OP, does the Red Comet have the upgrades that have been queued in the Hollow Sun?

>>38693981

(Which ones? I've checked my notes, and the last upgrade cycle stands as follows:

[X] FIRMWARE UPGRADE (COMPLETE)
[X] RESEARCH: SUPERHEAVY CHASSIS (COMPLETE)
[X] ARC CHARGER (COMPLETE)
[X] CHOIR BEACON (COMPLETE)
[X] DIRAC TRANSMITTER II
[X] NEUTRONIUM REFINERY
[X] TACHYON GENERATOR

I may have missed something, but I don't recall a further Red Comet upgrade.)

>>38694010
Oh, sorry, seems that I mis-remembered.
Seems like the Gravimetric Nexus was already finished before we lost access.

>>38694034

It's darker above ground than beneath it.

In the wake of the bombardment, beneath the Shield, the ominous pall of vapour hangs across the skyline. The sky has congealed into a slick of brown and amber cloud, all wandering slowly against the wind and all common sense. If you could smell it, it would smell like wormwood - or ash. It is the smoke of a burning city, surrendering to the great unmaking all around. Fog and murk spoils the view; the Red Comet's sensors register little more than the vaguest suggestion of shapes, reducing visibility to close to zero. Only the occasional metal creak or squeal breaks the steady grind of treads, the driving ochre dust swirling across you like a shroud-

Within the fog, still. Navigating more by instinct than by the static that filters across the Red Comet's primary sensor-cluster, rumbling down the cracked and blasted streets.

And oh, the things you see. Something that might have been a classroom, once - Things that may have been mannequins sprawled across the tables, like toys discarded by a cruel child. Scraps of bright fabric, that survived the initial torrential rain; now faded, wilted, amid the downpour. At one point, a collapsing tower has blocked off half the street - the combat chassis grinds into reverse gear, shouldering through the shattered remnants of a storefront, flowers and soil scattered underfoot. There are places where the terrible alchemy of gunfire shows, where stark silhouettes - like Hiroshima shadows are burned into the fused matter of the walls.

The rain has failed to quench the firestorms. There is a constant, pressurized sizzle as water meets fire, and veils of steam - rolling like fog - trails from the GARM's limbs. Foul mist breathes in, from the side streets; there are strange, inexplicable noises, crashes and thumps and distant thunder.

Your sensors, hunting for a signal. No contacts.

(Continued)

>>38693966
Aww yeah. Here we go again. How's it hanging, JQOP?

>>38694115

The only thing you can see, as the Red Comet rumbles forward - is a monochrome, fish-eyed view of the combat chassis's infantry compartment; Daegal, and White Licorice. Two survivors out of hundreds, their voices tinny, distorted.

"-beginning to understand," Daegal is saying. The Arsenal Beacon is laid out on his lap, amber light flickering from the segmented joins - the hum of machinery matches the hum of power that issues from within, and his gauntlets curl around the grips of matched Pulse Carbines. A flicker, and they vanish - erasing themselves from existence, to be replaced by the stabbing blade of an electromagnetic gladius. And again-

"It doesn't work for *everything*. This-" He lifts the Condemner, in one gleaming fist. "...has a reaction. But these-" Ion Blaster in his other hand, now.

"-they can't be improved any further. I think-" His head cants to the side, one emerald lens flickering as he stares down the integrated sight. "...I can *use* these..."

White Licorice huddles against the very corner of the compartment; the sway and jostle of the Red Comet, the hiss of hydraulics and the groan and clank of massive metal joints...Still shivering with trauma, her remaining hand clamped to the stump of her severed arm, she says little. Then, so quietly that you nearly miss it, as you navigate around a landslide of rubble-

"...insane." she murmurs, her voice a brittle crackle.

Daegal stops, mid-motion. "What?"

"-worse than before. He's like...a monster. A demon." Even stripped of all emotion, her voice is rising, slowly - "He's - This is where he lives. This is where he *thrives*-" Licorice exhales, sharply, as you take the corner; everything rattles, the light wavering, and it takes a moment before she can speak again. "...so unaffected by this, it scares me."

And Kazuya says - sharply, now -

"He's still Anon. He's still my *best friend*. *And* he saved my life."

(Continued)

>>38694298

Eyes on the road Joker.

>>38694329
I wish we could show an infotainment video on a screen inside of the GARM.

>>38694298
>"-worse than before. He's like...a monster. A demon." Even stripped of all emotion, her voice is rising, slowly - "He's - This is where he lives. This is where he *thrives*-" Licorice exhales, sharply, as you take the corner; everything rattles, the light wavering, and it takes a moment before she can speak again. "...so unaffected by this, it scares me."
That actually raises a good point. Have we explained our background to Kaz yet?
About all those years trapped in the Red.

>>38694344
>The Red And You: An Educational Video

>>38694358
>>38694344
It'd probably sound something like this
http://youtu.be/ld7_S50LZYc

>>38694195

(It's been a busy week. Fortunately, it's the weekend.)

"He cut off my arm-" the hysteria's back in White Licorice's voice, now - the gleaming Joker icon still nailed to her elegant helm, the surface cracked and pitted. "...have to get out of here, to get away from-"

"-It's not safe out there."

"...where we're going?" You turn down a narrow street too fast, and the Red Comet's shoulders jar fragments of brickwork and stone block from a half-collapsed building. It cuts off White Licorice's frantic words - "...following him, we're all going to d-"

"I understand why you don't want to." Daegal doesn't even look at her, as he returns his attention to the Arsenal Beacon. "But you're going anyway."

"You're going to *make* m-"

And Kazuya looks up. There is a note in his voice you've never heard before.

"You don't understand," Daegal says, gently. "If it comes down to it - if someone *has* to die, if I have to *choose*...It'll be you."

A silence descends. Licorice is staring at him, now - Just staring.

"-Uh."

"I want you to be absolutely clear on this. There should be no doubt in your mind - None at all."

"No," Licorice says. "I...I read you. I do. It's just-"

"Good."

She turns away, shrinking back into herself a little more. The silence that descends is total, and deeply uncomfortable.

[ ] "Everything all right back there?"
[ ] "Don't be too hard on her, Daegal."
[ ] "We're going to be fine."
[ ] "Brace yourselves - I think we're reaching the end of the fog."
[ ] Focus on navigation.
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>38694358
>About all those years trapped in the Red.
It was in the Black and not yet. Just said we've been at this since six years ago.

>>38694398
>[ ] "We're going to be fine."
>[ ] "Brace yourselves - I think we're reaching the end of the fog."
>[ ] Focus on navigation

>>38694398
>"We're going to be fine."
>"Brace yourselves - I think we're reaching the end of the fog."
Also, can Kazuya use the beacon to bring us our bits?

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>>38694398
...Dang.

>>38694398
>[ ] "We're going to be fine."
>[ ] "Brace yourselves - I think we're reaching the end of the fog."
>[ ] Focus on navigation.
Glad Kaz has his priorities straight, at least. Bros b4 Hoes, after all.

>>38694398
>[ ] "Don't be too hard on her, Daegal."
"About your arm: If I hadn't cut it off, your sould would have been drained. It already happened to quite a few of the Seisin High girls.
And believe me, losing an arm cleanly is nothing against being cut in half or having a psychotic bitch rape your literal essence core."

"Daegal, the weapons that I gave you are powerful relics. The ones you summon are cheap, mass-factured Hellion weapons. That's why only the former reacts.
If you ever want to throw a sword again, use a Hellion weapon."

>[ ] "Brace yourselves - I think we're reaching the end of the fog."

>>38694398

I am genuinely touched by that.

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>>38694398
>[ ] "We're going to be fine."
>[ ] "Brace yourselves - I think we're reaching the end of the fog."
>[ ] Focus on navigation.

Well okay then

>>38694443
Supporting

>>38694406
>>38694423
>>38694434

> [X] "We're going to be fine."

Your voice is tinny, as it comes across the speakers - Audio-only. Daegal glances up; Licorice flinches, at the abrupt sound.

"-We've made it this far, haven't we?" he says, armored shoulders lifting in a shrug - For whose benefit, you're not sure. "This thing...It's basically a tank. I never thought I'd be *inside* one, but...There you go." Daegal makes a show of looking around the small compartment - "You know, An - I mean, Joker - this *is* pretty cool." His voice trails off, as if to say - in spite of everything else that's happened today.

> "Daegal, the weapons that I gave you are powerful Relics. The ones you summon are cheap, mass-produced Hellion weapons. That's why only the former reacts."

"Is that so?" An Arc Gun's discharger crackles with cising charge, as Daegal levels it - "...Well, I know what I'll be using, then."

There's a THUMP, so heavy it nearly jars the GARM. A shadow of distortion passes across the screen - When it returns, Daegal has the great weight of the ADAMANT encasing his left arm; the surface of the neutronium shield glows, as if fresh from the forge - golden circuitry spiderwebbing across it. A shape is gradually taking form, a stylized face formed from the peerless metal - A beast's snarl, a roaring lion's head.

"...Pretty cool, right?"

He's pushing himself. Trying to sustain a sense of levity, despite the desolation all around - Even as the Red Comet rumbles forward towards an uncertain future.

It occurs to you, belatedly, that Kazuya might be trying to cheer you up.

(Continued)

>>38694398
>"Composure comes from age and experience, Licorice. I didn't lie when I said I was old, you know. Time is not as straight-forward in the Red as it is in the Real."

>>38694542

Even the Adamant changed? interesting.

>>38694542
>It occurs to you, belatedly, that Kazuya might be trying to cheer you up.
For some reason, I find this really cute.

>>38694569
Kazuya was the true waifu all along.
Can we actually romance him, JQOP? Is a gay end possible?

>>38694542
Wait, does that mean he can summon our interceptors?

And fuck yeah, the hero with the neutronium shield and rifle sword.
He could be a Final Fantasy character.

>>38694569
He's a real bro.
I never realized how much he cares for anon.

>>38694542
>Trying to sustain a sense of levity, despite the desolation all around
Can they even see what is outside?

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>>38694565
>>38694542

>>38694647

I thought Adamant was round.

>>38694576
>gay end achieved before engame
>Anon and Kazuya make out
>while this is happening, Red Joker and Daegal make out in the Red
>everyone else who lives watches on in complete disgust and confusion
>Alura and Hellebore's ghost both have fujoshit orgasms
>Naoya shoots himself out of disgust
>Mio comes out of hiding and forgives Anon
>the world is saved through pent up robot homolust

>>38694657
I thought it was a kite-shield.

>>38694542
Wait a sec. Is Daegal based around the GARO armour? Because that's totally how I'm picturing him.

>>38694657
I thought it was a tower or kite?

>>38694672
He's based around Kamen Rider Beast, since that was the image JQOP posted when he was introduced.

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>>38694672
Pic related
>>38694675
>>38694671
Was it? I also remember it as around shield. Might be because Adamant's design was based on Dukemon, though.

>>38694669
kek. Best end.

>>38694687
Oh, okay. Drive remains the only KR I've see, so far, and I have exams the next two weeks, but after that I'll probably marathon the franchise.

>>38694701
Beast is from Wizard. Haven't watched it, but it's supposed to be very mediocre.

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>>38694701
>marathon the franchise.

>>38694706
First episode is best episode ever.
Everything else is shit.

>>38694701
>>38694706
Advice from someone who watched all of Wizard: Watch episode one, then move on. Wizard peaks at episode one, then spends the rest of the series being disappointing as fuck.

>>38694706
Oh. Yeah, heard that too. Or at least dissapointing.

>>38694710
Are you implying that's impossible, anon?

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>>38694580

(Yes. Unfortunately, he can't grant you access to the Relic Vault.)

>>38694542

"Y'know, if you have anything else like this - I'm just saying - this *might* be a good time to-"

> "About your arm: If I hadn't cut it off, your soul would've been drained. It already happened to quite a few of the Seisin High girls.
> "Composure comes from age and experience, Licorice. I didn't lie when I said I was old, you know. Time is not as straight-forward in the Red as it is in the Real."

You're fairly certain she's mouthing - to herself - "*How* old...?"

Then:

"I - I know." She glances in Daegal's direction, as if expecting moral support. Softer, now - "...It - It just *hurts*, that's all. It shouldn't, but - It's like my arm's still there, but I *know* it isn't, and..." A deep breath, her lithe form articulating - "...it's going to get worse, isn't it? Whatever comes next..."

> [X] "Brace yourselves - I think we're reaching the end of the fog."

You might find out soon. Very soon.

And as the Red Comet pushes from the dense-metal fog, the mist thinning out to the mere carrion-smoke wash that hangs across every battlefield-

Crackling, distorted voices breath out across the Dirac Network. Warped by distance and poor reception, barely audible-

"-shit hole now!"

Crackle. "-no good, is it?"

(Continued)

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>>38694699
If it was a round then he needs his on Aquila system and then he's the pursuer

And then it's all ogre

>>38694723
>Are you implying that's impossible, anon?
It will take a long-ass time.

>>38694724
Anon is being gleeful at you marathonning the franchise.

... Either because it's cool to have more people into Kamen Rider, or that the franchise itself is forty years of men in suits kicking other men in suits, and JUSTICE.

>>38694739
And comprehensive knowledge of the Japanese language.

>>38694743
Well, it was meant to be more of a "that's cute" thing.
I'm more of a Precure guy and Kamen Rider has *much* more content than Precure.
And I know what it feels like to marathon even a single season. I watched Gaim as my only Kamen Rider after Wizard left me heart-broken.

>>38694734
>this *might* be a good time to-"
I hope we have enough time to give him Lucifer bits and us our rifle bits.
That should be a shitton of bits.

>>38694739
I have shitloads of time anyway thanks to failiing some courses at college. Seriously, I had like 5-6 hours of school per week this semester and it'll probably be the same this time.

>>38694743
Oh, okay. Looking forward to it, in any case.

>>38694755
>I'm more of a Precure guy
I'm slowly working on Heartcatch after watching Smile.

This should be pretty hype, I've heard oodles of good stuff about Heartcatch.

>>38694773
I personally dislike Heartcatch.
Fresh is far better in my opinion.

Also, you have my sympathy for watching all of Smile.

Description of Adamant:
>this black-banded kite shield

>>38694734

Vector Geist and Steppenwulf. Still alive, despite everything - Even as indistinct garbage comes across the channel. There is an immense amount of gunfire being exchanged, the link tenuous - This close to break apart, under the sound of furious screaming.

"-are we? I mean where the f-"

"-swear, if you don't *shut u-"

"-fall back! They're coming for us! Give me-"

"-GEIST, YOU FU-"

Crackle. Distort. Whine.

Geist's icon - A vague arrow on your HUD - wavers, flickering; This close to being extinguished, for a moment, before it returns. Their faces are small, white, code-blurred representations on your altered HUD, fizzling in and out into blurred code-noise. In a rapid shimmering materalization, Flare Oriole's symbol winks into existence, several kilometers west - Right on the heels of a titanic detonation, a brilliant dome of light that lifts suddenly into the sky, astonishingly bright and vivid. The Red Comet's sensor-cluster automatically dims, the ground trembling as a noise like a thunderclap reaches you-

The Diadem fires again, at some distant target. The aftershock of the blast shivers the grand Shield overhead, Arcadia's towers fidgeting and rotating above the tangled landscape of black rubble and debris.

"-is Oriole, Oriole, broadcasting. Is anyone out there? Is anyone still alive?"

"-half my squad. We're going to try and- "

In the background: "-come on! Move! Don't-"

"...to Silver Cross - Repeat, rendezvous with Silver Cross and-"

A squeal of distortion cuts over the link, harsh enough to make you wince.

"-ustre Crucible here. We're pinned down - We are *pinned down*. There are *hundreds* of those things - Giants, too."

("-this what you meant? The shit he could get us in if he really tri-")

(Continued)

>>38694783
>Also, you have my sympathy for watching all of Smile.
Same to you about any amount of Wizard beyond episode one. Why's Smile so bad? I don't have a very big opinion on it, except the characters are a little static throughout the whole show, which is kind of a big problem.

I should grab Fresh, though.

>>38694801
Time for Kazuya's trial by fire.
Licorice can take a Hollow Sun weapon if she has a reactor. To give her some sense of control back.

>>38694838
Let's see what happens, first. It sounds like there are more of those Simulation Bodies or whatever everywhere, together with more correctors like the one we faced last thread.
Hopefully with less cannon, though.

>>38694838
On second thought, Kazuya could just prime something for her.

>>38694801

They're fighting. Dying. It's impossible to tell how many are still alive - Even as your sensors begin to pick up hard returns. Massive energy discharges, in the east district; the area, you're sure - Accounting for the altered geography - that was closest to the heart of the Festival, before it was swallowed up by the living nightmare of Arcadia and the black rain that hailed down from the skies. Chrome Cypher's icon flickers in and out of existence, like a guttering candle; the channel is open, but the only thing coming across it is the screech of jets - and other, more bewildering sounds, a cancophy utterly impossible to interprete.

Closer to the dormitories, beyond great glass pyramids - One of them collapsing, slowly, devoured by a languorously slow bloom of fiery light that swells and expands, the monumental structure toppling, slowly - there's the slow pulse of Volt Regios's signal...And Distortion Haze's, several blocks away, swimming into perception before being swallowed up again. Southeast.

And, oblivious to it all-

"An - *Joker* - what do we do?" Daegal has a hand clamped against the side of his helmet. "-What do we do?"

[ ] "We're heading North." (Towards Vector Geist and Steppenwulf.)
[ ] "We're heading West." (Towards Flare Oriole's squad.)
[ ] "We're heading North-East, towards the Festival grounds." (Towards Chrome Cypher.)
[ ] "We're heading South-East, towards the dormitories and the residential blocks." (Towards Distortion Haze(?) and Volt Regios.)
[ ] "We're heading South-West, towards Crucible's squad."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>38694916
>[X] "We're heading North-East, towards the Festival grounds." (Towards Chrome Cypher.)

>>38694916
>[ ] "We're heading North-East, towards the Festival grounds." (Towards Chrome Cypher.)
Sounds like she's in the most trouble of the people we care about. Splitting up sounds like a bad idea, else I'd send them to Natsumi and we'd go to Haze and Regios.

>>38694916
>[ ] "We're heading South-West, towards Crucible's squad."

They apparently are being pinned by fuck huge correctors

OP could Kaz summon Hellions?

>>38694916
[x] "We're heading South-East, towards the dormitories and the residential blocks." (Towards Distortion Haze(?) and Volt Regios.)

>>38694916
>[ ] "We're heading North-East, towards the Festival grounds." (Towards Chrome Cypher.)
Rook will probably head to help Haze and Regios anyway.

>>38694916

(Gentlemen, as an addenum - Remember that you're in the Red Comet. You can cover ground a lot faster and more consistently than on foot. You could also fly, with the Tempest Scrander, but that would a strictly solo flight - Also, the skies are contested.

Your Hellion Cycle is faster than the Red Comet, but it's also significantly less protected.)

>>38694947

(Unfortunately, you never purchased that upgrade.)

>>38694916
>[ ] "We're heading North-East, towards the Festival grounds." (Towards Chrome Cypher.)

"We're going to rescue Natsumi"

>>38694916
>"We're heading North-East, towards the Festival grounds."
We should also let everyone know we're not dead, yet.

>>38694966
Can Kazuya pilot the Comet?

Or is this a Joker only. No girls allowed thing?

>>38694916
"Allies are in danger.
Licorice, does your Joker Icon still work? We need the ability to communicate.

Daegal, prime a Hellion weapon for her, just in case.
Also, summon the Lucifer bits. You will need the additional angles of attack. And give me my Rifle bits.

We have two groups of priority targets. Distortion Haze and Volt Regios, as well as Chrome Cypher. The latter is Natsumi.
There are other groups, but we don't have enough people to help everyone right now.

I trust Natsumi's ability to handle herself, but she might still be in danger."

Send messages to everyone.
"Red Joker here. Fall back into my direction. Got guns and a tank."

Also, try to contact Rook. Tell him to support one of the squads.

Shit man. We need more people.

>>38694966
Could Daegal control the Red Comet if necessary?
If yes, it would make splitting up viable.


Can we use the satellite to suppress some of the enemies? Or does it strictly require us to use our own sensors?

>>38694994
It's customized for our use.

Wait, can we give Kazuya the Scrander and use the tank ourselves?
That might be the best compromise.

>>38694994
>>38695002

(Yes, he could. You're significantly better at it than he is, however. Same for the Assault Roader/Hellion Cycle.)

>>38695002
>Shit man. We need more people.
Need to get in contact with Aoba and his people.

>>38695017
No it isn't. The Scrander is pretty fucking hard to use without practice and Kazuya doesn't have enough experience to fight solo just yet.

>>38695023
Okay, then let Kazuya take the tank and White Licorice to Natsumi.

Ask Flare Oriole, Geist/Steppenwulf and Crucible squads about their status. Tell them to fall back to our position if possible.
Contact Rook and tell him about Distortion Haze/Regios.
We take the bike to the team that needs us the most.
Haze/Regios if Rook can't be reached.

>>38695038
What of we left him in the tank while we go burn rubber and relive the pressure on a many squads as we can?

We don't have to kill every single enemy. Just enough that our squads in the most danger have either an avenue of retreat to someplace else or the tank itself, and or just being able to either destroy their enemies themselves or hold out longer?

We could have Kaz fire the tank at certain points for distraction while we do super sanic guerrilla relief ops?

>>38694916
Oriole's squad sounds mobile.
They can fall back and meet up with other teams.
Geist/Steppenwulf sounds like they are in strong danger. Same goes for Crucible.
However, the former are being assaulted by players, judging from the sounds of gunfire. This should be an easier fight for us than Crucible. So I would support those two first. Crucible will likely require more than us to support them.

Chrome Cypher sounds like acute danger. Haze/Regios might also be in danger.

Fuck, this is hard.

>>38695128

(Gentlemen, I'll pick the choice in about ten minutes from now: For now, the consensus seems to be to head North-East, unless I'm counting the votes wrong.)

>>38695099
How about we help Wulf/Geist, then go to Crucible, nuke a bunch of correctors with our satellite and then continue our journey to our three really important allies?

>>38695099
Also meant to add that we don't have to spend all our firepower in one place

>>38695142
It's all kind of dependant on situation.
If Rook is available, I'm sure that he will be enough reinforcements for Haze/Regios.

Chrome Cypher is our priority, due to being Natsumi.

...Yeah, let's go to Cypher. But don't forget to send messages over our channel. Everyone needs to know that we are here and prepared to give support.

>>38695146
The problem is that our "three really important allies" might not survive if we take too long.

>>38695175
We can help Chrome then use the bike to get to Haze/Regios.

>>38695175
I'm afraid that Natsumi's signal might mean that her symbol got removed.

Worst case, Bishamon got her and is using her signal to lure us in.

>>38695191
Yeah, they keep the tank and we go with the bike.

>>38695194
>Worst case
You mean best case. He got rekt even despite having his Hyades' help. With the Athame upgrades + Daegal he wouldn't stand a chance.

>>38695146
Yeah I can back Geist first if anything we can just pop up and already all the players there found a new target I mean they just love Joker every time they see him they just can't help shooting at him

All we have to do is hold out long enough to for ten to retreat afterwards we tyrant burst and mine the fuck off to Crucible.

I sometimes forget just how fast we can move. We can move really fucking fast

>>38695194
Eh, we beat his ass before, we can do so again.
Unless he's undergone some serious changes for the Grudge Match.

>>38695194
There's a sound of jets coming for Natsumi's icon and we know for a fact that she has a relic for flight. It's more likely that she's fighting off correctors up from the air.
Does Bashamon even know that Natsumi's a Player?

>>38695213
>Long enough for them*

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>>38695212
>>38695216
>dead Natsumi is not worst case

(Gentlemen, I'd say North-East for the immediate present, and I'll leave the subsequent one for a later choice depending on how the situation develops. Writing now.)

>>38695230
Assumed you meant as a hostage. Not that he killed her.

>>38695243
We killed his waifu.
He'd might want to do the same to us.

>>38695242
I'm okay with this.

>>38695255
>implying Natsumi is our waifu
More like Kazuya's. And remember: bros before hos, guys.
Then again, JQOP does seem to be doing some cleanup of leftover waifus and plot threads, so...

>>38695274
She's one of our best friends.

>>38695255
>He'd might want to do the same to us.
Unlikely. Bishamon is convinced that Joker isn't capable of love or even caring for people.

Wait what, Bishamon is now rogue and actively against us? I thought he just fucked off somewhere to sulk after his waifu died.

>>38694933
>>38694945
>>38694959
>>38694973
>>38694976

> [X] "We're heading North-East, towards the Festival grounds." (Towards Chrome Cypher.)

You decide.

It's what you do. Thought becomes will becomes action-

> "Allies are in danger. Licorice, does your Joker Icon still work? We need the ability to communicate."

She starts, at being addressed directly - Flinches, really.

"I-" Licorice begins, faintly - then nods. "...I'll *try*-"

> "Red Joker here. Fall back in my direction. Got guns and a tank."

Over the channel-

"-you hear that? Say again-"

"-Joker's *online*?

It's a confused blurt of voices, the Dirac channel washing and crackling again - Fizzling and whining, despite your attempts to boost it.

"-converge on his signal-"

"-some trick, *DO NOT APPROACH*-

"-get the grid, we need to retake the grid-"

"-losing data feed, interrupts are getting worse-"

An electromagnetic screech issues over the channel. The distortion getting worse...?

No. It's an interrupt. A severe interrupt. Overhead - In the main viewer - the frequency of the Shield has changed. Your sensors ping with radiation buildup, as the shimmering green field begins to waver; the output visibly increasing, shading towards blue. Growing more fierce, like a malignant light. Lashing arcs of energy, staggering flares, rip across it in tongues of flame and writhing tendrils of corposant.

An accident, or-

They're countering you. Too late to stop you from getting off a message - From spurring those distant icons into motion, moments before they dissolve into fuzzing white static as the Shield begins to glow harsher, brighter, blue-white, visible even through the black fog and the atmospheric filth. The sheer malevolence is astonishing; Not just to disrupt communications, to cut you off from one another...

To a Player, radiation means nothing. But to an unprotected human - If any still exist, still *surviving* somehow amid the devastation...

(Continued)

>>38695370
It's only guesses.

>>38695370
We haven't really got a clue either way.
Him being out for revengeance is just a hypothetical unless I missed something somewhere.

>>38695389
>"-some trick, *DO NOT APPROACH*-
We need to verify it's us somehow. Do we have some way of doing that?

Also, we really need to start carving Joker symbols in the ground when we beat people again. That shit was ace.

>>38695396
A Bishamon: Revengeance game would end so badly for Spaghetti.

I'm about to depart.
Don't fuck up.

>>38695464
When have we ever got it right?

>>38695472
Honestly, outside of a few dumb decisions, I think we've done pretty okay.
It's just that those dumb decisions were really dumb.

>>38695389
Here's hoping Rook aka A murder of Crows is going up there to fix that

>>38695472
>>38695494
What he said.
We don't fuck up much.
But when we do...
... Welp.

>>38695522
Should have gotten that communicator upgrade when we had the chance.

>>38695538
Or the Advent Caster, for that matter.

>>38695562
Or more Hellion shells

>>38695389

-It means the end is coming, and coming fast.

You hit the ramjet engine. The bludgeoning smack of the boost kicks you back into your seat, as the ground shoots away beneath you like a blur of speeded-up images. At full burn, fire pluming from the main thruster, ducts violently thrown to keep the Red Comet stable as it accelerates to full forward-

The sky and the land becomes a blur. The Red Comet fires itself like a bullet. It is a sudden, savage shockwave approach, as g-forces push you against your restraints, the combat chassis punching through the damned city like a missile-

You're keeping to the main road - A road used for trucks and heavy construction equipment. But the Red Comet's ramjet thruster turns the stretch of arterial roadway into a primoridal maelstrom of ash, flame, dirt and overpressure; Bricks rip up from the streets, tiles from the hovering buildings. In places, the road catches fire or melts to bubbling slag, beneath the spontaneous blast. Half a dozen units catch fire, as the blue-flaring backwash ignites them; the rubble-strewn service streets flashing past-

There's no question of controlling the Red Comet, at full thrust. You merely aim it. The kinetic shield functions like a dozer blade - Anything it slams into is disintegrated, or physically flung aside. There is a salvo of muffled thumps, like a beating of a giant drum, as the Red Comet jumps the sidewalk and mows through a low wall-

Through it. Without slowing.

You are carving a path, quite literally, through the city.

(Continued)

>>38695643
Shit yeah. The Red Comet is earning its name twice over.
Also we're probably killing any survivors left in human form nearby, but who gives a shit.

>>38695656
Okay White Joker calm down there

>>38695643
Anybody got an image of what the Red Comet looks like?

>>38695698
Wouldn't Utopia be a better substitute for edgy?

>>38695698
You can't tell me what to do, anon! You're not even my real dad! I hate you!

File: 1411463550873.png (2.4 MB, 1440x1080)

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>>38695705

>>38695722
Mikogami a shit. Old Joker was a better father figure than that old crazy priest.

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94 KB JPG

>>38695730
Why did you post the unupgraded version?
here's the current Red Comet.

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360 KB PNG

>>38695643

And when you bulldoze your way through a row of shophouses - Ten furious minutes after you began mowing your way through the alien city, making it across nearly twenty-three blocks - the Red Comet goes into a spin. By your estimation, you're not far from the festival grounds; Another street, two more at most - and the GARM, made to soak up punishment, is almost completely immune to anything less than the impact of Player weaponry.

The world blurs as the Red Comet rockets up a loading ramp - landing, skidding sideways towards a row of storefronts-

White Licorice lets out a strangled yelp - part warning and part inarticulate cry - as Daegal's gauntlets lock down on the restraint handles in a white-knuckled grasp-

-And the Red Comet does a three-sixty as it takes flight, the rear end windmilling through the derelict shop windows. You glimpse empty or abandoned displays, blurred wire-mesh windows - but your vision is distorted by the violent spin, as the right side of the combat chassis levels the entire row. The noise of shattering glass is like a wave slamming a breakwater, as the GARM grinds indiscriminately over all obstructions, plunging sideways into the shadows beyond. A silver sleet of debris and rubble heralds your arrival, as the Red Comet slams through a weight-bearing pillar...*Another*-

WHAM

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

White, feathery debris snows down through the dusty air, and the sounds of something collapsing beneath you creaks in the sudden silence. In your rear camera, you can see the buildings succumbing to entropy at last; Collapsing with a tumbling roar of girders, just falling in upon themselves as a cloud of dust boils outwards, obscuring the street...

And beyond, you have a ringside view of Armageddon.

(Continued)

>>38695784
What's behind door number 2...

>>38695784

You've left an immense connect-the-dots trail of half-collapsed and torched buildings in your wake, but that is nothing - *nothing* - against the sight before you. The grand square was the main grounds for the Festival; Now filled with a seething, churning mass of bodies. The bright colors of collapsed tents and overturned booths have been replaced by moiling chaos - a huge blizzard of fire and smoke bleeding into the air, striped vertically with rising smoke and horizontally by tracer fire and jet exhaust plumes-

The distant thump of bombs. The bang of gunfire casting hectic, jumping shadows.

The ground is littered with the tattered and disfigured dead. Blade weapons have sectioned some; energy weapons have blackened and fused others. There are huge wounds in the main square, deep craters that like meteor impacts - structures levelled, towers demolished, pulverised rubble strewn underfoot. There are dark shapes, lurching, sprinting, bounding along the new-made death roads; like wolves, or the shadow of wolves, scads of ash drizzling from a choking black sky-

You don't know how many people were here. From the twisted spires and bramble that rise from the devastation, like tumorous growths - the majority must have been warped into unspeakable shapes, calcified through the flux of their own flesh. But there were potential Players, too - forcibly activated, by the black Lachryma hailing down from above...

(Continued)

>>38695898
>But there were potential Players, too - forcibly activated, by the black Lachryma hailing down from above...
I'm betting we're gonna have to take out a few these crazed by unending pain out to put them out of their misery.
Let's let Kaz do it. The killing blow, I mean.

>>38695898
That remind me OP can we detect Lachryma in other players?

>>38695916
>Let's let Kaz do it
Or how about we tell him what's wrong and what needs to be done. Either split the duty, or we do it ourself. We can't just it let him carry the burden.

>>38695935
That's basically what I mean. He needs to get his hands dirty and if my guess above is correct this is an ideal opportunity.

>>38695898

You see the Manifold tower, first. The great structure centered where the Sterling Industries trailer once was - A cylindrical column, fibrous and knotted with pipes and flutes and tubes of silver and chromium. A machine, vast device made of brilliant white ceramics, silver piping, chromium chambers; Already in operation, bleeding light and twisting color into the skies. In the Red Comet's sensors, it is a blaze of light - Reactors thrumming with furious heat, the air hazing with charge-

And in the shadow of it, all-out war rages. Beyond the mangled and the dying, twisted shapes are locked in combat with gleaming silver figures; there are more, torn to pieces, hacked apart or smoking amid spreading pools of Lachryma and steaming motes of Essence. You only glimpse one front of the conflict - You don't know how long the battle has been raging, or who's *winning*; All sense lost in the moiling swirl of combat. There are Simulation Bodies capering through the smoke; Corrector flocks swirling overhead in aerial battle, hunting calls lost in the blast of missiles-

Flashes of battle:

-a black-bramble juggernaut, cables rippling, holding aloft a masked siren flailing at him with two slicing daggers moments before he rips her in half-

-a Player in segmented plate, his flaming sword rippling as it sears through a half-snake, half-scorpion-

-blasts of ozone-crackling energy spitting from the fingers of a veiled figure, ball-lightning crackling in the heartbeat before the savage swipe of a broken blade takes his head off-

-a whirling dervish with two swords bleeding thick globs of black Lachryma through the rattling chains of his armor, hacking away at a crumpled shape in a high-crested helm and robes of chiming, splintered glass-

(Continued)

>>38696138
Well if we win here let's hope we can negotiate to send some of their forces out

>>38696138
If we participate in this melee, there's no way we're not gonna level up.

>>38696138

At the very foot of the tower, Counterweight squadron - Armaros's command - fights to push the wave of attackers back. There are just over a dozen of them, each one strikingly similar; Standing far taller than a man, faces like sightless skulls of burnished silver hidden behind mirrored faceplates, the sinews and arteries of their bodies formed from cale and wire, encased in anatomical plate-sections of gleaming silver alloy. Enhanced by grafted muscles and activations, the air sizzles with the sparking light of their engaged Distortion Halos-

The fighting is point-blank. It is savage and singular, hand-to-hand. They tower above the forces ranged above them, forming a chain of defense; Webs of lightning cut seething swathes through the knots of gibbering Simulation Bodies prowling forward, disruption orbs exploding with the plosive bang of short-fused grenades. They are chrome centurions swarmed by wild grey and black shapes, the thin line holding, holding - Electrical discharge leaping from eyeslits and spearing from fists, the ground quaking at so many reality-distorting engines engaging. It is like an artillery barrage, forms torn apart beneath concentrated fire, or thrown back, mangled and scorched by the sick light that engulfs them, that pulps and ruptures them-

Chrome Cypher plunges down from above. Her spear is charged with dancing blue sparks - When she lands, at the heart of a Corrector pack, the discharging force hurls their broken bodies aside; Dying webs of charge flickering across the twisting, disintegrating forms. A heavy frame encases her form, sub-arms extruding twin shields that smash aside attacks and smash their blunt faces into anything that closes with her - A shoulder-mounted launcher spits superdense stakes, spikes punching through carapace and flesh and bone-

(Continued)

>>38696254
I'm more interested in whether they have communication technology amplifiers or something we can use to break through the shield.

>>38696279
I hope so because if anything it looks like they have things under control so far

>>38696264
Natsumi seems to be doing okay.
Are we getting any feedback over the network, JQOP? It's been pretty silent the last few posts.

>>38696264

Guess we better haul ass over there and help out.

>>38696315
Honestly, I feel like we should just supercharge the Fusion Annihilator and use a sweeping shot to clear a better part of the Correctors.

>>38696264

When a cackling Player - industrial blades whirring, dirty yellow armor badged with twisting black veins - runs at her, Armaros's fist hits his helm at something like lightspeed. In that moment, the distinction between Chrome Cypher and Armaros is graphically demonstrated - Whereas a shot from Cypher can hurl a broken corpse a yard or two, when Armaros hits a target in the face-

His head simply vaporizes.

Cypher doesn't even turn, as Armaros covers her back - The commander-class Disruption Halo system at his back cycling, thrumming with the frantic moaning of capacitors at full power-

And when it discharges, seething spheres of lightning wink into existence amongst the battling, flailing figures. A heartbeat later, a volcano of dirt and fire erupts from the ground, a twisting column that hurls splintered limbs into the air. There's a momentary lull in the fighting, the swirling melee that rages within and without - the narrow ring of Sterling Industry soldiers holding their ground around the Manifold tower, the larger combat of insane Players against Correctors against Simulation Bodies against the few Smilers that have joined that carnage in a moiling free-for-all...

The ground rumbles.

(Continued)

>>38696314
Did you miss the description of the ECM?

Also, an AP-adjusted Manifold Tower.
Let's ask those people if they want us to activate it.

>>38696426
Shit, you're right, slipped my mind for a moment.
Also, I thought the Manifold Tower was modified to basically strengthen the Shroud.

In other news; someone should really update the Episode Guide.

>>38696496

> In other news; someone should really update the Episode Guide.

(Due to the change in timezones, Watashiwa has informed me that he will no longer be updating the Guide.)

>>38696314

(The radiation is badly disrupting communications. It's mostly static and blurts of shouting. My apologies for the long post, however - This is a very tactically complex situation.)

>>38696362

Part of the top arch explodes, collapsing in a slip of dust and loose stones. There is a tiny flash, at the Diadem-

Something shouts - "INCOMING-"

And then there is an ululating shriek. The air shreds with fizzling javelins of light - It is a rain of death, an indiscriminate salvo of shrieking shots. Explosions blossom against the dense metal frames surrounding the Manifold tower - An entire third of the length detonates, ugly arcs of lightning flaring out in all directions as defensive bastions collapse. Fresh mortar dust spews into the air, great chunks of masonry toppling down like hailing boulders-

Half a building comes down. It falls with grand and titanic grace, across the square - When it hits, the impact is like the end of the world. The struts holding the Manifold Tower in place *snap*, one-by-one, the droning roar building-

All of this in less than a minute's span. Even as you fight the Red Comet back to full readiness, the gyros shrilling beneath you. Within the infantry compartment, Daegal has been flung from his seat - The walls are battered where he's collided with them, White Licorice sprawled bonelessly against the floor-

And Kazuya says - With utter and complete disbelief-

"-Natsumi?"

SHIELDS: 74%
HULL INTEGRITY: 92%
MUNITIONS: 125%
ENERGY: 92%

>>38696528
So, the Manifold Tower just got damaged?

>>38696558

(Yes, from the continued impacts and from the bombardment.)

>>38696528
I'm getting pretty jealous of the Diadem and all its cannons.
>>38696574
Still, we should try and activate it. If it does strengthen the Shroud, it could help a lot with the Correctors swarming everywhere and put a serious dent in the Smilers' plans.

>>38696528
I guess it's time to thin the enemy ranks.
The Disintegrator Cannon could use a single sweep to do it.

Also, deploying Daegal might be useful.

>>38696593
It could also upgrade our guns again, which is a plus.

>>38696528
We really need to get a team into the damn Diadem already

>>38696528
>"I think it's time we provide some assistance, Daegal."
Move to protect the Manifold Tower and start shooting with the Fragmentation Launcher where the Correctors and Simulation Bodies are the densest
Can't remember if this thing has external speakers but whatever:
>"Think you need assistance, Armaros, Chrome?"

>>38696621
That, or just shoot the damn thing with the Quantum Singularity Cannon. That would be cathartic.

>>38696528

(Gentlemen, the situation is as follows: You're on one side of the square, having just smashed through a series of buildings. There is a general, unfocused melee going on - there are multiple Players battling all comers, though it's difficult to identify their specific allegiances.

On the far end of the square is what appears to be a Manifold Tower, defended by roughly a dozen Sterling Industries soldiers, Armaros and Chrome Cypher. The square is still littered with the remains of booths and other obstructions, with barricades blocking the approach to the Tower. The secondary melee is clustered around it, where they appear to be fighting to hold their position.)

>>38696665
I'm >>38696593 and I'm gonna restate my position:
We (as in Joker) need to get to the Manifold Tower and activate it.
What Daegal does is another question; I'd say to let him enter the melee, except he can't really distinguish between friend and foe.
So I'd say to send him to the secondary melee, to help those entrenched there.

>>38696726

(My apologies, I may not have been clear; the implication is that it was part of the equipment they brought with them, not a natural structure.)

>>38696665
If that's the case, then use the Mass Drivers and Chainguns to mow down everything non-player on the way to the Manifold Tower.
Contact Natsumi (at this distance she should at least get a tiny signal), have Daegal grab his best weapons and deploy him near hear so that he can help them.

>>38696665
First step:
Link up with them.
Join the Sterling Industries forces. Ask about the current situation and what needs to be done.

Fire a few controlled bursts into groups of Correctors or Simulation Bodies, if there are any around.

>>38696749
Does the comet have a speaker or any form of communications

You know, the Raptor would be the perfect support unit now.

>>38696918

(Yes, external speakers and your Dirac Communicator.)

>>38696593
>>38696597
>>38696644
>>38696773
>>38696842

(Gentlemen, my sincerest apologies: I'm significantly more exhausted than I expected, and I'm afraid that I'm having a lot of difficulty thinking up the next post. While I have the results of the next round, I'm afraid that my writing quality is beginning to suffer.

I'll strive to continue this as soon as possible, however - Preferably tomorrow, if I have the opportunity.

Good night and God bless - I'm going to have to put a lot of thought into how this plays out.)

>>38696972
No prob. This is like an hour longer than you usually run, so I'm grateful we got this far.

>>38696972
>Dirac Communicator
Huh. That's surprising.

Sleep well, OP.

>>38696972
Adios chief

Fuck. I fucked up the tags when archiving.

>>38697500
The description isn't exactly stellar either.
Stiil, it's serviceable.