There was thrumming. You... You? Yes. You were here. Whatever that meant. Besides the thrumming that echoed through you, you couldnât tell anything. No light, no sound, no temperature, no perception. Just you, whatever you were, in some void.
The thrumming hitched, and you finally felt something. You werenât sure what.Â
Clicking, whirring. You realize this is the first thing youâve really heard since you... woke up? Was that what this was?
A few other senses filtered in. The presence of light. The presence of your own limbs. Memories flickered past, in pieces hard to hold onto. But it was all slowly pulling together. You were slowly pulling together. Your name, your thoughts, your being.
You sat up, slowly. You could move, then. That was good. And from the sounds around you it seemed you werenât the only one.
One sound was different from the rest. Less mechanical. It came from a familiar faceâwith intact eyes again, no other bloodless gashes, and a wide grin on his face. He adjusted his blue-tinted sunglasses.
âHey, gang,â he saidâthough some of you had to wait for a translator to make sense of it. âNot sure how long itâs gonna take to get you oriented, but you all seem awake enough for a few basics. Iâm Katari ShimonâIâd say also known as Cole Kaes, but Iâve never used that name, just the other me. Weâre currently in the back of a moving vehicle, so please keep your arms and legs inside at all times and donât open any hatches. Your batteries should all be charged up for the long ride, so we can try and run some tests before figuring out exactly where weâre gonna send who in the end. Iâm sure Amari gave you the whole spiel on that, so I wonât reiterate. I just wanna say...â
Hands in his pockets, he paused to look each of you in the eyeâwhether you could really look back or not. He smiled.
âWelcome to life.â
â
The game has been completed. A thread is available in the forum for any epilogue posts youâd like to make for your character. Even if your characterâs AI died in-game, you may post something with the âoriginalâ if youâd like.Â
There were still so many mysteries to solve, so many codes you didnât seem able to findâwhat, did the Floor Masters just memorize them?âbut your investigation cut short with a sharp pain in the back of your neck.
Better than a gunshot, perhaps. But still far from welcome.
Despite the confusion and chaos of the Card shuffle, you awoke in the same old Last Supper room, another spread of food laid before you. Nothing else but a single door and a screen in the darkness.
And, of course, the screen wouldnât leave you to think in silence.
âWell, here we are! I hope youâre all excited, hmhm. I do apologize for the rush, but Iâm sure everyone had plenty of time to do anything that they were actually ever going to do.â
âIt seems Cole dearest managed to bring in some special guests, so please do enjoy them. They will be as much a part of the game as you this round, it seems. Though Iâd advise you to be cautious...â
âThat goes for everyone else who received a tablet, as well. So long as the tablet is functional, it will behave normally, regardless of the status of its owner.â
âSo, then! As usual, you may linger in here up to ten minutes before your life is forfeit. I do hope youâll come up with some interesting strategies, uhuhu.â
The screen shut off, Anna leaving you with nothing but questionably moral encouragement and vague warnings. The special guests surely couldnât be anything good, but what on earth were they? And how could they be part of the Main Game?
Not to mention, if even the deadâs tablets were truly in play... What did that mean for the game? Could you simply vote to execute someone who was already dead? That would still leave the Reaper and Sacrifice to their fates...
If you still had to play the game, then the best possible outcome would be to pick the Scapegoat still, even if they were among the living. Cole gave you a different way to find out who that may be, and you did have a feeling...
But was that enough to bet so many lives on?
No matter who you were going to target, who you were going to protectâthe clock was ticking, and the Main Game would begin again soon.
And surely, for the last time.
â
The fourth Main Game has begun. Go to the forum and read the Floor Mastersâ introductory post, then begin planning your posts to discuss who to vote for. Please keep an eye on othersâ posts and the OOC chat to keep the discussion orderly. Votes will be called for at two points of the game when deemed appropriate. If no posts are made in the MG thread for 24 hours straight, a vote can be called for regardless, so please try to participate a reasonable amount.
The clock was ticking down now, with the Reaper having less than half the time left to make a move... Would they? Should they? Surely you could all manage to vote for the Scapegoat. Though that was hardly fair to them, either. But if you got out alive, well... That was nearly all you could hope for anymore.
Anna had yet to call you for the next Main Game when an ear-splitting screech came from your tablet. Alarmedâwas that how theyâd announced the last body?âyou fumbled for it, but it didnât seem to have any kind of notification showing.
Then a voice began to play.
âIâVE SENT THE SCAPEGOAT TO THE VOLUNTEER. DONâT KNOW WHO... DONâT KNOW IF... ALIVE. ALL TABLETS ARE IN PLAY THIS ROUND. DONâT KNOW... ELSE MIGHT HAPPEN...â
You struggled to place the voiceâthe speaker cutting in and out didnât helpâbefore the broadcast sputtered out altogether.
The ensuing silence pressed in on you until you dared make a move. Nothing had updated in the A. Report appâthank goodnessâand you couldnât seem to find anywhere else the sound would have come from. If you dared open your Card app alone in your room...
...with a flicker of static, your Card has changed.
It wasnât long after that before Annaâs voice finally took over.
âWell, that wasnât entirely planned, but I look forward to seeing how you adapt, hmm? It seems three hours remain until the Main Game begins. Best of luck.â
Surely that wasnât the full three days you were supposed to haveâbut it seemed several things that were âsupposedâ to happen werenât. And there wasnât much you could do about it.
So... Three hours. Three hours for the new Reaper to try to make a move. Three hours to find any last clues to the volunteerâs identity.
Three hours before the game began again.
---
The final section of Chapter 4 has begun! Please form one or more investigation groups on Discord if you would like to search for clues. Other Part 2 threads can start or continue after the announcement if desired.
You will receive a message on Discord shortly to tell you which Card your character has now. Characters are not required to check, but the Card will be available for reference on tablets much like they were before.
With that debacle over, you could at least grab some mostly-greasy sustenance from the bar... and drinks. Which of those seemed more vital at this point was up to the beholder.
You seemed to have a good while to recover before you were called together again. Time for another sub-game, perhaps? Something else? Whatever it was, it was hard to be optimistic. At least the classroom had plenty of places for you all to sit.
âWelcome, welcome. Eager to keep moving ahead, are we? I donât see why you wouldnât be, at this point.â
While Anna stood at the front of the room, Cole was more awkwardly off to the side, spin-tossing a book between his hands. Still not making any announcements himself, huh?
Unabashed, Anna continued.
âSo! It is now time for the distribution of Cards.â
...As much as you wanted to move on from that horrific color room, this you werenât so eager to move on to.
âThey will be random again, and distributed to your tablets in the same manner as the last floor.â Seemingly remembering someone there hadnât had a tablet at the time, she added, âThat is, you will be able to access your Card first in the privacy of your own room.â
âIn fact, that is the only place you will be able to access your Card. And like the first round, you are prohibited from allowing another participant to witness your Card.â
âYouâre still free to claim whatever Card you like, true or false, aside from the usual Sage rule being in place. As for the Cards themselves...â
âAll Cards that have appeared in previous rounds will be in play.â
The words seemed innocuous enough... until you actually thought about it. All of them? But wouldnât that mean...
âHmhm, that is correct! In addition to a Keymaster, Sage, and a few Commoners, there will be both a Sacrifice and a Reaper. Their rules will be the same as they were previously. If you need a refresher, feel free to ask Cole or myself for the details at any time.â
Oh, but how could you possibly forget how those two Cards worked? After all the lives theyâd taken already?
âSo yes, based on that information it would be safe to assume that, at the very least, two to three of you must die this Main Game, depending on the Reaperâs behavior. Of course, voting for the Sacrifice or Keymaster is likely to net more casualties.â
âAh, but speaking of the Reaperâs behavior... Thereâs something else you ought to know before we begin your three-day countdown, hmm?â
âWe will be adding one more Card to the game this round. It is known as the Scapegoat Card. It provides no special benefits before or during the Main Game. But should the Scapegoat and the Scapegoat alone receive the final majority vote, the conditions of the other cards will be nullified. That is, the Scapegoat will be the only individual executed, regardless of how many votes the Sacrifice received or whether or not the Reaper chose to act.â
âIn the event of a tie, the Scapegoat will merely be treated as a Commoner; the Sacrifice and Reaper would still be subject to their respective limitations.â
She clasped her hands with a smile.
âAnd that should be sufficient explanation, I believe. Your Cards have now been distributed, so you may go check them whenever you like.â
âAdditionally, the Reaperâs timer begins now. You may ask us at any time how many hours you have remaining if you do not wish to gamble your life on the Scapegoatâs failure. You may ask us for assistance with any killings; Iâm afraid we arenât quite as well-stocked as the floor below, but Iâm sure Cole-dearest can suggest a good few courses of action if needed.â
At his name, Cole glanced up briefly but didnât see fit to comment.
And that was it, huh? Your tablet seemed to burn as you wondered what Card youâd been dealt... but it seemed there was only one way to find out.
---
Chapter 4, Part 2 has begun! The Chapter 4, Part 2 subforum is open for all threads that do not need to be private. Threads that do need to be private can be requested on Discord.
You will receive a message on Discord shortly to tell you which Card your character received. Characters are not actually required to check, but the Card will be available for reference on tablets much like they were at the end of the last chapter.
Another thrumming in the floor, and another press of the elevator buttons. Another day of this nightmare. Or was it night now? Had you been resting (however poorly) long enough for that? Did it matter, when everything blended together into one numbing, never-ending blur? Did anything matter, at this point?
But you at least had the vague hope that maybe, just maybe, this floor would be the last... Or that you could find some other way to end this.
Preferably one that didnât involve all of you dying.
The horizontalator doors opened, dumping you into another vaguely familiar hall... with another unfamiliar Doll.
She smiled silently until everyone was assembled.
âAh, good. It seems weâre ready to commence with this round, yes?â
âItâs a pleasure to meet you all, of course! Iâve been waiting for a while... Iâm so glad not all of my personal favorites are dead yet, hmmhmm!â
âMy name is Anna Liszt, the Studying Doll. As Iâm sure our system requires little introduction at this stage, Iâll spare you the rundown. Best of luck with our puzzle, everyone.â
âGiven your interactions on other floors, I think youâll find it quite satisfying!â
âFeel free to come speak with me at any time. Though I wonât aid you in solving the puzzle, if you have any other questions...â
âWell, Iâll ensure that... information is acquired. Uhu.â
She stepped back, as if to allow you entry to the rest of the floor.
That was it? Just a hello from a single Floor Master and the unnerving implication sheâd been actively watching your suffering?
Well. Some of you didnât want to listen to Dolls for even that long. It would do.
---
Chapter 4, Part 1 has begun! In addition to interaction threads on the forum, please form an investigation group on Discord if youâd like to have a closer look around and solve the puzzles. The next plot post will not arrive until after the puzzle has been solved.
The Fourth Floor Map is now available to reference.
Even if youâd hoped for it, even if youâd suspected it, you could still hardly believe the miraculous survival you just witnessed. Or perhaps you couldnât believe that it didnât come with a catch, or couldnât believe Hiroshi would actually wake up...
But whatever your opinion, you felt just about as drained yourself. So you eventually headed back to the personal rooms... though there were still too many of you, somehow, to fit into the elevator in one go.
Perhaps it was easier to decide who you didnât want to ride with than who you did. Between hitmen and conmen and killers and robots, between those whoâd vehemently accused the people you cared about... Well, it was more than a little tempting to chase just about everyone else off the elevator so you wouldnât get stuck with them, even for a few moments.
But even after all that, another floor still lay ahead of you, according to Evan. How many more were there? If it seemed a struggle to pull through before, what was it now, with so much doubt and strife among the only people you could ally yourself with?
You couldnât be sure. But it could wait. Now, you needed rest.
---
ITERATIONâs third Main Game has concluded! You will have some time to take some post-Main Game threads if you like, then Chapter 4 will begin.
âSo! You might all want to step away from the winner now. I will not be held responsible for any damages that may occur otherwise.â
As many retorts as you might be able to come up with for that one, you were too wary not to comply. Grey thanked you cheerfully, then you heard the soft click of a button.Â
Something began to hum, and it didnât take much deduction to realize it was coming from Hiroshiâs collar.
Hiroshiâs eyes widened and his hands flew up to his collar as the hum began. He turned and hissed angrily at the floormasters, âYouâYou liarsââ
A short buzz made him flinch. You couldnât see anything, butâ
Another buzz. This time you thought you saw the faintest crackle of light near his collar. Each sound was brief, but they kept coming. Bzztâa few tiny electric arcs leapt from the collar to his neck and chin. Bzztâyou started to smell something like burnt cork.
He had been so determined to go down with some dignity, to not go down kicking and screaming when the results were clear as soon as his tablet was taken from him, but electric impulses coursing through his body forced him to twitch and shout. He cried out loudly at the pain and his cigarette slipped between his fingers.
Bzzt. The muscles in Hiroshiâs neck spasmed. Bzzt. The burning smell grew stronger as the skin near his collar grew redder. Bzztâseemed louder now. Enough muscles seized this time to send him toppling.
Hiroshi was not sure when he started crying. âMom... Dad... Iâmââ
Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Every buzz came louder, with more stray sparks leaping from his collar, more flesh burning, more muscles seizing, untilâ
BZZAZT. With a violent sound twice as long as the rest had been, the collarâs red light flared and faded. Hiroshiâs body gave one last great convulsion before he lay limp and silent.
You had barely had time to read over the autopsy report on your tabletsâwhat was even the point of half of it?âbefore the Floor Masters stepped out of the Morgue, shutting it swiftly behind them. At least they were clean of blood... as far as you could tell.
âHey, friends! Did everyone have a nice investigation?â
The answer was no, and possibly one or two of you cared to voice this.
âGood! You all seem ready and raring to go, so...â
Wait, you were just trying to get clarification on the autopsy reportâ
âNow, as you may well have guessed, it is time for the Main Game! Wonderful, mm? Though Iâm sure you agree, I am afraid it will be the usual procedure when it comes to knocking you out.â
âThough I imagine some of you will appreciate the rest, hm?â
Was it really so hard to believe you would all cooperate? After all, youâd done this so many times now. ...Or just twice? Still far too many.Â
Though knowing full well what was going to happen... maybe you really wouldnât have gone along quietly.
A sharp pain hit the back of your neck, and then...
...
...You were back in the Last Supper room. The usual feast was laid out. A bit odd for breakfast, maybe, but you couldnât deny that this time in particular you could really use a few bites. Whether or not you could stomach it, after witnessing the gruesome murder scene and knowing the killer was among you now, was perhaps another story.
However you approached the meal, you found yourself pausing as the screen turned on. Unsurprisingly, both Floor Masters were sharing the screen this time.
âWelcome, welcome, once again! The ten-minute rule you should all be familiar with is in place. I do hope you are all ready to start! Killing you for the sake of punctuality would hardly be any fun.â
Comforting as always.
âAnd just to be clear, the tablet in the room with you is the same one you had on you when we knocked you out! You wonât be able to access the Card on it anymore, so I hope you had yours memorized. Quite a mental strain, Iâm sure, but hopefully you can manage.â
âSo! Come on in whenever youâre ready! We Dolls will be waiting.â
You werenât sure you would ever be ready for this. But you werenât about to lay down and die here, either.
Back to the Main Game grounds it was.
â
The third Main Game has begun. Go to the forum and read the Floor Mastersâ introductory post, then begin planning your posts to discuss who to vote for. Please keep an eye on othersâ posts and the OOC chat to keep the discussion orderly. Votes will be called for at two points of the game when deemed appropriate. If no posts are made in the MG thread for 24 hours straight, a vote can be called for regardless, so please try to participate a reasonable amount.
While keeping track of time in this place was more trouble than it was worth, you were pretty darn sure it was a good time to be asleep when a voice rang out through the halls.
âGoooood morning, everybody!â
It took you a minute to realize it was coming from your tablet. Despite what was likely to be a rude awakening, it didnât seem like a good time to ignore Evanâs voice. At least there wasnât any accompanying image coming on-screen.
âThis is a little unorthodox, but we do want people to have a chance to investigate before things start rotting, so!â
Grey piped up before you could focus on the word ârottingâ for too long.
âSo you have some time to take a little look at the body, weâve opened a personal room for you. Donât go taking too long, now, we have an autopsy to be doing! Hmhm, how fun! To help you on your way, thereâs a brand shiny new app on your tablets, where weâll send you our official report.â
Body... Autopsy... A knot twisted in your stomach. Had the Reaper really...?
At any rate, the Floor Masters didnât deign to tell you just how much time you had before the body was taken away or before the Main Game began, so youâd better get going, huh?
You made your way over to the main personal room hallway, as did the others, slowly. One door handle turned freely, but with all the doors unlabelled and half of them empty now it was hard to be certain whose this was, again.
Upon opening the door, the room looked mostly normal. Walking in, you didnât immediately notice anything out of place. The bed was made, though it looked like someone had been sitting on it at some point. The lamp was on, but no one was visible in the room now. You could start to wonder if anyone really was dead, if this was just some ill-advised prank by the Floor Masters...
But when you began to approach the bathroom, youâd soon find something really was wrong in here.Â
Satomi lay on his side, curled in on himself to fit in the tiny room. A pool of blood gleamed on the floor, dim where the lampâs light barely reached it. It still didnât take much for you to notice that it must have come from a gash in his neck. More blood stained his fingers and the palms of his hands. His eyes remained open in a look of horror that was mirrored on the faces around you.
After everything youâve gone through together, this shouldnât have happened. But there was the victim, presumably slain by the Reaper...
Who was it, then, who had betrayed you?
---
Murder investigation has begun! We will have one mass investigation thread in the group Discord, but you are welcome to form smaller groups for part or most of the investigation period at your discretion.
IC, youâll have about 3 hours to investigate, with the autopsy report being sent to you at the end of this period. That information will go up on the blog when we deem investigation has reached the necessary point (i.e. not right away).
Despite how unfair and sometimes ludicrous this sub-game was, you all managed to get enough tokens together before running out of games or partners. Some of you only just so, but... Well, better than whatever was going to happen to you if you didnât.
As a reward, you were all called back to the bakery. Another meeting, of course, and at this point there was only one thing it could be about. Despite the smell of the bread all around you, it was hard to have any appetite.
Speaking of rewards, it looked like... another person had joined you? But the Floor Masters jumped into their spiel before you could ask any questions.
âAll right, gang! Itâs time for this game to get going in force.â
âNo more government-assigned DDR, I promise. This should be much more exciting, and hopefully more fair.â
âAnd random distribution is about as fair as it gets, mm? None of us get to decide our fates, after all!â
âThatâs right, hmhmâit is time for your Main Game Cards! You all know how this works by now, yes? Yes.â
You wished you didnât, but there wasnât really any arguing with that.
âOne little thing, thoughâweâre all sick of that Sacrifice card by now, right?â
Well. You couldnât argue with that.
âSo weâre not going to have one of those this round! Isnât that nice?â
Now that took a second to register. No Sacrifice? One less role to risk your own life voting for? Was it too good to be true?
...Was having one fewer person die really too good to be true?
âInstead, we have a different Card! A much more exciting one!â
Apparently so.
âIt is called the Reaper card. Should you get this card? You must eliminate another participant before the onset of the Main Game, or you will surely be executed come the end of that Game.â
â...Mm, does that contradict what I said earlier about choosing your fate? Ah well.â
âSo in some ways, it is a little similar to the Sacrifice card. But if the Reaper gets the final vote, it wonât cause anyone else to be executed. It wonât save the Reaper, either, unfortunately, but thatâs just the name of the game.â
âSo itâs completely possible that only one person will die on this floor! If, yâknow, whoever gets the Reaper card is fine with dying and you manage to get them the final vote.â
A wave of tension twisted through the room. Surely this was better than the Sacrifice... But was everyone here really prepared to give up their life for the good of the group?
âOtherwise⊠There will still be at least two deaths. If our Reaper decides not to kill, but you still fancy voting for someone elseâthen they shall both be executed. Or, if the Reaper does kill, youâll have that death to deal with while choosing how to vote as normal! Remember that the Sage and Keymaster are still in play as usual!â
âIf our Reaper prefers not to lie down and die, then they have their choice of any of the participants here! No Dolls, of course, since the definition of killing one of us can get a little hazy, but it should be pretty easy to know when one of you fleshy types is dead, right?â
âIf youâre not sure how to go about killing someone, you can always come talk to us! Weâre happy to help, as long as itâs just advice or digging up the right supplies. We wonât be covering for you otherwise, sorry!â
âAnd should you ever want to kill someone, just in general, weâre still here for support! You wonât get any special rewards, of course, but weâve no rules against it!â
âThe closest thing we have to a rule is that you make it interesting!â
âThe Main Game begins in three days. Thatâs the Reaperâs deadline. You can ask us at any time how many hours are left.âÂ
âJust so we donât have any tablets blurting out âREAPERâ at everyone in the bakery, your Card will be revealed once youâre in the privacy of your own rooms.â
âYouâre not technically required to look at it, but itâs prrrobably in your best interest, right?â
âSplendid, hmhmhm. Well, we do look forward to what you all have to show us! Especially if it is a corpse! Now, on your merry ways! Have fun!â
---
Chapter 3, Part 2 has begun! The Chapter 3, Part 2 subforum is open for all threads that do not need to be private. Threads that do need to be private can be requested on Discord.Â
You will receive a message on Discord shortly to tell you which Card your character received. As noted in the post, characters are not actually required to check, but the Card will be available for reference on tablets much like they were at the end of the last chapter. There is no clear restriction on showing your Card to other participants.
For the purpose of alibis, at some point you will be asked which places your character is most likely to be at a certain time, or with whom they are likely to be. Try not to be set on any one possibility. Mods will sort out whatever works best for our purposes and give you your official alibis when the time comes. Only if there is a murder, of course...
