"Yeah... I agree with Nova here. We were brought here against our will..." Cool Cat nods in agreement with Nova's statement.

"S-So what? We're just gonna wait until someone segues for that robot?"

"HEY!" Silver shouted over Odin's screaming "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M MODERATELY SUCESSFUL!" She stomps her foot and crosses her arms, pouting like a child.

"...So, this isn't some weird reality TV show is it. Oh no."

"...Ha!" Odin smirked, suddenly becoming very competitive. "Please! This outfit itself is worth more than your entire family. It's polyester."

"Ah, excellent!" the robot rudely interrupted. "You've all been introduced, though you'll have to FORGIVE ME if I don't use the fancy names you've come up with for yourselves. I wasn't programmed with anything but numbers, you see."

[Robot theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6GD9uZq5kQ]

"So then, thank you all for your patience. I shall now explain the NONARY GAME to you all!" the robot said, pausing for applause. After a few moments of awkward silence, it said, "Wait, make that the NONARY+ GAAAAAAAAME!! A wonderful game that will test the very limits of your souls! A GENIUS SCIENCE EXPERIMENT! It's all to play for: those lucky enough to win the game will get to leave with their lives! Here's how it will work:"

The robot began by directing the players' attention upwards, to the grate blocking the only exit. "Getting out is EASY PEASY. Find a way to reach that, and ENTER THE TWELVE DIGIT CODE on the keypad up there to open the grate. FREEDOM! SWEET, PRECIOUS FREEEEEEDOOOOOOOMMM!!

"Your bracelets are very important. I SAID SO EARLIER! They'll be your companions throughout the entirety of the Nonary Game - sorry, Nonary+ Game - and will see you through thick and thin. Even when you can't trust your fellow man, you can always trust your bracelet! Please, take this chance to become BEST FRIENDS with your bracelets, and discover ALL THEY HAVE TO OFFER!"

In addition to displaying a unique number for each player, the bracelets seemed to function like smart watches. They were touch-operated, and had many additional features installed, taking the form of different apps. There was a system for door voting, a timer, a note-taking app and even an awful, mind-numbingly-bad game installed. As the players explored their bracelets' features, they discovered even more apps for various uses. They found there was one app that was locked however, and none of the players could figure out how to open it.

[Note: within reason, you are all free to come up with whatever app you'd like on the bracelets, so long as it doesn't break the game. For example, if you want to find a calculator app on there, you will find one. This might be useful for RPing, and also serves to give the characters an in-universe method for storing information, solving pointless anagrams e.t.c. Notably there are no apps for communication, however: each watch is a self-contained unit.]

One last app opened up a simple screen that read "Your passcode hint: " followed by empty space. One of the players asked the robot about it, who sounded delighted to explain. "Ah, excellent question! Yes, that app serves as the foundation for the Nonary Game! Er, Nonary+ Game. You see, in order to assemble the code needed to grant SWEET, SWEET RELEASE from this Game, you will all need to gather these 'hints'. YOU ALL GET ONE! YOUR VERY OWN, SPECIAL HINT! Each hint corresponds to a single digit number that only the player in question can decipher. For example: HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU GET DETENTION IN SCHOOL, HUUUUUUH? Only the player can answer that question, and deduce that their digit is, say, 8.

"Input these digits in player order - that's what the bracelet numbers are for - on the keypad up there, and the grate will open! YOU'LL BE FREE, FREE AS BIRDS! Once you get outside through the shaft, the bracelets will fall off and you'll be free to go! BUT THE POOR BRACELETS! DEAD! Of course, the point is moot without a way to reach the keypad in the first place. FUN FACT! IT USED TO BE AN EIGHT DIGIT CODE, BUT NOW IT'S TWELVE! One for each of you players! I had to improvise, given the unexpected high player count this Game...

"'BUT HOW DO I FIND MY HINT?' I hear you ask? For that, we have the Rooms and the Trials hidden within! MY FAVOURITE PART OF THE GAME! APART FROM THAT OTHER PART!! Behind each of the coloured doors is a set of rooms you will explore. Hidden within each room is a set of Trials: special tasks a single player will have to complete, which will reward them with their hint! To start things off, you'll all need to vote for a door to open. Once inside, it will shut behind you, REFUSING TO OPEN until you 'find a way out' inside. You can use the app on your bracelets to vote. IT'S SO CONVENIENT!!

"Thank you all for listening! That should be enough information to be getting on with. AU REVOIR! SAYONARA! I'LL MISS YOU!" the robot shrieked, before... doing nothing at all, continuing to float there awkwardly after saying goodbye.

[Oubliette theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um39Yj0lT4k]


[Note: you will not actually vote for doors, as doing so would largely be a waste of time given the rather arbitrary choices. The voting occurs within the story only, and will play out automatically to advance to the next Phase. Similarly, you do not need to actually worry about searching for Trials or finding a way to reach the grate, as these will be handled automatically by the story as well. The Trials themselves, however, can be player-written. This will become clearer after the first such Trial.]

"... Quite the screwed up little robot they have running things around here, hm?" Ennea observed as it floated around awkwardly. "Well, it doesn't matter. Seems like such a simple game, I'm a little let down after all that build up! The thing even said knowing who to trust would be important, but as far as I can tell the only way out seems to be for everyone to cooperate."

"...You say that, but my cooperation is not cheap. My time is worth a lot, you see."

Odin chuckled to himself, in his own, inflated bubble. "Half of your net worth! Each! Only then will you receive cooperation from the one and only Odin!"

"Fine then, The sooner we get done with this dumb game the sooner I can seek to save my brother. you wont have any complaints fro..." he then picked up his walkie talkie. "what? No of course I cant do anything about that...its not like I WANTED to be made to play this game. yea sure blame me for the fact that your still stuck where you are all you want it wont change either of our predicaments."

"Sorry about that, brothers am I right? now as I was saying you'll have my full cooperation."

Nova blew a bubble from her gum and snapped it in Odin's general direction, almost as if in irritation.

If anyone had been watching her during the robot's speech, they'd have noticed she didn't bother looking at her bracelet, seemingly content to just leave her arm at her side and listen to its explanation.

---

After listening to the robot explains the Nonary+ Game, Cool Cat nods his head before he started exploring his bracelet.

"So, the robot is right about one thing. If we want to get out of this place, then we'll need to cooperate with each other." The hipster remarked as he glance up from the bracelet for a brief moment to look at the others before looking back down as his bracelet. "Expanding your horizons, like I already said."

Uno stayed to the side, taking in all the information the dumb robot spewed. He looked at his bracelet, examining the various features it had. Having a notes feature seemed quite useful to him. "Yes, cooperation is the key in this game, it seems like... the question is whether there will be any defectors here. This game would be quite easy otherwise, so to assume there's something in the way would be the natural conclusion..." He spoke softly.

---

"A defector, you say... Oh, perhaps! Adding someone with a goal opposed to all the others would be a natural fit for the scenario." Ennea smiled a bit wider at the idea. "Though, even with that, the game seems awfully lacking in stakes... Perhaps these trials will be the ones to set them."

"... While we are on the subject, the number twelve would be a very fitting traitor!"

"While I don't understand your reasoning, there's also the issue that...well, no one here has the number twelve!" Odin nodded. After all, he had a C, not a twelve!

"Oh, it's actually really interesting! You see, twelve is one of the world's only two sublime numbers, and the other sublime number is seventy six digits long, so twelve is definitely a lonely number. Oh, of course, I should explain, a number is 'sublime' when it has a perfect number of positive factors. Oh! And when I say a 'perfect' number it might seem redundant, since all numbers are perfect in their own way, but..."

What followed was a very long, very meandering lecture on number theory that I've decided to largely cut out, in favor of moving on to the only relevant part of it:

"... Oh! Also, C is 12. I was talking about you."

"...H-Huhh?! Y-You little..! Say that again to my face! I dare you! You couldn't afford it!"

Cool Cat looks up from the bracelet after Ennea's long lecture on numbers.

"That's... interesting." The hipster said before looking towards Ennea. "By the way, Ennea, if you don't mind me asking you... Why Ennea?" It seems like he's curious about her codename.

Golf looked down at his walkie talkie listening to the static still playing. and then picked it up. "you know that your the one trapped and in need of help right? for all you know the one you just rudely called a nerd could be the one to save you and how will that make you feel? I'm real sorry for my brother Ennea my brother is just trying to cope with his current predicament."

"Oh, I don't mean any offense, sir! I just mean that twelve really is a sublime number, one as distinct and special as you are, since you were the one demanding compensation to work with us." Ennea continued with a bright smile. "... This is all speculation on my part anyways. Maybe there are no traitors and this really is a boring game!"


"Oh! That's an excellent question, Cat!" she answered, practically jumping in joy at the opportunity to explain. "See, the number 'one' actually has two forms: the numeral of the same name, and zero point nine-nine-nine-you must be all tired of hearing it at this point, it's an endless string of nine. It's not even a matter of rounding, it's exact. So even this singular, tiny number can be considered infinite when you look at it more deeply! I just find that so beautiful, I couldn't resist using it for a codename."

"Fascinating... I am glad to have found another numerical enthusiast here." Nero says, scratching his chin. "My culture values the power of numbers too. In fact, every number is said to possess a spiritual power. 89 for example is an especially sacred number. Why? Because it is."

Nero glances again at his bracelet. "Still, I wonder why they decided to give us letters like B and C instead of leaving them in their numerical form... It feels like sacrilege."

"Maybe because A, B, and C are single digits and 10, 11, and 12 aren't?" Nova wondered.

---

"Could it also not be that its being used to potentially substitute the actual numbers they have? perhaps the person running the game thought it would be to to easy to figure out the numbers to escape if they werent hidden?"

"Oh! that is very interesting! Ah, numbers are just full of so much meaning that people have put into them over time, it's so so wonderful..."

"Oh, and I believe these letters are a form of notation. Hexadecimal, to be precise. Frankly I can't say I know or wish to know much about it! It's mainly used in computers, I think? And the way these work always bored me so much... Well, no matter. The important part about it is A equals ten, B eleven, and C twelve."

"...Hey, uh, is there, you know... a bathroom here?" Nova asked between bubble pops. "Or somewhere to eat if we're going to be here for a while..."

---

"...F-Fine! I'll help you for free. But in exchange, you can't suspect me anymore!" Odin said, pursing his lips. "But know this! You are getting a great deal! You struck gold in a Dollar Tree, and don't you forget it!"

Crow knelt near the edge of the room. She took a handful of seeds from her pocket and held it up to the bars of her cage. Ash sauntered over and began mashing his face into the pile, gobbling up as much of the seeds as he could stomach.

"It's a very simple game at its core, to the point where I'm not really sure what the point is," she said. "All we have to do is find a single code. If we found a way up to the grate, there's a chance we could even simply guess it, but the chances would be astronomically slim. I'm sure we would all starve to death by the time we got it right."

"If there are defectors here, they'd only be ruining their own chances of escape by acting out. If any of you see someone behaving suspiciously, just let me know. It's amazing how much of a person you can fit in one birdcage."

She smiled serenely at her bird.

---

Albatross fully has emptied his pockets to give half of his networth over in exchange for help. It was a series of hot topic gift cards and paper gift codes.

"I uhhh. I think this is basically my entire networth? Could i get twice as much help? I may need it. I never got to spend it because... Uhhh. No reason. Not because the 13 year old girls bully me every time I try and use it. Anyone can have it if they help me out! I've got 5000$ on them, but they aren't exchangeable. "

He then hears all this fancy number talk and turns around excitedly, also definitely getting some of Golf's snot on his hot topic paper gift code vouchers.

"Does this mean [A] is a number? I uhhh never did well in Algebra."

"Yes! A is ten in hexadecimal. A very reliable number! It's the base of the decimal system, it's the sum of the first three prime numbers, of the first four positive integers, of the first four factorials... It's made of a lot of firsts! Very reliable."

"... You, uh, you're getting snot all over your net worth. Watch out."

"So, you're come kind of weird numberphile?" Silver nods to reaffirm the situation as she approaches Ennea. "I mean... I guess that's kinda cool? Do you have any other hobbies?"

"Since this is some weirdo reality TV show..." Silver rolls her head around, looking for a camera. "We'd best try to get together well!" She smiles and pats her fist into an open palm.

"We're adjacent in the number order, and heck, I'm like basically your only friend here, since there's no 0 around for you to be buddies with." Silver leans in close and begins to whisper. "We should really team up, number 3 over there is kinda freaking me out. Giving me some maaajor villain vibes with that creepy smile and the bird."

Turning away, not waiting for an answer, she crosses her arms. "Besides! We all need to team up to get out of here, right? So... I guess I can actually be everyone's friend. Huh. Well, okay! We can all be buddies! Two is pretty good at that, as a number, I think?"

"I have hobbies! You know, I consider myself something of a philosopher too. But, numbers are my life's work, and numbers are all I see in this game, so numbers I will talk about." Ennea answered. "... Besides, this situation is so unlike anything I've ever gone through, I really find myself just saying whatever comes to mind! I find it very refreshing."

"But yes. For now at least, cooperation seems to simply be the game." she mimicked Silver's fist into palm motion to punctuate it. "If this really is an experiment, I can't help but feel like it's not going to get much useful data if all it's trying to prove is that people will work together when given zero reason not to..."

"Why are you all thinking of betraying? Just stop already," TV-Head whines in its artificially-lowered voice. "There's no point and if anyone else even keeps talking about it, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your short lives, which I don't mean I'll kill you or anything, but I do think I am probably in better health for longevity than most of you."

"Anyway, I will be the code leader, so everyone please let me know your digits as you figure them out. It is important for someone with the most general unspecified skills to take control in a situation like this one," they say, a sense of subtle urgency in their voice.

Their voice goes very cold, "Additionally, it seems the others who were late additions to this game have not said anything. Isn't that already proof that there are intentional traitors among us? It seems that we will have to keep everyone on a very very short leash. I will go through all doors last to make sure nobody is out of sight."

"The ominous talking buzzard is correct," Odin agreed. "Traitors or not, there's no need to worry. Anyone who dares interfere with us will be prosecuted with the best lawyers money can buy. For I know plenty of ways to stuff the pockets of lawyers and bureaucrats alike! Behold, my great power!"

Odin ruffled through his pockets, as if he were about to flaunt something of value. Alas, his pockets turned up empty, and he was left with nothing.

"N-Nonsense..! They took everything from me!"

He panicked, backing up to a wall. "O-Our defenses are weakened. No longer can the evils of this group be deterred by the prospect of wealth. We must all split up, hide, and wait until help arrives!"

"Well said odin! there is no price for true comra..."

"derrrrry...honestly not where I thought that was going but im sure with time well get over that hurdle! besides, my brother is a top notch lawyer I'm sure once we get out of this mess and help him there's no way he wouldnt ai...What do you mean you want me to pay you!"

Golf grabbed his walkie talkie and began yelling. "Of all times to be stingy you choose now! You owe me for finding hel...Of course I did, just because it was pure luck doesn't mean I didn't, or that it even matters quite frankly." Golf sighed "He can be so difficult some times...still love the guy though."

Nova raised a critical eyebrow, then shook her head. "Mm, nah, sorry, I can't agree to that. If people are worried about betrayals or whatever, it makes the most sense for everyone to keep their numbers secret until it's time to punch them in to go... We need all of them, so that's more reason to let everyone get that far, right?

"...On another note, anyone got a piece of paper?" she suddenly asked, holding her gloved right hand out. "Just a little piece is good."

---

“Yes, please don’t give TV-Head your digits,” Crow said. “As long as we can’t see their face, they’re the least trustworthy person here. Just keep them to yourself for now.”

Ash began screeching loudly. It aimed its beak at the roof of its cage, eyes wide with distress, then coughed up a scrap of paper. Crow stared at the scene with mild concern, then attempted to dry it on her jacket and held it out to Nova.

“Will this suffice?”

---

Silver stared at the bird vomiting intensely, like how a child stares at their television on a Saturday morning.

"Whoa... The magic of life. What an incredible gift we've been given!" Her jaw practically dropped. "Hey, hey, are all birds able to do that? I think I need to get one now, once we're out of here..."

"Oh, um..." Nova stammered for a moment, somewhat taken aback by the choking bird, before taking the paper. "Y-yeah, that's good, thanks..."

She spit her gum into it, crinkled the paper up, looked around for a trash bin... then lightly tossed it away towards one of the walls. Their fault for not having anywhere to throw their garbage, she figured.

---

TV-Head scoffs at Crow, holding their hand at their chest. “Is it better to have no face at all or a face of lies! I’ll gladly take this over what your ugly lying mug,” they say, pointing at the flickering smiling face on their screen.



“I don’t see what the big deal is!” They add, rather late. “How will we know everyone’s numbers in the case of a serious emergency? This is just safety and planning, stop being such a kid about it!”

"I don't wanna hear that from someone in a Halloween costume..." Nova clicked her tongue and shoved her hand into her hoodie pocket. "If the majority wants to share their numbers, I'll go with it, but I doubt that's happening."

---

"Telling us what to do and expecting us to follow through with your orders... That's almost the same ideal as forcing us to give up the ability to think for ourselves, is it not?" Cool Cat wondered after some time have passed.

"I'll voice my opinion on this matter; I think Nova make a good point about this matter." Cool Cat said as he glances in Nova's direction as he stuff his hands into his pockets.. "I'll agree with her as it doesn't seems like the majority is comfortable with sharing their numbers."

"I concur," Twist said, who was standing off to the side and narrowly avoided getting hit by a wad of regurgitated paper with gum wrapped in it.

"I'm willing to work together for now to get out of this damn place, but trust is a whole 'nother story. I'll keep my number to myself once I get it, and only tell when it's time to get out of here. More incentive for no one to stab one another in the back anyway -- we'll all need one another for our numbers. Works out perfectly, I'd say."