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Previously on Thug Quest:

"Let's move out fast. Or at least," you add, wincing. "As fast as I can go with a bullet in my leg. Take down anyone in our way."

You emerge into some kind of courtyard of Chinese architecture, open to the sky above you. You search for enemies, find none. You search the night sky for the helicopter. You can hear it, that distinctive thumping sound, but you can't see it.

"We need to get to the helipad," you say. "It's on the west side of the building. Alex, get those smoke grenades ready." You move to the west door of the courtyard, open it, look around. A plaza stretches between you and the helipad. To the south, your left, is some kind of garden with a river and lake, shielded from the helipad by a wall. To the north, a pavilion. Still no-one in sight.

"Okay, follow me."

You take one step out the door ...

... and that's when the courtyard walls erupt in fire behind you.

You stagger forward, away from the flames, feeling the searing heat radiating outwards. You look back to realize the fire is cutting you off from your friends.

"Johnny!" you hear Alex shout over the fire crackling, the wooden walls snapping. "What the hell - I didn't see - I'll find another way around!"

A figure has emerged from the shadows by the pavilion. He begins to slowly walk towards you. His body armor and gas mask are illuminated briefly by a bright red burst of napalm fire from his huge flamethrower.

"Better make it fast," you reply. "I think I've got a problem."

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So. You're facing a large armored man in a gas mask, who's slowly advancing towards you. He's carrying a napalm flamethrower, modified into an under-barrel attachment to an assault rifle. The gate behind you is on fire, cutting off your retreat and any help from your allies. Your leg is wounded, and you're out of grenades.

And the job was going so well up until now.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here," you call out to him. "And guess you're "Fire" from those Five Elements I heard about."

The man says nothing, just keeps walking slowly in your direction. You quickly think through your resources. Your Ultimax LMG, and one spare magazine. A crossbow. A knife. A chinese sword. Your own two fists. Put that against an elite ex-special forces mercenary with advanced weaponry, and you're not sure how you're going to stack up.

Only one way to find out.

The flames behind you are growing hotter.

What do you do?
>Get up close and personal.
>Stand your ground.
>Take cover in the garden.
>Try diplomacy.
>Something else.

>>952792
>Get up close and personal.
he seems like a long range guy

>>952792
>Get up close and personal.

>>952792
>Get up close and personal.
Bet it's our friend Griddleface.

>>952815
>>952827
>>952828

Getting up close and personal. Roll a d10 and let's see what happens.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>952842

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>952842

>>952890
>>952898

Soundtrack: Hotline Miami OST - Turf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiiDKw4ktdM

You move away from the heat of the fire behind you, considering your options. The flames cast the rooftop in an eerie orange light and flickering shadows, a strange contrast to the night sky above. The only sound is the crackling of the wooden wall as it burns.

You look over the man's long-range weaponry, and decide that your best option is not to fuck around. You're going to get up close and personal.

First, some covering fire. You swing the Ultimax into position and hold the trigger, filling the air with that now-familiar rhythmic thundering. You stride diagonally forward into the plaza, firing round after round from the machine gun at Fire. Bullets strike home, shredding holes in his outer layer of clothing, but they all hit the armor underneath.

Fire responds with bursts from his assault rifle. The muzzle flash of his gun reflects in the glass lenses of his gas mask. Bullets ricochet off the plaza surface at your feet. One whistles by your ear. Two slam into your bulletproof vest. You grunt in pain, but keep moving. You can't run as fast as you'd like with a shot leg, but you're going to tough it the fuck out, you're going to get the fuck in there and--

Close enough. You charge forward and swing the machine gun stock at Fire, smashing him in the head. One of his mask lenses cracks. He stumbles backwards, and you follow, ready to swing again. But Fire pulls the trigger on his flamethrower. A jet of napalm streaks up in front of you, blinding you with its intensity. You jerk backwards. Most of it sprays into the air. But some of it catches your arm. You're forced to drop the machine gun as you try to batter out the flame.

"Son of a bitch -- fucking fuck --" Your goddamn arm is on fire, you have thick clothes but that's not going to last long, but Fire is right there and he's wounded and staggered too--

>Draw your sword and charge in.
>Dive for the gun.
>Retreat to the artificial lake in the garden, put out the fire.
>Something else.

>>952945
Take off Tactleneck and attempt to wrap his face with it, then stab him multiple times.

Shoulder charge with burning arm while unsheathing sword.

>>952945
>Draw your sword and charge in.

No rest for the wicked, man it would be nice if someone was filming this, it probably look super badass

>>953101
>>953002

Roll a d10 to charge in with your sword and burning arm.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>953133
Time to fuck up badly!

>>953133
how the fuck do i even roll dice?

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>>953139
>Time to fuck up badly
>Rolls 1

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>953133
>>953148

"dice+1d10" in the email field

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>953180
thanks m8

>>953178
2016 has taken many, many things from me. I figure my good rolls would have gone on the chopping block eventually.

>>953139
>>953180
>>953186

Crit fail, success, success. Writing.

>>953204

Our arm is all sorts of fucked up isn't it?

>>953213
We'd better make damn good use of it while we can.

You try to ignore the fact that the fire on the roof top is starting to spread. You're going to finish this now.

You pull out the medieval Chinese sword you looted from the vault, and charge at him. You try to tackle into him with your burning arm first, and follow up with the sword. But he's clearly proficient in unarmed combat. He deflects your charge to one side. You swing around with the sword, but he sidesteps just out of range. He steps in close, counter-blocks your return sword swing with such force that you drop the sword, then pummels you in the torso with some kind of kung fu shit combo attack. His fists slam into your ribs repeatedly, and you feel ribs cracking. He finishes with an uppercut to your jaw, and you stagger backwards and fall over, your head full of exploding stars.

You can barely see or think, just reel from the pain your head. But you can just make out the dark shape of the man stepping over top of you, and the burning red of his flamerthrower's pilot light. He says something in chinese, his voice muffled by his mask. Then a sudden bright light, a loud thumping noise, a rushing of air from the sky. Wind beats down on you from above.

Your vision clears to see Ken's helicopter hovering overhead, spotlight turned on the roof. Fire has turned around to look at the helicopter, pointing his weapon upwards. Ken doesn't have any weapons on that thing, you think, but Fire clearly doesn't know that. Time to attack before he finds out --

Barely conscious, you still manage to reach forward and pick your sword up off the ground. You push yourself up onto your hands and knees, and lunge forward with the sword. Fire sees you at just the last moment, but can't fully twist out of the way. The blade scores a deep slash through his stomach armor.

You draw the sword back, now covered in blood, and swing it forward again. This time you slash upwards through the gas mask, ripping it open, shattering one of the eye lanses. Fire staggers backwards. Reaches up with one hand rips off his mask. A burned visage glares back at you with one eye, the other a oozing pool of fresh blood. Your sword slash traces a line of blood up his face from the chin, through the ruined eye, and up to his forehead.

Just as you thought. It's Grillface, the guy who tried to fuck up your friend Zero. He was ugly before, with the burn scar. Now, with the fire all around lighting him in red, he looks like a demon from hell. "Payback time, motherfucker," you grunt through the searing pain. You hold up the sword.

>Charge
>Circle warily
>Retreat
>Something else

Quick question, which eye did we take out?

>>953304
>Circle warily
>Something else
Wish you had your cleaver. It'd be nice to finally return it to him, especially with a pithy one liner.

>>953326
His left, your right, same side as his burn.

Circle warily to the side of his busted eye.

>>953358
his left side that is.

>>953358

Seconding this

>>953339
>>953363
>>953365

Roll a d10 for the standoff.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>953374

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>953374
hope this goes well.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>953374
YAY, I GET TO RUIN EVERYTHING AGAIN!

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>>953377
>>953379
>>953392

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>>953404
We try

You shake off the pain, stand up straight, hold your sword at the ready. You start to circle warily to the right, on the side of Fire's blinded eye. He rotates slowly to keep presenting his front to you, keep you in vision. His weapon, the flamethrower/rifle is pointed at the ground. You'll barely have a moment to close in before it gets raised and fired.

For several long moments, nothing changes. You slowly circle around Fire. He slowly turns to keep facing you. The helicopter rotor in the air. Time slows to a crawl. It feels like you can count each heartbeat, feel each individual bead of sweat dripping down your back, count each individual turn of the helicopter's rotor blades.

This is like one of those old samurai movies, you think, where two elite fighters face off. Locked in mental combat. Totally focused. Neither one of them can move. Until they can wait no longer. And then ...

Soundtrack: KISS - Hotter than Hell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e58-SOeV8g

With a battle cry, you charge forward, raising your sword. Fire raises his rifle, and a jet of flaming napalm fires your way. But you're too fast. You dodge to the side, and swing the sword with all your might. The blade plunges deep into Fire's shoulder and cuts through the bone. He lets out a scream of agony, blood spurting from the wound. He sinks to his knees, the sword firmly embedded in his shoulder. You plant a foot on his chest, take a firm grip on the handle, and yank it out.

Fire collapses to the ground. His arm is barely connected by a useless thread of flash. He stares up at you with his one eye. He tries to speak, but only blood comes from his mouth.
"Shouldn't have fucked with my friend," you say. And you drive the sword into his heart. He kicks a few times. Twitches. Lies still.

You say, "Rest in pieces, motherfucker."

No rest for the weary. The hammering sound of bullets rips through the air, the metal clang of ricochets echoing from the helicopter. The windshield glass spiderwebs. For a moment your heart leaps in your throat, wondering if Ken bought the farm. But the helicopter stays in the air.

You see a group of a dozen Triads in street clothes piling out from the north corner of the building. They shout at each other, directing each other into cover, firing their assault rifles at the helicopter. You can't get a clear shot, the spreading flames from the courtyard are obscuring your vision. But you can see just enough to notice the back ones stagger and jerk as a wave of bullets slams into them, and the familiar sound of an H&K G3 adds itself to the chaos.

Alex, Nick, and Ryuji emerge from the north corner behind the Triads. Alex is aiming down the sights, dispatching Triads one after another with ruthless effiency. Nick is covering her flanks by spraying wildly with his SMG. Ryuji slices one in half with his sword.

(Continued)

>>953495

Fuck we're good "Rest in pieces" is a classic

You put the bloody sword back in your grenade belt, limp over to the machine gun and pick it up, then start towards the helipad. You can still smell sizzling flesh from your left forearm. That's going to leave a mark, you think with a wince.

Ken has lowered the helicopter and is hovering a few feet over the helipad. Alex, Nick, and Ryuji have dealt with the Triads and are running across the plaza. You hobble towards them on your injured leg.

Your three companions have already made it to the helicopter. You see them piling in the door, and you try to move faster, cursing that one guy who managed to clip your leg earlier.

Almost there. Alex is at the open door of the helicopter. She's calling to you. Reaching out her hand. You've made it.

And then ...

A sudden, stinging pain in your chest.
You look down, confused. You touch your chest. Your fingers come away bloody.

You turn around to see a woman. Her. The elegant Chinese woman from the pool downstairs. She's dressed in dark clothes. Holding a high-powered carbine, pointed in your direction, a faint wisp of smoke curling from the muzzle. A cruel smile on her lips. Ice in her eyes.

Suddenly your legs are failing you. You can't keep your balance ...

You see Alex's face above you, shouting to you, reaching for you ...

Then you see the bright lights of the street below, twenty-five stories down ...

And then you're falling ...

And then ...

Then ...

Darkness.

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

Thanks for playing Act 1 of Thug Quest.

Stay tuned for Act 2, starting one week from today.

>>953537

Ooooooooh shit.

Well at least that's a quick turnaround, which I appreciate Raven

Are we going to have to be rebuilt? 6 Million Dollar Thug?

>>953541

No-one could have survived that fall!

Or could they?

Tune in next week to find out.

Also, I'm starting my second quest soon. I think you'll enjoy yourselves, anons. In the meantime, don't worry about this quest, it's not going anywhere. I'm going to take a week to prepare Act 2. Be back next Sunday, because Thug Quest returns with a bang.

>>953613

Thanks for running

>>953613
what's your other quest?

Damn, I just missed this one. Oh well. Nice read.

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I'll be trying my hand at fan fiction with Overwatch Quest. Join me if you like the video game, my writing, or just want to play in a fun sci-fi adventure.

>>954267