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The principal levels of the Hollow Sun: A void-armored shell encasing a massive honeycomb of alloy girderwork, criss-crossing pathways forming lines as precise as a topographic grid. Vast enough to have its own gravity envelope, the megastructure's sheer scale takes your breath away - The dizzying plummet never far from view.

The titanic blow sends shockwaves through the colossal grid that cradles the Hollow Sun's core - The flash of discharging energies bright enough to short out your helmet sensors; The fitful whine echoing in your ears, static buzzing in your vision as it clears-

It's not an improvement.

The colossal shape that looms above you - It blots out the sky. Holoprojectors casts ever-shifting illumination on a face of etched silver and white marble - Green sparks drawn to the great gem set in it's skull, to its twin in the thing's chest...

Your targeting computer chirrups, fitfully, and spits out a name-

HAURVATAT

"Oh shit we're all fucked-" That sounds like Tyrian Edge, his voice shrill, frantic as he scrabbles to his feet - At the corner of your vision, you see Regios staggering, clutching at his helmet with his one remaining arm; He wavers, the Halo Shroud's rotating arc becoming more uncertain by the moment, fitful jags of lightning sizzled across the circumference-

...And Bishamon just stares, in mute horror.

The titan - It has *four arms*. A second set of upper limbs - One hand gripping the hilt of an accelerator mace, the other folded around a curved tulwar, with a blade longer than your entire body - rise, into combat position, primary hands gripping the girders, holding it in place.

The eyes light up.

It howls, loud enough to make the world wobble on its axis, blurring in your mind - Enough to make your teeth rattle, your skull ache.

> HP: 66%
> METER: 19%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 57%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 78%
> INTERCEPTORS: 2/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23351656

Oh, shit, it's Joker Quest!
Take to the air immediately, and start firing at the head.

>>23351656

> [X] Free.

"Uh...Guys? Gonna need your help here."

>>23351656

"I'll go see what it can do. You guys... try not to die, watch my back."

Flight! NOVA CANNON!

The name of the game is distance and maneuverability. We know it'll have a ranged attack of some kind so we should be ready to dodge as the NC recharges.

>>23352106
And I hit submit too soon.

For the first attack run we should make a feint of coming head on at Haurv to try and gauge how fast it can react. We need to make sure to note our surroundings too, don't want to smash into a ceiling or wall when we need to go evasive.

>>23351975
>>23351747
>>23352106

> "I'll go see what it can do. You guys... try not to die, watch my back."

"Joker, don't be an idi-" Volt Regios snarls - But then the Tempest Scrander flares with actinic blue force, and you take to the skies.

> Take to the air immediately, and start firing at the head.

The jetpack seethes with power, supercharged air fuming at your back; The whirring barrels of your Plasma Vulcans raised, sizzling green bolts chewing towards the Gigas-

Your first shots detonate against the titan's marble facade, denting the finish, scoring little holes and blemishes - Smoke rise in thin, coiling wisps from the superficial damage, like pockmarks; Before there's a blue *flash*, and your follow-up volley slams into a seething, semi-translucent blue wall that wasn't there a moment before...

-A shield. You can see the humming light cast by the gem in HAURVATAT's skull - Right before the great tulwar sweeps across and-

You're ready for it. You dive down, to the left, as a single shearing blow of extraordinary force sizzles past you - The bulk of your Nova Cannon shimmering into existence, encasing your right arm as the charging elements whine to life...

And then there's a bang like a sonic boom, as the accelerator mace swats you out of the air. The concussive blow is stunning, like a point-blank explosion - It whips into you, and sends you hurtling - until you crash down hard onto your side, with an awful skidding, scraping clamor.

(Continued)

Momentarily dazed, you get your knees under you - For an instant, you have the dizzying impression that you'd fall *up*, if you'd been hit an iota harder - to hear the shriek of discharging energies-

Long, ice-white lines of light stab out from the Gigas towards you - A dozen, curving inwards like talons of energy, converging in twisting rays of destruction...Until they slam into the shock barrier Volt Regios projects, deflecting in every direction at once, scoring deep, slashing scars in the perfect steel underfoot.

"*Now* what?" he growls - You've definently got the thing's attention, as Volt Regios hunches over; His lopsided silhouette contorted with effort, a momentary fug of energy vapor and charged particles hanging thickly in the air. Even through the fog, you can *see* HAURVATAT's upper arms slicing, carving - Bishamon yells as he dives aside, dodging by inches, his head Vulcans spitting futile shots into the gouged marble of the thing's fists-

> HP: 54%
> METER: 28%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 57%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 65%
> INTERCEPTORS: 2/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23352681
>>23352681

Have our interceptors shoot at the head and aim for any obvious optical devices; cameras, lenses, the works. If the shield comes up again, stop the interceptors from firing to let the barrier fall away. Then resume firing.

We need to cripple it's mobility. Have The Tri-Stars focus on it's legs while we do everything we possibly can to keep the Shiva Arms from pasting our party. Cobalt Boost if we haft to and deploy the Fortress if the situation becomes absolutely dire. Our only goal is to distract and weave and duck and survive until we ping for the Longinus.

No shield is perfect, I say we hammer the rest of HAURVATAT's body. If the shield covers it, then it'll be weaker and we can headshot it easier. If it doesn't, we can hopefully get rid of its offensive options.

I wonder if Bishamonten can pull off that slicy thing he tried last time. Might help us.

Also wow, really dead tonight. You didn't update your Twitter, probably why

>>23352681

> "Deal with the arms, until I can find a way to kill this thing!"

Send both Interceptors to attack, and open fire with the nova cannon.

>>23352844

If my paranoia is right, we're on the short end here. The longer this fights goes, the more intelligent the Thing gets and thus the more resilient the shield becomes to our attacks. It's like a watered down God Hand.

>>23352681
If physical attacks are working then our interceptors should be able to pass through and attack like they did with the armory guardian.

>>23352951

Thing is, the interceptors are going to do jack shit unless they hit something sensitive. They're essentially 8 inch dicks trying to penetrate an 8 mile wide vagina. Sure the dick might slip inside the gaping maw that is the vagina, but the woman won't feel anything.

With a stab of will, your remaining two Rifle Bits spiral into the air - Darting forward, spitting photonic beams as the Gigas swings at Bishamon again; You see his blade extend, licking out in a gleaming line - He plants one foot, bracing against the assault as the harsh shriek of steel-on-steel chimes in the air-

"-can't hold it-"

The thing's head turns, as your Interceptors - Like flying daggers - lance sizzling rays at the sculpted facade; Twin lines of char mark their assault, HAURVATAT's barrier interposed against the new threat...Only to rear back, as in confusion, as the drones fly right *through* the shield, firing without missing a beat.

Regios stumbles aside, as you swing the Tau Gun up - The marker beam momentarily superimposed against the Gigas's torso - and pull the oversized trigger. The Nova Cannon's recoil is absorbed by the gravitational suspensors - Right before a crater erupts outwards in a plume of scything marble shrapnel.

Cracks skitter from the impact point, and HAURVATAT *jerks*, as if kicked in the chest; You can see seething energies boiling just beneath the surface, the lower gem beginning to pulse with ruby light-

(Continued)

>>23353006

Oh shit. drop everything.

Tyrant Burst to blind, dump our Booster into the Tau Gun to increase it's recharge, and aim for that *fucking* crystal.

-And light stabs forth.

The line of energy sweeps right past you, invisibly fast, and the ground erupts into cerise fire. You flinch back from the heat; The tongues of flame are actually twisting *towards* you, crawling in your direction like a living thing - You hear Regios howling incoherently as he staggers in the opposite direction, thrashing as he burns...

It's almost too much to take it, at once: Momentarily cut off from the Tri-Stars, you glimpse Tyrian Edge slashing at the thing's primary hands, at the limbs gripping the girders below - There's a flash, as he cuts deep into a finger half his size...Before HAURVATAT lets go, and swats him away with a backhand as casual as it is vicious-

...And the titan's burning emerald gaze turns to you. It *knows*, somehow, that you're the greatest threat. With ponderous unstoppability, the accelerator mace rises - You hear the air whistling at it comes hurtling down, a flat, vertical swing like a hammer on an anvil, as the gem on it's brow swirls with shifting color-

> HP: 51%
> METER: 36%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 57%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 61%
> INTERCEPTORS: 2/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23353074

(Apologies, I'll keep that in mind for the next post.)

>>23353088
Shit, shit, shit.

Fortress mode might stop it, but this guy is fucking huge, I wouldn't like to bet on that.

Make sure that the Afterimages are on, might help a tiny bit, and boost to the side with the Scrander, if we feel we won't be able to dodge out of the way cleanly without Cobalt Boosting it do so.

Then Tau Gun it right in the Crystal, because fuck him.

Save Meter for the Railgun.

>>23353088

It's coming straight down on us? We can't dodge with the other three arms flailing wildly. It'll simply blindside us.

Hit it with a Tyrant Burst to blind it's optics momentarily so we can haul ass out of the soon to be crater. While it's blinded, have our interceptors focus on the charging crystal. If they fail to destroy it, have them smash into the crystal itself to impede it's progress. We do not want that thing to fucking fire.

While THIS is happening, aim the Tau Gun at one of the leg joints to impede it's mobility. We need this thing dead in the water. It has teeth, but once you cut it's mobility, it's toast.

Fucking Bismarck man.

>>23353088
I think a compacted fortress mode would be the best idea. Also, have the interceptors stich a line of fire across the back of its neck.

Also keep an eye on the two Tri Stars and warn them when they are about to be swatted

That thing has enough limbs that taking out one joint won't do much

>>23353154

Fortress will stop one of the arms. What about the other three that will coming in from left, right and center?

>>23353217

Interceptors are doing nothing except being a nuisance and meter drain at this point, we need them to hit that crystal before it fires again.

>>23353234
The other arms are occupied by fending off the tri stars and the way the gem is acting makes me think it's fast chargeing for an attack and putting our drones in front of it would be a mistake.

>>23353174

You yell - Something. You literally cannot hear yourself, amid all the madness - But the urgency in your voice speaks for itself. For one frozen moment, you're staring *right* up into HAURVATAT'S face as the mace comes hurtling down-

>>23353183

...And then your Cobalt Booster flares with a blinding azure light that bleaches all color to nothing. The flash seems pitifully small, against such a titanic figure - But the Gigas *rears* in ponderous response, holoprojectors momentarily disrupted by the Tyrant Burst; For an instant, the placid, carved face breaks up into a swirl of static-laden confusion, as your Assault Shroud *compacts*, becoming hyperdense as you boost away-

The blast transcends sound. The pressure-wave smacks you tumbling into the air; Even encased within the overlapping hexagonal tiles of the Fortress construct, you can see deep, gouging cracks spiderweb across the surface...But it gives you time to control your spin, so you can absorb the impact against the ground with bent legs. The Assault Shroud's nanofibres shred, tumbling away in solid shards - The world opening back up into a nightmare of fire and smoke and ruin, the ground convulsing underfoot...

Giving you a clear shot.

You swing the Tau Gun up - Cold azure strength sizzling through the circuits, the weapon venting waste heat as an antimatter blast cycles. When you wrench the trigger, the wrist-thick beam streaks through the whirling chaos; Just past Tyrian Edge, struggling to haul Volt Regios's crumpled form upright...

-And you kneecap HAURVATAT with your first shot.

(Continued)

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>>23353347
>-And you kneecap HAURVATAT with your first shot.

>>23353347

>kneecap

Fuck yes. We Magical Girl Noir now. Be sure to do some healing writing after we cap the other one!

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>>23353347

You actually see the joint - An almost invisible seam in the marble, with each slow, lumbering motion - distort; It seems to *swell*, as if something is going catastrophically wrong with the mechanism...Before the titan's marble shell begins to bubble outwards, bulging in eye-hurting way...

Something's happening. The great shape seems askew, somehow - Growing larger, the dark line of its shadow sweeping across the criss-crossing fractal pathways. Until you realize - It's growing bigger-

...No. It's falling.

It falls forward majestically, with the ponderous unstoppability of a runaway locomotive; Every motion grandoise, grossly exaggerated, a pratfall in slow motion.

"Oh god - No! No no no!" You hear someone scream - Each moment folding into the next. A ruby beam slices across you, as HAURVATAT's head turns, the blast going wild, fracturing - One of your Interceptors vanishing in the backwash of power. A great fist barrels down towards Tyrian Edge and Volt Regios, their struggling shapes vanishing beneath the descending mass - You see Bishamon stiffen, his armor nicked and gouged by a thousand cuts, his sword in one hand as he shouts something at you...

...The Nova Cannon in your hand humming with potential, as the second shot cycles - A smoldering line slashed across your armor, as your legs threaten to buckle; You've been hit, and you barely noticed -

> HP: 40%
> METER: 52%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 37%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 29%
> INTERCEPTORS: 1/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23353468
Shoot it in the Crystal with the Nova Gun, get out of the way of the giant falling fuck, use the Scrander, if we can help out our buds do so.

>>23353468

Cobalt Boost our scrander and grab those two morons. We don't want to be on the ground when it hits.

>>23353468

>52%

So close....

Howard Tatt is down, but still insanely dangerous. Do *not* under any circumstances get close. We can survey the damage to the Tri-Stars after we come out of this alive. With the Tri-Stars pinned, we can't risk exploding the crystal now....

...wait, screw hitting the crystal. Which way is it lying OP? Face down? If it's lying face down, fly above it and aim for the neck. Severe Howard's head with the Tau Gun.

>>23353562

(It's falling face-down, towards you.)

>>23353468
Damn it, if we hit the face we might stop the counter attacks, but Volt and Tyrian are going to be crushed, even if Bish can cut that arm it'll still come right down on them. On the other hand ewe can shoot the fist and knock it off course, but then we're open to a counter.

And lets not forget the thing is falling right towards us.

I think we should save Tyrian and volt, maybe Bish can bisect the gems. Can we cobalt boost the Fusion Annihilator in time to destroy Haurvy before his bulk crushes us I wonder? The next shot with the Nova should unlock the Railgun too...

>>23353573

Falling? Towards us? Oh shit on a muffin.

If it's falling towards us, hit the crystal with the Tau. Then hit the Scrander and fly between Howard's leg and knee. Avoid getting swatted by the flailing stump and hit the other knee with the Tau Gun as we pass the precipice of Howard's crotch.

This will insure it can't hop. It might be able to tap dance on it's stumps (I've witnessed a man do this before), but it won't be getting back up after that.

>>23353629
Err, one thing

>A great fist barrels down towards Tyrian Edge and Volt Regios, their struggling shapes vanishing beneath the descending mass

Volt is not going to survive that. He can't even walk on his own right now

>>23353658

God damn it.

So what do we do? Can we save them and still get a shot off, or should we go right for them?

>>23353658

Volt's a goner no matter what man. I mean, we can shoot the fist or drop the Fortress over him to hopefully spare him, but yeah. I don't see him coming out of this.

>>23353658
>>23353673

Samefagging; if we dumped the booster into the scrander we might make it to save one while dropping the fortress over the other, but we're going to lose someone here.

WAIT!

We don't need to dodge falling Haur, we can fly right at him and use the Nihl Spheres EXEC_REND ability to phase through him

>>23353608
>Can we cobalt boost the Fusion Annihilator in time to destroy Haurvy before his bulk crushes us

Something that big ? don't think so

>>23353673
>>23353705
>>23353669
If we shoot the descending fist with the NOVA it should knock it off course. But then we still have to worry about the counter.

Although >>23353712 did just point out that we can use the sphere to avoid an attack

So, shoot HAL or save the mooks? Because, mooks are replaceable, but it'll set a bad precedent. Plus they're one of the few who haven't shot at us. On the other, we do have a pissed off, fuck huge giant baring down on us.

>>23353725
This is a brilliant plan and I second it

>>23353725

Thirding.

At this point I feel that regardless of the path we choose we should be swearing profusely due to the stress of it all.

>>23353730
They picked the wrong team name to be mooks with.

>>23353730
>On the other, we do have a pissed off, fuck huge giant baring down on us.

Phah. Happens to us every week. We made the wrong choice when we could have saved Hecate, let's make te right one this time.

>>23353769

I wonder how many times the OP has rewritten this particular bit...

>>23353774

Not to mention they're the Black Tri-Stars. We know how well that turned out for the originals.

>>23353788
>Not to mention they're the Black Tri-Stars. We know how well that turned out for the originals.
The only possible thing they could do to die even harder at this point would be to incorporate the letters z, a, k, and u into their names AND loudly declare that something is a gundam.

>>23353818
YOU AREN'T THE OP

>>23353788

(A few times, believe me - Also, sorry, dropped my trip.)

You swing the Nova Cannon up, and fire - Aiming for the bludgeoning fist that comes hurtling down from above, ready to smash both Tyrian Edge and Volt Regios into Hiroshima shadows of themselves-

The entire gun *bucks* in your hand, as you depress the triggers; Even with the integrated suspensors to take the recoil, two shots in rapid succession is hell on the Tau Gun - You actually feel the frame quiver, fighting to tap out of your hands as it writhes in distress from the immense forces channeled, the antimatter surging out in a roiling, semi-controlled blast...

For a moment, you think you've missed-

-But then you see the splinter flaws, fanning out over white marble; The stress fractures spidering out from the point of impact, racing in outrippling waves that flash along the fault lines and vectors of effect - All this you glimpse, in a single instant, before HAURVATAT's hand comes apart like a man clutching a short-fused grenade.

(Continued)

It's quite possibly the loudest explosion you've heard today, and that's saying a lot. You actually *see* fingers spinning away from the devastation, as impact smoke billows upwards from the stump of the titan's wrist - Before the Tempest Scrander flares to dizzying life, kicking you up, up, *up* and back...

-You're not going to make it.

It's falling too fast, and you're just not going to make it. Not even with the unnatural speed of the Cobalt Booster, not even with your jetpack...

And then your armored fingers close around the Nihl Sphere.

The moment you touch it, you feel it *fighting* you - Actually *fighting* you, wrenching at you and *repelling* at you at once, as alien symbols - Vulgar and disturbing - badge across your field of vision.

Your hand goes numb, as if you're plunged it into a liquid nitrogen bath...But, barely knowing what you're doing, except that you must, you feel your mind *crush* down...

Space cracks, and the fabric of reality rends.

Blink. Violet light, streaked with storm-fires.

Blink. The harrowing screams of infinity.

Blink. Flares of red, the ghost-light of the cracks between worlds.

Blink.

(Continued)

"Get up, Joker."

The voice comes from an infinite distance.

"Get up, get up, get up, *please* get up-"

You open your eyes, but all you see is static. Your entire body feels like one enormous bruise, and the *cold* - You're cold, to your very core, a numbing cold that saps your strength, makes your limbs twitch like a dog with nightmares.

"-don't touch him-"

You refocus. The system whines as it re-engages, as your vision clears - Rebooting. You...

You're flat on your back, with a hard, green sun shining into your eyes - Two figures, blotchy shapes against the light, silhouetted by the clustered illumination.

As your targeting computer pings, you realize - The Black Tri-Stars. It's them. Two of them, at least.

Two...?

"...he's awake - think he's awake?"

[ ] Free

> HP: 40%
> METER: 52%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 37%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 29%
> INTERCEPTORS: 1/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23354052
"Motherfucker, that stung.

Where's the third one of your group? What's the current situation. Inform me."

>>23354052

(Correction: The stats are wrong, they didn't paste over properly. My apologies.)

> HP: 31%
> METER: 63%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 14%
> ASSAULT SHROUD: 15%
> INTERCEPTORS: 0/5

TIER 3 WEAPONS UNLOCKED

>>23354052

"We're alive? We're ali- where's the other Star? Did we lose someone?"

"I'm.. I'm sorry for not being fast enough. No apology will be sufficient, but I'm glad you two are alive at least. Hell of a suicidal fight that was"

>>23354052
"I'm never using that ability again... Where'd the titan go?

Oh shit, You know what we forgot to do in that last update? We forgot to make sure Bishamon wasn't going to be crushed under Hauvatat

With two... let me see. If we were lucky we grabbed the two about to be smashed... which leaves bishamon, by himself, fighting the titan.

We better get our asses moving.

>>23354097
>>23354116
>>23354066

You make out:

VOLT REGIOS, at your side - Kneeling, concerned, his blade planted point-down. TYRIAN EDGE, his head turning, clearly agitated; He still has a beam saber in one hand, heedless of the way the cohered plasma blade is slowly eating into the metal ground.

> "We're alive? We're ali- where's the other Star? Did we lose someone?"

"-About that," Volt Regios begins - His voice a soulless electronic growl, a growl that somehow sounds very, very tired. "Bishamon..."

He goes quiet.

"You tried," he says, the visor of his helm flickering with fitful light. His steel-jointed fingers rest on your shoulder, briefly, in an oddly careful gesture - Before he pulls, struggling to lever you upright. "-You tried."

And you notice - He's not holding the bristling thorn-blade, but a straight length of black steel; Bishamon's sword, which he leans on like a crutch.

Your heels scrape against the girder underfoot, as you level yourself to your knee, every joint protesting; You can feel actuators grinding together beneath your crimson plate.

> "I'm never using that ability again... Where'd the titan go?"

The question is on your lips, as you turn your head...And look right into HAURVATAT's face. It's alarmingly close - Enough that you take an involuntary step back, your arm coming up...

-Before you realize, belatedly, that it isn't attached.

(Continued)

Goddammit we lost Bishamonten over TYRIAN EDGE?

Love is OVER.

>>23354403

I am going to miss Mister Spaghetti. Jesus, he was actually an amusing side character.

Oh, oh shit. I just realized. We used the Nihl. He'll be placed in another hideous, sanity destroying Thing.

Around you - The perfect, unmarred lines of the landscape broken by odd, distorted monoliths...Chunks of shattered stone, you realize, the fragmentary hail from the titan as it came apart - Uneven holes smashed into the gridwork that spans the Hollow Sun.

"...We have to *find* him," Tyrian Edge is saying - His entire form taut with tension; "-He's *not* dead...He can't *be* dead - We didn't *see him die*..."

"Tyrian," Volt says. His voice is flat. "-None of us are going anywhere."

You're wondering what he means, when it strikes you - The Halo Shroud; It's gone. The realization comes to you right on the cusp of dread, as you look up...

Not far away, you see the cracked halves of a crystal - The last few sparks twining away from the shattered fragments, curling upwards and outwards like fleeing fireflies.

And, as gently as snow - It's a slow ripple, at first; Like an aviary stirring, except the rustling is the hum of anti-gravity engines engaging, the whirring of steel feathers and metal pinions.

In their dozens - In their hundreds - In their thousands - the Hellions are waking up.

(Continued)

>>23354403
It's one of the best results we could have gotten.

Also, how about digging out Bish and seeing if he's maybe still alive ? If so, can we switch back to the real world and get him to a hospital ?

And lastly, why don't we try to pick up some healing or staabilzing power when we get to the next upgrade ?
Could

>>23354440
Scrap that, I'm an idiot for not waiting until the update. Can we lift both Tyrian and Volt out of here ? Shift back ? Use the Nihl to shift back to the real world ?

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>>23354439

IT'S HAPPENING.

>>23354439
Fuck this shit. I got one single idea as to how to survive this, and it involves absorbing the hollow sun with the nihl sphere.

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>>23354439

You're still contemplating this, when light flares at the corner of your vision; HAURVATAT's severed head begins to glow - Stark illumination slicing up and across the angular framework of its face, the holo-projectors beginning to ripple, to waver, as the gem set in the brow flickers to fitful life...

-There's...Something. It's projecting an image; A strange one, a perfect rectangle of anti-light, the dimensions oddly distressing - A space *beyond*...

"What *is* that?" you hear Edge mutter - "...What *is* that, there?"

As you look back at him, you can see - The chunks of the fallen titan are beginning to dissolve, to break down into pixels, ghosting out; So's the one behind you, the severed head beginning to flicker in and out of reality - The black doorway hovering fitfully, the edges beginning to waver...

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23354506
If we stay here we'll get ganked and die painfully. Go through the strange door/rectangle.

>>23354506
"Whatever it is, it might not be full the legions of hell which makes it a much more attractive option than staying here."

>>23354506
If it's a gate, and the aforementioned options of exit aren't possible, get the fuck through it. And tell the two Tri-stars to do the same thing

We could open fire, try charging our meter the rest of the way and then firing the quantum singularity cannon straight up.

Alternatively, use some heavy firepower to cut a hole through the nearest wall.

>>23354506
DIVE INTO THE HEART

DIVE INTO THE HEART

>>23354506

"Well, gentlemen, we either die here for sure or take door number one. I for one like my chances with the door."

"Let's blow this joint."

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>>23354517
>>23354524
>>23354528

"Wait." Volt Regios's voice crackles, as he eyes the shimmering doorway. "It could go anywhere..."

"-'Anywhere' has to be better than *here*!" Tyrian Edge snaps - He's backing away, step by slow step; The Hellions taking wing above, dropping 'down' towards the Hollow Sun from their gibbets...

> "Let's blow this joint."

"...All right," Regios says. "-All right." He spares one last glance upward - And that seems to decide him. You're not sure who starts running *first*, but it's a moot point; Even as the portal begins to disperse, moving like slow smoke, the ghostly vapour falling apart, you're halfway through it - The air whistling as the first photonic lances come hailing down, the thunk-thunk-thunk of impact swallowed up as the gate snaps shut-

It's an odd feeling, plunging through a half-real doorway. There's no indication that you're moving from one vast space to the next - But there's a *thickness* to the atmosphere, here, an ozone-heavy tang, as if the crackling charge that permeates the Hollow Sun has become a tangible force...

-But where *are* you?

(Continued)

For a moment, it's dark - But then pale, undersea light washes over the ebony stone, columns of bright hololithic illumination extending from floor to ceiling. The black walls tremble, a pattern of previously invisible geometric blue bars glowing into life out of the tiles - All the way around the hemisphere of the chamber, everything vibrating with a deep, ultrasonic growl.

"Holy *shit*," Tyrian Edge stammers, looking up in wonder - Silent, phantom lights like ball lightning shimmering, circling above your heads.

"-I can hear..." Volt Regios begins; He shakes his head, seemingly lost for words as the lines of holographic light snake across a massive circular door at the far end of the antechamber - A single solid piece, like an airlock...Except for a fist-sized hole set right in the heart of it.

Something clicks into place, and you think - You've been here before...

The Spire.

It reminds you of the Spire - Of the chamber at the Spire's core. Not the *same*, never the same...But similar.

Somehow.

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23354660
"Well, this certainly is a place, not sure where though."

Take a look around, see if there's anything else of import in this room, then head to the door and take a closer look at it.

>>23354660
The Nihl Sphere is fist sized right?

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>>23354660

Anything noteworthy in the room? Health packs? A slightly flustered Mister Spaghetti?

>>23354701

Yup. I don't like this at all... we just got beat to shit in a boss fight and we were thrown straight into a dungeon crawl. Not good odds, but better than what we were facing.

>>23354701
I do recall Hecate mentioning it could open doors or something like that

As you pace across the room, the light follows you - It fans out from a halo around your feet, like ripples from a stone flung into a pond. It's the same for Tyrian Edge and Volt Regios; Regios's gauntleted hand half-raised, tracing the lines...

"...It's responding to us," he says, almost to himself. "-This place...I think - It was *meant* to be found."

The words hang in the air, as Tyrian Edge shakes his head; "But there's nothing here," he says - And he's not wrong. There's no way in or out - Nothing except black stone and the rounded door at the end.

You can make out intricate, incomprehensible murals across the spiral surface - The arching lines of the circuit-pattern coming together, as the light shades from pale green to something that's almost gold.

Your first impression was right: It's not just fist-sized, but fist-shaped. There's there suggestion of complex mechanisms within - A cowl of thick needles and humming scanners, ready for someone to place an arm - An armored arm - into the socket.

The question is - Who?

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23354809
"Wish me luck. This could end in extreme agony."

Stick our hand in.

>>23354809

"Well, I know one way for us to decide who is going to open the lock on the door."

"Rock. Paper Scissors."

>>23354826

I'll second this. What's the loss of an arm, anyway? We'll get a new one when we respawn.

>>23354855

Or we could try the Nihl first...

> "Wish me luck. This could end in extreme agony."

"You're going to...?" Tyrian Edge begins - Even as you thrust your arm into the door's mechanism, to the hydraulic whirr of systems engaging. Volt Regios takes a step forward...Then seemingly thinks better of interrupting, as the pins stab home.

The pain is cold, stunning - The sickening *feel* of having alien matter in your body, as the long, sharp spines drive all the way to your marrow; You grunt, as your forearm is clamped in place, as arcane technologies *taste* you, considering for long moments - It's like the pressure of a vice, tightening, *tightening* until you can wait no longer...

And then, a low rumble. The light goes jagged and red, as the door disassembles itself - Unfolding, like a fractal puzzle, each of the complex interlocked components sliding up and away, retracting abruptly with a snaking hiss.

But *beyond*-

Light washes over you, an amber glow. It's like standing in sunlight, on a clear, cloudless day - The radiance beaming forth, unabated and unending. A great monolith stands before you, the surface mirror-bright red stone; Above, a second one stabs down, an inverted pyramid.

Between them: A single giant ring of spun brass, suspended upon rods of ruby crystal that intersect the circumference like the points of a compass - Like an echo of the rippling design of the chamber without.

And inside the brass halo - Forever in motion, but always still - is the seething heart of the Hollow Sun. To your eyes, it's a sphere of molten gold, rippling and flowing; Enveloped by invisible forces, a mantle of liquid metal, constant in its ebb and flow.

(Continued)

Deep channels have been cut in the ground; The circuit-patterns end here. With a start, you realize that they began here - Channeling the energies *outwards*, presumably to fuel the Hellions and the Gigas and the countless defenses you must have bypassed...

-All from this place.

From here, you can see - There's a vague shape within, brief conjunctions of motion failing to make it any clearer...But it looks humanoid, like a figure through thick glass...

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>23355031
"Huh, I either expected it to turn my hand into a giant gun or kill me, lucky me."

Stroll on in, try to get a closer look at the figure, see if there's any loot, what threats might be here, and how to disable the Heart if need be. Don't act yet, just gather information.

>>23355031

"Huh. I hope it's friendlier than those guys out there."

>>23355031
"look around for anything that could be a relic. I'm going to take a closer look at this 'heart'."

>>23355061
>>23355083

(Gentlemen, my apologies: I'd love to continue - However, it is now *incredibly* late, and I require an early start tomorrow. I hate to have to stop so abruptly, but I should be able to continue sometime next week.

Once again, you've been a great audience; And, as always, good night and god bless.)

Silly suggestion: Jump in and become the heart.
Wild speculation: It' Hecate in there.
WIlder speculation: This place warps time, we are both in the heart and outside the heart.

>>23355104

okay... guess that's a wrap then. looking forward to the shitstorn next session.

>>23355109

I'm beginning to wonder if we'd ever see Hecate again. And I got a feeling that the Op didn't intend for Bishie to die, either, given how he was the guy with the most characterization.

Oh well, that's how the dice fall.

>>23355184

>I'm beginning to wonder if we'd ever see Hecate again.

If we find her, we'll probably bang her. Just sayin'.

>>23355184
>I'm beginning to wonder if we'd ever see Hecate again.
I've counted on never seeing her again in a non-corpse fashion.

>>23355184

Joker Quest seems to be especially punishing for a /tg/ quest. I can't remember the last time plot-relevant NPCs die from simple shit luck. Usually, it's a highly dramatic thing.

>>23355184
Maybe he died *because* he got the most characterization?

Though i would really like to take the heart quickly so the Hellions turn of. Then we can properly search for him out there. Maybe he just got buried alive under the Titan.

>>23355339

Yeah, it'd be cool if he was alive. He can't die before he's done acting in the play. We need a leading man!

>>23355235

Awww, really? I miss her. She was the most fun girl to be around: Playful, in the know, and a total tease. We never got that kiss, too.

Mio's pretty close, but she's too much of a good girl.

>>23355812
>Awww, really?
Yeah. Either I'm right and we never see her again, or she comes back and... well, either I'm pleased that we have Jokernon's waifu back and he discovers love is alive and not over, or she turns out to be evil* and I'll consider her dead anyways.

*Lots of definitions for this.

>>23355812

There's an immense irony that the girl who works as a cosplay waitress (As a fetish maid no less) is the sweetest and most innocent heroine of the lot.

>>23355932
I can't wait until Jokernon violates her in a consensual manner while holding hands and so on and so forth.

>>23355932

You've never heard of a hooker with a heart of gold?

Seriously, maid cafes in Japan don't mean prostitution, not even at the dodgy ones. They're meant to pander, not to provide sexual services.

>>23355995

>They're meant to pander, not to provide sexual services.


Fuck, I've wasted all my life.

>>23355995
>They're meant to pander, not to provide sexual services.

The legitimate ones, anyways.

>>23356085

Yeah, they're kind of a letdown, though.

>>23356238
Speaking as a guy who has been to a few of these maid cafes, they're nice in small doses. The first time or so is really weird, though.

And I've never really gotten into them that much, usually it's just me hanging out with a few buddies on a lark. So in a way I guess I'm agreeing with you?