Descend - An Escape Adventure

DimitriBarronmore wrote:
"I'll just assume that means you're not some devious villain. They usually love a line like that; it gives them a chance to start monologuing."
Thankfully, spidey-sense makes it quite a bit easier to navigate without seeing. Orienting himself away from the grump and towards the crack of light that presumably came from the door, it was time to make his way over and search for the knob.

"Is there a light switch over there, or would that be too convenient?"

"A light switch, huh? Let me see..."

It was pretty dark in there, so Adachi stumbled around a bit. Normally this would be fine if someone wore their glasses, but being the stubborn man he is, Adachi refused. Eventually Spidey would hear clattering and crashing as he tried to look for the light switch.



"What kind of asshole just leaves people locked in a dark room? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Yes, you should absolutely give it to Akechi. I'm going to go check on that-" Monika points towards the utility. "-so tell me what happens, like if Akechi turns into a snake or anything!"



Monika swiftly turns and walks towards the utility door. When she reaches it, she throws it open to check just what all of that racket inside is.

Giggles wrote:"-so tell me what happens, like if Akechi turns into a snake or anything!"

"Did she say turn Akechi into a snake? What, like that thing's cursed or something?" Wait. Where has she heard this before? An apple that can do that to people? Maybe that Greek Mythology book in her bag wasn't a coincidence... Bag down! Time to pull that out!

Adachi wrote:"What kind of asshole just leaves people locked in a dark room? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"You must be new to this." Parker decided to do his best to ignore the crashing from Adachi's side of the room, as not everyone is lucky enough to have heightened spider senses. "This seems to be what is commonly referred to as a villainous plot, although some people like to call it a dastardly scheme or a nefarious plan, and people who pull them aren't usually known for being nice."

"I think I've just found the door anyways," he reached for the doorknob right as this was said, "so maybe we can--"

When she reaches it, Monika throws it open to check just what all of that racket inside is.

Oh, that's convenient.

Spidey draws back just in time to avoid being struck by the door, staring at the girl on the other side in silence for a beat as he draws in the fact that he seems to be looking at a school student. Odd. But as soon as that's sunk in, he casually leans back on the nearest surface able to be leaned on with his usual charisma.
"Hey, do you know about any supervillains, criminal masterminds, or other such bad guys around here?"

Monika stares at the man in the mask for a long beat, then slowly turns back to look at the other group. Her eyes run over the main in the totally pink not burgundy suit, the blue haired girl, the other two high school girls, the detective, and the girl with an apple. She then slowly turns back to the person in front of her.



"... I don't think so. Everyone out there seems pretty on the level. There is a kind of surly woman by the elevator, though. Oh, it sucks that the lights are turned off in here too! It's the same way in storage room. Anyway, you should come out and meet everyone!"

Edgeworth is still in plenty of shock. Between the rest of the introductions, the odd behavior of some of the group, and the dread of the elevator, he had remained silent. It takes a second to compose himself, to try to bring some logic into this mess.



"Everyone, I think we shouldn't be so hasty. I wish to get out of here as soon as possible, but...

We all seem to be strangers here in this place, brought here without knowledge of how we got here. I think it is safe to say we may have been abducted in some way."

He'll point at Akechi.



"I believe the...detective is right. It is best we get our bearings here first and foremost, to give this floor a full investigation. There may be something we are overlooking. For example..."

His face will grow a little stern, gaining that classic Edgeworth stare.



"I appear to have been able to keep my briefcase, but not its key. There may be something in the utility and storage rooms that we may be able to find. Plus, there are a number of other rooms on this floor. We may find others like us. However it is that we arrived here, the answer is certainly not an ordinary one."

---

Edgeworth wrote:"I believe the...detective is right. It is best we get our bearings here first and foremost, to give this floor a full investigation. There may be something we are overlooking. For example..."

His face will grow a little stern, gaining that classic Edgeworth stare.

"I appear to have been able to keep my briefcase, but not its key. There may be something in the utility and storage rooms that we may be able to find. Plus, there are a number of other rooms on this floor. We may find others like us. However it is that we arrived here, the answer is certainly not an ordinary one."

"I think I agree with Sir Edgeworth. We might find another way out of where if we go looking, one we haven't thought of yet. After all..."

She looked around.

"...There's quite a lot of doors around here. And we all have to have gotten here without noticing somehow, right? Maybe it doesn't have to be that Elevator."

She'd already taken notice of Edgeworth'd aversion to the thing by now, and while she didn't really understand it, it made her wary enough.



"Oh, but we might want to give the newcomers a chance to introduce themselves. The poor guys don't even know yet what's going on!"

Aqua then turned to the girl with the twin-tails hairstyle.

"You haven't told us your name yet either. Just that your friend's name is, um... 'Akechi', right?"

She turned to everyone summing up the introductions once again.



"Alright. So, once again. I'm Aqua. These people here with me are Sir Miles Edgeworth, Hitsugi, Monika and... Aleka."



"Oh, this is all so exciting! I never knew there'd be so many people to talk to! Hello! Hello! Hello, hello!"

Hitsugi looked up from her Greek mythology book to see Akechi holding the apple, still human.



"Well at least it looks like the Apple of Discord, not the actual thing. Akechi's going to be fine...I think." She then turned to the newcomers, but Spider-Man stood out. "Holy cannoli, you look like you popped out of a superhero comic." That's because he IS a superhero.

"The apple of Discord? Mind explaining what that is? I mean, I think I remember what it is, but it would be a good idea for everyone here to know. Oh, and Aleka..."



"Do you know the woman by the elevator? I forgot to ask earlier. She seems like our objective, in a manner of speaking. I bet we're gonna find some stuff to solve some of the puzzles here, which if I remember correctly..." She began to gesture to the places and things she mentioned. "The storage room and utility room have their lights out. Sir Edgeworth has a briefcase he can't open, but we need a key. The woman at the elevator requires a golden key for so- for all of us to use it. Did I miss anything before the gang splits up?"

"Okay, I'll try to make a summary of it. So, the Apple of Discord was an object from the goddess of Discord, Eris. Eris wrote "To the Fairest" on it and tossed it at the wedding she wasn't invited to and three goddesses fought over it because they thought the apple was meant for them. So Zeus tried to ask a guy named Paris to choose for him and the goddesses bribed the poor guy. Aphrodite won the bribe, by the way. This apple was one of the things supposedly responsible for the Trojan War because Aphrodite bribed Paris with Helen of Troy..."

She scratched her head. "I hope that makes sense."

Hitsugi wrote:

Hitsugi: "Okay, I'll try to make a summary of it. So, the Apple of Discord was an object from the goddess of Discord, Eris. Eris wrote "To the Fairest" on it and tossed it at the wedding she wasn't invited to and three goddesses fought over it because they thought the apple was meant for them. So Zeus tried to ask a guy named Paris to choose for him and the goddesses bribed the poor guy. Aphrodite won the bribe, by the way. This apple was one of the things supposedly responsible for the Trojan War because Aphrodite bribed Paris with Helen of Troy..."

Hitsugi: "I hope that makes sense."

"So, they hurt people over it? But... I don't understand! It's just an apple!"


"Why would anyone go that far over something like that? Couldn't the just have shared it? People are strange..."

"Hm... Eris..."

Monika wrote:

Monika: "Do you know the woman by the elevator? I forgot to ask earlier. She seems like our objective, in a manner of speaking. I bet we're gonna find some stuff to solve some of the puzzles here, which if I remember correctly..."

Monika: "The storage room and utility room have their lights out. Sir Edgeworth has a briefcase he can't open, but we need a key. The woman at the elevator requires a golden key for so- for all of us to use it. Did I miss anything before the gang splits up?"

"Oh...? Someone by the elevator? No, I wouldn't know about that! I didn't know people other than me existed at all. And now it's already nine... Huh..."



"I used to be able to use that elevator though. It goes everywhere in Hotel Dysnomia... But then, it just stopped working. All the buttons had stopped existing. It was pretty surprising, really."

"Hm... But if there's a person there now, maybe that person exists there instead of the buttons now? That would make sense, right?"



"...By the way, I've been wondering, you all seem to want to get down to the lower floors awfully badly! It's all you've been talking about. Is there anything you need to do there?"

"To the fairest..." muttered the young detective, trailing off without elaborating. "Yes, well, let's just keep hoping that Helen of Troy is packed in a box somewhere."



"At any rate, yes, my name is Goro Akechi. My friend here said her name was Junko, if that's any help. We've only just met, in truth, but I've placed my faith in her."

Goro weighed the apple in both his hands, electing to hold it in front of him. Any other way would just put a strain on his arms. But then, for a moment, the boy raised one of those hands into the air awkwardly, before almost immediately retracting it.



"Sorry, I didn't quite catch the details of this place. Which of these rooms are for storage and utility?"

After wiping her face of all dissapointment when she saw that the apple had had absolutely no effect on Akechi, Junko shook her head and followed his introduction with one of her characteristic V-signs.



"You heard that right! My name is Junko Enoshima! And although unfortunately none of you have ever heard of me, I hope I'll leave an impression soon enough. Definitely seems like this place needs it!"

The girl gave Akechi another look that couldn't mean anything good, and without wasting a second, grabbed his arm in a gesture of what could seem like complicity. 



"... Actually, there's so much stuff going on that I'm kinda overwhelmed... There's so many new people to meet and mysteries to uncover! My lil brain can't handle it, see? So I'm gonna be Akechi's sidekick from now on. You know how every detective needs their own companion to even be considered worthy competition in the harsh mystery stories market? That's me~!" Junko bowed slightly, still not letting the detective go, and carried on with her ridiculous babble: "Please take care of me, Detective Akechi."

Oh yeah. Definitely something off with that Junko girl. Dear god, she's almost worse than her best friend. Almost. That poor detective, completely at her mercy. Hitsugi felt sorry for him. He could file a restraining order when this is over.

'Apple of Discord'. It would be too much of a coincidence for both a golden apple and a book about Greek Mythology to be found on that strange Hotel. Edgeworth, however, did not believe in coincidences.


"Detective Goro, does this golden apple happen to have any inscription on it?"

If the apple mirrored the one in the myth Hitsugi just explained, there would likely be one.


"At any rate, it would be better if we split up in order to examine this place thoroughly. Since there are nine of us... I suggest groups of three."


"Groups of three would allow us to explore with someone we're already familiar with, seeing that most of us seem closer to another person already, and also give us the opportunity to become more familiar with one another, step by step. And should a dangerous situation arise... There would at least be a witness present.

That said, I would request for Misses Aqua and Aleka to investigate with me."

"I'll just go in whatever group is needed, though I would like to explore the storage room!" Monika says. "After all, doesn't that seem like the perfect place to hide clues for an escape the room game? Or escape the hotel, I guess."

Monika turns and nods at Aleka.



"Have fun with Aqua and Sir Edgeworth. I need to get out of here, because, well... I was having a very, very important conversation with someone who is very dear to me. At least, that I can remember. You know how funny are memory is. What are the lower floors like, Aleka?"

"Actually," started Akechi, squinting at the top of the apple furiously, "you're not wrong about that, Mr Edgeworth. There's an inscription on it, but I don't think it's the same as in the story."

Pointing to the words inscribed, Goro began to deliver a comprehensive explanation.



"I never picked up much Latin, you see, but I recognise this word here. It's something to do with faith or fidelity, not fairness. Do you think you could give it a try? You look like a learned man, after all."



"Hm, come to think of it, I'm impressed that a foreigner like you has such a fluid grasp of Japanese. I should really take a page out of your book, haha."

The next few moments had Aqua mostly listening in. They discussed the apple in earnest, but nothing seemed to come of it. It had no ill effect, and now they were talking about dividing the group. A fair way to do it: there were more places than just the hallways. In fact, who's to say there weren't more people around that just didn't wake up?

Her only reservation was towards Junko. Something just felt... off. Even Terra might have a hard time trusting someone like her. But she didn't warn Akechi of anything. It might just be paranoia post Realm of Darkness, after all. Even if Aqua felt she had the keenest sense for Darkness ever at this point...



"Dividing into groups sounds like a good idea. I'd be happy to help, Sir Edgeworth."

She crossed her arms and hang her head to the side, thoughtful.

"But some clarification would be nice. Hitsugi?"



"You and Monika identified what the apple might be really fast. ... Does that book belong to either of you?"

There she was again, talking to both as if they were guilty of something. She really needed to stop that, despite her intuition. To ease up the pressure on them, she decided to throw another question around.

"And Aleka... We don't belong here, so naturally we'd want to leave when we can. That's why we're eager to get to the bottom floor. Or... wait."

She was silenced. Something occurred to her. Aqua's brow furrowed and she had a memory of the Realm of Darkness play out.



"Aleka. How long... have you been here?"

Randy wrote:"You and Monika identified what the apple might be really fast. ... Does that book belong to either of you?"

"Actually, it's not. It was in my bag when I woke up. It wasn't there to begin with and it had bookmarks on Erinyes and the Trojan War. I thought someone at my school was probably studying for an exam on them and left it in my bag by mistake. The fact we have a gold apple with an inscription like the Apple of Discord is probably more than a coincidence. Almost like someone intentionally wants us to use the book as a guide."

"You should spend some time looking through the the book." Monika says. "Maybe someone wrote something on one of the pages. You should never do that, by the way, but you should never kidnap people either, but well..." She gestures around her. "The book isn't mine, either. Just making it official."

So neither of them knew where the book had come from. But it seemingly had to do with the apple on Akechi's hand now. Not only that, but the pertinent section was bookmarked. That was too much to be a coincidence, just as Hitsugi put it.



(But even if it's not a coincidence, we don't have enough information to figure out what it is, do we...)

All the more reason to investigate the rest of the floor. Which she totally would now, as soon as everyone was ready.

(Come to think of it, Aleka said she had never really let go of the apple, so this might mean nothing to her. She certainly doesn't remember it. And... Hmm. What did she say again...?)

Nenilein wrote:
"So, they hurt people over it? But... I don't understand! It's just an apple!"

"Why would anyone go that far over something like that? Couldn't the just have shared it? People are strange..."

(...)



(There's no way... is there?)

To the outside world, she'd just look more thoughtful than usual.

"Legal terminology involves plenty of Latin, so I may be able to discern its meaning..."

Edgeworth examined the apple.

"Ad fidelissimorumque... it means "to the most trusted", or something to that effect. You weren't far off, Detective Goro."

"... I'm speaking English."

"The most trusted," repeated Akechi, his head bobbing affirmatively. "Why yes, I suppose something to that effect would make sense. It might be that this has something to do with us choosing the apple's carrier as a group. We won't know for sure just yet though, I'm afraid."



"..!"

As soon as Edgeworth made his last statement, Goro fell uncharacteristically silent. For a moment, he looked as though he might laugh aloud, for the sake of the man's less-than-amusing attempt at a joke. He looked around to the other members of their cohort, as if trying to gauge their reactions, and then his face became quite worried instead.



"..."



"Just... Just to confirm, what language is everybody else hearing Mr Edgeworth speaking in?"

"...? What do you mean? Is your head okay? We've been speaking Japanese all this time. Even Mitsurugi-san is-"




"...! Jesus!"

After realizing the problem Junko couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. It seemed hard that things could get even more interesting than they already were, but she hadn't been dissapointed yet. After whiping the tears from her eyes, she continued.




"Okay, I guess that's funny... This place... It's really something, isn't it?"