W5 🛸 PLAYER CYOA : A BADD EDDUCATION 🚀 SCIEN, NERO, SORA

[dropoffs]

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[perfectdistance]

[ Just stay steady and don't look suspicious. If they walk at a normal pace with crowds around, that shouldn't draw too many eyes.

Cross the dining hall to get to the next set of stairs. ]

[murdergate]

[ yeah, guys! all you have to do is cross the room and not be distracted by any beautiful celebrities. it's impossible not to see them, aged appropriately for the setting, each seated at a separate table.

the manne-bots are fixated on the behavior of already seated students. if you're diligent, they should let you cross the room without interruption.

however, can you resist... fwends? ]

[egodist]

[hmmm. scien does glance in dahut's direction... but it is a more idle glance. there have been plenty times in the institute where they have to feign a rivalry that neither of them feel, ignoring each other and acting coldly.

so he channels that and moves to cross the room, not sparing his little assistant who didn't need to be aged down at all much more of his attention]

[barriermaddened]

[The sight of Eunhyuk does make Sora slow down, not having expected the sight. Ah. He...didn't get dragged into this, was he? After a moment, Sora decides that, if he was, then he'd probably manage to get out of here alongside Dahut, no?

She glances at Nero, wondering if he'd see, like, Bradley around here. Just making sure this wizard manages to keep going even if he sees Bradley]

[perfectdistance]

[ Bradley is an idiot, but he is also an idiot Nero doesn't trust to keep himself alive. Also he Knows he's on the ship. Riquet is an unknown factor and he falters for a second. He's been in a cult for most of his life...

Did whatever bring them here know?

Which means he's probably obeying the rules here, even if he's just some kind of imprint of a memory.

They need to get out of here, and he does continue... expression going blank. ]

[murdergate]

[ the internal willpower in this group. everyone would give you a hand if they weren't distracted by their meals and the complicated silverware situation. since no one speaks a word to those seated, you are left alone by the automatons as well. straight across the mess hall and into the corridor beyond. a couple more classrooms, and then, gasp, a new stairwell! you are doing SO well! it's as suk'ram said, that was soooooo easy. as long as you continue without stopping, surely nothing can go wrong.

at the next floor, the group enters a new corridor, again lined with classes and one door with a plaque that reads Laboratory across from Alchemy Workshop. the doors are locked, but nero can still have his wire.

the other option is to, of course, continue down the corridor until you find the next stairwell. ]

[egodist]

[ . . . well.

here's the thing. once they get to the new corridor, scien will be pointing at the laboratory.]

Open this for me. If I can get access to basic chemicals, I can make explosives and smoke combs for cover.

[which might be helpful once they get to the last floor.

he said to keep going but sometimes..... you think you know better.....]

[barriermaddened]

It'd be good to take some acids to attack with.

[Splash some onto the enemy and let it burn. Sora is going for the aggressive outlook. Pacifism has never been her thing]

[perfectdistance]

Look out for anybody approaching.

Might set off alarms.

[Nero's just not the type to argue in the middle of a mission.

It did sound like most of the hostiles they'd encounter would be on the last floor. A quick in and out...

Is it trapped? Does it look trapped?]

[murdergate]

[ no, it does not look trapped and nero may unlock the door to the classroom you were expressly told not to go into. that's okay! suk'ram isn't a narc and also isn't here, so you follow your instincts, kids.

the laboratory is a large rectangular room with a series of long desks loaded with scientific equipment. along the back wall are glass cabinets, also locked, which appear to house the more dangerous or interesting chemicals. but, if you wanted to grab, say, beakers, you can be beaker rich without further difficulty.

there are no mannequins and no visible alarms in the room, although the locks on the cabinets are a touch more intricate than the doors'. ]

[egodist]

[scien will nod toward the glass cabinets]

Get those open. If you can't, we'll just have to break them and move fast.

[is scien arrogant enough to think that he can mix chemicals on the go? yes. but sometimes you are just used to insane levels of super genius that aren't held beholden to dice rolls. he's probably going to roll more 9's

but he will go to grab some of those beakers now]

[barriermaddened]

[As usual she's planning one step ahead: Sora looks for anything that looks solid enough to be used for breaking the glass of the cabinets, in case Nero can't open those]

[perfectdistance]

[ "Hey Nero break into some cabinets while we're on a time crunch."

Is he a wizard or is he a rouge at this point? Arcane trickster?

He will start working on one of the cabinets, does this lock seem more complicated? ]

[murdergate]

[ after approaching the glass cabinets, nero, you can tell these locks are more complicated and likely made to break if messed with. move the wire the wrong way and you could bust the lock altogether, rendering it impossible to open without breaking the glass. but, never fear, that dirty 20 is definitely enough.

hooray! scien's 7 will mean, well. the labels are the problem, not scien. every bottle and test-tube has writing on it, but the chemical names aren't familiar to you. this cyoa is set in a different universe, after all. bummer!! but you manage to squint and logic your way to enough probably-bleach-and-so-forth to make yourself the equivalent of one smokebomb.

likewise with sora's 4, it's not that her brain leaks out her ears, it's that this is the laboratory of a foreign academy with questionable ethics. you could use one of the stools, because obviously, but you don't notice anything else that would be helpful in the room.

uh-oh is that the sound of voices in the hall??? ]

[egodist]

[hell yea one smokebomb between this and the hand-rolled joint we're unstoppable. he curses under his breath when he hears the voices coming from the hall, frowning.]

The rest are too volatile to take if we're already rushing.

[he doesn't want to grab anything that could end up backfiring on them when he doesn't know what they're made of.... are the voices coming closer. he'll find something to hide behind if so.]

[barriermaddened]

[Oh good thing Scien just made a smoke bomb, time to throw it so we can hide in the smoke.

Except that it'd be a tremendously bad idea, so no. Any chance of closing the door or locking it, if it's already closed?]

[perfectdistance]

[ He'll also hide if there's any spots to do so.

Their time limits...

How clear are the voices? Can they hear anything from where they are?]

[murdergate]

[ THE PRESTIGE--suk'ram fucking told you not to stop. you did so well against the messhall but one little lab and dexter can't contain himself. well, guess what, it's too late for you. also, like, nobody said they shut the door, so. it's open.

now i'm a MEAN cyoa runner. what do you think of this style? but i'm only mean for a second because i'll say you all successfully duck under desks.

but--double prestige--who shows up in the super open doorway but a communally familiar face? ]

Do you think the lab assistant left the door open again? Not too likely, right?

[ you can't see who he's talking to while hiding. ]

[egodist]

[HELP SURE OPEN DOOR WHILE WE PICK THE LOCK TO THE CHEMICAL CABINET we deserve that. we really do. down under the desks they go and at the familiar face scien is just going to glance at nero.....

please don't let gay chaos ruin this for us (please do)

but also time to see who else is approaching and also see if it's possible to iiiinch slightly closer to the door without making a sound so it'd be easier to make a break for it]

[barriermaddened]

[The sight of Bradley gets Sora to shake her head. So this is how it's going to be, huh. This schoo is pulling people from their ship to try to mess with them and screw up...

Sora hasn't moved at all. She sees Scien slowly inching, but she doesn't try to do the same, deciding not to risk it]

[perfectdistance]

[ The sight of Bradley in a school setting has stunned Nero from the confusion.

It doesn't compute. ]

[murdergate]

[ you wisely don't argue against my super fair and just rulings. good, good...

scien, 13 is enough for you to inch closer to the door, find a better vantage point. something in your heart and in the air tells you that it won't be enough to get out, however. that will be another check or some act of ingenuity.

hey sora, i'll get to you in a second.

bradley walks further into the lab, but at such a leisurely pace you bugs can scuttle continually out of view. ]

Jingu, isn't your girlfriend part of the group this time?

[ nero, your roll was strong enough that you can compute seeing the lower half of bradley's knees. barely. get yourself right, boy.

another youth enters the laboratory. now you roll wis, sora. ]

[egodist]

[scien has no idea who this is even though he can guess

but

he's really not liking how this is shaking out. another glance to sora.... for now he'll focus on staying out of the way and waiting for their next opportunity to dash]

[barriermaddened]

[When she sees who it is, Sora's breath hitches. The Ideal is gone, Yugo is dead, and she has no obligation nor desire to be with Yugo anymore...but she still holds affection for him, enough that the sight of him and hearing that even in this fake place they're a couple it all immediately makes her melancholic.

Well, he's going to be alive somewhere even if it's for as long as this adventure lasts, that's nice...

She has enough self-control not to make moves to go after him, at least. The wisdom roll went well]

[perfectdistance]

[ Nero scuttling back to avoid detection and just resolves to "That's definitely not Bradley." He'd only end up in a school if he got blackmailed into it. ]