The music kept going for a moment or two after that. The Conductor performed a heavy flourish and kick, seemingly only to emphasize how much fun they were having, and only at the end of it did they see exactly what they'd done to RE1. Upon seeing this, they stopped in their tracks and stared down at them for a moment. There were a few more verses to the song, but... no. No, this creature had had quite enough for one day. The Conductor clicked their heels together, stood up straight and snapped their fingers. The sound of a needle ripping across an old vinyl record rang out across the empty wastes, loud as a gunshot.

They took a long, steady breath and looked down at the broken creature in front of them. They tilted their head to the side curiously. The music had stopped now, and so had the compulsion. The only sounds left were the echoes of the vinyl scratch and a distant, howling wind. The Conductor let out a deep, ragged sigh and shook their head. They lifted their weapon briefly and trained it on RE1. With their other hand, they pointed down at her, then jerked their thumb back towards themselves, and then held out their thumb parallel to the ground. That done, they tilted their head to the side, as if to silently ask a question, and waggled their thumb ever so slightly up and down, seemingly unsure of whether it should go up or down.

Combined, these gestures all seemed to form into a very simple question: [i]"We good?"[/i]

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