"Weeellll..." Silver sheepishly rubs the back of her head. "Yeah, that'd be it. I stream online! Though with a bit of a different face. As long as you guys don't go spreading the word once we get outta here, there's no harm in sharing, I suppose..."

Silver stands up and dusts herself off the best she could. "You all don't have to worry about me, either, guys." Silver says to all those commenting on her injuries and burns. "We should instead focus on finding those other stupid trial thingies!"

"Indeed... there was one trial in the arcade and one in the library. Perhaps there is something in the cafe as well", Uno pointed out.

---

"I-Is anyone else not startled by the danger of these games?!" Odin shook. "Poison needles? Electro-shocks?!"

Odin shuffled to the other side of the room. "L-let's not go to the cafe. You know. Just in case. If I'm next, then someone's gonna have to do it for me!"

"We're not really given many options, though..." Silver sighs and mumbles. "I mean, I'm alright, but that... could've gone very poorly, I hate to admit. But these are the only ways to get our numbers!"

"It is indeed quite alarming, but now that we know of the risks we must take we can only mentally prepare ourselves for what lies beyond", Uno replied. "Perhaps the danger could even escalate from here. You never know, but we must take caution hereon."

---

"It'd be nice if we could figure out another way, but... hell if I know what that could be..."

Nova glanced around at some of the other arcade machines uneasily. "So, uh, we're probably done here, right? No sense messing with the rest of these?"

---

It had been easy to avoid thinking about the Trials after Cool Cat’s, as it had all happened inside a sealed space, out of sight and out of mind. Silver’s though had made the matter clear: they were arduous, painful and potentially lethal. They would all need to participate in a Trial eventually, but no-one wanted to be next. Having figured out that the third and final Trial of the Joy area was likely in the cafe, many of the players just so happened to explore the library and arcade instead.

While exploring, one of these players found a strange switch hidden in the library. Something about it felt off, but they flicked it anyway.

Everyone's attention was drawn to a rumbling sound as one of the bookcases slid back and to the side, revealing a hidden entrance. They could tell at once that this wasn't a standard part of the Joy area: the lighting beyond was ordinary, and very pleasant in contrast to the Joy area's overwhelming yellow. Everyone eagerly filed through.

[Off-limits area theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBUOqjbe6tY]

They found themselves in an office of some kind. As they took a look around, the strange feeling they'd been having intensified. They must have accidentally found a way outside the confines of the Game! Unfortunately there didn't seem to be a way out from here, as although there were a few more rooms they could explore, they would always eventually find a locked door barring the way. While this set of rooms was clearly meant to be off-limits to them, their captors had still taken extra precautions, limiting what they had access to.

Despite this, the players investigated where they could with renewed vigour, hoping they could find clues or perhaps even a keycard or something to progress further with. Their most interesting find was the security room, which contained numerous monitors displaying live footage from around the facility. There was a view of the Joy area (which someone checked by running back there and waving, confirming it really was live) as well as the Oubliette, where they could see the strange robot continuing to float up and down emptily. Additional monitors seemed like they would have shown footage from behind the other colourful doors, but these were all displaying only static.

There were also cameras viewing various locations similar to the offices they were in now: presumably this was the rest of the facility where their captors worked, outside of the Testing Grounds that contained the Oubliette and exploration areas. These rooms all looked pleasant, yet were strangely lifeless. After switching between camera viewpoints for a while, the players concluded that the rest of the facility was simply... empty. Where were the people who kidnapped them all? Where were the people running this strange Game? There was plenty of evidence that people lived and worked here, yet no signs of the people themselves.

There didn't seem to be anything more they could get from the live footage. Someone realised they could play footage from up to a few hours ago however, so a few of the players hastened to piece together footage to try and explain anything about what was really going on.


After spending a while longer going over this footage, some of the players left to go explore the offices.

Sometime later everyone reunited to discuss their findings. Someone had managed to find some interesting files on one of the office computers, and shared them for the others to see:



The players were soon forced to conclude that there was little else to find. There were no clues that would help them escape, nor could they find a way through the locked doors. The only way to leave was through the main door in the Joy area, and ultimately out of the shaft in the Oubliette. With little alternative, they resumed their search for the final Trial, though some continued to linger in the offices, enjoying being away from the ever-present yellow.

[The off-limits area has now been added to the area you can RP in!]

Crow had sat down in one of the rolling chairs in the office and was basking in the simple pleasure of completely white light. She reclined with her feet on the desk and Ash’s cage in her lap and stared at the security monitors.

“Very strange,” she mumbled. “We’ve got folks in our group who might have been working behind the scenes and another who intentionally drove that robot nuts. I hate to say it, but it might not just be the trials we need to watch out for.”

She turned her head to the others and smiled as Ash launched into a song.

“Speaking of which, congratulations on completing your trial, Silver. At least the challenges seem to correspond to our strengths...”

---

"There also seems to be some sort of 'Witch' present in this facility", Uno noted. "We might not have encountered them yet, but it's good to try and keep safe for now. We seem to have a lot of potential threats amidst us. Even this hacker may not necessarily be on our side..."

As they spoke of this hacker, their eyes were momentarily pointed at TV Head. Did he suspect them of anything? If so, he didn't voice this out loud.

---

"That's if we can even believe everything we found here," Nova added after settling into one of the other office chairs, right arm in her lap and left hanging to her side. "All this so-called evidence for Witches and hackers and whatever could have been left here to make us turn on each other, couldn't it? I mean, whoever set this whole thing up should have known we'd find this place, right?"

---

Golf nodded his head in agreement. "I believe nova is spot on, I think some of this is to break any trust we have or even might likely be being used to keep us preoccupied... with that being said though we also should not lower our guard in case this information is accurate, after all you often find a mountain climbed unprepared will at the worst of times crumble right where you plan to move."

"Tch. If there's any 'traitor', it's pretty obvious who it is," Odin sneered. It's possible he was talking out of his ass as per usual, but it did seem like he had a name in mind. "Besides, how can we even trust this information? What's this mumbo jumbo about a morpho, homo, phobo juju horseshit? And witches? Who do our captors take us for?"

Cool Cat have taken one of the office chairs and sat on it. He quietly listens to the others as they discussed what they have discovered.

"Yeah, how much of this stuff is even true..." The hipster mumbled as he glance around the room. "And I have to agree that this information is probably meant to sow distrust among us... We'll have to take this information with a grain of salt."

Feet pulled up underneath him on the rolling chair he was curled up on, looking around terrified.
"Do you guys think, uh, that if there is a witch, that means there are like, other things like uhhh" Albatross gulped before he could finish his thought, "G-g-ghost? Not that I uhhh, am afraid of phantasms or anything." Albatross took a breath and continued in an unusually serious tone
" I guess im just afraid, what does any of this actually mean? There is a hacker? Drugs? Morphogenamatics? What does it mean that this is the information on the computer? I guess i just don't know."

Albatross then falls out of the office chair because he was too sweaty from watching Silver play the game.

Ennea had been absorbed in the files for a while now, looking over them slowly as if she were trying to commit them to memory, even though she said they were "Quite out of my field, I must admit!"

She was still smiling, but it was such a restrained and relaxed smile compared to what the others had seen from her before that it just ended up feeling like a neutral expression. "Witch. Witch. What an odd name to put in those schematics... Every I feel like I have a handle on this game, it grows a new head. Hm... But it's not unpleasant to be surprised at every turn like this..."

Nova fished her gum pack out of her pocket, popped the top with her thumb, and tossed another piece into her mouth as she did before. "...I stopped believing in witches and ghosts and stuff back in first grade, sorry."


She blinked a couple times at the fallen man. "You, uh... you okay there?" she asked. It didn't look like she was in any hurry to get up and help, though.

---

"Maybe 'the Witch'," Twist began, putting air quotes to emphasize 'the Witch", "is a codename for something? Don't know what it'd be for, but, well, that's what the codename's for. But then again, growing up, I always felt like I had this weird power... Like I could do things a regular human couldn't do," he mumbled, looking at his hands for a good few seconds before bringing his attention back to the group with a wry smirk, seeing if anyone reacted to his melodrama.

"Ah, I'm just fuckin' with you. Witches and shit like that existing sounds like a bunch of nonsense, anyway. Like I said, probably just a codename. Though the Hacker... now there's someone to consider. Wonder if they're on our side or not."

He held his wrist up, staring at his bracelet, his face darkening to a more serious expression.

"Wonder if they could hack into these things. If they somehow can... maybe they're able to get the numbers we receive for completing our trials in secret. But that's just speculation," he said as he lowered his hand. "But yeah, Nova's right. Seems like an awful lot of evidence was put here for someplace we allegedly weren't supposed to find."

TV-Head stands menacingly over Albatross, “Witches? Ghosts? It’s just a clue for another puzzle. I already had to play several of the scariest horror games in the arcade in order to solve puzzles and help us further the cause. You will either fix your fearful attitude or I will fix it for you.”

The masked figure then turns to the others, “Don’t you all think it’s a little strange that the robot captured people who worked in this facility? I believe that Ennea is one of the people who was working in this room. It explains her clothes and this game’s affinity for numbers!” They point an accusing finger at the woman with the one bracelet.

"You are completely and utterly wrong, but that was a good guess!" Ennea beamed at TV-Head's accusing finger. "Though, I have no solid evidence to refute that. So it might be a good idea to continue suspecting me, at least until I can find some way to prove my innocence. Very well reasoned!"

Nero shudders. "This place is so...science-y. All this unholy talk of chemicals and morphogenetic-whatever is making my skin crawl. It's all nonsense, anyways. Science isn't going to get us out of here, but rather the power of the soul."

He then glances at Ennea and looks her up and down. "Yes... It's true that at first glance Ennea appears suspicious. However, for bow I choose to place my trust in all of you. If any of you betray that trust, may you all be cursed." He states with a small but confident smile.

“Umm, cursed?” Silver quietly questions Nero.

“What do you mean, cursed? Curses or whatever aren’t real, right?” She turns back to the rest of the group, hoping to see someone nod or something, agreeing with her.

“We won’t really be able to find anything out by just questioning each other, anyways... nobody is going to be forced to speak up.”

"Curses are realer than whatever a morf-oh-energetic is. All I know is that karma always has its way." Nero retorts. "And I agree that the information we have right now is too limited. If anyone here is involved in this bizarre scheme we will find out in due time."

TV-Head lets out a strangled sigh, “Miserable.I suppose all you sheep feel the same way don’t you? We can’t check our work, so why even try?” Disgust seeps from their voice.

“I bet Uno is another one of the scientists. It explains why the two of them were so bad at solving the sudoku puzzle. They were using it to communicate covertly with one another!” It’s very unclear as to whether there’s any conviction behind the words but even so, they follow up with, “I will take on the duty of looking after the two of them and defending against any of their further offenses!”

Thinking quickly, the mysterious masked creature adds, “And I think that hacker could be Nova or Nero! They both seem dexterous enough to pull off that maneuver! I’ve got eyes like a camera on all of you slacking liars!”

Golf nodded his head. "These are fair points to consider but we should still non the less not be quick to assume all around us are our enemy, or tell me Tv-head do you not think yourself suspicious in constantly budding heads, sowing the seeds of doubt amongst us? Hmm? what was that brother?"

Golf picked up the walkie talkie on his side. "Ow come now that's far too extreme a point of view...but I suppose you are right about one thing..." Golf put the walkie talkie back down and turned his head towards the group. "We know too little about this game, our location, or even each other."

Uno didn't seem fazed by the allegations directed towards them. "Really now? That killer sudoku? If that was supposed to be a way of communication for us, then I don't think we would've gotten anything done. Especially with you in the way yelling at us to get things done quick."

"Of course, I cannot stop you from suspecting me and the others, no matter how petty your reasons may be. You are free to keep looking, though with your methods I doubt you'll uncover much." They gave a shrug.

---

Nova blinked a couple times in disbelief before brushing the suggestion off with a derisive snort. "Didn't know you were a comedian, TV..."

With a tired sigh, she slowly stood from her chair. "Anyway, I don't think we're getting anywhere like this. Probably ought to get back to the cafe to finish up, much as I'd like to keep resting my eyes here..."

---

“I’m using my head to solve this puzzle! Unlike the rest of you, I’m determined to figure this out!!” They reply, eager to dismiss Those dismissing them. “Anyway of course let’s go back to the cafe and solve this Keurig puzzle!” They say, fumbling around with a coffee machine and some coffee pods in their hands.

“We need to hurry it up, some of you are fat and slow!”

"Ahh, right!!" Silver's eyes open wider in shock. "The Keurig puzzle! Wait for meee!" She calls out and follows TV-head, running behind them. "If we put our heads together we can totally solve this!"

"Anyone want any drinks? I'm gonna go to the cafe since there aren't any middle schoolers here to bully me, I'm going to try and see if I can order some pour over with cottage cheese, it's delicious!" Albatross said to everyone as he tried to get a coffee run together. As he headed up to the cafe he repeated all the orders everyone had given to him under his breath even if it's just his own nasty drink.

As he moved up he looked around and mused aloud " is there a qr code menu or like an app to order you think?" He asked aloud after ineptly looking at the cafe, he then began putzing with his wristband.
"Oh, this says Cafe!" He says as he presses a button on his wristband. His hand immediately is slammed down onto a table and splayed out by manacles around the wrist and each finger just as the table itself slides open a secret compartment with an extremely sharp knife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmL8FpRB50w

"By God's own wounds," Albatross hisses and almost immediately begins playing.
The spaces in between Albatross's fingers begin lighting up, and with little hesitation he begins to stab between them, following the sequence they present.

At first it is slow and not even a challenge for a dullard like Albatross, but it keeps increasing in speed, until anyone watching is absolutely astonished, Albatross is keeping up with this insane trial. He is sweating like someone whose mom is about to check their browser history, but he is keeping pace with the flashing lights and not cutting off any of his fingers.

Then he slipped. Everyone could see it and it felt like slow motion. The sequence of the trial seemed as if it was coming up to its natural conclusion, when Albatross's sweaty palm slipped a little on it's way down.
Luckily, the knife landed in the right spot and was in fact the last part of the sequence, so the trial was complete.
Unluckily, Albatross fully cut off the very tip of his pinky finger.

"Yowwwaaahooooo!" He yelled as he ran around and sucked on his bleeding digit, as graceful in victory as he ever was in defeat.

"Ahh, incredible!" Silver exclaims rather excitedly. "Oh, I mean- First aid!" Silver scrambles around the café in an attempt to find a first aid kit.

"Incredible work, though, friend!" She calls out from across the room, seeming to not have much luck...

"A hacker? Me? My people barely even use these computeral device things. What a ridiculous claim!" Nero retorts. "Perhaps we should be more suspicious of individuals like you who enjoy pointing the finger..." He adds, squinting his eyes slightly.

"Oh my God! That looks really dangerous!" Cool Cat shouted in shock after witnessing Albatross's trial, his eyes widen in horror. "We'll need the doctor in here!"

"But still, that was incredible to watch, though..." The hipster added on quietly. "So, that's all three trials cleared..."

Crow set Ash’s cage aside and returned with the first aid kid. She immediately started administering aid to Albatross, seeming to have basic knowledge of how to address the wound.

“That was a surprise,” she said. “I didn’t know you had that much dexterity. Have you had practice with that sort of game before?”

---

" oh um, yes, it's one of the few things anyone really wants to do when I'm around. I think they um, might like to see me sweat! Ha ha!" Albatross said, fully speaking "Ha ha" and not actually laughing.

With the last Trial complete, the players returned to the main room and checked the device next to the exit door, finding it now active. Unsurprisingly, it seemed they still weren't done: they had to find a key somewhere in the Joy area in order to unlock the device and open the Joy door. Presumably more puzzles stood between them and this key. The players set to work.

They were making good progress. Things seemed to be going well. The Trials were generally awful, but they'd managed to overcome all of them so far. Escaping the Game was starting to look like a very real possibility.

What happened next came without any warning. One moment the players were riding a high from another successful puzzle, the next Cool Cat was convulsing in place, mouth open for a scream he couldn't vocalise. Some of the players rushed to his side, one catching him as he fell, but there was nothing they could do for him. He was dead.

[Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kQ3DNmLVjo]

[Phase change will be in a few hours.]

"Eh? Cool Cat? Buddy? Friend?" Silver seemed genuinely shocked and confused, shaking Cool Cat's body and waving a hand in front of his face, expecting some sort of response.

When it became abundantly clear that she wasn't going to get one, however, she began to scream in terror. "What the hell!? What's happened here!?"

"What the hell?!" Uno shouted, losing his composure for the first time since the game had started. "This is... how on earth..?!" He ran towards Cool Cat's corpse, checking to see what happened. "T-this is..." They were left speechless, their face going even paler than it was.

---

TV-Head clutches at their head and lets out a blood-curdling robotic scream of frustration and fear. Apparently it was a brief pause to let out their bottled up emotions as they watched the life dissipate from the hipster.

Ash let out an undignified squawk and launched at the bars of his cage, viciously snapping his beak in the direction of anyone he could see.

Crow, for her part, seemed to react more calmly, but it was clear a heavy gloom had landed on her spirit. She leaned against the wall and stared away from the body.

“Were there any toxic substances in the yellow room? It seems as if he was poisoned,” she said. “Either way, this is not a natural death. Someone here needs to pay.”

---

"T-The hell?" Twist stammered as Cool Cat suddenly began to aggressively convulse before falling over. He grimaced and leaned down next to him, placing two fingers against his neck.

"... Holy fuck... he's... he's dead," he said in a shaky, uneven tone of voice, stumbling back from the body. "Did-- Did his trial kill him? There were those marks on his arm, so maybe... god..."

His voice trailed off, and he simply fell silent and leaned against a nearby wall.