File: 1347252998748.jpg-(213 KB, 800x797, jokercorrector2.jpg)

Beneath you, the world burns. Dirty yellow flames lick away canvas and shelter cloth and wood, swirling into plumes of dense, dark smoke. A rippling fireglow lights the northen sky, silhouetting the skeletal framework of the Dreamland Flyer - Pinpoint flashes of light, the predatory shapes of hunting Correctors, all stitching the black tapestry with roiling motion.

Pazuzu's long shadow falls over you, as your brain seethes with vertigo. Everything's spinning, a horrid nausea that smears your vision into a nightmare whirl of confusion - A faint green light boiling out from within you, as the bandaged and mummified shape of Locke leeches your strength away...

TIME IS KILLING YOU, JOKER.

Pazuzu's voice - Like burning venom, in your mind. You can feel a invisible vise locking down around you, tightening to finish you, beneath a figure as tall and as merciless as a prince of hell.

HOW

DOES

IT

FEEL?

(Continued)

File: 1347253447881.jpg-(702 KB, 1099x1246, jokerpazuzu2.jpg)

>>20668264

It's a struggle to move, to stand without retching - Your crimson armor battered by countless impacts, the low hum of Pazuzu's shield filling your ears.

Time is killing everyone.

Your Tyrant Burst system cycles up to charge, with a *throb* that resonates in the very core of your being - Before blue-white lances of curving energy, spears of hissing photons, stab out from you; A slicing funnel, a random ray-storm that burns through the air in a dozen ice-white beams.

While you didn't know it, this was *exactly* what you needed. The pellucid blue flames of Pazuzu's defenses - Already weakened from your plasma rounds - simply can't stand up the sudden barrage; Hissing lasers stab through the attenuated shield, splintering it apart from a half-dozen different directions at once.

You hear a horrid, wordless *screech* - And Pazuzu lurches backwards, back into the air; His substance is bubbling, boiling, wavering like a heat mirage - A low, hateful sound of distress wrenched from his throat, as bony fingers claw at his robes...Now scorched by the unexpected blast-

The vertigo lifts from your mind. The spinning stops. The invisible pressure unclenches from around you, and you stagger to your feet with a grind of articulating joints.

> HP: 48%
> METER: 71%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 22%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 30%

TIER 3 WEAPONRY UNLOCKED.
YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20668349

Holy shit, I finally caught one of these.

TWO RAILGUN SHOTS TO THE FACE.

>>20668264

Things just keep getting worse.

>>20668385

Seconding this, but shoot one at the HP drainer.

Excellent, I'm on time this time.

>>20668385
>>20668461
Going to suggest not, those are extreme range. I propose warming up the Fusion Annihilator as proposed here: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/20576665/#p20581041

Making a Mazinger reference is still suggested.

>>20668385
>>20668461

Servoes shriek, as the Longinus Railgun sketches itself into being - Neon schematics filling in with a swirl of coalescing pixels, a lethal, long-barreled shape that locks into place around you. You're already taking aim, your HUD chiming with the urgent tone of a target lock-

NO

Magnetic coils accelerate a single slug of ultradense metal to hypervelocity speeds. There's no recoil, but the Railgun judders as you wrench the trigger - A Gauss blur streaking forth in a powerful linear distortion, one that splits the air with it's own sonic boom.

Your first shot hits Locke, first - The railgun round hits the bandaged figure with such ridiculous *force*, it punches through it without slowing; Locke's arm fragments, the limb parting from the shoulder with a *wrench* and an explosion of gore, the grasping arm - And the Key it holds - tumbling over the drop...

NO

Your next shot is aimed directly at Pazuzu. A bony hand comes up, as you fire; Locke is still folding upon itself, crumpling like a puppet with strings cut. The Railgun's accelerated round streaks across the distance - You actually see the shot tumble, distort under gravimetric pressures, as Pazuzu tries to slow it...

(Continued)

-But then there comes a flash like fire, and the Railgun's sharp report fills your ears. Droplets of blood and rotating metal shards spray backwards from a ragged hole in the back of Pazuzu's robes, the floating figure roaring so loud all you hear is noise...The mask wrenched away by the impact, to reveal-

Pazuzu's face is a pale porcelain blank, his left eye a gold-pupilled mechanism that winds and counter-circles like an antique optical instrument.

His right eye is an orb, a violet-glowing sphere that smokes with an infinite darkness. A light that's familiar and horrible at once...

-Like Hecate's, you realize. His eye is a Nihl Sphere.

You let the Railgun fall as your other arm comes up; The Fusion Annhilator humming with charge, mounting from three...Then four...Then SIX, as the Tempest Scrander's turbines cycle to life...

NO

And the ground explodes beneath you, as one of Pazuzu's spheres plough into the obsidian floor underfoot. The impact isn't enough to hurt you, not badly - But there's a tremendous *push*, a surge of repulsion that wrenches you from your feet and...

-You're falling. You've been flung clear off the building, the fully charged Fusion Annhilator ready to be discharged - As the world begins to tumble, the wind howling in your ears.


> HP: 44%
> METER: 28%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 22%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 28%

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20668694

What, you mean this one? How the hell does he have that?
>>19963695

Use the Scrander to break our fall, and see if we can fire at him.

>>20668694
...We're getting that sphere. Use the Scrander to get get enough height to see him again and fire.

Landing on top of the building again would be ideal, but killing Pazuzu should level us up. If we're not over the building after killing him, we upgrade the Scrander in mid-air.

>>20668694
Not yet.

We need to get back in range. Use the scrander to cushion our fall, and prepare to take off again. Make sure you know where Locke and Pazuzu are before you re-engage.

>>20668795
The Annihilator's fully charged, which gives it some range, and we can't risk losing the charge. Using the Scrander to cushion a fall is inefficient, since it's got one setting (gotta go FAST) and has a cooldown period. At best it flings us up to where we were but without the use of it to recalibrate, at worst it throws us in the wrong direction.

>>20668908
Agreed.
Let's get back up there and finish this fight.

Looks like we lost the OP.

>>20669598
Either he's having posting problems again, or he went to do IRL stuff.

>>20669614
I feel like he'd notify us if he went to do IRL stuff.

Just got caught up on this quest. Holy shit, OP. I think I have a new favorite.

>skeleton waiting for OP.jpg

I'm guessing OP got eaten by a Collector.

Bumping this on the off chance OP's gonna come back soon, it's nearly off the board.

>>20678059
He should be back within four hours from now if he's back on his normal posting cycle. But with the way he cut off last night, he may be experiencing issues on his end.

>>20678517

>he
>laughing_collectors.jpg

>>20678666
Only thing I know about OP is that "he" uses Singaporean time and runs a damn good quest.

Gentlemen - I am really very, very sorry for my absence; I was banned for posting a 'referral link' in the latest post.

To prevent the same thing from happening, I've opened up a Twitter account: @JokerQuestOP. I'll post the current status of the game there, in case anything untowards like this happens.

I'm really sorry for leaving you hanging, but I had no way of communicating that I'd been banned.

>>20679320

(Just in case, I'm putting the choices for this post on pastebin.)

http://pastebin.com/YJVrJayh

>>20679320
YES

https://twitter.com/JokerQuestOP

>Wow; I've just been banned all over again. This is incredibly frustrating.

Get on 4chan's IRC and see if a mod will unban you.

>>20679348
Alrighty, so choices:

I'm torn between upgrading the Scrander or going for Force again.

>>20679521
I vote for upgrading the Scrander. Mobility is the key to our survival.

>>20679348
[X] RELIC UPGRADE - ASSAULT SHROUD

We rely so fucking much on this thing. It deserves some love.

>JokerQuestOP @JokerQuestOP
>Wow; I've just been banned all over again. >This is incredibly frustrating.

Well shit.

Meter

>>20679495

There we go. Something after 'engines' has a referral issue.

>>20679771
WOO

>>20679771

That's slightly irritating that that is STILL not fixed even after two years. (Oh God it's been so long since Zeon Quest. Where has the time gone.)

>>20679771

The emerald motes of light swirl around you, as you come to a stop; Like pyreflies, they circle your crimson armor, a slash of green against an eerie red sky. The Tempest Scrander glows, as the particles are drawn into the whirling turbines; For a moment, you hear the *hum* of the charging element engaging...Before lightning flickers and seethes around you in a private storm, white bolts lashing against the metal tracks underfoot.

> TEMPEST SCRANDER UPGRADED.

Now, the Tempest Scrander is capable of *true* flight, functioning like an actual jetpack - You're no longer limited to a single burst, and can control the amount of thrust. At medium burn, the Scrander has five minutes of flight time: However, it recharges as long as you're not actively using it.

Upon impact - At high speeds - the Scrander will unleash an electromagnetic shockwave, that can stun and hurl back nearby opponents.

(Continued.)

You don't have more than a moment to acknowledge this, though; A mere instant later, a speeding black blur - Something massive, moving at ridiculous speeds - slams into the raised platform, just beneath you, with enough force to make the entire structure *groan* with the rending agony of tortured metal...

What the hell was that?

Your green mono-optic sensor focuses on the foreign object-

...It's a girder. Above you, you can make out Pazuzu's floating shape, smoke wisping from his charred robes - The violet glow of his Nihl Eye like a dark star, bony arms gesturing, like a conductor with an unseen orchestra.

The air trembles and distorts around him, as fallen girders lift from the ground - They fan out before him, all five of them, turning on their own axis, sharpened to lethal spears as they seethe with gravitic distortions.

His hand comes down, and they speed towards you, with sickening speed.

> HP: 44%
> METER: 28%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 22%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 28%

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20679918
Dodge, make sure the Assault Shroud is running the afterimages.

Shoot back, fill him with hot plasma from our Vulcans.

I'd say upgrade our three buddies next, honestly. They were taken control of way too easily by this guy. It might only be a one time occurrence, but it never hurts to be paranoid.

>>20679918
Use the cobalt booster's flare once more, then get the hell out of the way. We still have the Annihilator primed, we just need to get Pazuzu where we want him.

>>20679918

Get away and unload hot plasma-y death in his face.

The Fusion Annhilator is a smoldering furnace against your right arm - The Tempest Scrander *kicks*, and you leave the ground on a surge of boiling air. A tiny meter - At the very corner of your HUD - informs you how much charge you have left...But as the missiles streak towards you, like great spears of dark iron, the only thing that matters is *evading*-

Your fraying Assault Shroud trails afterimages in your wake - The first, then the second girder hurtle through them as you burn toward Pazuzu, dispersing into nanomaterial clouds as they're impaled; You bank, a jet of thrust juking you to the side - Your boot lashing out, kicking one of the oncoming girders into the next.

They smash together, with the breathless koom-koom-koom of a steel avalanche; The last one hisses past you, close enough to touch, driving down to plunge somewhere into the morass of battling Players.

(Continued.)

File: 1347341988545.jpg-(52 KB, 957x538, jokergirders.jpg)

>>20680098

You don't just *fly* - You fire, plasma bolts scorching their way from your Vulcans, sizzling across the rapidly shrinking distance between you and Pazuzu; His tattered shield has already crumpled in a collapsing swirl of conflicting energies, a *snarl* wrenched from his throat as each superheated shot drives him back, exploding in a nova-flare of energy against his form...

-It's as if he's just inky black darkness in the rough shape of a man; A darkness sealed within ragged stormshroud robes and the mocking jester's cap, and your shots are blasting him apart.

...And then your Tyrant Burst system erupts in another brilliant *flash*, and Pazuzu recoils. Arms raised in warding gestures lock up in palsy - You actually *see* the writhing blackness around him visibly recoil, in smoking half-real tendrils, as the light momentarily blots out the glow of his Nihl Eye.

You hear the *chime* of a tenuous target lock - Your optics have the beginnings of a target, but you'd have to get *closer* for a guaranteed hit...

-But at the same moment, you can *feel* a momentary disquiet; The *rush* only a Player ever feels. Someone's drawn a bead on you, too...

> HP: 41%
> METER: 35%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 9%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 16%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>20680169
We're in bad fucking shape. Drop the clone, evasive maneuvers and finish off Pazuzu before he can get back to functional status and ruin our day some more.

>>20680169

When there's a warning like that, you GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY.
Dodge, and fire the fusion annhilator at pazuzu. Blow him the fuck up.

>>20680223

Seconding this, do an Immelman!

Cobalt boost and fly faster towards pazuzu and fire the annihilator

>>20680274
That's crazy enough to work actually. We have that high velocity shockwave thing for the scrander- it should rebound anyone looking to sneak up on us while we point blank annihilator Pazuzu.

The Tempest Scrander hurls you forward, the turbines sparking with electric discharge - Until your Cobalt Booster kicks in, blue-flame afterburners flaming to life. The world blurs past, slipstream dragging as your limbs, but you're completely focused on Pazuzu as you swing the Fusion Annhilator up: A tiny dot of the purest light coalescing at the charging coils...

-You see Pazuzu's remaining spheres encircle him, his too-long arms raised in an eternal gesture of warding-

The Fusion Annhilator ignites. The seething sphere of incandescent brilliance stretches out, expanding into a white line, brighter and longer and *closer* - Become the flaming edge of a huge expanding blast.

The pillar of hungry sunfire sears through the heavens, illuminating the crimson sky with inner radiance. At the very heart of the inferno, a tiny shape rills, bathed in raw energy - The beam divides, splitting around Pazuzu as his summoned distortion holds, holds, *holds*, beginning to shrink and waver behind the overwhelming force...

A compressed cyclone of rust-colored wind blasts across you, from somewhere below. Gale-force winds, denuded by the distance, buffeting you, throwing off your aim - You hear the scratching noises of *sand* against your armor, like a dry desert gale, as it crusts over with choking particles-

...Smothered, your Tempest Scrander's turbines make an unpleasant choking sound, fitful lightnings flickering out. There's a sickening *lurch* as you fall down, down, *down* - Your jetpack fighting to cohere, your body crusted with sudden tarnish; Your movements are slow, unresponsive, flaked in a thick later of rust.

(Continued.)

By some miracle of miracles, the engines manage a weak cough as they restart: Turning your plummet into a barely-controlled tumble, plumes of metal sand trailing in your wake, the nanomaterial of your Assault Shroud denuded away...

-The impact is bone-rattling, as you smash through three signs, a curving arch, and the plywood finishings of two attractions on the way down. It's not as damaging as you expected, though; The static charge from your Scrander still fizzing, softening the blow...

Though it's still more than enough to jar you badly, as you sprawl amid the shattered remnants of a shooting gallery, the wooden stays curved like the ribs of an ancient leviathan.

You can hear your joints creaking, with rust - Your HUD flickering fitfully, as it fights the disturbance, trying to recohere...

Before you, a heavy boot smashes through the stands, crushing debris underfoot. You make out an ugly, grilled metal visor - Mismatched red and blue lens, glowing like embers...And the slow scraping *drag* of an ugly hacking sword.

Your HUD tags -

RUST KAISER.

> HP: 31%
> METER: 46%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 0%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

File: 1347343795697.jpg-(82 KB, 640x524, armor.jpg)

>>20680436

(Apologies, forgot my picture.)

>>20680436
Okay, get some distance as fast as possible, use the Scrander if needed.

Pull out the Longinus, we need to finish this fast and smash two rounds through that ugly son of a bitch.

>>20680436
PLASMA CASTER HIS ASS FOUR TIMES POINT BLANK.

>>20680436
Can we still get a lock on Pazuzu? If he's recovered then we should run, preferably through Rust Kaiser going with >>20680472

>>20680436
Augh, that ass! Don't give him a chance to talk, Longinus Railgun him where he stands.

What we need is to disengage for long enough for the game to reset our stats. Even if we lose the meter charge we'll still have full health/stats, which will more than make up for the need to get into a running battle.

Good to see you're back OP.

>>20680472
>>20680510
As an addendum to this course of action, make sure the first or second shot, whichever is optimal, takes out the arm with that sword before we get close enough to be hit by it.

>>20680469

You try - Your servoes groan, vedrigised limbs responding with fitful slowness. The hurricane - It's done *something* to you; Your armor feels heavy, deeply scored where it isn't breached. You're not sure you could aim the long rifle...

>>20680472

Better. Tortured pistons squeal, as you bring your arm up - The blunt muzzle of the Plasma Caster sketching itself into existence, your fist clenching on the grip...

Nearly point-black, the Plasma Caster spews its superheated payload; It makes a thunderous sound, as you fire - It hits Rust Kaiser head on, a spontaneous holocaust erupting around him-

...His pitted black armor glows, red-hot. He sways.

He keeps coming.

You shoot him in the face, and the plasma blast blows out his left helmet-lens, melts it to slag as the substance of his form begins to melt...

-He keeps coming anyway.

(Continued.)

>>20680569

You shoot him a third time, and the Caster judders in your grasp - Protesting the continuous fire. This time you hit him in the shoulder and the sword-arm, and the impact twists Rust Kaiser around -

...But those iron fingers are still locked around the cruciform hilt of the iron sword, and the cleaver blade comes across in a swing that hacks through the Plasma Caster's overheating muzzle. It nearly shears your hand off with it, except for the thick body of the stock and the muzzle...

-And then he kicks you in the chest, so hard that your cuirass cracks.

> LITTLE
> BASTARD

> WHAT THE HELL
> YOU LOOKING AT

He has a horrid, grinding voice, like blunt metal blades being scraped together. He is *entirely* metal - Through and through, all old iron and rust.

He raises his sword, as your Vulcans whirr, the barrels clogged...

-And then, quite suddenly, he's gone. A terrible impact has plucked him away, so fast you feel the rush of air - Across the street, a building collapses in on itself, as his iron-bound form slams into it.

(Continued.)

>>20680629

"Damnit! I had him right where I wanted him, Chrome!"

>>20680642
> HP: 31%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 0%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%

I'll let him have this one. Anon's in bad fucking shape, and this time there's no upgrade device to make it all better.

"I STILL HAVE ONE HP LEFT"

>>20680642
INB4 PAZUZU DID IT

I'M
NOT
DONE
WITH
YOU

FFFFFFFFFFFFF

A tall, mechanical shape stands over you - A shape instantly familiar. One of the myrmidions, from the Armory; A violet light glows within it, as it moves with herky-jerky motions, twitching slightly as if shorting out...

"Joker-kun!"

You hear Hecate's concerned voice as she pushes her way to you, kneeling in the shadow of her protector; Her Nihl Sphere hovers in the air, tendrils of light connecting it to the machine - Bizarrely, you note that she's *still* in the outfit she wore for the date...Though there's a note of panic in her words, almost drowned out by the hum of the Prateorian's powered fist.

"Joker-kun, can you hear me? We have to get *out* of here!"

[ ] "-I told you to run!"
[ ] "H, hecate? What's going on?"
[ ] "I'm fine, just help me up."
[ ] "Did you kill him?"
[ ] "That *thing*...How did you get it working?"
[ ] Free.

> HP: 22%
> METER: 24%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 0%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20680629

Holy shit.
That is bad ass right there.

>>20680642

>not popping Red Joker™ Aviators at Chrome

What are you, a scrub?

>>20680672
[X] "I'm fine, just help me up."

First priority get out of here, second priority ANYTHING FUCKING ELSE.

>>20680672
"Is Pazazu dead? I doubt I'll get another chance like this to take him out."

>>20680672

[X] Free

I am so sorry, Hectate. I do not know why all my excursions end this way.

It's starting to get to the point where I'm worried about going to the bathroom.

[X] "I'm fine, just help me up."

[X] Free.
Hit him again to be sure he stays down.

>>20680672
"-I told you to run!"

>>20680672

"We had a deal."

>awkwardly attempt to kiss her

"Well, after we get out of this madhouse. Help me up."

[X] Free action

Check and see what Pazuzu's been doing with the time Rust Kaiser bought him.

>>20680672
Normally this is where I'd write something witty and clever to force OP to be creative, but the only in character thing to say is "Ghrk" after that last punch.

No wait, I do have something to say.

"I suppose I should be upset that you didn't listen to my advice, but I can't be since I'm not about to listen to yours. The guy behind this, Pazuzu, he's got the other Nihl Sphere. It's his eye, and he's going to come after me personally if we don't stop him now, for good. Hecate, I need you to help me find him before he heals, he's too dangerous to let go and he's weakened and hurt. He's going to have left, and you're the only one who can help me stop him for good.

Nice robot by the way, glad that you got something to remember our first date by."

> [X] "I'm fine, just help me up."

She catches your arm, pulling at you - Setting her feet with a slight gasp, streaks of rust on her hands. You feel slow, unwieldy on your feet; But once you're up, thankfully, you can move. Your Vulcans shed metal sand as they cycle, your Scrander still fuming with gouts of ruddy smoke...You're not in the best of shape, and you know it.

> [X] Hit him again to be sure he stays down.

Hecate nods - Her lips move, and she ducks her head as the Prateorian pans around. The thing's other arm - The one that doesn't end in an articulated fist, seething with force - bears a heavy rotating cannon...It begins to spin up, making a shrieking buzzsaw roar as it spits a line of heavy munitions into the collapsed ruin where Rust Kaiser vanished.

> [X] "-I told you to run!"
> [X] "We had a deal."

"-I know." She flashes you a quick, but strained smile - "But I *couldn't*...I couldn't just *leave you* here-"

> "Is Pazazu dead? I doubt I'll get another chance like this to take him out."
> 20680761
> Check and see what Pazuzu's been doing with the time Rust Kaiser bought him.

You look around - Your helmet turning on rusted gears. It's pandemonium, all around; And oh, the sights you see. You see a pack of Correctors wrenching and tearing at a fallen player, to get at the meat within - Something like an arm clenched in vising jaws, before it's wrenched off. A thing with a face full of needle teeth trying to eat a slender, lime-green doll - Which screams and screams in a girl's voice as her head comes off...

"No!" Hecate clutches at your arm - "He'll kill you - Joker-kun, he'll *kill you*-"

(Continued.)

>>20680831

Then her eyes goes wide, and she looks past you.

He's here.

THE JOKER AND THE QUEEN.

TOGETHER AT LAST.

The voice comes from all around you, stabbing into your brain. His robes fluttering, rents showing through his form, Pazuzu descends from above...Walking on air.

He looks like you feel.

DID YOU MISS ME, HECATE?

[ ] "-You *know* him?"
[ ] "What do you want, you bastard?"
[ ] "Hecate, get us out of here."
[ ] "Hecate, run. I'll hold him off until you're clear."
[ ] "Hecate, SHOOT HIM."
[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20680836
"Well there's an obvious plot twist. Glad I saw that one coming or I might be upset right now. Hecate, waste him!"

>>20680836
[X] "Hecate, THROW ME."

If we can get our scrander working just enough to accelerate into him, we can tackle him and start ripping that Nihil Sphere out of his eye socket. We're not letting him hurt anyone else.

>>20680836
[X] "Hecate, SHOOT HIM."

Answers later, dead now. We still have 24% Meter, that's enough for a lot of missiles.

> [X] "Hecate, SHOOT HIM."
> "Well there's an obvious plot twist. Glad I saw that one coming or I might be upset right now. Hecate, waste him!"

The Praetorian moves with rolling fluidity, grinding fibres and drive chains ratcheting its awesome limbs. The barrel of its weapon tilts up, the muzzle vanishing behind a curtain of flame - Whatever it is, the rate of fire is so incredible, the overlapping shots form a single solid lines of shots...

They bend around Pazuzu's silhouette. Space itself has been warped and distorted around him, some kind of localized spatial rift-

I HAVEN'T BEEN THE SAME

SINCE YOU TOOK MY EYE

He's coming down towards you. One of those seething orbs hovers above a bony palm, as the Myrmidion keeps firing - Hecate doesn't answer, her brow furrowed, elegant features set in a pale mask of concetration...

-And hate. You can feel the antipathy between them, bright and venomous. She loathes him, with every fibre of her being.

Your Vulcans *might* work. Your Plasma Caster has been wrecked. The Annhilator and Railgun may work, too - But do you have the time to use them? As rust sloughs off your armor, you're sure the Triskelion racks might still function, too...

> HP: 22%
> METER: 24%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 0%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20680958
Railgun. Nothing else in the arsenal has hurt him as bad as the Longinus. He no-selled the Annihilator, the Vulcans can't do enough damage and the missiles... Hm. Actually, I think that this guy can warp energy, given what he did to the Annihilator. Bring in the Longinus, and fire the extra points as missiles to buy time.

>>20680958
FULL SALVO OF MISSILES. 8 of them and more as we build up meter from fucking him up.

Open fire with the vulcans, pray for the best.

>>20680958

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE EVEN WHEN i KILL YOU."

Query: Would setting our missiles on a time-delay proximity fuse work with a saturation barrage? Since he's literally warping space around him to send our plasma skittering off something around him. It would be more effective than just launching missiles at him if he can fuck with their guidance.

>>20680997
He didn't no-sell the Annihilator, we were interrupted and debuffed in the middle of breaking his shield.

I say use the Triskalion and escape while he's blinded by multiple missile detonations.

Your launch packs ratchet open; Four missiles spiralling outwards on twisting coils of smoke. Pazuzu lashes out - A buffeting bow-wave of force radiating from him - and they all explode at once, in a four-part overlapping detonation that kicks up a churning cloud of dust and gritty debris...

-But that means he doesn't see the Longinus shot coming. Your targeter has locked in his last know position, through the visual shield; You fire without seeing, and the CRACK of the railgun round shatters the sound barrier in a thunderclap...

You don't know if you hit him, but he responds a moment later, still hidden by the smoke - There's a flare of actinic white, shaped into a single plane like a planetary ring or a black hole's accretion disk. It flashes out at something approaching lightspeed, and it whips down towards the Praetorian without resistance. It also slices through the machine's armor, hull and internal structure.

The construct just...Falls apart.

NO

NO ESCAPE

YOU CANNOT RUN FROM ME

A silhouette, through the mist - Still floating raggedly, now lopsided...Missing an *arm*, baleful violet light beaming through the smog-

...His Meter's fully charged. Pazuzu's existence breaks all the rules you've known - He's hurt, but you can feel the terrible power within him as he lurches after you...

Then Hecate's pulling at you, pointing away; The smoldering eye in her Nihl Sphere fully opened, as a rent, a ragged gash in the fabric of reality unfolds itself to form a suppurating, bleeding wound in space and time-

"-over there!" she's saying - Her voice urgent, now, looking back - "It's the way *out*!"

> HP: 22%
> METER: 12%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 0%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>20681164

You heard the lady. Go for it.

>>20681164
Grab her and Scrander rocket through the gate. Fire the Triskelion rockets as we do, no reason not to be spiteful. We're running after all.

If it turns out Rust survived, I vote that he be hunted down and ENDED.

>>20681164
The dudes cheating, totally not cool.

Drop 4 more missiles at him as we get the fuck out of this place.

>>20681164
Can we hit him with a single charge Annihilator parting shot as we leap through the tear with Hecate?

>>20681222

This would be good idea, but we can fire missiles on the run. Launch a last barrage of missiles, everything we have, at him to keep him away from us as we make the home run.

>>20681213
>>20681202
Really think the fusion cannon's a better option guys. He'll have to actually block the fusion bolt where as he can just deflect/detonate the rockets.

>>20681243
I'm pretty sure we can fire the annihilator on the go. It's the railgun that needs to remain stationary. Of course pastebin is being shitty right now so I can't check that.

>>20681258
You make a good point. Fire the Fusion Annihilator, as many charges as we can manage in these few seconds, thin concentrated beam right at his Nihl Sphere eye.

rolled 34, 21 = 55

(Just checking something.)

>>20681258
Except we have to stop and aim it. Jetting out with the Scrander gets us out of the area where the guy with the fully charged meter has us in his sights and dead to rights. He totally just shredded Hecate's pet robot without any effort, and those sons of Vulcanus are a lot more armored than Joker. Every option that sees us escaping with Hecate faster is the correct option.

>>20681290

>those rolls

We're fucked. Better burn that Edge or Fate points if you have any Joker. You're gonna need it.

>>20681290
Well that's ominous...

>>20681303
We can launch ourself backwards with the scrander firing as we go.

>>20681290
>34, 21 = 55

I have no idea what those dice are for, but those are awful rolls. FFFFFFFFFFFF-

>>20681310
Joker took Bad Luck as a Negative Quality at character generation and his Mentor Spirit is associated with Sun. It's the only explanation that makes sense.

Hunched over the rubble, his black silhouette half-visible through the fading smoke, Pazuzu's the perfect target. You turn, the Fusion Annhilator cycling up - There's no time for a full burst, the precious seconds ticking by as the charge mounts.

One, two, *three*...

You *fire*. It's a wrist-thick blast of raw flame, shot through with writhing lightning - You don't hit Pazuzu dead-on, though the beam drags across him in a molten caress...

He screams, a wordless, racking howl as the shot bores through the standing frames behind him; With a grinding noise, it begins to topple, as fist-sized chunks of metal raining down from above.

"We have to *go*-"

The Scrander's turbines cycle, fighting for lift...But no, there's still an obstruction within. All it does is to grow *hotter* against your back - All that's left to do is to run, a frantic headlong sprint for the portal.

-Though she's not as badly hurt, Hecate isn't quite as far as you are...But then, she doesn't have myomer muscles beneath powered armor, or piston-driven legs powered by a reactor core. It's a scramble to cross the last few meters; The gate already wavering at the edges, your gauntlet locked around Hecate's arm, pulling her onwards.

"There!" Hecate gasps - Her Nihl Sphere hums and flickers with eye-hurting light, the gate's colors shifting into coalescing harmony, becoming more *controlled*...A swirling melange of violet and red, red, *red*. "Go - Go *now*..."

(Continued.)

File: 1347350737958.jpg-(164 KB, 255x600, jokerslasher.jpg)

Without warning, she makes a low sound - A sound that merges a gasp and a wet cough, as her green eyes go very, very wide. There's something else, too - A harsh metallic ring in it as Hecate stumbles, suddenly, almost falling forward against you as you turn back to see her...

-And her arm comes off.

One moment, you're pulling her forward, towards the flickering doorway - The next, off-balance, you're *through* it, falling, the Nihl Sphere tumbling through the gate after you.

Was that a fall? Or a push?

In your last glimpse through the gate - Before the world fills with violet light - you see Hecate still in the process of collapsing, steel spines driven through her back; There's a look of pained surprise on her face, as you hear the shadow of wings-

Then she's gone, and your vision fills with flickering static.

Blink. Oceanic blackness.

Blink. Cosmic emptiness, massive and ever-lasting.

Blink. Cold light, eons old.

BLINK.

(Continued.)

>>20681455
And that's why I wanted to use the missiles. Fire and forget! But noooooo, some hipsters had to fire the fusion annihilator, there's a great plan! And look what it got--Hecate killed.

I hope you're satisfied.

And you wake up.

Everything is black. There's a foul stench in the air, and everything *hurts* - You can feel the very fibre of your being ache, utter agony shooting through you with the slightest motion.

Somewhere, water is falling - A steady drip-drip-drip that echoes in your pounding skull.

You...You still can't see anything.

Slowly, as awareness returns, you're aware of something hard in your hand - Clenched so hard your knuckles hurt, fingers locked in place.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20681492
See what's in our hand. See what form we are in, Red Joker or Anon. Stretch, get an idea of what shape we are in, where we are, if there are walls, what the floor is made of.

>>20681491

(I am really very sorry. However, the roll was for the player's and Hecate's evasion while heading towards the portal.

Using the Annhilator 'suppressed' Pazuzu so he didn't get a free attack, which he was aiming at the player. However, the other enemy was aiming at Hecate, and he rolled a 98.)

>>20681492
Before anything else--before checking to see where we are, or confirming that what we're holding is the Nihl Sphere, Anon has to have a breakdown. It's par for course in this kind of story and event.

>>20681492
Try to get your bearings, can we move?

Where are you?

*Who* are you?

You learn the latter in a moment, as your hand grazes against the rough, cold surface of tarmac. Flesh, not armor - The light here is poor, but you're not blind. There's the faintest sliver of illumination in the distance...An almost square at the, the...

-Alley mouth?

A rush of familiarity overwhelms you, as you reach out - Finding your feet, with some difficult. Your clothes are stale and stiff...And from the skittering noise you hear, close by, it seems you've driven away the local rats.

You know where you are, now - Even before you look up, to see the mark of the Red Joker at the end of the alley, the faint, numinous glow almost imperceptible. You're *here* again - The place where it all started.

And in your hand...

Just the size of a marble, now, the Nihl Sphere rests in your palm. It's cloudy, cracked - Like a flawed gem, utterly grey and lifeless...As if the charge has been completely drained.

There's a ringing in your ears...

-Not your ears. Your handphone - It's ringing, buzzing away urgently, the sound echoing from the walls...

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

File: 1347351656171.jpg-(203 KB, 800x600, jokeralley.jpg)

>>20681590

(Image.)

>>20681590
Answer the phone. Pocket the Sphere.

>>20681590
Prop self up against wall, answer phone.

>>20681590

Answer that damn phone while trying not to flip your shit at having *maybe* lost Hecate.

Burn that Edge motherfucker! Hope for the Hand of God.

>>20681525
Haha, why are you apologizing. I think it was brilliantly done. Killing off major characters is something that too many quest stories shy away from since the authors get too attached to their characters to let anything really bad happen to them, and this didn't feel cheap at all. It was the climactic climax of the battle, and drives home how devastating it was. The effect is so perfect it feels planned.

If I have any complaints about this, it's that you felt the need to justify yourself in regards to my statement directed at the other players. You are not responsible for the decisions of the playerbase, and you shouldn't feel the need to soften the consequences of their actions.

>>20681619

I can just seeing the Quest Runner rubbing her hands together with a "Just as Planned" smirk on her face.

>>20681554
>>20681596

Your grip tightens - The sphere still feels, to your imagination, faintly warm from Hecate's touch. Your last sight of her, in that terrible place-

You don't want to think about it. You don't want to *think* about it. You want to be back *there*-

...Just like the first day, six years ago. The first day, and the long, long mourning that followed. But it's too late, and it has always been too late.

The spasm passes. You drop the Nihl Sphere in your pocket, where it settles like a leaden weight; Everything feels numb and cold - Your fingers stiff as you bring the phone to your ear-

> "Anon, is that you?"
> "Where are you?"
> "Are you all right?"

It's Kazuya. He sounds...strange. No, that's a lie - He sounds sucked-in, defeated, his voice scratchy and oddly choked.

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20681618

Jesus, but this chapter has been soul-crushingly depressing. I'm still shocked that hecate is dead.

>>20681655
"I--I'm okay. Maybe. I think. No, I'm not, he got Heca-- Tsuki-- HECATE. Goddamnit Kazuya, she's GONE."

(break down into tears)

Is.. is everyone alright?

Is [Hecate's alias that I can't remember] alright?

What happened?

Time to hit the sack. It's 5 am here.

>>20681691
Play it cool. Our bro sounds very, very depressed. Ask him what's wrong, first. We can have a breakdown later.

>>20681655
" It's me, I know about where I am, I feel like I got ran over by a truck.

Where's Tsukimi? Are you okay? What the flying fuck just happened there?"

>>20681694
She's dead, because we were too weak

>>20681725

We're gonna carry that weight.

>>20681724
add "where are you? I'm coming"
better have a face to face talk

>>20681725
She might not be dead, we are either going to find her or burn the world to cinders with our vengeance.

>>20681691
>>20681694
>>20681699

You haven't cried, for six years. For a long, long time, you've wondered if all capacity for horror was burnt out of you. But now - You feel your throat tighten, your eyes stinging; It feels like something's been gouged out of you-

...Like all of the city's lights have gone out, all at once.

> "They're saying that - That there was a bomb."

Kazuya sounds like he can't quite believe it, himself - Searching for the words.

> "-It was a big one, and...Well, a lot of people are dead. When we left, they were still searching..."

His voice breaks, just for a moment, and he composes himself.

> "Anon, I blew it. Natsumi...She's home, she's *safe*, but...I think we're done."

There's a deep, dragging breath, and Kazuya goes on.

> "Listen to me - At a time like this, I'm still so *selfish*..."

In the background, you hear sirens. For a long, long moment, there's just silence on the line, and then...

> "I don't know where Tsukimi-chan is but...I'm so sorry, Anon. I hope she's all right."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>20681725

Ugh, the one time I can't find "At least you tried" reaction image.

>>20681724
>>20681699
The time for the subterfuge games is over. We know Kazuya is Chrome, it's time to stop pretending, and it's time to take a risk. Kazuya's just seen something bad, he's probably lost friends and he might have lost Natsume. He doesn't need Anon the cool unflappable joker, he needs Anon the human and player. If he's really a friend this is going to bind him to us. If he's more a Player than a person... well, we'd probably have to fight Chrome eventually.

Okay. Pazuzu and everyone that works with him need to die screaming, and the only way we're going to manage that is if we've grab every advantage we can get our hands on. Time to find the Thief.

>>20681737
We are worthless. all that cocky play, and we couldn't save her

>>20681775
No, time to call up Argent Prominence and do him some favors for custom made relics.

File: 1347353620879.jpg-(247 KB, 990x1400, 1342230121161.jpg)

>>20681769
Here

>>20681764
"I hope so too.

Fuck secrecy, I know who you are Chrome, you know who I am. We're not idiots. Next time you see your boss ask him about Pazuzu and Nihl Spheres.

How did we even get into this shit? Can't even have a date without people trying to kill us. This isn't any way for a person to live. I'm going to kill the miserable fuck who did this, I will stick his head on a pike."

>>20681764
"...if its your, or your boss fault...I'll kill you both"

>>20681764
Time for the game to end.

"...Bullshit. It wasn't a bomb, it was Pazuzu. The Black Cardinal's in play again. Tell Argent that Red Joker's interested in an alliance when it's time to kill him. Tell him that we'll need to bring the Thief into this.

I'll talk to Natsume. Try and get some sleep, there won't be much time for it later. And Kazuya? Whatever you saw as Chrome Cypher, whatever you fought against over in the Red World? It wasn't your fault, it was all of ours for not being strong enough. And we're going to carry that weight for a long, long time."

Just think guys. We now have more routes to pursue!

And more chances to watch them die!

>>20681849
There is only one route now, the one that ends with us skull fucking Pazuzu's other eye out with the next railgun upgrade.

File: 1347353990242.gif-(349 KB, 480x360, American Hentai.gif)

>>20681840
You forgot the "Bang" at the end.

Beyond that.

Well said.

>>20681849
We lost the girl we may have been in love with. First we confirm her death, then we pursue vengeance. It would betray her memory to go after another.

why he didn't help us...he's not a friend. he's just Argent's minion. Argent was plotting with Pazuzu, I'm sure! they must burn!

>>20681775
>>20681791
>>20681810

Myraid thoughts flit through your mind. You need to find the Thief. You need to speak with Argent Prominence again-

...And more than anything, at this very moment, you need to watch Pazuzu and his ilk die screaming. It's a cold, angry thought that clenches in the very core of your being - The leaden weight of the Nihl Sphere dragging at you, the violet light extinguished for now.

>>20681818
>>20681840

> "What?"

The words hang in the air, in a crackley burst of static.

> "Slow down - I don't..."
> "Anon, you're scaring me. This isn't your fault, all right? It's just...It's just a bad thing."

There's genuine confusion in his voice, now - He sounds shell-shocked, maybe even traumatized, but...

-He's right. You're not making sense to him.

You're about to hang up, when Kazuya's voice lightens, slightly - A human touch, amid the ruin and horror of the day.

> "Anon?"
> "I don't know what's going on, but...I'm glad you're all right, man."

The line goes dead.

It's a while before you limp out of the alley. It's a long, long walk back home, and there's much to think about, much to *do*...

-Outside, the city bustles on. No-one pays any attention to you, as you vanish into the streets.

Far, far away, on a ledge outside a window, a perching bird watches you go. One perfectly machined mechanical eye opens and closes, as it cocks its head, chrome feather rustling with a silver surrusation.

It looks back.

Blinks.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 18

TO BE CONTINUED

>>20681775
>>20681840
>>20681818
We actually don't know that Kazuya is Chrome. It could be Natsumi. Should ask him what happened between the two of them.

>>20681916
Fack I was way too late.

>>20681913

(Thank you all - You've been a wonderful, and very patient, audience. This has been one hell of a chapter, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Unfortunately, this is all the time I have today; I'll run the next instalment this Saturday or Sunday - I'll confirm it on the Joker Quest Twitter, as soon as possible.

Once again, good night and god bless.)

>>20681931
Peace out OP.

>>20681913

We need to make a simple memorial for Hecate, if she's dead, whenever we get the chance. Something similar to what we have for our predecessor.

Always come back to it and remember the small window of happiness you had with a her in this shitty world.

Remember. everything is an enemy. even ourselves

>>20681872
Well, uh, about that... Notice anything interesting about Pazuzu? Like the fact that he was hardly human? Or the fact that he knew Hecate? And the fact that he was probably the original Black Cardinal? How much are you willing to bet that our next encounter with him will end with blood and bloody chunks as all that remains as his body, but Hecate taking his place as Black Cardinal and antagonist until Black Joker Mk. 2 decides whether she's enemy or ally?

>Kazuya confused
>Far, far away, on a ledge outside a window, a perching bird watches you go. One perfectly machined mechanical eye opens and closes, as it cocks its head, chrome feather rustling with a silver sursuration.

*throws up hands in disgust* Oh fine, so it's Natsume after all. I guess the hints really were too obvious, and the spear thing should have been the clincher.

>>20681931
Had a blast OP. Thanks for running this.

>>20681960
Carve her name into the armor. I hope it hurts

>>20681960
Maybe when this shit is done with, we could bury her Nihil sphere next to our predecessor. I know it isn't the best place to celebrate her memory, but at least she won't be alone.

I hope we'll see Rust Kaiser again. simply badass.

>>20681963

Paranoia is great man, but not if we're approaching Shadowrun levels of paranoia.

>>20681980

The depressing thing is that the modification wouldn't stay. It'd be repaired after the next transition.[/spoiler

>>20681992

Yeah, what was up with that guy? He only had a sword, but then there was that rust attack, and the way he seemed cmopletely invulnerable.

I really hope the QM doesn't asspull and somehow say Hecate survived. That'd just be a troll on the level of Papa-N or planefag.

>>20681983
I think we should keep it with us and see if it can be recharged somehow in our next battle. If we can get it working again it will make hunting down Pazuzu's gang much easier.

Also, fuck, I just realized that Hecate had that Fatal Abyss piece we found. shit.

>>20682005
even better. we have to hurt ourselves everytime.

>>20682030
It's possible for her to survive, whoever attacked her was going after her for a reason. Given here new lack of Nihl stone there are a few possibilities, she's dead, she's stuck in the void or she's captured by a third party.

>>20682011
I think he just had enough meter to hit us with a tier 3 attack when he blindsided us. It was a free for all.

>>20682050

Plus we were beat to shit by PussyFries. A glass cannon versus a veritable moving mac truck isn't going to be pretty.

>>20682011
Specialization. His archetype is the melee variety, which puts him at a disadvantage against most range fighters. Except his ability shuts down high tech artifacts and weapons. He probably put all his points into Stamina and Evol to develop enough durability to take ranged fire until he can bring his ability into play, which he follows up on by closing to melee and then gutting his nigh-defenseless and disoriented enemy. Takes a lot of work to build to the point where you can all but ignore enemy small to medium arms fire which puts him at a fairly high level.

Oh right, in the last thread OP mentioned that Red Joker's shots were unusually powerful. Did we ever get an explanation or suggestion as to why that was?

>>20682065

Why the power of love of course!

>>20682065

It's obvious.

Pyrite Arrow and Push Douchebag were very, very low-level. They were totally outmatched.

It seems like pazuzu was using people like that as cannon fodder.

>>20682062
I wonder how things would have been if with the others first thread options. sword power ups, how do they work?

>>20682077
I laughed. And then I felt bad.

>>20682089
That's what I thought the minute I finished my post. Except that they did know who Red Joker was, and did manage to do some damage (though that's probably attributable to the Corrector swarms only targeting other Players, Players reverting to "other Players KILL TO SURVIVE" mode and a handful of heavy hitters).

>>20681992
I think Rust Kaiser and Pazuzu might be the final bosses for the Quest. Like the flying guy who shot hecate(?)

>>20682089
>Push Landing Gear
probably he helds the record for "Quest's Faster Death"

>>20682106
I doubt it, we've still got black joker to deal with.

>>20682105

Yeah, pyrite was actually behaving like a gamer kid, complete with voicechat. In contrast, Pazuzu and Kaiser are clearly professionals, who know what they're doing.

>>20682105
Pazuzu's group were working in a group with the correctors to hunt down the disorganized players who were just out to have fun at the park. And let's face it, we're a celebrity. The player that kills the Red Joker becomes the Red Joker and automatically gets in to the finals or whatever. Also we leave a calling card almost every time we kill someone.

>>20682126

Fuck, almost forgot about her.

>>20682129

He may HAVE been a kid.

>>20682126
Too obvious, almost. I wouldn't be surprised if Kotone turned out to be a late game ally or hell, even love interest. Either way it's in our interests to follow up on her.

>It's easy to identify them - Each one *stalks*, turning to fire at the fleeing prey, flushed out by the monsters. Each one bears an odd symbol - Like a smiley-face, marked in rouge and greasepaint.

Just checking back through the last thread and noticed this. Considering how these guys were acting I think it's likely that they're immature enough to use this symbol in the real world too. Maybe a club icon or something. It's worth checking out.

Putting the pieces together, here:

Six years ago, something really bad happened.

The PC became a Player then, and he somehow met the red Joker. The Red Joker died/was killed, and passed on his power to the PC.

Then nothing much happens until now, when the Game begins in Earnest.

The last Game's finalists were the Black Cardinal, Argent Prominence, the Chalice Queen and Phantom Edge. We know that Phantom Edge was a swordsman, and Argent Prominence was a chill guy.

Hecate looked a bit like the chalice Queen.

Pazuzu is either the Black Cardinal himself, or the Black Cardinal's heir. The Thief claims to be Phantom Edge's successor, and is looking to put his MacGuffin sword back together.

So what happened to Argent Prominence's successor? Doesn't he have one? What's he not telling us?

rolled 76, 94, 78, 12, 32, 34, 11, 24, 20, 83, 69, 75 = 608

>>20682223
He was a Sonic fanfic author, so Argent made disappear any record of its existence.

>>20682458

That's a good fucking reason to kill him.

Damn, I got here too late.

Wow, that just happened... I wish I could have helped. Admittedly, I probably would have tried to fight Pazuzu to the end as well. I don't think things through... Like when I made those posts to see if Hecate and MC could get together.

I feel stupid for that. I just wanted to make MC look like a badass. I did like getting Hecate and MC together, but I always thought that we'd be able to save her.

Well, I don't regret the time we spent with her. Especially shooting down that enigmatic aura she always tried to hide behind. Now, we have to get through the hardest part of all; we have to continue, knowing that we are living on time that should have been Hecate's.

And we can't get down about that. We can't stop, rage, weep, or even lock it away. If we did, we would be wasting the time Hecate gave to us. We need to finish this game. We need to kill Pazuzu and the others, with them spitting in our eyes and cursing us with not being able to save her. That is our burden. And we can do nothing but carry it.

Can you look the ugly truth in the eyes and accept it? Without denial, anger, or sadness?

If not, we may as well wander back into the wreck and let the past overcome us. Because the only way to truly repay her action is to take a small piece of this, lock it away, and leave the rest behind. We can't waste our lives any more, chaps. We need to live out both our lives.

>>20682505
...

Fuck. You had to put it all out there. God, I... I think I need a bit to think. I don't want to dedicate the MC's life to vengeance, because Hecate deserves better, but that means...

I'll be back in a minute. I'll think about what to do in a bit.

>>20682505

This game rustles my jimmies so much.

The horrible part is, I can't help but think that this means we have a chance with Mio or Asuna.

>>20682505
There is no more Anon, no more joking with friends, no more teasing and taking care of Eri, none of that. There's only the Red Joker and those who need to die.

There's no more friends there's allies of convenience who we trust only to act in their best interest.

>>20682575
You saw what happened to Hecate, the only one who could have had half a chance in sharing the Red World with us. Do you think that either of those two would survive being close to us? And even if they did every time we were together they would see more people die, more chaos happen. If we care about them in the least we won't let them close enough to hurt themselves.

>>20682594

What weirds me out is that the time involved. The main character is in high school, right? That means he's 16 - 17. If he first entered the red world six years ago, he'd have been ten years old.

Yet it's clear he's seen some serious shit. How long was he in there, anyway?

>>20682505

denial, anger, sadness? those petty things have been already crushed under the weight of our sin.

guilty. we are GUILTY. EVERYTHING IS

both worlds are going to explode to debris, and we are the fuse, burning slowly with well earned burning torment!

the future will be ashes and dust. a destiny of pulverization! even time will break and shatter! OBLITERATION

>>20682575
You know what? So did I. It's horrible, but it's not. Just as we want Hecate to be happy, the reverse is true. Hecate would want us to live our life.

I don't know whether to grant her wish, and have that mean finding love somewhere else, or to reject the wish she gave her life on and dwell in the past.

To truly make her happy, we will feel like shit, following our heart but knowing that a part of it is breaking. To try and stay faithful would ruin us, and that would break Hecate's heart.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. All that changes is the type of thing you feel like shit for.

I say that if we feel the spark of love in another, like Mio or Asuna, we follow it. But only because that's the sort of person Hecate fell in love with.

Thoughts?

>>20682594
If Anon dies with Hecate, her last hope in life is extinguished. If you can hold that last light of hope in your hands and snuff it out, just because you don't want to be hurt any more, you are stronger than me.

Because it takes a strong person to be that selfish.

>>20682620
The future that Hecate gave her life for? You want to destroy it? If you truly cared for her, would you want to destroy this world, a world that Hecate was new to, and treasured it almost as much as us?

Feel free to crush it. But know that the resistance you feel in every strike is Hecate, desperately trying to hold you back from destroying the only thing that connects you and her together.

>>20682646
I would ask you to examine our dating history so far.

First date, Asuna, took her our for tea and cake. Interrupted by us fighting the Black Joker and her seeing a man burn while falling to his death.

Date two, you could count us taking Hecate out for coffee as this, not too bad but it was interrupted by Cthulhu deciding that today was a great day to murder everything.

Date three, this one. I don't have to say anything else.

Following our heart gets the people we love killed. It traumatizes them and us and no one other than Hecate could understand both halves of our life. Do you really think we should tell them "Oh, when I'm zoning out occasionally I'm really fighting to the death with crazy people who want my armor. Don't worry it won't impact our lives except for the corpses, explosions and mass carnage that follow everywhere I go. More coffee sweetie?"

I rest my case. The curse of the Red Joker is just as bad as the Black Joker, it tricks us into thinking we can live a normal life, and then shows us how anyone near us gets hurt. It makes the Black Joker look like a kindness.

>>20682102

That would actually be a rather more traditional game. It's interesting, but I actually like guns better. Very characterful.

I really want to see what our mentor was like. The cyber-cowboy theme of him was pretty fucking cool.

>>20682699
Sure, if that was all that happened, you would be right.

However, you forget the happiness that the MC, and Asuna/Hecate had by being with us. That is the torture of love. Sure, for us, our life is constantly fraught with fighting and loss. But when we find something worth holding on to, how much would you give for that?

Because that is what love feels like. When it is lost, you wish you never had it. But looking back on the happy moments love brings, it's not surprising how much people will risk to get it, when they find the one truly worth sharing it with.

So sure, shun love. But if you have felt its touch, you would realize why people would risk their life for it.

>>20682699
>>20682646
>main love interest dies
>start calculating who could be our next target
>in the same fucking thread
Seriously guys, you make me sick.

>>20682689
>>20682646
>>20682505

You're making me feel like crap. You say to live out MC's life, and even love another, but you also know how bad that will make us feel! What the hell!?

Sure, if we didn't love, or live our life to the fullest, it would be ruining Hecate's wishes, but it still feels like ruining them!

God dammit! This is what it fucking feels like when you get emotionally attached! It's great, but not!

>>20668243

Bravo, Op. Bravo.

What a game. I havne't raged this hard in FOREVER.

>>20682747
Why do you think Hecate loved us? If it was us she loved, then she wouldn't want us to be a wreck after her death. All she wanted was for us to be happy! Do you think that doesn't make me feel like shit? That we have to be the same old self, in order to make sure Hecate's love isn't squandered?

The MC will always love Hecate, and vice versa. But Hecate would not want our memories of her to fuck us up. Hell, people have suggested destroying the world she loved, not feeling anything any more, and trying to find some life in life again.

We can't mourn the time we will never spend with her. We need to celebrate the great times we DID spend with her.

If you can find a way to move on and be happy, please say so. We all want to know.

>>20682739
But we can't ask them to risk their lives for our happiness. We can't ask them to accept our love while we know that it'll hurt them. They deserve someone better than us. Going after anyone would just be selfish, we'd be exposing them to danger, only showing them half our life as they just, and trying to get their love out of this. We don't deserve it, once the war is over we can rebuild, but until then we can't in good conscience pursue anyone.

>>20682788

I have to wonder: What was Hecate up to, in the first place?

Why did she approach us, of all people? It seems that she was up to something, not necessarily malicious, and it really seems that she didn't intend to start falling for us.

Didn't she explicitly say something along the lines of "A relationship is a bad idea?"

>>20682802
And what would you say if they would give anything to be with us now? Would you crush their dream and ruin life for them, merely because there is a potential of that happening if we accept?

If we love, the happiness CAN be taken from the both of us. If we don't love, the happiness WILL be taken from the both of us.

Even if a risk taken ends horribly, we cannot stop taking risks. If not, we will forever lose, and never gain.

>>20682811
I believe that all Hecate knew was the Red World. She knew how all of the Players and Correctors acted, and she knew that it could not change, and that she needed to hide away to stay alive. She heard of the Red Joker, and how he changed the game. But that had not worked.

Then she met the Red Joker. She tried to do the same, keep away, but she found that we fought the order of the world. We were new, and we questioned why it must happen. She decided to get to know us, and found that we were dead set on resolving peace.

It couldn't happen. It never had before, had it? But we are so stubborn on that fact that despite herself, she believed it to. So she let herself get involved in it.

She had the time of her life. And just as she knew what it was to live, she saw our life in danger. So she decided to fight for the new world she saw. She treasured it, and us, for it represented everything she loved in life. And it was something she was happy to sacrifice herself for. It's selfish, but we would do the same, because we know how great the world can be.

>>20682825
If we reject them it'll hurt us both and they'll heal. They'll find someone else, someone who can care for them, someone who will love them. If we take that risk we're not just risking our happiness, we're risking their fucking life. They will probably die if we do this.

I'd rather crush their dreams than have them die by our side.

>>20682855
So you would rather have their happiness be taken away, over your happiness being taken away? Because when people die for another, the only regret they have is that the other will hurt. When you reject someone, they don't forget you. They try to find someone to forget you with. But it always gnaws at them, and how their real love will never be realized.

You would crush their dreams so they could be happy? You may as well shoot them so they will live. If they love, and die loving, then that is truly letting them be happy.

MY GOD. OP, you're a bloody genius. Very, VERY rarely does a thread generate such feelings in it's participants.

I gotta hand it to ya. This quest is GOLD.

>>20682886
Do you understand the word dead? Because it's pretty fucking final, it means all of their happiness is gone, they're corpses and given how our life goes we may never find the body.

If we reject them they'll eventually move one, they'll find someone else, they'll be happy. We aren't necessarily their "true love" or their "real love". We're not that fucking important, we're not the ones they have to be destined to be with.

We're just a guy with a fucked up life who wasn't strong enough to save the woman he loved. Let them find someone else, let them find someone who doesn't hurt everything near him, let them find someone who won't turn their life into hell because every time they spend time with us there is a damn good chance that there it'll end with dead people surrounding us.

>>20682902

Tell me about it. I'm perversely amused by all the waifu'ing.
AND THE WAIFU IS DEAD.

While we're at it, my vote is that we hook up with mio. I just love how this quest suddenly went from boring, because we knew who the love interest would be, to a total clusterfuck of horror and SUFFERING.

Oh man. This is some seriously deep stuff.

I have got to catch up on this quest, holy shit.

>>20682916
If death is so fucking final to you, then what is the problem with letting them love, then die for that love? It's better to die having lived a rich life full of love than to just exist, not getting near any happiness for fear of not existing any more.

If people didn't die for the things they loved, it would be a bitter, selfish life. If we could turn back time, and choose between her dying or us dying, which one would you fucking pick, eh?

If you would give your life to save her, would you want her to feel the same selfish way you're feeling right now? Or would you want her to be happy, knowing that we died so that she may live?

You may understand the word dead, but do you understand the word live? Because having nothing doesn't seem like living in any interpreted meaning.

>>20682929
I loved getting the waifu, and living life with the waifu. I also loved how the OP stuck to his guns and let her die when the dice said she died.

Now we can see what happens as the MC needs to get past this, and move on.

I don't hate the waifu at all. I think this is perfect for anyone who has lost something dear to them, and find out where they would go from there.

All of you going on and on about Hecate wanting us to move on have me scratching my head in confusion, cause the Hecate I'm familiar with wouldn't be the type to deny us a bit of revenge. Next thread I'm going to be pushing for hunting down and killing as many of those painted smiley face wearing losers as possible and killing them all until we gain another upgrade. Then I'm going to push for using that upgrade to recharge/repair Hecate's Nihl Sphere so we can use it to counter Pazuzu's Nihl Sphere once we've hunted him down. I really don't think Hecate would have objected.

>>20682980
Not at all. But what after that?

>>20682957
We can go after relations after the whole war business is done. After that we can move on, but until that point we really shouldn't.

They don't have to love us and then die because of us. We could let them down gently and they could find someone else. We're not the only guy in the world, they'll cry, they'll be sad and they'll get better. They'll find someone else, it'll work out.

It's not selfish to reject someone because if you go out with them they're going to DIE. It's selfish to go out with them, feel the joy of loving them again and then have them die just so that we can be happy for a bit longer.

How many girls do we have to go through before you're going to think "maybe we shouldn't go out with someone when dating a girl is a fucking death sentence for her", how many?

File: 1347367019923.png-(165 KB, 354x600, 127428993086.png)

>choose a perspective of theprotagonist's mind the others haven't considered, post sticking with it
>afterthread goes on
>comes out that people actually is emotional about this
>/tg/ tries to rationalize and exploit emotions
mfw op is a glorious crazy bastard

>>20683013
Look, us dating someone doesn't warrant an instant death. Hecate knew the red world, and she came in to intervene. As long as we can interact with the red world without fear of them coming as well, then they will not be in danger.

>>20683036
We're constantly going to be fighting things from the Red World, these cause serious environmental effects on the real world and they don't have any way to protect themselves. Not to mention that it'd be pretty callous of us to take them out on dates knowing that most of the time they would have to face another dead body.

>>20683027
He is. And I bet when the dice came to Hecate getting hit, he was equal parts 'DAAAAMN that just happened' and 'Oh god... What have I done?...'

>>20682997
We still have other goals in our life. The Thief still wants the Fatal Abyss and we should really decide if we want to get it for him. We still have friends who need our help to sort shit out between them. We have a game to win.

And lets face it, even with this trauma Anon will likely still be the kind of sucker to go out of his way to help a pretty face, though he may not get so attached when he does so.

>>20683045
No, if someone dies in the Red World, they die for real. In order to explain why they drop dead, events in the real world happen. Anyone who doesn't enter the Red World does not get hurt by it.

And anyway, how do you know how long this game will go? If we meet someone, and we can find it in ourselves to love again, it will give us all the more incentive to end this game.

>>20683058
Well, who knows? Maybe love will happen again. Only now, Anon knows how precious it is, and how he needs to protect it.

>>20682980
The point those guys are missing is, we're *not* Hecate. we must act following ourselves, not using suppositions about someone else opinions- giving away your true self is not a good way to mourn a person you loved. what are you going to do, impersonate Hecate when you miss her? we must cry, suffer, throw ourselves into the arms of someone else in search of consolation, get revenge and everything you want, but it MUST be something we decided ourselves.

>>20683084
EXACTLY. We don't just love to love again, we must be true to ourselves. We need to remain the person that Hecate loved, the crazy, slightly hedonistic charmer that when push came to shove, was all fucking business, and would not leave something alone until it finished.

>>20683048

it's especially amazing given that Hecate wasn't a model of virtuous behaviour. She was attractive, had nice taste in clothing, was a bit of a tease, and clearly liked us, but she wasn't a joan of arc.

>Browse /tg/ after a long while
"Oh hay, one of those quest threads! I can see what all of the fuss is about!"

"Oh, Joker Quest? Are we going to be a wildcard, or a jester-"

>HOLY FUCK ACTION PACKED
>BITCHES FUCK YEAH
>Love... Is it not great?
>NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO STOP YOUR ASS GETTING KILLED
>After thread, surprisingly cohesive philosophical debate about life after the death of a love

Don't change, /tg/. Never change.

I reckon I'll start coming back, and follow this thread series. Now, let Anon get back to being his lovable self, having matured from this experience, and maybe finding love again.

[nospoilers on tg] Honestly, she may not even be dead. Wouldn't be surprised if OP pulled that over us.[/tgneedsspoilers]

>>20683165
Certainly. When she started, she was Neutral at best, leaning on Chaotic Neutral. However, I reckon she liked both Anon, and life outside the Red. I reckon she was leaning more towards Chaotic/Neutral Good.

>>20683099
The question is, is that who Hecate loved? Or did she follow the masked Red Joker, who slaughtered his way to the halls of infamy? Was the person Anon made himself out to be when he was with her the "real" Anon? Did she love a lie? Did she love?

And then the real question: Is she dead yet for real, or is she hurt unto death, kept alive by her former patron as revenge for her theft of the Nihl Sphere, waiting for Anon to save her--or put her out of her misery?

Do we want Anon to go back to being the person he was before? Should he? Death changes people, failure almost as much. He can't go back to being the person he was before, because the person he was before didn't see Hecate die in front of his eyes because he made out like a shonen manga protagonist rather than escape with his own. He's going to have to change, otherwise he'll have gotten nothing from the experience.

For what it's worth I think that Hecate's death is all according to OP's plan. How it fits into the narrative arc is just too smooth. Maybe the unexpected romantic arc moved up the timeline, but OP's made this the most serious business on /tg/ by not flinching from offing the love interest.

>>20683171

What I really like is how ridiculously cool the other characters are, too. We're special, but we're not SPECIAL special.

Pazuzu and Rust Kaiser have bitchin' designs, and even mooks like Pyreite Arrow and Phase Dagger looked pretty cool. Then the Thief has a skullhead and an aesthetic all of his own.

>>20683219
Well, my thought was that during the last few meeting-ups, she managed to look behind the Joker's mask, and liked what she saw. I reckon that was part about her confession that stood out the most; accepting both parts of us.

But, we'll see how the dice roll, and how the story unfolds.

>nircan engine
Is that our new relic/upgrade, captcha? I like it!

>>20683221
Yeah, I have to admit, everything has looked AWESOME so far. I mean, I read up on that Alecto, and HOLY SHIT does the OP know his sources, or wha-

>>20683219
... WHEN DID WE HAVE SPOILERS!?

File: 1347369476002.jpg-(Spoiler Image, 80 KB, 764x1053)

>>20683258
[spoilers]Since moot came back.[/spoiler]

P.S. We've got image spoilers too. Pic is what I've imagined RJ looks like, save with guns and missile launchers.

Anyone have thoughts on how to play Anon going forward? He's going to be put out with Pazuzu and co.; I think he's going to need backup.

>>20683258

The Cast list is enormous, you have to admit.

PLAYERS SO FAR:

Red Joker.
Baphomet.
Kerebos.
Chrome Cypher.
Death Caliber.
Neon Striker.
Hecate.
(Multiple players, some of which are apparent cameos like JET JAGUAR.)
Argent Prominence.
The Thief. ('Totenaz'.)
Alecto/Rambling Feather.
Abyss Carcharis.
Push Dagger.
Pazuzu.
Pyrite Arrow.
Rust Kaiser.
Old Joker.

Is that everyone?

>>20683288

You forgot Gran Bellion and Derlag/Derlug.

The Black Joker probably counts, too.

>>20683282
Bitching picture. Saw that a couple of times with the archived threads.

In my opinion, I believe that Anon would be seriously put off. He's always been used to being in power, so having the tables suddenly flipped would leave him right on his ass.

But, that's what support is for. Natsumi (I believe her name is) obviously still has a crush on us, and will let up on us knowing that we're in a bad place.

We've done lots of good for others. Because of that, we have people to show Anon that there is still life for him, and send him right back on his feet. Then we'll have our own Scarlet Pimp...ernel back in business, with some of his Player friends to back him up, and perhaps a new love in his life out of the Red World.

>>20683323
Also, NATSUMI'S FUCKING CHROME CYPHER. THERE WAS RETROSPECTIVE HINTS EVEN BEFORE CHROME EVEN SHOWED.

I am surprised that people even thought it was Kazu.

>>20683344
Me again, but honestly. I know the one standing point against this was 'How could Kazuya coincidentally get a job with the man who is obviously Argent Prominence?'

Well, it wasn't a coincidence. He got the job right around when him and Natsumi started dating!

I know I'm either:

Making links where they aren't
or
Stating the obvious obviously

But it seemed pretty straight forward to me.

>>20683344

There were a lot of double-bluffs.

1.) Kazuma going missing on the train...Players don't physically transform, they just space out. And we couldn't see Natsumi in the dark.

2.) Kazuma out of breath and telling us to watch stuff for him: He SAID he was going to pick up Natsumi, and he was running late. He wasn't lying about that at all.

3.) Natsumi is in the Naginita club. That's a kind of spear.

4.) Natsumi got really upset on the ride because she had just finished fighting against the enemy players, and witnessed the slaughter for herself.

5.) Chrome Cypher is tall, lanky and agile. Kazuma is a solid guy who prefers to use guns.

>>20683396

One last one:

Cypher is businesslike, professional, and talks in curt, clipped sentences. Kazuya uses a lot of colloquialisms; "Yeah" "Man" "Bro" and is goofy and good-natured.

>>20683377

Don't forget that she took an INSTANT dislike to hecate, and tried to warn us away from her. Repeatedly.

There was no indication the girls knew each other, and Kazuya's first response was something like "She's really hot, where did you meet her?"

>>20683396
Iunno if anyone else is a Persona 4 junkie, but when I heard Kazuya, and imagined the MC, I immediately thought of Kazuya as Yousuke, who is a tall, lanky and agile guy. Hell, even the picture for the Red Joker is from SMT, I think. Apart from that, it seemed pretty simple.

File: 1347371581237.jpg-(394 KB, 1366x768, kazuyaa.jpg)

>>20683437

Apparently Kazuya looks like this.

The original pic for the red joker was some kind of monoeyed gunslinger.

File: 1347371977358.jpg-(56 KB, 781x809, Red Joker Assault Shroud.jpg)

>>20683547
Well, when I heard Joker got the Assault Shroud, I immediately thought of this.

>>20683596
Plus guns, minus naginata, of course.

>>20683596

I actually thought of the Sinaju from Gundam Unicorn. I can't help think we look like a Zaku.