DOUBLE BLIND

[vivariummods]

Shortly after the conversation with Zero ends, Zero opens the doors of the Garden and allows everyone to leave. However, the rest of the warehouse isn't better than the Garden: The lights are still off, leaving everyone surrounded in darkness. The temperature just keeps on dropping, reaching near freezing point. The air feels more and more polluted, making it difficult to breathe without coughing, and nothing seems to be working as they should be. The electronic doors refuse to open without any power source, cutting off access to the cafeteria and dorms. At the very least, Zero has managed to open all the doors leading to puzzle rooms and has informed the group that new areas are now accessible to them, but they're on their own should they want to enter any other rooms. Before the screens in the Garden turn off, Zero finally informs them that a new feature has been unlocked on their bracelets: any test subject wearing a bracelet may communicate with one another with the bracelet acting as a communication device. Holding onto the left button will enable the line to open just like a walkie-talkie. As long as test subjects are in the warehouse, they will have no troubles speaking with one another. What if they wish to talk to Zero? Zero's time is not be riffled, but they were generous enough to appear whenever anyone found a screen and pressed the on button a total of three quick successions. And with that, Zero disappears from the grids and finally leaves everyone in complete darkness, leaving only one last piece: "Best of luck, Test Subjects." BASIC INFO ✖ MISSIONS ✖ MINGLE

Comments

[skyentificmethod]

Alright. If we step over to the wall, you can head clockwise, I'll go counterclockwise, and one of us should find something before we meet in the middle.

[simply looking around doesn't do any more for her than it does for him, so she heads to the wall in front of them, which ought to be the stairwell. Except that there's no wall after all, and maybe they've found this thing already.]

Um, was this hallway always here? 'Cause otherwise I think this 'new' thing in the lobby is right in front of our noses.

[not_that_sasuke]

Totally ridiculous and maybe a little miraculous if it actually works, honestly.

"Alright, then let's go."

To the stairs to get this party-- well, prepped at least.

[not_that_sasuke]

[It's not freezing levels, this is fine by Sasuke. The smell is... not that great... but hey, he can deal.]

It isn't the machines?

[But then, what could it be...?

He'll slowly make his way around the room, trying to figure out where the warmth seems to be emanating from.]

[detectiveofthewest]

Wow, Snake, that was hardcore. Heiji was duly impressed. Or at least he would have been if he weren't busy shoving his bokutou through the back of the robot's abdomen. It turned to face Heiji, who struck out again at the back of its knee.

This time, it wobbled, losing its balance and staggering to the side. Heiji took the opportunity to grab Snake by the hand and drag him forward.

"C'mon, let's get outta here!"

[blind_badass]

Yes, let's. *Snake grabbed a firm hold of Heiji's hand and followed him to relative safety. He had to stop after a few rooms to place a hand to his throbbing head.* I could have handled that better. And I'm bleeding. Wonderful.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji, apparently, wasn't in the mood for light conversation. The instant they were both safe and the footsteps of the robots had receded, he threw his arms around Snake and hugged him.

"You dummy! You coulda gotten yourself killed!" There were any number of emotions Snake might have read from his voice: worry, relief, exasperation. But there was something else there, too, which surfaced more strongly as Heiji went on. He dabbed some cloth against Snake's forehead, cleaning away some of the blood.

"I can't believe you pulled a crazy stunt like that..." Maybe Snake couldn't see the way Heiji was looking at him -- admiring, in a way that he'd never quite looked at Snake before. It was one thing to be smart or talented or handsome. It was quite another to risk your life for someone else.

[blind_badass]

*Why had he felt the need to do something so suicidal? Oh right, because if left to his own devices, Heiji would have gotten mangled up by the robots. Especially with how one of them tried to hammer Snake into jelly. So it was quite logical to lead them away.*

*Of course it did nothing to explain Heiji's multiple emotions in his voice or the way he was fussing over Snake. Or the fact that Snake felt on the verge of realizing something. He could feel his heart in his throat but kept his tone calm.* Well really, Heiji, I wasn't about to fight them all myself. Just to lead them away to let you work on the screens. By the way, did you manage to figure out what they were?

PRETEND THAT THIS SENTENCE WAS IN THE LAST TAG, WOW SELF

[detectiveofthewest]

But the sentiment was quite clear from his tone of voice.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, I figured out how to shut off the charging station. But never mind that; we're going to fix you up the minute we get back upstairs. And don't try to play it off, either! There had to be at least fifteen of them. I didn't know you could be that... that..."

Impulsive? Rash? Brave? Whatever it was, it was the kind of thing that Heiji pulled, not Snake -- at least not until now. And the fact that Snake had so suddenly and completely broken with his usual cool, logical self... well. Maybe there was something not entirely innocent about the way Heiji put a hand up to Snake's face, brushing the side of his thumb up over Snake's cheekbone.

In fact, there was something different in Heiji's entire manner, and maybe if someone from his previous life had been in the warehouse with them, they could have put their finger on what it was.

When things got serious -- when lives were in the balance -- people looked to Heiji. That was how it had always been, for so long that Heiji had simply accepted it as a matter of course. Even now, when he remembered almost nothing about his past, he shouldered the responsibility without question. But there were few people his age that he could consider on the same level. One of those rare few had been Kudou, whom he always spoke of with something between admiration and adoration.

This was how he was speaking to Snake now, only much more so. Looks and smarts and reckless heroism? Yes, please.

[detectiveofthewest]

While Sasuke was upstairs, Heiji snuck over to trail the rotten meat up to the stairwell. They didn't have to wait long, either, before the first of the robots came sniffing up to the bait. More followed, until there were several of them (wow, that bathroom didn't even hold that many people) all crowding around the bag Heiji had left on the first floor landing.

Heiji peered down at them; yes, excellent, they were bunching up. He made his way over to the gurney and gave Sasuke an okay signal.

[vengefulyears]

How silly, it's not like he was in another coma or anything.

"I suppose I was... I don't even remember ever falling asleep at all." And yet he was still tired even now. He couldn't help but let out a yawn, prompting him to scoot out of bed and into his chair, which made a resounding squeak as he sat in it. It pained him to leave the very first bed that he had slept on in months, but it was too warm and comfortable for his own good.

"Where are you? I'll come meet up with you in a little while." He was going to have to wolf down this salmon first - he desperately needed the energy boost.

[fairsfair]

[ He waves Ema off on her previous comment while she heads to the closet, while he checks out a different shelf that's full of clear jars, with some... questionable looking frozen liquids inside. Uhhhhhh. ]

Gotta say, I'd get a kick from a round of Russian roulette. Just like home.

[ After uhhhhh-ing the jars enough, he picks two up and walks over to Ema's new mop-bucket. He places them gently in, as best as he can with all the other nonsense in there. ]

Probably what they call "high quality food" at 36 BP, so hope you're just as excited as I am.

[puzzlinglad]

It may not be all that bad, whatever it is. [baseless, blind optimism was a good plan. he shakes the cans, making a face at whatever the sound was before deciding to not play nostalgic russian roulette and put them away.]

There must be other food stores somewhere else, hopefully with a better selection than this. I wonder just how big this place is if this is only the tip of the iceberg.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Me? Right now I'm in the library. I'll probably be here for a little while, but I'll let ya know if I need to move." Heiji's voice sounded excited, even piped in through the bracelet speakers.

"The books in here aren't really useful, but there're a bunch of mystery novels!" In fact, he might have been reading them when Clive piped up to ask where he was...

[skyentificmethod]

I'm not complaining about jumping the line. [36 BP was a magical, far-off land it was hard to imagine ever arriving at... she picks up another few flat packs for the bucket; they probably were less useful than the cans and jars since they were frozen, but with all this crap going on they may as well have one decent meal at the end of it ]

What'd he say, something like we've only seen an eighth of this place or something? I can't--have we gotten any evidence at all this place is that big? [she continues to idly pull stuff from the back of the freezer shelves as she muses aloud] I mean, where would you even be able to have a complex that big? Think of the power and water consumption this place must need, how would that not be a red flag? And wouldn't somebody augh!!!

[along with the sudden yelp comes a sudden tossing of a freezer bag into the middle of the room; it looks an awful lot like a head]

[blind_badass]

*High calculated recklessness. When Snake thought about it now, it should have been obvious that the best place to go would be the glass floor room. Clearly that's what his head had worked out when his emotions had not. He'd been so worried that Heiji would have been injured when it turned out Heiji hadn't been in as much danger as he thought.*

*Perhaps he dabbled in occasional recklessness when it came to the safety of the people he cared about? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. If Clover had been in danger, certainly Snake would do everything he could to protect her, even if it meant putting himself in danger. The fact that he'd done it for Heiji suggested something important.*

*Instead, Snake smiled and finished Heiji's sentence.* Logical? Why thank you, Heiji, good of you to notice. One of us has to be.

[detectiveofthewest]

And then Heiji felt annoyed again all at once. Well, it wasn't like it was an unusual feeling, for him. He lowered his hand and turned around, starting toward the maze exit. "...Not exactly the word I woulda chosen. C'mon, let's get outta here."

[not_that_sasuke]

Another nod. Here goes...

"Hey, hey! Over here!" Holy crap it's Sasuke shouting what kind of strange and messed up world is this.

[detectiveofthewest]

The robots down below clearly did not appreciate the wonder that was Sasuke's shouting; they began whirring and clanking and generally robot-ing up the stairs at a pace that was much improved from the last time they'd been let loose in the warehouse. Only one of them stopped to do what looked vaguely like the Egyptian for a few seconds before joining the others.

Oh, they were coming, all right. By now, Heiji was with the gurney in a side hallway, waiting for the robots to rush past after Sasuke. Fingers crossed...

[not_that_sasuke]

Yeah, these ones are definitely better off than the ones they faced before. He resists the instinct to simply bolt for it, continuing to shout.

"Hurry up! C'mon!"

Almost there... Just a couple more seconds and it'll be Heiji's turn to do his thing.

[detectiveofthewest]

Now that they'd cleared the stairs, they were coming after Sasuke in earnest, chasing him across the lobby and down towards the pool. Heiji was ready when they did, rushing the gurney forward to sweep them up from behind.

"Sasuke, get clear of the water!" His prediction had been correct; metal didn't have much purchase on the slippery tile surface that surrounded the pool, and while the robots were turning to try and counteract Heiji, they were seriously hampered by their ability to move properly.

[not_that_sasuke]

Sasuke is quick to comply, quickly turning to get out of the way. The tiles are slick, but he's got enough traction to move where the robots can't, and that's enough.

Go get 'em, Heiji.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji threw his weight into the gurney and shoved the robots into the water, shielding his eyes against the bright light as they sank and shorted. One of them teetered on the lip of the pool, trying to pinwheel its arms for balance. In the end, however, it joined its fellows and tipped over into the water.

In the midst of the impromptu light show, something else emerged from the water -- something decidedly not metallic. For that one moment, when the octopus reared out of the pool, Heiji's expression was one of horror and disbelief. It was a Giant Pacific Octopus. It thrashed its tentacles at the surface of the water before slowly sinking into the murky depths.

After a moment, he turned to Sasuke. "You... you okay?"

[not_that_sasuke]

He'd stumbled a bit on the tiles, and shielded his eyes once the sparks went up. As such, he only catches a brief glimpse of the dreaded octopus as it returns to its chosen home.

"--I'm fine. What was-?"

[fairsfair]

[ Jake sharply turns and gets ready to fight something, fists partially raised up, but then he lowers them when he sees the source of Ema's yelp. ]

[ Unsurprisingly(?), he doesn't seem too bothered by the head. Sure, he frowns and there's slight disgust, but he does the opposite of what you should do when you see a human head: he walks up to it and bends down to examine it (and maybe try to block the view). ]

Gotta say, this does not help the rep that this "food" has.