Waking Dream - Devil Survivor CYOA

Start with one, Digi. Oh, right...

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The current time is 17:30.
INVESTIGATION START

Every option will take 30 minutes, regardless of realism.

A

Demons

Man in Black and do you guys know who else would be a good investigation demon

I would call out another demon but I have no idea who be good at investigating or anaylszing or basically saying hey let me see that food. My default answer would be Thor or King Jackie Frosty.

As far as investigation let's go C. We can solve this problem through the power of Science and a Mass spectrum machine

You send Rita a message and tell her that you're going to head over to the university and see if any of their fancy science toys work.  You get a message back almost immediately promising to meet you there with a sample.

You vaguely remember the layout of this place...  It only takes you two tries to find the chemistry building.  Once you manage to find the building proper, it's not too long before you manage to find a lab with what you're fairly sure is some kind of analyzer.  You find the manual laying handily attached to the machine and skim a bit while you wait for Rita.

She walks in excitedly carrying a lightly glowing apple.  "Hey, Kira!  Um...  Thanks for helping with this.  Do you... um... know how to use this?"

You tell her you vaguely remember doing it once or twice during school, but it's been a while.  You think you can get through it with the manual's help, though.

"Right... first test, see if we can turn it on..." Rita says.  Working together, you manage to get the thing powered up.  "So... um... then we... insert a sample here?  But it needs to be a liquid...  OK, just gotta squeeze a bit of juice out, easy!"  Rita seems to be having fun figuring things out.

You insert a sample into the machine and a weird-looking chart comes out on the attached computer.  It's got a bunch of spikes and peaks and you're not entirely sure how to read it...  m/z vs. %A...?  What does that even mean?  Rita follows the instructions to print a copy while you search for a discarded textbook.  You manage to find the section about mass spectrometry.  So all these peaks represent some chemical compound with unique mass-to-charge ratios in the apple you juiced, and how tall the peak is represents how much is there?

"Oh, I get it!" Rita says as she reads it.  "But... hm.  This is kinda useless on its own.  We need something to compare it against.  We need a reference point.  Um...  Hm...  Well, I could start by looking at nutritional information for apples, figuring out relative abundance of vitamins and their masses and charges and see if I can figure out stuff from there?  It'll take some time, but I should be able to find most of what I need in... the... library..." she trails of quietly and noticeably tenses up.

You ask if she's OK.

"Huh?  N-no, I'm fine.  Um...  Oh.  There should be a smaller library somewhere in the chemistry department, like a study hall or something.  Y-yeah, it's not a problem."

You ask if there's an easier way.

Rita tilts her head.  "Oh...  Well, the easiest way scientifically would be to compare it against another apple...  But finding one of those would be really hard.  Um...  If you can find one, I'd really appreciate it.  B-but don't go out of your way or anything!  I'll just start doing it the hard way and message you when I find something."

You ask if she thinks this is worth the time investment.

"Um...  P-probably..." Rita says hesitantly.

(A) Ask Jackson if he could sneak you an apple from the military supplies
(B) Go look around the trees on the outskirts of town
(C) Ask Waite if she can help you find an apple
(D) Ask random people about rumors about the food
(E) Head to the library
(F) Go talk to George and Daniel directly

I need a final answer on the second investigative demon if B's the vote. Because it could matter.

You decide to head to the forest at the edge of town to see if you can scavenge an apple or two from the wilds.  It's a bit of a trek, and it's immediately apparent you aren't the first person to have such an idea.  The easy-to-reach trees are stripped bare, and demons mill about above a few corpses that are gnawed down to the bones.  The landscape is marred by signs of dozens of battles.  Fortunately, the demons don't seem particularly interested in picking a fight with a tamer.

You try heading a bit deeper into the forest, hoping to get lucky.  You find a few trees and bushes, but no apples.  After a few minutes, you're forced to give up as the sun starts to drop.  You don't want to be in the forest after dark.  If the demons didn't kill you, Sara would.  Not that you're scared.  To be out here.  All alone.  In the dark.  With monsters.  N... Not at all...

As you reach the trail's end and exit the forest, Divine Lailah hands you something.  An apple?  It's horribly rotten, but maybe it would work...?  It's better than nothing.  Probably.  Maybe.  At least its juice probably won't destroy the machine, so you could test it.

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The current time is 19:00.

(A) Take what you've got to Rita
(B) Ask Jackson if he could sneak you an apple from the military supplies
(C) Ask Waite if she can help you find an apple
(D) Ask random people about rumors about the food
(E) Head to the library
(F) Go talk to George and Daniel directly

C but make sure Waite knows that shes more then an apple expert. (Head patting FTW)

You really aren't sure if this will work...  You thank Lailah and pocket it for now.  You'll call it your backup plan.  You decide there's no harm in asking Waite if she can lend you a hand, or at least point you in the right direction.

You head over to the usual spot by the docks.  You find Waite floating in the river near the edge of the dock, her hat pulled over her face.  Considering how hurt she was last time, for half a second you worry she may be...

Waite raises her hat to its normal position as you approach.  She sits up - it looks really odd once you realize she's sitting on water like it's a solid surface.  She raises a hand and a rising pillar of water slowly carries her up closer to your level.  She crosses her legs daintily and folds her hands in her lap.  "Ah, my young apprentice.  Here for your first lesson?  Or perhaps you're here for... something else?" she asks suggestively.

You start to answer, but she cuts you off.

"Hehe...  I'm just teasing.  No, I know exactly what you're here for.  Come on over, take a seat for a bit."  You obligingly sit on the edge of the dock, curious what she's up to.  Waite stretches a foot under the edge of the dock, flips something red and spherical into the air, and catches it.  Her little surprise complete, she raises her water-pillar a bit higher and closer so she can sit a few inches above your level.  She shows off the apple proudly.  It's... definitely a lot better than that rotten mush in your bag.

You ask her how she knew that's what you needed.

Waite grins.  "Oh, I told you.  I'm always watching over you... my dear apprentice.  Hm..."  She observes the apple with curiosity, tossing it from hand to hand.  "What do you need this for, I wonder...?  It doesn't seem like you simply want to eat it.  Well, it doesn't particularly matter.  Finding something like this is entirely trivial for me, but good fruit's hard to come by in the city right now."  Waite polishes the apple on her breast and observes it to be sure it's pristine, then looks down at you expectantly.  "This little thing is virtually worthless to me, but how valuable is it to you?  I'll tell you... it's every bit as valuable as you think, perhaps more.  So the truly important question becomes... what will you give me in exchange?"

You don't exactly have a lot to offer.  And you doubt she's interested in money.  And you get the impression she's after something in particular.  You ask if you're right about that.

"Hmhm...  Why, yes.  I did have a little something in mind," she admits with a chuckle.  "I want your body."

She reads the surprise on your face and raises a finger in a placating motion.

"Oh, I shouldn't make it sound so dramatic.  Really, I just want a little taste.  Something as sweet and juicy as this apple."  She leans down and touches the fingertip to your lips.  "Hmm...?"  That wicked grin of hers slowly spreads across her face as she awaits your answer.

(A) Deal!
(B) ...Fine.
(C) Um...  No.  Thanks.
(D) Not a chance.
(E) Isn't there... any other way?