I'm gonna fight 'em off, a seven nation army couldn't hold me back [W4, Sunday]

[hydrokinetics]

[He and Natalie had spoken about gathering together a small group of people to talk about the game and figure out their next steps. Pool together information, you know? It seemed logical. Natalie was logical in ways that Percy wasn't, just like Annabeth was logical in ways Percy wasn't and Percy was more emotional in ways the girls weren't.

After the events of this week, it's almost emotion that drives him to cancel the idea all together. Without Annabeth, was his part in this game even important? Did it matter to keep trying? Everything felt like it had fallen apart. People were dead. People were hurt. People, murderers were walking free and it was his fault they didn't come to justice.

Natalie had told him to take the night off on Saturday, but too much energy and pent-up anger led to time with Harry and Jason. Noctis and Percy always touched base, and Milla was always the one with the good questions, Natalie's suggestion for this meeting.

It's much later than he'd hoped. It's evening by now and it was an accident that he fell asleep that afternoon after three straight nights of not sleeping. He still looks to be a mess, but there are new bandages on his hands and he doesn't quite smell like booze. He's exhausted, hair ruffled and still sporting dark circles under his eyes, and yet there's what looks like a pizza on the table and a few drinks as he gets the five other people involved in the room.

Harry, Noctis, Natalie, Jason, Milla. Yeah. He trusted all of these people enough. A group of six suited Percy just fine.]

...thanks for showing up, guys. After everything it's...this probably can't wait anymore. Last week, Natalie and I thought it'd make sense to get all of us together and start brainstorming how to get out of this game. [There's a pause and a swallow as he regains control again.] This weekend was really, really bad for all of us. We need to start putting together the pieces of what we already know and see how we can fix everything.

What do we have so far?

Comments

ROLES;

[hydrokinetics]

When Natalie and I talked about this last week, it's because the Sheriff gave both of us some information about roles. [A glance to Natalie mostly as a hint that he'll explain.] She asked him about the other roles in the game, and he said they're the Doctor, the Madame, the Bartender, the Deputy, and the Coal Miner.

[He leans back on his bed, Mrs. O'Leary in his lap and looking better than she has the last few days.] So. We know who the Coal Miner is. [Thanks for that, Nisha.] That leaves the rest of them, and Natalie and I kind of speculated but didn't come up with much.

But I talked to some other people the other day. I think the Madame might be who's in charge of killing the Bandits if they get out of line and don't kill. And the Bartender might be someone who leaves out stuff. We know the camera and the bear trap weren't the Sheriff. That leaves the Doctor and the Deputy.

[Hmm.] There's one other thing. There's one person in the game that can help end the whole thing. Problem is, they have to be killed by someone else. That's how they help. Like a sacrifice. Even with all of that and even with everything we're doing, the Sheriff gets the final say on our outcome. If we're not playing enough or our winner isn't good enough, the Sheriff might have power to say no to whatever they wish for and choose our fate for us.

[elemancy]

[most of this information is honestly new to him—but to say the subject of roles is one that never came up anywhere else would be a lie.

so there's something really specific here that he has to question—which may also call into question the validity of some other things.

but noctis start with a simple question.]

The person who can end the game—did ol' Scrap Heap tell you about that one too?

[he's going somewhere with this, honest.]

[hydrokinetics]

Don't think so. Natalie's the one who learned about all of the roles and she told me, I just know that there's someone out there who has to kill the person who can end the game. He seemed surprised to hear about the roles, too. [So uh, oops.] Sheriff only told him about Bandits and Bounties.

So I guess it's a question of what do we do with that?

[elemancy]

Figure out what's actually the truth in these roles and what's being spread around to mess with us.

[again, he's going somewhere with this, because what he says next comes with a conviction that he probably wouldn't have if he weren't sure of things.]

What I heard about that role was a little different.

[impulsiveness]

"He" and "him".

[Repeating the same pronouns Percy used, cocking an eyebrow.]

You've personally spoken to this person?

[thatsthespirit]

[I HOPE YOU KNOW MILLA IS GORGING HERSELF WITH PIZZA DURING PERCY'S TALK]

[but despite that, she's also listening to his information intently, because to be honest, the only role she really knew anything about was the Bandit one. it's nice to know a little more about the pieces of the chessboard they've been placed on]

[when Percy is done, she swallows her final mouthful of pizza and speaks]

"Doctor" sounds like a role related to those who have already been killed. "Deputy" sounds like a role whose job it is to help us capture the Bandits.

This is all supposition, but those are my guesses based on their titles.

[she has questions about the role that can end the game too, but she's gonna wait for Noctis to make his point first]

[hydrokinetics]

[LOOK he's actually happy someone is enjoying themselves? This is fine and the food is for enjoyment.]

They're good guesses but at the same time the Deputy could be working for the Sheriff. The one I really don't get is the Doctor, what good will it do for the people already gone? [It's bitter and angry and gods, he misses Annabeth so much already.]

[thatsthespirit]

Ah. . . a good point. I hadn't thought about the "Deputy" being related to the Sheriff directly. Similar to the Coal Miners, perhaps.

[thank you Percy for providing snacks, at least one person is definitely enjoying them]

I don't know, and anything I say at this point would only be guesswork. This is the first time I'm hearing anything about roles other than the Bandits and the Cole Miner.

And I imagine the Sheriff won't entertain questions about these roles from people who don't own them, too.

[impulsiveness]

[He hums, carefully thinking about all the roles that have been named so far.]

Doctor could also be something else. Maybe like a person who protects the living players, or one that could grant them some bonus — maybe even patch some of us up. [Someone once suggested it could be about making other people "immune", but one thing at a time.] The Sheriff mentioned something about roles meant to help, if I'm remembering right.

[thatsthespirit]

[ah, Jason brings up good points. she brings a hand to her chin and nodded]

That's what I remembered, as well. I think it's the Doctor is a role that's meant to help, regardless of it's specific duties.

MINES;

[robitussin]

[She's not excited to talk about what happened last week, not at all, but she's had to recite the details to a few people already. She knows it'll be one of the first things someone asks her, too, so it's better to get this out of the way.]

There's a labyrinth under the town. Before I start, I don't want anyone taking this as encouragement to go down there and check it out, because that's a really bad idea. Seriously. [A pointed glance at Milla.] But I guess I'll just... start from the top, and once I'm done you can all ask any questions you might have or whatever.

[Deep breath.]

I guess to start off, it depends if you all want the short version or the more in depth version.

[thatsthespirit]

[hey now don't read her mind god!!]

[but she otherwise stays quiet. she had already gotten parts of the story from Natalie (while. . . the poor girl was high on painkillers, but you know), so she'll let other people ask questions. plus, she has realized that she may have pushed Natalie to talk a little too hard]

[just a little]

[robitussin]

[She looks over at her for a moment.]

I'm gonna guess you at least want the long version, yeah?

[thatsthespirit]

[she looks a bit surprised, but nods]

If you're willing. I know it was difficult for you to talk about the other day.

[hydrokinetics]

[He doesn't like pushing for information, but they are definitely running out of time. Especially with what Tarvek's fate is.]

As someone who's been in the Labyrinth, I'd definitely like the long version if you're willing to talk about it.

[robitussin]

I'm going to have to talk about it at some point. It's really long, though, so... You know.

[She takes a breath. Here goes nothing.]

So. When we fell into the pit in the mines, the bottom of the wall was completely smooth, so I hit it with the pickaxe I had to try and see if I could make a handhold to get high enough to grab onto the rope that had snapped. As soon as I did, um... they started pulling me down. The skeletons, I mean.

When I fell in at first, it was this concrete room with tunnels going out each side. It took a few hours to get from place to place. The first landmark I made it to, the walls had a bunch of windows on them. One of them, um, I was behind it. Not like it was a mirror, like... There was a copy of myself. Looked like me, sounded like me, and just repeated what I was saying. For the most part, at least. When I walked away, she started calling after me to come back.

[A small pause. She should probably be thinking about the implications of all that, but that can wait until she finishes going through all of this.]

So. Walked for a few more hours, it was probably late at night by the time I made it to the next part. There were alcoves built into the sides of the walls with bedrooms and kitchens that had food in them, a few showers and spare clothes laying around. It literally couldn't have seemed more like a trap if it tried, so I left that part pretty fast, too. I grabbed some food in case it got to the point where I had no choice but to eat it, and that was... That'll be important in a second, probably, I'll get to that later.

More walking, a few more hours, you get the idea. Probably past midnight on Wednesday, if I had to guess. There was this hallway that was covered in orange and white fur, kind of patterned like a tiger? Anyways, it started purring, which was my cue to get out of there. Except, it started growling when I turned to leave, which was probably even worse, so I ended up walking through.

[The next few parts are harder to explain, so she gives a pause and looks down at the floor. Time to not make eye contact with anyone ever again.]

It started getting narrower and darker after that. There was this hallway where both sides were covered in spikes. So, I tried to turn back, but the wall behind me had closed somehow. I was really tired and angry, so I threw one of the pieces of food I had at the wall, and it, um, screamed. The piece of food did, so... Yeah. Anyways, when I was done, I kind of... I stopped walking for a while and I started, um, screaming for help, in case there was anyone nearby who could hear me. No dice, but when I moved into the next part, there was this table with a bunch of food and water and a note. It said, not drugged or anything, promise, try to find your way back. It was signed Hal. So... That's a thing.

[Thanks?? Sheriff?? Anyways.]

Next area. I felt like something was watching me for a while, and - I mentioned how there was a copy of myself behind a window earlier. She came back, and she was really not happy with me. I wanted to leave, I kept trying to, but she kept... She was trying to kill me, and she wouldn't leave me alone, she wouldn't get off me, she just kept... [She has to stop for a second, taking another breath and rubbing at her face.] Anyways, I - got away eventually, let's just leave it at that. But she wasn't a robot like the Sheriff or anything, she... She could bleed.

[She runs her remaining hand through her hair. Absolutely do not get into a situation where you have to murder your doppleganger yourself, would not recommend.]

Almost done. The next part was... It was like it was an aquarium, the walls and floor and ceiling were all transparent, and there was water outside it all. There were a lot of animals swimming around in it, but not just normal sea creatures. Did you see the carving the Sheriff was working on this morning, of the dinosaur? Yeah. There was that, and a huge squid, and a huge jellyfish... Really huge. Anyways, the jellyfish was a dick and apparently big enough that it could shock right through the glass, so. Fun.

Then, um. There was this hallway that was just... Lined with mouths. [She pauses, thinking of saying more and explaining what happened there, but... This is harder to talk about than any of the other parts were, somehow.] It was the last place I went before I made onto the path that took me into the clinic, and that's when Xion found me.

[tl;dr that sucked from start to finish]

[elemancy]

[...what the fuck. what the fuck.]

[thatsthespirit]

[THAT'S]

[a lot more than she was able to get out of Natalie the other day. and some of the implications (such as doppelganger murder) don't escape her notice]

Natalie. . .

[but man she guesses the Sheriff isn't. . . such a bad guy?? sometimes??]

[impulsiveness]

[Holy shit.]

... Natalie, I'm sorry.

[Because??? That is???? Fucking horrible?????????????????????????? Holy fucking shit.

Jason takes a deep breath before adding the next part:]

I... don't know if it's related to the copy you saw of yourself, or even the skeletons that pulled you down — but do you guys remember the skeletons in the graveyard? And how Tiara was able to dig up my grave because the ground was already soft? [That. Was a thing.] It's because I stole the teeth from the skeleton in my grave. Thought I could compare the dentures to mine, since dental records are an easy peasy way of identifying corpses.

[A beat.]

They were identical. My teeth. The skeleton's teeth. I couldn't tell the difference.

[sheriffexe]

[ HAHAHA WASN'T IT GREAT THOUGH ]

[elemancy]

The long version might help more but... don't push yourself too much.

[he'd rather not dredge up too much if it's really that hard for her.]

SUMMARY, THE FIRST

[hydrokinetics]

[A lot of ideas were floating, but Percy's quick to draw everybody's attention to round things up.]

So here's what I think we're all getting at right now...

We have the roles. Doctor, Bartender, Madame, Deputy, Coal Miner, and the Bandits. It's possible that the Bartender and Madame are working together. Nisha confirmed there's a second Coal Miner, which means there's possibly doubles of some of, if not all of the other roles which makes things really a lot worse. We also know there are two other roles that are very likely to be pitted against each other. One has to kill and end the game. One has to kill and they get the option to end the game, start over, or revive everyone. There's also the fact that the Sheriff in the end can have the final say in what we're doing with this game.

Natalie and Seizaburo fell down through the skeleton pit. The skeletons in our graves are a match for our own since Jason compared his teeth to those in his grave, but the skeletons in the pit might belong to people from past games whose winners' didn't revive everybody. Natalie's story gives us the idea that there's a labyrinth under the town and that there are dopplegangers of us living in it that will kill us. There are purring walls, rooms with mouths, all sorts of creepy stuff...it's possible they're inspired by past rounds. We don't really know exactly where this labyrinth goes since it's assumed the two of them went separate ways. It's fully possible that the labyrinth itself is alive, too.

We've had, if I'm counting right, over ten murders since last Sunday. We know Higekiri, Manfred, Nui and Ao were in that pit the Sheriff dug. We know that Tiara was burned in the bonfire. [A pause.] We...I don't know what will happen to Annabeth's body. But we also don't know where Riku's is. And Ocelot and Undertaker are probably still in the mines somewhere if that's where the Miners killed them.

We think we have all of the roles now, but we don't know what they mean or who they are or how many. The Sheriff isn't going to lie to us if we earn answers. It's debatable if his employers really are omniscient--[A Look at Jason.]-- but the Sheriff himself almost seems ambivalent and indifferent. Like he might genuinely give us answers if we earn them. So we have to work on earning them, figure out the roles and decide where to go from there. And also figure out what happens when someone with a role dies. Does the Sheriff get a new person? And how are the roles chosen anyway? We had ideas but nothing concrete.

So...where do we go from here?

[impulsiveness]

That's the big question, isn't it?

[And one none of them may have an answer for.]

... I was speaking to someone a couple of days ago. They brought up how earning "merit" could help someone out in this game, but neither of us knew what sort of actions would increase our merit. I bet, though, if we did enough shit that would entertain his employers — bam. We earn our answers.

[robitussin]

Lots of stuff counts. When I went to him to find out the names of the roles, what I used to convince him was, like... Telling Yuna to be more careful so she lasts longer, spending the night in the jail cell with Tiara, helping Sara clean the saloon, stuff like that. It really doesn't have to be anything huge.

[impulsiveness]

Seriously? So bonding activities count for earning merit. Good to know.

[He frowns, thinking.]

Come to think of it — didn't he mention something 'bout that when we first arrived? About us needing to bond and get to know each other first.