Animal Crossing: Stolen Memories

Act 3 (Part 2), Scene 6

Note: A Youtube link has been added to the comments section. Playing it is optional, but it's a link to the song playing in the backgroud, so it adds some extra atmosphere.

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You knock on Rosie's door. The lights are on inside, and you think hear a faint rumbling. What's going on in there? Or is it just my imagination? You knock on the door, but don't get a response for over a minute. Cautiously, you turn the doorknob and find that the door is unlocked.

You push open the door and immediately are blasted by loud music. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYDMxwoTx9k) K.K. Bubblegum? You open the door all the way and step inside to see Rosie, Mabel, and Walker gathered around the TV playing some game on Walker's Wii. Surprisingly, Rosie is able to hear you come in over the loud music and she turns around. You notice some crumbs caught in the fur around her mouth and resist the urge laugh.

Rosie puts down her controller and runs over to give you a hug. "Ai! I was wondering if you were going to stop by today, or not! What have you been up to all day, silly?" She asks as she releases you from her hug.

"Oh not much... I was with Rover for a little while."

Rosie raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Is there something you're not telling me, silly?"

You sigh. "Seriously Rosie? It's not like that. You should know better..."

Rosie laughs. "I'm just pulling your leg, silly! I know you wouldn't replace Lance so easily!" Where is she even getting this from?

"Hey, You two gonna play, or what?" Walker calls out from by the TV. "We're gonna start the next round, wuh!"

"Nah, I think I'll pass." You tell Walker. You sit down on top of your legs on the couch and watch Rosie, Walker, and Mabel play. "I was never really that great at video games..."

"Alright, suit yourself, wuh... Help yourself to some chips or something."

"I'm not that great at them either..." Mabel sighs. "Honestly, the only reason I'm here is because Rosie dragged me here!" She laughs nervously while mashing buttons at random. You then hear her groan with frustration as she loses another life.

You smile. "I'm amazed Rosie got you to leave work early! Is Sable going to be okay on her own?"

"Yeah, the store should be closing in a couple hours anyways. Sable will be fine... She's my big sis, after all!" Mabel says proudly. She then stops playing and she shudders. "Then again, she's so quiet. What if she just ignores the customers and they leave without buying anything?!?" Her eyes grow wide with panic.

Rosie laughs and pats Mabel on the back. "Don't worry so much, silly!" Her expression then becomes a lot darker. "Now, fight me!" Rosie growls as she presses the buttons on her controller even harder.

"You know what?" you begin. "I think it'd be a good idea for me to check up on Sable, just to see if she's alright." The three of them turn around and stare at you.

Rosie gives you a slight look of disappointment. "Aw, but you just got here, silly!" she cries, giggling a little bit. "Why do you have to worry all the time? Why can't you just sit back, relax, and have some fun, you know?"

Mabel sighs, shaking her head slightly. "I appreciate the concern, Ai." she says with a slight smile. "Maybe you can help her out a bit, if you don't mind." She pauses. "Don't worry, I'll pay you for it, of course!"

"Thanks, Mabel, but don't worry about paying me. I'm just checking up on her!" You reply back.

Suddenly you hear a countdown: "3... 2... 1... TIME! ... AND THE WINNER IS ... META KNIGHT!"

"Aw, yeah!" Rosie cries, almost leaping off of the couch. You and Mabel both laugh.

"That's like the fifth game in a row, wuh!" Walker groans, pouting. "I'm usually never this bad... Can we play Wii Sports now?"

You say goodbye to Rosie, Walker, and Mabel and leave the house.

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You arrive at the Able Sisters. It doesn't seem to be crowded, even though this time is usually fairly busy. You make your way inside.

"Uh, hello? Sable?" You call out, looking around the shop.

You see Sable, seated at the store's sole sewing machine, staring at you from across the shop. The atmosphere suddenly becomes a little unsettling.

"Oh, Lance. Is that you?" she says, her voice low. "What brings you here?"

You raise an eyebrow and laugh. "Lance left this morning... It's me, Ai. Mabel asked me to stop by and check up on you."

Sable continues to stare at you blankly. "Oh... That's right, how could I forget?" Her voice trails off and she looks down at the sewing machine and continues mumbling.

"Is— everything okay?" You ask her. The air starts to feel very heavy and your head begins to hurt. You stagger and grab onto a nearby clothing rack to steady yourself. When you look up, Sable is gone! "Sable?!?" You cry out. What happened to her? You look around frantically for any sign of her. It's okay. She may have just gone to the back room... Yeah, that's it. You tell yourself in an attempt to calm down. You can only hope that something bad didn't happen to her.

The lights go out and you feel a tap on your shoulder. A voice whispers in your ear. "I'm over here."

You jump back with a scream and fall to the floor. You can see very little in the dark, but you can see the faint outline of the source of the voice: a tall man in what looks like a trench coat. Who—? "Who are you?" you manage to ask the man.

The man chuckles slightly. "You've forgotten? It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other, has it?" He says teasingly.

You sigh. "That's not funny, Rover!" The voice sounds deeper than Rover's but he's the only person you can think of who would sneak up on you like that!

The man laughs louder now. "Rover? Who's that?" He seems genuinely surprised.

So it isn't Rover? Then... who is this guy? Then a voice nags from the back of your head. I swear, if this is Rover messing with me, I'm going to--

The lights come on and you're in a bright white hallway. You look around and see nothing. Where'd he go? "Alright, what kind of joke is this?" You call out to the empty hallway. "First you sneak up on me, then you knock me out and bring me here? There are easier ways to get a girl's attention, you know?"

A voice behind you replies, "Fine, since you don't seem to remember, I'm just going to have to give you a hint..." You turn around to face the source of the voice, and see a man with dark hair wearing a trench coat. Something about this guy looks familiar... Or maybe I'm just going crazy. You're not sure what to believe at this point. "Remember why you're here, Ai..." The man says ominously before fading from your vision.

"Hey! Get back here!" You yell, running over to where the man was standing, but he's no longer there. Instead, you see two doors across from each other. One with a picture of a heart on it, and one with a rose.

You look around for anywhere else to go, but don't find any alternatives. You groan. Fine, I'll go for the one with the rose... Anywhere has to be better than here, right?

You place your hand on the knob of the Rose Door and twist it. Just before opening the door, you hear the man's voice again. "I would stick around, but I'm short on time. You should be able to handle yourself from here." The voice then fades away.

"DON'T JUST LEA—" You stop yelling and sigh. "I don't know what's going on here, but if this is some kind of joke..." You pull on the door and it doesn't budge. "What?!?" You call out angrily. "Oh, duh..." You mentally hit yourself, take a deep breath to calm yourself, and push on the door instead; it opens and you walk through.

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