[elevator] [cerberus]

[guillotineroom]

[ When you open your eyes again the first thing that you, and your teammates, may notice is that you are confined within an iron cage, rectangle in shape. Further inspection will reveal that outside of the cage is a large structure of sorts, reaching far above you. It kind of looks like an unfinished clock tower, really... there are spots that look finished and bolted tightly, and others that look like they had been left once and the work never thought of again.

Also, it's pretty chilly. You might get to notice that.

It's foggy and windy—the kind of wind that howls and roars, jostling your cage against the tall shaft, and every so often you feel as though you might have had the ghost of a raindrop on you. The tower-like build creaks horribly ominously in the wind, and you can see the rusted metals swaying slightly. But if you decide to look around...

Flapping above you (and not helping with the wind) is a harpy-like creature, iron chains wrapped around their talons. Though, maybe it's more like a lion? The chains are bolted to the top of your cage. There are also little indicators on the structure, the same distance apart, that seem to be declaring different levels or heights. They look horribly unhappy to be here, but they're also impressive at ignoring any call you might have for them.

There's a door to the cage, but it won't open, even if it's just a simple-looking locking mechanism. If you peer out, it's too foggy on the ground to make out very much, but you can make out nine other, tower-like structures with similarly flapping harpies. Each one, including your own, has an emblazoned emblem of every team's patron monster, so that you can see where everyone is—it's just difficult to make out exactly who may be in each one. Even more difficult to try and communicate like this.

Attached to the door is an aged metal panel with a screen and four buttons; two to choose between the team names that appear on the dark green and black screen, and two to choose whether you wish for that team to go up or down.

After a moment, a little speaker in the corner starts playing an incredibly bad quality version of this.]

Comments

Re: DISCUSSION

[fujimaru]

[ She's peering out into the mist, trying to see what she can, though she winces when the music starts up. ]

I feel like this is just insult to injury...

[messianic]

[ Minato is inspecting the elevator with tired nostalgia. ]

At least my elevator didn't have elevator music...

Anyway yeah, it's... pretty bad.

[fujimaru]

We're probably going to have a bad time, huh?

[ She's more resigned than upset about this, still leaning to try and get the best look she can outside. ]

[messianic]

... I think so. But...

[ he looks around also, before he tucks his hands into his pockets with a frown. ]

We have more agency in this one than usual, I think. As long as that's the case, we have a chance to protect people.

[fujimaru]

Yeah... that'd be nice. Even if we can't help ourselves, it'd be nice to help others.

[messianic]

For now... I'm going to assume we're going to be okay.

[ because he can't change anything about it, and Cerberus is his family :( he doesn't want to think about them dying or being hurt. ]

So we should focus on... what teams we need to protect and help.

[fujimaru]

...I'm worried about the new team. This is really the worst timing for them to come into something like this.

Re: DISCUSSION

[moonlit_knight]

Never an opportunity missed to mock us.

Re: DISCUSSION

[fujimaru]

Right? Might as well make a bad situation worse, while she's at it.

Re: DISCUSSION

[moonlit_knight]

She's just sooooo whimsical in her misery.

Re: DISCUSSION

[fujimaru]

I gotta tell you, I'm not feeling it. She's not good at whimsy.

Re: DISCUSSION

[moonlit_knight]

She's not good at much else so that tracks.

Re: DISCUSSION

[fujimaru]

Hey, now. She's great at being bad at things.

[menphina]

[ Here's that hand on her head, as always. Pet, pet. ]

If we can find where it's coming from, I could try and blast it. Knowing this place, mine attack will bounce back, though.

[fujimaru]

[ She startles a little, then looks up. ]

Yeah... and even if we broke it, it'd probably just fix itself. The Warden's really good at making things unpleasant.

[menphina]

[ Sighing and leaning on her to bump the sides of their heads together. ]

Think we've been through these enough to know what to do. How are you feeling?

[fujimaru]

[ She leans into it, her shoulders hunched up to make herself smaller. ]

I don't like it. I don't like that we don't have any insight to things, and that even if we win, we're probably going to directly contribute to hurting someone. That doesn't feel like a victory at all.

[menphina]

None of these types of games do. But we've been through them enough to know what to expect. Or find a loophole... which has yet to work.

[ Wrapping an arm around her. ]

Is there anyone besides our alliance that you'd want to lower?

[fujimaru]

Even if the loopholes don't work, I'd still want to try them...

But, if I had an option--Sphinx. I'd want to help Sphinx. That's where Da Vinci-chan is.

[featherbeaned]

I could try to sing over it ...

[ she's not sure if that'd make it better or worse ]

[fujimaru]

Ah--no, don't worry about it. It's just annoying for me, but nothing worse than that.

[featherbeaned]

You sure? 'cuz it's.

It's bad.

[ it's so bad, she hates it. ]

Our poor ears don't deserve it.

[fujimaru]

It is pretty bad, but... I think there's stuff we need to consider before we worry about that.

But if singing would make you feel better, I wouldn't mind hearing it.

[featherbeaned]

Hmm. Hm. I'll sing after we make decisions.

[ First, though, she shrinks herself down to the size of your average german shepherd, and gives herself a very thorough shake-off ]

What're your thoughts?

[fujimaru]

...I think we're kind of screwed either way, this first round.

[ She reaches to run her fingers through Unisonya's fur, like a self-soothing gesture. ]

We have no idea what anyone will do. There's a chance we're all going to think the same and go after the same group... there's a chance that everyone will try to save themselves. We can guess, but we can't know for sure what anyone will choose to do except for us, in this room.

Personally, I'm okay with what they've been saying about voting to lower Bugbear, but... part of me wants to know what happens if we just don't choose to raise anyone.