welcome our new test subjects and say goodbye to old ones...

[vivariummods]

T H E  W A R E H O U S E 【 day 10 】 To all the newcomers, welcome to the 【 Warehouse 】. Once you escape your elevator, you will find yourselves here. It's strangely empty for a warehouse. Aside from the elevators you've come out of, there's nothing else here. In fact, the longer you look around, the stranger everything looks. Every window has been bolted shut, with no way of removing the steel coverings. The only source of illumination comes from the florescent lights above. Along the walls are numerous amounts of surveillance cameras, watching every bit of movement and listening to the sounds of everyone and everything. Every door is locked up tight, with no clear way of opening them, and there's one giant door with a 9 painted on it. It's a rather strange place, and there seems to be a lot of people here, so go introduce yourselves? As for the "old timers", they will find that their bracelets will not display any colour or status (SOLO or PAIR). The BP will be a simple grey colour, and there will be nothing underneath it. Wonder what they means. Before anyone can ask Calhoun, he will be screeching in your ear about something else, asking everyone to gather in the warehouse. Standing on a table (in an attempt to be at the same height as a few of you), he says that there's a special surprise for everyone. So, gather around, test subjects, and listen closely because he's not going to say it again. 【 day 11 】 Everyone might wake up today to the loud sound of... sirens? What on Earth can make a sound like that? Well, if they get up and look, they'll see Calhoun with... one of these, and him attempting to put Kotetsu on the stretcher. Due to being a 3'2" sized mouse, he's clearly struggling but he's at least determined to put him on it. ANNOUNCEMENT ✖ NEW ARRIVALS ✖ GOODBYE ✖ NEW ARRIVAL

Comments

[friendofeve]

[Speaking of baths, here's a new girl dragging herself out of one of those elevators looking rather drenched. Puzzles don't appear to be her forte, that's for sure. She's quite happy to simply collapse on the ground once she's safely met it again, trying very hard not to start sobbing out of sheer relief. There's already a puddle forming from her soaked clothes - no need to add to it any.

It will take her a moment to respond if anyone decides to approach her, but having someone who isn't a snarky little rat to speak with may well do the girl some good.]

[detectiveofthewest]

"Hey, you all right?" Heiji wasn't quite sure how to handle girls that looked like they were about to cry, but it was obvious that she'd just managed to escape from a pretty awful fate.

Where'd you come from? was what he wanted to know, but instead he put out a hand. "I'm Heiji. Don't worry, you'll be okay. We're all in the same boat with ya."

[friendofeve]

Hello, you do not look like a mouse and is she ever so glad to see someone else.

As promised, it takes her a bit to collect herself, but once she does the words come spilling out rapid-fire. Hopefully he can keep up.

"Where are we? What was with that mouse thing? He said something about killing, but I don't want to kill anyone!

What's going on here?!"

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji held up both hands. "Hey, slow down a sec, will ya? I ain't sure how much that rat said to you, but I can try and explain things. First of all, though, you okay in those clothes? There's a washroom nearby, and I can lend you my jacket if ya want."

"Half of what Calhoun says is hot air, but it's true that it's possible for someone to die out here. Ain't no one died yet, though, so you can relax a little there."

[friendofeve]

Oh. Yeah, it is actually kind of chilly now that he mentions it. She tries her best not to shiver. Answers first. She doesn't want to spend another second without getting at least a few.

"He was talking about... puzzles, risking lives, killing, trying to escape... things like that. How it's all some kind of experiment."

At least her memory still seems to be good, even under pressure. "All of that... was it serious? We have to... we're really--

--Trapped...?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"If it's an experiment," said Heiji, looking annoyed, "It's got about the shabbiest scientific method I've ever seen. It's true that we haven't been able to find a way outta here, though."

He jabbed a thumb at the large '9' door. "Supposedly, that's our ticket out of here. But no one can go through it until they've got 63 BP. That's gonna be a long while yet, the way things've been going."

"As far as puzzles go... well, can't say there aren't any dangerous ones." Heiji sort of looked askance as he said this, unwilling to scare the new arrival too much just yet. "But ya just gotta be real careful and don't try to force 'em. So far that's the only thing that's got someone hurt."

And in fact there was actually a tear in Heiji's jeans above the knee, through which bandages were just barely visible.

[puzzlinglad]

[Hershel really did not know what to make of all this commotion, up until he notices someone he never saw before and jesus christ calhoun brought more people into this the fricken rat.]

[He hurries over, concerned.] Are you alright? I... guess that's a stupid question, who would be, just um-

[Take a moment to appreciate the fun you've come into, Akiko. Hershel's one sleeve is stained with what looks like soot, his tie is wrapped around his other, upper arm as a makeshift bandage and his sleeve is bloodstained around it. Don't you feel better about where you are now?]

Here- [He pulls off his vest, offering it to her. Not the first time he had to do this, probably wasn't going to be the last.] It won't help much but if you need to dry off...

1/2

[friendofeve]

[Pardon her while she just... stares. Those bloodstains haven't escaped her attention in the least, and all she can do is look at them mutely for a bit.

'...solve puzzles, risk your life, kill each other...'

No way. Was that rat serious...?]

2/2

[friendofeve]

[It's some effort, but she does manage to bring her focus back to the present, giving a shake of her head.]

No-- Well I mean-

Besides me, are you okay? Your arm...

[Even with everything going on, the girl has her priorities, it seems.]

[puzzlinglad]

[Hershel just regards her in blatant concern before he glances at his arm, realizing how this probably looked. Well shoot, he really hadn't meant to make things more troubling but...]

Oh, I'm okay. [He insists immediately. What a nice girl to worry, he liked her already.] It was- I'm not allowed to say much but um, that mouse, Calhoun? He puts us through these strange rooms full of puzzles. The one I was just in had a trap, and- well, as you can see it didn't end very well. [He finishes sheepishly.]

I know this is all very overwhelming... we've been here for a few days now, at least over a week. We woke up in those rooms too, did the same puzzle, I imagine.

[friendofeve]

[Traps, he says. She probably shouldn't be surprised at this point, but every time she hears something new, she feels more and more like curling up in a ball. But as with the elevator, it's probably not advisable.

She takes a deep breath, recalling what happened just mere moments ago.]

I was stuck in that elevator when a guy with a gasmask showed up on the screen. He talked about a game, and then the mouse showed up and talked about... about risking your life, and escaping, and killing people...

[She shudders. It's hard to say if it's the cold or just the thought alone.]

After that, it started filling up with water. I thought I was going to die.

[fairsfair]

[ ... Well, Jake would normally be a jerk but uh, a girl who is trying not to cry. Uhhhhh, sarcastic joke, go? ]

Taking that you didn't like Waterworld.

[friendofeve]

[Her mind registers that it was probably meant as a joke, but no matter how hard she tries it's too difficult to find much humor in the situation.]

A creepy guy in a gas mask talked to me and then a rude mouse showed up and made a hole in the wall for water to come through and then I had to solve a weird puzzle before I drowned.

[She probably could have just said "no." Then again, with the speed at which she just rattled all of that off, it hardly took much extra time.]

[fairsfair]

That's the Sparknotes version of it, yeah, but looks like you've made it out well enough.

[ A little bit of sarcasm since she's completely soaked, but really, she's okay since she didn't actually drown. ]

[friendofeve]

Just barely! I thought for sure I was dead!

[She gives a heavy sigh, miserably drawing her arms close to hug herself for warmth. Everything is horrible and she still has no idea what's going on.]

Are-- Are you trapped here, too?

[skyentificmethod]

[there aren't that many places to go around here when puzzle rooms aren't going on, so wandering between the lounge and the warehouse is a pretty regular thing. new arrivals lying on the ground like drowned rats are less of a regular thing, though not necessarily in a good way.]

Hey-- What're you doing here!?

[gg ema best bedside manner :')]

[friendofeve]

[Don't mind her staring at you in a daze for a bit before she finally gathers her wits again.]

I don't know! Where am I? And what's even going on here?!

[SHE DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS. Or at least, she probably didn't. She can't exactly remember, but this does not seem like the type of thing someone like her would want to jump in on.]

[skyentificmethod]

[:<]

...Sorry, kid. Some psycho's kidnapped us and locked us inside a warehouse. Every couple days the rat forces us to do these ridiculous puzzles. ...I was hoping you might know something from outside. But you don't remember anything either, do you?

[friendofeve]

[She obligingly racks her brains for any memories of the outside world, but for some reason the most she can remember is seeing that gas mask guy somewhere. Aside from that, it's all blank.

Eventually, she shakes her head.]

No... I can't remember. I don't even know how old I am anymore.

[Her voice becomes increasingly nervous as she speaks.]

Is... Is that normal?

[vengefulyears]

[Clive doesn't spot her until later, surprised to see a new face in the warehouse, especially since it's a little girl. Really, Zero, can you sink any lower? Nevertheless, he puts on a friendly face as he approaches her.]

Oh! I wasn't expecting to find a new face around here.

[Hopefully Akiko has sufficiently dried off by this point, but if not, he'll offer her his blazer.]

I'm Clive. And you are?

[Yes, this is the very same Clive that Hershel told you about earlier, hahaha...]

[friendofeve]

[She's dried off a bit, and somewhat calmer, but still quite spooked. This is not a situation she feels equipped to handle in the slightest, even if she is currently trying to gather the resolve to do what she can.]

Oh! Um, my name is Akiko. [And a good thing he gave only a first name, since she's still not sure what to feel about having forgotten her surname.

...Wow, though. She's a little curious about how all of that went down, but she's also getting the feeling it would be somewhat rude to bring it up. Instead, she goes with the far safer:]

...It's nice to meet you. You've been trapped here along with everyone else this whole time?

[There's a sense of sympathy to her voice. She feels like she's had a hard time already - she can't imagine what it must have been like for these people, having been here over a week now.]

[blind_badass]

*Wait...there's someone new here? That certainly wasn't what he'd expected.* Are you all right? *he asks, after giving her a few moments*

[friendofeve]

[Pardon her, she just barely escaped from a weird elevator with her life and is feeling distinctly not okay.

Also a bit (just a bit!) panicked.]

I almost drowned! And that mouse-- he just kept talking but he wouldn't help me out at all and I thought I was a goner for sure!

[blind_badass]

Ah, Calhoun? Yes, he is distinctly unhelpful in that way. *He cants his head toward her, eyes remaining closed. It might occur to the newcomer that this man can't see her at all as he appears to be blind.*

Let me guess. All you remember is your name and being taken by someone.

[friendofeve]

[She does wonder about it, but her priority first goes on what he's saying. She tilts her own head, trying to recall something - anything, but...]

I-- You're right. I don't remember anything! But why...?