[TCP] MAZE TRIALS 2.0

[skinstealer]

Tightrope stays next to Autopsy for a few moments, making sure he can stand and walk comfortably before starting down the walkway towards the first fan blade. Monopoly follows suit, her mind buzzing the closer she gets to the noisy blade.

This thing took his leg off. I need to be carefu-

AUTOPSY: You know!
 

Mono almost jumps out of her skin, the meaty body type suddenly very close behind her.

AUTOPSY: I'm really glad to meet you both in this trial.
AUTOPSY: A cooperative chamber with people willing to help...
AUTOPSY: It's hard to get that kind of thing.
MONOPOLY: ....

 

Chattier than I'd like, but...

MONOPOLY: Yeah.
MONOPOLY: Brutal world out here.
AUTOPSY: More reason to stick together.
AUTOPSY: To the puzzle!
 

...some kind of puzzle this is.
More team building than anything.
One of these two might be a newbie.

 

Autopsy holds down the lever slowly, making sure to check everyone was in the right place first.

The fan immediately slows down, now spinning at a speed that would look more at home in a miniature golf course. Tightrope steps forward and crouches down, waiting for its moment.

It leaps...


[image description: low angle wide shot of Tightrope leaping across the gap between two platforms and through a fan blade. unlike before, the individual blades are now visible instead of being a blur.]


And sails through the blades unscathed. It sighs with relief, dusting itself off before turning back to the other two TCPs.

TIGHTROPE: The timing isn't too bad.
TIGHTROPE: The trick is to jump when a blade's in front of you, because by the time you get there, it'll have moved.
 

The meaty TCP lets go of his lever just as slow.

The fan spins back up for a moment before being interrupted by Tightrope holding the lever down on its side.

TIGHTROPE: You next, Autopsy. I want one person on either side to help you if things get bad.
AUTOPSY: Thank you, Tightrope!

 

He takes a step back, bracing himself before making a proper leap, landing without a single issue, his hands triumphantly in the air.

AUTOPSY: Five points!
TIGHTROPE: Heh, nice. Is that out of five or out of ten?
AUTOPSY: Seven. Still a good score!
 

It gets a snicker out of Monopoly before she can help herself, feeling her tension starting to ease up- a little.

AUTOPSY: Your turn, friend!

 

...right.


She stretches before jumping- a lot less dramatically than the prior TCP- and landing just fine.

TIGHTROPE: Alright, good job.
TIGHTROPE: I want... uh...
TIGHTROPE: Sorry, I didn't catch your name?
MONOPOLY: You can just call me "the red one."
MONOPOLY: Or "hey, you!"
TIGHTROPE: Fair enough.
TIGHTROPE: Me and Hey You should go first this time, I think.
TIGHTROPE: Autopsy's clearly proven he can still jump with the best of them, and we don't actually know what's on the other side of this fan.

 

Autopsy grips the lever, giving a nod and a thumbs up.

AUTOPSY: You got it!
TIGHTROPE: You first, The Red One. You're the only one who hasn't been hurt yet. Just yell or something if you need help, okay?

 

Monopoly nods, feeling more confident now. Having Tightrope not press the name issue...that's more than a little appreciated. Thank god.

MONOPOLY: Will do.

 

She leaps, complete with perfect touchdown.


...still got it.

MONOPOLY: Alright.
MONOPOLY: Let's go, Tightrope.
 

Tightrope steps up, pauses to get its timing, and then jumps, landing with just a bit of a tumble on the other side. It pauses, trying to pick a bit of grime out of its wound.

She looks down at it, trying to keep her voice soft.

MONOPOLY: Better to just peel it.
MONOPOLY: You gotta watch it with the porous ends.
MONOPOLY: Stuff gets in there, it's hard to get out.

 

Tightrope looks up at her, surprised.



[image description: over-the-shoulder shot of Monopoly gesturing towards Tightrope, who is crouched on the ground, picking at the wound on their chest. Tightrope is looking back at Monopoly, an expression of confusion on its face.]

TIGHTROPE: Wh- yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.
TIGHTROPE: ...Thank you.

 

It gently peels off a thin layer of bread, removing the offending chunk of dirt, and crumples the whole thing up before tossing it aside.

TIGHTROPE: Probably not a big enough chunk to do anything. Plus, it's got floor lint in it.

 

It walks up to one of the two levers, reaching up with a short hop before pulling the lever down. Mono follows suit, giving Tightrope an affirmative nod.

Autopsy waits for the fans to stop, jumping through without a hitch. He looks just as proud as before, raising his hand to ask for a high five.

She hesitates before patting his hand, trying not to think about how moist it is. The body type seems incredibly pleased at that, darting over to bend down and offer the same to Tightrope. Tightrope seems equally taken back by how friendly the body type is being, but quickly slaps his hand so as not to appear impolite. Mono busies herself in the meantime-


[image description: a close-up of a large billboard. there are several paragraphs of unreadable Morbitian text, with two diagrams in opposite corners. in the top right corner, there is a picture of a bracelet with an arrow leading down from it. the arrow splits into three and points to three figures. beneath each figure is another symbol- a stylized feline, bird, and ladybug respectively. the second diagram depicts a large eye symbol above a picture of a figure jumping over a gap, complete with an arrow indicating their direction of movement. below the gap jumper is an illustration of a baton with small caps at either end.]


-spotting a friendly-looking graphic on the wall.