DGS3 -- Staging: Entrance Hall

[The Man in Red]

Arriving via teleporter after whatever means were utilized to get them there, new arrivals and competitors will emerge into the gleaming hall of the facility. Set up and shaped like the lavish and luxurious entrance hall of a vintage and classic theater or exceptionally fancy hotel. There are no doors, only the banks of teleporters used to grant entrance and exit. Beyond them, there is a large front desk staffed by numerous employees and helpful staff who can assist with answering questions and filling out any last-minute paperwork or setting...affairs in order.

Leading out of the entrance hall one can find the elevators which lead to the higher levels of the facility, and the other portions of the pre-game staging area.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Of course, Aileen came running as soon as she heard the awful news.

“So… you thought the most sensible way to get out of this situation would be to… volunteer for a potentially lethal battle royale?!” Aileen asked, her jaw hanging wide open in disbelief. "I mean, seriously, Coda?!"

The pair stood in the main hall, waiting for the elevator. Once inside, they would part ways— Aileen trudging back to her usual post on the Prep Level, and Coda going off to… well, wherever she wanted to go, it seemed. She was off the hook until the competition began, according to her manager. Being a contestant kind of rocked!

“For the last time, yes. At least things are on my terms, now,” said Coda, adjusting her brand new bow tie in the reflection of the elevator doors. It matched her usual tie’s navy blue color, with delicate floral patterns etched into the fabric—roses, of course. “Say, is it just me, or do the collars look kinda… different this year?”

Aileen snorted, reaching into her pocket for her beloved tobacco pipe. While she was banned from lighting up inside the facility, she usually settled for simply chewing on the bit and stem, which seemed to do the trick in staving off any cravings. “Yeah, yeah, they’ll inhibit your capabilities a lot more than last season’s did. You… you feeling any different? Sick or something? You don't look it.”

Coda thought about it. In fact, she did feel a little different. A definite chill had run down her spine as the inhibitor collar was first fitted around her neck. Almost immediately, her body had begun to feel heavy, her muscles weak, as if all the energy had been sapped from her frame. She felt powerless, her muscles like ice and her movements sluggish— a caged bird with clipped wings. But after a few minutes, that cold feeling had gradually faded, replaced by a general... benumbed sensation, like a faint radio static running through her limbs at all times. It was easy enough to ignore, all things considered, even if it wasn't exactly pleasant.

“I guess,” Coda shrugged noncommittally, just as the elevator arrived with a cheerful ding! In what seemed like the longest three seconds of their lives, the doors eventually opened, and the two women stepped inside.

Settling in against the far wall, Aileen closed her eyes, her chest heaving as she let out a deep sigh. She ran agitated fingers through her long maroon ponytail, the unkempt strands nearly standing on end like a distressed porcupine.

The elevator lurched into motion, throwing the two women off balance and causing them to stumble awkwardly inside. Aileen grasped at the wall, bracing herself against the impact of the sudden shift in gravity. Coda, on the other hand, stood in the middle of the car, willing herself to remain completely still as the elevator's upward momentum built.

Aileen slowly opened her eyes, glancing over at Coda. The older woman had a haunted look to her, Coda thought. The creases of her pale face appeared more pronounced than usual, making her seem aged beyond her years, and her eyes... well, the darkness in them wasn't all down to their natural coloring. Her gaze traced over the contours of Coda's face, seeming to drink in every detail.

This keen inspection soon became suffocating for Coda, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unable to meet Aileen's eyes. She tugged at the hem of her shirt and rolled her coat's sleeves, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

“What?” asked Coda, feeling defensive. Did she have something on her face?

“Just etching your mug into my memory,” Aileen drawled, turning back to face towards the front. She gnawed on her pipe with an audible chomping sound, the wood grating under her teeth. “Y’know, before you go off to die horribly and in pain.”

Coda sniffed daintily. “Oh, thanks for the vote of confidence. Real encouraging. I appreciate it so much.”

Aileen's lips curled up ever so slightly as she glanced at Coda out of the corner of her eye.

“Well, I could also just have a nasty case of poor judgment. I hear that’s going around...”

 

[Zayin]

Zayin stepped out of the teleporter, gently shuffling his wings as he glanced around the foyer before him. He had seen the grandest and most humble buildings that humanity had to offer, but none of them were quite like this. It was incredibly fancy and lavish, perhaps unnecessarily so. It was more fit for the entrance to a royal palace than to… whatever this place was.

“Whoever this ‘boss’ is, he sure has expensive tastes.” The angel muttered to himself as he glanced around the welcoming area. There were a number of teleportation circles, just as he came in on, on one side of the room, and a number of closed metal doors on the other side. Other than that, there was little of actual interest for the hero, with the employees offering help with paperwork and the general atmosphere doing little for him.

Shrugging, Zayin made his way across the foyer and to the metal doors, stopping in front of one pair and pausing awkwardly. There was no door handle. Glancing around for a moment, he tried pushing to open them.

…

No luck.

The swordsman’s glancing became a little more embarrassed as he tried to figure out how to work the mechanism. As he looked, Zayin spotted someone pressing the wall next to the doors, causing them to slide open. Relieved, he followed suit, seeing the shapes carved into a panel on the wall and pressing them. As expected, the doors opened, revealing… some sort of empty broom closet? Thoroughly baffled, he wondered why they would need such a contraption to close their cupboards.

“Maybe all of their doors work like this.” The false angel mused to himself, wondering if the convenience of not needing to pull a handle was really worth whatever work went into making a pair of these doors. Stepping away from the broom closet, he moved to the next set of doors and opened them up, almost audibly groaning as he saw what was inside. Another small, empty room. The living weapon was almost tempted to go to each set of doors and open them up to see what was behind them, but thought better of it. There was no way that two sets of doors would just lead to nowhere, right? There had to be a secret to it.

Stepping inside, Zayin looked around, finding nothing at first. However, he quickly found another set of shapes carved into a panel on the wall, these ones numbered. Curious. Unsure of exactly what he was getting himself into, the hero pressed the one with the biggest number. Moments later, the doors slid shut and the whole room began to gently shake before there was a strange sensation of ascension. Were he not a brave hero of legend, this would be pretty terrifying.

 

[John Connor]

It was the first time the Roman Legatus had seen anything like it, so he viewed it with skepticism. His foot carefully moved toward the new "teleport" device as it sparkled with strange lights. What was this thing and what was it doing with its loud buzzing? As soon as he stepped onto the device, he decided that it wouldn't hurt him, but he was wrong. He suddenly found himself facing a moving box with more than a dozen circles carved into its walls. Peering curiously at it, he asked, "What the heck is this... thing?".

There was a look of boredom on the face of the man in front of him: "Really?! You've never heard of an elevator?"

Vatallion stared at the man, "What is an el-EV-tar?"?"

"What, you've been around since the stone age?" Vatallion scowled at him, "Listen to me and answer my question!".

There is one. This one has doors and it goes anywhere! You should look, step inside and see what it does for you." The man groaned, illustrating his point with his hands. "This is one. It has doors and it goes anywhere!" He showed his hands toward the box-like device with doors.

It started rumbling as he pressed the "P" button, causing the Commander-General to blink "W-what's wrong?". He hesitated and stepped inside. The doors closed and he pressed "P" and it started rumbling.

Immediately after the elevator opened, a huge training facility appeared.

He was amazed at how well stocked this place was!

 

[Ridley]

Flak was quick to make himself at home. Fancy-schmancy technoelectronics, but it wasn't more than what he'd seen at a factory or in Sturm's base. though compared to those, it sure was a hell of a lot more pleasant! He walked past the greeting desk with barely more than a grunt, looking around for where the battle was.

Then, of course, he realized he didn't have a single clue where the freakin' battle was!

"Hey, you!" The Wyvern CO barked at the nearest desk jockey. "The heck do ya keep the battlefield? is this like an application area to punch things. because I just signed crap!"

"Oh my. I'm sorry, Mister Flak." came the damn near mechanical reply. "I am sorry to disappoint, but the competition isn't underway just yet. but I'm sure our facilities will do more than enough to entertain you."

"so I gotta... wait, to get to smashin'?" Flak groaned, face turning a shade of red.

"I'm afraid so, sir. Ever so sorry."

"Whatever. You guys got a punching bag I can pretend's my recruiter? Got a lot of aggression to misplace right now!"

"Our training area is filled with punching bags, paper targets, training dummies, and even holographic simulations!"

"That's stu... actually, nah, that works. pretty good stock, actually." Flak replied, "...Wait, so is there like, a gym 'round here?"

"Oh, yes sir. On the prep level with the other training supplies."

"That's all I need to hear. Oh, and woman..." Flak added, leaning forward with an aggressive glare.

"Er.... yes sir?"

Flak's lip curled as he looked ready to blow a gasket, before suddenly his face Straightened into a straightforward smile.

"...Thanks for the help. Know I get rough with customer service sometimes. Ya handled me purfashionably. have a good day. your bosses are yutzes though."

"...of... course, sir."

 

[Shinku]

Shinku stepped out of the teleporter on the other end, somehow used to the sensation of such a mode of transport. Still, a sting in his head caused him a bit of discomfort at the time of his arrival. He could immediately feel the cold embrace of steel around his neck, along with the sudden heavy feeling, that seemed similar to the one in Dante's survival game. Once again, he moved significantly slower than before, his legs a bit heavier to step with.

His senses made him aware of the presence of a couple of other people around, but none of them exhumed any familiar vibe to him. They all appeared to be mere strangers though most bore some sort of a fighter's aura in them.

The area around him sported a grand, luxurious design but his eyes were already used to such a view to warrant him a dazzled look. The sight of the place did impress him but his eyes were trained more on what it had rather than how it looked.

He stepped across the soft, velour rug that lined itself from the teleporter to a short flight of descending stairs. Even before his descent, his stern gaze was immediately met with the warm smiles of a couple of strangers standing behind a large desk, all dressed similarly like Helix, Jiyala and the other staff he met before entering the fancy hall.

"Welcome to the entrance hall of Carnival Rosa's staging area! I'm Danica and I'm pleased to meet you Mr. O' Skully," a woman of fair skin and black hair, neatly tied in a bun behind her head immediately greeted him in a polite bubbly voice as he approached the front desk. "We offer a lot of facilities to keep you entertained before the actual start of the game. We can take you on a tour if you want," she offered, smiling fervently as she paused to wait for Shinku, or rather, Trevor's response.

"I'm afraid I would have to turn that down, but thanks a lot. Although I'd be most happy if you can point me where I can do some training," Trevor asked, slightly bending his head in courtesy.

"Of course! Darwin, please lead our guest to the prep level," Danica instructed a young, slender man who obediently complied.

"With pleasure Dani!," he smiled, then stepped off the front desk to usher Trevor towards the elevator. "If you could please follow me sir," he then offered the assassin of shadows, as he pressed a button beside the elevator.

Trevor immediately followed him closely, waiting for a while for the elevator car to arrive. He freed his lungs with a faint sigh of nervousness, as memories of the previous survival game suddenly rushed into his thoughts. He stared blankly for a while until the elevator's arrival signal alerted him back to reality.

"After you sir!," Darwin ushered him into the elevator car, before stepping in himself and pressing another button inside.

 

[King Ghidorah]

Rory didn’t think he’d ever seen so much brass and red velvet in one room before in his entire life. As both a businessman and a student of getting people excited about stuff that wouldn’t necessarily be good for them in the long run, the bird couldn’t help but appreciate the presentation.

“D0000d,” he whispered, stepping out of the teleport dock, “Swank digs.”

Rory looked around at the people milling about the lavishly appointed lobby, many of whom radiated a sense of barely restrained violence. He took a moment to luxuriate in the first proper air conditioning he’d encountered in months. He noted the bank of elevators along the opposite wall, and admired the grandiose theatricality of the décor as he waddled a beeline for what was quite clearly an information desk.

Reaching his destination he hopped up, snagging the edges of the counter with his flippers and hoisting his beaky face into view. A young man in slack and an old-fashioned bellhop’s jacket met his gaze with expectant good cheer.

“Ah. You would be Rory, yes? My name is Gavin. Welcome to the Death Game pre-show staging facility. How may I help you today?”

“ ‘sup mang,” Rory said.

Gavin’s smile wavered only very slightly.

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that, sir. If you have any questions or concerns, about the Death Game or anything else, I’m happy to answer, or to direct you to someone who can help.”

Rory pulled himself further up on the desk.

“Can you, like, point me in the direction of some food? D00d? And something to drink? Mesa Roja’s kind of a toilet: It’s literally a giant sandbox mang. Literally. Great place to get lost in, buncha D00ds ready to give you their money, but not the most accommodating fine-dining scene - and if I’m going to be running around stabbin’ guys and burning things, waving a sword and screaming on top of a pile of skulls and stuff, then I want to eat something fancy first.”

Gavin nodded. “You’ll want the recreation level – take any one of the elevators behind me. You’ll find the mechanism clearly labeled, and feel free to ask me or one of my colleagues if you should need further assistance.”

Rory nodded. “Gotcha. Thanks D00d. Good customer service, by the way. You’ve got, like, a super trustworthy face. I’d offer to hire you for a thing, but I’m between things right now.”

He paused. “Also broke. Anywho. Later D00d!”

The penguin raised his flippers, releasing his grip on the desktop, and dropped back down to the floor. With the rapid determination of a rodent in a maze who has caught the scent of the cheese, he trotted towards the elevators.

 

[Toga Voorhees]

I know I’m the new guy around here, but this has got to be bullying. When Aiden had told me I was on “keep the guy from murdering the other contestants before the show” duty, I almost thought he was joking. The dead-pan stare he gave me as he said it was enough to dash any hope of that, though. And that’s how I found myself in this situation, standing next to a murderer.

Bound to a hand-truck with steel cordage, it would be hard to see him as anything but incredibly dangerous. Even the silver gleam of the collar around his neck seemed more like an animal’s broken chain than as any sort of restraint. A poorly welded IV stand was attached to the hand-truck, a small bag drip-dropping a steady stream of sedatives into the bare lower left arm of the guy. Michael Myers; the man who had taken down half of Alpha Team and was only stopped when one of them blew herself up to knock him unconscious.

“So… this is him, huh?”

Startled out of my thoughts, I looked over to where the voice had come from and realized that, finally, my partner had arrived. She was tall and blonde, with brown eyes surrounded with the lines of a lifetime of smiles. Not quite as new as I was, she was still one of the few in the organization who treated me with any level of actual respect. Most of them blew me off as a “noob”.

“Uh, yeah,” I reply, shifting my feet nervously. They had told me that the prisoner was perfectly safe; that even if the collar were to malfunction, he couldn’t possibly break through his restraints, especially with the amount of tranquilizers they were continuously pumping into his veins. They had told me this, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of imminent death whenever I got close to the guy.

“Hmph,” Sammy continued, snorting a bit as she leaned in close to Myers and inspected the killer. He was tall… uncomfortably tall, but other than his height and the strange mask over his head, he wouldn’t have stood out anywhere. It was almost more frightening because of how easily this monster could pass itself off as a normal person. What was worse is that he never moved, not even to turn his head. If it weren’t for the barely-perceptible rise and fall of his chest, I would have sworn he was dead. No human could be this still and I shuddered a bit as the thought occurred to me that he looked like he was waiting for something.

“I can’t believe this is what took out over half of Alpha Team,” she said after looking him over. “Jeff must be losing his edge in his old age.”

Sammy always had been a bit full of herself, but I’d never heard her talk down about anyone else before. Then I saw it: the tightening of her lips and the redness around her eyes. She had lost people in that capture. People she cared about. And maybe this was her way of venting that grief and frustration. Of finding something, or someone, she could blame without giving into the intense desire to finish the job Jade had started. Even I knew that would be a bad idea. The Man in Red took his ‘game’ very seriously.

“Well, come on Aaron,” Sammy said with a grin, turning away from the subject of her scrutiny and taking her place on the other side of Myers. “Better get him out to the Entrance Hall before the Boss Man docks our pay.”

As we leaned him back and began wheeling him off, a sudden question came to my lips.

“You get paid?”

Spoiler

Myers is in the Entrance Hall, a bit off to the side and tied down to a hand-truck, with an armed guard on either side of him. He'll be completely unreactive to the majority of interactions, though the guards (Aaron and Sammy) will be happy to talk to anyone coming by. Reach out to me if you want Michael to be anything more than robotically stoic and unmoving in your posts involving him.