15strangers | WEE͠K ̸́4͝

W҉͘E͜͠͝E̕K̡̛͡ ̡͟4̸

[The blight is all-consuming.

Within days dozens are confirmed infected, and you and your unexpected new scientist friend find yourselves trying to work on a cure. If not a cure, a stopgap of some kind. Anything to prevent this thing from destroying everything. It's hard work. It's not going very well. Really, it feels like with every step forward, you're taking ten steps back. Discouraging is an understatement, to say the least.

A week passes, and the death toll rises. It's really starting to look bleak. You constantly second-guess yourself, and even get into a fistfight with your new ally one night. It's getting to the point where you are working on fumes.

Then, unexpectedly, you get a phone call. It's been a long night, and the sun is beginning to rise above the mountains, when it happens.

You and the scientist are not the only ones looking for a cure. In fact, there are at least a dozen others-and they think they may be close to a breakthrough.

But-and you can't believe you're hearing this, after all of the failure you'd experienced throughout this blight-they need your help.]

---

[To say that the end of last week sucked would be an understatement. To say that no one knows what this week will bring is not even in question. Yet even as you wake, you feel a cloud lift from your mind, as one of the truths you've been living with since the beginning has suddenly changed.]

[But is it possible to abide by this new truth? The Hosts, and IT beyond, seem intent on making that impossible. And the rat...well. Obviously the rat's not an ally. Let's not kid ourselves.

There's only one way to find out if more deaths can truly be prevented-and that's to keep going, and hoping that the new floor that has opened up will offer something in the way of an opportunity.

In the meantime.

There are 11 strangers left in this place.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can see why. Much quieter with less interruptions.

[ Okay so he seemed a bit amused, even as he referred to himself as a form of interruption but oh well. Wasn't something that bothered him as he walked up to him, looking towards the pool before moving to sit down next to King. ]

Alright. So what's on your mind?

Really gives you a place to think.

[King sighs, the smile on his face fading a bit, but not leaving completely.]

Mainly about whatever is coming tomorrow. It’s depressing, but...back on the train, the third motive wasn’t much, a private meeting with The Empress. But instead of no one taking the bait, two people ended up killing each other, and we had to watch one of them die. With this place...almost seems like the opposite is happening; two people killed each other for the first motive, the second motive was saving the people we care about most from dying, along with the rest of the world...not the same exactly, but enough that I’m worried about what might be next.

...sorry if I’m being depressing, just worried about things.

[He wants to look on the bright side, but...he just never knows what to really expect.]

[ Karma closed his eyes as he listened, letting off a soft hum in thought as he considered everything that King said to him. Even shaking his head at the end of it, drumming his fingers against the floor beneath his hand idly. ]

You have all right to be worried about things.

[ These were beyond dire circumstances to be considered here and not your average game, either. ]

The stakes are higher here and all of us have experienced what it's like to be in one of these games. That's why the only one of us who went out with a clear intention to kill was Nanaki, where Akira's was unintended and what Kurama had to do was an accident, then taking responsibility and mercy killing a suffering girl.

[ His voice took on a slightly melancholy tone for a moment, his hand stilling against the the floor as he made to re-open his eyes and look up at King. ]

Anything could happen, depending on whatever the motive is tomorrow.

[King has to resist the urge to sigh. He’s been doing that a lot lately, and even if some of them are more relieved ones, all too often they’re sad, or depressed.

He looks over the water instead of at Karma.]

You’re right. It’s a toss-up for how bad it could be. We could get something as stupid as getting a private meeting with IT, or as big as threatening everyone we care about. We won’t know until it happens.

[He turns back to Karma before he speaks again.]

I guess the best we can do is hope it’s not too bad, right?

[ He let off a soft, derisive laugh and shook his head. ]

I'm leaning more towards the latter of those two things. Kyuubey's in the picture and I don't think it's done messing with us. Not after what it pulled last week.

[ For a second, King may be able to pick up on the absolutely venomous anger dripping off that last sentence, but just as quickly gone when he spoke again. Replaced with something quieter and a bit more subdued. Tired. ]

Yeah. The worst part of it is the waiting. Hope that maybe they won't pull their punches completely tomorrow, but it's not likely.

[This time, he doesn't hold back the sigh.]

And those things probably aren't too happy with all the stuff I've been doing to them. Even if they can't feel pain, they probably find it annoying.

[Yeah, he sees that anger, and he feels it, along with that tiredness. Everything about this makes him want to scream in anger, then just nap for a week. He understands it more than good enough.]

They probably will. And I'll just be left feeling like a jerk if it's works the same way as last time.

Yeah. Definitely counting it on them finding it more annoying over anything else.

[ Without even blinking, Karma nodded and moved a hand up to brush some bangs away from in front of his eyes. This whole place and what it did to his mental state as a whole was just utterly exhausting, but he also suspected everyone else felt the same way to an extent. ]

Well. Let's just hope it's not that way, then. Wouldn't want you feeling like a jerk or anything.

[ At least he still had plenty of sass in him? ]

It's probably better that they just feel that then actual anger, so you have a point.

[He chuckles a bit at that.]

Yes, woe is me for having to deal with the awful state of being that is feeling like a jerk. Truly, there is no fate worse than this.

[A bit of sarcasm is nice sometimes as well, don't you think?]

Exactly. If they felt actual anger I think things might be a little more dire, you know?

[ Not a nice thing to think about but it didn't exist in actuality so that was okay! ]

Oh, definitely. That's truly a fate worse than death.

[ This is exactly why they got along so well. ]

Yeah, that I might actually be afraid of.

[What’s that saying again? Bad men retreat when good men go to war? Well, it seems like that’s the case with Kyuubeys, or at least angry people flee when always smiling creatures get angry.

He sighs dramatically, draping an arm over his forehead.]

It is, truly. But it’s a sin that I must carry, for the greater good.

[He loves this kid.]

WEE͠K ̸́4͝

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject