EMERGENCY BROADCAST (text)

[justribbing]

(All active cellphones sound an alarm briefly during the delivery of this message.)

To: All Users
From: sans.
Subject: (SUBJECT HERE)
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URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT: The following is an automated message.

Nature of Emergency: cagey queen left us hanging


PRESS 1 if outside the vicinity of: home If it is safe to do so, follow the prompts to take and send an image of your surroundings to the administrator.

Users in the vicinity of: home are requested to congregate in the: mess hall immediately for: probably a good idea to come save us


Additional Notes:

* sup.
* not much, not much, just hangin' with about 3 new and old friends in this cage dangling precariously above the water.
* can't say i like the conditions either, but the cold and damp doesn't get under my skin. i think i see other cages, tho and, uh, i can't say much for them yet.
* six other occupied cages, with about three in each. hey, it's like those math problems you used to get in school.
* startin' to get a real sinking feeling so if there's anybody out there who ain't locked up, it'd mean a lot to me and over 20 other people if you bailed us out.
* see ya. sans.

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Comments

[Text]

[achievementhunter]

Is now really the time for jokes.

[Well good morning, sunshine? Enjoying all that fresh air? They hope so.]

Six cages over water- anything more specific you could provide would be excellent, considering that there just so happens to be water on all four sides.

[Text]

[justribbing]

* i'd ask you to cut me some slack, but looks like the queen's givin' us so much of it we might go swimming.
* oh yeah, seven, forgot to include mine in that, go fig.
* here, look for yourself.

[ It's a blurry picture of a cliff face. The storm probably accounts for why the lighting's so poor. A few more pictures show other cages visible at some distance through the bars of his own. ]

Text

[idmapthat]

If this is another one of your tasteless pranks...

[ So help her, she's going to give you a real shock of your own. ]

Hang on, who else is there that you can see?

Text

[justribbing]

* i wish, lady.
* lemme take a look.





* so, uh, hypothetically speaking how mad would you get if i asked you whether you wanted the good news or the bad news

[gempathic]

[ Theoretically, he could probably wander the cage edges until he sees Sans and then yell to him, but that would be rude. To say nothing for not very helpful.

Steven presses 1 and follows the prompts. ]

Text

[justribbing]

[ A little later, and Steven gets a text message: ]

* man, i wish it was you coming with the cavalry instead of cooped up in these with us.
* what a drag, huh?
* how ya doin', kiddo?

[Private - Text]

[achievementhunter]

Steven, a favor if you will. Like in March, I need photos. Can you do that?

[Audio]

[bubblywishes]

Can you take anything seriously?!

[Sorry, Sans, waking up to a blaring alarm on her phone is not exactly an ideal morning made. Still in her pajamas (this time she found some that are thicker and more fitting for the colder months), Norma growls into her phone - she's not a morning person, and she's doubly not one to be in the best of moods when her roommate she's been worrying about the past two or so months is not in his bed. Naturally, after having and very stunted panic attack, Norma defaults to irritation and anger, her hands shaking slightly.]

I'm home by the way, in my room. [And there's some very loud shuffling and rustling of fabric. Looks like someone's rushing to get dressed.] ...How's everyone else doing? Can you tell?

[It's gonna be an issue if people are panicking.]

[Audio]

[justribbing]

[ Sans's tired drone might be construed as 'devil may care' or even unbothered. Ha ha just a funnyman taking nothing seriously, right? ]

Mornin' sunshine. Jury's still out, but I don't think anybody's gonna be too happy about this.

So, uh, while we're hanging tight, what're you doing?

[hollower]

[Perona should be more upset about being woken up like this, but once she actually reads through the message, she grimaces and pulls on some clothes as quick as she can. Nothing too fancy, she has an inkling there's going to be some running around and battling to be done. Lovely... But her first visit isn't the Mess Hall, but the Infirmary. She needs to stock up.]

Is anyone injured that you can see?! Ah, and--if you can give me a detailed description of your whereabouts, I can try to locate you! My cute gh--friends are very good about locating missing people.

[Over a body of water, that's...not really helpful. The castle itself is surrounded by water and there's a multitude of waterways throughout. Come on, Sans, give Perona something to work with. Her Ghost Network can cover an island, but when she's pressed for time like this...]

[justribbing]

Nope, not yet.

--Oh, wait, just saw a burst of fire in one of the cages. Guess I'll keep ya posted if I hear anything.

[ Any more bored-sounding, and Sans might as well be asleep. At least he sends along the same picture he sent Chara, a blurry, poorly-lit shot of a cliff face and some cages hanging from an unseen ceiling. It's not particularly informative, but that's because others haven't chimed in yet. ]

text;

[souldeterminant]

[... Someone like them is used to déjà vu by now.]

[Not willingly, when it reminds them in all the wrong ways; when it isn't something they can retry, but something they have to fix on the first go, and it's only several minutes after Sans has exchanged his texts with Chara that their Partner sends a message of their own. Short, succinct, because they have better to do.]

On our way.
Keep hanging around.

text;

[justribbing]

* might just do that. i'm gettin' pretty fond of the view.

* you two be careful, ok?
* can't exactly keep my promise cooped up in here, huh?

NOT text;

[heritrix]

[Prompted by this chat.

RING RING RING.]

[Text]

[daughterofursa]

[It's a little like deja vu, except this time around Zuko knows how to use her phone (mostly) and there's no black ooze dripping from the top of the cage.]

Be careful trying to get out. My firebending got redirected.

[Text]

[justribbing]

* that explains the fire i just saw. you ok?
* whaddya mean by redirected? ricocheted off the cage bars?

Text

[concasse]

Is your brother good at solving puzzles

Or is he spaghetti good

Text

[justribbing]

* good? my brother's great.
* he's practically a puzzle fanatic, you're in good hands, pal.

[Picture][Audio]

[egotrigger]

[Another '1' press, and Allelujah sends a few pictures of his cage.]

I don't know who the other people in here are, but... it... it might be a good idea to... make sure they get out before me...

[Audio]

[justribbing]

[ Ha ha, what? ]

I, uh, don't really follow. Thought the whole point of a cage was keepin' everyone from leaving, period.

[ forget 'going first' or 'going last'. ]

You wanna elaborate a little for me there, pal?

[ishotyouuu]

how u doin there bro

[justribbing]

* can't believe it dude.
* after months of yanking our chain, the queen left us all hanging.
* i tell ya, we're gonna have our work cut out for us if we don't figure out a way to lift some spirits.

[freedom_engineer]

You know, I thought the queen would make it hard on us after the shadows the other month, but if you're all just hanging around, I think we can take it as a sign that she's really cooling off.

Any idea where you guys are? ... I'll be triangulating all the phones out there with the ones here, so we've got a reasonable shot at getting to you quick.

What other details can you give me, Skelebro?

[justribbing]

All responders should be wide open, pal, ain't much so far.

Sounds like most of these cages have some kinda puzzle to solve. Maybe to open the cages?

[ The storm continues to crash and blow, sounds especially loud on his end. Sans cups his phone and grin with his other hand, as he lowers his voice: ]

I, uh, did a little eyeballin' on our rate of speed.

We got a day, day and a half at most, that's if these guys don't become human popsicles tonight.

[Text]

[heritrix]

[Okay, press 1 and... What the heck, Sans, these prompts aren't simple at all! So wait, she needs to open that and do that, okay, but wait what was the first instruction again? And on your left in Cage 5, witness the wild Tohsaka accidentally backout of the prompts altogether.

By the time she's done cursing out her phone and threatening to toss it into the ocean, Steven's already smoothly responded and sent a picture of their cage. So. She'll skip that part and settle for providing something useful.]

That thing Zuko's talking about is a real piece of work.
It's not a ricochet, precisely.
More like a geas and a bounded field rolled into one.
I'm loathe to praise the royal pain, but this is sophisticated stuff.
Absolutely don't try to break out by force.

[Text] HAHAHA POOR RIN /WHEEZES

[justribbing]

* yeah? welp, gotta hand it to the capital b herself, she really covered her bases.
* i'll keep that in mind.
* thanks a ton, pal.
* hows your puzzle comin'?

text - welp

[lonewolflion]

[ Excuse Keith as he presses 1 and goes through the prompts before taking a picture of their riddle. ]

Some help with this would be great about now.
Shadows are appearing pretty frequently in here too.

text

[justribbing]

* sorry, stranger, riddles ain't my forte.
* but i'll see if the cavalry can help ya out.
* who do i tell 'em to talk to?

[ here but also not really here?? feel free for anyone not in a cage to actiontext this ]

[wanderedoff]

[ And once again, Yorda feels like she needs to apologize for what crap her mom is putting everyone through ... but apologizing isn't actually doing anything to help.

What could she do, though? Not even she knows every nook and cranny of the castle, and her mother could have sent them literally anywhere.

Yorda is quite the troubled soul right now. It's very obvious. ]

[heroless]

[Of course everyone who had a phone had heard the emergency broadcast. Hilda was unsure what all she would be able to do in this situation, though she had wandered to the mess hall regardless of her uncertainty. If nothing else helping with a puzzle from a distance could be of some use. She spotted Yorda fretting some distance from the gathered crowd, though, and immediately changed her course to go "speak" with her.] You look understandably troubled...

[video]

[seaduke]

[ its a blurry view of his hand. No, he isn't good at this phone thing. ]

Do the cages have holes in the ceiling?

[video]

[justribbing]

[ He's... tired. And between getting harried by Shadows and answering an almost endless stream of messages, he's been nodding off in the minute or two of relative quiet when they happen, storm be damned. ]

Huh?

...Uh, nope. And we can't bust a hole, either, it just gets returned to sender.

[text]

[everyonecanbekind]

NOT TO WORRY!!

WE ARE PERFECTLY SAFE IF NOT SLIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE!! TOGETHER, WE SHALL OVERCOME OUR PUZZLE!

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

[ nervous? Maybe. But he's made a promise. So there's no backing down, now!! FIGHT ON, BRAVE EXPLORERS OF CAGE 1!!!! ]

[text]

[justribbing]

* you're always tellin' me to recalibrate my puzzles, and you're always on top of yours.
* i know you're gonna do great, bro.
* just, uh, one thing:
* don't let anybody attack the cage. those attacks get turned right back around on ya.

[audio] late af but here we are

[wildcardpotential]

[Fucking awesome. This is what we need.]

Happy new month, amirite? [A sigh] I know a few people who would kick my butt if I was with the vanguard this time. [For reasons we are all aware of. Her scar still itches.] So I guess I'm stuck with the recovery and support team.

Do you see any good ways to get you all down? Without getting wet?

[audio]

[justribbing]

Nope, but I guess Colin's on that one.

Don't worry 'bout it, way it looks over here, recovery and support's gonna be in pretty high demand, kid.