Voting is 15 minutes, write-ins are encouraged and will be integrated as smoothly as possible
Dice are 1d100, roll under with an obscured DC. Best of three.

Archive at suptg using the following tag: to aru

>Define "better" for me

3 times I tried to gather like-minded Index fans for the greater purpose of speculation, and 3 times my threads crashed and burned. How do you do it, Bored?

>>40986795
Loyal readers, or the sunk cost fallacy, choose one.

>>40986637
>>”Define ‘better’ for me

Already part robot

What could be better?

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“D’fine ‘betta’ for me Touma,” you slurred.

“Don’t you miss your old life?”

“’member last summer?” you asked him in turn, “Wazz a nobody. Dink about it. Why d’ya care ‘bout me? No reason to.”

He scratched his head. You took it as him conceding and continued,

“Mehbe someday I’ll be free. Play nice, pra-pru-productive memba ‘o society. Dun wit’ all the killin’ and stuff. So far away dough.”

“So keep chasing it,” he spoke, “I’ll help you. I’ll help you all.”

Yeah, that sounded nice.

“’Nother one for me friend here Touma,” you ordered the shopkeep, “’n anozza for me.”

Then Touma had to ruin it by saying those dreaded five works,

“I think you’ve had enough.”

“Enough? C’mon, jus one more, and a song? Huh?”

“How are we even going to get home?” Touma ignored you, “I can’t drive.”

Your complaints were derailed when another glass was placed in front of you. You grabbed it and started drinking. The scalding bitter had you spewing it across the counter and jumping out of your chair.

“Agh, the fuck was that?”

“A coffee, black, less alcohol, more caffeine,” Touma was sipping another milkshake, “I’d say you needed it.”

You were too busy trying to get the burning sensation off your tongue. Great, now it was turning numb. There went your sense of taste for the next few days. Then your head started complaining about the pressure you’ve been applying to it. If only your hands could feel.

“Well thanks a lot,” you groused.

You thought,
>you’ve had enough for tonight
>turnabout was fair play

>>40987295
>you’ve had enough for tonight
Touma has a point; Kyril shouldn't be painting giant targets on them both by getting wasted. Academy City is truly a fucked-up place.

>>40987295
>you’ve had enough for tonight

>>40987295
>>you’ve had enough for tonight

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Well if Touma was stooping so low as to replace your drink then you probably have had enough. You suppose you shouldn’t have been drinking to begin with given that you were the driver but it was too late now. Still you would remember this. As you settled the bill, your mind thought of something to pay Touma back. Perhaps he’d enjoy traffic and over twice the speed limit? Your thoughts on the matter were interrupted by the arrival of another group of customers. All save one wore animal masks. The one without the mask was clearly Code M. You narrowed your eyes, searching through the various facial databases just in case. Touma saved you some trouble,

“You?”

The unmasked Code M wasn’t much shorter than you but his skin was noticeably darker. You assumed he was Etzali. The facial recognition software finally returned a physical match, Unabara Mitsuki. Unlike the masked thugs behind him he wore a uniform of sorts. They broke off from behind him, mostly to go order something as the rest settled in the various booths. You counted at least a dozen of them. One even went to fiddle with the jukebox, switching from rock ‘n roll to something completely different.

https://youtu.be/HkhSZyYmpO4

Past them you could see a blockade of sedans and MPVs. Etzali came and sat down next to Touma. A friendly smile was on his face but you didn’t let down your guard.

“Hey, how’ve you been?” he greeted your friend cheerfully enough, “Good I hope?”

He ignored you as he chatted with Touma which suited you just fine. You were going to keep an eye on him as you discreetly dialled Nayuta’s number.

“It’s all good, as long as you keep your promise,” he said.

Promise? Did Touma owe this Code M something? He turned to you,

“Pleasure to meet you VERDICT, Etzali at your service. I’ve been given to understand that you have something that I want?”

Was he referring to the Parameter List? Nayuta still wasn’t picking up.

>Hear him out
>Take him out
>Other (write-in)

>>40987985
>Hear him out

>>40987985
Do we have the Helmet if so activate CADME and take him out i have a feeling things will get messy either way

>>40988092
Yes we do, if that wasn't clear.

>>40987985
>Hear him out

>>40988107
As soon as I posted that I realized that we did have it on sorry for the stupid question.

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You went with the standard,

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come now, everyone in the business knows that you have the Parameter List. I’m surprised the City hasn’t killed you for it yet.”

You raised the lower portion of your helmet so he could see you smile.

“What can I say? I’ve got a way with words.”

“Right, which is precisely why we’re talking face to face.”

Touma snorted. Etzali ignored him and continued,

“You see, I’m willing to part with quite a bit to get it. If you need anything done, I could probably do it for you to.”

“Anything?”

“Almost anything.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I know you’re not stupid VERDICT. You’re not some robot that’s been programmed to do what you’re told. That means I just need to find the right amount of leverage. Just between you and me? I don’t think you want to go there. What I’m offering you is more than a fair deal.”

In a roundabout sort of way he was threatening you. You supposed that as someone from the more unsavoury parts of the City, he would know more about you than you did him. It was your weakness in this case. The call to Nayuta went to her voice mail.

“If you can’t reach me it’s probably because I’m in the lab, or I’ve been kidnapped, leave a message after the beep.”

You didn’t know if that last part was true or not but you left her a message anyway. Even if you weren’t getting reinforcements soon it was good to let her know anyway.

“So what’s the verdict?” he finally asked.

Your helmet slid down fully to hide how distasteful you found his wordplay. He wasn’t asking for much, only an item that would make him, and by extension yourself, an enemy of the State. Otherwise you wouldn’t know what he was going to do.

>Accept the deal
>Politely refuse
>Attempt to kill him
>Negotiate for it (write-in)

>>40988867
>>Politely refuse

>>40988867
>Politely refuse

>>40988867
>Politely refuse

>>40988867
Can't we at least ask to give us some time to think it over?

Is the Parameter List copyproof? Does he want OUR copy, or just a copy?

Just want to see what angle you're aiming for, Bored.

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Unfortunately his terms were unacceptable. You had already told your mother it was more trouble than it was worth, and well now here was a Code M proving you right. After all you had the most accessible copy of the Parameter List to your knowledge. You were pretty sure they didn’t just hand those things out. Thus, your answer was “no.”

“I see, that is a shame,” Etzali nodded glumly, “Well let’s start with your friends and allies before moving on to your family and loved ones.”

He got up before you could stop him. From inside his jacket he produced an eagle mask.

“You know what to do,” he told his henchmen.

Then he put the mask on and strode out. As one of the black sedans pulled out, the rest of the thugs got up. Your first reaction was to grab Touma and throw him over the counter. By the time that was done the thugs had finished pulling their pieces and blasting you and the resulting décor to bits. Barrier strength fell to 70%, but you think that was mostly because of the shotgun. Seconds later, they needed to reload. A quick assessment of the battlefield followed.

Touma was screaming, the shopkeeper was bleeding but not dead, and the counter looked like it could take a real beating. Barrier strength was slowly recovering but you were sure they had more than enough ammo to take it down and then you were in trouble. They had formed a loose semi-circle around you. Estimated time for an Anti-Skill squad to arrive was five minutes exactly. That was too long. Your options were,

>Fighting retreat, Etzali was the real prize
>CADME, Touma was here to fix you up
>Call and try to hold out for reinforcements
>Other (write-in)

>>40989646
>>CADME, Touma was here to fix you up
Knew we would need to use this

>>40989646
>Call and try to hold out for reinforcements

>>40989646
>CADME, Touma was here to fix you up
Might as well put this thing to good use.

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There were only two people you’d trust to help you shut down CADME if it went out of control. One was with here with you. Even if he didn’t like what you would do with it, you could trust him to stop you. Hopefully being shot at would be enough to justify using it. The mental switch was flipped.

The prey had finished reloading. They fought like women, throwing things at you. It was annoying. Your barrier strength fell but you paid it no mind. Your first step closed the distance on the one farthest from the others. You picked him out and tore off his arm. The spray was warm but it was dirtying your clothes. It annoyed you. You moved on. This close and their guns were useless. The farthest and the smarter ones realised this. Good, easy prey was boring. You swatted the next closest one with the first victim’s arm. It crushed both his head and the appendage you held. Tossing the mangled arm aside, you stepped forward as a blade found purchase in your jacket. The stab only cut through your jacket. It annoyed you.

Grabbing the offending limb, you hurled it out of your sight as you continued striding forward. By extension, whatever was attached to that limb went out the window. It gave you more ammunition. The broken shards were used to scythe them all down. Some were tenacious refusing to go down as jagged pieces orbited around you. A whirlwind of blood and glass lay waste before a shotgun was brought to bear. That stung your leg. It annoyed you. A stray pellet may have found a weapon spot but you had vengeance. The one that dared shoot was paid twice over having his weapon shoved through his ribcage. His death rattle was more of a confused choke as you stepped outside in to the air.

The hunt has just begun, it was time to,
>Find bigger prey
>Assemble the pack
>Other (write-in)

>>40990686
>Assemble the pack

>>40990686
>Assemble the pack

>>40990686
>Assemble the pack

>>40990686
>Poppa K
>Storm (Sparky)
>Magik (Kyouko)
>White/Red Queen (Asuka)
>Colossus (robogirl hero Dinah)
>Jubilee (Kaoru, for the irony)

Unrelated, from last thread.

>>40990686
>Assemble the Pack

>>40990686
>Assemble the pack

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It wasn’t over yet. The most elusive of prey had slipped through your fingers when you could have ended it right there. It annoyed you. It was also sloppy. Still, by the time you find him he wasn’t going to be alone. You needed your own pack, your very own wild hunt. Taking two steps forward, you found yourself on the highest perch you could. Your sight and recollection allowed you to track your prey. You called your pack.

“Found him yet Kyril?” “What do you want Kyril?”

“We hunt,” you growled.

“I’m with you.” “You drunk man?”

Your call was sent out. Now all you had to do keep the prey in sight. He moved fast, but not fast enough. You stalked him from above. When he arrived at his den, he looked up and about. Your form was no doubt visible against the light of the stars. He didn’t quake in fear but that just made breaking him that much the better. You fed your anticipation as you waited. Below, smaller prey roused to defend their den. Your patience was rewarded eventually. The arrival of your packmates wasn’t quite a roar but it was noticeable.

“Alright Kyril we see you on the tower, how are we playing this?” Sagara had deferred to you.

“I’m just glad it’s the weekend,” the whiny Kyousuke added.

They had arrived by air. It was all very intimidating. It was another way to exert control. Armed as they were, prey had to be taught their place, taught to fear. You were going to,

>Take them head on
>Separate and pick them off

>>40991473
I AM THE BATMAN
>Separate and pick them off

>>40991473
>Separate and pick them off

>>40991473
>>Take them head on

>>40991473
>Separate and pick them off
Go Splinter Cell on their asses.

Splitting the party it is, I require 1d100.

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>40991761

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>40991761

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>40991761
DO YOU BLEED?

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>>40991824

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>40991774
Odds are good.

>>40991473
What about Touma?

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>>40991854

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You had assigned them each a task. Fear was for the enemy, fear and bullets. You leapt down as your packmates hung above. While you hunted on the ground, they would pick off those from their perch, likes birds of prey. You fell in their midst. The earth cracked as you landed, throwing the fodder left and right. One of the few managed to loose, letting a lance of fire off in to the night. It impacted a nearby building.

“Shit they had an RPG? That was close.”

You ignored Kyousuke’s pointless chatter. It was annoying. Still he was adequate enough in bringing down those in your blind spot. Animals rushed you and with a sweep of your hand you could send scores of them flying. Without a care, you strode forward. They came at you with gun, with blade, with claw, but it was all in vain. You crushed them all, with earth, with metal, with impunity. Each was but a bloody footprint of a giant if they were not mercifully put down before you had managed to focus your attention on them.

“Kyril we got a call from Touma, said we should wait for him,” Sagara informed you.

“Yeah, maybe we should wait for him,” Kyousuke added needlessly.

Your eyes narrowed. The other predator, he was either here to hunt, or to interfere. Neither was acceptable. You strode inside the den. It was dark but your sight was not impeded, not for long anyway. The sounds of animals fighting earlier had died down to but inaudible moans. Here there were fewer. With little light and how separated they were you made a sport of it. Not all went in to shock immediately. Those were the ones that pleased you the most as you could use them to find their leader.

It was a good thing he wasn’t cowering in his little hovel. In his hand was a wicked implement that glowed as golden as he did. It was time to,

>Finish this quickly
>Approach with care

>>40992505
>Finish this quickly
Don't give him time to do whatever

>>40992505
>Approach with care

>>40992505
>Finish this quickly

>>40992505
>Approach with care

>>40992505
>So... How would one go about meeting a Kamon?
>...Want to go shopping in town for the other parts of the outfit with me?

>>40992666
>>40992505
Ohohoho fuck me, this is what happens when you play multiple quest.
My bad.

>>40992505
>Approach with care

>>40992505
>Finish this quickly

>>40992505
>Approach with care

Rolled 1 (1d2)

Disregarding that strange vote here
>>40992666
It's a tie.

1. Rush
2. Don't rush

>>40992938
>tie
>>40992581
>>40992646
>>40992758
>>40992901

>>40992551
>>40992623
>>40992765

?

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You pounced immediately. Regardless of the consequences, you knew you could not let him use his weapon. You had learned from a competing predator of the danger that his weapon could pose after all. It was annoying. It was also inevitable. There was only one other way out and you took him for a ride with you. The lunge took the two of you out the window as the two of you grappled. Outside of his knife and his tricks, your prey was harmless. You had to defang him.

The landing was rough. Having hit the ground first you were also the first to pick yourself up. Your prey lay sprawled, disfigured as he was by the landing. He got to his knees scrabbling about for his teeth. You weren’t going to let him get to it. Of course you could tell now that you weren’t alone. Standing not far away was Touma, the other one. He was eyeing you, eyeing your prey. He stalked forward, knowing full well that even your considerable might was nothing to him. Where were your packmates? They should have stopped him from interfering. Instead they were nowhere to be found. It annoyed you. The last time, he had almost interfered with your hunt and you did not want him to do so again.

“VERDICT,” he addressed you.

It was a warning tone. So he was going to interfere again. You didn’t know which to go after first. He had closed to within striking distance, circling around to get between you and your prey. It annoyed you. You recognised that you would only have enough time to go after one or the other.

>Predator
>Prey

>>40993484
Vote is fifteen minutes sir.

>>40993503
>Prey

>>40993503
>Prey

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>>40993503
>Predator

Last time we tried to ignore him and get on with our wizard hunting, we were treated to a knuckle sandwich and a couple of fistfuls of gravel for our trouble.

Well then, going after your quarry will require a 1d100.

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Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>40993908
Satan, give me strength!

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>40993908

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>40993908

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>40993908
Here goes.

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>40993969
Ooooh very close.

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>>40994019
>that roll

I will never question any of Touma's victories in his own canon again.

>>40994019
I hate touma so fucking much

>>40994333
he really is an awful character

>>40994019
using a DC and then an opposed roll is stupid.

>>40994527
You don't know what he's rolling for, dingus.

>>40994601
Probably the length of toumas obnoxious speech

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No one got between you and your prey, not if you could help it. You stepped forward, taking to the skies once again. You were going to swoop down on your prey. Touma knew this too. How fitting, you thought. It was too bad that he would be too late. Your prey fought back too but only enough to prevent himself from dying outright. It annoyed you. Still, your landing crushed concrete and his arm. His cry had told you that you had missed his arm. Before you could strike the killing blow, you were swept off your feet. Touma had tackled you.

By the time VERDICT had rebooted, you were surrounded by Sagara, Kyousuke and Touma. A fair bit away laid Etzali. You weren’t sure what they did but he was unconscious and missing most of a proper right arm.

“You okay now?” Sagara asked.

“Same old, same old,” you replied, “Now do you know why I need Nunotaba.”

“I really don’t see the problem,” he said simply.

“Aside from the, and I quote, ‘murderboner?’” Kyousuke was incredulous, “ I think you’ve been out of touch with living on the same side as the law Sagara.”

“He still needs to be taken care of.”

“I didn’t come here to stop VERDICT because he was going insane,” Touma interrupted.

“What’s that Kamijou? You think that letting him go is going to solve anything? He’ll be dead in a week. At best you’re just sparing your conscience,” Sagara shot back then turned back to you, “You mind lending me your gun?”

You reached for the pistol in your jacket.

“While I honestly don’t care about this guy can we at least get your opinion on this?” Kyousuke asked you specifically, “You know, compromise?”

“A solution where no one wins,” Sagara sighed, “What’s the verdict then?”

>Execute him and be done with it
>He sees justice with Judgement
>Other (write-in)

>>40994820
>Still, your landing crushed concrete and his arm. His cry had told you that you had missed his arm.
what

>>40994820
>He sees justice with Judgement

>>40994820
>>He sees justice with Judgement

>>40994820
>>Other (write-in)
Draft him into your branch. Betrayal or desertion gets him a new hole where his brains used to be.

>>40994820
>Execute him and be done with it

>>40994820
>He sees justice with Judgement

>>40994820
>He sees justice with Judgement

>>40994820

>>Other (write-in)

Seconding >>40995050

>>40994820
>He sees justice with Judgement

>>40995050
This sounds best, because the moment he steps into the "official" process, someone else is gonna silence him anyway. AC will not leave any remnants of its darkness open.

>our entire mission was to kill this guy
>not even a mission from the city, this was something we set out to do ourself
>Hand him over to Judgement anyway.

>>40995050
i'm with this one

>>40995050
He's missing an arm which probably makes his disguise skills useless.

>>40994862
Good catch, I'm on closing in on 24 hours of no sleep.

From the fifteen minute mark, I'm reading
4 for Justice
1 for Execute
2 for the write-in

I hope this is correct.

>>40995229
He can always steal the face of a dead man. Like his subordinates. They won't need their reps anymore.

>>40995263
I don't see why we can't incorporate the first and third option; they're basically the same thing, sorta. The only difference is we have direct control over his "sentence".

I don't think we have the authority to recruit

And I wouldn't be surprised if AC puts him with us anyway

>>40995315
i agree plus he knows not to fuck with us anymore

>>40994820
>Execute him and be done with it
If we don't we have to deal with the Aztec cabal as well

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You didn’t think simply executing him while he was at your mercy was going to sit well with Touma. Thus you went with the option that kept your hands relatively clean. You were turning him over to the mercy of the system. Chances were good he was going to end up the City’s bitch, like you were. Still, if there was a chance, you were going to try and get him to be your personal bitch by joining your branch of Judgement. It was a long shot and you honestly didn’t have the authority for it but you were going to try anyway. This way something good would come out of this. It meant that the Aztec cabal would be here to stay but it wasn’t like they were going to do anything with the Catholics as a counterbalance. You hoped they would anyway.

The time is now late morning, the weather is heavy, and the date remains unchanged.

You had been filing reports to Nayuta pretty much all morning. She had been rather upset that you had gone on another rampage yet again. It wasn’t like the City couldn’t spin it so that it looked like you weren’t responsible. After all it had been a late night massacre and it wasn’t like the CCTV footage couldn’t be doctored. Conspiracy theorists would rant and rave from few replaced frames and junk bits. Before you left for lunch however, there were several matters to attend to. First of all there was the matter with the Aztec cabal. You were going to have to clean them out now that you were planning on ‘keeping’ Etzali. The other was making sure he ended up in your employ. Sagara had already told you that Nunotaba would be flying over on the next plane from the Bahamas and was expected to arrive tomorrow morning.

What first?
>Deal with the Aztec cabal
>See to the Etzali situation

>>40995806
>See to the Etzali situation

>>40995806
>Deal with the Aztec cabal

Kyouko wants those squatters gone

>>40995806
>See to the Etzali situation

>>40995806
>Deal with the Aztec cabal

>>40995806
>Deal with the Aztec cabal
Why do you guys even want to recruit this guy?

>>40995806
>See to the Etzali situation
The sooner Kyril can confirm he hasn't already been silenced, the better.

>>40995893
It's not so much recruiting as it is that his cabal's interest in him would give Kyril a way into making sure it doesn't come for him next. Politics is always the name of the game.

>>40995806
>See to the Etzali situation

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The time is now early afternoon, the weather is mildly confused, and the date remains unchanged.

To say that Nayuta was taken aback by your suggestion was an understatement.

“Nii-chan, has CADME finally eaten your brain?”

You had to admit, the idea was rather irrational for you too but you had the perfect defence,

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Nayuta continued glaring.

“It’ll work out fine. If the City could turn me, a thief in to a combat cyborg with little else but the defence and welfare of the City as its life, I’m sure they could cook up something with a proper Code M,” you argued.

“The Board won’t be happy but then again it’s all a matter of spin,” Nayuta sighed, “Alright then, let’s see what we need to bring him on board.”

She handed you a few files. Interestingly there was no known motivation for Etzali’s actions aside from his unusual fixation with Sparky. At least, as far as everyone who had investigated him had known. You supposed that he could be properly motivated, especially now that you had essentially left him powerless. After all, there were plenty of things you could do with a master of disguise.

“We’re going to have to go see him though, and you’re going to have to convince him yourself nii-chan,” Nayuta continued, “If he doesn’t want to play, I’m not going to force him.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“A lobotomy, or the electric chair, could go either way,” Nayuta shrugged.

Well you suppose that could serve as proper motivation then.

Episode End. Sorry lads I’m blinking in and out of consciousness.
https://twitter.com/BoredofDirector
The Pitch. Followed by a trail of tears and broken promises. Do you have a high enough diplo score? When writefag and /tg/ meet, the story begins.

>>40996474
See ya man, get some well earned rest!
Thanks for running.

>>40996474
Archived, see you next time

>>40996474
thanks for running and good night(?) whatever go get some ZZZs