Another month, you think. Just another month, and it’ll all be over. The two of you would live together. Find a little place somewhere down south, maybe on a beach. Raise a roof, there. Go fishing every day. Pick oranges and muscadines. Make babies, raise kids. Live life the way you should’ve lived it.

You sigh. Serena…

Your eye hurts again. What’s left of it, anyways. You suppose you were lucky to still be alive. You don’t understand why this had to happen. What went wrong. What happened. Something about abnormal brainwaves. Something about the alien, and how it spoke to you. Something about your parents, and why you can’t remember them or their names.

Maybe they were aliens. Maybe you’re an alien, too.

You’d laugh it off, but it hurts to laugh or move your face too much.

What about Su, then? You wish you’d spoken to her while you had the chance. Was she taken in, as well? Did she resist and get shot by the psychotic bitch that lorded over you? She heard the alien’s voice, the same as you. Like an itch in the middle of your

-you know not what you have done-

brain that you couldn’t ever get at. Like a bug working its way through

-incomprehensible-

your skull, distracting, unpleasant, full of ugly dread waiting to spill over into your nightmares. In the heat of the fight, it never stood out to you. Only now, with only your thoughts to keep your company, in quiet recollection, does the wrongness of it leak through.

You’ll find no answers like this. The door is locked and barred from outside; there’s no way you could break it down on your own. The room you’re trapped in is empty, save for yourself. Your head throbs. You lay down, shut away your thoughts, and allow time to pass.

You wonder what Serena’s doing. No, what’s been done to her, that she hasn’t come to break you free. That sounds more likely to you.

Ache. Thinking hurts. Sleeping doesn’t.

---

>>30393442

[Dream. You will not change perspective afterwards.]
[Change perspective to another character. You will not witness the dream.]

>>30393463
>[Dream. You will not change perspective afterwards.]

>>30393463
>[Dream. You will not change perspective afterwards.]

>>30393533
>>30394600

“Yo, Noble. Wake the hell up.”

“I’m awake. Plenty awake, no thanks to you snoring all night long.” You rub your tired eyes and touch the tender bump on your head, wincing. Your mouth tastes dry and unpleasant. “Got any water?”

Brave Jurick jerks his thumb back. “We’re camped out by the lake here. Plenty of water. Just need some heat to boil it, make sure it’s safe. I figure we’ll stay here as long as we can. As long as we stay out of gang territory, we should be fine.”

“Waterside ain’t safe, Brave. Those things, the drones, I heard they’re drawn to it.”

“Safer than further in. The aliens are one thing, yeah. Sure, they’ve got their fancy guns and lasers and they’ll crack open buildings like eggs, but they don’t come around often. The gangs, those fuckin’ teenagers? They’re always around, and if you don’t join up they’ll probably kill you.”

“We’re teens ourselves.”

“Yeah? That so?” He sits down beside you, handing you a can of fruit. You pull out your pocket knife, and stab the lid, prying it open ineffectually.

“Come on, man. How many times I gotta show you? Like this. You gotta-“ He takes the can away from you and starts rubbing it against the concrete. “-wear down the metal at the top of the can, right? Like this. Until it’s worn away enough that you’ve made a hole in the seal. Right here on the edge.”

He spends a minute scraping it against the ground before handing it back to you. “There. Right on the edge. Now squeeze. See how it’s bubbling out like that? Now, all you need to do, is stick that knife you have in there and just work it open. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.”

---

>>30395736

“Where’d that even come from?” You pry the top off with relative ease. Pineapple in syrup. You drink the syrup, then stab at the slippery bits of fruit, forking them out one-by-one.

“Had it for a while, now. I feel like now’s as good a time as any to break it out.” He smiles.

“No, the easy-peasy lemon-squeezy thing.”

“Oh, that. No idea. Read it on the internet, somewhere? Maybe a commercial?” He shrugs expansively, exaggeratedly. “Who knows?”

You continue eating the pineapple. It’s the most disgustingly sweet stuff you’ve eaten in what feels like years. You notice that Brave, however, isn’t eating.

What do you do?

>>30395760
Tell him to eat. Needs to keep his strength up.

>>30395760
Try to get him to eat even tho we all know he won't.

>>30395767
>>30395954


“Hey. What about you?”

“What about me, what? Something on my face? Something in my hair? Is it a spider?”

“Har har. I’m asking why you aren’t eating.”

“Already ate, kiddo.”

“Stop calling me that. I’m only a couple years younger than you are. And I told you, I’ve been awake, and your can-opening method is loud as hell. Why aren’t you eating?”

“Only a couple years, huh?” He says, almost in a whisper.

“Come on. I know we’ve got plenty of canned stuff, still. You need to keep up your strength, too. Besides, this is too sweet for me. There’s still half of it left, you can have it.”

“Fine, fine.” He raises the can up, pouring the contents into his mouth.

“Seriously, though, why aren’t you eating?”

He glances down, swallowing, before sitting back down on the concrete. He stares into the shimmering water of the lake, the shore just a few tens of feet away. A wooden pier leads out towards it, from the roadside. The waters glow iridescent, pink haze drifting up from it. All open bodies of water looked that way, nowadays. It was perfectly safe to drink, still. Just a little strange, you think. You look long enough into water, you see things. You’ve done it before. Some days, you think you can make out people. People you don’t know. People living their lives. Always happy.

“I turn 18 in a week, Noble.”

What do you say?

>>30396396

"I know how old you are Brave, what's that got to do with my question?"

>>30396396
Yeah, and?

>>30396396
Stay silent.

>>30396547
>>30396833

Sorry about the slow post times. A little busy.

>>30396502
>>30396547
>>30396833

You say nothing.

“You know what that means, Noble. I already feel it coming on. It’s like… I dunno. A fog, up in here-“ He presses his temple. “-full of feel-good. It’s getting harder and harder to resist. Like I just want to fall asleep, not worry about anything anymore. So I don’t have too long-“

“I know how old you are, Brave. What’s that got to do with my question?”

“I’m telling you I’m about to Bliss out, kiddo.”

“Yeah? And?”

“And I shouldn’t be eating all of our supplies. Don’t you get it, Noble? I don’t know how long I have! A couple days, a week, a month? You’ve got years ahead of you, at least! Just let me do this one last thing for you, okay? Just-“

You grab him by his jacket, hauling him over. “Fuck you, Brave! You’re the closest thing to a friend I have, here, and you tell me to just let you die? Watch you starve to death? No. To hell with that! You could have months, for all you know, so up until the day you Bliss you eat just like I do, you keep your strength up! And when you Bliss, I’ll wake you right back up, and it’ll go on just like always, you hear me?”

He stares at you, dumbfounded. You let him go. Then he laughs. Deeply, heartily, until tears leaked from his eyes.

“What the hell’s so funny about it, asshole?”

“Fine, fine. I promise I won’t skip any meals. Man, Noble.” He chucks the can behind him, and it lands with a clatter. “You’re such a kid.”

---

>>30397989

“Me? I’m the kid? You’re the one who got into a fight the other day because we just had to cross through Blood Mutant territory. Couldn’t just go around, no. Had to walk straight through to get where we are now.”

“And you’re the one who pulled me out of it. How’s your head doing?”

“Stings like hell.” You prod the lump on your head gingerly. Brave hands you a bottle of water. You untwist the cap, and take a huge swig, sloshing around your mouth to rinse out the flavor of canned pineapple.

“Well, I’m Brave, after all. And you’re Noble.”

“Is that why you gave me that name?”

What?

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” You pass the bottle back to him, and he drinks. “Hey. You remember how I found you?”

“We’re brothers, Brave. Or did the Bliss make you forget?”

“I didn’t forget nothing, kiddo. I know you got hit in the head, but I didn’t think you got hit that hard.”

What do you say?

>>30398057
"Then why don't you enlighten me Mr. Mind of Steel. What happened back then?"

>>30398057
OOH SNAP

"Haha, good one, almost got me there"

>>30398139
>>30398151

“Ha-ha. Good one. Almost got me there.”

“Man, you really don’t remember, do you?”

“Then why don’t you enlighten me, Mr. Mind of Steel? What happened back then?”

“You know we’re not really brothers, right?”

“Brave, this isn’t funny anymore.”

“Why do you resist?”

Your blood chills. You recognize those words, somehow. Where from? The water at the shore bubbles and boils. Mist rises up like smoke from the surface of the lake, turning pitch-black.

“What did you say?”

The world breaks. Black lines in the air like the seams of broken glass float all around. The gaps of nothing pull open, widening. Flaming swords strike out, aiming at the sky. Lightning crackles, blinding you. Thunder roars, deafening you.

Why do you resist?

What do you do?

>>30398759
>Why do you resist?
"Because if I don't who else will?"

>>30398759
>What do you do?
Think it's time to resist. Summon up Aegis.
How? It's a dream, I ain't gotta explain shit.

>>30398759
>What do you do?
Resist

>>30398759
RESIST

>>30398818
>>30398892
>>30398905
>>30398947

[Roll 1d100's.]

Rolled 5

>>30399611

Rolled 16

>>30399611

Rolled 80

>>30399611

>>30399755
Really hope I wasn't too late to save that

>>30399631
>>30399632
>>30399755


“Because if I don’t, who will!? Aegis!”

Steel forms your body. Lightning forms your veins. Your limbs are sheathed in gleaming white ceramic, beautiful and unmarred, organic curves speaking of power and grace, sharp edges and protruding spikes designed to wound all that might lay hands on you. An ornate greatshield, shining gold and silver, tall as your ANIMA, drops into your left hand. A massive twin-barreled cannon, inlaid with gold and sparking with power, falls onto your shoulder, its grip resting in your right hand. Its supercharger whines as you hold down the trigger, building up energy to discharge in a single, overwhelming shot. Motes of light float around the barrels, sparkling in the dark. You release the trigger.

-You were to be our greatest weapon.-

A ball of densely-packed energy soars into the sky, exploding, illuminating the land for miles around. A second sun cuts through the overwhelming darkness. Its power breaks your shield. It tears away your stony skin, your metal flesh. It flash-fries the oncoming drones, melting them, vaporizing them-

“Hey. What are you doing?”

You’re cold. It’s raining. You think it rains a lot, these days. You understand what he’s saying. Your hands won’t move; your fingers grip your shoulders too tightly, frozen in place as the rain falls on your bare skin. Dark hair hangs over your eyes, blocking your vision. You can’t move your head, the water will get in your eyes. You blink.

“How’d you get here? Who are you? Jesus, where are your clothes?”

What do you do?

>>30399951
Look up at him and ask who he is.

>>30399951
>What do you do?
Shake uncontrollably, try to answer him.

>>30400056
>>30400103

You crane your neck up, carefully. “Who are you?” The water stings your eyes. It’s hard to keep them open.

“I asked you first.”

“I’m-“ You shiver uncontrollably. Mercifully. You don’t know how to answer him anyways. Him? Male pronoun. Brown… hair. Fibrous growth protecting organism from solar radiation and insulation. Gray… eyes. Organs used to detect electromagnetic spectrum radiation. Jacket, made of denim. Processed plant fiber. Article of clothing. Used for protection against exposure. The words come to you slowly. The meanings follow just behind.

“C-c-clothes.”

“Yeah. You don’t have any. Christ…” The man strips off his jacket. Not man. Boy. Adolescent. Age 16. He wraps it around you. “Come on. I guess I’ll get you out of the rain, first.”

“Cold.”

“Yeah, cold. I guess you can speak.”

Human. Sentient fauna, widespread, users of tools. Relatively high technology level.

“Come on. Follow me. I got a shelter set up. Just don’t try to murder me or anything.”

He pulls you up out of the mud.

Target.

What do you do?

>>30400353
>Target
Is he the target or are we detecting something else ?

>>30400408
I'll leave that up to you.

>>30400353
Follow him. Figure out what it is that we're targeting[/spoiler\

>>30400418
Fine, be like that

>>30400353
Grab him, get behind cover, find Target.

>>30400439
>>30400481

Target?

You follow him. Information floods your brain. Images flash in your mind. You stop.

“Hey, come on. You’ll catch your death of cold out here. It’s not far ahead.” He pushes you gently. You falter.

“Head… head hurts.” Target? Not target. Benign. Providing assistance. Ally.

“Sitting in the rain all naked like that, I ain’t surprised. Don’t make me carry you, dude. You still haven’t told me your name.”

You take a few steps. “Name?” Identification. “I… don’t know.”

Damaged? Uncertain.Identify self – human male, adolescent, age 14. Human male, adolescent, age 16, not self. Not target.

Movement flickers in your vision. Black clothes. Red mask. Symbol on left shoulder – rank within social hierarchy. Something in his hand. Knife – cutting tool and weapon. Posture suggests hostile intent. Target. He runs toward you, shoulders hunched, knife forward. The boy behind you spies him too late, and slips in the mud as he pushes you forward.

[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion, I will try to incorporate it. Creative suggestions will add a bonus to your roll – this is actually something I’d been doing behind the scenes, but I’ll lay it out in the open now.]

Rolled 8

>>30400684
Grab the arm he used to push you and use it a leverage to move yourself between him and the attacker.
Disarm that man.

Rolled 3

>>30400684
CQC the fuck out of him.

As he approach, dodge the knife strike, grab his attacking arm with yours, punch him with your other one. As the impact makes him let go of the knife, grab it. Flip him over (or push him down), put the knife to his throat.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjGtkX3nazY)

File: 1393037649372.gif-(719 KB, 500x384, 123456789.gif)

719 KB GIF

>>30400939
>>30400781

Rolled 9

>>30400684
Trip and disarm. Neutralize and interrogate.

>>30400781
>>30400939
>>30400980

Writing. This'll probably be my last update for today. I nearly fell asleep just now.

>>30400966

Holy shit, I just noticed his glasses are the same color as LCL.

>>30400781
>>30400939
>>30400980


Engaging in combat. Remove target.

You grab the boy’s arm before he falls down, yanking him back to his feet and putting yourself in front of him. Your body doesn’t quite move the way you want it to. Cold. Shivering. The attacker’s knife gleams as it snakes toward you. Raindrops seem to float in midair as you move forward. The mud sticks to your feet. You plant yourself in place, instead, and your hesitation costs you your balance.

You fall just as the attacker swings in, the knife missing your chest by inches. Your hand fires up of its own accord, grabbing the knife by its edge. Pain floods your mind. You cry out, pushing through the pain. Disarm opponent.

You kick upward as you drag him down, catching him in the crotch. His grip loosens, and the knife falls away. You strike him with the blade of your free hand, a clean blow to the side of his neck, and he falls down on top of you with a swear.

Your body won’t move the way you want it to. You try to clench your fist, but the fear of pain prevents you from hitting your attack. His own hands close around your thin neck, squeezing hard. You can’t breathe. You raise your elbow up to strike his arm, but he headbutts you. Stars explode in your vision as the edges turn black.

Suddenly, your attacker cries out. His grip loosens, and he falls down on top of you. You lay there, staring up at the gray sky, as the other boy drags him off of you. A bloody knife is in his hands.

“Scum like that-“ He kicks the attacker viciously in the ribs. The attacker doesn’t move. “-don’t deserve to live! And you-“

He hauls you up with a groan. “-are fucking out of your mind. That was some crazy shit you pulled there, man. Remember your name, now?”

You hold your injured hand gently. “No.”

“Well, I’m already calling myself Brave, so you can’t be that. How about Noble, instead?”

---

END

>>30401499

That's it for today, I think. If any of you are gonna be around tomorrow, I'll continue then if you guys can keep this bumped. Otherwise, I'll make a new thread on Sunday.

Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are always welcome.

Oh thank god it's still here. I have just one thing to say.

Captain Nametag, you are the most retarded fucker ever. What brilliant leap of logic leads one to conclude that PISSING OFF SOMEONE WITH A GUN IN YOUR FACE is a good idea? Not to mention how escape would have been next to impossible otherwise, what with two friendly manly men at our back.

Suffice to say: Stop making decisions, you're bad at them.

Whew! Been waiting forever to say that.

>>30401964
Good for you anon!
And there's no sarcasm in that, I'm genuinely glad you got to say it.

Because questing with idiots is a pain in the ass.

>>30401629
Nice thread. Thanks for running.

>>30401964
Yeah for real. I just read the last thread and that was some right poor decision making. Combat shouldn't be the first option when you're outnumbered and facing someone who's willing to talk with you.

>>30401964
You're right. Now that I look at it it really wasn't my brightest moment.

Not gonna drop that quest because you're displeased with a single solitary choice I made tho.

>>30410034
Nobody's asking you to leave. Just think before you post is all.

Thanks.

File: 1393105482292.jpg-(905 KB, 1793x1804, zdzislaw_beksinski_08.jpg)

905 KB JPG

“No. You bastards are just messing with my head. That didn’t happen at all. It didn’t. I’d remember it!”

-You were to cleanse the world for our arrival.-

You wake up. Your eye is burning. Your throat is parched dry.

“Is anyone there?” You call out. Sand stings your face. The sun burns red in the sky. Tall spires of stone rise from the ground, and night looms on the horizon. Black shapes flit through the veil of creeping shadow, vanishing and reappearing like smoke disturbed. All of that, far below you.

You stood atop a massive structure, a wall of stone, a mountain of stone and metalwork standing defiantly against time. Within the wall, guarding against the dark, crumbled buildings of a shape distinctly inhuman to your eyes. Spirals, curves, shapes with too many sides, arrayed in configurations impossible in anything but a dream. Rooms within rooms within rooms, and each larger than its container. You look away. It sickens you.

The wind threatens to blast you down into those ruins below. You take a step, and the wall crumbles beneath you. Wind rises in your ears as you fall, faster, faster. Your scream is torn away from you as your body crumples against the stone-

“Is that why you gave me that name?”

What?

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” You pass the bottle back to him. He drinks, emptying it in a go. “Hey. You remember how I found you?”

No. This is a lie.

“Just barely. I think you saved my life, there.”

Stop it.

“Only because you saved mine. You know, that name… you really deserve it.”

Stop it!

What do you say?

>>30415541
Wonder if we're seeing the alien homeland or just tripping balls. Probably both

"None of this is real, is it ?"