vivarium | DOUBLE BLIND

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DOUBLE BLIND

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

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*Snake took quick steps alongside Heiji down the hall and then to the room with trip wires. Very carefully he placed his feet. Sometimes he barely brushed a wire before stepping elsewhere. It was a slow process but it did help him navigate the room.*

Delightful, as always. Except...I sense there's a screen somewhere. *Not that he could feel it but that Snake could sense the sound of one on.*

"I hear it, too." A high-pitched sound... but right now, Heiji was interested in avoiding the wires. He felt around carefully, but it was dark and it wasn't like he could say anything. When they were about halfway through the room, there was a banging noise in the direction of the door they'd entered from, like something metallic striking a heavy object.

"Light," he said urgently. Robots? "We gotta hurry." And that was exactly what Heiji tried to do, while trying simultaneously not to get hit by a wire or trip over something in the dark.

The sound of a wire stretching taut, then snapping with an audible twang. Something was behind them.

*Oh wonderful, nothing like pressure to deal with on top of everything else. Snake picked up the pace and his feet to hop from one safe place to another. He made it to the exit without mishap. Flawless victory!*

There's definitely a screen in this room. Hurry, Heiji, it might be something important we have to do.

Heiji was hurrying as fast as he could, with the sounds of wires snapping behind them to spur him on. There wasn't just one something behind them, there were now many. He made it to the other end and touched Snake's shoulder.

"I'm here, but I can't see anything." Nor did he want to turn on the light and spur their pursuers on.

*Snake ran both of his hands over the walls. He felt the screens across from the doorway they came from. He also felt something with his feet. He picked it up and it felt like a small book. No braille on the pages, alas. If he had to take a guess, it was instructions on how to use the screens that hadn't been there the first time they'd wandered through the maze.*

So you definitely need light to see this. *He handed Heiji the manual and turned his head toward their pursuers.* That poses a bit of a problem.

Heiji took the book; it certainly felt like a manual. "Yeah. We're gonna have to lose those guys first. One of the halls past here had a boulder that chased us down the hallway, maybe we could use that..."

Of course, there was a slight problem in that they'd have to let the robots get a lot closer for that to happen. Robots, so inconvenient.

*The robots were getting closer and closer, twanging on tripwires. Because the sound, Snake had no idea how many were coming at them. The safest bet sounded like "many." No doubt that these robots weren't like before. Popping them into a room to be guarded during a game was one thing. What could a horde of them do to the both of them?

*Heiji could brag about defeating them, but if the robots were out to kill them both...and if Heiji was the only one who could read the manual and change the screens...*

Heiji, give me the rotten meat. I'm going to try something. *Snake really had no idea what he was going to do. Only that he had to do something to get them away from Heiji.*

"Try something? You got some kinda plan?" It said something about just how much Heiji trusted Snake that he simply handed the bag over without question, despite the fact that it was one of their few tools to use against the robots.

Slowly, he put down the manual; the robots wouldn't be interested in it, as they'd never given two shits about anything that wasn't made of meat before. Instead, he brought up his bokutou, ready to fend them off as the two of them retreated. With it, he at least wouldn't have to worry about getting electrocuted by accident...

*The robots were starting to come into the room. What would they do to them? What would they do to Heiji?*

Yes. Heiji, you're the only one who can turn off the power. So, good luck with that. *Snake grabbed a hold of the rotted meat and ran, making his footsteps loud.*

You want this! Come and get it! *He felt the thud of a multitude of metal feet and ran for his life down the upper hallway, needing to take every robot he possible could with him deeper into the maze.*

For a crucial second or two, Heiji merely stood there in shock -- this was so completely out of character for Snake that he could hardly believe what had just happened. And yet the rush of metal footsteps trailing past Heiji and after Snake were proof that it had. Only a few robots trailed behind, wandering around the room, and these Heiji was able to defeat with a few well-timed blows once he'd turned his flashlight back on.

But Snake...

No. Snake knew what he was doing, or at least Heiji hoped he did. He'd have to trust that Snake was okay and for once actually listen when someone else told him to do something. With a shaky, slightly shuddering breath, Heiji opened the manual and began to read.

*Meanwhile, Snake had a metallic horde chasing after him. He had to find a place far enough away from Heiji to dump off the rotting meat and then escape. Attempting to fight any of the robots was dangerous at best. Snake could certainly defend himself but not from multiple attackers and certainly not from robots if he had no idea what they were capable of inflicting.*

Once absorbed in trying to decipher the manual, Heiji's focus quickly sharpened. While the text might as well have been written by ten monkeys angrily banging on a single typewriter, he solved it as quickly as he could, then shut off the power. It wouldn't turn off the robots right away, but it would keep them from being able to recharge; Heiji could only hope that chasing Snake would run down their power reserves even faster.

But where could Snake have gone? Cautiously, he began to explore the maze...

*Snake hadn't stopped running. Not with the sounds of at least fifteen robots behind him. He didn't want to test what would happen if he slowed down. He remembered the rooms that needed riddles solved and kept going.*

*Then he had it. The best place possible to take out all the robots. Snake picked up his pace, waving the purtrid meat into the air as he ran. He made it to the music room and tap danced the fastest "Mary Had a Little Lamb" the world had ever heard. It opened the door to the north.*

Oh robots? Do want to the meat? Go fetch! *Snake threw it into the open room and ducked into the far corner. He heard the stomping of multiple pairs of metal feet and the breaking of the glass floor.*

*However, not even Snake's clever gambit fooled every robot. Five still remained, their footsteps filling the air with discordant notes.*

Thankfully, the robots hadn't been particularly careful about their stampede through the maze, and their trail was easy enough to follow. Heiji soon picked up the sounds of someone playing the keys in the music room. There was only one person it could be, and he rushed in Snake's direction on feet that barely seemed to touch the ground.

He slammed the door open, prompting the robots to swivel around to eye this new intruder. "You...! Whatcha doing to my Light?!"

Heiji didn't bother to wait for an answer, either, darting forward to jam the tip of his sword into a mass of exposed wires at the base of the nearest robot's neck. He dodged the swing from a second, kicking it with his right leg hard enough so that it stumbled a few steps onto what remained of the glass floor in the other room and fell into the water.

*Snake was rather shocked to hear Heiji's voice. Had there been a problem? Were the screens not working properly?*

*He didn't have to ask as a robot decided to get very much in Snake's personal space, grabbing him by the clothes. It was faster than he remembered the robots being and he didn't have enough time to escape. Still grabbing his clothes, it picked him up and slammed him against the wall. It left Snake momentarily stunned. So the robot did it again.*

*Needing to just get the thing to stop, Snake instinctively did what a lot of people would do in a fight: namely headbutt the attacker. Snake regretted his decision approximately .5 seconds after committing himself. His head slammed against metal, filling him with pain and cutting him on his scalp over his left eye.*

Really now. You are making me quite upset.

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!"

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.

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.

*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?

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

"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.

*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.

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."

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DOUBLE BLIND

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I'm assuming the manual is right there?

let's go with that

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

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