Shattered Glass

**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Previous Role-Play**: Finding Shapes in The Clouds , Dark Harvest
**Users Involved:** User:Katokonia
**Setting:** G-12 , **Super-Cell**
**Marines Involved**:
* Sol Oriana
* Nibiru Hysteria
* Anthea Cassiopeia
* Anthea Serenade
* Sayid Barto
* Kepla Jay
* Kepla Sweeney (Mentioned)
* Kenin Yani
* Benny J.

**Scions / Apocryphon Pirates Involved**:
* Starfall Nyx
* Raine Lilith
* Bukki (Mentioned)
* Starfall Hecate (Mentioned)
* Strodes Cain (Mentioned)
* Trisk Archibald
* Trisk Charles (Mentioned)

**Other Characters Involved**:
* Tol Taka
* Embo Lyssa
* Khorne Visk
* Beverly Kyra

**Metrics**: Shattered Glass/Metrics

## **Welcome to the Super-Cell!**

Walls. A ceiling. And nothing else in sight.

Tol Taka found himself sitting in a dull, grey room. It was in the shape of a box, or maybe a cube was more accurate to describe it, for it's make was flawless in geometry. Indeed, it was faded in color, however it was not faded for lack of care, in fact, it may very well have been intentional, for not a speck of dust strayed within here. Taka scanned the room for anything remarkable, though little was found. Directly behind where he had been facing there was a door, bars towards the top of it with a small breath of air seeping in through the hole that may have been to act as for a guard to speak with a prisoner.

Indeed, Taka now remembered, *"I guess I ended up getting captured huh, well, let's get out of here."* He thought to himself, as he attempted to stand up and use his devil fruit ability to simply phase past the door. However, he failed in the first step, let alone the second. As he tried to rise from his sitting position, he was yanked back towards the ground. He turned his head towards the source, to see that he was shackled to a sturdy nail in the ground, protruding from the very center of the room. He glared at the nail, then at his bound arms behind him, they felt...weak, as it dawned on him that these were chains, and a nail, both made of sea prism stone, the bane of men such as him that had indulged in devil fruits. *"When did I get this power again anyways..."* Taka thought idly, as he sat back down in a loose, yet irritated posture.

He looked around the room once more, hoping to perhaps find something else of interest besides a door that he could not reach. He then spied two more similar nails, however each of these was pounded into one of the walls on each of his sides. He looked back to where he originally faced, to the opposite side of the door, and there too was a nail here. All three of these had no chains, however, but Taka simply assumed that this was because he was the only prisoner. In one corner of the room, there was a tiny hole that must have led to some form of vent, though Taka was unaware as to it's purpose. He rattled his chains slightly, and startled back in surprise as a viscous pound on the door came in response. Or rather, he believed it to be in response, though it would seem not to be...

Starfall Nyx yelled at the guard who was handling and leading her towards a cell. She cursed out him aggressively, however rather than being freed from her bonds this only made to irritate the guard, who slammed a fist into her jaw, "Shut the fuck up!" He yelled at Nyx, as he slammed her face-first into a door, doubling the injury she had just received. Another guard arrived at the commotion, then assessed the situation and shook his head, "These damn newbies aren't gonna do well in this prison if they behave like this." He chuckled, unlocking the door. This door led to the very room that held none other than Taka, as the guard pushed Nyx inside. She was bound in a similar fashion to Taka, he noticed that her hands were behind her back and shackled in sea prism cuffs with a chain attached to them. However the chain seemed to not be held by a guard, and instead it led to yet another person, one who had been rather silent in her approach. Taka could see three guards just outside of the door, though he could sense another just around the corner, as the two girls were corralled into his room, where he still sat center, with a neutral expression on his face.

One of the guards pushed past Nyx, who fell onto the ground from the impact, swearing vehemently, as he approached Taka and shouted an order at him, "If you resist, you won't leave unhurt!" He barked, as he pulled out some sort of key, moving behind Taka and removing the chain from the nail, though Taka didn't quite see how. The guard then yanked the chain, bringing it over to the back of the room, to the nail on the back wall, firmly attaching the chain to it. Another guard walked over and dragged Nyx's body, which was still on the ground, to the hook on the right side of the room, and pulled out another key to "cut" the chain that seemed to link both Nyx's chain, and the other who was bound to it. This second individual was revealed soon after, meekly entering the room with a neutral grimace on her face, walking obediently towards the nail on the left of the room and, without resistance, was chained to the nail there. This was Raine Lilith, who had attempted to save Nyx from her own capture in what had already been nearly a day or two ago, though this had only resulted in her own capture as well. She didn't speak a single word, and only gave a quick, apathetic, glance towards Taka before lowering her head and closing her eyes. Nyx was much less apathetic, and was instead struggling with all her might against the chain that was now cemented by nail into the wall, as she furiously spewed a list of threats and insults at the guards, who simply laughed amongst themselves and left the room, slamming the door shut behind them. Taka noticed that something slid over where the barred hole at the top of the door was, closing off the room entirely. In this moment, he heard a very quiet whistle from above him. It was the tiny hole, which he now surmised seemed to be some form of air purifier or freshener or something of the like, as he felt a tiny breeze against his face. Nyx was still cursing to herself, when Lilith spoke up to her,

"Nyx, I don't think curses and threats are going to help us out here..."

Nyx looked up at Lilith, "I don't care. Those guards deserve to die. That bitch that we saw at the entrance deserves to die. And that damn marine that fucked over our plans is the worst of them all, I want to kill her myself." She spat back, as Lilith let out an exasperated sigh,

"Well...I still think we should at least figure out where we are...this doesn't look like an ordinary prison to me..." She trailed, then looking over at Taka, who was leaning against the wall nonchalantly, "Hey, you look like you've been here a while, can you tell us where we are?"

Taka looked up, acting as if he hadn't been listening to their conversation even though he most definitely had, and with great interest at that, "Oh, me? Nah I got here just a little while ago today, at least I think I did."

Nyx snorted in response, "You THINK you did? What are you, some sort of dumb fucking amnesiac?"

Taka mused in response, "Well that too, but I woke up about...ten minutes before you all arrived at best? So what're you in for, I think I fucked up trying to save some bird for someone I only knew for a couple hours by raiding a navy base, but hey, these things happen am I right?"

Nyx sneered at his response, turning her head back to Lilith, "This guy doesn't know anything, just leave him be."

"Hey now Nyx, be patient, ok?" Lilith responded, acting as if she were lifting her hands to calm Nyx down even though obviously she couldn't produce the actual motion.

"Yea Nyx, patience is a virtue or so they say." Taka called over, as Nyx turned her head back to him.

"Did I ever give you permission to say my name? I don't think I remember that." She said in an irritated tone towards Taka, who smirked and slumped into a more comfortable position, "Well, I probably would've learned it eventually either way, no?" He raised an eyebrow towards Lilith, who looked at Nyx's face, which was contorted in a mixture of confusion and annoyance, as she let out a soft, inaudible laugh. Taka noticed the movements of it, though Nyx's gaze was solely focused on Taka.

"You're a pain, don't blame me if accidents happen." Nyx concluded, turning her head away from Taka melodramatically as she lied down facing her side of the wall.

Lilith closed her eyes as well, and silence resonated throughout the room for the next two hours. There was no way of telling what time it was in here, with no source of natural light, nor clock, not any notion of a schedule having been presented thus far, and especially since Taka wasn't entirely sure when he ended up here in the first place. He noticed a strange breathing pattern that was present in Lilith, though he was pretty sure Nyx was sound asleep. He whispered over to Lilith, "So, now that the loud one's asleep, care to make an actual conversation?" Taka assumed that Lilith was awake.

This proved to be an accurate deduction, as she lifted on eyelid with a grin, "Hey, if you're smart enough to notice somethin' like that to know I'm not asleep, maybe you aren't so bad after all~" She said slyly, before continuing, "Well...what do you want to know? I guess we can start off with introductions?" She asked in a pleasant tone, a stark contrast against Nyx's interaction with Taka thus far.

Taka nodded his head approvingly, "Right-o, I'm Taka. Accolades? I don't think I have many quite yet, though obviously it appears like I'm not in the best graces of the Navy, given, well..." Taka rattled his chain slightly, "I'd like to think I'm good at fighting, if you're interested in perhaps, making a break for it?" He offered loosely, not giving concrete reason for Lilith to believe if he was being serious or not, though through context this gave her the notion that we would be open to an escape attempt should one be devised.

Lilith winked at Taka, "Nice to meet you Taka!" She said in a hushed, yet felicitous tone, "I'm Lilith! You can call me Lilly, me and Nyx here might be a bit worse breed of people than someone like you, though..." She said ominously, though pursing her lips playfully.

"Huh, well alright then." Taka said plainly, closing his own eyes this time without pursuing further.

Lilith was taken by surprise by this, having expected him to ask about it further, which would have let her gradually take control of the conversation, so his abrupt disinterest ironically made her fall for her own trap, "What do you mean 'alright then,' don't you want to know why?" She asked Taka.

"Eh, if you didn't tell me right away then that's on you. I don't care anymore." He said defiantly. On the inside, he was actually consciously using the same trick that Lilith had meant to employ, though his poker face and acting skills, alongside the fact that Lilith didn't know him, all played to his advantage in securing his spot in the social hierarchy between the two.

Lilith pouted, a wry face now painted onto her, as she replied, "We're part of a group that we call the Scions, you heard of us?"

Taka thought to himself for a moment, "Don't think so, what are you, some sort of pirate group too lazy to put pirate in your name?"

Lilith dropped her jaw with a bland look on her face, "What? No, we're not pirates. I guess if we're closest to anything it's revolutionaries, though we aren't part of that goody-two-shoes army or anything...wait, why am I telling you this?"

"I see I see, so non-revolutionary revolutionaries, makes sense. I think everyone probably just sees you guys as some weird group of pirates though, but who knows..." Taka drifted, "As for why you're telling me this, I mean, you tell me?"

If Lilith had access to move her arms, she would have buried her face in them, though she couldn't, instead slouching into a position similar to Taka's, replying, "Yea, I guess I would've eventually anyways..."

"Yup, probably. I'm going to sleep, you probably should to, who knows what's in store later." Taka responded bluntly, abruptly ending their chat, though he remained in a sitting position as he began to close his eyes in an attempt to sleep.

Lilith close her eyes as well, though she opted to lie down like Nyx had, huddling against the cold wall in an attempt towards comfort, though there was none to be had, "Fine by me, good night." She responded, her voice quieting down with every word. She was exhausted from the transpirations of the day, and quickly drifted asleep, as did Taka across the room.

Meanwhile, Nyx, who was still laying while facing the wall, had been completely awake during this entire exchange. *"What? I was about to say something damnit. Why'd they stop talking, fucking assholes."* She thought to herself, quietly pouting as she too finally drifted off to sleep.

## **A Playground for the Damned**

Taka, Nyx, and Lilith were all sound asleep. Hours had passed since Taka and Lilith's brief conversation, as a loud bang came from the door. The slider that had covered what Taka now referred to as a "window" slid open, as a guard's face appeared on the other side, shouting into the room, "Wake up you lousy thugs! Get in the yard!"

Taka contemplated for a moment on the guard's intelligence, "You do know we're bound to a wall, right?" He asked plainly, though a mocking tone creeped into his question.

Lilith held in a laugh, as Nyx reverberated his question, "Yea you dumb fucking grunt, did you lose your eyes alongside that pea of a brain you got, hah?"

The guard could be seen making an angry face, as he whistled. The door swung open, as four different guards entered the room, three of them unlocking and grabbing Taka, Nyx, and Lilith's chains respectively. Taka noticed Nyx make a subtle motion as if she were about to strike down the guard holding her then and their, but she caught a glance from Lilith and refrained from doing so. Taka then coughed, as he was lifted up and pulled out of the room, Nyx and Lilith being pulled right after him. The hallway was just as dark, dull, and unremarkable as their room. It seemed to be in perfect condition, yet the make of the condition itself was brutally lame. It didn't quite resemble how Taka had envisioned a prison. In his mind, a prison was a filthy place, one rotting with the corpses of hopeless and helpless prisoners, brutal guards holding false pride over their noses, and a general ambience of anger. Yet this was as if it were tailored to be the antithesis of such. While the guards remained rather...hostile, Taka heard no moans, no pleas for help from the rows of door he passed by as he was taken down the hallway. He was able to peek inside some of the rooms, others being sealed off with their sliding door on the window. There were people in some, postured in a similar fashion to how he had been earlier, with no more than three people in each room. They looked sad, somnolent, depressed, yet not angry. The people seem to have given up, though Taka loathed to find out why. There was one individual who caught his eye as he had walked by, it was a blond man with a smirk on his face, who gave a fake smile at Taka as he had passed by. This was the first, and last, oddity that Taka would see on this short venture through the hall he resided within.

The lead guard led the group to a door which itself had four guards stationed by it. The door itself was large, and seemed to resemble more of a gate than anything, as when made to open, it lifted off of the ground rather than swinging to the side. The group passed through without incident, and were led into yet another hall way, though this one lacked doors on it's sides. The door-gate slammed onto the ground behind the group indicating that it held a large amount of weight, easily multiple tons worth even though the door appeared deceptively wooden. This new hallway was initially dark as well, however once the prior entry had shut the hallway lit up brightly, as one of the guards knocked on a spot on the wall, as a box full of sea prism stone handcuffs popped out. The guards grabbed three, working on one person at a time as they forced the arms of the three restrained in front of themselves, then cuffing them to the front and releasing the chain. All of the guards then stood back, one of them notably shoving Nyx forward as an assertion of his position, as the one who had been leading Taka spoke aloud in a heavily sarcastic voice, "Well then kids, enjoy your time on the Playground!"

He and the other guards began to laugh, as suddenly a gate slid down in between them, and Lilith, who had been the farthest back of the three prisoners. In front of Taka, who took the fore, a door opened to the side. A dim light protruded, then becoming brighter as he looked into it. Beyond the door was what seemed to resemble a theme park, or at least what he had heard a theme park would look like, having not ever actually been to one himself. There was a large rollercoaster encompassing the perimeter and entirety of the room above the other buildings, and above it's peak was a large roof, or ceiling if even this rose only to the interior. There were large costumed figures that resembled to be various different types of humanoid animals, or potentially they were even animatronic in nature, some of them carrying batons but they were otherwise unarmed, at least upon glance. There were prisoners scattered in the area, standing in lines waiting for rides, others riding the rides themselves. However, there were none straying from this format, well, almost none. Taka saw one prisoner break from the line he was standing in to go sit down on an empty bench, looking closer Taka noticed them all to be empty, as he proclaimed loudly, just within earshot, "I'm tired of these goddamn rides, I'm not going to put up with this bullshit any longer. Isn't this a prison? What the hell is this bullshit huh?" He said loudly and belligerently, as before Taka's eyes he saw some of the costumed/animatronic figures run over to the man. He looked around at them confused, "What the hell are you guys even here for anyways huh? Just lookin' pretty are we?" He said with a gloated sense of pride, he then stood up on top of the bench, indicating all the other prisoners who had remained in the line, "The hell are you guys even doing this shit for huh? This is bul--" He began, but was cut off as the figures did not speak, did not utter a single word in either threat or reprimand, but began to ruthlessly beat the man, crushing him against the ground and battering him over the course of the next three seconds. Three seconds was all it look, as they lifted themselves and walked back to their respective posts, some standing at ticket booths for the lines and one bear-shaped figure happily holding a set of balloons, it's mask smiling innocently all the while. Taka was in shock as the prisoners simply turned back to the line, without a single word towards their compatriot who had just been beaten half-way dead. From one side of the wall two men in medic suits appeared with a stretcher, as they grabbed the man and swiftly brought him back out through the hole in the wall from which they had came.

"What the hell..." Nyx began, as speaking of walls, the ground itself suddenly launched Nyx, Taka, and Lilith into the massive room before them, which they technically had not yet entered, as the way they had come from shut behind them, appearing just like the rest of the walls within. As they sprawled onto the floor, one of the animal-like figures walked over to them, welcoming in an overly-enthusiastic and happy voice, "Welcome to The Playground! We have all sorts of rides and games to try! Give the wheel a whirl! If you're lucky, you might hit the jackpot!" It said towards them, turning around and beginning to walk towards a giant wheel and booth some ways to the left. Taka, Nyx, and Lilith stood up, however none of them yet moved forward, still processing the situation. The figure that had approached them turned around mid-stride, or rather, only it's head turned around. Doing a full 180 around it's body, the head looked at them and cocked to the side, repeating, "Give the wheel a whirl! If you're lucky," It's eyes turned red, it's voice deepening into an almost demonic voice, "you might hit the jackpot!" The figure turned it's head back to the front, cackling with a dark sound in it's voice, as Taka and Lilith both looked at each other, and trotted over to follow the being. Nyx still refused, "The hell is this shit huh? What's this fucker talking about anywa--ys" She began, as Lilith ran back and grabbed Nyx's hand, tugging her along to follow the figure.

After a minute or two of walking, the group arrived before a giant wheel. There was another of the figures standing by it, this one taking on the appearance of an abnormally large parrot but with arms and hands, who upon their approach chattered loudly, "Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune!!! Are you new? Or Perhaps returning guests?"

The figure that had escorted the three to the location abruptly left, which indicated that the three were meant to respond on their own.

"Well here goes nothin..." Taka muttered, stepping forward, "I'm new, what should I do?" He asked politely, not wanting to do something wrong, but also just curious as to how the interaction would go.

The parrot-like figure squawked, as it exclaimed cheerily, "A new customer!? Welcome, WELCOME!!!" Before quieting it's voice back to it's former volume, "You have one free spin remaining, would you like to spin?" As a giant lever arose beside the massive wheel.

Taka looked at the wheel itself, walking over towards the lever which he assumed he was to pull. There were a variety of things listed as rewards on the spinner wheel, though the ones that spoke prominently to him were the following: 'Tin Foil', 'Meeting with the VP', 'Breath of Fresh Air', 'Chance at The Arena', 'Uh Oh! Punishment Time!." Taka eyed slightly longer at the ominous one at the end, which itself accounted for 6 of the 50 tabs he counted on the wheel.

*"Well...here goes nothin'..."* He thought to himself, "I'd like to spin." He said to the parrot-like figure.

The figure chirped in response, "Great to hear! You now have (0) spins remaining! Please pull the arm to the right of the wheel!"

Taka pulled the lever, as the wheel began to spin at a pace that almost blinded Taka, who initially tried to follow the the tabs that spun by the wedge that sat at the top of it. It lasted for about ten seconds, until it began to come to a slow. Taka's eyes widened as the wheel appeared to be almost-stopped, with the wedge hovering above one of the "Punishment Time" tiles, however he let out an audible gasp of relief as it moved off this, and landed to the one directly to it's left.

"We have a WINNER!!!" The parrot-like figure squawked happily, "Congratulations! You have won...TEN TICKETS!!!"

Lights danced on the wheel's rim, as confetti blasted Taka's face, some residue hitting Nyx and Lilith as well. A small collar shot out from the machine as well, placing itself around Taka's neck, fitting perfectly, as if it had homed in on him, especially since he had moved to dodge the sudden motion. A small screen was on the front of the collar was a number, which read "18." Taka opened his mouth to ask about this, however was ignored, with the attention of the parrot-like figure already off of him.

The figure wasted no time as it looked at Lilith, who was next in their rudimentary line, as it squawked at her, saying, "Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune!!! Are you new? Or Perhaps returning guests?"

Lilith responded with a hesitant smile, before responding "I'm new."

To this the figure exclaimed in an exact parrot of his earlier response, saying "A new customer!? Welcome, WELCOME!!!" Quieting itself and continuing, "You have one free spin remaining, would you like to spin?" Though as the lever was still there, nothing changed regarding it.

"I would like to spin, please." Lilith said politely, looking towards Taka nervously, eyeing the collar which had just been attached to him and the number on it.

The figure chirped just as it had before, "Great to hear! You now have (0) spins remaining! Please pull the arm to the right of the wheel!"

Lilith walked over to where Taka was, as Taka stepped slightly to the side, his eyes fixated on the wheel, wondering what she would get. Lilith wasted no time pulling down the lever, as the wheel proceeded to spin once more. For a moment, time slowed to a halt for Lilith, her eyes still on the spinning wheel, but a split-moment wandering to something in the distance behind it. Everything else appeared frozen, however she could see what appeared to be a...child? The child laughed, heard in Lilith's ears however much too far for this to have been possible, as they ran away and Lilith was brought back to reality. The wheel slowed in it's spin, before non-climatically landing on a slot that read "Tin Foil."

"We have a WINNER!!!" The parrot-like figure squawked happily, "Congratulations! You have won...TIN FOIL!!!"

Lilith looked at the figure, confused as to it's meaning, as a collar similar to Taka's shot at her neck, firmly planting itself, this one reading with the number "8." However something else shot at Lilith, this being a tin foil hat that planted itself on her head. The moment the hat connected with Lilith's head, her senses dulled immediately, a dim expression now on her face.

"Uhh...Lilith, are you ok?" Taka asked, however was interrupted by the parrot-like figure. "Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune!!! Are you new? Or Perhaps returning guests?" It said to Nyx, who was looking at Lilith with a concerned expression. She gave a glare to the parrot-like figure, flaring with anger, "What did you do to her?"

It ignored her question, reciting again, "Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune!!! Are you new? Or Perhaps returning guests?"

Nyx refused to let it go though, as she walked up to the parrot-like figure, asking loudly with an aggressive tone, "I asked what the fuck you just did to my friend, did you hear me?"

The parrot-like figure responded the same once again, "Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune!!! Are you new? Or Perhaps returning guests?" However, this time it's eyes turned red, and after speaking a dark, demonic, and jarbled cackle came from it's mouth. "...a...nnn...swe...rrr...."

Nyx stared at the figure, her face twitching with anger, as Taka called over to her, "Hey, just spin the wheel and we can figure it out afterwards, I don't think it's fessing up."

Nyx glared at him, scoffing as she echoed what she had heard the two before her say as responses, "New user, and I'll be spinning with my free roll."

"A new customer!? Welcome, WELCOME!!!" The figure went in exactly the same tone, exactly the same voice, and with exactly the same enthusiasm it had before, "You have one free spin remaining, would you like to spin?" It continued, but then immediately said without waiting for response, "Great to hear! You now have (0) spins remaining! Please pull the arm to the right of the wheel!"

Nyx stomped over to the lever, pulling it without hesitation. The wheel spun for ten seconds, before finally landing on a tile titled just like Lilith's, reading "Tin Foil."

"We have a WINNER!!!" The parrot-like figure squawked happily, "Congratulations! You have won...TIN FOIL!!!"

Nyx opened her mouth in protest, seeing what the hat had done to Lilith. She turned as if to try and evade both the hat and collar, however both of them homed towards her with devastating efficiency, as if they couldn't be stopped. The collar attached itself first, it's screen blinking on and displaying an "8," just as Lilith's had, as the Tin Foil hat then landed atop Nyx's head, as her expression shifted from one of anger to one of pure apathy, as if her mind wasn't entirely there.

Taka eyed both Lilith and Nyx nervously, he had only known them for a few hours, but he felt guilty just leaving them be in this seemingly mentally crippled state, he turned towards the parrot-like figure and asked it, "May I ask what the Tin Foil Hat reward does?"

The parrot-like figure turned it's head towards Taka and squawked, "Reward Descriptions can be found on the sign to my right!" It said cheerily, before turning back to face forward. Taka looked at Nyx and Lilith, and said "Stay here, I'll go check out the sign." Before walking to the other side to read what sign said. There was a massive list of reward names and descriptions, some of which he didn't even see present on the wheel, though something caught the corner of his eye and he noticed that there were other wheels hidden behind a curtain. Simply assuming that they must rotate in some manner, he skimmed the list to find where it read "Tin Foil Hat." He called over to Nyx and Lilith, "Come over here, I found the description."

Both Nyx and Lilith looked at him blankly, walking over to where he was but it didn't appear as if they truly complied with what he said, simply understanding the words and their bodies moving on their own, the same blank face plastered on them both. The sign read:

*"Tin Foil Hat - Be blessed with the adornment of a Tin Foil Hat! Protect yourself from the harmful rays of the alien overlords with this wonderful wear! It'll bounce back harmful rays, and let you enjoy your sunshine days! \*Comes with side effect of temporary intellectual deficiency, please designate a helper in the event of lasting retardation."*

Taka blinked heavily, rereading the passage not quite sure what to make of it. He looked at the parrot-like figure, asking, "How do I designate myself as a helper? Or what do I do now?"

The figure, however, turned it's head, responding with "Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune!!! Are you new? Or Perhaps returning guests?"

Taka let out a deep sigh, as he walked over to Nyx and Lilith, who were patiently waiting for him, though it seemed that perhaps they had not even the mind to move of their own accord. He looked at them with withered eyes. Alongside this confusing and strenuous scenario, there were also the sea prism handcuffs that rested binding his wrists, taxing him even more. He wasn't sure if Nyx or Lilith had devil fruit abilities, though for the time being he didn't care enough to worry about it, nor could he even get a response if he did ask. He said "Follow me," as he began to walk towards another of the many booths within the area. He intentionally approached one that had another person at it, though only one. He walked up to the person, a girl with a head of long purple hair, and tried to grab her attention, "Hey, would you mind helping me out a bit?"

The girl had been inspecting what appeared to be some form of dart game, darts lined up at a counter with a set of targets lined in a range that stood on the other side, varying in size and distance from each other. There didn't appear to be any of the animal-like figures here, at least not to Taka's knowledge, though there was some form of electronic pad on the counter that read: *"1 ticket per 3 darts."* The girl looked over wearily, though her expression firmed as she processed Taka's presence and question. She looked past him at Nyx and Lilith, who were standing there like apathetic zombies, remarking, "Well that's a pretty shit start. What do you want from me?" She asked Taka, her eyes looking somewhat annoyed by his presence.

"Ah, yes, uh...could you tell me what I'm supposed to do with these two? It looks like these hats made them stupid, and also I'm not quite sure what we're doing here in the first place. Not in the sense of why we're in prison of course, but rather what this mess of a prison this is..." Taka drifted, as he looked around for emphasis, one of the roller coaster cars coincidentally zooming by as he said it, making the moment quite dramatic indeed.

"Uh...yea, it is pretty weird isn't it." The girl remarked dully, "If you're asking how to bond with them as a helper, just bump foreheads with each of them. If you needed anything else, let me finish this game first."

Taka nodded slowly in affirmation, as he did as told, bumping his forehead with Lilith, thinking about how he hoped that the two would forgive him for being so close, especially Nyx. He then bumped heads with Nyx as well. It was strange, it was almost as if he felt some sort of strange repelling connection in the moment his head touched hers, though the connection felt barred, utterly weak. Taka frowned as he turned back to the purple-haired girl, about to say something, but holding himself back as he saw her appear in deep concentration. When he had arrived, her arms had been loosely shackled in front of her, much looser than his were for sure, and she seemed to be able to maneuver her arms well, or at least well enough to throw one of the three darts that now sat atop the counter in front of her. Her eyes were locked onto a target. Taka followed her eyes, and nodded his head subtly as he saw it to be an extremely small target obscurely placed behind a larger target. The girl's eyes were peeking around the larger one, though there seemed to not be a way to throw the dart around the obstacle as easily as sight would demand. At least, so Taka thought.

It surprised him when the girl took the first dart, and sent it flying straight towards the top of the larger target that stood in front of the small one, hitting the rim. A buzz blared, as a single coin fell out of a dispenser that Taka only now noticed. The girl didn't pay it any mind, as she quickly threw her next dart...at exactly the same location. This dart scraped against the first, with almost incredible accuracy if intentional, as it found itself lodged in the rim of the target as well, however due to the presence of the first dart it lodged at a diagonally vertical angle, poking it's rear upwards into the air. A buzz akin to the last was heard, as another single coin fell from the dispenser, leaving the rather large bucket below it appearing empty, with two coins laying within. Taka watched on curiously, as the girl threw her third, and final dart, letting out a breath as it left her hand. This dart went yet again to the same location as the first two, however instead of simply lodging at the top rim of the large target, it found itself wedge in between the first two darts, then altering it's course on impact with them, continuing it's flight however now in a downwards path, as it descended, amazingly, onto the bullseye of the tiny target placed behind the larger one. The buzzing sound that came afterwards was much lighter in tone, as a golden light flickered above. A five-second song that Taka didn't recognize played, as coins began pouring into the bucket, easily filling it up with almost 50 coins that Taka could count, and they were still raining down. The girl promptly walked over to the bucket, grabbing at a space near the counter to find a bag in her hands, as she began placing coins in her bag. She paused momentarily, looking up at Taka, who still stood by idly alongside his two braindead companions, "Oh, you're still here. How's this, help me put these coins in my bag and I'll tell you what this place is, you don't seem like that bad of a person I guess..." She remarked, drifting off as she looked Taka in the eyes, "Do we have a deal?"

Taka smiled brightly, though it couldn't be told whether it was genuine or sarcastic, as he kneeled down and started placing coins in the girl's bag, coins of which now there were easily one to two hundred of, "Sounds good to me. Nice shot by the way, can't say I've seen a dart thrower make a shot like that before." Taka paused for a moment, "Then again, I don't think I know any dart throwers in the first place." He acknowledged with a grin.

The girl almost grinned in kind, though quickly hid it. "Well...you're probably one of the only ones that's still smiling around here, just for the record, though I guess you are a newbie. My name is Embo Lyssa. I've been here for a couple months now, though I can't say a moment of it's been fun."

"I'm Tol Taka." Taka interjected, then motioning for Lyssa to continue,

"Oh, wonderful. Hello Taka. Anyways, this here is called the Playground. First off, collect the coins slower, but not too slow. We aren't supposed to be having idle chatter unless it's part of a game, or on a way to a game or ride." Lyssa said, physically slowing down Taka's hands, which had thought that they were supposed to get the coins into the bag as fast as possible, slowing down sadly, "There's two main things we have to do here as prisoners, ok? First thing is this," Lyssa pointed at her collar, and then at Taka's. Taka noticed her collar display the number "94," though he listened without question as Lyssa continued, "The number on this tells you how many tickets you have. Pretty much the amount of tickets you have is the amount of time you have here."

Taka did speak up at this, inquiring, "Before we get to leave?"

Lyssa sighed, shaking her head, "No, before you get to leave...from the cold embrace of a painful death. If one of the aniguards catches you with 0 tickets on your collar they'll take you away. I haven't seen where they take people, but I, and everyone else, sure as hell have heard the screams that came later. Anyways, with these tickets you can spend however many either a stall, ride, or game costs to partake in that activity. Stalls are pretty straightforward. They take both tickets and coins as currency to purchase thing, I'll talk about coins in a second, but essentially you have to buy everything here. Food, water, privileges, anything and everything must be bought, and freebies are extremely rare. Rides all cost from 1-5 tickets, and they're definitely the safest thing to do around here. It's required that all prisoners ride a ride once a day, though the rides themselves usually don't give you any rewards, except for a select few of them. Lastly there's games, this is the best way to get coins. Games are a coinflip activity, as they're risk and reward involved, and how someone does depends on the game they play and how good they are at the game. These can be as simple as this dart game I just did, or as complex as something like The Arena. You don't have to play games, however they're the only way to get coins. Coins are pretty much the main currency used to buy stuff, especially since spending tickets at the shop itself will find you literally shaving days off your life pretty quickly, though if you screw up, games could find you losing tickets just as much and without anything in return. Though, if you do well enough in a game, there is a one-way conversion system that lets you turn coins into tickets, however it's at a pretty steep rate of 50 coins per ticket." Lyssa watched Taka's reaction as he melodramatically looked between the bucket and bag full of coins and back at Lyssa, "Yes, yes, I know I just won a bunch, but I just got lucky with this game. We have to come here five days a week, and every night the games and rides change. Usually they're on the tamer side, but sometimes things can turn bad, and fast. The ride requirement can find you in a bind, especially since sometimes the rides aren't well," Lyssa pointed at the roller coaster above, "Things like that. They get waaaay worse, trust me."

The coins were now successfully all transferred to Lyssa's bag, as the two slowly stood up straight. Lyssa looked around the area. One of the Aniguards, as she had called them, was already eyeing the four suspiciously, as Lyssa whispered, "Ok, follow me. I'll show you around if you promise not to make any trouble for me, ok?"

Taka tried to raise his hand to his chin in thought, though his restraints restrained him from doing so, "Hmmm, I'll try, but I can't speak for these two. I met them only within the past day, and one of them has quite the...temper to say the least."

Lyssa looked over towards Lilith and Nyx, then back at Taka, "Well they'll have those hats on all day, so I'll let that one slide for now. Come, before the guards start stalking us lets act natural." Lyssa grabbed her sack in one hand, as she began walking down a path lined with various stalls and games on each side. Taka followed, as he said "Follow me." To Nyx and Lilith, who did so without question. He chuckled to himself at this feeling of power, though it was nothing sinister, of course.

"But yea...how about we go on a ride while we still have time. The park is only going to be open for another few hours before we get sent back to our rooms, and the lines can make the wait deceptively long." Lyssa said as she kept leading the group, "Assuming you haven't been on one yet?"

Taka trotted up close behind her, Nyx and Lilith dragging yet able to keep pace, "Yea all we've done is spin that wheel, hence the brain delay behind me. If we get to choose the ride, can we do one that's not ah, too strenuous?"

Lyssa simply nodded with a soft grunt, "Yup, and here we are." She announced, as the four now stood in front of a massive Ferris Wheel that Taka was in shock to see, as he hadn't even realized such a large structure was in front of them until he just got to it. *"Maybe I was just a bit distracted..."* He thought to himself, though he felt like he would have noticed it. "Right, so what do we do?" He asked.

There was no line in front of the Ferris Wheel, and it seemed to be operated by an Aniguard taking the appearance of a large cat, their whiskers comically large as their head turned to Lyssa, who walked up to it.

"Mewo! Welcome to Mewo's Meowtastic Wheel of Fun!" The Aniguard greeted, then converting to a more normal voice, "Will you be joining us today alone? Or shall I deduct a ticket from your friends as well?"

Lyssa looked back towards Taka, motioning for him to step forward as she replied, "We'll get a carriage for four. This man is the designated helper for the foils, so if he agrees you may deduct a point from each of them for the trip. I consent as well."

Taka nodded his head as he said, "Yes yes, please let me and those other two accompany this fine lady!" He spoke to the Aniguard, which let out a chuckle in response,

"MeeeeeeOWTASTIC! The four of you may board the next carriage, please, PLEASE, enjoy your time!" As the Aniguard emitted a \*kaching\* sound, as if opening a cash register, as it watched the group head towards the carriage. Taka and Lyssa had to help Nyx and Lilith into the carriage, then sitting down in the carriage as well. Taka sat next to Lilith, and directly across from Nyx, who was next to Lyssa. After the four boarded, a small door shut violently as the Ferris Wheel cranked up, and they began to slowly ascend.

Taka looked at the window at the view of the park, taking in now how large it actually was. While he had a general notion as to how large the room was based on the size of the ceiling above, seeing it from this new angle just emphasized how massive it truly was. It spread around the entirety of the room, and with little free space in between attractions. Prisoners could be seen in droves doing various activities, though Taka couldn't help but feel a melancholy in the air around him. He turned over to Lyssa, asking, "So you said things get worse? How does that work?"

Lyssa had been looking out the window herself, though her gaze cast more a look of longing rather than awe. She turned her head towards Taka at his question, "Mm...I actually think this is one of the best days we've had for a while. The warden here is...strange to say the least. He's all about games and more games, but his personality is more than just a little twisted. As you can probably see, this place doesn't resemble an actual prison in the slightest does it?"

Taka nodded his head in agreement, as Lyssa continued, "I don't know if it's meant to be some sort of cruel joke or not, but if you're here for a while it'll start getting to your head. And trust me, you'll probably be here for a while. While it may look like all fun and games, those Aniguards are real nasty to deal with if you piss them off. A while back there was a group of people that tried to brute force their way out through the main entrance by **The Takeout**, at least ten grown guys, all of them with a past as pretty renowned pirates here from Paradise. They lasted maybe...ten seconds against those animatronic devils? Though I wasn't counting to be honest. As for the playground itself, the theme changes everyday. Today looks like a normal amusement park, I think the worst we've had is a 'battle royale' or so Kyra called it. We got placed in groups of what, twenty? The theme lasted for about three weeks, and every two days a new group was put in cumulatively with the rest. The goal was to survive, but there was a real nasty system in place. Made it so that if someone got three collars, they wouldn't have to play any longer and could go back to the cells. Cuffs were off, so I guess you know how that went..." Lyssa sighed, before adding, "Oh, Kyra is the Vice-Warden by the way. If I were you, I wouldn't want to make an impression with her. She's probably worse than the warden himself.

At this point the carriage the four were in had reached the peak of the wheel, as the cars began to descend, theirs of course not exempt. Taka tilted his head against the window, as he eyed Lyssa calmly yet curiously, "You've been pretty helpful haven't you Lyssa. Should I be expecting some sort of return payment being asked in the near future? Fancy yourself a rookie killer perhaps? I don't mean to offend, though I really couldn't imagine someone as nice as you've been being rounded up in a place like this..."

Lyssa sighed, hanging her head down, "Yea you caught me, now give me all your belongings."

Taka only blinked, as Lyssa sighed even louder this time, "Oh c'mon, that was a joke. I'm really not as nice as you think I am. I guess you just found me in a good mood." She stated, her face slightly red.

"Hmmmm, that so." Taka thought aloud, turning his head back to the window, "Well hopefully we find you in a good mood next time too eh? What're the chances of us meeting again?"

Lyssa looked at Taka, trying to find purpose behind his words, before replying, "Well, if you want to find me again I guess I could let you. Do you know what cell block you're in? Who knows, we might be close-by."

"Cell...block? Didn't really think about that, though I guess there's a lot more people here than would fit in that narrow-ass hallway we went through to get here. I guess I could try and describe it: dull grey scenery, chains and nails on the wall and no pillows, a big door-gate lookin' thing standing between that and this place here. Ring any bells?"

"Well...that describes most of them. I guess I didn't find out mine my first day either. Oh, by the way, I'd recommend against being so friendly with others as you were with me. There's some nasty folks around here, and pissing off the wrong person could make your stay here hell on top of another. You look sensible enough, though I haven't seen much from your friends here." Lyssa gestured towards Nyx and Lilith, who were braindead as ever, not even reacting to the comment.

Taka beamed triumphantly, "Sensible indeed! So sensible that I got myself caught by the goddamn marines! But yea, I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I might as well ask, but what's your cell block? In case I need to know it later."

Lyssa scratched her head before replying. Their carriage stuttered to a halt, as they now found themselves at the bottom of the ride once more. A loud bell suddenly rang throughout the entire Playground, as an announcement was made by a female voice.

*"Good evening everyone! I hope you all enjoyed another wonderful day in the Playground! Today's theme was 'Back to the Classics,' recommended by Ason Palapi! The evening bell has been rung, so please may your way to your cell blocks immediately! Business as usual, of course."*

The mic cut off, a slight shriek of the sound of a microphone being put away incorrectly rung after it, as the light began to dim within the area. Taka hadn't really thought about it before, though he now noticed that the lighting within the area was entirely artificial. His attention was then drawn back to Lyssa, as she finished her response, "I'm in Cell Block C, Cell Number 4. C4 for short. Well, may we meet again Taka and co, I'll be heading off now." Lyssa got out of the car and waved a brief goodbye, as she hopped briskly out of sight, leaving Taka, Nyx, and Lilith alone.

"Well, let's get going." Taka said to Nyx and Lilith, who followed him mindlessly as he navigated his was back towards where he remembered entering the area. Luckily for him, he had a great mental map in his head, though apparently it might not be all too useful in the coming days according to what Lyssa had said. He made sure to look around to try and find something resembling what his cell block was, and grinned slightly as he saw a large letter "E" sitting on the wall where he headed. Also in that direction was a line of prisoners, flanked by Aniguards and seemingly waiting to be let back in. Taka peered to look at the front of the line, watching in interest what was unfolding. The guards, the not-animatronic ones, that he had encountered much earlier were standing by an entrance into the wall below the massive "E," systematically swapping prisoners' frontal handcuffs back to behind-the-back ones attached to a chain, as prisoners were let inside one at a time. Taka assumed that he should get in line, falling into it and corralling Nyx and Lilith close to and right behind him. He eventually made it to the front, where he was treated just as any other. He was able to wait for Nyx and Lilith to be chained as well, as the guards noticed their tin foil hats, before he was led back to his cell, though on a slightly different path than before. Arriving at the cell, he looked up briefly to see the number "11" atop it, as he now memorized his cell block and number at "E11." He didn't resist as the guards fastened him to his portion of the wall, nor obviously did Nyx nor Lilith resist, one of the guards smirking at Nyx's inability to, as Taka noticed it to be the one Nyx had quarreled with before. Once all three of them were fastened, the guards left quickly, shutting the shutter on the door's window, and leaving the three in darkness. Taka contemplated using the time to think, however he quickly began to nod off, his exhaustion and tension from the entire day suddenly biting back at him, as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

## **Sole Mates**

Taka woke up to the sound of footsteps in the hallway outside his room. There were guards chattering, snickering, as they were talking about something Taka was just out of earshot to clearly hear. He looked around at his room, and curiously noticed that the tin foil hats that had been atop Nyx and Lilith’s heads were gone, though the two yet remained asleep. He grinned slightly at this, thinking to himself *“Aaand I’m off babysitting duty! Now ain’t that nice.”*

It must not have been day yet, perhaps early morning, as he assumed that once day had arrived the guards would bring the three back to the large atrium that was the Playground. Though then again, Taka did entertain the idea that maybe he just assumed it was day, perhaps the prison intentionally meant to screw over his and the other prisoners’ sense of time, via internal clock or otherwise.

He must have been rustling, as his gaze fell upon the open eyes of Lilith, who was looking at him with a very confused expression.

*“Yea I’d be damn confused too.”* Taka thought to himself, as he waved his head at her in greeting, his hands bound to the chain behind him.

Lilith looked at Taka through tired eyes. She had little memory of what had happened the day before. She remembered everything up until she spun the wheel, and after she won her mind simply just went blank. Lilith could vaguely remember bits and parts of what had transpired afterwards, though it was all under a very hazy lens. It was less that it was gone, but more that she literally couldn’t comprehend what had been going on. She remembered Lyssa’s face, though not her name. She remembered Taka leading her and Nyx around, though she didn’t remember why. Well, on the second bit she could infer now that it was probably because of this apparent lapse of comprehension she experienced. She took a glance at Nyx, who was currently sound asleep, her head awkwardly leaning against the wall as her body was half slouched and half lying down, a position one might assume after a looong night at the tavern. She nudged her head around, noticing the collar that had been placed on her around her neck, becoming much more uncomfortable after confirming its presence.

Her mouth cracked open, though Lilith found it to be somewhat parched as she called over to Taka in a whisper, “Hey, Taka right? Care to shed some light as to what happened yesterday?”

Taka let a sly grin spread across his face, replying, “Mm, I could. Then again, I’m not entirely sure if I gain anything from telling you.” Taka, in all honesty, would probably just tell her regardless of what she said anyways, not really having much motive to withhold the little information she seemed to be lacking, though seeing how he had literally nothing else to do at the given time, he decided to prolong the conversation. He shifted himself into a cocky position leaning against his portion of wall, his grin unwavering.

*“Wha-”* Lilith thought to herself, having expected Taka to just answer her question without making a deal out of it, “I mean, what do you want to gain from it? It’s not like there’s much I can do for you in this situation.” Lilith’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Unless maybe you mean…”

Taka caught on to the vibe Lilith was giving off as he shook his head, “Nah you can buy me a drink before that. Actually speaking of that, I don’t think any of us ate or drank anything yesterday, whoops.”

Lilith figured that this was the case, though luckily she wasn’t one to easily fall apart just over some lost meals, “So? Can you tell me now? Pretty please?” She asked again, not having the mental energy to brainstorm the possible motives of Taka.

“Sure thing Lilly!” Taka cheered, as Lilith looked up as if she’d just been granted a break from a fifteen-hour shift, listening intently. Taka proceeded to explain in a nutshell the events that had transpired the day before, alongside some of the information he was able to pick up on the way. He told them about the tin foil hat “reward” the two had gotten from spinning the wheel, Lilith being surprised at first that Nyx had also succumbed to the same fate as her. He then detailed his encounter with Lyssa, making sure to paint her in a positive light so that perhaps they could all get along in the near-future, alongside many of the things she told him about the prison, such as the nature of the Playground, the Aniguards, as well as the rules and requirements of the place. He also made sure to explain what he knew about the ticketing system, though there were still some holes in this. Taka wondered to himself if the number zero was simply an indicator for the Aniguards to attack, or if there was another factor involved. In all honesty when the collar had attached around his neck he felt a disturbing presence come along with it. It was as if the collar coud kill him at any time after that point, this feeling still in the back of his mind.

This feeling was short-lived, as a similar scenario to the prior day came short after, a rapping knock banging against the cell door, followed by the entrance of several guards into the room. Nyx was startled awake as her chain was yanked, as she was swiftly placed into the hands of a guard in her half-woken stupor. Neither Taka nor Lilith found any motivation to resist, freely allowing themselves to tritansition from their bound state to their more mobile bound state, as the three prisoners were made to rise to their feet and vacate the room, led of course by the guards.

The three were led out the same hallway, and upon exiting their room Nyx's first complaint was finally lodged as she had now woken up,

"The hell you think you're doing this earl-- OW YOU FUCKE- OUCH!!" She began, as the guard holding her ruthlessly dragged her at a brisk pace, Taka and Lilith's guards matching it, forcing them into a trot as well. They passed the same cells this time as the day before, though they seemed to all already be empty, and upon reaching the gate Taka noticed something different. Rather than human guards at the gate, there was a large aniguard standing by, it's cold eyes following the approach of the three prisoners and their respective guards. It took on the appearance of a large, brown bear, wearing a baseball uniform and carrying a bat to match. As they approached, it chuckled, letting out a severely mechanical rasp,

"Get 'em suited up! Racing day's here."

Even the guards appeared to be confused by this commentary, as the aniguard proceeded to open the gate. It peered on, as if awaiting for them to follow it's instruction. A few more seconds passed, the guards awkwardly shifting, unsure as of what to do, as Taka let out a loud sigh,

"It's referring to those uniforms over there."

He said plainly, indicating a path with his eyes what he was talking about. Taka had noticed the apparel as soon as the group had arrived, the aforementioned being a set of uniforms taking on the appearance of tracksuits that were piled up neatly to the side of the gate, though he hadn't thought of them as important until the aniguard had made note of them. Sighing again, and noticing a glare from one of the guards, who Taka assumed was feeling mildly ashamed at their own lack of observation in subservience to Taka's,

"How are we supposed to put on a uniform when we're in chains, might I ask?" Taka inquired, receiving an affirmation from Nyx, albeit a somewhat crass one,

"Yea, the hell you idiots think you're doing telling us to put on some damn..." She trailed, looking for the objects in question, "...Jerseys or whatever? You really think you're all that huh? HUH!?"

The guard holding Nyx's chain moved to hit her out of annoyance from her outburst, though he was stopped in his tracks as, to everyone's surprise, the aniguard responded,

"Idiots...no. Jerseys...somewhat. You...are..." It stopped itself from dragging it's voice, as the aniguard suddenly displayed several metallic anklets from it's hand, apparently having pulled them out of it's "pocket," or something of the type. It swiftly clasped one on each ankle of the three, a lack of resistance from Taka, Lilith, and this time Nyx as well, as the three were taken by surprise from it's sudden agility. Now with the accessories displayed proudly on each of them, the aniguard grabbed each one of their chains from each of their respective guards, and walked towards the uniforms, dragging the three with it,

"A RATHER UPBEAT ONE AREN'T YA!!!" The Aniguard erupted into a gibberish-laughter,

"KZZHAHA\*vvrr\*HAHAHAHAHA!" As it then proceeded to literally snap Lilith's chain from her, leaving the cuffs on her wrists, however nothing binding them together any longer.

"Yooooouuu're UP! Suit up would ya?"

Lilith blinked several times, thinking to herself,

*"What."*

As she reluctantly crouched, bending over slightly to pick up the uniform at the top of the pile. It was what one might expect of a sports uniform, simple in design, though it did find itself splattered with several colors. Taka's observation proved to be misleading, as while at a glance it did appear to be a tracksuit, it, upon closer inspection, only resembled the top half of one, making it more of a jacket more than anything. Lilith placed one arm through a sleeve, and then the other, now wearing the design.

"Team E-6."

Lilith turned to the voice, it being Taka's,

"Excuse me, what?" She asked, confused, though before Taka could respond she was forcefully moved from her position by the Aniguard, as it lifted her up and placed her aside, then proceeding to walk over to Nyx.

"The hell you lookin' at you mechanical freak?" Nyx spat as it approached, though seemingly unfazed by her words it proceeded to snap her chain as well,

"Yoooooooouuu're UP! Suit up would ya?" The Aniguard parroted.

"You must be crazy if you think I'm just going to wear that, you know? But I gotta say..." Nyx suddenly disappeared from her position, as she dove towards the Aniguard and moved to uppercut it,

"...thanks for takin' off those damn chains for me!" She finished, as she sent the punch driving towards the Aniguard's "chin."

Taka whistled, as a crashing sound soon came after.