>>23926104
>Say nothing we don't have to
Yeah, we fucked up. Gotta have consequences to your decisions.

>>23926104

You sent me in blind, boss. How was I supposed to know there wouldn't be a parallel op or allied agents on it?

>>23926104

Say nothing. Don't turn this into an argument.

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You're about to protest - you were sent in blind and told to see what you could see, what kind of operation is that? - when about two-thirds of your mind makes itself up to keep quiet.

"Look, we need to review what information we did manage to get out of this operation and decide our next step," Diana says. She motions you towards the door. "We'll call you when we've decided on your next assignment. Dismissed."

You almost protest, but it hardly seems worth it. You snap off a quick salute (despite not really being in the military) and walk about.

For the first time since joining AEGIS you're starting to have doubts. It's an elite agency in theory. In reality you're in another Metro City office building (one that's been locked down, supposedly) that seems to lack clear structure or a sense of what the hell they're doing. You're starting to wonder how they can even operate.

Speaking of operating, you realize you still have K's phone.

>Find him and return it before you go.
>This is K. He's probably got a half-dozen phones, each more tacticool than the last. Just give it to him next time you see him.

>>23926294

Find him and return it to him. Ask him about the chinawoman.

>>23926294
>Find him and return it before you go.
He probably got as bad of a chewing out as we did anyway.
And it's not cool to not return a person's phone at earliest convenience.

>>23926294

Find and return. No reason to be rude.

>>23926294

Look through the phone

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You decide to scroll through the phone before returning it to him, just out of curiosity. The contact list you've seen (still as obtuse as ever), no record of outgoing or incoming calls. He's got a twitter account, you're surprised to see, but he only seems to post links to articles about guns. Has three followers, all seem to be spambots.

You step into the elevator. No surprises, but you still feel like you know K a little better for it. You push the button for the floor you're fairly certain he's going to be on.

Two floors down you step out into The Armory. Rack after rack of every conceivable weapon in no clear order you can figure out. You think it might be alphabetical by manufacturer ordered by production date. Possibly. For whatever reason this has become K's private kingdom.

You find him exactly where you expect, at a workbench. A dozen or so knives are spread out before him. He's concentrating so intensely on the one he's sharpening you wonder if....

"I've noticed you're there," he says. Ah, so that clears that up. "Can I help you?"

"Here to give your phone back," you say. He holds out a hand without turning to look at you. You press the phone into his hand.

"Anything else?" he asks.

>What were you up to when Snake and I were fighting?
>Why didn't you shoot anyone at the office? We could have used the backup.
>Why were you so careful not to threaten Snake?

>>23926508
>What were you up to when Snake and I were fighting?
Maybe we can find out if the labs had anything useful.

>>23926508

The latter two. He disappeared once the fighting began and didn't try to capture Snake.

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"So where were you when the fireworks started?" you ask.

"Knifed a guy or two. Nonlethally. Kinda gentle as far as knifings go," he says. "You and that other woman seemed to have things mostly under control, though."

"The woman who came out of nowhere and just said she was on our side?" you ask. "I noticed you never pointed your gun her direction. Kind of the opposite."

He stops grinding the knife against the whetstone and sets it aside, takes a deep breath. "Look, Linds, I like you, so I'm going to give you some advice. There's more out there in the world than AEGIS will tell you. Some people that you could go your entire life without hearing about. When you run into one of them, last thing you want is to antagonize them."

"What, so you're steering clear of this woman?"

"I'm not provoking her without good reason," he says. He picks up another knife, inspects the blade. It's...tacticool. Not very practical.

"Can you at least tell me who she is?" you ask.

"Don't know a proper name for her. Just know she's dangerous," he says. He puts the silly knife to the whetstone and starts to work. You think of asking more but you get the distinct impression that he's finished talking to you.

>Anything else we want to do or look for in AEGIS headquarters?
>Head home, think this over.

>>23926762
Check the AEGIS databases of known intel operatives, see if we can identify her.

>>23926762

I just got chewed up by the boss for not confronting her, and you're telling me you knew who she was and didn't tell me anything? What kind of partner are you, anyway?!

Oh good, I managed to catch this.

>>23926762
Try to uncover some secrets!...I'm not good with agents stuff.

>>23926762
Get a quick once-over of the building before we head home. If this is a UN operation and we're still in Metro, then this must be one of numerous branches around the world. Best we can do right now is get familiar with it. We can't exactly go snooping for a leak right now since we don't even know what we're looking for yet.

>>23926782
>>23927018
As far as secret intelligence organizations go, we're the greenest of goat shit there is. We more than likely don't have enough clearance for things like that.

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"So you knew who that was when I just got chewed out for letting an unknown slip away?" you ask. "Fine, I'll check the agency database, maybe she's one of ours."

"First, no she isn't," K says. "Second, neither of us have clearance for that database."

"Then - what do we have clearance for?" you ask.

"To do what we're told," he says. "I've gotta reset the scope on this knife. I'll talk to you later."

You leave, feeling somewhat annoyed. You can't even walk into half of this building - nobody can, based on the layers of dust on everything - and can't get a straight answer out of anyone.

You step back into the elevator. Offices on the third floor. Armory and training facilities on the second. Third hosts the IT guys and operations control. One of these days you'll figure out a way to get in there without breaking thirty protocols and getting a Burn Notice put out on you or whatever happens when you step into the wrong room in this place. Argh.

Half an hour later you've fought through Metro City traffic to your friend Moira's apartment. Since you don't know if you're going to be staying permanently in Metro or not you decided to take her up on her offer to crash there for a few days. Tomorrow you can find a hotel if you're still here. Maybe re-lease your old place if it turns out Metro's your permanent base of operations.

You sigh as you unlock the door to her duplex. At least it's handy to have a friend in the area, you think.

"Heyyy, buddy," Snake says as you enter. She and Moira are seated on a couch together, drinking tea.

"Lindsay! I was just telling your coworker here you'd be back any minute now!" Moira says.

>Go along with it. Get some tea and sit down with them.
>Ask Moira to step out of the room and demand to know what's going on.
>ATTAAAAAAAACK.

>>23927169
>Go along with it. Get some tea and sit down with them.
"You know I got chewed out for the stunt you pulled earlier. Not too happy about that."

>>23927169
>>Go along with it. Get some tea and sit down with them.

>>23927169
Have some tea. Ask Snake what's up.

Don't get Moira killed by some crazy know-it-all-agent

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>>23927169
>Ask Moira to step out of the room and demand to know what's going on.
Okay, now THIS is fucked up. She knows us AND our acquaintances (already)? This is several kinds of bad and/or weird, and it's about to get personal very quickly.

>>23927276
how does that large belt stay up?

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>>23927169
Hell yeah, posting in an active SFQ thread!

>Go along with it. Get some tea and sit down with them.

"Oh, tea? How lovely," you say. This is bullshit. You hate tea. Regardless, you take a seat and smile politely. The agent - Snake, whatever her name is - smiles back.

"So what are you doing here, buddy?" you ask.

"Just came to see if you're going to join our project or not," she says. "Also talking about literature with your friend here."

"Oh?" you ask, trying to remain neutral. She was here alone with Moira. You've sort of fallen out of touch with her, but there's still a veiled threat in that.

"The Outlaws of the Marsh," Moira says. "One of the four great novels of Chinese literature. Miss..."

"Wu," she says. "Wu Song."

"Miss Song was telling me a bit about the plot." You're pretty sure Wu is the family name, but neither you nor Wu mention it.

"One hundred and eight outlaws band together to become a force for good in a corrupt time," she says. "It's somewhat of a dry read, but it's really fascinating stuff. Still relevant today, you know?"

>Ask her to tell you more.
>Point out that heroic outlaws only make sense in a time of tyranny.
>Reading is for babies. Let's talk about movies.

>>23927362
>Point out that heroic outlaws only make sense in a time of tyranny.
Otherwise, they're just bandits preying upon the weak peasants who can't protect themselves.

>>23927362
>>Point out that heroic outlaws only make sense in a time of tyranny.

And only if they win at that

>>23927362
Reading is for babies.

Also, during tyranny.

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>>23927362
>Nine dozen heroes and one wicked man
>point out that heroic outlaws only make sense in a time of tyranny
>We have seen the Burt Kwuok-narrated English dub

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>>23927298
It just kinda does. Her taunt in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special was to use it as a hula hoop. She either sets it at an angle or stands with a wide-enough base (common with her sambo stance) that it never actually falls off. It's a keepsake from her dad.

>>23927362

>Heroic outlaws only make sense in a time of tyranny.

In normal times they're just 108 assholes who hang out together.

>>23927362
>Point out that heroic outlaws only make sense in a time of tyranny.
Heroism is good, but what if there is no injustice to speak of?

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"Heroic outlaws only make sense in a time of tyranny," you say. "In Nottingham Robin Hood was a heroic thief. Today he would just be a thief."

"Ha. That's all dependent on your point of view," Wu says, smiling. "Okay, here's something related. Want to hear a riddle?"

"Oh, obviously," you say, returning her poisonous smile. If Moira weren't here one of you would have put the other through a wall by now.

"Okay, this one's for both of you," she says. "Two travelers are passing through Transylvania and are invited into Dracula's castle."

"What's in our inventory?" Moira asks.

"It's not that kind of riddle," you say.

"...right. So they're invited to dine with Dracula. He asks the two what the people out in the land think of him. First one says he's beloved by everybody, the greatest ruler of all time."

"And the second?"

"Second traveler is honest. Says the people are terrified of him but they're too scared to say so. Now, here's the riddle. Dracula kills one of these two men and lets the pass out of his lands unharmed. Which one did he kill?"

>The first traveler.
>The second traveler.

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>>23927536

I'm stumped. And my pizza just arrived. Don;t you die on me! I'll be back

>>23927536
Rather depends on what kind of man Dracula is. If he has no patience for sycophants, the first one dies, but if he cannot handle people telling the truth the second dies.

If w

>>23927536
The honest one is killed. Who would let brave to speak against him outside?

>>23927536
Depends on who Dracula is. That aside, I'd presume he kills the first traveler. Honesty aside, Dracula seems like one of those types who revels in the fact he rules through fear.

>>23927536
The second one, because if the fear is true then by fear he is controlling the people and letting brave live would hold demise to himself.

Also, fuck these hours, I'm going to sleep. Have a good one.

>>23927536

The honest man dies. Why would you sass Dracula? He ain't a man known for being sass-able.

>>23927692
He wasn't sassing him, though. He was telling him trufax. If anything, the first one is giving him sass by buttering Dracula up with the lie that he's beloved.

>>23927536
>The first traveler.
Because Dracula uses fear, and he would want the stories of how effectively he controls fear to spread.

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>>23927459
Best animation

>>23927536
He kills both

Because Vampiric Dracula was a dick

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You think it over for a minute. You've got good arguments for both sides of the issue.

"He kills the liar," Moira says. "He knows what he is, and he'd rather hear the truth."

"Interesting," Wu says. "And what's your answer, Lindsay?"

"He could kill the liar because he wants it known that he rules through fear. He could kill the honest man because he doesn't want to be spoken back to. Or he could kill them both because he's Dracula, who was never well known for being reasonable," you say.

"Well answered," Wu says. "Personally I think he kills the honest man."

"So there's no right answer?" Moira asks.

"There is, it's just different for everyone," Wu replies. "It's a test of your opinions about authority. If you think he kills the honest man you don't trust authority, if you think he kills the liar then you do. And it depends on your reasons, of course."

"So..." Moira says.

"So I don't trust it. You do. Lindsay here seems conflicted."

"Am I? I do work for..." Shit, you forgot what cover Wu gave Moira.

"You started out working for the Air Force. You quit that and went to work for Interpol. You quit Interpol to go work for..." She stops. She's forgotten too, apparently.

>Quick, what did we say our new job is? Roll 1d100, highest takes it!

Rolled 82

>>23927931
"I never quit. I'm taking an extended break for a while. Too much police work can burn you out. I'm doing odd jobs in the meantime."

Rolled 72

>>23927931
Fairbanes Financial Group Market Forecasting and Intelligence Division.

Rolled 76

>>23927931

We bought a stable of gigolos and are now their pimp.

>captcha: prana darelay

They do dare lay, captcha, that's why we bought them.

>>23927931

we are between jobs?

capthca: slightly astansf. Me too capthca. me too.

>>23927931
private security firm contracted out to an independant agency

>>23928012

We're an agent of AEGIS, which is a sorta-spy agency. We've been hiding that fact, though.

Rolled 9

>>23927931
Chameleon Security, a PMC. We're an independent contractor doing consultation and security work.

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Rolled 95

>>23927931
We work private security for the Kardashians.

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>>23928198
Crap, I didn't expect to win!

>>23928217
Incidentally, if people would rather I didn't bump with photos from my Dodgy Concealed Items and Strange Weapons folder, please do say.

Pizza was delicious.

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>>23928198

>>23928198
What the hell would the Kardashians be doing in Metro? That kinda falls apart.

>>23928217
So you put up a joke answer, not expecting to win, and now you have to live with your stupid-ass shit?
Yeah, you deserve what you get.

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>>23928262
... you must be new to SFQ. Go read the archives, I'll wait.

...

See how we beat up Boss Honda that first time?

Sometimes, silly is what we do here.

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>>23928254
Like I know where Metro City is.

Obviously one of the lesser Kardashians. Khamal? Kuzron? Khan?

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>>23928198

"Private security," you say. "Lots of celebrities. Very hush hush." Perfect. Now all you have to do is make up a story about seeing a Kardashian every once in awhile and then claim everything else is confidential.

"But that seems so unsatisfying," Wu says. "That's why I went to work elsewhere. You should really join me sometime."

Ah. So it looks like this is the point of this little visit.

"I don't really know what your new startup has to offer that I'd be interested in," you say.

"Really? Even after touring our office?" she says.

"...ah. Yes, we did do a little walkthrough, didn't we?" you ask. "Seemed nice. Still not sure why you were there, again?"

"There to deliver a message," Wu says. "Thanks for helping with that."

"Okay, I'm tired of you two talking in veiled code or whatever," Moira says. "I've seen The Killer, you've seen The Killer, we all know how this scene goes, whatever. I'm going to the kitchen to run the ice machine really loudly, why don't you two just actually talk?"

You and Wu glare at each other. Seems like you both blame the other for sucking at spy stuff. Moira leaves, a minute later you hear the ice machine in the fridge door grinding away.

>what should we ask?

>>23928254

I always assumed Metro City was east coast? I've been using it as a mix of Chicago and New York City, with Southtown as kinda-Detroit.

>>23928217

Actually, "private security for celebrities" seems like a decent cover story. Explains absences, need for martial arts and weapon training and her periodic time between assignments. If people ask for more details she can just say she signed a confidentiality document.

I am glad to hear the pizza was delicious.

>>23928350
Metro City is basically proxy-New York. Hell, you can see the Statue of Liberty in Final Fight 1.

>>23928326
Who does Snake work for, and why didn't she grab the other set of documents so that at least one person would come out of this looking halfway competent.

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>>23928326
"The field is one thing, but good friends are ENTIRELY different. You better have a VERY good reason for intruding on my personal life, Song."

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>>23928326
And I hope your ham sammich was too.

>>23928326
What the fuck is she up too

>>23928326
>that filename

Poor Moira

>>23928326
"Wu, what the fuck are you doing here?

Give me a straight answer then get out because I don't want to have to fight you in my friend's apartment, we'd ruin her furniture. If you want to talk more we can talk elsewhere."

"Alright, who do you work for?" you ask.

"Water Margin," she says. "And you work for AEGIS, right?"

"Right. Now what the hell are you doing here? Teaming up in the field is one thing, but this is way over the line."

"I'm here to recruit you," she says. She honestly looks surprised when you laugh. "I'm serious! I liked working with you."

"What were you doing in that office anyway?" you ask. "It can't be coincidence we both wandered in at the same time."

"I'm the same as you, I'm a close-quarters combat specialist," she says, shrugging. "I actually thought you were there tailing us. I was asked to deliver a message."

"Which was?" you ask.

"Like I said, you helped deliver it," she says. "A member of Water Margin was misappropriating funds to create something dangerous. I was there to make it clear that we disapproved."

"Jesus," you say. You rub your temple a little. "Okay, so Water Margin works for...?"

"We work for ourselves," she says. "To do what's right for the world."

"And why would you want me?" you ask.

"Because you believe in justice and helping people. Because you keep bouncing from career to career because you can't find any other organization that lives up to your ideals.You remember the case last year where a CIA-backed heroin ring was outed?"

"You were in on that?" you ask.

"Did most of the groundwork. Protected witnesses from CIA hit squads. Got to fight an honest-to-goodness ninja, which was awesome," she says. "Where do you think AEGIS would have fallen in that conflict?"

>To take down the drug ring!
>To protect the interests of a member nation.
>Don't know.

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>>23928727

>I... I don't know. I just... crap.

Yeah, we work for an organisation we don't really know a lot about.

On the other hand, we can take everything Song tells us and relay it to our handler tomorrow saying we've been approached and see if we get a) murdered or b) told to become a triple-agent.

>>23928727
>Water Margin

108 Kung Fu Agents?
Jesus

>Don't know

>>23928727
>Don't know.

"I don't know, but AEGIS does do a lot of good and I doubt that Water Margin has any lack of skeletons in their closets."

>>23928727
>Don't know.
But that doesn't mean we can trust Water Margin any more than AEGIS.
Besides, entering into the personal life of another operative is simply bad manners, regardless of the intention.

>>23928727
>Don't know.
Again, green as goat shit. We just know it's a UN taskforce, so global interests should be at the forefront, right?

>>23928727
So apparently, someone at Water Margin making Combots is a bad thing.

>>23928727

First, in our line of work, no one has the moral high ground. And second, I'm getting real tired of you knowing all this crap about me and me knowing nothing about you. So how about we cut the chatter and I punch you in the face until you give me the name of whoever is leaking information to you, sweetness?

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"I honestly don't know," you say. "I've had this job for, like, one week."

"Ask your buddy K about it sometime," she says. "That's how we met."

....fuck. That's got some bad implications.

"Look, apparently someone's leaking my agency's info to you."

"And someone's leaking our society's information to you. The reason you were sent in so fast and with such limited information was to try to beat me there," she says.

"The point is, I'm sure that your secret society of martial artists who answer to no law doesn't exactly have clean hands themselves. All you've proven to me so far is that you know more about me than I want you to and you aren't afraid to come speak to me where I live."

"Well, I had - "

"Hey, Moira?" you shout, loud enough to go over the ice machine. Jesus, she must have filled up a bucket with the stuff by now. "I'm just gonna walk Wu here to her car. I'll be right back."

Moira pops her head in. She's actually carrying a bucket. "You need a hand?"

>No, I've got this.
>Sure. Come along.
>Nah, I'll shout if I need you.

>>23929037
>No, I've got this.

It's impolite to drag friends into international spy fights.

>>23929037
>No, I've got this.

>>23929037

>No, I got this.

But if I die, you know who to seek vengeance from.

>>23929037

>No, I've got this.

Isn't walking someone to their car easy? Moira seems to be implying something untoward to be occurring!

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>>23929037

>No, I got this.

>Friends don't let friends get murdered by mysterious super-spies.

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"No, I've got this," you say. You stand and motion towards the door, exchanging a pleasant smile with Wu.

"Well, it's been a lovely visit," she says to Moira. "Sorry to hear about that whole nun thing not working out."

"Aw, you know how it goes," she says. She bites her lip a little as she looks between the two of you. "Come back again sometime, okay?"

"I'll see if I can," Wu says.

On your way out she sighs, obviously uncomfortable. "Look, obviously you want to fight, but can we not do this?"

"Don't see any reason why not to," you say.

"There's an old saying, 'When two tigers fight, one is maimed, the other is killed.'"

"And you're a tiger?" you ask.

"I'm just saying I don't think either of us would come out of this well off," she says. "Besides, I'm not sure I can convince my coworkers there not to intervene."

She nods towards what must be her car. And to the two men standing outside of it. A large man with a vaguely German look, holding onto a cane that he obviously doesn't use to walk, and another middle-aged man in a white t-shirt and bomber jacket. "They're kind of protective of me."

>Fight! Fiiiight!
>Discuss this like adults.
>Wait, do I know those guys?

>>23929395
>Wait, do I know those guys?

Then

>Discuss this like adults.

It'll be 3 on 1 and Moira would be sad if either of us removed the other's spine.

>>23929395
>>Wait, do I know those guys?

They're from the beat'em up portion of the quest. But do we know them IC?

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>>23929395
>Wait, do I know those guys?
Because my memory is like Swiss Cheese and I think I'm missing something.

Then

>Discuss this like adults
Because I've been in quest threads where the main character dies before.

>>23929449
I'm sure they're probably fairly obscure mythical legends by this time.

>>23929395
>Wait, do I know those guys?
>You're not getting away without me at least making an effort to have you spill on the mole in AEGIS

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"...wait, do I know those guys?" you ask.

"You remember the guys who deposed the last mayor before Haggar?" she asks. "The one embroiled in that corruption scandal?"

"The one who was beaten up in that political rally when that ninja attaaaaOH MY GOD IT'S THAT GUY," you say.

"Saul was one of us, barring a little spat over his lifestyle. It was another era," she says, shrugging. "The other one joined up not long after. We're outlaws, you know? And he was framed for murder."

"I remember. And then all that other crazy shit happened."

"Hahaha, yeah, that was cool," she said. "Look, you and I are probably evenly matched in a one-on-one, but I don't think you have a chance in a three on one fight."

"Logical," you say. "Wasn't there like a big karate guy too? They made us watch that political rally like every year in high school civics."

"Apparently he didn't want to join," she says, shrugging. "Anyway. Are we gonna be cool?"

"Probably," you say. "I still want to know who's leaking AEGIS information to you."

"And I want to know who's leaking Water Margin secrets to AEGIS," she says. "Want to team up on this one?"

"...maybe," you say. "We're probably going to keep running into each other, aren't we?"

"Well, we have the same job," she says with a smile. "Let's just play it by ear next time we see each other."

She smiles and waves as she walks away. The two hanging out by the car wave to her and open a door.

You've got a lot to ask Diana and K about next time you see them. Too much you don't know. For now, though, Moira's inside with a giant bucket of ice and some shitty movie you promised you'd watch with her. You head back in and try to ignore this sense that something out of control is just starting.

>>23929749

>Be Anon

>>23929749
>framed for murder

Poor Average Joe
Not so average now

>>23929749
Now that I think about it, Saul and Joe would make terrible spies...

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>>23929817

>be Street Fighting Man

You were just finishing up a post closing the thread for the day when you see this. Fuck it, you decide, dinner can wait.

>be Anon

You are Anon, world warrior and all around tough guy. Your partner for this particular adventure - Boss Honda, your opposite in a lot of ways and your bro in a lot more - stands by your side, charging a ki attack.

"I still don't think Moth Man is real," you say.

"We are FIGHTING a Mothman right now, obviously they are real," he says.

"I thought they lived in the American southwest anyway?" you ask. "What's one doing in Germany? What are YOU doing in Germany?"

"That's harder to explain," he says. "Besides, this is barely can-"

"SKRAAAAAAAAAAW!" the Mothman shrieks. A few nearby windows burst from the sonic impact. It hurts your ears like a rusty screwdriver being jammed into your brain.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK THIS I HATE THIS I HATE FIGHTING MONSTERS," Boss Honda says.

>Charge it! Direct assault!
>Team-up attack with Boss Honda. Time for a Fastball Special.
>Use an item.

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>>23929749
Wait, so that's Saul from Streets of Fighting, together with... Joe? What?

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>>23929915
>Fastball Special

Like there's any other option.

>>23929915

Team attack. We don't get to use this opportunity often, so let's take it.

>>23929915
>Team-up attack with Boss Honda. Time for a Fastball Special.

How can we not? He can throw us and then throw a KI BLAST that we ride/surf so we go even faster and hit harder.

>>23929915
>Team-up attack with Boss Honda. Time for a Fastball Special.
Of course.

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>>23929920

Saul and Joe. Saul was a longtime member of Water Margin in Germany. Germany's stance towards his homosexuality caused him to quit and move to Metro City where he thought people would be more accepting After a few adventures helping to clean it up (not completely, obviously, since Mad Gear moved into the void) he rejoined.

Joe's trickier. I had a plotline in place for Streets of Fighting 2 (the gang boss from SoF would have used her clout with a corrupt police department to have Joe framed for murder, he would team up with Saul, Tatsuya and some new adventureres to clear his name and root out the corruption.) I decided not to run with this because SoF just wasn't quite clicking and people seemed interested in a possible game set back in the present of SFQ, so I decided to run with Street Fighting Ops instead.

...when I type it all out like this it makes it sound like I spend an unhealthy amount of time on this quest's universe. Huh.

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>fastball special

"Billy! Team-up attack!" you shout.

"Right!" he says, pulling his hands back, preparing a ki blast.

You close the distance almost instantly and grab his wrist. You can see the shock on his face as you pivot your weight. He probably thought...wait, it would have made more sense for him to launch you. Damnit. Well, too late.

"Sega Satan, SHIRO!" you shout as you hip-throw Boss Honda straight into the Mothman.

>roll 1d100 for effectiveness!

>>23930070
Well, to be fair, it's as interesting as the original Street Fighter's world and the characters that inhabit it. You've done really swell working with all these random-ass characters being tossed into the mix as well as fleshing them out.

Rolled 25

>>23930119

Rolled 42

>>23930119
Hahaha. I did not expect this bit.

Rolled 70

>>23930119
BOWLING BALL SPECIAL: HONDA STRIKEOUT

Rolled 3

>>23930119
Well now...

Rolled 76

>>23930119

>>23930132
>25
>>23930139
>42
>>23930141
>70

We're building speed, let's keep going!

>>23930157

The unfolding disaster almost seems to occur in slow motion.

Boss Honda goes flying. It's a good throw. Goes in a graceful arc, spinning through the air.

About halfway between you and the Mothman his parabola has spun him nearly 180 degrees. He's upside down, confusion all over his face. That chi blast he was building up erupts straight at you. It propels him like a rocket blast. That's a lot of energy, especially when you don't have your feet on the ground.

Unfortunately you're on the other end of that energy. The blast knocks you back, slamming you into a brick wall in this empty dead-end alley that you two two trapped the Mothman in. You're effectively pinned.

Rocket-powered Boss Honda slams into the Mothman at ridiculous speed. The Mothman is slammed against the other side of the alley, pinned between a brick wall and Rocket Boss Honda.

You and Honda struggle to your feet moments later. Gingerly - your ribs feel beat to shit after that - you reach out and pull the mask off.

"Hey, it's Earl Gray," you say. "That boxer from way back. He always did seem like he was going to come back for revenge."

"And I would have had it, too," he says. "Cybernetic augmentations in the suit, a sonic weapon hidden in the helmet, your own superstition about Mothmen..."

"Which aren't real," you say.

"They are so totally real! My cousin saw one!" Boss Honda says.

"It's always someone's cousin or their uncle or some shit, it's an urban legend!" you say.

"No way, they're totally real," Earl says. "I even..."

And the argument continued long into the night.

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>>23930314

Okay, NOW we're done.

Thank you to everyone who participated! Street Fighting Ops will be back next week, follow @sfmquest on Twitter to find out exactly when. For now I'm going to go cook for for awhile.

I asked this a bit back in a General thread, but do you guys think we're due for a recap thread? I thought the new protagonist would be a fresh start, but it does sort of seem like the continuity is growing increasingly dense.

>>23930361
It would be cool a recap thread

And you should've ended with Earl Grey, Boss Honda & Anon doing the scooby-doo routine

Rolled 9

>>23930361

Lovin' it. Feels like you're hittin' your stride again, SFM, this installment feels like the original run of the quest.

>Water Margin
I'm anxiously waiting for a conspiracy called Three Kingdoms

Fuck I JUST remembered who Moira was. I don't know how our Evil Aikido practicing nun slipped my mind.

>>23930631
Headed up by a triumverate of someone insanely dedicated to the people, a ruthless tyrant, and that other guy who's just kind of there

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>>23930314
It was Earl Gray all along! Awesome!

Great thread.

Recap...perhaps a little more at the beginning, but you don;t need to worry about the CRUSHING WEIGHT of continuity so much. It's cool to have these things in there, but if you stop to explain them all it might slow the quest down.

Of course, if we ask you toexplain them, or say something like "Who is that guy with the monacle?" then you shoudl totally give us the 419. Or do I mean the 411?

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>>23930361
This felt like a good quest entry. More character dynamics are established, and more of the story is slowly revealed. It would be interesting to see a bit of build-up to this, just so we know precisely where Lindsay "Deadly Hornet" Douglas comes from (and not just watch her fangirl the hell out at Chun-Li although that would totally be cool; I imagine it'd be a defining moment of her life meeting a legend and champion of good like her).

On a side note, I keep expecting Wu Song to refer to Lindsay and her technique as a lowly "mutt" compared to her purebread animal styles with THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF CHINESE HISTORY BEHIND THEM.

>>23930692
Moira's not a nun anymore. At the very end of SFQ during the epilogue, she gave up the gimmick and trying to become a woman of the cloth; she's rather listless right now, much like Anon himself.

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>>23931021
I'm not saying a full recap of absolutely everything is required, and not just because I imagine there wasn't too terribly much time between SFQ1 and this quest. We're picking up bits and pieces as we go and filling in gaps, so I'd say we're in a fine place, but I won't stop you if you want to go over Lindsay's more formative years before that final test to join AEGIS.

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>>23931092
For the most part, it's still something of a fresh start, so there's honestly not much to worry about.

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>>23931092

Ah, I meant a general recap of what occurred in SFQ and SoF to catch up any new readers. Going off of the highly accurate and scientific method of looking at the number of votes on suptg it looks like I lost about half the audience between SFQ and now, thought it might be a way to entice some new players in. Maybe if I'm just better about writing up the "Here's the premise" bit at the beginning of the thread that would work?

Lindsay's background is sort of like Anon and Joe's in my mind - just enough for the purposes of the narrative, everything else being left in the air since they're supposed to be an audience surrogate character. If anything Lindsay's the character with the most developed backstory. We still don't know what Anon used to do for a living, if he went to college, anything about his life before that first thread.

>>23931021

>she's rather listless right now, much like Anon himself.

If there's one theme to SFQ it's people struggling to find purpose in their life. I also totally did not mean for that to be the theme, it just sort of happened.

...I'm suddenly sort of glad nobody I know reads this.

As for the taunting? Would totally make sense if those two wind up on opposite sides of something big. As it stands Wu Song thinks of Lindsay as a potential ally and seems to genuinely like her.

>>23931570
I think writing the premise at the start

or something like "WHATS THE STORY SO FAR" would be good for now

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>>23931570
>>23931625
That's a fine idea.

>In this modern world of mighty entities, secret powers, and clashes of titanic proportions, one can fight for a lot of things. For some, it's fame, glory and adoration. For others, they seek honor, self-improvement and enlightment. One may fight for his country, while another fights for himself.
>For our hero -- Lindsay "Deadly Hornet" Douglas, agent of the secret UN taskforce known as AEGIS -- it's for justice, world peace and because it's the right thing to do.

Then you link the last thread and repost the summary of the last thread. That's my idea.