WEEK 6

[bathymetric]

Another week, another three lost - and this time all to one murder case. And that's to say nothing of the execution, or whatever went on with that ouija board that still sits in the library... strange things are afoot in the facility, and some of them not even your captor seems fully equipped to explain.

The other of the two doors in the main living area finally opens after another lost Saturday, and what lies beyond is... strange, to say the least. Looks like there's no shortage of changes, even in the architecture. It certainly seems like you should have gotten something like this before the water park at the very least, don't you think?

Angel's still out and about at night, if you want to be found. And who knows what else you might find if you're out alone? Apparently, you might have a ghost on your hands.



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ooc: Welcome to Week 6! If you want Angel or to try your hand at the ouija, please make sure to note in your toplevel, same as an investigation! AC is over here, regains are here, and, well...

You've all got a new app on your devices! Use it wisely. ]

Comments

[bathymetric]

[ Oho! There are indeed a couple tools out on the desk - Della will recognize that it doesn't look like the Failsafe has been out here again since the other day, except to grab a couple of the books. ]

[bolderfell]

[Gonna dust those for prints! Dust dust dust.]

[bathymetric]

[ Congrats! You got... prints! ]

[bolderfell]

[A winner is him! Just gonna save those for some time they might be relevant. ...And also maybe steal her carving tools. Even the Failsafe is not safe from these sticky fingers.]

[bathymetric]

[ Rude but given the murder perhaps not unreasonable. Any other inves you wanna do down here? ]

[bolderfell]

[Not at this time, thank you!]

Okay, I'm done here. You?

[nothingcanstop]

[ Upon seeing not much has changed, Della nods. ]

I'm good. We can take the door our. I couldn't get it open from the other side, but at least we'll know where people are coming from.

[bolderfell]

All right.

[Let's mosey. To the bathroom!]

[nothingcanstop]

[ LET'S MOSEY. She heads to the woman's by default, thinks of saying something of how this would be weird, but. Also. Let's not get into a gender discussion. ]

...I think I'm gonna start by asking what you know about her past.

[bolderfell]

[Though he nods, Therion doesn't speak yet, opening all the stalls to make sure there's no one in there, hopping up to check the air vents, peering under the sinks for cracks in the wall. Even if Red Text has said there's no surveillance here, better safe than sorry. Who knows where in the tunnels the Failsafe could be, after all.

Of course, there's only so much he can do, so he sighs eventually and leans against a sink.]

Not much. First time I asked, she said she didn't remember much beyond the Professor finding her a year ago and nursing her back to health in some other facilities. I didn't know her memories were changing until you brought it up, and it's hard to ask when the Professor's always listening. ...I mean...

[He looks away briefly, frowning, then shakes his head.]

I was surprised when Birkin said she couldn't lie to us. Not because I thought she had, but... because once, she said something but then wrote something else so I could see. She lied to the Professor. And it was about her memories.

What I've gathered is that she recognizes Pandora and Hyperion, but I wasn't able to ask more without exposing her. And... [Now he's deliberately avoiding Della's gaze.] ...She was used. By someone before this, I think, to do things she didn't like. Someone she trusted.

[nothingcanstop]

I've been using notes to get past the Professor. Letting him believe that I...rely on them more than I really do. Most of what I know is all up here. [ She taps her forehead. ] ...It makes it hard to share with others, but.

[ She shrugs lightly and taps her foot. It's less that she's impatient, more something to do. ]

The person she was talking about is probably her old boss. A piece of work named Handsome Jack. She mentioned him, that the mas Mira found belonged to him. That was what triggered her memories in full. I think there's something more there, but she wasn't too forthcoming. ...She said it wasn't too different from this.

[ While Therion isn't looking at her, if he glances back, he might see...her hands, they're balled to fists. ]

[bolderfell]

So it's just the same thing happening to her again. Damn.

[You know what? He doesn't like it any more than Della does. Therion rises from the sink and paces a little, working this additional knowledge into what he already understands. He stops eventually, hand on his chin.]

...Doesn't seem like our mysterious friend the Failsafe thinks he's too handsome, if that dummy's any indication. I think...

[He trails off, looking at the floor tiles. He glances up, then at Della.]

What did he call her? Agent Night Owl?

[nothingcanstop]

Agent Night Owl, yeah. [ She glances about, her gaze landing on the mirror before she abruptly looks away, as if disturbed. ]

...If you're about to say you think she knows Angel, remembers Angel, then I think the same thing. Especially because if something like that--if working for that guy's what got her leaking radiation, well. ...I can't say I'd be surprised, about someone wanting to beat him senseless.

[ ...It's...the closest she's going to get to talking about her personal opinion on Angel, it seems. But it speaks volumes. ]

I think that woman knows a lot more than we realize.

[bolderfell]

Yeah. It's more than that. I think she cares about Angel. Next time you visit Angel, you'll see it--there's a carved wooden owl on her shelf.

[He starts pacing again, more quickly.]

...The Failsafe isn't allowed to talk to anyone in the experiment besides the Professor. That's not just us. That's Angel. The Failsafe remembers things Angel doesn't... but she could replace Angel as the Assistant, too. But what does that mean, replace her? Replace her in what way?

[nothingcanstop]

She doesn't remember where that owl came from, either.

[ Oh, she knows what Therion's talking about, alright. There's...a moment, after he asks that question, where her teeth grind together. ]

I...would think that's a little obvious. If it gets to the point where... Where the Professor can't control her anymore.

[bolderfell]

[That stops him cold in his tracks.]

...Right. That fits. But still.

[He faces Della and spreads one arm from his side.]

Why. The Assistant's job--getting us things, watching the facility, answering questions--is any of that so essential to getting what he wants? If it's some kind of emotional balancing act between him and the Assistant, there's no way he could expect us to suddenly trust a stranger in her place, not one we saw kill one of us. Especially if Angel were gone.

[When he lowers his hand, it's a fist, too.]

So what else is he using her for. That's what we need to find out.

[nothingcanstop]

I don't know. I don't know, and it's driving me crazy.

[ She grits her teeth, but--no. Center, Della. Center. ]

At the start of this, I thought...she was a deluded kid, jumping into something she couldn't understand. I was... I was angry at her. At how much I saw myself in her. But now... [ She shakes her head. Center. ] Angel's being used, just as much...or maybe even more than the rest of us. It... It has to have something to do with...with how he could just take control of her. Those tattoos, maybe.

[bolderfell]

Maybe. So can he do the same to the Failsafe? Damn it... Is that what he's planning to do with us, eventually?

[nothingcanstop]

...I wouldn't rule it out. He thinks of us as resources. Does he seem the type to waste those?

[bolderfell]

Not in the least. And we still don't know what's happening to us during the day we're missing--what they could be doing to us. Rrrgh.

[He pinches the bridge of his nose.]

...You said Angel remembers more every week, right? Is--is it something gradual, throughout the week, or...

[Is it like something's added to her or unlocked, like the wings of the facility?]

[nothingcanstop]

From what I can tell, it has to do with it being triggered. But- but, she remembers all her past now. It all just came back when she saw that creep's mask. And now... That's why she's questioning why some things feel...more vague.

[bolderfell]

Right. Then... maybe we should be less careful what we say about the Professor in our meetings. She watches those, so anything we find might help her remember more about whatever he did to her.

[He pauses.]

Probably won't be pleasant, but... at this point, knowing more's going to be to her advantage, too. And it helps us in the long run.

[nothingcanstop]

I... Maybe. Each week, I've been going in and sharing things with her, so she knows whatever we don't talk about. I just worry about...you know, the Professor knowing that she knows. ...Does that make- so he won't feel like she's...not useful anymore.

[bolderfell]

...You're right. I only...

[His gaze lands on the tiles.]

I've been worried about that since the first time he pushed us to kill. I'm afraid that... he made his decision about her before any of this even started, and it's just a matter of time.

[nothingcanstop]

...She's living on borrowed time.

[ It's something Della clearly hasn't wanted to think about, but--well. Maybe we gotta. ]

You...really care for her. [ She breathes out. ] I'm glad...because it means together we can put our heads together and do something.