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

[toybombs]

[Hmm... She looks around a little more, peering into the gloom as she waves her flashlight around to take stock of what else is around.]

It looks like there are some boards and things... What if we stacked them all up? We might be able to get onto the balcony without the ladder if we could do it...

[elliexir]

[ She steps right underneath the balcony, pointing her flashlight around some more. ]

Hey, there's the rest of the ladder and some giant drawer thing. Maybe we can use those too and make one giant tower. You can be like King Kong and climb to the very top or something.

[toybombs]

[>Rio

>Like King Kong.

She seems a little nervous about the idea, but surprisingly not as nervous as with practically everything else.]

Y-you think so? I wonder if there's something up there I could use to help everyone else climb, too...

[elliexir]

[ Okay, King Kong Jr who's 50 times smaller and doesn't want to be like her father who smashes buildings for a living. How's that. ]

It's way too high up to tell... But we got that door we came through so we can just leave through that once we're done. It's ten times easier than trying to climb up there.

[toybombs]

[That's about when it seems to occur to her that maybe she's been looking into this wrong. Oops!]

I-I'm sorry, that's right... we just need to leave through there.

[But... hnn... How to explain it...]

...I just hope nothing finds us here and blocks the way...

[elliexir]

What, you mean like that mouse?

[ The robot did say that it was missing... ]

[toybombs]

Or... other things. We don't really know what else is in here...

[elliexir]

It's pretty dark, yeah. Then maybe we can take a look around.

We still gotta turn those valves too, I guess, but they're super heavy.

[toybombs]

U-uu. Sorry, I guess it was a silly idea. We... can probably trust the robot, right? So even if something comes after us, as long as we finish here quickly, we should be okay...

[She lowers her head. She was probably just wasting their time, huh...]

[elliexir]

[ Dammit Rio, stop putting yourself down. ]

Not that silly... that robot is kind of suspicious. Like what's its deal with trying to stay outside?

[toybombs]

He wouldn't try to trap all of us... would he?

[Ellie was the other person who'd been trapped in those rooms with the shutters. She nust understand Rio's concern.]

[elliexir]

You seriously think that he'll do that?

[ Said a bit quieter, so the robot doesn't hear... ]

[toybombs]

He didn't say anything about the rooms... And a big alarm like that has to have told Zero what we're up to.

I... I don't know what we should do. I don't want to be stuck here forever... But I don't know if the robot's really helping us, either.

[Her voice is quiet and nervous. Is this really going to get them out...?]

[elliexir]

You got a point...

[ Now Rio's making her all suspicious and worried too. She keeps eyeing the robot off in the middle now. ]

What do we do then? It's not like we can just leave on our own.

[toybombs]

That's why... I want to be able to see what's up there. M-maybe we can find a different way out, or... or something that could help us. Anything.

[elliexir]

[ She thinks it over. It seems dangerous to do that while the robot is right there, but if they're sneaky enough... ]

... All right, let's grab the boards and stack them up. Maybe I can lift you up after.

[toybombs]

-!

[She still looks a little scared - she'll be up there alone in that case - but...

If it means getting them out safely...]

O-okay. Let's go.

[And with a wary glance in the direction of the robot, she moves over to the boards. Will they even be able to lift this...?]

[elliexir]

[ Ellie walks over to the boards and tries to pick one of them up. Even if they're thin, she almost falls over from the weight. ]

Oof, this thing is heavy... Okay, hold on, let me stack them up.

[ Since she doesn't think Rio can move any of them, but she quickly tries to stack them all up, as quietly as possible. With only three of them, it just gives them about a feet... ]

[toybombs]

[That doesn't look like it will be enough... What else is there in this room? She shines her flashlight around.]

...Oh! What about that chest over there? It looks like it might have wheels..

[elliexir]

[ Ellie turns (trying to keep her flashlight on a wall, not to draw attention), and looks at it. ]

Hey, that might actually work. [ Then she stops the robot. ] But wait, maybe one of us should distract the robot, just in case.

[toybombs]

[That... would be an issue, wouldn't it...]

I... I can try to talk to it, I think. Since I was the one who brought it up when it didn't come inside with us...

[It already knows her feelings on the subject, if. This robot does indeed have an AI advanced enough to really "know" things.]

[elliexir]

You sure? I can talk to him for you, if you're nervous.

[ She wouldn't really want to because it's kind of creepy, but she also doesn't really want Rio to be scared out of her wits while talking to it... ]

[toybombs]

[She keeps her head down, but after a moment...]

...I... I need to learn to be brave too. Like Ellie and the others...

[elliexir]

Rio...

[ Ellie then pats her once on the side of the shoulder and gives a smile. ]

All right, then go for it! I'll give you a signal or something when I finish getting it over there and all.

1/2

[toybombs]

[She nods, trying to look determined.]

O-okay! I'll do my best!