EVERYONE'S TRUTH - BEGINNING

[vivariummods]

Since the second group's first Calhoun Hour, the mouse in question hasn't appeared in the warehouse for longer than 30 minutes at a time. He only arrives during the early mornings to tape a random fruit of the day (apples, oranges, and pears so far) before scurrying off with his wagon. He refuses to provide any sort of medical relief for any of the test subjects, and does nothing more but providing the bare minimum to survive. So, when Day 9 rolls around, three days since that faithful finger breaking/eye blinding experience, it's no different; Calhoun comes in, tapes up some bananas, then promptly leaves afterwards, all without a word. An hour after he leaves, though... The screen in the Greenhouse, up against the wall besides the entrance, finally comes to life for the first time. It flickers on and on, flashing brightly. At first, there's nothing but static. Soon enough, though, it stays a consistent green tint. A blinking cursor hovers at the bottom and stays there for a few seconds, before it begins to type. DO NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO YOURSELVES COME TO THE LOBBY AND GO THROUGH THE NEWLY OPENED DOOR I WILL MEET YOU THERE....... And it ends there...

Comments

BASIC INFO

[vivariummods]

✖ This is the beginning of the final arc with Group β.

✖ There will be four major parts to this arc, each having its own post.

✖ There is not a set time, but the arc will last approximately 2 OOC weeks and 1 IC day.

✖ For AC, we require a total and minimum of 25 comments from you across all four posts, but we highly encourage more tagging.

✖ This part will concluded on July 2nd and the next part will go up on July 3rd, but should the threads finish before those date, the mods will put up the next part of the event right away.

✖ If you have any questions? Ask and we will try to get back to you asap.

✖ Have a nice trick!

THE MESSAGE

[vivariummods]

[ The screen continues to display the note typed out onto the screen, flickering occasionally. Discuss or stare, do whatever, but it will not stay on forever. Eventually, it will turn itself off within a minute, but the message will remain until the end... ]

DO NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO YOURSELVES

COME TO THE LOBBY AND GO THROUGH THE NEWLY OPENED DOOR

I WILL MEET YOU THERE.......

Re: THE MESSAGE

[fushuuu]

...What the hell's this all about?

[elliexir]

Dunno, but what do you want to do about it?

[fushuuu]

[he frowns, chewing on his lower lip]

Do you think it's a trap?

[toybombs]

[Not long after spotting the message, Rio tugs gently on Ellie's shirt to get her attention, her voice quiet.]

U-um... Ellie...?

[elliexir]

Hm?

[ She looks down at Rio, her attention now grabbed. ]

What's up?

[toybombs]

W-well... It's just, about Kaidou...

[Hrmmm. Her voice is quiet and nervous, and her gaze flickers over to him uncertainly. Though at the same time, it seems slightly forced.]

Ah, um... C-could we maybe talk about it somewhere else?

Re: THE MESSAGE

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro stares at the message, intrigued and wary.]

I wonder who sent this...?

[1st_response_is_anger]

If it was Mr. Mouse, he'd be yelling at us instead of a polite message.

[elliexir]

It seems pretty suspicious, like what does "do not draw attention to yourselves" suppose to mean?

THE MEETING

[vivariummods]

[ True to the message, upon reaching the lobby, characters will notice a previously closed door has opened up. It only remains open for a short period of time, and will automatically close once everyone enters. The room itself is rather small and contains miscellaneous items, from office supplies to broken technology. There's a heavy layer of dust on every object, and it's obvious that this location has been used as storage. While dimly lit, it's still difficult to make out of the specifics of the room, but a pair of red lights in the back shine brightly through. Walking up closer, it becomes apparent thtat the owner of the red lights is a robotic, skeletal human, standing upright at an impressive height. It doesn't have the same layer of dust on it, like the other items, and it remains perfectly still. Only after a few seconds does it surprisingly speak. ]

WELCOME. YOU'VE DONE WELL TO COME HERE.

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro's eyes were automatically drawn to the various broken technology in the room. He would go and examine them, but the red lights caught his attention and he followed them to find a robotic skeleton...and it spoke.]

Wha--you can talk!

[Give him a moment to get over his shock.]

[1st_response_is_anger]

Woah, a talking robot! *It had a heavy voice but at least it didn't sound like it was coming out of a Speak and Spell.*

THE ENCOUNTER

[vivariummods]

[ The robotic skeleton remains shut off, slumped over in its chair. It appears that it truly won't turn back on until Calhoun is taken care of... But with a solid plan, it should be simple enough to take down one mechanical mouse. The first problem is, however... how do you call him out? ]

[elliexir]

... Oh right, uh, does anyone know how to bring out a mouse?

[ Because now that they were going to go ahead with this plan, she kind of realized that they need to find the mouse first... ]

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro's quiet for a moment, as he thinks to himself.]

...I have an idea, but it's risky if we fail at taking it down. [That's ominous. He looks at Ellie, and then at everyone.] Back during that choosing game, I talked with it and learned we can make a deal with it. We do something for it in return for a reward like extra clothes.

[The topic somehow came up during an argument over fashion...]

So I'm thinking... we can call him out about it, pretending to make an offer with it. That's when we can ambush it while it's distracted, and I can insert the flash drive into him.

[He pauses for a moment, before he speaks again.]

...It's risky because if we fail, not only will it punish us, but the person who calls him out would probably get the worst of it.

THE NEXT STEP

[vivariummods]

[ With their watcher turned off, nothing stops the robotic figure to force open another door. This is the most they can do for now, they claim, however. While they have taken out one threat, this warehouse holds many more, and to avoid any risks of losing its connection to everyone, it stays behind in storage. It informs them, however, that they are one step closer to escaping. After they complete the next part, then it will be able to come out of its hiding place. ]

[ The next plan: to cut off the warehouse's power. ]

[ The newly opened door leads to a long and narrow hallway. Dusty and barely lit, it suggests that this area has not been maintained for quite some time... Eventually, the hallway ends and leads to another door. It slides open easily, and inside is a moderately sized room. It appears that there was once a plate above the entrance, perhaps the name of the room, but it has either fallen off or been taken. Nevertheless, this is where the outsider has mentioned that the power could be turned off, so get to looking. ]

[toybombs]

[Rio continues to stand close to Ellie, but that won't stop her from peering past the girl and into the room as best as she can.]

What is this place? It looks a little like an office...

[babel_hacker]

Only one way of finding out. Let's start looking around.

[Atsuro step inside the room and glance around. His eyes are drawn to the computer console and he makes his way over to examine it. A password input screen? Without a clue to what it is, he can't do anything about it... yet.]

A password, huh?

[He looks at either side of the console, noting the metal doors. Hm...]

[1st_response_is_anger]

So we have to cut off the power...won't that be kind of dangerous to us too? *Maria thought out loud. Of course they couldn't just leave with the mouse out of commission. They had to jump through more hoops.*

[elliexir]

You mean having to go around in the dark?

[ She thinks she's willing to bump into a few things if it means that the can get out of here. ]

THE FINAL STOP

[vivariummods]

[ Once the power has been shut off, the group will quickly get confirmation of their deed: the entire warehouse is covered in pitch darkness and it's difficult to get around without having to feel around the walls. Luckily, the hallway back into the main lobby is straight and narrow, leaving no confusion on where to go. Once back, the robotic figure stands directly in the middle of the warehouse. Its glowing red eyes are the only indications that it's even there. ]

[ It congratulates everyone for their success. With the main power shut off, it can finally come out into the open. The group is as close as ever to being set free, but there are some bad news to this: Calhoun's body can no longer be found in the Greenhouse. It speculates on where the little rodent could have run off, after taking a virus like that, but it reassures everyone that it wouldn't be able to function for long. The larger problem is that their captor has used what little control they have left to activate the emergency power in this side of the warehouse. A few doors are still electronically locked, including the way to leave, but worry not. It has anticipated this move. There is one last plan to execute in order to win against the group's captors. ]

[ It doesn't explain further, however. Instead, it hands everyone a small pocket flashlight. Retrieved from the storage room it hid in, they will prove useful to the group. It motions everyone to follow it through a newly opened door and down yet another narrow hallway. Just as dusty and unmaintained as the previous one, the robotic figure stops at a door. It takes a few minutes to fiddle with the electronic lock and with some success, the door opens. It then turns to the group and outstretches a mechanical arm inside. ]

Through here. This will be your last stop before victory is won.

[ It does not budge from its spot by the door, allowing everyone to enter in first and peer into their final destination. ]

[elliexir]

[ This whole thing is starting to get kind of weird. C'mon, when are they going to get out of here? Can't he just... do his magic robot thing on the big number 9 door? Why are they here? ]

[ Ellie doesn't enter the room right away, just looks at the others first before going in. ]

So...... What's with this room?

[vivariummods]

I will explain the significance of this room, but only after everyone enters. You will quickly see for yourself.

[ It remains standing just outside the room, waiting by the door. ]