of the Goodbye Girls and treating it as a game, then that would certainly fit the bill. That they would be in such a position led you a couple of ideas as to what their true identity might be. Still, there was so much you didn't understand... how did that allow them to control Promethia as well? How could they possibly evade detection while doing all of this? They called you a "piece" too. Did that mean they'd been manipulating you too without your knowledge? Even at this stage, you didn't feel like you properly understand it. It seemed to go beyond what was possible for mortals to accomplish, whether through super-technology like Bortnik's or Despedida's, or through genetic manipulation like Adder's.

"Ha ha ha! You've got a lot of questions, like always, Nathaniel," the voice chuckled, still failing to reveal so much as its gender. "You can think of all of this like a... choose your own adventure story. You probably thought you were making your own choices all the way through it, but in reality, even things you thought you'd decided upon were presented to you on a plate by me. The position you accepted. The gadgets you accepted. The objectives you chased. The knowledge you uncovered. At some point, I got tired of being so hands-off, so I've actually got the ability to control you directly too, if I want to! But, you know, it's kind of lame just having pieces I control hit together in each of my hands, so I prefer to let you handle some things on your own."

You grit your teeth; between Bound Blood and now Namaste's mysterious methods, everyone seemed to be getting their hands on the perfect means to manipulate you. Did that mean she could make your eyes light up like Tschau's and force you to attack your own allies? That couldn't be right... After all, you'd learned a large percentage of Tschau's brain had been replaced with cybernetics. That was what made her possible to control, as a machine. You didn't have any such mass-replacement of your brain functions, nor even cybernetic implants. You asked Namaste: is this what others refer to as "the Machine Voice?"

"That's kind of a low-tech version. What I've got going on in your head and Tschau's is a lot higher tech. The degree of influence I can obtain is much, much higher." Tschau tapped upon her head with one finger, creating a low metal clank, as her eyes smiled brainlessly. "Are you trying to think back to when I had the opportunity to modify your brain to the same extent as Tschau's? Making others think back to clues like that is what makes devising these games so fun!"

You asked Namaste if that meant that even Vaarvel and Au Revoir, who'd flown off to London, were only acting under their orders?

"Nah. I guess you could call Goodbye and Despedida my pieces, in different ways, but Vaarvel is my opponent and Au Revoir is her piece. Explaining all of that would be pretty tiring, so I won't. I don't have any responsibility to be interested in her side of things. Besides, you've got plenty going on right in this room, don't you?" the mastermind chuckled. "Apparently, Vaarvel's best move was to force my hand in this crazy way. If she takes the game in one direction, she's got no room to complain if I pull equal and opposite the other way. That's the way I see it, anyway."

The next part barely seemed worth asking to a madman like this, but you had to ask anyway: what about the human cost? This "game" that Namaste and Vaarvel were apparently playing had thrown Tschau's life into turmoil, to the point that she couldn't trust her own sense of justice any more. Didn't they care about that at all? As you spoke, you kept your eyes on your ally, who'd been forced into this situation without her knowledge. She was an innocent girl, first manipulated by Ivan Bortnik, who now found herself in the clutches of another puppeteer with intentions every bit as evil as that man's. You couldn't imagine what could possibly justify Namaste's actions.

"Hm? It doesn't really bother me. All of those kinds of things just add to the thrill, really. I need to see people like you get really pissed... super emotional about it all! That's what makes it all worthwhile," the stranger giggled. "Vaarvel's hardly innocent in all of this either, you know? If average people knew that their lives were being played with by crazy people like us, hoo boy, there'd be some hysteria. You should really be thanking me for keeping my turmoil isolated to just people like you."

You pointed upwards, towards all of the scientists trapped in the safety box. Why should they have to go through with this, just for the amusement of some crazy person?

As Tschau turned her chin up and moved her eyes to focus on the captives, you seized your opportunity, charging forward with your arms out to grapple her. Your gamble had paid off! You knew that Tschau's ninja senses and poise weren't all the result of her cybernetics or some innate ability; all of that had been trained and honed. If the manipulator just had control of her body, they lost all of that technique. The real Tschau would have batted you away or sliced you in half mid-approach, but the mastermind was caught off guard; the small but heavy puppet body they controlled fell backwards under your weight, as you landed on top of Tschau with one hand on her sword-hand's wrist and the other crossing your elbow over the inside of hers to lock her in place. You could hear her metal legs thrashing behind you, but even she wasn't flexible enough to hit you in this position.

The eyes visible in the slit of her mask smiled as the mastermind laughed harder. "Oh wow! You're a smart one, huh? Luckily, I've accounted for this too. Namaste, as we say..." the voice laughed once more...

The orange faded from Tschau's eyes slowly and she finally began to blink again. Only a second or two passed before her eyes suddenly took on a look of terror and her body began to thrash beneath yours; you couldn't let go, for her sake as well as yours. "Ciao... I'm... I'm going insane! What's happening?!" she shouted struggling her mouth free from the covering that ordinarily masked it. Her lips were trembling with fear. Either she'd just become aware of a huge missing space in her memory, or else, she'd been cognizant the whole time she was controlled. You weren't sure which would be worse. Unfortunately, you couldn't take too much pity and get off of her, because she was still thrashing with intent to kill somebody. Her small but powerful body writhed beneath yours as she attempted to buck you off. "Let me go! I have to kill them!"

You shouted: kill who?! Did she even know who she was directing her anger towards?

Tschau's eyes widened and her pink lips settled into a frown of despair, as she realized she couldn't answer that question. "Ciao..."

Keeping her down against the white laboratory floor, you tried to calm your voice and speak reasonably with her. She needed to drop her sword. She had to find some way to either control herself or go dormant, or else, one of the two of you-- or both of you-- would die here.

"... Don't play dumb. You and I both know the best thing I can do is die," the helpless girl responded, as tears began to well up in her pink eyes. "If you have the power, Ciao, you should do it now. Kill me. I'm so sick of being used by everyone... All I've been is a tool, ever since CEDIT Russia recovered me back then. Please, just kill me!" There was little strength left in her voice. It seemed like even the vengeance you'd expect her to carry towards the one behind all of this was replaced with despair at the thought of what she might do-- or may have already done-- in the service of her mysterious controller.

The thought hadn't even occurred to you. She had a point... you had a tool that might work to put an end to her rampage, but how could you possibly use it, knowing she was just a pawn in the schemes of the real criminal?