The brown-haired man pulled himself to a sitting position as he stared down at the floor, looking thoughtful. This expression, however, was rack with suspicion, high alert.
He still didn't know what the guy upstairs was up to… G was… well, shifty, he supposed… always plotting things… he knew that well enough. Darky did it too, but she wasn't here…
Of course, Fox wouldn't suspect them solely on that. This business G mentioned, however… that's what struck a nerve. Why wouldn't he say? What could he possibly hide from the group, even Toxic, who he usually shared things with? It stumped him… he needed to find out…
Who knew what the business was? It could have been anything… the fact no one clarified the business itself was disturbing enough.
Sighing irritably, Fox pulled himself to his feet.
The room was plain, overridden with metal and monochrome theme. Simple bedside tables, mirrors, seats… even a cot, most probably for residents with children… Lights were built into the wall, and were surprisingly still running. Fox guessed this place made its own energy, and was automatic in that regard.
Overall, the room felt cold and… strange, even though it seemed like a regular room. It felt like a domain for a lab rat. It was so alien to him; he couldn't just get used to it. The mattress on the bed had been comfy, sure, but Fox hadn't been able to sleep. Not when he had so much on his mind… and not when this room was outside his usual comfort zone.
He also knew that, if this vault was truly from one of the games he recalled, that something disturbing would be behind it. The people that made these were indescribable ones, as the vaults were never made to help others. He'd made mental note of that as soon as he'd come in. These 'safety procedures' often ended in tragedy, not happiness. He wasn't sure if G was aware of that, or not… Hopefully he was, and he double-checked the area.
Still…
Fox felt uneasy either way. He glanced around the room for a moment, before moving to walk out of the room. He pressed a button on a panel next to the door, and with that action, it opened. He stepped out into the cold, long hallway, feeling alone and the area to be desolate.
"…those two had to get the upper rooms…" he grumbled.
For some reason, a lot of the rooms seemed to be cut off. When Fox had tried to get accommodation near Toxic and Flash, he'd failed. A majority of the doors were locked, unusable, and certainly un-hackable. It didn't help matters that the rooms weren't suitable for sharing… they had singles, and doubles, in each room, and he would much prefer not sharing a bed with someone else…
So, he was all alone on this floor. It felt so empty, so dead, so… frightening, when no one was around. He could hear a pin drop if it did, and the cold echo that it would cause. The floor was haunting, to say the least. Fox would have appreciated any noise that wasn't alien to cover it, like TV or something. That would have at least drowned out the silence, and made him feel less uneasy. There were no TVs in the rooms, however… and even if Fox were to find one, he would have no signal.
He knew for certain that this vault wasn't to be just ignored… and that was what started his journey down the corridor, towards the stairway that led towards the lower floors. Somewhere, there had to be plans, notes, and just blueprints for this place… It was only then that Fox could be sure that they were safe. And probably get a decent night's sleep.
Approaching the staircase, he then pondered over the state of the world. The quietness of the vault, although unnerving, really allowed him to think about how only certain places were standing. He couldn't find a pattern yet, but there had to be some solid reason… and one for how the world was now…
He hadn't seen many living people about, and that prospect was more terrifying than anything. Then again, he hadn't seen the insides of Towa city, but a tiny voice inside of him told him that he didn't want to, especially by G's description.
Ironically, he still kept that in mind, despite his distrust of the latter… It didn't cross him that the other may have been keeping quiet to 'keep the peace', so to speak… No, no, Fox didn't think like that…
He descended the stairs…
Throughout his little walk, he kept feeling even more and more isolated. The loud thuds of his shoes on the cold, metal floors resonated around the rooms, displaying the emptiness around him, and how utterly alone he was. He could hear the heartless sounds, the low drilling, of the monitors around him… and a slight sound of something mechanical moving…
…at that, the man stopped. He looked around quickly, certain he heard something out of the ordinary, at least something he hadn't quite heard yet…
There, in the corner of the corridor, was a camera. It didn't move, of course, especially not when he was outright staring at it, but its light was dull, showing it to be inactive. Fox squinted at it in suspicion, looking over his shoulder with a wary expression. He honestly didn't trust this place at all… It wasn't helping his nerves.
For a few seconds, Fox considered going back to his room, or at least going back to ask either Flash or Toxic for their assistance… Thing was, he didn't want to burden them, especially if his paranoia turned out to be nothing. And that in itself would raise questions from G…
But these thoughts subsided as he spotted a window into the room to his left. He paused, then peered through it, spotting a mass array of papers, terminals, and file cabinets. The room was lit with a glowing red hue; definitely something that put him on edge. Why would you pick such a colour for a light…? It was odd…
Regardless, he looked to the door beside the window, which was sided by a keypad. He stared at it momentarily, then frowned. It was locked… and it required a key code or pass, both of which Fox didn't have. He contemplated the good old 'hit it and it'll work' trick, but he knew not to do that with this kind of technology… if anything, it'd just make getting into the room extremely difficult.
He almost lost hope when he heard a familiar sound; something in the keypad clicking, and the whirr of the door opening in front of him.
"…huh. That's… lucky…"
Fox blinked, a cross between almost pleasantly surprised and slightly weirded out. Regardless, he was thankful… he could finally see what was inside the room… And if it was important, he could alert the others immediately, and they could get out of this creepy place. Fox knew creepy by default, since he'd worked in that blasted diner.
He entered immediately, and noted the amount wreckage that surrounded the room. The door automatically closed behind him, and he directed his attention to that briefly before looking back at the room. It really had been deserted… Seemingly important papers had been scattered in every place that Fox could see. He assumed there had to have been some sort of struggle, or some sort of hurry, for this mess to even happen, but…
His blood ran cold at the noticeable blotches of red on some of the papers. He was hoping that wouldn't be too important, but he heavily doubted that.
Moving towards the wide selection of black, white, and red, he bent over, picking up a sheet of paper. He skimmed it, trying to determine its significance, then set it on a counter when he realized that was what it lacked. He repeated this process for many of the papers…
Click…
Fox straightened, glancing to the door. He'd sorted through a majority of the sheets of paper; they were in neat piles, so he could assert confidently that he'd checked through them. But that noise… it sounded very similar to when the door kindly unlocked and opened itself for him, but he literally just had the equivalent of a small stack of papers left…
And surprise, surprise, this remaining set of papers was the one with the… unpleasantries slapped all over them. Fox wasn't looking forward to it, but he needed evidence… he needed utter assurance…
Most of what he'd read had been on experiments, but the notes never specified what those experiments were. He knew, though, that the people who made these vaults… they always tried to be discreet about what they were doing, so maybe that's why he hadn't found anything yet.
Regardless, he began sorting through the last papers, with an evidently disgusted expression. Handling things previously soaked with blood wasn't a fun task… and a majority of it had dried by now, leaving a horrible stench in its wake. Thankfully, it was still somewhat legible.
After a few papers, Fox stumbled across something that he thought rather interesting, in regards to his search…
"…what?"
Vault 110 is focused on, similar to its predecessors, a combination of both 11 and 19's studies. Both focused on an aspect of self-preservation, and the paranoia around that preservation. Subjects involved in the experiment will be studied not only on their defiance towards the sacrifice of human life…
"What the Hell…?" Fox growled, narrowing his eyes. This was messed up… He continued reading nonetheless…
…but the method of sacrificing human life itself.
Fox paled. What did that mean…?
Along with their freedom, subjects will have their preservation threatened if another subject is not 'sacrificed' during the appropriate duration; this sacrifice must be done by subjects themselves, not by any person of authority…
Fox' expression progressively got more and more pale; all the colour drained from his face as he continued reading. He couldn't believe this…
…subjects' lives will be terminated if they fail to yield results. Researchers must effectively study their respective subject's methods of murder and investigation, no matter the brutality they will face.
The Overseer has the responsibility of seeing these procedures through. This programme is to begin approximately 50 years on from vault entrance; subjects will live normally up until this time, building relationships and ultimately giving variables in test results.
"…what the Hell?!"
"Ooooh, you discovered the secret, didn't you?" a voice sounded in the room from a speaker. "Heeheehee. Who would have thought, when you were taking sooooooo long, that you'd actually get somewhere?"
…the voice that spoke to Fox, and the voice that literally made him jump, wasn't one he recognized. It sounded like a child was speaking to him… they sounded so soft-spoken, but in reality, that voice was mocking him, and he knew it.
"...who's talking to me?" he growled.
"Oh, nobody special… you'll find out soon enough, though, I'm sure you will!"
"Quit messing around, kid!"
"Hey… hey… do you like your friends?"
Fox froze. He looked like he was in the middle of a pained realization. "Wh-wh…why are you asking that?"
"Just curious… What would you do if… they disappeared? Would you be sad? Would you cry? Would you kill yourself over it?"
"…you better stop talking like that right now, you rotten little kid!" Fox narrowed his eyes. He stuffed the paper in his pocket and then ran towards the door, towards the keypad…
But the door was locked!
"Why? Are you gonna' come and get me? You'll hafta find me first! Heehee, not even that… you'll have to get out!"
"I'll shoot off this lock…!" the man threatened, looking unnerved.
"But you don't even have your gun here! You left it behind, silly!"
"…Wh…" Fox checked his waist. He'd taken the holster off earlier… "…c-crap…"
"People really are pathetic… when they're desperate. Don'tcha' think?"
Fox looked up at a camera in the room. "…huh?"
"Why aren't you happy? You're going to be the last one left, 'Foxeh'."
He had chills at that echo, and it took him a second to realize she wasn't just mocking him…
"Heehee. Well, that is, if everyone except you dies. If one's left over, then… oh, dear…"
"You better not do anything to them!" Fox glared. "Or you better believe, I will find you, and I will kill you!"
"… huh. And here I thought you were all a bunch of softies! This'll be so much more interesting… won't it? If only someone else had looked in here, and not the one with the itchy trigger finger… You would've started it off well!"
"What are you talking about?!" Fox snarled in anger. "Started off what well?!"
"Oh, why… mutual killing, of course! Big Sis Junko was VERY fond of that! I'm hoping to do her proud! To the very end…"
"J-Junko?!"
"Heehee. Yup, she's so awesome… All of your friends… they're going to die. You'll just have to adjust and accept it."
Fox's eyes widened.
"Because like it or not, you're ALL going to slide down the big ol' spiral of despair!"