You don’t know what Ken looks like when the mask goes away, and don't care. Also still no closer to knowing why ‘Lightning Bug’ makes jokes about the alma mater of Daidouji Kaya when this comes up. Seems that Bug doesn’t know that those are two different Daidouji families. Still shares the joke just not with you.

Oh, well.

Your ‘work’ pager vibrates, telling you that it’s Irene, or that somebody has gone mad and used the pager they stole off your sister.

TWO people, at most three, other than Irene know the number. And of those you know have the number, you can name them and the number of times they’ve used it. Dad’s investor-cum-foreign-negotiator friend David never called it after the first two tests, trusting that the phone company would have your cell working in a week of the proposed negotiation closing date.

The Higharolla used it once, because he didn’t actually believe that you had a pager and knew how to use it. You surprised him a second time that day, only unlike the blackjack and poker wins no luck was involved.

And if a third person in the whole of this floating city knows the number, then they have never used it.

Still, the news is nothin’ unexpected. Just another meeting to talk about the family business and how the Higharolla’s kids keep hitting on her. (A thing for which you will ever be grateful, because you’d never be able to keep from laughing at the brother and sister duo’s really bad pickup lines.)

You don’t get to share as much as you’d like during these meetings, but at least Irene knows you have something to do with the stranger incidents and the stopping thereof.

Even with your raised position, no, especially because of it, you can't get her clearance unless she also awakened. Your father would probably never get clearance, even if he could radically reshape the world.

Unfortunately for your plans to coast on until the meeting, the brain tank alarm sounds, telling you that your two main thinkers and form forwarders have found a problem they feel 75% confident will both fail and have horrible consequences if you don’t show up.

You're pretty sure they're taking advantage of Colonel’s hospital stay to send you out for minor stuff, but the reduction in paperwork keeps you sane enough to not particularly care.

In this case the alarm is a call to:
>make it look like the statue of CaTaffy hasn’t been ‘stolen’ with your Morpheus based Mech-making. A temporary replacement is all that’s needed, but like you’re going to miss this chance.
>report for a checkup to see how going from Angel Halo-Solaris to Angel Halo-Ouroboros might be messing with your mind. You like to think you’re still fine, and adapting well, but as policy says must happen.
>’Hunter’ Yoon-sil has her sword to necks, and she wants you there or heads will roll. Really, your sword is faster, hotter, and more smartly used.

>>1197332
>report for a checkup to see how going from Angel Halo-Solaris to Angel Halo-Ouroboros might be messing with your mind. You like to think you’re still fine, and adapting well, but as policy says must happen.

>>1197332
>report for a checkup to see how going from Angel Halo-Solaris to Angel Halo-Ouroboros might be messing with your mind. You like to think you’re still fine, and adapting well, but as policy says must happen.

Lost as hell but I liked the original

>>1197510
It's a pretty cold open. And unrelated. (I'd feel bad about taking much more than a few joking references or inspirations from DXR.)

I'll probably wait just a bit more and then start on the next one, since I got two votes and they're unanimous.

>>1197332
>>report for a checkup to see how going from Angel Halo-Solaris to Angel Halo-Ouroboros might be messing with your mind. You like to think you’re still fine, and adapting well, but as policy says must happen.
Aw shit man I loved the original DXQ
I hope you keep the tone of it

>>1197553
>>1197510
>>1197361

One thought dominated your mind on the way down to the UGN infirmary. It went something like ‘Ah, I wish that I could get back to my old codename right now.’ Not that having your old one back would do anything about the process you’re currently undergoing. Although you’re probably going to have to change your old one, because you can’t make the Blinding King mix any more.

The pain of having bones removed…. You’d love to say that it doesn’t bother you anymore after the fifth test involving large amounts of You being removed with machines. In truth, it still hurts like hell, and you are glad for the overed scale doses of painkillers

They don’t last long, but while they do, it distracts from the whir of the saws, and the chill of the tarp. Lets your mind wander to strange thoughts.

Like thinking that most of the situation is actually beyond what your brain tank knows about and can expertly speculate on. Eventually, you figure that if they think it’s that important that you have yet another test run on you-!!

The alcohol stings your nose, and the painkillers have started to fade at a bad time. The shock does fade, especially as your flesh and bone are seamlessly repaired, but it was still a bit of a shock.

The medical tarp (you think that’s the right name) gets removed from your back as blowdryers are used to dry up the wet spots on your back. Truly, a stunning mix of DIY and purchasing power is on show. Bleeding edge bio-filtration-and-scanning is going on one room away from where a back is being dried with something not only owned by most households with a woman, but those civilian women probably have a better one than what’s being used right now.

Or you’ve been badly misled as how much smoke a blowdryer makes. One or the other.

Doctor Nguyen turns on the green light, letting you know that you can leave. The filtering processes wrinkle the shit out of your clothes, which you never like. But you want to get blood dried on your clothes far, far less.

At least your shadow can help your dress and try to smooth out wrinkles. And you don’t have to cancel anything for today. Overall encroachment’s low, battle testing’s not until tomorrow, things may not be looking up but at least the worst is done for today.

You give your shadow a high five, and dress. The outfit’s still wrinkled, but much less now, and help means you don’t even look like you dressed in a hurry.

Strictly speaking, you don’t need to power walk your way towards the Fortress Frantic district, where Mister Daidouji is going to meet with you. But it’s a bit of advice you can follow, and it means that in the worst case you’ll only be about three minutes early.

The inter-section traffic is less light than usual, but it doesn’t matter. The flow of traffic is with you almost all the way and there’s no machine traffic right now. Just bicycles and courier tricycles.

And once you’re in a new section, you can get a cab to the meeting.

Unfortunately, the cab you get is kinda crap. They don’t take you to the right place, and it takes too long, but you get there a little late.

So instead of the ten to eight you wanted to be waiting, you only had four. Of course, Mister Daidouji doesn’t have a new offer. This entire meeting is pretext. Same questions, same answers.

Can’t give him the business deal he wants; wait for pop or talk to Irene. Can’t take a job, school regulations won’t let you. Only even more drawn out. Everything’s got to be asked about five ways, because.

Well, no, there are new questions, but they’re his fishing for information. Your guess is that he’s trying to find some other way to get you away from the UGN.

Much like your questions are all (not-so-secretly) about how to get Ken to join the UGN. But you need to get new ones if Mister Daidouji is mockingly turning them around on you. He doesn’t even have a daughter; you at least have a sister one year younger than you. (And Irene, but you don’t think she’d want the age gap, among other things.

Still, a half-hour is more than enough. You cut things short (well, not really) and go and look for Ken. He’s going to meet Sarah, you’re going to meet her boyfriend, and Ken will get compensated for being the visual accompaniment to your ‘shotgun speech’.

And the whole, stupid chain of favors will be completed, and you can not worry about that anymore.

Ken is a little hard to find for one, simple reason. You tend to go by smell here, and for some reason, they put plum scent all over Ken. Totally mistook him for one of the women of the house because of the smell.

You don’t say that of course. It’d hurt his pride. You instead say you needed a little extra time to pull this off, and pull an Exile power out of your hat, stepping over the walls, Ken dangling from one elongated arm.

Despite the protests of “Why’m I still friends with you,” and “I hate thisssss,” Ken’s smiling once back on the ground.

Then your phone buzzes. Sarah. Some bad news. Boyfriend won’t be along, so it’s just going to be you and her and Ken. Dammit.

Also:
>something’s strange at the restaurant. So expect some ‘fun’ with the meal. This is a little worrying. Ken’ll get his sword.
>the aliens are keeping her. Go on ahead, she’ll catch up. You ask Ken if you should be so worried about the possibility of one of those RB’s being her boyfriend.
>FH has some new people on the way in. No effect on tonight, but she’ll use them to bring you in soon. Ah, that joker.

>>1197751
>>something’s strange at the restaurant. So expect some ‘fun’ with the meal. This is a little worrying. Ken’ll get his sword.

>>1197751
>something’s strange at the restaurant. So expect some ‘fun’ with the meal. This is a little worrying. Ken’ll get his sword.

>>1197751
>>something’s strange at the restaurant. So expect some ‘fun’ with the meal. This is a little worrying. Ken’ll get his sword.

>>1197553
I'm gonna try and give quality, but I'm not too sure how I'll be able to keep all the tone.

Especially as we may be playing the Clair for an NPC. And an NPC is the Clair to us. And so on, turtles all the way down!

OR ARE WE?!

>>1197886
Remember the important part of it is the entire system is anime as fuck, so play that up
Or whatever it seems you know what you're doing
But who is our Noble Blood?

>>1197916
To some degree, that's the Colonel. But it's also Lightning Bug, who finally got an approved name change from Striking Again. Big Bopper has yet to make such a request, and upon stabilization the MC is likely to have something King again.

Sarah’s telling you this, so it’s probably not an exaggeration. Or her handy work. But it’s probably going to be a big pain. Ken, go get your sword.

Ken just stares at you for a bit, sighs, rolls up a sleeve, and exposes some gel-green skin and the slightly shifting bone underneath.

Which is good and all. But you’re not paying for self-inflicted injuries to anyone’s clothes. Well, to your own, but that’s something else. Ken just seems a bit embarrassed for you, with that explanation.

It wasn’t your best moment of elocution, true.

But it’s what you said, and really, it’s time to leave. Need to get there on time, and you actually mean on time this time.

The walk is pleasant enough. The artificial summer is fading, leading into artificial fall with a nice, chill breeze, and will for the next week. Of all the things that haven’t really had issues, the fake weather for the arcology-ish sections is one that hasn’t had any major issues.

It’s a major source of pride for you and the UGN. And the contractors that did it. Can’t forget them.

Eventually, you give Ken your headphones. Your enhanced hearing is enough to listen in if you focus, and you’ve done enough explanation for now. The recruiting will wait until after the strange is dealt with; whatever that strange ends up being.

Your first instinct upon seeing the AM and not Sarah is to say she’s late. But you’re willing to wait. She could be being sneaky, covering up her scent and not wearing any perfume.

She could have a machine watching, and is waiting for you and Ken to enter, before making a big fancy entrance. Dozen and dozen of possibilities here. Ken starts to correct, but you cut him off.

It’s Sarah. If more than twenty-four possibilities are involved, you’ll eat your boots. The fancy dress ones that you’re not wearing.

So you dragoon Ken in, and sit down, and wait. Ken’s at the ready, because that was part of the condition of entering.

You are sharpening your senses. Smelling, looking, hearing. Trying to pin down what’s the reported ‘strange’. And waiting for Sarah.

By the time you and Ken decide to make orders (because small talk has gotten awkward after a few false starts and a turn to your childhood friend and then the whole not showing up bit made it strange), you’ve found nothing strange that you can sense out here.

Hopefully, it’ll be something in the food that you’ll be able to sense at close range. Hopefully, it’s something beyond the False Hearts girl learning new dishes in the kitchen (you assume. Could be one of the Daidouji group’s.)

Then the food arrives. It’s nothing in the food. Nothing in the drink. Is Sarah messing with you? She hasn’t answered any texts. Hasn’t called. Hasn’t even sent a bad joke by bloody messenger.

You ask Ken, when he’s in between bits of hashbrown. Ken doesn’t think so, but doesn’t mind. You interrupt before the reason why. You just remembered that you may not have told him that the second reason for his presence won’t be here.

So you interject that and then:
>Sarah finally arrives. Will she deign to explain the strange?
>a powerful warding field goes up. Well, you suppose that’s the strange.
>the seat tries to eat you. It’s going for the wallet, but you don’t let go!
<wait some more. Sarah, it seems, has played you for some strange reason.

>>1198070
>>a powerful warding field goes up. Well, you suppose that’s the strange.

>>1198070
>a powerful warding field goes up. Well, you suppose that’s strange.

Last one for tonight, but I’ll be back tomorrow. IT WILL BEGIN AGAIN! 'Round same time.

Tomorrow will start with any answers to questions that are asked in here. So I'll also leave a voting policy for while I'm not here. Simple majority, if there's a tie I'll break it.

So wait just a moment for the actual post.

You’ve always wondered how others process a warding field. For you it’s like felt tinnitus. Always sets your teeth on edge.

You know what it can feel like on the normal side, courtesy of Sarah when you were both very young. The rigidity of the people around tells you it isn’t nearly as pleasant for these people. Not that they'll remember it, but still.

Your enhanced senses mean that you don’t need to look to tell how many people are approaching, from where, or what they had to eat. Two people, the bathrooms, one had a coffee. The other a plate of eggs and spam with hot sauce.

You’d like to say that you cut a nice, intimidating picture, standing in unision with Ken and staring them down, but no.

These guys are not worth that. The only reason you’re taking the effort to stand is that you don’t want the cigarette smell on any part of you. So you stop them a few feet away from your table. Stand commandingly. Ask ‘em what they want.

And ignore Ken laughing at the heavy amount of Texan accent in your demand.

Mr. Egg and Spam tosses a phone at you, and starts talking. You mostly ignore him, because anyone this green isn’t going to have anything important.

The impaled Sarah picture tells you why she’s late, and even gets you to perk your ears back up.

“... so if you don’t want another casualty like your little girf-” You have to interrupt.

This is wrong. “Heh, if you’re such a weakling then just give in!”

No, not that. One, Sarah’s not your girlfriend. Two, she’s not dead. Three, well, the goons that did that are dead. Or her new servants. Or both, if you count servants of servants as somebody’s servants.

Ken mostly stops laughing by this point, but the smile grows way too much. “Hey, Dylan.” You don’t think that’s who’s being reference with your code name, but you’ll go with it. “Wanna show ‘em how big a mistake they’re making?”

You shrug, then agree. Even offer to cover for Ken’s mask dropping and stuff. ‘Course, if they’d be smart enough to just move on, well, you’d be inclined to let them gather up any of their friends and get into the hospital, with ‘em.

They look at you, a bit uncomprehending, so you repeat things, a bit simpler as Ken’s green starts to grow.

For threats, unauthorized attacks, and the plans they’ve talked about, it’s a trip to the hospital. You’re just willing to let ‘em spend the trip with their friends. Possibly even in the same ambulance, if Sarah left ‘em safe to transport.

Your little bit of intimidation:
>works. They run like hell. Now you just need to make a call so that the UGN can pick ‘em up and investigate
(These choices will involve picking up with a small combat tutorial next time).
>doesn’t work. Your shadow grows into a jet-black copy (inferior) of Ken’s Ultimate Form.
>doesn’t work. You drink in a bit of Gravity from Miss Coffee, and want more.
>doesn’t work. You drink in the icy-heat of Mr. Egg, and focus.

>>1198489
>doesn’t work. You drink in a bit of Gravity from Miss Coffee, and want more.

>>1197321
I remember that quest, but is this a new new quest, or your continuation of the old one?

>>1198511
I alread got off the machine I was on and won't be able to prove this for a while but it's the quest runner here... (Nature called and I had to answer)

But it's new from the ground up. New story, new runner, new trip. New, new, new everything. Though if DXR ever wants to start again, I know that I'll be reading that even as I wrote.

Just hope that I'll entertain as much.

>>1198489
>doesn’t work. You drink in a bit of Gravity from Miss Coffee, and want more.

>>1198489
>doesn’t work. You drink in the icy-heat of Mr. Egg, and focus.

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>>1198489
>doesn’t work. You drink in a bit of Gravity from Miss Coffee, and want more.
Mimic Miss Balor and manifest your Angel Halo lasers through your shiny new evil eye.

Also I'm glad to see someone pick up the mantle of running a Double Cross quest, definitely interested in seeing where this goes.

Now, if you read (or were part of) the previous Double Cross quest by DXR, the combat basics will sound a little familiar.Three attack types, simple triangle. I’m just making it a bit more granular with tenths and halves and so on.

An All-Out Attack is a signaled, full bodied attack that tries to kill the enemy (which doesn’t necessarily stick with an Overed target). Balanced Offense (or Defense) seeks to hold ground, and carefully get hits in. Finally, a Full Defense is a hang-back and look for a counter opportunity kind of action.

And so, in normal circumstances, an All-Out Attack will get you a full point when the enemy uses a Balanced (whatever). A Balanced Attack (or Defense) will pry through a Full Defense and score a full point, and a Full Defense will ride out an All-Out Attack for a point of progress.

Normal fights will end at the third or fourth full point of progress on one side. Easy ones might end with two on the MC’s side, and hard ones might require five and end at three.

And every (overed) character will have a modifier. The MC’s Jack the Giant Slayer reduces enemy gains by .2 and raises points gained by .2 if somebody else is affecting them. Ken’s Ultimate Mitochondrial Lifeform raises the points gained by All-Out Attack by .5, so even a failed All-Out Attack will gain a half point.

Some overed teams and characters will have powers. They can be used a limited number of times, and tend to have more powerful effects the less they can be used. The MC has “Didn’t see that!” which can be used once per fight. It reduces the points gained this turn by both sides by 1 and can be any kind of action. Ken has Lysis, a power that is it’s own action, defeating Full Defense and Balance actions, and if successful also lowers the enemy's points by 1. This is once per scenario/thread (whichever comes first).

And for this tutorial, the team of MC and Ken will have the power “Can’t Kill The Beast” which can only be used if the enemy team has three points of progress. It is more powerful than normal, and gets rid of three points of the enemy team’s progress.

Also, unless more than one option is given, assume that attacks focused on you are the ones that matter.

Diplomacy has failed. Not unexpected, a lot of young overed think that they’re the shit and invincible. You know you did for a long time when you were young, but now know that most powerful sane overed here doesn’t mean most powerful or invincible.

A good pair could take you down. Possibly even a good pair as weak as these two. They didn’t listen to the bit of metaphysical philosophy that a few people used to explain your combination of a laser and blast of shadow, based on your shadow being made of Mu.

That doesn’t make the two a bad pair. What does is that they don’t have any real teamwork. It’s two individuals fighting and so they don’t take advantage of interactions with their powers.

Miss Coffee could have held you in place, for a slice by Mr. Egg and given the flaming fists some extra work behind ‘em. She was content to sling silverwear at you, and he was content to contend with the gelatinous war-form that Ken had taken on.

They haven’t yet adapted, and it says to you that they’ve never really faced somebody with good defenses.

Your stolen bits of gravitic power both let your laser bend between the holes in the grid of eyes Coffee is interposing and nudge aside forks and knifes (you don’t care about the spoons), and Ken’s in stage 2, which is you don’t want to face down alone. Too tough to easily beat down, especially with the whip-arm in play.

Another bit of shadow is carried along with your beam of light, finding the same defensive hole that got you the first strike. It’s just enough to get a reaction out of Miss Coffee.

“HEY! Copy this!” It seems she’s got some idea of -

A rain of knives dances around, not yet striking you, but driving deep into the ground. With a more dangerous (or just more) weapon, it could make an effective cage. Or with the Orcus syndrome, it could spear you.

You can hear the metal crying as it’s warped into small spear-heads.

>All-Out Attack
>Balanced
>Full Defense

And by ear, you can hear the conflict happening enough to guess what’s happening. Mister Egg is being fooled by Ken’s impressive defense. He’s trying to pry open defenses that are being left for him, just to get the little salamander in range.

>>1200124
>Full Defense
Since this is an all out attack right?

>>1200262
Yep.

The spears pin you in, and tear into a near fractal patterns of spears internally. It’s impossible to avoid. Well, would be if you didn’t have her powers. Every spear flows around you, and the structure flies forward. The clunk is satisfying.

As is the smell of burning blood. Mister Egg seems to have stumbled in a bad way.

You’d call their attempts at recover transparent, but it’s actually quite opaque. A shield of dancing, sharpened cutlery covers a few handfuls of fire.

So they're not complete newbies at working together. You’ll have to … reward their work.

>All-Out Attack
>Balanced
>Full Defense

>>1200555
>Balanced
Slow thread huh?

>>1200600
Looks like. It's why I'm taking time. Any questions while I wait a bit to see if it picks up?

Also, I need to stop bouncing between threads. Forgot to trip.

>>1200620
What strain are we anyway? Oroboros?

>>1200631
Angel-Halo-Oroboros. Formerly AH-Solaris

>>1200555
>>Balanced

>>1200673
Lazers, illusions, and mimicry. Cool, though I like Exile and Hanuman more

File: Sleekerthanactualwarform.jpg (98 KB, 405x800)

98 KB JPG

>>1200689
>>1200600

TIE: Points 2.2 (you) 1.3 (Theirs)
Discovered - Mr Egg’s Spit You Out - Gives +.5 points for any ties.
Discovered - Miss Coffee’s Spacelord - Subtracts highest addition to an All-Out Attack

This is one of those moments where lassitude and desire to see how good an enemy is comes back to bite you. At least you think it’s lassitude. Big words were never your strong point when feeding your hand into a blender made of knives.

Well, metaphorically. You yank open a path for Ken just a little too forcefully, causing them to cut into you before they make a good barrier for when you interpose yourself between Ken and the fires.

And well, large gelatinous war form progressing with a huge spikey whip-arm? Pretty scary.

They seem to really think so, as the barriers are no longer free flying, and are being quickly welded together into a large, hot mass.


The hint was supposed to be the activity of the fires,but I guess I went too thin on that. I’ll hope to do better next time.

>>1200909
doing more tomorrow?

>>1200963
I'm gonna give it till auto-sage and keep on working. See how it goes, and if I can keep the pattern up.

So I'm going to try and run this one till the end of the thread one way or another.

>>1200987
cool

Also your hint was fine, I just missed it.

>>1200987
>>1200998
Yeah I just saw shield and didn't really think too much past that

>>1200963
>>1200998
>>1201014
I just thought I might have undersold the amount. Also, I forgot at the end there to put:

>All-Out Attack
>Balanced
>Full Defense

>>1201031
>>Balanced
one fuck off big barrier? heh

>>1201031
>Balanced

>>1201058
>>1201070

VICTORY!

This, though, is quite easy. They overreacted in the wrong way, and you’re going to capitalize on it.

Ken stays on watch for anything they might do. You upend the dish-water on them. The Salamandra is probably going to be fine. Miss Coffee, however, is likely to panic. And you're going to press it down, hopefully getting the right response.

If not, well, a spined tentacle showing up to say hello should stop the fight just as well.

So, as the sizzle and heat grows, you make a sign for Ken to start making noise.

You do, however, have to both improvise. The metal of the barrier was stretched too thin, kept too poorly, something. It just crumbles, leaving everyone to stare for a few moments as the dishwater continues to pour down.

Ken gives as much of a smile as is possible in that altered form. (Facial expressiveness is not one of the things that form can really do. Wreck shit impressively, yes. Smile, no. Although it works here.)

Hands go up in surrender so fast that you don’t even have a good simile or other bit of comparative language to use. Everything you think of on short notice falls short.

Of course, they’re not quite going to go free. As your light signs instruct them to clean up (and they do), you hit up the dedicated text server for the UGN here. Send a few people over to transfer them to holding, and have a few nice people speak to them about what they’ve done, and how to turn their lives around.

You (and Ken after redressing the not ruined women’s bathroom) have some stuff still to do:

>Try and rescue the underlings from Sarah’s grasp.
>Bring Sarah some leftover.
>Investigate the other place, as peacekeeper and Yakuza heir.

>>1201317
>Try and rescue the underlings from Sarah’s grasp.
>Bring Sarah some leftover

>>1201359
Had a memory shortage. Had to reboot after some trying.

Here it is, though.

Once your people are on the way, Ken’s got socks back on, the money’s down, and some leftovers boxed, it’s time to wait.

You’re not about to trust those two alone to not escape, so their friends will unfortunately have to wait. This also doubles as getting them to give you information. The picture of Sarah, ‘dead’ didn’t have a lot of details to help you find the place.

So you and Ken have to just sorta subtly lean on the duo to get some information.

“I wonder if she’ll bother to make it look like an overdose for the less useful ones, or if you’re gonna have to clean up.”

You do it subtly. Maybe. It’s possible Ken and Sarah have warped your perspective on this. You know, being what they are, it’s very possible that you’re being far less subtle than you think you are.

Not that it matters. You get a location, with great timing as a pair of black suited normal humans come by. Not that the targets need to know that, and the tracking spray lie is better sold with extra masks.

You’d call it stereotypical to hide in a warehouse, but the seaborne nature of this place means that there’s plenty all around, and for good reason. Mobility tends to play merry havoc with prices, and some kind of stability is appreciated by all.

The minions, when you arrive, are completely gone. Drugs have them unable to meaningfully do much other than lie there and drool. Other than the ones that Sarah has turned into makeshift furniture.

You can smell the insincerity coming off her, and by that you mean the mix of chemicals that would be redundant if not for dulling the anger you’d be showing. So you blow her back a little, and get Sarah to kiss the pavement with the back of her head.

You don’t think Ken will ever show appreciation for you and Sarah’s back and forth of ‘mess with my head, and I’ll mess with yours.’

Probably thinks it’ll explode into something worse.

“Unlike my chest. Wait, no. That exploding would be bad.”

Yes, bad and painful. We have established that any part of your body exploding is bad and painful. Or does she forget the Gjaum Sandman so quickly?

“Nope. I like to stay abreast of developing situations.”

You feel like she wants you to ask about what situation she’s talking about. You will instead talk about Ken. Specifically how he’s been subjected to a pretty poor day, and how she should have at least said she was going to wait and not arrive at the restaurant.

It’s a bit of a low blow, for how it embarrassed Ken, but. You don’t have much to use right now, and don’t want to encourage Sarah’s attempts to duck this meeting. It will happen one day.

You don’t make any threats you’re not going to actually do, though. It doesn’t work because she knows.

So, as you examine the minions to see who’s repairable (a surprising amount given Sarah’s usual stance re: illegal drug use) and get to a little bit of small talk.

And by that you mean get told that there’s a backer from the Guild. Who, of course, want the Daidouji group closer to them.

Nothing you couldn’t have guessed, but it’s nice to have. Even if you’re not going to do anything in return for that info. You can see the wheels turning, and instead need to work on foiling that.

You make one last call on the job. There’s going to be pickup here. Sarah thanks you with enough sarcasm that you can feel it.

Stil, gonna break for the night, you tell the pair. You know when Sarah wants to talk to somebody in private. And with the Sino-Japanese combo she’s speaking, that’s sign that she’s wanting privacy.

So you head back home, send off a few more texts for number crunching, and put on some music.

>Muse on Ken
>Muse on Sarah
>Muse on sudden intruder in your room.

I'll again stay for questions, world building, and so on. Hope I have the same id on my phone if I have to answer from there.

>>1201814

>Muse on Ken
>Muse on Sarah
>Muse on sudden intruder in your room.
>"Kick" sudden intruder in the face on reflex

>>1201814
So can you give me a basic rundown on the mc? Male or female? Any more freinds?

>>1201870
Don't go too crazy with multiples. It'll give out too many spoilers. Not really. Well, possibly. How good are you at reading between the lines?

>>1201885
not great, but better than most.

>>1201883
Male, Age 18(?), named for one of the ships from Taffy 3.

Eldest son of a restaurant magnate (mostly self-proclaimed) and pro-wrestling and lucha enthusiast.

While Sarah and Ken are his closest friends (Sarah for actually being a childhood friend and whose awakening he was directly responsible for, and Ken having had powers from a similarly young age, sorta) he's close to the Colonel, Bug, and a few people from school, most notably the wrestling club.

He doesn't compete in sports because growing up Overed has basically made a joke of competitions around his age.

Wonders what the hell is up with 'Hunter' Yoon-sil.

Uses Angel Halo powers to 'dye' his hair and be more photogenic.

Any other random things?

>>1201923
Might want to start a primer for newbs since I have fuckall idea of what some of that meant. How'd he cause the awakening? She's still pissed bout it isn;t she?

>>1201936
Will do. I'll probably make it post one tomorrow.

Sarah became an overed after repeated, extensive healing from the MC's then possessed Solaris syndrome. It was likely either the time with the knife to the gut after crowing too loudly about getting a few mules busted or the gunshot when actually spying on a drug making operation.

As far as the MC can tell, she's not angry about it. She just didn't like the UGN's hands off approach to things and took matters into her own, enhanced hands.

>>1201950
What are her powers? I gathered Ken is basically a slime/ Super Cell combo. We do illusions are steal power yeah?

>>1201960
To the best of the MC's knowledge, Sarah is a Solaris-Neumann crossbreed. Ken is a Chimaera-something Demibreed (meaning Ken is much more Chimaera than whatever the other syndrome is, to the point of having a power normally not possible for two syndrome types).

He's never asked the second, thinking it'll be revealed if it's super-important or if he can actually get Ken to join the UGN.

And the MC can also do lasers, super senses, shadows, and Monster Killing.

>>1201814
>Muse on Ken
I wonder how our recently acquired syndrome has affected our relationship with our RB friend? I certainly don't expect Xenos would approve if they knew.


So Nova, is the setting more or less the same as vanilla Double Cross? Is the arcology we're on in the middle of the Pacific like the first Double Cross quest?

What prompted you to start this quest now? I ask because I've been kicking around the concept of a False Hearts Quest for a little while now so it's neat seeing someone with the same sort of idea.

You should probably be the one to archive this thread so you can establish the tags (especially if you want to be able to easily distinguish this quest's threads from DXR's).

>>1201870
>>1202256

Even counting travel time (you went on foot the whole way), this is an early end to your day. A very early end, because you need to wake up extra early and visit the Colonel, get his approval for some things, and then finish the last assignments that you’ve been putting off.

But before that, you point three fingers towards the celing corners of your room. Only two people (well, one person and one urban legend that’s not quite a full being yet) could hide there and keep you from smelling or hearing anything. And given the lack of sword in floor, it’s the Bloody Sandman.

Thick ropes of red blood-flesh drip down for a few moments. Then it and the stains are gone, retreating as the stories say it does. On the one hand, it’ll probably be a really nasty or messed up person if it makes it that far, so it seems selfish to want it to become a person just for ease of dealing with it. On the other, that’d lower the death rate some, so it’s not as a wish. Hopefully.

That’s the kind of calculus you don’t like doing and don’t want to.

And your mind starts to wander as the soothing painting show goes into episode two. Mostly about the day.

Sarah had been doing fairly well, the friends she has in FH haven’t been seeking her help, which is always a plus in your books. You think that she’s used her powers to figure out a few of the extra secrets Ken’s father has him keep.

Hope that she’s helping Ken and not just…. Somthing. Probably entertaining herself if she’s not helping. You are also beginning to think that Sarah’s boyfriend doesn’t exist and she’s using him as an excuse to make you do things that entertain her without being too objectionable.

Alternatively, the boyfriend has secrets like Ken does.

Which leads you to wonder what those secrets are, and why old Ichirou is having Ken keep them from you. The biggest two, you already know. You’d say biggest three, but you have no clue how many secrets there are or how important the guy thinks they’d be.

And you do help try and keep them when possible, so you figure it’d either have to be really family oriented, or something that Ichirou thinks would change things too much. And being made by an insane Gjaum of concentrated Renegade virus for the purposes of being an heir is, to you, such an outweighing thing that everything else is small.

Is he counting the Gjaum ILA as also Ken, and -

You wake up in the morning a bit confused. You remember thinking something about Iron Lightning Anthem and Ken and her… actions? Something. Don’t matter. Ken is not that (insane) woman. You shouldn’t lay down and think to the Joy of Painting. It’s just too relaxing.

4:10 AM. Just enough time to shower and make the trip if you go by bike.

The first interesting event of the day is:

>Seeing the Oni Maiden at the hospital.
>A minor incident at school, around lunch time.
>an ‘assassination’ attempt right after class.

I'm working on the primer now.

>>1204324
>Seeing the Oni Maiden at the hospital
I'm curious

>>1202256
The primer will also have the answers.

Ken doesn't really mind the change, and hasn't shown any sign of acting any differently. Other than not asking for free Gatorade any more.

The setting is still mostly like our Earth of 20XX on the surface. I chose a floating arcology because of an in-thread joke I liked during DXR's quest about it taking place on Zanzibarland. So I took a few pieces of the Snake's Revenge stuff for names, and used a floating arcology because of reading up on some SimCity 2000 glitches.

And I decided to start because I wasn't making additional progress on the first post, and decided to go for it. And I'd read that and participate.

>>1201936
Primer Here for People unfamiliar with Double Cross's setting.

The setting of Double Cross is much like our own, but with secretive super powers in the background. Part of the reason for the secrecy is because super powers are caused by the awakening of a reality warping virus, the Renegade Virus, in people, animals, memes, minerals, databases, and other things, which doesn't always lead to a functional person.

The two major players in the shadows are the Universal Guardian Network (a group of plucky rebels turned multi-governmental secret group trying to keep the world from exploding) and False Hearts (a bunch of old beings enhanced by the awakened virus long ago and hungry and dissatisfied new people who want to upturn the world for... well, that depends on the cell or even member).

A person with the virus active in them, but sane, is called an Overed. They show between one and three, inclusive, sets of powers referred to as Syndromes. Using the powers too much leads to becoming a strong but insane monster called a Gjaum. Thankfully, social interaction and even hopes and dreams can help counterbalance the virus's grip on one's mind, but there's no known way to go back from being a Gjaum.

There's a number of ways the virus can awaken ranging from stressful or deliberate to accidental or unknown (possibly even unknowable.)

Some of the mentioned syndromes in this thread are the light-and-dark manipulating Angel Halo, the matter changing Morpheus, the chemical making Solaris, the super-intelligence granting Neumann, the gravity and space warping Balor, the area controlling Orcus, the heat affecting Salamandra, and the shadow and meta-viral powers of the Ouroboros.

Anyone think of something that should be in the primer for next thread?

>>1204324
>>Seeing the Oni Maiden at the hospital.

>>1204502
Who's who and blurbs about them maybe?

>>1204520
>>1204502
Gonna agree here, you kinda throw names at us and its a little hard to keep it straight

>>1204520
>>1204561
Will do. I'll get to work on them (and posting them) after the next update is posted.

>>1204506
>>1204352

You don’t know her name, not really. You only kinda know about her because once, long ago, you were sent to observe and determine if she actually had awakened. You assessment then is the same as now. No active Renegade, but may have an item with the active Renegade in it.

It’s why she shows (slightly) impossible strength, agility, and endurance, but no active powers. Also, it’s why she’s got the nickname of the Oni Maiden, because, sure, she’s got the build of a female weightlifter in training, but you’ve seen her records. She’s lifting like a competitive female weightlifter in her late twenties.

Still, you sneak around. Nobody in this particular hospital is there unless they’re in a very, very bad way. And that kind of stress could be grounds for awakening.

Second floor. ER. No room to hide, but you just bend light around you and keep on the look out. Warding goes up. This is … worrying.

By the time you can get a good view, she’s transformed. There’s no blood, which is good, but it looks like she’s taking the nickname a bit literally.

Seven, eight feet tall, muscled, red skin, horn, tiger skin clothes. Looks like a toku outfit in some ways. You make sure not to listen, but keep your eyes open. Don’t want this to turn out too badly.

You can almost read her lips, but the fanged mouth probably would ruin your attempts.

You’re not quite behind schedule (just gonna have to hustle some) by the time she turns back to normal. But you do have to take it fast as soon as you’re out of earshot. And will need to try and text and bike.

It’s likely to come back to you, but still want to get the UGN working on talking to her. Especially if it’s something that can be worked with slyly instead of directly.

Unfortunately, you end up in a little bit of a wreck. Somebody just tossed out a perfectly good minion, and it hit you. This wouldn’t be so bad, but the person doing the throwing seems to be a police officer.

And more worryingly, immune to your Warding field, because he’s calling in for medical aid despite your repeated assurances that you don’t need anything of the sort.

The aid is:
>shady as fuck. But a good chance to investigate.
>above board-looking. But the gas masks are worrying you. As are those huge needles.
>above board. Turns out that the policeman was just on warning for his enthusiasm, and this is his bribe.

>>1204923
>above board. Turns out that the policeman was just on warning for his enthusiasm, and this is his bribe.
Comedy

>>1204923
>>above board. Turns out that the policeman was just on warning for his enthusiasm, and this is his bribe.

Expect a few profiles as soon as I can post again.

>>1205019
>>1205068

The biggest problem with a bribe is that it needs to fit the right standards. You’re used to (and have) much more access to medicines beyond a high concentration aspirin, essentially. You still let it shut you up, because this wasn’t quite the situation you thought it might be and there’s already UGN influence in hearing police matters.

So you’ll know if this deals with anything interesting soon enough.

And by soon enough you mean during lunch or after classes. Thankfully, you’ve even got an excuse for your lateness. At least you didn’t miss a whole class. At least stats is easy enough.

Now, calculus, you pity the ones that have to take it before lunch. You’d be busting your chops in that one, in part because the teacher there is way overqualified.

Everything’s quiet until lunch time, and even that’s just school-type bad stuff, with a little scuffle that gets stopped well before it’s past the level of bruises and bloody gums. (You do hear from some people that have stats around lunch that you made an appearance on the local rag-news.)

Most of the day goes well, at least if you ignore the rumor squads and Sarah’s probable involvment in giving them new meat. Well, new from their perspective. It’s been a few weeks since your last meeting with Yoon-sil.

And you’re not going to hear anything (more) about Ken for at least a few weeks. And the usual fall-out of rumor aging won’t be until next month at the earliest.

The temptation to mess with them grows every time, you see yourself on their gossip rag. The main problem is who with, and you guess also how. The only person you can get ahold of on short notice that also hasn’t been featured in that rag is your sister, and no.

Actually, make that Hell No.

Still, today was a good day. Sadly :
>you get pulled into a classroom by Sarah. At least it’s a new lead about the little gang that moved in.
>you take a girder to the head. Nobody was around to see it, but you think you’re being targeted.
>the investigations you ordered brought up bad news. You’re gonna have to delegate and then get to work yourself.

>>1205516
>>you get pulled into a classroom by Sarah. At least it’s a new lead about the little gang that moved in.

>>1205516
>>you get pulled into a classroom by Sarah. At least it’s a new lead about the little gang that moved in.

And here's a few (sometimes editied for spoilers) quick profiles. Probably gets extended for next thread.

MC - Uncrowned King
Male, Age 18(?)
Country of Origin: USA
Syndrome: Angel Halo - Ouroboros Cross Breed
Resting Encroachment: 35 (est)

Born with Angel Halo and Solaris Syndromes. Change is assumed to have happened after the defeat of the criminal overed Black Dancer. Eldest son of J.T. [REDACTED]. Long history of service for UGN. Close friends with criminal (see file Ultra Beast), and FH mercenary (see file 9, Ice).

Recommendation: Minimal need for intervention. Death or inability to recruit friends may cause undue mental stress. Recommend several Strikehounds to be deployed afterwards.

Daidouji Ken - Ultra Beast, Ultimate Lifeform
Renegade Being
Method of Origin: Monkey Paw wish/conflict with Uncrowned King, Lightning Bug, and Big Bopper
Syndrome: Chimaera-Demibreed (other syndrome assumed to be Exile, but not known. Shows enhanced therianthrope form.)
Est. Encroachment: Ukn.
Nature: Assumed to be Human.

One of two beings created by Gjaum Monkey Paw after loss to agents above. Ultra Beast shows sanity and stability, unlike Iron Lightning Anthem. Currently serving as possible heir to Daidouji syndicate.

Recommendation: Put increased social pressure towards joining. Once joining, ask if non-lethal vivisection can be performed to gain more insight on Iron Lightning Anthem. Fighting is currently considered biggest threat to sanity.

Sarah S. - 9, Ice
Female, Age 19
Country of Origin: USA
Syndrome: Solaris-Neumann Cross Breed
Est. Encroachment: 40

Awakened with Solaris and Neumann syndromes after unknown incident or incidents six years ago. Shows extreme prejudice against drug dealers and addicts of illegal drugs. Common attempts to redirect or lessen actions failed or were deemed too stressful. Although technically a freelancer, new members without existing ties to 9 should be instructed to treat her as a generally non-violent False Hearts member

Recommendation: Shows lower direct combat skills than most. Focus seems to be on accomplishing normal tasks with extreme skill and causing debilitating pain. Does not need a Strikehound level agent to eliminate in worst case. Still, overwhelm and strike fast.

Hwang Yoon-sil - Hunter, Monsterhunter, Headchopper
Female, Age Unkn.
Country of Origin: Korea, South assumed
Syndrome: Exile-Hanuman Cross Breed
Est. Encroachment: 50

Much is unknown to me currently about this one. Mostly seems to be content fighting and hunting Gjaum and duelling with strong overed. Believe she is using Warding and in-school contacts to simulate regular class attendance.

Recommendation: Try to recruit Bring weaker Solaris syndromes for attempt. Subject often leaves as soon as her target run or is slain. How can we not find her? Get me answers.

>>1205546
>>1205554

This is going to send the rumor mill into a frenzy. And ruin the validity of any future rumors from her.

Sarah takes to the accusation well. “Nah. Just gotta find something even better to get everyone to forget this.” You get a baggie to the shadow-face.

You can tell it’s just packed to the brim with juicy details that were probably collated with Neumann powers and also involved several jumps in logic that would require those same powers… Or being a smart guy in a fictional work, which is how a lot of those powers end up working to an outside observer.

“So, you’ve got an idea of what’s in there already, so I won’t confirm. Instead I’ll let you look and then say why I need you in on this.”

Pictures, speculative schedules, even detailed maps, the package has just about all you’d want to launch an attack. Especially as it’s mostly non-overed, speculatively altered to be able to operate even under Warding.

“Now, the spoken part is that I can’t get enough people to properly guarantee the destruction of their product.” You kind wish that you had the paperwork skills to send the branch’s two best Neumann overed on such info gathering missions. Or at least that they had the power set to be useful on their own. Sure, one of them is at base because it means any attempt at invasion without an outrageously powerful Gjaum gets stopped cold, but you’d love to have days of work done in a few hours.

Sarah writes out a little more by writing it on the face of your shadow, which obligingly put itself on the desks in violation of all physics. Not enough time to get those people. Doesn’t want to call anyone because she thinks they have a way of spying on any telecommunications.

And as she outlines a plan of attack, you get surprised by a hug from behind. The scent and feel are almost completely unfamiliar. But you kinda know the general shape of Iron Lightning Anthem, and this matches but for not being a triple cyborg or something.

Of course, it’s Ken, using his “sister’s” shape for some spying; so writes Sarah. Well, isn’t this the best way of making up for the mistakes of yesterday.

“Nope. Just me finding a solution that makes everyone happy. That’s pretty rare now-a-days, right?”

Sarah’s words send a chill down your spine. Ken might not realize that portent of nightmares, but you do. You weep for whatever she’s going to do to try and help your situation. Mostly because you’re still sure that she knows not the meaning of the word restraint.

You just kinda wish that she was doing this in bad faith, so you could get properly angry. Oh, well. It’s not like you can't mollify some UGN people by pulling this off.

On the approach:
>the warehouse is empty.
>the warehouse is on fire.
>the warehouse has thin, long holes in it.

>>1206099
>>the warehouse has thin, long holes in it.

>>1206099
>the warehouse has thin, long holes in it.

Got a little sleepy. Ending just a little early today. Still gonna be around for questions, suggestions, Blavatsky impersonation judging.

>>1206122
>>1206161

There’s a bit of a long, pointed silence as you double-stare at Sarah. Eyes and Shadow both just staring. Waiting.

“We~ll, would you believe I was hoping to get you on a hot date?” Not funny. Not funny at all.

“Look, the bad hunter is making trouble with the influx of alien RBs, you always want more people in the UGN, I thought it’d be win-win.”

Considering that the ‘aliens’ were the fault of FH, you’re glad that she’s not trying to indoctrinate them into joining. “Pfft. Most of them don’t have the temperament, and I’m one of those Anti-Gjaum tyupes.”

What was that last word? You couldn’t hear it over Ken’s frustration at being involved in this. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll go level with Ken. You go keep some of those guys alive.”

Ken, take Sarah down. This is an imposter. And a good one, until they slipped up. “Hey, hey. Can’t I have some other reasons for being out of sorts?”

No.

“What ‘bout if they’re being controlled? Doesn’t that make sense?” Ken, keep a close eye on her. She’s probably not being impersonated, but still. This is way too roundabout.

The humming of the song, less so. But you’re not going to let up with the angry facade. If you did, she’d be even more unbearable in her practical jokes.

And then the warehouse blows up. Well, not literally, but with the speedy exit of a human-ish form, and the collapse of it. Might as well have blown up.

Wait, no. If it’d actually blown up, you’d be unable to accurately smell the lack of blood, at least for a few moments.

Fortunately or unfortunately (one of the two), the body blown out is just one of those biology models.

Unfortunately (and this is easily decided) the entire place seems to have been mostly evacuated and this set up sometime between Sarah’s gathering and now.

You know this is going to be a goddamn pain. And a half.

>Report back to base. Gotta get things started.
>Find Yoon-sil. For all the faults you could find, you don’t want to get anyone involved without asking.
>Go inside the warehouse. You can probably find something helpful by looking around.

>>1206592
>>Find Yoon-sil. For all the faults you could find, you don’t want to get anyone involved without asking.

>>1206592
>>Find Yoon-sil. For all the faults you could find, you don’t want to get anyone involved without asking.
It took me way too long to figure out who was talking in this post.
Adding some descriptions on that front would be good

>>1206668
Yeah, this was not my best. Just kinda ran out of energy way early into it. If I have the energy to spare tomorrow, I'll also put up a new version of it with the actual update.

>>1206687
Sounds cool. See ya then.