[EXAM] Tending the Lost (Sophie)

[Sosiqui]

There was a sudden, sharp sound in the wall of Sophie's room. Slowly, very slowly, a small circle of her wall fell away - just a tiny bit of wall pushing out and falling to the floor, leaving a hole behind.

A tiny robot slid through the hole, surreptitiously folding up what looked like a surprisingly large sawblade back into its chassis. Entry done.

Target...?

LOLTERNATIVE

 

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Sophie was busy sewing away when the robot was.. making its entry so it wasn't until the piece of wall fell to the floor with a thud, making her jolt and mess up a stitch, that she even noticed it. Swiveling her chair around, expecting to see her brother or another student, the ghoul was shocked to find the robot. Her head tilted to the side and she blinked. "Uhh.. Can I help you?"

Sosiqui

 

[Sosiqui]

Target acquired.

The tiny robot trundled over, treads working over the floor, and then paused for a moment. Something else unfolded itself on a spindly arm; as metal clicked and clacked, the something else revealed itself to be a megaphone-type speaker. A tiny one, but still.

The robot paused.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

... Wow, that was loud.

"Wait, is this thing on- oh. Um. Spookie! Hi. You don't know me, but I really, really need your help, so... come down to the creepateria, okay? And then go behind the building. By the dumpsters! Um. This is Moira, by the way. Not a creepy person. Promise. Thanks, spookie!! Wait, how do I turn this off-"

Missive delivered, the robot folded away the speaker again and then went into expectant waiting mode once more.

LOLTERNATIVE

 

[LOLTERNATIVE]

The scream for help made Sophie jump and cover her ears. She certainly wasn't expecting that and she waited a moment before uncovering them again. Then a voice filtered out and the ghoul listened intently, becoming even more curious as it went on.

Moira.. Moira.. OH! The Janitor. She wondered what it was she needed help with? Either way, Sophie stood quickly, grabbed her bag filled with bandages, her first-aid kit and hurried out the door. She didn't bother to check if the robot was with her or not; she was certain it knew where to go and what to do next.

On her way there, Sophie mulled over the message and wondered what on earth she was getting herself into. Partially she wondered if perhaps she should have declined.. But Moira had asked for her specifically.. Or at least she thought she did. Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity. It didn't take her long to reach the cafeteria and as per instructions, she walked behind it to the dumpsters.

Sosiqui

 

[Sosiqui]

"Oh, there you are, spookie!!" The janitor leaned around a dumpster and waved frantically, then beckoned Sophie to follow her around the side... where something very large was lying prone on the ground. It was, in fact, a robot.

A huge robot - if it had been standing up, it would have easily been twice, even three times Sophie's height. But it was definitely not standing up. Its many limbs (some with pincers, some with fingers, some with odd suction cups) were all curled close to its body, as if it were preparing to rise but had gotten stuck. The rest of it appeared inert.

"I know you've been studying with Nurse Cricket," Moira said, wringing her hands a bit over the fallen robot. "She, um.. well, I didn't want to bother her! It's just a virus! So I thought maybe you could... look at precious here for me...?" Her vivid, bile-colored eyes were pleading.

LOLTERNATIVE

Moira's robot friend here needs tending... though, of course, taking care of machines is a bit different from taking care of other beings. Still, this one seems to have a strange amount of FEAR imbued into it...

Roll 1d6 to investigate the machine's woes. You can roll as many or as few times as you'd like; you have to roll ONCE, but beyond that additional rolls are up to you. Note that the rest of the exam will depend on what you do, so choose wisely!

If you roll a...

1 - You notice that the machine has a viscous fluid pooling at the joints. It doesn't smell like oil, and it clings to your fingers and stretches between them. Hm.

2 - When you press your ear to the chassis, you hear a strange sound. It doesn't sound like the clicks and whirrs you'd expect from a machine, or even an electronic buzz. It sounds almost like breathing... but that's impossible, right? Breathing, and faint, irregular scratching noises.

3 - When you tug on the machine's "limbs", they do not resist the movement at all, falling limply about until you let go - but when you let go, they retract into a hunched position.

4 - The scent of scorched metal and grease meets your nose, but underneath it is something else. Something snapping and cold, something that makes the inside of your nose tickle oddly, like you're about to sneeze.

5 - There are markings on the machine's metal armor, tiny scrapes and scratches at regular intervals, particularly at the joints where limbs meet body.

6 - If you slip your fingers into the holes between joints and body, you find a strange coldness that feels innately hostile to you. It is uncomfortable for you to keep your fingers there for too long - not because of any physical sensation, but because of something that speaks to you at an instinctive level. As if you are afraid, almost...

Quote me when you are done! Again, you can call yourself finished after one roll or continue rolling until you have all six bits of data, or something in between. It's up to you...

 

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Sophie's eyes widened at Moira's request and she looked the robot over with a worried look at first. This certainly wasn't what she was expecting when she was asked for help. She had never.. healed a robot. Could they even be healed the way Sophie healed? Still.. she couldn't let the poor thing suffer anymore than she could let Moira down and so the ghoul placed her bag down, pulled her jacket off and knelt next to the robot.

She honestly didn't know where to start and so she pressed her ear against the robot, concentrating and listening carefully. The fact that her own body made little sound came in handy and she was able to make out the sound of.. A brow rose. Was that breathing? Occasionally there was a faint scratching sound and Sophie rocked back on her heels for a moment a hand coming to stroke her chin. Robots weren't her forte but she was pretty sure they didn't breathe. The scratching could be put off as robot sounds but they weren't methodical; they were too random and didn't fit what would be a pattern of gears and parts whirring and moving.  

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Leaning forward one more, Sophie's hand landed in something wet and the followed the trail and noticed a fluid leaking from the robot's many joints. Sophie let her fingers touch the substance and she was surprised to notice how sticky it was. She opened and closed her fingers, stretching the liquid as much as she could. She was certain oil didn't do that.

When she brought her fingers to her nose, her suspicions were confirmed when she was not met with the tangy scent of oil. She tilted her head. What was it then? Pulling a spare bandage from her bag, she wiped her fingers on it before continuing her examination.  

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Sophie sniffed the air again; there was something else she could smell; something that didn't quite fit with the sticky substance. She leaned in closer and smelt burnt metal and grease; a scent that she was not used to and made her nose wrinkle for a brief moment. She pushed herself in further and further until she finally found it and as soon as it met her nostrils, she exhaled through them and shook her head.

What an odd sensation.  

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Sophie stood up from her position on the ground, reaching over and looking at the robot's frame; hands running along the metal. She could fell abrasions, even if some were too small for her to see form afar. The scratches and scrapes seemed to be more evident around the robot's joints and Sophie's hands moved to her hips as she went into consideration of what exactly was wrong.

She didn't know for sure yet but she was certainly starting to get a basic idea. At least, she hoped she was.  

[LOLTERNATIVE]

[IDK IF YOU WANT ME TO RP DOUBLES BUT JUST IN CASE. INB4 I GET 34534875 2S IN A ROW.]

She knelt down again, pressing her ear to the frame once more and concentrating as she listened. The sounds weren't any different from before and she scratched her chin a little. She was kind of just grasping at hairs at this point.  

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Sophie looked at the sticky fluid leaking from the joints and bent down, reaching an arm down to let her fingers slip into the joints. A shudder rippled over her frame and she pulled her hand out, suddenly afraid for reasons she couldn't really explain.

She chewed her bottom lip and looked a Moira, bringing herself to stand up. It was time to try and fix her and Sophie only hoped she could get the job done.

Sosiqui

 

[Sosiqui]

Moira brightened a bit as Sophie looked at her. "All done? What do you think is wrong with it, spookie?" she asked, wringing her hands a little bit.

As she spoke, the casing of the machine flexed upward, just a little, as if being pushed out from the inside. Moira didn't seem to notice...

LOLTERNATIVE

Take a guess? If you're right, you'll get a bonus, but don't feel bad if you're not sure! I'm not sure I made it obvious enough, haha.

 

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Sophie prodded her fingers together and rocked on her heels, thinking it over for a few moments to make sure she'd pieced together the clues as best she could.

"There's something stuck inside her, I think. It can't talk which makes me think it's an animal rather than a student.. Or maybe they just don't want to talk out of embarrassment."

Sosiqui

/spaghetti arms

 

[Sosiqui]

Moira looked perplexed. "Something stuck? But-"

And then the zombie's eyes widened as the Trashbot's carapace bowed outwards. "Look out!" she yelped, grabbing for Sophie's hand to pull her back. As Moira spoke, the Trashbot heaved itself to its feet... or did it?

Nope. On closer look, the Trashbot was being held up not by its own legs but by shadowy claws that extended down out of the carapace, as if the Trashbot was being worn by another being. Like a coat. Or a metal suit. While the Trashbot's own eyes were dulled, there was a dark gleam just below. Something else looking out.

"... Virus," Moira spat, but she turned to Sophie with a relieved expression. "Good thing I have a doctor here! Go get 'em, ghoul!"

LOLTERNATIVE

BOSS FIGHT: CONTROL VIRUS!

The Trashbot is being puppeted by the viral force! You must attempt to defeat the force in a great battle!

- The Virus has 20 HP.
- It does 3 HP auto-damage per turn.
- You may use melee attacks and any learned abilities you have ONLY... remember, FEAR abilities are still on Amityville-wide lockdown!
- Though you can also ask Moira for help once! When you ask for help, you must stop fighting and roll 1d4 (you do not take auto-damage on that turn). Quote me to request help!

When either the Virus' HP or Sophie's hits 0, quote me as well. GOOD LUCK.

(And, as a side note, the Virus would have done a surprise attack for 1d6 damage - except you guessed what was wrong. biggrin GOOD JOB)

 

[LOLTERNATIVE]

Sophie was pulled back and she stumbled for a few seconds before regaining her footing and staring at the robot. Yikes, it was big. Really big. And.. wait, what? She was expected to fight it? Her mouth hung open for a brief moment before she shook her head. Flexing her fingers and tightening her pony tails, she took a deep breath before her hands formed fists and she launched herself at the robot.

The metal was hard against her fingers, but she seemed to land a pretty decent hit. It was a blessing to be an undead in these times; when pain didn't bother you as much as it would others.

Sophie HP: 27/30
Damage done: 4
Damage taken: 3
Virus HP: 16
Learned Abilities: Beginner First Aid:
+ Battle Effect: Once per battle, a player may choose to roll a 4-sided dice. This is the amount that the player heals themselves or another target for. You forfeit your normal battle attack turn if you want to use this attack. +2 bonus points thanks to completion of First Aid Basics 1.