Choose Your Own Adventure: Bike Quest

[Houseman]

Someone has stolen your bike.

Two people, actually, have stolen your bike. You know who did it, your next door neighbors. Their children, specifically. Your neighbors have children, twins, about ten years old. They constantly mess with you and steal your stuff. Today they have stolen your bike.

But you need your bike, because you need to get to school. You have a field trip today. You don't want to be late for the bus, which is what will happen unless you retrieve your bike within the next ten minutes. In hindsight, you should have gotten up early enough to walk to school, but you are a high-schooler in the prime years of your development, so you need your sleep.

You stand on the sidewalk and look into your neighbor's house. You catch a glimpse of movement from the second floor as curtains are drawn closed. You don't get a good look at what's behind the curtains, but you know that the twins are up there, watching you, waiting for your next move.

They're home-schooled, which is how they can find the time to mess with you so often.
Their parents are also not home at the moment.

What will be your approach?
You have a feeling that the choices you make here will have far-reaching effects on your personality, as well as on the rest of your life.

A) Be diplomatic. Reason with them
B) Be sneaky. Break into their house and steal your stuff back.
C) Be forceful. Beat them up until they give you your bike back.
D) Be manipulative. Find something they want and use it as leverage.

Or if you come up with a better idea, you can do that too.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Re: CYOA: Bike Quest

I was going to say C, but then i realized if i break into their house i can steal something of theirs to use at a later point at the same time so i'm going to go B

 

[bluegate]

Re: CYOA: Bike Quest

Trying to quickly fill the void left by Tell Tale, are we?

Anyway, option A and if that doesn't work I'd go to my parents and let them call the police, seeing as I'm a teenager in that scenario up there.

 

[Arnox]

Re: CYOA: Bike Quest

Yeah, first I'd go to my parents and tell them about it. If that fails, I'd ask the twins directly why they hate me so much and try to resolve it. But if THAT doesn't work... It's time to go to war until the twins stop.

By the way, the title's confusing. You should just expand it to "Choose Your Own Adventure".

 

[Signa]

Re: CYOA: Bike Quest

I want to go D, but I don't know enough about the twins and how I could manipulate them to know if its viable.

I got it!
E) call the cops and tell them I saw them take the bike into the house with them, and now they won't answer the door, and their parents aren't home. After the cops get my bike back, try to get them to stay around long enough so the parents come home and see them being interrogated by the cops.

 

[Houseman]

DIPLOMACY


You go back home and tell your mom, who is sitting at the dining room table, reading the newspaper. You tell her that the twins next door have stolen your bike, again, and if you don't get it back in time, you'll be late for your field trip. You ask if she can call the police or something.


She says that no, of course, she's not going to call the police on some little kids, and that you should handle your own problems like an adult. Maybe if you didn't leave your bike outside like you always do, they wouldn't have taken it.


You begin to protest, but she cuts you off, telling you that tattling is the reason why you had to transfer schools in the first place, and you should really just learn to confront your problems without relying on adults to solve everything for you.


This especially hurts you for multiple reasons, one, because it's true, and two, because it's not fair. When something illegal happens, like what's happening now, and like what happened last year, adults are supposed to help, aren't they? What's the alternative? Become a vigilante?


Growing up is hard. It's hard and nobody really understands.


Well, now that your pride is wounded, and you are still no closer to solving your problem, it's time for plan B: Reason with the twins directly.


You go over to their door and knock.
No answer.
You ring the doorbell.
No answer.
You yell that you know that they're in there, and that you want your bike back.


You see your bike out of the corner of your eye, on the side of the house, but only the front wheel. As you start for it, the bike is yanked back around the corner. You run to the side of the house, but as you reach the corner, you see nothing. The gate to the backyard is open, though, so you dash in, eager to reclaim your stolen possession.


You end up only finding a wheel.


They have taken apart your bike and are teasing you with it, giving it back to you one part at a time. The evil little devils.
Of course they aren't going to make this easy. They steal your stuff all the time, it's not like this one time they're going to be nice about it.


You yell into the surrounding area that you just want your bike back, that you're going to be late, that it's important, and what do they want?


The only reply is your mom, hollering back from next door for you to stop all that yellin'.


The handlebar lands next to you, as if thrown from the roof.


So now they're obviously just toying with you. If you keep this up, you'll be playing a scavenger hunt, finding your bike in pieces as you follow a trail all around the neighborhood. You will be late, and you will miss the field trip.


Or you could just throw the handlebar through their sliding-glass back door, and beat the twins over the head with it until they give you the rest of your bike back. You'll probably get in major trouble for, like, the six crimes that this would entail, but you wouldn't have to worry about that immediately, since their parents aren't home.




A) Play their game
B) Commit several crimes
C) Just walk to school, it'll only take, like four times as long.
D) Call the cops.

Or whatever other idea you come up with

 

[Signa]

I'll play their game, but only long enough to get an opportunity. They are naive kids. They will leave something they hold precious unguarded for you to do the same with. Show them two can play the game.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

As much as B sounds like the more entertaining choice, I'll be going C again. By the time i'd gotten all the parts back and reassembled it i'd be late, so i might as well just walk. It'll give me time to plot revenge too

 

[Arnox]

Yeah I'll take C., with the caveat of me telling them that if they keep this nonsense up and I have to leave, they'll be starting a war.

 

[Houseman]

REFUSAL

You decide to cut your losses and just walk to school.


You drop the front wheel and the handlebar in their backyard, and announce to the surrounding area of your intentions, that you really will be late, and that you don't have time to play their little game. It's very important that you get where you need to be, and that actions have consequences! Someday maybe they'll understand.


Also you tell them that if they keep this nonsense up, they'll be starting a war.


As you sullenly exit the edge of your neighborhood and start upon the main road that leads to your school, you ponder several things. You think about what your mother said, about how you need to solve your own problems. Well congratulations, you're solving one now. This is what that gets you. A long walk and a missed field trip. But hey, at least you're independent, right? At least you stood up for yourself, right? Here's to you. Agony is your triumph. You heard that in an old movie once.


In your navel-gazing, you step on, and trip over, an obstacle lying on the sidewalk. It's a bike. Who would leave a bike just lying here, unprotected, in the midd- THAT'S YOUR BIKE! How? How did it get here? Wait, is it even really yours? You look around. Nothing. Nobody. Just streets and cars. You inspect the bike closely. Yep, those are the same scratches and dents in all the same places. It's your bike. Yours!


But how? Did someone reassemble your bike, drive in front of you, and throw it out of the back of a truck? Did your mother do that for you? No, she couldn't have, because your family only has one car, and your father is using that for work.


Maybe a god did it. The god of bikes, or the god of field trips.


Whatever. You get on your bike and get to school. You think you can still make it.


---


You make it. Kind of. You can see that they're loading up the buses right now. If you hurry over, you can make it. But you're still far enough away that nobody has seen you yet. Perhaps if you take your time, the buses will leave, and you can have a nice relaxing day in the library or something.


You should explain. Most of the school is going on this field trip. The only people that aren't are the special-ed students, people who got in trouble, or people whose parents didn't sign the permission slip. It's this inter-school talent show thing, where your school goes to another school in another district and does a big show, and vice versa. It's supposed to promote teamwork or friendship or something. The tradition started after a fight broke out between the two schools and a few people got stabbed. This all happened years ago, before you started coming here. You think it's weird, and that only the performers should be the ones to travel. You think they're missing the point by having the majority of students travel to go to another school, where the only people they meet are challenged, delinquent, or forgotten. But whatever, you're not the one planning this out.


You don't have any particular talents, so you didn't audition to do anything. You'd just be sitting in the audience, watching your own classmates perform. Maybe you'd be sitting next to one of their special-ed students. Maybe there would be games and food or something, too.


But if you stay, you can watch the other students from the other school perform. You could sit in the audience with the special-ed kids. Maybe there would be similar games and food. You've never done either before, so you don't know which one is better. Either way you might get to meet some new people, and be forced to participate in patronizing friendship games.


A) Go on the field trip
B) Stay and watch the other talent show.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

I guess I'll stay then. Doesn't sound like I'll be missing anything and maybe i can stay in the library or computer lab

 

[Signa]

Field trip for sure. All that drama with the neighbor kids would have been for nothing if you don't go.

 

[Arnox]

Go on the blasted field trip.

 

[Houseman]

ADVENTURE

You decide to go on the field trip.

You securely lock up your bike, line up with permission slip in hand, and ride the bus across town to the other school.

There's a lot less to it all than you anticipated. You just arrive, disembark, and are herded to the auditorium. A segment of your peers arrived earlier, and are presumably backstage. You end up just sitting in the dimly-lit auditorium, waiting for the show to start. You ended up between two strangers from your own school, but you have no friends anyway, so everyone is basically a stranger to you.

Eventually the show starts, and the first act is on, after a uncomfortably cherry introduction by some teacher. Some girl sings a song. You think you might just take a nap during all this, but she doesn't quite hit all the high notes, and the irritation of it all keeps you from getting into a restful mood. You don't really want to be here, but it's better than a normal day of school. You'll take what you can get.

You feel breathing on your ear.

You turn around, and see a girl, uncomfortably close to your face, bending over from her seat in the row above you. She scoots off the edge of her chair, and kneels in the row in an attempt to get even closer, now that you've done the reasonable thing and moved your head away from hers.

Your face is half-turned towards hers, because you don't have a lot of room to maneuver yourself, without falling out of your own seat. You're expecting some kind of statement from her, something that makes clear her breach of personal space. She just stares at you.

Oh, this must be one of the special-ed students that were left behind.

Since she doesn't say anything, you turn back and try to ignore her. You can't lean back, because her body occupies the space where you head original was, so you lean forward on the edge of your seat, as if you're intensely interested in the thing that's in front of you. You can still feel her breath on your nape, though, and you are thoroughly distressed.

Does nobody else see this? Are there no teachers watching the audience?


When the act ends, it seems like she goes away, like maybe a teacher came and grabbed her. You check behind you, and sit back, releasing all the tension you had stored up inside. That was draining. You're exhausted. If you weren't so terrified of something like that happening again, lest you let your guard down, you think you could safely sleep through the other acts, off-key singing or no.


You close your eyes and wipe the cold sweat from your brow, for just a brief second. You don't even see the same girl come down the row, somehow convince the person next to you to move, and settle down at your right. When you open your eyes and see this, your heart drops to your stomach. She's just sitting there, legs crossed, slouched back, like she's been there the entire time. Not even looking at you. Her cool demeanor lessens your terror somewhat, but your terror is still very real and present. You don't move, but just look at her.


She's thin. Petite. No real curves to speak of, but those that exist are exaggerated by her low, pale-pink jeans. A loose v-neck shirt, with "PUNK RØCK" written on it, exposes a pronounced collar-bone. Her hair is short, dyed white, with purple tips. She glances at you as you study her.


She raises her hips and digs something out of a back pocket with her right hand, then passes it over to her left, which she puts around your shoulder as she leans into you.


You look to see what she put in her hand, which is now on your shoulder.


It's a knife.
This girl has a knife at your throat.

"Do you know the secret already? You smell like you know."

A) AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
B) Play along until you can safely get away
C) Punch her in the face and run
D) Answer her questions honestly and hope she won't kill you.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

well that was an unexpected escalation. I guess i'll answer honestly, then maybe she won't kill me and i'll make a friend

 

[Arnox]

"No, I really don't know but if you're really gonna execute a minor in front of a bunch of witnesses, be my guess."

 

[Signa]

"Is it secret for women, because smell fiiiine!"

-or-

"Is it secret for women, because you can pick some up at Walmart"

Depending on her BO situation.

 

[Houseman]

HONESTY

You say that you don't know what she's talking about, while trying not to wet your pants.


She shrugs.


"Either way. I found one. Kill the lights"


The auditorium goes completely dark. People scream playfully, as teenagers always do whenever the lights go off.


You feel a pinch on your neck. You go completely dark.


---


You wake up somewhere else. You are cold, and are dressed in some sort of hospital gown. You're on a bed, in what looks like it could be a hospital. Temporary curtains on wheels provide four short walls, sectioning off your bed from what is, judging by what you can see of the ceiling, a much larger area. You feel fine and full of energy, so you sit up.


There's a woman sitting in a chair in your makeshift room, reading from an elaborately decorated book, which is more like a tome. She doesn't look like a doctor. If you had to describe her, you would say she resembles a pirate, what with her similarly elaborate purple coat, with hard shoulders and oversized cuffs. She takes the time to finish reading a page or a sentence, and then looks up at you expectantly, as if you had just interrupted her with a question. You may as well have, because you definitely have some questions.


Instead of waiting for you to ask any of them, she gets up from her chair, moves aside the curtain and steps out. You can hear her say a few words to someone outside of your section. The curtain opens again, and the girl who stabbed you enters.


You think about yelling to someone for help, but you don't want to get stabbed again, so you just sit there.


"Can you walk?"


You just sit there.


She moves to grab you, and you leap off the bed, putting it between her and you.


"Good. Follow me, then. I have to give you the tour".


She opens the curtain, and waits for you to follow her.


You're not sure if you want to go anywhere with her. Didn't she just stab you?


"Yes, but only so she could bring you here"


She is deadpan. Emotionless. Staring straight at you and explaining this fact as if it were simple. That doesn't make any sense! Couldn't she have asked? And just where is 'here' anyway?


"No, I couldn't have asked. Also, we aren't anywhere in relation to anywhere else, so that question has no meaning"


Neither of those things make sense! Isn't this a hospital?


"Infirmary"


What building is this in, then?


"The administration office"


For what?


"The School"


Which school?


"It's just called "The School""


Your voice grows more feeble, as you realize that this might be futile. What district is this school in?


"This place isn't in a district"


Your voice cracks now. What state?


"There are no states"


Your voice is a whisper. Your legs give out, and you kneel besides your bed. Are we on Earth?


"No"


You see a flaw in her argument and regain your strength. You stand up. So then what is this building on then?


"Come outside and see"


You reluctantly follow her outside, but at a distance, through rows of temporary curtains, out into a hallway, and finally outside.


The sky is red, and churning. It looks like you're underwater, the way the clouds are moving, as if you're looking up at waves from below. It isn't the sky itself that is red, but the clouds themselves are red. In fact, you cannot see what could be called sky, or individual clouds, only the constant movement of this single sheet, lit up here and there by what could be lightning.


You are up high. A massive red-brick staircase descends at least five stories down, where it blends into the ground, which is as red as the sky. For a moment you feel queasy, as if seeing all this red at one time is unnatural, and in fact, it is. There are no mountains, no changes in elevation anywhere. You can't look at it any longer, and turn back inside, where at least there is the tannish of the walls and the greyish of the waxed floor, which you crumble onto.
Okay. You believe her. You aren't on Earth anymore. Is this Hell? Did she kill you and take you to Hell?

"No. You're still alive. People on Earth do think you're dead, though. Because I did stab you. We made sure to leave behind a facsimile"

You aren't listening. You're dead and in Hell.

"Can you walk? I need to give you the rest of the tour"

A) Go on the tour
B) Run away. Find help. Call 911. Anything.
C) Stay right here and ask more questions.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Am i being drafted for the skeleton war? Because it feels like i'm being drafted for the skeleton war.
I'll ask questions while she takes me on the tour

 

[Arnox]

A. But she better start answering some questions real soon.

 

[Signa]

So I'm definitely dead, but it looks way too nice to be hell. I'll go on their tour and see what kind of bullshit "chosen one" quest they have for me.

 

[Houseman]

TOUR

After your stomach settles, you agree to the tour.

She leads you back into the administration building, and into an adjoining building at the opposite end. It looks like a normal school. Doors. Lockers.

So, okay, she brought you here to "The School". Why?

"Because I get paid if I bring back a human".

That isn't what you meant. And what do you mean "a human"?

She stops at a door, and, before opening it, motions you closer. When you come within range, she firmly grabs your wrist. Instinctively, you try to escape her grasp, but she's stronger than you, and you only end up hurting your shoulder.

She opens the door with her other hand, and inside, you can see something that looks like a bear, standing up at a desk. It turns towards you.

You throw all your weight into a desperate attempt to flee, but the girl doesn't even budge. You're now tilted at a 45-degree angle, your bare feet slipping against the ground in a futile attempt to gain traction. She stands straight up and holds you by the wrist.

The bear speaks.

"Ah! Class. Today we have the opportunity to see a real, live human in action! Please, enter! Would you be willing to demonstrate the proper procedure when introducing yourself to an elder?"

The girl drags you into the room, and presents you to the class.

You are being stared at by a variety of shapes. Some resemble animals. Some are masses of rock or goop. Very few resemble humanoid creatures. Some don't even appear to have eyes with which to stare.

You just scream and try to run out of the room, anchored as you are. The girl makes an excuse for you, that you just arrived, and that you're not comfortable around "us" yet. She apologizes and allows you to crawl out of the room first.

When the door is safely closed, you ask her what that was, but with stronger language.

"A class. Students here are learning how to be human".

TAUGHT BY A BEAR?

"That wasn't a bear"

Why is that... thing, teaching those other... things how to be human?

"Your questions are ambiguous. Did you mean to ask why the teacher is given authority, or for what purpose the students are learning?"

YES!

"That's still ambigu-"

BOTH!

"There are not enough humans to teach, so other inter-dimensionals are given authority. Students are learning for the purpose of integrating into human society"

A bell rings, and you now cling to the girl in fear of whatever fresh hell will surely be summoned by it. All the doors in the hall open and creatures of all kinds stream out. Floating globes of light, giant bats, walking bushes, rats with little backpacks, cats as tall as men, giant spiders, monkeys with seven limbs, alien skeletons, shark-girls, minotaurs, worms with legs, walking moths, upright scorpions, mermaids, you pass out.


---

You wake up in a different place. This time you're sitting, slouched in some kind of hard, wooden chair. In front of you is a massive round table. You can see people sitting around it. Actual human forms, this time.

Next to you sits the pirate lady you saw before, reading that same book. The girl is still holding your wrist. When the pirate notices that you're awake, she dismisses the girl without looking up, saying that she can take it from here.

When she lets go of your wrist, you realize that your hand is thoroughly numb. You flop it around a bit to confirm this, lightly smacking it on the armrest of the chair. The pirate addresses you.

"I assume you've been given the tour and told of the purpose of this establishment?"

Not really, no. You saw a bunch of weird things and passed out.

She sighs and pushes her book away. Unlike the other girl, she has emotions.

"Long story short, other beings come to this school to learn how to fit in with humans. Humans come here to learn how to protect Earth, keep their secrets safe, and prevent inter-dimensional war. I don't know why she chose you, and I don't really care. Everyone back on Earth thinks you're dead, which means you no longer have any obligations, and are free to live your new life.

To get here you would have needed to come through a portal. Unless you take a pill, your brain will explode from something called "portal-sickness". For this, you can take a pill which will cure it and make you immune."

She produces two pills an sets them in front of you. One is blue. The other is purple.

"The blue one gives you a headache. The purple one gives you a stomach ache. Which would you rather have?"

Her book slides back without being touched.

"Oh, and you also get cool powers. And a coat like mine."

A) Headache
B) Stomach ache
C) Wait, you have some more questions
D) Can you just go home?

 

[Arnox]

Question to Houseman. Why is the protagonist such a little bitch? XD Yeah this new world's weird, but he doesn't need to wet his pants about it. No one's threatening him.

Anyway. I'm going to instead ask why I should believe any word they say. For all I know, this is just a reality TV show or something. Also how do I know you all aren't actually malicious/misguided? You can't just shove me into an entirely new world and not expect me to question... Pretty much everything.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Yeah, i'l be going with more questions. what powers do i get? do the pills have different powers? Am i becoming a magical girl? These are things i need to know

 

[Signa]

C
Why you need different pills for the same function of getting through a portal is one question.