[PUNCH CLOCK ANIMAL] MAYBEQUEST: PART 1

[skinstealer]

 

MAYBEQUEST
PART 1
This is a continuation off of a quest run on questden/tgchan from 2016-2019! To catch up to where we're currently at, please refer to the mirror.

This project is rated 18+ for mature content, and contains heavy gore, sexual content, extreme body horror, child abuse/death, violence, ritual abuse, parental abuse, cannibalism, emetophobia, sexual abuse, torture, depictions of severe trauma, and unreality. As such, it is inappropriate for minors, and it is recommended that you only engage with this comic if you're okay with seeing some heavy shit and are in a good mental space for it. Stay safe, and take care of yourself first.

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MAY: Uh, what do you...do, exactly?
MAY: Like obviously you’re a doctor and do doctor stuff, but what do you do here?
MAY: And what aren’t you sure about?
FULLER: I work in the Research Block, and I keep track of mutations; what works, what doesn’t, and what’s unexpected. 
FULLER: Now that the potential heirs have been determined, we’re re-routing our efforts into other mutation-based projects.
FULLER: God knows Anya has the karacel eggs for it left over- all “donated”, enough to supply whatever nightmarish creations she wants to make next.
FULLER: Not to mention she’s got cloning down by now, growing people in vats and all that. She’s pretty much a genius, but, you know.
MAY: Evil?
FULLER: Very.
FULLER: My work doesn’t have me getting my hands dirty often, but I know more about mutation selection for Devil’s Advocacy and other projects than pretty much anybody else.
FULLER: I’m ready to wash my hands of the whole thing, really. Seen too much that keeps me up at night.

MAY: Can you fight?
MAY: If you had your back to the wall, could you protect the kids?
FULLER: I can run, and that’s going to have to be good enough.
MAY: Better than nothing.

MAY: How do you know all this stuff about money if you’re one of us?
MAY: And like...why do you want to get out now when you could have left whenever?
FULLER: I have some surface contacts. They supply me with books and knowledge of the surface, and I read as much as I can.
FULLER: However, the idea of leaving myself was...daunting.
NELSON: ...but it’s fine to let other people potentially die?
FULLER: Their choice, their risk.

MAY: How long is the trek to Mockery?
FULLER: Bit over 3 hours if you take the main road. 
CHANCE: Are you sure it’s a good idea to take the main road?
FULLER: It’s a little risky, but there’s a great opportunity, if we’re lucky.
DWAYNE: And that is?
FULLER: Hitchhiking.
CHANCE: ...You’re really expecting a vehicle that could carry all of us to drive by? That… seems like a longshot.
FULLER: Supply trucks come back and forth between here and Mockery every day, multiple times a day.
FULLER: We’ll say our car broke down or something. 
DWAYNE: And what if it’s someone from the lab instead?
FULLER: I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but this lab’s got a pretty distinct look to the uniforms.
FULLER: Somebody comes by wearing black and green, we just say we’re on a nature trek or something. 
FULLER: ...and hope they don’t notice the kids in the same colors.
DWAYNE: That’s as good as it’s gonna get, I guess.

MAY: Are these coats gonna be okay for outside?
FULLER: Oh, hell no.
FULLER: I’ve got civilian clothes stashed away in the safe room in as many sizes as I can get my hands on...none for kids though, they’re stuck with the dresses. Sorry.
FULLER: All of it should be fine for the desert. 
MAY: Will they help us blend in? 
FULLER: With the sand? No. With people, and the city? Yes.
FULLER: Trust me, it’d be a huge problem if you walked into the surface lab dressed in stealth gear. People’d get suspicious. 
FULLER: That’s the last thing we need.

MAY: Got any weapons that can hit from a bit away, or are we stuck with shock sticks and my teeth?
FULLER: You don’t want to be walking around with weapons once we hit the surface lab.
FULLER: You’ll be surrounded by civilians here on medical business and the second you startle any of them, we’re in trouble.  

You turn back to your party.

MAY: What about you guys?
MAY: Any questions?

 

Chance steps up.

CHANCE: Suplex asked if you could protect the kids, but I want to know if you would.
CHANCE: If we aren’t here to keep them safe, or if we get split up, would you take care of them? Make sure they get to Mockery unharmed?
FULLER: ...if I say no, I get the feeling you’d kick my ass. 
MAY: Yeah, pretty much.
FULLER: Then yeah, fine. I’d make sure the kids get there.
FULLER: But the second I can find them a situation that’d be able to take care of them better than I could- which isn’t saying a whole lot- I’d be handing them over. 

 
Chance glares, but continues.

CHANCE: What kind of security should we expect at the exits to this place? It’s been a long time since I was outside.
FULLER: Most of the security up top isn’t trained to handle stuff down in this section of the lab, let alone know about it.
FULLER: Once we hit surface, we’ll be able to blend in. And as long as nobody arouses suspicion, we’ll have a clear shot.
FULLER: ...they might send some guys after us, though. That’d be real bad.
FULLER: But with any luck, we won’t have any issue with that.
DWAYNE: Here’s to hoping. 

CHANCE: You’ve spent a lot of time examining the kids here.
CHANCE: Is there anything we should be aware of that might affect them, medically or otherwise? Even just something as simple as allergies.
CHANCE: I want to make sure we can keep them safe.
FULLER: Melanie has severe...memory issues. You might have to repeat things to her, especially if she gets stressed or overly excited. 

Chance drops his volume.

 
CHANCE: I’m aware of that, but it’s good that the others know.

You glance back at Melanie to see if she’s listening, but she’s off in her own world, watching the light of the flashlight bounce around as Fuller walks. 

CHANCE: Is there anything else?
FULLER: Mason can bleed out if wounded, so we’ll want to avoid that or have a lot of bandages handy.

Nelson pats the bag slung over his shoulder.

NELSON: We should be okay. We stocked up when we picked him and Maes up.
FULLER: Good. I’ve got some in the safe room, but more is always better.
FULLER: All of them have hell teeth, also. Good luck figuring out how to clean them.
FULLER: I do not envy the guy who has that job. 
CHANCE: ...I have that job.
FULLER: Ouch.
FULLER: You’ve got a lot more fingers than I would have expected. 
CHANCE: You know, they’d probably be a lot easier for you to handle if you actually treated them like kids.

 
Fuller says nothing, shut up entirely. With the silence quickly becoming awkward, you take the opportunity to bring something else up.

MAY: And, uh, Chance.
MAY: It’s come up before, but...I’m really glad we gave you a shot.
MAY: Maybe the reason wasn’t that great, but you’re a big part of why this is working.
MAY: ...And why I’ve been working on being a better person.
MAY: So...thanks.

 
It’s hard to tell in the dark, but you think you can see Chance tearing up.

CHANCE: I’m… really glad to hear that.
CHANCE: Regardless of the reason, it’s just really nice to find people willing to help, willing to do something about all of this.
CHANCE: You were the one that started this, after all. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be on our way out of here right now. These kids might not have been able to get somewhere safe.
CHANCE: You made that happen, not me.

 
You can just barely see him smiling up at you.

DWAYNE: Speaking of all that…
DWAYNE: What made you decide to do this whole scheme anyway?
DWAYNE: It’s not the first time a maybecat’s tried to bust out, but nobody’s actually managed to get this far, let alone recruit anybody else for their cause.
FULLER: I have to admit I’m curious too. I’ve helped staff get out, but he’s right, none of us have managed to get out before.
NELSON: Oh, you see, we actually-
DWAYNE: Cmon, I wanna hear Sup’s answer. Don’t speak for her.
NELSON: ...got it.