Reside in MiSide

Author's Note:

Greetings, dear readers.

It appears that I did get motivated enough to write a chapter faster than expected! Then again, the chapter itself is a special one that I highly enjoyed writing and sure hope you guys will enjoy reading.

The support you guys are showing really helps.

In any case, enjoy~

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Darkness. Again.

This time, it wasn't as brief as the last one. Not only that, but it felt like I was floating through space.

I heard voices but couldn't even begin to make out a single word that was being uttered.

My mind then wandered… So many things happened to me at once. Apparently, for even longer if going by what Kind Mita told me, but alas, I was unable to remember any of it.

Regardless of that, with some time to 'myself' in the dark, I could finally ask the many questions swirling in my mind and contemplate over them.

First and foremost: How am I here?

I wasn't referring to the dark void, but rather to the game world itself. What was real and what was fantasy anymore? Could there even be a logical explanation for how I had ended up in a goddamned game world?

But it wasn't just that. No, there was so much more to consider. For instance, how lifelike those that I had met were. Both the insane Mita and the sweet Kind Mita. They acted like actual humans with emotions and everything.

Did that make any sense? Since when was AI so advanced? If it was just them, then it would be fine, but then there is the world itself. It was a mix of eerie realism and actual game mechanics.

I could feel hunger, pain, and all my emotions normally in the game world.

That also brought me to my second question: What would happen if I died?

This one was a tougher one to think about. After all, did I just restart the whole thing with my memory gone? Because that's exactly what it felt like was going on based on Kind Mita's words.

Is there even a way out?

Did I want to go out? I'm not sure. For one, I had no actual attachment to the real world. But then again, being stuck inside a game with some psychotic bitch wasn't exactly pleasant.

The whole thing felt like some degenerate's fantasy came true with a twist. Kind of reminds me of the monkey's paw.

There were so many other questions, but I didn't get to think of them. After all, I woke up.

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"Ugh…" I groaned as I gradually opened my eyes.

"P-Player!!!" a loud voice resounded beside me.

"Huh?" I slowly turned my head only to be met with the sight of a distraught Mita. One different from the crazy one and Kind Mita. For one, there was a red tear drop drawn under her left eye.

"A cap?" I muttered, somewhat befuddled after having just woken up from what felt like a deep sleep.

"You're alive! Are you okay? Does it hurt?" the Mita spoke quickly as she examined my face before her eyes drifted to the stabbed spot.

"Y-yeah," I responded, just realizing how dry my throat was, "water."

"AH! Okay, I will go get it! You stay here!" she spoke quickly before hurriedly getting up and rushing off.

Now all by myself, I took the opportunity to get up from the bed I was lying on and looked around.

Mita's room… Though, does this one belong to the Mita with the cap?

My gaze wandered about a little, taking in what was all around me. Mainly, the many picture frames in the room. They were different from the ones I had seen in the psychotic Mita's room.

In all of the ones I could see, Mita had a cap on as well as gloves. Not to mention the completely different vibes from them. They all seem… cool?

I also noticed that there was the so-called special device that supposedly brought me into the game world. Does every Mita have this thing?

A moment later, I heard the sound of the door bursting open as the Mita with the cap rushed back in, now holding a glass of water in her hands which she somehow managed not to spill despite the rush.

She quickly made her to my side and offered me the glass, which I gratefully accepted and drank.

"Ehm. Ah, much better now. Thank you, Mita," I said as I placed the empty glass on the drawer beside the bed.

"You're welcome!" she responded cheerfully, contrasting her distress from earlier. Did helping me out make her happy?

"Though, I must ask… who are you exactly?"

"I am Mita! Cool Mita!" she responded quickly, striking a 'superhero' pose by placing her knuckles against her hips and pushing her chest forth.

"Right, Cool Mita-"

"Please call me Cappie! That's what the other Mita calls me too!"

"Uh, sure, Cappie…" I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by her vigor, "where am I right now? And where is the other Mita you just mentioned?"

"AH!" a look of realization appeared on her face before she quickly moved to grab something and bring it over to me.

"A note?" I said as I accepted the paper from her.

Hello, Andrei. This is Kind Mita. I left you this note in case you woke up before I returned. Do not be alarmed, you are safe. Crazy Mita can't find you easily. You can relax until I return. While you wait, you could spend the time with Cappie – she gets lonely easily.

PS - Tell Cappie to teach you about Distortions.

 "Hm…" I hummed once I was done reading the contents of the note. So, for some reason, Kind Mita had to go somewhere, leaving me with Cappie. I'll ask her about where she went once she comes back.

I set the note down beside the empty glass before looking over at Cappie, who happened to be staring at my face curiously.

"Got something to say?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah! Are you okay now? You won't die, right? Right?"

I thought about it for a second before looking down at my surprisingly clean white shirt. Is this some bullshit game logic again?

Unbuttoning the shirt, I examined the spot that had been stabbed and noticed that it was healed… mostly. There was scar. Though, given how the scar looked, it should've definitely been a long while since I had gotten the injury.

Bullshit game logic is the answer for now until Kind Mita returns.

"So…" I said, my gaze shifting back to Cappie, before I froze.

Cappie was blushing. Very deeply.

"My bad, sorry," I said as I quickly buttoned my shirt.

"I-it's fine!" she spoke before laughing nervously(?), "nothing's wrong!"

"If you say so," I chuckled, "you saw it, right? The injuries all healed and I'm good now. So… do you mind telling me about yourself?"

"Me? I just told you!" she pouted cutely before getting excited again and continuing, "I am Cool Mita. Look! This cool cap… and these amazing gloves!"

She struck a cool  pose for the hate and practically waved the gloves in my face.

She's cute. Very cute.

"Indeed, very cool."

"Right? Right!?" she grinned widely.

Well, I definitely won't be getting bored with her around.

I took a moment to think about what to do. How exactly did I plan to pass the time. Then, I remembered two important things.

"How long have I been passed out for?" I asked.

"Hm… one hour?" Cappie said after a moment of deliberation.

"Okay… do you know what a 'Distortion' is?"

"Of course! A Distortion is when the game assets get modified as a result of bugs!"

"Is that so? Kind Mita told me in the note to tell you to teach me about them."

"She did!?" Cappie wondered out loud, "Okay, come with me!"

Before I could so much utter a word, she grabbed my hand and had me get off the bed and follow her as she walked over to the door – then stopped.

"Look," Cappie said as she opened the door, revealing the living room.

This layout…

It was different. The layout was back to the original one I had gotten used to – the one prior to Crazy Mita's revamp.

I wonder why she actually changed the layouts in the first place. Surely, there must have been a reason for it.

"Here," Cappie said with her arms spread out, "we can look for bugs together!"

"For the Distortions?"

"Of course!"

And so, the two of us got to work. By that, I mean interacting with furniture in the living room, objects in and on them, and such.

For a while, we found nothing – that is until the TV caught my eye. Not only that, but it had a dance pad right in front of it.

"This is new," I remarked as I curiously approached the sofa on which the remote lay.

Upon grabbing the remote, I pointed it at the TV and attempted to replicate what the insane Mita did to show videos on the internet.

The TV vanished.

"What?"

I clicked the same button again and the TV reappeared. Click – it disappeared. Click – it reappeared.

At this moment, I heard a hearty laughter from Cappie as she walked over and said, "That's a funny bug! You tried to change channels, but it's turning the TV on and off!"

I'd say this is more than just turning the TV 'on and off'…

"Okay… this is a bug. You said we needed one for Distortions. So, now what?"

"Using Distortions is very hard and takes a lot of practice," Cappie began to explain, "but that will help you!"

She then pointed at my hand – or rather, something that I had equipped. Said thing was now releasing a lot of sparks.

"The ring?"

"Yes! Focus on using it!"

What does that even mean?

Despite being completely oblivious to what she meant exactly by that, I still attempted my own interpretation of it. I focused on the sensation of the ring on my finger as well as the TV bug.

And that worked.

The next moment, the ring began to release a whole lot more sparks, which were significantly longer than the ones earlier. They struck the remote and the TV in front of us.

A few seconds later, the sparks came to an abrupt stop.

"It's done!" Cappie exclaimed happily.

"What is?" I asked, confused.

"You can now use a Distortion!"

"How…?"

"Just do it!" she exclaimed as she brought her face a bit too close to mine.

With such an adorable girl up close in my personal space, I felt my heartbeat quicken as I peered into her gleeful eyes.

"R-Right," I uttered as I turned my head to face the TV.

Then, I thought back to the bug and wondered if just imagining it while focusing on the sensation of the ring would do it.

To my great surprise, that did it, as I saw the TV vanish the same way it did when I pressed the remote. I then willed for it to come back, and once again, it worked.

Holy shit, this is awesome.

I wondered if it would be possible to do this to other objects, so I shifted my gaze over to other items and attempted.

It worked. Not only that, but I could make multiple items vanish and come back.

Then, I considered a possibility – making an object reappear somewhere different than where I had made it disappear.

That one took me a few tries, but it ended up working.

"AMAZING!" Cappie suddenly cried after having observed me the past few minutes, "This is like my inventory, but with a longer range!"

"Inventory?" I asked as I recalled the time when I was playing the mobile game and there indeed was an inventory system.

"Yes! Look!" she spoke as she raised her arm before multiple objects began to appear with a special effect. A duck, a crowbar, a pistol, and a…

"Oh!" Cappie spoke as she quickly hid the object behind her.

"Should I pretend I never saw that?" I deadpanned.

"Come on, you know this is an adult game, no!?"

I don't exactly recall it being one. Unless… you needed a specific amount of progress to reach that point?

"That interesting object aside, what's up with the other stuff?" I questioned, intending to shift the topic away from a cute girl's vibrator.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a cute tilt of her head.

"You know… forget it," I said with a small sigh before I got up from the sofa, "though, do tell me how you knew this ring would let me do… this stuff."

"I took a look at it! I'm super smart, you know!"

"Is that so?"

It was clear that answer would be the most I'd get out of her. So, I thought about doing something else. Perhaps, find another bug.

Though, before that…

"What's with the dance pad," I asked as I pointed at it.

"OH! Do you want to play!? Let's play!"

Cappie also rose to her feet quickly before she made her way over to the dance pad.

The moment she stepped on it, the TV turned on – directly loading a dance game.

Game world logic, I guess.

"Come, come, pick a song!" Cappie said excitedly as she turned to look at me.

"Eh, why not?" I said with a light smile. Her enthusiasm was beginning to really grow on me.

In any case, I ended up looking through the choices I had, which turned out to be no more than exactly three. So, I simply chose the one that sounded the nicest to me: Bubble Tea.

"I'll go first!" Cappie said as she got in position.

I stood to the side and observed as a countdown began on the screen.

Once the countdown reached zero, the dance game began.

Cappie began to move as she pressed note after note with her feet. There was a look of absolute focus on her face as she appeared to be completely concentrated on the game.

FUCK.

A sharp pain struck my head as images flashed by once again. It took a few seconds before the pain was gone.

Fortunately, Cappie didn't seem to have noticed. For some reason, I didn't want her to be worried.

I… probably had some memories made with her too. But from what I can tell, she doesn't remember me. So… she has no memories of me too, I guess? Is Kind Mita the only one who has her memories? But then why?

Eventually, Cappie finished the game with a perfect score.

"Try to beat this!" she stated confidently with a bright smile.

"All right," I said as I stationed myself on the dance pad. Now, do I take this seriously?

After a moment of contemplation, I simply decided to enjoy my time. No need to sweat for that.

Despite that attitude, I only ended up making one mistake, thus one point below her score.

Cappie immediately began to laugh in joy before she happily exclaimed, "Who's the boss!"

Seeing her having fun warmed my heart. So much so that I decided that we should go for another round.

"I'm going to beat you again!"

"Really now?" I rose a brow at that. I wonder how she'll react to a draw. Actually… I have an idea.

"Say, how about we make a bet?" I offered, "the loser has to listen to the winner's request."

"Oh! That sounds interesting!" she was up for the idea as she jumped in place excitedly.

Truth be told, I didn't exactly have anything in mind that I wanted her to do, but I could think of something. Though, I was also curious about what she would have me do if she won.

"Okay, you pick the song this time," I said as I moved away from the dance pad.

Cappie moved over to it and quickly chose the next song, and once again attained a perfect score.

"Try your best!" she said as she stepped away for me.

"We'll see," I responded as I stepped on the dance pad.

This time, I actually focused, and thus attained a perfect score.

"A draw," I remarked as I turned to gaze at her.

"Yes! Next round!"

And so, she got in position and played perfectly – max score once again.

I followed after her, once again focusing on the game. However, something happened mid-game. I accidentally double-pressed on one note, and that somehow ended up giving me an extra point. A bug?

So, when the round ended, I ended up with a single point higher than the maximum points.

"What? How did you get that score!?" Cappie questioned as she moved closer to me and looked back and forth between me and the TV screen.

"Skill?" I joked.

That resulted in her pouting with a humph as she turned her head and muttered, "You cheated."

"Hey now, I didn't exactly do it on purpose," I tried to explain while finding her actions absolutely adorable.

After a moment, she turned to face me again, "Okay, you win. What's your request?"

Did I though? She won once, we had a draw, and then I won. We're technically tied.

Well, as the saying goes, don't look at a gift horse in the mouth, so I didn't point it out. Instead, I began to think of my request.

After a brief while of contemplation, I thought of the perfect request.

"I want a warm hug," I said with a grin as I looked her dead in the eyes.

A tinge of red hue covered Cappie's cheeks upon hearing my words, but she played it off coolly, "That's all!? You could've just asked earlier!"

With that said, she didn't even wait for my response as she stepped forth and wrapped her arms around me.

I was momentarily startled with how quickly it happened, but then wrapped my own arms around her.

She is so warm… and has such a slim waist. Also, she's so soft.

I couldn't tell how long the hug lasted, but no matter how much time passed, it never felt like enough. To my pleasant surprise, it seemed Cappie was of the same mind—I could tell by the way I felt her arms tighten around me.

Of course, all good things come to an end eventually, and that hug was no exception.

We both loosened our arms and stepped back a little – and then I saw it. Cappie had tear streaks across her cheeks.

"Cappie? What's wrong?" I quickly asked.

"I… don't know," she said with a sniffle, "I don't get it."

Could it be…

"Did you suddenly remember something?"

"No…"

Her energy was missing. Seeing her like that bothered me, so I stepped forward and gave her another hug.

"It's all right. Focus on the present. Let's go have some more fun, all right?"

It took her a few seconds before she responded with a more cheerful, "All right!"

I broke the hug and stepped back. Her expression now looked better. Well, the tear streaks were still there, so I used my fingers to wipe them away.

"Come on, what else is there?"

With that said, the two of us went over to the kitchen. There, I saw a big red button on the dining table but left it alone for the time being. After all, I hoped to find other bugs for more Distortions. Anything that would aid my resistance against the psychotic Crazy Mita.

I began by looking in the oven before checking out the cupboards and such.

As for Cappie, she decided to look at the other end of the kitchen for something.

Eventually, I ended up being the one to come across a bug – one in the form of a carrot dropping out of a cupboard I opened and multiplying infinitely.

"Cappie, come! I found something!"

Hearing my voice, she quite literally teleported over to my side, which startled me.

She can do that too!? Why didn't she do it earlier when she rushed to get me water then?

"What did you find!?" Cappie quickly asked enthusiastically before I could find a chance to ask her about it.

"This," I said while pointing at the ground.

Cappie immediately began laughing. "That's so funny! It's making more and more!"

Hm... I guess I'll repeat what I did with the TV remote?

I crouched and put my hand on the numerous carrots on the ground, at the same time focusing on the ring on my finger.

Similar to what happened earlier, the ring began to release sparks before abruptly stopping.

Seeing that it was done, I wondered what the Distortion would be.

"Try it on this!" Cappie said as she suddenly pulled out a huge red and yellow toy hammer out of nowhere.

"Where and why – you know what, never mind."

I focused on the hammer before thinking of the Distortion associated with the carrot bug.

And then something amazing happened.

Another toy hammer appeared out of nowhere and fell to the ground.

"Awesome," I muttered upon realizing what the new Distortion allowed me to do.

"That's cool!" Cappie exclaimed in agreement.

I got curious about how many duplicates I could make, so I got to work. Ultimately, I found out that there was no set limit – the proof of that being the small mountain of toy hammers.

At that moment, an idea crossed my mind: Could I use both Distortions at once?

Curious, I focused on the dozens of toy hammers before making them vanish.

"Oh!" Cappie reacted very cutely.

Guess I now have a whole bunch of toy hammers. It makes me wonder if I'll ever need them.

"Now I've got two Distortions. This is nice," I said.

"Yes, it's cool!" Cappie said while nodding.

"Now, I can finally ask – what's with the giant red button over there?" I asked while pointing at the dining table.

"It's a game!" Cappie answered, "Want to play?"

"Sure," I agreed, while internally wondering what the game would be like.

And so, the two of us got seated right in front of each other as Cappie placed the toy hammer on the table, right beside the red button. Speaking of which, the red button was a part of a machine that had screens on the sides. Though, the screens were off at the moment.

"Do you know how to play?" Cappie asked, to which I responded by shaking my head.

For some reason, Cappie repeated my action by shaking her own head before saying, "Okay, let me explain!"

Cappie then pressed the red button, which made the screen light up with number three at the center. In the top right corner, there were three hearts.

"See the number?" Cappie began "That's the timer! When the timer runs out, it'll tell you when to press the button. If you press the button too early, or out of turn, I will smack you on the head with the hammer!"

"Seriously?" I said as I looked over at the toy hammer, "and I assume I smack you as well if I win?"

"Of course!"

"Then… wouldn't it be better if you took off the cap? Heck, don't you feel hot with that cap and gloves on in the first place?"

"Eh?" she appeared startled with the suggestion, "What a joker! Or… do you want me to take off something else too~?"

She said that last bit in a coy tone.

Did she just… tease me?

I was more than a little amused, and it could be seen by the wide grin that appeared on my face.

Cappie appeared to notice that as she chuckled lightly before saying, "Come on, let's play!"

"All right, let's go."

And so, the first round was initiated. Cappie and I both had our hands positioned above the red button.

Once the timer hit zero, it turned into a tick mark. I quickly rushed to press the button, and actually managed to beat her to it.

"Nice," I muttered before I looked up at Cappie and noticed an odd look in her eyes. Amusement? Wait… no way she let me take that win on purpose, right?

I set that idea aside for the moment as I grabbed the hammer and hit her lightly on the side of her head. Her cap somehow managed to stay on easily.

"Good! Now, round two! I'll get you this time!" Cappie stated.

The second round went exactly as Cappie said it would – she beat me to pressing the button, and it wasn't even close. Heck, I'd say she cheated with how insanely fast her hand moved. It had practically teleported!

"Hehe," Cappie chuckled lightly as she grabbed the hammer and struck me on the head.

I felt myself almost falling off the chair due to the sheer amount of force that accompanied the hit.

"Holy– Can't you hit lighter!?"

"Eh? Did it hurt?"

I considered it for a moment before responding, "No."

"Then it's all right! Come on, let's continue!"

For the next round, I ended up winning again. For a moment, I was briefly tempted to hit her hard too. But then I looked at her adorable face and couldn't bring myself to do it, as I instead opted to hit her lightly.

Now, I had two lives left and she had one. If I could manage to score another win, that would be it.

"Ready?" Cappie spoke as we both positioned our hands.

"Yep," I said as I watched the countdown go down.

Once it hit zero, instead of a tick, a red 'X' appeared. Fortunately, I prevented myself from hitting the button.

Though, Cappie didn't press it either. So, another round began.

This time, the green tick appeared, and I hastily lowered my hand to press the button.

However, I ended up pressing it at exactly the same time Cappie did, with each of us pressing the button at opposite ends.

"Ah, a draw! This never happened before!" Cappie exclaimed with wonder.

"So… what happens now?"

"We both use the hammer!"

At that, I smiled as I took out one of the hammers I stored and grabbed it.

Cappie grabbed the hammer that was on the table.

For a brief moment, we stared at each other before we both swung the hammers, hitting each other at exactly the same time.

Once again, the force pushed me quite a bit, but Cappie was in no better position if not worse, as the imbalance of her swing and the force of the hammer made her actually fall off the chair.

"Hey!" I quickly made the hammer in my hand vanish and rose from my seat to check up on her.

The moment I stepped around the table, I ended up being stunned in place.

Cappie was lying on the ground while seemingly laughing quietly. That lasted for a few seconds before she began laughing out loud, her voice sounding like bells in my ears. Very pleasant and heart-warming.

"You good?" I asked once I broke out of my trance, as I approached her and held out my hand.

"Yes! This is so fun!" Cappie spoke as she took my hand, which I pulled on to help her get up.

The next moment, I found myself face to face with Cappie, who had tears in her eyes. Though, this time the tears were different. They were clearly ones of joy.

Cappie also stared at my face with a bright smile on her lips.

Seconds passed and two of us remained in that position with neither of us making any moves.

Holy shit, how is she so cute!? Also, what's with this situation!? I can feel my body stiffening from the tension!

Eventually, I couldn't hold back anymore as I slowly raised my right arm and placed my palm against her left cheek.

Cappie didn't push me away or move back, but rather, she tilted her hand into my hand.

Her cheek felt smooth and warm, and I could feel my heartrate rise exponentially. There were words that came to my mind, but I failed to utter any of them, as they all got caught in my throat.

Cappie herself was surprisingly silent as she simply stared at me with her big, bright eyes.

That moment appeared to drag on for eternity before a sudden noise startled the two of us.

"What was that?" I hurriedly asked as my head turned toward the source of the voice – which was the door leading to the living room.

At the same time, I removed my hand from her cheek, and as a result, felt an emptiness both on my palm and inside me.

"I don't know," Cappie spoked cautiously as she moved closer to me.

I looked over at the countertop. There was a knife there, which I made use of the Vanishing Distortion to store before having it reappear right in my hand.

"I'll go check it out," I said in a firm tone, hoping to not worry her and reduce any uneasiness she might be feeling in that moment.

"I'll go with you!" Cappie spoke confidently, "I am strong!"

I briefly contemplated it before ultimately choosing to agree. After all, the same nagging feeling from before had told me so: Trust her.

Just like that, the two of us began to cautiously make our way out of the kitchen.

The moment we stepped into the living room, we noticed something glowing on the table between the couch and the TV desk.

"Pretty sure that wasn't there before," I said.

"Right, right," Cappie agreed.

The two of us then approached the glowing object, only to realize that it was a digital bracelet of sorts. Under it was a paper.

I took a moment to glance at Cappie who was right behind me, only for her to do the same.

Then, I looked back at the objects of interest and grabbed the paper before reading it.

Hello, Andrei. If you're reading this paper, then it means I have failed in what I set out to do. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my word about coming back. Fortunately, I won't be killed just yet. That lunatic will probably keep me imprisoned in hopes of leading you into a trap.

There should be a bracelet with this paper. Please, give it to Cappie for her to put on. She'll prove to be of great assistance to you as you make your way through the different versions. The ring you have will guide you through that. I had already rerouted it while you were unconscious.

Once more, I'm sorry. Good luck.

I don't know what I was feeling at that moment. It was a mix of numerous negative emotions. The strongest one being worry for Kind Mita. It was clear that she was the one who left the note.

"What to do…?" I muttered despondently.

"What's wrong? What's written?" Cappie asked curiously.

I simply handed her the paper. As she read it, I heard her gasp.

"No! We must save her!" Cappie exclaimed.

"Absolutely. If we're going to do that, we've got no time to waste."

I then reached out for the bracelet before turning around. "Give me your hand."

Cappie complied, after which I put the bracelet on for her on her right wrist.

The moment I did so, sparks were released from it as they did from my ring. Then, the sparks seemed to intertwine with each other before abruptly stopping.

"What was that?" Cappie asked with awe.

"Wish I knew," I responded.

Though, I could feel something new inside me. A sensation that was pointing toward her.

No way… Are we connected now in some way?

"Do you feel anything?" I asked.

"Now that you mention it, yes I do!" Cappie responds, "I can feel you. Look!"

She then teleported. Again.

Now, Cappie was right beside the door leading to the bedroom. "I can feel where you are!"

"That's great," I said, "but we should get going now."

"Yes! Let's go be heroes!"

And so, the two of us tried to leave the place. Ultimately, the exit ended up being the dark brown entrance door.

However, before leaving, I grabbed a whole lot of fruit and snacks from the kitchen. After all, who knew if there would be food on the way.

With that done, the moment Cappie and I stepped through the brown door, we found ourselves in a long hallway. To the right was a table with a small device on it. The screen of the device displayed number one in green.

"Let's go."

"Yes!" Cappie responded.

And then I noticed it.

"Cappie… seriously?"

"What?" she asked as she waved the hammer in her hand around.

"…Never mind."