Boothill pressed on. After blasting through two waves of Banana Aides, he found no enemies ahead.
Only Banana Aide corpses.
"Huh? Did that Nameless gal come through here?"
Not far ahead, a man dropped the husk of a Banana Aide and slowly turned around.
"Oh?"
"How delightful to see an actor who isn't a monkey."
"Otherwise, this scene would be far too dull."
Mr. Rick smiled and walked toward Boothill.
"I admit this entrance is a little contrived. But time is limited..."
"And for an opening scene, a little contrivance is fine."
"It's you." Boothill looked at the man, a faint memory stirring.
"I remember you're a Memokeeper. Why aren't you helping Ranpa and Brother Yan Huan? What're you doing here, looking for manual labor?"
"None of that matters." Mr. Rick shook his head gently.
"I'm here because I have exacting standards for cinematic beauty."
"What the hell is he talking about?"
Boothill frowned.
"I was gonna warn you to keep your distance, but if a pretentious fella like you turns into a monkey, so be it. Might be quieter that way."
"Don't worry. We can turn the savage back now."
"That wouldn't do. I'll be careful." Mr. Rick looked Boothill up and down.
"To you, my appearance is sudden, without much buildup."
"Normally, I could never accept such inelegant staging."
"But for this film, I'm willing to set aside some of my principles and give our loyal subjects a little context."
"After gathering the information, I've reached a conclusion on the best way to reclaim Dreamville."
Mr. Rick slowly stepped aside, revealing a large cardboard box behind him.
"I've prepared a gift for the actors. It's the outline for the next act."
"Once you uncover it, you'll understand."
"And I'm supposed to trust you?" Boothill tilted his head, still