DGS4 Phase 6-8 -- Out of the Storm

[The Man in Red]

Persons Present
Mahito
Domri
Tuskers
assorted Carnivale Employees

The map was, if nothing else, quite accurate. Following its directions eventually lead to a heavily worn trail currently buried under a few months' worth of lack of being cleared from snow. That trail, after some distance measured in miles, eventually broadened into a small two-lane road.

One of the carnivale employees perked up slightly, reaching up to brush back her hood and shade her eyes as she peered ahead. "Hey...I think that's the place, up there!"

Sure enough, looming ahead out of the hazy fog of gently swirling snow blown about by the persistent wind, there was...the yawning mouth of a man-made tunnel. The wide, reinforced doors that normally blocked it off were standing partially ajar -- not big enough to get any kind of vehicles through, but more than wide enough for a person to slip through without issue. The doors were emblazoned with the heraldry and icons of the Carnivale, along with the expected caution emblems and signage.

And of course, the numerous other signs scattered about giving lovely warnings such as 'NO TRESPASSING', 'CAMERAS IN USE' and 'BEWARE OF GOAT'. And a smaller one, posted off to one side of the road, reading 'VIOLATORS WILL BE DEFENESTRATED FROM FLOOR 17'.

There was one lone floodlight still working, casting an oblong swathe of light across the road leading up to the entrance, its beam filtering slightly through the opening.

 

[The Man in Red]

Persons arriving:
Shadow
Kevin
Rogue
Mid-Boss
Charles
Caoimhina
Alleane

Slowly, the large industrial lift shuddered into action. True to Kevin's predictions, it was still perfectly functional, and only struggled a little to shake off who knows how many time-increments of whatever flavor worth of dust and rust before it settled into its slow, steady, ponderous ascent to wherever it was going.

Alleane was still mostly insensate, laying curled in on himself where he'd been dragged onto the lift. His eyes were still wide open and unblinking, staring into nothingness, but at least he had stopped his mindless whimpering and groaning about his lost wyvern.

Overhead, a few amber-hued caution lights weakly flickered into view as a large hatch began grinding open, to accept the arrival of the lift itself into the upper level. The lighting was at least relatively strong, and the clear white glare of fluorescent lightning. Couldn't beat the classics. The smell of dust and abandonment was markedly less with the air drifting down, and while not quite 'fresh', it was a stark relief from the otherwise stifling and stale air of the caves and decrepit storage bay below.

With a heavy grinding thunk the lift finally reached the top, opening out into a loading dock and bay area, beyond which could be seen the more normal-sized hallways of an industrial facility. Signage on the walls provided directions, with the nearest ones pointing to Medical and Departure to the right, with Central Access to the left.

You guys have arrived in a different area of this section of the facility. But you are free to meet up with the other group at your/their discretion, if you should like. Or conveniently miss each other altogether to fulfill this year's comedic timing quota!

 

[Sigmund Vrell]

“We’re finally here.” Domri said with a small sigh of relief. “About time, I’m ready to get the hell out of the cold.”

Mahito, however, wasn’t listening to him, preoccupied by the voices speaking into his ears. Something about two test subjects being lured into the centre, and then the survivors being lured in after them for a grand finale. The curse could barely hide the widening grin on his face, but did his best to suppress it lest he let the cat out of the bag and ruin the surprise. The event certainly did call for a final boss, but not the one that they were intending.

“Mahito!” Domri called, reeling his hand back to slap the cursed spirit.

“Hm? I’m up, I’m up.” the spectre said, raising his hands innocently. “Sorry I was just… thinking about stuff. You wouldn’t get it.”

“Just keep moving. Let’s get inside.” the beastmaster spat, moving through the gap in the reinforced doors. Tuskers followed after him, barely managing to squeak his bulk through the doors. The carnival employees obviously wanted to go in after the pair, but hesitated to move without explicit permission from their new ‘boss’. Mahito continued to listen in, begrudgingly impressed by the sly showrunner. A beat later, after the mysterious thing that the replacement host was speaking to left, he heard the voice of the Man himself.

“Sneaky bastard, I knew it.” he thought to himself. The cursed spirit was deeply tempted to call out that the Man in Red was alive and spoil it for everyone, but he refrained, simply because it seemed like more fun to let the event’s plan unfold. After all, he’d hate to disrupt everything and not have everyone funnel into one space. “Alright, everyone, let’s head in. Can I get a ‘Go Team!’?”

The assembled carnival employees glanced at each other for a moment before reluctantly raising their fists in mock joy, giving a cry of “Go Team!” in unison. Mahito paused for a moment, considering whether he thought it was a good enough effort or not, before shrugging.

“Good enough, you live this time.” he teased before heading inside, moving like the leader of a marching band as he led them inside. The facility proved to be very… facility-like. The curse hadn’t really been in a place like this before, but when he pictured a facility, this is what it looked like. All cold, sterilised corridors, vague signage that mostly just made sense to the people who worked there, ominous blood splatters from escaped experiments. Y’know, normal stuff.

“Nice place. Any of you know your way around?” Mahito asked, turning to his gaggle of hostages with a pleasant smile, though they knew it was anything but friendly. They slowly began to shake their heads, hoping desperately that he wouldn’t kill off all of them at once. “Really? None of you? Tch. Good help is so hard to find these days.”

The curse was contemplating the idea of pruning the group when his eavesdropping device crackled back to life, picking up another transmission. It seemed that there was trouble in paradise among the facility’s staff, that one of them had gone missing, and that some other nonsense was happening with the remainders. Frankly, it all made little sense to the curse. He would have loved the opportunity to make another one disappear, but he needed to scope out the area first, particularly seeing as they could apparently track his collar. Glancing around, Mahito spotted a vent near the roof, and a wicked idea crossed his face.

“Alright everyone, hold tight. I have some work to do.” the curse said before stretching his body up to the vent, punching it in and sliding inside like a horrible snake-man, careful not to knock off his fashionable new hat in the process. Inside the vent, Mahito found himself greeted by a horror show: far more dead bodies of desperate employees than anyone in their right mind would have expected, with only more revealing themselves as he pushed them aside to slip through the vents. Honestly, if they had to die, couldn’t they have done so in a way that didn’t take up so much room? People could be so inconsiderate.

Party Members: Mahito, Domri, Tuskers, assorted Carnivale Employees
Current Location: The Facility
Desired Location: The vents
Actions: Mahito is moving through the vents to subtly scout out the facility as best as he can and possibly spy on anything of interest.
Focus Count: 4/5
Inventory: Survival Gear, two unsummoned polymorphic soul isomers, one use of Domain Expansion, four acid balloons.

 

[Rogue]

Ah came out of the lift ready to fight, expecting to find a room full of danger. As it happened, the only thing ah had to do was shield my eyes from the lights of the loading dock. Not a sign of life or movement to be had from the facility, aside from the light and dark sweeping in a dance around the space thanks to the silent alarms. A frustrated sigh escapes me and ah drop from the balls of my feet, sauntering into the room with the rest of the group. This place is just a miserable, cold and abandoned maze! Ah signed up for a fight to the death, not to wander about until my toes fell off!

"Figures. Your boss has got some tacky taste in lighting, you know that, hun? This place is just asking to have something go wrong."

Caoimhina just gives me a look and walks on past.

"You know, there's a good chance that this place was intentionally sabatoged." Kevin pointed out, "If this was actually an important facility, it would be quite risky to have contenders digging around in it."

"Simple zombie," Mid-boss clicks his tongue with a self-satisfied smirk that gives me the urge to punch his lights out, "There are games within games at play here. After all, the man in red himself has been deposed! Do not presume to know what piece on the playing board you are."

Shadow and ah share an unimpressed look at that particular declaration. Patience is running short for the lot of us at this point.

"So where are we going now?" Ah stare up at the signs without a ton of confidence. It didn't seem likely that we were going to be finding anything but trouble in this facility.

With a focus of intent ah turn towards Caoimhina and Charles. "You got any bright ideas, Sugah? This is your boss's mind we're trying to guess after all, and unlike the three of us, you didn't exactly leap into action when we were all in mortal peril a bit ago. Gotta pull your own weight if you want it to be worth our time to keep you on the living side!"

Kevin's gross mash of a face contorts in a way that's probably a frown, and he steps in between myself an' the pair of Rosa workers. Ah don't back up, but ah do start to pay attention to whether he's gonna start summoning all his little toys or not. Could be a fun set of powers to play with...

"Don't fall into in-fighting just because you haven't had enough conflict yet, Rogue."

Ah know he's right. She probably doesn't know anything more about this than the rest of us. After all, that wyvern would've snapped her up for a meal just as quickly as the rest of us. No plant would be taking risks like that without a safety net.

The fact that he wants me to back off makes me want to force his hand though. for a moment ah stare him down, not blinking, long enough that ah'd be making most people nervous, then ah flash a smile.

"Sure thing, Sugah. We're all in this together, right? We'll all survive this hellscape and come back rich as thieves!" Ah turn away, letting the sarcastic tone fade, "Besides, you're quite correct. We've got no need for in-fighting when we've got an enemy here with us."

Ah crouch down on my haunches in front of Alleane's limp and listless form. He doesn't even notice my existence, when ah give his shoulders a shake or two.

"Sugah, if you don't get over missing your lizard soon, then bless your heart but ah'm gonna make you wish you'd ended up in that cave-in too, you hear?"

party: Kevin, Rogue, Shadow, Midboss, Caoimhina, Charles, Alleane
location: Loading bay
Actions: Trying to interrogate Alleane for directions
Focus count: 1/1

 

[The Man in Red]

Mahito is moving through the vents to subtly scout out the facility as best as he can and possibly spy on anything of interest.

The vents were small and cramped, in more ways than one. The simple fact so many people had even thought to try and hide in them, let alone actually succeeded at it, was staggering. That more than a few of them had expired afterward from some combination of starvation, dehydration and whatever injuries they'd suffered beforehand probably didn't matter, in Mahito's estimation. Dead was dead.

What did matter, though, was how the vents twisted and turned and intersected and crossed over each other. It was like a maze of stale air that smelled like an abandoned butcher's shop, but it would probably let him get just about anywhere in this place if he could keep his bearings. Which was exactly what he wanted.

There were still traces of activity all over the place. What was left of the actual staff of the place had set up numerous small points of shelter and bunkered down here and there and everywhere, in groups ranging from just two or three to a dozen or more. Most of them had at least a few that were armed and armored, likely security personnel, but just as many were all completely unarmed and almost every group had its fair share of injuries and looked worn and haggard. It was not a cheery environment, to say the last.

The more actually interesting things that came to light, however, were the glimpses of other contestants all spread throughout the facility and going about their own business and goings-on. Another group of several not terribly far from where he and Domri had slipped inside, Rebecca and the strange Detective from the train station (along with two others he didn't quite recognize), some bizarrely threatening man in a gray suit, storming down the corridors alone and looking ready to positively murder the first thing he came across.

....and of course the odd scene of what he presumed was the 'central area', given its layout and so many different passages all leading to it. A large, shiny elevator awaited in the center, its doors standing wide open, and miraculously completely untouched and free of any damage or wear that the rest of the facility suffered from, in spite of the chaos and carnage leading up to mere feet from its threshold. Oh, and there was the irritating wail of klaxons in the area around the elevator, no doubt audible from some distance around through the halls. One of the 'lures' that the mysterious jackass the replacement host had been talking to was implementing, no doubt.

 

[Karl Jak]

In many ways, these desolate hallways somehow felt more lifeless and oppressive than the literal dark, dank tunnels that the grouped had managed to escape. Yes, there was a somewhat healthy amount of lighting here, and yes, it did seem as if human beings had at least somewhat recently navigated this area. Even so, Kevin felt no joy in meandering through the room that maintained the upper part of the cargo lift. If anything, he hoped beyond hope that this was simply another thoroughfare for the journey they had been set upon following the train crash.

As he wandered the room and poked his head into some of the connecting halls, he realized that some of the only places where he experienced this degree of unease were the old staging grounds. After every event, Karl would send teams down to sweep the various islands to ensure that no one had been abandoned or misdiagnosed as dead. Karl still vividly recalled being part of the team down on island VII. They hadn’t found anyone erroneously declared killed in ‘service’, but the scenes they found in some areas had been enough to force two-thirds of the sweep team to go on work leave. Everyone loves the glamor and drama of the live product, but no one wants to have to ride a chopper out to an island and sift through maggot-riddled corpse. What made that trip even worse was when the secondary team vanished entirely. Karl still refused to talk about that.

Yea … that was the ‘vibe’ he felt. Even though there were no indicators of violence or bloodshed, this place just reeked of misery. A misery and torment so deep that it had scarred the spirit of the place.

“Let me guess,” Kevin spoke as he walked back toward the lift and found himself staring at Charles. “We’re in some sort of … science facility? Engineering lab?”

The young man shrugged his shoulders, which was par the course given Rogue’s earlier efforts to discuss the situation with the Carnivale workers. “I’m just an intern.”

“Which means you have access to more information about more people than anyone else here, with the exception of the PA.”

Charles frowned. “I just get coffee and do menial tasks.”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “You were hired because someone richer and more powerful than you didn’t feel like keeping a schedule, checking their emails, returning their phone calls, or about another half dozen minor things that rich and powerful people don’t feel like doing. You’re telling me you have no idea about an underground—or in the mountains—facility?”

“I wish I knew.”

“So, you’re not going to tell me about the terrible contagion that escaped from the lower levels?”

Charles scowled and tilted his head.

“Or was it a portal? To hell? To another dimension?” Kevin, whose voice remained even-keeled as he stalked a few paces toward the young man, lifted a finger as he continued to postulate. “Perhaps you were growing some type of psychological super soldier here, and a few of them escaped? Maybe something about ghosts? Are they going to start seeing ghosts.”

A hand touched Kevin’s shoulder. He glanced to see Caoimhina frowning at him and shaking her head slowly from side to side. “Charles wouldn’t know his arse from someone else’s if he didn’t have signage. And I can tell ye with a straight face that neither of us knows anything about a place like this. Neither of us had the … pleasure of working with the upper echelons of management.”

Kevin let out a rasping, rattling sigh as he nodded his head. “We can’t stay here. One way or another, we’re going to have to delve into this new mystery. I hate that we’ve had to do everything blind and deaf up to this point.”

“This place has power,” Charles spoke softly as he walked up to the two gingers and pointed to the fluorescent lighting that flickered every few moments. “It… it stands to reason that there has to be some kinda computer terminals or logs or something, right? A place like this has to at least have a few manuals or something to explain whatever the hell is going on… right?”

The pair of ginger PAs both nodded their heads before craning their necks to try and see if they could spot the rest of their party.

“I think they were trying to interrogate that knight.” Charles mumbled. “I think the lady believes he’s got to know something.”

“Let her,” Kevin said as he started toward a hallway. He’d read the dossiers on the woman a few years ago, and even in undeath, his memory was a mostly unfractured tapestry of reports, spreadsheets, and email chains. “She’s like a bulldog with a bone once she sets herself to something.” He pushed open a nearby door. “We can scope out one or two of these corridors to see if we spot anything that might be of use in the investigation. Even if we find nothing, we’ll at least have the beginnings of a map for where we are.”

Party: Kevin, Caiomhina, Charles / Shadow, Rogue, Mid-boss, Alleane
Location: Adjacent hallways / Loading Bay
Action: Kevin and the two CR employees are going to look through the attaching hallways, with the hope of finding something that can provide them with information about the purpose of this facility, its history, or a means to leave it. The intent is to remain close enough to the Loading Bay to react in case something happens in there.
Focus: 9/9

 

[The Man in Red]

Trying to interrogate Alleane for directions

Alleane sat silently for several seconds further before, with a jerking movement he slowly lifted his head. His eyes, still pulled taut and wide, remained set in a gaping stare...though ponderously, slowly, as if it caused no small amount of agony, he blinked once and the glassy, vacant cast to his stare vanished. It couldn't quite be called clarity, as even when he first appeared he had seemed only halfway there, but...

His head jerked slightly to one side, his eyes rolling around to stare pointedly at Rogue. He let out a low, rasping breath before one arm shot up, fingers curled into a half-fist, and pointed unsteadily toward one of the nearby signs plastered on the walls. With what seemed like a force of will, his arm stopped shaking and settled on the marker pointing toward Central Access. "Dan...ous....main...." he rasped out, struggling with every sound to such an extent that the words came out only half-intelligibly.

Both of his hands curled into fists, as he lurched to one side, throwing himself down to the ground and rolling onto his hands and knees. He tried to force himself up, staggering and leaning against the wall for support. "Go...." he croaked. "...must...save..."

 

[The Man in Red]

Kevin and the two CR employees are going to look through the attaching hallways, with the hope of finding something that can provide them with information about the purpose of this facility, its history, or a means to leave it. The intent is to remain close enough to the Loading Bay to react in case something happens in there.

The halls nearby the loading dock itself in surprisingly good shape, considering the circumstances. Whatever had befallen the facility at large seemed to have largely left this area alone, or at least hadn't managed to spread this far given it was ostensibly on the very outskirts.

The departure bay was filled with vehicles that looked in fine operating condition, one of them even idling where it sat, with the driver door wrenched completely off its hinges and laying folded nearly in half a few feet away. The only issue was the man doors of the bay were shut tightly, and any consoles that could be found to open them were either completely wrecked or otherwise locked down, bearing an emblem of three red dots in a triangular formation blocking the screen and locking out any commands. A frustrating revelation, to be sure.

Enough poking around the area did eventually find a hall leading up to the office of the overseer, or director, or manager, or whatever you wanted to call them, of the loading and vehicle bays. The doors were locked, though easily broken through with surprisingly minimal effort. Inside it was...a mess, as if some kind of fight had taken place, but at least the screen of the still functional office computer was only cracked and not completely broken. Any access to the bays below had been persistently locked out by some kind of override function, but all of its other functions still seemed available.

Among the various log files and records of security footage, there were several interesting finds. Among them were inbound shipments and deliveries of what seemed to be the weapons and 'special items' from Death Games of years past, along with....if the records were right, the remains of deceased contestants, whether in their original form or a cloned copy of whatever had been left before being shipped off for their revival or resurrection of choice. Where they had gone to in this mess of a facility after arrival was anyone's guess, as the records here only listed an internal destination number with no other references.

The security footage that had been recorded had more to show for itself.

Much of it was mundane, showing only the expected coming and going, loading and unloading and transporting of cargo and deliveries. But one of the more recent ones that showcased something other than abandonment had something more to it, dated roughly three months past. A somewhat hunched over, short balding man in a labcoat came staggering and rushing into the bay, accompanied by several guards of both the human and mechanized persuasion. Cross-referencing the security logs for the relevant time, his identity was noted as 'Doctor Gero - Robotics Researcher - Clearance Level 4'. The guards with him turned around and fired back the way they had come, at something or other, as Gero himself made his way to one of the consoles in the bay and tried to access something, only to be apparently met with failure as he proceeded to slam his hands on it in clear frustration. Moments later, his guards were systematically removed from existence in precise bursts of gunfire directly to the dome, crumpling into lifeless heaps.

Gero whirled around, his back to the console and his eyes wide with something between surprise, confusion, and outrage. Though the footage was silent — whether due to antiquated standards or some damage to the sound system was hard to tell — it was high enough quality to make out the scientist mouthing the words "You?! What in the name of—" before his body was positively riddled with gunfire, turning it into the scientist equivalent of swiss cheese, and explaining rather nicely why at least one of the consoles in the bay below was destroyed.

 

[Sigmund Vrell]

Mahito took a moment to kick back and think in the vents, shoving a few stray bodies aside to give him room to recline. What to do, what to do? Most of the other contestants he spotted were moving in big groups, and the one guy he spotted on his own was… well, Mahito wasn’t scared obviously.

He was just…

He had better stuff to do. Obviously.

The cursed spirit clapped his hands together and twisted and turned to get himself back into a crawling position, making his way back through the vents to Domri. On the way there, though, he spotted a terrible sight: a small crew of carnivale employees sprinting desperately through the halls. Admittedly, he didn’t pay much attention to the exact appearances of his reluctant new crew, but he was a good 70% sure that this was them.

“Ah, damn it.” Mahito groaned, facepalming as he picked up the pace, wondering what the hell Domri had done to let them get away so easily. He didn’t even see the damn pig chasing after them. Bursting out of the vent that gave him initial access, the spirit glanced around for any sign of the beastmaster.

Nothing.

No sign of struggle, no blood. It was like he decided to just up and leave. And honestly, Mahito wouldn’t have been surprised if that was exactly what happened. The little shit. With a groan, the curse slipped back into the vents, wondering what exactly he should do now. He briefly considered hunting down the escaped team, but they were going to die one way or another. It sounded like more trouble than it was worth. The curse wanted to do something big, like take out one of those scientists he heard through the Man’s hat. He just needed to find them.

They were obviously a paranoid bunch, and the fact that he wasn’t able to find his way into their rooms by just crawling through the vents suggested that they had made precautions against sly little spirits like him sneaking in. Mind racing, he decided that he would have the best luck finding dead ends in the vents that weren’t dead ends in the corresponding hallways or rooms that they were connected to.

Slipping through, Mahito wandered around for quite a while, amusing himself by spotting the various groups of survivors, barely resisting the urge to bang on the vent walls to startle them as he passed by. Before long, though, he hit the jackpot: a blank wall facing him in the vent with the nearest exit placing him in front of a massive pair of heavy-duty doors with a complex scanner next to it. Pursing his lips, the curse scratched his chin as he inspected the terminal to the doors. He had an access card from the dead body in the forest, but he doubted it would carry high enough clearance to let him pass.

Time for plan B, then.

Creeping back into the vents, Mahito took a few paces back from the dead end. He figured that the vents were probably made to connect to the labs and covered up later when the paranoid scientists started to make some modifications. If that was the case, then it would be a simple manner to bust through. Making a peace sign between his fingers, the spirit formed a thin membrane between them before placing one of his acid balloons in there. Drawing it back like a slingshot, the spectre grinned wickedly before letting it loose.

“Ready or not, here I come!” he giggled to himself.

Party Members: Mahito
Current Location: The vents
Desired Location: Somewhere he isn't allowed
Actions: Mahito is going to try to bust through into a restricted area by using one of his acid balloons to pop open the metal keeping him out in the vents
Focus Count: 4/5
Inventory: Survival Gear, two unsummoned polymorphic soul isomers, one use of Domain Expansion, three acid balloons.

 

[Karl Jak]

The undead PA let out a sigh as he pushed away from the computer terminal and promptly folded his arms across his chest.

“You want to share with the class what this means?” Charles inquired. “Are we doomed? Trapped? Trapped and doomed?”

Kevin stepped forward and tapped the grainy image on the splintered screen. “In a past-past life, my boss actually knew this fellow, if what the information in this computer’s logs states is true about his identity.”

“What in the hell is a ‘past-past life’?” Caiomhina interjected, eliciting a smile from the undead ginger.

“A long story,” he half-mumbled behind the cowl as he tabbed back to the spreadsheets and document files saved onto the machine. Before he opened on, he paused to look over his shoulder at the young woman with the strong accent. “You’re telling me that you’ve never died before?”

“Yer telling me this isn’t something new for ye?” She shot back without skipping a beat as Kevin shrugged his shoulders. “I expected the head popping to stick, for what it’s worth. Prior to this, I got disembowled by an Unmade monster—before that whole Unmaking was a thing, mind you—and then I actually died in a previous event my boss hosted.”

“You participated in one of Karl Jak’s events?” Charles asked.

“I mean, that’s a strong word,” Kevin spoke softly as he typed a few lines of text into the archaic, slow-loading search function. “We were on a plane, you see…” He paused as he tried to bring up the memory in his head. “I was an intern back then,” he looked at Charles and smiled behind the burlap. “The plane went down with Karl onboard, and it split apart over this island.”

Caiomhina scowled. “A plane, you say.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“That crashed … on a mysterious island.”

“A’yup.”

“Split in two… separating two groups of survivors?”

Kevin nodded once again. “Hey, you can’t hate on a classic, okay? I wasn’t really a participant.”

“You were … us, weren’t you?”

The zombie nodded. “Yes.”

“W-what happened?”

He tapped the side of his head. “Gunshot wound. Paranoid contestant shot me. He thought I was a ghost or a ghoul of something. That said, there’s a part of me that thinks he mostly did it ‘for the lolz’.”

“Why? Did you look like this then? Did you betray him?” Charles looked at his coworker. “Betrayal is very hip in that franchise.”

A shake of the head from the zombie ginger. “No, but Mr. Wilson is sometimes just an asshole like that. He likes to gather around the interns and talk about how he had to try so hard not to ‘pull that grenade outta my bunghole and blow up the other contestants right before the Finale’. He is most certainly an … acquired taste.”

Charles snapped his finger. “Oh, shit, you mean that wackjob Deadpool. Hasn’t he won like… 5 of those events?”

Kevin laughed. “Yes, I think his adage is something about ‘I can make a mean Chicago-style pizza’ or something about ‘always donate to Alex’s DonorsChoose’. Karl seems to think they’re funny jokes, but to everyone else, it’s mostly gibberish.”

“So that was the first time you died?”

“No, I was actually born in a place called Central City. Yes, I know there’s one of those in probably every reality, but there was this invasion of these aliens who rode red horses despite also having a high-tech armada. Syntech headquarters wound up being part of the initial ground zero of a particular attack, and I guess …”

Kevin paused and frowned. “I was making coffee, and all I remember is this flash of light and a terrible crashing sound all around me. Then… it was just dark. It’s always dark, you see.” He looked away from the screen and peeled off the burlap cowl, which was gritting on his skin. “They tell you that you’re supposed to see bright lights or pearly gates or even an ogre king. What they don’t tell you is that, for most of us, it’s just nothing but the dark. We do all this living and then at any given time, you can just be snuffed out like candle. It’s … not fair.”

Charles, who had already withdrawn at the reminder that the soft-spoken PA was a decomposing corpse, yanked at his colleague’s sleeve. “I don’t want to die, Caiohmina. I didn’t take this job to get killed off-screen by a lunatic to satisfy a need for random acts of violence.”

Crack!

The young man dropped to the floor and grasped at the red mark on the side of his face.

“I wasn’t even being that dramatic, what the fuck!”

“I did not want you to spiral,” she said with a faint grin as she lowered her hand and tried to bring this conversation back on rails. “We’re not doing to die down here, Charles. Stop thinking like a…” She seemed at a loss for the words, and Kevin was not in the mood to speak such a heinous label out loud.

“We should report back to the others,” Kevin spoke into the moment of silence. “At the very least, we know that this is some type of repository for technology and corpses. We also know that something happened, and it seemed to be an inside job.”

“How do you figure that one?” Caiohmina asked as she glanced at the footage that was replaying silently on the computer screen.

“You can’t read lips?” Kevin muttered as he paused the screen at the moment when Gero was talking to the individual who had pursued him into the storage bay. When the zombie saw the other PA shake her head, he gestured back to the screen. “Look at that face. Really look at it.” Despite the odor of the exposed zombie’s mangled cranium, the two Carnivale employees leaned in to see the screen.

“He seems shocked.” Caiohmina muttered.

“No, he’s pissed.” Charles added.

“The truth is probably somewhere in the middle,” Kevin whispered. “But he’s also confused by this individual being there, which leads me to believe he was gunned down by someone he knew, possibly a peer at this facility.” He turned to look at the redheaded woman. “Do you know anything about the man in this footage? Doctor Gero? Does he work for the Man in Red in some official capacity?”

The woman’s lips bunched up as she tried to squint at the image frozen on the damaged, grainy screen. “I wish I could say,” she finally replied. “He doesn’t look familiar, but the name has a ring to it, like I’ve maybe read an associated email address in a departmental mailer or something.”

“That’s … super helpful,” Kevin answered as he squatted down under the desk and started to fiddle with the rest of the computer.

The pair watched as the image on the screen went black, and a moment later, they heard the light grating of steel pieces as they were coaxed apart by a clenched fist.

“What are you doing?”

Kevin reemerged with a piece of technology in hand. “Hard drive.” He replied as he tucked it into the satchel bound to his waist. “Stuff might be backed up on the cloud, or it might not be. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to take it with us.”

“Isn’t that stealing?” Charles asked.

“We’ll call it even after the reckless endangerment that was that train ride.” Kevin grabbed the cowl and slipped it back over his head. After he had adjusted it to fit snuggly enough, he nodded to the pair of pallid, nervous workers. “Let’s go see what the others have discovered. The only way out of this mess is down the rabbit hole.”

***​

Kevin and the two Carnivale Rosa employees returned to the departure bay in time to see that something had unfolded while they had been rummaging through dead computers. Up on his feet and seemingly cognizant of the reality around him, Alleane was shambling toward parts unknown but doing so rather poorly.

“… save,” he lurched forward and somehow failed to plant his foot onto the ground. So instead of a commanding step forward, he just lost whatever semblance of balance he may have had and rolled forward into a heap of bruised limbs and tarnished armor plates.

“Are we just going to stand here and watch this?” Kevin asked as he headed over to the fallen wyvern rider and helped him into an upright position on the steel floor of the installation. With Alleane’s eyes seemingly glassed over, the zombified PA looked over his shoulder for Rogue. “What did you do to him? Did he say anything?”

The southern belle put a hand on her chest and scrunched up her face. “Yer accusin’ me of what now?”

Kevin shook his head. “Did you … read him again?”

“He just started babblin’.” Shadow remarked as the hedgehog pointed back toward a metal embossed map of the facility. “Something about Central Access and saving someone.”

The zombie nodded his head. “So what’s the plan?”

Party: Kevin, Charles, Caiomhina, Rogue, Alleane, Mid-Boss, Shadow
Location: The Departure Bay
Destination: Central Access but I'm 100% certain Rogue or Shadow is gonna post again at some point real quicks so prolly give them the evening
Focus: 9/9

 

[Rogue]

Ah was finding more and more that ah didn't quite know what to make of this guy. Ah wait for a bit, still crouched there where we'd been talking, watching as the maybe living, maybe zombie fellow struggles his way along the wall of the hanger. That was going to be slow going at this rate, but it certainly wasn't from a lack of trying.

"See, if you needed help, Sugah, you coulda led with that. We would have been able to avoid all that howling and stabbing you were doing back there."

It was worth a bit of a wonder, that. The guy probably had a splitting headache from my touch earlier, but he hadn't really taken too much of a beating in out little scuffle. What was inspiring this change of tune? Either it was a trap or the guy had been rushing at us in a blind rage for some reason. Guess getting your pet killed would be a bit of a system shock to some folks, but ah don't exactly see myself calming down if someone were to go and kill Remi.

Like a bad penny, Mid-boss saunters around a corner, eyeing Alleane with an arrogant eagerness. He looks like one of those Arcadian nobles sizing up whether they can throw their weight around without getting in trouble. If he was trying to piss me off he couldn't do it more effectively. Ah give him as clear a death glare as ah can, but his focus is just on the weak looking guy crawling his way along the wall of the hanger bay. Ah'm going to have to intervene more directly it seems.

"But what is zis? Our prisoner has legs and aims anew? Magnifique! Perhaps now we can settle our score for keeps!" He grins, taking his sweet time enunciating each of his words.

That smirk curdles as he clocks my approach from the corner of his eye. Ah grab a fistful of that bit of cloth he's using like a shirt and go to shove him up against the wall. Turns out the suckah's strong enough to keep his footing, but he's startled at my boldness so ah haven't entirely lost the momentum.

"Oh-ho! You approacheth moi?" He's winding up for a monologue but ah give him a little extra shove and cut into his words.

"Hell yeah ah do, Sugah! Now you listen up and listen good. We're all out here and there's nobody coming to find us. That clown on the speakers might talk like it's all still a game, but that's gotta be covering their behinds at this point because this all smacks of shameful secret a good bit more than spectacle, don't you agree?"

My face is only a few inches from mid-bosses as ah spit my speak. Figures he would smell flowery even after a trip through a snowy mess and a cave in.

"Now this here is a death game, and aside from prince charming's lizard back there, we ain't exactly seen a ton of death so far. The clown lady were clamoring for it, and ah take a distinct pleasure in ignoring them sorts of requests. Of course, you keep up getting in the way? Then ah might just start listening to what she's talking about with a bit more attentiveness."

There's a silence as we size each other up, and part of me is wishing ah'd slipped a glove off to be ready in case he tries something here. Wasn't exactly spoiling for this to escalate into a full slugfest. The other times he crumpled up like a coward, but ah guess he's getting confidence now that we're out of the cold. Ah reckon ah can probably reach skin with a head butt if it comes down to it, finish things quickly.

"As enjoyable as it is to watch your pathetic power struggle, both of you stop this at once!" Shadow's voice draws our attention up to a nearby pile of shipping crates. He's crouched at the top of it, casual as a Sunday stroll, not a hint as to what he's been up to, "What is the reason for your petty squabble?"

"This harlot really sought to intimidate moi!" Mid-boss sniffed indignantly, and ah almost box him then and there.

"Keep it up if you want things to get real, Sugah." Ah snarl, then turned to Shadow again, "Alleane seems like he's got his heart set on making it to the Central Access. Said there's something dangerous or something that needed saving? Might be both, honestly."

In unison, the three of us turn to watch the wyvern rider as he struggles along. It's a bit fascinating to watch, to be honest. He's dogged as they come, but his limbs don't seem to be getting half of the ideas he wants them to do. Ah'm not entirely sure whether to help him either. After all, the fellow did try to kill us a bit ago. Doesn't make a gal too keen to tire herself out helping him lug all his armor along.

Then Kevin and the other two come back and he spoils the fun. He probably just feels bad seeing a fellow zombie that can't move properly. Kev starts spouting off a bunch of questions like the kind of person who's used to people answering him real quickly. He decides not to go the full way to leadership though, and leaves it up to the group if we're getting involved or not. Ah give him a wink to let him know ah'm wise to his steering us, then step forwards.

"Ahright, might take all day if we go at his pace, but ah'm going to see what's got prince charming all worked up. Y'all are welcome to come along, but fair warning, the guy said it's real dangerous or something like that!"

Shadow snorted, uncrossing his arms as he makes to follow me.

"As though our journey this far has been peaceful." He mutters.

"Around this point in the last mess ah was getting hunted by a a hockey-masked fella that didn't seem able to die!" Ah shrug, "It's all relative!"

Party: Kevin, Rogue, Shadow, Mid-boss, Chaoimhina, Charles, Alleane
Location: Departure bay -> Central Access
Action: Helping Alleane in his quest? We're scouting the Central Access to see what he is after.
Focus: 1/1

 

[The Man in Red]

Mahito is going to try to bust through into a restricted area by using one of his acid balloons to pop open the metal keeping him out in the vents

The acid balloon splatted against the makeshift barricade in the air vent, splashing its noxious contents over the surface. Almost immediately, the oily fumes and sickening smell of rotting meat began to become pervasive again, clogging the vent as the acidic sludge ate into the blockade.

Within mere moments, there was a faint whine of metal as it buckled under the acidic concoction, and started to fall apart. The smoke and fumes slowly filtered out through the fresh opening, and light practically poured in from beyond.

Slipping through the mess and muck, Mahito slunk his way down further along the vents to see what he could see. And in short order he came across a ventilation grille, looking down into....some kind of office? It was neatly appointed, seeming like a cross between a personal study and an examination room. The angle of the vent made it hard to see, but the room seemed to be occupied by....three people. One of them in the red and black livery and armor of a carnivale guards, standing by the door with rifle in hand. Another seated at the desk in the position of the office's owner most likely, wearing in a pristine labcoat and gleaming mirrored glasses, and the last one.....

Mahito furrowed his brow, reaching up to shift the hat he had lifted from the former host of the event and scratch at his head. It was ridiculous, but....either his eyes had melted from the acidic fumes he'd crawled through and he was seeing things, or he was looking down at himself sitting across from the office's owner.

That was weird.

Mahito has discovered the office and hidey-hole of Hugo Strange. You may drop in at your leisure, or snoop around and drop some eaves before doing so.

 

[The Man in Red]

Helping Alleane in his quest? We're scouting the Central Access to see what he is after.

As he went further, and forced his limbs to actually work, Alleane seemed to overcome the stiffness and near-paralysis that had taken hold of him. He still moved with an uneven gait and with all the steadiness one might expect of a particularly drunken construction worker, but at least his movements were fluid enough now. He lead the way, in as much as he could, away from the loading and departure bays and further into the facilities. Following every sign that pointed toward central access, which eventually reached a set of large, reinforced bulkhead doors.

The wyvernless knight staggered up to them and pounded both gauntleted fists against the metal. Impressively, it dented slightly, but gave no other indication of so much as budging.

"Ah don't think you're gonna break it down, sugah," Rogue noted offhandedly as she wandered up, looking over the doors herself for a moment. They were battered and showed signs of some bullet and laser scoring and scorching, but seemed mostly intact. Unfortunate, given their current predicament.

"When brute force and ignorance fails, perhaps the former may yet still be useful," Mid-Boss chimed in, with a faint smirk plastered on his lips.

Kevin leaned over slightly, dropping his voice as he spoke to the other two resident gingers in their group. "Nobody say anything. He'll explain whatever he's actually talking about in about....."

The so-called noble demon sauntered up to the doors, one hand planted on his hip as the other extended to point at the doors. "Breaking them down or forcing directly through would be all but impossible with our current firepower, at least in any expedient timeframe, no? Then perhaps if we temper our brute force with some cleverness..." And he stepped forward, tracing a delicate clawed nail along the seam where the two massive metal slabs that had the audacity to call themselves 'doors' met. "Opening them completely would likely be beyond us, but perhaps we might pry them wide enough apart to let one of us slip through?"

Though no one said it, all eyes immediately glanced at Shadow as this suggestion was brought up. The ultimate lifeform crossed his arms and scowled. ".....I guess I am the fastest one here."

"And the smallest," Charles added in a whisper.

"If this place didn't have power, it would be a lot easier," Kevin grumbled. "But if all we need to do is force open a little gap for a second or two...." He looked over their motley group, carefully running the numbers in his head. "Let's just hope no one's got any inclination to pulling a muscle."

The two carnivalers carefully tugged Alleane back from the doors. His mental state didn't seem to have improved much to match his physical state, and he only seemed barely aware of what was even going on. But once he was clear, the other four stepped up to bat at the doors, two to either side and did their best to wedge their fingers in between the doors. Mid-Boss and Kevin had the easiest time of it, but eventually they all had about as good a grip as they were going to manage.

"On the count of three, then..." Kevin muttered.

"One..."

"Deux..."

"...three!"

In unison, all four of the contestants wrenched on the doors. At first, nothing happened, save for a lot of almost comical grunting and puffing. Slowly, almost agonizingly so, however....there was a deep rumbling groan of metal as the bulky doors finally budged a fraction of an inch. Alleane, in his beleaguered mental state, finally seemed to realize what they were doing and shrugged off the tentative grip of the two gingers and staggered forward. He slid his gauntleted hands into the miniscule gap between the doors and added his own force to the effort.

Over what felt like hours, but in reality was only about thirty seconds, the doors slowly creaked and groaned open. A few sparks came from somewhere, as the locking mechanisms fought back with everything they had against the brute force.

".....it is open enough!" Mid-Boss gasped, sweat pouring down his forehead. "Go now, little ultimate creature!"

"Hmph." Shadow's arms practically trembled as he took a deep breath. "Just don't let it slip closed when I'm not helping keep it open anymore!" Then his gloved fingers slipped free of the door, and in the blink of an eye he darted forward. With a quick, careful maneuver halfway between a somersault and a twirling dive, he slipped through the gap in the doors just in time for the collective strength of the rest of the group to give out, and they ground shut with a deep metallic rumble.

It took maybe three minutes before there was a noise from within the door. The grinding and thrum of machinery as bolts disengaged and mechanisms spun up, and the huge doors slowly split apart, sliding open.

Down a short hallway on the other side of the doors, the facility opened up into a much larger chamber. Roughly oblong in shape, spanning several dozen meters from one side to the other. Similar hallways and doors branched off from it in other directions, leading to other sections of the facility. And right in the middle of it all stood an open elevator. The entire room was a mess of battle and destruction, save for the few feet around the elevator itself, which was almost perfectly spotless.

Standing just before the elevator were....contestant number nine, alongside the Man in Red himself. They seemed to be having some kind of heated discussion in relatively hushed tones, and were either ignoring or unaware of the new arrivals to the chamber.

Alleane, for his part, stumbled forward, making a beeline through the destruction right for the elevator, heedless of anything and everything else.

For whoever wishes to write next, Alleane will be attempting to aggressively drag the Man in Red into the elevator, presumably to ride it down, though the currently-deposed host will be less than pleased to go down 'just yet'.

 

[Rogue]

"Well! as ah live and breathe! The boss man's still living and breathing too! Guess it's true what they say about roaches."

Ah crack a smile, but none of the six of us are looking overly friendly as we follow Alleane's approach. The man in red looks up from his discussion with the guy who beat us here. That first glance when people are surprised is one of the best ways to see how people are really thinking. After a moment, they can throw on a fake smile, but the first glance tends to be all real. Don't work for this guy though, his mask makes it so ah can't really tell if he's happy to see us before he starts into his spiel.

"Ho there! The Wyvern follows upon the Dragon's heels! The intrepid heroes continue to brave their way, through the dangers and trials of this accursed facility! They press on, cleaving a path straight to the very heart of the matter!"

He does a flourish and a bow.

"It puts my mind at ease to see you all have made it here safely."

And this is precisely why ah hate slimy mother lovers like him. He sounds all sincere when he says something like that, but if he wasn't down here with us then this whole thing would've been his idea every step of the way.

Arbiters, there's a decent chance it's -still- been all his fault once all the secrets shake out.

Ah glance to the rest of the group, to figure out where this dance of ours is heading. Kevin looks less than pleased, but ah suppose if ah was a zombie who's head made a football wince ah wouldn't have much to smile about either. Shadow is brooding in the doorway with his arms crossed. He keeps an eye on the hallway while listening in on our conversation.

Mid-boss is being is usual unhelpful self, poking through the destruction that surrounds the room. It's actually Alleane who breaks the stand-off, staggering fowards with a good bit more cohesion than ah'd have given him. He doesn't say anything, just grabs the Man in Red by the scruff of his coat and starts to advance towards the elevator.

"Now now! Let's not be hasty!" The showman seems suddenly a good bit more alarmed and the illusion of control he's been presenting this whole time falls away, "As I was just explaining to Mister Kazuma, we really shouldn't be going down there until everyone's arrived!"

Alleane's stronger than he looks, and he doesn't say anything in response, but the Man in Red is able to dig in his heels enough to not be immediately carried the full way down. That little tussle doesn't seem likely to resolve itself on it's own either. At least the guy in the suit doesn't seem to be inclined to step in, just watches with a stern expression. Ah'd figured the guy for the Man in Red's bodyguard, If he's not going to step in to the guy's defense, then he really is the only one holding us all up here.

"So you know what's waiting for us all down there, is that it?" Ah scowl, stepping forward a bit.

"I... mmm, I've a fair conjecture. I would be a rather poor organizer of these facilities if I did not, wouldn't you agree, my dear?" The slimeball keeps to his flowery talking even while he's struggling not to be dragged out of the room. Some people really can't help themselves.

Ah slide off one glove, holding the hand up beside me as ah lock eyes with the Man in Red.

"Well, then ah'm guessing you paid enough attention to our profiles to know what ah can do. You can start stating your case, without all this word dancing, or ah can get answers for the rest of us without your help."

Ah let the threat hang in the air, but ah'm going to need to quickly decide whether this is a bluff or not. This guy's clearly more powerful than he lets on, and ah'm quite curious about how it'd feel to have some of that for myself. Ah'm also not too sure if we're looking to pick a fight with someone who's able to organize a place that can go this bad. It might've been smarter to just walk up and steal his powers while he was distracted by Alleane, instead of making an ultimatum out of it like this. Oh well. It won't work if ah don't at least commit to the threat.

"Clock is tickin' sugar. Or maybe it's just the alarm bells before this whole place blows us all to kingdom come. Ah know ah don't know what we're up against with this situation, but ah'd damn well like to know more, real soon!"

Party: Kevin, Rogue, Shadow, Midboss, Caoimhina, Charles, Alleane, Kazuma?
Location: Central Access
Action: Trying to interrogate the Man in Red (I think we've got one more post coming later today though, so no rush on the update!)
Focus: 1/1

 

[Karl Jak]

“Let’s not be too hasty,” the Man in Red cooed as he held up his hands and took a tentative step away from the southern belle, who continued to stare at him with fists raised. “It’s important that we wait for the remainder of the contestants.”

The voice came from behind Rogue, as Kevin stepped around her and tilted his covered head toward the master of ceremonies. “Why?” It was a simple word, but it was laced with an audible venom.

“You’ve covered your face.”

“I guess we both have something we prefer to hide from people.” Kevin replied as he pointed to the elevator. “You want to talk about yours?”

The PA couldn’t tell, given the mask, but he felt as if the man was smiling behind the façade he had strapped in front of his visage. “It’s not time yet.” The ringmaster of the Carnivale Rosa remarked as he gestured with both hands toward the myriad passageways that funneled into the large area where they stood. “The other survivors have not yet arrived here at the depot. We can’t proceed.”

“Then go get them.”

A tilt of his masked face. “It’s on them to navigate the dangers here.”

“Your dangers.”

A tilt in the opposite direction. “Do you see any secret observation decks around here, Kevin? I’m sure with your nose for these types of things, you could sniff one out… if your nose still sniffs, of course.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re running this like it’s just another game, and you have people whose lives are in danger who didn’t sign up for this shit,” Kevin peered over his shoulder at the two Carnivale workers who had been traveling with his group since the crash. “How many more of them are still alive? How many died for your own enjoyment or to boost DVD sales?”

The Man in Red shook his masked countenance. “You should know more than any single person here that they all knew the dangers when they signed the work contract, Kevin. I had workers shovel your gray matter into a doggie bag, because your master threatened litigation.”

“Just board the elevator.”

“No. It isn’t time.”

“Why? Is your little science project not done brewing yet down there?” Kevin pointed back in the general direction of where his party had traveled. “We found the computer logs. All the operations to salvage remains or make copies of your prior contestants.”

“All stated in the agreement,” the Man in Red replied. “Again, I hope you don’t find this unethical or unnerving, since your master does the same things in his own labs. How many of those cyborgs serial killers does he pump out each month? Analytics hasn’t quite figured that one out yet.”

Kevin bristled. “Those combat the unmaking … all you’ve done is manage to kill your own employees to pop a rating.”

“Again, you should be accustomed to all this.”

At this point, the assemblage of survivors had edged slightly away from the increasingly elevated tones of the two masked individuals. Even Rogue, who had initiated this standoff, found herself unsure of how this was all going to play out.

“What’d you do down there?” Kevin asked as he pointed to the elevator that the mastermind refused to ride. “What kind of homunculus did you make and how many others are probably rampaging through this facility?” The PA didn’t pause long enough to let the masked host respond. “Or are we talking some type of … some type of medical augmentation that’s gone awry and turned viral? Whatever it was that killed Gero likely wasn’t too much of a surprise to him.”

“Ahhh, security footage and spreadsheets,” the Man in Red exclaimed as he held out his hands and dramatically recoiled a half-step from the zombie. “You’re a certified detective now, aren’t you? I’m surprised you didn’t start rummaging through the vents or trying to hunt down the hidden medallions and thematic keys to unlock the secret underground lab bay.”

Behind Kevin, the two Carnivale employees exchanged confused stares. “Do our installations have those?”

The PA answered coldly without looking back at the two. “He’s being factitious… it’s his only defense mechanism.”

“Please don’t degrade me like that, Kevin, I have layers like anyone else.”

“Tell us what is going on. No more cliffhangers. No more … plot twists. The theatrics are going to get innocent people killed. You have to understand this.”

The Man in Red stepped forward and tilted his head once again. “It. Is. Not. Time.” He spoke through what sounded like partially clenched teeth. “The others will b—”

WHAM.

Kevin’s fist smashed into the center of the man’s masked face and sent him careening backwards.

A red-black blur and tangle of limbs, the wiry host sailed backwards, struck a piece of hydraulic piping, and pinwheeled to the ground as great gouts of steam started to belch from the shattered machinery. Despite the audible crunch and the ungraceful manner in which his body had smashed into the ground, the ringmaster rose almost casually to his feet.

Fixing his clothes, the Man in Red seemed to take a silent moment to compose himself as he reached up to his guised visage and traced a finger along the small web of splinters that now marred his chief facial accessory.

“Did you find that therapeutic, Kevin?” He asked in a voice that had lost much of the suave pretense of their prior conversation. “Does that help you feel important? Make you feel like maybe you’re not some worthless background character and instead someone worthwhile?”

“No,” Kevin barked. “But if you want to keep playing this game, I’m sure we might figure out the answer to that question eventually.”

Party: Kevin, Rogue, Shadow, Mid-boss, K, Charles, Caoimhina
Location: Central Access
Action: Trying to coax the truth of the Man in Red
Action 2: Used an application of Focus to Move Object/Damage that bro
Focus: 8/9

 

[Sigmund Vrell]

Mahito did a visible doubletake as he saw himself in the room beneath him. In any other situation, he would have been tempted to burst right in and attack, but this gave him pause. Even if he was acting innocent, the curse knew that this guy was expecting him. To have a double set up just in time for Mahito to see it was way too much of a coincidence for him to swallow. Frowning, he sat tight, waiting and watching to see what was up.

“So, Mahito,” the doctor said, clearing his throat. “I see you’ve reported… nightmares?”

“That’s right. I see the people I’ve attacked…the screaming, running innocents… and I see the ones that got away.” the other Mahito replied dejectedly, a grief-stricken look on his face. “I can’t believe I would let them slip between my fingers like that. The shame is eating me up, I just can’t sleep at night.”

The real Mahito couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in the vents. It looked and sounded just like him, and even acted mostly like him, but there was something off. He was too… extra. The spectre didn’t have nightmares about the people he killed, whether they got away or not. He just killed them and got on with his life.

“I see, I see.” the scientist murmured, typing something down onto his computer. He pursed his lips for a moment, clicking around and evidently considering something. “So, how long would you say that you’ve been experiencing these nightmares?”

“Hmm… maybe a month?” faux-Mahito guessed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. In response, the doctor nodded and resumed his typing. The real Mahito furrowing his brow in the vents, wondering what exactly the fake was. He didn’t think you could clone a cursed spirit, seeing as they didn’t have typical flesh and blood, but he didn’t know for certain. The double could have been a robot or something, he supposed, but random hypothesising wasn’t going to do him any good. He needed to consider how he was going to approach the situation. Of course, the notion that the scientist was also a fake crossed his mind, but he didn’t know what the hell he was going to do about that.

“And you realise just how bad of a situation you’re in right now, don’t you, Mahito?” the scientist asked.

“Oh, it’s doomed.”

That son of a bitch was mocking him! Gritting his teeth furiously, the curse began to hack and cough as he started to regurgitate his stock of transfigured humans. He wasn’t going to let this guy make him look like an idiot, so he was going to hit him as hard and fast as possible. Kicking open the vent, Mahito sprung from his hiding place into the middle of the air, a horrific fleshy bundle in each hand.

“Sorry doc, I know this is short notice but I couldn’t get an appointment.” the spirit crowed as he impaled his feet into the roof, fingers extending from his scalp to hold his new hat in place before dropping a mass of transfigured humans from each hand. “It’s my boys, you see, they have some attitude problems.”
Each blob of flesh hit the ground with a wet smack, twisting, writhing and swirling together before rising up as twin pillars of flesh. Then, as quickly as they grew, they tightened and shrank to form a pair of similar, vaguely humanoid figures. The things were stocky, dense things of beige and brown, barely resembling the many people that constructed them.

Panicking, the guard brought his gun up, but not before the closest polymorphic soul isomer closed the gap and threw a haymaker right at his solar plexus. The carnival employee went down like a sack of bricks as his innards were reduced to sludge. Meanwhile, the other moved to engage the scientist and fake Mahito.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the real Mahito announced from the roof, doffing his hat for a moment. “Enjoy the show!”

Party Members: Mahito
Current Location: The vents
Desired Location: Strange’s room
Actions: Mahito is summoning his polymorphic soul isomers and attacking the fake Mahito and dubiously real Strange
Focus Count: 4/5
Inventory: Survival Gear, one use of Domain Expansion, four acid balloons.