Kyriakos: OVERFLOW

[justichthys]

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[carptricks]

[. . .]

[. . .]

. . . close enough!

[justichthys]

Eek!!

… S-Sorry!

[ did aoko just apologize to the alien thing YES SHE DID ]

Uhm, Kaito, I think we should— [ gestures?! to the opposite door?! ]

[carptricks]

Did you just--

[okay no that's not important]

Yup! I think we should! Let's go!

[bolting for the opposite door seems to be a wise idea, because that sure is the sound of one angry salad shooter ripping a mattress to pieces with a loud snarl]

[justichthys]

What?! It's a reflex, Bakaito!

[ yes of course she's taking the time to bicker, but that's only because bickering doesn't slow her down at all. when he bolts, she's right on his heels. ]

Are we going through the same way as last time?

[ maYBE NEXT TIME LET'S NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO OURSELVES, OKAY, WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED ALL OF THIS ]

[carptricks]

Only if it's locked!

[LOOK. LOOK. WE WERE IN A HURRY. IT WAS THE EASIEST WAY IN]

[thankfully, the door they approach (which is labeled HATCHERY) is not locked. it whooshes open quickly, allowing them to escape into yet another dark room]

[justichthys]

[ YOU'RE FUCKIN' KAITOU KID IT WOULD'VE TAKEN YOU TEN SECONDS ]

[ Immediately trying to hit the lights! ]

[carptricks]

[ALIEN KEYPAD LOCKS ARE NOT THAT EASY TO DISARM GDMIT]

[as she searches for the button that turns on the lights, Kaito whirls around to search for a lock. any lock. thankfully, he finds another button on the wall next to the door that is conveniently labeled LOCK. he slams that with his palm just as she hits the lights]

[soulping]

[. . . the lights come on just as strong as they were in the infirmary, to reveal what looks to be a laboratory of sorts. there are stainless steel tables covered in chemistry equipment, everything from beakers to bunsen burners to test tubes to burets]

[off to the right is a large, rectangular incubator with a window on the front. and inside the incubator are rows upon rows. . . of eggs]

[and lining the back wall of the hatchery are large, glass cylinders filled with a light green liquid. sleeping inside those cylinders are a dozen or so baby salad shooter aliens, just like the one they barely escaped]

[oh. speaking of that alien, it slams against the now locked door with a loud THUMP and quite a few angry shrieks]

[justichthys]

[ MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE WAITED TO CHECK WHAT'S ACTUALLY IN HERE BEFORE LOCKING OURSELVES … in … oh ]

R-Right, uhm ... [ this is pinging her in uncomfortably familiar ways, and her words speed up ]

Kaito, you look for the key, and I'll see if there's an escape route that isn't on the map. We need to hurry, I'm not sure how long that door will hold it!

[carptricks]

[when Kaito whirls around to take in the scene, his own hackles raise as well. not only is this uncomfortably familiar, but their escape options are much, much more limited than last time]

[the alien beyond the door shrieks yet again, and the sound of its razor-sharp blades slicing against the door is almost like nails on a chalkboard to the ears. Kaito winces, before he takes a deep breath and nods]

. . . right.

[since this is a futuristic alien base, he gets the feeling the "key" he's looking for here isn't a normal padlock-and-metal-key combination. nevertheless, he begins his search on the chemistry tables, poking through the equipment in search of something key. . . like]

[justichthys]

[ There has to be something in here … something they can use that'll let them escape without having to fight. Aoko takes a few cautious steps further into the room, trying (rather desperately) to ignore the sound of the alien trying to tear its way through solid metal to get at them. ]

[ Air vents, maintenance shafts, access panels … there's got to be something! She calls up the map as she searches, fiddling with it to see if she can't get it to zoom in on the hatchery. ]

[carptricks]

[she can, though the hatchery map is still pretty rudimentary. it only details what is in the room-- the incubators, the glass cylinders, the stainless steel tables of chemistry equipment, the door they came through. . . wait, huh. a secret compartment, too small to be a true passageway, hidden behind the right wall?]

[when Kaito's frantic search of the tables reveals nothing, he pushes away and lets out a small curse. the door bends underneath the alien's blows, and there's the distinct chance that it might break sooner than anticipated]

Any luck, Aoko?!

[he focuses his attention on the door know, hand shooting towards the laser gun at his waist]

You might need to handle the key and the escape!

[justichthys]

There's something behind this wall! [ She calls back, breathless with nerves. ] I can … [ She runs her fingers over it, looking for seams in the metal, or secret switches or anything that might show her how to get at whatever's back there. ]

I'll see what I can do, just hold them off for a couple of minutes!

[carptricks]

[no seams, no secret switches. but if she raps her knuckles against the metal, she'll find that it feels strangely hallow and fragile]

[just like the door, which is now being shredded into two by the salad shooter alien. the squeal of the blade on metal is deafening, but Kaito's reaction is quick. he draws his weapon, levels it carefully at the alien's feet, and fires before the creature can step one foot into the room. there's a flash of red light and a hiss of displeasure as the alien rears back, still mostly unharmed but now deterred. oh and, of course, the smell of smoke caused by the now scorched floor begins to seep through the area]

Only a couple of minutes? Tch, easy!

[the commotion is causing the baby aliens to stir in their cylinders]

[justichthys]

[ She trusts Kaito at her back. Knows he's got her covered, and that she doesn't have to keep glancing over her shoulder at him. … still kind of hard to resist the urge to glance at the sound of stirring baby aliens, but she manages it. Somehow. ]

[ And with a deep breath, she takes a step back, and slams the butt of her staff with every ounce of strength she has right at the metal. ]

[carptricks]

[her staff tears clean through the hallow metal spot, though not without resistance. once she manages to clear away the rest of the metallic sheet that covers the hidden compartment, she'll find what looks to be a small, platinum. . . 3D puzzle piece? it's difficult to tell what kind of shape it is supposed to make just from one piece, though]

[meanwhile Kaito is also dutifully ignoring the stirring babies, his full attention focused on the bladed alien at the door. the creature ducks its head and snarls, but Kaito's gaze remains steady and unflinching]

[when the salad shooter jerks forward with inhuman speed, it's elbow blade extended, he's ready. he ducks smoothly underneath the weapon, which winds up only slicing off a few minuscule hairs from the top of his head. raises the barrel of his laser gun at the alien's stomach. . .]

[and fires]

[justichthys]

[ Puzzle pieces … oh, great. That means they're going to have even more things to find before they can reach their objective. Aoko grabs the piece carefully, and turns around just as—oh. ]

[ Kaito shot it. ]

… Hey. [ She speaks up, after a beat of silence. It's not real. ] You okay?

[carptricks]

[ALIEN GUTS EVERYWHERE]






[j/k. when the laser beam strikes the alien in the stomach, the creature rears back with a cry. its whole body begins to glitch, before it just. blinks out of existence, leaving nothing behind but the blue, blocky and 3D number 100 floating in the air where it used to be. a voice echoes in both of their ears]

One hundred points to player one.

[MEANWHILE Kaito is left crouched on the ground, weapon still in hand, blinking at the broken door and the total lack of carnage that just ensued]

. . .

That's a little jarring.

[justichthys]

…

…

[ W. Wow. That's … sure … not what Aoko had been expecting. She's so used to everything being gore and guts that jarring is a serious understatement. ]

U-Uhm. I. Yeah, that's not … what I'd been expecting.

[carptricks]

Well. Er. It is a video game.

[stands up, looking a little sheepish as he does so. it's somewhat. . . relieving, actually, that for how hyper realistic everything ELSE was Iota decided to skip out on the gory details. he doesn't want to feel like he's murdering sapient beings in the face, yo]

[his sheepish smile turns into a cheeky grin]

I have more points than you. Heh.

[justichthys]

Uh huh. [ Aoko rolls her eyes, but she can't help the small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. ] You just keep patting yourself on the back, Bakaito. I'll concentrate on, you know, actually completing the objective.

[ TEASING. ]

There might be another one of these puzzle pieces in the infirmary. Should we backtrack?

[carptricks]

I can do both at once.

[he glances back towards the infirmary]

There are probably four pieces total, so yeah. Let's check it out now that we don't have an angry alien on our heels. Although. . .

[he casts a wary side-ways look at the babies still squirming in the cylinders]

[justichthys]

We might be able to block the door somehow … [ she glances at them as well, shifting from foot to foot. ] So that they can't come after us.

[ because clearly he isn't thinking about killing baby aliens for points ]

[carptricks]

[jfc no he is not that cold hearted. although they are fake aliens and now that he's zapped one, his moral conscious isn't fighting much anymore]

With a bed again?

[a snort]

I'll watch the door in case any decide to attack while you look around. Okay?

[justichthys]

No, I meant with … I don't know, maybe you could fiddle with the door somehow? We have time now.

[ But him just watching the door while she searches sounds like a good a plan as ever! She waves her hand in a super casual approximation of a salute and heads out, slipping the key into her inventory. ]