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

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

[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?

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[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.]

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.

Edited 2017-02-06 01:23 (UTC)

Guesswork is what a lot of us have right now, but Natalie and I trust you to help us out. You've been able to talk to the Sheriff about multiple things haven't you, Milla? He seems to like you enough.

[she nods]

I have, yes. And he's been surprisingly forthcoming in the answers he gives me during the trials. I don't know if I'd say that he. . . likes me.

[makes a face???]

But he can be surprisingly reasonable.

[which annoys her???]

I intend to ask him about the labyrinths below the town when I have the chance. There are many secrets to this town, and as coy as he can be, I honestly believe he wants us to do what we can to discover them.

Annabeth told me the same thing. She used to get on my case to be nicer to him until he stopped being a good resource. [An empty smile.] I'm not surprised he's actually a little reasonable when we're not yelling at him.

What makes you think he wants us to figure out anything like that?

[oh no Percy. she gives a sort of sad smile in return]

He's cruel, and he's playing along with a vicious game, but his role isn't to be an obstacle. It's to be a moderator. That means he can be a useful resource for us, if we know how to approach him.

[of course Milla has yelled at him her fair share of times, b u t. . .]

Because I believe uncovering these secrets is part of what we're meant to do here. Exploring the mines, opening up the locked buildings, and so on and so forth. The Sheriff has never expressly stopped us from doing any of those things.

[even if the clinic exploded and Natalie and Sei were eaten by skeletons]

...I asked him how he felt about all of this and if he thought it was entertaining. He said he never thought about it because he wasn't built to think about it. So maybe he's not meant to be an obstacle but I'm not sure what else he can do either. I think if we have enough practice and information we can get more from him.

The thing is nothing's easy. Everything he's coming with a price. Jason got shot in the shoulder opening the clinic. Natalie and Sei...[He shakes his head. Let's not bring up the spooky labyrinth yet.] I'm willing to bet that the rest of those buildings will explode, too.

But I don't get what the mines are for. Why show us that?

I'm willing to bet they will, too. And I'm willing that any further exploration of the town will be dangerous. And yet, I don't think the danger is a deterrent as much as it is an assumed risk.

[and we all know that Milla isn't afraid of risk]

As for the mines, I asked Nisha about those. That's where the coal miners do their work. There are apparently pathways in the mines that lead to room where they can find weapons, and so on and so forth. She wouldn't tell me much more about them, though. To protect the other miner.

[He's nodding along because you do you, Milla, but:]

Wait there's another miner? I thought there was only Nisha. [This kind of throws a wrench in the idea that there's only one person per role outside of the Bandits, that's great.]

[she crazy, it's okay to say it. everyone thinks her so reasonable but really. really]

There is. Which means there may be duplicates of other roles, too.

[...there's a really, really heavy sigh and he runs his hands over his face.]

Great. Awesome. That's definitely going to make this easier.

Nisha say anything else that might help us?

[thinks back to her conversation with Nisha, before shaking her head]

No, she didn't. Something I can't blame her for, since she wanted to protect her comrade.

But for what it's worth, she is the one who killed Ocelot. The other miner killed Undertaker.

I'd suggest checking Undertaker's corpse to see if there are any identifying wounds on him, but... Bad idea. Super bad idea.

[So, ugh.]

[WELL, I MEAN. she's not super opposed to going back to the mines to get to the tunnels. she's just saying]

I don't think that'll help us find the killer, anyway. Relying on physical evidence at trials hasn't helped us so far.

I know. I don't need the reminder. [Week 3 and Week 2 were. Things.] It was just a thought.

And that's even if his corpse is still down there...for all we know, Sheriff threw his body into that pit, too.

The Sheriff confirmed it was just Ao, Higekiri, Manfred and Nui in that pit. I don't know if he would lie about that part.

[...well that's disturbing as shit.]

And Ocelot's body went where? [He might have missed that part in all of the...everything that's happened.]

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impulsiveness - 2017-02-06 04:32 (UTC) - Expand

...I feel like if he's not contradicting what his bosses tell him to do, he's actually willing enough to help us, especially if we can prove that we've earned it. So - you know. Just something to keep in mind.

I already told you I think he likes you best. You and Milla seem to be the ones getting information out of him better than the rest of us.

[THIS BAFFLES HER SO MUCH]

Does it really seem that way? I always thought he answered everyone else's questions during the trial fairly and reasonably.

He yelled at me and Papika for asking too many questions, so I think it's whatever he feels like doing. Plus you know him, he isn't always upfront. Didn't he make us wait to find out there were three murderers yesterday?

[ugh]

He did. Which I thought was reasonable of him at first, until we learned that all three murders were committed by three different perpetrators.

That's because I don't scream at him. Uh, other than today. Not that you don't have reasons to yell at him, but, you know.

[A flat look.]

I don't have a lot of patience for guys like him. [But he's trying.]

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