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The Netherrealm. Once a place of fire, torment and fiery hatred has now become a desolate, lifeless and arid place. Wind that is neither warm nor chilling sweeps across the grey, dusty plains beneath a sky that is just as bleak and depressing. While not all regions of the Netherrealm have fallen prey to Noob Saibot and his Army of Darkness, the regions that have are left like this: a wasteland-like ghost of its former self, drained of all that once made it seem alive, much like the Wraith-King himself.

Fireseed moves across this grey and dark terrain with purpose. He does not like this place; it smells foul to him. Like a corpse, the fields and hills seem almost stricken with the kind of stillness that accompanies death, a realm afflicted by rigor mortis. The rocks themselves seem bleaker and the clouded skies do not help in painting a pretty picture. This is a place no mortal man should be, but it is where the mission has taken him and his squad.

Having left behind the city of Nekros, he leads Team Striker towards a great spire that stretches up to the clouds. That is the roost of Noob Saibot, and Shinnok before him. That is their target. They are to attack it to provide a distraction for Team Silent, who will infiltrate the tower and retrieve their objective: the Orb. Lives depend on them, and so he makes no pause in crossing the terrain. Behind him, Kung Jin, Sam, Jacqui, Forrest Fox and Tundra keep pace, not one of them complaining about the speed they're moving in. They all know the stakes at hand.

Near the black spire, Fireseed crouches and finally stops behind a mound of black dirt. The others do the same as he assesses the situation. Team Silent has made contact; they are in position near the base of the spire to infiltrate when they are ready. He looks again at the spire; there are no enemies to be seen, but the deceptive nature of these foes may mean that they are lying in wait. Either way, they are to draw them out.

Weapon in hand, he looks at the others. "Get ready," he instructs them in a cold, commanding voice.

>Fire explosives at the tower from a distance
>Approach the tower in the open and call a challenge
>Attempt to sneak to the main entrance of the tower
>Bait them into revealing themselves with some bait of your own
>Other

>>842666

> Bait for Baitanon.

>>842655
>Bait them

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>>842731
>>842765

Fireseed narrows his eyes beneath his blood-read bandana. "Tundra. Go lure them out."

The Lin Kuei is uncertain. "Are you sure?"

"You're the one with the history with Noob Saibot. Move out, we'll cover you." He looks over, staring at him in the eye. "That's an order."

Tundra stands up, though Sam quickly grabs his hand, worried. He gives her a look and a small smile before moving away and towards the spire. Fireseed and Kung Jin both prep their bows, arrows in hand, while Jacqui and Sam have their firearms at the ready.

Jacqui scoots closer. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Watch."

Tundra walks towards the spire, alone but unafraid. His right hand begins to glow with a blue aura as particles of frost begin to manifest, gathering into a long, thin shape before solidifying into a Kori blade. He holds the weapon of ice at his side and stops before the large entrance to the tower.

"Noob Saibot!" he shouts as loud as he can. "Come out and face me! Or are you too cowardly after we last met in Outworld?"

At first, there is no response. For several moments Tundra stands there, defiantly staring up at the spire, but nothing happens.

Then, they appear. Slowly and subtly, the walls of the spire shift, like flowing water. Tundra almost doesn't notice it until they are upon him as the wraiths, who had been covering the exterior of the door and the great archway surrounding it, pour forth to meet him.

Fireseed jumps up and aims, firing an explosive arrow at one of the pitch-black oily humanoid shapes. It impacts and explodes within, sending black tar-like blood flying everywhere.

"Team Silent, we have them distracted," he says over the radio before leaping from cover and charging into battle. Kung Jin and Sam hang back to provide long-range cover as Fireseed and Jacqui run up to help Tundra, who is battling the wraiths with his sword.

>1d100 and an action!

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Special Moves:

Tek Bow: Fireseed fires a single arrow that can be aimed in multiple directions. He can also do this in the air.
Enhanced: Triple Arrow: Fireseed fires three arrows at once, which can be all focused in one direction or angled in three different directions. He can also do this in the air.

Smart Quiver: Fireseed can instantly switch which arrows he fires when he draws them out of his quiver, but he only carries a limited number of each.
Explosive Arrow: This arrow head explodes on contact, which can be aimed at an enemy’s feet to launch them into the air.
Fire Arrow: This arrow head is burning, causing a small fire to spread across its target, dealing additional damage.
Piercing Arrow: This arrow head is sharper than the others, allowing it to pierce stronger forms of armor and protected individuals.

Rifle Shot: Fireseed aims with his rifle and fires at a target.
Enhanced: Rifle Burst: As above, but he instead uses a three-round-burst.

Grenade Launcher: Fireseed launches a grenade from the tube under his rifle, which can be arced to go further distances. It explodes on contact and can launch enemies into the air.
Enhanced: Double Launcher: Fireseed fires two grenades rapidly, one near and one further away, with similar effects.

Bayonet Slash: Fireseed slashes in front of him with the bayonet on the end of his rifle.
Enhanced: Slash and Smash: As above, but when the move connects, he follows it up with a devastating smash to the opponent’s face with the butt of his rifle.

Pistol: Fireseed quickly draws his pistol and fires once before putting it away.
Enhanced: Machine Pistol: As above, but the pistol fires a burst of rounds at high speed before he puts it away.

Timed Mine: Fireseed throws a timed mine onto the ground that explodes after a set time. The explosion can launch an enemy into the air.
Enhanced: Landmine: Fireseed throws a landmine onto the ground that explodes when an enemy steps over it with similar effects.

Flamethrower: Fireseed takes out his flamethrower and blasts the area in front of him with a torrent of flame.
Enhanced: Gas Blast: Fireseed discharges a portion of the tank and ignites it, creating a large explosion in front of him.

Bolas: Fireseed throws a set of bolas at an enemy, which wraps them up even if they are blocking.
Enhanced: Electro-Bolas: As above, only now they deal damage due to the electrical effect.

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>842782

> Selective Fire

Only target those who are threatening a team member. We're saving asses.

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>>842794

Fireseed slides his bow away and takes out his rifle with the practiced, controlled movement of a master marksman and operator. He fires as he walks, selectively aiming at wraiths who threaten his squad members. The oily bodies of the Netherrealm-dwellers burst as he shoots them, large holes forming in their bodies where his bullets penetrate cleanly through. He takes an arm off of one holding a sickle and then blasts away half of its head.

Tundra slices one in half as Jacqui punches one in the chest, using her shotgun-gauntlets to simultaneously deliver a scattering blast that destroys its torso completely.

Fireseed looks to his left and sees one of the monsters leap off of a rock, as though vomited from the ground, towards him.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>842831

> Bayonet in the air then switch to pistol for the basics of CQC

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>842831
Pistol it down without breaking your pace

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>>842839

Fireseed stabs at the wraith with the bayonet on the end of his rifle, but the wraith vanishes around his weapon in a pool of black oil. It seeps around him in tendrils to reform and attack him from behind.

>>842842

However, he quickly uses his primary firing hand to draw his pistol from the holster on his thigh, using it to fire directly behind him. He blasts the wraith's leg, stopping its attack, allowing him time to turn around and adjust his aim. Placing the muzzle up against the dead man's head, he fires once, reducing him to a rapidly-deteriorating pile of black goo.

He looks to one side and sees one of Kung Jin's arrows fly cleanly through the neck of one of the wraiths, who tumbles down. He surveys the area and notes that the battle is going well---perhaps a bit too well.

Another wraith leaps at him, which he casually kills with his pistol. As he walks towards Jacqui and Tundra where they battle, he hears a whisper that causes him to become still. "Joshua..."

He turns around, but sees no one other than his squad and the wraiths, three of whom are now advancing on his position.

>1d100 and an action!

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Rolled 80 (1d100)

>>842831
Chuck a mine to cover that lane of attack. Pistol down anyone who survives the blast.

HA HA TIME FOR TUROK

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>842860

> Regroup

Seed sees a trap let's play it safe.

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>>842874

Thinking quickly, he throws a landmine out in front of them. They blunder on top of it and it activates, destroying all three in a fiery inferno that lights up the area. One of them, on fire and half destroyed, wanders through the flames and is quickly dispatched permanently with his sidearm.

Then, the whisper again, only stronger this time. "Joshua..."

He whips around, eyes wide. It sounds as if the person is speaking directly into his ear, whispering in his brain.

>>842877

He turns again when he feels a chill creep up his spine, an unnatural thing for him to experience. The fires of his mine burn away, snuffed out like a candle as a shadow approaches him in the shape of a wolf. Its eyes burn blue, brightly penetrating the darkness that makes up its spectral form.

"I have come for you, Joshua," it speaks, though its mouth does not move. Fireseed knows he should call for his team to regroup, but he cannot look away. Something about this apparition compells him to face it, to stare upon it and meet its cold, blue gaze.

It is in this state of locking eyes that everything else around them seems to dim and slow down, as though far away. Even the sounds of the battle around him seem to fade.

That's when the wolf strikes, leaping at him from all fours.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>842929
PANIC BOWIE KNIFE

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>842929

> EXPlOSIONS EVERYWHERE

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>>842935

Fireseed's muscles tense and he steps to one side, dodging the wispy form of the wolf as it soars towards him. He takes out his knife, easily sliding it up and slicing through the midsection of the black beast when it passes. His knife touches nothing solid, no flesh nor oil, and leaves nothing on it when it emerges from the wolf's side.

Despite this, there is a clear slash mark on the thing itself. When it lands, it hunches over, seemingly wounded---that is until he hears the laughter. It is a low, hissing sound, a cackle that for some inconcievable reason shakes his nerves and penetrates his very soul.

The form begins to change. Its paws elongate, its limbs lengthen and its shoulders broaden. He watches as it shifts from a quadrapedal stance to one that is bipedal, though still wolflike. The monster now rises before him, several feet tall, with lanky limbs ending in long claws.

It turns its head towards him, snarling beneath the same set of burning blue eyes. "Your toys cannot harm me, Joshua!"

>>842943

His grenade launcher is in hand next. He fires at the base of the creature, right where it stands. It could not have been a more perfect shot; the round bursts upon the floor, the explosion rising upwards and engulfing the black shadowy mass in flames. But as he watches, the flames shrink and vanish upon its form, leaving it completely unharmed.

Fireseed stands there, stupified. "What are you?"

"What am I?" it snarls and takes a step closer. "I am your greatest friend, Joshua."

It strikes, swiping a clawed hand at him. He still has enough wits about him to see it coming and dodge. As he backs up and reloads, the creature attacks again.

"Oh yes, I know you, Joshua, son of John. I've known you all your life."

The mercenary hunter quickly ducks when it swings again, before popping back up with his grenade launcher and flamethrower.

"You don't know me," he mutters.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>843002

> Tactical retreat? Tactical Retreat

Rolling to run like a bitch screaming "you don't know me!"

>>843002
FLAMETHORWER!

You know nothing ghost of the past! You are as powerless to haunt me as you were protecting my people!

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>843022

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>843002
Flamethrower all over the place.

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>>843017
>>843029
>>843035

Fireseed turns on his flamethrower and blasts the thing with a torrent of flames. With a constant stream of fire, he shouts a primal scream at the entity, but it is all for naught.

Now it walks towards him amidst the flame, as though soaking it up. The hair on its wolf-like form falls off, turning into smoke, and his body changes again while he ignores the fires covering his body. Now he is human in shape, featureless and obsidian black, save for his bright blue eyes, which even amongst the orange fire can be seen, staring at him, unblinking.

The demon walks up to Fireseed and simply grabs the hand pulling the trigger. Immediately his entire system goes into shock, frozen in place. He lets go of his weapons and drops to his knees.

The flames vanish around the figure, leaving both of them in darkness. The dimming effect has grown more pronounced, and now Fireseed isn't even sure they are in the same place as before. His mouth hangs agape as the demon grips his hand tightly and speaks in the same soft, devilish tone.

"I know you well, Joshua. I know everything you have ever done. I was there when the reservation burnt. I was there when you set fire to that village in Sudan. I was there in Morocco, Uganda, Tunisia. I was there in Outworld, with you."

He leans down and looks into Fireseed's eyes. "You were never truly alone, for I have always been with you, and will always be with you. I am your only friend in the world, Joshua. In some ways, I know you better than you ever will."

Panic races through him as he struggles, but cannot move. His pupils contract as the blue eyes grow nearer.

"I'm not going to kill you," he whispers. "I'm too fond of you for that. Instead, I give you a gift."

Pain shoots through his body, every nerve on fire as the entity clasps his open hand. He cannot see what is happening to his palm, but he can feel it; something boring inside of him, like a burning worm. He wants to scream but cannot. And all the while, this demon stares at him, two orbs of blue gazing into his very bare and vulnerable soul.

Then, the figure removes his hand, leaving him with a mark on his palm, circular in shape and black in color. He speaks, then.

"When you see him, tell him my name: Ruutuu."

And then he is gone.

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>>843102

Fireseed opens his eyes. In but a single momentary flash, he had relived that moment. Of course, the mission had gone on to be a success, with them retrieving the Orb and curing the old Defenders of their sickness, but whereas the others had celebrated, Fireseed could only grow more reclusive.

He had left the Netherrealm with that mark. It exists now, upon his palm, tormenting him. His right hand is gloved and kept that way, as he does not want to look at it. The flesh around it has become grey and unfeeling, as though his hand is asleep constantly. There is an itch there he cannot scratch, and though the apendage is still able to be used, it does not feel like it is his hand any longer.

He has spoken of this only with his superiors: Kaito, General Cage, Colonel Briggs and Johnny Cage. They have had it examined, and everything came up inconclusively. It is not the Wraith-Plague, nor any condition known to modern medicine and science.

It is a curse.

And Fireseed knows of only one man who may be able to help him.

He pilots one of the experimental Dragon Jet crafts into the realm of Earth, over New Mexico, a place he has not been in a very, very long time. The sky is blue, the terrain peaceful, but he is consumed by a number of complex emotions. He had sworn to never return to this land, to his people's reservation. But that is where the man he seeks now resides permanently.

That is where Chief Nightwolf is, a man he swore to never see again as long as he lived.

>Land within the reservation
>Land in the wilderness surrounding the reservation, alone
>Land in the nearby town
>Land in the desert
>Other

>>843145
Land in the wilderness alone.

>>843145
>Land in the wilderness

>>843145

> Wilderness

Time for spirit quest I'm guessing.

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>>843210
>>843228
>>843233

Fireseed pilots the dragon jet towards a small, secluded area and lands it there. With no one in sight for miles, he sets it down next to a small stream of water, kicking up sand and dust as he does. Once the craft is fully in standby mode, he shuts it down and opens the hatch, jumping out.

There is a strange familiarity that strikes him as soon as his boots hit the dirt. It is not a fondness, but a familiarity all the same. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath through his nostrils.

Several years he spent the earliest moments of his life here. He was only a child when he left it and never looked back.

It is dawn. The sun paints the sky a brilliant color as it rises over the mesas. Nearby, a massive mountain looms, dominating the horizon. The sound of running water fills his ears, but instead of peace it brings only more inner turmoil.

He reminds himself that he is only here to fix what needs to be fixed and move on. It is not his choice to return, but whatever that dark entity he encountered in the Netherrealm did to him has forced him to do so.

He begins to walk.

>Head straight to the reservation
>Spend a single night out here, hunting and camping
>Gather some resources; fresh water and plants
>Turn off your communicators and other devices so you cannot be followed nor disturbed
>Other

>>843314
>Head to the reservation
>Turn off comms

>>843314

> Forget turning anything off, in and out. Reservation time.

>>843314
>Turn off your communicators and other devices so you cannot be followed nor disturbed

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>>843324
>>843430
>>843450

As he leaves the area, Fireseed deactivates his communicator and tracking beacon. He doesn't wish to be disturbed by the New Defenders for the time being. If an emergency were to crop up, one that demands his attention, they know where he is going and can find him there, if he hasn't already returned by then. And as far as he is concerned, he intends to.

His mind is still during the travel. His thoughts are focused, but not as singular as he would like. Constantly he pictures the figure he encountered, the shapeshifter. A wolf, then a man-wolf, and then a man.

'Ruutuu.'

He knows not the name, and has not spoken it since, not to anyone. He treks along the path, terrain varrying between green and arid as he journies for the better part of the morning, and then afternoon. Though he has not been in these lands for a very long time, he knows the way.

It is noon when something catches his eye. Honed from years in the jungles of Earthrealm and Outworld, he stares at the movement up ahead.

'Coyote, alone.'

The animal moves with its head low to the ground, eyes fixed on him. It does not appear to be moving directly towards him, but is as cautious as it is curious. Its ears are straight up as it slowly paws at the ground.

Fireseed looks at the animal, meeting its gaze, and cannot help but wonder what it may be thinking. He is hardly afraid of such a small hunter, having taken on game larger than himself with much worse tempermants.

>Ignore it and move on
>Shoot it
>Follow it
>Remain still
>Other

>>843517

> Ignore it.

>>843517
>Ignore it and move on.

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>>843547
>>843564

Fireseed pauses for only a brief moment and then continues onwards, ignoring it. The coyote quickly bounds away, running from him as he draws near. He doesn't spare it another look and keeps going.

It is not much longer before he reaches the edge of the reservation. Atop a small hill, he looks down upon it. Shacks, trailers, run-down buildings, broken fences, wild dogs, an assortment of vehicles in conditions ranging from used-good to nearly totalled, tipped-over trees and absolutely nothing happening.

It's about what he expected, and he is still wracked with disappointment.

'This place has not changed since the invasion. It should be buried.'

From atop the hill, he can see occasional movement down below. The people are slow and lazy, poor and fat. Even children do not play in a place like this. Whatever life this place and this tribe may have once had has long since been drained from it. In more than one way, it reaffirms his choice to have never come back here.

'There's nothing here.'

>Search the town for Nightwolf
>Start asking around
>Get a drink
>Conceal your weapons
>Other

>>843630

>Other

Sit right here and camp right here. Seed apparently wants nothing to do with these people.

>>843630
>Get a drink

>>843630
>>Get a drink

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>>843706
>>843726

He walks into town through one of the small side roads. As he nears the buildings, he begins to feel a familiar gut-wrenching and decides to drown it in the usual way. His flask, however, is dry. Thankfully, there is a bar here, and one that looks very, very cheap.

Fireseed sits down. The bartender gives him a strange look, but doesn't question the man. "What'll it be?"

>Something light
>Something heavy
>A bottle
>Fill up your flask
>Other

>>843799
>>Something heavy
and
>>Fill up your flask

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>>843922

Fireseed wordlessly points to a bottle of whiskey and takes out his flask. The bartender hands it to him and lets him pour before taking it back and setting it on the shelf again. Fireseed closes his eyes and uses his left hand to drink while his right remains on the table, curled into a fist. He tightens his grip in an attempt to feel anything, but cannot; the hand is completely without feeling. He swallows the slightly-burning liquid; it gives him a steadying feeling.

He sets the flask down as his ears pick up the sound of a car pulling up outside. A moment later, someone walks into the bar; a woman. She approaches a stool and sits a few seats down from Fireseed and orders a simple drink. He doesn't look at her as he takes another swig, but she finally notices him due to his clothing and weaponry and stares for several minutes.

"...Joshua?"

He opens his eyes mid-drink and then wipes his lips clean. He looks at her from the corner of his eyes. She is a beautiful young woman in plain, somewhat rough clothing, with dark brown hair and glasses that, along with her bangs, nearly conceal a pair of inquisitive brown eyes that are currently alive with recognition. She gasps slightly.

"Oh my god, it is you," she says, setting down her drink. "I saw you on TV!"

"Do I know you?" he asks quietly.

"Of course you---well, then again, it's been a long time. More than twenty years." She moves from her stool to sit next to him. "It's me, Julia. We were neighbors."

He looks back forward. "I don't remember."

"Well I don't imagine I would either but I have pictures," she says, taking out her wallet. She fishes around for a moment, searching for the elusive photograph. He studies her face a moment longer; he definitely doesn't remember her at all, but she seems to know him.

>Stop her and ask about Nightwolf
>Let her find the photo
>Get up and leave
>Tell her you don't care
>Other

>>843995
>Let her find her photo.

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At this rate, I wonder if we're going to meet a certain Nez Perce warrior-shaman from Idaho.

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>>844189

All part of the plan.

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>>844150

He remains silent as she finds the photo. "Ah-hah! Here. This is one of you and me, taken by your mother." She shows him a black-and-white photo of two children by a river. He blinks as he looks at it.

He then drinks. "I don't remember it."

"That's fine," she says. "I'm sure your brother and sister have more photos. I don't have one of your parents, I think." She looks up at him as she puts away her wallet and stares for a moment. "I'm sorry, I just never expected to see you again. It was a big surprise to us all to see you on television in Washington. What's it like? Being on that team, I mean. The Defenders?"

"New Defenders."

"Right, of course, sorry. New Defenders."

"It keeps me busy."

She laughs, bringing a hand up to her mouth. He doesn't, and drinks again. Her laughter slowly dies off and she sits there for a moment.

"So... What brings you back after so long? Do your siblings know you're here?" She looks behind her, out the window. "If the town knew you were here, there'd probably be a big thing about it. I bet all the kids would want to meet you."

Fireseed takes one last drink and caps his flask. "I'm not interested in meeting children." She looks back at him as he lays some money on the bar. "I didn't come here to be some kind of idol. The less people know I'm here, the better."

She blinks a few times. "Oh... I see." She sits still for a minute before asking, "In that case, do you need a ride anywhere? So you don't have to walk. I didn't see a vehicle parked outside when I came in."

>Take me to Nightwolf
>Take me to my siblings
>Leave her here
>Share a drink
>Other

>>844295
>Take me to Nightwolf

>>844624

About time. Where is everyone tonight?

>>844645
It's Friday night, and I'm out playing board games at a friend's place. Maybe /qst/ is more socially active than I give it credit for.

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>>844624

'Since she's offering,' he thinks. "I would like you to take me to Nightwolf."

She's surprised and slightly taken aback. "Nightwolf? You... Oh. That's, uh..."

"What? Is he dead?"

"No! Not at all. It's just that is slightly difficult. I don't know where he is."

"This is his reservation. Everyone should know him."

"And everyone does, but he's reclusive."

"Isn't he chief?"

"He is, but... things don't really work like that anymore. There's a rumor that he lives in a cave and only a few people know where."

"And who would those people be?"

Again, she is unprepared to answer. "Well, that's just it, isn't it? I don't quite know."

Fireseed moves to stand up, but Julia quickly intercepts him. "Wait! But I can find out?"

"It's my problem. You should finish your drink."

"Well, I'd like to help you. It's not every day that a childhood friend turned worldwide hero walks into town?"

He looks her in the eyes, staring through her glasses. "I don't think I'm a hero."

She averts her eyes. "Okay, that's fine. Still, I'd like to help you, Joshua." She puts an arm behind her back and stands somewhat awkwardly. "Look, I don't know what happened long ago, but I heard things. I won't make any presumptions, and if you don't want to talk to me, that's okay too. But still... you're back. That's nice."

He continues to observe her in silence as she takes out a few bucks and places them on the bar for her unfinished drink. "I'll be in my car," she says, finally looking back up at him. "If you don't want my help, don't get in and we'll just forget we saw each other."

She heads to the exit and promptly leaves. Fireseed considers what his next move should be; if Nightwolf's location isn't common knowledge, perhaps it would be best to get her help. But even so, she's just another attachment to his past.

>Get in her car
>Leave
>Get in her car and have her drive you somewhere else
>Stay in the bar for a while
>Other

>>844705
>Get in her car

>>844780

I think I'll hit bed for the night, continue tomorrow. Hopefully more people then.

>>844705
>>Get in her car
Turok deserves a waifu.

>>844189

Did you know originally Damashi wanted to do a fighting game shared universe quest?

>>844705
> Call shotgun

>>845935
I will say that new Thunder is probably my favorite Native American fighter. He's the best kind of badass: the stoic mountain who cares and fights for justice.

>>845935
>Did you know originally Damashi wanted to do a fighting game shared universe quest?

Yeah, and I've always wanted to give Jade more screentime

Also Sam has no powers

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>>845950
What happened to Jade in MK9 was fucking criminal. At least in Damashi's quest, she only got captured a minimum of three times before having a kid with Smoke. Her plot arc wasn't "WHERE'S KITANA?" before she jobs like a bitch the moment she turns face.

>>845950

Did you know Damashi wanted to make the Otiak saga longer so he could bring in cameos from other sources such as DC?

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>>845964
>such as DC?

Everything was correct except for that; I never had plans for DC. I remember a guy who wanted Superman at one point and I was firmly against it.

>>845957

Yeah, I know.

>>845957
And at one point we did thought she was playing a pivotal role, but it turned out to be Khameleon mixing things.

Still a better story

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>>844780
>>845593
>>845935

Fireseed takes only another moment before walking out to her car and wordlessly climbing into the shotgun seat. As he does, she lets out a sigh of relief and drives off.

"I'm glad you're here," she says to him. "Things are worse than ever it seems. The reservation is on its last legs, just look at the state of it."

Fireseed stares out the window at the passing buildings; his judgment is still the same as it was when he first looked upon it, so he must agree with her on that. the difference being that he doesn't care.

"The power of the tribe has diminished in recent years. Zoning laws, taxes, local businesses closing, lack of relief aid, factories nearby polluting the air... It's like the whole world has forgotten we exist, and wants to continue to forget."

His brow raises slightly. 'Imagine that.'

She stops in front of a simple, one-story house. It is better maintained than the others, but isn't anything special. She pulls up to the sidewalk and turns off her car. "This is my place. I thought you'd like to get a little, I don't know, situated before we find Nightwolf."

He steps out of the car and she quickly follows, both slamming the car door at the same time. "I don't want to take long," he says to her. "I have business with Nightwolf."

"I understand," she says, walking up to the front door and unlocks it. She opens it and holds it for him, motioning with a hand. "Won't you come inside?"

Looking up and down the road at the simple neighborhood, Fireseed breathes through his nostrils sharply as he shrugs. 'Nothing much else to do, for now.'

He walks past her and inside her home. It is furnished neatly, if somewhat plainly. Pictures hang on one wall and there is an open archway leading to the dining room and kitchen beyond. She closes the door behind them.

"Can I get you anything? Water, tea, anything like that?"

>Water
>Tea
>Alcohol
>Nothing
>Other

>>845999

> Water

Childhood friend... drinking together.... let's not.

>>845999
>Water

>>846002
Implying the flimsy Firewater can move the mighty Fireseed!

>>846024

If Cao taught us anything it's don't plant your seed!
Especially not with childhood friends we really aren't particularly invested in!

>>846033
Shit, we must quickly check if it isn't Kahmeleon!

Also that there aren't any roofies in our water

>>846039
I'm pretty sure Khameleon is too busy right now to mess with one singular defender by masquerading as a cute childhood friend on a reservation in Earthrealm.

>>846043
It's official! It's one of the kids!

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>>846002
>>846012

"Water's fine."

She smiles and moves into the kitchen. He remains standing and looks at some of the pictures on the wall. They're all from an older time, usually with Julia as a child or her going to school. Some of the others have children in them, but he doesn't know if he is in any of them. He studies them for a moment but they raise little emotion in him; just someone else's memories on someone else's wall.

Julia returns a moment later, holding water in a coffee cup. "Sorry, I don't really have any better glasses. But it's clean, really, I have a purifier in the sink," she smiles.

He takes it and holds it up slightly as if to say, "It's fine," and then drinks. She joins him for a moment and then speaks while he finishes the cup off.

"I know I've said it already, but I'm glad you're back, Joshua. You don't know what it means to some people to get a chance to see you again." She places an hand on his arm, gentle and delicate. "I know I probably remember more about that time than you do, but we had a lot of fun when we were children and didn't have to worry about so much."

He lowers the cup and looks over at her. "I didn't come to visit or catch up."

Her smile fades somewhat and she lowers her hand. "I know. You came to see Nightwolf. Don't worry, you will."

As he looks at her face, it distorts slightly, very subtly. His brow furrows as the room behind her starts to faintly wobble. A picture behind her begins to bleed colors and his limbs feel funny.

"You... what did you..."

"Shh," she says, again gently touching his rapidly-numbing limb. "You're going to see Nightwolf."

He wants to fight it, but he can't. He drank it all, and she made it an extra-strong dosage. The world spins, her face stretches and his feet no longer hold him up. He falls, and darkness follows.

>>846050

ZOOOOOOODDDDDD

>>846051
I TOLD YOU SO!

>>846051

Wow, fucking Julia.

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Darkness surrounds him. Then light, streaming through the thick leaves of the jungle. Fireseed moves through the foliage, careful to not disturb anything. His bow is in hand, mud and paint cover his body, and his eyes are intense and focused; not entirely the eyes of a man, but a predator.

Up ahead, something moves, causing him to become still. A two-headed snake creeps along a branch, black tongues flicking out of its mouths. A spider housed in a skull like a hermit grab slowly descends from a nearby treebranch towards the center of its web. Further up, a dead carcass of a jungle beast lies upon the jungle floor in the center of a clearing, killed but not eaten; a single slash mark across its throat is its only wound, but the blood on the floor indiciates that it was dragged here.

It is a trap. His prey is clever; it wants to lure other animals in, scavengers or those hungry enough to take the risk, and then it will attack.

His fingers slowly move across the mud in front of him, feeling it. He smells his prey's presence. It is nearby, hiding like he is. He has to trust that it doesn't know he is here, but it may. To underestimate it would invite death, and in this place, death is never far behind you. You learn to live with death constantly looking over your shoulder, holding the blade up to your neck. You have to learn how to keep pushing that blade away.

He draws an arrow from his quiver and readies himself. It could be hiding anywhere.

>The thick bushes to the left of the clearing
>The log on the opposite end
>The rocks on the right
>Walk forward and intentionally trigger the trap
>Other

>>846076
>The log on the opposite end

>>846076

> Trigger it

>>846080
>>846106

I'll need a tie breaker.

>>846076
>Trigger it
Well we were already losers enough to fall into one trap....

>>846106
>>846111
You generally don't hunt something by giving it the advantage.

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>>846106
>>846111

Fireseed steps out of his cover and into the clearing. He keeps low, his bow ready with arrow, as he approaches the bait. His eyes constantly scan the area around him, knowing he is now being watched, perhaps by more than one set of inhuman eyes. He will make them think he is the prey. He will let them make the first move.

He stops near the corpse and nudges it with his foot.

From the bushes to the left emerges a creature fast as lightning, claws spread and mouth wide open. The raptor lets loose a hissing scream as its clawed feet kick up mud behind it. The sleek body moves almost like a serpent, head and tail on level as it dashes with cheetah-like speed. A single blink and someone could be dead; one good grip with its toothy maw around a human neck, followed by a sharp twist, would mean the reaper wins.

But Fireseed is ready. His ears had already heard the creature before it moved. He turns and aims as he stares down the sight of his bow at the yellow eyes of this primordial predator.

Now they would see who is truly the prey.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>846129
Shot to the jugular to stop it. Cleave with knife if it closes the gap.

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>846129
Whin in doubt, headbutt

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>>846134

His arrow flies first, but misses. The narrow raptor sprints at him and finally reaches him, ready to kill.

>>846137

With his arrow a miss, Fireseed instead opts to bull rush at the creature and smash his forehead into its snout. The force of the blow robs the raptor of most of its momentum and motivation, but the body of the raptor still crashes into him. He feels its claws scrape at his armor and flesh, cutting both superficially.

The raptor hisses again and struggles against him as he draws his knife. It snaps and claws at him while he pushes its head back with his other hand.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>846148
Knife to the throat.

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>846148
Bolas on the snout!

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>>846161

Fireseed grits his teeth and attempts to stab the raptor in the throat, but the excited dinosauroid wrestles out of his grasp and leaves him with a nasty gash across one arm. The beast wriggles away as he rolls back, both getting up on their feet.

It hisses at him again, its head growing lower as its claws grow wider. Knife in hand, he prepares himself for the next round while his other hand reaches behind him.

>>846166

The raptor springs and he hurls a set of bolas at its mouth. The projectile wraps around the snout of the creature and he side-steps its body. When it lands, it desperately tries to claw at the homemade snare to free its now clamped-shut snout.

Fireseed shouts and leaps at the raptor, for now it is his turn.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>846173
Stomp its stupid pea-brain head in.

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>846175
>>846173
Be disgruntled that now it's useless as a trophy!

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>>846175

He howls like a man possessed as he lands on the raptor, burying his boot in its neck and impaling its side with his knife. It screams and cries, but he doesn't care. He brings up a foot and slams it back onto its neck again, then its head, over and over. He crushes the skull and soon the head itself is nothing more than a messy pulp of scales, feathers, bone and brain.

>>846178

Fireseed breathes heavily. The jungle around him is never truly quiet, but now that the battle is concluded, it is quieter. He leans down and takes his knife, disgrunted by his results. He lost his head in the thick of the moment; now he can't take its skull as a trophy. But, it still has good toe-claws intact, and those are always useful.

He begins to harvest them from the creture's hind legs when he notices something. Not only is the jungle quieter, it is dead quiet. With so much life in the Outworld jungles, that is usually an impossibility---unless something has scared them all into absolute silence.

He slowly looks up as a great shadow grows across the clearing. The sunlight is blocked by the head of a creature that stands three stories tall. The silhouette of the gargantuan beast is more than enough to give him pause, but what truly frightens him is the lack of sense the situation makes.

It couldn't have snuck up on him. It's impossible; a creature that size, the noise it would have made, he would have heard it from miles away!

White, blank eyes stare down at him, and then it opens its mouth to roar. His ears are filled with noise that is unbearable and his nostrils pick up the scent of a thousand kills lingering in its breath. The monster, for it is a monster, malevolent and unholy, finishes its roar and takes a step towards him, meaning to scoop him up in one bite.

Death has come again.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>846222


> Know that jurassic park lies and jump onto it's foot. Stab into it's ankle for a handhold and hang on.

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>846222
Drop a mine nonchalantly, and step back luring the beast onto it.

>>846227

WHYYYYYYY

>>846227
>>846228

At least there is no one around to see it!

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>846222
Get on top of it and stay away from its jaws.

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>>846225
>>846227
>>846254

Fireseed closes his eyes as the monster grabs him in its jaws, clamping down on him.

Then, all is darkness again. It was not entirely a memory, nor was it entirely a dream. He remembers well the battle with the raptor, but that monstrous rex at the end never appeared. He hunted such creatures but was never caught off-guard or eaten by one. That was where the memory ended and the dream began; or was it all a dream to begin with, that slowly unraveled the further on it went?

His eyes shoot open and he quickly pushes himself up. He is in an unfamiliar place; it is the desert and the sun is nearly setting, painting the sky red. Wind brushes past him, startling him; he is on edge and every nerve is alive with sensory information as he tries to piece together what happened.

The first thing he realizes, after not knowing where he is, is that he is unarmed. His weapons are gone, stripped from him. The next thing he pieces together is that Julia drugged him. Memory returns to him as he recalls his final moments before the dream. And finally, his ears pick up the sound of a crackling fire.

He turns and sees Julia sitting on the other side of a small campfire, but she looks different. She is no longer wearing her casual clothing, nor her glasses. A feathered headband, a denim skirt and a leather top over a green shirt is what she wears now, along with cowboy boots. A necklace hangs from her neck, a blue gem encased in angelic wings.

She looks up at him. "Are you well?" she asks.

>Attack her
>Demand to know what she has done
>Say nothing
>Demand the return of your weaponry
>Other

>>846263

> Say nothing look for weaponry and then leave.

>>846268
Sounds like a plan

>>846263
>Demand to know what she has done
Preferably with a hand around her throat.

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>>846268
>>846285
>>846308

Fireseed glares at her, then looks around for his weapons. He doesn't see them anywhere in the small campsite, and so he picks himself up, dusts himself off and begins to walk away.

Julia looks up at him. "Hey. Hey!" She sets aside the stick she was using to stoke and fire and runs up to him. "Where are you going?"

He doesn't reply. He is too busy scanning the horizon, attempting to discern where he is. Julia attempts to get in front of him as she continues talking.

"Alright, you're probably upset about the drugging. And the weapons. But I had to do it."

"Who forced you to?" he asks, almost absent-mindedly.

"You did!"

At that, he stops and stares at her again. "Forced," he repeats.

"You did," she insists, completely serious. "You show up after twenty years, armed to the teeth, asking for our chief. And I'm sorry, but you're not exactly polite. We don't know if you can be trusted."

"I'm on the New Defenders."

"A government-sponsored initiative, but that's not the point. You left us, Joshua. You left the tribe, abandonned us when we could have used your help rebuilding after the invasion. You ran away, so you don't get the benefit of a doubt when you suddenly show up out of the blue asking to see the most important man in our community."

"I'm not going to be guilted over something I don't feel guilty about." He points at her and continues, "You yourself admited that the reservation is garbage."

"That garbage is my home. It was your home, once."

"Not anymore, and I don't care if it is your home. That place is place is full of fat, lazy people, doing nothing until they die. That's not me, so stop acting like I should think it's important. It isn't."

Her lips quivers slightly as she gets an upset look on her face. "I didn't want to believe what he said about you. I wanted to think you were better. I'm disappointed in you, Joshua. I'm so disappointed. I think your parents would be, too."

>Threaten her
>Grab her throat
>Fight her
>Ignore her and keep walking
>Other

>>846326

> Keep on walking.

>>846326
>Ignore her and keep walking
>I'm disappointed in you
"The feeling is mutual"

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>>846335
>>846348

"The feeling is mutual."

He continues walking, leaving her there, slightly stunned.

As she watches him go, she feels her anger mounting. Her gloved hands curl into fists and she shouts his name. "Joshua! You're not going to walk away this time!"

She charges at him from behind and goes for a kick!

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>846371

> All of the dodging/ don't even give her the pleasure of fighting.

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>846371
Legsweep

"Is this why you took my weapons?"

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>846371
Grab her leg and sweep her off the other.

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>>846375

He easily dodges her first kick and continues walking. Undeterred, she continues attempting to attack him. He dodges, ducks and sidesteps around her fists and feet, not even giving her the dignity of looking at her, much less fighting back. Julia, determined to not let him get away, goes to grab him. At this, he turns and breaks her hold on him, pushing her back.

>>846380

She meets his eyes and then charges back in with a high kick. He ducks and spins, sticking out his leg and sweeping it at her support leg to take her down. She hits the dirt as he gets back up.

He looks down on her. "Is this why you took my weapons?"

"No!" she mutters as she gets back up. "We aren't allowed to bring weapons to this place! It's important!"

She punches at him, but he catches each one or deflects them off to the side with his arms and elbows. She isn't unskilled, but he is much more skilled than she.

"It's... important... you... stupid... bastard!" she says between punches. He finally grabs both of her hands and holds tightly onto them. "I'm trying to take you to Nightwolf! Like you wanted!"

>>846395

He lets go and she steps back before springing forward with a rising axe kick. He grabs her leg out of the air and turns it, throwing her down to the ground. She tries to get back up, but he quickly gets on top of her and holds her down, getting her in a choke and arm hold. He doesn't put enough pressure on to hurt, but enough to keep her from fighting back.

"I'm not playing games. You drugged me."

"I had to," she spits, struggling in his grip. "You're a stranger here! You left us, you left our ways, you could be someone else entirely! We do what we do to protect our chief!"

She tries to kick and struggle, but he continues holding on. She pants as she stops.

"Joshua... I'm sorry. I didn't want to drug you, to take away your weapons, but I knew you wouldn't do it willingly. I had to. Just don't walk away, damn you. Listen."

>Let go of her and walk away
>Let go of her and listen
>Keep holding on, but let her speak
>Keep holding on, apply more pressure, force her into submission
>Other

>>846420
>Keep holding on, but let her speak

>>846420
>Let go of her and listen
Fine we listen, but we won't look at her!
Also back in civilization we got more effective ways of transportation than drugging, disarming, and punching!

>>846420

> Let go of her and walk away.

WE DON'T NEED THEIR HELP! WE ARE TUROK

>>846431
>>846433
>>846454

As much as I'd like a tie breaker, it seems like you three are my only friends at the moment, so I'll go with >Let go of her and listen, since we've two for listening and two for letting go, in a way.

Writing now.

>>846460
I concede to your decision

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>>846431
>>846433
>>846454

Fireseed loosens his grip and lets her slip free. He stands up and backs away, folding his arms as she turns to look up at him.

"Speak then, while I'm willing to listen."

She gets up and dusts herself off, wiping her hands on the jean skirt. "Things aren't great, like I said earlier. Nightwolf doesn't live on the reservation. We have enemies, and he isn't the warrior he used to be."

"So he's old and weak."

"He's old but don't you dare call him weak," she says fiercely. "He lives off of the reservation, in a secret location. There is a pueblo built atop a system of caves, that is where he is hidden. It's where we still practice our rites and traditions, and where we keep our culture alive even afer all this time. It is where we speak and listen to the spirits."

"And this necessitated drugging and disarming me?"

"I told you already, you can't be trusted. You left us, Joshua. As much as I would like to think you could be trusted, we have our rules and ways. No weapons are allowed where we are going, it is law."

"You could have asked me."

"I'm sorry, but I think I can safely say that you wouldn't have complied."

"You're right."

A new voice speaks. "And that is why you would not have been allowed to come here." The voice is deep and comes from behind, causing him to turn and see.

A new figure stands there, a tall and broad-shouldered man with his arms folded. In what little light of the day remains, Fireseed can see his face: his features are imposing, with noticable cheekbones, a flat nose and a square jaw, painted in white war paint. His clothes are denim, from his vest to his jeans, and moccasin-like shoes adorn his feet. Similar to Julia, a feathered headband stretches around his head, buried in his shoulder-length brown hair.

"Father," Julia whispers.

"You do not belong here, Joshua," he says to him. "You have abandonned our ways. You have forsaken the spirits of your ancestors and of the Earth, and thus your heart has grown cold and become stone."

Fireseed snorts dismissively. "Do you know why I am here? I didn't come to be judged, I came to see Nightwolf. Your words mean nothing to me. I did not come here to reconnect with my roots or see the tribe. Just him."

He shakes his head. "No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning. That you would turn your back on yours leads your soul to much suffering."

>"Enough. Either take me to Nightwolf or don't."
>"I'm leaving."
>"Are you going to spout more nonsense, or do something useful?"
>"If I must go through you, I will."
>Other

>>846549
>"Enough. Either take me to Nightwolf or don't."
>"If I must go through you, I will."

>>846549
>"Enough. Either take me to Nightwolf or don't."
We aren't getting less cursed by standing around.

>>846549

> Other

Silence is great.

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>>846576
>>846595

"Enough of this," Fireseed says. "My time is being wasted. Either take me to Nightwolf or don't."

The man walks down the hill and stands in front of Johua. He stands a foot taller than the New Defender and stares down at him, much like how he stared down at Julia, who now lingers behind. Fireseed does not back down and remains ready to go through him if necessary.

"You carry many shadows other than your own," he says in a judgmental tone. "Follow."

He walks towards the setting sun, and Julia approaches Fireseed. "Come," she urges him before following her father.

Fireseed does not linger. He is tired of waiting around, and follows the two of them.

They walk for several minutes before coming to a large hill. At the top, the three of them stop walking and look down at a bright light below. Fireseed's eyes narrow as he looks upon a large cavern with a great opening hidden by the nearby hills. Within the cavern is a large community of buildings made of stone and wood, all lit by torches and fires. He can hear a faint sound of drums beating within.

"This is our community," Julia says to him. "We don't---Hey!"

Fireseed begins walking down towards it, and she moves to keep up while her father follows slowly. As they approach, he notes others, all dressed in traditional garb: robes, woven cloths, beaded vests and more. They look at him curiously as he walks up and stops, looking around. No sign of Nightwolf, yet.

>Demand to be taken to Nightwolf
>Demand Nightwolf come to see you
>Let them lead you in silence
>Observe your surroundings more
>Other

>>846700
>Let them lead you in silence
Enough talking, more walking!

>>846700
>Let them lead you in silence

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>>846712
>>846723

Fireseed allows the two of them to walk past and lead him deeper within. As he passes by a series of brick structures that stretch up to the roof of the cave, he hears someone call out to him. "Joshua!"

He turns upon hearing the female voice as someone crashes into him, throwing her arms around him in a hug. "I can't believe it's truly you," she says, her voice weak.

"Danielle?"

She pulls back and looks at him in the eyes. "Oh, Joshua. Little brother!" She hugs him again, burying her face in his shoulder. She holds on tightly as she speaks. "I can't believe you're finally here! Where is Joseph? We need to find him so he can see as well!" She starts looking around for thier brother. "Joseph? Joseph! Where are you?"

>See your little brother
>Say that you don't have time and go to see Nightwolf
>Brush her off and resume
>Ask her what she is doing here
>Other

>>846799
>Brush her off and resume
"Later sister, I am dying at the moment"

>Other
"Julia, why is it that after listening to you, I meet everyone EXCEPT the man I came for?!"

>>846820

Honestly, this is pretty perfect.

>>846799
>Say you don't have time and need to see Nightwolf

>>846820
>>846843
>>846799
Oh right, by "Brush her off and resume" I actually meant "Say that you don't have time and go to see Nightwolf"

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>>846820
>>846836
>>846843

In response, he takes her hands off of him. "I'm don't have time. I need to see Nightwolf." Before his sister can reply, he looks at Julia. "Why is it, that after listening to you, I meet everyone EXCEPT the man I came for?"

Julia puts her hands together and offers an apologetic look at Danielle. She motions with her head towards her father, now in the back of the cave, for Fireseed to follow. He does so, leaving the two women behind.

Julia's father stands in front of an entrance to a smaller cave. As Fireseed tries to move past, he is stopped when the larger man places a firm hand on his shoulder. He glares at the younger man and says, "Be mindful of whom you are about to speak to."

Though it is not a threat, it is intoned like one. He lets go and allows him to enter. Fireseed walks down a path of darkness, following the twisting cavern until he comes upon a chamber that smells of incense and other things. A small fire pit is built into the center of the room, over which a small pot rests above the coals. The room is covered in quilts and fetishes, feathers and other small things, but he doesn't care about any of that.

The man he has come to see sits cross-legged behind the dim fire. Nightwolf has grown old; his face is worn with lines and covered in paint. He wears no shirt, but atop his head and across his shoulders and back is a wolf-pelt, with the head worn atop his. The shaman's eyes are closed but his posture indicates his alertness, and when Fireseed enters properly, the older man's eyes open.

"Joshua."

"Greg."

>Remove your glove. "Fix this."
>"You're a hard man to find."
>"Who is Ruutuu?"
>"I need your help."
>Other

>>846903

> I need your help
> Who is Ruutuu?

We need intel and then we deal with this ourselves.

>>846903
>"Who is Ruutuu?"
We only need help with what we cannot provide on our own. In this case; knowledge

>>846903
>Jam your hand into his face.
>"Who is Ruutuu, and how do I kill him?"

Internet problems. Lost my post. Have to fix it and rewrite. Standby

>>847188

Back in business. Rewriting post now.

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>>846914
>>846919
>>846924

"Who is Ruutuu?"

Fireseed carefully studies Nightwolf's expression, which changes in sublte ways. "You bring much evil here with that name."

"Well, he's what brought me here, and as soon as I learn what I need, I'll leave. What is he, and how do I kill him?"

"What you seek is knowledge, but what you need is wisdom. Knowledge is of the past, and wisdom is for the future. What you learn from knowledge will mean nothing if you lack the wisdom to use it."

Fireseed folds his arms and keeps himself from rolling his eyes as he grows increasingly impatient. "Is this all you are going to do? Sit there and spout off tribal nonsense and sayings and pass it off as wisdom?"

"It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand."

"I thought so," Fireseed groans. "I got enough of that already from the others outside. I came to speak to you about Ruutuu, not be judged for what happened twenty years ago and have a whole lot of nothing said with many words."

"Then listen, or your tongue will make you deaf. You could have avoided all of that, you know. You could have spoken to me directly when we met earlier."

"What? What are you talking about? I've spent the entire time looking for you and getting drugged and dragged around. We never met."

"But we did," he insists, bringing up a tan cup of water to drink. He looks up at Fireseed and says, "Coyote is always out there waiting, and coyote is always hungry."

He stares at the old shaman for a moment, repeating his words in his head. Then, realization. "Oh, I see now. Of course. Chief Nightwolf, the 'skinwalker.' You were that coyote." He shakes his head and and rubs his eyes. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You saw me with your eyes, but not your heart. You could have spoken to me, but you ignored me, because you trust what your eyes tell you and not what your soul speaks to you."

"It was a coyote. Was I supposed to instantly know it was significant?" Fireseed steps forward. "Play whatever games you like, Nightwolf. I came to learn about Ruutuu and I'm going to learn."

"Sit," Nightwolf instructs him.

>Sit
>Stand
>Demand
>Take off glove
>Other

>>847283

> Take off glove
&
> Sit

>>847283
>>Sit
>>Take off glove

>>847283
>Sit

>>847283
>Sit

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>>847292
>>847299
>>847301
>>847317

Fireseed sits and takes off his glove as he does so. He points his palm at Nightwolf over the fire, showing him the grey hand. "What do you make of this?"

The shaman's eyes grow worrisome. "You have been marked."

"And you are very observant. How do I get rid of it?"

The shaman takes his hand into his own and inspects it. The flesh is cracked and riddled with black lines; the veins are dark and diseased. He touches around the mark, but does not touch the mark itself. "This is worse than I knew. You have seen him; he has touched you."

"In the Netherrealm. We were on a mission to attack Noob Saibot's tower and he appeared before me. I couldn't hurt him, not with any of my weapons. What is he? A wraith, some kind of spirit? Why is he allied with Noob Saibot? What does he have to do with my past? He spoke about places I have been and things I have done."

Nightwolf looks up. "Your questions are like the song of a bird: each likes to hear his own be sung. Silence. Drink this." He hands him a tan cup.

"Last time I trusted one of you with a drink, I was drugged."

"Yes, I know of Julia. You should cherish youth, but trust old age." He drinks from the very cup to demonstrate its harmlessness and hands it back to Fireseed, putting it into his hand. "Drink."

Fireseed takes a sip. It is a strange concoction, some kind of herbal mix, a strange tea. He does so until Nightwolf holds up a hand and takes back the cup.

"Ruutuu is a demon," he begins, whispering in a low tone as his fingers hover over the red-hot coals. "He is unlike most other creatures who dwell in the Netherrealm, but there are more like him. Each are unique. He is connected to us."

"How?"

"He is our sins. All of our tribe's sins, a manifestation of pride, guilt, pain, anger, and suffering of our collective people. If you did not share a tribal ancestry with us, he could not have marked you so; that is likely why Noob Saibot sought him out in that dark place."

"Why did he mark me? What does it mean? I'm not part of the tribe any longer."

"You consider yourself no longer part of us, but your considerations mean little. Man's law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. You will never be rid of your ancestry, Joshua. You have blood in your veins that stretches back to the dawn of our people, when the Earth was not as it was now. I share this blood with you, but more than that, we share the spirits of our ancesters and forefathers; the Wolf, the Bear, the Eagle, the Coyote, and more. They follow you still, even if you ignore them. That is how you were marked."

>"But what will it do to me?"
>"I don't care. Tell me how to get rid of it."
>"What about Ruutuu? How can he be defeated?"
>Remain silent
>Other

>>847441
>Other
What good did my bloodline and my guardian spirits do for me when Shao Kahn attacked?

>>847453
Got my backing

>>847453

I'll go for it.

Because I got fucking nothing.

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>>847453
>>847468
>>847486

"And what good did my bloodline and my guardian spirits do for me when Shao Kahn attacked? What good did it do for my parents?"

"The rain cares not upon who it falls. It falls upon the just and unjust alike. What happened to your parents was a great tragedy, and you are not alone in grieving for them. You should not fear grief. You should not be afraid to cry."

"I don't grieve for them. I don't cry for them. They're dead, and I'm not. I'm alive because I had the will to live, and it's what's kept me alive all this time. I don't think about the dead, because they're gone."

"This is where you are wrong, Joshua. You separate life and death, when there truly is no separation: they exist as one. There is no such thing as death, there is a change of worlds. There is no distrinction between life and death; all who have died are equal. You place false value on life and think death a punishment, when it is not so."

"They're still gone."

"They aren't. They have been with you since your birth, have been with you during every step you have taken, and will remain with you when you pass. They love you now as they have always loved you: I was there, at your birth, when your mother cried as she held you. I was there to bury her, to send her spirit into the next world with song and dance. But you were not."

"You're going to brag about being at my mother's funeral now?"

"You ran from us, from your family, your home, your guardian spirits. A brave man faces death but once, but a coward faces it many times."

"And now you're calling me a coward."

"You are. You have lived in the shadow of death ever since you ran away. To you, death is a monster, a lurking thing that you glimpse when you look over your shoulder; it rules your life and fogs your judgment, robs you of any meaningful connection to the other world. The spirits are those who have passed, and because they have passed, you think them weak. You think of death as something to fight, something to be beaten."

"Because it is. I fought it every day while I was in the jungle."

"You did not fight death, you fought life. You denied yourself a life you could have lived, choosing to become something else: a predator, a hunter, a beast. You kept yourself from living and convinced yourself it was life."

>Stand up and denounce this judgment
>Demand to cut to the chase and know how to defeat Ruutuu
>Deride him for his moral high horse position
>Let him speak more and begin to listen
>Other

>>847621

Is there a way to say his way of life isn't any more right than ours?

I don't know how to phrase it.

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>>847621
>oh get off your hypocritical liberal high horse

Is he saying we shouldn't fight Ruutuu, and accept the corruption as it is?

At this point all I wanna know if we have to cut off our hand, or not?

>>847621
So why are you preaching this at me now and not twenty years ago when it actually mattered? Shao Kahn brought death upon everyone, and you're saying that's a good thing? The reservation is still a shithole, and it's dying a slow and miserable death. I refuse to let that sort of thing happen to me ever again. That's why I hate death: because I refuse to be a wretch. That hatred of death has made me the strongest person alive on the reservation; it's why I'm on the New Defenders and no one else here is. To challenge death is to be forged and tempered in fire, and from where I'm standing, I'm the sharpest fucking knife you've ever seen.

>>847692
This is Nightwolf eventually winding around to the point of "unless you accept your heritage and awaken from the haze you brought upon yourself, you're boned."

>>847706
I am considering asking Kotal or even Shang Tsung for help.

>>847720

A lot of our problems seem to have a "lets ask shang" moment.

>>847734
He is more prone to lying and plain grumbling, but he is also more prone to answering directly as well.

>>847746
And Shang would probably say "this is an Earthrealm problem. You know people better qualified for this than I am (stunning, I know)."

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Fireseed grows angry; his brow furrows over narrow, hateful eyes. Across from him, Nightwolf sits calmly, waiting for his inevitable response.

"So why are you preaching this at me now and not twenty years ago when it actually mattered?"

"I tried to. You would not listen, and ran away. Perhaps you do not remember it as well as I have, you were young."

The younger man nearly explodes. "Shao Kahn brought death upon everyone, and you're saying that's a good thing? The reservation is still a shithole, I remember that. I remember being angry at how we'd been forced to live, but not anymore, because it's not my home. It's dying a slow and miserable death. I refuse to let that sort of thing happen to me. That's why I hate death: because I refuse to be a wretch. That hatred of death has made me the strongest person alive on the reservation; it's why I'm on the New Defenders and no one else here is. To challenge death is to be forged and tempered in fire, and from where I'm standing, I'm the sharpest knife you've ever seen."

He thrusts his hand forward, showing the mark. "I came here not to listen to your judgments and your rants about how I'm not one of you, about how pathetic I am because I don't listen to ghosts and plants and animals. I came here because I have a problem and thought you could help me, as one man to another. Not because we share a tribe, not because we have a connection. We're not friends. I don't look up to you. You aren't my chief. Now are you going to start helping, or do you have another seventeen Indian proverbs to list off?"

Nightwolf waits patiently for him to finish. When Fireseed is done speaking, still holding up his hand, the old shaman reaches for his cup and slowly drinks. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens his eyes and speaks, it is with a detatched tone. "I will help you."

"Good," Fireseed mutters, taking back his hand and putting his glove on. "Now, what's going to happen?"

"The mark will not merely affect your hand. It will spread. Soon, your arm, then your chest. Eventually your head, and the rest of your body will follow. He is transforming you."

"Into what?"

"His physical vessel. You are becoming an avatar of Ruutuu, through which he will walk the realms. You said that Ruutuu spoke as if he knew you; he does. You have made him strong, and soon he will be strong enough to take you over completely."

"And let me guess: I did this because I didn't uphold the ways of the spirits? Our traditions? Because I didn't live nobly and honorably and peacefully?"

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>>847860

"Among other things. You lived as a mercenary, profiting from the death of others. You drowned yourself in alcohol and lived without care for how you lived. You lost yourself in the jungle, became a wild man and hunted for sport instead of hunting for what you need and thanking the animals you killed. These are the things that empowered Ruutuu. You are not the only man to have done this; I and every member of our tribe have our sins. But he has chosen you because you were the easiest to prey upon."

"I am not easy prey," Fireseed mutters.

"It does not matter what you think of yourself. You are becoming the flesh that Ruutuu will inhabit."

"And how do I stop it?"

"Before you lie many paths. One of them twists you into becoming Ruutuu. Another lies with you defeating Ruutuu yourself with the aid of the spirits. And a third lies with me: I can defeat Ruutuu and take from him the power he has used to mark you."

"And why not do that one?"

"There is a terrible cost," Nightwolf says. "It would be paid by both of us, and we would not emerge the same."

"So no matter what, you're saying I must change."

"No matter what, you will change. How you change is not up to me, but you."

>Tell me about the path in which I defeat Ruutuu myself
>Tell me about the path in which you can defeat Ruutuu
>There must be a way to physically destroy Ruutuu.
>I'm going to look for help elsewhere.
>Other

>>847868
>Tell me about the path in which I defeat Ruutuu myself
The only path to salvation for the Hunted, is to become the Hunter.

>>847868
>Tell me about the path in which I defeat Ruutuu myself

>>847890
Fireseed has been the hunter for a long time, but it turns out his technique is super-shit, and he's gone after the wrong prey.

>>847901
Oh, so hunters get marked and poisoned now? Also Billy.. I mean Fireseed is commando. His technique is fine.

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>>847921
When will Sam say this joke to Fireseed!?!

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>>847890
>>847895

"Alright then. Tell me about the path in which I defeat Ruutuu myself."

"It is a path in which you will reconnect with the spirits, make peace with the tribe and the life you left behind, and grow as a person. It is the hardest path you can take, because it is one you do not wish to take, and one you have tried to avoid your entire adult life. You will fight it, because it is your way. You will deny it, because it is your way. But if you see it through, you will find the strength and the power to defeat Ruutuu, to rid yourself of his influence over you."

"So, you want me to become like you."

"I do not wish that. You are your own man, Joshua Fireseed. Each person is his own judge. The sky gives each of us a song, I do not desire you to sing mine."

"Then what is it? What do you expect me to do? Commune with nature, become a skinwalker, learn the ways of a shaman, perform a Ghost Dance? I'm not going to do any of that."

"And you don't need to. How you walk the path is just as important as choosing which path you are going to walk. But if a man is to do something more than human, he must have more than human powers."

"I don't want your power. I have power of my own, and I've used it all my life."

"Do you think I do not recognize your prowess as a warrior? Your strength of arm, or skill in battle? I have not questioned any of these things. You acheived them through dedication, practice, failure and learning from mistakes. What I am telling you is only if you would apply this same dedication to the world of spirits, to your ancestors, you could find the strength within to triumph over Ruutuu. You already possess everything necessary to become great. If you would but put aside your doubts and fears, your potential would be limitless, and it would not be alone. I would help you. Everyone here would help you. Even if you think this is not your home, it has always been and will always be. There are people here who care about you, Joshua, and I count myself among them."

"I don't know why you do. You have no reason to."

"I have every reason to."

>Tell me of the other path, the one you spoke of in which we both pay a price
>I don't want to learn the ways of the spirits.
>I don't want your help, nor anyone else's from here.
>Just tell me how to destroy Ruutuu.
>Other

>>847983
>Just tell me how to destroy Ruutuu.

>>847983
>Just tell me how to destroy Ruutuu
Night wolf is just going to tell us to listen to a lot of Neil Young or tell us to watch Dead Man

then everything will be explained

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>>847996
>>848045

"Just tell me how to destroy Ruutuu."

"Can you destroy the wind? Can you destroy an idea?"

Fireseed throws up his hands. "So you're saying that he's indestructable? Why didn't we have him fight Shao Kahn, then? Or Onaga, or anyone else, if he's so powerful?"

"Ruutuu is a demon that only affects us. You, me, your siblings, Julia all of our tribe. He was with our ancestors, and he will be with our descendants. He is our sin, Joshua. You cannot destroy sin, not with any weapon you have ever trained to wield. Not even I, with my power, can destroy sin. It simply is. That is what Ruutuu is, a dark spirit bound to us and our people. He can be defeated, but he cannot be destroyed."

Fireseed rubs his eyes again. "This is pointless..."

"The other way I spoke of may be more attractive to you," Nightwolf says, getting his attention again. "There is a ritual. I have performed it before, long ago when I had to traverse the Netherrealm, during the time of Shinnok's invasion of Edenia. In it, I become a Sin-Eater; a power that will allow me to consume Ruutuu, to make him part of myself, to take on all of the sins of my tribe into my being."

Fireseed is still as this is explained. For a moment, he remains silent before asking, "What would this do to you?"

"It would corrupt me. To take Ruutuu within myself would be to become Ruutuu like he would do to you. Your curse would be lifted, but I spoke of two prices to pay: mine, and yours, for you would have to defeat me."

"Why? Wouldn't you be able to control him with your greater power?"

"In death, my spirit could be tethered to his, and I would do battle with him until such time as he has absorbed enough sin to overpower my spirit and consume it. But that would be a great while, more than enough time for you to live and die without his influence."

Fireseed's eyes widen. "When you said defeat, you meant kill you? Why? What could you possibly gain from this, from throwing your life away?"

"A good chief gives, and takes not."

"You are not my chief," Fireseed says.

"But we are both bound to Ruutuu, no matter what you call me," Nightwolf says. "I have protected our people, guided and helped them my entire life. If I could keep Ruutuu from them, even if only for a generation, that would be a gift worth giving."

"You said that eventually the tribe would sin enough for him to get enough power to consume your soul. Don't you want to live?"

"Naturally. Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it. I am not perfect, Joshua, nor a without a desire to live. But I am ready to die for others. We will be known forever by the tracks we leave behind, and no one is truly dead who live in the hearts they leave behind. I have always lived ready to die."

"You expect me to make this choice for you?"

"I expect you to choose your own path, Joshua Fireseed. I expect you to walk it, and to make your own arrows."

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>Undergo the difficult path of bettering yourself, reconnecting with the spirits, and the tribe; make peace with your past
>Allow Nightwolf to perform the Sin-Eater ritual and take within him Ruutuu, then kill the corrupted chief; this will free you and doom him
>Reject the paths laid out before you and leave; you will find someone else capable of fixing this problem
>Other

>>848214
>"I'll be back."
>Other
Go thinking long and hard about this, look at the stars.

>>848246
>>848214
Wait, can't we just seal it? It worked with other BBEGs. Poor Red Lightning couldn't be a major antagonist for long because of it.

>>848249
Seconding. It's a tough cookie to swallow.

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>>848249
>>848255

Fireseed stares long and hard at the shaman, unmoving as he thinks. He weighs the options, but the only thing that holds weight to him is that he cannot decide in so short a time.

"I need time to think."

He nods in agreement. "If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come. It is wisdom that takes time to develope. You will know where to find me."

Fireseed slowly rises and turns his back to the shaman, pausing only briefly before leaving the cave. He walks back up to the community above, and past several individuals, including his sister Danielle and brother Joseph. He looks none of them in the eyes and proceeds out of the large cavern, outside into the open night. He climbs a hill and stares up at the stars.

Before long, he is sitting down and still looking up at them. Far away from cities and artificial light, the stars are very bright indeed.

He knows that spirits exist. He has seen enough strange things, travelled to hell and met with sorcerers to know what the supernatural and strange are more normal than most believe. But he never cared much for them, what they had to offer or say. When he lived in Outworld, hunting dinosaurs and beasts of the jungle, he came to realize what he believed his true purpose in life to be, and it was not found in communion with the Earth or with the spirits. After he found this truth, he returned to the world, and was called upon by Raiden to help save Outworld from Onaga. That is what has led him back to this place, like a circle closing itself.

It was not so long ago that he left the jungle. He can still close his eyes and hear the sounds in his ears. Perhaps he will never truly leave the jungle, not entirely.

He opens his eyes when he hears footsteps approaching from below, then the voice of their owner. "Joshua?" Julia walks up to him, but keeps a respectful distance. "I would... like to sit with you, if you would let me."

>Say nothing
>Nod and motion for her to sit
>Tell her you are disinterested in whatever she has to say
>Ask her something
>Other

>>848403
>>Tell her you are disinterested in whatever she has to say
She had her chance and decided to drug us instead.

>>848403
>Say nothing
Y-you too

>>848423

C'mon, you act like nobody's ever drugged someone they like before.

>>848453
That's Chameleon level shenanigans, man. Next thing I know, Turok will have a bunch of half-breed kids running around.

>>848423

You know, I think Fireseed is the type to hold a grudge. Backing.

>>848464
>half-breed kids
I don't want a racist like yourself taking part in my Mortal Kombat Konquest

>>848478
Too bad, Earthrealm for Earthrealmers! Send all Outworlders back through the portal!

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>>848423
>>848465

"I'm not interested in whatever you have to say."

She puts her hands together but remains where she is. "Look, I said I'm sorry for what I did to you. What do you want from me?"

"I never wanted anything from you, except for the decency of not drugging someone. What do you want from me?"

"I just... I just want to sit with you. I didn't come out here to guilt you or judge you, or even ask what you spoke with Nightwolf about. I won't even talk if you don't want me to. I just don't think you should be so alone."

"I was alone for a very long time. A little longer won't kill me."

"You don't have to be," she whispers, sounding a little sad. "I know you don't care. But I think it's important. Your sister is very smart, and your brother is very affectionate. They're good people. They should be in your life, you should be in theirs. It's not even about the tribe, it's about family. You can still be who you are, do what you do, and have family. Friends. Love..."

Fireseed is quiet. Julia softly pads at the ground with one foot as she waits in awkward silence.

Eventually, she asks again, "May I sit?"

>Allow her to sit
>Send her away
>Other

>>848530
>>"Those who have one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river."
Julia: "What."
>>"Sure, sit down."

>>848630
>"Those who have one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river."

Hey, stop looking at the same list I've been using for all of Nightwolf's dialogue

>>848630
Seconding.

Also is it wrong to imagine that Turok has respect for Nightwolf because for all his mystic mumbojumbo, the old indian at least is willing to tell him straight up what's going on.

>>848530

> SIT

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>>848630
>>848645
>>848651

Fireseed continues looking up at the sky at first, but then replies, "He who has one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river."

"...What?"

"Sure, sit down."

She moves to sit alongside him, hugging her knees close to her body. It is not a particularly cold night, but it is somewhat cool.

"What do you do?" he asks her.

"I'm sorry?"

"When you're not dressed like that. What do you do?"

"Oh... I'm an environmentalist. I have a degree in computer science and a minor in archeology, which is more of a hobby. I live on the reservation but I don't work on it."

"I currently live on an island in the middle of a lost sea between two realms with a team of adolescent warriors, a few decent and seasoned ones, and an old sorcerer."

She looks at him and says, "Well, at least it's not boring, right?"

"True."

Silence again ensues. For many minutes the two of them sit, staring at the stars, each contemplating different things. Julia relaxes after a while, leaning back on her hands and kicking her feet quietly together.

"Can I say something?" she asks.

"I'm not going to stop you."

"I... understand what you said, earlier, about the reservation. Sometimes I feel the same way. Our people, we're... dying. Slowly. Our traditions, our way of life, but more than that our population. We're not what we used to be and sometimes that's very frustrating. I've thought about leaving, about finding another job and going elsewhere to live a different life, but..." she trails off.

"Why don't you?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's family, maybe it's a desire to make the most out of what I have here, but I never did. It's important to me, even if it doesn't seem like much. And it's important to others, to. I guess it's mostly that if we all left, if we all gave up on the idea of what we are, then it truly dies. So I don't want to quit and go somewhere else. If it weren't for people like my father, or Nightwolf, there wouldn't be a reservation or a tribe, so if they won't quit then neither will I."

She brings up a hand and brushes back her hair. "I hope I don't sound like I'm trying to guilt you again. I'm just trying to say that I understood what you said earlier, about the reservation and it being, well, garbage. I... Yeah."

>Remain silent
>Ask her something
>Tell her about your meeting with Nightwolf
>Apologize for earlier
>Other

>>848714
>Tell her about your meeting with Nightwolf

Anyone else? I dunno, I was just thinking some people might oppose telling her about what Nightwolf spoke about.

>>848792

Nah, she seems the only one who even semi gets us. But maybe not full detail just the overview.

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>>848792
>>848873

Fireseed changes the topic as he desires to speak to her, or perhaps at least someone, about what is happening to him. "I have to make a difficult choice."

She looks at him and pauses. "Do you need help? Or talk about it?"

"I should talk to someone about it, at the very least. It has ramifications that could affect the entire tribe."

"...What is it?"

Fireseed hunches over slightly as he picks up some blades of grass, turning them around in his fingers. "Julia, do you deal often with the spirits?"

"Well... no. I believe in them, though."

"Well, I met one the other day. My team and I went to hell to fight an army of wraiths to save the world."

"That's amazing," she says almost breathlessly.

"We deal in the amazing every day. It stops being amazing after a while, trust me. I met a dark spirit, and he cursed me."

"Cursed you how?" He takes off his glove, and then shines a light on it. She gasps when she sees the grey flesh. "Oh, my god. What is that? Are you alright?"

"No. Something is terribly wrong with me." He puts the light away and his glove back on. "It's why I came here to see Nightwolf. Figured he could fix it, some ritual or potion or dance. Something."

"And?"

"And I have a few choices in front of me. One of them involves, well, I would..." He grunts slightly and drops the blades of grass, rubbing his eyes. "You know, I never cared for the man. Never even liked him. But I respect him. I respect what he does, what he did for Earthrealm and its people. I'm just disconnected from it. After so long, I can't just pick up where I left off."

She touches his arm. "What are you saying? I'm sorry, I don't quite understand."

"Forget it," he says, moving to stand up. "Forget I said anything."

"No," she replies and follows him up. "What's wrong?"

He faces her. "I can't rejoin the tribe. Not after I've spent my entire life avoiding it. I swore I wouldn't come back here; the only reason I did in the first place is because I was forced to by a curse. I left long ago and I've lived a life away from this place, away from you and all of the others, from the spirits and tradition. I can't."

He closes his eyes and puts a hand over his face. 'But I don't know if I can kill him, either,' he thinks to himself.

Her voice stirs him. "Joshua... If you need help, I'll help you. You have two siblings here, and more. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. We'll help you."

Lowering his hand, he sees her eyes staring into him, shining in the darkness. In the bright, full moonlight, he can see her face, apprehensive but hopeful. She holds a hand out to him, silently pleading for him to take it.

>Take her hand
>Resume sitting in silence
>Walk away
>Kiss her
>Other

Slow night.

>>848975
>>Take her hand

>>848975
>>Take her hand

>>848975
>Take her hand
The walls, they are a-crumblin'.

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>>849299
>>849319
>>849466

Slowly, he reaches up and takes her hand. She smiles, half in relief and half in happiness, as she holds onto him tightly.

"Would you like to head back?" she asks him, motioning to the cave.

After a moment, he nods.

Together, they walk back towards the pueblo, and she helps reintroduce him to the others. His siblings, though now nearly strangers to him, are met under warmer conditions. His sister is all too glad to be reunited, though his brother is distant. Danielle assures him that he will come around. Julia also introduces him to her mother, Michelle, and he gets a chance to have a more pleasant and proper introduction to her father.

Though he is not very skilled in socializing, he makes due in sitting around a fire and speaking of some of his stories. He picks and chooses which ones to tell, leaving out the darker tales of his past. They listen with rapt attention, hearing the story of this lost relative and his journies in other realms. Some of them reside here permanently, and do not have access to television; they do not know the wider situation in the world, but are just as eager to listen to him as the others that do.

Joshua speaks long into the night, until fatigue begins to claim many around him. Julia takes him aside and speaks.

"Thank you for not leaving," she says to him. "You may be the most interesting thing that has come to this place in a very long time."

"It's not something I'm used to," he admits.

"We can tell," she smiles. "That's okay."

He checks his watch. "It's late."

"Do you need a place to sleep? You can stay here, if you like. Otherwise I'm certain Joseph and Danielle have room. I also have a guest room, if you'd like."

He thinks for a moment. "Where are my weapons?"

"They are still at my house."

>Sleep here at the pueblo
>Your sibling's house
>Her place
>Sleep out in the wild
>Other

>>849540
Her place.

>>849540
>Her place.
Only because our weapons are there. Yep. Only reason.

>>849540
>Her place
Though we should build a shelter in the wild later

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>>849608
>>849681
>>849754

Several minutes later, they are in her car, driving towards the reservation. The trip is mostly spent with the two of them not talking, but interestingly enough, Fireseed is the one to initiate conversation.

"Where did you learn to fight?"

She only briefly takes her eyes off the road, mostly in surprise from his sudden question. "Oh, the others taught me. My father, mostly. Some from my mother, too, though she doesn't fight anymore." She smiles and laughs to herself as she says, "Though, I have to admit, I used to watch a lot of wrestling."

"Your technique could use work," he says. "If it were a real fight, you'd have had to fight much harder than you were."

"I don't fight as often as you do, I'm sure," she says. "There's not much cause for it out here. We've worked hard to keep it that way. The worst it might ever get are thieves or the occasional drunken loser."

"Hm."

Not long thereafter, they get into town. She pulls up in front of her house and approach the front door, which she unlocks. "Would you like anything to drink?" she asks after closing the door behind him. He shoots her a suspicious look and she can't help but knowingly smile, having expected that reaction from him. "Only kidding. I won't poison it this time, I promise."

"If it's all the same, I'd prefer you hand me a can that hasn't been opened."

"Fair enough," she smiles. She goes to her fridge and takes out a can of beer. "Want one?"

>Drink with her
>Go to bed
>Stay and talk with her
>Secure your weapons
>Other

>>849782
>Secure your weapons
>Go to bed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o97uNzbBfis

>>849782
>Drink with her

>>849782
>Drink with her.
Get it yourself. Prior experience and all.

Had to talk to my girl. Writing now.

>>849782
>Secure your weapons
Josh really seems the type to be uncomfortable without his weapons.

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>>849844
>>849904

Just to be safe, he gets his own. They sit at the table and drink for a while, chatting casually about a few different things; her family life, school, work. After most of her can is drunk, she describes how difficult it was to fully disarm him, as she had to search him thoroughly for weapons.

"I mean, you had two daggers, at least five bombs, and half a dozen guns. Not to mention those spinny-ball-things."

"Bolas."

"Right, those. And the ammo you had, grenades and stuff. I've hardly dealt with military gear but after today I'd almost consider myself an expert," she jokes, her cheeks tinted slightly red.

"It's a good thing you didn't blow yourself up. I usually carry enough on me to take out a city block."

"What a way to go," she says as she takes another sip.

>>849804
>>850337

"Speaking of which, where are they?"

"I left them in the guest room for you," she says. "I, uh, hoped you'd be coming back here. Planned for just in case, that is." She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear and averts her eyes, and then quickly takes another drink. He watches her somewhat curiously for a moment as she fidgits with a braid.

"Can you show me?"

"Right this way," she sets down her drink and heads towards the guest bedroom. It's small, but good enough to sleep in. His weapons are all laid out on the bed, neatly arranged. He quickly scans across them and takes stock; seems like they're all here and in the same condition that he left them in. "I didn't know what to do with them, so I just left them here."

"Seems fine," he notes, looking them over again.

"Is there, ah, anything else you need?" she asks somewhat nervously. "I thought I might take a shower before bed."

>Bid her goodnight and sleep
>Get another drink
>Offer her some company
>"No." Slam door
>Other

>>850397
>Bid her goodnight and sleep
"Just some time to think. A lot."

>>850397
>>"No." Slam door
But slam the door while she's in the room, if you know what I'm saying

>>850558
You're sending mixed signals, anon.

>>850568
The "no" is directed towards her her going into the shower. Because she ain't going nowhere, we are but a man and she obviously wants some

>>850414
>>850558
>>850568
>>850587

I'll need a tie breaker/some additional votes before confirming anything.

>>850587
Today's been rather hectic for Fireseed and Julia. Let her mull over her feelings after this day one reunion.

>>850587
I am okay with this.

>>850623
Ayyy my dog

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>>850637
My vote is this most famous quote

>>850397
>"No." Slam door
BITCHES LEAVE

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>>850587
>>850558
>>850623

"No," he says, taking a step closer to her. She looks up at him, lips parted slightly.

"Alright then," she replies, moving to leave, but a simple motion from him stops her. He shuts the door to the room, with them inside.

She looks from the door back up to him, staying very still. Her cheeks yet carry a faint glow, which slowly intensifies. Her blush only deepens when he reaches up and removes her glasses, setting them on the nightstand; now nothing obstructs his view of her eyes.

"Joshua..." she whispers softly, letting the word hang in the air.

She has called him that all day; everyone has. It is a name he is almost unfamiliar with, but they know him by it well. What is he, to her? He can only wonder. She knew him when they were younger, but he has no memory of her. He sees himself as nothing more than a man, and she is a woman. One that drugged him, sure, but he doesn't care at the moment.

Her back is against the wall, and her breathing starts to become heavy. He gives her an out, stepping away from the door. She looks at it only briefly, then meets his gaze again. She reaches for the doorknob and opens it, stepping out into the hallway.

It's strange... he feels almost disappointed, but somewhat expected it. After all, they just met, and the day was hectic. He's not in the jungle any longer, things happen more slowly in a place like this. He turns around back to the bed and prepares to pick his weapons up off of it to sleep on it.

But she lingers in his doorframe. "Joshua," she gets his attention, making him turn around. The look she is fixing him with does things to him, stirs primal urges and stokes a fire he has not felt in some time. Her words are nervous, but not soft. "The... bed in my room is... bigger."

They stare at each other for just a moment, and then he is in the hallway, pushing her against a wall, lips on hers. She gasps and grabs hold of him tightly, feeling his neck and arms and grasping. He has hold of her hips, pulling them against his while her legs spread, one wrapping around his own. Perhaps it is their slight buzz, perhaps it is the day they have had, but they go at each other and they go hard. The trail to her bedroom is lined with shed clothing and bits of armor; two pairs of boots, hastily kicked off, and some minor equipment he was carrying complete it.

As they make it inside, she fumbles for the light switch but doens't find it, leaving them in the darkness. Soon they are on the bed, groping, feeling, breathing into each other's mouths. She buries a hand in his thick hair as she screams his name; for his part, he doesn't say anything, but he grunts a lot. It's been a long time for them both since they have had the comfort of another, and their time is feral and wild, full of sudden and surprising passion that neither knew they had until it bubbles to the surface, churning in their blood as their hearts beat together.

It is a long night.

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>>850770

I'll call it there for the night, folks. When next we resume, we'll be following Fireseed back into the world of his dreams for another memory.

Stay tuned, we'll be continuing tomorrow morning!

>>850776
I'm ready

Annnnnnnnnd good morning folks. Well be resuming in just a bit.

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>>850770

When it is done, when they both lie sated and covered in sweat, sleep finds them. But where she sleeps peacefully and soundly, his sleep returns him to a darkness that does not remain for long, for he again finds himself in the jungle.

Perhaps it is due to the company he just shared, but the memory he recalls tonight is one of the people he shared the jungle with. There, in that seemingly endless stretch of amazonian territory, there is no such concept as man's law, but there is woman's law. The amazons, a hardy warrior race of giantesses, often came into conflict with him. He encroached on their territories, hunted their beasts, stole their crops, and on occasion fought with and killed them the same as any other creatures in the jungle, though he never took them as trophies nor fed upon their corpses. He wasn't a savage.

But even so, to them he was the 'Wild-Man' and the ultimate sport, for he represented everything their leader, Zara, preached that men were not. Self-sufficient, strong and cunning as he was, she would send war parties after him, with their archers, dinosaur riders and beast masters. But they never caught him.

Except once.

He remembers the circumstances well, but his memory begins with them bearing him through the jungle. Stripped naked and tied to a log, four of the women bore the log on their shoulders as they marched in a convoy towards their temple-city. With his arms, feet, waist and neck wrapped thickly about the log with him facing upwards, escape seemed impossible. Or at least it would be, had he not concealed a sharp stone between his fingers, which he used now to slowly cut the bindings of his wrists.

Alongside him march two of the dinosaur riders, keeping a close eye upon him. Though she speaks a common language with him, he has never spoken to a single amazon; they do not know he can speak. And so, when she speaks to her cousin and fellow dinosaur rider, he makes no indication that he understands. "He is quite a beast, is he not?" she asks her cousin.

"Indeed," the other replies, licking her lips. "I hope Zara does not order his execution right away. I can think of a few things I would like to do first..."

Further back, one of them calls out, "Perhaps we should wait to return! Just a night?" The women knowingly chuckle as eyes feast upon his form.

>Escape now
>Wait until they cross a river, then escape
>Allow them to take you to the temple-city
>They make camp for the night
>Other

>>851400
>They make camp for the night

>>851400
>They make camp for the night

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>>851402
>>851404

The idea of that one take root in the others. The head of their convoy eventually calls for them to halt, before they would enter the lowlands and cross a great river, in a secluded and easily-defended portion of the jungle near a great rock that they plan to camp beneath. With a perimeter established and hunting parties sent forth for additional supplies, that leaves Fireseed in a rather vulnerable position as they lay his log against the rock behind him. With him propped up as he is, facing outwards, he can now look all of them in the eyes.

He is surrounded by nearly a dozen tall and muscular women, looking at him and whispering amongst each other in excited and hushed tones. Their leader, a dark-haired woman with a sword and cobbled-together pieces of armor, pushes to the front. Exposed as he is, all he can do is glare as she takes in the sight of his body, honed by years spent in the jungle.

"The Wild-Man," she whispers with a smile. "By the gods, just look at him." She touches his chest, her fingers exploring while the others look jealously on. She stares into his eyes, and he back into hers.

"But Zara has said---"

"Damn Zara," the leader cuts her subordinate off. "She isn't here right now. But we are, and he is." She bites her lip as she now feels his arms, which are tense from pulling against the binds. "There are no men like him in the village. Imagine how powerful our children would be..."

"Should I fetch the red root?" one of them asks in a nervous and excited tone.

"Fetch as much as you can," she replies, her hands now feeling his waist. "We're going to need all of it."

>Escape now
>Let them tire themselves out, then escape
>Speak to them for the first time; bargain
>Lay back and enjoy what's about to happen
>Other

>>851412
>Let them tire themselves out, then escape

>>851412
>Speak to them for the first time; bargain
It doesn't seem like fireseed to be taken advantage of

>>851434
You learn to make lemonade out of lemons. Fireseed can get out at any time, and the amazons have put themselves in a vulnerable position. Giving up that silence of his is losing a potent weapon.

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>>851416
>>851434

I'll need a tie breaker.

>>851416
Fine, do this

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>>851416
>>851454

The red root, as it becomes apparent after it is forced into his mouth in slightly-grounded form, is something the amazons use to coerce their males into breeding. Not only does his swallow it, but they rub very fine dust onto his skin, working it into his muscles. It leaves a slightly burning sensation behind as it enters his blood stream. Not long after this, and much to their lewd amusment, he begins to harden against his will. He grunts as the leader takes him into her hands.

"Yes, this will do nicely," she laughs as she begins to shed her clothing.

For the next few hours, his existence is a very simple one. One after another they use him until they are exhausted, though occasionally they recupperate and have another turn. The largest and strongest go first, while the smaller and younger warriors must wait their turn. Hands are upon him constantly, rubbing, feeling, squeezing. He closes his eyes and concentrates on the stone in his grip, cutting through the bindings around his wrists. The constant back-and-forth motion helps, at least.

However, there is one here that catches his eyes, late into the night. She is a younger warrior, seemingly naive and nervous, who must be encouraged by the others. She wears feathers around her delicate face and she stares into his eyes. Only as tall as he and with skin like his own, she seems to recall memories within him, stirring a strange familiarity that he cannot place. The others continue to encourage her, though this is clearly her first time not only hunting, but laying with a man. She is inexperienced, and so they offer guidance, but where the others were all hard and fast, she is slow and gentle, taking it easy. With how tired the others are, she is allowed to take her time, to transition from the initial pain to pleasure.

The young woman holds onto him tightly and places her face alongside his, tenderly kissing his cheek like a lover would. She whispers in his ear, not truly words but small noises and gasps, throaty things of desire and need. Her body shakes as she caresses his skin, lovingly suckling upon his neck. The others are amused by her tenderness, but given his captured state, they don't find any harm in it.

"Look at Kala! She is falling in love with the Wild-Man, I think," one of them laughs.

Another, lazily snacking on a jungle fruit, replies, "I don't blame her, I loved him too! Twice!" They all get a good laugh out of that.

That's when his hands get free. Kept behind his back, none of them notice when he finally saws through the final bit of rope. With his hands free he'll easily be able to free his neck, then waist and feet, because one of them has dangerously left a spear near him that he can use to free himself. But Kala is still upon him, and now kisses him fully, her limbs entwined about his body.

>Push her off and free yourself, then run away
>Let her finish, free yourself, run away
>Escape with her
>Wait until they resume the caravan
>Other

>>851503
>Let her finish, free yourself, run away

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>>851512

He remains where he is, allowing her to finish. She holds herself against him for some time, softly kissing and slowly moving. Their bodies, slick with sweat from the heat of the fire and the moment, are both pulsing in tune with one another. She finally pulls back, gazing into his eyes one final time before she slowly removes herself, holding her chest and stomach to shield them modestly from his eyes, perhaps unnecessarily given their recent connection.

He reaches for the spear when none are looking, picking it up and using the sharpened end to swiftly cut through the bindings on his neck, then waist. By the time he has gotten to his feet and one of the women have taken notice, it is too late---he is completely free. She lets out a shout as he bounds past her and out of their camp.

"After him!" he hears them cry. "After the Wild-Man! Do not let him escape!"

They mobilize behind him as he takes off into the night of the jungle, returning to where he belongs.

>1d100 to escape!

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>851543

Rolled 48 (1d100)

>>851543