Week 5

[airlockedmods]

Week 5

[In a tragic yet seemingly inevitable turn of fate, the Champions have lost Zombina this week. OsoKaramatsu and Korra, too, are gone, both having fallen in their attempts to help their fellow Champions out of terrible circumstances.

Again, the Champions will find themselves experiencing strange dreams on Sunday night, until they're awakened by C.E.C.E.'s announcement. This is all starting to become routine.]

Congratulations, Champions! By surviving your third trial, you have unlocked the fourth floor of the ship. A new mini map has been added to your P.I.P.!

[The trash compactor is completely shiny and new again. In addition, the profiles on the P.I.P.s still inticate that Karamatsu is dead. Because of course he is, right?

Fuck you.]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday



(( Welcome to Week 5! Don't forget to check in and submit your memory regains! Turn in your benefactor threads for sweet loot, too! ))

Comments

[in4apounding]

[Early in the morning, Kaiba will find a note slipped under his door. It has a few false starts at the top, thoroughly scratched out, before the actual message begins.]

Mr. Kaiba,

You were right during the first trial. The reason I could survive a gunshot is because I'm not human. My father didn't just build my weapons, he designed and built me too.

I've told everyone else already. I thought you deserved to know too.

-Penny

[Later in the day Penny can be found in the
sewing room, with the white dress she recovered from Lucina's room. She's carefully applying fabric glue and pressing sequins down in what looks to be a large, intricate butterfly pattern.]

[Once that's done, she carefully lays down more glue around the sequined butterfly, and takes a glitter cannon refill. She holds it in the air over the dress, and with a sharp crack-]

[Yeah, there's glitter kind of everywhere here, but it seems to be sticking to the patterns of glue as intended.]

[In the afternoon and evening, Penny can be found in the holodeck. She's brought Shovel-kun with her and she's created a simulation of- Rox Petuu.]

[The name of the game appears to be this - reach holo-Rox and get in a swing with Shovel-kun before she can do anything shocking with her phone. The rest of the simulation seems to switch between approximations of various parts of the station with each failure, blocking out the general layouts without bothering to add fine detail.]

[And it does seem to be after each failure, given the loud buzzer that goes off just before Penny can follow through on her attack.]

holodeck

[playthedamncard]

[He doesn't go finding her immediately. It's a courtesy call from her, if she told everyone. Part of the new motive, he's gathered. It doesn't surprise him what she is, just that she finally said it at all.

Later, when he's feeling up for it--making himself come out of his room, for instance--he looks for her. He questions a few people first rather than going room to room when it's clear she's not in her quarters, because extra movement does not sound like fun. Might help warm him up, though.

When he does find her, he doesn't announce himself. The scene is...both heartening and distressing. Would the shock do less damage to her or more for what she is? Now that they know Petuu doesn't have to shoot anyone. So he settles himself against a wall, bundled in a scarf and a blanket and observing intently. He'll be really obvious to spot that way.]

[in4apounding]

AH-!

[Another frustrated swing at HoloRox, not quite quick enough to beat the fingertip swipe on her phone. Penny turns to retake her position as the simulation flickers into an approximation of the cafeteria; and that's when she sees Kaiba, and stops.]

Oh- um. Salutations, Mister Kaiba. ...Did you. Get my note?

[playthedamncard]

[He can't help it when he smirks at her reaction.]

I did, yes. ...Thank you. For sharing.

[He's not here to gloat, though. If she wants to talk about it in more detail, that's up to her.] It looks as though you're having about as much luck as Akira and I did. [That is to say, none at all.]

[in4apounding]

I- I can't let them use my secret against the people I care about.

[She's honestly still sort of terrified, but losing any more people scares her worse.]

...and no, sorry. Maybe if we could surprise her, but I- we can't count on that. She knows how much we all hate her.

[playthedamncard]

As much as you love people back home, do you really think they'll hate you for knowing? Do you think so little of them, or of yourself?

[in4apounding]

...I don't know. I know Ruby doesn't, and- her friends probably won't? Maybe? But everyone else-

[Sorry Kaiba, this fear is too deep-seated to really be rational.]

But- there's something else I wanted to ask you. Please.

[...she's not JUST changing the subject.]

When we get out of here- I know you probably don't completely trust her, but. Do you think there's a way we could take CECE with us?

[playthedamncard]

[His pause is thoughtful.] ...If there's a way, we'll find it. I'd need to find a way to free her from some of her lockdowns and protocols, the programming that leaves her unable to fully help us. And then we'd have to find a way to store her, or to bring whatever she's currently stored on. We'll need to find a control room, a central computer system, anything like that, and I'll do what I can.

[in4apounding]

Thank you.

[She almost, but not quite, sags in relief.]

I think she'll help us as much as she can. She doesn't want to be stuck here anymore. I- know what that's like, a little.

...And she's my friend.

[playthedamncard]

I can't say I've made friends with her. But she has a sense of humor. You don't see that in every AI running a computerized game of murder.

Sewing Room

[karappo]

[Karamatsu hasn't been here...in a while. For obvious reasons. He wouldn't have come back if he didn't hear someone else doing something in here, and as he passes by the glint of sequins is really too hard for him to pass up.

He happened upon her just in time to see the glitter cannon go off, causing him to startle a little as the glitter filters down through the air and sticks to the dress.]

What are you making, Penny-chan?

[in4apounding]

Mister Karamatsu!

[She sets down the remains of the glitterbomb casing and futilely dusts her hands off a little.]

It's- it belonged to Lucina. It's very nice, but- I was remembering what you said about fashion, when we arrived? And I wanted to- kind of make it my own, I guess, but still honor her memory.

[As far as can be seen under the drying glitter, there's now a mostly-purple butterfly of some kind on the dress' chest, but there's some green patterning worked into the sequins on its wings.]

[karappo]

Oh my...

[Karamatsu moves closer so he can get a better look. He can really see the craftsmanship of it now, and...the thought that Penny put this together thanks to his discussion on fashion makes his heart swell with joy.]

This...it is beautiful! Truly beautiful! I really love your use of sequins and glitter. You have done me proud!

[in4apounding]

Oh my gosh, thank you! That means so much, coming from you.

[She gingerly picks it up, letting the excess glitter fall to the floor. The patterns of glitter continue down the skirt.]

Once it finishes drying, I'm going to do the back too.

[karappo]

Is it going to get the same pattern, or something else?

[in4apounding]

Hm- not exactly the same. Not the butterfly again, certainly.

[She carefully lays the dress back down.]

I was just going to continue the glitter pattern... but, maybe-

[She looks at the front for a moment before indicating the green part of the butterfly pattern.]

Maybe a copy of this? Just straight up and down, on the back.

[karappo]

That would look very nice, I think.

[Karamatsu remarks with a smile, folding his arms.]

I am impressed by your work already, Penny-chan. If I did not know any better, I would say you have done this many times before.

holodeck

[andjerry]

[thomas already knows he won't kill over this secret, as terrible as it is; it probably already was going to come out. even if he lives through what he saw sunday, though, his life as he knows it is over.

while he spent most of the day with manaka forgetting about it, towards the time it would be getting dark in any normal place he's thinking he should at least say goodbye to what he's going to miss- but penny's already there. angry, determined, preparing to finish what akira and kaiba started? he just. watches, not even thinking about waiting his turn, and thinks he's going to have to wait for her to wear herself out before remembering that isn't a possibility. if she does stop, he looks almost like he's been caught, but is ready with the notepad she's seen him with and an apology.]

[in4apounding]

[She does see him, sooner or later, during the simulation resetting itself.]

Ah- Mister Thomas! Salutations.

[andjerry]

I think she's cheating.

When you're done, I need your help. It won't take long.

[in4apounding]

[O... kay? Not talking. Okay. Probably a sabotage thing.]

She probably is. ...I can take a break now, I don't think I'm making much progress.

[andjerry]

[he sees that look and offers one of his own, paging back to a quick explanation: he's not sick, someone probably sabotaged him Kaiba.]

Do you still want to take me back to Remnant? There's something I really need, if we do that first.

[in4apounding]

...yes. I mean- I don't want you to have to go back to- to that. But coming to Remnant would be the easiest way to do that.

[andjerry]

Wherever I go- I think I'll need your help with something first.

[in4apounding]

Absolutely.

[Zero hesitation.]

What is it?