The entirety of the helicopter shudders and quakes as Ruslan pushes it to the peak of its capacities, still dumping flares, as he tries to shake off the incoming. Whatever is in pursuit is obviously only slightly put off by the display of control prowess, as there is but a momentary lapse in incoming rounds before the assault continues in earnest.

You let out a grunt as something rather solid nails you in the abdomen, no doubt shaken loose by the rough ride. Only after a moment you realize that Sarna, the little fiery ball of fists, is what slammed into you. And that she is in much the same predicament as the far older and more experienced Ruin herself.

As has been your experience thus far, there's really only one thing that affects witches to such an extent.

Meaning there is a good chance this isn't just some pissed off aircraft you didn't ever call after sneaking away in the morning to avoid an awkward situation.
Days like this make you think about giving it all up, the life of a player. No more late night aileron calls, no more crazy COIN filled nights. But it's too late now, you can't quit this game.

The Hind bucks and lists so violently that you get hit in the face by your own rifle, still slung against your chest.

“That was our tail rotor!” Ruslan belts off in a flurry of panicked curses.

An explosion rocks the craft downward as a chunk of the chopper above you is sheared away, and with a sickening sensation in your stomach, you realize the Hind is entering a spin.

“Ruslan!” You hear a shout just before your own head slams hard enough into the side of the helicopter for you to see stars and knock the set right off your head.

The last thing you see is your father screaming something at you, most likely “Hold the fuck on!”

It's all you can manage to snag a handle above you and grab Sarna around the middle as you brace yourself.

It is time.

How long you're actually out for, you can't be sure. But judging from the wet blood leaking from your busted nose, not very.

You find your left eye is clamped shut and completely unresponsive, though not yet swollen. Despite that, it's your nose that picks up the first real signs of danger. The foul, stinging scent of high octane fuel, and the twinge of smoke.

Crawling across the broken glass and shards of metal, you grab Diego, the closest to you now, by the knee and shake it roughly.

"Hey!" You shout, only now aware that the ringing in your ears is so bad you can barely hear your own voice. "Diego!"

Your friend stirs before wincing and grabbing at his left leg. You're no doctor, but you're guessing its due to the half foot of jagged steel sticking through his calf. Though at least he's alive.

Still dragging Sarna, who is herself in a daze, you reach out toward your old man who pushes your hand away even as he shoves himself forward and up. Aside from some surface cuts and scrapes, you don't see anything on him.

Of the others, none are quite as fortunate.

Ruslan is barely responsive and obviously concussed, and your internet friend who thinks himself a wizard has a pulse, but is not responsive beyond that.

The rest, you find, are dead. Either by impact or from what you surmise to be aircraft rounds that had found their way into the crew compartment.

"Kiara!" You yell at the witch, her current bodiless self immune to physical damage. She barely stirs but answers with a pained grunt.

Knowing you have to get out before something sparks and the skeleton of the Hind ignites, you manage to start dragging and herding the other survivors along toward the ragged hole in the side of the craft, where it had split upon crash.

A dark southern forest beyond, and dozens of dancing lights in the sky.

>talk/question/action/other

Well, fuck the inquisition. Raining on our party like that.

We kinda need Kiaras help, right? If she needs time, we gotta give her some. Try to grab whatever high explosives or heavy dakka you can find and fling it at the coming forces with high felocity.

>>28108347
No, wait, they're on the sky?

Time to skedaddle into forest and get away from sight.

>>28108361
Pretty much this. It's more cover and it's more stuff for kiara to nom for magic.

>>28107825
Hell yes Z&W quest!

Recognizing that there's not much hope in trying to hole up inside a downed helicopter and with few other choices, you do the only reasonable thing you can think of.

After binding Diego's leg as quickly as possible and getting him and your father both to their feet, you throw the heavier Ruslan over your own shoulder as your dad picks up the still unconscious wizard you came here to rescue.

Despite the heft between the old slav and the little witch, you manage to exit the Hind and start into the black woods beyond the crash site. Though it proves to be slow going. Too risky to hit your weaponlight and without night vision, the forest becomes a tangled mess of bamboo and tree roots. It seems as though you're tripped up with nearly every step.

Kiara had followed on her own, and the further you get from the crash, the more she seems to recover. Along with Sarna perking up enough to be set down to walk on her own.

"How were they on us that quick?" You grunt, still bearing the weight of Ruslan who's body is still limp, making it all the more difficult to carry him.

"I don't know." Kiara hisses, still obviously feeling the effects, "But the Order is here and they will quickly be upon us."

You know she's right. Even if they didn't have ways to track magic directly, you would be shocked if their aircraft didn't have the latest FLIR and weren't likely watching you even now.

Stealing a glance over your shoulder, you affirm that guess. The lights in the sky are getting closer.

>>28108293
Ask Sarna about lights.
Ask group "What now?".

>>28108293
Shit, we need to get mobile again. If we can revive Sarna, she can haul crazy, we can hoist Diego, dad gets Ruslan, then we get the fuck out of here.

"Sarna, how are you feeling?" You ask the deceptively young looking immortal trudging along beside you.

The fact that she doesn't answer and is still clutching your side to stay upright tells you all you need to know.

"Kiara?"

"That fight took a lot out of me, mortal. The effects of the platinum are wearing off... But if I draw in any power, they'll know exactly where we are."

"We'll all be caught if we don't speed up." Diego grimaces, sinking down to a knee to clutch at his leg, feeling to see if the bleeding was growing worse.

"We're not just going to leave you." You scowl at the thought.

"I never said that. Look, it's pretty obvious they are after her, right? So if we split up, there's at least a chance we can slip away. As is, we're only slowing you down."

You know he's right. Even being the hard shelled bastard he is, that doesn't do much to stave off a bad leg and the slowly crippling effects of blood loss.

"What are those lights?" You ask, glancing behind you again. At first you'd thought them to be aircraft, but the way they move doesn't match a helicopter or plane.

"I don't know." Sarna finally perks up enough to respond, "And I don't want to know. But they're gaining on us."

She's right, you can see that. Inching closer and closer no matter the pace you try to set, those lights get only more and more distinct behind you.

"Planes above us, too." Diego adds, looking up into the night sky. You gaze up yourself and see stars being temporarily shielded from view as something eclipses them far above.

>talk/question/action

Oh shit, this started earlier than I expected.

So assuming it's platinum around the Hind that was causing Kiara problems, I guess we get some distance, and then look for a new ride. Might be worth having one of the witches heal up the injured so we can move faster, since it seems like we're already being tracked pretty well.

>>28108793
split the normals from magics, draw power to lead them off and see if we can't supermagic our way to something that goes fast. would it be possible to jack a plane with a magical grappling hook?

>>28108793
Split up and meet up later. Sarna and you take off one way. Diego and Dad take Ruslan and Conspiracybro and get out another way, they could pass off as unlucky bystanders.

>>28108793
Here's a plan:
Split the party. Kiara makes a foxhole escape for the normalfags and then we try to lure the enemy away with lightworks and magic?

Problem with splitting up is that we don't know how many people are after us. They may have enough to split up and follow both parties without too much effort.

>>28108974
That's why we should hide the normal people and skedaddle with decoys and magic show so that they think we DIDN'T split the party, when in fact there's a couple of angry buried russians nearby.

>>28108938
if Kenji's really a wizard, he might draw some attention himself, but that's probably not something we can really worry about right now

>>28108974
that might be case, but it doesn't really change anything. either they catch us all, because we're slow, or they catch one group because it's slow and the other maybe gets away.

>>28109004
Really, we should expect that we will be caught, so lets hide the prize they would like to use against us and give them a fight of their lives somewhere else.

Also, just run like hell because if the big bad knight is with them, then I don't want to meet him.

>>28109031
If he is, he'd probably register like a Vegas Magician or something that they shouldn't worry about. Heck, they could argue that the amount of magic used is throwing off their sensors.

"As much as I hate to say it, I don't think we can escape like this. Not as beat up as we are. Not on the ground." You turn toward Kiara.

"It's going to attract a lot of attention, mortal..."

"That's fine. With you and Sarna back at full, we should be able to bait them away. I mean you just whooped a big bad Atlantean like it was cake, right?"

"I'd actually attribute most of that to the flying gun, but now isn't the time to debate."

Glancing over at Diego, you crack the best smirk you can manage at the moment.

"How fast can you dig a foxhole, old man?"

As it turns out, not nearly as quickly, deep, or intricate as Kiara can. Though he probably doesn't end up killing off a swath of forest so large you can't see beyond the dead patch when he digs...

"Now we're the bait?" Sarna asks as she stretches herself over into a backwards arc, feet and palms against the earth.

"Best plan I've got. Now we just need to lure them all away and then escape ourselves. Should be simple enough." Your own words don't inspire much confidence within yourself. Even with two witches in tow, you're not sure you can outrun a jet. Or those trailing lights...

With only the plan to distract you, all you can do is brush aside the concern, hope that they buggered off, and start a dead sprint into the forest beyond. All the while Kiara leaving a path of cracked, dry trees and pitiful remains of undergrowth behind her.

"Should be too temping of a scent for them to ignore." The witch smirks, floating beside you. Even her face shows signs of recovery from the drawing of magic to her, eyes more vibrant, more confident.

Enough that it even starts to rub off on you, hauling at Olympic speeds through this dense Georgian woodland.

File: 1383606022360.gif-(824 KB, 180x135, A-10 winning.gif)

824 KB GIF

>>28109346
>"I'd actually attribute most of that to the flying gun, but now isn't the time to debate."

What can't it do?

There's something you find usually invigorating about this night run. Your body so ramped up with performance enhancing magic that you feel good enough to sign a ludicrously overpaid contract with the yankees.

Faster and faster, pushing yourself to the very peak that you have tried this body out. Every step feels like a leap, and every leap a mile.

Your elation is shared as Sarna zips around nearby, herself quite a bit faster and more nimble. Perhaps the difference between a body juiced with magic and a magic body.

So enthralled are you, that by the time you realize something is wrong, you're without time to react.

The first thing you hear is a faint *pop* *pop* *pop* as though a deep thumping from a far distance off.

However the next moment; you leap aside just in time to narrowly miss a silver cylinder as it sails past, flipping end over end. only to bounce off the ground behind you.

And for one brief second you think yourself clear of the danger.

Until your body is wracked with pain.

You know there was an explosion. You know your vision is blurry and you are screaming. Sarna is screaming. Kiara is screaming.

Even through tightly squinted eyes you can see the glittering particles swirling about in the air. It feels all too familiar to your brief incursion into some cyclops inhabited ruins, only far more potent.

Yet all you can do is keep running in an attempt to clear yourself of the airborne platinum dust, though it already clings to your skin and clothes. Still, you know if you stop here, you are as good as finished.

It is as you sprint faster and harder than you ever have in your life, that you first see them. The cold, metallic, inhuman faces of your attackers. Servos click and whine as they land, one after the other, the lights you had seen in pursuit far above, as one by one they level their weapons toward you.

>>28109614
...Flying drone-bots? Fuck me.

With a strained, bestial cry, Kiara uproots a mass of earth and hurls it toward what you can only assume to be some sort of robot. Even the way the machines leap aside to avoid the throw seems more avian than human. Though as they resume fire of the exploding cylinders, their intent is all too clear.

"What are these?!" You scream at Sarna even as you continue to run, firing your rifle in the direction of the drones. The platinum rounds, effective as they are against magic, merely spark seemingly harmless against these new foes.

"I don't know! I don't knoowww!!!" She rages back, clearly in a great deal of pain herself as more and more explosions surround you. The robots again taking to the air in pursuit, lobbing rounds in front of you to great effect.

Even as Kiara attempts to strike back with the trees, so does the airburst weapon display its devastating effect. The magic infused plants recoil and buckle at the hanging dust, failing to serve as much more than a mild distraction. If hunter seeker robots can even be distracted.

Though you had held out hope, you find that very thought wavering as you look up, jaw clenched, fully intending to try to outrun these new predators.

Until you had seen him.

A sense of dread comes all too late as you see his sword arcing toward you.

The baseball slide is all you're able to think of, the blade missing you by a hair over your head.

"Off, you damnable lot, off!" Mattias the Phoenix growls toward the hovering robots even as he knocks aside several incoming cylinders with the flat of his sword. "Leave them! This is my prey and I'll not have you deny me!"

Oh how you wish for a ragged concrete ceiling and a SMAW right about now...

>talk/question/action

>>28109892
"Remind me again why you people aren't investing all of this technology into medicine and space travel?"

>>28109892
You again!? Come ooon!

>>28109892
Oh, this guy.

>>28109892
Well, isn't he in high spirits.

>>28109957
This...is an excellent question actually

>>28109892
"Have we met?"

>>28109957
I bet the answer involves something about keeping the humanity alive and fighting against the big bad witches that kill everything in a single continent. You know, their merry little crusade. Why go to space when you can kill and torture witches more efficiently.

>>28109892
What do we have in inventory presently? We need some dakka.

>>28110062
Good question.

I don't suppose we could drop some trees on him?

>>28110054
>300 years later after they think they've finally killed every witch on Earth, they get nuked by the space-witches of Mars.

>>28110123
Well if we still had our sishka, we could likely put some hurt on him. Or shit, if we could hold a grenade up to his can head, he probably wouldn't be living life afterwards.

"Shit!" You dodge back and raise your rifle, despite knowing the last time you shot him, there wasn't much of an effect. "You again?"

"Again?" Mattias snarls, raising his sword to a high ready again, "Again, boy? Just how long do you think I toiled to finally put that demon inside you to rest? How many lives do you think I saved? How many more are you fine with her killing?"

The cursed knight swings at you again in a flurry of well directed strikes and thrusts. Each time you have to fall back to avoid being hit. Until one slash forces you to raise your rifle to block.

Only the steel of the 107 seems as if it were simple wood.

You gasp in sudden and violent pain as the sword cleaves through your own weapon, the tip cutting into your chest. Though little more than a superficial cut, the pain is so astounding you fall back, clutching at the wound.

This time, however, the pain doesn't quickly subside.

The Phoenix must have noticed the look of shock on your face, as he lifts the sword to ready again.

"Ah, not so confident now, eh?"

"Kiara, what the hell is going on?!" You balk. Up until now, she had healed everything tossed, shot, or stabbed at you.

"I told you not to get hit with that, didn't I?" She bites, and you notice her clutching the same spot on her chest as you.

"Does it feel good, my blade? Nostalgic, Ruin?" Mattias taunts.

"And what the fuck is that?" You berate.

"A sword of justice, traitor. Forged from the fragments of legends and the bane of the witch. It was enough to bring Ruin to the end once, I doubt it will fail now." The Phoenix approaches again, confident and imposing.

And you're left with what seems a rather pitiful arsenal. Your PS-2000 and its platinum rounds, a solid combat knife, and two witches who are very vulnerable to that sword.

>talk/question/action

>>28110458
>traitor
that implies we were on his side originally, which sure as shit ain't right. ask Kiara mentally whether it's worth trying to change this guy's allegiances. he seems to not like the drones much; maybe we can get him pissed off the the higher ups who have changed things

>>28110054
>Space witches.

>>28110458
Balls. Start shooting for knees. Try to get us some breathing room. If we can slow his as down, perhaps we can give the girls a chance to put some hurt on the fucker.

>>28110579
I think he's more pissed at the drones for trying to take his prey...

This guy is die hard loyal to the church.

>>28110458
He's shown that he can deflect bullets, so they are going to be distractions at best.
Because of that we should try and distract him while Sarna sneaks around to get some hits in.

>>28110458
Okay, so...

We just gotta accept the fact that we're going to get hit by that sword. No matter what we do, so we just need to make more damage to him then what he can dish out at us.

Worst come to worst, we're going to lose a few limbs so... Lets just give him hell with what we have.

Get close, push the barrel down his throat and pull the trigger on auto?

>>28110458
Shoot to disable, we can't kill him but we can slow him down.

Any chance the sword would be effective against him?

>>28110765
Hey, there's a good idea.

Lets see if the sword of justice works on him. All we gotta do is get it from his hands, somehow.

"You know, Kiara, you seem to have a nasty habit of pissing off all the wrong people. I don't suppose there's much hope of turning him against his own?"

"Him?! He spent lifetimes hunting me, mortal. No. No there is no hope in something as wishful as that. You'd likely have a better shot at getting the entirety of the order to give it up than Mattias."

Well, not exactly what you'd hoped to hear...

With few other options at your disposal and a reinvigorated assault by the knight, you do the only thing you can think of and level the small PDW and let rip.

Though you can clearly see the rounds piercing through the old armor and wounds opening up, you can also see them healing on their own rather quickly. The same as you'd seen him last time, when you'd only managed to trap him.

The Phoenix simply laughs as he manages to land yet another strike, this one to your left arm, and substantially deeper.

Though as you draw him in for another entanglement...

"Sarna!" You shout.

The little witch erupts in a fury of punches and strikes right to the side of Mattias. The old knight is forced to back off and contend with her, giving you time to line up a shot right to his head.

The rounds rip apart through his skull, but even then, he does not cease.

Sarna, in a momentary lapse, finds her left fist caught in Mattias's hand. The pommel strike he delivers to her head sends the little witch spinning backward, bouncing across the ground and only coming to rest when she slams hard enough into the trunk of a tree to shake branches off the top.

And before your eyes, even his tattered skull begins to pull itself back together, flesh wrapping around bone, jaw snapping back into place.

>>28110873
Now, while he's distracted by his lack of senses, take his sword and pin him to the thickest tree we can with it.

>>28110924
use our knife to chop his hand off, then grab the sword and get some distance. we'll probably have to cut the hand off the grip before we can use it.

also might be good to check with Kiara that it's not made out of platinum before we try this

>>28110977
the sword /is/ made out of platinum, the key is that the grip will be wrapped because you cannot hole onto a sword with a metal grip for more than one swing.

>>28110977
>tries to kill us
>we nick his sword

I like this plan

>>28111007
oh, must have missed that part. presumably it's got some more going for it than just that, but we could also try just breaking the thing in two

"You know, you're kinda a pain in the ass." You grunt, squaring off with him as again he readies his sword.

"And you know not with which you play."

Another exchange of strikes and bullets and again you come away with another bleeding cut as Mattias's wounds close.

Only now, as you watch that regeneration, does an idea strike you.

This time as you engage, you take care to aim for his face. In particular, his eyes. The rounds find their mark, though that sword does as well, but you can't afford to break it off here...

Despite the blade pressing into your collarbone, you wrap both your hands around the shaft and twist your body. The motion presses the blade back against Mattias, until the edge meets with his skull. In a battle of strength, you find yourself just barely edging him out. And you can see now as his flesh bubbles and blackens against the metal of the sword.

"I guess you're not immune to your own, eh?" You gloat, for only a moment.

A series of explosions rocks you apart, but your only focus is on maintaining your grip. Even as the searing pain of platinum against your body pulls at you, you keep your fist strong. Until finally you rip the sword from the knight's fingers.

"I told you to stay out of this, damn you!" Mattias, furious now, turns to the nearest drone and cracks it in the head with his fist. The robot buckles and collapses as sparks jet from the caved section of its head.

However, the drones don't seem to be listening to him this time.

Instead you find yourself under horrendous assault, canisters bursting so close you can feel the heat cooking your skin. Kiara is screaming and you're pretty sure you're screaming.

"Lay off you miserable....!"

"They don't take orders from you, Mattias." Comes a new voice from the treeline, projecting from yet more drones that emerge.

>>28111169
Oh fuck me, we got drones, we got cursed asshole and witches being jammed. Now we got even more drones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy3GdeCebAE

>>28111169
"Well, Matty, help me with them damn drones and we can get a mano a mano fight, what do you say?"

>>28111169
SHITS HAPPENING
DOUBLE BOSS FIGHT INCOMING

>>28111433
it seems like we should be able to press him a bit on this. if that doesn't work, taunt him about not fighting fair

Despite a burning urge to rise back to your feet and attack, the truth is you're barely able to stay kneeling, supporting yourself with the sword of the Phoenix.

"Oh? And pray tell who do they listen to, then?" Mattias growls low, turning himself ever so slightly to face the newcomers.

The paint scheme of one drone in particular stands out from the others, as do several more antenna that protrude from its bird-like head.

"That would be me, of course." The drone retorts, though clearly just projecting a voice rather than speaking for itself.

"It's you then, is it?" Mattias snorts, cracking his neck, "I don't appreciate the research wing intruding on my affairs. I thought I made that clear before this."

"Yes yes, you have buzzed on and on about your holy quest time and time again. I'm certain I could tell the tale in its entirety were I of the mind to. That said, Mattias, this has never been about you." The drone steps forward in line with the rest, and you notice none of them lower their weapons.

"I told you I'd allow you to test out your toys, but I made myself very clear that the witch was mine and mine alone. I am the only one who can..."

"Ah, but Mattias, therein lies your mistake." The drone interrupts, "You just can't seem to give up old grievances. You have to look and see the future."

"Old... I don't know what you're even talking about. I have been hunting her ever since she made herself known again. I am going to drag her back to the Church, and I am going to rend her to pieces the same as I did centuries ago!" Mattias snarls, drawing a dagger from his side even as he does so.

"And I'll not have some fool who hides in the dark with clean hands tell me otherwise! Now you can either help me or get out of my way, but the end result of this will be the same in either case."

"No, no, Mattias, there is the issue. You're too hung up on customs, my friend. Too old school up to see opportunity when it knocks. I have no intention of letting you swift her away to rend her yet again. She's worth far more intact than in pieces, you see."

The Phoenix's eyes narrow into a glare and his hand grips his dagger tighter.

"I'm not sure I catch your meaning."

"Oh?" The drone takes a step forward, all the others following suit, "But I think you do."

>>28111643
Who thought that the church was anything but power-hungry?

Kiara?

No? Bet this was somewhat of a similar case she has seen many times.

So he's hundreds of years old, regenerates, and fights supernatural beings with one of the few, if not the only weapon that can actually hurt him.
Irrational fanaticism aside, Mattias is a fucking badass.

This dude is probably going to try and propose a deal. We should not take it.

"I figured you for many things, but never a heretic." Mattias looks around slowly at the nearly two dozen drones surrounding the small clearing.

"Heretic? Ah my friend, how out of touch have you become? You're a dinosaur! Did you really never think to try to have a look past the prayers and the songs? Have you really been just running blind all these years? Are you so incurious?" The red drone seems to copy the actions of someone busily talking with their hands.

"This hasn't been about killing witches in the name of Christ for three hundred years! You think all this effort would be expended, all these lives and all that money, for something so simple?" The drone projects a laugh.

Mattias takes a step toward the front of that wall of robots now, rising to his full and quite imposing height. More immortal warrior than old man.

"You weren't there to see it, fool. Do you think I would wade a river of blood for just one witch? She could make this planet her plaything if left to her own, she's come close enough before. The plagues and the droughts and the death... You were not there to see it. Now I am going to pull her apart and sink those pieces into the burning center of this world if that is what it takes to put her down for good, and not you or she is going to stop me." Mattias clenches his fist.

And the forest around you explodes.

Platinum falls, heavy as snow, the agony boring into you even as you watch Kiara writhe against the ground. You can only catch glimpses of the raging fight around you, as drones are torn asunder and shots echo against the trees. So far out of it are you that you aren't sure how long the battle lasts, nor who remains standing. Your body refuses to move, your mind unable to even form a thought.

You can only discern one thing.

The quiet whirring of a machine as it towers above you.

>Wait for cutscene to be over.

>>28111850
holy shit.... i what?
so i vote for when this is done we stab whoevers left with the sword and get the ever flying fuck out of here.

"Awake now?"

You hear a voice and you're faintly aware that you're sitting, now, with your back against something.

"Good, good. Your consciousness seems to be linked to hers, or so I've gathered. That should make this more interesting, if nothing else."

Despite your eyelids seeming to weigh a hundred tons each, you manage to crack them enough to see. Enough to see that you haven't left the forest, and that the red drone is still standing before you. Only this time, the weapon in its hand is gone, replaced by something else. Something you don't recognize.

But you can tell just from the burning of it, that the bindings of your legs and arms are not mere rope. That Kiara, nowhere to be seen, has likely pulled herself back into your mind, out of power to expend after struggling against the platinum.

"Who...?" You manage.

The drone shakes its head as the thing in its hand begins to glow.

"No, no. Such things are not important. You need simply lie still for a few more moments, this will all be over soon."

>talk/question

>>28111850
>Platinum falls, heavy as snow
Maybe this was explained before and I've forgotten.

But wouldn't the world reserves of Platinum have been exhausted centuries ago at the rate they burn through it.

>>28111999
fight everything
we need to not die.
also where the fuck is everyone else?

>>28111999
"Why spend so much time working with the church only to betray them?"

>>28112004
If you assume the public's knowledge of the world's platinum reserves is accurate, yes.

>>28112004
Well they may just recycle their platinum. Them digging bullets out of dead witches doesn't sound that far-fetched.

You finally manage to find your voice even as the drone places the device in its hand against your chest.

"So much time... With the church... Betray them?"

The drone's head rotates down and you can almost imagine the quizzical look.

"Betray? The church? Surely you don't think this has all been some giant religious plot in the name of God, do you? No, no, friend. It is hardly one centralized element. And my family's own good far outweighs anything else. Now do be a good little vessel, and pour out that witch."

Before you can say anything else, you feel pricks of needles all across your torso. Long, thick needles. As much as you'd like to struggle, to throw it off and get to your feet, sword in hand, you can't even manage to move a finger.

So when the agony of platinum being pumped into your veins hits, you can barely even manage to groan.

And as you watch before your eyes, you see Kiara begin to materialize, more and more in front of you.

And just as quickly, her form is pulled toward the center of the drone's chest.

Toward the platinum box affixed there.

Her hand outstretches toward you, trying to find purchase, but unable.

"...Last..." Is all she can manage, before she disappears entirely.

>>28112135
Platinum dust airburst shells.

>>28112207
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

>>28112207
GAME OVER
[X] Load last Save
[ ] New Game
[ ] Quit Game

>>28112207
aw no

>>28112207
>Continue waiting for cutscene to be over.

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>>28112207
Cock Fucking Shit.

>>28112235
Vacuum cleaner.

>>28112207
>my family's own good
Is he a Medici, or that other one whose name I forget? We might not get another chance to find out.

Seeing as she was the only thing keeping us from dying we don't have very long to act.

>>28112207
Oh SHIT! Since when could they do that!?

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>>28112207
Jesus christ on a pogostick, what a time to get back in here.

>>28112422
Also, just to make sure, this pic was pretty much drawn over another pic, so if somebody recognizes the poses, then you know what I'm talking about.

Oh my god. I'm tearing up a bit, this is actually really fucking sad.

PAPA-N I'VE MISSED YOU

>>28112422
>>28112470
And for the mood, I present you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKf_Oh_YlAQ

>>28112422
My guess would be No more Heroes... but that's most likely wrong.

>>28112422
from the thumbnail, it looks like Last's left leg is bent back as if he were skipping about.

>>28112599
Did you miss that part of the fight?

"We've got a live one over here!"

The sound seems so distant and your head so clouded. Like you're drunk but without any of the positives.

A hand pulls your eye open and a blurry face stares at you. Despite everything you want to do, to move, to get up and scream and pick up whatever is closest to your hand and go on a rampage.

"A live one? I wouldn't be so sure of that. Here, see?"

Another, smaller hand pushes against your forehead.

"Oh... Oh! He's a zombie!"

"Very good! See, I told you that you're more perceptive than you think! He's a shell, to be more precise. See? The soul holding him together is gone, can you feel it?"

Two voices? Two unfamiliar voices?

"Kiara...?" You venture. Your mind feels fuzzy. You can't think.

"Whoa now! He can still talk?" The smaller, younger voice exclaims, and you can hear it scurrying back.

"How am... I alive?" You ask, managing to peel your eyes open slightly enough to see.

"Now THAT," The older voice leans in, a younger looking redhead with shining blue eyes smirks as she crushes a sucker between her back teeth, "is a million dollar question."

The girl stands back up and barks some orders and you're quickly picked up, several sets of hands resting you back on your feet.

"Can you stand?" One of them asks, a younger boy with scar tissue in place of both eyes.

"I..." You don't finish, but you do manage to stay on your own feet without help.

"Looks like the order got the better of you and yours. Interesting name you dropped there, too." The redhead raises an eyebrow.

"Who... Are you people?"

"Us? The resistance."

>>28112470
>>28112422
It looks really really familiar but I can't place it.

Seems like a good cliffhanger.

I really need to do some studying tonight, haven't had as much time as I've really needed.

>>28112620
>The resistance
Ohm my god. Forgive me, but it's quite the shock. I'm not at my full capacity, as you can see. I hope my conduct does not offend.

>>28112620
Wait, where's Sarna?

>>28112729
no you dont!

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>>28112632
>>28112547
Here's the original. Mattias is Musashi because of the sword and Last is Baiken because ranged.

>>28112599
What, you don't believe that he was happily prancing around with his hands in the air like he just don't care? Read again!

>>28112729
oh fine, go be responsible, ya square. see if we care. (we really do care. when's the next one gonna be?)

>>28112755
Ah, Vagabond. Never read it, sadly.

>>28112729
>>28112620
Jerk! Good luck with the studying. Catch you next time.

>>28112755
I knew it looked familiar but I would never have guessed this.

I like it and the sunglasses were a great touch. What are you using to get that effect?

>>28112741
>>28112766
>>28112799
Classes are a bitch and tests have never been my strong suit.

>>28112766
And I'll announce the next thread time as soon as I know.

>>28112729
Of course it sounds like a good cliffhanger! Have fun studying, cause it's one of the things everyone needs to do specially if they have exams tomorrow... Though gotta say pushing back my own studying last Thursday and Friday was well worth it to read the archive, don't know why I never did it before.

>>28112869
Yeah I pushed it back as far as I could. ~10 hours until class.

>>28112835
Beta drawing software called blackink. Have been meaning to test it a bit more but really can't come up with energy to do anything with it except during these threads. The pic in the op too was done in the same software. It has quite precise and fun brush creation.

>>28112906
Hah, only thing waiting for me 10 hours from now is a cavity search. Hope you have more fun.

>>28112906
Pretty sure we all do that at one point or two in our lives, good luck on those tests.

>>28112913
Looks cool, downloading it now.

>>28112949
>only thing waiting for me 10 hours from now is a cavity search
I don't envy you...

>>28112957
Yeah and after class it's right to work. Need to do well tomorrow. Thanks

>>28112620
Where the fuck were you guys while we had the key to your victory running around with us?

Did someone archive the thread?

>>28112620
>"Us? The resistance."
They could have been helpful, awhile ago...

>>28113346
no

>>28113346
>>28113735
just finished. i figured someone would have done it as soon as it started

>>28112866
Thanks for the session, Papa. It's good to have you back. I hope the sisters and school treat you well.