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

[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.

[elliexir]

[ Ellie considers Atsuro's words and proposal. She remembers that he mentioned something like this before, where you could make a deal with Calhoun, but she never really gave it a second thought. Now that they're in this situation... ]

... Okay, sounds easy enough. Calling him sounds simple enough for me to do.

[ Since it's not like she's super strong enough to take down a robotic mouse. ]

[toybombs]

Ellie... A-are you sure?

[This already sounds dangerous, but when Atsuro puts it that way-!]

[elliexir]

Yeah. I mean, it's easy enough for me, and we got Gargoyle on our team to help take it down. We'll probably kick ass.

[ Gargoyle is referring to Kaidou. ]

[fushuuu]

[glares over at her, not really helping his case any]

If we actually think about it, at least.

Call him to a specific location. Someplace we can hide in advance, jump out before it can see us.

[elliexir]

[ Ellie giving nicknames is just a sign of affection, okay. She'll give everyone here nicknames if she has to. ]

Then... somewhere in the Greenhouse? I mean, we don't have a lot of options.

[ If someone wants to suggestion a specific location, like in front of the elevators or by the well in the Greenhouse, go ahead. ]

[fushuuu]

Maybe in the back, near the showers, or the outhouses. Corner it...fewer places it can run.

[elliexir]

In the back, near the showers, got it. [ She takes a deep breath. ] Okay, piece of cake. Let's get this over with.

[ She'll head over to the location, wait for everyone to get into place or whatnot, before shouting. ]

Hey, Calhoun or whatever! I wanna make a deal with you!

[formicarium]

[ It takes about a half a minute before the doors of the Greenhouse open up and the robotic mouse comes scrambling in. His tail move side to side as he approaches Ellie and looks up at her. His ears stand up straight and he leans in, clearly interested. ]

Diddddddddddd someone say "make a deal"? Because I'm all for that! What can I get you, test subject?

[elliexir]

[ Ugh... Ellie still hates talking to this thing. It just makes her uncomfortable and pretty upset about the whole thing, but she bites back her tongue and plays along with this whole thing. ]

My eye is killing me... So what's it going to take to get a med kit or something from you?

[formicarium]

Ohoho, the pain's getting to you, huh? You really need my help on this?

[ He snickers and steps in closer, attention focused entirely on her. ]

Wellllll, I could get you a med kit, but it depends on what you're going to offer me!

[babel_hacker]

[From his hiding spot, Atsuro holds his breath and listens carefully. Waiting for the right moment before they can attack...]

[fushuuu]

[kaidou waits until Calhoun is utterly engaged, leaning over a bit towards Ellie even, to strike: he hefts himself from his perch on top of the showers to jump bodily on top of Calhoun (and maybe Ellie if she doesn't get out of the way, but she's small, she can handle it).

He scrambles to keep Calhoun down log enough for Atsuro to do his thing; could they actually get through this unscathed???]

[formicarium]

[ Calhoun goes falling down, landing flat onto his front. He waves his arms and legs around, trying to struggle free. ]

H-Hey!! Get off me, you filthy test subject, or I'm going to make you regret this!

[ That's the only warning he gives before everyone's bracelet gives off a powerful continuous shock, easy enough to cause a painful burn if left going for some time, and until Kaidou gets off (or Calhoun gets taken out), this shock will not stop. ]

[elliexir]

[ Ellie luckily jumps back before Kaidou leaps onto Calhoun, with a small 'whoa!'. She doesn't stay standing off to the side for long though, because she rushes in to help Kaidou keep the little rodent down. She jolts back when the bracelet goes off, though, but grits her teeth to continue to hold down Calhoun's scrawny arms. ]

A-Atsuro, c'mon!

[1st_response_is_anger]

*Maria, who'd been just idly watching all of them harass the mouse, nearly fell on her knees in agony. With unsteady steps, she starts to walk over to them, wincing at the pain radiating up her arm.*

[toybombs]

[Rio had been staying out of the way, just as promised. But the shock quickly gets a high-pitched scream from her as she tumbles to the ground, curling up as though that might ward the pain away.]

[fushuuu]

[sorry ladies, Kaidou does the opposite of letting go of Calhoun (gravity helps). More electricity going through his already slightly burnt wrist is not exactly comfortable, but he's a man, he can take it with a manly grunt (that's his story, and he's sticking to it!), holding Calhoun's squirming body down best he can so that Atsuro can get to the port at the back of its head...]

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro's expecting Calhourn to do it, but he tensed and try to keep himself from screaming from the jolt. However, he moves forward and crouches down, grabbing Calhourn by his neck. His eyes quickly spot the port at the back of Calhourn's head. With his free arm, he pushes Calhourn's head down with his elbow and use his hand to insert the flash drive.]

Th-there!

[Will it work? How long will it take...?!]

[formicarium]

[ The flash drive fits in perfectly into the port, but nothing happens. Calhoun continues to struggle, trying to use every single dirty tactic in the book to break free. ]

You're really going to get it now!! You better hope that I don't get rid of you all after thi--

[ A red light on the end of the flash drive suddenly turns on, and Calhoun freezes. His entire body tenses up, then completely goes limp. As a result, the electricity running through the bracelets turn off as well... ]

[1st_response_is_anger]

Thank Christ that's over. *Maria waves her wrist around, as though she can shake the lingering shock from it.* Everyone else okay? Do I need to patch you up?

[toybombs]

[It takes a moment for Rio to pull herself to... well, her knees at least, her hand over her wrist and her face streaked with tears.

So pretty much the norm by now.]

D-did you do it...?

[fushuuu]

[slowly, Kaidou unclenches his teeth, after another long breath, gingerly pulling away from Calhoun. it's obvious even beneath his bracelet that his wrist is pretty badly burnt, but more importantly, that Calhoun is still, not even a hum on the mouse's body.]

...I think it worked.

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro keep on holding Calhourn down, even after Kaidou moved away. He slowly push himself up and study the mouse's body, mainly the port and the surrounding areas.]

He's not moving.

[Honestly, he's expecting Calhourn to get up and punish them. But so far... no movements.]