You stand within the Spire's colossal heart - A circular space, lit by the fitful, flickering light of pellucid blue pyreflame. Ebony tiles line the floor, in expanding circles - Radiating outwards, like ripples on the placid surface of a pond. The walls are obsidian, defaced by eerie, uneven scrawlings; Scraped frescoes of half-seen figures and creatures, simple elemental marks that remind you of primordial cave paintings.

The wall is cracked. A white marble sacrophagus has smashed fault-lines into it, cracks spiderwebbing away from the point of contact. Pinned beneath the crushing weight, the Thief twitches, like a half-crushed spider; You see one gloved hand scrabbling at the ground, clawing for a handhold...

There are three Players in the chamber, a space that resembles a colosseum - About to become an arena, in truth.

RED JOKER

V.

RUST KAISER

(Continued.)

Before the great double-doors, Rust Kaiser *looms*. He is huge, bigger even that his silhouette suggested - The span of his shoulder guards as broad as a massive arched doorway. The gunmetal edges of his pitch-scribed armor are slate-grey, vast shoulder shields articulating with a dull, scraping metal-on-metal groan.

In one gauntleted fist, he grips a pitted, jagged blade - The metal shape scuffed and worn - as long as your leg and as broad as your thigh.

OUT OF
MY WAY

He takes a single, slow step forward - The ground trembles beneath him. His form isn't just large, but immensely *dense*; Meteoric iron, heavy enough to distort the world around him. Those awful mismatched eyes glow with sulfurous red and pellucid blue light, rusty, barbed chains rustling as they hang from his free hand...

With a grinding shriek, the leering demon's-maw on his cuirass ratchets open; You hear a hissing inhalation, rust-colored wind beginning to gather and bulge at the very core of his being, coils of heat steaming in the air...

> HP: 100%
> METER: 5%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 100%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 150%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21755352

Oh, fuck. Use the Tyrant Burst to blind him, then dodge to the side while firing both Vulcans at once.

>>21755107

THANK YOU BASED GOD.

Welcome back, Op. How were the exams?

>>21755352
"Go fuck yourself."

Okay start firing into his core, dodge to the side, keep on moving. If need be we can use our fancy jetpack to get more speed.

>>21755352
Focus fire on his legs to reduce his mobility.

>>21755409

(Ah, well...The less said about those, the better. Still, I'm just glad they're over.)

>>21755352

Use the Scrander to dodge the rust while opening up with our Vulcans to build meter. Launch two drones to harass him and to aid in knocking his chains off course if he tries to use them to grab us.

>>21755438

I assume our upgraded Scrander comes with directional thrusters similar to Armored Core. Quick boost is what I'm getting at. Quick boost out of the incoming rust storm.

I hope.

The Scrander at your back roars to life - The turbines spinning, crimson photons gouting from the accumulator as your forearm sheaths pop open; You're already firing, clenching the stirrup grips, the barrels of both Vulcans erupting into a blaze of livid green plasma fire.

The searing bolts streak across the distance, as you let rip - They slam into meteoric iron, scorching and charring the black plate; You hear the slagging *hiss* as your shots slam into the articulated joints of piston-driven legs, two well-aimed bolts exploding against the bitter figure's torso-

...And a horizontal cyclone blasts forth, in a torrent of iron sand and searing wind. It's a miasma, a hurricane of rust; Your quick evasion lifts you up and over the brunt of the howling blast, but not *completely* - It swells to fill the confined space with a choking smog of ash and grit, the corroding touch eating into your Assault Shroud...

-Your Tempest Scrander makes an unhealthy sound, the thrust cutting out; The vents are clogged with grit, whining fitfully as the charging elements are smothered - False readings ping on your sensors, your jump pack sputtering fitfully as you begin to lose altitude. The *entire* arena is filled with a vile, swirling miasma that stinks of pollutants and industrial by-products; Your crimson armor beginning to *smoke* as it corrodes...

He has to be somewhere beneath you, shrouded in the churning storm of ash and rust and smog - But *where* is he?

> HP: 94%
> METER: 13%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 100%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 121%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21755438

(My apologies, I missed this one. I'll include it in the next post.)

>>21755593

Cobalt Boost to clear the crap from our thruster intakes then gain altitude while launching those two drones to keep chucklefuck from simply hooking us with those chains. The smoke will haft to clear eventually.

Play the waiting game.

>>21755593

Get those drones up, pronto. Get ready for a surprise attack.

>>21755625

On a completely unrelated note...

I wonder if the particulants in the air are in anyway flammable....

Get the mixture right and we'll have a Kooked Kaiser.

Also, damn. Where is everyone?

Fighting Rust Kaiser in an enclosed area is fking moronic. We need to make a fighting withdrawal. Once we're outside it'll be easier to evade these debuffs.

>>21755642
If the rust storm is screwing with our scrander what makes you think the interceptors will fare any better.

>>21755671
>>21755679
People are not known for being smart in this quest

>>21755679

The drones can fly above the miasma of shit. So can we soons we get that crap jettisoned from our Booster.

>>21755671

Lets not forget the Thief currently being eaten pixel by pixel by rust now.

Can't leave an enemy of my enemy is still my enemy behind now, can we?

Sure we can if shit really hits the fan. But we'll lose all of those Relics.

The Cobalt Booster in your chest flickers, fitfully - Cold azure light scorching through you, your limbs stinging with strength. Your Tempest Scrander's humming redoubles; You hear the grinding shriek of grit burning away, in a wash of blue flame - Twin Rifle Interceptors detaching from your shoulders, beginning to orbit you in defensive orbits...

-Your sensors are nearly worthless, the surrusation of the rust storm billowing back into the shaft overhead creating ghost echoes and eerie surrusations. Your mono-optic sensor is buzzing with static - It's picking up motion from all around, with shadows lurking around every corner. Your only point of reference is the Thief's pinned form, still struggling to wrench the coffin's crushing weight aside-

An electric *squeal* echoed from behind you - You turn, raising an arm in instinctive defense as your Rifle Bit spits a searing photonic beam...Right before barbed chains lash out, shattering the hovering drone - The spiked links rattling towards you like hissing oil-black serpents, gouging into your arm, drawing *tight* with crushing force.

One vicious tug nearly wrenches you from your feet - You're wrenched forward, Rust Kaiser's hunched shape looming from the smoke, hauling you forward as the rattling, shrieking links spark against your crimson armor-

RIP YOU APART
LITTLE BASTARD

The sound booms in your skull - Your left arm's ensnared, the writhing links clawing at your torso and throat - He's wrenching you forward, his cleaver raised in an armored paw -

> HP: 89%
> METER: 19%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 80%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 104%
> RIFLE BITS: 4/5 (1 ACTIVE)

TIER ONE WEAPONRY UNLOCKED

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21755746
Does your combat system allow us to make called shots?

>>21755746
POINT BLANK PLASMA CASTER WITH COBALT BOOSTING. FUCK YOU RUSTY!

>>21755772

(Yes, you can aim at specific targets.)

>>21755746

He's yanking us to him? Let 'em. If our Scrander is still charged from the Booster, literally let him pull us to him and Plasma Caster right in the face. After that, Scrander the fuck away (while still chained) on full burn.

Become one of those things that NASA uses to test g-forces on humans (cannot remember for the life of me what they are called) and literally wrap the chain around him. He'll haft to let us go or end up being tied up.

>>21755746
>>21755794
THEN LET'S TARGET HIS FUCKING LEGS SO CAN'T RUN
>>21755825
SHOOTING HIM IN THE FACE DOESN'T WORK

>>21755825
>Scrander is still charged from the Booster,

Really? isn't there a special move we can do when we charge the scrander?

>>21755825
>>21755788
I really think a Tyrant Burst 3 would be more effective. It also wouldn't deplete our meter, if we ever needed the everything piercing power of the Longinus Railgun we need it now.

>>21755849

The legs work too.

>>21755853

Think of a Tesla Coil that emanates an AOE attack. Which is a bad idea right now with all of the Rust floating about. We'll be BBQ'd along with Kooked Kaier.

>>21755853
Tempest Crash? I don't think we've ever actually used that.

>>21755880
It says it's an electromagnetic shockwave. It could clear the air. In fact I'm almost certain it will seeing as it's powerful enough to throw enemies back.

>>21755926

Flip of the coin really. Do we want to waste a trump card this really though?

>>21755825

CENTRIFUGE! FUCK! HOW DID I FORGET THAT WORD.

I blame it on being drunk.

>>21755951
Do we really want to keep being debuffed and poisoned, the charge the scrander already has won't last long

> If our Scrander is still charged from the Booster, literally let him pull us to him and Plasma Caster right in the face.
> POINT BLANK PLASMA CASTER WITH COBALT BOOSTING.

The rattling, oil-black links screech as they rake across your armor - You lurch forward, the schematics of your Plasma Caster sketching themselves into being on your right arm; You hear the vicious, voxponder *snarl* wrench from Rust Kaiser's throat, as he raises his jagged cleaver of a sword...

-And finds himself looking down the barrel of your Plasma Caster. At this range, nearly point-blank, there's no question of the shot dispersing; It makes a plosive BANG of discharging energies, a concussive blast like a cannon's point-blank detonation, the searing shot erupting into his pitted helm in a blinding flash-

...There's a secondary detonation, as his right eye; The one burning a cold and sulfurous blue - explodes. The shot whiplashes Rust Kaiser's head back - You hear servoes grinding, as the impact actually *rocks* him back a step, scars cratering his craggy helm. Lethal fragments of black iron spin and skip off your armor - It hit him dead-on, but it didn't *penetrate*.

The Tempest Scrander screams to life; The jets fighting the deathgrip as you *wrench* backwards and away - And suddenly, with one hard *pull*, you're free. It releases you so suddenly, so abruptly, you skip off the ground at an oblique angle, killing the thrust before you slam into the far wall - You hear the solid CLANG as loops of severed chain fall to the ground, your remaining rifle drone hovering on gravimetric engines, just above the smog...

Rust Kaiser's fist closes on in, and crushes it into powder.

(Continued.)

>>21755994

That's gotta hurt his ego.

>>21755994
Yeah... if a point blank plasma caster isn't going to pierce his armor, we're REALLY gonna need to save up for the railgun.

>>21755994
Called it

>>21756029

It was also cobalt boosted.

OKAY
GUYS
I GOT THIS
we don't need to waste our meter.I say we wait until 100% and then singularity him.
If he can eat a black hole to the face and still live we flee since fucker is obviously invulnerable.

>>21756029
No more drones. If they have less power than our vulcans then they aren't even going to annoy him.

>>21755994
Hopefully the Thief will end up actually doing something useful this fight.

>>21756046
[Warning]
you have gone full retard

>>21756053

They serve as a distraction eating up his actions. They're worth something.

>>21756057
I wonder if we should have tried to help him.

Then again it could be said that we are helping him by distracting RK.

You have a moment to make out the cyclopean glow of his single red eye - The other one slagged, scorched and burned - before something crashes into you, and carries you across the chamber into the facing wall. The Tempest Scrander's jets roar behind you, the impact squashing the air from your lungs-

...An iron-hand fist smashes into your skull, hard enough to craze static across your vision. Somehow, he's *accelerated* - Clearing the distance in one *leap*...

-And now he's on you. He's an unyielding force, like a weight or a gravitic wave - As if he's made of some substance far heavier than human matter.

CHOKE ON IT

His right fist clubs down, as steely fingers tighten around your gorget - You can *hear* the gears of your throat throttle and grind, as spined knuckles slam another rattling punch into your faceplate-

KILL YOU DEAD

You're pinned against the far wall. You can *hear* the *hiss* of his piston-driven legs, as a misdirected punch cracks the stone next to you, showering you with chips of obsidian-

He means to beat you to death.

> HP: 61%
> METER: 36%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 70%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 92%
> RIFLE BITS: 4/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

Why is nobody thinking of shooting a missile or something at his foot?
That would leave him unable to standup if it works

>>21756097
I believe this is a good time to use a full power Tyrant Burst on him. Plasma caster his elbow joint to try and break his grip on our throat.

>>21756097
GO FOR THE EYES

>>21756097
We're point blank, Tyrant Burst 3

>>21756104
You really don't understand how much armor this guy is packing.

>>21756067

>He means to beat you to death

Use the Focused Particle Beam of our Cobalt Booster to hit him dead center of mass. He can't fucking dodge that.

>>21756097
We can't stay in close, but as long as we are we may as well blow the fuck out of him with a 25-40% Tyrant Burst. Focused Beam!

>>21756119
The joints should have less armor

>>21756119

And yeah, Plasma Caster a joint too. That cannot be anywhere near as armored as the rest of him. if it is, holy fuck, Cobalt Boost and get the fuck out of there.

>>21756159
If it is then he shouldn't even be able to move.

>>21756097
Think ramming our fingers into his destroyed eyesocket distract him?

"You people keep saying that to me. And given what keeps happening to the people who say it, I think you might be jinxing yourself."

TB3 sounds like a good option.

>>21756097
In case anyone didn't notice, Fusion Annihilator is unlocked.

>>21756175

I was thinking more along the lines of super-hardened carbon bucking tubes or something along those lines.

>>21756194

Believe me. I noticed. Can't use it. Yet.

>>21756194
That's wonderful, but not useful right now. The charging process is rather delicate and we have someone punching us in the face. Once we get some distance, yeah I could see smelting the fucker, but until then we have to wait.

Or we just wait till we have 60% and introduce him to the Hyperpenetrating Railgun and then Fusion him.

>>21756159
>>21756175
We hit him in the face and blew out one of his eyes and he didn't care. I think you guys are underestimating how many guard and survive upgrades this guys has

DIE

The grip on the back of your neck judders - The air rushes around you, and you're dizzily aware of being hauled up, carried forward in long, blurring strides-

DIE

With the word, a slam into the wall, hard enough to leave your wits red-tinged and reeling; Another slam, and the red is shot through with black. Rust Kaiser's voice is bellowing, trampling your jangled thoughts - Your feet are dangling, as one great hand pins you against the obsidian wall, the other raised for a final blow meant to smash your face through the back of your skull...

-But he's cleared the shot.

The Cobalt Booster *howls* as it discharges - At this range, so *close*, the ice-white beams stab forth into Rust Kaiser's bulk in a single flaring burst. The light is brilliant, blinding - Your optic sensors fizzle out, but you hear the *hiss* of metal slagging...The creaking werewolf cackle of protesting, unoiled joints and unnatural ossified growths shattering and grinding against one another-

And then with all the strength you can muster, you slam the Plasma Caster's searing barrel into his arm, and pull the trigger.

(Continued.)

>>21756221
It's something called structural design ever heard of it?

The instant you fire, you know that something is *wrong* - The charging coils of the Caster chug and growl, pushed beyond tolerance; There's a searing heat, beyond pain, as the backwash of the blast detonates the barrel from within, electric pain sizzling through your nerves, up your spine-

...But you're hurled away. You land hard, your armor scraping and screeching against the ground - Ebony tiles crushed to powder beneath your impact. The ground quakes, as a massive ironbound mass ploughs into it, cracking the floor - You see Rust Kaiser fall clumsily, striking a pitch-black column and half-sliding down it, before he can regain his footing.

His arm - From the elbow down, it rattles with bracelets of shattered armor, as if racked by some internal detonation; You can make out bundles of scorched myomer fibres, rust-corrupted servoes growling, tangled power cords tightening brutally - Feral, strangled sounds growl from his grilled helmet as he drags himself upright...

-Next to you, you hear the scraping fingernails-on-blackboard screech as the Thief finally shoves the sacrophagus away; It crashes to the side, a glint of gold half-revealed within the depths - His skull-mask is cracked, the bony ribs of his armor splintered.

You can see the bloody interior oozing out like yolk, a ruddy, unwholesome light welling up from the fissure as he gropes for his blade; He's moving with the dazed concentration of looming shock, making throttled, gagging noises - Somehow, you manage to struggle onto your hands and knees. You can't feel your right leg, and there's something *wrong* with your vision; It's doubling, overlapping, and your arm's a continuous blaze of pain.

> HP: 48%
> METER: 47%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 70%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 75%
> RIFLE BITS: 4/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21756336
>Iron Kaiser
Typo

> COBALT BOOSTER: 70%
What?

>>21756374
>>21756373
My point about the Booster still stands.

>>21756373

(My apologies: The Cobalt Booster should read...)

> COBALT BOOSTER: 26%

>>21756336
"are you alright?"
and
"how much explosives can you churn out? Because we need ALL of them."

>>21756336

Oh fuck don't tell me we lost the Booster.

While firing our Vulcans at Rust, engage the Thief in conversation.

"Thief, glad you could join us. We were just in the middle of having a debate. With our fists."

"I almost have my Anti Armour weapons, Thief. We need to buy *time*."

>>21756373
>>21756382
Okay, we need to keep our distance, if it looks like Rust is gonna advance or charge us we Scrander to the side. Lots of lateral movement.

Keep on firing the Vulcans at him, keep him locked down, fire at his legs to stop him from charging. Once we hit 60 Meter we can shove some Railguns through him.

>>21756373
I hope we don't need that arm to fire the Longinus. Or the FA.

Given the state we're in I suggest launching the remaining interceptors and boosting them with the CB. Have them distract RK while we figure out just how bad off we and Totenaz really are.

>>21756394
We only have two shots with the railgun.

>>21756418

No interceptors. NONE. We almost have the Railgun.

>>21756373
Hey, haven't 2 of the bits been destroyed?

>>21756431
We CAN actually afford to the interceptors

>>21756418

Do not launch the interceptors. For the love of Moses. No interceptors when we're this close to getting the Railgun.

>>21756449

They put a constant drain on the meter.

>>21756450
>>21756431
Boosted interceptors should be able to deal enough damage to cover the cost of using them.

>>21756468

Save the last Coballt for an emergency Flashbang encase everything goes tits up on a whale.

>>21756478
We still have the tether genius.

>>21756384
>>21756387

"Time," the Thief rasps - His respiration is laboured, and his words are odd, agonized. Every breath produces a bloody mist. His blade - The broad, straight sword, in its battered knotwork scabbard - scrapes free; He draws it underhand, rotating the freed blade in a semicircle, catching it full grip.

As soon as it's drawn, the robust blade glows like frost - Keening, with a high, weird song like the screaming of ghosts. Power crackles and hisses through the fierce edge, sizzling in a continuous circuit from the black pommelstone, ambling along the knuckles of his distorted right hand.

Your vision is clearing, slowly - You see Rust Kaiser brace himself like a great ape, with bent knees, his back bent to throw his head forward. Somehow, he's found his sword - The stance making his huge armor-plated shoulders bulge aggressively, heedless of the arm hanging limp and ruined at his side.

This time, when you blast him, he staggers; The searing lines of plasma explode against his legs, throwing a lurch into his lumbering stride - You can see the iron plates buckling, beginning to deform beneath the barrage...But he comes on anyway, like a titan of myth. Gaining speed, armored feet biting into the ground as he gains traction...

(Continued.)

>>21756525

As hard as my booze addled mind tries, I cannot fathom what the fuck you are babbling about. Even in this intoxicated state, as a supporter of the drone upgrade, I find your ideas lacking in thought and coherency.

>>21756581
The relic the thief gave us dumbass. It was last thread.

>>21756581
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21421091/#p21423708

>>21756525
Though if we use the tether for a meter boost we won't be able to use it to escape.

>>21756610

Then point it out beforehand.

And the Interceptors did jack shit against him. Your idea is still dumb to begin with. Wasting a Cobalt Boost ontop of deploying them which drains meter is retarded.

>>21756622

Thank you.

"It has to be...*close*," Totenaz grits out, in horrid monotone - You've found your footing too, sparks shooting from the whining servoes in your torso and limbs - The ratcheting gears making ugly, grinding sounds, your right leg dragging slightly...It's mangled, the mechanisms forced out of alignment.

At your back, you can hear the Scrander humming fitfully - It feels like it's overheating, half-crushed by the violent collisions, crimson photons fanning out from you. The Thief makes an odd gesture, and a compact pistol - A snub-nosed hold-out - slides into his left hand; "This - The only way. When he slows - *Hit* him. With everything."

Rust Kaiser pounds forward, towards the two of you - Hurling his body mass onward in a full-out charge that shakes the ground, that shivers the uncertain light. He's closing fast; You're upright, but you feel concussed, punch-drunk - The monstrous rusted horror moving with the ponderous unstoppability of a locomotive...

> HP: 48%
> METER: 56%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 20%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 75%
> RIFLE BITS: 3/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21756653
All of our weapon are doing jack shit against him

(Apologies, I lost the connection for a moment. Corrected the discrepancies in our status.)

>>21756536
i don't like the posts where we hit him first.
I DON'T LIKE THE POSTS WHERE WE HIT HIM FIRST.
>Panic mode engaged

>>21756667
Should we use the tether now so we have the longinus ready (though with the scrander facked we might not be able to fly out of here) or should we cobalt boost the FA?

>>21756667

Lets not lose yet another Relic shall we? Keep the Scrander use under check. We have a ticking time bomb waiting to blow.

When the fucker gets close, tyrant burst to blind him. Deploy a decoy where we are then break as we fire our Vulcans. When our meter is pushed over the edge and he is no longer blinded, he'll see the decoy and (hopefully) go for it.

As we broadside him with the Railgun.

>>21756667
>>21756714
I'm not sure I understand what the plan is, are we slowing kaiser for the thief or is the thief slowing him for us?

>>21756667
I think the Thief is going to slow him for us.

Keep firing, get to 60% Meter, if we can't make it consume the Tether.

We want to be able to shove Two Railgun rounds down his throat.

>>21756732

Or we use the Tether now. and deploy the railgun.

The actual firing mechanism for the Booster is probably fused to shit now.

Whatever anyone wants to do.

No using the Tether.
>>21756732
this

>>21756735
>>21756758

It's use the Tether now and kill Rust or the Thief dies delaying the juggernaut while we charge for 60%.

According to the FAQ there's no point in boosting the railgun given the power it already has. However, since we're firing from the hip, something the FAQ says lessens the damage caused by each shot, maybe we should boost it to make up for the lost velocity.

>>21756777

Firing the Tyrant is probably going to make us lose it. The firing mechanism is damaged. One more shot and it's history.

Or I'm just being paranoid and we'll come out mostly unharmed.

You keep firing - As Rust Kaiser ploughs through the withering hail of plasma fire, the Thief adds his carbine to your barrage; Distressingly, though you see a heat-beam stab out, splashing against Rust Kaiser's pitted armor, then some kind of high-velocity round, then something that *must* be a sonic disruptor of some kind...

-It doesn't stop him. It doesn't stagger him. It doesn't even slow him down. Your shots have seared into the already-black armor, smashing chips and fragments of the dense substance into the air, the superheavy plate marred with countless burn scars and scorch-marks...But the Thief's lower-gauge firepower is doing absolutely nothing.

You've never seen a Player so implacable, so hard to unseat - The surging impetus of Rust Kaiser's charge momentarily checked, as you hear the CLANK of the pistons in those driving limbs engaging-

...He means to leap, and come down from above - Like a black iron meteor, like a kinetic kill satellite. In the frozen moment before he leaps, in that breathless instant, the Tyrant Burst system in your chest flares to life, in a flash-blinding blast of eye-searing light.

(Continued.)

I think we should burn the tether. We won't need it to get out of here, we'll drop out of the Red normally after the fight. No way is Pazuzu here, RK wouldn't have trashed the place if he was.

>>21756812

Let's hope the Burst System can handle a flashbulb. No way in hell was it going to be able to handle another particle beam with how damaged it was.

*That* checks Rust Kaiser - The blinding flare wrenches his head around, as if he can't decide which eye he should be seeing out of; Your next three frantic shots smash into his cheek plating, exploding against his cuirass..

-And then your meter pings to red. To *sixty*.

Rust Kaiser *leaps* anyway, as you fire - Two shots, the hypervelocity gauss projectiles accelerating away from you in linear streaks, in their own miniature sonic booms. One shot explodes against his shoulder - You actually *see* the metal warp and distort, the impact twisting him around mid-leap; The force rips his shoulder shield off, as your *second* round punches into his iron sternum, and erupts through his chest armor.

It happens so suddenly - His torso blows out, the cage of his ribs breaking open, releasing a gouting of fetid, violet light from a searing core; The metal buckles in explosive release, whizzing fragments shearing forth in a spray of lethal sharpnel-

The Thief *leaps*, in a great, inhuman bound. He clears you entirely, into the face of the oncoming monster, to meet in head-on. He's in mid-air above you, his sword scything in a single-handed stroke in the instant before the inevitable impact...

-The mutual impact stops them both, and *slams* them off each other. Only the hummming sword in the Thief's fists refuse to rebound - It simply finishes its arc. You hear Totenaz *grunt* as he's slammed down, on his back - He lands badly, crumpling beneath the impact of Rust Kaiser's lashing backfist; You hear a *crack* as his skull-helmet snaps against the tiles with splintering force.

(Continued.)

Rust Kaiser lands badly, too - The ground quakes beneath his great, dense weight, with a graceless crash...Half-fall, half-slide. But he hauls himself forwards again, as if ready to fling himself at you...

-And then he stops. There's a hairline crack in his armor - Right next to explosive rent you've blasted into him, weeping violet light. It's a fissure, the edges of the cut moving against each other - An *absence*.

...It goes right through his torso, and out the other side. The hellish illumination jets out through the slit - Breaking into a spray of swirling green pixels, the stench of ozone overwhelming the vile reek of smog. Rust Kaiser staggers back down a step or two, his right hand clamped to the hair-thin, but ruinous wound; He's bleeding light, carved *clean through*, the spiked pommel of his jagged blade shrieking against his armor as he struggles to hold it shut.

The rift *boils* - As if trying to stitch itself back together, his supernatural resilience fighting to compensate for the near-mortal injury; The monotone vox-hiss of his voice blank with disbelief, the crimson light in his remaining eye guttering in unalloyed surprise...

He's been cut. Somehow, the Thief's blade - It's stabbed clean *through* him, through the weakened seam your railgun shots blasted open.

> HP: 44%
> METER: 34%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 7%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 68%
> RIFLE BITS: 3/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21756961
DEPLOY RIFLE DRONES.
DEPLOY EVERYTHING.
MAXIMUM DAKKA.
hmm, we have meter for another railgun blast?

>>21756961
Finish this fucker up. Aim and give him some gauss cannon through something exposed

>>21756961

Jesus. He literally has God Hand.

We just have enough for one more Tyrant Burst. Blind him again.

Then put two more Railguns into him.

...will the Thief be okay?

>>21757007

He's probably a goner. We can check after we deal with the guy who was murderizing us.

>>21756976
Firing it more than 2 times in succession might make it blow up.

>>21756961
Okay, he's stopped for now, we might be able to do Fusion Annihilator on him, 6 charges, thin focused beam and throw the rest of the booster into it.

Use the Assault Shroud shield to defend while doing so.

>>21757045

We're beat to shit. We're desperate. And this guy *will not die*.

>>21757037
oh, come on.
He's too dick-ass to die like that.
...right?{/spoiler]

>>21756961
Cobalt boost the Fusion Annihilator.

"And that's just what the incomplete Fatal Abyss can do. Can you imagine what it would have done to you if it was complete?"

In the frozen instant - When the black-iron giant falters - you make your move. You drive forward - Almost falling, as your leg shorts out beneath you - your remaining three Rifle Bits deploying, their lasers slicing and scorching the air in brilliant, searing beams.

Like a man tormented by stinging hornets, Rust Kaiser snarls as he swings that ugly, pitted sword in splintering arcs - He smashes one aside, as a particle ray stabs into him from behind; The swirling mist, which he seems to wear and pull around him like a great cloak, sucks through the air as it moves with him. You duck, as a vicious swing shears right past you - In the moment that he's left himself open, you swing the long rifle of your Railgun up...

You wrench the trigger twice - Somehow, Rust Kaiser manages to *turn*, to absorb the shot with his already-damaged arm. It punches right *through*, deflecting upwards to splinter against the blind side of his damaged helm - His cleaver *hacks* through the Longinus, in the heartbeat before another hypervelocity round chambers...

-But it wrenches his chest wound open, even wider.

You fire your Plasma Vulcans into him. Not once, not twice - A dozen times, two dozen. You aim every scalding bolt into his ruptured chest cabity, and you *keep firing*, until the relentless salvoes punch through his last defenses, the superheated blasts erupting within him.

(Continued.)

>>21757129

If he is still alive after this, just access the admin console and type /killyourself

We need a strong cup of coffee after this is over. And to make sure the Thief is fine. Plus to check out that Sarcophagus

>>21757173
Could always shove the Nihl Sphere into his chest.

I'm honestly surprised no one suggested it yet.

>>21757199

And lose out on that delicious XP? Again?

Nope.

As you fire - Braced in a shooter's position, the whirring barrels glowing red-hot from the constant fire - the bulky shape of the Fusion Annhilator shimmers into being; Charging lights flicker on the surface, as power accumulates in the energy coils...

One charge, *two*-

He rallies, over the twang of snapping, parting metal, even as his internal core begins to rupture beneath the barrage. Rust Kaiser surges forward, unsteady - His armored gauntlets are immense, enough to crush your helmet...His fist, clenched around the grip of his sword, slams into your chest with pulverizing, concussive force.

Your feet leave the ground, borne on the crest of that titanic impact. You're lifted - bodily lifted - *hurled* back, flying sideways. The impact rattles your brain inside your skull - Your sensors actually *blank out*, concussed and dazed and vulnerable...

-But Rust Kaiser has crumpled, too. His great shape is fighting to lever itself up on elbows and knees - Trying, failing, falling back, with an awful *clang* of metal, a monotone howl of frustration. He's barely alive - The point of his blade scrapes against the ruined tiles, before it skids out of his hand...One gauntlet scrabbling at the floor, for purchase...

You can't breathe. It feels like your lungs - Your spine - is crush. Every motion drives spikes of pain through your torso - Your arms *twitch* when you try to impel them to motion. No; You *can* move. The cataclysmic force has simply scrambled your senses, but - You're hurt, *badly*, and you know it.

(Continued.)

A hand latches onto your shoulder - Gripping it with desperate force. You see the Thief laboring upright; He's manipulating something, a strange, unfolding device already buzzing with potential...He's dragged himself over to you. You can feel answering sparks crackling across the Tether device...Like a hot coal.

"Time...to *go*," he growls out, through gritted teeth. "Time to *go*..."

> HP: 11%
> METER: 8%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 7%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 31%
> RIFLE BITS: 3/5 (3 ACTIVE)
> FUSION ANNHILATOR: 4 CHARGES

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21757269
>>21757275

(While we're at it: However this plays out, I have to say - Well done. I can't believe you're still alive.)

>>21757291
(we did roll like a god of luck, didn't we?)

>>21757269

"I have... the shot! Give me... the shot! This ends now, Thief! *He* knows far too much of my potential now! If he lives, we won't stand a second chance!"

Finish the last two Annihilator charges.

Then fire.

>>21757275
"Not yet. Let me finish him. I am not leaving until he is DEAD. Don't try to make me leave."

We can't let him live through this, get the Annhilator up to 6 charges, pour the rest of our Cobalt Booster into it and turn him into slag.

>>21757314

(Well, the *really* lucky roll was the one for the Rust Hurricane - If it'd caught you full on, it'd have shorted out almost everything.)

>>21757329
Thank you based dice.

>>21757314

The dice either fall in the hilariously bad or the ludicrously good for us.

The Suicide Leap for instance was the ludicrously good.

>>21757275

"God, why won't you JUST FUCKING DIE?"

Hit Rust Kaiser with the Annhilator. Don't let him get away.

>>21757275
We know where RK is relatively. With the wide beam of the FA we don't need to be as precise as usual.

I imagine our voice would be very strained. "You're one of the reasons Hecate is gone." Level the weapon at him. "Reap it you son of a bitch." Fire.

>>21757358

He has fucking God Hand. He has to die twelve god damn times before he is killed.

>>21757320
I disagree with waiting given the condition we are in.

Know what I'm disappointed about? We'll never know what's up with that steel coffin.

>>21757275
also deploy assault shroud shield for good measure.
just in case.

>>21757320
>>21757321
You guys are really pushing our pushed to the edge luck.

>>21757432
We can use the rest of the Assault Shroud to make a giant shield, charge it up the rest of the way, and then disperse it right before we fire. No risk.

>>21757432

It's down to the line. If he lives, chucklefuck & co. will have more intel on us.

Plus if he does somehow live, we have the Assault Shroud's fortress mode.

>>21757320
>>21757321
>>21757358

"No-"

You wrench away from the Thief's clawing hand, and swing the Fusion Annhilator into line. A terrible heat gathers, searing hot; When you *fire*, light blooms - A supernova, a ferocious pink-tinged white that scares away the churning blackness of the miasma like a sunrise, and you all into sharp-edge black silhouettes, against burning white.

From a distance, you hear the Thief's words finish-

"-kill us *both*-"

...As everything turns to fire and light. Disintegration creeps through the Spire, from the blast point outwards; It vaporizes the obsidian walls, chewing away the superstructure, sloughing away like fish scales. Tidal waves of torrential energy pour and gurgle through the chambers, and eat away the levels in between.

Within a second of the main strike, geysers of fire squirts out in every direction at once; Like exit wounds, through a great, gouting gash. You go blind - Only vaguely aware of the Thief's hand locked in a deathgrip on your shoulder - It feels like you're being taken apart, atom by atom...

-And then the shock pulse hits, a double hammer blow; First the electromagnetic punch, then the kinetic rip. Everything shudders, lurching - The glare growing brighter, brighter, *brighter*...

(Continued.)

>>21757461

So wait, did my theory that the stuff Kaiser shit out was actually combustible come true?

Oh fuck.

You've touched off something - A terrible chain reaction that erupts in overlapping waves of pure annihilation. The *sound* that fills your ears is apocalyptic: As if the sky itself has come tumbling down.

The Spire will be erased by the Fusion Annhilator's blast; Wiped from this world, and from memory. The only question that remains is...

-Will you?

(Roll a d100.)

Rolled 21

>>21757511
Well, fuck.

Rolled 35

I'm terrified.

If I kill us, have mercy.

>>21757511
THIS IS THE DIRECT OPPOSITE OF WHAT SUGOI IS

Rolled 3

>>21757511
This is very bad. If we have any Assault Shroud left turn it into the shield.

Rolled 46

>>21757511

Oh, shit. What have we done?

Rolled 44

>>21757511

Rolled 42

>>21757532

Yeah, we still have the fortress mode. Deploy it to buy us precious seconds.

Also rolling.

Rolled 27

Why can't we roll above 50?

>>21757511

(I'll point out: In this instance, low is better. You're rolling for whether the blast consumes you before you can recall out.)

>>21757489
It only now occurs to me that we've never use the Fusion annihilator in an enclosed space before.

>>21757556
And not a single roll above 50.

>>21757556
Oh. That's alright then.

Everybody stop rolling, we're cool.

Do we get the green dots of happiness for killing Rusty?

File: 1353920867244.png-(130 KB, 236x201, is this byzantine serious.png)

>>21757556
>>21757532
>low
>good
>tgdice

>>21757557

A near fully charged one at that.

>>21757556

>wanting a low success roll
>/tg/ dice

We have this in the bag gentlemen. No worries.

>>21757569
I still say that's the reason Chapter Master Quest actually uses the Dark Heresy ruleset, even as bare as it is.

No, the only thread where I've seen consistently high roles is Karban, but then again, Karban.

Also hi OP, how were exams?

Provided Pazuzu was just out somewhere and not in the metal coffin, he's going to be pissed.

Joker's are wild.

>>21757611

Or it was Hecate.

>>21757569
Shame that never helped Tauquest.

>>21757620
Ah, crap.

>>21757393
Seconding.

>>21757603

I've witnessed almost near constant high rolls in Sorceress Quest too. Plus there's Ogre Civ which constantly goes from critical failure (stupid lucky) too critical success (lucky stupid) all the time.

Sometimes the dice just need a certain ritual to get them to work properly.

>>21757620
>>21757621

I can just imagine the OPs face now

>Just as Keikaku.

You suffer the awful turbulence, as ruin breaks like a storm. You see the world through flame, and then only flame. It feels like the end of everything, a great unmaking - You've either opened your eyes, or your vision has come back - Whichever it is, you're seeing colors that you never knew existed, and there's a taste in your mouth unlike anything you can name.

The overpressure is beginning to lessen, in a superheated swirl of vapor and smoke and fire; Raw energies playing around your crimson form, dipping in and out of the rents in your armor - Your lungs are screaming, now, and you're screaming with them.

The plasma flare surges up to meet you, a rising fireball of blossoming yellow and green. You're falling into it, and it's rising to engulf you, devour you, a searing white wall of...

-And you wake up.

(Continued.)

File: 1353921952533.jpg-(429 KB, 1280x720, cathedral.jpg)

You're chilled with sweat, your limbs quivering. Tentatively, you raise trembling fingers to touch your face - Bare and helmet-free - to assure yourself that it's still there...That your form isn't rilling in the molten crucible of heat.

-Where are you?

Above you, a vaulted ceiling. The flutter of wings, a faint caw - There is a spare, thin golden light, an atmosphere of frugality and numinous grace...

-And a musty stink of decaying pages. You're lying on a varnished wooden pew, looking up at a massive iron candelabra suspended on a chain from the beamed roof...Your eyes bleary, dazed by the sudden change in your surroundings. You're not in the cybercafe, so where...?

The pieces come together, at last.

You...You're in a church. An *old* church, with a high-vaulted ceiling...Worn, a once-grand place that has fallen into disrepair. Someone, nearby, is playing the church organ - The stirring notes of "Come, All Ye Faithful" echoing in the cavernous hall...

-Your head hurts.

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21757719
I hope we got XP from that. Stand up, use the pews to support ourself if we need to, see who's playing the church organ. It might be relevant.

>>21757673
>>21757719
welp.
we just killed Thief.
And probably Hecate.
I am pretty sure Rusty is still alive.

>>21757719

Take a moment sitting there and relish being alive.

"I can't believe I'm alive."

>>21757745

Thief's fine.

Coffin is atomized.

Rust is guaran-fuckin'-teed atomized.

>>21757745
We don't know any of that for sure.

Rusty was pretty fucked up, he had no way out as far as we know, and we hit him with one hell of a shot.

Thief's probably fine, he had a way out.

The coffin is probably gone, but I'm not making any bets on that one, and even if it is we don't know if Hecate was in it.

>>21757760
>implying atomizing is going to stop him

>>21757773

I know. He still has what, three, four lives left? Fucking God Hand man. Hacks to the extreme.

File: 1353922414490.jpg-(36 KB, 675x560, 1292397128152.jpg)

>>21757773
>sentient rust cloud

>>21757742
>>21757751

You sit up, slowly. The slight motion makes you wince - Your joints creak alarmingly, as if you've been lying there for a while...Long enough to stiffen up, your body taut from the strain; From the dull pain pulsing in your temples, the way your vision swims, you must've been thrashing in your sleep.

For a moment, you just sit there, your head in your hands. A close one, you think - Closer than ever before. The thought makes you shudder, instinctively; Your clothes are clammy with sweat, relaxing slowly as you press your palms against your eyes, pinpoints of darkness still flickering in your vision.

At length, you pull yourself to your feet - You lean against the pews, heavily, supporting yourself. There's the bitter taste of ozone and metal in your mouth, and you move sluggishly...But you're alive.

(Continued.)

>>21757719
Wait, are we in the same cathedral we fought in?
Because judging by what we did it should be a smoking crater.

>>21757822

Sometimes the events in the Red carry over to the Real. Sometimes they don't. This is one of those times when they don't.

File: 1353922957934.jpg-(47 KB, 800x600, jokerorgan (2).jpg)

The church's organ - It's in an good state of repair, all things considering - is clearly being played by someone with real skill; The plangent chords stirring yet oddly mournful at once, slim fingers flitting over the keys, coaxing sweet harmony forth...

-The wan sunlight falls on a sweep of pale hair, cascading down the sleek curve of a slim back. You make out the dark sweep of something that's equal part cassock and gown...An odd sensation of *familiarity* coursing through you, as you recognize...

-Kotone?

She doesn't seem to respond to your presence, though she must have heard your faltering footsteps on the aisle; She plays on, a rill then a sprightly refrain - Her brow furrowed in concentration, her eyes half-closed as she runs through the final stanzas, building towards a crescendo.

[ ] "Kotone?"
[ ] "-I didn't think I'd be seeing you again."
[ ] "...Did you bring me here?"
[ ] Say nothing.
[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21757393

I am far more worried about our Cobalt Booster being slagged permanently. It's only integrated into our systems, not a part of it. Remember, we felt it explode in our chest when we fired the particle beam.

>>21757855

Let her finish playing. After she has finished give a slow clap and smile.

"You're really good. Where did you learn to play?"

Be casual.

>>21757855

Holy shit, it's the black joker!

>>21757855
Ah, it'd bad form to interrupt a musician in the middle of their finale.

[X] Say nothing.

>>21757887

All the more reason to play it cool and pray to God(ha!) we don't get sucked straight into another conflict.

>>21757855
Let her finish the song.

"So Kotone, do you come here often?

Didn't think I'd ever see you again, how's life been treating you these days?"

>>21757887
Well, we DID just bust into her lair, and I bet the Sarcophagus has something to do with her as well.

>>21757855
"I'm surprised to see you again. After you disappeared from my place I couldn't find you." (pause) "I suppose I have to thank you for saving me after Bardiel went nuclear. God, the Red Joker thanking the Black for saving his life, isn't that a fine joke. I've got some questions, if you don't mind, but I'll start with something easy: How've you been?"

Yes Hero/Villain is my fetish, why do you ask?

>>21757913

My only complaint is you never share the yandere.

>>21757913
>Black Joker
>Villain
I don't think she is. Out of all our acquaintances she is one of the most chill.

>>21757942
At the same time she is the most likely one to kill us horribly.

>>21757913
We ought to put in an apology for shooting at her during our attempt to play the white knight after we first met.

>>21757942
>>21757954
You know, we really don't know anything about her at all. Seriously.

>>21757971
That's what happens when somebody runs off in the middle of the night without telling you.

>>21757954

She can try. She can try with all of her might. But Anon's swag, his swag will bring her Yandere personality firmly within his grasp.

And then the killing of all of our other love interests begins in earnest.

"You said you loved me! How can you say that when you're seeing another woman behind my back!"

>>21757971
>probably homeless
>ability to summon whatthefuck from the wherethefuck
>said ability doesn't seem to be activated consciously
>at least she tried NOT to murder us - remember, she ran away when we were dragged into her ability range

File: 1353924110943.jpg-(39 KB, 800x600, jokerchurch (2).jpg)

>>21757883
>>21757896
>>21757895

You wait - Until the music swells, to a crescendo, until the last notes die away, her slim fingers going still - Resting on the keys with a feather-light touch. Her eyes open, slowly; Her face is less pale than you remember, though there's still an indefinable *something* to her expression...

-She looks haunted.

> Let her finish playing. After she has finished give a slow clap and smile.
> "You're really good. Where did you learn to play?"

At the sound of your applause, Kotone turns - You see a faint smile touch her lips, just for a moment, though her face remains mostly in shadow.

"...This church - My father, he...He was a priest. I'd play for them, and people would smile, and clap..." Her voice is soft, distant...Her gaze faraway, as if recalling times past. She sighs, softly, her hands folded on her lap.

"-But that was a long time ago."

>>21757902
>>21757913

> "How've you been?"

She looks up at you, silently, considering her words.

"..I don't know," Kotone says. "-I remember so much and so little. Moments like this...I know how I am. There are blanks. These long...intermissions, where I can't remember anything at all." She smiles, again, more faintly than before.

"It's...very frustrating," she admits, at last.

(Continued.)

>>21758010
I'm debating on whether we should ask about her father or not. It's pretty obvious he's not around anymore.

> "I suppose I have to thank you for saving me after Bardiel went nuclear. God, the Red Joker thanking the Black for saving his life, isn't that a fine joke."

She cants her head to the side, quizzically; As if the notion is unfamiliar to her. "...You saw that?" she murmurs, almost to herself...Pale fingers coming up, to trace her paler tresses back from her face - The faintest spots of color in her cheeks. Kotone ducks her head, in an oddly shy gesture; Her voice trailing off to a low mumble.

"-When I *saw*...I couldn't just *leave* you there. It'd have been, been..."

Her gaze meets you, briefly, before she looks away. "...Ungrateful of me."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

File: 1353924375399.gif-(225 KB, 300x200, Rejoicing.gif)

>>21758010
>that image
>"My father, he...He was a priest."
Jesus Christ we're not in oWoD we're in the Nasuverse. And we're in the middle of a Holy Grail War.

>>21758044

A priest...

Wait a moment. Whose church were we in, again?

>>21758048

You're just catching this now what with Rust Kaiser being a nearly unkillable juggernaut and all of my drops of God Hand?

>>21758061
Someone hasn't read F/HA! Hop to it!

>>21758061
Black Cardinal. The original that is.

>>21758046
"Well you have my thanks, I would have disliked dying.

I've been having a rather bad week, though seeing you again is an unexpected upside. Being the Red Joker isn't as much fun as it sounds.

So you're the Black Joker, mind telling me about that? It sounds rather rough."

>>21758046

Anyway.. can't leave a girl hanging!

"Ah, it was nothing, nothing! You simply could not help but see me again! Even if it was life or death. I understand, I have that affect on people."

Raise an eyebrow with a grin.

"If you're not going to kill me then I know this great Ramen shop we could eat at to catch up."

Yandere acquired. Into the breach friends!

Did I miss something? I don't recall anything indicating Kotone being yandere...

>>21758123

She has a split personality that makes SHIKI look as if she's planting daisies.

>>21758046
"I'm certainly grateful, believe me. Just... surprised, is all. After all, you disappeared so abruptly I wondered if I had offended. No, I'm joking, I saw... a memory. You aren't the only one with "intermissions" in their memories, though mine tend to add content rather than provide time skips. I saw the Black Joker, presumably you, attacking me, or someone I thought was me. It's confusing. Anyway, when I woke up you were gone and there were so many things I wanted to ask you. More than anyone else you would know what it was like to be someone else in this game. To have that weight crushing you, dictating how you act because everyone around you forces you to. Just maybe you and I are two of a kind. A mismatched pair of wild cards, hah."


>>21758048
...Gently caress.

>>21758073
I was thinking of the OTHER Gene. The one with the Godhand. Of course the alternative was Berserk's Godhand, which is equally appropriate and probably bodes worse for us.

>>21758136
We suspect.

File: 1353925138434.jpg-(235 KB, 1360x768, silvergirl.jpg)

> "So you're the Black Joker, mind telling me about that? It sounds rather rough."

"Don't say that name," Kotone says, with quiet urgency - From the way her gaze slides to the side, you're struck by anxiety that tinges her words...For a fleeting instinct, it reminds of *that night*, in the alley - The way she looked, afraid and *hunted*...

-Here, though, she looks calm. At peace.

She looks down, at her feet, for a long moment.

"...I was hoping I wouldn't see you again," Kotone says, at last - There's a brittle note to her voice, as if she's holding something back; Her slim fingers knot together, in quiet agitation - the tension writ large in her slight hunch. "I didn't think...I didn't think you'd *find* me..."

[ ] "Find you?"
[ ] "You mean...You weren't the one who brought me here?"
[ ] "-But...What will you do?"
[ ] "If there's any way I could help you..."
[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21758139

(Ah, crap, missed that one. I'll count it in the next post, then.)

>>21758142
[x] "Find you?"

"Sorry, I didn't actually expect to run into you, either. It's actually kinda a long story..."

[x] "You mean...You weren't the one who brought me here?"

"...though I don't even know how I got here, either."

>>21758142
"Call it coincidence, call it fate, I just happened to end up here. I had some errands to run in the area and here I am, didn't even know you were around. Lucky for me I guess.

There any way I can help you?"

>>21758142

"I have this tendency to drop in whenever there is a pretty lady."

Give a mock look of concern as you shield your eyes while scanning the room.

"I just.. can't.. seem.. to.. find.. ah!"

Give a look of astonishment as your eyes rest on Kotone again.

"Why! Aren't you a pretty lady. May I have your name, Miss?"

Hold out your hand.

"And would you like to accompany me for.. lunch.. dinner..? Oh my! I seem to have lost track of the time."

Attempt two for Yandere aquisition.

>>21758151
My bad actually, I was fixing myself a sandwich and was slow responding. I'll respond to this one anyway.

>>21758142
"Really? That's too bad, I'd been wanting to meet my counterpart for some time without needing to be coy about secret identities. I suppose it's not a coincidence that Totenaz's target was your hiding place." (look her in the eye) "Look, Kotone, say the word and I'll do what I can to help. I want to help you, and I need your help, but most of all I could really use a friend right now."

>>21758208

Further note. It's 5:30 in the morning. I am drunk. And I enjoy playing the Ham whenever I am capable of taking to the field.

>forever a GM

Polite sage.

>>21758208
This post is fucking stupid.

>>21758139

"Perhaps," she allows - That faint smile is back. "...I know I wouldn't want to be you." A soft, low chuckle parts her lips - "...I don't like being 'me' very much, either..."

Kotone's eyes narrow, slightly; Her posture shifts, as she leans towards you - There's something pensive in the way she's sitting, at odds with her cultured manner.

"-I don't always know what I'm doing, Anon-kun," she says, sounding apologetic. "And, sometimes...I don't really want to know, either..."

> "Sorry, I didn't actually expect to run into you, either. It's actually kinda a long story..."
> [x] "You mean...You weren't the one who brought me here?"
> "...though I don't even know how I got here, either."

"Maybe," Kotone muses - Her voice is soft, casual. "...Maybe the Red Joker brought you here." She looks up at you...And something in her gaze sends a chill up your spine. There's a meaning in her words - Something that eludes you, maybe even to herself.

>>21758208
>>21758212

Kotone colors, prettily; She covers her mouth with a pale hand, stifling a embarassed - But not *displeased* - gasp. Tentatively, she reaches out, her fingers cradling yours with an odd delicacy...Before she grips your hand, holding it lightly - But not rising, not yet.

Her long skirts rustle, as she bites her lip...She's clearly thinking about something, but isn't sure if she should ask it. Until...

> "Look, Kotone, say the word and I'll do what I can to help. I want to help you, and I need your help, but most of all I could really use a friend right now."

"Help me?" Kotone echoes - Sounding a little sad. She exhales, slowly, with a slight shake of her head. "You're...very kind, but..."

"-You can't help me. No-one can."

(Continued.)

>>21758282
Goddamnit, I didn't expect to like Kotone so much.

There go my hopes for hooking up with Mio.

>>21758297
>inb4 they're the same person

>>21758260

Someone has no color in their life! No joy when running friends through dungeons! Through cities brought to life with but a few words! Through kingdoms of elves and humans! Through rampaging dragons of yore! No sir, you are the one whom is stupid!

For you have no color. You are but a blank slate waiting to be filled! Fill your slate with bright hues and drawl colors! Becomes the life of the story and make something memorable with your friends!

Maybe it sound pompous, even to herself - She looks away, as if faintly embarrassed by her own words...But she doesn't quite let go of your hand.

Then...

"Anon-kun," Kotone asks - directly, looking you in the eye. "-How does it feel to be in love?" She sounds completely serious, her hand gripping yours a little tighter, now; Is it your imagination, or is her smile a little more fixed than before?

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21758312

> "-How does it feel to be in love?"

Oh, shit.

Uh...Help me out here, someone.

>>21758322
ABORT ABORT!

Though in all seriousness, I guess this means we gotta dig up memories of Hecate again...

>>21758312
They should have background checks for this kind of thing.
>I'd like to acquire a yandere
>Excellent choice sir, have you ever fallen in love with anyone prior to this?
>Ye-
>Run for your life!

>>21758332
No, shut up, I'm not letting the collective Anons sod this S Link event up by bawwwing over Hecate again. Give me five minutes.

>social situation
>a wild Watashwa appears!
hooray, our swag is saved!

also:
We just erased a big portion of virtual landscape, probably killed Rusty, probably killed Thief (and if we didn't we probably pissed him off with our murderous stupidity)
AND STILL
>implying friendship train has brakes
>or rails

never change, gentlemen.

>>21758297
She might be the only one with a double life that sucks as much as ours. Which is impressive.

>>21758312
"It's scary, the scariest thing in the world but it's all worth it.

It's letting someone close, closer than you even let yourself sometimes, it's showing them all of your weaknesses, giving them every tool they need to hurt you deep, and hoping that they don't.

It's laughter and tears all of them shared. It's having beautiful moments that feel like they last for ages and when they're over you get to make new ones.

It makes you strong, it makes you weak, and it makes you happy.

And when they're gone it feels like something ripped out your heart and it hurts like nothing else in the world. I'm not sure whether to curse love for what I've lost or bless it for what I had."

>>21758322

Who are we in love with?

We liked Hecate, clearly, and Mio is in love with us. She was on the verge of confessing when we were in hospital. Natsumi has nursed a crush for the longest time, but we kind of torpedoed that.

Maybe we should say: "I don't know. But I want to find out."

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>>21758357
Pic related.

>>21758363
A good answer.

>>21758312

"I had a theory on love once. It was overly complicated and complex. Filled with charts and diagrams. Laid out in exacting, minute detail. And what did I learn?"

Pause for dramatic effect.

"Nothing."

Pull her into an embrace.

"You see. Love is something to be cherished to the end. It is not to be taken lightly."

Poke her in the chest

"If love is taken lightly, a pain forms here that grows and grows and consumes you until only that pain and grief remain."

Give a sad smile.

"Do not take love lightly."

>>21758357

Let's go with this one.

>>21758383

I like this one, but...It feels weird getting touchy-feely with Kotone. Seriously, it just feels awkward.

>>21758383

>Then release her tacked onto the end

I swear this fucking tablet. I need an actual computer. Christ.

File: 1353927422537.gif-(1.49 MB, 240x180, 1337925356752.gif)

>>21758383
>tell the yandere that she should love more seriously

>>21758418

It is a good pain, chummer. It shall be a short ride, but nonetheless, a fun ride.

Plus she has a split personality. Can you say TWINS?!

>>21758392
Just wait a minute while Wata gets his write on.

>>21758312
"You don't ask the easy questions I see. Here's the problem: There's no right answer. Not only is it different for everyone, there's so many kinds of love that it all gets mixed up. I'm guessing you mean romantic love, since that's what people always mean by this question.

"For me love is one part lust (especially at our age), one part friendship, one part faith and one part hope. Love is wanting to be with someone in the future, not just in good times, but bad ones too. 'Til death do you part is ideal of course, but feelings change, and so do people. Love is what keeps you together during those changes and those ups and the downs, because you still want to be part of each other's life. Romantic love isn't about passion really, it's about sharing, about letting go, letting the other person be as close to your heart as you dare, because you're stronger together than apart. It hurts because it has to, because it's about getting past the walls that keep you safe from other people.

"Love is the ties that bind. It's what you give up to stay with the person you love. Love is... the willingness to be vulnerable."

Huh, guess we did love Hecate.

>>21758418
>>21758438

You're forgetting, she's going to be all hot and bothered now from the close contact with Anon.

>>21758418
>yandere
meh, she doesn't give off yandere vibes.
And split personality is NOT yandere.

>>21758459

Spoken like a true romantic.

Only as a romantic, and that's it.

She'll eat it right up.

>>21758383
>>21758357
>>21758459

Kotone starts - She makes a soft sound, somewhere between a gasp and a hushed inhalation - as you draw her into a hug; She could pull away, but she doesn't...You feel her hands resting lightly on your chest, the invisible knots of tension in her back relaxing, just for a moment...

"-You're a lot like him, you know," she says, very quietly, her breath warm against your neck. Gently, she eases back from you, until you're at arm's-length; "...The Red Joker, the one I knew. He was so kind...But kindness can be a kind of cruelty, too."

"Going to school together..."

"Stopping by shops after school..."

"Going on dates on breaks..."

"And just like that, saying 'See you tomorrow', while waving..."

"Ah, it's - really wonderful. It's radiant."

She laughs - It's a soft, sweet little sound. "Anon-kun; When you find a girl like that, *tell her*. And, don't ever let her go..."

Kotone's eyes are sad, and infinitely wise.

"-Because you won't have very long."

[ ] "I know."
[ ] "...It won't come to that."
[ ] "You mean - You can *see*...?"
[ ] "Are you...threatening me?"
[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21758488

Wow. This swung from sweet to seriously creepy in a very short time.

>>21758488
[X] Free.
Brief moment of melancholy
"Ah, if only we had run in to each other like this a few weeks ago."

>>21758488
[x] "I know."
[x] "You mean - You can *see*...?"

>>21758488
"I did tell her, and she was taken from me.

What was the Old Red Joker like? I only got to meet him once and in that single meeting he saved me and changed my life. I wish I could have known him better, it can be lonely to be the Joker, he'd understand that."

>>21758488

"Then I'll beat the odds as I have all of these years! I'll get right back up after falling down! I'll look Death in the Eye and laugh in his face! As many times as it takes!"

Fistbump your chest.

"I'm the Red Joker. I carry the weight of the previous Red on my shoulders. I've done so all of the years by myself until very, very recently."

Extend a hand once again.

"Nothing like 'you won't have very long' will stop me from living my life, even if it is very dangerous for my sanity and health."

Give a smile.

"Now, don't we have a dinner-date to attend? My treat."

Anyone who encourages OP to use option 4 deserves to be shot.

>>21758488
"Just a bit late for that I'm afraid. My fault of course, and my life being my life she had secrets that come with knives, though whether they end up in me or her enemies I can't say yet. I think romance might have to wait at least until my business with Pazuzu is done. Of course if you're implying you know what's going on I'd love to hear. I hardly knew the last Joker, but you sound like you *knew* him. Who was he, Kotone? And who were you?"

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>>21758546

>Are you threatening me?

You're such a hypocrite.

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>>21758584
Stand still smartass.

>>21758604

Speaking of smartasses, how is 3.0?

>>21758546
>>21758520

> "Who was he, Kotone? And who were you?"

"He was strong, and he was sad." She pauses, her eyes hooded; Her gaze lost in contemplation. "There was a morning," Kotone says, slowly. "It was around dawn, and it was near the end. He looked out, over the sleeping city, which he'd nearly forgotten, which he knew he'd never see again."

"The sun was coming up."

"And he thought: It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done."

"Memories like that, I try to forget. But you might do something with it, if you like."

She looks down, and taps at the keys: Her back to you, without looking round. "As for me...The only thing I know for sure i that, when the moments of clarity come - I use them. Like now; I don't know if I'll ever play again, so...I play now. I do what I can, while I still can...Because I never know how dark it's going to get, otherwise."

(Continued.)

>>21758637
It's the most metal thing since EoE. Which it coincidentally seems to be headed straight for: Asuka already lost an eye, Kaworu's in town, and Shinji and Rei "became one"; all we need is the MP series and five minutes alone in Asuka's room and we're there.

Here's a clip! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV4jBw9Tu2k

>>21758660
Hoo boy.

>>21758672

I tried to watch the camrip, but my moonspeak is nowhere near sufficient to follow it.

If it had closed captioning, however....

> "Now, don't we have a dinner-date to attend? My treat."

She turns to you, at last; Her hand goes to her slim throat, and you hear a soft rustle - The *click* as a clasp parts. When her fingers brush against yours, in a lingering touch...And you feel something small, something hard and metal, in your hand, as she closes your palm around it.

Darkness smokes, at the corner of your vision. The world is beginning to waver at the edges, drawn and faint - The cathedral's walls dissolves, with the slow surrusation of sand; Kotone's form is receding, somehow, growing distant - She's far away, yet close, and you can still feel her cool hand in yours.

"...The Chalice Queen's waiting for you, Anon-kun," she says, as if from an infinite distance - Her smile sweet and faintly melancholy, as she leans forward...And for a moment, you feel lips brush against your cheek, in a feather-light touch. "We'll meet again...If not soon, then someday."

It's hard to look directly at her. It's hard to see anything, in the swirling melange of shadows, in the place that not longer exists.

You try to say something, and you-

...And you wake up.

(Continued.)

>>21758730

>that troll

I applaud you OP. My hands are literally clapping on the keyboard right now.

>>21758730
YES! We can get Hecate back.

We've killed two of the three culpable in her death, only Pazzy remains. And his death will be enjoyable.

>>21758708
Only one I've got, sorry. Subs won't be out for a while probably... And really, Eva isn't hard to follow; just remember that the Christian symbolism is just there to look cool and half the philosophical concepts they allude to don't apply since the characters were programmed to be as fucked up as possible. Just watch the pretty explosions.

>>21758730
>"...The Chalice Queen's waiting for you, Anon-kun,"
I'll be damned. Though something tells me we're coming up on the end of the session. Must be the time.

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>>21758730

>>21758789

For a moment I thought I was looking at two telephones with an exceptionally thick chord.

And then I opened the thumbnail.

You smell - The bitter tang of ozone. There's a padded seat beneath you, headphones clamped into place - Your neck stiff, your eyes sore from staring at the screen. You feel the unique disorientation that comes only with the faceless walls of, of...

-The cybercafe.

There's something in your hand.

You stir, stiffly - Your fingers opening, as you look down; It's a simple silver crucifix, on a chain - The edges cutting into your palm. It rustles, slightly, as you sit up...Your mouth is dry, and there's a *twang* as the wires pull free of the computer.

Somewhere, you hear the timer begin to beep, the session expired at last. You're dazed, as you stumble out into the waning sunlight; Clutching the handrail for support, your senses sour with sleep.

In the background, you can hear sirens wailing - Traffic at a standstill, as firetrucks wheel to a stop; Plumes of water rising into the air, as they hose down the burning shell of a building.

The old church - The Cardinal's great, unfinished ambition - is burning. Scads of flaming material cascade down, from the smoky blaze; Tendrils of smog coiling upwards, into the unalloyed air.

For a long, long moment, you look on. You just stare, as the crowd ebbs and flows around you - As the murmur of chatter, of white noise, surges and diminishes like the swell of distant surf.

> "We'll meet again...If not soon, then someday."

...you think, and your fingers curl into a fist.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 28

TO BE CONTINUED.

>>21758832

(Thank you for everything, gentlemen - Unfortunately, it's late, and this looks like a natural breakpoint. As always, you've been a wonderful audience; Hope to see you all again next time.

As always, good night and god bless.)