TerrorFest 2018 - Zero Escape

Yù zǐ shuǐjīng - Foyer - Goat -

The hanging man swayed his head groggily and opened his eyes. The room slowly came into focus, and he noticed the man-goat thing was standing near him but not too close. Yù zǐ spotted the blood drip off from the blade that the Goatman was playing with. He was quick to realize the state he was in but his mind had yet to fully recover, maybe the effects of the sleeping gas were still lingering along.

"Heeeey duuude" the upside-down singer sheepishly called out to the thing looming over him. "How's it hanging? hahaha." The crazy guy joked and laughed but it was clear that his vigour from before the gassing had vastly diminished.

The dripping of blood trickling down his wrists and dropping onto the clear floor resonated through the silence and sound of breathing from the two beings. Lifting his wrists up to his mouth, Yù zǐ licked his wound, "Mmmm, tasty. It's been a while since I had a taste of this."

He looked up and stared at those large black eyes and continued on with a weak smile. "Hey, you know what goes well with this? Mayonnaise. A mix of some thick creamy Mayo and Ketchup make for a delish dip. Mayochup is simply amazing."


Yù zǐ licked at both of his wrists and then pressed them close to his chest in an attempt to apply pressure for closing the wounds. He wasn't a stranger to this position as it was a common form of exercise that he would incorporate in his daily gym routine.


"Oh and speaking of faith, yes, I still do believe the truth is out there, So take me to the alien overlords. In the end, eventually, we all shall hang together for our beliefs and opinions in front of those with power who see differently, you should never forget to have faith in yourself and what lies in front of you...."

Yù zǐ almost lost consciousness but shook his head and bit his lip to get another doze of energy.

"Ah, where was I?" he blinked to clear is vision "Yes, faith, trust, always keep questioning everything till you have hard proof, and always have trust in yourself is my belief system. If that leads me to my downfall, so be it. at least I know I lived a life of being honest to myself, though if it brought harm to others for interacting with me, then yes, I regret my actions."


The delirious man smiled and turned his head towards his host, "But enough talk about me, How are you and what got you involved in all this, I don't know if there is much I can do in my current predicament but is there anything I can do to lessen the load on your heart?"


Yù zǐ dug his nails deep into his skin sending a burst of pain through his body. Pain, that was the one constant thing in his life that had kept him sharp and alert whenever he found himself drifting too far in his life.

The Goatman stared at Yu zi through his theatrics and barely coherent ramblings.

"You're an idiot, whatever else you may be," he growled, the obvious modulator in his mask making his voice even more threatening. "Even in the face of death, you fail to control your tongue. How you amassed such a social media following is beyond me."

He crouched down, still keeping his distance from Yu zi.

"Regret your actions?" he murmured. "Do you now? Because you're in my mercy, or because you finally see how carelessly you've used your influence to break the lives of others?"

He regarded Yu zi a moment, then stood up once more.

"Tell me... why did you volunteer to stay behind? You can play behind technicalities, but I know that was your intention." He pointed the knife at Yu zi. "I don't have any use for martyrs."

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As Luna approached the wall, she ran her hand across the silky red curtain. Ah, there. A separation between the curtain caught her fingers. It seemed they could be pulled apart. She shifted them aside, but found nothing on the one wall.

Crossing the room, she continued on the other side. Pulling apart one section of curtain, her eyes lit up at the sight of another golden plaque.

Spoiler:

"How's it going?" Kenny asked. He browsed around the table, carefully inspecting around all the flowers and silverware. Here and there, he caught sight of scraps of paper, which he collected. With four in hand, he sat back at the table and began to read through them out loud.

Spoiler:

"Wow, my head's starting to hurt with this one," he sighed.

B) Examine the plates

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Alecia shook her head. This was mystifying to her as well. At her remark about sins, however, Alecia had to laugh, which released a bit of the pressure threatening to boil over.

"I'm right there with you," she said.

Remy headed toward the table to search, but got sidetracked by something along the wall. Alecia continued toward the table, deciding to look along there in the meantime. A careful inspection around all the flowers and silverware produced four scraps of paper, rather like fortune cookie fortunes, which she inspected.

Spoiler:

Alecia looked up from the papers to the statue, a chill crawling down her spine at the soulless eyes staring at her. Two of these might go to the plaque beneath the statue. But there was one extra scrap left. That meant more clues hidden throughout the room. But where?

There was something else bothering her, but she couldn't figure out what. As her eyes locked on those of the goat, her stomach twisted.

"Remy..." she murmured. "Do you think it's a coincidence? The goat?"

Meanwhile, Remy approached the wall, having caught sight of something gold from behind a crack in the curtains running along the wall. She pulled it aside and found another plaque.

Spoiler:

B) Examine the plates

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As Morgan searched methodically across the table, lifting each plate in turn, he found a golden plaque engraved on the bottom of one of the plates.

Spoiler:

Continuing his search down the table, he found yet another plate with a plaque.

Spoiler:

Meanwhile, Cyrus reached the exit door and began to inspect it. The entry pad on the door was different this time - not a numerical entry but closer to a keyboard with all 26 letters of the alphabet. The passcode seemed to be longer than usual as well, requiring an eight digit entry. Next to the door was posted a golden plaque.

Spoiler:

C) Examine the walls

================================================


Rules:

1) You only have three chances to enter the 8-digit passcode. Failure will automatically set off the death trap in the room.
2) Answers and clues can only be communicated IC. Keep it realistic.

Discovered Information:

Room 1:

Spoiler:

Room 2:

Spoiler:

Room 3:

Spoiler:

Yù zǐ shuǐjīng - Foyer - Goat -

Yù zǐ closed his eyes and the images of the news articles flashed through. It was the first time he had come to know of what happened due to his actions.

"Apparently, I've lived a sheltered life, my employers hid all the negativity from me." the singer opened his eyes and stared blankly around the room.

"That news article was the first time someone informed me of what happens when I recklessly insert myself in someone's life." Yu zi sighed and continued You are absolutely correct, I had the opportunity but I squandered it, I definitely could have used my influence for the better, for more humanitarian acts or something, anything would have been better than the horrid life I lived." Using the back of his sleeve to cover his eyes, the distraught man's throat was starting to feel dry while his tear ducts accumulated the moisture instead at the side of his eyes.


Yù zǐ tried swallowing what ever saliva he could gather and send it through. "My fans sought my love and affection and I gave all I could without holding back, without thinking things through. I suppose that was what cursed me to this fate. Holding back my lustful desires and not letting the ego get the better of me may have set me on a more stable or noble path. Communicating more, than just instinctively reacting to whatever comes at me is something that I have been pondering upon since I entered this place while experiencing all that has happened up to now and that answers your question. I wanted to meet you to have a chat with you. I wanted to see your side of the story. No one does what they do just out of the spur of the moment... well yeah I did that in the past and see where it brought me, but this, it could be different with you. If I could just be there for you in your darkest time and do something for you to relieve you of your demons, then maybe, just maybe at the same time I could redeem myself in one way or another, even though I may not deserve it because no matter what, I am guilty of the deaths and misfortunes that occurred due to my involvement of that family and probably many more that I never got to know about."


Even a pro athlete have their limits, Yù zǐ's arms fell back down, dangling above his head, the action making his entire body swing to and fro, but he hadn't bitten the dust, just yet.

Cyrus Winter

Taking a look at the exit door, Cyrus was beginning to get an idea of what the code was supposed to be. After pondering for a bit, he reported his findings to Morgan and went to examine the last bit of the room they hadn't yet, the walls.

Room 2 – Remy and Alecia
B) Examine the plates

“Of course it’s not a coincidence,” Remy said and walked over to Alecia to inspect the scraps of papers she’d found.

“By the way,” she added and pointed to the other plaque on the wall. “There’s another cross-word for sins over there. Surely they’ll have something to do with the passcode, since it seems they are the same animals.”

She tilted her head, thinking.

Spoiler:

She picked up the papers with the words “hubris” and “greed”.

Spoiler:

“If there’s seven deadly sins, there could be more pieces of paper around.” Who knew getting a catholic education could be so useful at a moment like this.

Morgan

"I see, looks like each of the keywords are associated with an animal then."  Morgan stated thinking to himself for a few moments, as he turned his gaze to the wall scanning it for a few seconds, and then saying "Maybe it's the first letter of each of the sins?  These slips of papers being tied to certain animals..."

"Though, it just doesn't feel right... I feel like we're missing an important piece... let's keep looking." Morgan stated, as he used the walls to distract himself from Cyrus.  He didn't sense hostility from the man, but in all honesty that just made it all the more terrifying.  They needed to be quick, because if one of them were to be sacrificed he probably wouldn't be able to over power him to be the one to get out.

Morgan be to inch his way towards the door, getting ready to quickly type what he thought was the code into the keypad.

- Luna -

"I think I found out how we get the letters for the answer." Luna responded, running her fingers over the splotches on the plaque. "There's a lion and a snake here. Some of the other animals too."

She considered the missing letters for another minute or so before Kenny began reading out what he'd found at the table. Then, things began to click into place. "Well, that's a dark turn." Luna commented as she looked back at the manticore statue.

"First we're all guilty, and now he wants to talk to us about our sins?" This goatman definitely had some serious mental health issues.

"The serpent's sin was envy." Luna said, scratching down the letters on the plaque. "So, letters 2 and 6 are an E."

"Lust was the goat's sin." She gestured to the manticore statue. "But we don't have a goat in the passcode. So, that one isn't helpful."

"Hubris, pride, is typicically associated with the lion, but it can also be associated with a peacock, which lines up with our board here. That means the lion must stand for something else though. I can't imagine that we would use the same word for more than one reference." She scratched the letters next to the peacock.

"Process of elimination makes the snail sloth, although I'm not familiar with that reference directly." Luna continued as she scratched in more letters.

After finishing these, she moved to the plaque beside the door. "So, that means we've got D, E, blank, D, blank, E, blank, T."

"And our remaining sins are gluttony, wrath, and greed." She tapped her chin with the end of her pen. "Any idea what the frog and the lion stand for?"

[OOC: Luna is operating under the assumption that Kenny checked everything on the table.]

Goatman gazed intently at Yu zi as he bared his heart, the soulless golden eyes of his mask giving away nothing. Once Yu zi finished and sagged, his strength giving out, Goatman hummed thoughtfully.

"What would you do to prevent someone like you from destroying lives recklessly with their power?" he asked, voice smooth and soft despite the obvious modulator in the mask. "Would you even be willing to kill?"

Goatman held up the knife, rotating it slowly between his fingers.

"Would you kill those who went on ahead of you if you knew they were just as guilty of ruining lives? Of poisoning society? If we don't weed people like them all out, we're doomed. They'll bring this world down, everyone judging each other in ignorance and destroying one another till nothing is left."

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- Luna -

"Woah." Kenny blinked in surprise at Luna's assessment. "You're good."

He continued to search the table, picking up the plates. He paused, then held two of them up.

"This might clear a couple thing's up," he said.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

He chuckled a bit at his joke, then cleared his throat.

"So based on that..." He held up the scraps of paper, then at the plaque of synonyms. "What's another word for Greed? Or Wrath?"

He ruffled his hair, screwing up his face as he tried to think.

Spoiler:

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Alecia searched the table as Remy spoke, inspecting for more clothes. She picked up the plates, then frowned and held them up to Remy.

Spoiler:

"Your theory on the lion is out," she said, setting them back down. "But we know our Gluttony, at least. And I'm thinking the goat must be Lust. Seems that Gluttony and Lust don't matter though. They're not on the list of synonyms or the door... which means the synonym plaque must be the key."

As Alecia was pondering, she caught Remy's mumbling about Pride and Envy. She straightened up and looked around, staring at Remy. No... she didn't mishear that. Remy definitely seemed to be having an attitude with her.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" she asked, folding her arms tightly. After everything she'd done to help the group, was Remy really going to start getting huffy with her?

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As Morgan circled around to wait by the door, primed and ready to fire off the passcode, Cyrus went around to inspect the walls. He pulled apart the curtains, searching for something until he came across a gold plaque gleaming at him.

Spoiler:

================================================


Rules:

1) You only have three chances to enter the 8-digit passcode. Failure will automatically set off the death trap in the room.
2) Answers and clues can only be communicated IC. Keep it realistic.

Discovered Information:

Room 1:

Spoiler:

Room 2:

Spoiler:

Room 3:

Spoiler:

Room 2 - Remy and Alecia

"Mh..." she looked back at the plaque with the animals when Alecia held up the remaining plates on the table. That did throw a  wrench in her train of thought.

Before she could reconsider, Alecia picked up on her muttered words.

"Oh don't give me that," Remy replied. "Don't think we haven't picked up on your special relationship with Pierce. And then Luna got along so well with him. I saw your face."

"And don't get me started on all those group decisions, Miss Lawyer," Remy added, feeling her emotions take control. "When have you ever piped up with a decision first? You always waited until we took sides before you decided anything. That way you could manipulate things in your favor and present yourself from the best side possible. Typical lawyer behavior. Let us be at each others throats while you keep your hands clean."

She shook her head. "So don't give me all that Whatever do you mean crap. Otherwise I'll start adding hypocrisy to the list of sins!"

Remy took a deep breath, trying to reel in her emotions. They couldn't lose focus. She wanted to get out of here as much as everyone else.

"This is crazy. We shouldn't be arguing, no matter what problem I have with you."

Her eyes fell on the plate again and she froze, completely sidetracked.

Spoiler:

Yù zǐ shuǐjīng - Foyer - Goat - Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door


Yù zǐ kept his eyes closed to preserve energy, but his mind was still functioning.

"Hey buddy, is that supposed to be a trick question?" the hanging man asked his captor while hosting a deep frown.

"Isn't indirect killing and death, what got me in your radar? And now you want me to directly kill off vermin?"


The singer swayed his head, trying to crack out some of his tension that was building up in his neck.

"You want me to curl up and bite my own tail. To go back in full circle. Are you saying that we have reached the point where Death is the only solution. That we have run out of options for cleaner rehabilitation? No second chances to be given out after being sent through an eye-opening experience, but outright execution?"


Yù zǐ opened his eyes to look at him. "Come on man, you know we could just stick them in reform institutes till they get better. Killing or weeding as you call it... that's just... who made us Judge, Jury and Executioner? If death is the only option to wake the people up. In that case, I suggest you throw them in a situation where they either kill themselves out of fear, guilt, or whatever it may come to, or, they wake up to realize how wrongfully they have acted, and they need to step-up by thoroughly turning themselves around."


Nodding his head, disregarding the effort it takes, Yù zǐ continued, "I say, we let them do the act. Death or Change. This way, we don't dirty our hands and something good comes out either way. They die and that's one less weak person, or, they alter their life and that's one more person who can bring about a positive change into this world."


The man dangling close to his own death, finished his thoughts on the matter with a final answer, "So, to answer your question, I could help you help them consciously come to the realization that committing suicide is the only way left for them, or if during the process they come to realize that it is for the greater good that they genuinely need to reform and prove that they have amended, then they should be allowed to live and re-enter society."

Morgan

"This is the final clue, he should be able to figure it out now!"  Morgan thought with excitement, as he quickly bolted towards the keyboard, as he began to run through all the clues he saw in his head.

Morgan couldn't see the plaque from this distance, but it appeared to be a missing letter section... they probably just need to match the sin and the animal from what he saw the plates and he was guessing the statue just mentioned one of the sins....

Morgan squinted at the new plaque, the lines looked rather blurry from this distance and he could only scrap together bits and pieces.  Though from what he saw..

"Each of the blood spots refer to what the letter should be on the keypad!  Give me the letters Cyrus..   It's a pain to see from here and we need to hurry, they're probably just each of the sins or their synonyms" Morgan stated, as his fingers lurked over the keypad waiting for input.

Cyrus Winter

Cyrus stared at Morgan blankly, before beginning a stride right for the other man. He called out one of the words he'd figured out with every step. "Madness. Avarice. Pride. Sloth. Love." Stopping, he looked him in the eye. "Their synonyms; Wrath, Greed, Hubris, Laziness and Lust. If the pig is a glutton, that makes the goat green. Envy. Jealousy."

He then waited to see what Morgan would do. He himself already had some idea, but he wanted to see what the other man had made of it first.

Morgan

Morgan pondered to himself for a few seconds, squinted his eyes at each of the animal symbols before him.  Yes... it seemed to make sense...  Now, taking what he said earlier...

Spoiler:

"Now we just enter each of these letters in where the animals are...

Spoiler:

Morgan couldn't help but shudder at the mention of the word, as he became to have mental flashes of Join, Jacke, Yu Zi, and Pierce... all the horrors they might be going through now. He didn't want the same thing to happen to him.

Morgan realized while he was thinking this he was awkwardly staring at Cyrus who was now standing right in front of him eyeing him with curiosity for probably what was his anwser.... as Morgan quickly turned around and began typing in the code he came up with as fast as he could.

He needed to get out of here, he needed to breathe, if the code failed so be it.

- Luna -

As Kenny held up the plates, Luna's mind began picking over the remaining information. She nodded as he confirmed her assessment of the snail.

His comment about the frog made her grin though. "I don't know. A cartoon about an angry frog could probably be pretty popular." In her mind, she'd already drawn out the character, who was "hopping mad" about something stupid that had happened, when Kenny produced another word that fit into the blanks.

"Yes! Avarice works!" She scribbled in the letters and then translated them to the other plaque. Only one letter missing now, and it wasn't difficult to determine what it was.

"Dead meat." Luna whispered before glancing back at the lion on the first plaque. "Wrath leads to madness." She filled in the final blanks before making her way to the keypad and punching in the letters. D-E-A-D-M-E-A... Her fingers hovered over the final keystroke though. If she waited, alert, it was possible that she might get an opportunity to see the goat man. So far, he had gassed the slowest group, but if they were already prepared to open the door when the gas entered, could they outsmart him?

No. Her eyes traveled the room, looking at the figures and dark corners. The madman had to be watching them from somewhere. He would know better than to walk into an obvious trap. Frowning, she pressed the final key and pushed against the door.

Goatman cocked his head, then suddenly laughed.

"You don't get it, do you? You're not here because of the misdeeds that I aired out. I couldn't care less about that. I wanted to know if any of you had changed your ways... or if you would judge each other in supreme arrogance, without the benefit of doubt or untainted evidence, as you had years ago."

Goatman leaned over Yu zi, and though the mask remained unchanging, it was easy to imagine a mocking smile on its face.

"You're all already so comfortable being Judge, Jury, and Executioner. You've done it before, you've done it here... and one of you will do it again before the end of this night."

Goatman straightened up, turning the knife over in his hands.

"But I can see that won't be you. So now you're only worth..." He struck Yu zi on the head, sending him into darkness once more. "...is dead meat."

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Kenny smiled as Luna seemed to light up about the angry frog cartoon. As she looked back at him, her face lit in a beautiful grin, Kenny's cheeks reddened.

"Uh, Luna..." he murmured, fidgeting as she used his suggestion of Avarice to work on the puzzle. "I... well..."

"Dead meat." Luna whispered before glancing back at the lion on the first plaque. "Wrath leads to madness."

"Dead meat..." Kenny murmured, the colors in his cheeks draining. "That's..."

Luna entered the passkey as Kenny wandered over, and for a moment they held their breaths before the light turned green on the door. They let loose a sigh as the door unlocked with a clang, and Luna threw open the door to the hallway.

"Let's get going then." Kenny glanced back at the room, his face falling. He'd been hoping, but... oh well.

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Alecia spluttered indignantly. "Special relationship? I don't have any relationship with Pierce, special or otherwise."

Though... she had to wonder, not for the first time, if it was a coincidence that they both ended up here. She should have said something to him, before it was too late. If it really had to do with...

"And don't get me started on all those group decisions, Miss Lawyer," Remy added, feeling her emotions take control. "When have you ever piped up with a decision first? You always waited until we took sides before you decided anything. That way you could manipulate things in your favor and present yourself from the best side possible. Typical lawyer behavior. Let us be at each others throats while you keep your hands clean." She shook her head. "So don't give me all that Whatever do you mean crap. Otherwise I'll start adding hypocrisy to the list of sins!"

Alecia balled her hands in fists, her nails digging into her palms. Unbelievable. After everything she'd done to try to keep this group together...

She looked away. Still... in some way, it was true. She had always tried to bide her time, waiting to see the most favorable outcome. It wasn't intentional, just an ingrained part of who she was. She played to win. Always.

"This is crazy. We shouldn't be arguing, no matter what problem I have with you." Remy turned away, then gasped. "Oh god, I think I solved it," she said and pointed at the lion. "It's not crazy. It's madness."

Madness... yes, that fit. With that in the synonym cipher, then it spelled out...

"I feel sick," she said and felt herself hyperventilating. "The passcode spells DEADMEAT."

Alecia nodded shakily. "Yes... it does."

Dead meat... that's what Goatman saw them as. Alecia forced down the lump in her throat and took Remy's arm.

"Calm down. It's going to be okay," she said, using the same voice she'd use on an anxious client. "You're right, I have been doing my best to play to the most favorable outcome. I won't lie. But I also meant it when I said I want to make sure we all get out of her okay. We're already this close. We can make it out of her, but we can't keep tearing each other apart, okay?"

She let go of Remy, nodded, and headed over to the door. Taking a calming breath, she entered the code and stepped back, waiting.

A green light. The clank of an unlocking door. Alecia smiled at Remy and opened the door.

"Let's get out of here," she said, stepping through in the darkness of the hall.

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Dead meat...

Morgan typed in the code with shaking fingers, waiting for the door's pronouncement. After a moment, the light flipped on.

Green.

With a clank, the door unlocked, and Morgan spared no time racing through into the darkness beyond, Cyrus following on his heels.

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Three doors opened into the foyer, and Kenny, Luna, Remy, Alecia, Morgan, and Cyrus stumbled in almost all at once. There was a moment's relief at seeing that all six of them had made it through.

And then a moment of shock.

Strapped to a chair in the center of the room... was Pierce. A gag bound his mouth, and a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes. His shirt had been torn open, and his chest stained with blood from a multitude of cuts. His forehead had been struck, and blood had oozed and dried as it seeped down between his eyes.

For a moment, they all stared in shock at the corpse. Alecia put a hand to her mouth and shook her head.

"Oh god..." she murmured.

Pierce suddenly straightened up in his chair at her voice. Everyone yelled in shock and backed away as he thrashed in his chair.

"He's alive!" Alecia gasped. She made forward to help him, but Kenny held out a hand.

"Uh.. wait," he murmured. "Is that... a good idea?"

Everyone looked at him, and he shrank back.

"Just... why did Goatman let him back? He might be helping him now. And besides... we're back to odds."

Alecia closed her eyes and shook her head. Back to odds... just not the way they expected. Curse that Goatman...

A) Free Pierce.

B) Leave Pierce.

================================================


Rules:

1) You only have three chances to enter the 8-digit passcode. Failure will automatically set off the death trap in the room.
2) Answers and clues can only be communicated IC. Keep it realistic.

Discovered Information:

Room 1:

Spoiler:

Room 2:

Spoiler:

Room 3:

Spoiler:

Cyrus Winter - A) Free Pierce

On seeing the tied up Pierce, Cyrus didn't waste time taking a double-take. He walked up to the other man and quickly did away with his bindings. Might be working with the Goatman? Could be. Would they find out anything new by standing around gawking? That was a resounding no.

"What happened?" He asked calmly. He'd been hired to protect the man before and it seemed he might be doing it for free this time.

- Remy -

A - Free Pierce


Upon surprising reassurance from Alecia, Remy had taken a deep breath to calm herself. Hearing Alecia's opinion helped her understand the other woman. While she still might not agree, she could understand where Alecia was coming from and what she tried to do.

They hurried along the hallway and into the foyer only to be faced with a surprising sight.

Pierce.

It was a horrifying sight. The biggest shock was, that he was still alive.

Cyrus moved in to untie Pierce even after Kenny's protest.

Remy threw a look at Alecia, who had stopped after first looking like she wanted to help Pierce. Well Remy didn't care what the Goatman intended. Clearly the other man was hurt and even if they had to leave someone behind, there was no reason to leave him tied up.


"We all made it through the puzzle room. That's different from before," Remy pondered. "What were your puzzles?" Remy asked Kenny and Morgan.

Morgan (Free Pierce)

Thank god!  They didn't get gassed and no one else did either, as Morgan couldn't help but smile for a few seconds until it immediately faded at the sight of Pierce.  Of course, the goat just had to make the numbers odd again didn't he?

As much as he wanted to leave Pierce to preserve his own life he knew where selfish choices got him with this group, his best chance of survival was to act for everyone's benefit.  At the same time, Pierce was easier to work with than Luna or Cyrus and Cyrus did volunteer before.. so this could work out...

However, Morgan couldn't help by roll his eyes at Kenny's comments about Pierce being a turncoat.  Maybe Yu Zi was right about the kid, he seemed to jump to conclusions way too quickly, and was causing a divide... even if it was unintentional it was getting annoying.

"Pierce specifically gave himself up to save Luna and you think he'd just turn on her after doing that?" Morgan stated with a scoff, as he eyed Cyrus he was now walking towards the man to undo his restraints, as he began talking louder now so everyone were hear "As you all recall the goat man very specifically did this whole fake blame game with Jacke and Join as well"

Morgan specifically began walking over to Alecia specifically, as he looked looked at her for a few seconds to see what her reaction was.... she didn't seem to voice her choice in general.... waiting like usual.  He would need to give her a push.

"We're trying to avoid playing into the vindictive goat's hands remember?  Condemning an innocent again is exactly what he wants." Morgan chastised Alecia wagging his finger at her like her like she was a child, as he gave another look at the various cuts and brutal bruises that now covered the man, "Besides, with wounds like that he might not last long, so he's the last person we want to leave."

"It was a puzzle involving the 7 deadly sins, end code was dead meat.... the goat was omitted for the one clue oddly enough with it being lust... I wonder if that's supposed to mean something considering..." Morgan stated curiously, as he waited for Remy's response to see if she had the same puzzle.

A) Free Pierce.

- Luna -

As the others rushed towards Pierce, Luna slipped back down the hall behind her and threw his coat off of her shoulders. Gripping the hem of her t shirt, which was still damp, despite no longer being cold, she pulled it over her head and slipped her arms back into the coat to cover herself again. Satisfied that it wouldn't fall open and give anyone a peek at her still transparent, white shirt, Luna re-entered the room and made her way towards the chair in the middle of it.

"I've got half a mind to strangle you for proving me wrong, but considering the outcome, that would seem inhumane." She put a hand on Pierce's shoulder as Cyrus continued to work on the ropes. "Hold still. It'll make untying you easier."

Luna tossed her wet shirt over her shoulder and reached out to work on the knot in the gag. "And if you bite me while I'm untying this, the goatman will be the least of your worries."

Kenny flinched at Morgan's reprimand. "I didn't mean... I'm just... scared."

He glanced at Luna, who wasted no time going over to Pierce. Kenny sighed and turned to Remy, who was asking about the difference in puzzle rooms.

"We had a banquet hall," he told her. "With seven deadly sins and a chimera."

Morgan confirmed the same for their room, and Kenny frowned.

"So we all had the same room..." he murmured. "I wonder if the next one is the last?"

-------------------------

Alecia saw Remy glance at her as she hesitated. She was doing it again, wasn't she? But no, in the end, there was no way she wouldn't leave Pierce like this. As Cyrus moved to undo his ties and Luna his gag, she stopped to inspect his cuts. Despite the mess of blood staining him, they appeared shallow. It seemed Goatman's intention was to inflict pain, rather than do lasting harm.

"As long as we can get those cuts treated for infection, you should be okay," she told him.

Pierce didn't seem to be paying her much attention, however. His eyes were fixed solely on Luna, who was chastising him for moving around too much. He stilled at her command, though his muscles remained taut with tension. Not that anyone could blame him.

When Luna cautioned him about biting her, Pierce narrowed his eyes, though whether it was from exhaustion or something else, it appeared more deadpan than annoyed. Within a few moments, the gag was removed, and Pierce swallowed free air. He looked up at Luna, as though trying to think of words, when Cyrus finished with his bonds and helped him off the chair with Alecia's aid. He immediately shook them off.

"I'm not an invalid," he growled, the effect lost at the exhaustion in his voice.

"What happened?" Cyrus asked, unperturbed.

"What does it look like?" Pierce gestured to his body. "Goatman introduced me to his knife."

"Did he say anything?" Alecia pressed. "Anything that might help us?"

Pierce looked away. "He... knows us. Knows me, anyway. That kind of hatred isn't impersonal. You have to know someone to really build that kind of hatred."

Alecia bit her lip. Someone they both knew. Or, at least, someone who knew them both. Knew all of them.

"Why did he let you go?" Kenny asked, approaching tentatively. "Did he say?"

Pierce turned his eyes on Kenny, his gaze hard. "To betray and kill you all, right?" He reached out and grabbed Kenny by the shirt, hauling him up so his toes dangled short of the ground. "My eyes and mouth were shut, but my ears were still working, you halfwit."

"Pierce!" Alecia tugged on his arm. "Let him go."

Pierce dropped Kenny like a sack of garbage and turned away. "I may be a lot of things, but a killer isn't one of them."

Just then, the monitors flickered to life. On the screen was a tabloid-esque expose about sexual harassment and assault at the hands of a major business owner... with Pierce's face featured all over it.

Pierce stared, eyes wide and fists clenched, his knuckles going white. "That..." He swore loudly, teeth grinding. "How did he even find out about..."

"You assaulted a woman," Kenny gasped from the floor.

"Like hell," he snarled. "It was slander by a money-grubbing former employee. If she broke that non-disclosure..."

"Why would she lie about something like that?" Kenny shook his head. "And why sign a non-disclosure if you were innocent?"

Pierce scoffed and glared at him. "Don't talk about things you don't understand. Whether it's true or not, bad publicity can ruin you. Businesses can't afford that. As for why she'd lie..." He snorted. "Money. Why else? She tried to proposition me for a raise, and when that got her fired, she reversed the story to make herself the victim. There's plenty of money to make in cases like that."

"That's hard to believe..." Kenny murmured, looking away.

"Believe whatever you want." Pierce clenched his teeth. "I don't have to explain myself to you. But since you want me out so badly, I'll give you your wish. Obviously, one of us still has to stay behind thanks to this god-forsaken game. You don't want to go on with me, and I don't want to go on with you. So fine." He turned to the others. "Decide."

Kenny turned white. "W-what?"

Pierce laughed, dead of any humor. "That's what this is all about right? So go ahead, make your final judgments. Guilty or not guilty?"

A) Kenny has a point.

B) Believe in Pierce.

Cyrus Winter - B) Believe in Pierce.

Cyrus silently listened to Pierce, not moving to help Kenny as Alecia already had that handled. As they talked, he quietly moved next to Remy and whispered. "So about that symbol. If by some chance you're the one that makes it out and I don't, you know where to find help." After that, he disengaged and moved back a bit, taking in the new information on the screens.

Not only did he already have experience with this trick of that psychopath goat, as a higher-up of a company as well as being a former soldier, he had more than enough experience with people being framed or smeared. An NDA was more than called for even if someone were lying in order to make sure they didn't continue to regurgitate the same lie. While he wasn't about to give Pierce trust or call him a good guy, logic stood with him. Not to mention he'd proved himself to not be a complete **** by saving Luna while risking death.

"I've worked with you before and you've shown everyone here better. I'll have to believe you here, Pierce. Bar the arrogance, I haven't heard any lies from you to date." The first part was more for the audience than for Pierce himself, but Cyrus was the first to break the silence. He'd stand with Pierce on this one, not that he'd condemn Kenny for his opinion either. That was how the general public would react, at any rate.

- Remy -

Choice:

“Yeah, we had the same puzzle,” Remy replied to Morgan. She sounded surprised. So far all the puzzle rooms had been different, but Kenny confirmed that they had all been the same this round. What could this mean?

Remy watched the scene unfold in front of her. Cyrus approached her, reminding her of the symbol. She nodded, but there was still hope they all would make it out.

“Oh stop it!” Remy said and stepped between Pierce and Kenny. If she had learned anything in the past couple hours, it was that arguing was only driving them apart.

“You,” she pointed at Kenny, “Lay off and let him explain. We all know the Goatman is only showing us what he wants us to see and it’s never the full story.” She then extended her hand to help him up.

“And you,” she squinted at Pierce, looking upset. “Don’t insult our intelligence. Either explain or don’t. But never for one second believe that we wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m not buying into your bullshit ultimatum,” she added and crossed her arms. Why did she have to be so rebellious that it bothered her when people told her what to do? “Who made you the boss to decide that we have to choose between Kenny and you?”

Morgan (Kenny has a point)

Morgan tapped his foot as Remy went on one of her no bull tangents again.  Though, she did what everyone else was thinking at this point, they wanted to cooperate and these two were at each others throats again.

He agreed with Remy point by point and he figured Pierce wasn't lying.  He had been a victim of slander as well, even for things he wasn't guilty of, and goatman probably knew they were wising up to the gas at this point so he had to improvise which was why he's back.  Yu Zi was probably too crazy to use and Jacke had already been framed as a killer...

But all the same if everything was cleared up then he would most likely be the first one out, after all Cyrus and Luna had guns on him and everyone else would slide to the majority, but he needed to be careful...

"I don't really feel there's a need to explain that article since there's no way he can prove he was innocent with words alone...." Morgan stated him clutching her forehead in his hand clearly stressed out, "It's better to just go with innocent until proven guilty, I've had my fair share of slander and jumping to conclusions only divides us."

Morgan reached over to Kenny and grabbed him on the shoulder in a firm yet comforting way?  At least that's what he thinks would be comforting?  This sentimental stuff was rather foreign to him...

"However, Kenny does have a point... just the 'betray and kill', especially after you saved Luna, is going to the extreme.  But, threatening to remove someone or yourself who gives an opposing opinion only makes you look more suspicious..."  Morgan stated as he gestured everyone else to be quiet and held up his hand, as he sat down on one of the nearby chairs, "Explain your conversation with the goatman in detail, I understand there's some sensitive information you might want to protect but we're talking about 'all' of our lives here... we can't afford to be keeping secrets."

Morgan then let out a big internal sigh when he was done talking closing his eyes and calming himself down for a few moments, that should make him seem impartial but throw some blame on Pierce so people will be more likely to vote on him at the end.

- Luna -

Luna reached for the wet t shirt on her shoulder as Pierce rose to his feet, but her hand paused over it as the screens came to life. She winced at how the story painted Pierce, and despite his occasional chivalrous moments, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that it might be true. His temper was definitely short enough at times, something the man had to go and prove by dropping Kenny to the floor and then demanding a vote.

She sighed and flipped the shirt off her shoulder, then threw it in Pierce’s face, where it landed with a semi-wet smack. “Wipe your cuts down with that, Mr. Not Invalid. I won’t want it back, since the blood will ruin it, but considering you’ve loaned me your expensive coat all evening, it’s the least I can do.”

“And while you’re at it, cool your jets. I get that you’re stressed, and despite my less than cheery disposition, I am thankful that you took my place. That doesn’t mean you get a free pass to be a dick though.”

Groaning, she reached up to rub he temples with one hand. “I’m tired of this stupid game.”

“If you’ve got beef with us, why not just come out and say it?” She yelled at the screen. “What in the world did we do to you to deserve this? If you wanted us dead, you could have done it a dozen times already. So, why not just tell me what I’ve done to wrong you?”

Pierce nodded at Cyrus, pleased to have someone in his camp. But Remy immediately put a stop to things by chastising him and Kenny. He glared at her as she stopped to help Kenny up, who muttered an embarrassed thanks as he hid his face. Morgan subtly pressing for answers only made his sullen expression increase.

"I shouldn't have to explain my personal life," he snapped. "It has nothing to do with any of this."

Before he could say more, a wet shirt slapped against the side of his face and neck. He whirled around and found Luna staring him down, very unimpressed.

“Wipe your cuts down with that, Mr. Not Invalid. I won’t want it back, since the blood will ruin it, but considering you’ve loaned me your expensive coat all evening, it’s the least I can do. And while you’re at it, cool your jets. I get that you’re stressed, and despite my less than cheery disposition, I am thankful that you took my place. That doesn’t mean you get a free pass to be a dick though.”

Pierce pressed his lips together as he watched her. The last time they'd been together, she'd warned him about needing to rely on the others. This was just what Goatman wanted.

"You don't get to play the hero, Pierce. Not in my game. I'm going to enjoy watching them leave you behind again, this time properly."

Something burned in his chest, something he'd resisted letting up for a long time. He distracted himself with the very surface-level pain by rubbing the wet shirt Luna had given him against his wounds. They really were alike. It was just the sort of thing she'd have done...

"I would never have touched that woman, willing or otherwise," he said, his voice flat. "I haven't been with a woman in years, not since-" His throat went dry, but he pressed on. "-my wife died. Drowned in a car accident. Broadsided by a truck and sent into a river..."

Alecia's eyes widened. "Pierce..."

"Don't." He looked up, his expression blank. "I don't want pity points. You wanted to know, you wanted my trust... there it is."

"I believe you." And she did. For all his faults - and there were faults - dishonesty didn't seem to be one of them.

He nodded slightly. He didn't seem to really know how to say thank you. "Doesn't change the fact that one person still needs to stay behind though." He sank back into the chair he'd been tied to and stared grimly at the floor. "And truthfully... Goatman wants that to be me. He didn't like me 'playing the hero.' Wanted to give me a proper sendoff this time."

On the one hand, he wanted to defy those expectations and give the Goatman a middle finger big enough to see from orbit.

On the other hand... his facade of strength was growing brittle. More and more, it seemed unlikely they were ever going to get out. And what did he even have to get out for? Maybe he should just stay behind, screw with Goatman's expectations a second time. It went against his nature to fight, survive, and win... but maybe the only way he could get some kind of win, no matter how hollow, was to not fight at this point...

"The next room is the last one," he said. "Goatman said as much." He glanced at his watch, and found it broken. "I don't know how much time is left, but it can't be much. It's now or never."