Kyriakos: OVERFLOW

[justichthys]

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[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!

[carptricks]

I think our voices might've already done that. . .!

[levels the barrel of his laser gun at the keypad lock, takes aim, and--]

[there's a flash of red light and a bang as the lock bursts apart and sizzles into a thousand shattered pieces. sparks fly, and the gurgling sound from beyond the corridor suddenly turns into an alarmed, throaty noise]

[the door whooshes open]

Looks like we're welcome in here after all. . .! C'mon!

[he grasps at her wrist and yanks her inside the (currently pitch black) room]

[justichthys]

There's a big difference between a gun and our voices …! [ and she has been talking in a fierce whisper, thank you very muERK, grabbed and yanked! ]

[ She stumbles in after him ]

See! I don't think it even knew we were there!

[ … it sure is dark in here, uhm. What if she feels around for a lightswitch?! ]

[soulping]

[she finds a lightswitch on the wall (though it's more like a button than a switch), and the lights flicker on]

[bright lights. the kind of searing, fluorescent lights you'd find in a hospital. after creeping through the darkness for so long, it might take a moment for your eyesight to adjust.]

[but congratulations, you've found an infirmary. despite the blood spatters on the door outside, it seems pretty clean. . .? well, except for the stainless steel tray of sharp surgical tools. those are all covered in blood]

[there's another sliding door on the opposite end of the room. and although the one you came through slammed shut at your backs, from beyond it you can still hear the creature approaching, sharp toenails clicking against the floor at a faster pace than before]

[carptricks]

[curses lightly and immediately dives for a bed]

Under here!

[justichthys]

Are you joking?! [ Her voice is a fierce, whispered hiss. ] A monster's coming, and you want to hide under the bed?!

[ But she'll follow him anyway, because why wouldn't she follow his lead. ]

[carptricks]

It's an alien, not a monster! And I don't see you coming up with any better ideas!

[. . . besides, he's ducking behind the bed, not underneath it]