hydrokinetics | We’re too young to be critics, we won’t miss anything at all [W4, Thursday night]

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We’re too young to be critics, we won’t miss anything at all [W4, Thursday night]

[You know. Before their grave-digging adventures.

So anyway, Thursday sure was something. This whole week sure was something, and Percy's head is spinning and after returning Xion to where Xion needed to be, he'd sat outside of the hotel holding onto Annabeth's letter. The whole thing made his chest hurt, heart sick and broken all over again. And yet, strangely, it motivated him.

It gave him something to think about and it reminded him that he had things to bring up. There were two people in this stupid town that he truly trusted and it wasn't hard to flag either of them down. He suggested that they meet in Natalie's room later that evening (seeing how she currently didn't have a roommate) and went back to his room for some time.

By the time their meeting time arrives, Percy comes back to Natalie's room with a box under his arm and a piece of paper in-hand. He enters the room after knocking, looking up at his two companions. It didn't surprise him that Jason beat him there, seeing how he was taking time to gather things.]

So...before we say anything, can we just agree that pretty much everything is going to stay between us for right now?

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[Once again, it's been a long week, though she can't quite say it was as difficult as last week. At least, not for her.

She's sitting cross legged on the bed when Percy comes in, elbow braced on her knee and face cupped in her hand. She glances at the box he's holding before looking back up to him, nodding at his question.]

Yeah, of course. What'd you bring this time? Other than the paper, I mean.

[Jason is, most likely, on the unused bed in Natalie's room. He can't say much (for obvious reasons), but he has a pen and rulebook nearby in case he needs it. When Percy comes in, he glances at the box under his arm. Cocks an eyebrow. Vaguely wonders if there's a decapitated head in there — and quietly brushes that thought off. Now's not the time to think of morbid jokes he can't use, after all.

He nods, yes, and then points to the box before tilting his head. What's in the box, Percy Jackson? What's in the box???]

[See what's funny about that, Kyuu, is that that is a possibility for Percy Jackson because thanks canon. But anyway, he gives a half-smile.]

Nothing dangerous. But I found something the other night. Tuesday. I've been trying to decide what to do about it, but then some stuff changed. Which one of you wants the box and which one of you wants the note?

[Yup. He's going to give them the option. It's only when he's standing in the space between the beds and between the two of them that it might be a little more clear he's unsure about what he's doing, and a little antsy.] I'm pretty sure they tie into each other.

I want the box.

[Almost as soon as Percy's finished asking. It seems like the more interesting option. After she's done talking, though, she notices his stance and the way he seems. She frowns slightly. Especially with what she found out and has to share with them, she's going to guess this won't be fun.]

I'm going to guess they're a big deal, huh?

[Percy's comment about how both items "tie into each other" gets him to furrow his brows, but while Natalie asks for the box, he takes the time to quickly jot something down. His handwriting still leaves more to be desired when he lifts the rulebook up, but it's legible enough.]

Can you get to the point? Feels like I'm watching verbal ping-pong.

[Stop with the suspense??? It offends him???

But, yeah. He holds his hand out for the note. Hand it over, bro.]

[He rolls his eyes, shoving the note at Jason to shut him up for a moment before handing Natalie the box. The box itself has already been opened by Percy, the nails ripped out to get to the top but when she removes the lid she'll see...basically a wash of blue. Blue gatorade, blue candy, blue cakes, blueberries, and basically a shit-ton of blue-colored food. Some of it, like the blue ice cream that seems to be melting a little, looks like it was already open. There's also half of a blue cookie wrapped up in there. It's a pretty full box.]

I'd say it's a pretty big deal, considering what happened at the post office the other day. Didn't find the box there, by the way, but like I said I found it on Tuesday. You know. The day after Jason and Shinnosuke broke into the post office.

[She opens the box and looks over the assortment of food, but without the note, she doesn't understand the significance. Still, he said the two items were related, so she looks back towards him after she scans over every piece of food contained inside.]

What does the note say, exactly?

[With the note in his hand, Jason skims over it — or tries to. The blacked out words are strange and he's... kind of embarrassed to continue reading halfway through the second paragraph, but his eyebrows sure are shooting up as he sees who the letter is signed by. With a similar letter in his possession, he gives both Percy and the box a questioning look.

For Natalie's benefit, however, he taps something out on the bedside table.

From Annabeth

So, uh. That is a thing.]

[That. Is definitely a thing and he picks the letter up out of Jason's hand to pass to Natalie, too. She can read it, whatever. He's probably not even embarrassed because he's a little too distressed by what this means.]

I wasn't sure when I found the box, but she's the only one who could have known about the blue food. And now...this. [There's a huff of annoyance that almost sounds like a laugh.] I've known her for five years and she's never gone easy on me.

[With that, he finally sits on the floor between the beds.] I know she's trying to tell me something and I have no idea what it is, other than the fact that they must still be around somewhere. That letter was in a mailbox with my name on it.

[She sets the box down and takes the note as Percy passes it to her, all the more intrigued by what Jason tapped a few moments before. She scans over it quickly, and finishes in time to look up at Percy as he speaks. There are a hundred thoughts going through her head, but she settles on one eventually.]

...You guys notice how sometimes, it seems like there are more shadows inside the train?

[Good to know something came out of opening the Post Office, though... Jason still feels uneasy about it, and not just because opening the building cost him his tongue. For Percy, he writes down:]

Guess the Sheriff wasn't lying when he said we wouldn't be 100% dead. Found something, too. But I thought it was a joke.

[... And for Natalie:]

Yes. What do you make of it?

What'd you find? [This is to Jason, even with his attention on Natalie.] Papika mentioned last week during the trial that more shadows were popping up on that train. You think...[Wait.] You're thinking that might be connected to them not being totally gone? Or something else?

[She nods to Percy's question.]

It's what I'm wondering. Why else would there be more now than there were at the start? That's what bothers me. I can't think of another explanation.

[Instead of writing anything, he unceremoniously takes a letter out of his pocket and tosses it at Percy's face. You're welcome, seaweed brain!

What Natalie is getting at, though... Well. That's not disturbing at all.]

So instead of being greeted by pearly gates, you think everyone who's died bought a ticket to the Whole Ass Express?

[Not mocking, just. The fact that this is believable is weirding him out.]

Edited (too meany insteads) 2017-02-10 05:35 (UTC)

[He's reading the letter and making a little bit of a face.]

Usually it's a boat that takes you to the Underworld, but the Whole Ass Express wouldn't surprise me. [What's sad is that he's very, very serious. He's been on that boat? That was a weird experience.] I think Natalie's got a point though. [He holds up Annabeth's letter to Jason.] Wherever they are they can apparently see what we're doing. Which means...they're probably watching all of the murders and stuff, too. Bet that's why things are blocked out.

[Just...scrubbing his face and he's sitting up, reaching into the box and pulling out what looks like a piece of blue taffy to angrily chew on.] There's a lot of stuff I need to tell you guys. I talked to the Sheriff a few days ago after we met on Sunday. He told me more than I thought he would which was nice or whatever, but you can see why this was a little more pressing. [Because death? And also even as he's talking he's sort of staring at Annabeth's letter because...well. Annabeth :c]

I'm not sure it's taking them to the afterlife or anything, though. Even if we lose this round and someone decides to just leave on their own, it's... The people who got killed might not necessarily just pass on.

[She chews on her lip for a moment. This is probably important enough to say before they get any further.]

So, you know how we all come from different worlds, and you know how there have been other rounds of this game run before. I asked the Sheriff more about the copy of myself that was down in the mines, and... He told me that it was a version of myself from a different universe who had been in another round that didn't end well. That she had to wait down there alone until I found her. When I asked him if that's what would happen to us if this round went south, he said, um, it would to some of us.

[So. That's a thing. Now back to Percy.]

What did you find out...?

Then we need to figure out what things were blocked out and why.

[Easier "said" than done, of course. But they might as well try to decode whatever message Annabeth could have hidden in her letters — if any. Percy knew her the best, so Jason believes him when he says she might be trying to tell him something. Figuring our what she's trying to say is definitely an item they need to add to their itinerary.

Either way, he listens to Natalie as she speaks. He knows they all came from different worlds. The concept of multiple Earths is not foreign to him, so he isn't exactly weirded out when she brings it up — but. But. But. A version of yourself from an alternate universe is very different from a failed, empty husk of a clone. A version of Bruce Wayne from an alternate Earth is very different from a clone, purposely created to fuck with him. He's paling immediately, a shaky breath coming from his mouth as he more or less swallows down the urge to vomit from the revelation.

God.

He writes again, hands cold and clammy.]

Not sure if relevant: We might not be the only ones with alternate versions of us running around. [EXCEEDINGLY TERRIBLE HANDWRITING.] There were people in the Post Office.

[He doesn't want to consider that might have been his own Bruce. He can't.]

[This is fine. This is totally, totally fine and his eyes are sharp on Jason to make sure he doesn't actually puke before they read the words on the paper. His gaze drops to his hands, staring at them almost as if they've personally betrayed them.

If there are copies of themselves from different universes down in the labyrinth...what about him? Is that why his powers don't work? Is he an incomplete copy of the real Perseus Jackson? Who is the real Perseus Jackson? The thought's chilling and he finds himself shivering a little even if it's not cold, a deep breath through his nose as he works to sort his thoughts.]

That's pretty relevant, I'd say. If there are alternate versions of us...you think that's what was in the graves, too? That's why your skeleton matched? [He almost wants to ask what people, but he knows better. Not when Jason looks like that. Instead, he does the leader thing and changes the subject for now.] This also raises the possibility that some of the people among us aren't the real deal, too. I don't want to consider what "some of us" would mean, but I'm wondering now.

[He's staring at his hands again.] ...so I found out a lot. I spoke with Hal and I spoke with some other people. Found out what the roles do. So we know what the Coal Miner does, and we know there's a second one somewhere. Hal told me there's eleven roles in this game. Two Coal Miners, one Deputy, one Doctor, the Madame and the Bartender that work together...and five Bounties. No idea what the Bounties do, but he told me about the rest. We know what the Coal Miners do, so I won't touch on that. The Doctor's our guy who's leaving stuff out for us. The camera, the bear trap, the dynamite? That's them. They can also revive at least one person who's died. If they want.

[So that's creepy.] Madame and Bartender work out of the saloon, they can investigate one of us each week and find out if that person has a role. They can also send messages to people each week. Like, anonymously. I don't know what that means but we could have at least four different notes flying around if they've sent one every week. And lastly is our Deputy. [And here he looks so, so angry.] The Deputy's the asshole who picks one person a week to put in jail to protect on Thursday nights, or in the stocks to make them more vulnerable. They're hunting the Bounties, too, but I didn't get an answer as to why.

[He narrows his gaze.] The stocks are chosen by the Deputy. However, the Deputy tells Hal, Hal tells the Bandits, and the Bandits decide if they're going to kill that person or not. I don't know who kills the Bandits if they don't kill, but I'm still gonna guess the Deputy. Hal also said--[And here his voice catches.]--he said that even if I'd stayed with Annabeth, she would have died. I wouldn't have been there when she died, the Bandits or whoever would have taken me out somewhere, maybe killed me, maybe not, just to make sure I wouldn't interfere. It's why I don't want anyone else staying out at the stocks anymore, it's a bad idea.

[He pauses to catch his breath, thinking about everything else he's heard this week. It's clear he's been pretty busy....] So. The locked-up buildings. We have to keep breaking into them. According to what I was told, the whole point of this town is to unlock mysteries. Doing this counts as merit, I bet, and if we unlock more of them we should be able to have more resources. I'm still not happy about the gunsmith since we pretty much just gave free access to a couple of murderers, but whatever. Sheriff mentioned it's something that has to be done.

...there's one last thing. [He takes another breath.] Turns out there is a way for us to win this game with more than one person left living. It's just kind of a complicated method. [With that, he settles to wait for them to process all of that, even while he's staring at Annabeth's letters again to try and decipher them.]

Edited 2017-02-10 18:55 (UTC)

[Before she responds to anything either of them have said, she looks towards Jason with some concern in her expression, noticing the way he pales. She knows this is a difficult thing to accept, even if she doesn't know exactly why he's so horrified.]

You gonna be okay...?

[Then Percy starts to speak, and she pays careful attention, making sure to take note of all the different roles and how they're meant to interact with each other.]

So... The Deputy is an asshole, the Coal Miner has no problem with killing people if the Sheriff tells them to, the Doctor might be an asshole given the fact that they gave us a bear trap and dynamite, the Bandits are a mixed bag because they change every week, the Madame and Bartender could be useful but might not be, and we don't know what the Bounties do. Awesome.

[The detail about anyone who stays at the stocks, though... God.]

Probably has to do with what he said about how we only see what we're meant to see. Which remind me... He already knows how this will end. He said he's, like, connected to this place? It didn't really make sense to me, but apparently it means he can see into the future of this round. Before you ask, he wouldn't tell me how it ends, and he wouldn't tell me which of us was going to die or when.

[She takes note of the part about breaking into the buildings with a frown, but it's the last thing Percy says that really catches her attention. She leans forward slightly, eyes widening.]

...Don't suppose he told you how?

[He nods, though there's no attempt to clarify if he's saying yes to Percy's question about the skeletons or Natalie's question about his well-being. To settle his stomach, he listens carefully as Percy begins to share the information he managed to gather over the week, compiling and archiving it away for later. It's... a lot. And he's genuinely impressed, really. But the more they learn, the less it feels like they know.

For both of them, he writes:]

Anonymous letter. Like the one Manfred was holding when he died? [It didn't match anyone's handwriting, after all. Though the look on his face implies he doesn't buy that theory 100%; more of a thought than something he's convinced of.

... And he's not even going to touch the Deputy. Fuck the Deputy? Good to know he can feel zero remorse if that person gets killed off, considering they have the option to protect at least one person per week and don't. Bastard.

To Natalie:] Good to know even our FATES are already set in stone. What a load of bullshit. [And to Percy:] Complicated doesn't mean impossible. What's the method?

[He nods to Jason's question first.] I had that thought, too, but I'm not entirely sure. That would mean maybe they were hoping to lure him out to die. I don't know yet.

[Fuck the Deputy indeed? He mulls over what Natalie's said though, followed by what he knows, what he's lived through, and he breathes out a quiet "holy shit" under his breath.]

I think I can guess. Have you guys ever heard of the Labyrinth? Like, the one that was the prison for the minotaur. [He licks his lips.] Made by a guy named Daedalus, son of Athena. Daedalus made the Labyrinth originally because he was hired by King Minos to create an inescapable prison. That's why the Labyrinth is a huge maze. However, later, Minos had Daedalus and his son Icarus thrown into prison and that was where the pair decided to create wings to fly away. I'm sure you know the story of Icaraus, so I'm not going to touch it. With Daedalus's son dead, he went back to work little by little. Years later, he went to visit his nephew, Perdix. Now Perdix was a really smart kid. He had these plans, right? Plans for transferring a person's soul into an automaton. Statues or bronze figures, like robots sort of. Daedalus, being a son of Athena, he was like: "this is a stupid plan and it won't work? I'm smarter than you, why are you doing this?" But eventually his pride got the better of him, and he murdered his own nephew. Athena wasn't really happy with that and marked him as a murder for the rest of his life.

...Daedalus was kind of a bad person. He spent years hiding out in another king's palace and acted as a tutor for the princesses. Minos was still angry about his escape and decided to best him and bring him out of hiding by presenting him with a challenge. Again, being an Athena kid, Daedalus's pride got the better of him. Minos tracked him down, but the princesses killed Minos to protect their teacher. The problem was that Daedalus knew that King Minos would be waiting for him in the Underworld and after Minos died the guy was, like, appointed to be a judge in the Underworld. Daedalus knew he wouldn't receive a fair trial upon his death, so he went into hiding back in his original Labyrinth.

The thing about that Labyrinth is that it started growing and changing on its own. It grew all over in the ancient lands, and when Olympus moved west so did the Labyrinth. Daedalus was able to live to his old age...but using the notes from his nephew, he was able to create a new body for himself. An automaton.

The point of that story was that the guy was in his fifth body when Annabeth and I met him. Went by the name Quintus, he was acting as a spy for the Titan Army to see if our Camp was worth saving. He'd already accepted a deal from his employers to be a ruler in the Underworld so he could avoid Minos forever and get his family back. Sure, in the end he fought on our side and finally accepted death but there were some special circumstances around that. And when he died, the Labyrinth died because it was tied to his lifeforce.

[A frown.] He was Annabeth's half-brother. And he's who I got Mrs. O'Leary from. So. Think about this. We have a robot sheriff who says he's connected to this place and there's a giant labyrinth under us right now filled with a bunch of horrible things, including alternate universe versions of ourselves who have died before. What do you take away from all of that?

[And finally, he pulls a pen out of his pocket and begins marking up Annabeth's letter to puzzle things out.]

The method, by the way, is that we have to get it down to a number of people, the right people, who won't kill each other. Once we have a group that won't stab each other in the back no matter what and all murderous idea and intent is gone, we could, in theory, end the game. So, like I said, complicated.

Edited (YELLS.) 2017-02-11 03:56 (UTC)

[She listens to all of Percy's story and thinks about it, too, frowning as she lets the implications of that sink in.]

...It does sound similar and I see what you're going for here, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it's at least a little less horrifying than what you're implying, man. Jesus christ.

[But her tone of voice pretty clearly says that she doesn't hold much stock in the idea of anything here not being completely horrifying. Yikes. As for the second part of what he says... That's interesting, but she doesn't have much hope for it, either.]

So, us three, Xion, Yuna, and Papika. Well, maybe Papika. Papika is actually pretty violent when you stop and think about it. Those are still really bad odds.

[... Well. Percy's story is not disturbing and creepy at all. His eyebrows furrow as he continues to listen, the nausea no less apparent than it was moments ago, but getting a shitload of information dropped on him helps more than he'd like to admit.

On the rulebook, he writes:]

If you're implying what I think you're implying, I'm going to hit the exit button on this line of conversation right now. Natalie's right: That's horrifying.

[Though, you know... When is the horrifying option not the most likely one? Murphy's Law is in full effect in the quaint, little town of Whole Ass. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. That's just how it is.]

I think Damian and Milla could be tacked onto that list. Odd's are still seriously fucked up, but they don't seem like the type to want the game to continue if given the choice.
Though, fyi: Not saying we should place our bets on waiting for the right combination of people. There HAS to be a better way than letting everyone else drop dead.

[A shrug. Yes, yes, he knows it's horrifying. He doesn't like it either.]

I've been thinking about it since Natalie told us what's under the town. I've been in that Labyrinth and it's just about as awful as you'd think. I don't think it's exactly the same, but the similarities bother me too much.

I agree with Jason, too. Damian and Milla are on that list, but...I don't know about Yuna. [He looks a little guilty about that, too.] I don't want her to get hurt, but I also don't know if her judgment is clear enough yet not to let other people get hurt. [It's a real sign of trust that he says this, the way he lets his guard drop and his insecurities seep through.] ...I wanted to put the bear trap out or lock it in a cell. She decided it would be better to hide it in her room so nobody could get hurt. Hal told me that trap was supposed to be used to stop coyotes or stop a murderer. [In other news. Annabeth may still be alive, otherwise.] But if you guys trust her, I have to, too.

We're not going to wait around for the right combination. There's something much bigger we're missing that makes it easier to end the round early, but what are we supposed to do? It's going to take finding the people that have roles and figuring it out from there.

Edited 2017-02-13 04:56 (UTC)

I get wanting to hit the exit button on this conversation, but... [A glance towards Jason, even if she's responding to Percy.] If that were true, where would we go from there? That's important to figure out before we say fuck it and move on, probably.

[She shakes her head, though. She doesn't agree with everything they've said next.]

If the criteria is that there's no chance the remaining players would kill each other... I'm not sure if Milla would be on that list. I'm not saying she isn't a good person, don't get me wrong, but I get the feeling that if she really thought it was for the greater good, she would be willing to kill someone here. We don't really know what they offer the bandits to goad them into murder, so... I don't know.

[A soft sigh. She hates saying that.]

As for Yuna... Is the criteria that they wouldn't hurt anyone themselves, or that they wouldn't let anyone to get hurt through negligence or something? Because if it's the second, I would agree with you, definitely. Either way - do you have any ideas as to how to figure out who exactly has a role here?

Edited 2017-02-13 05:10 (UTC)

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We’re too young to be critics, we won’t miss anything at all [W4, Thursday night]

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