.

PROLOGUE — ANNOUNCEMENT

SPEAKER (cold, disembodied):
“ATTENTION. YOU ARE ORDERED: DO NOT WANT TO KILL EACH OTHER. YOU WILL BE GIVEN TIME TO COMMUNICATE. ANY SHOW OF VIOLENCE TOWARDS OTHER ENTRANTS — ANY LEVEL — WILL RESULT IN YOU BEING DEEMED NOT FIT FOR THE JOB. YOUR MIND WILL BE ERASED AND YOU WILL BE EXPELLED. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST. COMMUNICATION WINDOW: NOW OPEN.”

(The lights pulse once. A hush cascades through the packed concrete chamber. Cameras swivel. Someone coughs. Skrunkly bounces on the spot like a human jack-in-the-box.)

Zap:
“…Uh—okay. No killing. Got it. Nobody stab—like, physically stab. Verbal stabbing is allowed, yes?”

Miss Jasmine:
“Let’s keep it civil. We all have five minutes to talk. Use them.”

Skrunkly:
“WHO’S GONNA BE ERASED FIRST IF THEY BURP LOUDLY—”

Steamton (murmuring through a cough):
“IF THE SMOKE HITS THE WIRE, THE HORN WILL SING— cough —and we do not want songs of deletion.”

Gordon:
(tilts his head, taps his glove against his helmet once, indicating comprehension.)

Cassie:
“Rituals? No. Let’s not summon anything. That’s usually how minds get... erased.”

Kira (smiling too sweetly):
“Peaceful coexistence is preferable. It’s very… efficient.”

Jotaro:
“Don’t make me say it twice. Keep it quiet.”

Vadrina (blades sheathed):
“I’ll watch my hands. You all watch yours.”

Fork:
(falls over dramatically)

(A metallic squeal. Three figures arrive late, stepping through the steel door as it seals behind them. The room’s cattle-call of voices spikes—interest, suspicion, amusement—then dips into a murmur as everyone sizes the newcomers up.)

LATE ENTRY ONE — Sue Sakamoto

(She strides in, ponytail swinging, rabbit ears twitching. Looks annoyed.)

Sue:
“Sorry I'm late. Roadblocks, crappy GPS, and someone refused to reboot their car, so—”
(glances at the crowd)
“—are you the welcoming committee or the chaos committee?”

Zap (immediately):
“Hi. I’m Zap. Swimmer. Alien. Let's be friends. You got ears—cute.”

Sue (deadpan):
“They’re ears. Not a dating app filter. I have no time for—”
(softens a touch)
“—IT help though. If your comms are glitched, I’ll fix it.”

Ducc:
“Bring the patch. We'll throw bugs further than before.” (floating hands gesture)

Zephyr (whispering):
“…You’re from IT? Please don’t touch my tail.”

Sue:
“I won’t—unless you run outdated drivers.”

LATE ENTRY TWO — Bibliox

(A shuffling of pages precedes him. He waddles in, robe ruffling with every letter printed across it. He squints and mumbles.)

Bibliox:
“Mum-mumble. To by... or not to by? Lads and lass—er—friends of the bookshelf, I jingle my—”
(holds up a warped grimoire like a nervous pet)
“—hello. Whose soles belong to who? Book soles, bubble-blows!”

Miss Jasmine:
“Hello, Bibliox. You have five minutes to be understood.”

Bibliox:
“T-tempting! I’ll say that again but louder and with wind spells. Bubbles? OR B-U-B-L-E-S.”

Skrunkly (clapping):
“BOOK BUBBLES!!”

Bibliox:
“Beware the pop—pop is loud. Loud equals… err —erasure?”

Cassie (smirking):
“Can your books tune out the announcement? Asking for a friend.”

Bibliox (proud):
“Some books do whisper the instructions of tea kettles and—mumble—a map to clean shoes.”

LATE ENTRY THREE — Count Koffin-K

(A fedora tip and the rustle of a trench coat. Eyes blink from brim and flaps; tiny bats ripple on his shoulders.)

Count Koffin-K (telepathically, with a jaunty little lilt):
“Good evening, citizens! Sorry for the dramatic entrance. Had some minor difficulties with my transit bats. Hope that’s not a problem? I come bearing… questionable schemes and absolutely no malicious intent.”

Kitsune (snorts):
“’Questionable’ is an optimistic word.”

Count Koffin-K:
“‘Questionable’ is my middle name. Actually it’s—well, it’s proprietary. But I adore friends. Who wants to form a club? A ‘not violent’ club?”

Scoop Dog (over his speaker music):
“ICE CREEEAM— join the club, buy an ice cream, drop the violence!”

Zap (to Sue):
“Club? I joined. Do we get matching hats?”

Sue:
“No. We get the extradition of fools who act up.”

Kira (calmly):
“All agreeable then. I like this arrangement.”

Miss Jasmine:
“Let’s make introductions quick and useful. Name, ability if any, and one thing you need from the group.”

(Rapid-fire responses ripple through the room.)

Zap:
“Zap. Regeneration, swims fast, breathes nitrogen. Need: someone to remind me when I nap.”

Zephyr:
“Zephyr. Mystic toothpick. Need: a safe corner to sketch.”

Gordon:
(silent—he holds up a small schematic of the base and slides it across the room toward Sue)

Sue (taking the schematic):
“Nice. I’ll patch the blindspots.”

Steamton:
“Steamton P Steamton. Handcardriver, smoke-lord. Need: a place to rest my hat, and permission to cough decoratively.”

Kitsune:
“Kitsune Dragnoc. Blades, luck. Need: no one touch my tails.”

Cassie:
“Cassie. Ritualist. Need: incense-free willpower.”

Kira:
“Kira.…I like peace. Need: a quiet hour and a tidy desk.”

Vadrina:
“Vadrina. Golden sword. Need: room to stretch my legs and maybe duel practice on foam.”

Pale King:
“The Pale King. Foresight, worship-aspirations. Need: silence and a good throne—preferably made of scarce adoration.”

Skrunkly:
“Skrunkly! Need: cuddle?”

Fun Facts with Herbert:
“Herbert. Need: a captive audience for fun facts. Did you know—”

Bibliox (interrupting):
“Fun facts are delicious! Like pies with commas sprinkled on top—”

Count Koffin-K:
“Count Koffin-K. Bats, hat attacks. Need: someone to laugh at my jokes.”

Ducc:
“Ducc The Ultimate. Floating hands, regeneration. Need: an object to throw inexplicably far. For science.”

Fork:
(stares)

Remy (rat):
(scurries close to Kira, knife clutched; someone tenses)

SPEAKER (flat):
“REMNANT ALERT: ANY HOSTILE ACTIONS WILL TRIGGER MIND ERASE PROTOCOL.”

Remy (defensive):
“I’m—hungry. Sorry. Thought I heard a snack.”

Cassie (raising a hand in a ritualic gesture, calm):
“Knife goes. Now. Not because I asked, because I can do this quietly and you will not like loud consequences.”

Remy:
(drops the knife) “Okay. Okay.”

Rewrite (grinning):
“This base has rules. How wholesome. I’ll play.”

(Small pockets of conversation ignite—alliances forming, wary glances exchanged. Sue moves toward Gordon’s schematic and Bibliox flutters pages that send a ring of gentle bubble-winds into the air—beauty, not violence.)

Bibliox (to Sue):
“Patch the… the net… the net of the nuts? I—mumble—patch the net, and we keep minds.”

Sue:
“I patch. You keep the page-bubbles away from cameras. They attract—”
(she glances at the ceiling)
“—eyeballs. Good.”

Count Koffin-K (telepathically, to a small cluster):
“Trade? I can spin a harmless hat tornado for entertainment in exchange for someone telling me a joke that isn’t about coffins.”

Skrunkly:
“Why did the ghost go to the party? For the boo-gie!”

Count Koffin-K (genuinely delighted):
“Adorable. Consider me your friend.”

Zap (quiet to Zephyr):
“You’re cute. If you want a tour, I give deluxe tours. Nitrogen-only breathing section included.”

Zephyr (hisses softly):
“Please don’t flirt me into death.”

Zap:
“No promises.”

(At the edge of the room, Kira watches, fingers steepled. His smile never quite reaches his eyes. He leans toward Jotaro.)

Kira (softly):
“Do you think any of them will break the rule?”

Jotaro:
“If someone shows signs, we stop them before the base does. That’s the deal.”

Kira:
“And if we can’t?”

Jotaro:
“…Then we stand. Together.”

Miss Jasmine (stepping forward):
“Everyone, final five seconds on anything important.”

Herbert:
“Fun fact: trust builds faster when you share snacks.”

Scoop Dog:
“See? Ice cream heals!”

Sue (to the room):
“I’ll keep the network up. If anything weird happens with the speaker, you tell me. I’ll trace it. I don’t want anyone erased.”

Bibliox (muttering):
“Mend minds with binders. Binders and—bubble—books.”

Pale King (softly):
“I do not wish to control you. I wish to be acknowledged. That is different.”

Cassie (eying the Pale King):
“Acknowledged. But don’t try to mind-bend any rituals. I will make it loud and annoying.”

Grim (wheelchair clicking):
“Wheels... keep moving.”

Ducc (floating hands clapping slowly):
“Alright. We’re weird. We’re loud. We’re stuck. Let’s not get erased. That’s the plan.”

SPEAKER (after a long pause):
“COMMUNICATION WINDOW: REMAINING. MAINTAIN COMPLIANCE.”

(The hum of conversation resumes. Everyone fills their allotted time—bickering, trading jokes, small confessions, and quiet plans. Friendships begin with one apology and a clumsy handshake. Enmities begin with narrow glances and unanswered questions. But for now—no blood, no screams, only words.)

Final exchange as the camera lingers:

Sue (to Zap, smirking):
“If you try and flirt with me again, I’ll boot your neural prompts offline. Consider yourself warned.”

Zap (grinning, undeterred):
“I’d like to see you try. Bet I’d still be cuter afterward.”

Sue (turns to the room):
“Listen up: if the speaker goes weird, come to me. Keep your knives on the floor. Keep your spells small. And—don’t die.”

Count Koffin-K (cheerful):
“Lovely motto! I shall repeat it with a flourish!”

Skrunkly (yawning suddenly):
“Also, nap schedule?”

Cassie:
“…I can do naps. But only if they’re ritual-clean.”

Bibliox (mumbling as he tucks his book):
“Mumble, mumble—charters sealed. Book bubbles, no pops.”

Zap (loud whisper):
“Best. Group. Ever.”

When Jotaro said: ''Then we stand. Together.'' you couldve done the funniest introduction to the wheelchair guy

SHUT UP CHAT THE COOL SHITS HAPPENING

ts peak when is the next entry coming out

in a few minutes

Upvote to get my comment above his

why

yes sir

Aw the alts done gottified me

im not an alt dear sire

Ik