Ep. 12: The Clockwork City, Part 8

[Opening theme, “Friends” by Miracle of Sound, plays and fades.]

[Chimes play]

Kyle

You awake to the sound of chimes. Gentle, but full and deep. Giant chains playfully pushing against one another. The wind softly wraps around your body, aligning you to find your footing on a coarse wooden floor. You open your eyes, Xoc, and you see the inside of a small cabin. You don’t have any memory of this place, but when your mind searches for a name, all it can find is home.

[Thoughtful, plucking guitar music plays.]

Illuminated by the dust-filled beams of sunlight pouring through the windows is a small dining table with two chairs and three bowls. The table is small but well-kept, with two bowls sitting perfectly across from each other and in front of their chairs. A third bowl has been placed on one of the other sides of the table. Through no intention on your part, you walk towards this table. And your eyes focus on that third bowl. You cock your head to the side and hum a little bit before adjusting the bowl a little to the right.

 No that’s not right. To the left? No, no–maybe the bowl should go in the center? But why would someone eat in the middle of the table? Okay, perhaps if you were to set a fourth bowl–but that would just complicate things, and the a third bowl is hard enough. You fidget with this bowl for a good long while. And actually, where do your hands end up placing it?

Tom (as Xoc)

I will try to keep it centered on the side of the table that it’s currently facing.

Kyle

All right, so, as you place it there, you feel a loud, deep rumble from overhead, and instinctively look behind you at the bookshelf leaning against the wall. This modest collection of wooden planks hold a handful of poorly bound pages, scattered between farming tools and random Numenera. By far, the most ornate looking of these Numenera, a small metallic prism precariously placed at the edge, falls off and rolls towards your feet. You feel your body pick up the prism, and in its singing reflection, you see not yourself, or your friends, but a cautious young man with auburn hair. Your vocal chords ring out in a voice unfamiliar to you, 

Kyle (as Young Man)

Mama?

Kyle 

A voice rings from outside.  

Kyle (as Mama)

Yes, Loell!

Kyle (as Loell)

You moved the mirror to the end of the shelf again. It looks nice there!

Kyle

You walk forward and put the sphere on the back of the shelf, obscured behind the other numenera, and you mutter to yourself,

Kyle (as Loell)

But it’s not safe!

[Brief whirring, shifting sound.]

And everything is black. But it’s not the spotted black you get from closing your eyes, nor is it the terrible terrifying black of oblivion. Instead it’s a kind of crushing darkness through which you can make out multiple shapes pressing on all sides of you. And oh God, the smells! Your adrenaline rush when you fall out of that pit must have blocked those out, but eugh; it smells so bad. Xoc may have gotten acclimated to rough environments in his life, but whatever this is–is not some kind of warm blanket of garbage you’d want to wrap yourself in. So, what’re you going to do.

Tom

As Xoc realizes that he’s kind of buried under trash, he’s going to frantically try to paddle himself out and get to the surface.

Kyle

Okay. You just climb out and are born for the first time from the trash, as Trash Boy. No, you, uh, but you climb out of the trash. It’s disgusting, and it falls all over you. And, uh, you see that you’re on a metallic gridded platform. And you can see some of the garbage from when you fell in the pit kind of scattered around you. Some is still falling from the ceiling, you can see some falling beneath you, kind of off the walkway as you get up. And actually, can you roll me a D10?

Tom

D10? 

[Dice rolls.]

I got a six.

Kyle

So, among this garbage, the one that sticks out to you as a cypher that you will take, is a banana peel that you see wrap itself around an object. And when you unpeel this banana peel the object that it absorbed has now been ground into that banana shape. So, you grab this banana peel thingy and you take a better look around you. As I mentioned earlier, you and a sizeable amount of the trash, are standing on a metal grated walkway, at one end you see a large human-sized hole just burned into it. And on the other end it leads to a wall. This wall is a cylinder of glossy metal that surround Xoc. The cylinder stretches far above and below, and it moves slowly but consistently.

[5:00]

These cylindrical walls are separated into 10-foot high segues, which alternate in the direction they rotate. So one section will go clockwise, and counter-clockwise, and clockwise, and counter-clockwise. The last thing of note is a harsh blue light that pierces through the slits in the walkway into the air above. It ebbs and flows from beneath you as if being shot up through a beating lake. I’m also going to tell you one more thing, that’s going to count as a GM intrusion. So, who are you going to give it to?

Tom

I will give the experience to Hopper, since, presumably, he is going to be the closest to me right now.

Kyle

The last thing is that you notice your head feels a little fuzzy, like you’ve had too little sleep and all the sensory inputs are just overwhelmed. It’s simultaneously empty but also oppressive. And the way this is going to work practically is that all esoteries (which are the Numenera version of spells) are going to cost twice as much intellect. So, what do you do, my man?

Tom

So Xoc is breathing heavily; he’s more than a little panicked right now, uh, and his first instinct is to reach out with his mind to the machines nearby, particularly looking for Misha, trying to contact them.

Kyle

Give me a roll.

Tom 

A 7.  

Kyle

Alright, you reach out and you feel, but you don’t really get a sense of anything because you get a sense of everything. You feel all the inputs of this machine sort of overwhelming your brain.

Tom

So Xoc is still freaking out, and not being able to find Misha is only making the panic worse. I am assuming that, uh, his staff will be nearby, within arm’s reach of course of where he fell. He’ll reach out and grab it, and sort of cradle it in his arms, holding it tightly to his body. And just sort of curl up in fetal position and shake there and try to breath for a minute or two. I’m assuming I don’t see any of my companions in the trash around me.

Kyle

Uh, your heart skips a beat for a second, as you see Hopper Scotch’s hat. But Hopper Scotch is not beneath that hat.  

Tom

Okay, okay, there’s a hole in one side of a walkway that is human shaped.  

Kyle

Yeah.

Tom

What-what sort of silhouette are we talking about? Is that a Hopper silhouette? An Elee silhouette? Or a Misha silhouette?

Kyle

It is small, but girthy.

Tom (as Xoc)

Okay. [Exhales in stress.] It’s okay. Everythi–everything’s fine. 

Tom

Xoc is going to try to stand up and lean on his staff a bit and look around. He’ll start by poking around in the trash heap a little bit because he knows that he fell into it; see if anybody else is in there.

Kyle

Uh, as you poke into it, nobody is in there but a few pieces of trash fall off the side, and eventually as they kind of hit this pool of light beneath you, beams of harsh blue energy will just shoot up wherever they fell.  

Tom

[Contemplative grumble.] Xoc is going to go over and try to um–see if he can interact with the wall in any way. 

Kyle

Okay. As you walk up to that wall, a shiver runs through you as if some of your heat is being pulled out through your toes. But then, a doorway on the wall at the end of this bridge slides up to a passageway for you to walk inside.

Tom

Uh, Xoc is going to pick up Hopper Scotch’s hat. Uh, because this is a suitably dramatic moment to pick it up. He’s gonna pick up Hopper Scotch’s hat and hold it close, along with his staff, and then will walk through the door.  

[Mysterious, tinkling electronic music plays.]

Kyle

As you walk in you find yourself in a curved hallway. The far wall systematically extends outward a few feet before protruding back forwards a few feet later. It’s not like this is something it’s actively doing. It’s not like moving out then moving in. It’s kind of like the wall is here, then it stretches out a little bit, and then it comes back. It has a weird shape. Some of these divots contain open space, while others are blocked with doorways. Additionally, multi-colored workbenches stretch across the length of the hallway. They hold a variety of makeshift numenera, such as organically shaped stones that manipulate themselves into various recognizable shapes. In fact, as you enter the hallway these stones turn into a finger gun and point at you in an “Ehhhhhh” fashion.

Tom 

Xoc is going to keep moving for now. He won’t touch the numenera on the sides.

Kyle

You keep walking and you see a whole--you see a whole variety of numenera. They seem mostly makeshift, like variations of things that you’ve seen before, but modified. For example, you see a wayrail chest that seems to have some calculations for interdimensional travel. And in fact, as you’re there, uh, you see a small hand with a kind of dark violet robe attached to it, kind of reach out from the wayrail chest falling back inside again. Which is spooky as shit–but you keep walking.

 And eventually you see a four-foot sphere rolling down the hall. You can swear you hear it going--

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

[Mechanically tinny voice.] Ahhhhhhoooohhh! 

[Playful flute music replaces the mysterious tune.]

Kyle

Before bumping into the leg of a table and cracking like an egg, spilling out a wave of wires and plugs that pour across the floor. Before you can do anything, an arm stretches out from the pile and you hear a voice say, 

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

I got it! I got it! 

Kyle

And the arm reaches out to grab some of the wires. As it happens, the two halves of the egg shelf form together to form kind of a hat shape that rises up along with this blob of wires.

[10:00]

And eventually, the wires form to create a small, four-foot high humanoid, with this kind of eggshell helmet that covers her eyes, and the wires forming, I guess, an impromptu lab coat. And this automaton kinda brushes herself off, and says, not really noticing you,

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

Sorry! Sorry–Oooff. Ahh, I got--is all of me here? Is all of me--

Kyle

She reaches down and pulls up another nut which she just screws into her arm.    

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

Okay I think all of me is here! Okay–I’m good–I’m good.

Tom (as Xoc)

 Who are you?

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

Ah! Oh, hi! Um, my name is–wait a second! Who are you?!

Tom (as Xoc)

I’m lost. I--I need help finding my way out.

Kyle

She lifts the eggshell helmet and these little eyes made out of, like, nuts kind of focus in on you, before she puts it back down and says:

Kyle (as Shauna)

Well, of course I could tell you were lost; that much is obvious. Are you here with a tour coming later today?

Tom (as Xoc)

I think I came in here too soon. There were other people I need to find as well–have you seen them? Some are machines, and some are organics. And some are a little bit, uh, in between.

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

Well no, I haven’t seen anybody. I’ve just been running around preparing for uh, preparing for the test. You know I’m kind of–I’m [pants, catching breath] I’m a little frazzled right now. I’m sorry, I’m not used to having guests come before everything’s--

Kyle

She kind of looks around at this just mess of tests.

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

I’m not used to people come around before everything is clean.

Tom (as Xoc)

Do you know the schematics of this structure?

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

[Scoffs.]

Kyle

You can’t see because she doesn’t have a mouth but she kinda got this, like, body posture of someone with this stupid gaping smile. And is just like,

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

Has nobody told you about the Heart of Charmonde?

Tom (as Xoc)

I am afraid not. I’m new here.

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

Oh! Oh! This is so exciting! [Claps twice excitedly.] I never, never get to tell anybody. Come with me! Come with me!

Kyle

And she marches down the hall. And she turns over as she’s walking and she’s like,

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

Oh, I forgot!

Kyle

And she raises one of her robotic hands--

Kyle (as Spherical Robot)

My name is Shauna.

Tom (as Xoc)

Shauna, if you prefer, 

Tom

Then the next bit I will direct mentally towards her. 

Tom (as Xoc)

It may be more efficient for you to give me information this way. We can communicate very quickly.

Kyle

She turns down a little bit. And you can’t really see her eyes and she seems to be thinking a little bit. And she mentally links back.

Kyle (as Shauna)

Well sure, but I haven’t--I’m not quite used to--to speaking like this. It’s been a long time. So you’re a machine too?

Tom (as Xoc)

Yes, I guess.

Kyle (as Shauna)

Alriiight!!

Kyle

She raises her hand for a high-five.

Tom

Xoc raises his hand. He doesn’t do anything, he just holds it up, mimicking what she’s doing.

Kyle (as Shauna)

Alriiiight...

Kyle

And she puts her hand down and she keeps walking.

Tom (as Xoc)

Alright.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Kyle (as Shauna)

Okay, so this is the [Picks up voice dramatically.] Heart of Charmonde!

Kyle

And you can tell she’s been practicing that dramatic speech for a while.

Kyle (as Shauna)

So we don’t quite know where this all came from. A lot of the humans seem to think that it was some sort of war or anything. I just think some robots got really tired and just wanted to lay down for a little bit. But regardless of where it came from, Charmonde is actually built on top of a giant mess of just mechanical things. Now when I came in here a thousand years ago, there wasn’t a whole lot to it, but I’ve been working really hard to piece everything together, and kind of make it go up and running again. And, I was able to do it because of this.

Kyle

And she kinda climbs on top of some of the tables, just brushing some of the numenera to the side. One of them falls and you just see a pool of acid make a hole in the floor. And she opens up a panel and some of that bright blue light comes in, and she motions towards this impromptu window for you to look down.

Tom

And Xoc will do so.

Kyle (as Shauna)

So the Heart of Charmonde is powered by a pool of infinite energy. Well–infinite isn’t the right word, but what I was trying to sell it as “The Pool of All the Energy You’re Going to Need, Really,” most people didn’t seem to like it that much. So what it does is, you can take literally anything--

Kyle

And she kind of points at the table and points towards a rock for you to, like--points in a kind of like, “give it to me” kind of way.

Tom

Xoc will do so.

Kyle

Okay. And the rest of the rock formation, ‘cause this was the rocks that formed into a shape, kind of like raises their hands in a kind of “hey, what gives?” sort of way. But she grabs the pebble that you gave her, and she lifts it into the window and she drops it to the ground and she just sits there.

Kyle (as Shauna)

Three… Two… One…

[Deep whirring sound plays.]

Kyle

And just like that, a pool of energy flies up into the sky and actually some of it shoots through the open window. And Shauna’s just so overwhelmed with excitement about this that she turns around to you super quick, and just blurts out loud:

Kyle (as Shauna)

Isn’t that so cool?!

Tom (as Xoc)

It’s truly wondrous. I have never seen anything like it.

Kyle (as Shauna)

This pool will take anything you put inside of it, and it will turn that into pure energy. And so this--this powers anything in Charmonde. You–you–you think Charmonde’s, like, culture is why everybody knows about it. No, no–this is, this is it! This power is everything and we’ve been using it to power the most amazing things. Like uh, like--like look–look at this!  

Kyle

And she pulls up some piece of numenera.

Kyle (as Shauna)

This is going to change the way people travel forever! They’re not going to have to walk anymore.

Kyle

It--it looks like a pile of mud. You have no idea what the fuck this is, but she seems very convinced that like -

[15:00]

Kyle (as Shauna)

Instant teleportation! Or--or--or this!

Kyle

And she does it for a little while. And she keeps on showing you all these things and she’s like, 

Kyle (as Shauna)

Using the power from this machine, we’re able to make anything we want! Isn’t--isn’t that so cool?!

Tom (as Xoc)

It’s truly fantastic. I’d be happy to see more of the things you’ve been working on.

Kyle (as Shauna)

Yeah, of course! I’ll--

Tom (as Xoc)

But I also--I also need to find the others, too. I’m still very scared and lost.

Kyle (as Shauna)

Oh, right! Right, right, right, right, right. Err, uh…

Kyle

When you said, “I wanna show the next thing” she had jumped off the table and walked towards a nearby door. And almost pressed it with her hand. But as you said, “I need to see the others.” She put it down.

Kyle (as Shauna)

You’re right! You’re right; that is important. I’m sorry! Vera’s gonna want to wait until you’re all here to show it anyway–so let’s–in fact is that them now?!

Kyle

As Shauna says that, you hear Vera giving almost word for word the exact same speech about the Heart of Charmonde that Shauna was giving. Like the--

Kyle (as Vera)

And we can use it to fund anything, sort of--

[Very faint siren sound.]

Tom

There’s like a siren going off outside somewhere. It’s really weird. ...It stopped. It was very fitting for the moment.

Kyle (as Vera)

Yes, so we can use this facility to create any sort of wondrous invention that humanity could ever use.  

Kyle

And you hear a -

Kyle (as Jesse)

Wow! I think that’s really cool Miss Vera! I knew I could–

Tom

[Laughter.]  Awwww.

Kyle (as Jesse)

I knew you always want the best things. And then you hear a third voice say:

Kyle (as I, Hopper Scotch??? / Joe)

Yup, I, Hopper Scotch, agree with you. I think that’s a great policy. I, Hopper Scotch, am all for the advancement of humanity. It’s cool.

Tom

Jesse, how are you so easily deceived?

Kyle

Um…

Tom

So if I were to glance around myself in these few seconds before Vera gets here, I’m assuming there’s no hiding places? We’re just in a hallway right, with workbenches along the side--

Kyle

Yeah!

Tom

--the little alcoves?

Kyle

There’s the wall Shauna pointed to. But there’s a whole bunch of numenera anywhere. So I would say, let’s roll to see--

Tom (as Xoc)

It’s okay--

Kyle

--if you want something to show up.

Tom

I was just going to say I was--I was just going to convince Shana to go into the room. Shauna, I mean. Xoc was just going to say:

Tom (as Xoc)

Well since--since they’re nearly here now, we should go in and wait for them.

Kyle (as Shauna)

But we can’t go in too early, it’s--

Tom (as Xoc)

It’d be a wonderful surprise. Humans like that sort of thing, I have found.

Kyle

She’s going to stand upright, nod her head, and say:

Kyle (as Shauna)

Alright, you’re the boss!

Kyle

And with that, she puts her hand against the wall. And the door slides up and you’re about to take a step inside, but she says,

Kyle (as Shauna)

Oh, wait, wait one second.

Kyle

She puts her hand down on the ground to this fluorescent room and you see the brightly lit floor dim so that it’s just black and dark.  

Kyle (as Shauna)

Okay, come on in. Don’t touch any of the walls or the ceiling.

Tom

Xoc will just nod.

Kyle

So, you and Shauna walk into this room, and it looks a lot like that fluorescent room that you got sprayed in right before you saw the queen. The ceiling and the walls all have a bright white fluorescent light, but the floor does not. You don’t see anyone in this room, except for in the corner you see Don, just kind of sitting slumped against the wall. And Shauna points to him and says:

Kyle (as Shauna)

Hey Don, how are you doing today?

Kyle

And he doesn’t really--he just kinda--he shrugs his shoulders, but as he does that he doesn’t shrug them back down. They stay stuck up in place. And just kind of points to this hole in the wall. And Shauna turns over, horrified.

Kyle (as Shauna)

[Distressed.] Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Was this here earlier?! Vera’s going to be so upset!

Tom (as Xoc)

So before we continue, would I be able to, with my knowledge of the numenera, attempt to determine how the trap or defense or whatever the fluorescent light in this room is--how it works? Not specifically perhaps, but generally? Like, if I were to touch the wall would that only disintegrate me or would it hit, like, other people in the room? That sort of thing. Can I get general information about that?

Kyle

Okay, yeah. You can roll.

Tom

I will spend technically two levels of effort. Which will bring it up to one step easier.

[Dice rolls.]

Tom (as Xoc)

[Very fake, reluctant laugh.] Hah, hah, hah, hah. A two. [Small distressed noise.]

Kyle 

Yeah, it’ll probably kill ya. [Gleeful.] But...Don is currently laying against the wall, so you don’t know what to make of that.

Tom

I just wanted to use it against Vera, but now I don’t know how it works. This is fun. So what do I--what do I see in this room, other than fluorescent walls and a hole?

Kyle

So you see the fluorescent light, the hole, you see Don, uh–that’s it. That’s all you see.

Tom (as Xoc)

There’s literally nothing? It’s just empty? [Forlornly] I just want my friends. I am very lost without them.

Kyle

You hear Shauna go:

Kyle (as Shauna)

This is a disaster! Please help me! Is there anything you know?

Tom (as Xoc)

About what?

Kyle (as Shauna)

Uh, about--I don--I don’t know!

Tom (as Xoc)

Let’s explore down the hole and see where it leads. Maybe that will explain things.

Kyle

She runs over to the door and she’s like:

Kyle (as Shauna)

Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no! No–no person can go through that hole. I--they will die. That is bad. How about this. I will um, I’m going to go outside, and I’m gonna go talk to Miss Vera. Can you just stay here for one second?        

Tom (as Xoc)

Okay.

Kyle

And she is going to run out and you’re going to hear her say:

[20:00]

Kyle (as Shauna)

Oh, hi everybody! Uh, welcome to the tour. Vera, can I talk to you for just one second, please?

Kyle

And you hear her clip-clopping down the hall running as fast as she can, clearly trying to get Vera away from what is, to her, a disaster. And as she does that, you see a familiar hand grab on the top of the door. And you see, wearing his hat, and his clothing, Hopper Scotch peek his head inside. Except it’s a little weird, ‘cause he looks a little, like, taller than usual? He looks a little more...buff than usual?               

Tom

[Wheezing in laughter.]

Kyle

His face has a lot more of a chiseled physique to it than normal.  

Tom

Xoc shoots him with a laser.

Kyle

[Trying not to laugh.] Roll attack.

Tom

Effort to hit: two levels. So, one step lower than it would normally be.

[Dice rolls.]

[Voice muffled by hands in distress.] Nooooooooooo! It’s a one.

Kyle

[Laughter.]  

Tom

[Distressed.] Ohhhhoho!

Kyle

So you roll to shoot, and normally the Datasphere would be backing you up, giving you all the energy you need, but as I’ve said, you’ve been overwhelmed since you got here. So that energy comes in too strong. And it starts to overwhelm, and instead of hitting him, you shoot yourself backwards, and your back hits the fluorescent lighting. And as you try to move it, you realize you’re stuck against the wall. And the sexy Hopper Scotch turns to you and says:

Kyle (as Joe)

Whoa! This is not what I, Hopper Scotch, intended for at all! I am not enjoying this situation. And you hear Jesse saying:

Kyle (as Jesse)

What–what--what’s going on? What’s going on, Joe?!

Kyle

And they come over and they poke their head through the door.

Kyle (as Jesse)

Oh, hey Xoc! You’re alive!  

Kyle

And they run forward and lunge at you to put you in a great big hug, and get their hands stuck against the wall.             

Tom

Xoc is going to be screaming incoherently through this whole thing. They’re not even words–just screaming.   

Kyle (as Jesse)

I’m excited to see you too, friend!

Tom (as Xoc)

When I was blown back, holding out my left palm with the glove for my cutting light, did my arm get stuck against the wall too? Or, is it still capable of moving?

Kyle

It’s still capable of movement.

Tom

Alright. That’s fine. I’m just going to try to shoot Hopper Scotch again. These dice are cursed! One level of effort;l it will be a perfectly neutral roll.

Kyle

Alright, give me a roll.

[Dice Rolls.]

Tom

Motherrruuummhmmm! [Incoherent frustrated noises.] It’s a 3.

Kyle

You shoot right above this Hopper Scotch, and you see him look at you and be like, 

Kyle (as Joe)

DUDE! 

Kyle

And um, as he does that, he walks towards you and the Hopper Scotch face kind of like dissolves back to reveal this reptilian shape, which you would recognize as Joe, the guy who was holding Jesse’s place in line a couple of episodes ago. And he just comes up to you and says:

Kyle (as Joe)

Dude, what the fuck are you doing? You’re blowing our cover!

Kyle (as Jesse)

Yeah! No, we’re here to figure out whether Miss Vera is lying. But don’t worry, my boyfriend is taking care of saving Mr. Mako. I’m so excited to see you! Where is everyone else?

Tom

Xoc will just start crying softly.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Tom

 He’s not going to do anything else.

Kyle (as Jesse)

Joe! Come on, we--we need your help!

Kyle (as Joe)

I don’t know what to do man! I don’t know what you expect of me.

Kyle (as Jesse)

Uh, well, um...

Kyle

You hear Shauna’s voice getting louder:

Kyle (as Shauna)

No, I really don’t think you want to see this right now, Vera. I just think we need another day to do the test to make sure everything is right.

Kyle

And you have the chance to do one additional thing. What are you going to do?

[Mysterious, clinking xylophone music begins.] 

Tom

If I--if I had a gif or a clip right now of SpongeBob pulling the magic conch shell string that would give you your answer. ‘Cause Xoc is going to do nothing.

[Mysterious, clinking xylophone music swells.] 

Kyle

Hello, and welcome to our announcement break. My name is Kyle, your GM, and it is currently 1:07 A.M. Approximately one and a half hours before I have to be ready to go on vacation. So, if you’re wondering why we didn’t have a “previously” section at the beginning of this episode, that’s why. In other excuses I’ll need to be giving you this announcement break you might notice that my mic quality is going to be a bit variable from this point to the Clockwork City Finale.

 [25:00]

Midway through one of the recordings, something happened with my main microphone and I’m still trying to figure out what that is. So, up until the end of this chapter, I had to use the webcam microphone. But, by the time we move onto the next chapter, I should have my regular microphone up and running.  

As always, our intro and outro music are “Friends” and “Hitoshio,” both by Miracle of Sound, who is super awesome, and you should totally check out. I also used a lot of royalty-free music and sound effects, which you can find in the description below.

 Got a call to action for you this week: find one friend who you think might be interested in Quest Friends and force them to sit down and listen to your favorite...whatever. You could recommend your favorite episode. I really like the Penny in Pocket episode cause it’s kind of isolated from everything else, and you don’t really need to know the context to enjoy it. But we also have a lot of one-minute text videos you can find on both our Twitter and our YouTube page. That is all I got for you this week. We are gearing up towards the Clockwork City Finale. We’ve got this episode and then just two other ones next, so be sure to tune into our next episodes on April 16th and April 30th. I will see you then, and then, then.

[Mysterious, clinking xylophone music plays and fades.]

Kyle (as Unknown)

Simon? Simon. Simon!      

Kyle

Hop, you are shaken awake by the voices of these two men. And as you do, you feel a little bit seasick as you wake up. The ground doesn’t feel entirely right. But despite you feeling a little seasick, you are currently standing up. And as you take a look around in the space you are in, you see a couple of things. You’re in a small fluorescent white space, a lot like the room you were all sprayed in before you entered the Queen’s Chambers. In one corner you see the weapons you accumulated from the pit. So, Misha’s bat, as well as some of the other supplies that you got. Besides that, the only other thing that you see is, standing up right next to you, you see Don who kind of has his head down and seems to be nodding off a little bit.

Hallie (as Hopper)

So, when you said I was shaken awake is somebody actually shaking me awake? Or was I just awakened by the sound of the voice?

Kyle

You were just awakened by the sound of the voice. Kind of like in your head a little bit, like a memory.

Hallie

Okay, so I’m gonna kind of blink a little bit and try to get acclimated to the lighting, and to being awake again. Look over at Don, and say, 

Hallie (as Hopper)

What are you doing here?

Kyle

He’s still asleep.

Hallie

Oh, he’s like--

Kyle

He’s very–in response, you hear a deep snore from a man who has not slept in multiple hours.

Hallie

Okay, I’m going to go up, and kind of like, poke him with my foot and then back up very quickly.

Kyle

You raise your left foot to poke him, and as you do, the floor around that foot you’re lifting up darkens. And the light seeps up around your shoe, and holds it in place.

Hallie

So my foot’s just stuck in midair now?

Kyle

Uh no, it’s stuck against the ground. It’s kind of like--

Hallie

I couldn’t get it up to begin with, okay. So I’m just going to go like: 

Hallie (as Hopper)

What?! 

Hallie

And look down and try to like shake it loose from whatever is holding it.

Kyle

Give me a roll.

[Dice roll]

Hallie 

6.

Kyle

You try to shake but all you feel is you feel your foot inside the shoe move but you’re stuck in place.

Hallie

Alright, um, he’s gonna go:

Hallie (as Hopper)

Well this is just great. 

Hallie

And he’s going to realize there isn’t a hat on his head. And that’s a bad thing. So go: 

Hallie (as Hopper)

Oh, my hat! Oh, shoot!

Hallie 

So he’s going to look over and try to look for it in the pile of supplies. It’s not there. Um, he’s going to try to get to the supplies, anyway. Like, I’m assuming the other foot also won’t move. Um, so he’s going do a lean-over and try, like, to reach this way. Like a sideways handstand, like he’s trying to do a cartwheel. That’s what I’m looking for.

Kyle

[With unbridled glee.] They’re so, so, so close! They’re so close!  

Hallie

Errrg! [Frustrated growl.] Alright, um, what do I have in my pockets? I have machine control implant and recording gum. Okay… I also have two broken key pieces from when I tried to make the key work in Mako’s room. Can I take one of those out and throw it at Don to see if it will wake him up?

Tom and Emily

[Muffled giggling.]

Kyle

Yeah, you, uh, you throw it and it hits him in the head. And he just kind of chortles awake. He slowly looks over at you and says:

Kyle (as Don)

Why am I not surprised?

Hallie (as Hopper)

I don’t know because I am very surprised. Where are we? What is this? I was falling through a trash shoot. You weren’t there. I don’t know what this room is. What are we doing here?

Kyle (as Don)

Welcome...to oblivion, partner!

Kyle

He goes out to shake your hand.

Hallie

I’m not going to take it. And just say: 

Hallie (as Hopper)

Oblivion?

Kyle (as Don)

Listen, I might not like you that much, but we’re partners in our fate now. This is where Vera throws people that piss her off.

[30:00]

I went to get my shoes shined. I took five goddamn minutes off. And you did--oh, whatever the hell it is that you did, I don’t know. I don’t really give a shit.

Hallie (as Hopper)

Well I’m trying to stop her from releasing a bioweapon.

Kyle (as Don)

That, uh, that would do it.

Hallie (as Hopper)

So, so what’s oblivion? I still don’t really know what that is.

Kyle (as Don)

So everyone who works for Vera has this thing they call oblivion. It’s essentially our way of saying we’re either going to get killed or locked away forever.

Hallie (as Hopper)

That’s not going to be happening. I got to go find everyone else. So, I’m going to get out of here. Would you like to help me?

Kyle

He shrugs his shoulders.

Kyle (as Don)

Eh…

Hallie (as Hopper)

It seems that not being in oblivion is better than being in oblivion. So, I propose we actually be partners, and work together.

Kyle (as Don)

You have seen my job right? For the first fucking time in my life, I get to sit down.

Kyle

And he actually does sit down and lean against the wall. And he’s like:

Kyle (as Don)

And that’s entirely what I’m gonna do.

Hallie

Hopper will just nod. Alright, that feels about right. Uh, so then Hopper is going to take his feet out of his shoes. [Laughter.] As I should have done from the get-go.

Kyle

Your feet slide out of the shoes.

Hallie

Cool. Alright, I want to go gather all my stuff. Uh, he will be disappointed to not see his shield or any of his other stuff as he’s just remembering he didn’t have any of his things when he fell through. And he’s lost his hat.    

Kyle

Question: does Hopper Scotch wear socks?

Hallie

Yes.

Kyle

Okay, cool, ‘cause you’re going to have to take a step to get your things, and your sock is going to get stuck on the floor too.

Hallie

Uhhhhh!!! [Enraged groan turns to resigned laughter.] He’s just gonna mutter to himself while doing it. Uh, he loses one sock?

Kyle

It depends on how many steps he takes with his shoes off.

Hallie

Well, I’m going to try to stretch as far as I can.

Kyle

Okay, you lose one sock.

Hallie

Can I try to step back and put my foot back in the sock and Try to just rip the sock up off?

Kyle

Ah heh heh! [Laughter.] Yeah, so, you pick up all of your supplies which surprisingly aren’t detached to the walls. It seems that there has to be some sort of body heat signature to get stuck onto things, and so you’re going to slip your foot back into the sock and you’re going to try to rip it out with your f--give me a roll.

Hallie

Oh no no! No, no, no, sorry I don’t want to put my foot back in the sock. I want to try to, without my foot in it, try to rip it off from the floor.

Kyle

Yep, it comes up without a problem.

Hallie

Woo! Okay can I try to put on my boots?

Kyle

Yep, but you’re going to have to try to step on something.

Hallie

God, okay. Fine, Hopper is just going to be in his socks. Okay, so there are no doors in this room, correct?

Kyle

No, everything seems very much the same. The only thing that differs is as you step back on your shoes you see a burst of blue energy. 

[Whirring sound.] 

As that happens you hear a voice say:

Kyle (as Shauna)

Isn’t that so cool?!

Kyle

And as the lights come into your room, the lights, uh, flicker a little bit and they all stop with the exception of a kind of human-sized space behind you, you can see is continuing to flicker.

Hallie

So can I just wait until the lights go off on one of the panels, and then try to, like, punch through it? Actually, I’m going to use the bat that I have. That sounds like a better plan.

Kyle

Okay, give me a roll.

[Dice Rolls.]

Hallie

12.

Kyle

That’s a 12?

Hallie

Yeah.

Kyle

The light goes off and you whack into it and you see a small, uh, you see a crack form in the wall.

Hallie

Okay I’m just going to keep banging on this wall until the light goes off.

Kyle

Okay give me another roll.

[Dice roll]

Hallie

17.

Kyle

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! You work for a little bit and eventually you chisel out a hole in the side of this wall. And the wind from outside begins to pour into this room.

Hallie

Is it big enough for me to climb out yet?

Kyle

Yeah!

Hallie

Okay, I’m going to clamber out then.

Kyle

So you clamor out–well, actually, before you clamor out, you poke your head outside of this door.

Hallie

Yeah, that feels like a good plan.

Kyle

And it looks a bit weird. You don’t see an awful lot; it seems it’s pretty dark outside. But you see a couple of things. In front of you, you see the wall kind of divot in a little bit, and you see it come back out, as if you’re on a cogwheel and the room you’re in is one of the ones that poked out from the cogwheel. So you’re rotating consistently clockwise on this. Above and below you, you see gears rotating in a counter-clockwise fashion.

Hallie

Okay, so is my gear rotating vertically like a Ferris wheel, or to the side like a cog.

Kyle

Yes like a cog.

Hallie

Okay, so if I climbed out no, would there be a ledge I could stand on?

Kyle

You could either climb on top of the gear that your room is in, or at the opportune time you can climb down onto a rotating gear beneath you.

Hallie

I want to do that one.  

Kyle

Um, give me a roll.

[Dice roll.]

Hallie

12.

Kyle

Alright, yeah, you climb on down onto this gear and it’s a little unsteady for a moment. But they’re moving slowly enough that you’re able to step on top of it. And you’re currently standing outside on this gear, and you get a better idea of what’s going on. If you look out, you can see, just, so many more of these cogs and machines. It’s like you’re in the inside of--I would call it a clock, but it’s way too big to be a clock. There are metallic scaffolding, and ladders, and ropes attached to all of these different gears, and cogs, and devices. Yeah, and you’re currently on one that’s rotating counter-clockwise.     

Hallie

Is there a clear doorway or anything that leads to a place that is presumably not this one?

[35:00]

Kyle

Out of the cog of the room you were just in, you don’t see windows, but you kind of know how air conditioners poke out of, uh, out of things?

Hallie

Yeah.

Kyle

You see a variety of numenera that seem to be positioned out of it, kind of like those air conditioners.

Hallie

So, it’s just the cog I climbed out of that has a bunch of windows and air conditioner-like things?

Kyle

Yeah.

Hallie

Okay. So, I climbed down onto a different cog. Can I just wait a little bit to see if I can see anything through the windows as the cog I was on rotates past? To see if there are other rooms I can try going in?

Kyle

You look through a small slit, that actually forms as a window, and you seem to see this small robot and Xoc. And both of them seem to be looking into this room as the robot pushes their hand on the ground. And Xoc seems very nervous, and, and very much wanting to get out of wherever he is. As the robot is casually checking out that room.

Hallie

Okay.

Kyle

Um, GM intrusion, though. Who are you going to give the other experience point to?

Hallie

I will give it to Xoc because he’s my partner this session.   

Kyle

As you’re looking, you don’t realize until it’s about then feet away. You’re on a wheel that is moving counter-clockwise. The wheel you are looking through is moving clockwise.    

Hallie

No!

Kyle

And you turn, and you realize almost, immediately next to you, one of the teeth on the cog wheel is coming very quickly at you.

Hallie

Okay, so I have a skill in parkour. Can I parkour my way up that tooth-- 

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Hallie

--as it comes by to get to the room where Xoc is?

Kyle

[Skeptical.] So are you going to, like, parkour up this tooth and then jump off of it back into the room?

Hallie

[Sheepish.] Is that a possible thing to do?

Kyle

It’s a very difficult thing to do.

Hallie

Ughhh. Okay.

Kyle

But--but I will--no, I--I really like it, so I will certainly let you try.

Hallie

Yeah–I want to go for it!

Kyle

I want to remind you before we start, about the fact that experience can be used to do multiple things.

Hallie

Okay, so we’ll just do the two XP to give me the, um, the short-term large effect.   

Kyle

Okay, describe how Hop runs up this gear and jumps backwards.

Hallie

Okay, [Laughter.] so, so he’s got Misha’s robe tied around his waist. And he has tucked the baseball bat into it, in a way that doesn’t hit him with nails. So he’s--he’s--he’s ready to go. And he’s going to run. Like if the top of the tooth is just above where he is, he’s going to, like--

Kyle

He’s going to jump up, grab onto it?

Hallie

Yeah. He’s going to grab onto it. And then, like, instead of just climbing up, he’s going to leap backwards onto the tooth that is coming towards him. And then use the momentum from that tooth to jump backwards through the window [Laughter.] using his parkour skill. [Laughs harder.]

Kyle

Um, yes, Hop leaps up onto the tooth that’s about to hit him and uses the momentum to propel himself back, and you just, kind of like a badass breaking through a window, break into this hallway and roll underneath a table.

Hallie

In just my socks, by the way.

Kyle

Yeah, in just your socks. 

Hallie

As a reminder. In just my socks.

Kyle

You look around in the space I described to Xoc and you also see a hand made out of rocks, uh, give you a thumbs up--

Hallie

Nice!

Kyle

--before clapping itself--doing a one-hand clap.

[Soft clapping noise.]

Hallie

Nice.

Kyle

And as you’re sitting there on the ground, because you’re still in a little bit of pain, ‘cause that was, like, fucking painful–you hear someone say:

Kyle (as Joe)

This is not what I, Hopper Scotch, intended for at all! I am not enjoying this situation.           

Hallie

Quietly, to himself, Hopper Scotch will go:

Hallie (as Hopper)

[Whispered.] What the fuck?! 

Hallie

And then tip-toe cautiously towards where that is coming from.

Kyle

Yeah so you peak out from behind a desk, and as you do, you can actually feel a hand reaching out from behind a box and kind of pat you on the head a little bit.  

Hallie (as Hopper)

[Vaguely distressed “ehh” noise.]

Kyle

As you go, “eugh,” it kind of shakes itself away and goes back into the box. But what you see, as you essentially see the scene as it happens, you see a bolt of energy shoot out and you see Jesse be like:

Kyle (as Jesse)

Hey, what’s going on?

Kyle

And, uh, run inside and so you see sexy Hop. I’m assuming Hop doesn’t move, because, like, what the fuck is this??

Hallie

Right! He’s just confused, just staring, trying to make sense of it all.

Kyle

And then finally, you see Shauna walk forward with Vera, and something you see is that Vera looks exactly the same, but on her hip, you know the key that she used to light up the room that had that ball of light inside of it? You see a ball of...something else.

[Sound of flies buzzing.]   

A purplish-reddish substance that looks almost like a swarm of locusts. And you see her put her hands on her hips and look around and say:

Kyle (as Vera)

What. The. Fuck.

Kyle

And now the timelines have [Makes a whooshing, sucking sort of “shhhch” sound.] come back together. And so now we’re in Xoc’s room and Vera looks around and she’s like:

Kyle (as Vera)

No, seriously, what--what the–what the fuck is going on here?

Tom

Out of character, it is 100% up to you to save me Hopper.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Hallie

[Laughter.] I know.

Tom

100%.

Hallie

This is a lot of pressure.

Tom

Xoc is currently crying while glued to a wall.     

Hallie

I know!

Tom

And I burned two-thirds of a pool Wooo!

Tom and Hallie 

[Laughter.]

Hallie

Yes, yes you did.

Kyle

Vera is going to look down at Shauna.

Kyle (as Vera)

Shauna, we can’t do the test like this.

[40:00]

Kyle (as Shauna)

Well yeah, I–I know we--we--I know we can’t. I’ll get the door boarded up soon.

Kyle (as Vera)

Board it up and get them--

Kyle

She points specifically at Jesse--

Kyle (as Vera)

Get them off before we run the tests.

Kyle

And she looks at Joe and:

Kyle (as Vera)

And I’m sorry–who are you?

Kyle (as Joe)

Joe.

Kyle (as Vera)

C-can we do something about him? I don’t really care what it is at this point, just something, please.

Tom

[Laughter.]

Hallie

Okay, so, remind me. The people in this room are: Vera-

Kyle

Vera.

Hallie

Sexy Hopper Scotch.

Tom

Who is actually the reptoid Joe.

Hallie

Yes. Um--

Kyle

Jesse, who has their hands glued to the wall.

Hallie

And, um, Shauna.

Kyle

Shauna, and Don, and Xoc.

Hallie

Oh yeah! That’s right.

Kyle

The list is: Shauna, Vera, Joe, Jesse, Xoc, and, uh, Don.

Tom

So, this was the same room that Hopper escaped from?

Kyle

Yes. And it seems to be highly implicated that that was the test room.

Hallie

Okay, so I’m under a desk, or behind a desk, presumably nobody has seen me yet?

Kyle

Nope.

Tom

And they’re about to feed me to bioweapon locusts.

Hallie

Yeah, that’s not good. Okay, wait! Are my boots just in the middle of the floor?!

Kyle

Yeah. I didn’t think--I didn’t think to put that in there. Even though I knew that would’ve happened, but I didn’t think to mention: “Oh yeah, you see Hop’s shoes on the floor.”

Tom

Via retroactive time paradox. It’s fine.

Hallie

So, I’m peering into the room?

Kyle

Uh, you’re kind of peering to the side. You can see--you can essentially all you can see is Vera and Shauna. ‘Cause they’re standing outside of the room. You can’t see inside of the room.

Hallie

I gotcha. Okay. I would like to throw something to the opposite direction just to see if that works to get Vera and Shauna to go away from the door, so I can get a clear assessment of what is happening inside that room.

Tom

Oh, no... [Distressed noise, which is quickly cut off.]

Kyle

What are you going to pick up and throw? Just make something up–there’s a whole bunch of fake numenera.  

Hallie

Just--um--is there a yo-yo?

Kyle

Yeah, there is a yo-yo.

Hallie

I’ll throw a yo-yo. I will pick up this yo-yo and I will toss it, like–wherever is the farthest direction from me and the room is.    

[Rolls dice.]

Hallie

[Hesitantly.] Nnnnine.

Kyle

Yes, you throw a yo-yo far, far away, and it hits the ground and you see Vera still standing there. But Shauna kinda looks around and is like:

Kyle (as Shauna)

Well what was--Vera,I’ll be back with all the things that you--you needed.   

Kyle

And she will walk towards that sound, and you hear Vera just exasperatedly say:

Kyle (as Vera)

Yes, and bring some sort of alcohol while you’re there.

Hallie

[Laughter.]

[Typing noises.]

Tom and Hallie 

[Laughing harder.]

Hallie

Shut up, Tom, you’re stuck to a wall!

Kyle, Tom and Hallie

[Laughter.]

Tom

Only because our RNG hates me.

Kyle

Xoc just pointed out that, uh, that Hallie just made it that now she has a patrolling guard against her.

Hallie

Well, uh, she went to the opposite--

Kyle

It’s a circle, Hallie!

Hallie

God! Okay!

Kyle

This is--this hallway is a circle; it’s in a cogwheel.

Hallie

I know, I know! I’m very bad. Okay, um, so now that I have made things more difficult-- [Laughter.]

Tom

You have to save me, Hopper.

Hallie

I know! I’m trying! I, um--

Tom

Just be a hero.

Hallie

Um, so Vera’s still standing outside the door.

Kyle

Yeah. So for the audience, I want you to know that the thinking of Hopper Scotch, it’s kind of, like, going into slow-mo. So this slow motion is everything that Hallie is saying out loud Hop is thinking at, like, ten-times the speed. So he’s not just sitting there, like, “Ah, what’s going on? I wonder what to do.”

Hallie

Yes please. I’d like to establish that Hopper Scotch is, uh, much more resourceful and better than I am. He’s just better.

Kyle

[Laughter. 

Hallie

Okay so Vera’s standing in the doorway--

Kyle

And that’s really all you see. And she’s yelling at somebody, and all you really know is that Don was in there. And you remember seeing Xoc walking towards that room. And you did see Jesse and Sexy Hop go in.

Hallie

Yeah, yeah–I’m very concerned about Sexy Hop being in there.

Tom

[Laughter.] 

Hallie

Just, I’m very upset. So I would like to stop Vera from going in the room, if possible. Is she making any--can I tell from her body language if she’s about to leave, or about to go in, or if she’s settled there?

Kyle

She is just very settled in there. She’s just waiting for Shauna to come back with something to block up the door and something to get Jesse off the wall, so she can go on with her fucking experiments.

Hallie (as Hopper)

[Scoffs.] Ugh! Fuck you, Vera. Yeah, so, I’d like to see -

Kyle

If you did a stealth roll, I would give you whatever that stealth roll kind of provides.

Hallie

Okay. 

Kyle

‘Cause as I said, there’s a lot of numenera in this hallway so we can basically wish up whatever is appropriate for the moment.

Hallie

Oh, are there binoculars?

Kyle

Uh, give me a roll to see if you see them.

[Rolls dice.]

Hallie

18.

Kyle

Yes, you see a device from Shauna called 

Kyle (as Shauna)

Bye-noculars.

Hallie

[Laughter.] 

Kyle

And essentially what it is, is there’s a set of binoculars, and then, you know, the kind of eyes at the edge of the binoculars?  

Hallie

Yeah.

Kyle

You see those attached to essentially one of those wind-up cars. You can basically set those, uh, the wind-up car eyesight thing wherever you want, and that’s where the binoculars will look through.

Hallie

Ohh, my God! So I can just drive a car in there, like a remote-control car in there and look through? That is...hard to get past Vera, standing straight in the doorway.

[45:00]

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Hallie

[Laughter.] I’ll figure it out! Okay, actually, here’s what I want to do. This what’s happening, because I have no better ideas. I would like to use this car I just found with the binoculars on it, to drive in. I know there is no hope of getting it past Vera unseen so I’m just going to drive it straight under her legs into the room. When she’s looking at this weird car that just drove in, I would like to just straight up knock her out from behind with my nail baseball bat.

Tom

Yess!

[Rolls dice.]

Hallie

Nat 20.

Tom

OHHHHH!!

Kyle

Alright, so this little wind-up thing that has basically a pair of glasses on wheels. You wind it up and it moves past and it kind of knocks into Vera’s legs and just falls to the ground. And you hear her exclaim:

Kyle (as Vera)

Oh what the--?!

Kyle

In that moment, describe how you--describe how you knock her out.

Hallie

Okay, so, the car’s going to drive in and Vera’s going go like “What the fuck?”

[Triumphant horn music plays.]

Hallie

And from inside the room, all you hear is like a “ba-bam,” and Vera still stays standing for a couple of seconds. She’s reverberating cartoonishly for a bit, and then she’s going to fall forward flat on her face. And Hopper is going to be standing behind her with a baseball bat. In his socks.

Tom

Xoc will be openly weeping.

Hallie and Kyle

[Laughter.]

Kyle

Jesse’s going to turn over to see you and they’re going to say:

Kyle (as Jesse)

Hopper Scotch!

Kyle

And you can see them trying to move their arms from the wall and they’re not succeeding. And they turn over to Joe, and say:

Kyle (as Jesse)

See Joe, he’s exactly as I told you he was.  

Hallie

Hopper will give Joe the side-eye and then--  

Kyle

Joe just gives you a thumbs up. I should note: he still has his reptilian head, but he hasn’t undone the rest of his body.  

Hallie

Ughhh, hate it.

Kyle

So it’s just a sexy Hop Scotch body,

Hallie

[Laughter.] Okay.

Kyle

--with a reptile head giving you a thumbs up.   

Hallie

[Laughter.] Okay, I’m going to ignore that for now. I know that Xoc is openly weeping and probably not in the communicating mood. But Hopper is going to ask: 

Hallie (as Hopper)

Xoc, are you okay?

Tom

Xoc holds up your hat and holds it out with his one free arm.     

Hallie (as Hopper)

Oh yeah, my hat! 

Hallie

Hopper’s very excited about that. Okay. I’m going to go up to the wall cautiously, but as I do, I’m going to point my bat at Sexy Hop, and be like:

Hallie (as Hopper)

Who the fuck is this?

Kyle (as Joe)

I’m Joe.

Hallie (as Hopper)

Joe. Alright.

Kyle, Tom and Hallie

[Laughter.]

Hallie

Hop’ll just accept that.

Kyle, Tom and Hallie

[Laughter.]

Tom 

‘S good enough for me. You--your story checks out, Joe.

Hallie

He’s not processing things right now. Okay so the lights are out and the floor isn’t going to stop anyone from walking, but the walls--

Tom 

You can put your boots back on.

Hallie 

I can put my boots back on. Okay, so, it’s his arms that are stuck. You’re in your robes right?

Tom 

Well, not my robes but, yeah, the white robes from the palace, yes.

Hallie 

Yeah, the palace robes. 

Kyloe

And the green-ass shit.

Hallie

And he’s going to say:

Hallie (as Hopper)

Xoc, I was stuck in here earlier. Try to get out of your clothes. It only works on the clothes.

Kyle (as Jesse)

I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this. 

Tom

[Laughter.]

Kyle (as Jesse)

Are we sure everyone’s okay with this? Joe, are you okay with this?

Kyle

Joe gives a thumbs up.

Hallie 

[Laughter.]

Hallie (as Hopper)

No one cares Joe!

Kyle (as Jesse)

Don, are you okay with this?

Kyle

Don’s asleep again.

Kyle (as Jesse)

Jesse, are you okay with this? [Short, awkward pause.] Yeah, Jesse is okay with this.

Tom

[Laughter.] Okay, is it--is it actually possible for Xoc to just wiggle out of the robe?

Kyle

Uh, yeah, I said your hands were against the wall. I’m just going to say that you can just wiggle out of the robe.

Hallie (

Were you wearing anything under the robe? Or are you just shirtless now?

Tom (as Xoc)

Yeah, what are these clothes like? I don’t remember what the palace clothes are.

Kyle

They were--they’re robes that cover your shirt and your pants, so he’s essentially in whatever the hell his underwear is.

Hallie

Okay.

Kyle

[Singing.] The sec-ond charac-ter to strip in the show. [Stops singing.]

Hallie

No. But it’s--d’ll give him--h--

Kyle and Hallie

[Laughter.]

Hallie 

It’s gotta get off the wall.

Tom 

What is--what is the wors--what is stripping?

Hallie, Tom and Kyle

[Laughter]

Hallie

Please don’t make me do this. 

Hallie

Um, oh, I’ll give him--I have Misha’s robe, I’ll give him Misha’s robe!

Kyle

[Pleasantly surprised.] Oh, okay!

Hallie

Okay, so I’m going to hand Misha’s robe over to Xoc.  

Tom

Xoc will sort of, like, slip into it, and then just immediately just pull Hopper into a hug. And start sobbing and say: 

Tom (as Xoc)

[Sobbing.] I’m sorry, it’s all my fault! I’m sorry, please.

Hallie

Awwww.

Tom (as Xoc)

[Continuing to sob.] I’m sorry! I don’t--I don’t know where the others are and we all fell down because of me. I’m sorry! I can’t keep anyone safe!

Hallie

Uh, Hopper is going to at first be surprised that Xoc did the hug cause Xoc generally, like, he flinches when he’s touched. And then he’ll return the hug and be like: 

Hallie (as Hopper)

What are you apologizing for? What’s your fault?    

Tom (as Xoc)

We all fell ‘caus-be-bec-because I couldn’t--I couldn’t stop the machine. I tried, and I can’t--I can’t tell what’s real anymore. I think whatever that spider was is in my head now. And I can’t even--I can’t even use my magic down here. I couldn’t find anyone. [Sniffles.] Mmmm, I don’t know what to do!

Hallie

Uh, Hopper is going to look around the room. He’ll let Xoc dictate when to end the hug. He’s not going to act to end it. Um, so, he’s just going to look at Jesse and say, 

Hallie (as Hopper)

What is going on?

Kyle (as Jesse)

Well, um, so Everett came back, and he said you...had all died.

[50:00]

W-we didn’t have a plan so Joe and I decided to go in--decided to go in because-

Kyle

They look at Vera.

Kyle (as Jesse)

I just needed to-to know, and honestly, I really don’t know, I know even less than before. But, please get me off this wall.

Hallie

Oh, that’s right he’s still stuck to the wall. Uh, so Hopper’s going to turn back to Xoc for a second--

Tom

Xoc will let the hug end.

Hallie

To say:

Hallie (as Hopper)

Look, it will be okay. I’m just going to find out more of what happened from Jesse and we’re going to find the others. I’m sure they’re okay. We’re both okay. Everyone will be okay.

Kyle

And at that moment--

[Outro music begins to play.] 

--you feel the footing beneath you start to move faster, and faster, and faster. Faster and faster. And within seconds, all of your feet lift up from the floor and fly towards the walls.      

[Outro music swells and then fades.]

Tom (as Xoc)

Well, I came in here to destroy the bioweapon, and then there was nothing.  

Kyle and Hallie

[Laughter.]