[centre][b]Episode 2: The Bloody Beetles[/b][/centre] [i]Knock! Knock! Knock![/i] [b]Nat[/b] groggily wiped his eyes and checked his watch. It was only 6 am. [i]Knock! Knock! Knock![/i] Dragging himself out of bed he wandered over to his bedroom door and opened it slowly. Standing before him was the Assistant, the upper half of his face still covered by a hood. “The Master would like you to join him in the Lounge in twenty minutes. Be there.” The Assistant turned and strode off swiftly, leaving [b]Nat[/b] hanging onto his door. With a sigh the man turned and walked back over to his bed where [b]Jorick[/b] was still sleeping. “It’s time to get up [b]Jorick[/b].” he said, pulling the blanket off the body next to him. “No, come back to bed!” was the whiny response as he pulled the blanket back over him. “[b]Jorick[/b], I’m serious. We’re in a game of life and death now; there isn’t any time to waste. I’m not risking our lives because you want an extra five minutes of sleep! Get Up!” [b]Nat[/b] grabbed [b]Jorick[/b] by the wrist and pulled him out of the bed. “HEY! What the hell!?” “Get ready, we have to be in the Lounge in twenty minutes.” [b]Jorick[/b] scowled. “You take everything way too seriously.” Brushing himself off he headed into the bathroom to hop into the shower. “Oh, and don’t EVER touch me like that again, or I swear I’ll kill you.” He called out before turning the water on and hopping him. “It’s not as funny when you may actually die playing a ‘game’” [b]Nat[/b] grumbled before walking into the bathroom himself. [b]Nat[/b] washed his face, brushed his teeth, then went into his bag to find his meds. A puzzled expression soon took over his face however when he looked at the empty bottle of antipsychotic pills. “I could have sworn I refilled this right before we came here…” [b]Nat[/b] muttered to himself. [b]Jorick[/b] stepped back into the bedroom in just his towel. “Hey you ready to go? Take your pills and everything?” [b]Nat[/b] looked back at the empty bottle and jammed it in his pocket. “Yeah, get dressed and we’ll go.” --------------- [b]Drakel[/b] handed a cup of coffee to his wife, who was sitting cross legged on the floor of their room, head in her hands. “I don’t want it.” [b]Squee[/b] whispered, eyes squeezed shut in thought. “You need it. You definitely didn’t get any sleep last night and you need to be able to think to solve puzzles.” “I don’t even like coffee, you should know that. Then again, despite being married for ten years you don’t seem to know anything about me.” [b]Squee[/b] stood up and walked to the wardrobe and put her gold necklace on, a gift from her grandmother. “Just drink the damn coffee. And why don’t you try wearing some of the jewellery [i]I[/i] gave you for once.” Snatching the coffee from [b]Drakel[/b], [b]Squee[/b] quickly took a sip. “Excuse me, but this is the last reminder I have of my grandmother. I’m sorry if me wearing it offends you.” With a huff, she sat down on the bed and stared into her mug. [b]Drakel[/b] looked at his wife sympathetically. “Something else is bothering you, isn’t it? You know aside from this whole coffee and jewellery discussion. What is it?” “I’m just worried about that woman, [b]Seravee[/b], I think her name is. I mean, we’re all in this game now but she just watched her own chauffeur get shot for heaven’s sake. Did you see her face after dinner when we went for the tour of the mansion? It was so set, she showed no emotion. She had to be suppressing her emotions pretty badly. I think I’ll go check on her on our way to the lounge.” [b]Drakel[/b] sighed. “Fine, but I’m leaving now, I’ll see you in there then.” [b]Squee[/b] rose from her spot, touching her necklace gently. “See you there.” ----------- [b]Seravee[/b] lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling when she heard a knock on the door. “Come in, it’s open” She called out weakly. [b]Squee[/b] walked into the room. “Hey I just wanted to see how you were doing. Everything alright?” With a small chuckle, [b]Seravee[/b] sat up. “Does it look like everything is all right? I just watched one of my servants get shot while he was sitting right next to me.” [b]Squee[/b] walked over and sat on the bed next to the woman. “I know how horrible you must feel. Like it’s your fault. How could you have known he would be killed just because he didn’t have an official invite? In my eyes, you have to fight back against this Master creep. Don’t let him mess with your head. You’ve got to get out there and win this thing for Shy.” [b]Seravee[/b] just looked down at her hands. “I didn’t even come for the money like others did. I just love solving puzzles. Shy and I used to work on them all the time while driving. Every day he had a new riddle for me to solve while we were on our way to some new event. Such a bright boy.” She looked up with a tear in her eye. “I don’t want to play this game anymore. I want out. I won’t leave my room if that is what it takes.” “But there is a challenge starting in five minutes, who knows what will happen if you miss it?” “Well I guess we’ll just have to find out won’t we?” [b]Seravee[/b] gave a small smile to [b]Squee[/b] before continuing. “Thank you for caring about me so much though.” She rested a hand on Squee’s neck and brushed her cheek with her thumb. “Ow, careful there, that ring is sharp” [b] Squee[/b] laughed rubbing her neck. Seravee looked down at the silver ring on her finger. “Sorry, the ring was a gift from Shy. He liked the spiky design around the outside for some reason. The boy was bright and hardworking, but had not fashion sense.” More tears began to form in [b]Sera’s[/b] eyes and [b]Squee[/b] got up from the bed. “Well hopefully I’ll see you after this challenge is over.” She said as she moved toward the door. “Good luck!” [b]Sera[/b] called out. ---------------- [b]Jordan[/b] sat on the cold, wooden chair and watched as all the other victims slowly filed into the lounge. [b]Vordak[/b] was once again dressed up in his suit in an attempt to look calm and collected though his eyes jumped around constantly, betraying the anxiousness he was feeling. Despite this he still stood tall and gave a curt nod to everyone that made eye contact with him. [b]K-97[/b] walked in, his hand on his brother [b]Alpha’s[/b] shoulder. [b]Svenn[/b] and [b]Drakel[/b] were sitting opposite each other, staring the other down. [b]Drakel’s[/b] foot was tapping impatiently while [b]Svenn[/b] simply smirked at him. [b]Jorick[/b] and [b]Nat[/b] soon joined the group, sitting down next to [b]Drakel[/b]. At their appearance, [b]Svenn[/b] quickly got up and crossed the room to go speak to [b]Knightshade[/b]. Alliances and rivalries seemed to be rising up already. What did catch [b]Jordan’s[/b] eye however was what was taking place just outside the room. Just outside the lounge doors, [b]mbl[/b] was discussing something with the Master. The Master gave a quick nod and [b]mbl[/b] strode off in the opposite direction of the Lounge. The Master gave a quick turn and strode into the room, his Assistant trailing at his heals. Today his black suit was contrasted against a crimson rose sitting in his breast pocket. With a large smile he clapped his hands and every one fell silent. “Welcome to the first challenge. This is sure to be a fun one.” He said, giving a small chuckle. He looked around the room and his smile became a slight frown. “We seem to be missing some people.” “Sorry I’m here!” [b]Squee[/b] called out as she rushed into the room. “I’m here but [b]Seravee[/b] refuses to come…” [b]Squee’s[/b] voice trailed off towards the end as a flash of anger lit up the Master’s eyes. Taking a deep breath he soothed himself and turned back to the crowd, a smile once again on his face. “As I was saying, welcome to the first challenge. This puzzle will be a puzzle solved as a team. Half of you will come with me to the games room, while the other half will follow my Assistant to the ballroom. The puzzle will be explained there.” The Master nodded at his partner and the Assistant stepped forward. “With the Master will be [b]Knightshade[/b], [b]Squee[/b], [b]Drakel[/b], [b]Svenn[/b], and [b]Jordan[/b]. With myself will be [b]Alpha, K-97, Nat, Jorick[/b], and [b]Vordak[/b]. Please follow us now to your respective rooms.” The final ‘s’ on the word rooms dragged out into a hiss before the Assistant and Master both stepped out of the room and set off to their separate destinations. The contestants looked at each other for a moment, then followed suit. ---------------- “The puzzle is simple.” The Master explained. The five contestants looked around the games room. It appeared to be empty, with the exception of a long covered rectangle on the floor in front of them. The master pulled the blanket off to reveal several long planks of wood, organized to make one long rectangle broken up into six even sections. Within each section was a large black circle, around the size of a plate. “These are my six pet ‘beetles’,” the Master said with a grin. “Now you see my beetles are very jealous of each other, therefore they must all remain in separate cages of equal size. If they are not in separate cages of equal size… well…” He laughed. “It isn’t pretty.” The Master walked to one end of the rectangle and tapped on the end plank. A faint whirring sound was heard and the plank slid quietly into the floor, leaving the end of the rectangle open. “Now let us say a thief decides to steal one of the walls to my beetles’ cage. I don’t want anything bad to happen so I must find a way to make 6 even cages using whatever I have left. That will be your job.” “That’s it?”[b] Jordan[/b] asked. “Just figure out how to cage them all?” A sadistic smile crossed the face of the Master before he pulled a small black box from his pants pocket. “Of course that isn’t it. That wouldn’t be exciting would it? Once the puzzle is solved, you must take one of the ‘beetles’ and run it back to the lounge where there is a place set out for it. Place it back there first and your team wins, granting one of you immunity.” “And how is it decided who gets immunity?” [b]Knightshade[/b] questioned. “That is unimportant at the moment. What is important is that you have half an hour to solve this puzzle.” The Master pressed a button on the black box and all the black discs lit up. A red clock appeared in the middle of each with a large number 30 on it. “If that timer hits zero, every one of you will be blown to bits. The door will not unlock until the puzzle has been solved. Better get cracking!” The Master let out a loud laugh and sauntered out the door, slamming it closed behind him. The group looked at each other stunned. Slowly the gravity of the matter hit them. “They’re bombs.” [b]Squee[/b] gasped. [b]Drakel’s[/b] face went pale while [b]Svenn[/b] and [b]Jordan[/b] shared a look. The timers on all of the explosives let out a loud beep as the number changed from 30 to 29. “Well we better get to it.” [b]Jordan[/b] muttered. ------------------------------- “We only have 17 minutes to finish the puzzle!” [b]Vordak[/b] yelled at the brothers, his foot tapping impatiently. “Hurry up!” [b]K-97[/b] and [b]Alpha[/b] glanced at each other in frustration. [b]K-97[/b] Stood up from his place on the floor and got up into [b]Vordak’s[/b] face. “This puzzle would probably be solved faster if you helped us you know, instead of standing there informing us of every minute that passes by!” [b]K-97[/b] challenged [b]Vordak[/b]. “Isn’t your brother supposed to be a genius? It should be solved by now!” He yelled back. [b]Jorick[/b] and [b]Nat[/b] sat with their backs against the wall, watching as the two men fought it out. “I still think my idea of breaking the planks would work. I mean between the five of us I’m sure we could do it.” Jorick thought aloud, but his words fell on empty ears. [i] “Look at how angry he is. Look at him yelling. He’s dangerous that one. A military man. He definitely knows how to kill.”[/i] [b]Nat[/b] squeezed his eyes shut, willing the horrible voices out of his head. [i] “He’s killed before, why wouldn’t he do it again for money? I bet he wouldn’t even bat an eye.” [/i] [b]Nat[/b] Squeezed his head tightly between his hands. “Get out! Go away!” He muttered to himself. “Did you say something?” [b]Jorick[/b] asked, looking at his boyfriend with concern. [b]Nat[/b] looked up but shook his head. “No I didn’t. I just hope we solve this puzzle soon.” [i] “Maybe he is the killer. It’s always the ones closest to us we know the least about.” [/i] [b]Nat[/b] Squeezed his head tighter and screwed his eyes shut. Suddenly [b]Alpha[/b] jumped up, startling everyone in the room. “I’ve got it!” he exclaimed. “We’ve been thinking about this all wrong! We keep trying to make rectangular cages and it won’t ever work.” A thought dawned on [b]K-97[/b]. “A different shape. The cages will be a different shape!” The veteran quickly ran back over to his brother and they began to rearrange the planks on the floor. “Finally.” [b]Vordak[/b] scoffed. “It’s about time. We’re down to 13 minutes!” ----------------------- [b]Drakel[/b] and [b]Jordan[/b] began to drag the planks around the empty ballroom as [b]Squee[/b] and [b]Knightshade[/b] instructed them. [b]Svenn[/b] simply stood off to the side, staring at [b]Squee[/b]. [b]Squee[/b] smiled, happy that her and [b]Knightshade[/b] had finally figure it out. A hexagon. The planks had to be arranged so that they formed a hexagon with 6 interior equilateral triangles. It was just a matter of finishing the puzzle in time. “5 minutes!” [b]Drakel[/b] called out. Knightshade pointed at the last plank. “Put that board in place then place all the mines inside the cages. That should unlock the door.” [b]Drakel[/b] dragged the last piece into place while [b]Jordan[/b] quickly began to fill each triangle. As he placed the last bomb into place, the contestants heard a soft click. [b]Svenn[/b] ran to the door and pulled. The door slid open on silent hinges. “It’s open!” He yelled to the group before dashing back to grab one of the explosives. Snatching the closest one up he sprinted out the door with it. “I swear if he trips and blows this place up with that thing I’ll kill him.” [b]Drakel[/b] growled before taking off after him. [b]Jordan[/b] looked at [b]Squee[/b] and [b]Knightshade[/b]. “Nice job guys, now let’s go get some immunity.” The other two nodded and together they all ran out the door. ----------------------- [b]Seravee[/b] sat in her chair, the Master on one side and the Assistant on the other. She stared straight ahead as [b]K-97[/b] came barrelling into the room, his team hot on his heels. In front of [b]Seravee[/b] were two pedestals, each with a bowl the same size as the explosive disks. [b]K-97[/b] looked around the room desperately, before he noticed the two stands. He rushed over and pushed the disk into place. The number 7 lit up briefly before his face, before the disc went completely back. With a sigh of relief he stepped back. [b]Alpha[/b] embraced him and [b]Vordak[/b] gave him a curt nod. [b]Jorick[/b] simply rolled his eyes. “I told you all we were worrying for nothing. We win. So easy.” He scoffed. A few minutes later, [b]Svenn[/b] raced into the room and spotted the pedestal. He immediately jammed the disc into place, and watched as a large red 3 lit up then faded to black. “I did it!” [b]Svenn[/b] said smugly before sinking into a nearby sofa. “You? How about we did it, you watched.” [b]Squee[/b] replied as the other four entered the room. [b]Svenn[/b] shot [b]Squee[/b] a venomous look. “Fine. We did it.” The Master glanced at [b]Seravee[/b], who immediately turned away from his glance. She got up and walked to the other side of the room to join the others. [b]Squee[/b] gave her a small wink. “Nice to see you up and moving.” [b]Seravee[/b] mustered up a small smile and sent it at the caring woman. “Well done everyone, it seems the puzzle has been solved!” The Master said cheerily. He smiled like a kid on his birthday. “But now for the immunity. My Assistant and I monitored you all very closely during this challenge to see who it was that actually solved the puzzle for each team. We would like [b]Alpha, K-97, Knightshade[/b] and [b]Squee[/b] to all step forward please.” The four smiled at each other and all began to move to the front of the room. Suddenly there was a loud crash and the room went black. Screams rang out around the room as people began running around. One scream rang out above them all, piercing the darkness. There was a large thump and the lights came back on. Lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the floor was [b]Squee[/b]. A bloody line was drawn around her neck from one jugular to the other. [b]Drakel[/b] stood at her feet, a blank expression on his face while [b]K-97[/b] looked in horror at the blood all over his hands and body. “I swear I didn’t do it! She was next to me when it happened. I felt liquid hit my face and she screamed! I tried to grab her, save her but it was too dark to see! I swear it wasn’t me!” He exclaimed, tears filling the big man’s face. The group was silent, staring at [b]Squee’s[/b] lifeless body and the man next to her who was covered blood. The Master looked on with a smug look before looking over at [b]Nat[/b]. [i] “It was him. He’s covered in her blood. There is no hiding it now, he’s a murderer!”[/i] “No no no no no! It wasn’t him. He’s so caring about everyone. So strong. He couldn’t have!” [b]Nat[/b] whispered. [i] “Stop denying the truth. He’s covered in evidence. It was him. You have a job officer. You vowed to protect people from monsters like him. Do your duty!” [/i] “I can’t. It couldn’t have been him… Could it?” doubt began to find its way into his mind. [i] “It was him. He’s a murderer. Kill him now while he’s not expecting it. Before he realizes you know. Do it!” [/i] Shaking, [b]Nat[/b] slowly reached for a letter opener on a small table beside him. [i] “Do it, this is your duty!”[/i] [b]Nat[/b] gripped the small blade tightly in his hand. His face became set as stone. [i] “Do. It. NOW!” [/i] With a cry [b]Nat[/b] lunged forward. Many stepped back in shock as he flew at the bear named [b]K-97[/b]. The man looked up from his bloodstained hands just in time to watch as [b]Nat[/b] drove the blade deep into his chest. His eyes widened in shock as he slowly slumped to his knees, the small knife clattering to the floor. “Nat… I’m not the killer. What… have… you… done…” [b]K-97[/b] fell on his face. With a cry of anguish [b]Alpha[/b] rushed over to his fallen brother and wrapped his arms around him. [b]Jorick’s[/b] eyes were huge. “[b]Nat[/b] what have you done?” [i] “You failure! You killed the wrong man! Screw up! Worthless piece of trash! You deserve to die!” [/i] [b]Nat[/b] began to tremble. [i] “You deserve death. You must die to atone for your sins. Kill yourself. Do it now. You’re worthless.” [/i] Tears began to fall down his face. [i] “Just die.” [/i] With that final phrase in his mind, [b]Nat[/b] tore out of the room towards the front gates. “NAT NO!” [b]Jorick[/b] shouted and raced after his boyfriend. As he approached the front door, Nat threw the monstrous arches open and sprinted outside. As [b]Jorick[/b] reached the open doorway, he saw Nat turn back towards him, a terrified look on his face. The look of terror the two shared was the last thing Nat saw, before the sniper bullet entered his brain and he fell lifeless into the dirt. [b]Jorick[/b] collapsed to his knees, tears staining his cheeks. The Master walked up behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. The other slowly began to fill the entrance, [b]Squee’s[/b] lifeless body in the arms of stone faced [b]Drakel[/b]. “Well this was an interesting turn of events. Four deaths in less than twenty four hours.” The Master’s face changed from a somber understanding to one of glee. “How exciting!” he exclaimed. Spinning to face the rest of the group he pointed at [b]Alpha[/b]. “You were on the winning team and one of the two to actually solve the puzzle. Since your brother is no longer with us, you win Immunity. What great fortune.” He smiled at the sullen [b]Alpha[/b] before turning to his Assistant. “Clean up the dead bodies and make some lunch for everyone. They could use some food before they decide who gets to die next.” ---------------------------------------------- [centre]End of Morning Phase[/centre] [centre]You have 48 hours to submit any Day Roles and to place your lynch vote in the IC thread.[/centre] [u]Dead Characters:[/u] Squee – The Doctor – Every round you may select a player to protect. If that player is supposed to be killed, they will only be injured. If the player is supposed to be injured, they will be perfectly fine. K-97 – Last Stand – if killed off, you will release a clue towards whoever killed you. If you are lynched, nothing happens. Nat – the Deranged Cop - this player can kill off a suspected murderer during any phase of the game. If he kills off a beneficial role by mistake he will commit suicide (one time use). [hider=Correct Answer to Puzzle] [img=http://i.imgur.com/s6NDn2x.png] Image courtesy of Squee. In honour of her passing I chose to use her lovely picture.[/hider]