The student apartment is a modest place: Tidy, but worn - One of the many identical, quick-built blocs of housing completed by the Urban Redevelopment Project, six years ago. It's home, small but familiar, and home is where the heart it.

...Usually.

With the fever scratching at your eyeballs, your throat dry and rasping, you've never hated it more. The sickly heat is *in* you, bitter quinine in your mouth; A coppery, sickening taste that all the chicken soup in the world can't drown.

On the table, flat and charred black - The laptop Helix Gygas died defending. It still smells, faintly, of burning plastic; A rancid chemical stench that lingers as a sense-memory, never failing to bring the gorge to your throat. The flash-drive, too - The 'ENTER PASSWORD' prompt flickering on your computer's screen, whirring and clicking serenely to itself.

In the long, black hours of the night, it felt like it was taunting you.

You've told yourself that this, too, will pass - That you have the weekend before you, two whole days to rest and recover after the initial bout of weakness...

-It didn't really help.

The worst part - The absolute worst - part of a sickness is forgetting how it feels to be whole.

Somewhere, the doorbell buzzes. Somewhere closer by, your handphone rings, the sharp spike of sound enough to make you wince. A glance at your watch: Late afternoon, shading to evening. Your head feels muzzy, unclear - Your eyes filmy, with the unwholesome feel that comes with being asleep for too long.

The doorbell buzzes again.

[ ] Answer the phone.
[ ] Answer the door.
[ ] "Who's that?"
[ ] "Go away!"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26021856

"Just a minute!" While trying not to fall over from the deadliest thing known to humankind; The Japanese Cold.

Answer the phone with a "Hello? Can you please hang on for a moment?"

Then answer the door.

>>26021856

> [X] Answer the phone.

Wow, the Japanese Cold really did a number on us. Time to face the music.

Wonder if we could use the red world to avoid the effects, though.

>>26021856
Who would visit us at the apartment?

>>26021952
This is good. Though I worry about our ability to multi task right now.

Hello OP, how are you? Have a nice weekend?

>>26021856
Social activity while sick with the Japanese cold? My god. At least we'll have an excuse for spilling our spaghetti. Check the caller ID and check who's at the door--we might not want to deal with either.

>>26022147
Hey, maybe AP got tired of waiting for us to come pick up the shield, so he's delivering. Actually if I recall right the last time we tried to contact him we couldn't reach him? I wonder if he dealt with that power build up personally and something happened.

The call could be Mio, we did tell her we'd take her out again.

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>>26021952
>>26022147

> "Just a minute!"

There's a moment of hushed silence, and - Blessedly - the doorbell doesn't sound again. You grope for your phone, and reach it on the second try:

> "Hello? Can you please hang on for a moment?"

"Hey, *I'm* not going anywhere, Anon." Kazuya's voice has that crackly, faintly distorted edge to it, over the line - But he sounds rather relieved that you're answering, all the same. "It's been ten minutes - A few more can't hurt."

...Yep, that's Kazuya all right.

>>26021960

You've never felt so clumsy - Or quite so unsteady - as you shoot the bolt back, the chain rattling as you fumble it down; The door swinging open with a creak of hinges, a faint slice of light cutting across the floor from the corridor outside. It's darker than you'd expected, outside - The sky already grey shading to black, night coming early.

As a sudden gust of cold wind makes the window frames rattle, you see-

"Hey, man."

Kazuya's breath smokes in the air; He's the same as always, except for the coat he's draped over his shoulders - The one with the fur fringe that always made Natsumi sneeze. He can't help but whistle in sympathy, his eyes widening slightly at your appearance-

"-Rough day, Anon?" he asks, the plastic bags in each hand rustling as he shucks his shoes - Footfalls clomping on the small step up to your apartment, his smile sympathetic and wincing at once. "You look like you've been in the *wars*!"

Kazuya's voice lowers, slightly - "Nat-chan was worried about you, when you didn't turn up today. Girls, eh?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26021856
This couldn't be the result of Kraken poisoning us last thread could it? Cause it seemed like we got over those flu like symptoms from the gallery after we went Red and stopped looking at the paintings, certainly we seemed fine at the club. But I'm pretty sure we got kicked from battle by Pazuzu, and those kind of shenanigans can have strange effects.

>>26022339

> [X] free

"You never know, they're surprisingly perceptive. What did I miss?"

>>26022339
Let him in, shut the door, and that find somewhere to lay down. Don't want to exert more energy than we have to right now.
"Oh don't mind me. Just a bit of karmic backlash for breaking a sweet girl's heart."

>>26022339
"Believe me, it feels worse than it looks. Death would be a release, except Natsumi would invade Hell to get me and drag you along.

"Wait, don't tell me you brought *food*?"

>>26022339
>"You look like you've been in the *wars*!"

I don't get this reference? Some important historic war in the JQU?

>>26022448

It's actually just a turn of phrase, I think.

>>26022448
>>26022476
These.

>>26022448

"Ehhhhh. Not much." Kazuya shrugs, expansively - As the door swings shut behind him, he busies himself by arranging the bags in order, coming up with a (slightly crumpled) folder full of papers. "...That's the homework for the weekend - Just stuff we've already covered."

In other words, a waste of time.

>>26022514

> "Wait, don't tell me you brought *food*?"

He chuckles. "-Yep. The good stuff; Four kinds of bread, ham, fruits, juice, century egg porridge, and Nat-chan's herbal soup...It's 'an old family recipe', which means it tastes awful. Good for you, though - There's green stuff in it."

Kazuya pauses, apparently revising his opinion; "...I think."

The metal containers rattle, as he lays them out on the table with quick, deft motions.

>>26022476

The couch looks good. You slump down on the couch, and feel marginally better.

> "Oh don't mind me. Just a bit of karmic backlash for breaking a sweet girl's heart."

"Yeah, well..." Kazuya's tone is light, but he doesn't quite meet your eye. He pauses - His palms flat on the table, a dull silhouette in the half-lit room.

"...Asuna's pretty upset, you know? Her eyes were all red today, and-"

He glances up at you, at last.

"-She looked like she'd been crying."

The silence lingers, and stretches to fill the moment. Kazuya sighs, draping his coat over a convenient chair - It creaks, as he settles into it, the legs dragging against the floor with a faint clatter.

"So...Want to talk about it?"

[ ] "Not really."
[ ] "Is she all right?"
[ ] "I wouldn't know where to start."
[ ] "Maybe."
[ ] "The date...It didn't really go well."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26022814
"Not much to say. She invited me to the art show, I showed up, we talked, she asked me if I had someone I liked, I tried to dodge the question and it hurt her. Badly. I would blame getting sick, but I'm pretty sure things would have turned out the same if I hadn't. Did... did she seem okay otherwise?"

>>26022814

Awww, god damn it. I wonder if our bro is pissed at us.

>>26023004

At least he's giving us a chance to explain.

>>26022987

Go with this. It's concise, and truthful.

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>>26023004
He'd better be. We'd be pissed at him if he were the one who'd done this.

>>26022987

For a long, measuring moment, Kazuya just looks at you. It's actually quite uncomfortable - You can almost hear the gears turning in his head. But then he relents; Exhaling, softly, his knuckles rapping lightly against the tabletop.

"-I guess," he says. His tone's neutral, but it's an ambivalent statement. "...She's all right, but I think she needs some time alone." A ghost of a smile twitches across his face; "She missed rehearsals today, can you believe that? I thought she'd never...Well."

He shakes his head, as if banishing an unpleasant memory. Paper crinkles, as he balls up a bag and tosses it into the trash, with a flick of his wrist: "...That's pretty much what I was thinking, anyway. You could've gone easier on her, but..."

Kazuya's voice trails off, the sentence left unfinished. Apparently, he doesn't want to belabour the point, though there's the slightest hint of reproach in his voice. The chair creaks, again, as he stands - "-I better get going, then. It *is* getting a little late." He's pushed on hand into his pocket, slouching a little as he turns back to you:

"Don't push yourself, all right? If you need anything, just call - You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know." His tone's half-joking, but he sounds genuinely concerned...His brow furrowing, slightly, as if something's just occurred to him.

"-Y'know, if Mio asks about you - What should I tell her?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26023359
"That I'm an idiot who caught a summer cold in fall. Take care Kaz, and don't be me; being me never ends well for anyone."

>>26023359
"Tell her I'm sick. It's the truth. She has my number if she wants to talk - actually I told her we'd do something in a couple of days... Guess I should call her and postpone so she doesn't worry."

>>26023359

"Ah, just tell her I'm fine. If slightly under the weather, as it may be."

>>26023402

Aren't we being a bit too melodramatic here? It's like we secretly want him to know that something is really wrong with us.

>>26023587

We've been melodramatic as hell ever since Hecate died. That's fairly consistent consideration, at least.

>>26023587
Anon feels wretched physically and emotionally, hurt a friend before hunting down and killing a loser, failed to kill a legitimate threat, talked with the Thief who is a dick and kind of a friend, and spent some amount of time today trying and failing to get into a password protected device taken from a room where our body quite possibly hurled a loser to his death without being directed to. Anon could really use someone to commiserate with; instead he's got Kazuya.

>>26023587
He's our best friend.
We secretly DO want him to know everything.

Ah ha! i made it!

Remember! get shit done today! the trinity should be resolved soon.

>>26023402
>>26023528

"Right, right," Kazuya says - He's already donning his shoes, shrugging on his jacket once more as he waves. As the door swings open again, a wave of cold air rolls in from outside - Soon, it'd be absolutely freezing.

>>26023495

"Probably," he agrees, with a shrug. "-It'd be better if she hears it from you."

His gaze switches to the empty corridor outside, and he sighs again; Clearly not looking forward to the long walk back. "Take care of yourself, man. See you next week, all right?"

With that cheery good-bye, he's gone. The door swings shut behind him: Lazy streamers of steam coiling upwards from the metal bowls he's - Rather thoughtfully - laid out on the table.

Everything tastes of copper and ashes; The bread sits like chunks of lead, and the soup tastes worse than it smells...But sleep comes more easily with a full stomach.

You don't recall dragging yourself to bed, but that's where you end up anyway.

*****************************

The next day:

You've been sick before, but you've never *stayed* sick for too long. Perhaps it's some side-effect of your nature - A trick of accumulated fortune - or you merely recover quickly...But the outcome is the same.

It'd be disingenuous to say that you've completely recovered, but the loathsome feeling of being *unwell* has receded somewhat...Your throat merely feeling rough, now, instead of actively swollen. It doesn't even hurt to talk, now - By the time you've splashed cold water on your face, you're actually feeling close to human again.

(Continued)

>>26023819

You're still tired - Rather perversely, given how long you've been asleep - a bone-deep exhaustion that your rest has only scratched the surface of. But you're back on your feet, and that's enough...Well, probably.

It's the weekend, another incentive to leave your sickbed; The question is, what will you do?

[ ] Visit the Hollow Sun.
[ ] Contact Argent Prominence.
[ ] Visit the Hospital.
[ ] Contact the Black Tri-Stars.
[ ] Visit the Papillion.
[ ] Visit the Salvation Children's Home.
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26023828

Phone AP to see if he's in. If he's in, tell him we wish to meet to retrieve the item he was working on later today. If he's not in, leave a message.

Then go to the Joker Cave.

>>26023883
Jepp, first AP.
We need that damn shield.
Afterwards come the two other things.

>>26023932

Personally, I want to keep AP as far from the Batcave as possible. So lets arrange a meeting, and go to the Hollow sun before we collect the shield.

>>26023971
So it depends on sheduling.
If we can meet him instantly, go to him first.
If it takes some time, go to the Hollow Sun.

>>26023828
[X] Free: Do research.

I spotted a pattern last session: Smiler operations in venues named after mythological hells. Off the top of my head, there's Tartarus, Gehenna, Yomotsu Hirasaka, Hel, Hades.

There's a second, unsupported thread that they were bought out by the Black Cardinal, real name (perhaps) Mikogami.

We also should take a look at the Black Room, that site Akira mentioned. Let's do a quick check for stories about six years ago, and mentions of activities that we probably had a hand in. Vanity is an awful thing.

Oh, and yeah let's get in touch with Argent/visit the Hollow Sun. Schedule the research in around doing that.

>>26024031
>Oh, and yeah let's get in touch with Argent/visit the Hollow Sun. Schedule the research in around doing that.

If AP is still in the hospital recovering from the car wreck, we can take on two birds with one stone.

>>26023971
>Personally, I want to keep AP as far from the Batcave as possible. So lets arrange a meeting, and go to the Hollow sun before we collect the shield.

Eh. We should at LEAST tell him where bardiel's wings came from.

>>26023828
[X] Contact Argent Prominence.
WE really need to take care of this. We can ask about that anomaly we tipped Natsumi off to as well.

[X] Free
No time to visit her, but we should call Mio just to let her know we aren't free this weekend.

>Visit the Salvation Children's Home.
We also should check on this soon too. There's definite ties to the Smilers.

>>26024055

>visit smilers home base, while ill, with no backup

this is not a good idea.

I still support visiting the hospital if AP is in, but really, we could just phone him first.

>>26024046
>Eh. We should at LEAST tell him where bardiel's wings came from.
Fuuuuuuck no. He's smart as hell, if we don't want him in the Hollow Sun we can't risk him putting the pieces together. Not one word about wings or Player-directed armies, unless in the form of "How do you counter Kraken, who has one"?

>>26024046
>telling Argent vital information for no good reason
No-no-no. No way in hell.
>>26023828
Go to HS. Contact AP on the way and arrange a meeting for after we finish our business.

>>26024055
>We also should check on this soon too. There's definite ties to the Smilers.
We already crashed a base while ill and under-equipped last time.
Let's not do that again.

>>26024075
>He's smart as hell, if we don't want him in the Hollow Sun.

I personally think its a good idea to show him the place.

Everyone yammers about getting the shield, but what we should really be doing is showing the artificier to the forge.

After all, we can teleport-eject him, its codelocked to us, and the only other person with get-into-places-you're-not-supposed-to tech is the guy with the other nihl sphere.

There are better and worse ways to break the news to him, but he's been pretty stand up so far.

>>26023883
>>26023932
>>26023971

You don't reach him, not exactly - Instead, you reach his very polite secretary, who doesn't seem remotely phased by the young-seeming voice on the other side of the phone. In quick succession, you're informed that: Yes, Ebara-san is in, but currently at a meeting.

Yes, an appointment can be arranged today - Early afternoon, at soonest.

After a quick reminder to collect your visitor's pass from security, things seem to be settled. You'll certainly be needing one: The Sterling Industries main building is a true skyscraper, a gleaming pillar of chrome and glass that stretches to the heavens, with extensive systems to keep track of anyone entering and exiting the premises.

You get a feeling that this isn't just paranoia.

>>26024055

Mio doesn't answer the phone, but you get the electronic chime of a successful message - She's mostly likely at work, today. Still, that should allay her worries.

>>26024031

You have an...odd feeling of deja vu, as you access the Black Room. The great, onyx list of names has been faithfully updated - Or rather, it *would* be, if the names meant anything to you.

Since your last visit, the length of the list has more than doubled. It's an oddly eerie sensation, as you scroll through the 'relevant events' - *There* is the flaming corpse of Death Calibre. *There* is the aftermath of the bombing at Nara Dreamland - With tenuous connections drawn to the more recent detonation at an office building, and the inexplicable disruption of the city's rail network for eight minutes.

There are others, of course. Industrial disasters. Suicides. Reports of people going missing; Freak accidents, a catalog of coincidence and misfortune. But - You can't tell, not *really*, if they're related or just fortunate guesses.

You're not sure you ever will.

(Continued)

>>26024120
>>telling Argent vital information for no good reason
>No-no-no. No way in hell.

And what makes you so sure he doesn't know about it already?
He's a veteran player from the last cycle the endgame happened, and one of the most knowledgable guys left.

>>26023971
>Personally, I want to keep AP as far from the Batcave as possible.
That's the thing. We're not using it as a batcave. Its a forgotten dump we've been neglecting.

We should be using it as a base of operations. We should be using its teleportation-tricks along with the nihl sphere's door opening properties to raid everything we need to kick pazuzu's teeth from across the red world.
we should be finding resources for it to consume, much in the same way that Nara Dreamland and other places appear to be leeching power from the red world - we should take those power nodes for ourself.
We should use its manufacturing abilities to analyze, repair, and artifacts, consuming lesser ones to make better ones out of the raw doesn't-fade-away material.
We should be figuring out what we need to make the dominion hovertank without crippling its resource levels.(batcar!)

We're currently doing NONE of that.
Its the first major resources we've gotten in the red world and everyone wants to shove it away, ignore it, and keep it secret.

Fuck that. We need to USE that shit to get ahead of our enemies and further our goals.

>>26024222
It's one of the things that got forgotten during our episode of testosterone overload.
Yes, we definitely need to salvage it.
But first we start by collecting information, getting our shield and visiting the hospital.
With the information we gain in a moment, we'll know what to do. Tell the Hollow Sun to check for ressource deposits or something.

>>26024126
I don't trust him; he's sketchy as hell. Despite heading an organization that exists to provide Players with an alternate means of existing in the Red World he has zero compunctions about killing and suggested that he would appreciate it if we killed the Thief. He's almost certainly involved in experimenting on Players as demonstrated by Alecto and Bardiel, (and possibly the Thief?) and if you think he actually doesn't remember what happened during the finals then I have some prime Florida swampland to sell you.

As for our protections on the Hollow Sun, if we could take over anyone could. We have limited experience dealing with the Red World's dungeons, much less the back end of the program. Argent made it to the finals by exploring the Red World, so I'd bet our ID lock would be a speedbump for him--do I have to remind you that he is intimately familiar with two relics registered to the Red Joker? He's also going to be much more familiar with the backend of the Red World, and who knows the limits of what you can do there.

Ever read American Gods? Tell me, do you ever get the Mr. Wednesday vibe from Argent? Because I'm starting to suspect a con, and the Black Cardinal was a famous huckster in-verse.

>>26024284
I'm on Watashi's side.

>>26024284
This.

>>26024186

There *is* a clip - MONSTER! AT SHEOL STAR!? 11/10/20XX - that is a thirty-second recording of strobing lights and urgent motion at the Sheol Star Arcade: There's no sound, but there's a freeze-frame shot of arcade cabinets toppling, shattering, flung with immense force...The vague, hulking silhouette of the Amaglam - And even yourself, a blurred red figure in motion- Just for an instant.

Of course, the newest headline: DEATH COMES TO NARAKA, complete with a truly atrocious photo of an arm protruding from the waters - The victim, still being identified, with every sign of having leapt to his death. Your chest tightens at that, but then you breathe a little easier.

>>26024120

Accessing the Hollow Sun is easy. Deciding on *where* to access it from - That's slightly more difficult. It doesn't take you long to locate a likely-looking cybercafe, one in the general area: The bored clerk at the counter doesn't look up from his screen as he waves you to a private booth, as you shut the door behind you for more privacy, relaxing into the padded seat...

The world blurs, and recedes.

The Red takes it's place.

STAGE: DIS

It's not hard, to find the Hollow Sun again. You can feel it in the faint *hum* that threads the air, at the very edge of perception: Your mono-optic sensor whirrs as your systems chatter the code phrase, the digital handshake that turns an invisible key in an invisible lock-

The portal yawns open, streamers of data coiling around you as a swirling hole rends the fabric of reality.

You step through.

(Continued)

Also, I had a sneaking suspicion left over form the last time we saw The Thief.
I think he's argent prominence's successor. But I think his class also lets him steal someone else's succession rights; kind of like a reverse red joker.

He always has little expendable artifacts and trinkets. Tethers, one-shot things, that wierdness where he went all Metal Gear Rising:Revengance on that one dude, cut an artifact/soulbit out of him and gave it to us for a level?

There is no way he doesn't make those himself.
The only other person we know of who makes artifacts is AP.

My guess is, neither of them have met or know it, or know each other by reputation alone.

The thing is, Akira is ambitious enough to want to make it to the Endgame - I don't think he realizes AP is an option, which is why he's going for the fatal abyss route.

Being super knowledgable about the game mechanics is another trait they share, by the way.

>>26024318

Forgot to mention this - any chance we can take the Misericorde to the hollow sun?
See if it can decipher anything about its origins?

>>26024284

Hmmnn.

Maybe.

We may want to open the batcave up to the Black Tristars, then. Its a bit safer than what they're using, and they already know about it.

I really just want better access to their awesome map-hax of the red world artifact

>>26024380
We should definitely talk to him about that if we see him again.

>>26024405
Oh fuck, totally forgot that.

+1

>>26024318

You materialize in the central chamber, red light spidering across the ebony tiles of the command podium - Before you, the gibbet-throne of the Vitruvian Device awaits...But that's only a formality. The Hollow Sun is *in* you; Your consciousness crackling along electrical conduits, and rolling through neural networks, your vision ghosting through countless cameras-

...When you breathe out, the Hollow Sun breathes with you. Within the Hollow Sun's great heart, a thousand furnaces fire, memory banks humming serenely to life-

Integrated datastreams flicker into existence, dozens at once: Enough that your vision would be dividing into countless compound cells, if you couldn't refocus through thought alone. As the locking spines clamp into place, the throne closing around you - A cocoon of virtual light rotating around your form - you can hear the rising, subliminal hum of the Hollow Sun adjusting to your return.

HOLLOW SUN: 86.8%

ACCESS: ∞

[ ] Access SYSTEM CALL
[ ] Access RESOURCE ALLOCATION
[ ] Access DOMAIN FUNCTION

- [ ] Access DATA VAULT
- [ ] Access HELLION OPERATION PROTOCOLS
- [ ] Access MANUFACTORIUM

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26024284
>I don't trust him; he's sketchy as hell

I'm not sure I agree with you, but I think I can safely say that it makes it that much more important to obtain the red joker's memory.
he was in the same cycle as he was, and will have a much, much, MUCH better idea what kind of man he really is.

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>>26024438
>>26024405

(Apologies, forgot my picture. And yes, I'll be sure to include it in the next post.)

>>26024513

Can we also analyze the Nihl sphere, while we're at it?

So which way would be best to gain information about ressource deposits?
Ressource allocation doesn't seem to be what we want. Maybe Domain function?

>>26024488

First order of business, let's examine the data vault (re: running the Hollow Sun), and then resource allocation. We want to maximize operation of this facility and wring out as much as we can.

>>26024488
>- [ ] Access MANUFACTORIUM

>>26024552
>Let's put the energy-draining thingy into the Hollow Sun
What could possibly go wrong?

>>26024488
ffff. Okay. Well, here goes nothing.

Check on general repair progress, improvement, resource levels, logged/monitored events, how its doing in general to start with.

I think that means.....

well, [x] All of it. First time back. Better check up on everything.

>>26024552

Don't do this.

>>26024405
We know its origins--it is the remnants of our armor from when we were Frost Cestus, transmogrified for slaying the Red Joker. Analyzing it is still a good idea, there's something wrong with the old and the new armors.

>>26024380
Akira is succeeding Phantom Edge for reasons other than wanting to reach the finals. He's amnesiac and has good reason to believe that completing the sword will fix the holes in his memory and stabilize him. Remember that he's a Frankenstein's monster of a Player; put together by amalgamating pieces of at least five of the strongest Players in the game; the sword is at least as much a part of him as a certain black sphere is of our armor. I'm not talking about the Nihl Sphere.

>>26024426
They're not interested. They've got a base of operations that they're fond of and they want to stay clear of anything having to do with us. Inviting them after what happened last time probably won't do their mental well-being any favors.

>>26024488
Yesssssssssssss. [x] Access DATA VAULT; I want to look for other facilities, Virtuvian Devices, and a map of the Red World.

>>26024572

If it can be analyzed, we SHOULD analyze it. After all, what's the worst that can...

Okay, maybe not. But it's still a viable thing.

>>26024573

Also, I'd personally like to establish an.....

well, an honor guard of Hellions. Split one or two off from the main army that we can use to summon in a big fight without pulling the trigger on the whole thing.
Sure, they're expendable, and its a one-way trip, but the best weapon to bring to a fight is a friend.

Also, I want to check the datavault for information on that purple crystal. Perhaps even analyze that other crystal or glass we have.

>>26024488

The place has not come under siege? That's surprising. We neglected it for so long I figured it would have been a burning wreck.

Well, while we're here, check up on our Joker Cave. I can't remember if it's GAINING resources or if that's the static number we left it at when we originally ASSUMED [C]ONTROL.

Run a Google search on the Data Vault to see if there's anything pertaining to our butter knife and the Nihl.

Check the manufactorium. We did leave some loot behind after we got shut out of the systems.

T

>>26024607
Hey, that sounds awesome.
It would be like AC2: Small fry are bothering us? Well, let's call in our assassins to remove the hassle.

>>26024633

We can paint em in our colors and put the deathmarks on their chestplates :)
Name them all Red Joker in that wierd, corrupted language

>>26024702
>>26024405
>>26024438

The Misericorde - Your attention coheres, focuses, in line with your thoughts. The grinding hum of a high-powered sensor sweep fills your ears, dyeing the cocoon of swirling light - Your command interface - a darker shade as it's analyzed on a molecular level...

Most of it, you already know - After all, you were there when it was created: Caine carrying Abel over endless plains of salt. You remember - The battered red gauntlet grasping your own, gripping the rent edges of your armour; The warping shimmer that arose, hanging in the air like a phantom of times past-

...Unfolding into a stark shape, elemental in it's purpose and lethality.

An ultimate weapon you can never use.

A blade forged by the Red Joker, to kill the Red Joker.

The concept is simple - The best ideas usually are. It's a blade crafted to be absolutely anathema to the sophisticated systems of the Red Joker's armour: A well-timed strike sets off a cascade of system failures, fatal errors, to utterly destroy the Player within -

...And free the armour for the next host.

It's annhilation, complete and total - A painless, swift mercy.

It's a wonder that the Misericorde doesn't sting your hand - Like a live, lethal serpent - when you hold it.

(Consider)

>>26024702
...You lack vision.

We create three Cherubim-class Hellions and mod the fuck out of them. We name them Michael, Gabriel and Raphael and slave one hundred Hellions to each of them. Then we create a remote device with three buttons, that broadcasts a single order to one of them: Come.

Tie their IFF system to our own and bam, pocket Nara Dreamland invasion, Joker style.

>>26024573
>>26024567
>>26024590

> Access DATA VAULT.

The system opens itself to you, like the pages of a book: Readouts and records and information, like the time-lapse of a flower blooming. You skim through the tightly ordered confusion, taking it all in within moments - You don't need it, not truly. You can sense the Hollow Sun's condition within yourself.

You feel - Strength. Wholeness. It's an artificial sensation - Quite at odds with your actual sickness - but an apt one, all the same. Through a dozen different perspectives, you can see the lattice-work sketching itself into existence, scabbing over the seething scar that threatened to terminate the Hollow Sun's rotation: Not complete, not *yet*, but enough to arrest the degeneration.

The self-repair systems have equalized - Enough for the Hollow Sun's energy reserves to begin charging once more, now that the great Hellion forges have finished their work.

At last, the numbers are in the black, and rising. 1,025 Hellion hosts stand active - The remaining 8,879 Hellion frames awaiting priming, with the excess shells processed for their fundamental materials. Production has stilled, but the great banks of stored Essences seethe beneath the surface, waiting - With machine precision - to be uploaded once more.

(Continued)

>>26024815
This is getting more and more beautiful.

Hey, wait a moment... Bardiel wings are based on Hellions. How about we take one apart to get our own wings?

we have a zillion ideas. Okay, let's probe for more information and then prioritize what problems we've been having in combat.

Can anyone remember the combats where it was uncomfortably close or we outright lost? What issues were we having?

>>26024712

Check up on our artifacts next. The Tempest Scrander in particular took a beating, and we were worried it was broken or destroyed.

I'd suggest analyzing and saving specs for our current extras, in case they DO get damaged later.

And.... any way we can turn the information gleaned from the Misericorde into some sort of virus protection? Exec_disrupt kicked our ass last fight.

>>26024832
Because we're already flight capable and the wings clash with the Assault Shroud. Silver and red? Ugh.

Oh, speaking of which, can we have the Hollow Sun run a diagnostic scan on us OP? It's not that I don't trust Argent it's that I don't trust Argent.

>>26024815
>>26024832
You forget, Hellion stuff degrades outside the Sun. This stuff just doesn't work the way you want it to.

>>26024876
>What issues were we having?
It seems knockback and status effects really bring trouble or us.
Whenever we loose stability, everything goes to hell.
Actually, I'd now say that we should try the stabilizing upgrade the next time we level up.

As you key up a full scan, the great virtual map of the Red World shimmers into existence before you. It's...Quite something - Trying to take it all in makes your head ache. It charts not just distances, but concepts; Spaces where matter and energy overlap.

More - It's not a 'live' reading. No, this digital construct - Painstaking in every detail - is more like a snapshot; An image-capture of the Red World as it *was*, with priority energy signatures superimposed over it - A map with no maker. The tiny sparks that must be indiviual Players wink in and out of existence: Time-lapse, a failure of ancient systems, or simply those indiviuals entering and exiting the Red World?

You can't be sure. One thing's clear, though: The Hollow Sun was meant as a weapon. A weapon that needs a target. It has little ability to analyze the world without, except in the most basic of ways - The artificial intelligences observing the most fundamental principles:

Protect. Create.

Prepare.

But targeting *what*? You have an aiming mechanism, and the trigger - And for now, nothing to fire it at.

>>26024880

The 360-degree screens flicker. Some threshold has been reached, or perhaps the integrated scanners have simply discovered something: There's a wire-frame image of your armour, a collation through a hundred different bitter sensors.

Even to the Hollow Sun - Your armour is a black box. The scanning waves course over you, and do not penetrate. To their all-seeing gaze, however, the Tempest Scrander and the Assault Shroud are simpler creations.

(Continued)

>>26024876
>What issues were we having?
Insufficient meter, lack of defenses against losing access to part of our arsenal, being blind-sided. Also a lack of tactical thinking, but unless you want to download Tacitus into the Red Joker armor we're out of luck on that account.

>>26024888
No, I didn't forget, I just didn't care. We've got a few thousand Hellions waiting for bodies; so long as we can keep those alive we can pump out shells until we drain the Red World's core.

>>26024878
>Exec_disrupt kicked our ass last fight.
This brings up an interesting point...

>EXEC_DISRUPT
>When invoked, this Codeburst abruptly overrides the protocols that allow an enemy Player to manifest Relics and weapons - Momentarily disarming them, and 'locking out' the item for a time. Certain Relics may be especially resilient against this, as are Players with a higher System Access Authority than yours.

>HOLLOW SUN: 86.8%
>ACCESS: ∞

I suspect that either the DISRUPT we were hit by is either different from the one we can use, or Kraken just happened to roll incredibly well.

Or, perhaps most worrying of all, Kraken's System Access is EQUAL to ours, which means he has access to an equivalent system. Perhaps one that is set to assemble Correctors, rather than Hellions, explaining where he gets his armies.

>>26024897
>Tempest Scrander and the Assault Shroud

Oh, I wonder if we could itegrate massproduced versions into the Hellions for added survivability. Well they wouldn't really need the scrander, but even a lesser shroud would make them even more scary.

>>26024888
>You forget, Hellion stuff degrades outside the Sun. This stuff just doesn't work the way you want it to.

This is the core reason i suggested bringing the misericorde and/or cannibalizing other artifacts to make things from the data stores.

We know that Hellion/Hollow Sun stuff degrades outside of it.
Yet we know that bardiels wings were clearly hellion wings, and didn't degrade.
So theoretically there's some way to stabilize it.
Its a contradiction - these things weren't able to be taken outside the hollow sun, and yet they were in Relic form. And other artifacts/upgrades contained in the non-HS vetruvian devices.

My guess is it takes those world-crossing resources of some kind.

Another question for Argent - he obviously knows the secret of Permanence. Perhaps akiro doesn't - thats why he has temporary one-shot items he makes.

>>26024928
>Perhaps one that is set to assemble Correctors, rather than Hellions, explaining where he gets his armies.
Does that mean you could get EXP from Hellion kills?
Are we sitting on a lifetime supply of green energy?

>>26024897
Ah, the Hollow Sun launches all of the Hellions at once? Pity, could have been fun.

Oh, almost forgot, is there any chance we could generate an Apex Blade? We did screw Kou out of an upgrade and took his secret weapon.

>>26024951
Bardiel's wings weren't Hellion wings, the Hellions use degradeable copies of actual relics, of which the wings are one.

misericorde actually has a single use, it can probably be used on the black joker.

>>26024897
>Your armour is a black box.
What about singular aspects of the armor?
Could we tell the Hollow Sun to scan our vulcans or missile launchers or something?

(My apologies for the delay - I'm collating the multiple responses involved, for the next segment.)

>>26024942

Its heavily implied the hellion's wings are superior even to our own jetpack. That may very well be downgrade.
I'd wouldn't mess with the Hellions at all. Chances are they're already engineered for peak performance.

>>26024928
That.... would explain quite a lot actually.

.... since correctors represent real world disasters, does this mean there's a Misfortune Factory somewhere in the red world?
Hmn. What would it use as power?

>>26024878
Actually a bad tactical decision kicked our ass last night. We were doing pretty damn good up till then, and if we had boosted the interceptors to deal with those tentacles and not tried that showy flip we'd have stayed on top, considering we unlocked the longinus right after.

>>26024999
Take your time. We're here all night.

Besides, I'm midway through the Tower of Kagatsuchi and I've finally identified the difference between SMT and Persona: In Persona, you kill time with your friends. In SMT, in time, you kill your friends. I have to put this into practice by decapitating the remaining Reasons.

>>26025013
>Its heavily implied the hellion's wings are superior even to our own jetpack. That may very well be downgrade.
They have the disadvantage of being based on believe... Which isn't an issue for machines but would be for us.

>>26024878

It's hard, to make sense of their mechanical components - But the upgrades share a common thread: The silver filaments, like a secondary nervous system, that threads through every mote of their substance, reinforcing and enhancing. The filaments grow into you, too, slaved to your armour's systems - Establishing the connection that allows you to control Scrander and Shroud alike through thought alone.

The Tempest Scrander - Like your severed leg - has been repaired; The fundamental functions restored anew through expenditure of Essence, each time you access the Red World.

> [X] Access MANUFACTORIUM

Abruptly, the Virtuvian Device releases you. Communion is momentarily severed - But not violently, though the feedback buzzes across your field of vision.

SYSTEM ACCESS - GRANTED.

The podium begins to sink into the ground. It's a smooth, effortless process, the slab descending - Soundless and oddly graceful, but entire disorientating. At last - With a faint judder - the ebony block comes to a halt...

You stand in a tiny slice of industrial hell. On either side, great machinery whirrs and hammers and forges, sparks spraying through the air; Ray-shield barriers, translucent by sparking, insulate you from the sound and the killing heat. The hall stretches ever-onwards, along rows of arms and armour and half-assembled Hellions-

When you reach for one- Entirely by instinct - there's an electronic crackle, a warning sound, before the stasis field disengages.

You never even knew this place existed. It's a sobering thought:

You're not the Hollow Sun's master. But you *are* it's caretaker. The system has recognized your status, and allowed you access, but...

-It's waiting for something.

(Continued)

>>26025073

Hmn. This happened the last time we tried to access the data stores. It said there were some secrets that would remain beyond our reach.

So... we should probably upgrade our System Access again. That's gonna suck finding a way to do.

>>26025073

Tiny drones - Like floating Hellion helms, hovering on gravimetric suspensors - flock around you; Each time you turn your attention to an item, they communicate in brief blurts of electronic noise. Scanning beams play over you, until...

> ESSENCE SIGNATURE DETECTED
> FOUNDRY ACCESS GRANTED

Silently, at the far end of the chamber, great doors swing open; Golden light spilling across ebony tiles, casting eerie shadows over the great armory that stands on all sides.

http://pastebin.com/QkbFkZBe

At present, you can unlock two items from the first list - Also, you have unlimited access to Hellion weaponry, allowing you to carry up to two light weapons and one heavy weapon at a time.

The PRIMING cost is the amount of energy required to activate one of the weapons - TWIN-LINKED refers to the synergy involved in utilizing two identical weapons. (Effectively, it's a bulk discount when two of the same items are used in tandem.)

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26025152

Holy shit.

SO MANY GUNS. Oh my god, where do we start?

>>26025152
Crisis Arm+Apex Blade gets my vote, though the Emulator Module could let us Megaman. /tg/, convince me it's worth screwing over Bishamonten again.

>>26025152
>you can unlock two items from the first list
So we can create two additional relics?

>the Bits will progress through three stages of alignment while in use, before the optimal configuration is achieved.
What exactly does that mean?

Definitely voting for Apex Blade.
Don't know about choice two, but I'm against the Hellion Launcher. We already have our vulcans.

>>26025207

There are NEW GUNS, and we can pick any three of them. For free!

It's like christmas came early, or that scene in Hot Fuzz where Nicholas Angel raids the police staion.

>>26025152

Hold on - look into energy/resource costs first.

Last time resources were pretty limited. We don't want to gimp anything by getting greedy

>>26025207
Holy shit.

Changing >>26025226 to Crisis Arm.

>>26025152
>

Argus system. Holy shit, argus. This is the one we passed up last time

No, what we *need* is the Argus system. Beyond that, it's a tossup between G and H.

No idea what F does, but it probably interferes with our other relic that we can mount on our face.

>>26025152
>Golden light

That reminds me, there was a golden figure in the vitruvian device before we used it and in a previous thread it was mentioned that we saw something gold in the casket Rust Kaiser was taking from the Spire. Maybe we sould scan the Sun for another player or something?

Apex blade.. let's get a melee weapon on a ranged guy who already has extremely powerful close-range weapon.

Hmm. No.

>>26025207
We don't need the blade, the Adjudicator has that plasma cutter ability. The bits would be better, though the emulator may have something to do with codebursts?

>>26025152
Lucifer bits and Crisis Arm

>>26025226

(To clarify:

Yes, at present - You have sufficient energy to select two Relics from the Hollow Sun. Those are unique, one-of-a-kind creations: The Hellion weapons listed beneath are more commonly available, and can be taken right 'off the rack' for free.

Conversely, all Hellion weaponry needs to be primed before use. Relics have their own individual properties regarding their functioning.

>>26025226

(It means that they become stronger the longer they're in use.)

>>26025249

Seconded for argus, holy shit. I kind of want to see what happens if we get the OTHER frost cestus upgrade.

b361n 1n574ll4710n 0f 4cc3l3r470r 574k3 4nd 6r4v1m37r1c 1mp4c70r.
Sounds like Accelerator Stake and Gravimetric Impactor.

However.

Last thread the GM mentioned that we didn't have the prerequisites for Tier Five weaponry.
Since our highest-level weapon utilizes parts from our various low-level weapons, we can assume the trend continues for tier five - and we also know that we are missing unlocks for Melee, Ranged, and Tier 2.5 weaponry.

So, presumably, getting some combination of those will fill in the missing subcomponents and unlock tier 5 weapons which we want no questions asked.
To achieve that goal, we should NOT unlocks relics (besides hellion freebies) now unless they are from the 'Joker Tree' of guns.

Anyway, the frost cestus upgrade was basically a Free Levelup Choice for... armor, i think? Zenith sytems?. It stands to reason that it would be a free Weapon Upgrade this time.

So do we get the Gladius or is the Phase Sword better?
I have a feeling that the latter might leads us to impaling ourselves, but it's the ideal weapon for all those armored fuckers that got too close to us. Especially Rust Kaiser.

The Scatter Laser sounds like perfect suppressive fire.

>>26025278

If that's the case, that should be gotten instead of the Argus System; being able to perform both a lock on and something else makes the scanner system sort of irrelevant.

>>26025266
>>26025278
Are you retarded?
We are getting the thing for Bishamon.

Guys, guys!

Here's the question everyone seems to be missing. We get to pick three different firearms or melee weapons for free. What should we get?

>>26025278
>plasma cutter ability.
About that...
Someone decided to vote for a defensive upgrade on the shield. Instead of, you know, actually fucking mentioning the fucking fact that the blade was probably the most useful aspect of it.

>>26025341
See >>26025316
Definitely get a melee weapon.
Most ranged stuff seems redundant.
Especially as the Adjucator will likely lose its blade or something.

>>26025207

We don't need any sort of melee, we're getting the Adjudicator soonish.

Anyway, for a ranged gunslinger, we really need a radar/sensor system.

So, argus no matter what.

Part of me wants to see us dual-wield the Tau Gun and the Immolator, though, but that can come later.

My top vote are:
1)Argus System

2: Crisis Ram OR Emulator Module - (we use codebursts a lot) OR Lucifer Bits(we use this EVERY fight)

Downvotes to: Apex Blade(we're getting the adjudicator) and Hellion Launcher(don't need it yet/want to prioritize Red Joker weapons for tier 5 weapons)

>>26025278
The Blade is for Kou, a late raid drop. Didn't think about the codebursts... now I'm really torn.

>>26025293
Oh, so we can get more guns too? Nice! So they work by taking up dedicated bit of Cobalt Boost to stay real?

Well, I'm voting Crisis Arm (cause it's actually one of our abilities that's just being unlocked and I'm curious as to whether repairing that system damage will do anything else) and the Lucifer Bits (cause we always use the bits and this way we don't need to use a level upgrade on them).

>>26025351
>Adjudicator
Don't be so sure about that.

I'm all for Argus + Crisis, but didn't we intend Apex for Bishamon?
(Then again... Why should we do that? He cut ties to us)

Definitely no handguns, though. Fuck that bullshit.

>>26025370
>stay real?
More like activate them, it seems.
We have to carry them around and when we intend to use them, we pay in Cobalt energy.

Do they inhibit any of our other weaponry?

>>26025351

(Gentlemen, at present, the votes stand:

Crisis Arm: 5

Apex Blade: 1

Lucifer Bits: 2

Argus System: 3

Emulator Module: 1

...If I'm reading this correctly. I'll wait ten more minutes for the final decision, before I work on the next paragraph - Remember that Hellion weaponry is freely available.

>>26025370

They can be carried for no cost, but they need to be 'primed' with Cobalt Booster energy to be activated. Otherwise, they can't be fired.)

>>26025152
>At present, you can unlock two items from the first list
Is the fact that Ionic Amplifier and Cortex Regulator are unavailable despite us not having either upgrade purposeful (implying that the Foundry's blueprints are one-use only, rather than that we are being kept from giving ourselves duplicate upgrades?)

>>26025293
>Those are unique, one-of-a-kind creations
Oh, well there goes that question.

I'd vote for Crisis Arm for sure (mostly because I'm hoping that obtaining both Frost Cestus-flavored upgrades will do something noteworthy.)

>>26025370
>The Blade is for Kou, a late raid drop. Didn't think about the codebursts... now I'm really torn.

I disagree with this. He told us to mess off, so.....

As for melee weapons, we pick one from the Hellion armory list.
Done for melee-ness.

>>26025378
>Definitely no handguns, though. Fuck that bullshit.
Actually, i think we want at least one handgun for when we're using a joker single-hander. Tau gun + arc gun?

>>26025386

(Yes, but only physically. For instance, if you're firing a Maser Emitter in your left hand, you can't fire that hand's Vulcans - The same way that the Line Launcher is a two-handed weapon, which requires contact with both charging elements in your gauntlets.)

>>26025394
I'm for Crisis and Argus.

>>26025400
>Actually, i think we want at least one handgun for when we're using a joker single-hander. Tau gun + arc gun?
Good point
Let's get Hellion weaponry for that.

And yeah, Bishamon got his ass saved by us. I think that's reward enough.

>>26025378
>>26025370
>>26025329

Okay >>26025376 here

I'm willing to change my vote from the Lucifer's to the Apex if we're giving it to Bish as a replacement for the Abyss shard.

>>26025344
I did mention that actually, but then it was explained to me that that ability made Anon stupid, as evidenced by our leap of stupid at Bardiel that time which really should have killed us.

>>26025394

I'm voting for Crisis Arm and Argus System, too. Those look like the most immediately useful weapons.

>>26025434
>I'm willing to change my vote from the Lucifer's to the Apex if we're giving it to Bish as a replacement for the Abyss shard.
You are late.
Seems like the opinion is turning toward ignoring the dude.
We saved his life and he cut his ties. No reason to give him a present.

>>26025394

Crisis arm + Argus system.

Helion Weaponry:
Slot1: D: Ion Blaster: The ionic bolts released are especially effective at disrupting energy barriers.
Slot: C: Phase sword or A: Photon lance.
Back: ???
Sword and Board or Sword and Shield both work for me.

>>26025418
>(Yes, but only physically. For instance, if you're firing a Maser Emitter in your left hand, you can't fire that hand's Vulcans

What's the 'handedness' look like for the red jokers own weapons, anyway?

>>26025458

Spear and shield, i mean.

Graviton cannon is great for slapping enemy fliers (again, we've had a few problems with those) and the projectile isn't easy to see.

The maser emitter (particularly a twin-linked one) is intriguing particularly since it has an obvious use against targets which are nominally heavily armored.

Also changing my vote >>26025249 to Emulator + Crisis arm.

>>26025394

Also..... how ARE the red jokers melee skills?
Frost cestus is heavily implied to be a melee frame, but the joker itself isn't an in-your-face combatant at all.
The phase sword sounds wicked cool, especially in Carnifex mode, but I have my doubts we HAVE the necessary skill to use it well.

>>26025445
Except to not be a dick. There's always something to be said for that.

Still though, the Hollow Sun charged up to be able to yield us a bounty a second time. We can grab him the Apex Blade the next time we visit.

Also, why don't we grab two Maser Emitters? I bet they'd do great at cooking calamari.

>>26025472
>The maser emitter (particularly a twin-linked one) is intriguing particularly since it has an obvious use against targets which are nominally heavily armored.

This would have been my vote if we weren't taking a melee weapon.

>>26025480
>Still though, the Hollow Sun charged up to be able to yield us a bounty a second time. We can grab him the Apex Blade the next time we visit.
is it possible it gets a charge whenever we level up? If so, that makes it amazing.

>>26025476
A sword is redundant when the shield we're going to get from Arget Prominence can cut. Also it can be Cboosted.

>>26025458
I'm for phase sword or gladius.
Because if we go close range, it's *real* close range.
Ion Blaster sounds good.

The heavy weaponry seems kind of redundant and expensive, though. I guess the laser is good for suppressive fire and the Graviton Cannon will probably be useless against any hard enemies.

>>26025499

Even if we can't use it, Bishamon can. We might not be able to give him the Apex Blade, but this is as good as a katana.

>>26025496
Once again, the Adjudicator Relic is also a melee weapon, one that doesn't take energy from the cobalt booster to activate.

>>26025499
>shield we're going to get from Arget Prominence can cut
>>26025344
>>plasma cutter ability.
>About that...
>Someone decided to vote for a defensive upgrade on the shield. Instead of, you know, actually fucking mentioning the fucking fact that the blade was probably the most useful aspect of it.

Its not known if it still has this functionality. If it does, then I really like the idea that the sword is there to make the shield seem less threatening.

>>26025480
>cooking calamari
Let's remember that for when we actively hunt down the great Calamari.
It should do wonders of fleshy players.

>>26025513
But we don't even know if people other than us can use the hellion weapons. They don't have a Cobalt Booster to prime them

>>26025344
>Instead of, you know, actually fucking mentioning the fucking fact that the blade was probably the most useful aspect of it.
I'd have suggested that the pile bunker was the most useful element of the shield, but to each his own.

As far as Hellion Weaponry goes, I feel like the Electromagnetic Gladius is super useful, if only because it's a melee weapon that still executes its primary function even if it hits a limb or other such non-lethal bits (sending out a pulse that disrupts enemy systems on contact shouldn't care about what part of our enemy it hits), and is also designed to be used as a thrown weapon.

It's probably next to useless against Kraken, unfortunately, which might turn some people off to it.

The heavy weapon should probably be the Revolve Bazooka; it's incredibly straight-forward, but it does the job we would want a heavy weapon to do better than almost anything else available to us.

>>26025534

...Except for our chain mines. And the railgun.

>>26025472
>Graviton cannon is great for slapping enemy fliers

Good catch.

In terms of hellion weaponry, I'm basically of the mind that we should pick weapons that provide capabilities we don't already have access too, or that take high meter to use.

>>26025513
Hmm... I'd rather give him the Apex Blade outright. We can gift both at the same time, though OP knows if he can even use Hellion weapons or if they're locked to us.

>>26025521
Right. Dual masers are a must, for that Old West pistol-on-each-leg look.

I'll back the Graviton cannon too.

>>26025553
Like I said before, even if the Hellion weapons aren't locked to us they still need to be activated by the Cobalt Booster, which Bishamon doesn't have.

>>26025526
>But we don't even know if people other than us can use the hellion weapons. They don't have a Cobalt Booster to prime them

Also worth mentioning. If these aren't Entirely Real guns, is it possible they DON'T build meter?

Also, i'm tempted to swing a vote(don't count it yet please) to the emulator chip. If we're relying more on our cobalt booster for extra guns and less so for code bursts, having a(hopefully) extra reserve of 'hacking energy' may be really, really useful.

Fuck if I know what we'd give up, though. I really want to see the crisis arm, and we've been pining for an argus system forever.

>>26025553
>Dual masers
But for general use, we need a melee weapon as long as we don't know about the shield's capabilities.

>>26025564

Also, regarding the emulator module. For people who have a better memory and more experience than I do:
Have we seen the Crossed Swords symbology before? I feel like we have, and its tickling my memory

>>26025564

The issue we've always had is drawing a bead and dealing with all the crap and dust people throw into our faces.

The lock-on from the codeburst makes it unnecessary, as I have mentioned earlier.

>>26025553
>>26025573
>Duel Masers

But an Ion Blaster would better compliment the Tau. It would almost be like duel wielding Tau

>>26025578
>The lock-on from the codeburst makes it unnecessary, as I have mentioned earlier.

Doesn't work passively, doesn't contribute to general awareness, doesn't work against multiple targets, opportunity cost of an entire THIRD of the cobalt booster - which is now going to be potentially used for hellion weaponry.

Argus has its upsides. Think of it as a reactor upgrade. We use a deathmark every battle pretty much, right?
Also, we wanted a way to make our new missiles into homing/guided missiles.

>>26025596
You got a point.
The Dual Maser is our secret weapon for Calamari combat.

>>26025541
Well yeah, but those both need us to reach Meter thresholds before we unlock them (30%/60% for Mines/Railgun), and they cost 20% meter/15% meter per shot, respectively. Facing a heavily armored target, we don't want to be running around plinking away with our small arms until we unlock our legitimate anti-armor weaponry.

Having an available anti-armor weapon starting from 0% meter, with an effective cost of 6% Cobalt Booster per shot seems really useful.

>>26025610
>Having an available anti-armor weapon starting from 0% meter, with an effective cost of 6% Cobalt Booster per shot seems really useful.
That's why I'm all for Phase Sword.
It entirely ignores armor and allows us to use a vivisection attack to remove armor plates.

>>26025608
>The Dual Maser is our secret weapon for Calamari combat.

For what its worth, I'm going to feel really, really silly if the adjudicator isn't ready. After all, he WAS in a car crash.

>>26025458

You reach out, freeing an Ion Blaster from the racks - When you bring it to your side, magnetic force locks the blocky handgun in place, just like a true holster. The hilt of the phase sword comes next; When your fingers close on the trigger, the emitter filament extends - And then, with a subliminal *hiss*, the translucent blade slices the air, as you take a practice swing...

-It weighs nothing. The balance is strange - Only the segmented filament and the hilt has any weight, which means that a twitch of your arm makes the single-edged sword scythe through the air in a liquid arc.

A dry *fizz* makes you turn, as you lower the humming Phase sword to your side. Hellion drones flit over to a display rack...Which collapses, sheared in twain.

You...didn't mean to do that.

You're going to have to be *careful* with this.

The Graviton Cannon is a weighty thing - It locks in place at your back, next to your Tempest Scrander; When you reach for it, pistons growl as the wing binder rises, delivering it to your grasping fist.

>>26025394

The Argus gem locks in place, on your left hand; You feel for the trigger point in your mind, turning your wrist *this* way and *that*-

And then the world lights up around you, all edges and planes. It's not sight - You're not *seeing*, not really, as the invisible wave sweeps across the chamber - But suddenly, your targeting sensors light up with countless returns, a shimmering silhouette of the chamber sketching itself in monochrome lines...

It takes you a moment to orientate yourself, but the functionality is clear.

Motion is tagged, ghost-images flickering before your vision with targeting predictions - You blink-click, and they vanish.

(Continued)

>>26025610
>Having an available anti-armor weapon starting from 0% meter, with an effective cost of 6% Cobalt Booster per shot seems really useful.

I saw this a liiitle too late. This makes perfect sense.

Also, its a REVOLVER rocket launcher. Holy hot shit batman. It also looks to be a larger version of the hellion rocket launcher artifact.....
... which means it may have alternate ammo types/color coded shells available.

This may be worth doing a backsies to change our mind on.

>>26025628

> ARGUS SYSTEM: The Argus system combines the functionality of radar and sonar. When activated (Which slowly drains Meter or Cobalt Booster) - the module begins to emit a directed sensor sweep that radiates outwards in the indicated direction, 'tagging' and identifying targets. The tracking function allows for limited homing capabilities, as the user can now fire at where the enemy *will be*.
> While the sensor sweep can be detected, the milimeter-wave is capable of piercing through most of the Red World's materials - Specifically, materials that aren't reflective or superdense.

It's a distracting sensation, as the hard returns come back on your targeting sensors...A wave of disorientation sweeping over you, as the Argus module deactivates. But then you ball your right hand into a fist...

The Crisis Arm sketches itself in existence around your arm. It is not a subtle weapon: It's oversized, the weight supported by a complex system of gravimetric suspensors that fill the air with white noise - A gauntlet for a gauntlet, a match of your right arm...Except that it ends in three oversized talons, instead of five.

When you make a fist, the Crisis Arm becomes a wrecking ball.

Now, this - This feels as familiar as coming home. You throw a practice jab, and the Crisis Arm echoes your motion: It's white, Hellion white - Weighty and ponderous. As your focus narrows, acceleration rings core the air, as you wind back for an all-out punch; A moment's concentration, and the Crisis Arm demateralizes, the plates of armour disassembling, schematics becoming mere lines of energy, then nothing at all.

(Continued)

>>26025696
>Which slowly drains Meter or Cobalt Booster
So does it need to be active to keep tracking tagget targets?

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>>26025715

(Yes.)

>>26025696

> ARGUS SYSTEM: The Crisis Arm is a power fist composed of superdense alloy - The kind used in the construction of Cherubim-class Hellions. When manifested, gravimetric suspensors support the titanic weight - Allowing the user to throw punches of appalling force. When focused on a single target, the directed-gravity system can be disabled just before impact - Ensuring that the opponent takes the full force of the blow.
> Due to the tremendous energy requirements of the Crisis Arm, it gradually drains the user's Meter or Cobalt Booster while in use.
> However, due to some unknowable interaction with your Player signature, the Crisis Arm cannot be disabled by countermeasures, or otherwise taken from you.

You exhale, slowly. Before you, the path awaits.

The chamber beyond is dominated by a great spiral of machinery; Even standing at the entrance, you can't take in the vast scale and scope of it. But here, you can make out the honeyed glow in the distance, the light at the very heart of the Hollow Sun-

...Suspended behind a cylindrical ray-shield, held in place by gravimetric energies, a gleaming figure floats before you: An impossibly complex, almost skeletal frame, wires and cables snaking over it in constant motion. Gold filaments extrude from every possible surface, holding it upright - Visible ripples of energy running through the connectors, feeding into the black marble all around. Even as you watch, sparks flare from the overlapping hexagons of it's visor, as it's machined into place-

It's building itself, bit by bit. At present, it lacks a left arm - A great hole in the torso plating revealing the slithering lines of cables and whirring gears beneath.

And that's all you see, as great armoured shutters slam down, like storm-shields: Neon traceries flickering across the floor, leading you forward.

ESSENCE SIGNATURE DETECTED

UPLOAD?

[ ] HELIX GYGAS
[ ] CANCEL

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26025770
So...
The dude that we killed is being repaired inside the Hollow Sun?

I have no clue what the fuck the command is supposed to mean.Does an upload give that person access rights? Or does he become an AI that we can utilize?

>>26025770
I say BEGIN THE UPLOAD.

>>26025770
>[ ] HELIX GYGAS

AAAAAAAAAAAH Akira what did you DO.

I think its more that we're carrying his soul/essence core that the thief cut out of him and gave to us.

My best guess is that it wants a Power Source

>>26025073
>You're not the Hollow Sun's master. But you *are* it's caretaker. The system has recognized your status, and allowed you access, but...
>-It's waiting for something.
>>26025152
>> ESSENCE SIGNATURE DETECTED
>> FOUNDRY ACCESS GRANTED

For whatever reason, the hollow sun desires it. The ai decided we were worth the risk allowing into this place.

Its doubtful it restore helix gygas, though, since its(mostly) under our control

>>26025770

What does 'Daegal' mean?

>>26025822
Wrong player, that was Carnelian. Helix is the guy we pasted before we took on Kraken.

>>26025822

That can't be right. Remember, Helix was killed by US. The Thief never did anything to him, he just ran the fuck away as soon as he got the chance.

>>26025833
>>26025836
I have a feeling that either Kraken is reviving him somehow or that this is our chance to find the password.

>>26025770
Damn. Now even we can throw a mean punch. I bet even Rust Kaiser would be sent in a Team R flight if we were to combine the Crisis Arm and Carnifex.

Also, time for us to release our inner Mad Scientist.
>[x] HELIX GYGAS

>>26025770
>>26025822
We already know the Sun can process Players for energy, there was that PROCESS command when we were retrieving Bishamon.

I think this is like sticking in a battery, we lose the XP from Helix but the Sun gains something.

We have no battles planned, I say go for it.

>>26025770
>However, due to some unknowable interaction with your Player signature, the Crisis Arm cannot be disabled by countermeasures, or otherwise taken from you.
Kraken is not going to be terribly pleased next time he tries to grapple after DISRUPTing us.

>>26025801
We've seen the figure that's being repaired before. (Episode 37)

>The figure is humanoid, but not *human*. You make out a body suspended on a hanging frame, encased in anatomical plate-sections of golden alloy - Sinews and arteries formed from cable and wire snake across it's form, in self-assembling motion: It's putting itself together, before you, even as it hangs limp from the gibbet.

>You're struck by an odd sense of *familiarity*. Somehow, somewhere, you've seen this before...

>At all once, the pieces come together in your mind. In the Spire, with the Thief - When Rust Kaiser felled him with the sarcophagus he'd been carrying. Inside - Just for a moment - you'd glimpsed something gleaming, something golden...

In our conversation with Kraken that same thread:
>"-You, of course," he says; With the same mild, pleasant curiosity. "You've stolen from me twice, now. Once at the Spire, and again at the Rift."

And continued in our conversation during the next thread:

>"The coffin, in the Spire: The Hollow Sun's heart."

>His gaze goes past you, to where the entry to the Rift *was* - It's sealed itself, now, the way a smile slowly fades - To your sensors, you can still perceive the strands of code coiling around the liminal space; The silent commands you could give to open the way...

>"-It should have been mine."

>Kraken doesn't seem inclined to elaborate further, as to what 'it' is - But you remember: The faint gleam of gold, half-glimpsed, within the Spire...The swirling liquid illumination that shrouded the Hollow Sun's core...

>One and the same?

Whatever this thing is, Kraken wants it BAD.

We should probably go back up into the control system and do research before uploading anything.

>>26025841
>>26025822
>>26025801
It's the guy from the Vitruvian (and the casket?). I think he's the one who's supposed to be running this thing and Pazuzu's crew kidnapped him to take the Sun for themselves.

>>26025849
>I think this is like sticking in a battery, we lose the XP from Helix but the Sun gains something.
Maybe material.
Or maybe that figure recovers more quickly and then rapes us.

...Fuck it. Let's do the upload.

>>26025892
>...Fuck it. Let's do the upload.

Hmnnn.

>>26025856
>We should probably go back up into the control system and do research before uploading anything.

[x]Free: Tap into the hollow suns systems from where we are, and look at the process/what will happen/help files. There's probably a console nearby.

>>26025904
>[x]Free: Tap into the hollow suns systems from where we are, and look at the process/what will happen/help files. There's probably a console nearby.
Ok, voting for this.
Sounds like the perfect compromise.

I'm >>26025892.

>>26025936

I think we should just do it, actually. So far, everything here has been good. We're armed to the fucking teeth.

>>26025809
>>26025822
>>26025843
>>26025969

The mechanism is a strange one: Neon traceries jagging into the raised stone of two conductor ports. Like all else in the Hollow Sun - Like the hall of weapons you've left behind - it's black stone and integrated circuits; Solid and unyielding, as you place your palm against it.

> INCOMING PROTOCOLS DETECTED
> CONNECTED.
> COMPILING INTERFACE...

Little patches of orange light flicker across your forearms - Some kind of phostic interface - as the system comes to life around you. Copper lightning forks and cracks from the breach, as the great, unknowable machine above you begins to spin up; Faster, faster, as the embers fade across your arms and legs...

Then your fingertips begin to tingle. Your fingertips begin to glow.

You begin to brighten from the outside in.

Green motes of light rise from you, like a blizzard of stars - Ablating into luminous mist, drawn away in a whirling swarm of fireflies. For a moment, you're as incandescent as an angel: Orange light recedes. Green is in ascension.

You stagger, as your HUD momentarily fuzzes over with white static - A rising whine in your ears. The Grinder has drawn Helix Gygas - whatever remains *of* him - out of you, and *into* itself. The noise rises to a clattering, buzzing crescendo, the sounds of furious industry - Startling enough that you take a single step back...

Light falls back into you. Precipitating, condensing - Gathering at your right arm, micro-circuit traceries etched into the crimson plate. They overlap, slide, knotting together as you clench your fist: Metal scales irising outwards, like an eye at the back of your hand, to reveal-

...The violet orb of the Nihl Sphere.

> EXEC_CONSUME UNLOCKED
> HELIX GAUNTLET ACQUIRED

(Continued)

>>26026016

Forged from the remnants of Helix Gygas's data, the Helix Gauntlet has weaponized the unique systems that allowed his Player form to absorb and redirect energies. When activated, the Helix Gauntlet serves as a focus for EXEC_CONSUME - As long as contact is maintained with a target, the Gauntlet begins to absorb the subject's Essence, functioning as a channel for the Nihl Sphere. A portion of the siphoned Essence is converted into vital energies - Gradually replenishing the user's HP and Meter.

Also, the Helix Gauntlet's superconductive nature means that it functions as a focus for Codebursts - Effectively, all Codebursts are 20% cheaper to use.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>26026016
>>26026021
I think we should dance a jig.

>>26026021

FINALLY - FINALLY

we can absorb energy from people into the nihl sphere. I'm the guy who kept wanting to touch the ball to EVERYTHING, and now we can finally do it.

God damn it.

>>26025849

You're probably right.

>>26026016

pretty much confirms it.

>>26026041

Man.

With the gauntlet and the crisis arm, I'm almost disappointed we didn't get the Skyshaper mask.

We just went from being the red joker, to the Red Boxer.

Then again, there's the Carnifex. So perhaps a Jetpack Luchadora.

>>26026041
So you don't like EXP?

Did we lose EXP from that or did the machine just convert the identity data into an upgrade?

Also, does that mean that we got THREE gauntlets on our right hand?

>>26026021

OP, I have a question. With all this stuff, aren't you worried that we'll break the game?

>>26026021
I guess we did the same thing that gave us the Chain mines.

What else is there to do now?
Which commands didn't we use yet?
Are we ready to get our shield?

>>26026070

...... Man, I also

>>26026091
>OP, I have a question. With all this stuff, aren't you worried that we'll break the game?

one one hand, we've been getting upgrades like mad lately. On the other, we DID just hit max level, so I think we've graduated to Paragon/Epic tier, so to speak.

Also, not a lot of these new weapons can be used at the same time.

I'm more concerned that there are FIVE levels of Attunement.

And remember, due to the nature of the game, our rivals scale WITH us.

So....Holy Shit the amount of planning that must go into running this thing, since, well, that means there's room for at least four more levelups of..... stuff.

>>26026021
Ok, so the upload prompt wasn't connected to the mysterious golden figure at all; go figure.

Not sure I like the fact that the Helix Gauntlet anchors the Nihil Sphere to our hand as opposed to keeping it safely stashed away. We've had limbs severed before, and I don't want the Sphere clattering away to get snatched up by some enterprising scumbag because we didn't quite have a handle on our Phase Sword yet and dismembered ourselves. (Unless the Gauntlet (and the Sphere along with it) only manifests while using EXEC_CONSUME, much like the Crisis Arm stays demanifested.)

Also, even if this process DOES drain XP, if it can be done with any Player we kill, it basically obsoletes the Relic Roulette level up perk, since we would almost assuredly be able to funnel Essence into the Hollow Sun from slain players more than once per level.

>>26026091

(Not really: Each addition allows for more options, not necessarily a correspondingly greater increase in power. Think of it as the way you could carry all available weapons in most old-school FPS'es - You're still limited by your physiology (i.e. You only have two arms.) and the delay in weapon-swapping means that you can't lay down a constant fusillade of varying gunfire.

There's a natural limit to what you can realistically utilize at once - For instance, you could fire a Vulcan and a light weapon simulatenously, but not both Vulcans *and* two hand-held weapons in the same instance. However, I'll be sure to crunch the numbers to ensure that things are balanced.)

>>26026089

(Arguably, it's only two at a time: The Crisis Arm is a Relic you manifest, like your Fusion Annhilator, Plasma Caster, and other guns.)

>>26026089

(My apologies: To clarify, the Grinder converts the Essence imprint of defeated Players into upgrades. Effectively, it drains your XP for that fight, and changes it into a form that's immediately useable.)

>>26026021
[X] Free
How much Time has elapsed? I'd like to take a closer look at goldie but we do have a scheduled appointment with Argent Prominence.

>>26026106

We are LOADED for BEAR. Because BEARS are GODLESS KILLING MACHINES.

I'd suggest leaving the place, and going to meet AP now.

>>26026167
>Arguably, it's only two at a time: The Crisis Arm is a Relic you manifest, like your Fusion Annhilator, Plasma Caster, and other guns.

Those are Relics?! Like, they could be destroyed permanently?

>>26026138

I was just thinking(and forgot to finish typing), but now I wonder if this gauntlet is something that will have an affect in the Real World, since its connected to the nihl sphere, which does make the transition.

Also, I don't think we've ever used Roulette. I have to wonder if leveling up in certain areas gives you better drops, though. How that guy got the black joker's pistol, for example.

Still, this process seems to take their identity data and make something new of it. Not sure its comparable to a relic, or their original ability... but its something.

>>26026183
>I'd suggest leaving the place, and going to meet AP now.

Nah. We still wanna poke around the database a little bit, i think.

>>26026189

(My apologies: A more appropriate term would be 'special weapon'. While I hesitate to make the analogy, the closest approximation would be a Green Lantern construct - Created anew each time it's activated.)

>>26026021

So do we go and meet AP, or do we keep poking around in the Hollow Sun? I'm almost afraid to see what else we'd uncover. This whole place must have been a nightmare to design, rules-wise.

Does it remind anyone else of the black ball room in Gantz?

Ok, what option will we use next?

I guess Domain Function sounds like something that might be worth looking at.

Or, hey, how about this:
We just had a list of dungeons and players and their locations. How about marking down an interesting dungeon?

>>26026226

I vote for meeting Argent. Playing house is fun, but I'm anxious to actually get the plot moving again.

>>26026226
>So do we go and meet AP, or do we keep poking around in the Hollow Sun? I'm almost afraid to see what else we'd uncover.

Better do it now so we don't have to come back again

(Gentlemen: I'd love to continue, but I'm afraid that it's extremely late for me - Around 10:30 PM - and I'm exhausted. Since the majority vote, if I'm reading it correctly, seems to be to proceed to the meeting, this looks like a natural break point.

However, you've been a wonderful audience: Thank you for putting up with the significant delays between each post - There's been a lot of options to collate, I'm afraid.

For the sake of clarity, I'll be sure to include the energies currently available to the Hollow Sun, as relevant.

(At present - HOLLOW SUN: 21.3%)

As always, good night and God bless: I hope to see you again later in the week.)

So, a though just occurred to me. If the Nihl Sphere is now part of our gauntlet, are we still giving it back to Hecate should we find her?

>>26026350

Of course. It was hers originally, after all. Even if we can't, we can give her Pazuzu's. It should make a great wedding ring.

>>26026350
Yes, we WILL give it back.
But first we need to go to that hospital.

>>26026373
>It should make a great wedding ring.
I live for that happy end.

>>26026378

Awww, that's really sweet.

I do, however, feel very conflicted by the whole thing. Hecate is arguably our first love, but Mio is...Well, she's RIGHT THERE. Right there and utterly adorable, too.

Not to mention that she's a girl we can hold and touch and go to school with. That's really something.

Oh god, Hecate is 2D, isn't she?

>>26026428

The best girls are always 2D.

>>26027243

The distinction isn't so clear. Mio actually has non-Player powers, which Hecate never did.

Hell, is there any girl who's normal in the entire game?

>>26025831

Daegal can mean 'dweller by the dark stream'. It can also mean 'dawn'.

>>26025770

I am really god damn late, but holy shit, did we just inadvertently gain the piston punch of the Big O?

>>26030498
>Big O
I only saw a few episodes.
I thought the mech was even more retarded than usual, due to its lack of mobility.

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>>26030498

Also, guys. We've got the Nihl Sphere in our left hand. Pazuzu has the other one in an eye socket.

Hand. Eye.

And Fatal Abyss is the Sword of Kas.

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>>26030603

>thinking the MOTHERFUCKING BIG O was retarded

Are you a heterosexual or something?

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>>26030603
>only watched a few episodes
>I thought the mech was even more retarded than usual, due to its lack of mobility.

You have no idea what you are talking about. The O is a Mighty Glacier. It can't be killed unless it encounters a mech of equal specs. We see it beat to shit by one of the other Big's later.

>>26030672
I'm just questioning the viability of a huge-ass machine that doesn't seem to have more movement options than "go" and "punch".

Then again, that was years ago. Maybe now I would like it.

>>26030721

Yeah. I did not like it either when I was a kid back in the 90's. Recently rewatched it not too long ago. I was even more confused now than I was over a decade ago.

>Only two upvotes in the archive
What the hell happened?

>>26031175

>caring about votes

Redditfag detected.

So long as it doesn't fall into the negatives, it'll stay up.

>>26031238

Unless Locorice loses another hard disk on the server, of course.

Void Quest was never fully archived on Foolz. ;_;

>>26031238
>So long as it doesn't fall into the negatives
Remember the downvoting fuckheads.
We NEED votes, because sooner or later some retard will go bumbling into the archive and downvote the quest for shits and giggles.

I also hope that the "live with your shame" guy got finally caught. That dude needs to be crucified in public.

>>26031301
>"live with your shame"
Who?

Huh, this is still up? I would just like to point out to the person who claimed the revolver bazooka was a good choice for armor piercing that the TL masers do the same thing and probably a better job.

Remember, the masers only have to be primed to fire, whereas I suspect the heavy weapons have to be charged with each use. This may not necessarily be the case.

>>26026428

While I was cringing throughout the entire fiasco of "Hecate just dyed, whelp, time to get a new true love", this will be a hilarious matter to straighten out.

The Mio Thing is clearly the product of Anon's immature reaction to the loss of Hecate, who is of course the one true- nevermind.

>>26026021

So I had a thought with the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet breaks down a Player into HP for us, right? Since the Gauntlet is capable of nomming another Player's avatar, what is stopping us from simply fist-dissolving our way to the center of the Red World? Sure, we would not gain any HP from our life steal gaunt, but considering we could emulate Dorf Fortress....

Dig deeply.

Dig greedily.

>>26034498
>Dwarf Fortress
Opinion invalidated.

>>26034585

Have something against short drunken manchildren? Or do you just hate fun in general?

>>26034731
I'm sorry, that was mean. I overreacted. I'm not really a fan of Dwarf Fortress, but it's the culture and fans that really set me off. I'll reign in my personal feelings.

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>>26034824

I dunno man, I still don't think you're being sincere enough. You really hurt my feelings there lumping me in with all of the other DFfags. Shit, I think I even shed a few tears it was that traumatizing.