[elevator] [kraken]

[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

[fanstheflames]

I bet they'll do it. They'd absolutely try to help the other team at the same level as them.

... So I want to lower them. I promise to go along with whatever gets decided next round, including lowering ourselves, but... sorry, Nobara. I want to try to help them this time.

[nailedthelook]

[ Why is Cerberus like that. ]

They could at least try helping themselves. It'd feel less of an uphill fight then.

And bear in mind this is potentially at the cost of ourselves, if our friendly attacker decides to get friendly again.

[fanstheflames]

Yeah, I know. I'm sorry.

[ SHE WILL FEEL SO BAD BUT SHE WILL FEEL SO BAD EITHER WAY /JAZZHANDS ]

[nailedthelook]

[ Pokes her in the nose. ]

Be more confident in your choices.

[fanstheflames]

Ah--

[ a low whine. ]

I can be confident and sorry at the same time!

[nailedthelook]

You just sound sad and anxious.

[fanstheflames]

I'm a stirfry of emotions right now!!

[nailedthelook]

[ Deadpanned. ]

You're gonna end up fried at this rate.

[fanstheflames]

I'll be fine.

But I guess we should figure out the whole thing first, huh? Who to vote for, I mean.

[nailedthelook]

[ No you won't. ]

I'd vote any of the middle or low teams, personally. I would guess people will either vote the high teams to take them out faster, or the low ones thinking they're safe. Middle is probably less targeted, but I don't know how the other blocks would wanna play.

[fanstheflames]

... Mmm. Maybe not Sphinx, since we picked them last time... but that would leave Yatagarasu, Unicorn, or any of the bottom three teams...

[nailedthelook]

Of the bottom three, which do you think have the most connections?

[fanstheflames]

... Bugbear or Basilisk. I feel like Tsuchigumo usually has a hard time. And normally I'd think Bugbear would be okay, with Cerberus, but like I said, they're probably going to try and protect Nymph.

[nailedthelook]

Then we should target one of those two.

[heartlands]

We're still safer than they are, for right now... But if something happens, I'll find a way to make it up to you.

[nailedthelook]

'Right now' is the keyword. The way this game works, by the time you notice that you're screwed, it's probably too late to do anything about it. One reduction won't save us when three up is all it'll take to kill us.

[heartlands]

We're on... about the third level, right? We'd have to go up ten levels, so over three teams would have to pick us in one round, without anyone lowering us.

[nailedthelook]

And there's eight teams other than us. It's not as impossible as you'd might think.

Could happen to the bottommost teams this round, if everyone's also thinking they're safe choices.

[heartlands]

I know it's not impossible, but it's more possible for teams that are higher up than us. It feels wrong not to help them when we're doing better. I'm not trying to deny the possibility that it might go wrong, and if it does - I'm sorry. It's not like I want anything to happen to you guys, either.

[nailedthelook]

Sorry doesn't change results.

Just... keep in mind.

No one right now is looking out for us because we're in a 'better place'. So we're probably only registering as targets to anyone who even thinks about us.

[heartlands]

I know it doesn't, but I'd still rather be sorry than not care at all.

How many teams do you think that is?

[nailedthelook]

To my own knowledge, anyone other than Cerberus.

Which teams could you say would actually avoid us?

[heartlands]

I can't really say for certain what any team is going to do. That's the problem. We just have to make the best choice we can while not knowing what's going to happen... And I know that's scary.

[nailedthelook]

[ mmmmmrgh, rubbing her neck in annoyance. ]

Just. I know you guys are trying to watch out for people who are important to you. I'm trying to do the same.

My problem is the people important to me are dumb and don't watch out for themselves so I have to do it for them. But it's important to respect what they want to do, so I'm trying to do it except they just want to throw themselves on spikes for everyone else.

[heartlands]

...Believe it or not, this is me watching out for myself, in a way.