Akin to Sin (IC)

[Verg Avesta]

??? - Cargo Hold
Time: ??? (Night)
Location: Cell #5

There is a sound of satisfying click as Mark turns the key in the lock. It takes a bit of twisting, indicating that the lock itself is rather heavy and clearly not something that could have been simply picked open, to turn, but eventually it does. With another, more definite, click, the key turns completely in the lock and unlocks the door. The door of the lock slowly comes ajar thanks to the rocking motion of the cell, but requires the young man to pull it so that the contents are completely revealed.

What lies inside... is surprising in its simplicity.

It's a mirror. A mirror that fills the insides of the locker completely, giving Mark a good look at his self in the dim light of the cell. From the shaggy, dirty appearance, and the heavy bags under eyes, it is easy to see that he must've been unconscious for a considerably long time. That, or whatever was used to knock out the unfortunate ones was rather taxing on them.

Still, even if the locker was open and the mirror inside was revealed, there wasn't much to go by. There was an odd line or two scratched to the mirror's surface, but that was the extent of it. There seemed to be simply nothing more in the locker.

Location: Cell #4

There wasn't anything to be found on the underside of the bed, but as Hyung tested the pillow, he quickly realized that something hard was there. Just like the other young man had described, what was found there was a key... though one with rather large handle.

New Information!

Other

Mirror
Mirror with a few scratches on its surface. Whatever it is doing in the locker, blocking most of the space there, is a good question. The answer, though, might not be easy to find.

[R.Lock]

Cell #5

Heavy!

It takes a bit of effort to open the locker. And, as I take out the key, I can see that the result is unsatisfying.

I only get to look at my face. The eyebags are so big that I'm surprised I haven't fallen asleep yet. My clothes are dirty and on my left hand... I don't remember wearing watches. After scrutinizing watches for a while, I take notice of scratches on the mirror.

What's that?

I touch the mirror, feel it around the corners, the scratches. And then, in a sudden flash of inspiration, I move to the side, trying to get scribbles on the wall into reflection.

[Verg Avesta]

??? - Cargo Hold
Time: ??? (Night)
Location: Cell #5

Stepping back, Mark let the mirror focus from him into the back of the wall straight across from it. After all, there lied the odd scribbles scratched to the metal wall with something black. And, after gazing into the mirror for a while and finding the right angle, the reflection showed some surprising results...

[Snax]

Listening to what was going on, Cecilia found a key inside her pillow. It looked odd...but quite thick. Taking the key, she opened the locker and found - a giant mirror.

"Hmm, these scrawls..."

She had seen something similar to this. If she wasn't mistaken, the scribbles...from before.

Piecing the points in her brain, Cecilia took the key handle and flipped it so that she had the blunt end forward.

[SHATTER]

The pieces came together.

"Guys and gals, if you found a key inside your pillow, open the locker - you'll find a mirror. Try piecing together the scrawls along with those weird scribbles on your wall - for my part, I'll take my chances with Shatter."

Taking up her pitiful pillow in one hand so that she wouldn't get hit by any glass shards that might haphazardly throw themselves at her skin, she crashed the blunt side of the key handle into the mirror.

[R.Lock]

Cell #5

"Heh. Ahah." I can't hold back laugh. It just pours and pours out of me. At the ridiculousness of the cituation I've found myself in. At myself being here. At the red-eyed bastard who thought it'd be a good idea to toy with me. And some other guys out there.

And then I calm down. Just as suddenly as when I started laughing. My good face's on. Time to bring it.

Taking a good, hard look at the back of the key handle, I belatedly notice the hole in it. Should be careful now.

Clutching it more comfortably, I tap it against the mirror lightly, testing it. Then harder. Harder. And harder. Until it breaks.

[Siriel]

Thank goodness, it seemed everyone was alright; although they seemed quite eager to search the rooms. Was this a game of some kind and she'd just forgotten about it?

Probably not. She hadn't signed up for any social activities for a long time now. Still, it would be better to ask questions once they could see each others.

Taking the advice given, she felt under the pillow, trying to find whatever was supposed to be there.

Just in case, she checked the rest of the bed as well. If this was some sort of game it wouldn't do to fall behind.

[hero]

"Ugh..."

It had been a few minutes since Shima Kanami had been forced awake.

Her body was small and fragile, and although she was strong for someone her age, it had still taken her more time to recover than the other people trapped in the cargo. Standing 141 cm tall, the twelve-year old girl found herself caught within a cell. But Kanami wasn't alone: She could see other people seemingly in the same situation as her on the other cells across the room. The kid counted the voices she could hear and concluded that there were at least seven more like her.

But unlike most of them, Shima didn't speak out loud. But it was not because she had been taught not to speak to strangers. It was because holding back her tears was already hard enough as it was. The little girl feared that if she tried to say something, she wouldn't be able to avoid crying. She had to take a moment to calm down, relax and find more about her surroundings... As much as she tried to run away from it, playing detective was one of the few things she was good at.

"That's weird..."

The first thing Kanami noticed was the control panel located the wall next to the exit. It was not like she could do anything about it, seeing as its power seemed to be off and she had no ideas for a code anyways. But there was a reason why it had caught her attention over everything else: Instead of being on the outside, the panel had been placed on the inside. This somehow raised her hopes a little, as it meant escape was possible.

To an extent, at least...

Kanami had already noticed that they weren't exactly in land. The constant up and down movements spoke of the sea, or at least that was the answer the red haired girl had reached.

Moving on, Shima examined the box and tried to open it, with no luck. Just like her way out of here, it needed a password. In search for anything that could bring her a solution to her problem, Kanami ended up staring at the scribbles on the wall about the bed. She unconsciously revealed a brief smile, hinting that she had an idea of what to do with it.

"Okay..."

After all, it looked like a pretty simple code. The letters had been intentionally flipped over and those numbers were probably letters in disguise. Not a hard job for this detective, who didn't need a mirror to find out the hidden message... Or maybe she did. Turns out, the scribble turned out to be harder than what she had initially thought, seeing as her answers made no sense. Even when she replaced '21' for 'SI' (or 'SL') and '11' for 'LL', the resulting word made no sense or it was one she had never heard before in her short life. Giving the puzzle one final push, Kanami counted with her fingers and replaced the numbers with their corresponding letter in the alphabet. Again, nothing comprehensive came from doing that.

She needed more clues, more material to work with. And although her exterior looked rather calm for a girl her age caught in this mess, the truth was that she desperately needed something to hold on to. She needed a little glimmer of hope because it would be some time before she managed to crack the code without outside help. And something on her left wrist inspired a feeling of fear that told her that maybe she didn't have that much time.

... Because, in her eyes, the watch quite resembled a bomb, to be honest.

Then a girl spoke, telling everyone to look under their pillow for some sort of key. Kanami looked and there it was... She immediately rushed towards the sturdy looking locker which was the only thing that could possibly be opened with said key. There was a mirror inside with two glaring scratches upon its surface. Moving aside, Kanami looked at the reflection of the scribble in the mirror and soon found the secret message: SHATTER.

... However, Kanami wasn't just going to rush and break the mirror. That alone required some courage on her part...

Plus, if that key had been placed under her pillow on purpose and also under everyone else's pillow, this meant that it was possible that every room had the same layout, puzzles and tools to solve them. If that was the case, she would let someone else break the mirror and then consider if it was worthy or not. Her time could be better spent elsewhere...

Besides the control panel, there was also a plate with a number on it, presumably the cell number. But just like the control panel, this was odd: That wasn't the sort of thing you placed inside a room, but outside. Kanami quickly made the connection between her 'screwdriver key' and the Phillips screws that attached the plate to the wall. Using the small, yet surprisingly heavy, box as a boost to be able to reach higher, the little girl attempted to match the key with one of the screws to see if it was possible to do something about them.

If so, she would remove all of them and uncover the mystery behind the number plate.

[RacingeR]

Erika Andrews
??? - Cargo Hold
Time: ??? (Night)
Location: Cell ???



Having woken up sometime during the other prisoner’s conversation, Erika had listened intently to what the others had to say as she looked at the metallic plate containing the number of her cell, and then had tried to use her metal limb to rattle the bars, to no effect whatsoever. She had already guessed it would take something more than strength to get out of the cell.

“…” somewhat frustrated, she decided to ignore the issue of the metallic band on her wrist, and instead started to check her surroundings, first going over the box and the locker, both of which proved to be closed and impossible to open as is. She was checking the underside of her bed when she heard someone telling the others to check under the pillows. That was the first time she bothered to look at the other inmates, and her mood did not improve any when she recognized one of the girls trapped here with her.

The result of her search was the strangest key she had seen. Taking a small look at it, she took a guess on the handle resembling that of a screwdriver. Probably would need it to unscrew the metal plate above later on. However, she decided to go for the obvious, and open the locker.

And she found herself staring at a mirror.

Her white hair, short as it was, was disheveled, and there was a bag under one of her eyes. To put it simply, she wasn’t looking very well, and she almost felt sick the moment she stopped and let the situation catch up with her. She had to struggle to shake herself from the dizziness and grogginess that invaded her, and stumbled a bit away. At that moment, she noticed the scribbles in the mirror matching up with those in the wall, forming the word “SHATTER”.

“… Annoying…” With these words, she pushed herself out of the haze of confusion that had taken over her mind, and send her metallic fist careening through the mirror.

[Bloble]

The man heard the developments calmly. With each new voice piping in to signal their well being, he relaxed. Yet he still couldn't wrap his head around the situation. It just plain didn't make any sense. He didn't know any of these people. Most of them sounded like young girls, but his home wasn't exactly the picture of cultural diversity that could be seen here. In short, it still didn't make sense.

However, mercifully, he didn't need to wrap his head around the strange condition of his prison for much longer. The girls and doctor were quick to make progress, locating keys under pillows and mirrors with instructions to shatter them. How bizarre. Still, that didn't stop the man from looking under his own pillow, among other things.

"That ain't right," he said out loud, voicing his thoughts and joining the disconnected conversation. "What kinda crazy-ass fool sticks people in a prison and gives 'em keys to get out?"

Still, he would have to follow this bizarre puzzle to its conclusion. The rocking of the ship and sound of crashing water nearby didn't signal anything good, and neither did the queasiness in his stomach. After hopefully retrieving the key, he'd unlock the locker and then try to use the flat tip of the key to unscrew the number 8 plate in his cell. Then he would see if there were hinges of some kind on the bars that he could theoretically dismantle with the new-found tool.

Shattering a mirror, on the other hand... well that could wait.

[Verg Avesta]

??? - Cargo Hold
Time: ??? (Night)

As the people, one-by-one, came alive in their cells and started to investigate, the empty cargo hold seemed to be that much more filled with life. It might have been the greatest of situations, far from it actually, but the fact that there were other people around them was a sign of hope in itself. The sound of voices, even if they were those of strangers', could calm down a human nature considerably, especially with the knowledge that they were all in this predicament together. After all, if they could pool their minds together, they would, most certainly, find the way out.

... And they would have to, because at that exact moment, the cargo hold seemed to rock a bit more violently, and down below, much closer this time, the group could hear the rumbling roar. The rising levels of water were approaching even at this moment. It was like a time-limit put on everyone: get out or drown.



Location: Cell #9, #2 and #5

In rapid succession, in three cells (one which held, as Erika had checked, the numbered plate "2"), a mirror was broken with a bright, audible sound. It seemed to happen surprisingly easily, as if the thing itself had been designed to break upon a good, hard impact immediately. The shards of the mirror all fell downwards, strewn across the floor and the bottom of the locker. From these shards, the unfortunate ones could still see their pitiful, tired, warped selves looking back at them.

But what was more interesting was the things that were found beyond the mirror.

Namely, there was a large, though surprisingly empty, compartment hidden on the other side. That was the reason why the mirror had been seemingly so close to whoever opened the locker: there had been a big, free space behind it, completely out of view. On that space there was a single shelf, and on that shelf, there were waiting two objects most curious.

The first one was a small statue, made out of ashen metal. It depicted a sickly-looking, frail boy. This boy was holding on to a rather clumsy looking spear or a pole and supporting himself up, as if the spear had been sole source of support. He had to do this with both hands, though, as the pole was clearly too thick to be held with one hand. There was nothing else noteworthy about the statue itself, though it was somewhat heavy considering its lithe frame.

However, speaking of frames, the other item that could be found on the shelf was, indeed, a framed picture. The frame itself wasn't noteworthy, just simple wood, but the picture it held was that more unsettling. It was black-and-white, something almost unheard of these days when digital colorizing was all the rage, and the subject of it... seemed to be an exploding atomic bomb. The edge of the picture showed a little sliver of some beach, making it seem that whoever took the picture had not been that far away from the explosion itself.

Location: Cell #10

As Aya searched her bed, it quickly became apparent that the only thing to be found there was the odd key that some of the others had already identified to be for the locker. The odd, large handle could be easily felt through the thin pillow, making it surprising to think anyone, anesthesia or not, could sleep on such a bad. Perhaps that was why all the ten unfortunate ones had such a painful spot at the back of their heads?



Location: Cell #3 and #8

In two different cells, two very different unfortunate ones had the same idea regarding the handle and usage of the key they had found. They both tried to use the teeth of the key to pry open the screws that held the numbered plate above the entrance (Kanami noting that hers said "3" as she did). It soon became very apparent, however, that this was not what keys were meant to be used for. No matter how they tried, the teeth of the key slipped and slided out of the screw-heads without latching onto it at all. It was also somewhat dangerous, as using the key in such manner meant it might simply slip into wrong direction from the screw and cut the hand of the one using it.

And wounds were not something one would want in a situation like this.

New Information!

Items

Spear Statue
A statue of a sickly-looking young boy holding a spear. Whether it is meant to symbolize the current predicament or the twisted fetishes of its creator is a mystery. Still, it is rather well-done, having been molded from a blackish metal of some sort. The expression of pain and agony on the boy's face is frighteningly realistic to look upon. The only thing that seems a bit cartoonish about it is the spear, which is simply a large pole with a sort of cross or plus-shaped tip.

Framed Picture
A framed picture of a nuclear explosion. It seems to have been shot from a beach not too far away from the explosion itself... relatively speaking. The picture itself feels vaguely familiar, and is most likely an actually famous photo from ages ago. Still, for some reason, it has been framed and put into the shelf hidden behind the mirror. The frame itself has been tightly shut with Phillips head screws, making it impossible to open it.

[Siriel]

Taking a deep breath to avoid panicking as she heard the rising water, Aya's mind kicked into high gear with the urge to catch up and to not drown.

Right, use the key, open the locker, shatter the mirror. Hopefully avoid years of bad luck - surely it didn't count if the mirror was meant to be broken? The others had done it anyway, and she was owned some luck for ending up on a boat on a trip that she definitely hadn't signed up for.

She barely glanced at the picture before putting it in her pocket - it didn't have numbers on it, so obviously it wasn't what she was looking for.

The statue though...

If her hunch was right, the tip might let her remove the screws.

Without much other option, she attempted it.

[Verg Avesta]

??? - Cargo Hold
Time: ??? (Night)
Location: Cell #10

It quickly became apparent that the head of the spear that the statue was holding was quite nice fit for the Phillips head screws. Indeed, one could say that it was truly designed for them, as if it had not been a true part of the statue at all. However, one problem arose as Aya tried to use the statue to remove the screws itself. While the head of the spear stuck, the statue simply spun around the pole helplessly, making the spear itself stay completely still. It was as if the pole wasn't locked to the statue or the base at all, instead freely spinning about if enough force was utilized.

Therefore, the screws stayed shut, and the statue, so far, rather useless.

[Siriel]

"Hum..."

Well, that at least had a fairly easy solution.

Gripping the tip and the rest of the statue, she tried to pull them apart.

If she was able to, she might be able to place the tip on the locker's key and then try to remove the screws again. That had probably been the point of the strange handle.

[R.Lock]

Cell #5.

As shards fell down, it became very apparent that people around me started to move more actively. I guess I heard some girl giving hints away just before I broke the glass. If it won't get them moving, then nothing does. And would.

"What...fool sticks...prison...keys...out?"

With rapid succession of sounds of broken glass, I should have surely missed even these words. But I didn't. Funny, how my ears work.

"Crazy people do." I spit out the blunt answer and take a look at what appeared after the screen was taken down.

Too much free space. It's like the creator of this chaotic situation took care not to make us feel claustrophobic. Hard not to, with ominous sounds of water over my head.

Amid this space are a picture of a bomb going off and a boy's statue. Oh, judging by the explosion's shape, must be an atomic one. Crazy stuff. Is it some kind of a warning?

No matter. Statue first. A sickly boy made out of metal. How ironic. And sick. I guess I can understand ancient people's fascination with healthy bodies. It just does not suit a fragile body to be saved in the metal frame. Or to hold such a big, heavy... object with a criss-cross tip.

Sure. Take away a candy from a boy and be happy. And this is just after breaking a mirror. Sick black humor.

With a sigh, I try to slip a pole from the boy's hands.

"I guess you all need to break the mirror. If you want to get out of here alive, of course."

[hero]

Cell #3

Kasumi just had the hunch that those screws were there to be removed. Unfortunately, the key she had was not the right tool for the job, so all she could do was lament her waste of time. Apparently, the one guy on the cell opposite to hers had tried the same thing with similar results. So much for thinking outside the box. With no choice left but to follow what the others had done, the little girl used the heavy black box to shatter the mirror into a thousand fragments and uncover the secret compartment hidden beneath. Needless to say, she made sure to use the side of the box which did not have the electric lock. She was afraid it could break and put her in more trouble.

"Umm..."

She quickly grabbed the two items found there: A statue and a photo. The one that caught Kasumi's attention the most was the photo, even if it was the most ordinary item of the two. The reason being she was quite a vivid fan of photography... Although nuclear warfare wasn't exactly her cup of tea. She liked to take photos of beautiful landscapes, images she could later use to revive the experience of being in such places.

"Ah-!"

Kasumi exclaimed in surprise. Her camera, the one she carried everywhere, had been taken away from her. Now she could forgive being trapped inside a cell for half an hour or so, but taking away her camera was a capital sin. It was literally the object most precious to her... And it was gone. Whoever had had the guts to do it was definitely a bad person. Not one of those thieves with a hidden good reason, a real evil-doer. Not like a twelve year old could do much to bring said individual to justice.

Back to the picture, the girl felt tempted to remove the frame and turn it around to see if there was some sort of message written behind. However, the frame was tightly shut and it was impossible to remove it without taking out those Phillips screws that were on the way. One more time, she didn't have the right tools to clear off the obvious obstacle...

Or did she...? The spear in the statue did quite resemble the missing part of the screwdriver she needed.

Putting this theory into work, Kasumi tried to use it to unlock the frame. Once more, her efforts proved to be fruitless, as the loose pole would fit but not rotate because of it not being really attached to the statue at all. Instinctively trying the same thing as another person she could not see, Shima attempted to remove the pole from the statue so she could later use it to remove the screws. If the key could be removed from the screwdrivers handle and replaced with the 'spear', she would do so.

Otherwise, she'd simply attempt to do it with what she had.

[Bloble]

"Crazy people do."

Well, that was nice. So they were in the hands of a maniac. Beautiful.

"I guess you all need to break the mirror. If you want to get out of here alive, of course."

"Thanks," the man replied, seeing his previous efforts descend into uselessness. Instead of trying to go his own way, he decided there was no time for experimentation with the water level rising. If the ship was sinking, he wanted off, now. Hadn't there been a famous ship that completely sank and killed thousands of people?

"Everyone!" he repeated the girl's words more loudly, so that everyone, even the sleeping people and those far away, could hear him past the waves and crashes. "Get the key under the pillow! It opens the locker! Inside, break the mirror, quickly! We ain't got much time!"

The man wrapped his fist in heavy cloth. He took one look at himself in the mirror, finding himself almost unrecognizable. When was the last time he'd seen himself so clearly? He looked stronger now, and cleaner. No more bags under his eyes. No more scrawny shoulders and shuddering. His home had no such objects. Perhaps the last time had been in that clear stream he'd found one day after looking for a place to wash his clothes...

He shook away the memory and bashed the mirror open as gently as possible. Then he picked up one of the larger pieces that had fall. The scanned the inside and the statue, and saw that the pole the unfortunate boy was leaning on was in fact the head of a screwdriver. So their maniac had a sick sense of humour, too.

"Sorry," he apologized, before pulling out the miniature spear and twisting it into the other end of the screwdriver key. Then, if all went well, he could finally unscrew that metal plate.

[Soldat der Trauer]

Hyung Lowe


Key acquired!

Locker door opened, mirror with random scratches found, scribble on opposing wall deciphered (Stupid reverse cipher, OF COURSE, AND THERE WAS AN "H"), mirror shattered courtesy of pillow buffering shabby one-inch punch, shelf found, objects within subjected to appropriate amount of oohs and aahs and what the fuck.

Right, lesson here to remember: check everything like a kleptomaniac.

Hmm, spear's loose? Stranger and stranger. Better see if it's supposed to detach completely...

First, Lowe picked up a shard of the mirror, then applied its edge to the pillow still nearby, cutting a strip of the material free so as to use as a wrap-around grip on the statue and rod. Then, keeping the tip decidedly away from his hands and torso, Lowe tried jimmying the spear free.

[RacingeR]

Erika Andrews
??? - Cargo Hold
Time: ??? (Night)
Location: Cell #2

“I see…” mumbling to herself, Erika took purchase of the framed picture and the statue. First, of course, she had to try removing the pole from the statue, as she had seen how others used it and failed to actually make the screws budge an inch. As she did so, she examined the statue closely, seeking for any detail anywhere in its frame that could be of help.

If she couldn’t remove the pole, then she’d try to fit the hole in the key’s handle on the pole, regardless of statue or not.

She did the same with the framed picture, looking behind the frame to see if there was something there.

[Verg Avesta]

??? - Cargo Hold
Time: ??? (Night)

One of the unfortunate ones, Erika, took a moment to closely inspect both the statue and the framed picture that had been found within the locker's secret compartment. Neither of them seemed to yield any more clues, however. If anything, the "boy" the statue depicted might as well have been a young girl with a short hair if one looked at it at a right angle. As for the framed picture, there was nothing out of the ordinary on either side. Just the photo of the nuclear explosion on one side, and the wooden back with the screws holding it together on the other.

In various cells, many of the unfortunate ones were getting the idea that perhaps the loosely spinning spear or a pole of the statue could be taken off from it, removing the only source of support that the sickly-looking boy had. And indeed, with some twisting and turning, eventually the pole slipped off the grasp of the statue and out of the base, revealing itself to be a long, cylinder-shaped object with the vaguely familiar-looking plus-shaped tip. The cylinder was about the length of someone's middle finger, and only slight smaller in diameter. Still, there was clearly some use for it as it had come off so easily... even if it meant that the frail-looking boy was now without his support, looking like he was about to topple over.

Multiple unfortunate ones then proceeded to try to fit the pole into the large-handled key in some manner. It quickly became clear that there was no removing the key part itself. It was stuck there quite definitely, and refused to budge. However, upon further inspection (Lorenzo being among the first ones to do so), the pole was a perfect fit for the hole at the opposite end of the handle. After slipping it in, the pole needed nothing but a simple twist to give a satisfying click, transforming the key into another object entirely.

Namely, a Phillips head screwdriver.

New Information!

Items

Phillips Head Screwdriver
Exactly what it says on the tin. The only difference between this and a normal screwdriver is that there is a key on the other end. Whether or not the main purpose of this tool is to open doors or screw screws is anyone's guess.

[Siriel]

Well, with that it was fairly simple to figure out what had to be done. Honestly she didn't know why her kidnappers - if that was actually what was happening - had bothered with such an unnecessary step.

Aya applied the screwdriver to the screws to remove them.