one post for the price of four

[vivariummods]

T H E  W A R E H O U S E 【 day 16 - 4:00AM 】 For all "old-timers" and "somewhat-old-timers", it'll be another typical night sleeping on the warehouse floor. It's not great, but perhaps you're getting used to it now. Maybe you're just making due. Maybe some of you are in a deep sleep because you've adapted. Whatever it is, you will be rudely waken up by... the sound of sirens? A sense of deja-vu might run through you as you wake up and look at what's going on. Right in the middle of the warehouse, Calhoun is wearing a bike helmet on top of his gas mask, and standing next to one of these. Well, standing isn't exactly the right word for it. Struggling to pick up Kariya and onto the stretcher is more accurate... 【 day 17 】 To the newcomer, welcome to the 【 Warehouse 】. Once you escape your elevator, you will find yourself here. It's strangely empty for a warehouse. Aside from the elevators you've come out of, there's nothing else here. In fact, the longer you look around, the stranger everything looks. Every window has been bolted shut, with no way of removing the steel coverings. The only source of illumination comes from the florescent lights above. Along the walls are numerous amounts of surveillance cameras, watching every bit of movement and listening to the sounds of everyone and everything. Every door is locked up tight, with no clear way of opening them, and there's one giant door with a 9 painted on it. It's a rather strange place, and there seems to be a lot of people here, so go introduce yourselves? For the "old-timers" and "somewhat-old-timers", come meet your new fellow test subject and, oh, look! You can take another bath with that elevator open! Isn't Calhoun such a nice mouse, letting you bathe? 【 day 18 】 A M B I D E X  R O U N D After those two busy days, it'll be nice to sleep in, right? Well, too bad you're all test subjects, it's time to wake up! Itttttt's time for another Ambidexxxxxxx Round!! Oh, but where is it going to take place this time? Not on this floor, that's for sure. Everyone, head out to the hallway, line up in front of the elevator! We're heading up to the second floor of our warehouse! Amazing, right? Who would have thought you would stick around long enough to see the second floor, huh? The elevator, that was once non-functioning, turns on and allows everyone to head to the second floor. How many floors are there? It's unknown, as all the buttons are hidden under a single large metal sheet, asides from 'L2'. Well, don't worry about that, welcome to the next level. It looks identically to the first floor, asides from a few differences: There are no Ambidex Rooms on this floor, nor is there Calhoun's shop in the corner. However, to make up for that, there seems to be four coloured doors, rather than three: Red, Blue, Green, and Grey. Yes, that's right, Calhoun has decided to add a fourth Ambidex Door, just to accommodate the new number of people. So, look down at your bracelets, you'll see what teams you're in. The rules are the same: Go in, solve the puzzles, come out, vote! It's as simple as that, so line up in front of your doors, he doesn't have all day. Oh, speaking of days... Before everyone enters, Calhoun will start to snicker uncontrollably. He hopes you haven't forgotten what today is? It's the last day to give him a proper "show". So far, all we've gotten were two lousy attempts at a show: Some fake drama, hosted by the Blind-And-Dumb Test Subject (Snake) and Should-Probably-Drug-Again Test Subject (Ema)? Talk about yawn. You two get a 1/10. Half a point for getting two dumb teenagers all riled up about it, and another half a point for some form of effort. The other was some sword fight by the Needs-A-Haircut Test Subject (Hershel) and Probably-Hiding-A-Bald-Spot (Heiji) in the lounge. Not as boring, but sheesh! Do you really think just something like that will entertain him? You didn't go in there with the proper intent of hurting each other, just some practise! Most of all, you've destroy Charlie, Calhoun's pot plant, so you only get a 4/10. Better than the other show, but not good enough! And that's it, only two dumb shows. It looks like you guys really don't care about your secrets or memories. Maybe he should just end the contest here early and get this over with. He'll just reveal your secrets, destroy your memories, and get this over with. You clearly aren't bothered by it, so why keep this up any longer? But you know what, Calhoun's a nice mouse. He believes in second chances, so he'll give you all until tomorrow morning, 6AM, to come up with something, or you can all say goodbye to everything! Chao! GOODBYE ✖ NEW ARRIVAL ✖ MINGLE BASIC INFO ✖ TEAMS + ROOMS ✖ ESCAPE

Comments

【 day 17 】

[formicarium]

new arrival.

[formicarium]

[ You Found It! ]

[ You've solved the puzzle and you've escaped the elevator, but now you only find yourself here in this warehouse. Perhaps you're the first to get out, perhaps you've taken your sweet old time. Either way, you're in an unfamiliar area surrounded by unfamiliar faces. Better start introducing yourself. ]

Re: new arrival.

[bitchesgotstolearn]

[Piper suspects that normally, solving a puzzle would come with some sense of reward or satisfaction. She's managed to get out of the elevator, but she hasn't gotten that heady sense of completion, mostly because she's found herself wriggling out of one puzzle into an entirely bigger puzzle.

The Warehouse looks like nothing familiar to her, although if she's being honest with herself, she doesn't know if anything would. She tries to think of where she came from, where she grew up, and she can pull nothing out of her brain. It's like being stuck in a dark closet where she can feel herself bumping into things that should be there, and yet can't find anything.

All she knows is her name, a figure in a gas mask, that she's wearing a prison uniform, and that her hand hurts. When she looks at it she sees that it's bloody, that there are suckermark-like rings around her knuckles, like she's been punching something. She's wet up to her knees.

To each person who approaches, she repeats a similar refrain.]

Hi, I'm Piper Chapman. [Maybe if she says her name enough, the rest will come back too. She doesn't miss an opportunity to introduce herself.] Do you know what's going on?

Re: new arrival.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji adjusted the brim of his cap as he turned to face Piper. "Well, about as well as anyone else d... what the? Your hand's bleedin'! You ain't get that in the elevator room, did ya?"

Because as far as he knew, none of the elevator puzzles so far included weird ring-shaped wounds like that. He held out a hand. "Here, gimme your hand."

aw yeah switching away from brackets

[bitchesgotstolearn]

"No, I, um..." She gives him her hand, because she has no reason not to trust him. "I had it when I woke up."

She was told, before the power that be tried to drown her inside an elevator, that they were playing some sort of Nonary Game (nonary, base sets of nine, her brain supplies uselessly, as if to explain the giant door with a 9 on it - she realizes at this moment how glad she is that she didn't lose her memory of language along with who she is) and that the stakes were death. But she didn't hear that it was a zero-sum game, so there's no reason to believe that this young guy looking at her hand is going to stab her in the back - right?

That thought starts to lurk in Piper's brain, and she very nearly pulls her hand away, but tries to play it calm instead. If he's just a nice person, she isn't at risk. If he's got her number, then looking scared and confused and weak is already a strike against her. She learned that somewhere, she can't remember where.

"Where'd you get the hat? I used to have a hat like that that I wore in college, you know, before my flower child phase..."

Re: aw yeah switching away from brackets

[detectiveofthewest]

"Tell you the truth, I don't really remember. I came in with it, though, so I figure I must've bought it outside..." He was talking as he looked her hand over, but when he looked up, his expression looked... concerned? Weirded out? Maybe both?

"Hey, Missy, these marks here look like they were made by someone's teeth." He pointed out the little semi-circles on Piper's hand. "There wasn't anyone else in there with you, was there?"

Skin, of course, was a fairly imperfect medium from which to examine a bite pattern, but the size of the marks looked relatively small. Maybe from a woman or child...?

[puzzlinglad]

[New people always depress Hershel, mostly because god damn more people being subjected to this. By now everyone probably looked worse for wear after being her for over two weeks, not the best welcoming party, really. He tries to look at least somewhat welcoming and not just dire, even if it's pretty clear it's strained.]

Hello Miss Chapman, I'm Hershel Layton. It's um- [How did one explain this place? Not a fun party.] The best answer I can give you is we're in some sort of strange experiment, but that's on Calhoun and Zero's word. Are you alright? The first puzzle is... trying.

[bitchesgotstolearn]

They tried to drown me!

[Piper packs a lot into that statement: fear, confusion, and more than her fair share of indignation. It's as if she expects Hershel to assure her that there's going to be some sort of comeuppance for the people who locked her in a suspended box and flooded it.]

I'm alright, but I don't remember anything. Do you?

[puzzlinglad]

Ah, yes, that... happens. [Good one, Hershel. He looks sheepish, trying to think of a better thing to say, if you want comeuppance talk you need to meet Enjolras not him.] Nine of us woke up here I think... over two weeks ago, now, to the same thing. I'm not really sure why Zero had to make that first puzzle so dangerous.

None of us did at first, only our names and being kidnapped. Since then Calhoun's well... rewarded memories in certain situations. I remember a few things now, but I can't say it's much. [At the very least that meant your memories aren't gone forever!]

[blind_badass]

I take it you've just arrived. *He cants his head toward the newcomer. It might take her a moment or two to realize he's blind.* I'm Snake. You've just become the latest in a group of us picked for an experiment.

[bitchesgotstolearn]

"An experiment?" To tell the truth, that makes more sense to Piper than this nonsense about a game.

She realizes he's blind and instantly begins to wonder how to be most sensitive about that, without, you know, drawing attention to the fact that he can't see. Somehow it gets mixed up in her head that blindness doesn't really affect hearing, and she leans in and whispers "is Snake a nickname for something?"

[blind_badass]

It is, actually, but for purposes of this game, you can call me Snake. *He refrains from leaning away although it is tempting.* You can also talk to me normally. I can hear perfectly fine, probably better than you.

What have you been told so far so I don't duplicate information you've received.

[friendofeve]

[Weird... Kariya was taken away just the day before, and now there's already a new person. Just what is going on here...?

Still, she probably ought to focus on helping out this newcomer as much as she can. Even if she doesn't know as much as the others, she's gone through her share of puzzles by now, too - she has to help support this woman just like the others supported her when she first got out.

She tries her best to smile, even if it isn't as bright as it could be.]

My name is Akiko! I was in the group that woke up in the elevators before you. I think it was probably the second one? [Based on what Hershel and the others had said-- they'd seemed surprised to see the four newcomers at the time, that's for sure.] Anyway, it's... sorta a long story, so first things first! Are you okay?

[bitchesgotstolearn]

So you're another player in the Nonary Game? [It's been explained to her that it's as much an experiment as a game, but she might as well refer to it by its title. She isn't the type to resort to dismissive namecalling for events. Usually.

Not that she actually knows that about herself, she just suspects.

She runs her palm over her other hand's bloodied knuckles. No one else here is in a prison uniform. What does that mean for her? Was she dressed up or was she always wearing this?

She looks over at Akiko and smiles weakly.]

Yeah, I'm okay. I even got out with only my knees wet. Could be worse.

[friendofeve]

Yeah, that's right. Everyone here is a player.

[She has to look at Piper a bit admiringly, seeing that indeed, she doesn't seem to be all that soaked.] You're already doing better than I was! I got totally drenched. I guess I just wasn't fast enough!

[Ahahaha... oops?]

[vengefulyears]

[With Kariya gone now, Clive isn't too surprised to see that another arrival has taken his place. When she approaches him, he offers a friendly smile despite the grimness of the situation (and his condition, given that he hasn't eaten in four days). Being gloomy certainly won't do anything to make anyone feel better, after all.]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Piper. My name is Clive Dove. I'm sure you were already told by our lovely captor Zero that we're participating in a so-called "game" known as the Nonary Game, but there's another component to it as well, known as the Ambidex Rounds. Has anyone explained those to you yet?

[bitchesgotstolearn]

[She sticks her hand out to shake, hoping that he goes with it. Whether he does or not, afterwards she starts wringing water from the knees of her attire.]

No, no one has. Is that another elevator where someone tries to drown me? Because I'm pretty sure that's not okay. Actually, I think that's really, really far from okay.

mingle.

[formicarium]

[ Take your bath, look around, buy things from the shop, anything after the arrival goes in here. ]

[detectiveofthewest]

You know what? Screw it. Heiji wanted a bath and he didn't care how cold it was. He took a running leap at the open elevator room, caught the edge of the roof, and hauled himself bodily upward, just like he'd done when he'd first met Ema. Well... with maybe slightly more of a limp, though.

Once he was up there, he threw off his clothes, stripped down to his boxers, and leapt into the water, disappearing beneath the water's surface. He was down there for two seconds... three... four...

Actually, was he coming up?

[puzzlinglad]

Hershel saw this from across the warehouse, shaking his head but not thinking much of it as he approached. Another free, ice cold bath would be sort of nice. Better than reeking or going broke on showers.

He stopped when he realized Heiji was still under there. He was just... enjoying it? It takes him a couple of seconds before yeah, he's getting concerned and pulling himself up sloppily to look into the hatch. "Heiji?" He sounded pretty concerned, he didn't hit his head or something, did he??

[detectiveofthewest]

The cold water in the elevator below churned, but there was no sign of Heiji surfacing...

Had something... happened?

[puzzlinglad]

Oh my god Heiji you're killing him. "Heiji! Oh dear..." What exactly was he going to do? He could go in there after him, maybe he hit his head and was bleeding and drowning and oh god Hershel had to save him this was clearly exactly what was happening.

He shoved his hand in the water, waving it around incase hey, maybe Heiji could grab his hand still? He started unbuttoning his shirt though, if he did have to jump in. Don't worry Heiji, help is coming and it's fro will probably absorb most of the water anyway.

[friendofeve]

[After greeting Piper, Akiko does wander over to the elevator, looking up at it with a degree of uncertainty. She really could use a bath, but is she really okay with using one of those elevators to do it?

It's... pretty tempting, really. Her hair is super gross these days. Maybe a little rinse would be okay...?]

[puzzlinglad]

[Hershel's going to pause as he walks past- Akiko clearly wanted to use the water, so he should just leave because Ladies Needed Privacy blah blah but she also might have trouble getting up there... what should he do here, mixed feelings.

He decides ultimately to walk over.] Do you need a boost to get up there, Akiko?

[friendofeve]

[She jumps when she hears him. She was so focused on the elevator, she wasn't paying attention.]

Oh, uh... No, that's alright! I'll be okay-- I mean, I don't even have shampoo yet or anything.

[She kinda doubted she'd be able to use it even if she had some, given how tiny the sinks were... And now that Hershel's around, climbing into the elevator just seems all that much more embarrassing. Ladies Need Privacy indeed.]