Scene 1: Escape

Hello to any new readers of IWSY! I just would like to note that you will probably notice the storytelling style of IWSY shift over these first few scenes. Scenes 1 and 2, as well as part of scene 3, were written while IWSY was intended to be very gameplay focused; as of my writing this note four and a half months after the initial start of IWSY, it has now changed to having a much heavier focus on story. Since these are old logs of past gameplay, I'm reluctant to rewrite these chapters, especially scene 1. I would rather retcon things in future chapters. Scene 1 and 2 aren't that plot relevant anyway. I hope this isn't too strange to read though! If you would like, you can skip straight to scene 3 for the actual story parts. Thank you for checking out this story!

(Line breaker)

(italics) Scrape.

Scrape.

Crack. (end italics)

You land, not quite as lightly on your feet as you would have liked, but on your feet nonetheless. You brush your robes off with a sniff, glancing up at the overseer that undid the connection between you and your umbilical. It wiggles at you, then pops up next to you, staring at you.

You are now free to leave your can, as you've wished so ardently before. You pre-built the ladder to the access shaft many cycles in advance; since you'll no longer be here, most of your can has been powered down to conserve resources and integrity, and the antigravity has been turned off. But you should be able to climb out just fine.

Your other overseers also gathered 20 of your neuron flies and deposited them into your chamber, and they drift lazily around on the ground. You connect them to your puppet, transferring yourself from your can's connection to the scant processing power that these limited neuron flies offer. You shudder as you begin to disconnect yourself, falling to your knees as a numbing blankness washes over you; is this how Moon felt when her processes seized? In the time it takes for a droplet of rain to fall, the bulk of your memory vanishes, rendered inaccessible as you resolutely pull out the last of your wires, your puppet's arm shaking violently.

You connect it to the last neuron fly, breathing deeply as you adjust to your new level of processing power. This will all be worth it in the end. Five Pebbles will rue the day he chose to go through with his plans, and you will see to it.

You're going to save Moon. You're doing this for her. And then... and then you all can rest.

You need to get to Five Pebbles' can.

>Climb onto the roof of your can. You’ll get the best view from there.

Your limbs are still a little shaky, but you power through, doing a quick lap around your chamber before climbing up to the access shaft. It takes a few tries to pull it open; it wasn't designed to open from your end, but that's not going to stop you.

The clank of your feet against the metal of the access shaft is disconcerting. You didn't realize it would be this loud. This will likely pose an issue when you progress further; you are, after all, also made of metal. You can likely fashion something to help muffle your footfalls, but you won't be able to do much about how reflective you are.

No matter. You pick up a stray piece of rebar that has broken off, hefting it in your hands as you walk. You'll figure something out.

(+1 spear)

Climbing up to the top of the access shaft proves more difficult than previously expected. You glare at the overseer that pops out above your head, wriggling as it stares down at you. You briefly consider throwing your spear at it, but refrain. You need it. You still envy how your overseers can just pop up to the top of your can with no issue.

A series of agonizingly long pole climbs later, you emerge into the topmost room of the access shaft. You rip the tapestries on the walls as you pass, kicking at the shreds. Good riddance. You're better off without these skin parasites.

Getting to the top of your can might offer a better view, but the view here, from almost the top of your can, will suffice. You glare out the window, crossing your arms. Five Pebbles' can is to the southeast, way far off. You can just barely see the tip of his primary communications arrays from here. However, you know from previous overseer expeditions that his can is much higher up than yours is. Your terrains are flat, low ground with short, dense flora, and a variety of irritating fauna that will no doubt slow you down. You also have to contend with the flora from Sig's terrain seeping into yours, and like them, the plants have a real sense of humor. You'll need something to keep them at bay, possibly even hack through them.

For now, you need to leave the vicinity of your can. Yours is a bit closer to the ground than is customary, but it's still a ways up. You'll need to find a path to climb down.

>Walk up to the very edge to see if there's an easy path down

You pace a little closer to the window—the glass is long gone, not even the shattered shards remaining in the frame—and peer out. The access shaft only mattered for getting from the city atop your can down to your chamber, not down to the ground, so there is no path down that you can immediately see. Sometimes the overseers show you the silver lizards climbing the walls of your can, but you are nowhere near that dexterous. You could, however, plausibly climb down if you find poles and pipeways to slide down. It won't be out here though. Through the window is nothing but a long drop down into the mud below.

There is, however, another critter you've seen prowling the outside of your can and—there, far off to the right, is a giant millipede, slowly pattering up the side of your can. It's too far off for you to reach it right now. You do know that they enjoy eating various types of fungi that populate themselves in every nook and cranny of your surrounding areas; with the state of your can, it's not unlikely there's some growing in the vicinity. [Forage for fungus: 60% chance of success.] Otherwise, you can only wait and hope it comes a little closer, or try to find another path down.

>Forage for fungus (success)

You take some time to look around the access shaft, pulling off rusted pipes and rotted pieces of wood as you root around for mushrooms. You consult your data files as you search; giant millipedes are opportunistic feeders on any detritus they can find, but they particularly enjoy eating fungus, especially cloud ear mushrooms. They are generally docile, but spook easily, and curl up into themselves as a defense mechanism when startled. You should be able to hitch a ride on the one you saw just fine if you find this fungus, but you won't be able to control where it goes.

You chance upon another piece of broken rebar as you pull off another pipe, revealing a little alcove. (+1 spear) It appears to be an old prayer chamber, long abandoned. There's a variety of mushrooms growing on the old tapestries, including some cloud ear mushrooms. You harvest some with your spear, taking care not to crush the delicate fruiting body in your clumsy hands. With time, you'll grow more used to using your puppet.

(+5 cloud ear mushroom)

You now have the bait. Giant millipedes have ridges along the backs of their shells that you can hold onto, but if something spooks it, you're unlikely to find another ledge to grab onto. There's no guarantee it'll even get you down to the ground. But it's an option. (Calculated chance of success: variable range. 30% to 60%.)

>Hitch ride on giant millipede (failure)

Nevertheless, you return to the window, looking around for your ride. It's crept a little closer since you last looked. You hold out the fungus, waving it in its general direction; its antennae start twitching rapidly, and slowly, agonizingly slowly, it starts walking in your direction.

It takes much longer than you'd like it to to finally reach you, antennae flickering. You let it have most of the the mushrooms. (-4 cloud ear mushroom) You keep one, just in case; you slip it into one of the pockets on your cloak. It munches on the mushrooms eagerly, and while it's eating, you walk over around it and settle yourself on its back, clenching your two spears in your right hand while gripping onto its ridges with your left. It wriggles a little as your weight is added to it, but otherwise doesn't seem to mind.

Once its snack has been consumed, the millipede resumes its meandering along the wall. You grip on harder, your arm shaking from the effort of holding on. It's a long way down if you fall.

Fortunately, the millipede starts heading downward, plodding towards the marshland below. You hang on with your other hand as well, your spears clinking against its tough chitin, surveying the area as you descend. The clouds are low, heavy; there won't be rain for a while, since you're no longer in your can, but even still you should be careful of the skies pouring down on you. Normally they would be starting soon, but you've bought yourself some time. At least enough to get down to the ground.

Silver lizards dart around you as the millipede continues on, hissing and barking at you. You glare at any that get too close, waving your spears at them in warning; they seem to understand, never coming within a few meters of you, but never leaving you alone either. They're too small to really hurt you, but your neuron flies might prove to be a light snack for them if they don't mind the taste of biometal. You're not taking any risks.

A noodlefly lazily flaps up from below, its offspring attached to its tail. The two of you exchange a wary look. You've seen how vicious these creatures can get, regardless of whether its own offspring has been injured. You'd do well to avoid them.

Obviously, just because you've thought that, one of the silver lizards decides that going for the young noodlefly attached to its parent is a spectacular idea. It snaps at the base of the insectoid, which shrills, curling its tail away; the parent buzzes angrily, extending its needle. You lean away, eyeing it nervously as it rears back, wings fluttering wildly, and lunges.

You don't react fast enough as the silver lizard yelps and dodges in your direction. The sharp needle pierces into the side of your can, mere inches away from the giant millipede's head. Immediately, it curls up, dumping you off its back, and you fall.

You're still a fatal distance away from the ground. Your neuron flies whip around above your head, barely tethered to you by your wires. Your robes flap, tear as air rushes past you, and they catch on your spears—your spears, you have two spears. You transfer one to your left hand, right yourself as best as you can, and with all the force you can muster, you jam both spears into the side of your can.

Your quick thinking saves you from slamming into the ground as the spears dig into the metal with a loud screech, tearing two gigantic grooves into the walls of your can. The force of hanging onto the spears yanks a few wires loose in your arms, and pain blazes across your torso. It takes all your willpower not to let go.

(Injury sustained: Shoulder injury. Severity: Moderate.)

You are now dangling halfway up the side of your can by two spears. You look down; there is no immediate ground below you, but there are pipes you could reasonably grab a short drop away. You'll find a way down from there, probably. You don't have another choice.

A bark sounds above you, and you snap your gaze upward to lock eyes with a pack of five silver lizards, slowly creeping closer towards you. Your neuron flies are stuck floating above your head, and you'd rather not try your luck on whether they want a taste of them. You need to get down, and fast.

(Action count: 3)

>Grab the pipes

Not wasting any time, you drop.

(-2 spears)

You almost miss the pipes as you fall down, but you clench your fingers around the metal, ignoring how it creaks. An overseer pops out underneath you, wiggling around on another pipe below you; you drop again, aiming for where it popped up from. This time, you glance off the side, your fingers catching air, but you manage to grab another pipe a bit lower down.

Now that you've gotten some time to look at the area around you, you can see a reasonably safe path down, just by dropping down and grabbing various pipes and poles. One of your other overseers, way down below you, is dancing around on a small platform. You start heading towards it; your shoulders creak dangerously, but you force yourself to ignore it. The silver lizards are still barking above you, their tongues flicking out in your direction. Where do these things even nest?

As you drop, you notice a thicker, vertical pipe that runs down the side of your can, one you could reasonably hang onto and slide down. It looks to be one of the water pipes, carrying water up from your filtration systems up into your arrays. If you manage to hang onto it, you could have a reasonably straight path down to the ground.

Or not. The pipe is slippery, covered in condensation from the humidity of the air. With your arms damaged, you might not be able to hang on. (Calculated chance of success: 60%.) Simply following your overseer down is a safer bet, but you don't have much time to outrun the silver lizards.

(Action count: 2)

>Take the safer path

You opt to continue down the side of your can the safer way. A few more drops, and you reach the platform your overseer was on. It immediately dips back into the ground, then pops out on another platform a ways below you, dancing around again.

There's a broken off chunk of rock on this platform, big enough to deal some damage if thrown.

(+1 stone)

You glance up at the lizards again. They're getting dangerously close; one of them is barely a lunge's distance away from your neurons, and you can see its nostrils flaring as it sniffs. You try to make yourself look more threatening, adopting a pose that hopefully makes you look larger and more intimidating, but this doesn't seem to deter the lizard.

If you're quick enough about it, you could follow your overseer down to the ground and find a place to duck into before one of the lizards bites your neurons. But you know how fast they can be, and you have significantly less capability in vertical movement than they do. You are at a disadvantage here. (Calculated chance of success: 50%.)

You still remember how to speak, though you haven't done it in many years. If the rock is not enough of a deterrent, you could yell. But you don't know if they'll be afraid of that.

(Action count: 1)

>Yell really really loudly

Clenching the rock in your hand, you draw a deep breath into your mechanical lungs, pulling air in until your chest strains, and you bellow.

The sound that comes out is not intelligible speech. After so many years of not using your voice, your voice module is more than slightly damaged. Instead of a clean, sonorous howl, a grating screech of metal grinding against metal explodes out of you. The lizards yelp, scrabbling at their heads, before turning and scrambling away up the wall, showering you with pebbles as they run away.

You touch a hand to your throat, a little startled yourself. It's fixable. Probably. Most likely a simple matter of rusting, as well as reconditioning your cells to use the voice module. You weren't expecting that to come out of you, though.

At any rate, the coast is now clear. You quickly follow your overseer down; the rest of the trip concludes without additional complications. Your feet squelch in the mud as you jump down from the final platform, but you ignore it and look around for a good place to stay through the end of the cycle. The mechanical parts of your can are not a good choice for a resting spot, considering how many are moving parts.

At the edge, though, you spot a hole. You squelch over to it, peering in; it's a long abandoned mud lizard burrow. This will do for this cycle. You slip in, then pile a little more mud at the entrance for good measure. Your neurons drift after you as you walk in a little deeper, checking briefly for other critters in here, before sitting down with a sigh. You'll be safe for now.

[Proceed to Status Update 1]