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>>2539082

[2/2]

With the barest blink of your eyes, you find yourself far, far away from the ancient Ruins you were just within. There’s no sign of the metallic hangar’s metal floor and walls, no sign of the massive warship that took up the majority of its space.

No, you find yourself within another kind of ruins. All around, there’s nothing but rubble, broken and bloodied stone compose what you figure at one point was some kind of courtyard. Looking up, you see the faint outlines of buildings, in varying stages of damage, all situated under a pitch black sky. Further out is a wall that circles the entire city, clearly destroyed in places. And across all of it, there’s the sound of screams in the air, accompanied with the crack of bones breaking and flesh being torn.

“Okay…” Slowly speaking up, you note that everyone is here, minus Gladiator, Archmage, and, of course, John. “Where are we? Did it work?”

“Damned cheeky thing, whatever it is…” the grumbling that’s Cylica’s comes from behind you. When you turn around, she’s looking at the skyline, her eyes filled with irritation and anger. “It tried to pull me in. I decided I wasn’t having that and tried to disengage, but it seems it managed to figure out my spell enough to force the issue. Considering our plan, I decided to make a snap decision.” She gestures around you. “Instead of pulling it outside...we’ll have to do the deed in here. Fortunately, I managed to get us away from where it intended to bring us, and it seems we’re all in one piece…”

“Where is… here, anyways?” Owlia looks around as well, sticking close to Cylcia with clear worry in her eyes, “It kinda looks...not great.”

“We’re in Westmire...” Dutch speaks up, his eyes looking away from you all in a set direction, unmoving, “We’re in Westmire…”

The fact that his eyes are dangerously close to a hundred yard stare prompt you to speak up. “You mentioned that before. So do you know what this situation is?” If you’re in John’s mind, then this has got to be some sort of memory, or mental expression of his soul, or…

He nods slightly, those cold eyes sliding over to you, “This… this is where John and I grew up, before…” A shuddering sigh escapes his lips, before he looks back over in that direction, “I don’t know what’s going on or why, but I know where John is”.

“Then take us,” Izumi says quickly. She’s already got both rifle and blade out; her blade on her hip, rifle at the ready. Cylica is similarly ready with her staff, as well as Owlia, who you guess took the time to retrieve her own. Mono’s carbine is at the ready, and as for yourself…
Well, considering the situation, you’re just glad you have guns in your bag. Your shotgun should do for now.

“Yeah…” The gunslinger pulls out his own revolvers, the barest hint of a quiver in his grip before he clamps down on it, “Let’s go”.

> Roll me four 1d100+30’s please

Rolled 3 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2539185

Rolled 86 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2539185

Rolled 44 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2539185

Rolled 27 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2539185

>>2539194

That's a 116, Success.

Writin'

>>2539185

With Dutch leading the way, you direct your team to spread out slightly. Whatever has destroyed this city, or rather, whatever within John’s mind has conjured up is out there and, with how fuzzy this situation is, you don’t want to risk anything.

Keeping your eyes open, there’s more details that come into view as you walk by, more blood and corpses flickering into view, clear signs that their deaths were neither quick nor clean, before vanishing again. What doesn’t vanish are the black splatters of Blight that cover the ruins in places, clearly signs that this city was overrun quickly and brutally.

This… this is what this plague does…Disgusting.

“Gods, this is...so messed up,” Mono mutters from behind you as she sweeps her eyesight across a couple of buildings. She’s holding up surprisingly well; her grip is tight, and her step is steady, but her ears are flickering at every scream on the wind, and her eyes are practically shivering.

“It always is,” Izumi mutters, but she says little more than that.

“Wasteful, barbaric creature,” Cylica snorts.

“If I’d had all of my tools, maybe…” Owlia laments, before shaking her head. “This is a sickness…”

You’re about to respond, something to calm your team back into focus, when something catches your attention out of the corner of your eye, “Dutch… what is that?”

[1/2]

>>2539337

[2/2]

The gunslinger takes a few more steps before stopping, turning around to look at where you’re point; all of your team does, in fact.

Off in the distance, perhaps in the center of the city, stands a single tower ascending into the sky. That alone is strange enough, given the surroundings, but what really catches your attention is the glint of glass that composes it.

“That…” Dutch pauses, clearly trying to make sense of what he’s seeing, “That’s not from Westmire. Whatever it is, perhaps John is the source of it”.

“That’s not good,” Izumi says. “If it’s intruded to this extent. Whatever this thing is, it’s trying to take John’s mind for its own, and that tower is symbolic of the effort, I wager.”

“I’d have to concur with that,” Cylica admits. “However, approaching the thing may be another matter. A person’s mind tends to be...sensitive, once it’s aware it’s being messed with. I’m unsure if a direct approach would be the most viable- although to be fair, we’ve far more firepower available than I’m used to.”

“Should we even bother?” Mono asks. “Might...might be too dangerous.” Her eyes flicker around, never resting on one spot for too long. “Ya don’t think we should just keep following Dutch to where John should be?”

“I know this point in time well…” The gunslinger looks over all of you, nodding slightly to the wolf-girl, “And I know where John will be; I was there at the time. I don’t know what the tower is, but John’s… He’s never mentioned anything of the sort”.

>Then we’ll keep following you.
>We should investigate the tower; it is the anomaly here
>Other

>>2539339
>>We should investigate the tower; it is the anomaly here
If it's not suppose to be here, then we should make it Gone. Destroying the source of this corrupting influence should make John far easier to retrieve if nothing would try to take him back or something.

>>2539339
>>Then we’ll keep following you.

>>2539339
>Then we’ll keep following you.

>>2539339
>Then we’ll keep following you.
We need to know what's happening.

>>2539339
>>Then we’ll keep following you.

>>2539356
>>2539358
>>2539384

Lead the way, dandy man.

Writin'

>>2539339

As tempting as it is to go blow up the tower, the fact that you’re dealing with John’s soul here means that you should be careful with this, “Take us to where you think he’ll be, Dutch. If he’s not there, we go to the tower”.

“Right… right…” Swallowing hard, the gunslinger tears his eyes away from the distant tower, back towards where he was going before.

Falling back into line, you continue your trek through the ruined city. There’s the occasional flicker of something, but nothing distinct enough to make out and eventually they stop entirely. In some ways, it’s good in that there’s no longer brief movements in the corner of your eyes, but the sudden stillness is disturbing in its own way. No one says a thing, the air of nervousness settling heavily over all of you. Nothing but the screams break the silence, setting your teeth on edge until you force them to relax.

It’s almost telling how long it takes all of you to notice the shift, as the screams and tearing of flesh continue, but this time the latter sound is more… distinct, more clear; absent is the haze of the dreamlike quality it once had. Everyone raises their weapons and Dutch, not slowing his stride even in the face of what is to come, leads you into another broken courtyard.

[1/2]

>>2539593

[2/2]

In the center of the torn and blackened cobble stands something beyond normal comprehension. It towers, seemingly two stories tall, over you all, covered in teeth and claws and sharp bits. Blight, black as sin, covers from a carapace-like exoskeleton, only broken by crimson red blood splatter, some of it dried but along its claws drips the bright red and fresh variety.

Underneath it is the broken, torn remnants of a vaguely familiar individual, bits of blonde hair the only indicator of what’s left of John among the blood and flesh that has been ripped apart.

“Oh gods above…” you hear Mono mutter, but you can’t spare the time to look back at her.

The monstrosity turns towards your group, multiple eyes blinking as it takes in your arrival. Clicking its overlapping teeth together, forming a terrible maw, this thing of nightmares lets loose a low, warbling roar that shakes the stone beneath your feet..

[SCOURGE OF THE AMBEREND]

>Action!

General Skills and Weapons:

(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kj00CtC5_cYWFCmRqc3h68q-OdQwCui3dgxQDbordEQ)

>Miranda (https://pastebin.com/eTu7U2PZ)
>Izumi (https://pastebin.com/Tidzvf5N)
>Mono (https://pastebin.com/eHa6sP5S)
>Cylica (https://pastebin.com/gbQ74aZR)
>Owlia (https://pastebin.com/0RAvq0Ez)
>Dutch (Dual Revolvers: 6d100+15; Disabling Shot: 3d100+15 (DC: 90; on success negate enemy’s highest roll); Those Who Dare: Daring Actions double Dutch’s Weapon Modifiers)

>>2539600
Oh fuck oh fuck
>Miranda & Izumi holds from front, focus on intercepting the thing and anything else that could show up
>mono could attempt to sing up a burning environment if possible, or use/hand over the carbine
>Cylica, owlia hang back and assist from range throw lightning and shock orb
>dutch goes for disabling shot
>anyone that can use thermal weapons should use it or hand it over to others if they're too occupied to use it
Burn it before it does something

>>2539650
Seems like a good enough plan to me.

Rolled 9, 36, 31 + 15 = 91 (3d100 + 15)

>>2539600
Mono: create some terrain advantages for us(slopes, walls, things that we can hide behind and hinder the beast)
Miranda: Stay back and prepare an orbital ring
Izumi: Protect miranda until she finishes the ring.
Cylica:Take flight and pepper the beast with dark bolts
Owlia:Flight and pepper the beast with bolt shots

Dutch: Disabling shot. (do we have to roll each a 3d100? or is it three anons rolling 1 d100?)

>>2539600
>It has a title card

oh god we are fucked..

>>2539673

Don't roll yet. I'll let you know what to roll when the decision has been made.

>>2539678

I love having bosses with titles; just makes the situation that much more brutal.

>>2539688
It really gets across the idea of "Wear your brownpants, you're about to shit in terror"

Sadly, it is late, and given that it is a Sunday night Handler and I have to wake up for work tomorrow morning. We'll leave this over night for people to figure out a battle plan here, since you are going to want to talk this one over. Good luck, and see you all tomorrow.

>>2539697

Definitely. They're also slightly meta, really more of an OoC thing than IC, but I like what they add.

>>2539600
backing this
>>2539650

>>2539600
Suporting:>>2539650

>>2539650
>>2539600
Backing this plan.

>>2539650
Oh also I forgot to mention that this was focused on defensive/conservative stance as we want to know what it's capable of while we know that fire works on the blight well, so we focus on protecting ourselves and learning it's capabilities while pelting it with what we know works.

>>2539600

i agree with this >>2539650
But If possible, try to spread out so that if this guy packs any AoE attacks he can not wipe out the group in one go. but i agree with miranda and Izumi holding the front lines.

If the magic folks have anything to send the guy staggering now would be the time to use it, keep him on the back foot

And dutch, i pray to god that this was the thing you saved Julius from, so tell the girls where it hurts the most to hit as well as any attack patterns you can remember.


and john, if you are not completely torn limb from limb, could you please stop lying around and use the home field advantage to shift things in our favour?

>>2540372
Well technically owlia can use a continuous thermal attack, but it costs more mana as well as requiring concentration to maintain. Hence why I suggested with being conservative tactics with minimal commitment.

I would have suggested miranda tying up the monster with orbital ring with everyone going ham on it otherwise, but that's not an insignificant amount of mana, and we dont know if the ring will hold before it dies.

>>2540439
I am fine with Conservative tactics, its just that this is a giant monster. My first instinct is to hit hard and fast to destroy it before it can land a hit in, and because it is two stories tall i think it can take a lot of hits before dying and that is worrying to me.

we are not sure what happens if someone dies in here, and while the girls may be okay dutch is a glass cannon so the longer this goes on, the more likely it is he bites the dust.

>>2540449
then we should let miranda use her orbital ring on the monster. Even if the monster breaks the ring, it will damage him and give us more time to kill it/reposition ourselves

How much mana does Miranda have at the moment?

>>2540603
full i suppose. Apparently john was out of it for some time and they used his reactor to recharge themselves.

>>2539600
This >>2539650 with the addition that Miranda uses Orbital Ring

>>2540449
>>2540577
I see. Yeah I can support using the orbital ring as well then

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Sadly no updates tonight, though Handler will be around earlier than normal tomorrow so we'll be able to make things up there.

Meanwhile, this >>2539650 looks to be the popular choice, though it's a bit divided on what exactly Miranda will be doing, so I'll put it to a final vote here:
> Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)
> Just fight defensively

>>2543073
Assuming we can still attack the thing while it's restrained.

> Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

>>2543073
>Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

>>2543073
>> Just fight defensively

>>2543073
>> Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

>>2543073
>Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

>>2543073
> Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

>>2543073
> Just fight defensively

There's is no way this is THE boss fight in here. At most it's a mini-boss.

>>2543073
>Use the ring

Takes a pretty penny, but it may give everyone time to prepare

>>2543073
>Just fight defensively

>>2543073
> Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

>>2543073
>> Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

>>2543073
>> Use Orbital Ring (2500 MP cost)

And we're back.

>>2544077
>>2543982
>>2543537
>>2543391
>>2543340
>>2543318
>>2543296
>>2543151
>>2543081

Orbital Ring it is.

> Roll me four 6d100's please

Miranda: All Four at +30 ;Izumi: All Four at +30; Mono: First Three at +10; Cylica: First Three at +15; Owlia: First Three at +5; Dutch: First three at +15

Rolled 8, 81, 50, 31, 63, 12 = 245 (6d100)

>>2544927
For great justice!

Rolled 91, 26, 4, 24, 44, 100 = 289 (6d100)

>>2544927
WITNESS ME

Rolled 65, 85, 3, 9, 95, 22 = 279 (6d100)

>>2544927

Rolled 60, 77, 58, 53, 79, 47 = 374 (6d100)

>>2544927

Rolled 13, 6, 3, 86 + 30 = 138 (4d100 + 30)

>>2544927

[SCOURGE OF AMBEREND ACTIVITY]

>>2544951
Witnessed.

If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.jpg

>>2544951

That's a 121 for Miranda, a 115 for Izumi, a 60 for Mono, a 46 for Cylica, a dirty 100 for Owlia, and a nat 100 for Dutch, going up against a 116, knocked down to a 43 thanks to Dutch.

Total Success.

Writin'

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>>2544951

>>2539600

Alright, giant nightmarish abomination right in front of you that’s torn what seems to be your ally apart. Very clearly part of something that he doesn’t want.

...Well, part of you is relieved; this makes things a bit more simple. It’s something you’re actually kinda used to. Already your mind is spinning up tactics, and you’re moving practically on instinct at the moment as you sweep your arm back. “Spread out! Yuna! Cover me! Emma, start singing- something with a hot beat! Remember, FIRE!” You have to interrupt yourself briefly as the thing starts stomping towards you and everyone scatters- the two elves diving behind a nearby house as Emma and Yuna stick with you- Dutch breaks for cover on his own, slowly moving towards his downed friend. You’ve half a mind to call him back, but you stop yourself- that actually might work out well.

“Plan?” Yuna asks as she lets loose a hail of bullets, most of them driving into the diseased mass but you see some ricocheting off it’s chitin armor. Emma seems nervous, her eyes flitting back and forth as she rapidly tries to think of something.

“I’m gonna give it a real big headache,” is all you respond as you begin shaping your Orbitial Ring. It may or may not hold him, but regardless…

Any further discussion is halted when the abomination charges forwards, claws spread wide to intercept the three of you. Yuna dashes ahead as you slide to a stop to continue focusing on your magic, her already extreme speed further augmented by a gutteral, crackling beat that your wolf-girl bard begins producing. You can feel the ambient temperature rise already, and that’s enough for you.

A shout of frustration erupts from across the street as you see both Owlia and Cylica rise into the air- Cylica moving nearly like a bullet, while Owlia remains a bit more steady in place. “Damned creature!” is all that Cylica bellows out as her hand crackles with purple lightning, sending an arc of it racing up the thing’s side. Owlia is quick to follow up with pepped shots at the massive beast, her bolts pale yellow, but steady as they fly from their hands.

[1/2]

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>>2545153

[2/2]

Frustratingly, the solid bolt doesn’t have much effect, grounding right out into the stone beneath, though the numerous and smaller ones, lancing into one of its arms and bursting, seem to grab its attention, looking over the fliers with bare hatred and malleolus within its many eyes. For a second, it hesitates between the many attacks coming at it from different directions, before Yuna, pulling free her prized demon-slaying sword, screams out a battle cry and it focuses entirely on her charging form.

Slashes from razor sharp claws tears the cobblestone asunder, only some well timed dodges on her part keep the woman from following suit. Getting within its reach, Yuna barely avoids a long, pointed leg from piercing her chest, turning the blow aside with the flat of her blade. The living nightmare takes a second to steady itself from the deflection, right as a second burst of thunder cuts through the area.

With a sickening tearing of flesh, half of the scourge’s head is shredded, letting out a high-pitched whine as it reels. Glancing over in the middle of your conversation, you see Dutch holding a smoking revolver, eyes slightly wide telling you that he wasn’t expecting that kind of effect.

That’s JUST what you needed, and as you spread your arms to widen the pulsing ring, you push out, a solid loop screaming towards the demonic entity, spinning through the air fast enough to leave a brief glow in its wake. Its raised claw gets no leverage as you land it up and around; the beast taking on a near comical look of surprise as you close a fist and the hoop tightens around its torso, binding one arm bent up, and the other trapped flat against its side. Knowing your enemy is without any way of escape, you call out, “Emma, now!”

Her beat increases in intensity- and so does the heat as she begins to bellow out vicious tones, nearly screaming in her intensity. The ground beneath the nightmare suddenly turns white-hot, the stone beginning to warp and melt from the shear heat, when a burst of inspiration hits you and, with a pull of your wrist, you force it down onto them.

The smell of burning flesh fills the air as you literally pull this thing over the coals, the screech only increasing in pitch to an almost painful degree when the flames begin to catch and blacken its plating. That’s enough to convince you to give the next order…

> Focus fire on this abomination, kill it while it is down.
> Secure John’s body, it might factor into this somehow.
> Just wait and watch what happens- if the ring blows, you want to stay clear.
> Other

>>2545157
>> Focus fire on this abomination, kill it while it is down.

>>2545157
> Focus fire on this abomination, kill it while it is down.
>use megaphone/ make your voice loud enough to be heard by Dutch
>order Dutch to secure John’s body, it might factor into this somehow.

>>2545157
>> Focus fire on this abomination, kill it while it is down.
John's not going anywhere, and we need to stay clear of the ring's failsafe.

>>2545157
>> Focus fire on this abomination, kill it while it is down.

>>2545157
>> Focus fire on this abomination, kill it while it is down.
PURGE! Don't let this nat-100 opportunity go to waste!

>>2545213
>>2545203
>>2545196
>>2545185
>>2545183

Focus fire it is.

Writin'

>>2545157
>> Focus fire on this abomination, kill it while it is down.

>>2545157

“Focus fire!” Shifting your focus slightly, you begin charging twin magi-blasts in your palms, “Finish it off while it’s down!”

Aside from Yuna, none of your team is within your line of sight but at least you see the swordswoman give a nod as she lines up her rifle. Various other shouts of affirmation come from around you, and when you fire off the first blasts, that starts off a cacophony of rolling thunder.

Your shots impact first, blowing off a leg and an arm, then another leg goes flying with an explosion, followed by another arm, and the rest of the abomination’s head as Dutch unloads his revolver from the side. Yuna fires next, raking it’s side with a string of rounds as more electricity follows along the other. To top it all off, Emma increases her tone to a fever pitch, a verifiable inferno rising from its smoldering flesh and the black wounds, smoldering its accursed being among your magical containment. With one last, gurgling scream, the nightmare goes limp and your Orbital Ring shines brightly for a moment before it, along with Emma’s song, create a miniature star in the streets of Westmire.

After a few more seconds of scorching flame, the wolf-girl slowly brings the sound back down, the raging inferno eating away at the blackened mass for a few more seconds before it vanishes off into thin air, only the blackened and warped cobblestone speaking testament to what just occurred.

Slowly, the sounds of distant screams fills the air again as the noise of combat fades, leaving you standing in the middle of the further ruined square. “Alright, careful…” you mutter as you begin to take tentative steps forward. It’s gone, it seems, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be any nasty surprises left. Can’t tell with stuff like this…

“I DO wonder what that was..” Cylica admits as she and Owlia land, on the edge of the burn marks. “Certainly not any visualization of the mind I’ve ever witnessed before.”

“Some sort of corruption, no doubt,” Izumi opines. “Anyone injured?” A chorus of ‘no’s’ come back at you and her, save for one...

A glance over at Dutch shows him with his eyes wide and frantic, but his body unmoving. A few seconds of heavy breathing occur before he gets himself under control, “That’s… that thing… was just as terrifying as it was all those years ago…”

Right...this was some kind of memory… “So you fought that thing before.” Yikes, and likely without backup, it sounded like. Hard task, from the looks of it. “I’m guessing you and John managed to do something?”

[1/2]

>>2545333

[2/2]

“‘Fought’ is a generous word…” He looks over at you, then to the pile of flesh, “John… That thing almost killed him by the time I managed to react. With him pinned and no one else around, there was no other choice but to shoot it in the face until my gun clicked empty, then I grabbed what was left of him and ran…” Turning fully to where what’s left of his friend, you can see the barest hint of a frown on his face, “But it wasn’t this bad, back then...”

Coming up on it...you have to admit, it looks pretty bad. There’s more blood and guts on the stone than still inside of the Artificer, literal holes and the rend of claws covering his body, the most severe of which is a single, deep slash across his back from hip to nearly the spine by the neck. You share a pensive look with Izumi, who has an equally bad grimace on her face. Even Cylica and Owlia come up, the latter nearly retching at the sight, while it takes a fair bit of willpower from Cylica to hold her gaze. Emma takes one look and quickly turns away, a small ‘oh gods’ coming from her.

“Could we even…?” Izumi lets the question go unspoken, but you finish it anyways.

“Probably no, not like we did before…” This is really more pieces than person…

“If we had a team of experienced surgeons AND your magics, maybe, but…” Cylica mutters.

Owlia isn’t saying anything, Emma having wandered over to her side. Dutch, similarly, is silent, his dark eyes taking in everything and nothing at the same time.

Then, there’s the sound of tearing flesh and you turn around in time for the blackened mass of scorched flesh to simply stand up, the nightmare’s form suddenly reverting to its full and complete size.

“I’M SORRY?!” Emma yells apropos of nothing as she backs up as quickly as possible, and part of you can’t blame her.

With a look that can only be smug, the abomination of this world lets out another warbling roar from its massive maw that cracks the stone beneath it into almost dust, now nearly right on top of you.

It can regenerate. REALLY wish you’d known that earlier.

[SCOURGE OF THE AMBEREND]

> Same game plan as before; this isn’t a god, it can’t heal forever.
> It’s still in there… Grab John’s body and go; you need to figure out what’s going on here.
> Other

>>2545337
> It’s still in there… Grab John’s body and go; you need to figure out what’s going on here.

>>2545337
> It’s still in there… Grab John’s body and go; you need to figure out what’s going on here.
Yeah, probably not a good idea to keep burning mana and resources on this thing unless we know for sure that we can kill it. Though it might be a good idea to target its legs if it tries to pursue.

>>2545337
>It’s still in there… Grab John’s body and go; you need to figure out what’s going on here.

>>2545337
>> It’s still in there… Grab John’s body and go; you need to figure out what’s going on here.
If fire didn't stop it's regen, I'm not sure what would. And we've only got so much mana and ammo. Let's book it.

>>2545337
>> It’s still in there… Grab John’s body and go; you need to figure out what’s going on here.
Fuck, I bet the Tower represents the source of the corruption, and unless it's gone this thing will simply come back again and again.

>>2545379
>>2545366
>>2545363
>>2545360
>>2545351

And we're leaving.

Writin'

>>2545337

“Dutch…” You speak up, voice tight with tension, “Grab John; we’re getting out of here”. The monstrosity, practically cackling now, stalks forwards with a deliberate slowness, “Girls, on my mark…”

Pulling back another charged magi-blast, you feel the tension ramping up in the air as the gunslinger throws what’s left of his friend over his shoulder. With the ‘cargo’ secured, and a regenerating monster bearing its teeth at you, you raise your hand, charging it for those last few moments, as you yell, “MARK!”

The entire group hauls out, Cylica grabbing Owlia and taking to the skies, while Izumi yanks Mono close and drops her on her back. Your palm opens and you let fly the blast, immediately turning to follow them- how badly it damaged the creature is irrelevant- it should be big enough to blind him for a few precious moments if nothing else, and that’s what matters. Once again, Dutch leads the way in your group’s dead sprint through the ruined city, though you easily catch up to the man.

“So-” As you match his speed alongside him, the gunslinger turns to look at you, “What’s the plan now?!”

“Get somewhere where IT can’t!” you yell. “This is his memories, right? Where’d you go before?”

Lacking hands, he motions back towards where you all came, “I carried him out of the city through that gate back there! But I don’t think this is going to go the way it did before; the fucker back then didn’t regenerate that’s for sure!”

Grand. That only really leaves one clear option, in your mind… “Angle for the tower! That’s the only other thing out of place!”

“Right!” Turning towards the direction of that strange tower, you can clearly see him look about the surrounding area, “Okay, it’s right in the middle of the city… Follow me!”

Switching direction to a side street, you quickly follow behind the gunslinger, motioning up to the others to follow suit. With the sounds of screams in the distance, and the sounds of something nightmarish getting closer and closer, you sprint for the tower.

> Roll me three 1d100’s please

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>2545571

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>2545571
Oh Christ...

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>2545571

File: 1387742372805.png (71 KB, 308x277)

71 KB PNG

>>2545576
>>2545579
>>2545584

File: IMG_4106.jpg (37 KB, 480x389)

37 KB JPG

>>2545576
>>2545579
>>2545584

What a nightmare.

>>2545576

That's a 14, Failure.

Writin'

>>2545571

There’s a massive, thundering roar that’s all the warning you get before you hear a rumble, and for a moment you see a massive shadow above you- that’s just barely enough to force you to stop in your tracks as the mad beast crashes down in front of your, making a massive crater when it lands, and spreading more of its ichor in the impact.

Spinning in place with almost impossible speed, sending cobblestones in every which direction as its thin legs tear into the ground, you come face to face with this very persistent nightmare.

“Son of a bitch,” Dutch snarls out beside you, taking a step back as he grips his friend’s corpse tighter. It’s just going to dog your steps until… you don’t know what.

[SCOURGE OF AMBEREND]

>This fight’s pointless; see if you can blind it.
>You need someone to delay it…(who?)
>Fine, you’re just going to have to put it down again!
>Other

>>2545664
>This fight’s pointless; see if you can blind it.

>>2545664
>>Other
We are still using Cylica's spell. See if she and mono can bend this reality to our whim.

>>2545664
>>You need someone to delay it…(who?)
Miranda light it up with a Sun's Flare, giving Izumi enough time to get off a full charge Demon's Roar. We only stick around long enough to get those two attacks off though.

I've had an alarming thought: unless we can clear the topside entrances to the hangar, when the relief team from our employer shows up, they'll at best have to get through the Blight before they can relive us, and at worst they'll give us up as a lost cause. When we get out of this nightmare, we're going to need to purge the blight before we can finish this job.

Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>2545664
>Blind it
mono uses her singing powers to make either:
1)a maze for this monster
2)a distraction by making it look like we went the other way.
3) bend space to make the beast far away from us

>>2545664
>This fight’s pointless; see if you can blind it.

>>2545664
>This fight’s pointless; see if you can blind it.

>>2545869
I also like your No. 2

>>2545714
>hmmm, I've never used nebular buster for gardening before

>>2545969
i'm pretty sure that would destroy the ship.

>>2546075
I thought you were talking about the surface?

>>2546207
ah, got it. but wasn't the blight coming from inside the ship?

>>2546230
I thought the blight was coming from somewhere inside this facility or dock, and outside of the ship.

>>2545664
>This fight’s pointless; see if you can blind it.
>try to cripple it with another magiblast before running

>>2546230
>>2546288
I thought the Blight was coming from somewhere outside this place, lured by the generator being turned on. Whatever Blight-infested place is closest to here.

>>2545664
>This fight’s pointless; see if you can blind it.

>>2545685
Is this possible?

>>2546297
Supporting

>>2546331
Is this possible?
It should be.

>Mind Rewrite- Cylica can interject into organic minds to hypnotize an individual and bend them to her will, and otherwise adjust their mental state. She must roll for continued influence.

>Undreaming Delusion- Cylica can influence a mind to think whatever she wants them to think, and see what she wants them to see. Difference between this and mind rewrite is that she has no direct control over the individual, only their perception.

Add to that list that mono can literally rewrite reality, it should be fairly simple to will john's mind to us.

...I also found something cylica could use to help us.

>Portal Creation- Cylica can create portals between two locations if she can visualize the end point clearly, allowing instantaneous transport. She and others can travel through them, as well as objects. She must sustain them. If anything gets caught between them when they are turned off, IT IS BISECTED.

>>2546345
>If anything gets caught between them when they are turned off, IT IS BISECTED
I would like to avoid using the portal during combat

>>2546351
Obviously not use it right now, but it could serve as a trap of sorts or a very handy way to cut stuff.

>>2546352
As long as any of our allies aren't going into the portals I'll support it.

>>2546352
>>2546351
Yeah I would definitely like to use the portal in combat.

Like, open a portal up between an ally and an enemy, get the ally to bait the enemy into chasing them through the portal, cut the portal when the enemy is partway in it.

>>2546345
>>2545571
I will support attempting this.

>>2546436
Maybe we could put the portal in a doorway to disguise it as no-portal-here

Maybe pinning it down with the Flamebringer could get us some time. Regeneration's no good against increased gravity (one that gets passed most forms of magic resistance at that).

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>>2546570
yeah, like a a roadrunner scenario

>>2545674
>>2545689
>>2545869
>>2545967
>>2545969
>>2546297
>>2546331

Blinding with Sun's Flare it is.

> Roll me four 1d100+30's for effect please

Rolled 74 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2547875

Rolled 86 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2547875

Rolled 80 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2547875

Rolled 9 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2547875

>>2547892

That's a 116, Success.

Writin'

>>2545664

A twitch of irritation runs through you at the situation. You know how these kinds of things play out: giant regenerating monster that’ll come back to life no matter what you do until you fulfill some kind of condition.

What that condition could possibly be, you haven’t the slightest idea, but, upon coming to the decision of what to do, you don’t intent to get into a slugfest with this nightmare. “Dutch, avert your eyes…” Waiting for the gunslinger to turn away, you unleash the full power of your Sun’s Flare, lighting up the ruins surrounding you with the light of a star.

A high-pitch scream responds to your efforts, the monstrosity struggling around in pain as its eyes are scorched. Cutting short your spell, knowing that between the inflicted blindness and the sudden lack of light that thing won’t be capable of seeing anything for precious few seconds. So, grabbing Dutch by the shoulder as he blinks spots out of his eyes, you half-shove, half-guide him forwards.

Thankfully, he regains his vision quickly enough to guide you through several side alleys, neatly avoid the thrashing nightmare as Cylica and Owlia fly overhead without an issue. You make it a fair few blocks before another warbling roar rocks the city, evidence of the monstrosity’s recovery and renewed pursuit. Without anywhere else to go, you and Dutch double your efforts to get to the tower dead ahead.

As you approach, you get a better look at the very strange structure, revealing that the base of it is entirely part of the nearby rubble, only turning into a tower of glass maybe three or four stories up. Arriving at the square in the dead center of Westmire, you turn around to see how the others are doing. It’s slightly unnecessary, as Cylica flies over the ruined buildings with Owlia in her arms while Izumi leaps from broken rooftop to broken rooftop with Mono on her back. Lastly, far back up the street, the Blight abomination is in a dead sprint right towards you. Seconds later, the girls touch down, dropping off their respective cargo as they do, and join you as you watch the charging nightmare barreling down the street.

“Any ideas?” Dutch speaks up first, adjusting his grip on John’s corpse as he does.

Frankly, most of your solutions boil down to ‘kill it’, but seeing as that’s not likely all that possible at the moment… maybe you can work out something else. “Anyone see any entrance ways?” you ask.

“No doors, but are those stairs?” Izumi’s voice catches your attention, and you’re about to turn to look at what she’s seeing when a lance of black flies overhead.

[1/3]

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>>2548191

Impossibly thin and long, it pierces into the cobblestone before slashing across, sending rubble and dust flying as it does. Oddest of all, the nightmare digs its legs into the street, suddenly breaking as hard as possible. The sound of it rips through the air, coming to a stop just before the literal line in the sand. It stands there, mouth dripping with black, but it does not look at you, but rather far above you.

Turning around and looking up, you’re greeted with the visage of a floating figure wearing a hooded black mantle, the angle of his position making it impossible to see any more than that, and the black lance that apparently makes up its arm, simply pointing it as it stares down the monster without a word.

Several seconds pass in silence, no one really sure of what to do in this situation, before a low, ragged hiss is released from the toothy maw and, surprisingly, it turns around. The sound of it walking back down the street grows slowly more and more distant, before it fades into the background of screams.

“Uh...issat good?” Mono asks quietly. You’re honestly unsure yourself.

That lance of black slowly retracts back into whatever this new thing is, eventually forming back entirely into a humanoid hand, one the stays out for a moment before vanishing back under the mantle. It doesn’t move further than that, apparently just watching over the city, but eventually it begins to descend.

Without even a whisper of noise, the hooded figure stands before your group, a pair of glowing eyes like cleanly cut sapphires peer out at you, though for some reason you can’t make out anything more of its face than them. You nor Izumi bother to put down your weapons, and it seems like Cylica is wary as well- the rest of your group seems to have varying opinions, however. Owlia seems to want to take a step forward, although a hand from Cylica holds her back.

The most Mono can offer is a small wave. “Uh...hi?”

[2/3]

>>2548195

[3/3]

If it reacts to your various reactions to its presence, the figure doesn’t show it. The silence is starting to get a bit awkward, especially compared to what you just went through.

Apparently getting a bit impatient, Dutch clears his throat before speaking up, “So, what are you?”

Those twin, jewel-like eyes suddenly dart onto Dutch’s form, though even then nothing else moves as it speaks in a perfectly monotonous voice, ”I̍ͨ̌ am J̴̵̢o̷̴h̴̵̀̀ǹ͢͟”.

You cock an eyebrow. Oh. This is odd. “Are you, now?”

Izumi and Cylica seem equally curious. “An aspect of his mental state, perhaps?” the ex-regal guesses. ‘John’ still stands there, unmoving, in front of the tower.

[GREED]

> Ask… ‘John’ what exactly it is.
> Ask who the corpse Dutch’s carrying is.
> Ask ‘John’ what the tower is.
> Yeah, this is a trap; cleave the fucker.
> Other

>>2548198
> Ask… ‘John’ what exactly it is.
> Ask who the corpse Dutch’s carrying is.
> Ask ‘John’ what the tower is.
Looks like it’s time to play 20 questions.

>>2548198
>> Ask… ‘John’ what exactly it is.
>> Ask ‘John’ what the tower is.
Oooook....

>>2548198
> Ask… ‘John’ what exactly it is.
> Ask who the corpse Dutch’s carrying is.
> Ask ‘John’ what the tower is.
Greed? Do we have to give something to this 'John' to let us go in the tower unscathed?

>>2548198
> Yeah, this is a trap; cleave the fucker.

>>2548198
>> Ask who the corpse Dutch’s carrying is.
>> Ask ‘John’ what the tower is.

>>2548243
>>2548223
>>2548219
>>2548203

20 Questions it is.

Writin'

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>>2548198

As creepy as this thing is, it’s at least not being hostile at the moment. So, while it’s feeling diplomatic, you might as well see what information you can get out of it, “What exactly are you, ‘John’?”

It’s eyes swivel to you, staring at you for several seconds before it answers, ”I am an… incarnation of your friend; born from the Abyss and molded in his image, St͞reng͠t̶h̨”. Once again, there is no sense of annunciation or inflection to his voice, just an abnormally even tone.

“Hm. So, close enough, then…” Cylica muses. “Then perhaps he may be able to assist with our goal, should he be truthful.”

You have to agree...but another question nags at you, first. “Okay, so, then...if you’re an incarnation of him, then what does that make this?” you follow up, motioning to Dutch and his...contents. “Another part of him or what?”

“That…” It looks over the corpse for a moment before snorting in a practically indentical way to how John does, “Is Ǹot ̴̡J̧ǫ́͡h̸͘n̴͟”.

You find yourself looking between the two, and you’re not the only one. “You sure about that?” Mono asks. “‘Cause, I mean, I got a decent look at what was left...at first, I mean, an’ that kinda looked like John.”

Its eyes snap to the wolf-girl’s form, “I am, De͜v̸i͝l̷”.

To your surprise, she doesn’t seem to take offense at that, simply holding up a finger. “Only technically. Aaaand...I guess if you’re sure.”

“Okay, moving on!” you quickly interrupt, with a mental reminder to smack the wolf-girl for revealing what she did. “What’s this tower for? We’re trying to, y’know, solve the whole issue of this corpse being a corpse and was hoping we could revive him somehow. According to Dutch here, who you SHOULD know if you’re a part of John, this thing is apparently new? Or at least wasn’t present in reality.”

”Indeed… Màg̨i͞cian͝,” You get the impression of it inclining its head in the direction of the gunslinger, though it doesn’t appear to move still. ”This tower, and its surroundings… are the collective construction of your friend’s soul. It is everything and all of what your friend, the T͘o͠w̶e͘r, is”.

[1/2]

>>2548439

Hm. Well, that’s not entirely what you were expecting. Honestly, you were hoping you could just destroy the damn thing and call it a day. Izumi’s expression seems to betray similar thoughts. “Alright, then,” she speaks. “So...if that’s everything that he is, then…” She looks back towards Dutch. “Should this even matter?”

“Perhaps.” Cylica speaks up. “Memories and experiences make us who we are. The adjustment of those memories, sometimes, can cause a change in personality. Sometimes, but not always…well, I suppose there’s only one way to find out in this case.”

“Right,” you admit. “There a way in? If only because…” you look back at where the beast was. “...yeah.”

Gliding forwards, it peers at the remains over Dutch’s shoulder, “The Sc̸͜our̵̴ge̸͜ has done more damage than normal… No matter, there is time yet”. It flows backwards, leaving thin wisps of black smoke in its wake.

Well, that’s both ominous and promising. ‘More damage than normal’? But, you’ll ask that later. “Alright then, what do we need to do?”

”Follow,” With that, it begins flowing into the blown out base floor of the tower, clearing heading for a set of stairs, sidestepping the shattered remains of a chair in the middle of the base.

Dutch follows without word, and the two of them already begin climbing by the time Cylica approaches you. “I hope you’ll excuse my concern, but do you really think we should all just follow this thing?”

“I mean, if it’ll help John…” Owlia trails off.

> You heard the thing; follow it upstairs. No time to second guess.
> Is that broken glass on the floor? Maybe someone should stay here to be safe.
> There’s another set of stairs heading down. Might be worth investigating.
> Other

>>2548446
>> You heard the thing; follow it upstairs. No time to second guess.

>>2548446
>> You heard the thing; follow it upstairs. No time to second guess.
"Frankly, if this does turn out to be an ambush, I'd rather we'd stick together, in case we need all of our power to break through. They don't seem to be the type to take prisoners..."

"Hey, Dutch, what would have been in place of this tower back in the heyday of Westmire? It might have some sort of connection with what we need to do here."

>>2548446
>> You heard the thing; follow it upstairs. No time to second guess.
Let's go. We aren't here to mess around with things we don't know, we're here to get John back, hopefully with less corruption.

>>2548460
>>2548507
>>2548529

Up we go.

Writin'

>>2548577

Sorry folks, but we've gotta get off here. Things will continue tomorrow, so see ya then.

>>2548439
“That…” It looks over the corpse for a moment before snorting in a practically indentical way to how John does, “Is Ǹot ̴̡J̧ǫ́͡h̸͘n̴͟”.

Hmm, does he mean that that is not John the person, or not "John" as in it was his birth identity?

Meanwhile, in the hangar...

>>2549071
I think he mean that the corpse is not John the person and it makes sense because we are in his mind. If he were dead, the malevolent being would have already taken over everything.

>>2549695
yeah, i just can't help feeling that everything here is symbolic in one way or another. And if that is correct, i hope that the corpse is not of anything too useful.

though he did also say "the scourge has not done this much damage before" so maybe its just a memory that happens over and over.

>>2549708

So, the demon could literally represent John's Demons, or fears. However, I'm not so sure if it's just the usual mental aspect anymore with the corruption influence John has.

The shadow titled 'GREED' already stated it is John's Strength, which he draw upon to fight against enemies and survive. I guess it kinda makes sense since selfishness directly affects the will to live, and those that want to live and not just give up would want to help themselves more than not, and do whatever it takes to survive.

The tower is a type of fortress, which could represent John's mental/spiritual defenses, and shows how well his mind is holding up with how damaged it is. By the descriptions of rubble around it, I'd say it's pretty accurate representation.

The great question then is what is the corpse. If it is NOT John, it could be his weaknesses, something the Demon/fear would prey upon. That or selflessness, since it's missing bits of itself, heh.

Also, thinking about all this makes me wonder more about the basement. Given how it's inside the tower though I think it's John's private or repressed memories? Since all other 'bad' stuff would be outside the tower.

>>2549772
The basement will be full of official functions and ballroom dancing

>>2549772
If this trip doesn't include someone saying to john "No John, you are the demons!". Ill be dissapointed.

>>2549772
Hmm, we did have this discussion about a meta narrative with Story T on discord, and while he said that there currently isn't one a common theme was each of the protagonists having a deadly sin as their trait.
John's being Greed. so something to think about.

>>2549909
If we get to switch back to john while in his head, we can ask the others "Hey whats with the glowing demon?"

>>2550186
>Hmm, we did have this discussion about a meta narrative with Story T on discord
and that's why I hate quest discords

>>2550186
>discord

well it was fun while it lasted.

>>2550215
>>2550226

Just for reference, that discussion occurred a number of months ago and, if I'm remembering the order of events right, back then I was using the 7 Deadly Sins as a vague theme for my MCs. Then someone rolled a nat 100 during the first fight against the Vampire Patriarch, in thread 18, and it was just about the perfect time to make it a bit more involved in the story. Other than that, the players that're on my discord don't know anything more than the players that're purely on the thread.

Mostly to do with the fact that I made this entire part of the crossover up after the Blight showed up at the hangar

>>2550186
>Discord
Welp. Now i wonder how much information is there that isn't being shown here.

>>2550437
Honestly, pretty much nothing these days. It's slow as hell.

That and no, seriously, this part is us flying by the seat of our pants.

>>2550451
You're sharing a pair of pants?

>>2550474
Its a very complcated(and money deprived) relationship.

>>2548446

Thinking on it, there’s much that you want to investigate here, but the simple fact of the matter is that you’re on the clock. “We don’t have time for second guesses,” You say after a few seconds more of deliberation, “Follow that thing up and we’ll see what it has in mind. Stick together, and if we find out this thing is up to nothing good, then we’ll go from there”.

“Right. We’re here to fix John, however that’ll work, and that’s what we should do,” Owlia gives you a small, slightly brittle smile before turning to walk upstairs with Cylica hot on her heels.

You glance over the rubble and the stairs going downwards one last time, before you follow the elves.

The stone steps loop around the side of the tower, though they’re practically outside considering there’s nothing left at this level aside from the occasional metal bar that composes the superstructure of the tower. You do note that there is some glass at one point; cracked and broken in some places but still intact, though you don’t stop to look at it further as you need to catch up.

At a point, the glass exterior begins in full, surrounding you with various twinkling shards. Right ahead of you, Cylica and Owlia are looking over a few of them with clear interest. Glancing around them, you catch a few scenes of a city you don’t recognize along with…

“Is that Dutch?” Owlia quietly asks, and you look at what has to be a memory of John and Dutch when they were younger. Not too much younger, as they are getting sloshed in some seedy bar, but the picture the scene paints is that neither of them are nearly as experienced as they are now.

“Seems as though,” Cylica outwardly confirms. “Memories, then, is my guess…”

“Kinda hope my brain isn’t like this,” Mono mutters behind you.

“Needless to say, don’t touch anything,” Izumi says sternly to your newer members as you continue climbing.

The trip continues in silence, the occasional glance at the memories encased in glass gives you a vague idea of what John used to get up to. He certainly wasn’t lying about having prior experience working with the Genovese, from the various scenes of warehouses and back alley dealing, he did something along the lines of inspection and repair. Then, you reach the next ‘floor’, really little more than a horizontal section of metal that opens up slightly, where Dutch and ‘John’ are waiting for you to catch up. Just beyond them is the beginnings of another set of spiraling stairs, that same kind that follow the edge of the structure and continue further upwards.

[1/2]

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>>2551467

[2/2]

This section of the tower is far, far more sparse, with a lot, and you mean a lot, of them are just memories of shitty towns, little more than villages with makeshift wooden walls for the better ones, and seemingly endless woods. Occasionally, you catch the sight of John repairing some piece of magitech, but there’s really nothing else here.

“Hey… ‘John’,” Dutch speaks up slowly, looking far more hesitant that is characteristic, “When you said this is… ‘Not John’, you meant…”

The shade turns around, looking over the gunslinger, ”Correct, Maǵi͜cįan̕”.

His face twists slightly, nodding just the barest hint in response, “Yeah, I figured that was the case…”

“Okay, so…” you say as you approach them. “Here we are.” Whatever you needed to do, it seems like it’d be here.

Those twin sapphires swivel to you, but it does not speak.

“Ya know, I’ve been just dying to ask,” Mono breaks the slightly awkward silence, stepping forwards and motioning towards the incarnation, “Is there anything underneath that hood of yours? It’s cool and all, if you don’t wanna say bu-”

At her words, the hood the figure wears easily slides backwards. Oddly enough, you still can only see those eyes and an outline of its face, but the resemblance to John’s is uncanny. Even still, you get the feeling that this thing is more smoke and mirrors than an actual physical being. At least you don’t have to chastise Mono for rudeness...or set an apology.

Mono’s brief wide eyed expression is enough for that lesson to be learned.

“Curious…” Cylica steps forwards, her hand twitching in a way that tells you that she’s resisting the urge to perform further… research, “Aspects of an individual’s personality are often warped in their image, and while it’s quite clear that this is no perfect copy, it’s basic structure is entirely the same”.

“Interesting,” you admit. “Still doesn’t tell us what we need to do, though, so if you guys don’t mind?” A conceding silence meets you at that question.

”The top of the tower is the destination, Stren̶g͝t̡h̨,” Without the hood on, you can see a bit more movement from the specter though there’s not a twinge in waste, “When the Tòwe͠r is back within the Sanctum, recovery will begin”.

You almost want to ask how that’ll happen (not to mention a number of other things), but at the same time you just want to get it over with…

Either way, he doesn’t seem to register your internal musings as he proceeds onwards. Dutch begins on, still closely behind, his brow creased with worry.

>Ask about the intended methods. Will he...it need help?
>Ask about that massive beast outside. It called it the Scourge?
>Ask what’s underneath the tower; or if it’s at all important.
>Ask Dutch what he was talking about as you caught up.
>Just leave it be for now.

>>2551473
>Ask about that massive beast outside. It called it the Scourge?
We gonna have to kill it again?

>>2551473
>Ask about the intended methods. Will he...it need help?

>>2551473
>>Ask about the intended methods. Will he...it need help?
>>Ask about that massive beast outside. It called it the Scourge?

>>2551473
>>Ask about that massive beast outside. It called it the Scourge?
>>Ask what’s underneath the tower; or if it’s at all important.

>>2551473
>Ask what’s underneath the tower; or if it’s at all important.
>Other: So, uh, if time is a factor, we could jump/fly up instead of just walking...

>>2551487
>>2551494
>>2551499
>>2551508
>>2551524

We've got some questions.

Writin'

>>2551473

After a few more steps, and without any interesting memories to distract you from your thoughts, you decide to speak up, “That beast down below, you called it the Scourge, right? What is that thing?”

“The S͜c̀o̸urge is another part of the Tow̧er, a fragment that has… mutated over time, so to speak,” The shadow doesn’t turn around to address you as it talks, still in that monotonous voice, “No longer just a memory, it is malevolence given form; a unique kind of cruelty that is equal parts hatred and… creativity”.

That’s...less good than you were hoping. Also probably explains the ‘resurrect from ashes’ thing. Well, it’s at least something to know. Although... “Creativity? I’d have expected anger, resentment, self-loathing, something like that, but creativity?”

“Innovation…” It speaks the word slowly, as if trying out how it sounds, “Is found within Chaos, Str͘eng͜t͢h̕, within insanity. It is a driving force, as rabid and instinctual as it is focused and purposeful. The T͟o̕wer̨, on some level, knows this, which is why the Sc͘our̶ge remains despite the… damage it causes”.

Silence fills the air at its message, your group climbing the stairs at a steady pace. Dutch, from what you can see, has a blank expression on his face. Eventually, he raises his head, “I… that explains some things”.

“There’s a fine line…” Izumi mutters, eyes going slightly wide.

“Beg pardon?” Cylica says, just behind her.

“Insanity. Have you never heard the saying?” she turns back to the monarch and Owlia as the same line suddenly runs through your head. “ ‘There’s a fine line between genius and insanity.’ “

“Oh please, that’s just what people with no imagination say,” Owlia immediately dismisses. “I’m plenty creative and I’m not stark raving bonkers, am I?”

Once again, there’s an awkward pause, and just about the last person you expect speaks up to end it, “... You are a poor liar, Sta͘r̷”.

Her face immediately goes flat. “Hey... hey you. You hush, okay? I’m a unhindered creative force, I’m not...stabbing people in their showers and junk.” She folds her arms and pouts as she leans against Cylica, who simply wraps an arm around her, patting her on the head with an even face. “‘M not crazy…” she mutters.

[1/2]

>>2551814

[2/2]

“Never thought I’d hear you get insulted by a… thing,” Mono shakes her head, a toothy smile on her face, before turning back to the shadow, “Yo, uh, ‘John’? What’s underneath the tower? There were some stairs leading down below, and… ya know…”

That catches the incarnation’s attention, as it stops its silent ascent and turns around to look at the wolf-girl, “Underneath the tower, De̕vil, is the Abyss; it is source of the Tow͢e͠r̶'̴s magic, and it is my… birthplace”.

Izumi nearly flinches at those words, clearly keeping a grip on old instincts, “The… Abyss?” Yeah, sheesh, her voice couldn’t be more on edge if she tried.

“Indeed, De͡at̢h,” Turning back around, the specter continues gliding up the stairs, “It is the Beyond, the home of Chaos. Ever churning, ever shifting, it is where the basis of all souls originate before they form within mortals. All hold their slivers of Fire in the deepest parts of their soul; for the To͡wer̕, this is deep under the foundation”.

“So we stay away from it. Good to know,” you say in a tone that brooks ZERO argument. Although, it didn’t exactly extrapolate on something, “You said that you were born in this Abyss, but if John’s soul is still down there what does that make you?”

“I stated prior that I was an incarnation of your friend, and that is true, but I…” It pauses here, clearly thinking over its words, “I came… after, and merged with the portion of the T͟owe͠r known as ‘John’, tinting that visage with Chaos”.

“...great. Okay, y’know what, I’ll shelve that for later.” If there was something ‘tainting him’, then...well, that may or may not be your problem, depending. “For now, let’s keep moving. What is your plan for healing… ‘Not John’?” You add in the air quotes there, still not entirely convinced at the shadow’s words.

“Return the First Fragment to the Sanctum, and the T̵owe͞r will be complete once more,” It flows up to the next ‘floor’, calling over its shoulder as it moves out of view briefly, “That is my intention”.

“I hope that’s as simple as it sounds…” Owlia admits.

It’s probably not.

> Gotta stop things here. Will continue things tomorrow, so see you all then.

>>2551820
Have a good night!

>>2551814
Expected Cylica to say "It's okay, I'm crazy about you." Or something.

Very uncomfortable similarities between her and John though.

>>2551843
Johns is a more contained insanity, Owlica falls on the manic side of behaviors.

>>2551843
>>2551875

I don't really see it. John never came off as insane to me. Just more reckless and a bit nihilistic until recently.

>>2552850
No it's probably more the fact that John invented and built a sniper rifle, a desert eagle and a grenade launcher in less than a year, in a setting where everything runs on magic and clockwork.

>>2552850
Dude turns himself into an unknown abomination so he can punch vampires.

It's really just a matter of time until her is smart enough to ram a crystal into his skull.

>>2553147
That was an accident where John had little to no control over how it happened. Since afterwards he basically never used it again with proper caution, I'd say that one is less of a sign of insanity or creativity, and.more of his corruption taking over.

>>2553175
That guy was joking

John should have a crystal in his skull when artificer quest ends

>>2553296
Nah, he makes 6 and puts it on a gauntlet.

>>2553325
And how is he gonna call it? The endless glove?

>>2553940
The asymptotic mitten.

>>2553940
Eternity Fist.

Seriously though, now that I'm thinking about it I'm not too surprised that they manage to gel.

I cannot WAIT to hear Sierra's thoughts on everything that happened once this is over. If nothing else she might at least be happy to hear about other elves.

>>2553940
>>2553945
>>2553946
The Power Glove, obviously.

>>2553988
That's so bad.

>>2553988
The Crystal Grip

>>2553940
The GlitterFist, obviously.

>>2553951
Sierra has probably burned down half the city by now

The Genovese live in fear

>>2555254
Is it because they forced her boyfriend on a job?

Or did they just leave her high and dry during the elf mating season?

>>2555261
Because he promised to never work with them again and never go on stupid adventures. Dug his own grave with that promise

>>2555472
He also explained to her Dutch is more than a brother to him and has saved his life. She understands.

>>2555507
>She understands.
Hah. Never heard of the old saying that goes "Bitches be crazy"? There is a reason that exists.

>>2555584
Hey, no dissing Sierra. She saved our asses consistently since we got her.

>>2555584
Well, Sierra was consistently rather grounded so far.

Hey OP, >>2539082, did John made upgrade her own kit any since that vampire mess?

>>2551820

Making your way to the stop of this set of stairs, and coming upon the next ‘floor’ within this tower, you find yourself surrounded by, predictably, more memories contained within glass, though this time these ones are far more varied and some, namely ones of a black-haired elf and an old man, almost gleam in the darkness as you look at them.

“Oooh,” Owlia speaks up as you walk over to the next set of stairs, still trailing behind the shadow and Dutch, “Heh, it’s just like he said…”

“What’s what now?” Walking over to where she’s looking over at more of the glass again, you note that this one is of John chatting away across a bar counter with said elf. There’s no sound, only a few brief still images that shift between each other every few seconds, but you can tell from body language alone that this is some kind of professional meeting. Or, rather, something attempting to be professional.

“Well, John and I were talking abou-” At that, the gal freezes mid-sentence, coughing to cover up something, you’re not really sure what, “Ahem. Anyways, he mentioned that he’s got a lady friend, and that he met her out in the middle of nowhere in her bar. So, you know, just thought it was cool and all that…”

“That’s… nice,” You’re just glad that you don’t have worry about looking out for her as well.

Cylica, on the other hand, looks a bit more intrigued, “You and John certainly have been getting along famously”.

Owlia just shrugs, wearing a cheeky grin. “Hey, he’s smart, I’m smart. Smart people attract- it’s kinda like magnets”. Don’t similar magnetic fields repel?

“Oh?” Cylica’s wearing a smirk. “More attractive than meeee?” she tilts her head in a cutesy manner, and...she can’t really pull it off, honestly.

Not that Owlia seems to notice by the way she rushes up to her laughing. “Oh, please! You’re THE main attraction for me!” Oh, great, they’re getting mushy again. Moving on.

[1/4]

>>2558673

Briskly walking past the two, you travel up the stairs, practically following along a chain of memories including a pair of jobs, one including the old man you noted before and the other included a group of what could only be bandits, the exploration of some kind of Ruin, far less advanced that the one you’re in, and the unleashing of Blight through some kind of room-sized Sigil. That one, and the few after it that depict John’s, and the elf’s, expedient escape from the plague as well as a fight versus three Blighted individuals you take particular note of. Mainly because, after that incursion that you stopped, you’ve got the feeling that knowing as much as you can about this plague can only help you deal with it when it, inevitably, shows up again, but also because John vividly remembers that old man turning the three corrupted individuals into paste with nothing more than a set of gauntlets. From there, there’s some time spent recovering, the memories here being rather mundane, before the three divert briefly to a nearby town to board a train.

This particular string starts rather simply, with John running around performing snap repairs and maintenance on the machine, until he pulls out some kind of electronic device from one of the maintenance nodes. There’s not much that you can tell, given how there’s nothing in the way of sound contained here, but between the way that you can almost feel the edge of desperation kicking in as he listens in on something and that there’s multiples of this electronic device on all of the nodes, it’s not hard to tell that there’s some serious shit going down. A short, and surprisingly brutal, fight confirms things, John managing to dispatch the two would-be-assailants before field-stripping them of their weapons and armor, then bodily tossing them off the carriage.
A series of modifications are done, a nightmare occurs, and then the Artificer manages to fight his way through a train’s worth of security guards, grabs his two companions, and steals the caboose to make his escape.

For a guy in a ‘supporting’ rol-

Oh.

That’s why he was so suspicious of you originally; the last job he’d been on with ‘outside security’ had ended in a shootout. That makes sense.

[2/4]

>>2558675


There’s a bit more to this chain, though it ends with the three arriving at Shirahoro so there’s nothing else of note here. Ignoring the other bits and pieces around you, the idea of shifting through someone’s soul not sitting all that well with you, you make it to the next ‘floor’ without another word.

This one… this one definitely catches your attention.

Weapons and firearms of almost every kind litter the stone floor, their condition ranging from ‘mint’ to ‘in pieces’. A longsword, it’s edge gleaming red with blood, giving off an almost sinister air, is leaning against a memory fragment of it being to impale a woman wearing light armor into a wall, who cackles as she turns to dust. A heavily modified Clockwork Rifle, that you recognize as the one John made on that train, sits next to a modified pistol of the same origin, almost forgotten at the side.

That massive rifle of Dutch’s stands almost proudly, the similarly oversized rounds spread out across its section of the floor along with several of those custom rounds the gunslinger has for his revolver. There’s several memories attached to these ones, mostly involving vampires being turned into chunks of meat.

Funnily enough, you spot the sword John made for Izumi here as well, placed almost on display underneath a shot of the swordswoman swinging it about in practice, and in anger. You do manage to find yourself and the rest of your team here, occasional smattered among the other memories, consisting mostly of other individuals you don’t recognize, and fights against humane and inhumane beings, with Owlia taking up the most pieces.

Another part of the room contains the magitech Arc Furnace the Artificer managed to construct, the reactor powering his home, a pile of blueprints, and the set of scarred armor you vaguely remember seeing out in his storefront. The set of armor that he pilfered off the train security and modified is also here, though the chestpiece has been broken beyond repair, the associated memory a wild haze of combat ending with three arrows piercing the section of armor cleanly. Finally, in a pile, is that EXO suit John apparently spent so long on, reduced to nothing more than a heap of scrap with a busted helmet on top.

[3/4]

>>2558678

[4/4]

There’s a few other odds and ends around, though the Howitzer, not self-propelled and composed of far more Clockwork machinery than you’re accustomed to, that’s just sitting around at the side makes you do a double-take at the artillery cannon.

And right in the middle of the room, slightly elevated above the orderly disorder, is a stone throne. It’s nothing grand or gaudy, a simple gray color to it and a utilitarian design, but there’s bullet impacts, slashes from bladed weapons, cracks from blunt weapons, and bite marks in places. Despite the damage, the piece remains intact, with the main pieces of the tower’s structure broken here, leaving an open view of the black sky above, but it’s the smoke coming out of the breaks and consolidating in the middle, right about where one would sit upon the throne, that catches your attention. Most of it is a neutral gray color, a bit darker than the stone around you, but there are two sources of pure black smoke as well, that intertwine and mix into a ball in the dead center of the room.

“This…” The specter speaks as your group gawks, to varying degrees, “Is the Sanctum”.

> “So what’s your purpose here?”
> “Where do we put him?”
> “How long will the process take?”
> Other

>>2558685
>Where do we put him
For fucks sake Randa, you are not here on holiday ambling about a museum!

>>2558685
> “Where do we put him?”
> “How long will the process take?”

>>2558685
>> “So what’s your purpose here?”
>> “Where do we put him?”

>>2558685
>> “So what’s your purpose here?”
>> “Where do we put him?”
>> “How long will the process take?”

Sorry about the lack of updates, was out with a friend of the last day and a half. I am free tomorrow, so things will continue further then.

>>2552894

Those items, or ones that fulfil the same role, exist in the setting, though John did make his own versions of them. Mainly in terms of sheer caliber.

>>2552850
>>2551875

John isn't insane, though if there was a SAN counter he'd be dangerously close to the red. Thankfully, since he's been dealing with it for a while, he's gotten used to it though there was a case, namely the golem blueprints, where 'you black out and have no idea how you managed to create what you did' occurred. TL;DR: he's the restrained mad scientist.

>>2553325
>>2553296
>>2553940

During the final fight against the Vampire Patriarch in his lair, I did have a few different plans depending on how the dice rolled, one of which was John getting an arm ripped off. If that occurred, at the start of this crossover one of the choices would have been to have had his arm treated with healing magic to restore it or replace it with a magitech faux-cybernetic prosthetic. The More You Know.

>>2555254

Fun Fact: If Sierra did burn down half of Shirahoro none of John's connections would save her from Exile or the Gallows, depending on how many people she killed the process.

>>2555472

The promise was to not get involved in the illegal side of the Genovese. Their completely legitimate front company on the other hand...

>>2555584

To put a long story short, Sierra's an Elven Mage Soldier. She's well aware of the world that she lives in, and she's well aware of the kind of man John is.

>>2556089

Since the end of the vampire arc? Nope. To be honest, she's pretty close to maxed out in terms of gear, as being a Combat Mage means that she's not all that equipment reliant.

>>2558685
>> Other
>Whats with the smoke?

>>2558685
>"Where do we put him"
>"whats your purpose?"
>"How long will the process take?"

in decreasing order of importance

>>2558685
>“Where do we put him?”

>>2558685
>> “Where do we put him?”
>> “How long will the process take?”

>>2558720
>>2558746
>>2558761
>>2558768
>>2559634
>>2559645
>>2559827
>>2560953

20 more questions it is.

Writin'

>>2558685

“Sanctum, huh?” Considering what you see here, the name is rather apt. Still doesn’t change your reservations about this place, “So, where are we putting ‘Not John’?”

The specter looks at you for a moment, before glancing at the throne, “When the First Fragment is returned to its proper place, the Tow͞er̀ will be complete once more and shall take care of itself”.

“That is far too obscure,” Izumi steps forwards, hand twitching towards her holstered blade as she speaks, “Explain exactly what will occur; no riddles or hyperbole”.

Oddly enough, this fragment of John’s soul, corrupted or no, looks almost confused at the woman’s demand, “When the First Fragment is returned to its proper place, the To͝we̡r̡ will be complete once more and shall take care of itself? You desire your friend to recover, correct? This is how it is done”.

Considering that response has done nothing to assaude your friend’s concerns, you decide to cut in with something that’s been in the back of your mind for a while now. You’ve only got one chance to get this right, after all, “You mentioned, before, that the Scourge has done something like this before, though not as severe. What did you mean by that?”

“The Scourge is a memory that has grown beyond a simple past event. It plagues your friend, pulling the T͞owe͠r̡ from his rightful place, and brings him closer to the Abyss. Now, your friend has grown… resilient against such mental assaults, and under normal conditions would have no issue with bringing him back to a state of normalcy,” The shadow slowly turns its head, running those twin sapphire eyes over your group. It pauses on you for a moment, before ending on Izumi, “This, however, was no normal situation. I was called upon to aid in expunging the Crawling Chaos before it could take hold, but in that moment the Scourge took advantage of the distraction and pulled your friend to where you found him, causing his magic to run out of control. The Ae̶o̸n̡’s efforts were able to mitigate the damage that could have occured to you all, but the Tow͡e͢r was unable to contain the Scourge, and would not have been able to had you, D̶e͠vi͠l̡ and Empr̢e͟s͟s, not interfered”.

That… sounds worrisome. But at the very least it seems like the worst of things was prevented. “Hm. Alright, then. I guess it figures that when we managed to put the thing down at first it was so quick to get back up. So, then…First Fragment…?” you turn towards the Gunslinger in question. You're not 100% certain what the first fragment is, but that's the closest thing you can guess. Even though they call it ‘Not John’. “...whatever.” Turning back, you address the Entity again. “So, what’s your role in all of this?”

[1/3]

>>2562548


That gets a pause out of it, and for the first time it breaks eye contact with someone to clearly think on your words, “I… Normally, there is no distinction between myself - John -, The Scourge, and the First Fragment. It is only thanks to your… unique magic, and the creativity of the Scourge, that I am… distinct from the other two. As for my… place within the T̛owe̵r͞… I am the mask your friend instinctually wears, the facade he bares to the world. I am the spark of inspiration of an unstable soul. And above that all, I am the Daemon that answers the desperate cries of dying men, offering power and control tinted with Chaos, with all the banes and boons they bring. I am G̷̪̺̥̤̕ṟ͘͠e̵͉̱̹̞ͅe̠̰͝d̵̪̙̝̭̣̮̼”.

...ah. Great.

Izumi’s first instinct is to open her mouth yet again, and you're quick to put a hand to her shoulder in order to stop her from doing any righteous confrontation shenanigans. And it's then that you realize just what this whole thing is doing to her- she's shaking.

It's a very fine vibration, something that most people would only interpret as a strange electricity or a buzz to their senses, but you can tell it pretty clearly- it's a very, very minute shaking that belies how utterly frustrated she is. Frustrated and angry, no doubt.

You need to shift the topic. “Okay, then…?” You leave the question open, clearly intending to have him do...something. Time is wasting...

“You believe me to be malevolent, Deat̶h͘,” As if ignoring your comment, the thing steps towards Izumi. It stands there, calmly staring down at your friend who looks like she is about to cut it to pieces, “The T̷ow͢er has plenty of malevolence, and has had long before my induction into his soul. And as I stated before, ‘I’ am normally not distinct from your friend. Furthermore, I only gained a sense of self and the ability to think through my communion with your friend. Before then, when I existed only within the Beyond… Nothing, I remember nothing from that time”.

“Can you help him or no?!” Izumi growls. “I don't need to hear your…” she pauses briefly, and takes a deep breath, her posture relaxing slightly and the vibrating stilling. “I...just let us proceed to do what we’re here for.”

“I aid your friend when he calls for me,” Stepping to the side, the shadow motions towards Dutch, “And while I am... distinct, I am able to aid him in return. Or, I may leave him upon his throne, and await for the next time that he desires my return”.

“You want to… aid John?” The gunslinger clearly sounds confused, not moving for now, “How? You’re…”

[2/3]

>>2562554

[3/3]

It looks over at the throne, clearly staring at it intently, “You all came here for the purpose of saving your friend. And while you definitely have, this… affliction of the To̡we̡r͜ is not so easily solved. It comes from the inherent instability of your friend, and it will return. The Scourge is gone, but it has only retreated back to its proper place. It will simply bide its time, patiently waiting as it feeds off of this instability until the next time it can come back and wreak havoc. And, admittedly, I am partially at fault here, as I only aid in the instability of the Tǫweŗ. While I am still distinct, I can… merge myself with the First Fragment. This will further tint your friend’s soul with Chaos, but it will reduce the instability of it. Curiously, your friend has drawn strength from this affliction, and will lose this strength should we merge, but that is just something to consider”.

“Fascinating…” Cylica mutters, eyes flashing over to Owlia, who has a pensive expression.

“Yet dangerous,” Izumi says. It's clear how she feels.

“Far as I know, Chaos anythin’ don't sound good…” Mono mutters.

Dutch doesn’t say a thing, but it's clear that he’s seriously considering the options.

Sighing to yourself, you speak up, “Just… give us all a moment”.

Pulling everyone together, you quietly debate among yourselves for several minutes before coming to a decision.

> Merge the First Fragment and Greed
> Leave the First Fragment and Greed apart

>>2562561
>> Merge the First Fragment and Greed
So it’s a bump in corruption in exchange for a buffer against future corruption? Might be worth it.

File: Arthaslichkingmerge.jpg (11 KB, 450x204)

11 KB JPG

>>2562561
>> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>The Scourge is gone, but it has only retreated back to its proper place. It will simply bide its time, patiently waiting as it feeds off of this instability until the next time it can come back and wreak havoc.
>This will further tint your friend’s soul with Chaos, but it will reduce the instability of it. Curiously, your friend has drawn strength from this affliction, and will lose this strength should we merge, but that is just something to consider”.
So, not only would John's soul gain more stability, he also no longer has the risk of using the shadow mode that everyone fears. I would say this is well worth it to do since The Scourge is the real problem here, and if it will only return again and again by feeds off from the instability, then it's best to regain stability by doing the merge.

Also, pic related.
> Control, must be maintained. There must always be.... a John upon this throne!
It's about time for that ultimate merge!

>>2562561
> Leave the First Fragment and Greed apart

Stability is overrated.

>>2562561
>Leave the First Fragment and Greed apart
Maintain the status quo.

>>2562561
>> Leave the First Fragment and Greed apart
I don't want to lose adrenaline surge

One more thing to consider, please do understand that the circumstances of this event is unique and only possible with the magic from these girls, and there's basically no chance something like this will ever happen for John again. Thus, the choice is to either let John remain with his problems unsolved and only patched up, or let him get an actual permanent solution to the corruption within him. Please don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity everyone.

>>2562561
>> Leave the First Fragment and Greed apart

>>2562561
>> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2562561
> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2562561
i hate to do this, but i think we should merge.

it does cost us a good weapon but as >>2562708 said this is a one in lifetime chance. so we should not waste it

>>2563009
if it helps, think of it like this; there are many things John can make in the future to help compensate for a power, but there is only one chance currently to help John's soul and his long term life.

>>2562561
>>2562665
I suppose a once in a lifetime solution to a problem shouldn't be passed up.

Changing to
> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2563031
there was talk in the early threads of ways to make a golem. And one of those methods was to bind a soul to it, so if we did want to do that it could be another way to help long term life.

hmm, but if we did not merge, then stuck greed inside a golem would the golem have chaos aspect?

>>2562561
> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2563036
The thing though is that 'greed' is only separated at all from the first fragment in this event due to the magic from the girls.
>“I… Normally, there is no distinction between myself - John -, The Scourge, and the First Fragment. It is only thanks to your… unique magic, and the creativity of the Scourge, that I am… distinct from the other two.
Thus, that plan would rely on keeping those girls here in the first place to be even possible, not to mention the unknown levels of danger that comes from not merely separating parts of his mind, but parts of his soul.

>>2562561
>> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2562561
>> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2562561
> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2562561
>> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2562561
> Merge the First Fragment and Greed

>>2562587
>>2562621
>>2562739
>>2562794
>>2563009
>>2563032
>>2563045
>>2563103
>>2563124
>>2563158
>>2564484
>>2564904

Merger it is.

Writin'

>>2562561

You’re really, really not happy with having to make a choice here. If this was any other situation, you’d have made your decision easily enough, but the simple fact is that it isn’t. This is dealing with an individual’s clearly damaged soul, and the chances of causing even more harm here is, potentially, even with the chances of healing some.

So, it’s understandable that you take a moment to collect yourself before you respond to a thing that has admitted to being a Daemon living within John’s soul, “Do it”.

There’s a heavy silence that takes the room at your words. Even despite the fact that you all slowly agreed that this could do a lot towards restoring the Artificer, but the finality of your words simply cements the decision you’ve made.

The specter doesn’t immediately start cackling madly, which is good, just nodding towards you in response before speaking, “Return the First Fragment to the Sanctum, and the rest will be taken care of”.

Dutch gives you one last look of barely concealed concern before carrying ‘Not John’ over to the throne. Part of you wants to say something reassuring- but at this point it'd be platitudes, and you both know it. Pulling the corpse off of his shoulder, revealing some serious bloodstains that probably won’t ever come out, the gunslinger places his friend upon the stone throne then backs up without a word.

It’s hard to look at what’s left of John, as it’s practically as if you just inaugurated a broken corpse as king, but you watch with a strange kind of fascination as the smoke swirling up above slowly sinks down and the severe wounds begin pulling themselves closed. As they do, ‘John’ steps forward without a sound, reaching out a vaguely human hand to tap it against your friend’s forehead.

Immediately, the shadow flickers, becoming indistinct around the edges for several seconds, then bursts into a cloud of inky black smoke. It almost crawls along the floor, slithering up the arm of the throne and vanishes beneath the Artificer’s skin. There’s a pregnant second where your stomach drops out, as you realize that you just made a deal with a demon - you idiot! - on the behalf of someone you’ve known for less than a week, when that same black mantle forms around John’s shoulders and his eyes open, revealing those piercing sapphire eyes.

“Iiiiis that good or bad?” Owlia asks worriedly. Cylica has no response, and Izumi’s only reaction is to tighten her grip on her sword as she smooths back into a half draw position. Mono is fingering her carbine, as well, and for a second a number of possible tactics flash through your head. Then, it closes it eyes, leans against the back of the stone throne, and smiles in a definitively genuine way.

And that’s when everything goes black.

[1/2]

>>2565447

[2/2]

There’s a moment of severe vertigo as your vision returns, stumbling backwards as you adjust to being back in the hangar bay, and reality. Shaking your head clear, you see the last wisps of that black smoke that dragged you within the depths of John’s soul vanish into said man’s body without even the slightest hint of that previous insanity.

The rest of your team follows your lead of returning to situational awareness, which includes the fact that you don’t see Archmage and Gladiator anywhere. There’s a second where you glance about for any hint of the mafia runners before the silence is broken.

“Shit…” Dutch groans out, holding his head with one hand, “Are we back?”

...Well. That's a good sign.

“We’re TOTALLY back!” Owlia says cheerfully, right before hugging Cylica tight. She returns it, but you can see just enough smug in her expression to know she's going to be crowing about that one for a while.

“So you are,” That familiar voice, along with the sound of a sword being sheathed, rings out as the crimson magus and the mafia swordsman appear out of thin air, evidently dropping the effects of an invisibility spell.

You blink, once, then ask the first question on your mind. “How long were we gone?”

Gladiator pulls out some kind of device and checks it, “Just over two hours, give or take a bit”.

You let out a small breath of relief. Not grand, but not horrible. “Right. Well, then. Good news. Pretty sure we solved a potential issue down the line.”

Now you just need to work on the MAIN issue you're here about…

> Focus on getting the frigate up to working condition. You’ve seen enough to do here, and it’s time to go.
> Focus on tracking down, then wiping out, whatever the local source of that Blight is.
> Focus on digging in topside for when the last merc team arrives. You couldn’t keep them out last time, and you’re not making that same mistake again.
> Other

>>2565456
>> Focus on tracking down, then wiping out, whatever the local source of that Blight is.

>>2565456
>> Focus on getting the frigate up to working condition. You’ve seen enough to do here, and it’s time to go.
THIS is the job they were hired for, to actually get as much tech as possible back, which in this case is the whole ship. The blight and other enemies are obstacles in the job, but those are just secondary problems meant to be neutralized or taken care of enough to accomplish the main goal. Besides, the blight is world wide and taking care of a source here doesn't do much vs overall blight in the world.

So yeah, let's get this ship up and running so we can fly the ship back with as little fighting as possible to reduce risks of damage and loss of tech.

>>2565456
>> Focus on getting the frigate up to working condition. You’ve seen enough to do here, and it’s time to go.

First and last time we do some pro bono stuff here.

>>2565456
> Focus on tracking down, then wiping out, whatever the local source of that Blight is.

>>2565456
>> Focus on getting the frigate up to working condition. You’ve seen enough to do here, and it’s time to go.

>>2565553
>>2565515
>>2565499

Frigate it is.

Writin'

>>2565456

You are Owlia Harkin, and after a rather harrowing experience involving Cylica and and magic smoke and what was probably a demon, you’ve just heard your boss say the magic words.

“Hidia, you and John were working on the airship’s systems before, yes? How soon can you get it up and running?” YES. Miranda’s got that calculating look in her eye that you've learned means she might finally let you CREATE from time to time, rather than lecturing you on silly things like ‘factors of safety’ and ‘acceptable risks’.

She wants you to get an ancient warship up and running so you can fly it out of here? The prospect of it sends you into giggles when you respond, “Hehe- sorry, sorry. John and I managed to get the ship’s main reactor working and while he did say we needed to give it a bit to get fully powered up I say we start getting the really cool stuff online!”

Your glorious leader ponders on your words for a painfully slow moment, “So everything’s working? How’s the condition of the engines?”

“They aaarrrreee… working. I think. Pretty sure.” Wait no. “I'm not. We'll need to test them, but from what we looked at before they’re in mint condition!” If they aren’t then you’ll just have to force the issue! A bit.

“The ship should have a diagnostic system onboard,” Izumi cleanly interjects, “If we restore those first, we’ll be able to check their condition before doing anything…” She looks directly at you, “Drastic…”

You have to resist the urge to stick your tongue out at her, the party pooper. It’s your entire job to get machines working in the first place. “Fiiine.” You concede. Maybe you can find out something interesting with that stuff anyway. “I'll run Diagnostics first…” They could be fun if you looked at them right. Sometimes.

Miranda nods at your words, “Alright, so my plan is to get this ship up and running, then just fly it out of here. I don’t like sitting around in this hole in the ground with the Blight lurking about and that last team incoming, so, unless anyone thinks otherwise, we won’t be”.

Archmage sighs slightly, adjusting his glasses, “I have no issues”.

“Alright, then!” Honestly, doesn't matter the more you think about it. You're still getting to meddle with some REALLY REALLY COOL TECH AHA. “Let's get to it!”

[1/2]

>>2565683

[2/2]

Dutch pulls his friend off the floor, adjusting his grip for a moment, “I guess I’ll be bringing John back inside”.

“Go ahead; Yuna, go with him to make sure there’s no issues,” Dismissing the two, Miranda turns back to you, “Now, we need to figure out how to get this ship out of here. Obviously, we can’t just take it up a stairwell, so there should be some way within this base. With the power back on, it shouldn’t give you any issues with systems being offline”.

Whaaa? “Buuut… you said…”

Cylica steps next to you, showing support in her own way the giant softee, “We found nothing,” There’s that irritated glint in her eyes again, “When we searched the hangar, but there was a bulkhead that I haven’t revisited…”

That gets the spark of adventure back in your veins, “Ooh, ooh! What are we waiting for, let’s go!”

There’s a quiet chuckle from behind you as you pull the taller woman off, but you ignore it. After all, there’s adventure to be had and science to do!

> Roll me three 1d100+15’s please.

Rolled 49 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2565689

Rolled 58 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2565689

Rolled 44 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2565689

Rolled 84 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2565689

>>2565700

That's a 73, Let's see what you see.

Writin'

>>2565689

Skipping across the metal floors at this point, you gleefully half-drag half-follow Cylica’s directions over to the far side of the hangar where a massive bulkhead consisting of reinforced metal sits there like a bulwark, forever destined to remain unmoving for all the ages.

It’s a good thing, then, that you’re more than adept at coaxing reluctant systems into working again.

“Is this it is this it? C’mon, c’mon let’s go!” Tugging on her arm again, you’re pulled back by a slightly firm grip, “Whaat?”

“Do you plan on walking through the bulkhead?” There’s faint hints of amusement in Cylica’s tone as she directs you towards a nearby panel, “This one will require a bit of… finesse”.

You have to resist the urge to tap your foot in impatience as you wait for your girlfriend to figure out the door’s security. Thankfully, you’re not kept waiting long.

“Hmph, not even a challenge,” With one final keystroke, the solid wall of steel in front of you shudders, a bit of dust falling off the edges, as it parts. Walking over, Cylica has a smug grin on her face, “The power failure must have reset the base’s computer systems, as I was able to simply activate the motors controlling the door directly”.

One of many reasons why you love her. “Then NOW we can see what secrets are behind…” Painfully slow, the bulkhead smoothly slides aside along its tracks, eventually revealing a room that makes your jaw drop.

Aircraft of seemingly every role and purpose are laid out before you, from jet fighters and interceptors to combat and transport helicopters. Each and every one looks pristine, with the air intakes of the jet engines properly covered and the tilt rotors folded back, and you have to resist the urge to start drooling.

“This… is… AWESOME!” You can’t help yourself as you run into the room, a low squeal of happiness caught in the back of your throat as you dart about, looking over as much as you possible can. It’s also so similar yet different from what you’re used to, probably using a mixture of fuel and reactors to power their propulsion, but oooh man is this a find!

“Hidia!” Freezing in place, halfway to climbing up to see if you can pop the cockpit on a nearby fighter, you turn around and give her a sheepish smile, “Remember what Essie said”.

Yeah, right, that. Uhh…

> She’s right, you need to find some kind of control center. Maybe it’ll be back here?
> If all these aircraft are stored down here, then there has to be an elevator to the surface somewhere around here. You need to find it!
> It couldn’t hurt to get one, really good look at this here fighter. For science, of course.
> Other

>>2565818
>> She’s right, you need to find some kind of control center. Maybe it’ll be back here?

>>2565818
>> It couldn’t hurt to get one, really good look at this here fighter. For science, of course.

File: transmetropolitan_glasses(...).jpg (49 KB, 1024x676)

49 KB JPG

>>2565818
>> It couldn’t hurt to get one, really good look at this here fighter. For science, of course.
We really have to get Owlia a pair of these with integrated Xray and blueprint options.

>>2565818
>She’s right, you need to find some kind of control center. Maybe it’ll be back here?

Wait, so there is more intact tech in this place than just the ship? can stuff like these fighters be put onto it? if not, I wonder if the entire facility can be taken over, but not sure if the mafia has the resources to keep the whole place protected.

>>2565837
Probably not, but we'd be happy to take a couple ships off their hands...so no one else can use them, of course.

>>2565837
The primary objective was the frigate, but imagine the secondaries and bonuses for the fabrication facility and all of these fully intact, fully working planes and helicopters.

Are we really willing to let go of those bonuses?

>>2565857
We'd need to crunch some numbers; mainly to see if the bonus is bigger than the fighter jets we are seeing here, but chances are that one of these fighters is more than the bonus.

>>2565857
..Nope, I'd be fully willing to get all objectives if possible. More objectives done = more rewards and motes right? Maybe that's what the previous options were for? to clear out the blight to make the place safe to stay in, and to repel enemies to keep this place secured long enough for more mafia members to show up and station permanently.

Although, I'd still try to get the ship online first, if only to ensure the primary objective can be achieved regardless of the success of the secondary objectives.

>>2565818
Holy crap, what a find. This collection might be worth as much as the ship itself here. We should see if we can load them into the frigate, or at least properly secure/hide this cache. This ought to be worth a major bonus, or if they don't want it I'm sure we could find a use/buyer for it...
We do still need to secure the primary though. I suspect however these got down here, it wasn't the same means as the ship several order of magnitude larger.
> She’s right, you need to find some kind of control center. Maybe it’ll be back here?

>>2565818
> She’s right, you need to find some kind of control center. Maybe it’ll be back here?

>>2565818
>> She’s right, you need to find some kind of control center. Maybe it’ll be back here?

>>2565818
>> She’s right, you need to find some kind of control center. Maybe it’ll be back here?

>>2565821
>>2565834
>>2565991
>>2566097
>>2566569
>>2566684

Control Center it is.

Writin'

>>2565818

“Alright…” Sulking slightly, you give the interior of the fighter one last, longing look, your eyes locked onto the electronics package until it vanishes from your view, and return back to your partner, “Let’s find that control center thing”. Maybe it’ll have a way to like...remote control them or something. That’d be neat.

The smile Cylica gives you in response helps, “Good. I’m sure we could negotiate with our employers for a little something extra in exchange for such a bounty. Or, maybe, they wouldn’t mind if we claimed a few as salvage…”

Now THERE’S a hope! But in order to do that… “Right! Let’s get to looking for something that looks like it controls things...and stuff.”

With the prospect of getting some extremely interesting pieces to work on later, you skip your way along the lines of various airframes, checking for any signs of damage due to time and, thankfully, not finding any. Really, whatever coating or treatment they did to their metal to keep it from rusting for so long would be extremely valuable in your own creations. If only you had a way to get a sample...

Before long, you come across an area that’s clearly meant for administration and management, a set of wide, one-way windows, several trolleys holding missiles to be loaded, and another doorway. Walking up and giving the door handle an experimental twist, you’re pleasantly surprised to find it smoothly open.

“Ladies first,” With a light flourish, you step to the side to allow Cylica to enter. You follow shortly, and the first thing that runs through your mind at what you see inside is ‘YES.’

[1/2]

>>2568406

[2/2]

The second thing is ‘Oh right, I have no idea what corresponds to what.’ The various numbers and dials and levers and whatnot all have labels beneath them- but heck if you know what corresponds to what. You’re kind of surprised it’s all understandable, honestly; a fleeting thought back towards you getting your license reminds you about some sort of ‘omniversal translation modification’ or the like, but you put it out of your head. You need to see what you two are going to do here…

From the looks of things, there’s sections that are for heavy lifting equipment, freight elevators, fuel pumps and storage tanks, what looks like a high-powered radio system, and the bay door controls. Wait, elevators? You don’t recall any of those… That radio system might be cool if it’s widespread. As for the bay door controls… Well, they might not matter now.

What to do...

> Mess about with the heavy lifting equipment controls. Those sound fun…
> See if you can find where those freight elevators are, that might just be your winning ticket here.
> Test the fuel pumps to see if they work. Would be good to know exactly what kind of fuel they used to use.
> Try getting the radio system working. Probably won’t have working receivers, but it could be cool anyways.
> Even though you’ve gotten them open already, checking on the bay door controls would be smart.
> Check in with Miranda, give her an update, and see what she’s got to think about all this.
> Other

>>2568407
> Check in with Miranda, give her an update, and see what she’s got to think about all this.
We may need to review our strategy of just flying out of here, what with this new treasure trove of stuff.

>>2568407
>> Even though you’ve gotten them open already, checking on the bay door controls would be smart.
>> Check in with Miranda, give her an update, and see what she’s got to think about all this.
None of the other options are terribly useful here. We need to figure out how to get the frigate out of here, which means some sort of hangar doors. The freight elevators might be useful for shifting the small craft, but that's not what we need now.

>>2568407
>> See if you can find where those freight elevators are, that might just be your winning ticket here.
>> Test the fuel pumps to see if they work. Would be good to know exactly what kind of fuel they used to use.

Both of these would be great to have up and running. The elevator would be an easy way to get everything out of here, and fuel to get them to fly out remotely if possible.

As for the radio, I wonder if restarting that system would suddenly result in some kind of emergency signal still remaining active, or some other spooky stuff.

>>2568407
>> Check in with Miranda, give her an update, and see what she’s got to think about all this.

>>2568407
>> Even though you’ve gotten them open already, checking on the bay door controls would be smart.

>>2568407
>> Even though you’ve gotten them open already, checking on the bay door controls would be smart.

>>2568407
>See if you can find where those freight elevators are, that might just be your winning ticket here.
Loot!

>>2568820
KYS

>>2568825
How about you vote instead of throwing out ineffectual insults?