see right through your beautiful lies ( semi-open )

[dolosa]

[ When you awaken, you're in what seems to be an abandoned warehouse; it looks like the place hasn't been used for its original intent in ages, though the smell of copper permeates the area. The carcasses of corpses lie around here and there - some dismembered, some completely intact - along with creepy, oversized masks of rabbits.

The warehouse itself isn't that big -- there's two floors, and many doors. However, each door is locked, and the only way through is to find a key.

However, you're not alone. There's a girl who seems to be panicking nervously, fiddling with her skirt anxiously as she sits on her wheelchair, glancing every now and again at you, not all that certain as what to do. At least, that's before you awaken, which is when she gasps in sheer surprise. ]

You're-- you're finally awake.

Comments

[lightningscarlet]

[What a time to not have any expendable soldiers to send ahead. Sending Rei is out of the question. She might need her still, and besides... she's just a child. Presumably an innocent one.

So if there are risks to be taken, Anna's the one who has to take them. She can handle that.]

Fine, then. I'm going right. You can wait here, if you'd like, but I wouldn't recommend going ahead alone.

[And she starts down her chosen path without so much as a pause to check on the girl. It's most likely safe, after all. Their captors seem to want them running their little maze without any guards interfering.]

[dolosa]

N-- no, I'm coming. Another pair of eyes would be useful, right?

[ She says those words in an attempt to be reassuring, but she also knows that it's best not to go alone. Although Rei herself didn't mind separating, that was not a part of her plans.

But she could always change them, if she so dared to. ]

... Unless you don't want my help.

[lightningscarlet]

[She does pause for just a second at Rei's question.]

Precisely.

[There's that patronizing fondness in her tone again. Rei really has proven herself to be quite useful as far as observation goes. But Anna's not about to let anyone think she needs them for anything.]

And that's all up to you, sweetie.

[She makes a dismissive gesture with one hand and turns to continue down the right path.]

I told you, I'm not your babysitter. Not my job to tell you what to do.

[dolosa]

...

[ She's silent, as if thinking about things first before nodding. If Anna doesn't care where she goes, then so be it. ]

I'll go the other direction, then.

[ There's no need to hide her intentions too much, though her voice is still unsteady, shaken. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[For the briefest moment, Anna seems to tense up. Rei might not be able to see it, but surprise and maybe a teensy bit of alarm flash through her eyes. She hadn't expected the girl to be so bold. Or foolish. She's not sure which.]

If you think you can handle it, suit yourself.

[She's trying to sound callous and dismissive, but it's probably obvious she was expecting Rei to just obediently follow along behind her the whole way. Unpredictability is not what she wants to be dealing with in this situation.]

We can meet back here once we've scouted ahead. Don't be too long...

[There's an almost musical, teasing note in her voice as she continues down her chosen path. Which is actually a warning. She won't wait for Rei forever, after all.]

[dolosa]

[ She places her hands on her skirt, crumpling it in her fingers before nodding. Even though she knows that it's dangerous, it would probably be for the best, after all.

In the meanwhile, Anna will find herself in front of a broadcasting room; there's a guy in a wolf mask staring at the cameras, and behind them are rabbit masks along with tools that could be used to kill. There's more corridors ahead, three of them, in fact. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Hm... another corpse? Or is he alive?

This room seems worth investigating before moving on, if only to see if any of those tools could make useful weapons for self-defense as well. That and there might be meaning behind this person being the only one with a wolf mask.

She's very, very cautious as she steps inside. Always on the alert for potential traps, or if Mr. Wolf there decides to suddenly jump up and attack her.]

[dolosa]

[ He's very much alive. At least, for the time being. But the man in the mask? He doesn't say or do anything at all, just... emptily staring at the screens which seem to depict everyone's location.

If Anna pays really close attention, though she might notice that Rei is nowhere to be found in any of the screens. Though that might just be the angling of the cameras. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Well, that's interesting. Anna could fix that little detail of him being alive quite easily, especially if he's not going to react to her presence. But what fun would that be?]

Well. You're clearly not a guard.

[An offhand comment aimed at the man without the expectation of a response. Maybe he's drugged. Whatever the case, as long as he stays unresponsive, she can study the screens. Are there other people alive in this place? Can she make out any details of the layout? ... She does notice Rei doesn't seem to be anywhere on the screens, but she assumes the girl must be steering clear of cameras somehow.]

[dolosa]

[ There doesn't seem to be anybody else in any of the images. The layout's hard to grasp, though the rooms viewed in the cameras are the following: the library, this room, the room prior to this one, a medical room, an empty, spacious room, the key factory, and another spacious room with stairs. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[No harm in leaving Mr. Wolf alive for now, it seems. Even if she can't quite figure out the layout, it's nice to get a glimpse into the other rooms. Assuming there aren't any other rooms without cameras, she counts five unfamiliar rooms. She's passed four paths, the three branches nearby and the one Rei went down. The room with the stairs seems the most likely exit, though there could be a way out in any of them. And she has no way of knowing where she's going, anyway.

With a shrug, she turns to leave the room, hoping to find someplace more immediately useful. ... But not without seeing if there's something she can pick up, like a knife laying around. She's no stranger to unarmed combat, but being without a knife in this sort of situation is like being naked. And not in the fun way.

Knife or no knife, though, she's got a plan. Check each of those three corridors she saw, starting with the right again. It's trial and error, but there's not much else she can do right now.]

[dolosa]

[ The right side is the completely empty room. There doesn't seem to be anything of note here with the exception that it's rather spacious for no apparent reason. Weird. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Weird indeed. Doesn't seem to be anything to do here but make a note of it and backtrack.

Might as well go in order, then. Time to try the center path.]

[dolosa]

[ There's a door in the center path, but it seems to be locked. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Of course it is. Well, she'd better check the left, then. She can come back here after finding a key or lockpick or something.]

[dolosa]

[ The left side splits two ways, having two more corridors. Your pick: left or right? ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Wonderful. Yet another path to keep track of.

Annoyed, she continues toward the left with barely a thought.]

[dolosa]

[ The left side contains a bathroom. There's a sink, and a toilet and a bathtub. In front of the sink is a mirror, cracked in the center, with words that read:

"The wolf is Hoyama"

There are signs that there was more to the message but it's cut off. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Now this wasn't on the cameras. No big surprise there, since bathrooms usually don't have cameras. But that probably means this place already had security feeds before her captor started to use it. No kidnappers would leave a blind spot like this and not have guards.

Of course, the first thing she does is check for exits. Failing that, she studies the mirror message to see if she can discern any more of it.

And with whatever information she's gathered, she'll leave and try the last remaining path. Even in the unlikely event there is an exit, she still has to retrieve Rei to make use of it.]

[dolosa]

[ The other path is a bedroom. There's drawers which don't seem to contain anything, and a bed; it's old, but messy. Maybe you should check under the bed...? ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Another surprise... this certainly is an interesting place for what seemed like an abandoned warehouse at first.

In the interest of being thorough in her search, she does indeed get around to checking under the bed. She'd even considered checking inside the mattress if she could. Sadly, she's still lacking in knives...]

[dolosa]

[ Congratulations, Anna. You've manged to find a dismembered arm with a barcode on it. It's also holding a little note that speaks about "Avoid the game called Rabbit Doubt at all costs" and that "there were real life Rabbit Doubt games that resulted in deaths"...

Without actually explaining the meaning of it. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[... Lovely. She could honestly do without all the gore in this place. Not that she can't handle it, but she generally doesn't do dismembered limbs and already-rotting corpses, thank you very much.

Oh well, this "Rabbit Doubt" game seems to have something to do with what's going on, perhaps. It might explain the rabbit masks. Some kind of deadly game played outside of the normal society, perhaps?

In any case, she might need that bar code. As reluctant as she is to do this, she takes a bedsheet and wraps the dismembered limb up as well as possible so she can carry it along. If it turns out she doesn't need the code, she can always just drop it wherever.

On her way back out to the very first fork, where she and Rei parted ways, she'll check that locked door she'd found one more time. See if it has a scanner that could use a bar code on someone's arm.]

[dolosa]

[ And indeed it does, Anna! You're free to use it to your heart's content. ]

[lightningscarlet]

[Finally, some good news! Time to unwrap that arm... just enough to scan the bar code. She still doesn't want to get her hands (and clothes) dirty.

Assuming it works and unlocks the door, she'll cautiously check inside.]