W2 🛸 PLAYER CYOA: BUP SQUAD (TEEJ) 🚀 BAIKEN, ICHIBAN, THRONÉ

[dropoffs]

Comments

[kabari]

Maybe think a little before bein' stupid. [ that's saying a lot, coming from baiken, and her int stat of 10, but look. this is as close as accepting ichiban's apology as it's gonna get.

anyway. me seeing flurry's roll of 18 like oh ok well at least baiken doesn't have to fail intimidation check again. throné has this handled. girl power. ]

[frotag]

Haha... thinking's never been my strong suit. [ int 9 babeyyy!!

much like how he acted as throné's muscle during the most recent trial, ichiban stands to the side as he lets the other two attempt to handle things. "being the main character" might be on his profile, but he has the emotional intelligence to let other people do their own thing, to have complete faith in his party members (because yeah, that's how he currently sees them, how could he not?).

he slings his sheathed katana over his shoulder, standing at the ready should things go awry. ]

[verminous]

[Between Baiken nearly scaring one off already and Throné's extra intimidation, plus Ichiban's backup... yeah, these bug guys are not feeling like attacking is their best option here.

They shrink back, as they mutter to each other.

"We can't, they're gonna be so pissed..."

"They'll kill us for anybody comin' through too!"

"We're better off takin' our chances with what we know."

They watch very warily, like they're expecting to still be attacked (largely because they do, this place sucks), and as the trio passes there's an audible sigh of relief.

Further ahead, you can see a somewhat sunken metal door, and a guy in blue standing outside.]

[naeddre]

[thank god. she stalks past, though i can't say she doesn't do a fakeout at the one that looks the most terrified. she doesn't actually attack them, she just jerks at them. she also watches them as the little party continues, because she doesn't trust something to not attack them from behind.

anyway. off they go, down this path. she slides back to let ichiban lead, because she does not want to be the face of the party. she's not good at that.

the guy in blue looks important. maybe that's the guide...]

... There doesn't seem like there's any other place to go. Play along until we find the ship. [she murmurs to the two of them.]

[kabari]

[ baiken has that swagger walk, so that is how she proceeds. ichiban can be first - he is number one, after all. she doesn't pay any more attention to the bugfolk once they're allowed to pass, because they are Insignificant in the grand scheme of things. if they try shit, she'll crush them. ezpz.

and now there's this blue guy here. he has a specific vibe that makes her Tired for reasons she cannot describe. ]

You look like you could be a guide.

[ he isn't bug-shaped, at any rate. ]

[frotag]

[ he's dumb as shit but he's very personable!! but ok, here's a potential lead. throné gets a subtle nod while he follows baiken's lead, crossing his arms as they approach the new guy. ]

Yeah, we're looking for... some kinda corporation? [ he clicks his tongue, because he can't quite remember the rest of the name of the place... oh, but he at least has the sense to recall: ] A guy named Verg sent us, if that means anything to you.

[verminous]

???

Oh- yes, I'm...

[And then Ichiban mentions Verg, which gets the man to straighten instantly, leaning around to peer behind them.]

???

Wait, you're with Vergilius?! The Red Gaze himself... didn't he come with you-?

[He's joined by a woman in a matching uniform, returning from her patrol.]

???

Aw, I'm sure he had more important things to do... aren't you gonna say hi? Sorry, he's Hopkins, and I'm Aya. Nice to meetcha~

[naeddre]

[throné peers at them from behind ichiban.]

What are we here to do. [she doesn't want to make friends i'm sorry]

[kabari]

More important than doing nothing on a bus? [ she mumbles, mostly to herself, but loud enough for throné and ichiban to hear.

and, piggbacking off of throné: ] Just get to the point already.

[frotag]

...Nice to meet you both.

[ like, he's still wary of the two, but again, he's the nice and charismatic one of the group... ]

The ride to get here was... a lot. [ YEAH??? ] No offense, really, but we kinda just want to make this quick.

[verminous]

Hopkins

What do you mean, you-

[Luckily, she cuts him off.]

Aya

Hehe, you're all business~ No problem, no problem. The facility we're exploring is over here, but we haven't been in yet...

Hopkins

We had a former L Corp employee who was supposed to be helping with the potential risks in here, but we're just going to have to work with what we know. They used to keep all types of monsters down there, from what we heard, so just try to be careful once we're in.

[With that warning delivered, the pair lead them all down into an underground facility, clearly abandoned for a while... it's mainly dark, dimly lit hallways, up until a space ahead of them opens up.

The facility is lit with red emergency lighting, still, and it reeks of death and decay in this entryway. Bugs scatter as their footsteps draw closer.]

[naeddre]

[they had one. that one probably exploded.

throné immediately unsheathes her dagger. this is not a fun and friendly corridor. but that's fine, she just will be careful like they said. she steps in, and holds her breath. gross. gross gross gross.]

... What type of monsters? [she can probably deal with that. it's not feeding humans to a bus.]

[kabari]

[ hm. gross indeed. ]

And just what is it that you know?

[ because this isn't lookin good fam. baiken's weapon is sheathed for now - she can do her quick draw if need be - but her hand rests on the hilt, stupid sleeves be damned. ]

[frotag]

[ okay, yes, ichiban has seen some shit, but this is some next level shit, because underneath it all he still does come from a relatively normal world. the minutiae of the scene aren't what get to him, but the overall vibes are absolutely rancid.

he says nothing as they proceed, keeping his focus on anything that may dart out of the shadows so that he stands a better chance at intercept an ambush. ]

[verminous]

[Guys we established we're at D*sn*yl*nd don't worry about it.

The vibes and smell are both rancid, honestly, and as Ichiban looks around at the shadows... he'll probably notice that the few bodies laying around this area are all mutated in some way. They've got antennae growing from an arm here, insect legs on the head there, and occasional whole limbs that are insectoid like the men they saw on the way here.]

Hopkins

Abnormalities. We don't know much about them, seeing as L Corp buried all their facilities when they fell... frankly, they could be anything. What we do know is they haven't died out since the fall.

Hopkins

The good news is that these places are still worth the risk, if you can get your hands on any of the Enkephalin they used to produce here.

[naeddre]

[my brain tried to translate that to dasaniland and was like huh. okay.

she keeps walking, and does her best to not look at the bodies. she doesn't exactly have a sensitive stomach but even the most desensitized people can't handle rancid decaying bodies and bugs who are also men and dead. just wants to crawl out of her skin, thanks. she's on such high alert, trying to make sure nothing sneaks up on them.]

Enkephalin...? [what.]

[kabari]

[ dasaniland: party of hydro homies. ]

Why's it so important that we do it?

[ like? these two blue people can do it. this is stupid. this whole thing is stupid. it's just courier-ception, and that thought makes baiken scowl even harder, as she sidesteps a mutant corpse. cool. great. loving this so far. ]

[frotag]

We're— not from here. We're freelancers, so we're not totally up to speed on all the details or technical terms. But, yeah, having that context might help us get the job done without too many hiccups.

[ quick thinking on his part from his days as an actual freelancer, in case their guides start to wonder why they're asking so many questions. he can only hope it's believable. ]

[verminous]

[Hopkins looks like he is quickly approaching critical mass of disbelief, so Aya steps in.]

Aya

Weeellll...~ We don't know! We're here to escort you to the lower levels, though, so I'm pretty sure our job actually stops there...?

[He can no longer be contained, however.]

Hopkins

You mean to say you work for one of the Colors, and you don't even know how valuable a resource Enkephalin is?! It used to supply energy to the entire City! It-

[There's a sound from further down the hall, and they both go quiet, hands to their weapons.]

[naeddre]

[listen dude we just woke up on a vore bus and were told to go into the sewers to grind rats for xp, i don't know what you want from us

anyway. there's a sound, and throné vanishes. not literally, but she immediately tries to slip into the shadows of the hallway so nothing can see her. goodbye.]

[kabari]

Y'don't really listen, do ya? [ hopkins read between the lines ichiban already explained.

alas, it's not time to be snappy when there is a mysterious sound. baiken draws her sword, her stance ready. bring it on, whatever it is. ]

[frotag]

Is this the part where we roll for initiative?

[ he needed to get one quip in ok... but yeah, ichiban also readies up. this time, he does not immediately make himself big target #1 by yelling and drawing attention; instead, he holds his breath as he takes a tentative step forward. ]

(body horror in link)

[verminous]

??? 1

Hey! Someone there?

??? 2

Someone get past our boys at the entrance...?

[Hopkins and Aya will just kind of follow y'all on this one. As Ichiban steps forward and they move toward the sound and the voices... they'll come across a small group of new friends in this gross ass facility. Much like the bugmen outside, they're all mutated, but these all wear similar military uniforms to each other, bandaged here and there; they're hunched over a monstrous-looking dead creature leaking green fluid, with a vial or two of the same substance nearby. The first voice speaks again:]

Veteran 1

This floor's ours. But... heh. You move on along and go hit up the floor below us for the Enkephalin there, and we'll just let ya head riiight down.

[naeddre]

[hm. bad.

throné is still hidden as well as she can be! she doesn't like these things, or trust them at all. she won't attack them if they don't attack the group, but. she's ready to, if they're going to try anything.]

[kabari]

Hm. Generous.

[ baiken doesn't mind making it known that she has a sword and she isn't afraid to use it :) but since they're just kinda hunched over being gross, that's... fine. for now. ]

No way you're lettin' us off that easy.