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Post by Vitsheep on Dec 27, 2022 8:53:22 GMT -5
You hear the sound of a girl laughing as you and Francois get closer to the medbay and look through the door. Most of the others are already here, the last few trickling in behind you. You notice the only two missing are Zack and The Bulgarian. Wildcat is laying on the floor with Zarv sitting on her back, while Jill holds onto a rope wrapped around her wrists. Looks like she tried to escape. And it looks like someone already asked her something, given that she finishes laughing and launches into a tirade.
"Why not? I want to live, dammit. You idiots don't get the situation you're in yet, do you?" Wildcat asks. "None of you have the balls to make a move. You wasted, what, a few days waiting for me to wake up just so you could ask that stupid question? You're all going to die up here, just watching that little timer tick down to boom. At least I don't have to waste my time sitting around, pretending to be all buddy-buddy, and waiting to die with the rest of you."
"You're a meanie!" Anne Jean yells.
"And a murderer..." Francois mutters.
"So you did it because you wanted to escape, OK." Texas stoops down to Wildcat's level. "So, why zer0?"
"Because she was weak," Wildcat spits with a smirk. "It was easy. All I had to do was offer to let her try the 'fun ride.' She was still treating this like a fucking game. Have you all figured it out yet?"
A silence hangs over everyone.
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Post by pielover19 on Dec 30, 2022 17:07:45 GMT -5
"I have to say, I am quite glad we decided to be humane and allow you to wake up and give us your last words, no matter how harsh and violent they are. I'm sure you will have none of it, but giving some common decency, even to a murderer, is well worth it. We are not animals."
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Post by Vitsheep on Sept 21, 2023 11:56:00 GMT -5
"Disappointing." Janean walks over to stand beside Texas. "From where I'm standing your position doesn't seem better then ours, but please enlighten us what it is you've discovered about our 'situation?' Despite your performance I don't believe all you care about is self-preservation."
"Self-preservation? I don't care about that." Wildcat's smile widens. "My job was just to kick things off. The rest of you? Ha. Have fun..."
"Oh, I like fun!" Anne volunteers. "But, um, murder isn't really fun? People should just be nice and friendly!"
"You can't intimidate us with whatever this is," The Bulgarian says, joining Texas and Janean.
Wildcat leans back. "Yeah? I'll tell you this: I wasn't the only one here with... certain interests."
"What does this mean?" Sammy mutters to himself. He folds his arms and steps to the back of the group.
"It means go fuck yourselves," Wildcat answers.
"Monster..." Francois mutters.
"Well, isn't our captive little electron just the most cheerful," Valerie says. "Does anyone else have any questions while she's being so cooperative?"
"That is all from me," Zarv says, disgust visible on his face.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock!" AI-1c-e's avatar forms itself, sitting on the edge of Wildcat's bed, pocketwatch in hand. "The time until the charges detonates continues to tick-tock away. Was wasting all this time worth it for those final words?"
"Ugh..." Mikoto grimaces. "Disgusting. I kind of wish we'd just tossed her out the airlock..."
"I have to say, I am quite glad we decided to be humane and allow you to wake up and give us your last words, no matter how harsh and violent they are," John says, almost to himself. "I'm sure you will have none of it, but giving some common decency, even to a murderer, is well worth it. We are not animals."
"Well, then! Without further ado, it's time to move on to the main event! I won't accept any more stalling," AI-1c-e announces. "Those wishing to observe, please report to the cafeteria."
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Post by pielover19 on Sept 21, 2023 21:29:04 GMT -5
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Post by Vitsheep on Sept 22, 2023 5:54:54 GMT -5
There's a quiet moment of people discussing between each other before everyone starts to trickle out. Most people head to the cafeteria. Zach, Calum, Francois, and Valerie go to their rooms, instead. No one says anything else to Wildcat as they go.
After only a few moments in the cafeteria, the doors slam shut behind you. There's another sound like a second set of doors sealing behind them. The lights slowly dim, leaving the windows to the outside the only source of light. The speaker immediately crackles on with AI-1c-e's voice. "Uh, this thing on? Test, test... Hey, you bunch of degenerates. I've got great news for you. It just so happens that some folks from one of the other facilities managed to escape! So, I'm just gonna go ahead and... let's see... oh, here we go. Establishing audio connection to Queen of Red Hearts... Connected. Now transmitting audio from escape shuttle QR."
An unfamiliar male voice rings out over the intercom. "So, what now?"
Another voice, female, answers. "We have to help the others escape somehow!"
"And how do we do that?" a third voice asks. "There's nothing we can do for them! We should make a break for it while we still can."
"I locked Caterwaul out of the shuttle, firewall holding at 97%... It doesn't have any control over, and we've got plenty of time to figure something out," the 2nd voice repeats.
"Yeah, there's nothing they can do to stop us at this point, so let's take a minute to see if we can think of something," a fourth voice suggests.
"Connecting primary boosters... set. Control thrusters, responsive. Primary vector set. Connection to AI-1c-e established." Wildcat's voice is now coming over the speakers.
"What was that?" one of the unfamiliar voices asks.
"Caterwaul's broadcasting something?" the one who mentioned the firewall suggests. "What is this?"
"Radar... online. Target identified."
As you all watch, a large shuttle similar to the one you arrived in crests over one of the possibly artificial moon craters. There's a loud sound coming from the facility behind you.
"You're watching, yeah? Here, all you guys who skipped off to your rooms. Let me provide some holograms so you don't miss out, yeah? All emergency bulkheads sealed. Preparing to launch secondary escape vehicle."
The entire facility begins to shake. A roar comes from the central chamber and the temperature noticeably increases by a few degrees. When everyone manages to recover their footing, a long, missile-shaped rocket, much smaller than the shuttle, is curving from your facility towards the shuttle.
"Target locked," Wildcat announces. "Accelerating. Full throttle!"
"What- What is that!?"
"Move move move mo-"
The two collide, the rocket smashing through the shuttle and sending them both spiraling towards the ground before a large, silent explosion marks the impact with the ground. A matching silence spreads across the room until the AI interrupts it.
"Emergency. Wildcat vital signs are reading negative. Terminating connection to Queen of Red Hearts. Beginning emergency rec- Hey, that's two down! Whoever the two winners will be, you're well on your way to escaping - just 12 more to go! A dozen should be no trouble at all! Hahahaha! Anyway, you should all head to bed soon. Normal operations resume in 10 minutes. The temporary ban on murder ends in... NOW!"
The cafeteria lights snap back on, the doors slide open. Sounds of machinery whirring to life in the kitchen confirm the return to normal operating conditions.
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Post by pielover19 on Sept 30, 2023 0:04:22 GMT -5
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Post by Vitsheep on Oct 2, 2023 0:27:37 GMT -5
You turn and leave immediately. Mikoto and Sammy follow close behind you. Mikoto pats you on the shoulder as she steps past you and heads into her room.
You find Francois waiting outside the rooms. "S-so, it's, uh... over, huh?" He looks down at the floor. "What are we going to do..." He turns and disappears into his room.
As you head into your room, the lights dim. This is a good chance for you to write in your journal before bed.
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Post by Vitsheep on Oct 4, 2023 12:26:50 GMT -5
When you wake up the next morning, things are unusually quiet and somber. As you make your way to the cafeteria, you're interrupted by the now-familiar ring of an incoming announcement. "Good morning. This announcement is to notify all remaining participants that conditions have been cleared and an additional floor of the facility has been unsealed. Please proceed to floor B2F at your leisure. And have fun figuring out how to take each other out with the new toys!"
As you head to the central chamber and descend the brightly painted stairs, you find that on the opposite side of the B1F chamber, once again a portion of the floor has opened to reveal a new staircase. As the group descends to B2F's central chamber, you find 5 signs pointing in different directions. It seems the general layout is the same. A central chamber, this one filled with a few tables with board games, some comfortable seats and lamps, and a small row of books of various genres. Five spokes branching out to other rooms, connected along an outer ring, these lining up to the first floor.
The north-pointing sign has a picture of a tank half-filled with water with a set of padlocks holding it closed. The next sign to the left shows a pair of tops slamming into each other with dramatic colors and speed lines. Next shows what looks like a news desk with a pair of crossed hockey sticks on the front. The next sign shows a small collection of animals. The last sign just has a dollar sign.
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Post by pielover19 on Oct 5, 2023 21:33:46 GMT -5
Write in the journal:
I have no regret for the decisions I make. It is better to die moral than to live stained.
As for the room, dollar sign.
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Post by Vitsheep on Oct 8, 2023 21:51:20 GMT -5
You head towards the dollar store sign. Mikoto looks between you and the animal sign for a bit before nodding at you. "Yell if anything weird happens," she says before heading to the south-east. Sammy and Zach follow after her.
Larissa, Zarv, and Francois all also head towards what looks like their labs.
Anne Jean follows after Francois.
The Bulgarian follows Zarv north.
Calum follows you.
Valerie and Jill go with Larissa to the top lab.
Janean and Texas head back upstairs.
You head into the new tunnel and find the doors are a bit different from most of the module entrances. Instead of a metallic bulkhead, this one is blocked by a glass door. As you approach, it dings and slides itself open.
Inside, you find a few shelves of sundries. Toilet paper, toothpaste, soap and shampoo. Further in the back you spot some junk food and soda. Anything you would expect to find from a convenience store. A small cash register by the front sits unmanned. Alice forms herself behind it. "Good morning. If you wish to make any purchases, I will tally the price and deduct it from your payout from the experiment's conclusion." She bows. "How may I serve you?"
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Post by pielover19 on Oct 9, 2023 22:31:55 GMT -5
"What is the price of a bag of chips?
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Post by Vitsheep on Oct 9, 2023 22:52:10 GMT -5
"$0.87 for a bag of standard potato chips, $1.06 for premium brands and flavors."
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Post by pielover19 on Oct 15, 2023 1:10:26 GMT -5
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Post by Vitsheep on Oct 15, 2023 2:00:49 GMT -5
"The moon does not have any governing body to impose tax."
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Post by pielover19 on Oct 16, 2023 17:02:53 GMT -5
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