Jigsaw finally felt the drugs wear off him. He could force his way out of them, but such actions were costly. He had set up the perfect trap. Gordon, a cold hearted and cruel doctor who had misdiagnosed him, him! He was locked up in this room, chained to a pipe. His wife and daughter abducted. He would have to cut off his own foot to free himself, and slay his companion.
Adam. Some drifter nobody. Guy had been trying to catch him. He'd stuck him in here as well. Nobody would miss him.
He hoped that Gordon could help as his apprentice. A moderately skilled doctor such as him could make many things a lot more effective. His trap for Amanda say- it hadn't been his best. She had to kill a man she hated, her drug dealer, and dig through her stomach. It would have been much better if she had to dig through herself, perhaps through her eye, but he lacked the surgical skills to do that and have her survive.
That had gone to shit. He'd heard it, seen it all. Adam had somehow pulled out a mechanical mastery that impressed even him, forging items together to make an escape plan. He had learned well from his stalking who Amanda was, and baited her into the room. The pair of them had escaped without sacrificing a drop of blood.
It might just be that he hadn't scouted them enough. Or Summer had drawn another into one of his mad dances. He would see in time.
After escaping, they had shoved a key up his rear, and left some items here and there. It was rough, but not as rough as some of his prostate exams. He had plans for those doctors too. Amanda had found a tape saying she could be freed if she found the key. She had reached inside him, pulled it out and tried it to naught.
Probably because of how Amanda did her traps. He'd noticed hers were more lethal than they should be. Adam's even. He had told her to tie the key to his ankle. She'd just tossed it on his chest, and down the drain it went. He could understand their taunting. Still, there should always be a chance. Give people a chance to seek life.
And he had his own tape.
"Master I am sorry. I didn't… the tape" she said, crying, scared of what would happen."
John Kramer held a hand up.
"Save it. Let's get out of here."
He played his tape.
"Hello, John Kramer. I'd like to play a game. This game is called, do you actually care about your principles? You left Adam no way to escape, you trapped Gordon's wife and child with a gun man with no way to escape."
The trap had been for Gordon, not for Adam or his wife. They had all had their chances. Adam could have cut off his foot, and if he had survived the hour he could have let him out. Gordon's wife and daughter could defeat one poisoned gun man. They just needed a will to live. "You trapped Mark Wilson in a room with countless numbers, and no way to find which one would let him out. You make death traps, with no way to escape."
One of the numbers was a different color. Mark Wilson was just a bit unobservant. "But that's all the past. Now you are trapped with an apprentice. Hidden in the wall by you is a hacksaw. Amanda's ankle is chained to the wall, and your ankle is chained to hers. You could show you are really dedicated to your philosophy, and endure some pain. Cut off your own foot. Show your will to live. Or you, the stronger one who Amanda has no chance against, could cut off her foot. The choice is yours. She may bleed out. Her life is up to chance if you cut off her foot. Do you intent to give everyone a fair chance? Make your choice."
He stood up, grabbed the hacksaw. No choice.
"What are you doing?" Asked Amanda, trusting.
He looked down on her, like a daughter, his apprentice.
"This will hurt you a lot more than me." He said, looking at her ankle.
He grabbed her, and overpowered her easily, pushing her flat against the dirty bathroom floor. He gave her a piece of bathroom rubble.
"Bite down on this."
She nodded, and did so.
"I don't wan-." She said, sobbing, no longer speaking clearly.
He didn't intend to lose a foot. He pressed the hacksaw to her ankle and started to slice. He cut and cut, through skin, nerve, bone, and blood vessel. Blood dripped across the floor and Amanda screamed and shook, making it worse than it was. His saw ripped through her flesh, purifying it as his hands were splattered with blood. If Amanda's will to live was strong she would survive.
Macgyver would pay.
I walked through the portal back to my world, feeling chill and relaxed. I'd grinded some more skills, chatted with the group, set up some stuff for the future saw films, and had a lovely long bath with some wine, ice cream, and some trashy tv.
I felt great. I felt light, powerful, relaxed. These perks were pretty cool. I was pretty sure gamer's mind could cure depression and other severe mental illnesses. I would definitely have had ptsd and nightmares and stuff from resident evil without it. That place was a real horror. No way to escape, a constant cycle of death and pain and torture, for over a year.
Now I was cured, and had a neat skill from it. I'd regenerated my mental health like a video game character regenerates normal health and was chill. I even had Cure with me. I petted his ears. This place would be a lot less lonely with him.
I had a method to all my madness.
I should have trusted my fear. I remembered once I had been out on the street's of London, a little drunk, and I had just legged it. I didn't know what it was, but I'd trusted my fear. I had gone as fast as my unsteady form could go, hearing in my head horror music as the narrative closed in on me. There was something inside me that knew more than I did. It tasted the blood in the air, heard the shift of foot, recognized the isolated nature of the brick walls around me and how here was just right for an ambush. I hadn't spotted the second guy though...
Anyway, fear was good. I'd not let fear drive me here, and worked to try and befriend everyone, even total psychos. Amanda had tried to make me pay for it. Next time I was with a psycho, I wouldn't trust them and they'd pay. I'd learn from this.
And next time, I wasn't just going for fear, or recovery from madness. I was going for power.
Now it was time to check my perk list. I had earned quite a bit more.
Survival perks
Apocalypse prepper. Rare journeyman skill. You have achieved the peak of your career in surviving danger through observation, crafting, and scavenging. You can 10 times per day force additional uses out of common items, and once a week force an additional use out of an uncommon object, and in addition gain +10 HP per level. 100 points.
Civil engineering. Rare journeyman skill. You have achieved a basic competency at developing buildings. You do double damage against buildings, and can build them twice as fast. Once a day, you can find a key weakness in a building structure, if present. 100 points.
Gacha. The will to seek and find, even in a sparse place. You find one extra common item a day to use for whatever purposes you wish. Constant between deaths. Every week you can find one uncommon item, and greater items await if you can survive longer. The timer starts as soon as you enter a world. 3 points.
Gachaman. Your will to grasp reaches greater heights. You can find one chosen common item whatever purposes you wish, or one uncommon item once a week. 6 points
Packrat. You are skilled at holding objects, and can always find a way to balance or hold items, if your strength and materials permit it. Once a day you can draw out a common storage object. 3 points.
Packhorse. You can hold twice your normal carrying capacity, and once a week draw out an uncommon storage object. 6 points.
Outside the box. Gain one common hint to any trap you are trapped in, revealing a course of action or a solution to some aspect of it. Can be used once a day, and will will not vary between deaths. 3 points.
Break the box. Gain one common item useful to the trap you are in, and one uncommon hint. Can be used once a week. 6 points
Picture perfect. You can observe any object or sound or sense under a minute long, and perfectly commit it to memory. No more need to rely on tape recorders! 3 points.
Video perfect. An upgrade perk, allowing you to observe things up to ten minutes long. 6 points.
Death's Calling. Gain an unnatural chill whenever a deathly intent is near. Works once an hour. Grants +2 wisdom for the sake of detecting deathly intent. 3 points.
Death's Touch. You have a continual sense of any deadly intents near you, and +4 wisdom for the sake of detecting deathly intent. 6 points. Requires prior perk.
First aid perks
Medical scrub. You have a basic understanding of the human body, and automatically succeed at treating any common conditions. You can get a job as a nurse. 25 points.
Poison maniac. You're resistant to common poisons, and once a day can find a common poison on your person. 3 points.
Baseball perks.
Local expert. You're pretty good at baseball. You can dominate the local field, and earn a modest salary as a sports teacher. 25 points.
Power attack. The will to destroy. Focus your will and hate and unleash it against a target in range. Does double damage at the cost of 2 stamina, and causes a critical hit if focused on a weak point. 3 perk points.
Computers perks.
IT specialist. You have a substantial expertise in searching, and can earn a moderate income of 40000 a year. 25 perk points.
Robotics experts. You have a good competency at building crude electronic devices to aid you in your quest. Once per day, debug a serious fault in an improvised robot. 25 perk points.
Useful device. You can summon a fairly modern tablet computer, without mobile access, to use for whatever purposes you need. Doesn't come with a charging cable! 3 perk points.
Diplomacy perks.
Raid leader. You are a competent leader, and skilled at organizing dangerous situations. Once per combat scenario you can bolster all your followers, granting them +2 stats and +10 HP. 25 points.
Diplomacy Number one/ two minion. When you follow through on orders you gain a +2 stat bonus. In addition, once a day you can gain 1 or more rep from succeeding exceptionally on supporting your leader in a task. 3 points.
Doggie pal. Your doggie friend will be able to come with you on adventures! They will be found chained up in a random location in your next adventure. 3 points.
Fluid shapeshifter. For the sake your companions, you adopt whatever form is most pleasing, so long as you have purchased it. 6 points.
This is my final form. Using stamina proportionate to the difference in stats, adopt the stats and skills of any form you have purchased. 100 points.
Stealth perks.
Stealthy predator. You are a skilled predator, avoiding notice from any not greatly gifted in senses. You can find enough food to survive in any natural scenario. 25 points.
Holdaway compartment. You can hold one small item away from the notice of any searchers. A very thorough search may still find it. 3 points
Hungry for flesh. By consuming the flesh of humans or other sentient beings, especially their brains, you can gain some degree of their knowledge and secrets. 6 points.
Shooting perks.
Gangbanger. You are good with a gun, and can probably hit something ten feet away. With a long period of focus you can aim better. 25 points.
One bullet. You have one extra bullet for a gun of your choice. 3 points.
Constitution perks.
Fast food skin. Your excessive consumption of fast food has left you obese, with +2 constitution per level and greasy skin that is hard to grab onto. 3 points.
Desperate struggle. Your will to fight, to live, to stay alive in the face of terrible injuries. Regain 10 HP and remove 10% of a stat debuff. Can cause long term damage, and is only useable once per month, requiring substantial rest to heal. 6 points.
Strength perks.
Drug fuelled strength. By use of steroids and extensive workouts, you have pushed your strength beyond normal mortal limits. You can do impressive feats, and once a day do a feat with 10 extra strength. 25 points.
Break it down. Once an hour, you can with no additional consequences break a door or wall down within your strength to break. 3 points.
Wisdom perks.
Enlightened mind. You have mastered your mind to a degree beyond most, and achieved enlightenment. Gain increased resistance to pain, social laws, and once a day you can do a feat of great wisdom with 10 extra wisdom. 25 points.
Clear thinking. Your focused efforts at mastering your mind allow you a moment of supreme clarity, once a day. Gives you the effect of a minute of normal thinking. 3 points.
Minimap. Your clear and focused sense of what and who you are gives you a solid mental map of where you have been, which you can call up at will. 3 points.
Supernatural perks.
Gamer perks.
Gamer's body. 100 perk points. Gain a basic form of the gamer's body. All healing is 100% faster, and you have a reduced need for food and water. All physical stat debuffs are reduced by 10%.
Gamer's body upgraded. For an extra 200 points, you can upgrade this to the second level. 20% reduce in all physical stat debuffs, and all physical conditions will be healed within one day.
Gamer's mind. 100 perk points. Gain a basic form of the gamer's mind. All mental healing is 100% faster, and you have a reduced need for sleep. All mental stat debuffs are reduced by 10%.
Gamer's mind- upgraded. For an extra 200 points, you can upgrade this to the second level. 20% reduce in all mental stat debuffs, and all mental conditions will be healed within one day.
Gamer's mind- double upgraded. For an extra 300 points, you can upgrade this to the third level. 30% reduce in all mental stat debuffs, and all mental conditions will be healed in one hour.
Backup Gamer's mind. If your gamer's mind is ruptured, a new one will replace the old one within an hour. 6 points.
Final death. 2 perk points. You really should have taken it. It would have been kinder.
Eternal death. 4 perk points. You, and all of your companions will be dead, forever, with no afterlife or chance of resurrection.
Inventory. 100 perk points. A basic form of an inventory, with 8 slots. Works between deaths and worlds.
Enhanced inventory. For an extra 200 points, you can upgrade this to the second level. 16 slots.
Backup chest. You can store up to 8 items here, swapping them in and out of your inventory. 6 points.
Physical perks.
Lockpicking. 3 points. You can once a day find a common lockpick and use it skillfully enough to defeat common locks.
Batteries. 3 points. You can once a day find a battery of your choice, and use it to power a device.
Magic user. 100 perk points. You gain access to the ability to use spells, rituals, and potions. Need magical components to perform.
Ninja body. 100 perk points. You gain access to the ability to enhance your body with chi. Use 10 stamina a second to enhance your physical stats by 50%.
Super strength. 50 points. You can produce temporary feats of super strength, beyond that of normal humans. Once an hour, at the cost of 10 health, gain +20 strength for one action.
Elemental perks
Air mastery. 50 perk points. Gain a basic mastery of air. You can summon enough air for a breath for one stamina, and manipulate it in minor ways for one stamina a second.
Earth mastery. 50 perk points. Gain a basic mastery of earth. You can manipulate in minor ways as much unworked earth as you could hold in a hand for one stamina a second.
Hand of earth. You always have a hand of earth on hand for use. 3 points.
Earth supremacy. 100 perk points. You have an advanced mastery of earth, and can fluidly manipulate it well enough to form commonly seen objects.
Metal mastery. 50 perk points. ?
Fire mastery. 50 perk points. Gain a basic mastery of fire. You can summon enough fire as a candle for one stamina, and manipulate it in minor ways for one stamina a second.
Water mastery. 50 perk points. Gain a basic mastery of water. You can manipulate in minor ways as much water as you could hold in your mouth for one stamina a second.
Zombie perks
Zombie bite! You can inflict a controlled infection on someone, passing on a disease you have. With greater disease control you can selectively pass on infections or not. 6 points.
Zombie spit! You can spit a glob of toxic disease fluids, likely infecting anyone you hit, and doing a constant 10 damage a second to them. Damage may increase with some diseases. 6 points.
Plague master! You can store one plague between worlds, reinfecting yourself. 6 points.
Disease purge. Choose a disease you have. Exert your will on yourself or another, and reduce symptoms to low levels. Note. Long term perk, requires a lot of stamina. 6 points.
Free perks. Flexible bones. You can dislocate and break your bones fluidly, and heal faster from such actions, allowing you to escape traps and problems.
R&R perks.
Relive the trauma. In your personal space, replay the experiences that hurt you. Popcorn, doritos, and mountain dew included. 3 points. Locked in.
Dedicated fridge. In your personal space, you have a fridge with a good selection of food and a microwave. 3 points.
Punching bag. In your personal space you have a punching bags and some weights, which you can use to work off some personal trauma.
Nice set of upgrades. I think at 10 stat points I got upgraded perks to pick from. Plus, now I had done more stuff with guns I had perks for that too. Wooo! And using gamer's mind and gamer's body had upgraded them. What to choose...
IT is leading the polls right now. Will he go to IT, or another universe? Find out and see. There will be one more chapter for stat stuff and reflection, and then onto the next side mission.
Arkyong. Alright.
Zackman2k12. Thanks to you too for the review.
Thorison1080. I'll cover this next chapter but, totally, yes and no. Resident evil plagues aren't reliable bioweapons, and his disease control is too low to reliably control it. So, it'll be touch and go.
Dr. Cookie Deleter. I'll add it to the list.
Watermelonninja. That does give me some cool ideas for next time, thanks. Creepy father christmas.
See you next time, where we will go over his plans. Any perk suggestions are appreciated. For the future I'll make this a google doc so you have less long perk chapters.