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[2/2]


“That’s mainly because due to the construction principles o- you know what it doesn’t matter.” Mochire says standing up from the couch. “I’m heading down to get some breakfast before Marina eats it all again. Good luck with your training Ms. Samurai.”


“Ugh... I hate that name.” you mutter to yourself as you look at your clock, seeing it's still 7:45 in the morning. You’ve been training for nearly three hours at this point, so seeing what the others are doing now could be an entertaining distraction at least.


- Talk to Mochire (He seemed to know something the other day about Neptune, or what ‘pelagials’ are)

- Talk to Osvald (What kind of internet blocks are on the city specifically? I know we can’t upload, but what about anything else?)

- Talk to Dexter (I still can’t believe you can change your gender like that, but did you manage to escape yesterday after the mission without getting shot?)

- Talk to Marina (I guess behind that bottomless hole of a pastry eater she is living up to her capability as a fighter, compliments should be given out when needed)

- Talk to Wendy (I should apologize to Wendy directly for failing the mission the other day)

>What is this quest?


Alchemical Blade Prequel Quest, a quest set in the Modern version of Creation from the Exalted setting, focusing on how the robotic Alchemical Exalted came to be within the setting. If you love hints of Cyberpunk and high action quests, then you may enjoy this quest.


>Who are we?


The quest is mainly going to be played out in flashbacks, in which during the flashbacks we take control of the Moonsilver caste Alchemical Exalted Junpaku Hibiki, while in the current time you play as “Anonymous”. The game will take place within the city of Versino within the central continent of Creation Meruvia. Labelled as a dangerous and murderous science experiment gone rogue, you need to evade forces of the mightiest army within Creation sprinkled with the powerful Elemental supersoldiers known as the Dragonblooded, trying to find out who is responsible for what you’ve become and how to escape their clutches once and for all.


>Alchemical? Moonsilver? I don’t know anything about Exalted, much less Modern Exalted...


I’ve made this quest to be as friendly to newbies as possible, and I also see it as an introductory guide to the World of Modern Exalted. You can google “1d4chan Exalted” for information on the general vanilla setting, but what I’ll be using is the Modern Version of Exalted as shown in “Shards of the Exalted Dream” book, in where its Alchemicals are quite different than those of Vanilla Exalted. Feel free to ask any question about Exalted in the thread and I will do my best to answer it.


>Archive?


http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Alchemical+Blade+Quest


>System?


Dicepool system. When performing an action, everyone rolls a number of d10’s based on what the action is (I will list the pools for most actions, but if you want to have a roll for an action, ask and I’ll make the dicepool for it). The first roll is the one that’ll be used, but if someone makes another roll for a different action and more people vote for that, I’ll be using that one instead.


>This seems hella complicated, is there any way you can boil things down for me?


http://pastebin.com/NexXpPC1


>XP?


Favored Attributes cost 4 XP per dot to increase (Underlined on stat sheet when released) while non-favored ones cost 5 XP. Abilities themselves cost 3 XP per dot to increase naturally. All charms cost 6 XP per purchase with Dedicated slots costing 4 XP each and General ones costing 6 XP each. At the end of every “mission” (In game objectives set by either me or some goal the audience desires) you will be presented with a possible acquisition list of charms. Experience can also be gained by developing the character, learning about the world, or just in general things people find interesting.


>Twitter?


@Sandact6

>>751367
>- Talk to Wendy (I should apologize to Wendy directly for failing the mission the other day)

[1/2]

You decide that your first course of action should be to apologize to Wendy for the shameful performance you had the other day in the tanker, and how it was directly your fault for the Doctor managing to get away herself.


You head on down to the bar, Wendy herself behind the countertop at the bar, drinking a large bottle of whiskey in her hand as the other hand goes over a tablet showing the morning news.


“It's too early in the morning for you to be complaining about my drinking habits.” Wendy says to you without looking up from her tablet.


“No, it's not that.” you say stopping in front of Wendy before making a deep bow in front of her. “I wish to apologize for my shameful actions the other day.”


“Shameful actions?” Wendy asks you.


“It was because of me that Doctor Ledeel got away. Everyone managed to perform their objectives successfully except myself. I let the very person we were trying to stop run away, and I feel that my own inadequacy is to blame.” you say while still bowing, still as a statue.


You can hear Wendy give a small sigh as she puts down the bottle. “Stand up.”


You feel a large lump in the pit of your stomach, hesitating for a moment before you finally stand back up to look at Wendy at the eye.


“Not used to failure I take it?” Wendy asks.


“Excuse me?” you ask in return.


“I asked if you’re not used to failure. Given your perfectionist attitude, failure and something not going your way are things you’re not used to. You’re used to things going exactly as planned without a hitch, but tell me how does your plans often apply to swordfighting?” Wendy asks you.


“I... apologize. I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.” you tell Wendy.

[2/2]

“I’m sure your fighting style has elaborate plans and philosophies on how to approach, attack, defense, or pull back from an opponent. But what happens when your first attack goes wide and that counterattack the opponent makes narrowly just clips your head? What I’m saying is plan ever survives contact with the enemy. The vast majority of plans made often involve elaborate and detailed strategies starting out, but after the initial exchange things just devolve into chaos with both sides then trying to beat their opponent or until one backs off.” Wendy explains. “You were not the only person who screwed up in that last mission. Mochire himself shot down a helicopter that was directly above the shipyard and didn’t think that’d crash into the ship itself.”

“But I let Doctor Ledeel get away...” you mutter under your breath.

“That’s unfortunate, but we’re all still alive. I’d rather all of us be alive than one of us stuck under the collapsed hull of that ship. Things will certainly be more difficult down the road yes, but we stressed our point to the military that we do have the nerve to actually attack them. Did you learn anything from that operation?” Wendy asks you.

- “I learned that I am not a dog person, and if sorcerers try summoning pets again in the future that I should dispatch them immediately.”

- “I learned that I shouldn’t underestimate my opponents from now on. I thought just because she was a doctor that her martial training would be sub-par.”

- "I learned that one's own allies are truly the best swords or shields one can bring to an encounter, and in the future I shall less overconfident in my own abilities and learn to call upon my allies more."

- Other

>>751581
>- "I learned that one's own allies are truly the best swords or shields one can bring to an encounter, and in the future I shall less overconfident in my own abilities and learn to call upon my allies more."

"I learned that one's own allies are truly the best swords or shields one can bring to an encounter, and in the future I shall less overconfident in my own abilities and learn to call upon my allies more." you reply to Wendy.

“Then that’s all that’s to it.” Wendy replies. “I heard the stories from Father Marcellius and Marina. You weren’t slacking off at any point during that entire fight, and from what I heard it was a bad foothold that made you miss the last attack. If anything I should be more upset at Mochire for crashing the ship.”

“I... Yes, thank you for your words Wendy.” you say giving her a small bow once again.

“The sting of failure sucks kid, believe me I know it. I’ve had more than my fair share of cold cases when I was a detective.” Wendy says about to drink some of the bottle of whiskey, but stops just before drinking it. “By the way, have you seen Father Mercellius upstairs?”

“Only about two hours ago during my training. He stopped in to see how I was doing quickly, haven’t seen him since.” you reply.

“He must’ve stepped out... He was telling me that he was planning a visit to Saint Mara Immaculate Church downtown. I told him the idea was stupid, but he wouldn’t have any of it. Can you go check up on him? I’d go myself but I don’t feel like wandering through the sewer to avoid drones.” Wendy tells you.

“I’ll give a report back as soon as I can.” you say as your faceplate closes, turning around towards the exit of the hotel as you fade from sight.

******

A half hour later you arrive at the church proper, a white brick building that is just directly next to the Central Park. Two large spires can be seen as the Rose Window itself shows a stylized image of its patron Saint, Saint Mara the Innocent. A large group of civilians can be seen in front of the church, many of them appearing to be people in clear duress as they seem to cry with only a single backpack of clothes, if that. Down the street around the corner of the park you can see what appears to be a military patrol of two APC’s with a squad of soldiers slowly combing the streets.

“Is Father crazy? Coming out to the church when the military do active checks in this area?” you grumble to yourself as you look down at the people below.

- Approach via the rooftop entrance as stealthly as possible, attempt to find Father Mercellius yourself.

- If Father Mercellius is here than the church must be friendly at least. Attempt to locate the pastor and ask him where Father Mercellius is.

- Other

>>751674
>- Approach via the rooftop entrance as stealthly as possible, attempt to find Father Mercellius yourself.
Best not to allow the pastor to get in trouble.

“Can’t take the chance of anyone seeing me talk to the pastor. I’ve got to find Father Marcellius.” you say leaping off of the building overlooking the church, your cloak deactivating but your body now merging with the invisibility of the wind as you land directly onto the roof of the church, heading up towards one of the spires that contains a belltower.

“Apologies about this Father.” you say cutting the lock off with your sword before climbing down into the bell tower itself.

As you climb down into the upper levels of the church, you look down into the atrium and see the rows of seats normally there for mass pushes aside, people now sleeping on the floor of the building, with large amounts of food and medicine stuffed into a corner.

“Were these people who lived near the Heptagram University when we broke out? ...No there’s far too many people for that.” you say to yourself as continue to walk along the upper balcony. Hoping that you can at least find Father Marcellius by his voice alone, you activate enhanced hearing, the receptor nodes in your ears activating at full power. All of the conversations in the building and even the outside can be heard with near perfect clarity while your HUD transcribes all of them for you in a small corner of the screen. You filter through all of the voices one by one before you finally find one that matches Father Marcellius voice pattern.

“...He’s over here it seems, in the rear office.” you say as you continue along the second floor, heading to an office in front of you. Selecting your Omnitool, you hand reaches into the door in which you deftly unlock the ancient door, ever so slowly opening it up.

“Hm? Is someone there?” Father Marcellius asks as he slowly stands up from his kneeling position on the ground in front of a stained glass window showing Divis Mal’s own divine Sun, Lucien standing above everyone with a halo of light around his head.

“Its Hibiki Father.” you say as you close the door in front of Father Marcellius and decloak in front of him.

“Oh Hibiki, I apologize for not coming back sooner. Father Conway needed more help than I thought.” Father Mercellius explains.

- “Help? What sort of help?”

- “Forgive me for saying this Father, but are you crazy? The military is doing active patrol routes in this area. If they find you here they’ll light the entire church up.”

- Other

>>751787
>- "Father, why are you here? It's incredibly dangerous. For both you and those here."
>- “Help? What sort of help?”

[1/2]

"Father, why are you here? It's incredibly dangerous for both you and those here." you tell him. “This isn’t like the hotel, as this area has both large amounts of people inside of it and the military actively patrols this area.”


“When I became a man of the cloth Hibiki I swore to help those who need it most. As of right right now those people down below and Father Conway are the ones that need help the most, the ones who flocked directly to our banner.” Father Marcellius explains. “As for safe ways in and out of the church, lets just say that this isn’t neither I nor Father Conway’s first time of trafficking wanted people, so you need not worry on that front.”


“What sort of help?” you ask Father Marcellius. “In fact who are those people down there? There are way too many people down there just to be the ones closest to the Heptagram itself.”


“Ah yes, w-”


“Pardon me for the intrusion.” A man says slowly opening the door on the other end, appearing to a bald man in his late 50’s entering the room with a spotless black pastors uniform on him. As soon as he enters, he nearly jumps back at the sight of you. “W-W-Who ar-”


Father Marcellius raises a hand up towards Father Conway in an effort to calm him down. “Relax Father Conway, this is one of my partners I’ve told you about before. Her name is Shinobi.”


“A pleasure to meet you Father.” you say doing a bow towards him. “I would’ve performed the rites of tribute to the patron gods of this church, but I had to be certain of Father Marcellius’s safety.”


Father Conway gives a small cough as he straightens himself upright, pushing up his glasses a bit. “Yes well, nothing can be done about such things in such trying times.”


“I was just telling Shinobi about the current problems with the people staying in your church, but I think you are better suited to describe the situation.” Father Marcellius says.


“Yes well, the situation is somewhat bleak, and I fear it's only going to get much worse over time. There are some people here who lived around the Heptagram after the breakout occurred yes, but the majority of them are refugees driven from their homes.”


“Refugees? Here? In Versino?” you ask skeptically.


“I’m afraid so. It appears those of your kind, Alchemicals I believe, who were tainted by the dark whispers in their souls have also settled down in the city. As a result we’ve had numerous reports of horrific things coming in, such as cancerous growths around augmentations people have that eventually control their bodies, stitched together machines that are wholesale collecting people, or even machines such as floor cleaner bots suddenly growing metallic mouths to hurt or kill those who own them.” Father Conway explains.

[2/2]

“I was worried that the Apostates and Gremlins would also break out of here...” you mutter to yourself.

“There was nothing we could’ve done about that Hibiki, we barely made it out as is.” Father Marcellius explains.

“Still, how are you getting Father Marcellius to help? Good will work is hard to do when you can’t be seen amongst the public for fear of either you or those you’re helping getting shot.” you ask.

“Father Marcellius has a... unique skill set tailored for dealing with such unfortunate souls. He’s pledged to not only help protect the church against Gremlin attacks in the future, but also help guide those poor souls who are in still such areas and spread notice amongst the city that we are doing our best to set up a shelter for those who need it.” Father Conway explains.

“How do you even plan to spread word? Electronics in such zones are more of a liability than an asset.” you reply.

“Paper mediums, such as flyers, still exist despite being less common in this day and age.” Father Marcellius explains. “We put them up in high risk zones and let the papers do the rest. Which brings us to our next po-”

“You want me to put the posters around the city.” you finish the sentence.

“If you’d be so kind.” Father Marcellius says with his typical soft smile on his face.

- “This is nuts. You’re treating the disease rather than eradicating its roots. Why not dispose of the Apostates and Gremlins in the area?”

- “Isn’t this the military’s job? Why aren’t they doing anything about this?”

- Insert own question here

- Other

>>751926
>- "I'll do this, but shouldn't we go after the Apostates and the Gremlins to stop the spread of the disease rather than treat the symptoms, so-to-speak?"
>- "I assume that this is continuing to happen due to the military having other priorities?"

"Shouldn't we go after the Apostates and the Gremlins to stop the spread of the disease rather than treat the symptoms, so-to-speak?” you ask them both.

“The spread of the Gremlins is simply too fast and too numerous for us to contain by ourselves.” Father Marcellius explains. “While the blanket ban on uploading has managed to keep the Gremlin virus isolated here in Versino, there is no way to completely halt the spread of every single one when even Flyspy drones are capable of hosting it like some sort of mosquito from hell.”

"I assume that this is continuing to happen due to the military having other priorities?" you then ask.

“The military are chasing after both the gremlins and us. Granted the Gremlin nests are easier to locate most of the time, but fighting those is often a big ordeal for them.” Father Marcellius explains.

“With the rate that people are coming in, it's clear that the military is not able to keep up with the spread of the threat.” Father Conway tells you.

“The other reason I ask for you to go is because no matter what kind of creatures are in that area, be it military or gremlin, I have confidence in your ability to avoid detection by them.” Father Marcellius tells you.

- Ask the two other questions

- *Sigh* “Where are the papers?” (Continue with side-mission)

>>752016
>- "I assume that you already have food, clean water, and space for those that come here? Keep in mind, that if things are too obvious here, you'll become a target for the Gremlins, Apostates, or worse."
>- "Is there any way that we could scout these nests or deploy some sort of counter-virus? Heck, something that removes the wireless capability of a device should help."

"I assume that you already have food, clean water, and space for those that come here?” you ask Father Conway. “Keep in mind, that if things are too obvious here, you'll become a target for the Gremlins, Apostates, or worse."

“We’ve got plenty of supplies for the immediate time and even forwards into the future a tiny bit. Thankfully even if the church itself is full we’ve got tents we can pitch up by the end of the day and more good samaritans who are willing to share their homes.” Father Conway replies.

"Is there any way that we could scout these nests or deploy some sort of counter-virus? Heck, something that removes the wireless capability of a device should help."

“Shinobi, you are basically one of the best people who can scan for such nests. Moonsilver Alchemicals are made primarily to be scouts themselves. We could use hijacked military drones as well, but those won’t do things such as go inside buildings to look around, which is where the Gremlin’s primarily congregate.” Father Marcellius says before appearing to be depressed.

“What’s wrong Father?” you ask.

“Shinobi, I don’t know if anyone told you this yet, but there is no cure for Gremlin syndrome. Once someone has it the only thing you can do is to put them out of their misery.” Father Marcellius tells you.

“What? Are you serious?” you ask him.

Father Marcellius gives a solemn nod. “Our overplanning friend ‘Pointdexter’ can tell you more if you wish, but what I understand is that the Gremlin virus lurks within each and every Alchemical, laying dormant like a cancer until a desire for more power at any cost brings it to the surface.”

“Its... regrettable that we have such a situation, but if you find anyone with the Gremlin Syndrome virus the most compassionate thing you can do is to put them out of their own misery, give them peace before they turn into rampaging monsters.” Father Conway says.

“This is starting to sound like a zombie apocalypse movie.” you bitterly reply.

“Please don’t jinx me like that, the last thing I need is for all the people in the graveyard out back to rise up.” Father Conway says, giving a slight chuckle from Father Marcellius.

- Ask the two other questions

- *Sigh* “Where are the papers?” (Continue with side-mission)

>>752099
>- "Is there any way to counteract it in someone who has contracted the syndrome if done immediately, such as removing any cybernetic parts immediately?"

>>752099
>>752169
“Where are the papers?”

[1/2]

"Is there any way to counteract it in someone who has contracted the syndrome if done immediately, such as removing any cybernetic parts immediately?"

“Maybe, I’m not sure. The only gremlins I was ever forced to fight were pretty far gone themselves.” Father Marcellius tells you. “All I know is what Bell and Osvald told me themselves in that once and Alchemical contracts it, there is one way to get rid of it. You’d need not only to kill the current host in order to prevent them from spreading the virus, but also clean the Alchemical core in a special fashion.”

“I know you are troubled by this Father Marcellius, especially during dark times such as these, but know that lesser men, myself included, would’ve long since caved in to the mental pressures that you are feeling.” Father Conway says. “The best we can do is protect those who are healthy and pray for those who are sick.”

Father Marcellius has a heavy look in his face, his two blue eyes glowing a soft blue light, even if they’re mechanical you can tell they’re filled with regret. “I know I know... It's like the Great Contagion from old all over again... Which is why it’s important to get these posters out to as wide of an area as possible.”

You give a small sigh as you hear this. “I understand, but if I see trouble I’m not going to stand by and simply let Gremlins terrorize innocent people.”

“I’d be disappointed in you if you did.” Father Marcellius replies with a small smile as he reaches down next to him, grabbing a small bag and passing it to you. “Here you, stapler and tape is also in the bag as well.”

“The first area we want to to put the posters up in is the Braves district downtown. It was always a rough neighbourhood and Gremlin activity has only made it worse in the recent days.” Father Conway says.

“I’ll be back within a few hours.” you say taking the bag of papers and slinging it over your shoulder, turning away as your cloak reactivates. “I just hope someone reads these things.”

******

The Braves district downtown certainly matched Father Conway’s own description as being a neighbourhood hit hard. Cars without their wheels and graffiti on the sides of building, lit by a flaming barrel with several people in front of it would appear to be the norm just by coming here normally, but even now there seems to be barely a soul in this entire area. Winds from the oceanfront gently waft through the streets as garbage litters the street, municipal services having stopped since the breakout it seems.

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[2/2]

“Can’t wait to be finished here...” you mutter to yourself as you tape one of the last posters you got of the church directly next to a “WE’RE HERE TO HELP!” sign of the military with the colorful phrase of “BULLSHIT” spray painted directly on top of it.

“NO! NO GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP!” a female voice rings out from down the street.

“HELP! MONSTER!” another cries out in fear.

“I hope this is another robbery.” you mutter to yourself as you walk over to the direction of the noise itself.

As you trace the location of the screams to an alleyway, you can see what appear to be two screaming women being carried off by two machines made of misshapen, rusty augmentation and cybernetic parts, carrying two green haired woman over their shoulders.

“Patchwork Gremlins... I wonder what they’re doing here.” you reply to yourself as you see the women being carried off.

- Let the women be carried off. Normally gremlins kill people, but these ones are taking them alive. They could trail them back to a nest.

- The lives of the women are already in too much risk, kill the gremlins abducting the women before they’re placed in any more danger.

- Other

>>752251
>- The lives of the women are already in too much risk, kill the gremlins abducting the women before they’re placed in any more danger. Destroy one, wound another, try to get it to flee and follow it.

With how infectious the gremlin virus can be, you don’t want to take any sort of chances with the safety of these women. You need to dispatch the gremlins immediately before any more significant harm can come to either of them.

You take out your blade as you rapidly make a beeline towards the gremlins themselves, covering nearly the entire alleyway in the span of a few heartbeats before catching up with the gremlins in the middle of the road. As the first Patchwork gremlin looks back upon you, it can only see you swinging your blade directly towards its midsection, cleanly cutting in two from the waist before you glide onto the next, your mid section cut turning into an uppercut slash on the second, cutting off its arm completely.

The first gremlin explodes into dust the second it hits the ground while the second woman is dropped by the gremlin itself howling in pain.

“OH SHIT! I-It’s onna dem robot men things!” a woman you saved says with a panicked expression.

“I’m a woman, now leave.” you order them without breaking eye contact with the second gremlin, the creature clutching onto the place where it’s arm used to be as its old arm turns to dust on the side of the road.

You maintain your stance and wait, even as the creature’s own voice screeches out from metal shards vibrating on its throat can be seen. After a loud screech it then lunges directly at you, claws aimed high as it attempts to bring it down on top of your head.

You counterattack before the Gremlin can even react, making a lightning fast slash down to cut the entire gremlin in two, body sliding into two pieces that explode into dust as it hits the ground.

“Damn, I think it saw through me.” you mutter to yourself as you flick your blade. “They may be simple but they probably have some form of intelligence.”

“Well well well! What do we ‘ave ‘ere?” a voice with a thick ebonic accent rings out behind you.

As you turn around you can see a single man leaning out the side of a large pick up truck, several others behind it. Currently about 15 men are pointing pistols and various other automatics directly at you.

“It looks like one of dose escaped cyborg types wandered into our neighbourhood.” a man with a light green baseball cap says while leaning out of the side of the vehicle. “So what brings you to our little neck of the woods?”

- “Pest control.”

- “Do you know what I am? You know none of you would even be able to hit me with those weapons, let alone hurt me right?”

- “Do you actually doubt what I’m doing here after I just saved those two weapon? If I was one of those insane bastards I would’ve killed them already.”

- Other

>>752337
>- “Pest control.”
>- "I assume you're here to do something cliche and foolish, so I'll say this simply. Do you want a warning, proof, or do you want to save us both the trouble and run screaming right now?"

“Pest control.” you simply state.

The man in the light green cap chuckles to himself as he hears that, followed by several of the others in the trucks behind him as well. “Arite, I walked right into that one.”

"I assume you're here to do something cliche and foolish, so I'll say this simply.” you say pointing your blade directly at the man. “Do you want a warning, proof, or do you want to save us both the trouble and run away screaming right now?"

“No, what I want is an explanation. An explanation of why your fine chrome ass is in the middle of our fine neighbourhood. We’ve had a few run ins with your cyborg types befour, crawlin’ in outta da ground like the Underworld itself had broke through our world.” the man says still in a grandoise sort of voice, but this time sounding more menacing than before. “And why we should tolerate your little bitch ass in our neighbourhood when others like you haven’t exactly made the best of first impressions.”

- *Hold up a poster* “I’m a robot who’s only two weeks old and got her first papergirl job.”

- “I hate to tell you, but ‘my kind’ are just as varied as the rest of humanity is. We have assholes such as yourself, bitches like me, and murderous psychopaths scattered amongst them.”

- “First impressions? What kind of first impressions?”

- Other

>>752372
>- *Hold up a poster* “I’m a robot who’s only two weeks old and got her first papergirl job.”
>- "People are people. Some see a little bit of power and they want more. They turn into the crazies. I'm trying to make sure things can be a bit more normal around here, hence the fliers...and if you happened to know where those two machines were going with the women I saved, well...their little nest might suffer an accident."

You take out a poster from your bag and hold it up to the gang members. “I’m a robot who’s only two weeks old and got her first papergirl job.”

The gang members flatly stare at you for several seconds before one of them replies by putting a bullet directly through the post, the shot ringing out in the air as the holy in the poster can be seen.

You crumple up the paper and toss it behind you. "People are people. Some see a little bit of power and they want more, some of them turn into the crazies. I'm trying to make sure things can be a bit more normal around here, hence the fliers. Also, if you happened to know where those two machines were going with the women I saved, well their little nest might suffer an accident."

“I assume you ‘ardly mean the electrical kind of accident, and more of the kind of accident where dey get shanked with sharp and pointy objects from you?” the gang member replies.

“Possibly.” you reply.

“Aite, I’ll bite. What reason do you have in killin’ off one dose nests?” the gang members asks.

- “They use humans for spare parts, do you want to know what they do to our kind? I’ll give you a hint: it's significantly worse.”

- “I’m a hero for a hobby.”

- “To stop them from killing or harming innocent people.”

Other

>>752385
>- “To stop them from killing or harming innocent people. They're infected with something that can spread. I'm resistant to it. I'd suggest staying away from tech and the like for...a while.”

“To stop them from killing or harming innocent people. They're infected with something that can spread. I'm resistant to it, but for you I'd suggest staying away from anything with a circuit board and the like for... quite some time.” you say turning around to go leave.

“Wait a sec!” the gang member calls out.

You slowly turn your head back towards the gang member.

“You for real? You doin’ this to help others?” the green hatted gang member asks.

“It’s what I said.” you reply back to him.

The green hatted gang member looks in the back of his truck for a second, making a waving gesture telling whoever’s in the back to cut it out before turning his attention back towards you. “Aite then, time to see if yous fer real. Those fine ladies you just rescued were workers of ours, but lately we’ve also been running a protection racket around town since da military don’t seem to be doin’ shit, and quite frankly I dun wanna wait for them to get an airstrike on our buildin’s and call it a day. We were just on our own way to get rid of one of dem damn nests downtown.”

“Nests? How big is it? Are there any robots like myself there?” you ask.

“Na, nuthin’ like yerself dere, and its real small. It hasn’t been around fer long but dose fuckers are growin’ like weeds and we got the weedkiller. What I’m sayin’ is if the exterminator in front of me is willin’ to lead her own expertise, it may show that not every single one of ya’s are souless abomination’s.” the man in the green hat says.

Gangbangers, they’re rougher to the organized crime families of Coral but they get the job done in a more uncultured manner. A part of you really won’t feel pity if the gremlins tear these guys apart, and truth be told they probably took more than their fair share of ‘surprise payments’, but still they’re helping the people in this area, so there is a benefit in helping these people out as well.

- “Sure, I got time to kill.”

- “Sorry, papers don’t deliver themselves.”

- Other

>>752401
>- “Sure, I got time to kill.”

Alright headin to bed now, but I'll be updating this at 7 PM EST tomorrow!

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[1/2]

“Sure, I got some time to kill.” you reply as you put away his blade, walking towards his vehicle. “Do you have their location?”


“Yea I do, they’re in one of the projects buildin’s downtown.” he replies as motions for the rest of the gang to stand down, many of them reluctantly putting away their weapons.


“Great, let’s go.” you say jumping in the back of a pickup truck with a half dozen other gang members, every single one of them eyeing you cautiously. “Do you have a plan for when we do get there?”


“Ah yea we got a plan alright! We gonna light them damn clanks up!” the green hatted man in the truck as the convoy continues on its path again. “By the way, my name’s Big E-zay, E-zay with a zay at the end. And you?”


“MCE-3011M, but people call me Shinobi.” you reply.


“Shinobi? Sheit what a name to give a ninja.” Big E-zay says in the front seat.


“It's not my first choice of name either, but it stuck so I’m using it for the time being.” you reply as the convoy continues on.


You don’t travel that far, possibly only another block down the street before you reach the brown brick high rise apartment buildings, the outside in such a state with its discarded tires and dead trees that you wouldn’t even think about looking into this area yourself if it wasn’t for the heads up given by these gang members. The power appears to be out for the entire area of the buildings, nearly all of the windows in the building completely boarded up.


“Aite, see that buildin’ up ahead? The middle one? Dat’s da one they’re usin.” Big Ezay says pointing out to the building. “Dat’s where they’ve been takin’ everyone as of late.”


“I see it, but where are the gremlins?” you ask the group as you look over the building.


Just as you say this, a large red laser shines down onto the vehicle you’re currently on, making the entire pick up glow a bright red in colour. As you look up to the top of the building you can see what appears to be a Hawkeye on the top of the building shining down the red spotter light, just as a large group of Gremlins suddenly burst out of the front door, one of them giving a metallic roar that sounds like metal scraping against a chalkboard before the others start firing what appear to be homemade weapons, high speed bolts seeming to race directly over their heads.

[2/2]

“SHEIT! SPOTTER!” one of the gang members cries out.

“NEVERMIND HIM! KILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS!” Big Ezay immediately cries out in response, the rest of the gang quickly leaning out or taking cover in their vehicles as they begin to trade fire with the gremlins in the courtyard of the building.

You take cover in the truck as you mind goes over its options, time seemingly slowly to a crawl as you think about them.

TURN ORDER
Hibiki: 8i
Hawkeye: 7i (Distance: Long)
Gang Members: 7i
Big Ezay: 6i
Patchworks (Battle Group): 6i (Distance: Short)

- Rush out in the middle of the fray directly and start destroying the Patchworks. Hawkeye’s are dangerous, but there are not that many Gremlin minions and without those minions Hawkeye’s are literally defenseless. (17d10 for Katana strike, may activate Blitzkrieg Assault Module and attack twice for 3m)

- Start scouting the area. If a Hawkeye is in the area than other more lethal gremlins are possibly here. Turn invisible and scout out the area, the gang seems fine for now anyways. (11d10 for stealth, may activate Optical Shroud for 3m)

- Other

>>753814
Do we actually have a picture of Shinobi?

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>>753829

You know, I did have some (shitty) hand drawn pictures of the face, like an avatar head sorta speak, but those were lost after the Alberta Fire.

In terms of style, I always thought of her armour being akin to the Crysis armour in design, muscular fibers mostly all over the body with some silver pieces of armour on the major non-flexible areas (Such as the chest, arms, and legs.

The head is a bit different as the visor area itself would instead just be four slated glowing eyes that slide to the side of the head when not in use. The lower part of the mask (About the tip of the nose and under) is a solid silver mask that needs to be removed manually.

Hibiki's own skin would be white coloured with short jet black hair while in Alchemical form, a red gem inside of her forehead. When her anima is activated however both her eyes and the gem in her forehead would begin to glow red.

I thought about getting art of her done eventually in a drawfag thread, but keep forgetting.

>>753946
Is shinobi cute?

>>753960

I'd give a firm yes to that. I mean she's probably at the age where she's a bit more beautiful than cute,

>>753819
>- Start scouting the area. If a Hawkeye is in the area than other more lethal gremlins are possibly here. Turn invisible and scout out the area, the gang seems fine for now anyways. (11d10 for stealth, may activate Optical Shroud for 3m)

Activate Optical Shroud.

Rolled 10, 7, 1, 7, 6, 5, 1, 5, 8, 7, 10 = 67 (11d10)

>>753819
>- Start scouting the area. If a Hawkeye is in the area than other more lethal gremlins are possibly here. Turn invisible and scout out the area, the gang seems fine for now anyways. (11d10 for stealth, may activate Optical Shroud for 3m)

[1/2]

(Hibiki rolls and gains 8 successes on her stealth roll!)

“I’m going to check something out, do your best here.” you say to Big Ezay as disappear from sight while hopping over the back of the truck.

“Hey wait! Where da hell do ya t- LOUIE GET YER HEAD DOWN YA FOOL!” Big Ezay yells out as you hop off the truck.

You stay close to the ground as you slowly cross the battlefield, the Patchwork Gremlins themselves leaning down behind the cover of garbage bags and small walls in the courtyard as they continue to trade fire back and forth. The gremlins seem all but blind to you as you continue to walk through the courtyards themselves. The small fry here however hardly interest you, if this place is anything like the junkyard was then there are going to be bigger gremlins here that are going to be far more of a threat than just Patchwork gremlins.

As you continue sneaking through the courtyard, the Hawkeye above quickly changes its laser spotter, this time shining directly on top of you. You invisible form is quickly displayed by a bright red outline as your stealth is effectively ruined.

Your enhanced hearing immediately activates at full power as the light shines on you, sensing a ambush and now in a situation where every millisecond counts. Your quickly take out your blade out of its sheath and throw it up in the directions between two, just barely reacting in time to the razor sharp claws that erupt from the nearby mounds of garbage in between you, the sound of metal clashing against one another as razor sharp claws of the gremlins nearby clash against your weapons.

As you take a second to look at the new gremlin models, you can see that these models are more steamlined than the patchworks themselves. Body still made of rusty metal but now appearing to be smooth metal with little to no obstructing spikes. Their legs themselves appear to be oversized while directly above their broken eye sockets antenna can be seen giving them the same appearance of a Lynx cat. Their own hands appear to be lined with wicked claws that crackle with electricity, humming loudly in the air as they vibrate loudly.

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[2/2]

(Lynx 1 attacks Hibiki and misses! Lynx 2 attacks Hibiki and deals 1 intiative damage!)

“Well well well... Looks like you guys are already busy making new models.” you say flicking your blade as you get back into your pose once again.

TURN ORDER
Lynx 2: 10i (Distance: Close, Action already taken)
Lynx 1: 8i (Distance: Close, Action already taken)
Hibiki: 7i (Status: Highlighted [Cannot stealth])
Hawkeye: 7i (Distance: Long)
Gang Members: 7i
Big Ezay: 6i
Patchworks (Battle Group): 6i (Distance: Close)

- Eff (Single Point Form, normal attack, 10m) - Take advantage of their foiled surprise attempt to center yourself for a fierce and upcoming battle.

- Pow: With (Switch to Hono no Tatsumaki, Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 4m) Don’t even give them a moment to breath, start assaulting them and immediately activate Steel Devil Form without effort once you corner one.

- Other

Rolled 2, 3, 1, 2, 10, 6, 9, 2, 8, 9, 3, 9, 10, 5, 1, 8, 5 = 93 (17d10)

>>754141
>- Pow: With (Switch to Hono no Tatsumaki, Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 4m) Don’t even give them a moment to breath, start assaulting them and immediately activate Steel Devil Form without effort once you corner one.

>>754141

Nearly forgot, both attacks are at 17d10

You quickly put your sword back into its sheath and back on your hip just as two other blades burst out of two compartments on your hips, then in one smooth motion you head towards the Lynx that just attacked you, making a cross slash of your blades. The Lynx attempts to leap back from the assault, but only narrowly manages to dodge the second slash you make at hits head as you reverse the grip on the weapons as you make a downward slash attempt to take his arms.

(Hibiki attacks Linx 2 with a double attack, dealing 7 initiative damage!)

The Linx itself gives a determined roar as it takes a step back, a glowing red pit coming from the center of its jaw.

You quickly try to roll out of the way of the laser itself, but find it incredibly hard to do so with the eagle eye advantage the Hawkeye has on its perch above the building. As you attempt to roll out of the way you can see both of the Linx’s immediately leaping after you, bricks on the ground being kicked up with every step as they remain on your tail.

“They’re fast!” you exclaim as you narrowly dodge a lightning fast attack from another, dodging a swipe from it that seems to cut through a tree as if it was cutting through thin air itself.

TURN ORDER
Hibiki: 12i (Status: Highlighted [Cannot stealth], Charge: 3)
Lynx 1: 8i (Distance: Close)
Hawkeye: 7i (Distance: Long)
Gang Members: 7i
Big Ezay: 6i
Patchworks (Battle Group): 6i (Distance: Close)
Lynx 2: 3i (Distance: Close)

- Pow: Wither (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, Liquid Steel Flow, Personal Gravity Manipulation Apparatus, 13m 1WP, 17d10) - Keep up with their speed and continue to press the offensive now that you have it.

- Eff: Wither (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 4m, 17d10) - They’re fast, but fight conservatively for now to avoid attracting too much military attention.

- Other

(Resources remain unchanged from >>754141 )

Rolled 3, 10, 2, 2, 10, 4, 9, 9, 9, 2, 1, 10, 10, 4, 6, 4, 5 = 100 (17d10)

>>754280
>>754280
>- Eff: Wither (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 4m, 17d10) - They’re fast, but fight conservatively for now to avoid attracting too much military attention.

Toss in a Decisive if we qualify.

>>754280
We're targeting the Lynx that's charging its laser, right?

>>754296

The Hawkeye is the one using the laser on you. He's at long range, so there's no way for you to attack attack him sadly. You'd need to try and make a disengage action against the two Linx's in order to get closer to it.

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You hold back for now, not wishing to attract too much attention from the military that’s ever present in the city itself. After dodging to the side of the claw swipe you reverse the grip of one of your blades again, making a slash as you dodge to the side of the gremlin, it narrowly dodging to the side of the attack before you make an uppercut with the other blade, the flaming blast of the blade digging across the front of its armour, making a glowing gash in front of it.

(Hibiki uses double attack on Linx 2 inflicting 6 withering damage, crashing it! Hibiki reflexively activates Steel Devil Form!)

“Alright...” you say casually flipping the blades around in your hands as you slowly get back into your stance. “Come at me both at once, I want this to be a quick warm up.”

As you say this small threat the Lynx’s immediately take you up on your invitation, covering the span of several meters in literally a heartbeat as they rush towards you. The first one takes a swipe at you in where you put your blade just between its claws and quickly throw it aside into a nearby garbage pile, but the second takes the high road, leaping up into a nearby dead tree before pouncing on your from above, nearly catching you off guard as its claws just graze your armour, sparks flying off your armour as his claw just grazes you before it lands down in the ground in front of you.

(Lynx 1 attacks Hibiki and misses! Lynx 2 attacks Hibiki dealing 5 initiative damage!)

You take a quick glance down at your armour, noticing a single long claw streak along the front breastplate, slowly healing itself back up before your very eyes.

“OK, you can cut through reinforced armour like paper. Good to know.” you mutter to yourself as you get back into your stance, now more cautiously.

TURN ORDER
Hibiki: 15i (Status: Highlighted [Cannot stealth], Charge: 11)
Lynx 1: 8i (Distance: Close)
Hawkeye: 7i (Distance: Long)
Gang Members: 7i
Big Ezay: 6i
Patchworks (Battle Group): 6i (Distance: Close)
Lynx 2: 3i (Distance: Close)

- Pow: With (Liquid Steel Flow, Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 8m 1WP, 17d10) - Go full out on the one that just assaulted you, shredding him to pieces while activating your own innate speed boost from your anima to keep up with these bastards.

- Eff: With (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 3m) - It was a close call but you’re still miles ahead. Throw a poster in its face as a distraction before finishing it off.

- Other

Rolled 7, 10, 3, 6, 10, 5, 2, 10, 2, 10, 9, 5, 1, 6, 5, 10, 7 = 108 (17d10)

>>754312
>The Linx itself gives a determined roar as it takes a step back, a glowing red pit coming from the center of its jaw.
This is what I meant.
>>754445
>- Eff: With (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 3m) - It was a close call but you’re still miles ahead. Throw a poster in its face as a distraction before finishing it off.

Lets keep an eye out on our allies. If the Patchworks get too close, we might need to charge in to stop them from getting slaughtered.

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As the Linx that slashed your armour once again rushes towards you with its claws outstretched, you casually take a poster and throw it directly into its face. The Linx immediately tumbles over to the side of the ground, snatching the paper off of its face just in time to see you meeting it eye to eye. Your blades close in around the Gremlin itself above its shoulders, and just when it attempts to leap back you take a quick step forward, reversing the slash and cutting off the entire arm of the Gremlin itself, it screaming loudly as it holds a flaming stump in its claws.

(Hibiki double attacks Lynx 2 and deals 12 intiative damage! Hibiki double attacks dealing eight levels of damage!)

Realizing that its twin is likely nearby, you quickly spin around and form your blades in a cross shaped pattern, just as the first Lynx lands a spinning downwards kick on you from midair, the force of the impact cracking the bricks beneath your feet before you slash the Lynx away.

(Lynx 1 attacks Hibiki for 4 withering damage!)

Quickly leaping back so both Lynx’s can be your sight once more, the one whose arm you had chopped off previously surprises you by using the same trick you used on it, taking its severed arm and throwing it directly into your face as it dissolves into dust before rushing in on the dust cloud, you barely having time to cross your own blades in defense before being hurl back several feet on top of a nearby dead tree.

(Lynx 2 attacks Hibiki for 5 withering damage!)

“You’re vicious little bastards I’ll give you that.” you mutter as you grasp your blades tighter. As you look out over on the battlefield you can still see the firefight going on between Big Ezay and the Patchwork gremlins. Big Ezay and his men appear to be holding his own very well, but that’s only quite possibly because you’re distracting some of the more threatening Gremlins in this area. You’re sure if you gave the Lynx’s half a chance they’d be disemboweling most of Big Ezay’s men with ease. While the Hawkeye above is giving the Lynx’s an easier time of hitting you, at the very least you’re forcing it to focus on you rather than on the battle below.

TURN ORDER
Lynx 1: 12i (Distance: Close)
Hawkeye: 7i (Distance: Long)
Gang Members: 7i
Hibiki: 6i (Status: Highlighted [Cannot stealth], Charge: 11)
Big Ezay: 6i
Patchworks (Battle Group): 6i (Distance: Close)
Lynx 2: -3i (Distance: Close, Crash Duration: 3 turns)

- Pow: With (Liquid Steel Flow, Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 8m 1WP, 17d10) - You can afford to go one level higher on your anima before the military notices, use it to annihilate the healthier Lynx

- Eff: With (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 3m, 17d10) - Go with a weaker attack while saving your resources for a devastating blow next turn without consuming resources.

- Other: User Input

>>754915
>- Eff: With (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 3m, 17d10) - Go with a weaker attack while saving your resources for a devastating blow next turn without consuming resources.

Target the Damaged Lynx.

Rolled 6, 5, 9, 2, 1, 7, 1, 5, 10, 4, 2, 7, 4, 9, 9, 2, 7 = 90 (17d10)

>>754915

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>>754915

Finish off the damaged one. Late joining Oh before i forget after we are done we could ask the gang to spread the word for people to seek safety at the church.

After doing a small hop on the tree branch, you use it spring off directly towards the injured Lynx once more again, barreling towards it with breakneck speed, a deft spin in the air knocks away the single blow by the first Lynx as it attacks before bursting past the second Lynx like a flaming fireball, a small flick of your blades dispelling the aura of fire surrounding you before turning to face it once again.

(Lynx 1 attacks Hibiki and deal 2 initiative damage!)

(Hibiki attacks Lynx 2 for 16 initiative damage!)

“You guys don’t know when to give up do you?” you ask as to turn around towards the Lynx once again.

As you do turn around, you can see a hailstorm of bullets tearing into the damaged Lynx behind you, bullets tearing through its body and tearing each part of it to pieces before it finally falls to the ground in a whimper, exploding into dust on the ground. Taking a glance around, you can see that the gang members actually finished off the Patchwork zombies they were up against.

“I had him, you just stole my kill.” you call out to the gang members as you duck under the swipe from the other Lynx then backflipping away from an uppercut.

“And miss da chance to get revenge on one of these horror movie rejects! Like hell!” Big Ezay yells out to you over the gunfire.

As you look down over yourself you can see that the red light surrounding you is now gone, quickly glancing up to the ceiling to show that the Hawkeye perched up on the roof has now fled the location. It seems that with the base collapsing in on itself the gremlins are now in a mode of full retreat. Which means you’ll need to work a bit harder in order to finish off this last remaining Gremlin.

TURN ORDER
Hibiki: 21i (Charge: 11)
Lynx 1: 15i (Distance: Close)
Gang Members: 7i
Big Ezay: 6i

- Pow: With (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, Liquid Steel Flow, 8m 1WP) - Attempt to finish off the Lynx once and for all before it has a chance to run away!

- Eff: With (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, 3m) - It can’t run anywhere with you here, take your time in trying to finish it off.

- Other

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>>755474

If we can finish it off with a pow without becoming a I am here sign i suggest a POW. i am worried it may go after the weaker people and while the probability of it getting away is low i really don't want it getting away.

>>755474
>- Pow: With (Double Attack Technique, Kaarashi, Liquid Steel Flow, 8m 1WP) - Attempt to finish off the Lynx once and for all before it has a chance to run away!

Rolled 6, 4, 10, 10, 1, 9, 10, 6, 5, 7, 2, 3, 10, 3, 2, 5, 1 = 94 (17d10)

>>755474

>>755594
>>755474
Oh, and lets WP this.

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You kneel down close to the ground in a stance that holds one blade over your shoulder and the other just past your hip, small vents open up on your body as silver exhaust blasts out from your body. A split second later your body accelerates with newfound speed, blasting towards your opponent with both blades crossed as you unleash the storm the remaining Lynx, turning into a deadly dance of blades as you and your afterimages slash the Gremlin over and over again, slicing off body part after body part before stabbing both of your blades into his neck before wrenching them apart, sending its head flying through the air as both it and its body dissolve into dust.

(Hibiki double attacked Lynx 1 and deals 15 damage, crashing it! Hibiki follows up with Steel Devil Strike dealing 11 levels of damage, destroying the gremlin!)

“Apologize to your ancestors in the Underworld.” you say as you give your twin blades a quick flourish before putting them back in the hidden compartments in your thigh.

As you turn back towards the gang members themselves, all of them appear to be staring at you with wide eyes in utter amazement. “Daymn girl! You moved so fast back there I could ‘ardly see ya!” Big Ezay says getting out of the car, approaching you with a large smile on his face.

“You saw how fast those things were. If I didn’t go all out myself than one of them would’ve escaped.” you reply back to Big Ezay.

“Hey man I ‘ear ya. Better to off those bastards than to let them run away and kill another day.” Big Ezay says looking at the dust pile just past you. “...Just one of those fucks got into our HQ, killed nearly my entire crew dat night. It was something straight outta a horror movie.”

“I believe you, they nearly caught me off guard as well.” you reply to Big Ezay.

“Whatever da case may be, we owe you big girl.” Big Ezay says holding out his hand to shake yours. “If you need a favor from us, than you more than welcome to ask.”

“Really? Well then I’ll definitely be taking you up on that.” you say putting your hand around his, giving it a firm shake before pulling it away.

As Big Ezay slowly takes his hand away from yours, he notices the silverish slime on his hand after touching yours. A disgusted look appears on his face, but unsure of what to say in order not to offend you. “...Wat da hell...”

- “Its our form of ‘sweat’ in a sense. It’ll evaporate soon enough.”

- “...Oops, I accidently just marked you as a mate. Sorry.” (Joke)

And

- “Do you happen to have a spare safehouse in this area that we can use?”

- “You appear to have this neighbourhood locked down fairly tight, but if you or anyone else needs additional help you can head to the Saint Mara Church downtown.”

- Other

>>755693

>- "It's sweat."
>- “You appear to have this neighbourhood locked down fairly tight, but if you or anyone else needs additional help you can head to the Saint Mara Church downtown. Anyone who can't fight or shouldn't be involved in all of this.”
>- Head to the building that the Gremlins just left, investigate immediately.

>>755693
>- “Just in case, do you happen to have a spare safehouse in this area that we can use? One that wont be linked to you, preferably.”

Forgot this.

[1/2]

"It's sweat." you briefly tell him before looking around the area. “You appear to have this neighbourhood locked down fairly tight, but if you or anyone else needs additional help you can head to the Saint Mara Church downtown. Anyone who can't fight or shouldn't be involved in all of this.”

Big Ezay looks deep in thought for a few seconds. “...Aite if I gotta man. I’ll put the word out, but I doubt me and my crew are gonna be doin’ dat ourselves.”

“Why’s that?” you ask.

“Dese streets here? They’re not just our turf. They’re our homes. We spent our whole lives ‘ere, and I’m not going to let some robo-monsters or some sheit kick us out from our own homes.” Big Ezay tells you.

You give a small chuckle as you hear that. “I empathize. Also just in case, do you happen to have a safehouse around here I could use? One with room for six people?”

“A safehouse? Yea we got a few of th- oh hell we got more den a few now! Most of dese buildin’s ‘ere? Dhere probably mostly gone by now, some of the more flighty people long since gone out of dis area. You wanna set up shop in an room up ‘ere, ain’t none of our business.”

“Thank you. Now if you don’t mind I’m going to look around the building myself. I doubt there’s more of those things inside but it never hurts to be sure.” you say as you look up towards the buildin.

“Aite cool. We gonna check the upper levels and work our way down.” Big Ezay says to you.

“Sounds good.” you say walking into the building. Really this is also helping your anima to die down before heading back into the city again, so two this helps in more than one way.

As you head into the building and down to the lower floors, you can see the transformation of the building itself just by going down into the lower levels. Metallic ‘growths’ appear to be pushing its way through the concrete of the building like a diseased weed, dull red LED’s occasionally visible on the sides of organic looking metal as you slowly descend downwards, a feeling so vile racing up your spine that for a brief moment you wish you were paralyzed again so you wouldn’t feel it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLUZG5FYO9k

As you reach the bottom of the stairs, the entire area appears to pitch black in itself, the only visible light coming out from the vents in your body as you feet squish on the ground itself, feeling what seems to like some sort of darker version of Alchemical blood being leaked from the floor. As you go deeper into the facility, you eventually hear some rattling of some sort.

Walking around the corner of what appears to be stacked up washing machines, you can see a crowd of people huddled together in a corner, a mother holding a crying daughters mouth shut, a thin and malnourished man trying his best to get further in the corner away from you, and several other examples of mistreated people in front of you all reeking of the same desperation.

[2/2]

Without waiting another spare second the half dozen people in the cage quickly run past out and out of the building itself.

“A-A person to re *bzzt* cure us! Finally!” another voice says next to you, sounding slightly distorted. “I’ve been down hhhhheeeeerrrrrrre for days!”

As you turn around into the next cage you see something that makes your skin crawl. A man next to you in the cage, only that the augmentations he has in his eyes have ‘grown’ to the point where his skull is grossly misshapen, the white brain cage of his augmentation now fully sticking out through a huge hole in his skull with large black metal pieces sticking out from it. Black veins can be seen spreading throughout his body as his right arm is grossly oversized while his left leg appears to be so thin that you swear its only just bone at this point.

“I hit my head while running away from *bzzt* those things.” he says to you with a smile on his face. “My eyes are seein’ a bit funny as we- hey is there something wrong?”

There’s no way in hell this man can be saved at this point, he’s far too gone. It’ll only be matter of time before his body mutates into a Patchwork gremlin or worse.

- “...I’m sorry, but you can’t leave here alive.”

- “...No, nothing’s wrong.” *Cut open the cage and give him a quick death*

- Other

>>755934
>- "Sir, you've contracted the disease here. I'm afraid that any cure is beyond me or any allies I have, however, I can still deliver any last wishes or the like to those you choose to receive them, and I can perform what you ask of me at a Church nearby."

"Sir, I regret to inform you that you've contracted the disease here.” you plainly tell him.

“...W-What? What dissssssssssease?” he says as his voice skips multiple times. “C-Can you cure it?”

“I'm afraid that any cure is beyond me or any allies I have, however, I can still deliver any last wishes or the like to those you choose to receive them, and I can perform what you ask of me at a Church nearby." you tell him.

“W-What!? No! No this is unacceptable!” the man cries out in front of you, teeth clenched as he glares at you. “Are you telling me to lay down and die!?”

“The alternative is turning into one of those things outside and tearing apart everyone you’ve ever loved.” you warn him. “The only difference now is that I’m offering you a chance to go while you’re still h-”

“Fuck you! You have *bzzt* no right to kill me like that! You’d be committing murder if you even attempted such a thing! The *bzzt* military will be hounding you day and night if they knew you were going about killing innocent people!” The man immediately protests. "I know they have the cure for this, but being one of the experiments from those labs must me *bzzt* that you don't want to cure me, but rather see me turn into one of those damn things!"

He’s not listening. To be fair you’d have the same reaction he would have if someone told you the same thing.

- Give him an honorable death

- Walk away

>>756020
>- Give him an honorable death

>>756020
Oh, and adding to my post >>756025
>- "You think that the military is here for your protection, sir? They ran that thing down there. If I had a cure, it would be yours and more. I'm sorry."

[1/3]

"You think that the military is here for your protection? They ran those things down here. If I had a cure, it would be yours.” you say as you slowly begin to draw the blade from your sheath. “The only thing I can do you now however is provide an honorable death before you turn into one of those monsters. I’m sorry.”

The man’s face goes wide with horror as he sees you draw the blade. “N-No! No please wait!”

“I promise you it’ll be painless.” you say getting into a stance to swing your blade. “Goodbye, and may you have better luck in your reincarnation.”

Before the man can say another word you swing your blade, the entire cage collapsing in two as the man half explodes into a pile of dust while the remaining bits fall to the ground in unrecognizable bloody pieces.

You flick the blood off your blade as you give a small sigh, resheathing your blade as you walk back up the stairs with a heavy heart.

“Yo, anythin’ down there?” a gang member asks as you come up the stairs.

“Not anymore.” you reply to him as you walk by him and out of the building.

******

After finishing up the rest of the posters, you return to the church once more, entering the room where Father Marcellius and Father Conway are inside of.

“Shinobi! Welcome back!” Father Mercellius says standing up.

“I did what you asked.” you say tossing the empty bag of posters on the ground. “While I was also out I cleaned up a small gremlin nest and saved several people.”

“Oh that was you those people were talking about!” Father Conway says standing up, a large smile on his face. “Thank you so much for making sure those people were safe! You saved a lot of lives today Shinobi!”

“I couldn’t save everyone...” you mutter to yourself.

“Oh?” Father Marcellius asks, putting down the bible he was holding.

“There... there was a man there. He was too far gone to save but his mind was still intact.” you tell Father Marcellius while avoiding his gaze. “The only comfort I could offer him was a sense of peace before he became a monster.”

You hear a sigh from Father Marcellius as he walks over to you, placing his gauntleted hand on top of your shoulder. “I understand how you feel Hibiki, and how the death of an innocent would weigh on your conscience, but you did the right thing.”

“He wasn’t exactly willing on his part.” you add in.

File: Charactersheet1.png (31 KB, 787x721)

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[2/3]

“Did you tell him of his condition and his options?” Father Conway asks.

“I offered to pass on a message or any last will he might’ve had.” you reply.

“Then you did everything in your power Shinobi. It was not you who killed this man, but the disease that is running rampant through the city. You offered that man peace however unknowing he may have been to his condition.” Father Marcellius replies. “I would’ve done literally the same thing in your place Shinobi.”

“As would I. No one in the gates of Yu-Shan will hold you for what you did Shinobi. You may’ve sent a soul to them, but you sent it to them as a human being and not a corrupted monster.” Father Conway adds in after. “Moreover you quite possibly even saved more people from a fate far worse than death.”

You remain silent for a few seconds after, your mind racing with thoughts with this recent development.

“...Go do something to relax yourself after that ordeal, something to help clear your mind.” Father Marcellius tells you.

“Yea... Yea I think I’ll do just that.” you say turning around to leave.

“...Oh! Wait just a second! I nearly forgot!” Father Marcellius says opening two panels on his upper bicep, pulling out what appears to be a small E-Tank and Sub-Tank. “Take these too.”

“What!? Father Marcellius I couldn’t!” you exclaim loudly as you see the tanks. “Those are incredibly rare! Having them on you means the difference between life or death between us!”

“Shinobi this is the least I could do for you not only distributing those posters around the town but also bringing more people to this sanctity of this church.” Father Marcellius says as he takes your hand and puts them tanks within your hands. “You’re still new Shinobi and you need these a lot more than I do. Now go ahead and take them, I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“...Thank you Father.” you say with a small nod as you store the needles in compartments in your own upper biceps. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need some time to think for myself.”

“Of course. If you need me, I’ll be here waiting for you.” Father Marcellius says as you finally turn around and head back to the hotel.

******

After several hours of practicing in the main bar room of the hotel itself, your mind is still troubled. This is different from the act of killing the soldiers back in the base, people who were actively out to kill you. This time it was a man who still had his sense of self, one who begged you to let him live but couldn’t let him go as he was infected with gremlin syndrome. You try to clear your mind by slowly going through your katas of the Shining Point style, only for your blade to waver each and every time. Your concentration is so off in fact that you nearly jump as soon as you hear a knock on the door of your room.

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[3/3]

“Hibiki, its me, Marina.” Marina’s voice rings in on the other side of the room.

“Its open.” you say as you slowly get back into position.

Marina’s power armour thumps into the room, watching you as you slowly go through the motions of attack. “...Hibiki do you know what time it is?”

“No sorry, I must’ve lost track of time.” you reply as you slowly go through the motions of a downward slash.

“It’s 6:30. You’ve been practicing for four hours. Is something wrong?” Marina asks you point blank. “Are you still bummed out over the incident at the ship?”

- “No, this time it's something else entirely.”

- “A little yes. I don’t want what happened on the ship to happen again.”

- “Its... some minor detail. Nothing to be overly concerned about.”

>>756080
>- "What happened at the ship was unfortunate, but as Wendy has said, we survived. This is something else."

Was there I chance of getting, dare I say, blacked?

>>757082

Pardon?

You give a small sigh as you resheath your sword, your faceplate opening up as you look at Marina. "What happened at the ship was unfortunate, but as Wendy has said, we survived. This is something else."

“What happened? Was it a Gremlin attack?” Marina asks you.

You give a small nod in response. “I came across a gremlin nest and helped some good samaritans destroy it. There were some people still left inside which I rescued, but one of them... was too far gone.”

“Too far gone?” Marina asks you.

“He was clearly in the advanced stages of Gremlin syndrome, his augmentations were mutating beyond control but at the same time he still had a perfect resemblance of himself.” you tell Marina.

“Oh no...” Marina says, covering her mouth in horror having realized where this story is heading.

“I made it painless for him, but the fact that I killed an innocent, one who begged for his life, still weighs heavily on my mind.” You tell Marina. “When I told the story to Father Mercellius he said that I was guilty of nothing and that he would’ve done the same thing as I did.”

Marina is about to speak up for a second, quickly retracting her point to go deep back into thought before finally speaking up. “Its sad, and I’m so sorry you were the one that had to do such a thing. I don’t know if I’d even be able to go through with such a thing, so you’re a lot braver than I am Hibiki.”

“I don’t count killing opponents who cannot even fight back, much less those who don’t even know what they are as the honorable thing to do.” You say as you look at the blade in your hand.

“But what you did was an honorable thing Hibiki, whenever you realize that or not!” Marina says putting her hands over yours. “There was nothing you could’ve done for that man, but at the very least you made it so that he wouldn’t become a monster and hurt other people!”

“I guess you’re right.” you say looking over her hand and putting your sword back on your hip.

“Say! I have an idea to help relax your mind! Why don’t you come over to my friend’s place for a slumber party!” Marina states.

You’re not sure what you just heard. “...Pardon?”

“Yea! I met one of my old school friends out earlier today after I saved them from a runaway bus involving some gremlins! They’re so happy to see me that they want to have a small slumber party to see me again!” Marina states. “Since we’re close to the same age, I thought it’d be a good idea to invite you as well!”

- “Isn’t that a terrible idea? If the military catches us your friends are as good as dead.”

- “I may not have a problem getting there, but how are you getting there? You stick out like a giant blue thumb.”

- “Gremlin attack? Bus? What happened?”

- Other

>>757489
>- “I may not have a problem getting there, but how are you getting there? You stick out like a giant blue thumb.”
> Invite Big Ezay

>>757489
>- “Gremlin attack? Bus? What happened?”
>- “I may not have a problem getting there, but how are you getting there? You stick out like a giant blue thumb.”

[1/2]

“Gremlin attack? Bus? What happened?” you ask.

“Oh I was out putting up some sensor arrays for Osvald, when I found out a bus in the city had be hijacked by some gremlins, really really fast ones. There was a small fight on the bus involving them and it nearly crashed into the ocean if wasn’t for me pulling it up.” Marina states.

“And the military didn’t follow you?” you ask in utter amazement.

“Not into the sewers.” Marina replies to you. “In fact the sewers appear to be great for us! There’s a huge underground system down there, our anima vents are largely contained! I mean it's like we’re superheroes from really old cartoon shows!”

You stare at Marina for several seconds before shaking your head. “I may not have a problem getting there, but how are you getting there? You stick out like a giant blue thumb.”

“My friend is sending a limo to pick us up.” Marina replies.

“...Pardon? Can you repeat that?” you ask Marina again.

“My friend is sending a limousine to pick us up.” Marina once again replies.

“I’m sorry but who are your friends?” you ask Marina.

“Academie Beaubois, it's a fancy private school. My father said he only wanted the best for me so he worked hard in order to make sure I can go there.” Marina replies.

That’s actually quite impressive. Even you were considering Academie Beaubois some time back when they attempted to headhunt you, mainly because the children who go there often have other rich parents which make for amazing connections. The only reason you didn’t go is because you wanted to train for the Olympics.

“I never pegged you as the type of person to go to Academie Beaubois. What kind of people do you know there?” you ask Marina.

“Oh I have quite a few friends there! Come on I’ll show you them!” Marina says taking your hand, literally dragging you out of the room. “The limo is going to pick us up a block away from here, so we’ll need to be fast to make sure no drones spot us!”

“I don’t actually have a choice in this do I...” you mutter as you’re dragged down the hall.

******

[2/2]

About a half hour later both you and Marina are inside of a limousine, on your way to the business section of Versino downtown. The limo enters the underground parking lot in order to make you avoid going anywhere above the open sky.

“Shouldn’t we worry about the cameras down here as well?” you ask Marina as you step out of the vehicle, your faceplate sealed.

Marina steps out of the limo herself, the entire vehicle bouncing up as a massive weight has just been removed from it. “Oh don’t worry about that! My friend owns this place!”

“...Your friend owns Alistor Tower?” you ask in disbelief.

“You’re one to talk when you own the J&P Tower.” Marina states as she walks ahead, the mouthpiece of her armour wide open.

Marina has you there, but at the same time you didn’t expect Marina to be like this. You thought she was from a struggling family, but here she has such powerful friends you can’t help but wonder what she’s really like.

As you enter the elevator and press the button for the top floor penthouse, the elevator quickly takes you up to the 30th floor before stopping with a soft bump. As the doors open up it's as if you’ve been transported to another world entirely as dual grand sweeping staircases wrap around a central statue fountain of the Alistor Stores Inc. founder. The entire lobby itself has grand pictures showing the long history of the Alistor company turning from trading company into a worldwide shopping company all around the world.

“...Marina! You made it!” A female voice cries out from the top of the staircase. She’s a bit smaller than you, with soft brown hair and brown eyes, giving off the vibe of her being a small animal more than a person.

“Jessie!” Marina says, her own face lighting up as she sees the girl on top of the stairs.

“I was so worried whenever you’d make it or not!” the young girl says running down the stairs, nearly tackling into Marina’s oversized armour. “I know the military is everywhere but I was so worried if they’d pull over the limo!”

“We arrived just fine Jessie, so there’s no need to worry!” Marina says giving the small girl a hug.

“Marina... You... You have changed...” another voice calls out at the top of the stairs. As you look up, you can see a young asian looking girl standing atop the stairs.

“Wow Jessie! You weren’t kidding when you said that armour was huge!” Another girl with curly blond hair says as she looks at Marina atop the stairs. “You... You can’t even take it off either?”

Marina herself forces out a laugh as she gazes at the ceiling of the room. “Haha... Yea... T-There’s a problem with one of my systems, so I can’t really remove it...”

- “It doesn’t matter if Marina is encased in nearly 300 pounds of armour, she’s still the same person she always was.”

- “Why don’t you come down here? Are you afraid of us?”

- Other

>>757689
> “Why don’t you come down here? Are you afraid of us?”

>>757689
>- "You should have said something, Marina. I'm sure with a bit of work or care, that problem can be fixed."

[1/2]

“Why don’t you come down here? Are you afraid of us?” you ask the girls up on the balcony.

“N-No of course not!” the girl with blond hair exclaims.

“Well of course they’re going to be like that with that intimidating looking mask of yours Hibiki!” Marina immediately spits towards your general direction. “Those four eyes are made more to scare people, not make friends! You don’t need to have it up here so just remove it already!”

You give a small sigh as you retract the upper part of your face mask before reaching to the side and manually removing your lower face guard. “No reason to keep it on up here anyways.”

“...Wait a second... Junpaku Hibiki?” the asian woman asks atop the stairs. “Future company heir to the J&P International Bank?”

“Yes, that is indeed me. However that may be difficult in the future since I’m considered technically dead.” you reply to the girl.

“Oh my! They even picked people like yourself to be part of this horrible treatment!?” the girl with curly blond hair says at the top of the stairs.

“They wanted me for my Athletic ability, though when we were at the facility they weren’t exactly picky on who else to use otherwise.” you calmly reply to the other girl.

“Clarie, Sumiko, its rude to have not even introduced yourselves.” Jessie says to the two girls above before turning towards you, doing a small curtsy while wearing her nightgown. “It is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Hibiki, my name is Jessica Alistor.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” you say giving a small bow in return. “For future reference, my actual last name is Junpaku.”

“E-Eh!?” Jessie says freezing up in her stop in fear.

The blond hair girl on top of the stairs laughs as she hears this while the asian girl herself gives a heavy sigh as she rubs her forehead. “Honestly, even after being taught about international greetings in class...”

“Don’t worry, I’m used to it. More experienced people get it confused all the time.” you say trying to reassure Jessica.

“My own name is Ludmila Kuznetsov, my father is one of the chief engineers of Norden Industries in the Haslanti League!” the blond haired girl seems to proudly boast.

[2/2]

“My name is Dao Juan, I’m a member of the Imperial Family in An-Teng and first in line to be a replacement for my father.” the asian looking woman says with a small bow towards your direction. "Please forgive Jessica, she still makes that mistake even with my own name."

“Thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you all.” you say with a small bow towards their direction.

“Well don’t be shy! Come in! Take off your sh-” Jessica herself stops as she realizes that you’re both in power armour. “...Come in anyways! We’re about to have something to eat! ...Uh...”

“What’s wrong Jessie?” Marina asks Jessica.

“You guys... don’t need to do anything like... drink oil or anything right?” Jessica asks you.

- “Oil? Seriously? Do full body cyborgs need to drink oil? There’s your answer.”

- “...We’re a bit different from normal cyborgs, so no we don’t need to drink oil or anything of that sort.”

- Other

>>757868
>- "We can eat food, but I'm not sure how often we need to."

[1/2]

“We’re a bit different from normal cyborgs.” you reply to Jessica. “We don’t need to eat oil and can do just fine on normal food, but I’m not sure how often we need to.”

“I asked Osvald this myself, he said that we could live without food indefinitely, but it's not a good idea.” Marina replies back to you.

“Oh? Why’s that? It sounds like an amazing idea if one wishes to go on a diet.” Ludmila says as she walks down the stairs to meet you.

“I dunno, something technical involving the essence capacity in our synthetic blood, it sounded real technical so I kinda zoned out, but the end result is that while we can go for longer without eating we still do need to eat.” Marina states. “...Except me. Apparently I’ve got some kind of... Sustenance Replication Engine of some sort, so I really don’t need to eat if I don’t want to.”

“Good, it means that we can actually have a meal for once without Marina eating half of it.” Juan replies.

“W-What!? Oh come on Juan! I’m not like that!” Marina protests to her.

“Yes you are. Ever since we’ve escaped from the facility you’ve been doing nothing but eating extremely fattening foods such as pastries and pizza cakes. Quite frankly I’m shocked that the armour you’re wearing hasn’t burst from the fat you must’ve acclimated.”

Jessica chuckles as she hears this. “That sounds like Marina alright!”

“Hey it's not like that! I’ve just been stressed a lot lately is all! I like to eat sweet and savory things when I’m stressed! Plus Osvald assured me that my Sustenance Replicator automatically regulators my caloric needs, so I can eat each as much as I want without gaining a pound!” Marina seems to say with a bit of pride.

“I highly doubt you’d even need such a system Marina, as all that food you eat only goes to your breasts and your hips, and certainly never to your head!” Ludmila exclaims with a small sigh.

Jessica and Juan themselves break out in chuckling upon hearing this, even you can’t help but laugh upon hearing this, causing Marina to puff up her cheeks in frustration.

******

“Thank you for the meal.” you say placing down your utensils on the table with a small nod. “I admit I was skeptical when Asian themed Lasana was for dinner, but it was pulled off perfectly.”

Jessica gives a small laugh as she hears your compliments. “Thanks! Our chef will be happy to hear that! He often does experimental things all the time, and I’m happy this is one of the times it worked out.”

[2/2]

“I know! I kinda wish there was more!” Marina says sitting next to a stack of empty plates.

“It's amazing you can say that after eating your serving, the rest of mine, then five other plates.” Juan says.

“Don’t encourage her, I’m worried Marina will actually try since she now literally has a bottomless stomach.” Ludmila warns.

“I’m amazed with the sheer variety of augmentations you both have available to you, any country in Creation would pay a king's ransom in order to have just any one of them.” Juan says aloud.

“Is it true that you’re both combat cyborgs?” Jessica asks you.

You give a nod towards Jessica. “That’s correct. We’re two out of the three members of our group who have a primary focus towards combat, so as a result many of our augmentations are based around combat.”

“Yea Hibiki’s right. My focus appears to be on a lot of ranged weapons, while Hibiki’s systems are highly focused towards melee combat.” Marina adds.

“Actually I don’t use many of my systems for combat, the vast majority of them are for stealth and infiltration.” you say turning invisible at the table briefly before turning back to normal. “Most of my skills come directly from martial arts.”

“Martial Arts!? Are you saying you can use the mystic and ancient arts of combat alongside the Dragonblooded!?” Juan gasps in amazement.

“Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are.” you reply to Juan.

“Yea and Hibiki is AMAZING at martial arts!” Marina says as she begins to gush over you. “I mean we were fighting against some Dragonblooded who was a member of the Wyld Hunters using a martial art called Storm Dragon, and Hibiki learned how to use right in the middle of combat!”

Ludmila seems to make a slightly impressed face upon hearing this, but Juan’s own face is so wide with shock its as if one of the ghosts of her ancestors appeared in front of her. “Just by looking at them!? We have a Dragonblooded employee who often guards our family in An-Teng and he told us that it took him years just to learn the basic principles, yet you’re saying you learned it in the span of several minutes!?”

- “That’s because he wasn’t me.” (Brag)

- “I may be the heir to a company but I dedicated my entire life to martial arts, formalized fighting styles just come a bit more easily to me.” (Be humble)

- Other

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>>757082

>mfw it took me so long to get this

>>758069
>- “I may be the heir to a company but I dedicated my entire life to martial arts, formalized fighting styles just come a bit more easily to me.” (Be humble)
>- "It's mostly due to understanding the core of what martial arts really do, and beyond that, figuring out what unusual things each art does. No art is perfect alone, each has weaknesses due to forcing specific moves."

Expand towards how Jeet Kune Do and Aikido are generally the best to learn, depending on what you can do.

[1/2]

“I may be the heir to a company but I dedicated my entire life to martial arts, formalized fighting styles just come a bit more easily to me.” you reply. “Even my father, the one who taught me what I knew, said I was extremely talented for learning what took his entire life in only 10 or so years.”

“...Is that impressive?” Jessica asks cluelessly.

“There’s a difference between being a fast learner and then learning martial arts just by seeing it in action.” Juan says in disbelief.

"It's mostly due to understanding the core of what martial arts really do, and beyond that, figuring out what unusual things each art does. No art is perfect alone, each has weaknesses due to forcing specific philosophies, kata’s, and tactics.” you reply to Juan.

Ludmila give a soft chuckle as she puts down her drink. “There’s no need to be so humble Lady Junpaku. You’re just one of those rare people who happen to be a true prodigy when it comes to these sorts of things. Everyone has their own hidden talent, and some people just happen to accel ahead of others.”

“My father told me the same thing after he saw my progress, but he warned it for me not to go to my head.” you reply to Ludmila. “My first style was Aikido, but after how quickly I learned that my father moved into the basic sword styles.”

“So what styles do you practice?” Jessica asks.

“I’m currently studying several at this point. My main focus is on Single Point, which is a unique variation of Iaido and Kendo styles of swordfighting. But recently I’ve been studying what you call Steel Devil Style and the beginning of Air Dragon.” you reply.

“Marina, what about you? Do you study martial arts too?” Jessica asks. “I mean your fists where on fire when you were fighting on that bus.”

“Oh my mal no!” Marina immediately retorts. “I mean my dad is a survivalist nut yes and he did teach me self-defense and how to shoot a gun, but most of my experience in combat is supplemented by... downloaded knowledge I guess? What you saw back on the bus was me using evocations of my weapons.”

“Evocations?” Jessica asks.

“They’re a way of the wielder of a weapon uniting his soul with the weapon, allowing them to tap into hidden powers within the weapon itself.” you reply.

“In the spiritual sense yes. In technical terms each artifact weapon has a ‘theme’ to it as it were, and if a person capable of channelling essence wields a weapon made from one of the ‘magical’ materials then they are capable of expressing this ‘theme’ that the weapon contains.” Ludmila seems to clarify.

[2/2]

“Yea that’s what it kinda feels like when I use them when fighting. It's almost kinda like just flexing a muscle of sort, but one that exists within the weapon itself. It feels really odd at times.” Marina replies.

“Can you use evocations too Lady Junpaku?” Juan asks you.

You shake your head. “I tried but it doesn’t work. I think it may have something to do with my artificial body. It doesn’t bother me too much though, as there’s only one weapon I’d unite my soul with and that’s my family’s treasured sword Tuski no Hansha.”

“Oh! Can we see your weapons then!?” Jessica asks loudly.

“Jessie you shouldn’t ask such a thing so bluntly.” Juan chastises.

“Why not? I don’t see anything too wrong with it.” Marina says as she stands up, panels opening up on her back and rapidly reconstructing the light brown ice bazooka that she got from the Dragonblooded on the ship.

“I’m quite curious about your own armours as well.” Ludmila adds in after, giving a careful eye to you both.

“Well I’m unable to leave my own armour, but Hibiki is able to leave her armour!” Marina replies as she places the bazooka on the ground and leans on it.

“Pardon?” you reply to Marina.

“Oh come on Hibiki! We’re not in any danger of getting attacked here! This’ll also be the first time you’ve ever actually removed your armour right? If I were you I’d kill for a chance to do something like being able to take a bath and wear actual clothes for a change, plus you entire body has got to be super sweaty and gross by now!” Marina says pleading with you.

“This armour moves with me almost like a second skin.” you say looking down at your hands, though granted it is a little stiff and a bath with running water does sound a bit nice.

- Remove the armour, show off your weapons and take a bath.

- Keep the armour on, show your weapons.

- “I’ll keep them to myself for now, thanks.”

- Other

>>758405
>- Show weapons, then show armour while you take a bath. That way, you'll have access to your weapons no-matter-what.

[1/3]

“I can show off my weapons before taking a bath sure.” you say heading over to an empty spot on the table, first putting your katana on the side of the table, followed by opening the panels on your legs and placing the twin katanas on the table, before reaching up towards you upper biceps, the chakrams popping out of them before finally placing them on the table. “In order, this is the Kaze no Ken, Hono no Tatsumaki, and lastly the Arashi no Me.”

“Wow... they’re beautiful pieces of work...” Jessica says walking over to the Hono no Tatsumaki blades. “They’re so colorful and the Jade makes them appear so vibrant...”

“I assume all the edges are monomocular on these.” Juan says walking over to the Arashi no Me chakrams.

“I strongly suspect that they are yes. If I slash something in just the right way then the blade just ends up going right through it.” you reply. “Not only that, but since they’re made from the magical materials I can parry all I want with them, not having to worry about breaking the blade.”

“The essence resonate ‘magical’ materials are immeasurably resistant if one makes them into a solid weapon, that much is known at the very least.” Ludmila says walking over to the Kaze no Ken, hands running along its sheath. “May I?”

“Go ahead.” you say to her.

As Ludmila takes the Kaze no Ken and takes a few steps back from everyone else, she slowly unsheathes the blade in her hand before starting to wave it around to test its weight, but her movements are lopsided and awkward. “My word this blade’s weight is completely off center! Does attunement really even help at all!?”

“Yes it does. When I swing it around it's amongst one of the best swords I’ve ever used. The sword is light as a feather but still having just enough weight for me to feel for it. You may not feel it as you’re not attuned, but you notice it when you use it.” you reply to Ludmila.

“Yea Hibiki’s right on that! The first time I tried picking up any of my weapons it felt like the weighted a ton, but after a few seconds they felt like as a feather!” Marina says holding up the rocket launched with one hand, something easily the size of a man’s leg completely made of dense metals. “Right now this entire rocket launcher feels as if only weighs as much as the textbook from biology class!”

“I don’t know much about physics, but I’m pretty sure this violates some sort of rule.” Jessica says as she watches Marina hold up the rocket launcher.

“Motonic sciences function on a completely different level from normal physics or even Quantum physics. This ‘attunement’ sensation has been studied since mankind first started to write even, wondering how spirits in the battlefield managed to wield such impressive weapons with ease.” Juan replies.

“I should try that next time I train, use unattuned weapons and see if I can still maintain my form.” you idly say to yourself.

[2/3]

“Good luck.” Juan replies to you.

“I like the extra challenge.” you say as you begin to put the weapons back into your body. “I’m going to head to the bath now. I assume you have some clothing that I can borrow?”

“Yes I do! Marina left one of her pajama’s here from last time, so you should be able to fit into those.” Jessica says to you.

“...Really?” you say looking at Marina who appears to be an entire foot taller than you.

Marina nervously laughs. “T-The armour adds a lot to the height, trust me.”

“You were always a very tall girl Marina.” Ludmila tells Marina.

“Either way the sizes should be similar enough for Hibiki to fit into the same clothing.” Juan says.

“Right. I’ll head to the bath then, I’ll leave my armour directly outside of it.” you say heading towards the bathroom.

“Enjoy the bath for me!” Marina calls out to you as you head there.

As you reach the bathroom and walk inside, you can see that the bathroom itself, just like the penthouse itself, overdecorated and oversized. A large bathtub jacuzzi can be seen in the corner of the room, a large walk in shower that has nearly four showerheads inside of it, followed by a triplicate of large sinks in the corner with black dimension stone.

You take a deep breath to yourself as you pull up your HUD and follow the instructions on how to remove your armour. Despite worrying about how complex its going to be with an armour that probably costs hundreds of millions of dollars, much of the armour has many simple close and clasp ‘essence locks’ that easily come undone. In little over a minute you completely removed your armour and look down at your body, finding out that it has in fact radically changed.

The skin all over your entire body is now that of a pure white with dark grey lines laced all around your body like energy veins. The hand where you Omnitool is located on can be seen highlighted in sections designed to break apart. Your own bellybutton appears to have some sort of purple jewel inside of it, which indeed feels to be hard as a rock when you tap it. Your arms and legs appear to have the flesh ‘broken open’ of sorts to show some sort of ribbed, dark grey metal lacing the sides of it as well as on some of your own abs ever so slightly. Thankfully the rest of your body appears to be anatomically correct in some fashion.

(“Could be worse still.”) you say with a small sigh as you take the armour pieces, putting them just outside the door before setting the jacuzzi on to bust, a deep sigh of relaxation escaping from your lips as you sink down below the water, content to stay here for an hour and let your worries melt away in the bubbling water.

******

[3/3]

After your long, long bath you reach outside the door again, finding a large t-shirt of a flaming skull with sunglasses on it, flannel pants, and set of underwear on the outside of the door. A small sigh escaping from your lips figuring that this is what passes for pajamas for Marina. You give a small groan of displeasure when Marina’s underwear is much too large for you before just putting on the shirt and pants.

As you walk out towards the sound of chattering voices, you eventually reach what appears to be the living room. A single massive theatre screen hangs on the wall in front of you rowed with sleeves lined up with movies and various console systems. The girls themselves appear to be in the middle of the floor, looking over various pieces of armour placed on the floor.

“Hob does she evphn breth in phis bhing!?” Jessica says while wearing your own helmet.

“...Air supply I guess? I mean my armour has air purification on it.” Marina states as she digs out a spoonful of ice cream from her bazooka, which appears to be a large makeshift ice cream bowl now.

“Your armour has no air tanks? For claiming to be an omni-capable battle armour that appears to be a glaring oversight.” Ludmila says while staring at Marina’s armour.

“Maybe one of Marina’s own augmentations compensates for that fact?” Juan says before hearing your footsteps behind her. “Oh hello... Hibiki.”

The room suddenly goes more quiet as you enter it, walking around the couch to the lower part of the floor. You know that your arms are likely starting to stick out, and despite trying to maintain your poker face you can’t help but feel a little embarrassed about this.

“...’Ey Hephbekey, your lines r gowbing!” Jessica says behind your helmet.

“Jessica!” Ludmila chastises Jessica with a hushed tone next to her.

As you look down at your body, you can see that the dark grey ‘veins’ from earlier are now beginning to pulse with energy, with every two seconds or so a burst of energy comes out from the center of your body and races along all the limbs you have, even briefly highlighting the ribbed muscle texture of your limbs and abs underneath through the clothing itself.

Great, it pulses when you’re embarrassed. Just fantastic.

- “Just so you know I didn’t ask for this.” (Brood)

- “I apologize, I didn’t come with a user manual so I didn’t even know I could do this.” (Joke)

- “I thank you for trying to not point it out, but I don’t mind really. I’m very different now, so I just need to get used to the new changes is all.” (Optimistic)

- Other

>>759351
>- “Just so you know I didn’t ask for this.” (Brood)

[1/2]

“Just so you know I didn’t ask for this.” you say sitting back down on the couch with the rest of them.

“Oh come on Hibiki, don’t be like that!” Marina says quickly shuffling over to you, placing her hand on your shoulder. “I mean you still look amazing despite all of this! It's a little bit of a change, but as far as prosthetic limbs go these are not very obtrusive at all!”

“Saying it could be worse doesn’t really change with what's currently going on with me.” you reply.

“Just think of it as a lifestyle or fashion change Lady Junpaku.” Ludmila says with her voice full of pride.

“Marina told us that you used to be paralyzed from the waist down, would you prefer that over what you are now?” Juan asks.

You give small sigh as you stare into the distance for a second before turning back down towards Juan. “I had the same question asked to me before, and the answer is that I infinitely prefer this over a pair of useless legs. It's just... I feel as if I traded one indignity for another. The shame of before having to ask for help just using the bathroom is replaced with... whatever this is jammed inside of my body without any consent on my part.”

“Just because you’re different from us on the outside doesn’t mean you’re not the same person you always were on the inside.” Jessica states.

“Jessica is right. The Icewalkers used to have a saying, in Meruvian it translates into ‘Power only amplifies what is already in a man’s heart.’ Marina has already told us about your selfless actions, especially how you risked your life to save every single Alchemical suffering in that building.” Ludmila says.

“I look upon Versino right now and can only imagine what those corrupted Alchemicals that Marina speaks of can be like, but know that at any time you could succumb to the darkness that lies within your heart and become like them, but rather you selflessly attempt to aid others while still trying to escape the island.” Juan adds in after.

All of this talk about being what’s inside of you flashes back to the gremlinzed man from earlier in the day. Like you he too was different on the outside but the same person as he ever was on the inside. The lump of doubt can be felt in you once again, the questions of how was you putting that man down any more different than the military putting you down for slaughtering those back at the base.

“E-Excuse me, I need some air.” you say standing up from the couch and leave the room.

You head back towards the dining room and look on out down towards the cityscape below. Faint sounds of gunfire echo on down below while several trails of smoke can be seen amongst the star studded ground, the sound of helicopters visible in the night sky despite their flight lights being turned off.

“Hibiki, are you mad?” Marina asks walking towards you.

[2/3]

You give a small sigh as you continue to look out towards the night sky. “No... No I’m not mad at neither you nor your friends, and above all I thank you for what you’re trying to do for me. Just... the point about being different on the outside but being the same on the inside made me think of the man I killed once again today, and then asking myself how is this any more different from the military’s point of view.”

“Hibiki! Have you forgotten why you even bothered to fight up until now!?” Marina says immediately rushing over towards you, taking your hands as she locks eyes with you behind her light green visor. “You not only saved everyone from that horrible prison but served to whistleblow every horrible thing that was going on down there at once! If it wasn’t for you we’d all still be down there subject to all sorts of torture! At any given time you could’ve escaped the facility all by yourself but you didn’t! You put yourself in huge personal risk in order to rescue us!”

“If I escaped by myself I wouldn’t have gotten very far.” you dismissively reply.

“You didn’t know that at the time so that doesn’t count! What counts is the actions you made down there!” Marina says looking down over you. “Hibiki, I’ll confess that one of the reasons that I didn’t want my armour removed is because I was also scared! Scared of seeing what sort junk would be hanging off my own body, but after seeing you here today I’ve decided that nothing, NOTHING they installed in me would be a mark of shame! If the bodies we have now are scars, then I’ll proudly proclaim my scars as a badge of honor! Because if I’m anything remotely like you, then I know the good person in me has only become better because of all of this!”

You give a small smile as you hear Marina talk in front of you. You originally pegged her as a meek and timid girl, but even now despite all that’s happened to her she’s turned from a cub into a lion in record time. “Father Marcellius said that you had potential in you and now I can see why. Thank you Marina, I needed that talk.”

[3/3]

Marina gives a small set of nervous laughter as she grabs her wrist. “Thanks! I often did my best to cheer up any classmates who were down. Here, I have something to cheer you up even more.” Marina reaches down towards her outer thighs, two compartments opening up on them to pull out what appears to both an E-Tank and a Sub-Tank.

“Oh Marina no, I can’t take any of those.” you say looking at them.

“No really I’ll be fine! Trust me these aren’t the only ones I’ve got so I’m fine with letting go of one of them!” Marina says as she holds out one of them. “Go ahead and pick one! It’ll be a sign of our friendship!”

As you look over the containers in her hand, you immediately notice that these ones have not only yellow paint around them, but also appear to be glowing brighter than the current ones you have.

- Select E-Tank M(edium)

- Select Sub-Tank M(edium)

>>758084
Well?

>>760130

Hibiki herself claimed to prefer female company in Mission 4 so...

I doubt she really cares about ethnicity.

>>759413
>- Check each for future reference before deciding.

>>760281

Sub-Tank M does the same thing as Sub-Tank S, only it restores 5 Health levels before rolling instead or 3.

E-Tank M restores a flat 30 motes.

>>760688
In that case, grab the Sub-Tank. Being able to heal that much damage might be slightly more useful.

File: 1470867170218.jpg (268 KB, 1300x863)

268 KB JPG

“...I’ll take the Sub-Tank then. Unlike you my armour isn’t designed with the protection of a tank in mind.” you say grabbing the cylinder of grey goo.

“Good idea! I was planning on getting that regeneration thingie Wendy had eventually so I shouldn’t be in too much trouble.” Marina replies as she stores the E-Tank. “Now come on back to the sleepover, we’re going to be watching movies and eating ice cream all night!”

“I still can’t believe that you’re using a multi-million dollar weapon made for elites as an ice cream bowl.” you say with a soft sigh.

“I know isn’t it great!? I also use it to chill drinks back at the hotel!” Marina then adds in.

You give a small sigh as you hear this, rubbing your head in frustration as you head back to the sleepover, in higher despite the gross misuse of weapons.


MISSION 6 ACCOMPLISHED!

+10 Normal XP gained!

+10 Alchemical XP gained!

+1 Alchemical XP for increasing Marina’s relationship level!

+1 Alchemical XP for increasing Father Marcellius’s relationship level!

+1 Alchemical XP for finding an additional safehouse!

In addition, vote for one side mission and main mission down below!

Locate the Missing Scientists! (Story mission) - Bell’s scientists were the ones who helped you out of the lab, but there are still many more questions left to be answered, questions which only they know. (Reward: Story progression, New main and side missions)

Who wants to be a Millionaire? - Shouko has some bad news about your bank account... (Reward: Gain access to personal Resources [AKA: Money])

The Doctor is In - Reports of Gremlin activity are on the rise in Versino, and it's time to conduct ‘exploratory surgery’ in order to deal with them (Reward: New weapon and martial arts style, decreased gremlin activity)

I am the Soul of my Sword... - The military’s jamming stations are making it problematic to get touch with people from the outside, maybe taking one down will let you get a hold of someone interesting? (Side Mission, Reward: New expert Contact)

Boyz In Da Hood - Big Ezay claims to have a new job for you that is similar to his namesake. (Side Mission, Reward: Gang territory becomes relatively free of Gremlins and Humans, minor cash flow)

Other - Want to do something else or in addition to the above? Drop a line and we’ll see what we can do!

Your current Normal XP values are:

Available/spent/Total = 16 / 64 / 80

Your current Alchemical XP values are:

Available/spent/Total = 13 / 72 / 85

ADA recommendations:
Recommended Normal XP Purchases

Accelerated Response System Submodule “Live Wire Writhing”: When Accelerated Response System is used and the enemy matches your defense, the attack misses. (Normally it would hit) (6 XP)

Optical Shroud Submodule “Dynamic Cloaking Module”: Able to move at much faster speeds while cloaked, extending the range one can move while cloaked (Slow speed -> Normal Movement -> Running speed -> Any distance), in addition each additional purchase lowers the penalty of moving while cloaked by 1 (3 XP each)

Optical Shroud submodule “Sense Countering Upgrades”: Firmware updates and layers of sound absorbing material make the sounds that come from normal operation produce far less sound overall. This third and final installation of this submodule renders the Alchemical immune to all exotic forms of sight [EX: Thermal, X-Ray, etc...] unless they come from a supernatural based source (4 XP per purchase, Essence 3 means it will need to go into a Overdrive slot)

Omnitool Implant Submodule “Advanced Lockpicking Toolkit”: The Omnitool implant gains a series of tools that allow it to open nearly any sort of door. First an Alchemical never has to damage a door to open it. Mundane doors are automatically opened without need for a roll while against magical doors the Alchemical may always at least try. (6 XP)

New Charm “Impenetrable Repulsor Field”: If struck with an attack that does actual health level damage, you may engage a force field that ablates the damage based on initiative spent, possibly nullifying the attack completely. Alternatively, Hibiki gains the ability to parry attacks which cannot possibly be parried or gain 100% protection from attacks with arbitrarily large damage sources such as nuclear blasts or supervolcano eruptions. (10 XP including slot)

Charm “Impact Dispersion Module”: Gain (Essence or 3, whichever is higher) Additional soak against withering attack or four hardness against decisive attacks. Basically you gain a small toughness boost. (6 XP, 10 with slot)
Charm “Stormwall Interrupter Circuits”: By paying 2WP, the Alchemical is able to completely shed his anima, allowing possible reuse of stealth. After the first time it is used in a scene this charm only costs 1WP

Charm “Parabolic Leap Overcharger Device”: Able to make larger jumping distances trivially and without the need to roll, automatically parkour over hazardous terrain. (STRENGTH 3 REQUIRED) (10 XP including slot)

Charm “Optical Enhancement”: The Alchemical’s eyes are replaced with a high functional optical sensory suite, allowing everything from zooming into microscopic objects, zooming in hundreds of times off in the distance, recording everything the Alchemical experiences, X-Ray/Thermal/UV vision and more depending on the submodules installed (10 XP including slot)

Recommended Alchemical XP Purchases

- Strength Up (5 XP per dot, maximum 5)

- Perception/Wits Up (4 XP per dot, maximum 5)

- Manipulation Up (4 XP per dot, maximum 5)

- Athletics (3 XP per dot, maximum 5)

- Dodge (3 XP per dot, maximum 5) [Suggested for Air Dragon style]

- Steel Devil Style “Triple Attack Technique” (8 XP): Upgrades Double Attack Technique, where if you gain enough successes over the opponent's defense the damage of your attack has the potential to greatly increase.

- New Steel Devil Style “Seconds Between Strife” (8 XP): When making a rush towards an enemy, may convert charge into automatic successes on the rush attempt. If the Rush is successful, the charge spent on the Rush is refunded.

- New Steel Devil Style “Empty Mind Strike” (8 XP): Upon a successful use of Double Attack Technique or Steel Devil Strike, make an immediate decisive attack that deals damage based on the charge you currently possess, and if all charge is used the attack gains bonus damage. Additionally once this charm is learned, Steel Devil Strike restores a point of Willpower on a successful hit so long as Hibiki is in Steel Devil Form.

- Steel Devil Style “Dual Slaying Stance” (8 XP): Steel Devil’s style second stance, focused more on defense than offense. Increases your defense by +2 and whenever you are attacked, you may automatically counterattack with a decisive attack with a damage value equal to your current charge, and may add up to (Motonic Reservoir stage x2) additional initiative as bonus damage.

- Air Dragon Style “Breath Seizing Technique” (8 XP): Steal the very breath of life from the opponent themselves. If an attack does a certain amount of damage than the opponent is faced with a penalty to all actions which can be stacked. If this penalty is higher than the opponents stamina then they begin to suffocate until they pass out. Alchemical opponents are immune to suffocation, but the penalty still remains with them.

- Air Dragon Style “Air Dragon Form” (8 XP): Surround yourself with a small personal tempest, providing small boosts to your speed and dodge. All attacks are wreathed in electricity slightly increasing damage, unarmed attacks can be made out to short range while any attacks using Chakram’s turn all aim dice into automatic successes. [Requires Breath Seizing Technique]

And lastly for reference, the charm sheet is here >>753814 and the ability sheet is here >>751367

>>761231
>The Doctor is In - Reports of Gremlin activity are on the rise in Versino, and it's time to conduct ‘exploratory surgery’ in order to deal with them (Reward: New weapon and martial arts style, decreased gremlin activity)
>Boyz In Da Hood - Big Ezay claims to have a new job for you that is similar to his namesake. (Side Mission, Reward: Gang territory becomes relatively free of Gremlins and Humans, minor cash flow)

>>761231
>I am the Soul of my Sword
>The Doctor is In

>>761238
Didn't we have the last level of Sense-Countering Upgrades so we could ignore drones and the like?

>Stormwall Interrupter Circuits (12 -> 2xp)

>>761254
>Dual Slaying Stance (13 -> 5 xp)

Beyond that, I'm not really sure about the last 5 xp. It could be saved for two more MA choices or be spent on Athletics, Dodge, Wits, or something else valuable.

>>761328

Checking the archives I can see mentions of people wanting the second level, but kept pushing the third off.

If it makes you feel any better, rolling really well still makes you safe from a lot of drones.

>>761369
I get that, but I haven't seen anything talking about that lately, and it'd allow us to avoid non-magical senses very easily, which is incredibly useful.

It also had a typo that stated it countered one special vision type, when it countered them all (except non-magical).

>>761231
Would it be possible to keep an eye out for the Wyld Hunter's S/O and child, in case they get into something hairy?

>>761989

That is certainly something you can do yes.

>>762361
Are you gonna write smut?

>>762430

Most likely not.

>>762430

I will say though when the Weekend smut thread was up there were two Alchemical stories that were shown there. Both of them were not bad, and I think can be found on 1d4chan

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>761326 is 1

>>761328 is 2

Mission selection purposes