THE FINALE - 【 ZERO 】 ESCAPE

[vivariummods]

It's been ten days since the so-called "anniversary" on Day 90. Every single trace of a makeshift casino has been cleared out, leaving this suspiciously identical second warehouse empty (and the doors within that lobby locked), and Calhoun has mysteriously stopped dropping by as often as he should have. In the rare times he did drop by, he hemmed and hawed about what was happening and outright avoided answering any questions, shrieking that he's a busy mouse and he shouldn't be harassed by test subjects. Thus, for nine whole days, not a single particular event has occurred. No Calhoun Hours, Ambidex Games, or even a little announcement. It's not until the morning of the tenth day that something finally transpired. A loud siren goes off and the sound of a heavy door being slid open echoes from the second warehouse's lobby. Within seconds, however, both nuances cease and silence returns...

Comments

[not_that_sasuke]

Sasuke looks at the message, frowning slightly. That's... Hm.

"What brought this on...?" Learning the truth of this place? Is that what really awaited them at the end of... wherever this led?

[toybombs]

"The last they saw of me was when I abandoned them in a room filling with water so I could escape alone. I don't think any of them like me very much - especially with their tempers."

This might possibly be because she also taunted them as she left, but hey, that's not important enough to mention. At any rate, she'll go ahead and follow along.

"What's your group like? And how much do you know about this place?"

[not_that_sasuke]

[Hmm...]

...The oldest one looks like she might be in her early twenties at the oldest. The youngest looks like she could be... twelve, thirteen. [Try nineteen, Sasuke.]

It does look like they're mostly teenagers, though. Young ones, too. Even younger than I am.

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro frowns as he looks out the elevator doors.]

I don't think so... If it's a part of the design, anyone using this elevator normally would like to cross over without stepping in that.

[A pause.]

Unless they wear a full body suit.

[babel_hacker]

... Okay. In that case, I'll at least try to cover for you. I don't want us to waste time fighting.

[Which they probably don't have a lot of. Or they do, but how would they know... But if Zero knew who cut off the power...]

So until we're out of here and deal with Zero, let's work together.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Can't see much through the fog," said Heiji, covering his mouth with his arm. He was pretty sure he recognized that smell, and he sure as hell didn't trust a mysterious pool of water (????), who knew what eight-legged evil dwelt within those depths...

"We're stopped in the middle of a pool. Can't tell what it's filled with -- lemme check if it's reactive."

Heiji took out a sad-looking roll of bandage and rolled it out so the very end dangled into the water. Just in case it was going to burst into flames or corrode and blacken horribly. If it didn't react, he'd use it to gauge the depth of the liquid (?) that filled the pool.

[babel_hacker]

"Screwing up his plans..." Atsuro paused to think, frowning a little.

"If it's a robot, he shouldn't be able to go against the creator that designed his AI. If it's me, I'd make sure there's a fail-safe for that... So if it wants to screw up Zero's plans, either it's self-learning, Zero designed it on purpose or someone else did it. Like a third party."

[detectiveofthewest]

Well most people didn't like being betrayed no matter how even-tempered they were, so.

"What're they like? You mean would they be willing to work with you?" Under normal circumstances, Heiji would cheerfully textwall about everybody. But Rio had apparently bamboozled everyone in her own group before betraying them, so giving her ammunition with which to possibly manipulate the others didn't really sound like a spectacular idea.

"We more or less have to work together in here, whether we like it or not. I don't think anyone's gonna try and outright hurt you, at least from my group. But you seem pretty quick -- you could probably tell just by talkin' to them for a bit what kind of person they are.

"As for the warehouse, Zero said that we've only seen a fraction of it. We've survived here for about 100 days. It's big, a lot of it is booby-trapped, and it's administered by robots and watched via cameras. Zero seems to be able to pull a lot of the strings remotely, but he employs Calhoun when he wants a 'personal' touch."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji's laugh was just a teeny tiny bit forced. "Well, they sure didn't program the bots in here with the Three Laws, if ya know what I mean. But anyway, I think the idea of a third party makes the most sense so far. Of course, what their motives were for getting mixed up in all this is the real question -- but they sure don't sound like they've got our best interests in mind."

He crossed his arms. "Whoever they are, they'd also need an intimate understanding of how this place works. Zero blows a lot of smoke, but it's true that he's got this place locked up tight. If someone was able to circumvent his security methods, even if he did need a little help from you guys, that's pretty significant. Not to mention he'd have to know enough about Calhoun's systems to write a virus to take him down."

What OS did Calhoun even run...

"I'm thinkin' they're either one impressive investigator or they've got inside knowledge."

[toybombs]

[...Goodness. That didn't take much convincing. Not that she's about to complain, though.]

So, then... If the others come after me...

You won't let them hurt me, will you? I'm much more useful when I don't have to think through the pain.

[toybombs]

...Rude, Heiji. Maybe she was just being friendly!

"One hundred days? That's a long time... I don't remember being here that long, but there isn't any way for us to know for sure, is there?"

[detectiveofthewest]

It was within the realm of possibility B|.

"No. So I should say that we've been awake here for at least 100 days. But we've seen evidence that suggests we're not the only group of people that's been brought here, even before you guys showed up."

Of course, it was possible that they hadn't even been here that long and they'd simply been implanted with memories of being tested for over three months while they were asleep but that was Dark City levels of paranoia.

[blind_badass]

I wonder...I wonder if this might be the end of our stay here. *Snake wandered near Heiji's side, of course.* Although we should be ready for anything.

[vivariummods]

[ The bandage fortunately does not burst into flames, but it does immediately soak in the water(?) and turns into a disgusting brown colour. At the very least, it didn't corrode or melt? ]

[blind_badass]

So...do we cross at all? And where should we cross? *Because Snake's going to need a few directions.*

[blind_badass]

You...don't have BP? *Well, color him surprised. He frowns.* You have a bracelet but you don't have BP? Did you have to vote in the Ambidex rooms at all?

[blind_badass]

Hmmm. I wonder what the purpose of skewing younger was for. If there was one at all for Zero.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji gave Snake's hand a quick squeeze. "Yeah. Whatever happens!"

He didn't know what was waiting for them, and he'd be as careful as he could, of course. But Heiji and waiting around just didn't mix.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Unless this elevator starts moving, I guess we're gonna have to," said Heiji, frowning. He switched on his flashlight and described what he could see of the room.

"Whatever's in this pool looks pretty gross... how about this? I'll try and see if I can get across. If the liquid's shallow enough, maybe I can get someone over on my shoulders."

He wasn't actually a big fan of the idea, but he didn't want to see what that gunk would do to Snake's arm, either.

[not_that_sasuke]

"If it turns out to be deep, we might be able to pull people who can't swim across." If the bandages are long enough, they could use that as a lifeline of sorts. It was basically the same idea they'd had with Clive in the obstacle course room, albeit hopefully without a current to fight against.

[blind_badass]

Is it too wide for anyone to jump across? *Perhaps avoiding danger altogether, so to speak?*

[skyentificmethod]

Looks like it. Unless you had a heck of a long jump, and probably more of a running start than there is in an elevator full of people.

[chews on her lip, since pretty much every experience with water they've had has been unfortunate]

Think we could get any of the elevator panels off? Maybe we could make a bridge.

[babel_hacker]

"Ambidex rooms"? I have no idea what you mean by that. [It seems like Atsuro doesn't know about them.] Can you tell me about them?

[The closest thing they have to a "vote" was that "Would You Ever" game. But he suspect it's not the same.]

[babel_hacker]

We can try if they don't sink. Or impossible to pull off.

[Atsuro glances around the elevator, looking for anything they can use. From the looks of it, going into the... water and walking through is their most likely choice.]

'cuz there's still going in there and crossing to the other side.

[babel_hacker]

"Yeah, let's get going!"

His cheer was a little forced, but it's mostly to keep his own morale up. Atsuro saw that Rio went near Heiji and glanced at Ellie. Hm, he'll keep an eye out for Rio for now.