[ The girls move away from the fleshy staircase. The fleshy staircase remains available for backing up into if they want to go say hi to the flesh again.
Going further into the cafeteria, they'll note that there are two doors visible; one completely on the opposite side of where the staircase is, and one behind the counter where you'd get your food served. No little rats(?) pop up from hidden corners this time as they walk through it. They can see enough to check that there's nothing on the ceiling of note, though now they can see the BEWARE OF RATS poster properly.
It also says, in small script impossible to read in darkness, Remember to keep the lights on!
Wow. If only they knew they had a flashlight.
They can explore the counter and ROBOWAY restaurant, try to see if there's anything of note around the tables, move on to either of the doors or go talk to the robot. Currently, the robot does not seem to have noticed them. ]
anyways she is going to head to the far door (opposite from staircase) to check it. are there any notes or locks on it? are there any weird sounds coming from behind it? ]
[ The robot looks up at Neverah. π its screen reads before it proceeds to just stare at her for a good few seconds.
Then:
π.α£
The door at the opposite end requires a keycard to get into. There is, however, a window to this one. It looks like... a different staircase? This one more well-lit. There's muffled sounds like people talking on that side as well.]
[ The robot looks at Neverah for a long time before it finally answers with its display screen:
πΈπ¦
That doesn't sound entirely right. Except now that she's looking closer, the clothes he's wearing look similar to Jiaoqiu. He's even got little fox ears on top of his display screen. Was that always there?
π
Unfortunately, with the door closed, Maomao can't overhear a full conversation. But it sounds almost like it's bustling over there. Safe. The more she tries to listen, the more she gets that feeling. If only they could get the door open, maybe they'd be safe on that side. Maybe they'd get answers on that side. Maybe the way out is closer on that side. ]
maomao will head back towards neverah, pausing to look over the counters and tables as she goes. anything on the ground? any secret maps or hints on how to use the flashlights? any extra keycards? ]
[softly, surprised. she barely registers maomao as she comes over through her own focus, absentmindedly pulling the lanyard out and handing it to her. surely this will be fine.
[ There's no extra keycards on the ground, nothing of note on the counters and tables. Honestly, the most obvious thing about this floor is how strangely dusty it is for being so well-lit. Like it's gone unused for a long time. Maomao will then have gained the keycard and lanyard! Jiaoqiu screen twitches as he looks at it, but he turns back to Neverah nearly immediately. Maomao will probably have the stray thought that she's not sure that robot always looked like a robot furry.
Jiaoqiu has a lot to say about this next question, apparently, though it doesn't necessarily make much sense.
[ it is strange, but her curiosity is kicking in especially since it may be a path away from the fleshening. taking the lanyard over to the door to see if it'll work on opening it ]
He is taking her hand alright, without any hesitation. He will follow her as she leads him towards the staircase.
Maomao uses the keycard to open the door. It... works.
The door opens and all three robots step out. This staircase is a lot different from the first. It's smaller, tighter. It's all metal steps. There's no sign of the people who she heard talking earlier, but it's still well-lit. This one doesn't even wind around as it goes up, so there's no way to surprise them around the corner. The door closes behind them, locked once more, leaving behind the fleshy walls of the previous staircase. It seems like a safe space to continue to walk up to the fifth floor or even beyond.
Are they looking around as they're going, or are they just climbing up? ]
[ JQ is following obediently, one hand tightly wound around Neverah's. He's also looking at his surroundings.
The main thing they'll spot is a small window to the outside--it's reinforced with bars and nearly impossible to reach besides from the staircase, but they can still see a bit of the city from here. They can also see that they seem much higher up than the fourth floor, which is a little odd, but probably not more odd than anything else here. It is taking them longer than usual to get to the fifth floor.
As they walk up those stairs, they'll both start to hear different things.
To Neverah, it's a simple one. Just a young woman, her voice so very familiar, asking her to look down. Won't she please look down? All she asks for is a glimpse. Doesn't Neve owe her that much?
To Maomao, the voices sound oddly like people she knows blaming her for not being quick enough. Not being smart enough. Not being enough at all. Can't you figure out what's happening? Can't you see the mistakes you're making? You're never going to learn like this. ]
[deeply sorry to maomao, but while she doesn't intend to pause for long, the voice is familiar enough that she looks down for just a moment. her hand doesn't leave robot jq's, though.]
[ Maomao continues up the stairs! The whispers only grow all the louder for it, but now that she's pushed through, she'll find herself eager to run up the stairs and get away from here.
Neverah looks down. Down, down, down, down-- because when she looks, suddenly there's no railing to these stairs. Suddenly to the side of them is a bottomless pit, an empty vastness that she's on the edge of, that she could fall into so easily. And even though it feels like miles and miles and miles down, vertigo seizing her, she has a sudden thought that if she were to fall in, she might see someone she cares about at the bottom.
JQ is still holding her hand, though. He is staring at her curiously as she does this, but he's stopped when she has. His fingers are sharp like claws in hers, which makes sense, because JQ's got claws normally, right? Yeah. That sounds right. ]
[maomao is so valid because ordinarily she would follow without question. they're in a probably dangerous area and need to hightail it out of here. on some level she understands and agrees with this. she's normally very good at being pragmatic and logical. however, unfortunately, it is phobia time yay!!
she just kind of freezes for for a minute as she takes in the distance below, trying to stop her vision from swimming and her heart from racing. called up to maomao, more quiet than she means it:]
Wait, just give me one moment—
[she tightens her grip on jq's hand and that's when she notices the claws?? hello?? she's still thrown off by the sudden departure into her waking nightmare help but she takes a shaky step up the stairs as she looks at his robot self. does he still look the same as she did a second ago?]
[ Jiaoqiu looks at her. He looks the same. Or, she thinks he does. His screen was cracked like hers when she first saw him, right? They match like that. They both got hurt. He tilts his head and stares at her before he tugs her up, still holding on tight. πβ
They just have to climb up. He's there for her. They can go up. Maybe he'd go with her if she jumped, too. She has the thought and she doesn't know why, because obviously she's terrified of the fall.
Meanwhile Maomao keeps climbing. You know what's cool for her? The stairs aren't a giant chasm on either side of herself. Spite is fueling her, and spite is making these steps feel like nothing at all. There's the door with the FIVE right up ahead. It's locked, but she took the keycard earlier. She can just go to the fifth floor.
Her head is buzzing a little. From anger, probably. Or maybe because the whispers are just so damn loud when they're being ignored. ]
[letting herself be pulled along, then trying to hurry as much as she can. her robots legs are shaking. it's fine. she will eventually reach maomao even as she panics.]
[ They make it up the stairs. There's no other incident. JQ is helping Neverah while her legs shake. He will even, helpfully, try to grab hold of her pipe with his free hand in case it falls off with all her shaking. What's interesting is that his legs also seem a bit weak. He's faltering a bit in his steps, like he can't quite walk straight. His ears twitch down.
They reach Maomao and the doorway. She's got it unlocked! So obviously it's time to enter the fifth floor.
And here they are, in the fifth floor. It appears to be...
Completely empty.
A wide, vast, empty space. The walls, floor and ceiling are white. There's fluorescent lights on the ceiling, but no door. No people. No furniture. No more visible stairs.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
holyspirits) wrote2025-03-09 08:53 pm
make your own memes actually
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Going further into the cafeteria, they'll note that there are two doors visible; one completely on the opposite side of where the staircase is, and one behind the counter where you'd get your food served. No little rats(?) pop up from hidden corners this time as they walk through it. They can see enough to check that there's nothing on the ceiling of note, though now they can see the BEWARE OF RATS poster properly.
The now visible picture looks like this.
It also says, in small script impossible to read in darkness, Remember to keep the lights on!
Wow. If only they knew they had a flashlight.
They can explore the counter and ROBOWAY restaurant, try to see if there's anything of note around the tables, move on to either of the doors or go talk to the robot. Currently, the robot does not seem to have noticed them. ]
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How are we supposed to keep the lights on?
[ maybe... maybe they will figure it out.
anyways she is going to head to the far door (opposite from staircase) to check it. are there any notes or locks on it? are there any weird sounds coming from behind it? ]
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[but since maomao has the door handled she'll come towards the other robot]
Hello. Enjoying your break?
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Then:
π.α£
The door at the opposite end requires a keycard to get into. There is, however, a window to this one. It looks like... a different staircase? This one more well-lit. There's muffled sounds like people talking on that side as well.]
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22106. And yours?
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πΈπ¦
That doesn't sound entirely right. Except now that she's looking closer, the clothes he's wearing look similar to Jiaoqiu. He's even got little fox ears on top of his display screen. Was that always there?
π
Unfortunately, with the door closed, Maomao can't overhear a full conversation. But it sounds almost like it's bustling over there. Safe. The more she tries to listen, the more she gets that feeling. If only they could get the door open, maybe they'd be safe on that side. Maybe they'd get answers on that side. Maybe the way out is closer on that side. ]
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maomao will head back towards neverah, pausing to look over the counters and tables as she goes. anything on the ground? any secret maps or hints on how to use the flashlights? any extra keycards? ]
Could I use the key for a moment?
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[softly, surprised. she barely registers maomao as she comes over through her own focus, absentmindedly pulling the lanyard out and handing it to her. surely this will be fine.
she turns back towards the other robot.]
How long have you been here?
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Jiaoqiu has a lot to say about this next question, apparently, though it doesn't necessarily make much sense.
βββ
π
βοΈβ
πππβββ ]
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Come with me. I know a way out of here.
[if he complies she'll head with him to the staircase maomao is trying to open]
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ππ
βοΈβπ₯
He is taking her hand alright, without any hesitation. He will follow her as she leads him towards the staircase.
Maomao uses the keycard to open the door. It... works.
The door opens and all three robots step out. This staircase is a lot different from the first. It's smaller, tighter. It's all metal steps. There's no sign of the people who she heard talking earlier, but it's still well-lit. This one doesn't even wind around as it goes up, so there's no way to surprise them around the corner. The door closes behind them, locked once more, leaving behind the fleshy walls of the previous staircase. It seems like a safe space to continue to walk up to the fifth floor or even beyond.
Are they looking around as they're going, or are they just climbing up? ]
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[ maybe they continued on? she does give a slight bow towards the robot with ears ]
Greetings. [ it is lit up so she will look at their surroundings as they go up the stairs ]
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Perhaps we need to keep going up for that?
[part of her vision is still messed up, but she'll look around as much as she can.]
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The main thing they'll spot is a small window to the outside--it's reinforced with bars and nearly impossible to reach besides from the staircase, but they can still see a bit of the city from here. They can also see that they seem much higher up than the fourth floor, which is a little odd, but probably not more odd than anything else here. It is taking them longer than usual to get to the fifth floor.
As they walk up those stairs, they'll both start to hear different things.
To Neverah, it's a simple one. Just a young woman, her voice so very familiar, asking her to look down. Won't she please look down? All she asks for is a glimpse. Doesn't Neve owe her that much?
To Maomao, the voices sound oddly like people she knows blaming her for not being quick enough. Not being smart enough. Not being enough at all. Can't you figure out what's happening? Can't you see the mistakes you're making? You're never going to learn like this. ]
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at the voices, she does falter for a moment. then she'll continue up the stairs. ]
You don't need to pay attention to any of that. [ assuming that they are hearing what she does. it's fine it's fine ]
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[deeply sorry to maomao, but while she doesn't intend to pause for long, the voice is familiar enough that she looks down for just a moment. her hand doesn't leave robot jq's, though.]
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Neverah looks down. Down, down, down, down-- because when she looks, suddenly there's no railing to these stairs. Suddenly to the side of them is a bottomless pit, an empty vastness that she's on the edge of, that she could fall into so easily. And even though it feels like miles and miles and miles down, vertigo seizing her, she has a sudden thought that if she were to fall in, she might see someone she cares about at the bottom.
JQ is still holding her hand, though. He is staring at her curiously as she does this, but he's stopped when she has. His fingers are sharp like claws in hers, which makes sense, because JQ's got claws normally, right? Yeah. That sounds right. ]
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it pisses her off. she just uses it as fuel to keep going. ]
Neverah! Come on! [ she thinks the other will just follow unfortunately and will keep on climbing ]
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she just kind of freezes for for a minute as she takes in the distance below, trying to stop her vision from swimming and her heart from racing. called up to maomao, more quiet than she means it:]
Wait, just give me one moment—
[she tightens her grip on jq's hand and that's when she notices the claws?? hello?? she's still thrown off by the sudden departure into her waking nightmare help but she takes a shaky step up the stairs as she looks at his robot self. does he still look the same as she did a second ago?]
Jiaoqiu...?
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They just have to climb up. He's there for her. They can go up. Maybe he'd go with her if she jumped, too. She has the thought and she doesn't know why, because obviously she's terrified of the fall.
Meanwhile Maomao keeps climbing. You know what's cool for her? The stairs aren't a giant chasm on either side of herself. Spite is fueling her, and spite is making these steps feel like nothing at all. There's the door with the FIVE right up ahead. It's locked, but she took the keycard earlier. She can just go to the fifth floor.
Her head is buzzing a little. From anger, probably. Or maybe because the whispers are just so damn loud when they're being ignored. ]
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when you show more feelings as a robot than you do normally...
anyways she's at the door and uses the keycard to unlock it. she does stall there, waiting for neverah to catch up ]
Are you coming?
[ she won't go ahead without her, even with the buzzing of anger and not wives ]
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Yes, I'll be there in a moment...
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They reach Maomao and the doorway. She's got it unlocked! So obviously it's time to enter the fifth floor.
And here they are, in the fifth floor. It appears to be...
Completely empty.
A wide, vast, empty space. The walls, floor and ceiling are white. There's fluorescent lights on the ceiling, but no door. No people. No furniture. No more visible stairs.
The door closes behind them. ]
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