Kyriakos: OVERFLOW

[justichthys]

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[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. ]

[carptricks]

[THE DOOR HAS BEEN SLICED IN TWO HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO FIDDLE WITH IT-- although. . . he does give a considering look at his laser gun as she slips back into the adjacent room]

[said infirmary is also as they left it! sans one bed, of course]

[justichthys]

[ HE’S KAITOU KID, she’s sure he could figure something out if he wanted to! ]

Okay, if I was another piece of this puzzle, I’d be …

[ mumble mumble as she goes to tap at the walls, searching for any weak spots or hidden panels. ]

[soulping]

[EVEN KAITOU KID IS LIMITED BY THE ITEMS HE HAS ON HIS PERSON]

[the walls in this room don't seem to have any weak spots, but there are a few other places she can check: medicine cabinets, refrigerators, a supply closet. . . there's even an impressive tank of green-ish liquid sitting in the corner, though. it's empty. who the heck knows what it's used for]

[carptricks]

[meanwhile, back at the broken door. . .]

[Kaito's set his laser gun on "low" and is now trying to bend the two pieces together so he can weld them shut. Aoko can hear the sound of sparks and smell the seared metal as she looks around]

[a gurgled, hoarse cry comes from the hatchery, which is followed by splashing liquid. Kaito's brow furrows]

Ssssso.

They're definitely climbing out of the cylinders now.

[justichthys]

That’s just what we need.

[ Potentially having to fight off tiny alien babies is not what she had in mind for the day, thank you very much! Even if it’s a video game, it seems too … immediate … for her liking. Too distasteful. ]

[ But, okay, let’s see here. She’s just going to open everything that can be opened, hunting high and low for what she needs. QUICKLY. Because the sooner they can get out of here, the better. ]

How long do you think we have?

[carptricks]

[the first cry is followed by a second squawk. then a third. then a fourth, then several more. claws one again scrape across metal, and liquid splashes all over the hatchery floor]

. . . five minutes? I've got this door halfway welded shut, and it looks like there are a lot of them.

[aka too many to fit through the small opening at the top of said door]

But I can make it seven if I fight them. Just lemme know how much time you need!

[soulping]

[the medicine cabinets are filled with bottles of. . . stuff. pills? maybe, it's hard to tell without opening them. they're all labeled in a foreign language that looks more like a series of pictures than words]

[the refrigerators have bottles (????) filled with blue liquid. ew]

[the supply closet has more stainless steel surgical tools]

[. . . she can see something glimmering from within the tank of green liquid]

[justichthys]

[ Of course it’s going to be in the tank. Why wouldn’t it be in the tank? When Aoko catches sight of that faint glimmer, she huffs under her breath. Of course. ]

I’ll try to make it four! [ Moving quickly, she examines the tank for any wires or obvious traps. If there’s nothing of the sort, she’ll just start checking out the … lid? seals? Anything keeping the tank closed, if it is, indeed, closed. ] It’s in the tank, I think.

[carptricks]

[no lids, no wires, no obvious traps. everything about this tank seems innocuous, other than the weird. . . liquid. . . within]

Four is gr-- ack!

[Kaito's reply is cut off by a baby alien slamming one of its blades through the top half of the broken door, which isn't welded shut just yet. thankfully, he manages to duck out of the way to avoid any damage, but the alien squawks angrily as it rattles the blade against the metal]

Feisty, aren't you. . .! [he lifts his clunky weapon above his head and brings it down on the blade, bending it so it gets hooked and stuck around the edges of the door]

Ha! That'll slow you down!

[justichthys]

[ Eek, that doesn’t sound good! Aoko steals a glance over her shoulder just as Kaito brings the butt of his gun down. Okay—he’s okay, he’s dealing with it. ]

Gonna have to break it! [ Saying it outloud, for Kaito’s benefit; communication is important!! ] I don’t know if whatever’s in there is safe to get on skin, so … be careful if you end up back here.

[ And without further ado, she carefully angles herself and swings her staff much like a baseball bat, aiming to put a hole in the glass on its far side, away from herself and Kaito. ]

[carptricks]

Right, gotcha!

[he's got it and he's dealing with it all right. his plans to weld the entire door shut have been foiled, but it looks like the aliens are properly bottlenecked at the small opening available to them. Kaito hops to his feet and takes a step back as more blades poke through the crack, firearm at the ready]

What's that? You guys are stuck? Geez, have fun with that one!

[MEANWHILE. Aoko's staff slams against the glass tank, sending a web of cracks across the side before the entire thing just shatters. but. . . oddly enough, the green liquid doesn't spill out all over the place?]

[it maintains its rectangular shape, and now that she's close enough, she can see that it has the consistency of gelatin]

[gelatin does not, however, being to ripple and wiggle on its own]

[justichthys]

[ No, it doesn't. It really, really doesn't. Aoko makes a face, grimacing. THEY REALLY DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS, and yet she doesn't want to default to recklessness right away. ]

What the heck is this stuff?! [ muttering to herself as she … tries … to stick her staff into the gelatin-like green stuff to nudge the shiny out. ]

[soulping]

[her staff pierces the gelatin pretty easily! but the large green. . . blob. . . continues to shift and change shape until it looks like this]

[. . .]

[CONGRATS AOKO YOU FOUND A JELLY BLOB ALIEN]

[it lowers a hand, grasps at the middle of Aoko's staff, and looms over her menacingly]