WEEK 3

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 3

[Once everyone has gotten out of the elevator, those who go to look for Akira and Kurama will find that they have been put into one of their rooms, together, safely tucked into bed with a glass of milk for each of them. And - aside from the bruises of being suctioned into a death cylinder and tranquilized with some very strong drugs - they are alive and unharmed.

Naturally, this means that Akira and Kurama are the first to experience the dreams, but everyone will experience them, once they finally fall asleep, for good and ill.

Despite everything, too, the survivors will find many other new things facing them as they wake up. A new evolution for their powers, a new wing...and a new rule, updated after the execution. The profiles have also been updated, to reflect the Titled's ever-dwindling numbers.

This is going to be a long week, that's for sure.


There are ten strangers left in this place.

((OOC: Don't forget to do Activity Check along with memory regains, everyone!))

Comments

[lifecoach]

[It's been a few hours since the motive. Given its nature the Life Coach decides she may be needed for this one, so she makes her appearance in the mall. Almost as in preparation for a coming storm, her nails are looking extra pointy as she steps out of Fjalar Jewelry, though the point is probably somewhat missed when she still looks like a walking acid trip... She pauses beside the stairs, though, and takes out her cell phone to look at the photos everyone was given. Her lips are set in a hard line, her eyes carrying determination as she prepares her heart. She's focused on this, not on who may be approaching.]

[totalbullshit]

[ Helena's heart is pounding in her chest in such a way that she isn't sure she ever experienced before. Her bare feet move over the ground slowly, eyes searching as she tries to keep her posture casual.

When she finds herself in luck, she almost betrays herself and laughs.

It's perfect, too perfect her mind screams. Here of all places, and so distracted...

Does she love or hate the aesthetic quality of the place? She doesn't know. She supposes it isn't unfitting and nothing else matters.

Her casual walk can't stop or it will be suspicious, so it has to be now before she's past the Life Coach, before---

NOW.

Electricity flows out of her and the feeling of power is overwhelming. Power she's never held before, power to achieve something, achieve THIS.

With any luck, the Life Coach doesn't know what's coming in the few instants it takes for her powers to reach. ]

[lifecoach]

[She sees the split second of light flashing and gasps - whatever it is that allows her to fly immediately lifting her high up. She screams.]

DON'T!!

[But Helena's violet electricity is extremely fast, too fast even for her to stop with the moment of required concentration gone. It strikes her immediately, like a kite. She twitches and a pitiful whine comes from her lips, before she falls to the ground like a heavy rock, out cold. Her phone rolls onto the ground. Her body is still convulsing, but other than that, she doesn't move.]

[totalbullshit]

[ Helena is grinning and even she realizes that she must look absolutely insane right now. Maybe she is, maybe all of this is just one big burst of insanity, but is it objectively worse than the Bachelor Board...? Questions, questions, no time for answers.

Time to run over though, to grab that phone and take off, stare through the phone while walking.

Please, please, please...

What kind of admin powers does this phone have? ]

[strangerpeople]

[There seems to be several apps on this phone that no other phone has. A calendar, a profile updater, some Fashion apps....

...and an app named Barrier Control.

Want to take a test drive?]

[totalbullshit]

[ She slows down in walking a little now that she's put a little bit of distance between herself and LC's body, so she can pay more attention to what's going on on the screen.

Open Barrier Control. ]

[strangerpeople]

[The interface is surprisingly simple. Much as Helena would her bedroom, she needs only to hold the phone up to whatever barrier she wishes to remove, and, voila. She can add barriers the same way, too, but let’s be real. That isn’t why she did this.

After all, there is a barrier right in this wing, blocking off a set of stairs.

>Disable the barrier?]

[totalbullshit]

[ Oh good, thank god she doesn't have to learn anything now. Time is kind of critical here.

She's running again now, holding up the phone to the barrier as she goes and passing through as quickly as she possibly can when it opens. ]

[strangerpeople]

[Wing 3E is now open..

Where to next, Helena?]

[totalbullshit]

[ She'll head straight into that, not paying too much attention to her surroundings aside from looking for doors and other barriers that she could open up.

She's out of shape, she notices, but now is the time to run run run as much as she can. ]

[strangerpeople]

[There are other doors, mainly to other shops, but unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any other barriers.

Turn back?]

[totalbullshit]

Damn!

[ The first word she's said out loud since this reckless endeavor began. She'll spend a moment frantically looking around for something, anything of use, but when there's nothing, she finds herself a new goal.

It's time to run as far towards the W1 barrier as she possibly can. ]

[strangerpeople]

[That....

will not be happening.]

. . .

[The golem stands right in the doorway leading to the staircase of 3E, eyes planted right on Helena.

Hello.]

[totalbullshit]

[ This would call for a repeat of the earlier outcry, but is there even any time for that?

She's expected it to come to this, of course, but she still didn't anticipate how much fear she would feel. Her run comes to a halt, except it's not that easy to just stop when you've been going as far as you can before...

So in the end, she more stumbles, almost falls and comes to stop with only very little space left between herself and the executioner.

And she'll take this opportunity to unleash some more lightning. ]

[strangerpeople]

[The lightning is harmlessly absorbed as the creature takes a step forward.

And - for Helena anyways - speaks emotionally for the first time.]

. . .WHY.

[Its not simply angry. It’s unabashedly upset and terrified.

It’s hand shoots out to grab Helena by the collar.]

WHY DID YOU HURT CO-CHAN??!

[totalbullshit]

[ Helena expects pain and being yanked forward isn't all that surprising. It's just... the voice... the feeling... the personal attachment in it (?!) that is utterly bewildering and Helena finds herself helplessly staring. ]

I--

[ She... what? Just kill me already, what's this supposed to mean?! Make it quick!!
No, actually this is just infuriating isn't it? ]

I don't know, why do you keep us trapped in a death game? Why did you set it up so that Wake and Torri had to die? Maybe start with yourself if you're gonna ask dumb questions!

[strangerpeople]

[The creature stares at her, still upset, still everything Her voice shakes.]

CO-CHAN NEVER HURT YOU!! CO-CHAN SAID... SHE LIKED YOU!! ALL OF YOU!!...

[totalbullshit]

[ This is the worst. The utter absolute worst. Helena knows there is no way she'll be let go, no matter what kind of answers she gives. She broke the rules, if she doesn't pay the price now that just means all rules are useless forever.

So then why is she being guilted by what will be her executor? Why is she expected to e sorry when she's fending for the life of the people around her? Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. ]

Your precious Co-chan is in league with our oppressor! Just like you are! I don't want the people here to die, how hard is that to get into your head?

Aren't you about to do the same thing? Off me for your precious Co-chan?

[ She wishes that could have sounded cool and cutting. She wishes that her ever-so-cool voice wouldn't betray her and crack now of all times. ]

[strangerpeople]

. . .

EXECUTING RULE 4 VIOLATION PROTOCOL.

[Helena probably expected retribution. Something of biblical proportion. Maybe have that lightning be used against her to fry her insides. Maybe have monsters appear and rip her apart. This beast would have every right to be as cutting as Helena wanted to be.

But Helena might see it. Something in those eyes, even beyond being upset. That Helena had done something utterly terrible. Yet even so, it didn’t have it in itself to make Helena suffer even as it suffered knowing it’s friend was possibly gone.

Then. She would feel the sting in her neck, as the dart in one of the golem’s claws shot out of it. And then, she would feel very, very tired. It was the dart every other culprit had dodged; now, she would know what it did.

She wasn’t going to be killed violently. Retribution wasn’t what she would experience.

She would instead, mercifully, fall into a gentle sleep very shortly, and simply never wake up.]

[totalbullshit]

[ It doesn't feel like more than a shot at the doctors office and for a moment, Helena is relieved and for a moment, Helena can't even bring herself to be apprehensive anymore. It's hard to take this seriously after all she's braced herself for. Every horrible painful experience.

The tiredness washes over her comfortingly. Fear doesn't stand a chance against the urge to close her eyes and let it win. ]

...n-no.... I....

[ She doesn't know what she's going to say and mercifully, she's never put on the spot to finish the sentence anyway. Her body goes limp and she feels almost comfortable, which shouldn't be possible when you're held up by a giant monster.

I should struggle...

The idea doesn't feel intrinsic to her, it's just something that scratches on the surface of her mind that goes blank at alarming speed. Helena pays it no mind. She closes her eyes.

Helena "The Nasty" St. Tessero is dead. ]

OPEN TO ALL

[strangerpeople]

[With that, the golem puts Helena on a bench. She would properly get the Nasty out of there, but first.

The remaining Titled will hear loud shouting coming from 1E, no matter where they are.]

CO-CHAN!! CO-CHAN!!

[beguiledcard]

[ And it doesn't take him long at all to go sprinting in that direction. ]

[comesaround]

[ Karma's following after him in a heartbeat. That shouting really was alarming and not what he was expecting. ]

[incrediblystressedout]

[Someday, something in this mall will stop being incredibly, ineffably ominous. Today is not that day, and Joey will be running (gracefully) in the same direction as the guys shortly.]

[strangerpeople]

[Hey guys, it’s the giant hateorbs thing, crying out over The Life Coach’s unmoving form like a kid crying for a family member.

No biggie.]

HELP...HELP!! SOMEONE...

KANA-CHAN, PLEASE...!!