vivarium | THE FINALE - 【 ZERO 】 ESCAPE

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THE FINALE - 【 ZERO 】 ESCAPE

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...

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[ Ellie only awakes shortly after the second group and she awakens with a small groan. She coughs and looks upwards at the artificial sky. It takes her a second register what she's looking at (with both eyes, even) and when she does, panic and confusion quickly sets in. She bolts upright a tad too fast and a wave of dizziness overtakes her. She places a hand on her head. ]

Holy shit... [ She tries to look around, and then attempts to stand up, but when everything is spinning around you, it's surprisingly difficult to keep on your feet. She sways dangerously as she rushes to get up. ] What even happened?

[ What happened to the water? What are they doing here? Who are these new guys? Is Rio here? ]

"You okay?" Heiji put out a hand in case Rio needed it to steady herself. "You're with the rest of these guys, right? They said you were in a room about to be drowned."

Maybe Zero had waited till they were unconscious and easier to deal with, then retrieved them. That seemed like a Zeroish thing to do.

"Yeah, super..." Ellie took the hand to avoid falling back over, holding on for a few more seconds as she powered through this spell. Once it flew over, though, she took back her hand and stood up straight.

"Okay, I'm back." She then let out a breath and managed a small nod. "But that's about it. I don't know how we got here though."

"It was probably Zero," said Heiji, making a face. "Or more specifically, his helpers -- I don't think he likes to dirty his hands much."

"Listen, um... I got an idea about why you don't remember a lot, but I ain't sure how much you guys know about this place. So it might sound a little crazy."

Did you still want to hear it Ellie.

Honestly, after shit like talking and backstabbing robots, Ellie could possibly believe anything.

"I don't know, I've been through some crazy stuff lately." Translation: tell her your insane theory.

"For you guys, it sounds like you took out the power just recently. But for us, it happened thirty days ago. I think after you guys blacked out in that room, you must've been out ever since." In one way or another.

"...And it's not all that uncommon for someone to end up missing bits of their recall here, 'specially if they check out for a bit. Zero has a way to wipe people's memories. That's how we woke up, barely rememberin' anything. You're the same way, right? You don't remember where you were before you were in this warehouse, unless it's in little bits and snatches."

Ellie stared at Heiji like he just grew three extra heads.

"What? You're bullshitting me." It couldn't be over thirty days ago. It just happened! No one just fell unconscious and stayed that way for a month.

"Nope. You can ask the others about the timeline. It's also possible that you've been awake and he just erased the past month, but considering what's happened with some of the people in our group..." He shrugged.

"But why bring the two groups together? 'Specially after all he said about you guys." Unless it really was just the next phase of the experimentation.

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elliexir - 2015-09-29 20:04 (UTC) - Expand

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detectiveofthewest - 2015-09-29 20:42 (UTC) - Expand

Ellie! *Oh, is Maria so glad to see you and your bad joke making self!* You're okay! At least I think you are. *She holds up two fingers.* How many fingers am I holding up?

[ Ellie could totally use a few bad jokes right now, but even she knows that it's probably not a good time for them. However, seeing Maria being glad to see her and all, she can't help but fool around for a bit. ]

Five? It's totally five, right?

*She narrowed her eyes and peered at Ellie.* Well, either you have a concussion or you never learned to count.

Hey! I learned how to count, I just think maybe you need to recheck how many fingers you got up.

*She made a fist and waved it.* Now I got five. At least we made it out in one piece somehow.

*Ah, a new person. One of several new people in a new place. What kind of new phase was Calhoun up to?*

Well, *Snake said in response* it depends on if you've been here before or this is your first time.

[ Ellie turns, stumbling over her feet a bit, but she catches herself and remains standing. ]

I've been here before, but why am I back here?

I'm not certain. But I assume you know everything about Zero, Calhoun and solving puzzles to win BP? *He can't see her bracelet so he doesn't know it's broken.*

BP?

[ There is confusion in her voice. What the hell is BP? Is that like... HP? Health points? ]

You...don't have it? There's no number on your bracelet telling you how much BP you have? *Well, color him confused.*

Ellie? Ellie!

[Relieved to see her again, Atsuro ran over towards her. Sure, he's still a bit tired and need to stretched his limbs some more - ow, he'll do that in a bit - but it's minor compared to seeing everyone's okay.]

I'm glad you're okay!

[And not waterlogged.]

[ Atsuro is definitely one of the first few faces Ellie wants to see. She obviously can't help herself from smiling when he runs on over. ]

Atsuro! Yeah, we're both okay! I don't know how, but we're still kicking!

Yeah! We're both okay and alive and... and not wet!

[Smooth, Atsuro. But there's a big smile on his face.]

You have no idea either?

[ It's okay, it still makes her grin. Atsuro does a really good job at cheering her up. ]

Not being wet is a pretty big plus, if you ask me. [ She laughs about it for a bit, but then here's the serious part. ] But yeah, I don't even remember falling asleep. I just remember trying to get out and that's it.

[Seeing her grin makes him feel happier. They all need a break after that just happen.]

That's right. It'd suck if we catch a cold around here. [But more seriously...] If we don't remember, that means the others likely are the same as us.

[ And that's what makes her pause, that last line about "the others"... ]

... You think Rio's here too?

[He's quiet for a moment.]

... I don't know. Anyone else in that room with us as we get flooded in? Probably in the same state as us. As for Rio... I don't know if she's here or if she actually escaped.

If she's here, that'd mean things didn't go as planned for her.

[Cue seeing Rio in a moment later, after this convo...]

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elliexir - 2015-10-16 05:45 (UTC) - Expand

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