Insufficient Adult
"Let's go... We need to get ready to leave."
I caught my breath for a moment and grabbed Dorothy's arm, pulling her along. At this rate, we'd be too late. We had to get to a familiar spot fast...
"Tiara."
Dorothy, still slumped on the floor, spoke to me in a choked voice.
"What... happened? What the hell is going on?"
Ah, right. Dorothy was infected. I belatedly realized she couldn't remember yesterday... #DAY11.
I blinked vacantly. I'd made plans with her just yesterday. From Dorothy's perspective, her friend who'd been chatting and having fun with her the day before had suddenly flipped out, stolen a researcher's gun, and run off—dragging her along without any explanation.
"Sorry... Dorothy, I'm sorry. Sorry for scaring you..."
What the hell am I doing? For real. I'd decided to take responsibility, and here I was. Snap out of it. I'd resolved from the start to save at least one person before dying.
I slapped my own cheeks—smack smack. My tangled thoughts cleared right up. Focus on what needed doing. Don't get caught until Dorothy escapes. After that... Nah. Just think about that for now.
Tiara, step aside. Time for survival expert T—capital T—Kang Tae-oh to take the stage.
I spoke to Dorothy in as cold a tone as I could manage.
"Dorothy. We're escaping this Research Lab. Got it? Listen to me carefully."
"Today...? But... we don't have any plan yet."
No. No, no, no. This is dizzying when you're living it. She really forgot everything. The Dorothy who'd fixed my clothes, who'd planned with me... she was gone now.
Is this what it feels like to be a regressor? Just one day. Dorothy had forgotten only yesterday, but she felt like a completely different person.
"Urp..."
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back nausea.
...Fuck. Don't give up. Of course she doesn't know. I rubbed my eyelids and explained to Dorothy.
"I already planned it out solo. You just follow me."
Telling her ahead might make her panic too much to control. My tone had sharpened without me noticing. My heart was racing; reining in my emotions wasn't easy. The more you hate something, the more sensitive you get to it.
Dorothy hung her head, trembling. She was a lonely kid who hated being disliked. Sensing the disgust filling my heart, she flinched at my every gesture.
Ah... damn it. Cut it out. Tae-oh, you're the adult here. You.
I bit my lip, shoving down the feeling. But then...
"Huuuuh... haa. Tiara."
Dorothy took a deep breath and stepped closer, cautiously hugging me.
"Sorry. I was being too pathetic."
"...No, it's fine. We don't have time."
Dorothy flinched at my cold reply but still managed a smile. Whew!Chop chop! Like I'd done to myself, she smacked her own cheeks and straightened up. Just like yesterday when she'd tidied my clothes, she cinched her chest even tighter.
"I'll help too...!"
Dorothy headed to the operating table and picked up the scissors.
"...Dorothy?"
What the hell are you—
Dorothy snipped her thick red hair short—snip snip snip.
"Now...! I can help too."
With her new bob, Dorothy shook her head like a retriever, shedding hair everywhere. A handful of red strands fell into my palm.
"Red hair stands out too much...!"
"Ah..."
Dorothy dipped her hair into the pooling black solvent. The red soaked through, turning black.
"Eek. Feels weird."
What are you doing, Dorothy? You're getting your white dress dirty. Her face flushed red, but she carefully worked the solution into every strand. The soft, fluffy red locks felt nice in my hand.
"How's this? I look like you now, Tiara, so I can draw some attention too, right?"
With her hair color and build now matching mine, Dorothy stood before me, unable to hide only her fiery eyes. I averted my gaze from her determined stare. The disgust and irritation filling my heart hadn't lessened at all. It wasn't even aimed at her in the first place—it had just splashed onto her.
I hated myself viciously.
Her hair's so pretty.
"Tiara, now I have black hair like you."
The voice of my ex-girlfriend from my Kang Tae-oh days overlapped with Dorothy's in my memory.
"Haa... Yeah, it does."
Orphaned and scraping by, yet still chasing affection until I died like an idiot. Poured my whole joyless life into saving one girl, only to die a pathetic fuck. Then accepted another unwanted life. A pitiful bastard.
Sensing my shift, the emotionally sensitive Dorothy hugged me tighter.
"Tiara, I'll help. Tell me the plan."
She spoke full of enthusiasm. I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to just grab her arm and drag her.
I'm the weird one. I'm the one who dirtied her pretty hair. I'm the worthless piece of shit. And yet.
Even someone as loathsome as me... I wanted to save at least one girl.
"...Okay."
I pressed my temple and spoke. Clutching the red hair in my hand gave me a surge of energy.
"Tiara...? You okay?"
Hearing Dorothy's worried voice, I shook out her dripping black hair—whoosh.
Tsk. That dye won't come out easy. Like a retriever rolling in mud and grinning, a bright smile spread across Dorothy's face. Only then could I shake off my gloom.
Yeah. Menhera need periodic pity parties. Of course! I'm not a menhera. If anything, maybe Dorothy is? Clinging like a stray pup, begging for love—that's textbook menhera. Smiling like an idiot even when death's knocking. Perfect.
Alright, menhera Dorothy. I'll save you.
Hmm. Self-proclaimed and certified menhera hunter. Menhera collector. And menhera therapist extraordinaire. Time for this body—Kang Tae-oh... no, Tiara—to step up.
Let's do this. The way to definitely save Dorothy.
"...Can we?"
Not "can we," Dorothy. You don't know Pangyo's lights.
"We have to."
We can. If it's me.
The plan's outline went like this:
1. Avoid running into lab personnel.
2. Get my Netdiver lucky break.
3. Somehow get Dorothy out.
"Tiara escapes too." Ignoring Dorothy's addition, I kept explaining.
"The odds for 1 are higher than you'd think."
"Why?"
Ironic, but I'd figured it out thanks to Dorothy. Holding out in the OR had let me notice.
"They suck at finding us."
"Not because we're hiding well?"
Hard to predict escaped test subjects would hole up in the OR, sure, but...
"Guarding a few exits and searching the rest is more efficient."
Footsteps were sparse for that. No armed guards in this hall. Plus, the alarm sealed the corridors. That's not for kids escaping or a gas leak.
So...
"Some other force attacked this place."
The vaccine's ingredient is T-999. But in this world, that's me—Tiara. For some reason, the mismatch delayed production. The tutorial timing was sneaking up on me.
"City government forces are coming."
"Ah, won't they save us?"
No. I shook my head. Don't trust the government troops. They're the type to raid illegal vaccine labs and massacre everyone. No reason to spare lab rats like us. Or worse, capture us for their own experiments.
Point is...
"Just run to the target. Armed guards are probably holding the entrance."
We had to escape fast—before the feds swept in and killed us too.
"Yeah!"
"Tiara... you okay?"
"Hah... hah... Yeah...! You, Dorothy?"
"I'm... fine too..."
Dorothy and I crawled through a gap in the broken wall. Unfamiliar body, sprinting hard—out of breath, but no injuries.
"Dorothy, thanks."
"Hehehehe..."
Thanks to Dorothy's quick thinking. Both our heads pitch-black now, the researchers got confused who to chase. I'd memorized nearby paths, so even splitting up, we rendezvoused at the goal.
Crackle! Sparks flew from severed wires; Dorothy flinched.
"Eek! Tiara, this the right way?"
Yeah, smarty. Quit wiggling that ass and hurry. I smacked the butt of the leading Dorothy—meaning just that—and she yelped cutely, "Hik!"
"Tiara!"
"Shh. We're here."
"Ughhh! Whoa! W-wow...!"
At the end of the narrow passage, Dorothy's awe echoed in the vast space. Flickering dim lights illuminated documents full of jargon. Walls lined with the lab's secret weapons.
"Tsk. Can't use 'em."
Inspecting them, all shells—no substance. Maybe different once we're in the game?
"This place...?"
"Yup."
The Resistance's hidden hope. City government's top target. Birthplace of Netdivers.
"There should be a capped syringe. Filled with silver solution..."
Dorothy and I scoured the surprisingly spacious room corner to corner.
...
"Found it...! Tiara, this it?"
Dorothy discovered the Netdiver catalyst. On a wall shelf, looks like.
"Hehe. Tiara's too short to reach, huh?"
"Shut up."
Protagonist picks it from the floor, so of course it's there... Already sensitive about being shorter than Dorothy.
Anyway, score!
"Inject this, and you become a Netdiver."
"Whoaaa."
Dorothy stared at the catalyst in my hand. I stared right back at Dorothy. I blinked, waiting for her to snatch it and jab! it in quick.
Then I'd cover with the pistol, wait for her awakening. But with the exact same look...
Dorothy stared back at me.
"Scared of the thick needle? Want me to do it?"
Dorothy tilted her head at my words—huh?—and asked back.
"Me? Why? Wouldn't it be better for you, Tiara?"
"I told you earlier. Better for the infected you."
Why bother with TRPG otherwise, Dorothy-Dorothy? If it was for me, I'd have snagged it solo without telling anyone. Even post-escape, logical: I'm immune to memory loss; Dorothy loses a day each time. Netdiver catalyst goes to the one who forgets. Playable characters save easy.
"But... I..."
As Dorothy hemmed and hawed, pushing the syringe away, I geared up to persuade again—
BOOM!
Rumble rumble...
The sporadic blasts grew closer. Thumping footsteps echoed from the passage outside. Our faces paled in sync.
No time for shots now.
"Let's go!"
Game tutorial trait: no backtracking. I squeezed through another cracked wall gap with Dorothy.
1. Avoid lab personnel. Dorothy's wits: success.
2. Netdiver lucky break. Dorothy found it: success.
Bus'd my way through somehow. But now the last one.
3. Get Dorothy out somehow.
Our destination: escape pods. Get her there, she's saved.
'Tiara escapes too.'
Dorothy's voice echoed in my head. Yeah. If possible... if only...
"Tiara. You serious?"
Dorothy's voice—colder than I'd ever heard. I scowled back, meeting her eyes.
"No more chit-chat. Get in."
One escape pod left... and we fought for the first time.