Kyriakos: OVERFLOW

[justichthys]

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[justichthys]

[ … oh ]

[ abruptly, there is silence—save for the sounds of Aoko fiddling with straps and harnesses and all of that fun stuff. ]

H-Hey, could you get the back for me? I can't reach.

[carptricks]

[pffffft]

[he snrks, slips his helmet onto his own head, and slides behind her to fasten that last strap. once that's finished, he drapes both arms over her shoulders and holds the staff out in front of her to take]

Breathe easy. You're better at stuff like this than you think, Miss Fire Snake Slayer.

[justichthys]

[ She leans back against him, resting the back of her head against his shoulder. Just. Gonna stay here for a moment, even after she's taken the staff. ]

That was different! All I really did was get it wet. But ... I'll give it my best shot.

[carptricks]

[this is like the least romantic setting, plus he isn't even sure if it COUNTS if these are not their real bodies. but he tilts his head to press a kiss against her cheek anyway. he's already kissed a physical manifestation of her true heart so WHY NOT??]

Right!

[somewhat reluctantly, he pulls away]

You ready?

[justichthys]

[ Suddenly that cheek he is kissing is VERY WARM INDEED. They've been getting more affectionate in public, sure, but what if Iota is watching oh nooo … … … not that it stopped her from tilting her head into it slightly. Very slightly. ]

[ Deep breath. In, and then out ... ]

Okay! Ready when you are.

[carptricks]

[FORGET IOTA WHO CARES WHAT SHE THINKS. and it's true that Kaito is getting a little more brazen with affection in public, too]

[with his hand resting on the handle of his weapon, his chin tilted up, and the feeling that they both look VERY SILLY right now pooling in his stomach, he counts down]

Three, two, one. . .

[and on "one," he bursts right through the "START" door, fully expecting Aoko to follow]

Go!

[justichthys]

Kaito, you dumbass, don't just run through without checking things first!

[ Scolding him (audibly!!) under her breath, but she's right on his heels anyway. Goodness knows what's going to happen to him without her there to yank on his leash. ]

[soulping]

[the duo bursts out of the supply room and straight into a long ass hallway. it's dim; the lights overhead flicker on and off as though broken, barely illuminating the surrounding areas. the darkness makes it impossible to see what lies on the other end of said hallway, as everything fades into blackness.]

[still, the floors are lined with blinking green lights, similar to the ones that also line airplane aisles. large, bold numbers are printed on the walls next to them, and during a moment when the lights above actually work, they can tell they read the following: HANGAR 869]

[the watches around their wrists begin to beep an blink with a small, red light]

[carptricks]

[skids to a halt before he treads any further into the darkness, lifting his wrist to peer at the watch curiously]

Eh. . .?

[justichthys]

[ …??? ]

[ While Kaito's checking out his watch, Aoko—who is sticking close to him—peers up and down the long hallway, just in case there are ENEMIES!1 lurking in the shadows. ]

[carptricks]

[he pokes around with it for a second, before he manages to hit a small button on the side. a button which pulls up a 3D, much cooler-looking version of A MAP!! the treasure is marked with a glowing blue diamond]

Whoa. . . this is useful.

[meanwhile there don't seem to be any enemies lurking in the shadows. not yet, anyway]

[justichthys]

[ JIII … ]

[ but since it doesn't seem like anybody else is around for now, she spare him a glance. … oh! huh, that does look useful. ]

It's a map? This really is like one of our RPGs.

[carptricks]

Heh.

[he grins]

That just makes us genre-savvy. Look-- [he points to the room with the GLOWING TREASURE!!]

This is our goal, but there are two branches off to the sides. If I'm gonna hazard a guess, the branch here. . . [he gestures to the right, to the path that leads to the treasure room] Is locked somehow.

And the keys are located here. . . [and thennnn he gestures to the left, to the path that leads to a dead end]

[justichthys]

Mmhm, that's how it usually goes … [ she leans in closer, brushing up companionably against his side. ] I'm not sure I like the sound of a "hatchery," but I'd rather cover our bases than get all the way to the treasure room only to find out that it really is locked.

[carptricks]

Ha ha. You're telling me. And after our experiences with that raptor nest, I get the feeling the hatchery is the least of our troubles.

[another push of the button and the 3D hologram map vanishes]

The doors must be further down the hallway.

[justichthys]

[ … ]

[ She shudders a bit at the mention of the raptor's nest, because she ssssure does have like. Five. Versions of that memory? It's hard to think about without getting a headache. ]

Hopefully this will go better than that did … [ Mutters, and then, more loudly: ] Okay! Let's go. I'll watch our backs. [ Because she does not trust this darkness, and between the two of them they'll hopefully be able to spot any trouble before it hits them. ]

[carptricks]

[shhh the one that ended with us alive and a love confession is the right one]

I'll take the front, then.

[AND WITH THAT, he presses his hand against his weapon again and creeps sloooowly forward, into the darkness]

[justichthys]

[ SEE, EVEN THE ONES THAT ENDED WITH US ALIVE HAVE SLIGHT VARIATIONS IN TONE it is very confusing, okay ]

[ She silently creeps after him, ears pricked for anything that sounds out of place. There's got to be something here determined to stop them, and damnit, she will see it before it can hit them!1 ]

[soulping]

[YOU CREEP]

[the lights continue to flicker above you, and you think you can hear some clanging or crashing or mumbling sounds beyond the walls. but nothing leaps out from the unknown and attacks you]

[eventually, the darkness gives way to the corridor's ending. you can see two doors, one on either side of you: the right one is marked MESS HALL and is splattered with some kind of. . . brown, gravy-like substance. the left one is marked INFIRMARY and is spattered with blood]

[ur welcome]

[from behind you, far behind you, you hear the sound of claws scraping against metal]

[carptricks]

[. . . PS the doors are AUTOMATIC FUTURISTIC SLIDING DOORS I forgot to mention]

[reaches out to place his hand against the infirmary door, but he freezes when the scraping noise reaches his ears]

Tch. . .! Gotta move a li'l faster!

[justichthys]

Of course there's blood, why wouldn't there be … [ Aoko breathes, grumbling quietly. She's already on edge from those sounds, let alone the physical signs that Something Is Here. ]

[ … claws against metal ]

[ she whips around, grip tightening into a cling on her staff. ]

Then let's go already!

[carptricks]

I'm going!

[SHOVES THE DOOR]

[. . .]

[it doesn't budge]

[SHOVES. . . AGAIN]

It's stuck!

[meanwhile, the scraping begins to get louder, and louder]

[justichthys]

Aren't you supposed to be good at this kind of thing?! Geez— [ Nervous, shifting on her feet, staff clutched close to her chest. ] Look for a … a release button, or something, there might be one somewhere! I've got you covered!

[carptricks]

I said it was stuck, not that I couldn't get it unstuck! Have some faith!

[he casts a wary glance down the hallway as he runs his hands over the door, then the frame next to it, searching, searching for a lock or a button or--]

[a hidden keypad]

[he flips the keypad open to reveal a series of numbers. or, he assumes they're numbers. they look more like weird squiggly shapes to him. alien numbers, man. he could probably disarm the keypad lock, but]

Okay, take a step back!

[as he draws his weapon from its holster, he thinks it's probably quicker and easier to blast their way through. for now]

[. . . the scraping noise is now accompanied by low gurgling]

[justichthys]

[ … WELL THAT'S ONE WAY TO DO IT, SURE. Aoko does as she's told, shifting from foot to foot anxiously and bringing her staff down into a ready, guarded position. ]

The noise is gonna give away our position completely … [ Not a complaint so much as a, yeah, that's a thing; she's okay with him doing what he has to do. SHE'D JUST RATHER NOT HAVE A HORDE OF ALIENS COME DOWN ON THEIR HEADS. ] But if we have no choice, we have no choice!