>>37457227

Wait, the mauler was completely destroyed in the fight? MOTHER FUCKER I loved that gun.

Hey, just dropping by to ask a question. Did we ever make any headway on bringing back Hecate? I stopped around the time we got our sponsor.

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The chapel is dark.

It is a vast space, in the eye of your mind - A space far larger than what its mere dimensions suggest. It is a place of transition, a place that only exists in the narrow space of Now; a place that shimmers with blood-colored gloom, a tiny, forlorn outcropping in a fractal arterial network of night.

An island in the insterstellar black.

Blink.

Wooden pews, sagging with damp corruption.

Blink.

Things that murmur and whisper in the shadows, amid gathering twists of night. Thickening, becoming darker, as blood - Not dust at all - streams down the chamber walls. A lightless place, bent beneath the weight of shades; Achingly distant, achingly alone. All glass has been broken, and the joists and beams and high-vaulted ceiling - robbed of tiles and slates - hae been turned into dark, barred windows through which to watch the dying light.

You left us behind, and we're hungry.

We don't understand why you left us.

We don't understand why you didn't come.

All the noises of the dead city have been harvested, blended into a sound mosaic at the very edge of perception, that almost - but not quite - perfectly imitates the sound of the black rain.

The voices are out there, in the dark and the rain - looking for a way in.

No, you can't hear them. But it's easy if you try.

"-Welcome home, Anon." Naoya says, because that is what he always says now. The darkness is almost palpable, its viscid obscurity blurring the edges of his being - making him a mere silhouette against a deeper, lonely gloom. What you glimpse around him - in the place where he stands - is not the reassuring solidity of the chapel, but something that might be infinitely worse.

A significance, a *realness*, gathers around his hand - outstretched, for you to grasp - a vivid lucid-dream intensity that makes everything else fade like it's barely even here.

Except for you.

The two of you are the only real things here, down in the dark.

(Continued)

>>37457483

You forgot the stuff about the hollow sun.

>>37457470
Moved on.

>>37457470
Her body in the Real is in a coma and her Red World avatar can't appear unless she awakens.
There's nothing we can do for her right now.

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>>37457483

And, in the distance-

A low, constant crying. A sound with little rise or fall. Just one girl, sobbing her heart out - Hearing her aches.

"I think," he says - quietly, but with care -

"-I think it's time we had a talk."

There is nothing but friendship and openness in his remarkable eyes.

Or perhaps there is simply nothing there at all.

[ ] Free

Y-

YOU H-

YOU HAVE [C]ONTROL

>>37457498

(My apologies, but at present, you have no access to the Hollow Sun.)

>>37457534
Take his hand.

And headbutt him. Go to Mio.

>>37457534
Stand up.
>"This place has changed a lot. You there, Kotone?"

>>37457574

Don't headbutt him, but STAB him. Fucking stab him right in the heart with the Misericorde.

>>37457601

Let's not.

>>37457601
>>37457574
You do realize that this is pointless, right? We cannot leave this place out of our own volition and the Misericorde also doesn't affect the Joker while he's in his human form. We have more important shit to deal with now than to antagonize Naoya.

>>37457601
Dude spoiler. Won't do jack except show that card, there's no way OP would let him die here but we can make him go through his entire speech with a bloody nose.

>>37457534

Don't take his hand, stand up on our own.

>>37457636
If you haven't noticed, attacking competent opponents for the sake of being a jackass generally only ends with Joker looking like a fool.

He's also just a ruthless as Rj, so he'll either dodge or give Joker a bloody nose of his own. Just drop it.

>>37457674
Jackassery is doing it for its own sake. I suggested it to make perfectly clear what Anon's priorities are between Mio and whatever Naoya is going to say.

>>37457724
It essentially is for its own sake, since Naoya is already fully aware of where Anon stands.

"Well, what do you wanna say?"

Not really sure what to do here.

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>>37457574
>>37457584
>>37457644
>>37457636
>>37457624

You make it to one knee, and look up into Naoya's faces - All three of them. You close your eyes, open them, squint - And then there are only two.

Better.

A few more breaths siphon clarity back inside your head, and squeeze the silent thunderstorm back down inside your skull as use leaks back into your body. The effort it takes to rise to your feet - It makes stone bleed into flesh and back out again, threading black veins across your field of vision.

>>37457601
>>37457636

"-It won't work, you know." he says. Not casually, or lightly - Just stating a fact.

"Nothing ever dies here. Nothing *can* die here-" Naoya's head tilts in the sketch of a shrug, his eyes unblinking, calm.

"...That's the point."

His voice lowers, as his hand falls to his side.

"No, I'm not reading your mind. I couldn't - not even if I wanted to."

And at last, the ghost of a smile - Almost a frown - touches his lips, without any humor at all. There is a distance to him, aloof, remote - Not impolite, just without the facade of amiability.

You don't think Naoya smiles much.

You don't think he smiles, ever.

> "This place has changed a lot. You there, Kotone?"

Quietly, now:

"She doesn't want to talk to you."

"She doesn't want to *see* you. Ever."

"I have," Naoya says, carefully, "Arranged matters so she won't have to."

(Continued)

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>>37457789

He half-turns, looking ahead - At where the altar is, at where it should be. Some trick of light draws the darkness close, like a veil; it ebbs, flows, pulling through the air like a great cloak.

> "Well, what do you wanna say?"

He's silent, for a long moment - head upturned, gazing off into the middle distance. Searching for the words, perhaps; or just lost in thought. At last, he exhales, slowly - with a shrug so subtle it is almost a shiver.

"-I love her, you know," he says, softly.

"More than anything. More than anyone; before I even knew what love was. Here, now, at the very end..."

Naoya's brow furrows, the flesh at the corner of his eyes creasing.

"I was lonely, I think. To be the Joker is to be alone - Apart, not apart. First, last and *only*, amongst equals."

A subtle shift in his stance, as his full attention comes to rest on you.

"Do you understand what is is I'm trying to tell you?" he says, quietly. "There is no one - *no one* - like us. No one who remembers; no one sane. What happened to us, the implications - It is beyond what the human mind can process."

"Down there, living like that - One tends to forget. There were others, at first; signals, from smaller groups...But they dried up inside the first year. No-one - nothing - could survive down there."

"-Except us."

"Except you."

"Perhaps I thought - Perhaps I was hoping - that you would understand."

[ ] "Understand? You've killed *hundreds* of people."
[ ] "-You're insane."
[ ] "Are you talking about Kotone? Or Mio?"
[ ] "...You never really escaped, did you? Naoya."
[ ] "Nothing can justify this."
[ ] "So what happens now?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

[ ] "Are you talking about Kotone? Or Mio?"
[ ] "...You never really escaped, did you? Naoya."

>>37457991
>[ ] "Understand? You've killed *hundreds* of people."
"INNOCENT people. They weren't combatants."

>[ ] "Are you talking about Kotone? Or Mio?"

"How many of us are there, anyway?"

>[ ] "So what happens now?"

>>37457991
>[ ] "...You never really escaped, did you? Naoya."
>[ ] "So what happens now?"
>"What is your master plan, Naoya? What do you think was worth committing genocide over?"

>>37458022
>How many of us are there, anyway
IIRC he said last time that there were 13 Jokers at first, but now we're the only two left?
Also, I'm still wondering if he's the original White Joker, or if the armour can be passed down to others.
(In which case we must catch 'em all and become Rainbow Joker.)

>>37458042
Wait, genocide?
Am I missing something or are you abusing the word more than modern people abuse "decimate"?

>>37458049
But what about the Black Joker?

Evening OP. How's work treating you?

>>37457991
>[X] "Understand? You've killed *hundreds* of people."
>[X] "...You never really escaped, did you? Naoya."
"I understand that you're a pale reflection of what you should have been."

"Next time you see Kotone, ask her to tell you about our meeting yesterday. Maybe she'll even tell you the truth."

I'm curious, is Mio even here? Or are we just hearing things?

>>37458095
>I'm curious, is Mio even here? Or are we just hearing things?
She obviously isn't here. Kotone is the one crying.

>>37458121
I'm not so sure. The description is the same used to describe Mio crying before the duel started.

>>37458012

> [X] "Are you talking about Kotone? Or Mio?"

He inclines his head. Just a fraction, enough for you to see your own reflection - dark and distorted - in the glossy black surface of his eyes.

"-What's the difference?"

> [X] "...You never really escaped, did you? Naoya."

"No-one ever does. Not really." that not-quite-smile again, a mere lifting of the lips. "Some of the Smilers...An offshoot, really - believe that the Red is the only truth, with this life but illusory. Who is to say? They may be right."

> "How many of us are there, anyway?"

"-Survivors, you mean? Just the two of us."

A pause for thought. "Perhaps that isn't entirely true. Kraken, for one, would claim different - But then, he always sought to rise above his station." A low sigh, genuine now.

"What a disappointment he was. As a surgical experiment, he was worth pursuing...But he couldn't even stand up to you. He had no say; Still, he spent a year alive on a level beyond his most delirious imaginings."

Naoya's eyes go distant, thoughtful - He nods, slowly.

"I believe, in the end, that he was happy to settle for that."

"-Even when I cut his throat."

> "Next time you see Kotone, ask her to tell you about our meeting yesterday. Maybe she'll even tell you the truth."

"I know." he says it quietly, without a fuss - but he doesn't look at you, a shadow passing across his face. "There are no secrets between us, you know. Not now, not ever." A low sound, in the back of his throat; A sound that doesn't sound like a laugh at all.

"That's just the way it's always been."

His gaze narrows, sharpens. A twitch of a frown draws a vertical crease between his eyebrows.

(Continued)

>>37458212
>"-What's the difference?"
u wot m8

>>37458212
>"-Even when I cut his throat."
Fucking killstealer.
Getting the feeling he "survived" by making a deal with the Black Joker, anyway.

>>37458212
>"-Even when I cut his throat."
Called it.

OH god I knew it. This is one of those Kotone is Mio things.

Lord.

Someone explain to this guy that Mio was made by Hellebore and Kotone was simply kept alive by that... priest... guy.

>>37458255
He already knows, he just doesn't care.

>>37458266

Well, uhh, smack his shit around! One person is not another!

>>37458212

"Do you know-" A pause for breath, an ember of passion kindled in his voice at last. "-Do you know how much you *hurt* her, Anon? This is the way things have to be; she knows this now. She's *always* known it. But what hurt her - what is *hurting* her - is imagining what you must think of her. What she knows you think of what she has done, and will do."

"That you are wrong - fatally wrong - doesn't make it any less painful."

He breathes a heavy sigh, his shoulders straightening.

"-That's why you're here, Anon."

His concentrated stare meets yours.

"I'm taking you out of the game."

> "I understand that you're a pale reflection of what you should have been."

Naoya nods. It's almost amiable.

"-That's more true than you know, Anon," he says. "I am nothing like - would never pretend to be - Mikogami. But..."

A quick, searching glance.

"You're nothing like the Red Joker. *He* had the courage of his convictions. *He* fought for what he believed in, even when he had to make the hard choices. And, in the end, he gave everything he had...All he *was*...for what he loved."

His lip curls. "...What do *you* believe in, Joker?"

> [X] "Understand? You've killed *hundreds* of people."
> [X] "INNOCENT people. They weren't combatants."

Dismissively, now:

"-The human race. You've seen what that leads to."

Naoya shakes his head, the ghost of a smile lingering.

"Would it really be so bad, Anon?" he asks, softly. "To be last two people in the world?"

"-Why can't the world end the same way it started?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37458291
To be fair, they're half-sisters

>>37458310
"Because I decide the ending. And you've missed your chance to be me."

"But you of all people know that, White Joker."

>>37458310
>His lip curls. "...What do *you* believe in, Joker?"
"That you are batshit insane and that I'll save as many people as possible from this complete lunacy of a system."
Go over to Kotone's position.

I would suggest the Nihl sphere if it wasn't likely that the dude would take it or something.

>>37458354

Seconding this.

>>37458310
"It's simply not your choice to make. You weren't the one to receive his last lesson, you weren't the one deliver the last strike and you weren't the one to ingrain his last words into your mind. And finally, yo weren't the one who swore to win in front of his 'grave'."

"And even if I'm a failure of a Red Joker, I think I'm not wrong when I say that the old man wouldn't have liked this kind of ending."

>>37458342
>>37458354

The color rises in Naoya's face; his head draws down, and his eyes flicker danger.

The growl he makes does not carry words - Only contempt, and anger.

>>37458417

He takes a step back. Surprise - a kind of belated realization - flits across his face.

The anger clears, and - when calm returns - it brings with it a kind of odd respect, a sense of acknowledgment.

"-Do you know what Mikogami said to me, on the last day?" Naoya says, distantly - Staring out the window, at the seething darkness beyond. No longer angry, but reflective, almost sad.

"'No matter what. No matter how long it takes-'"

"'...Bring my daughter home.'"

"'-my son.'"

The last words are a lingering, fading echo; His fingers touch to his temple, where the fall of his hair hides an old scar.

"Not for myself. Not even for her. But for the man I loved - cherished - more than anything."

"-The only man to call me 'son'."

His gaze locks with yours. Levelly;

"...Perhaps we're more alike than you think. Joker."

>>37458354

> "That you are batshit insane and that I'll save as many people as possible from this complete lunacy of a system."

Resolutely, you turn your back on him. Resolutely, you begin to walk.

Away.

Forward.

Ever forward.

(Continued)

>>37458523
>>37458354
>>37458388

"Exactly what do you hope to accomplish, Joker?"

One foot in front of the other. Into the dark.

"-All you can do is destroy."

You keep walking. The sound of crying is weaker now, faint. The dimensions of the chapel waver, like a fading dream, a mirage; Until the fluid darkness draws away like a shroud, and...

You sense her, before you see her. See the vast braided cables frayed into strands that extend to infinity, that tie her to the realm around you, to the earth, to Hell above and every breath of the damned and their masters; the night that smears and writhes and wraps itself around her, swallowing her, entering her, oozing like oil beneath her skin. The great web does not restrain her, though it coils around her wrists like ivy, scaling her form-

Swallowing her up. Eating her whole.

A whisper, from the gloom-

Anon.

A silhouette, a manifestation - Just a hazy shimmer, like smoke in sunlight.

It it hurts. It hurts. I can't can't I can't.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37458603
>"-All you can do is destroy."
I will destroy that illusion of yours.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

>>37458603
[X] Destroy the cables
Let's solve the issue in the Red Joker way.

>>37458603
"I'm so sorry. This isn't what I wanted for you."

...All right, I see two options. Invoke Hellebore or use the knife.

>>37458631
I've never even seen the series and even I know the response to that one. Fukou da~

>>37458653
>Fukou da~
That only comes after the guy starts calling us anon-sempai and getting his own loli.
All that are defeated by Touma gain their personal loli. Even if the loli is thirty years old.

>>37458676
>Even if the loli is thirty years old.
You know you're irreversibly warped when this sounds more normal than the rest of what you said.

>>37458603
"True, but what I destroy is up to me, Naoya."
"I'm back, Kotone. Do you still want to live at all costs?"

>>37458676
>Even if the loli is thirty years old.
Actually, he got one more loli in the side-stories. Birdway's lil' sis.

>>37458699
Such is life in Kamachi.exe's world.

>>37458646
>>37458653

> "True, but what I destroy is up to me, Naoya."

It's your choice. It is always, always - Will ever be - your choice.

Your hands close on the twisting knot of night. The Misericorde is in one hand; Put to a truer purpose at last, the point gouging into the tarry substance - It writhes, beneath your grasp. The blade digs deep, as you stab - tear - rend - digging at it, ignoring the vicious barbs, the recurve spikes that gash your flesh-

Nothing here ever dies. Can ever die.

Deeper. More. Carving deeper still-

> "I'm so sorry. This isn't what I wanted for you."

You're sorry.

Sorry.

Nothing is the way you want - the way anyone wanted. This world, all of it-

...is wrong.

-struggling, now. Palms burning, raw with a thousand tiny cuts. The beads of your own blood against the brambles; trying, straining, to force them apart as the twisted thorn brush continues to grow, bristling and whispering.

Invader. Intruder.

A tiny gap. A flicker of white; An eye, turned up towards the ragged rim of the chapel beyond.

Anon.

Blank and dull. Not even a spark.

You have to get her - You have to get her out of there -

> "I'm back, Kotone. Do you still want to live at all costs?"

Soft, not even a whisper - the hush no longer lifeless, but filled with deep and aching pain.

"Who's - who's - *Kotone*...?"

Mio. Her eyes - eye - holding the light.

(Continued)

>>37458818
>"Who's - who's - *Kotone*...?"
>Mio
Well. I did tell you so.

>>37458818

> Invoke Hellebore or use the knife.

Hellebore-

Just the *thought* of her - It makes the thorns react. Squirming beneath you; the black oil popping, bubbling around your knees. It rolls, nauseatingly, like a sea of sludge; You hear - feel - a keening, a sharp need, that fills the polluted air around you...

Anon-

I - don't. I can't. Just let me die. Just let me *die*-

You don't listen. The knife, cutting, carving - Freeing a space, a space large enough for you to see through. The pale oval of Mio's face is downturned; the faint silver gleam of her barette the only point of light on her form. She's looking down, away from everything - Even as dark veins crawl beneath her skin, across one cheek.

A tear rolls from her eye and tracks down her faces. It splashes iridescent black against your reaching hand, and it starts to burn in the stillness...

-But only for a moment.

Faintly, her voice too raw to even continue crying-

"Anon-kun...This is what she *wanted* - Mother..." Her pale throat works, her fingers curling against her palms - "...She wanted *me*. This body, it's..." Her form, in stark silhouette, lost amid the brambles. Trembling, minutely, her voice broken.

"-she wanted...she would have been..."

"-she would have...*become*...me-"

[ ] "...Oh, God."
[ ] "Naoya. Let her go - Now."
[ ] "It doesn't matter - Mio, you *have to take my hand*-"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

So, do we tell her or are we going full dumb and keep secrets again?

>>37458898
[ ] "...Oh, God."
[ ] "It doesn't matter - Mio, you *have to take my hand*-"

>>37458898

So hellebore was trying to possess her OWN DAUGHTER. Wow, what a bitch.

>>37458898
Vindication!
>[X] "...Oh, God."
"...I'm going to KILL her."
>[X] "It doesn't matter - Mio, you *have to take my hand*-"

Full nuclear option: Have the Nihl Sphere go from suck to blow. Feed that barette some charge.

>>37458898
>[ ] "It doesn't matter - Mio, you *have to take my hand*-"
"I won't let you go. I sacrificed too much for you. Trust me. I'll get you out of here."
I really wish Hecate was here to help us. She could have done spooky Nihl shit.
But not even Cybele can see in here. Unless we maybe manifest our emblem, but I'm not sure if it would help us in any way.

Wait, nothing can die in here.
Can we NIHL portal Mio and us to somewhere else? Somewhere where stuff CAN die?

>>37458923

Oh christ. So do we abandon Plan Make Mio Chalice Queen, or is there a way to make her CQ without Hellebore possessing her?

>>37458898
>[ ] "It doesn't matter - Mio, you *have to take my hand*-"
>"Even if you don't want to ever see me again, can you help her, Kotone? Can you at least try to save your own sister?"

>>37458898
Wonderful.
After losing Hecate and enraging Argen Prominence, we backstabbed Cybele, only to find out that it caused us to ALSO backstab Mio.

>>37458898
Whelp, I guess my paranoia ended up proving itself true. The Chalice Queen plan never was the best option.

>>37458898
Miofags...
Not even once.

>>37458984
There was never anything other than suffering for Joker.
Really should have gone for the "bros before hoes" route.

>>37459006
Too bad that Kazuya is a wimp who doesn't want to know, that Bishamon and Ogre got their super-waifus and a stubbornness that would have prevented the Athame from working, that Akira is constantly running away and that AP was way too fucking passive.

Still, learning from AP and granting him Daegal would have been pimp.

>>37458898
>>37458971
Just remembered that we have something else that might help here. We can see her hands, so pull out the ringbox and put it in hers.

" *I* want you to live. I still haven't given you an answer."

>>37458975

(My sincerest apologies; But to clarify, you've already done the former.)

> [X] "...Oh, God."
> "...I'm going to KILL her."

Your voice rasps in your throat. Your arm trembles from holding vines apart - You can feel your own blood welling down your fingers. There is no pain, just a distant sense of loss.

"-I see."

Naoya's voice issues from somewhere behind you; Low, thoughtful, perhaps a little sad.

"...So that was why we failed. Why I failed." He makes a sound, a sound that might be contemplation, or annoyance - He says something under his breath, something you can't quite catch; Just a fragment, that might be-

"-unnecessary, in the end-"

"To think that you'd go this far - Make her the Chalice Queen." He shakes his head, wonderingly; "...You really are too dangerous, Joker." Naoya doesn't approach; He merely stands, as if watching the tableau play itself out - to the bitter end.

Because there must always be an end.

"-So that's why she could resist. Even when we took away her sight. Even when we cut away her hearing, erased her senses of smell and taste and touch. Even when she could no longer even remember how being alive had felt."

"She was never fighting us, not really. She didn't even know how."

"-It was Hellebore. It was always, from the very beginning, Hellebore."

And then Naoya smiles, at last. It is a terrible thing; Cold and pitiless and utterly without mercy, made worse by the quiet calm of his unchanging eyes.

(Continued)

>>37459070
>So that's why she could resist. Even when we took away her sight. Even when we cut away her hearing, erased her senses of smell and taste and touch. Even when she could no longer even remember how being alive had felt.
I don't understand anything anymore.
I got the whole 'Mio was going to be possessed by Hellebore, who is a stone-cold bitch', but I can't into this post for some reason.

>>37459096
Hellebore partially possessed Mio who was undergoing possession by Kotone/lachryma/other Joker. Hellebore fought it off, thus neither took control of her. Hellebore's plan seems to have saved Mio after all.

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>>37459096

(My apologies; He's talking about the black oil. To clarify, Naoya was confused as to *how* she managed to resist - Despite the influence of Lachryma. He had no idea that Mio was the Chalice Queen.)

>>37459141

(That's pretty close. They thwarted each other.)

>>37459070

Mio's gaze, questing - locking with yours - in tones of depthless hurt and disbelief...

"Anon-kun - You did this...to me?"

Past you, now. To the figure she can only barely glimpse.

"Naoya...kun - saying...such - awful - things...You - *both* of you-"

>>37458972

> [X] "It doesn't matter - Mio, you *have to take my hand*-"
> "Even if you don't want to ever see me again, can you help her, Kotone? Can you at least try to save your own sister?"

Can Kotone hear you? Did she ever?

Only the silence and the bristling whisper of the thorns answer you.

Perhaps this is what she wants. More than anything. Perhaps love is the key - But having the key is not enough.

Mio doesn't move. There is no light in her eyes, as she hangs limp in the embrace of the snaking thorns. It spurs an odd sense of deja vu, like a memory you cannot quite remember having; like trying to remember a dream you've never actually had...

(Continued)

>>37459141
Mio's body is starting to sound like the SOS-Dan clubroom.

>>37459141
I should add that the specific line suggests Naoya was working to break Mio's will via sensory deprivation and memory modification. It may or may not imply that a lot of time has passed, could be reading too much into it.

Corrector Augmentations when?

>>37459141
>>37459175
Thanks, guys. I guess I was confused because I thought for some reason that she'd been there for a while (the whole sensory deprivation part).

>>37459175
That's what I meant, sorry. It worked out that her evil plan saved Mio.

>>37459176
I'd have gone with Cloud or Sora but I get what you're saying.

>the quest has so many evil guys with flawless plans that they are blocking each other

>>37459175

Were Mio's tits always this huge?

>>37459182
Never at this point they're kinda a waste

>>37459233
Isn't it great? And all we had to do was take the high road for both of them to hamstring each other.

>>37459175

> We can see her hands, so pull out the ringbox and put it in hers.

It is such a small thing, against all that corruption - Against the black, blistered mass of writhing vines, of rustling brambles. The faint pressure of the box presses against your ribs; the tiny depression is shrinking close, shutting itself away-

A deep, shuddering breath. Another.

> "*I* want you to live. I still haven't given you an answer."

Her eyes are open, now. Wide. No longer blank with misery, but looking up at you - And the hope, the rising, aching hope, gives you a sick twist just beneath your heart.

She tries-

...the vines *shift*. Just a subtle motion, so brief you might almost have imagined it. A tiny tremor - Enough for pale, slender fingers to curl around the tiny box, that trinket; As if seeking to hold all the light in the world...

"-Have you told her about Hecate?" Naoya's voice is mild, almost casual. Distance seems to shift around him, so the news of disaster is close and hope is always further from hand. Then, carefully:

"Or Cybele?"

It is the weight in his voice - Like a gambler, laying a hand of cards down - that makes the world shrink back into focus. In many ways, this is but a continuation of the duel from before; Not with a sword of red iron or a blade of photonic light, perhaps - But it is still a battle. An exchange of lethal intent.

Naoya's head is canted to the side; As if he's listening to a voice only he can hear. That half-smile lingers, his eyes distant, almost unfocused-

...He knows. Someone - *something* - is *telling* him.

"-Or about that one, perfect night; A lifetime ago, when you-"

He stops. Over your shoulder, you can see him - His gaze finding yours, somehow, through the gloom.

Waiting.

"Well, Joker?" he says, quietly, his voice pitched to carry.

"-Aren't you going to tell her?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37459283

FUCK.

>>37459293

That was what got us into this in the first place.

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>>37459283
Oh sweet poor Naoya

You're going to eat shit mate

>>37459283
Wait, is he hearing our voices?

Anyway, we probably would have told her, had those two girls not been strongly related to the Red.
Also, Hecate is our prior girlfriend. This doesn't matter in our current love, aside from the fact that we are still hoping for ways to get her back into life.

The Cybele situation is kinda messy, though.

>>37459283
>"Nothing is as terrifying as a woman's wrath, right?"
>"I don't need to do it, Naoya. After all, once I save her, she will have the chance to see it herself. She will see the girl who sacrificed herself to save me, she will see the ghost of a lonely child that I betrayed and she will see me repeat my oath side the grave of the man I killed to save myself."
>"When that time comes, she will be the one to judge whether she can forgive me or not. But now, I only want her to trust me and let me save her."

>>37459374

That is seriously 'Such defiance'-tier dialogue.

>>37459382
Actually, it seems pretty decent, even if a bit elaborate.

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>>37459283
>>37459293
>mfw

I wonder.
Kraken is dead.
Is Pazuzu still alive?

I wonder what the other jokers are like.

We've got Red, Black, White and Gold.

>>37459382
Result of me trying to keep things vague enough not to kill Mio's hopes and dreams in an instant.
I have no idea how to phrase this in a better way.

>>37459443
>Result of me trying to keep things vague enough not to kill Mio's hopes and dreams in an instant.

Too late for that. We full Urobuchi now.

>>37459374
Hmm.

How about: "Tsukimi died for me. Saori gave me all she could for my love, and I betrayed her. I regret both, but I will NOT live regretting losing you, Mio."

>>37459440
Gold is not a Joker.

But it looks like there's a rainbow of thirteen Jokers, with everyone having different strengths and specialities.
Red is the Joker of ranged weapons and destruction.
Black is the Joker of corruption.
White is the bullet timing melee monster with unknown purpose.

Also, has anyone noticed that the White Joker had an amount of relics comparable to ours, in contrast to every other player?
Might Jokers have a higher capability for relic usage?

>>37459454

Yeah. This sounds better.

>>37459283
>[ ] Free

"Nobody wants to hear about exes. Especially dead ones."

>>37459463

Oh. Daegal isn't a joker?

>>37459454
The problem is that would kind of a lie, though. Joker would not give up even if he lost Mio. He probably won't give up even if he loses everything.

>>37459472
This is on the level of American action heroes.
Fuck you.

>>37459478
He's supposed to be the perfect armor. And AP apparently wanted to have Daegal.

>>37459283
>[ ] Free

I think this might be the moment to sever ties with cybele.

Were we saving the knife for ourselves, or someone else?

Because if she's being queened now, there isn't really a point to hitting him or kraken or anyone else with the misericorde. Right? or is there

>>37459478
Nah
I still really want to Git Gud enough to wear it

>>37459463
>White is the bullet timing melee monster with unknown purpose.
The White Joker represents life. He can create Players.

>>37459485

Because stabbing ourself is going to do wonders for Mio's mental state.

>>37459480
Well, yeah.
We are still thinking of how to revive Hecate. And if Mio died, we'd like nuke the world to restart the universe or something.

>>37459491
Does this mean that we would break the Red by killing him?

Also, I just realized that there's a relic for each Joker. We know of the Beam Magnum and the Carnifex.
The Black Joker relics are a mystery, though.

>>37459478
The Jokers are all called [color] Joker. If it's not called that it's not a Joker.

Also, delayed gloating about being right re: Kraken and White Joker.

>>37459480
Giving up is not the same as living with regret. Joker would ALWAYS try and live, but the degree to which he's enthusiastic about it varies with his regrets.

>>37459485
Oh holy shit, Kraken's already out. Probably means Alura is too yeah nah lachryma bullshit. But still.... Draw the Athame. Break Cybele's contract here and now.

>>37459512
I expect mind dickery and space distortion
Also a really big knife

Wait, why can't we eat the thorns with our absorby glove?

>>37459524
Gold is a color.

>>37459483
>This is on the level of American action heroes.
>Fuck you.


Is it? Its kind of the message she needs to hear though.

LIke, naoya is trying to undermine the only saving lifeline she has - belief in a relationship - which he's calling into question by invoking those names.

The attack

"Lets not forget, naoya, what you said three days ago. Either I settle my heart, or you claim a girl against her will.
And here we are.

You're sick, to do this. And you don't get to dodge the issue by making it about me."

>>37459503
Well, we want to end up bound to mio afterward, yes?
So we want to cut cybele's thread before mios attaches.

>>37459524
>Break Cybele's contract here and now.
So we can't even kill her?
Fuck this shit.

I wonder if the Chalice Queen can reach the demenses of other Hyades. And I wonder if the Hyades energy can be transferred from the Chalice Queen to another Hyades.

>>37459524

That's a very, very bad idea. If we stab ourselves now, we'll be in no shape to continue. If we cut Cybele's Emblem, we ALSO lose Hellebore's mark and our only way of reversing this.

>>37459524

Wont using the Athame leave her to die a horrible death as she slowly fades away into nothingness all alone?

>>37459531
We haven't figured out how to do ENCROACHMENT yet.

We could try though.

>>37459531
There might be a golden Joker.
But he'd be called GOLD JOKER, not DAEGAL.

>>37459546
>Let Daegal feast on Naoya
I guess it would lead to him defeating the encroachment, though.

>>37459542

This is true. I vote for using it at the appropriate time, not sure if this is it though.

Or were we never supposed to have the option to choose? Did we miss the chance to free spaghetti-san?
Actually, we could still hit him with it after-the-fact, and maybe close off his side of the dead connection. Bring him back somewhat. Is that a worthy goal?

>>37459545
She goes Dormant. And with mio in control, the servers aren't autofragged, so the chance to retrieve her and give her a hollow sun body exists. ...that may have changed though.

>>37459533
>"Lets not forget, naoya, what you said three days ago. Either I settle my heart, or you claim a girl against her will.
>And here we are.

>You're sick, to do this.And you don't get to dodge the issue by making it about me."

This one is actually good.
The other is mocking the dead/almost dead.
You never, ever mock someone who saved your life or whom you will backstab.
That's disgusting.

>>37459512
>We are still thinking of how to revive Hecate.
Definitely are. During the talk with Akira, Joker basically confirmed that he hasn't given up yet.
>And if Mio died, we'd like nuke the world to restart the universe or something.
Joker still has plenty of people he cares for. Mi dying would probably damage his capability for love, but otherwise he would keep moving resolutely, to protect as many of his friends and allies as possible.
>>37459524
>Giving up is not the same as living with regret. Joker would ALWAYS try and live, but the degree to which he's enthusiastic about it varies with his regrets.
For a while. He'd probably go on a second revenge trip and then find something else to motivate him. Joker is flexible about these kinds of things.
>>37459540
>So we can't even kill her?
I think we can actually choose whether she dies or just goes inert if we use the Athame.
Though, honestly, I no longer trust the Athame to work the way Hellebore described it.

>>37459531
Because we're in human form. Always are in Kotone's demense.

And yes, gold is a color, but it's not explicitly named Gold Joker. If it is, it's a Joker. If it's not, it's not.

>>37459542
We needed the Emblem to reach the Vault to unlock the armor. Mio is Chalice Queen now, and we never thought to ask whether the Chalice Queen could form Hyades contracts. Here at least.

>>37459578
>I think we can actually choose whether she dies or just goes inert if we use the Athame.
What I meant is that we need to stab *her* to kill her.
Which we can't in this place.

>>37459568
>Actually, we could still hit him with it after-the-fact, and maybe close off his side of the dead connection. Bring him back somewhat. Is that a worthy goal?
The contract is dead. It's just that he genuinely fell in love with her after she died for him.

>>37459590
I always thought that the Chalice Queen would be tied to her champion via the emblem.
Severing the contract might do something to Mio.
It will outright murder Hellebore, likely.
However, killing Hellebore means that Mio loses the ability to fight back.

>>37459592

This got me thinking, though, the nihl sphere exists to open possibilities.

It can't summon here here, but it can probably open a path through the lachrymiya entrapping mio so we can reach her.

That slot

>>37459602
Well, what if that isn't true? The brainwashing that makes him love her and fight to the death with her persists after the hyades death-throes.

Else, it would have removed ALL of her influence and he'd be a bro again and wouldn't have ragequit the tristars.

Basically what i'm saying is they didn't get a clean break, and half the hyades-feelings are stuck in there half-flopping off like an anchor with the line cut - its still there, and the weight is palpable, but its still a ghostly thing that could be removed.

If we find him in time.

>>37459463

(Gentlemen, my sincerest apologies; I'm not quite sure where you're getting the idea that there are thirteen Jokers from, thought that might be my fault.)

>>37459374

"...Is that what you think?" Naoya says - Levelly, now.

> "Let's not forget, Naoya, what you said three days ago. Either I settle my heart, or you claim a girl against her will.
> And here we are."
> "You're sick, to do this. And you don't get to dodge the issue by making it about me."

That smile, again. The smile you're growing to hate.

"But this *is* about you, Joker. It's always been about you."

"What-" Mio's voice is a shadow of itself, fading out. "-Anon...kun - What's...he - What's he *saying*-?"

"About how you took her hand in yours-"

No.

"-how you held her in your arms-"

No-

No no

"-how you laid a kiss upon her lips-"

No - No no no-

Beneath you, the blistered mass quivers, shaking as if caught in a violent earth tremor. You can feel the scalding fury of the force inside it; the windows of the chapel rattle, and panes crack. Swirls of dust - Or not dust at all, but a million buzzing insects - cascade into the air like soot. The infernal buzzing, buzzing, buzzing is everywhere-

>>37459454

And in that blank moment, where everything hangs in the balance - When your hand reaches out for her, you hear-

I HATE YOU

-and she *repels*.

At you.

At Naoya.

At the world.

(Continued)

>>37459631
Bishamon is a SHAMEFUR DISPRAY honor-type guy.
He will try to murder us even if the connection is completely removed.
Because he's fucking Bishamon. The samurai dude. And a maiden sacrificed herself for him.

>>37459578
>I think we can actually choose whether she dies or just goes inert if we use the Athame.
Stabbing a Player breaks the contract. Stabbing the Hyades can break the contract or render them inert. Lethally stabbing the Hyades provides the option of instantly killing them.

>>37459602
>after
Anon...

>>37459613
Yeah me too, but we never got confirmation one way or the other. Since Mio is Queen, she should be able to form her own contract from now on though, we just needed to piggyback Hellebore's on Cybele's.

If we walk away here Mio loses the ability to fight back. Naoya can get Hellebore, now that he knows she's there.

>>37459631
Doesn't matter. He loved her, whatever other mark the Hyades contract left on him is beside the point, Joker killed the love of his life.

>>37459556
>>Let Daegal feast on Naoya

I meant more on the lachrymiya binding mio - since reaching for her and pulling her out and reaching through the black goo is all part of the same motion, with the relic that does it, and was made to take the black joker out.

Encroachment isn't just a means of bonding to its host - its the same mechanic the black joker virus uses to bond to a host.

Its made to fight the entity on its own level. And win.

>>37459640
Whelp, Mio route dead.

>>37459640
FUCKFUCKFUCK

>>37459640

"He's lying. To get what he wants. You. The time I spent with you is because I genuinely care. And you know it."

>>37459666
I don't think she's going to hear anything we say from now on.

I love how everyone voted against the 'REFUTE NAOYA' options and didn't give eloquent substitutes.

If there's a time for samefagging, then would have been it.

>>37459674
Depends. We just have to yell harder.

Also; her instinct to REPEL EVERYTHING includes shutting out hellebore's influence, which is imho a good thing.

Once the blastwave clears, we will see who is left standing and then talk.

>>37459679
Meh, I don't mind it going out into the open. At least we finally leave the status quo.

>>37459040
>Just remembered that we have something else that might help here. We can see her hands, so pull out the ringbox and put it in hers.

Fuck

Missed opportunity.

Should have proposed.

>>37459689
She needed to know, even if another time would have been better.
But maybe now she has the urge to strangle us. Which would be awesome for her condition.

>>37459679
What's there to refute?
We can't deny we did all that shit, man.
It was always gonna bite us in the ass, and this is just when it happens.

>>37459679
Samefagging caused this in the first place.

>>37459697
We gave her the ring. It's what made the opening to begin with.

>>37459699
>Which would be awesome for her condition.

If only JQOp is so kind, this would be amazing.

"I HATE YOU"

"THEN COME OVER HERE AND YELL THAT AT MY FACE"

>>37459704
>It was always gonna bite us in the ass, and this is just when it happens.
Because relationships aren't about mistakes you made, its about how you move past them.

I was going to say more but that's really it.

Yes, we dated before mio?

And a little while we started?

and then we put that shit to rest when we got serious?

Thats.... not an unusual thing. It happens more than anyone would like, and sure its shitty when it happens but how you end up is what matters.

What I'm saying is there's a definite cutoff point for dating in earnest, combined with tg can't into boys and girls at all.

>>37459640

The words are not vocal. They have a monstrous force in them, a burning venom. You feel it slam into you - Feel the very atoms of your form vibrate to pieces - as the ground rushes up to meet you, the impact searing your mind and soul at once, as it flings you away-

You feel your bones break. You taste all the flavors of ruin. You feel your eyes rupture in your socket and crush the world to blindess...

-But there is no death here. Nothing can die here.

Naoya, too, is on his knees. His mouth moves slackly, as he crumples - sinking onto his side, limbs twitching like a dog with nightmares. You can see flies settling on his face, scurrying in and out of his mouth - covering his eyes like scab, as thin black blood leaks from his ears and eyes and mouth-

Both of you, suffering. To feel agony, and not die.

Red, red, red-

There is an immense grinding sound, like mountain peaks or tectonic plates writhing against one another-

The walls begin to crack.

It reminds you of the descent, years ago. The long, long plunge into eternal night. That was a kind of damnation, one you have never really come to terms with, and never will. Here-

-tonight-

...is something more complete. More total.

Pain. A seething knot of it. Her mind, like an engine, seeking to destroy - And amid the pounding collapse, the dust, the flying splinters of stone, the only channel the full force of her hatred can find is the two of you, arcing back to make your body - Naoya's body - spasm in convulsions-

Both of you, dying.

Dying forever.

(Continued)

>>37459733
The problem is that Mio is not the type to think this is normal or acceptable, especially in her tortured state.

>>37459733
>And a little while we started?
That's the main problem here.
Also, Naoya is insinuating things here instead of stating them outriught, so shit sounds much worse.

>>37459762

YOUR QUEST ENDS HERE.

BUT YOUR TORMENT CONTINUES FOREVER.

>>37459762
Should have warned Naoya that Mio has a surprisingly explosive temperament.

>>37459784

and you didn't say NO TO THAT SHIT

MAN UP ANON

Right fucking now is the time for heroics, grand declaration of love, and ....

whats that capcha?

ntrho?

Ntr ho?

What the fuck you saying about mio?

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>>37459762
Why is my dick so hard?!

What's the soundtrack to this scene?

>>37459762
YANDERE ATTACK

I think most of her rage might be because we keep ignoring her and aren't explaining anything.

>reading this while watching HaCha Precure 43
Sheeeeet

>>37459839
...Anon, Mio got more events than anyone else in the entire cast.

This is definitely because Anon had sex with someone else. Remember? People don't like hearing the truth, they like hearing what they want to hear. Major theme of the quest, that we ignore because no one playing agrees with it?

>>37459833
Calm the fuck down, anon. I was reading the archives when that happened, IIRC.
I was going "the fuck are you doing, guys? jesus christ stop noooooo" all the while, though.

>>37459837
http://youtu.be/OffF0e2h4TU

You're welcome.

>>37459859
I've had that feeling every five threads or so when I read the archives.

And then I joined and did the same idiocy.

>>37459887
Are you me?

>>37459762

> "He's lying. To get what he wants. You. The time I spent with you is because I genuinely care. And you know it."

How can you still speak, if you have no mouth? If you can feel your teeth splintering - One by one - your swelling fingers twisting out of alignment and breaking off your hand-

LIAR

LIAR

I don't want want to hear anything any more more

LIAR

I don't want to see any more

I don't want to have anyone's voice reach me

I have to go - where no one's voice will ever reach-

And there is a final breaking-

Everything-

Goes-

to pieces-

(Continued)

>>37459893
He is. I am, too.
We are all one, anon.

>>37459904
It's like all of our brains go away when we join.

>>37459894
Well, at least she's being honest.
That's an improvement.

>>37459942
We just gave Naoya what he wanted.

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>>37459894

Drowning.

Drowning, face down, in black ooze.

No up, no down, no world. Just viscous blackness - and the infernal buzzing, incessant in your ears...

Breathe.

Breathe.

A sea of black oil. Forever.

Flames underlighting the horizon, beneath the nauseating roll of the breakers. A million million flies, forming a thickly-dark sky. Firelights, distant, flashing, reflecting across the roiling ocean...

Everything, sinking. The last fragments of the last church, lost forever. Everything-

...But not you, Joker. Never you.

From close by, a sound. You hear-

"-You're awake."

It is Naoya. He looks drawn, weak. His words are broken by the flies that mob around his dry lips; He kneels on the thickly-swirling mud of black Lachryma, as do you. The only two untouched things - inviolable - in this hellscape.

His gaze settles on you, and - dimly - you can intuit a kind of sickly satisfaction in his eyes.

"I wanted..." he coughs. Rasps, oily fluid trickling down his chin. He tries to wipe his mouth - sways - and nearly collapses. "Good. That's *good*."

"-I wanted you *awake*-"

"Because..."

"Because this really is the end...Joker."

"The end...and *goodbye.*"

[ ] "What...?"
[ ] "Where's...Mio...?"
[ ] "You didn't...see *this* coming..."
[ ] "...Trapped here...with *me*-"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

I want to punch the fuck out of his smug face.

Can we do that?

>>37459980
>[ ] Free

"Utopia, now would be a good time. You've had your laugh at my expense, but the world is still at stake."

>>37459980
"You can suffer down here for all of eternity if you want.
I'll go and fix this mess.
And give me my gun. I gave you the Carnifex."

Look at our inventory. See if we still have a connection to Cybele.
And then look if there's any remarkeable structure in this shitty place.

>>37459980
>[X] "Where's...Mio...?"
>[X] "You didn't...see *this* coming..."

>>37460023
Hurr.

>>37459980
[ ] Free

"Fuck You"

Sorry couldn't resist

>>37459980
>"You sure this is what you wanted?"
>"Do I have to repeat myself, Naoya? It's not your choice to make. I wouldn't regret never seeing you again, though."

>>37459980

Is this where we fire the sun to stave back the tide of oblivion?

>>37460021
Only in spoilers.

>>37459882

I'm eyeing the related videos.

So THIS is the 'whoa oh oh' song that clip comes from.

Underrated post.

Needs more van canto, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt4CQc1MSso this seems appropriate.

>>37460051

Punch his smug face. "WHERE IS MIO?"

>>37459980

is it finally microwave strike time?

I mean, when we have to literally boil the seas away...

>>37460021

Your boot cracks out, and explodes into his face. He reels back - goes over - and hits the seething ground on his back, as he lies against the churning mass. His chest never even moves.

For a moment - Just a moment - you think he might...

-just maybe-

...be dead.

>>37460036
>>37460029

Rising to one knee. Your hands splayed against the churning black mud, ignoring the sickly ripples that coil against your fingers.

> "You can suffer down here for all of eternity if you want. I'll go and fix this mess."

And then-

-he begins to *laugh*.

It is a dry, hacking laugh. A laugh that rips his insides, that makes him convulse as it tears things in his guts. Brittle, hateful laughter, laughter that delights in misery. A laugh that reveals the infinite meanness in his soul.

>[X] "Where's...Mio...?"
>[X] "You didn't...see *this* coming..."

"It's...*over*...for you - *Joker*," he breathes, and the last word is a hiss. "Don't you...see?"

"The only way to escape...is from *outside*...And-"

One swollen eye closes, in a grotesque wink. "-*she* never wants to see you again."

"So that's why...For you, the war is ove-"

>>37460070

You hit him. You hit him so hard you feel your the bones of your fingers crack. You feel his jaw give beneath the blow, as the impact snaps his head to the side and drops him back into the muck.

Nothing ever dies here, Joker.

"You can...hit me - until the seas go dry - until the sun burns out..."

"-And I'll just...*laugh*-"

(Continued)

>>37460111
>One swollen eye closes, in a grotesque wink. "-*she* never wants to see you again."
MIO doesn't want to see us again.

Cybele and Hecate, however...

Yes, I'm paranoid about him being somehow aware of this thought.

>>37460111
>(Continued)

"You're wrong about one thing.

You brought the nihl spere in side here. And it is *always* conneted to the other side. Thats how it finds windows and openings, you see."

"You're going to rot here alone. How will you laugh, then?"

>>37460129

DON'T TELL HIM THAT.

>>37460135

THIS ISNT THE TIME FOR SECRETS

PLAY OUR DAMN HAND.

ALso he'll figure it out from us executing it anyway..

>>37460129
DON'T
DO NOT SAY THIS
NONONO
STOP IT

IF YOU DO IT, DO INSTEAD OF TELLING
NO MONOLOGUES
HE IS SEPHIROTH
WE AREN'T

>>37460120
You're also believing what the villain's saying. That's like the third worst mistake, after getting involved in a land war in Asia and going against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

Actually, is there any chance at all we can grab the Carnifex back? That'd be a coup and it's a Relic that doesn't need to be in Player form to take. I want the Magnum, but... eh.

>>37460129
No.

>>37460129
Oh shut up. If you're going to gloat like a 1-dimensional villain, then do it after you use the damn thing to escape instead of telling the BBEG about it.

>>37460146

COME ON THIS IS THE ENDGAME. THIS IS IT. NO TIME FOR SAVING SECRETS FOR LATER.

JUST DO IT.

DO IT FAGGOT.

>>37460111
"You should try having friends, naoya."

>>37460160
>>37460146
Now you're thinking tactically.

>>37460152
>I want the Magnum, but... eh.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was also a real-world relic.

>>37459463
No

You have Red = Destruction
White = Creation
Black = Continuation.

Think about it. Black Lachryma has ALWAYS allowed things to continue on, become undead or live.

Red has always purged and destroyed everything. The Red World is a wasteland of rubble and dust, the Black World is overgrown with cancers and monsters.

The White World doesn't exist because White creates the other 2.

>>37460152
>be a coup and it's a Relic that doesn't need to be in Player form to take. I want the Magnum, but... eh.

ooh. If only we could grab the second nihl sphere tho.

>>37460170
Anon, the White is the Real.

>>37460170
>The White World doesn't exist because White creates the other 2.
Or the Real is the White.
...Or there's a blue Joker who's the Joker of the Real.

>>37460180
>Joker of the Real.

.... so, whats going on with those guys who have the anti-red-world aura?

I mean, remember we had that revelation about a class of players nobody else gets to see?

Looks like either Hecate's love (The Nihl) or Cybele's love (The Hyades bond) will save us.
Hopefully.

>>37460186
Yeah, we never investigated Kazuya.

>>37460186
>inb4 Kazuya looking like a damn Kamen rider

>>37460166
I would be. We've never seen a Real world Relic gun. First time for everything and all that, but the Beam Magnum is unlikely to be it.

>>37460175
Pazuzu has that.

>>37460180
So my crack about an all-Joker sentai team continues to creep to reality.

>>37460186
>remember we had that revelation about a class of players nobody else gets to see?
The Hyades? I know you mean Kazuya but...

>>37460180
>>37460177
>White Joker is the Joker of the real

OP, it has all come together. You have given me EVERYTHING I wanted in this quest. I love you.

But why will I never get my Villain/Evil Route? Why OP? Why do you do this to me?

So we have three worlds.
But why is everything taking place in the White and Red.
Or are the Smilers constantly moving into the Black?

And why does the White Joker create Red World players?
And why can't the Red Joker destroy White/Black World people?
And is the lachryma mod of the White Joker some kind of breaking of a rule?
Or is the Red Joker the ONLY lachryma-immune Joker?

>>37460202
>I would be. We've never seen a Real world Relic gun. First time for everything and all that, but the Beam Magnum is unlikely to be it.
I was guessing from the fact that it's the Red Joker relic.
It seems like one of those key relics, like the Carnifex (White Joker relic) and the Nihl Spheres (Special keys).
And didn't the Fatal Abyss also have some funky IRL shit going on?

>>37460209
The Black World is the World of Correctors. My guess that originally there were only two worlds (black and white), but once they started to bleed into each other, the Red was formed.
The role of the White Joker is to create the Players - soldiers that defend the Real and the Black Joker mutates and corrupts he White in an attempt to take over with. The Red Joker is the middle-man, who is meant to maintain the balance of power in the Red World by destroying anything that becomes a danger to either dimension.

>>37460193

Looks like it. Or utopia ruler. He kind of did make that promise.

If there's any what-if i want to see, its his point of view from outside the world when smilers happens and things go to shit.

When he looks up at the sky, a red dawn and ashes of newfound freedom getting caught up in all the other plots he's realizing have been going on around him.

When he goes 'oh fuck', and realizes just how hard that promise is going to be to deliver.

and simultaneously, that while he has freedom from the shackles of love, its not gonna be much of a utopia to play in if it burns. A paradise, lost if you will.

I want to see him man up, and either deliver or run the fuck away as his cards tumble down around him in the wake of this crucible-moment.

also he's a smug ass dick and we need a counterpoint to naoya.

>>37460152
GO FOR BOTH. GET THE CARNIFEX AND THE MAGNUM. THEY WILL BE OURS.

WE WILL BE WHOLE.

>>37460215
OP, let our way out of here with the Nihil Sphere. Also, we fought our way free of this once. We can do it again.

>>37460215
>"-Who do you *think* let us in?"
Just a heads up, it's really not clear who this is in reference to. I assume Mio.

All right, so I'm basically lost. Try escaping the muck, transforming, pulling out the Nihl Sphere and thinking of Mio/escape and wandering aimlessly, in that order.

The last one's going to be the one that does it, just watch.

>>37460225
It's a real world weapon yes, but Daegal is not, and that's one of the finalist items.

>>37460111

His jaw makes awful, sickening noises as it shifts back into alignment. As he turns his head, grinning - the cast of his face lent a leer - by the deformity.

And he says, very quietly:

"-Who do you *think* called the storm?"

> "You should try having friends, Naoya."

He just smiles.

"Welcome home, Joker," he says, quietly. "-I give you eternity."

The black oil is sucking you down. Ensnaring your arms and legs. A spasm swallows your limbs...But not to drag you under, as you reach for him. Merely to hold you in place, as he rises to his feet. As Lachryma sloughs from him, the ground thickening underfoot-

As he turns, and merely walks away.

His figure diminishes. Shrinks. Is gone, as thoroughly as if the the ever-changing landscape has swallowed him up...

-And perhaps it has.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37460274

Japanese flag has no black.

>>37460269
You forgot asking for Cybele.

>>37460273
>[ ] Free

Exec_rend ourselves back to reality.

Not a blow.

US.

>>37460267
Or Bishamon finds out what is happening and saves us because he wants to be the one to murder our ass.

>>37460268
>Also, we fought our way free of this once. We can do it again.

Wait.

Didn't we do this during the future-seering pool or something?

I think teh difference is the pool wasn't actively tryin to kill us though.

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>>37460283
There *is* a flag like that, though.

>>37460273
Oh wait, there is one more option in addition to >>37460269. The Joker's Memory. No convenient Joker mark for it though.

>>37460286
No I didn't. If she can hear us here she heard us in the chapel, and the absolute last thing we need is that blowing up in our face.

But yes it's an option, put it on the list.

>>37460289
Rend doesn't work like that.

>>37460296

If anyone, its gonna be natsumi.

more women on top of women.

>>37460308
>Rend doesn't work like that.

Have you tried?

We've only used it once, ever.

wouldn't be the first time we've used something out-of-spec.

I'm kinda wondering if Hecate awoke, now that the the Shroud has fallen and her body is in the Red.

>>37460319
Multiple times, actually.

>>37460331
it was heavily implied that she was recaptured by pazuzu, who hated her for betraying her, or possibly also as a setup for us - she was his head research assistant, after all.

Its highly likely she'd dead, possessed, turned/twisted into a punishment or fuel for the war effort, or actually brainwashed/forced to help him again.

Oooor she could have stolen the other nihl sphere and ran off with it too.

that would be hilarious.

>>37460269
>Just a heads up, it's really not clear who this is in reference to. I assume Mio.
Just realized exactly how dumb of an assumption this is thanks to clarification. Which of his Smiler friends did it?

>>37460319
We've used it twice in the last six threads. And codebursts work almost exactly the way they're described, despite multiple attempts to change that.

>>37460348
Akira stole the first one.

>>37460269
>>37460268

You wrench and pull and *fight*-

Always fight, no matter what. The first lesson of a hundred years down in the dark. Always strive, even if striving is useless. The coiling wreathes of midnight slacken, as you drag yourself free - Reaching for the Nihl Sphere...

And when you draw it forth...

-It is cold in your hand. Not dead, but dark; Throbbing, pulsing, like a black heart. The chill of it bites into your fingers...

>>37460289

You try. You *focus*, until the inner landscape of your eyelids swirl with sere colors, with shades of burnt bronze and anemic yellow.

Nothing happens.

You ignore the whispers, and focus on the cold, dead heart. Your fingers curl in a cage, gripping tight - Heedless of way the black begins to churn around your limbs. Of the way the firelight flickers beneath the seething sky.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

...the only way to escape is from the *outside*...

And then-

...A light. The tiniest flicker, from the heart of the Nihl Sphere. A crackle of toxic energy that pulses through you like a surge of nausea.

A faint shimmer, before you. Emerald light - distant, like the mere memory of it. Fed by the Nihl Sphere you hold in your hands, as the deep slime licks at you, hungry. Frail as a whisper, yet taking form-

-slowly but surely-

...into the unmistakeable shape of...

-Cybele's emblem.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37460356
>We've used it twice in the last six threads. And codebursts work almost exactly the way they're described, despite multiple attempts to change that.
Can't add features to software without changing the code, after all.

>>37460348
>Its highly likely she'd dead, possessed, turned/twisted into a punishment or fuel for the war effort, or actually brainwashed/forced to help him again.
Akira already elaborated that she most likely is currently inert due to her body being in a coma.
And now I regret not asking Naoya about Hecate.

>>37460273
>[ ] Free

No sinking. Jetpack time. Don't give up that fight.

Arsenal beacon something in. Just to test it. Quantum-entangled comms sure are useful - sometimes.
Nihl-assist if needed, someone should notice sun activity since its now a safe refuge from the invasion.

Do SOMETHING instead of debating might-be's. Anything but 'wait for rescue'. Sphere-centric minigames would be good too. Try to wrest control of this demense from him!

Can we disrupt his connection to kotone, which controls this place, with the misericorde?

>>37460361
I'd normally say something to the effect of how much this was going to suck, but I actually can't figure out how to activate it.

>>37460371
You're a moron.

>>37460361
Go for it. Reach out to the symbol, or something.

>>37460361

BEST WAIFU.

GO INTO THE LIGHT.

>>37460379
>Can we disrupt his connection to kotone, which controls this place, with the misericorde?

Oh hell yes.

Misericorde to the back.

That post up above where he's getting remote-information from outside the domain?

Yeah.

Cut that shit off at the source while his guard is down and he thinks he's invulnerable.

>>37460361
Copy us a simple armor.

>>37460361
"I think it's time to lay the cards on the table."

>>37460361
Well ain't that some shit

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I am laughing my ass off here. We never really thought OP would have our actions come back to bite us so spectacularly, but he went and did it. Oh yes he did.

And now it's all tumbling down.

>>37460451
Wait, you DIDN'T expect this?

>>37460451
Eh it's fine

>>37460451
What quest have you been reading? It's clearly not this one.

On a completely unrelated note we should get our head researcher/engineer some Dank

>>37460400
>I am laughing my ass off here. We never really thought OP would have our actions come back to bite us so spectacularly, but he went and did it. Oh yes he did.
>>37460379

So if kotone is kind of his hyades equivalent, this makes the backstab (abrubtion jets + tempest ) then backpedaling out through Cybele's emblem-link is our play.

Forcing the entire black joker into temporary quiescence & dormancy is the best damn move we could make at this juncture.

Bonus point if we snag the magnum or carnifex on the way out like wata mentioned.

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>>37460392
>>37460393

On your hands and knees. Slipping, falling, stumbling - Once you nearly pitch over, as snaking coils of Lachryma clutch at your legs; You go sprawling, and the precious orb of the Nihl Sphere nearly tumbles from your fingers. But somehow, somehow - Even though the ground is a seething morass that your hand sinks into - you *reach*, straining...

It's too far away. You can't-

...the blackness - It's eating you up.

But still you reach...

-It's enough.

Emerald light swallows your world.

----------------------------------

Oblivion.

----------------------------------

Dark. But a different blackness, from the all-consuming hellscape; the mere absence of light.

Solid ground, beneath your feet. The faint whirr and click of servoes-

Armor. Your armor. Restored to you at last. Still ragged - Still smoldering with the scars and the rents from your duel with the White Joker. But yours, and whole.

Your mono-optic sensor, cycling. Viewing the world through-

STAGE: TíR NA NÓG

You see...

-You can't see anything. It is as if the vast space of the Demense has been buried in utter darkness - Until the only illumination is the faint haze of green motes that does more to conceal than illuminate, drifting (like smoke) around a distant, solitary figure...

Cybele.

She is facing you. Silently, without a word, as the emerald radiance dies away.

Even through your armor - You can feel her gaze on you. Forlorn, but patient.

Waiting.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37460486
"Hello Saori."

>>37460486

"...I'm sorry."

>>37460486
>[ ] Free

"I saw a shot to trump the smilers. I took it. You have every right to be mad at me."

And/or/maybe.
"If you want us to be done, we're done."

>>37460486
Whelp, our last resort is another woman scorned.

We really fucked this one up.

>>37460504
No. Let her make the first move.

>>37460509
>>37460503

Yeah, this isn't a chance for redemption or basic-grade anon-tier people skills. Sorry just isn't gonna cut it.

Time to put adult pants on.

>>37460522
Do we really have time for that? I mean, really?
She's the one in power here. Consider that she may not let us walk out of her domain.

We should cut to the chase before anyone else dies.

>>37460486
"I won't be asking for forgiveness.
I wasn't lying when I said that you matter to me. But even then I wouldn't kill innocents for you.

You have every right to be mad. If there is any other way to get you out, I'll help you.

But right now there doesn't seem to be much of a world left to return to."

>>37460522
>No. Let her make the first move.

>>37460486
>Forlorn, but patient.

Thats her play, watashiwa.

If we don't speak first, we'll be stuck here in a face-off while the world burns.

>>37460486
She saved our life way too many times.
Even now, when we don't deserve it.

Truly best girl.

>>37460536
>>37460548
>>37460540
We're moving at the speed of plot. There is no "get out faster", we're going to get out and find the dead already dead, and the survivors surviving. Making vague insincere pronouncements to look good doesn't do anything at this juncture.

>>37460494
>>37460503
>>37460504

> "Hello, Saori."

Silence.

> "...I'm sorry."

Emerald motes, like drifting fireflies, dance on the silent wind.

> "I saw a shot to trump the Smilers. I took it. You have every right to be mad at me."
> "If you want us to be done, we're done."

Cybele - she trembles. Her form wavers, her head bowing; as you feel, rather than hear, her lips move.

>>37460540

If she can forgive what you've done to her.

If you can forgive what you've done to others.

If you can leave all the misery, all the suffering, all the lies behind. Only then, perhaps, can you - maybe - start again.

Your words, hearfelt. Echoing, hollow, strident.

Her head comes up.

"Joker-kun..." she whispers. Just two syllables - Prayerful, disappointed, filled with despair, worn and exhausted and heartsick as the darkness shivers around her, in time with the echo of her words...

You can feel her eyes on you. Longing, even now. Yearning.

Hoping.

(Continued)

>>37460555
No. And stop thinking with your dick, for chrisssakes. It's what got us into us mess, don't rely on it dragging us out.

>>37460599

A soft breath, a quiet inhalation...

"-help me."

And then, all around you, the lights start coming on.

They activate individually and in clusters, red spikes of light, dozens of them, shooting upwards, filling the air with a low, oscillating hum that trembles the narrow space. Your sensors begin to adjust, and at last you begin to make out the hell-light that shines off the armor of those that hold them upright, from the bleak and rapacious eyes that gape back at you.

The crimson glow illuminates the ruined form of Legion Armiger, the fist-sized hole in his torso weeping black blood - the identical bloodshine sheen playing across his many, many bodies at the very edge of your vision.

It catches the edges of Adamant Aegis's battered armor, his great lance clasped in his fists - His shield gone, forever, as he lists to the side, his cape a ragged, tattered shroud.

It plays against the ruptured devastation of Iron Ogre's shambling corpse, his gauntlets cased around the grip of his kinetic mace.

-And there are more. Dozens. Every Player, every Hyades Champion who has fought and bled and died - Every sin remembered, every lurching and lifeless form moving with the disjointed, jerking motions of something feral, something inhuman.

Something *hungry*.

Cybele stands amid a shifting prison of red blades, surrounded by the rotting shells of dead Players. The burning swords criss-cross in front of her, hovering over her head, imprisoning her. One of them - Venom Stinger, wasp-wings dead and opaque - has an open maw filled with jagged shards of teeth pressed against her bare throat.

Jaws open wide. To devour her entire head in one huge, all-consuming bite.

(Continued)

>>37460696
So Shion's joke about zombie champions came true after all. Now that's just nasty.

Unfortunately the munchkin half of my mind is saying "Loot the walking corpses for signature weapons". I remember the ice dude had a nifty rifle...

>>37460741
Right now the Carnifex would be really useful.
What's our quickest way to cross the distance and impose ourselves between her and the attackers?

>>37460741
More like this is is a "YOU CAME TO WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD" kind of a moment.

However, I agree with your munchkinery.

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>>37460696

But it is not merely fear that immobilizes Cybele, that locks her in place. Beneath her skin - slithering, like a serpent, like a fractal vein, spreading - is something that moves and shivers with moist life, that crawls beneath her flesh and fans the embers of her mark into that rancid emerald glow...

-A whisper of skirts. Behind you.

A voice, achingly familiar.

"Joker-kun."

A girl. A woman. Large pale eyes, thick black lashes. An infinite softness of features. Midnight tresses held in place by an architecture of jeweled pins, every one glinting violet. A black dress is trimmed in velvet, as she turns with a rustle of fabric and the crinkle of crinoline - It feels as if light radiates from her skin.

Pale, perfect hands folds before her, slender arms sheathed in the gown that every other princess's dress echoes; layered cream fabric, lace, silk...

-Roses.

"-I told you that I'd find a way back." Alura Une says, her head held high; Her voice low, intimate, like a lover's...

-And smiles.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 119

TO BE CONTINUED

>>37460741
No wonder we heard no death reports during the festival. All defeated Champions were kept on auto-pilot while their Player forms were stored in the Demenses of the surviving Hyades.

>>37460754

Maybe we take her and run?

>>37460788

MOTHER. FUCKER.

>>37460788

(Gentlemen; My apologies for ending quite so abruptly, but it is extremely late for me - And tomorrow is the start of the work week.

Good night and God bless - you've been a great audience, and I hope to see you again next time. I'll certainly be looking forward to the next session, which promises to be interesting.)

>>37460788
And it was Alura who did it. Hilarious.

>>37460813
Thanks for running. Lots of chickens coming home to roost this thread.

>>37460823
Shit. so our hyades is infested with the black joker?

how the fuck do we cure that shit?

Looks like Alura is having a giggle at us.

Kill.

Her.

>>37460788
So that's why Alura wasn't among the Hyades competitors.
She was in the Hyades. Rather, she managed to hijack the last Hyades so she'd get the last laugh.

How the hell did she pull that off?

>>37460788
FUCK YOU BITCH

>>37460855
Wait, we ruined ANOTHER plan because of Hellebore?

>>37460788

and we didn't even get the fucking carnifex back.

>>37460788
The killing never ends...

Punch her in the throat

>>37460855

It was implied that iron orgre was Not Himself during the endgames.

Looks like she got to her through a champion's emblem.

Which means that we're in a serious threat position to losing cybele.

If anyone is able to fight off the joker virus, its her healiing powers + our encroachment though.

So i think our play is to port her to the real world and run.

>>37460696
>ne of them - Venom Stinger, wasp-wings dead and opaque - has an open maw filled with jagged shards of teeth pressed against her bare throat.
So its both an infectious-vampire-bit and a hostage-threat.

So yeah. Nihl-poofing is pretty much the only way to go there.

>>37460885
Not quite sure what you mean.
It's just that I realized that if we did away with Mio/ignored her and went straight and true with Cybele... it would have still ended up with Alura vinejacking her.

Heck, any of the Hyades wins, Alura wins harder.

>>37460903
Athame can kill Alura.
This means Alura stays dead.

Cybele will have no easy death, though. Which means that we will have to actually help her.
I'm all in favor of giving her periodic essence charges that we grind in the Red, with the Nihl.

>>37460903
>So yeah. Nihl-poofing is pretty much the only way to go there.
We're running out of charge, though. Might need to consume Alura.

>>37460885

Yes. It's hilarious.

1.) Hellebore wants to possess Mio, but she's thwarted by the White Joker.
2.) The White Joker wants to trap us forever, but he's thwarted BY ALURA UNE, who summons us out of it.

ANY ONE of these plans would be foolproof, but they're colliding with each other.

>>37460849
Athame on Alura. Cybele may or may not be doomed.

>>37460855
Move Alura to the church before killing Kraken. Nothing dies there. After that it's just a matter of being inside the school when the champions die to take the armor after the Essence leaves it, and dunk it in lachryma.

>>37460885
Yeah. Naoya alluded to it. "unnecessary in the end" suggests to me that keeping Alura alive to eliminate the incoming Chalice Queen wasn't a step he needed to take. After all, he took the queen off the board by making Mio bury herself.

>>37460940
3) Alura wants to become Chalice Queen, but us not choosing Cybele means that she doesn't

>>37460948
>Athame on Alura. Cybele may or may not be doomed.

Alright. What if we stab cybele instead?

That should get ot alura through the joker link, and mitigate the infection in one go.

>>37460952

Shit, this means one more thing:

ALURA WAS CONTROLLING CYBELE. That's how Naoya knew that we slept with Cybele, Alura told him.

So their plan was to murder the Chalice Queen with the zombie army, but we gave them a booby prize BECAUSE we picked Mio instead. If we had picked Cybele, Alura would have taken over her.

Fuck, this is amazing. They didn't plan to win the tournament at all, just to control the winner.

>>37460952
Cybele's plan of getting chosen also got fucked over by us not falling in love with her, but with Mio.
This leads to a delicious cycle of plans getting wrecked by each other.

>>37460972
>>37460973

JQOP must have had a lot of fun plotting this out.

>>37460972
Wait, wait a second.
Wasn't Alura Kraken's waifu? If she was controlling Cybele, we've effectively NTrd Kraken.
That's amazing.

>>37461003

But Kraken's dead. Naoya cut his throat.

>>37460973

xanatos trainwreck

>>37460965
Alura is controlling Cybele by literally implanting a vine in her. It's not a Joker bond, or at least anything we can risk on it. Plus if both Hyades die we're stuck in space.

>>37460972
>Fuck, this is amazing. They didn't plan to win the tournament at all, just to control the winner.
...wasn't that obvious from the start? I admit I thought we'd race to claim the armor and have hell break loose in the meantime, but it was clear they didn't expect to fight in the tournament.

>>37461003
This is a recent thing, probably since the Vault opened.

>>37460937

Not that much. We're still fairly charged up, but only a little drained.

>>37461085
GUYS, YOU KNOW WHO'S GOING TO SHOW UP!?

Palladium Rook. Oh yes,

Also, we better contact Imago and hook up with that fucka. See what he's doing. And you assholes thought betraying him would be a good idea, when the shit head is the most honest guy in this series.

So, who can we trust currently? With RJ's record we don't seem to have many allies.

Also, the jumblewreck of all these plans crashing with each other, it's delicious since not a single one of them are working out. Except for the White Joker, probably.

>>37461505
>Except for the White Joker, probably.
He's likely just keeping up appearences.
He's doing something and watching the world crash and burn. And he loves it.

Wait, didn't he talk about a storm?
Was that the storm that happened after we completed the Fatal Abyss?