Week 2.

[trustmods]

WEEK 2 Two people are dead. Ken Kaneki has been murdered, Reaver has been executed - and perhaps most uncomfortably, the Conductor is proud of you all for adhering to due process. (As always, by which he means that there is a process, and you all are certainly doing it.) Saturday is given to regrouping and sleep; come Sunday morning, the clock chimes the hour at seven o'clock and there are no dead bodies to be found, so it can be assumed that all of you are safe for the time being. That said, you'll be feeling a little groggy when you wake up; it seems you've regained something that you didn't realize you'd lost... However, once you've shaken that off, there are new things to be looked at; the previously closed-off area near the kitchen has been unlocked, and there's a new floor to be explored - consider it your reward for a job well done. PARTICIPANTS REMAINING: 27

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[OOC: Welcome to week two of Trustfell! Save your threads for coins and the coming week's activity check; don't forget to check in to this week's activity check and submit your memory regains as well!

The Letters and Switchboard posts are still active, for the sake of contacting the jerk who's keeping you here, to be used at your leisure!]

Comments

[midnightsea]

I wasn't sneaking up on anyone. [That time.]

While I can't call myself an accurate judge on what is and isn't out of place here, I don't really recognize most of this compared to the rest of the building.

[he predates a lot of medicine okay]

I presume he doesn't want us to die without being actively murdered.

[forcegalactic]

I dunno, feels like someone so interested in this experiment of his would like to watch folks die. Besides, if he really cared about us, why wouldn't he have given us this room from the start?

Speakin' of which, why'd he unlock this room? There a point to givin' us more things to do every week? Musta been under renovation while we were just gettin' to know each other.

[midnightsea]

Incentive.

[If he'd known this room was here, Dio was pretty sure he'd have killed someone long before Reaver had the chance.]

If he unlocks an entire floor of this facility after we sentence someone to die, then the small spot of hope remains that we may find a way out of here. Or at the very least, clues as to who the Conductor is and what's really going on.

[forcegalactic]

[There, he did it again. That serious, stoic expression while giving the briefest answer possible. What does Dio have to make up for that he puts on this act?]

So kill each other, get more space to ourselves, enjoy murderin' each other, still stuck here. Nice plan, but that'd mean we got at least...fourteen floors. Wherever we are, it's gotta be noticeable, or else there's some weird architecture goin' on.

[midnightsea]

Why would it have to be one of those options? It could easily be underground, like the catacombs of Paris.

[dio that's not...okay, never mind.]

With no accessible windows, it's impossible to know.

[forcegalactic]

Right, right. See, we're gettin' somewhere, the two of us, talkin' an' theorizin' about what's goin' on. That would explain why there ain't any sunlight. wouldn't want dirt to fall in and suffocate us all, or iffen we're in space, protect the veiwports from bein' broken by some of the troublemakers among us.

[Tabby comes to mind.]

Now, either situation works, but it means it's gonna be hard escapin' from here. First off, we got some extra barriers to cross if we're underground, and I never piloted a spacecraft before, but I might just be able to help with callin' for help either way.

[midnightsea]

[There he went again with the space travel. Even Dio could barely even comprehend the idea, but he was't about to let on that it was that mystifying.]

Even if this is all subterranean, there has to be at least one exit. The door in the foyer is presumably one, but I would wager going up enough floors may reveal another eventually.

[...Wait. Damn it, that was a problem. There was no reliable sense of what time it was outside. If they found an exit and opened a door in the middle of the day...]

Not that I expect he'll simply present us with one. That would be too simple.

[If he wasn't long since executed by then, Dio made a note to figure out some way around that. Wait inside until nightfall, and damn their likely intrusive questions.]

[forcegalactic]

Reckon the one in the foyer's the old entrance to this place, if this used to be some buildin' the up and replanted here, but the scientists usin' it as the main entrance makes just as much sense. Must be the hallway to that observation room we saw in the trial room.

[And there was only one man in there. If there were other scientists behind all this, they were well hidden away for some reason. Restricting all contact with the outside world apart from one man would be one way to keep prisoners in line.]

Now, if that's the exit, I'm worried that goin' up will only lead to a dead end, or whatever's on top. More floors than we need, that's for sure, all with new rooms, like some kinda ever-expandin' Space Vegas resort.

[midnightsea]

It's entirely likely you're correct about the foyer. Our host himself must get around this place somehow--I'd guess a series of back doors and hallways.

[space space space WHY IS EVERYTHING SPACE WITH YOU]

But there must be some other access point, presumably from or near the very top of this facility if we are underground--an emergency backup, something to that effect. The question then becomes how far down we actually are in that case.

[forcegalactic]

[His title is Universal, what did you expect?]

The question is what if that emergency exit's also shut? Then we'd have to go around findin' or makin' our own! All we got are swords and bullets; we'll need some kind of explosion to break down the wall!

...And before you ask, no, I do not know how to make dynamic out of cleanin' products. I ain't some kinda soldier, I'm a barkeep, and learnin' how to be one didn't cover what do you when you're trapped in a research facility such as this one. It's more of how to properly howdy, and how to make drinks, or how to kick out folks what can cause trouble in my place. No boxin' or anythin' of the sort.

[midnightsea]

...

. . .

[Whatever Dio was thinking about, it took him a moment to answer. It almost seemed as though he was weighing the pros and cons of speaking up at all.]

...I think that I can break down a wall.

[well, that was a start.]

[forcegalactic]

[Gasp!] You can?

[Oh, this is perfect, but they have to test out his claims first.]

See if you can break down somethin' less sturdy, like...mayhaps one of them walls between bedrooms, or try somethin' less hard like a chair, work up from there!

[He's getting excited; he's never felt such a rush of...what is it? Adrenaline? Whatever it is that's making him feel so positive about causing trouble.]

Oh, oh, let's see first, do you need somethin' to protect your fist? I think we can try makin' somethin' in the sewin' room if you need that! You're punchin' it, I assume, as you are a boxer as previously noted, right?

[midnightsea]

I said 'I think', not that I absolutely could. I don't know how much more about us has been altered in coming to this place.

[Not to mention it wasn't exactly in his nature to be the helpful sort. But if it got him the hell out of here, he'd make the small concession of almost resembling a team player.]

There's not much of a chance the Conductor would lock a legitimate threat to him in here unless he had a method of keeping that threat from ruining his game.

[forcegalactic]

Sure, but best to see how much you can do in case we need a strongman for a future plan. Come one, the Conductor ain't got any rules against trouble in his place; see how you do against a chair!

[aaa this is actually exciting!]

I got these bandages on me in case those chairs are actually titanium alloy painted to look like wood.

[midnightsea]

[Silently, he reviewed his recollection of the rules; unless a chair was counted as 'violence against the Conductor', Dio presumed minor property damage was acceptable.]

It's unlikely I'll need bandages, unless I seriously underestimate the situation right now. Either way, I need to test what I might be capable of as things stand.

[SIGH why does he put himself out in this way]

[forcegalactic]

[Dio is the buffest of them and therefore the one delegated to punching duty. That's how the world works.

Still carrying the bundle of medical supplies, he leads the way to the conference room. A chair isn't the Conductor - unless he can shapeshift into one - so they wouldn't be committing violence against him. Totally fine by the written rules.]

Here you are. Lemme back up a bit so as not to get splinters in my face.

[midnightsea]

[he's a lawyer he'll absolutely be able to argue this]

Very well. [Dio shrugged, rolling his shoulders; his left side was still just a little slower to respond, for reasons he was beginning to understand. But right now his major concerns were that he'd barely eaten in a week on top of having no idea what might have been missing apart from his memories.]

[This was going to be a long and irritating confinement, to say the least.]

[But once Mordecai was clear, he curled his right hand into a fist and pulled it back, throwing a solid punch that completely wrecked the chair.]

. . .

[Strangely, Dio just looked annoyed about the result.]

[forcegalactic]

[Oh my god, he totally destroyed that chair without a thought, like he had robot fists permanently fused with his body like some cyborg. "Amateur boxer" that is not!

Mordecai jumps back in surprise at the sound and gives Dio a cautious look. He doesn't look in pain for some reason.]

Well. Well then, now. Wanna test it on a wall? [Was he really their secret weapon?]

[midnightsea]

...It may not be enough.

[This kind of strength was impressive, but not what he'd already seen from the stone mask. Something was missing; the raw power to it was clearly lacking.]

[Frowning, he picked a few splinters out of his hand.]

Breaking a chair is one thing, but I'm not certain the power I have now is enough to break down a wall.

[forcegalactic]

You need a band-aid for that? [He points to the splinters and holds up a small box.]

[midnightsea]

It's fine. A few minor splinters is nothing to worry about.

[forcegalactic]

Right. Then. [That's kind of gross to watch, he's going to look...at that interesting carpet. What a fine antique they're standing on.] Can't you make a dent in this one? [He taps the wall separating the conference room from the hallway.] It don't look that thick when viewin' it from the side.

[midnightsea]

[Dryly:] I suppose that would be the next logical step up before I try to punch a hole through the steel in the foyer, wouldn't it?

[The best way to learn was through experience. Dio pulled his right fist back again and threw it straight forward, colliding with the wall with a loud crack.]

...

[Which seemed to be more the sound of bones fracturing than it was the wall itself cracking. And Dio seemed like he was just going to stand there with his fist against the wall and a very controlled look of 'oh I just fucked up' on his face.]

. . .

[conceal don't feel don't let it show]

[forcegalactic]

[Dio's lack of reaction to the crack leads Mordecai to assume a piece of the wall is broken. Then nothing happens, and he doesn't move.

Looks at the wall.

Looks at his face.]

It...didn't work, did it?

[Painkiller?]

[midnightsea]

...No.

No. It did not work.

[Mortified, in pain and not sure which was worse gradually Dio would register that maybe he should take his hand off the cracked wall.]