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>>3737142

STAGE: PURGATORY

And once more, you return.

The featureless black stone of the walls press close, as you stand within the cell – your armor slate-grey and gunmetal, old and new all at once. Plates of dull metal enclose FROST CESTUS's form, layering deflecting edges over thick armor – the plough-fronted mask of the Carnifex clamped in place over your helm.

You flex the long, segmented fingers of the Crisis Arm's gauntlet, and watch as blue sparks hiss from digit to digit. Without the effortless strength of your old – new – armor, it feels different, somehow: Still a monstrous fist lined with green enamel and patient tics of lightning, but heavier somehow. More significant.

It is the only part of yourself that has remained unchanged, constant – every nick and dent numbered, as you look down into the gleaming palm. But what you see, looking back at you from the mirror surface of the gauntlet, is as alien as it is familiar.

There is a buzzing growl of servoes as you lower your arm to your side. A faint violet glow issues from your cuirass – a grinning symbol seared into the very metal, the center of a spiralling profusion of glyphs that loop and arc over your form, like hazard warnings or the links of chains. They are indelible, seemingly acid-etched, static spinning through your sensors when you try to look upon them directly.

Pazuzu's work. You wonder if you'll ever be free of it.

-------------------------------

You remember the look in Tsukimi's eyes, when she stirred in your arms – No, your arm.

First: Pure, disfunctioning shock. Then, realization – And at last, recognition. Her lips moved, and she was about to say something more-

Is this real?

And when you reached out – Clumsily, now – to take her hand, a team of doctors with a crashcart burst through the door of the room. Her telemetry had set off six different alarms.

You don't think they knew what to do with you. The hospital's private security pulled you to your feet, in a gentle but firm way, and brought you...

-Here.

Four blank walls and a locked door. A sling for your dead arm, iodine for the various cuts and bruises you have – unknowingly – picked up at one point or another. Plastic bottles of water, and foil-wrapped bars that taste of rice and dessicated fruit.

They took your phone, but not the Carnifex or the silver bracelet of lightless gems around your left wrist. They left the Misericorde, too – though they couldn't possibly have missed it.

An odd thought: Perhaps it didn't want to be found.

They didn't bother to cuff you. You think there might be some confusion as to what, exactly, you were doing here.

And so you've been waiting. As if you have all the time in the world, now that the catastrophe has come and gone.

As if there is anywhere for you to go.

(Continued)

>>3737145
OP, if Cestus' myomer hasn't undergone hypertrophy, do we have any armor at all?

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>>3737184

Outside your cell – Footfalls. Slow, measured, punctuated by the flex of hidden pistons. The air grows charged, with the sudden, saintly odor of power and electrical machines.

You see a form sheathed in silver, the buzzing of active armor throbbing in the quiet. Overhead, the perfect circle of a halo hums with the rotation that threatens a storm, the light limning polished pauldrons and gauntlets shot through with veins of fused crystal. The helm is something that gleams like gold, crystal-threaded metal without crack or opening as a grey tabard flutters in the Player's wake.

A name: FULGURITE AXIOM

For a long, silent moment, that featureless visor regards you – then Fulgurite Axiom turns his head, with a fluid swivel.

IS THIS THE ONE?

He isn't alone.

White Licorice has changed since you last saw her. The finish of her armor – renewed, made whole – is more pearlescent than white, now; silver filgree fanning across her limbs, down the slender, tapering legs of her form. Your silver emblem is set atop her helm now, like a crest, where it'd formerly been nailed in place.

She looks upon you, and nods – just once.

“He's changed, but...It's him. It can be no other.”

And – for a while, just a while now – the Red recedes. The world returns.

-------------------------------

You hear voices, outside the room. Conferring, briefly.

The key turns in the lock.

The first thing you notice about the man who steps through the door – Pausing only to nod, to some unseen figure beyond and to the side – is the solidity to him. He's tall, dark-haired and dark-eyed, his grey coat and boots marked with dust. The briefcase he carries in one hand clacks against the room's sole table, as he sets it down – it sounds like there's something heavy inside it.

He unfastens his gloves as he takes a seat opposite you. His hands are large and square, with scarred knuckles and thick calluses on his palms. Hands used to hitting, you can tell.

The cell feels a good deal smaller.

“Anon,” he says. “I am Eita, Kuresaka Eita – A facilitator for Sterling Industries. Think of me as your appointed liaison officer, if you would. I'm here on behalf of the Board, for your debriefing.”

His voice is low and controlled, oiled and polished as ceremonial armor – but then it softens, just a hair.

“I understand you've been through quite the experience. Before we begin, is there anything I could do for you?"

[ ] "...What happened to the Halcyon Tower?"
[ ] "Is Kazuya all right?"
[ ] "Where's Natsumi?"
[ ] "White Lic - Amane's with you, isn't she? What happened to her?"
[ ] "I need to see Tsukimi."
[ ] "I've been gone for two weeks. What happened?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3737184
(Your new armor is as indicated on the character sheet. You don't have any additional enhancements.)

>>3737214
>What happened at the Halcyon Tower? Is Kazuya alright? Is he alive?
>How's Natsumi? Is she okay? Who survived the Diadem Harvest?
>Is Amane okay? Last I saw her, she was using the Red Comet. Is her arm back?
>Is Tsukishi alright?
>I've been gone for two weeks, what the hell happened? Where's the White Joker? Is Naoya still alive?

>>3737220
I misread the opener OP, apologies. It seems using the carnifex does not remove all of our armor.

>>3737214
>[ ] "I've been gone for two weeks. What happened?"
Hecate is safe for now, so we need on the more pressing issues - knowing the current state of shit.

Also
>[ ] "Is Kazuya all right?"
>[ ] "Where's Natsumi?"
We need to know the whereabouts of our closest friends.

>>3737214
[ ] "I've been gone for two weeks. What happened?"
>[ ] "...What happened to the Halcyon Tower?"
>"How's Tsukimi?"

>>3737214
Shake the guys hand. First impressions are important after all.
>[x] "Is Kazuya all right?"
>[x] "Where's Natsumi?"
>[x] "I've been gone for two weeks. What happened?"

>>3737254
Shake his hand. "I'm sorry about Aoba, Shuya and Fumito. If it's any consolation, we couldn't have stopped the Diadem without Rook and Armaros."

>>3737230
>>3737242
>>3737243
>>3737254

> Shake the guy's hand. First impressions are important after all.

He has a firm grip, but a certain one. There's a solid, unwavering strength in everything he does – As if he's thought through each step, carefully but with precision, before he acts.

> "I'm sorry about Aoba, Shuya and Fumito. If it's any consolation, we couldn't have stopped the Diadem without Rook and Armaros."

Eita nods, just once. For a moment, his brow furrows – For a moment, he looks tired. You get the feeling he hasn't slept in some time.

“That's...kind of you,” he says, quietly. “Aoba was...I was his instructor. I mourn his loss. I never knew Shuya, but I wish we could have provided the aid he required.”

“We're still reeling from Fumito-san's loss. But he's made provisions for such an event – Our work continues.”

He smiles, at last. Weary, but honest.

Just for a moment, but it's there.

> [X] "...What happened to the Halcyon Tower?"

“We're not certain. A team has been dispatched to the area, but they're currently investigating the site. It seems there was an energy spike immediately before the demolition: It may have been a teleport flare, or the discharge of a spinal-class weapon. Either way, it appears no-one was hurt – So far, at least.”

He sounds quietly dubious as to the last part.

> [X] "Is Kazuya all right?"

“Daegal, you mean?”

He says the name as if he's familiar with it. Not even a flicker of surprise.

“We've been unable to discern his location – There's too much distortion in the area. If he's still alive, we'll find him: Believe me, ensuring his survival is our top priority.”

You think he might be about to elaborate on that, but he moves on.

> [X] How's Natsumi? Is she okay? Who survived the Diadem Harvest?

“She's doing as well as can be expected, given the circumstances. Family issues have limited her participation, but she's fine.”

It sounds like he knows her, personally.
“She'll be contacted in the morning – Assuming you haven't already done so. There'll be time enough for that tomorrow.”

> [X] "I've been gone for two weeks. What happened?"

(Continued)

>>3737314

> [X] "I've been gone for two weeks. What happened?"

He opens the briefcase, laying out sheets of paper – Printouts from press releases, the front page of newspapers. Images of hollow-eyed walking wounded, pale and ashen; Shattered buildings and burning ruin. The waters around the Seisin campus running with blood.

Bodies crushed together into a long pink worm, the wet segments marked by the white gleam of bone.

Shadows that were once people, their silhouettes seared into blasted walls.

Dust-dry forms, partially articulated, impossibly aged-

There's more. Worse.

“Over a thousand people died,” Eita says. He doesn't look at the images.

“We believe the area was limited to Seisin High and the surrounding blocks, but there was...an appreciable population density. The survivors-”

His eyes are flat, lightless. “Officially, it's a terrorist attack. Possibly the worst one in this country, ever. The scale of devastation is...Well.”

“Our researchers believe that this was due to the overlap – the entire area was transposed with it's infraverse counterpart. Another sign of the Shroud's collapse, if it wasn't clear enough before. The civilian authorities have been taking all the expected steps: A curfew's been imposed, there's an ongoing investigation...Not that it'd do any good.”

Eita's jaw clenches. You wonder what he's thinking.

“You've seen the sky. It's been like this ever since. All flights have been grounded, for now – It's simply too dangerous. A variety of explanations have been provided, but...There's disquiet. Reports of apparitions and visions. People are terrified. There's been some rioting, you know that? In the suburbs, mostly – nothing major, but still.”

Then, almost to himself - “...Everyone remembers what happened six years ago. It doesn't bear thinking about.”

Eita shakes his head, banishing the unwelcome thought. With an effort, he bestirs himself.

“Thanks to your efforts, Cypher – with the rest of Counterweight – evacuated, successfully. The civilians, too; It seems none of them can quite agree on exactly what happened. There are rumors of some kind of...mass hallucination. Or a chemical weapon – it wouldn't be the first time.”

“The Seisin cohort is currently assisting us. Some of them, at least; they've been helpful in establishing a timeline of events, at least.”

“-The Manifold project continues. We estimate that we've secured – and recaptured – about two-thirds of the relevant nodes. It hasn't been difficult: Player activity is at an all-time low, but there are reports of Correctors...”
Eita's voice trails off.

“Regardless, we're proceeding as best we can. We're aware of the urgency – the sooner the Shroud can be restored, the better. You must've noticed that the time distortion is diminishing; We believe that both the infraverse and the material world are...synchronizing, somehow. When that happens...”

(Continued)

>>3737314
>If he's still alive, we'll find him: Believe me, ensuring his survival is our top priority.
Hmmm. That's not particularly positive. They might try to make Daegal a test subject.

>>3737339
>“Regardless, we're proceeding as best we can. We're aware of the urgency – the sooner the Shroud can be restored, the better. You must've noticed that the time distortion is diminishing; We believe that both the infraverse and the material world are...synchronizing, somehow. When that happens...”
That explains why twelve days passed for just a few months, instead of one day to a hundred years.

>>3737348
Daegal's armor was an important part of Argent Prominence's plan. He's likely still integral to what they are trying to achieve. They won't fuck him over, especially as both Natsumi and the fucking Red Joker are his friends and because many of them are his coworkers - remember, he works for them as a civilian.

>>3737354
Daegal is important, sure. I think most of them would consider Kazuya relatively optional if it came to it, though.

>>3737360
I doubt it. The armor probably can't be grafted to anyone else; it'd kill them.

>>3737339

He doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't need to.

Either way, it'd be a catastrophe.

> “Is Amane okay? Last I saw her, she was using the Red Comet. Is her arm back?”

“She's been assisting us. The combat frame...The 'Red Comet', you call it?...has been deployed a few times against Correctors – I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. If we had a dozen of them...”

Eita catches himself. Smiles faintly, that tired smile again.

“-I suppose she feels...responsible for things, somehow. Some of the others do. She's been very forthcoming.”

> "How's Tsukimi?"

“The doctors are attending to her – We'll make sure she has the best of care. Once we're done here, you'll have the chance to speak with her.”

He cares enough to look you in the eye, when he says that.

“You're aware that she's a medical miracle? The damage she suffered, in the initial accident and the subsequent stroke – there's no change. It's still there. There's absolutely no way she should have full mobility, full consciousness.”

Eita's brow furrows. “And yet...She does. Somehow.”

He inclines his head, fractionally. “So – We come to the heart of it.”

He draws a breath. Exhales, softly. He sets a recorder down on the table, presses the button with a precise flick of a finger.

“-Can you tell me what happened? Counterweight reported that you were taking a strike team into the Diadem, directly, before they lost all contact.”

There's a note of urgency to his voice, now. Something in his eyes.

“That's not even accounting for whatever happened tonight. If there's anything you can disclose – anything at all – it'd be appreciated.”

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3737381
Give them the broad strokes and explain the nature of the black as well as what we know about Naoya's plans, but don't mention the deal with Pazzy.
Just say that found a way to reconnect Tsukimi's Essence with her physical form, but paid a price as a consequence.

>>3737381
Tell him everything, but NOT that we made a deal with Pazuz. Tell him we used the Nihl Spheres against each other, and he won.

>>3737381
"Long story short, our team managed to defeat Alura, Rust Kaiser, Bell Zephyr, Enfer and Inox Fang. Afterwards we faced Pazuzu and Phantom Edge.
Daegal, Pazuzu and I survived. We hit the Fatal Abyss, which was apparently used as part of a mechanism, with our Quantum Singularity Cannon and ended up in the underworld.
There, we spent a few months finding our way back. On the way, I uncovered a plan created by the last Red Joker to destroy the Black Joker, which involved a reforging of my Red Joker armor.
When we came back, I had an encounter with Pazuzu, while Daegal moved to engage the White Joker at Halcyon Tower. Tsukimi was brought back to life, but my Red Joker armor seems to be sealed. Currently I am back to being Frost Cestus, my original frame.
In addition, my right arm suffered damage during the transition back to the real world. The passageway is not meant to accomodate anyone but a Joker. It's a small sacrifice for bringing Kazuya along with me.
White Joker is trying to revive Kotone, a former White Joker, by utilizing the body of Mio [last name?], who is technically the Chalice Queen right now. From my understanding, he will instead summon the Black Joker."

How open should we be? I purposefully left our the bits about the carnifex and the nihl sphere.

>>3737402
Addendum: Imply we killed/crippled Pazuzu by saying that he's out of the picture.
Mention that we need the White Joker's armor in order to finish our anti-black-Joker weapon.
Explain what the Black Joker is.

Oh and ask whether they could loan Frost Cestus some equipment.

>>3737392
>>3737397
>>3737402
>>3737411
We have to tell them. They'll know that the seal on us turning us into Frost Cestus was from the Nihil Eyes. We just have to frame this right; instead of saying the deal was for Hecate, say the deal was to remove Pazuzu and the Smilers from out of play safely without risking any more civilian lives and he returned Hecate as a gift.

The Sterling Industry players don't want to kill people, they want to seal off the Red. Us choosing to save civilians and them at the cost of Pazuzu escaping is somthing they'd be okay with most likely.

>>3737417
They're also aware that whatever's happened to Hecate is fucky and that the symbol on our chest *definitely* is. It's less complicated to explain it now and if we do, we can control and shape the narrative. If we do lie, that can always be used against us later and Naoya will most definitely do that. Don't be stupid.

>>3737402
I think we can mention the Carnifex.
>>3737417
And I think this is indeed the way to go.

>>3737381
"Well to start, I need to actually go back to just before the attack happened. There's a man, Naoya Shiga, who's affiliated with the Church of the Last Hour and the Smilers. He is the Black Cardinal, the old White Joker's true successor. He started the attack by causing the lachryma rain to fall and seizing the current Chalice Queen, Mio. You may already be familiar with her. Natsumi is. Anyway, after that, he revealed that he was no longer working with the Smilers or Pazuzu and instead was working to bring about the Black Joker before he managed to escape from me.

From there, things resume when we crossed the transporter; everyone in our team did so alive. We engaged some more Smilers, fought off some Correctors reanimated with lachryma and then made our way to just beneath the Diadem where we faced Alura, Rook's attacker, Rust Kaiser, Bell Zypher, Inox Fang, Calcite Arrow and Enfer. Despite Alura using the power of the Chalice Queen, potentially with the Essence Pazuzu was using to power the Diadem, we killed them all. Kaiser killed Armaros before we could save him but he held him off long enough for us to deal with some of the others."

"We then engaged Pazuzu who was using Phantom Edge and an engine made from the dead bodies of Players that seemed to be a power source. I believe his plan was to use both Nihil Eyes and have Phantom Edge use the Thief's Fatal Abyss to open a portal to his Promised Land. Rook, Haze and the Thief were all killed in the engagement but we used a weapon to create a miniature black hole in the engine's room to kill Phantom Edge. The Fatal Abyss was also sucked into the portal. Thankfully, Daegal and I were spared due to the Nihil Eye forming a protective shield and taking us to the Black."

"We arrived in the Black badly damaged and wandered for a few months. Eventually, we engaged some enemies there. We managed to evade them long enough to get to the Forge; it's a mechanism deep in the heart of the Black which can be used by either Joker and is able to safely conduct and control lachryma. Using it, we received a full upgrade and met with the old Red Joker, the Marshal. He explained somethings but I'll elaborate on that in a minute.

When we came back, we had to face off Voivoid, a leader figure in the Black and an army of his men. We managed to somehow survive and use the Forge, which had become a Gate to get to the wound between the Red and the Black. We had a choice then; leave Daegal behind or else risk ourselves to bring him back with us."

"We couldn't leave him. Too much was lost. However, because of that, we lost the usage of our right arm where the Nihil Eye was implanted. It doesn't work in the Real or the Red now without the use of a relic. Then, we received a call from Naoya.

(cont.)

>>3737417
I think it's a bad idea to mention the deal. What we did was treachery. That was a Faustian pact. There is no good way to frame it.

>>3737417
>>3737418
Good take.
I agree with your spin.

Say we negotiated with Pazuzu. The Nihl Sphere for them fucking off. Mention that, apparently as a sign of good will, he brought back Hecate. Also mention that, simultaneously, he decided to seal our armor for whatever reason.

>>3737422
Makes sense. The more they know, the more likely it is we'll get the specialized help we need.
Tell them that only the Carnifex allows us to even use our right arm. Any way of unlocking our armor or at least getting our arm back or even just using our left arm instead will be appreciated. Sterling Industries should have some high-level gear available.

>>3737427
>Calcite Arrow
I want you to leave him out. Just for the joke of it.

>>3737428
It's not a Faustian pact. Pazuzu's plan had already been attempted and failed but he and his members were still active; we've given Sterling Industries a free hand to bring about what they want and work to remove the Real from the Red which was *always* their goal. Fumito/Prominence never wanted to kill the Smilers, he wanted them gone or inactive. We just did that, with Pazuzu gone too, along with both Nihil Eyes. That is a huge boon to Sterling. Not only that, if we tell them, we can set Sterling on Naoya. Naoya, who's currently the last person to see Daegal.

Not only htat, of fucking course the White Joker will use us to drive a wedge between the two of us.

>>3737437
>Not only htat, of fucking course the White Joker will use us to drive a wedge between the two of us.
I'm not sure that "use us to drive a wedge" is what you meant to type but oddly enough I suspect it's accurate enough in either case.

>>3737427
>the Black
IIRC we learned that the proper name is the Underworld.

Also, you got way too many details. Keep it brief, it's a crisis situation.
In addition, the death of our Hyades is more relevant than the fact that we encountered correctors or that Voivoid was involved at all.

>>3737437
>>3737430
>>3737417
Fine, tell them that we encountered Pazuzu, but don't fucking tell we actually made a deal with him. No fucking way are they going to trust us no matter how we explain it.

>>3737446
Either way, what he needs to know is that the NIHL Sphere is at fault.

>>3737430
I think we need to ensure that the Carnifex can't be knocked off by taking too much, or critical damage. Especially in our current situation, we can't do shit without the Crisis Arm.

>>3737444
Explaining why we didn't grant our Hyades the armor would put the point across that we aren't some callous guy.

>>3737446
Naoya will just tell them if we don't and, for the third time, they just want the Smilers gone, by any means necessary.

Why do you think this will play any better when it inevitably gets revealed that either the two Spheres caused this brand on our chest or brought Hecate back or vanished the Diadem or that the Smilers suddenly disappeared or when, as fucking always, Naoya reveals it the moment it's going to be most important?

because I see way more ways this lie bites us in the ass then if we tell them. It's going to look way fucking shadier too. Even if Naoya doesn't tell them, they can find out. If they don't find out on there own, Hecate or Daegal may let it slip. Or their recorders find out.

We can only control this IF we tell them.

>>3737454
>We can only control this IF we tell them.
We won't be able to control this if we tell them anyway, because what we did is fucking morally reprehensible from the perspective of anyone who was involved in the Harvest.

We can just say that we got caught in a trap or whatever. Literally anything is better than letting them know outright that we were moronic enough to willingly make a deal with the fucking Devil.

>>3737427
>>3737427
He was at the Halcyon Tower with Mio, still trying to meet his plan. At the same time, Pazuzu messaged us and said he was here, in Tsukishi's room. They each told us to meet them at midnight and by the time we returned, we had only five minutes to make it.

Daegal agreed to go to the Halcyon Tower to meet Naoya, the White Joker, in my stead while I went to meet Pazuzu. When I got there, he offered a deal, a bargain. His forces were shattered, he was exhausted and he just wanted to leave with the remainder of the Smilers as, though the Diadem couldn't escape alone, it was still functional. In return for his leaving without anymore trouble and sparing the city another assault from the Diadem and saving Tsukishi, he wanted the Nihil Eye. I made a judgement call; Pazuzu was already mostly disabled, his plans had failed but he could still turn the Diadem and his remaining Smilers on the City in anger or else, we could get rid of them altogether. More than that, Naoya is still active and was fighting Daegal so time was a factor. I gave him the Eye, he used it to bring back Tsukishi and sealed me into the Player Form I was before I became the Joker... And then left. Just as he said he would. Just as he promised. The Crux seems to have been destroyed but I have no reason to believe he will go back on his word.

But, this is the important thing now Eita. I need you to listen. I need you to believe me, like Fumito did, when I first warned him of the Black Joker.

It's real. The Black Joker is real. You see, the Red Joker is intended to stop too many Players from accumulating. You already know that too many Players causes distortions and issues with reality. The White Joker makes Players Eita. He creates them. That's why the Smilers and the Church of the Last Hour before them have always had more Players than any other faction despite how they treat them.

And, the thing is, is that the Black Joker is a Player made from lachryma. Mikogami, the Black Cardinal, tried to bring his daughter back by making a Player for her from it. Now, Naoya is trying to bring it back. If he does, we will have a million Players worth of reality distortion all in one Player.

We can't let that happen. It'll tear this world apart. And the only way to make sure that it stays dead for good is if I can get this damn brand off of me and I can take Naoya, the White Joker's, core."

>>3737436
Yes, please change it to leave Calcite out OP. Fuck him.

>>3737452
>Explaining why we didn't grant our Hyades the armor would put the point across that we aren't some callous guy.
It would also look like chronic backstabbing disorder.
I was only mentioning Cybele to put her into relation with events like the Voivoid fight.
Rust Kaiser is a known threat. Voivoid is an unknown evil from beyond the veil that is already dead.

>>3737454
They don't need to know how we lost the NIHL sphere, got branded by dual spheres and why the Smilers disappeared.
They only need to know that it happened.

>>3737456
How is it morally reprehensible to get rid of the people who caused the harvest rather than having Pazuzu just turn the Diadem on the city in spite if we let him go? For fuck sake, Sterling always wanted to just let them go. And again, this doesn't even fix what you're suggesting could happen; it just inevitably delays it and makes the issue worse when it finally does becuase now we were keeping secrets.

Instead of making a hard call to get rid of a horrible bastard when we had minutes left ot decide, now it's some weird fucking conspiracy to bring our waifu back. It's inane. There's nothing about your idea that makes sense.

>>3737459
Dude, I gotta be real here: This is one of those cringe write-ins.
Also, it's still way too fucking much information.

Oh and Hecate is not the girl from Hentai Ouji.

>>3737462
Well how else would we explain it in a way that makes sense? I'm not sure you can.

>>3737470
We don't need to explain the details.
He needs the facts, not us pre-emptively giving ourselves a moral ass-covering.
He doesn't give a fuck as long as we don't open up the topic.

Are you legit autistic?

>>3737465
The guy is literally giving us a get out of jail card by letting us know that we can choose how much to tell. He isn't demanding all of the answers, just as many as we are willing to provide.

Also,
>How is it morally reprehensible to get rid of the people who caused the harvest rather than having Pazuzu just turn the Diadem on the city in spite if we let him go?
You must be fucking kidding me. This is not a quest where we can just tell people that taking a Faustian bargain made sense at the time and make them accept it. Kazuya is literally the only one who would support our choice, anyone else would shit on us for letting the terrorist get away with what he wanted and also get us completely nerfed.

No, they don't fucking need to know. And we can just tell them that anything Naoya says can be completely disregarded because he's a scheming cunt. Tsukimi and Kazuya are non-issues since they don't know what happened either.

>>3737476
Are you implying that 'how' is less of a factual question than 'what'? I'm trying to cover our bases so we don't get fucked when scanners or other accounts or some other material is found to corroborate what we said.

And again, I want to use all of this to turn Sterling on the White Joker, completely.

>>3737483
Argent Prominence would do the exact same thing. He let other terrorists go like Bardiel for the good of the City. We did the same thing.

And again, nothing you said changes things. You've just kicked the can down the road, for all the reasons I just gave above.

>>3737392
>>3737397
>>3737402
>>3737411
>>3737436
>>3737446
>>3737450
>>3737427

He listens.

The account takes longer than you might think, but time seems to have little meaning here. There are no clocks, and the walls are windowless.

The burning city.

The trail of revenge.

The grinning face of death, and the wound in the heart of the world.

The descent.

An awakening.

A journey, across endless plains of black sand.

A father and his daughter.

A father and his thirteen sons.

Tracks, winding across the lone and level sands and outwards into forever.

A dark place.

A vow.

A weapon, passed from hand to hand.

A parting.

A rebirth.

The black blood from the veins of the earth, tainting all things.

The return.

(Continued)

>>3737490
Oh. There we go. Looks like it's been decided.

>>3737489
>He let other terrorists go like Bardiel for the good of the City. We did the same thing.
No, he did that because Argent didn't have the stomach for it and also considered Smilers a non-issue.

>And again, nothing you said changes things. You've just kicked the can down the road, for all the reasons I just gave above.
All of your concerns are literally maid up under the premise that JQOP will just try to fuck us over down the road. Nobody but Joker and Pazuzu know what actually happened there. Nobody needs to fucking know.

Don't just try to turn us from a potentially powerful ally to an emotionally unstable liability in the eyes of the Sterling corp.

>>3737498
No, its asking natural questions. Why wouldn't Naoya know what happened? Why wouldn't the scanners pick up the Diadem leaving? Why wouldn't they be able to link Hecate's healing to our crippling? These are natural questions anyone would ask.

I mean, for fuck sake, just the Diadem alone is obviously being monitored, it almost fucked the entire city.

>Argent lacked the stomach
Most of his players agreed with him. Aoba did as a whole but thought some dogs should be put down. Rook agreed until Alura raped his entire team. Natsumi still agrees, she just knows you can't always do that.

And potentially powerful? We saved the fucking city already, he just admitted that like two minutes ago. Fuck, Daegal who's their main objective, Licorice who owes us her life and still bears our crest and Natsumi, a key commander of Sterling, all support us. They're basically tied to us at this point.

>>3737490

The account seems to crawl by, etching out all that has transpired, like careful knotwork. Through it all, Eita never speaks – Sometimes, he writes something down on a notepad, the pen looking almost delicate in his hands.

Most of the time, he merely listens. He sits stiffly, as if he's not used to this – Even at rest, there's an impression of coiled force, of something restrained. You get the feeling he doesn't do paperwork much.

His expression doesn't change when you mention what happened to Armaros, to Shuya – But his eyes show something. Grief, perhaps. Or just exhaustion. For a moment, he looks old.

The paper fills with neat lines of script, in a forceful hand. The skritch of his pen on paper is the only sound in the room, as you reach the end of your account.

A choice.

A confrontation.

The Eyes of Night, wielded against each other, longing and hating at once-

The shock of the Real, as things come full circle at last.

As your voice trails off, Eita reaches for the recorder. There's a soft click.

He cups his chin, with his free hand – those dark eyes thoughtful. It's a slow, measuring look – weighing your account, turning your words over and over again in his head.

For a moment – just for a moment – you wonder if he's making up his mind on whether he should kill you.

At last, he sets his pen down, with a faint clack. In the silence that has descended, it is as loud as a rifle shot.

And Eita says, at last-

“You've come a long way, Joker.”

His hand – with those scarred knuckles – flatten against the table. There's something that is not quite unsympathetic in his aspect, but Eita's expression is closed. Contemplative.

“I suppose there's only one thing left to ask.”

“After all this-”

“...do you think you could have done better?”

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3737526
>"Yes."
>"But the time to make a choice only comes once. And no matter how much we regret it, we can't change the past."
>"In the end, you still have to move forward. Step by step, to make sure it wasn't all a waste."

>>3737142
>>3737526
"I could have done a lot of things better. I could have done a lot of things worse. Going over it... I should have branched out more. Delegated. Haze, Rook, Daegal, Chrome Choker... Maybe if I had more allies, their advice could have led to better choices. Maybe a deeper alliance with Sterling could have led to an early detection of But there's always costs for choices. Would they have died helping me? Would Pazuzu have acted sooner? Could we have all died when the Diadem finally launched? We may never k However. This isn't over yet. I'm not finished. Not until the City is safe and I can lay Kotone and Naoya to rest. Not until Daegal can reunite with Natsumi, Mio is free and this game is finally over.

>>3737549
Cypher*
Early detection of the Smilers' plan*

I love phone posting

>>3737526
"Yes. I think back often on that final confrontation in the Diadem. How changing my actions just slightly could have saved Akira's life at least, maybe even some of the others. How I could have prevented all of this had I actually known exactly what was going to happen.
But in the end, it is what it is. The only thing I can really do is save the ones who can still be saved, one step at a time.
Look at me, I have lost almost every bit of my power in the last few hours. But it was worth it - I was able to save Kazuya from hell and get Tsukimi back.

I can't save everyone, but I sure as fuck can try. Give me half an arm and an enemy and I will do my damndest to take them down, if it's for the sake of my friends, allies or this world."

Oh god, I hope this isn't as cringey as it feels to write.

>>3737549
>Mio is free and this game is finally over.
We'll most likely have to kill her, so don't go counting your chickens.

>>3737555
Fairly. Maybe more.

(Gentlemen, I need to pause for now - It's extremely late - but I'll continue at the first opportunity.)

>>3737469
Yeah, maybe. I'm just paranoid about them blowing off the threat of the White and Black Joker's again. We warned Prominence and Armaros and both ignored us so I really want to highlight why they should target the White Joker and want to kill the Black Joker.

I'm also not sure if SI know if the Black Joker is actually made of lachryma or not what lachryma actually is.

>>3737526
>Ever since returning as the Joker I've been feared and shunned by players, it was impossible to create connections. I tried to return to a normal life in the real and avoid the red while these insane monsters were working their plans and gambits. There is only so much you can do bumbling around in the dark, until they made it personal.

>I'm alive, some of my friends are alive and I haven't lost yet. I've done good enough

>>3737526
>That doesn't matter, it's in the past. What matters now is that what I , we have lost comes to mean something. We need to find the white joker and end him and his plans. Will you help me.

>>3737564
I hope that we don't have to, that there is a way for her to get back to get life without having to deal with the red. I don't care about what she thinks of us, as long as we save her.

Now if she's gone fucking crazy in the coconut though I'm going to vote to put her down. If she's insane and/or become naoyas accomplice their crimes are on her head as much as his and she's another notch on the belt.

Sorry to everyone who still hopes that Watas harem can be real but i am so fucking sick of all these maniac mass murdering teenagers and i will try to kill them all. There is no redemption in the red

>>3737938
Agreed.

>>3737921
This is good

What the hell guys, did y'all really need to spill all that out? Just telling him what he really wanted to know would be enough: The mission to abort the launch, how we confronted the Smilers' top Players, emerged victorious but then failed to stop the launch or take out Pazuzu, taking out a revived Phantom Edge, failed again to sabotage the Diadem, and after that we found ourselves in the Underworld after getting sucked into a QSC and just now made it back, then the double deal with Pazuzu and Naoya.

That was it, what's even the point of telling the private 1-on-1 bro stuff with Kazuya and Old Joker? Shit dudes, by giving out this much info they might just tell us to pound (black) sand since we're useless af right now and no longer RJ, they'll probably just try to find and appropriate the armor for themselves now that they know what it has.

>>3737938
>Sorry to everyone who still hopes that Watas harem can be real
Pretty sure no one thinks this anymore, but they sure took way too long to realize that and the damage is utterly done. I'm coincidentally reading through the whole quest and goddamn were the original players cringy as fuck. Akira even called us out in Thread SIX for being such a whiteknight

>>3737526
QM If this leads to time travel shenanigans and we end up becoming the first Red Joker and creating the cycle...

>>3738789
>Marshal
To make them want to kill White Joker and to provide context as to what lachryma is. We made sure to not tell them about the Hollow Sun and the usage of the Instrument but right now I'm pretty sure that Sterling Industries
>Don't actually know what lachryma is
>Don't know what the Black Joker is
>Don't know that there is a White Joker

Armaros and Argent both blew us off before. Not only that, even we didn't know what lachryma is or how it works.

>>3737539
>>3737549
>>3737555
>>3737919
>>3737921

> "I could have done a lot of things better. I could have done a lot of things worse.”
> “But that doesn't matter. That's in the past, now.”
> “And no matter how much we regret it, we can't change the past."
> "In the end, you still have to move forward. Step by step, to make sure it wasn't all a waste."

Eita nods. There's something philosophical in his shrug, as he sets his pen down.

Those dark eyes are unwavering, but – Though it might be your imagination – his gaze seemes to turn inwards, for a moment. Contemplative.

“Well spoken,” he says. “I've felt that there are only two things that are truly crippling: Regret for the past, and fear of the future.”

He smiles, as if at some secret joke.

“After all – It's never the end of the world, until it is.”

> “What matters is that what I – What we - have lost means something.
> “We need to find the White Joker and end him and his plans.
> “Will you help me?”

“That, unfortunately, isn't up to me.”

With brisk, well-practiced motions, Eita replaces the recorder, the notepad, the pen. His briefcase closes with a distinctive clack as he shuts it, the sound as final as a door slamming shut. He leans on it, clasping his hands together. Staring at you, as though trying to see the inside of your skull.

“Your account will be presented to the Board for their review. Ultimately, the decision is in their hands.”

With that same precise gesture, he places your phone – the screen cracked, but still illuminated from within by dull internal light – on the table. “You're free to go – the debriefing is over. We'll be in touch, if we require further assistance.”

Another gesture, and a key – with the ubiquitous numbered tag – joins the phone.

“A room in the guest dormitory has been set aside for you. I'll advise you to remain on the hospital's grounds, for now – While Player activity is at an all-time low, the city isn't safe. Especially not in your current condition.”

There's no judgement attached to his words, only simple truth.

Eita rises. For a moment, you think he's about to leave – But then he hesitates.

“While we can't spare an escort, Amane has volunteered to remain. She was quite insistent, actually.” That brief smile, again. “-though I believe her concern's mainly for Kazuya. If you see him – I'll thank you to contact us at the first opportunity.”

His voice softens.

“I've received word that Tsukimi's stable. It's long past visiting hours, but...I believe the staff will be willing to make a dispension in this case. Her room's on the fourth level.”

Then, quietly now-

“Good luck, Joker. You'll need it.”

(Continued)

>>3739203
If it's a Board meeting, they'll be pleased with the deal but they are for fucking sure blowing us off on Black Joker and White Joker again. Fuck.

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>>3739203

He knocks at the door, just once, and it swings open. Freedom – Or something like it – beckons.

“Now – Shall we?”

--------------------------------------

After hours – or what seems like it – in that windowless cell, the medical center's wide-open spaces seem vast; At this time of the night, it's weirdly bright, weirdly quiet. There is activity, but it's hidden behind doors and shushed for the neighbors.

You see, now, that you were simply placed in a room that was slightly out-of-the-way, accesible only by one of the winding corridors that spiral away from the main lobby. Somewhere, you hear monitors beeping – the muffled clicks of nurse computers and quiet conversations, seemingly lost in the functional (and ghastly) avant-garde wall murals. There is an everpresent smell of antiseptic.

You still can't move your right arm.

Eita's pace is measured, slowed to match yours – Never pressing too far ahead. The lounge, with false wood chairs and tangerine-colored upholstery, is mostly empty except for the shuffling wounded...

-And a dark-haired figure in a white blouse and checkered skirt, her eyes half-shut behind her glasses as she drowses.

For a moment, you think it may be Asuna-

Eita coughs – lightly but deliberately - into a balled fist. Her eyes, still bleary with slumber, open at last as she sits up, and the recognition fades.

Not Asuna, then. Amane.

A memory:

"Listen-"

"-Don't get too close to that girl."

"...If you do - You'll despise her, too."

Later:

"I...I did w-what you *wanted*-"

"I - I *told* you he'd be *here*..."

"You said - You *promised* - t...to let me *go*-"

And later still:

"-worse than before. He's like...a monster. A demon."

"He's - This is where he lives. This is where he *thrives*-"

"...so unaffected by this, it scares me."

(Continued)

>>3739215
>"Listen-"
>"-Don't get too close to that girl."
>"...If you do - You'll despise her, too."
Oh wait, was she one of the girls that bullied Mio? I never made the connection.

File: joker Amane.jpg (279 KB, 1366x768)

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>>3739215

She looks at Eita, then at you – You glimpse the momentary confusion in her eyes, her brow furrowing lightly as if trying to place you. When he nods, recognition dawns; Her hand goes to her mouth as her eyes widen, as she thinks-

You?

She stands, a bit too quickly.

“You're...him,” Amane says, almost a stammer. “I...”

Her head shakes, just once. “...After – After all that happened...All I can think is – I barely remember you and now...”

She's clasped her hands together before her, but you can see that her fingers are trembling slightly. As if shock, long-delayed, is now setting in.

“You're the Red-”

Her gaze darts past you, and she lowers her voice.

“...Joker. I – I know it's you, but...It's like I can't believe it-”

Eita's hand – firm, callused – settles on your shoulder.

“-It seems like the two of you have a lot to talk about,” he says, gently. “Do you need a moment?”

At his words, her head jerks up, like a marionette. There's something fragile about her, fragile yet recovering at all once.

“I'm fine. Fine. It's just that...”

Her eyes meet yours, momentarily uncomprehending. “Just...seeing you, it – it brings it all back.”

Amane's hand clutches at her arm, an instinctive gesture, as if at the onset of a sharp, stabbing pain.

“What...happened to us.”

[ ] "Are you sure you're all right?"
[ ] "...It seems I'm not the Red Joker any more."
[ ] "You're looking well, at least."
[ ] "I heard you're the pilot of the Red Comet, now."
[ ] "I had to take the long way back, with Kazuya. All things considered, I'm glad we're both alive."
[ ] "Did any of the others make it out?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3739226
>[ ] "I heard you're the pilot of the Red Comet, now."
>[ ] "I had to take the long way back, with Kazuya. All things considered, I'm glad we're both alive."
"I hope adjusting to the Red World wasn't too soul-crushing. It can take its toll on people."

>>3739226
"Seems for the time being, I won't be the Red Joker. I hear you're the pilot of the Red Comet, that's good."
"Kazuya and I had to take the long way back but we both got back okay, even if he's missing. Did anyone else make it out? Any of my team? How's Natsumi?"

>>3739226
>[ ] "I heard you're the pilot of the Red Comet, now."
>[ ] "Did any of the others make it out?"
>[ ] "I had to take the long way back, with Kazuya. All things considered, I'm glad we're both alive."

>>3739226
>Who survived? All my classmates, torn to pieces... Smilers and correctors bathing in gore.

>Maybe a year in hell itself was a blessing in disguise

>>3739255
Oh yeah, let's induce some PTSD flashbacks after we just re-opened a twelve days old wound with our mere presence!

What's next, position ourselves in the shade of a plant in such a way that our shadow looks like tentacle-Joker?

>>3739255
You could actually not be any more daft.

>>3739255
How is this helpful in *any way*? We've got so much fucking shit to do
>Find the Maverick
>Find Asuna
>Get to the Hollow Sun
>Set up more Void Anchors

>>3739255
Hard no on this one.

>>3739233
>>3739241
>>3739243

> [X] "I heard you're the pilot of the Red Comet, now."

“I...”

She looks away, as if she can't quite meet your gaze.

“-I was taking people apart with my...it's...hands, at the end,” she says, softly. Behind her glasses, her eyes are wide, but distant. A million miles away. “They – they broke apart so easily...”

A shudder wrecks Amane. With a convulsive gesture, she wipes her hands on her skirt, scrubbing at something only she can see.

“But – What else could I do? A, after you were gone, I had to find a way back by myself. There wasn't any other way. I had to – had to...”

> [X] "I hope adjusting to the Red World wasn't too soul-crushing. It can take its toll on people."

She bites her lip, so hard you're sure she tastes blood. She breathes out, a low, shuddering sound, her shoulders trembling slightly.

“A toll – a toll,” Amane says, bitterly. “You have no idea-”

Then-

“It's the only thing I see now, you know? The nightmares are bad, but what's worse is knowing it's real-!”

“Amane,” Eita says, softly – or is that warningly? His hand is a steady weight on your shoulder.

She lowers her voice, to just above a whisper.

“I never thought – We never thought – it was like this, out there. And now...It never stops. Ever. It feels like there's this thing hanging over everything, like a death sentence...”

She catches herself, blinking rapidly. For a moment, you think she might be trying not to cry.

> [X] "I had to take the long way back, with Kazuya. All things considered, I'm glad we're both alive."

The look she gives you is wondering, almost disbelieving.

“Kazuya,” Amane says, softly. A flicker of worry, in her eyes. A sidelong look-

“I heard – He said it was like months down there. That a day here is a century, somewhere else...”

You can almost feel her mind recoil from the concept. It's something she doesn't want to accept.

“Is he – Is he all right? I wanted to speak to him, but there wasn't time.”

Softly, now – Almost to herself.

“...There isn't time for anything, is there? For anything that isn't awful...”

(Continued)

>>3739353
"Amane, this may not mean much coming from me but you're a hero. You willingly went to the Diadem thinking that you'd be left behind to die to save the city and everyone else. Just because you do bad things doesn't mean you're a bad person. Stand proud."

>>3739264
>>3739259
>>3739258
Haha.

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>>3739353

A deep breath. Another.

> [X] "Did any of the others make it out?"
> [X] “Any of my team?”

“Some,” Amane says. “The...wolf-thing. And that awful, awful man – He said...If he saw any of us again, he'd take our heads, you know that? Then the other one, Silver Cross or whatever his name was...We thought he was dead, but he wasn't.”

Her answer's a vague one, as if she can't quite remember who they are – Or perhaps she doesn't care.

“Velvet – I mean, Manami...She d-died, you know.” Amane almost stammers the word. “W, we were so close to getting out – J, just a little more – and then one of them *caught* her and c-cut her...”

Her lips press together, in a thin line.

“I – I keep seeing her like that, all burst and broken...”

> “How's Natsumi?"

“She – She held us together, you know? She made us keep going, until we got out-”

Hushed, now – Almost a whisper.

“I don't know how she managed to do it. I know I couldn't. I just wanted to...I just wanted to run, even though I knew it wouldn't do any good...”

>>3739375

She starts. Her head comes up, as she stares at you – Directly at you, for a long, long moment. Surprise, pure and unalloyed – then some indecipherable emotion - passes over her elegant features, like a cloud scudding across the sun. At last, she nods.

“...I think we're all bad people,” Amane murmurs, almost to herself. “It's just that – there are others who are worse. Maybe that's how things are, just different degrees of bad.”

Somehow, somehow, she manages to smile – a wan, drawn smile - but it never touches her eyes.

Eita's hand lifts from your shoulder. His presence withdraws, as he takes a step back.

“You've sure?” he says, the end of some conversation you weren't privy to.

“Yes – I'll wait,” Amane says. “If there's any chance – any chance at all – that Kazuya-kun's coming here...I have to see him-”

Her voice wavers, shaky but certain. “I'll wait as long as I have to.”

“As you wish,” Eita says, gravely. “Then – I must rejoin the others. We're short on hands at the moment, I'm afraid – Every little bit helps.”

“Good night to both of you. I wish you all the best...”

He inclines his head, in something that might be respect. “-Joker.”

And then he's gone, striding without haste but with measured speed, his grey coat sweeping in his wake like his own personal storm.

(Continued)

>>3739417

When he turns the corner, Amane's legs give out at last, and she slumps limply down into her seat.

“I...I know he's on our side,” she says, almost to herself. “I know he'd never hurt me – I know that, and I'm still terrified of him.” Her hand, raised in the air, is shaking as if palsied.

She looks at you, and maybe she sees your surprise – Or perhaps she's only imagined it.

“I saw him fight, just once...The things he did – I almost felt sorry for them.”

A sidelong glance.

“...But then I see who I'm telling this to, and it's almost funny. I look at you, and I keep thinking – you're someone I barely remember, someone I don't know...But you also are-”

Amane catches herself, just in time. She lets her hand drop to her side.

“I keep forgetting,” she says. “It's like there are two places, but I'm only used to living in one...Sometimes, I don't know if I can stand it. Sometimes, it feels like I'm going a little crazy.”

She looks up at you, a kind of fragile hope in her eyes.

“Kazuya-kun...He'll be all right, won't he?” Her hand settles limply on the cushions at her side.

“...Are you waiting for him, too?”

[ ] “Later. There's someone I have to see, first.”
[ ] “Yes. Yes, I suppose I am.”
[ ] “He'll be fine. You'll be surprised by how tough he is.”
[ ] “I hope so.”
[ ] “Wait – Don't tell me...You like him, don't you?”
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3739441
>[ ] “Later. There's someone I have to see, first.”
[ ] “He'll be fine. You'll be surprised by how tough he is.”
"We split up when we came back. However, I trust him to come back soon.
He's gotten quite a bit of exercise during the months that we spent travelling the underworld. Plus, his suit is both fashionable and incredibly powerful."

>>3739441
"No. I have to see someone first. Then, I have to go looking for Daegal and prepare for the White Joker. He'll be fine. After what he's been through, this is a cakewalk. I'm sure he's looking forward to seeing Natsumi as well. It's been months for him."

>>3739451
>I'm sure he's looking forward to seeing Natsumi as well. It's been months for him.
So you wanna go the cockblocker route?

I wouldn't be so aggressive about it, but if it's now working out with Natsumi, it would be fine.
If it isn't, I'd rather not turn Amane down for him.
Also, this remark could threaten team cohesion. You want the Red Comet driver to hate Chrome Cypher?

>>3739459
I'd rather let her down peacefully, here and now, then let this build up over time or make Daegal do it. She likes, trusts and respects Natsumi. I don't see her attempting to kill her for Daegal.

Plus, Daegal has spent practically months worried for and hoping to see Natsumi. I don't see him choosing Amane over her. And, at the very least, it lets Amane know before she confronts either of them about her feelings. She may not even actually love him for all we know, just greatly respect/appreciate him.

>>3739471
For God's sake, who gives a fuck about Amane? Can we go see Hecate already?

>>3739485
We're doing that after. She's still an asset to use and right now, we're missing a lot of shit.

>>3739446
>>3739451
>>3739485

> [X] “Later. There's someone I have to see, first.”

“Someone you...have to see?”

She blinks, momentarily wrong-footed. “I...see,” Amane says, at last. The look she gives you is a curious one, but she doesn't press the issue.

> [X] “He'll be fine. You'll be surprised by how tough he is.”
> [X] After what he's been through, this is a cakewalk. I'm sure he's looking forward to seeing Natsumi as well. It's been months for him."

She smiles, but it looks a little pained.

“I suppose so,” she says – Her voice threaded with relief. Then, faintly...

“-Months...”

You're not sure if she can grasp the idea. You're not certain if she wants to.

Amane clasps her hands together, before her - “I...just want to say 'thank you'. That's all I want. So, please-”

There's a hitch to her voice, bowing her head as if praying. And perhaps she is.

Then, so softly you're certain you weren't meant to hear:

“-I wonder if he ever thought of me...”

She starts. A spot of color burns in her cheeks, and her eyes dart to you then away, almost guilty.

You think of the Halcyon Tower, going down in flames.

“...when I see him, I'll tell him you're all right,” she says. “That's...okay, isn't it?”

There's something fragile, almost anxious to her words – Something that might almost be hope.

She's still in that position – still settling in for the long wait – when the elevator arrives. That's the last sight you see of her, when the doors close; Her head bowed, fingers clenched so tightly together that her knuckles stand out, stark and white.

(Continued)

>>3739511

The ascent is a brief one. The doors open, and you step out – the corridor beyond is no different from the dozen others you've already walked down, the warm orange light of the lamps illuminating your way. The soothing pastel shades of the walls seem to swim before your eyes, merging into one.

It's been a long night.

And then you're at the door to her room. For a moment, you stand there, at the threshold – All is silent except for the quiet noise of machinery, sounds just on the edge of perception.

You can't remember if you knocked or not, but the door opens anyway.

Inside...

The room is a place without shadows. Light, white light, bleaches all color to nothing.

And you see her.

She sits staring idly out of the window, a gelpack pillow propping her up – Looking towards the cloudless red sky, towards the distant ocean, over the still-dark horizon.

She's thin, almost painfully so – Her cheeks hollowed, her eyes dark, her limbs atrophied by her long sleep. Her left arm rests stiffly at her side, an IV dripping cool saline into her veins.

Tsukimi turns, when she feels your gaze on her. Her eyes – the unchanged, unmistakeable part of her – take all of you in, before they find yours...

And she coughs. Just a little, with wet discomfort. Her lips curve in the slightest smile, as – carefully, with great effort – she touches a hand to her side.

“Pneumonia,” Tsukimi says, apologetically. “They...think I caught it in here. My lungs, they aren't...”

Then-

“Joker-kun...”

Softly, now - as if the sound of her voice might dispel the dream...

“...How are you?”

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3739569
"Alive. Like you. Feel like I've been through the wars though. A lot's happened while you were asleep. Not only that, I've got a completely dead right arm now which is going to be an issue. How are you? How's it feel being in the Real again, properly this time?"

>>3739569
> "I missed you."

Sit down next to her, and put your arms around her.

>>3739569
"Happy. Odd, considering all that's happened. But still, happy."
"It's been too long, Hecate. It's good to have you back."

>>3739569
> Tired, I am just so tired. But I can't rest yet there is work to be done. Tsukimi I have so much to do but now I lack the strength. My armour gone and my arm. Daegal , I mean kazuya is missing. You weren't joking when you said those nihil eyes were something dangerous.

>>3739569
"For now, I'm just glad that I got you back. It was a long ride."

>>3739594
I would wait with the business talk for until we've finished with feelings and shit.
She needs this talk first, to get a hang of being alive again. The talk about world ending shit can wait.

Would be funny if she helped us again, in the same way in which she originally helped us lift the Black Joker's curse.

>>3739608
I've been thinking that maybe a terminus upgrade could do that but I don't know for sure. We should give her Harmonia and tell her about the Hollow Sun when it's time to talk shop though.

>>3739629
>We should give her Harmonia
On the one hand, Cybele is turning in her grave.
On the other, it's fitting that Hecate gets downgraded to a Hyades bracelet from the NIHL Sphere, just like how we got downgraded to ordinary player armor.

And yeah, a Terminus upgrade might work. I would want to collect some essence for safety first, though.


OP, random question: Is our Frost Cestus armor level 1, or do we have some degree of upgrades? I assume that it's in the condition that it was in right before we became the Red Joker.

>>3739636
We have the Cestus based upgrades the Sun gave us as shown in the Memory, the zenith upgrade and the crisis arm.

>Cybele is turning in her grave
Perhaps but Hecate needs protection and an ability to do things. She'll get more use out of it than we would.

>>3739569
What kind of items can be put into the Helix Gauntlet? The seeker could, the Nihil eye could but what else?

>>3739649
>We have the Cestus based upgrades the Sun gave us as shown in the Memory, the zenith upgrade and the crisis arm.
Aren't those just Frost Cestus' strength and his fist? Or are you saying that our current crisis arm is stronger than the one originally wielded by Frost Cestus, by virtue of being remade with Red Joker tech?

>>3739659
Frost Cestus never had a Crisis Arm, he just had a big smashy punch fist. The Crisis Arm was a HS upgrade to FC by remaking his gauntlet with Cherbium superdense material.

The zenith upgrade was basically providing the Red Joker with FC's robustness and strong design but it seems we are benefiting from it now too given the extra health we have.

https://pastebin.com/UCzAGmC0

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>>3739584
> "I missed you."
> Sit down next to her, and put your arms around her.

Her eyes go soft.

Your sling knocks against your chest, unmoving and insensate. But your left arm circles her slim shoulders, and draws her against your side.

Tsukimi makes a soft sound, a soft, sweet sound that merges a creak and a sigh. The tension drains from her, so utterly she nearly goes limp with relief. Her form melts against yours, her head against your shoulder, her eyes half-closing in something like peace.

This close, you can see the scars – pink, smooth, knotted across the back of her head from the base of her neck up to the crown. In the places where her hair is thinner, you can see the rumpled tissue, the marks that circle her slim throat.

Her skin is cool against yours. The faintest smell in the air: Formaldehyde, perhaps. Antiseptic. Something sweeter, more delicate, beneath it.

You feel her fingers brush against your sling, stray strands of hair caressing your cheek.

“Your arm,” Tsukimi murmurs. The pale moon of her face turns towards you.

“-Does it hurt?”

It doesn't matter.

>>3739591
>>3739599

>"Happy. Odd, considering all that's happened. But still, happy."
>"It's been too long, Hecate. It's good to have you back."

The sound she makes – the ghost of a laugh – is sweet and sad, all at once.

As the light above dims, you can feel the momentary warmth of her blush.

“It doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?” she says – just above a whisper, almost into your ear. “I...missed that about you.”

> “How are you? How's it feel being in the Real again, properly this time?"

“I thought-” Tsukimi begins, searching for the words. “-I thought it was really the end. That it was over, forever...That I'd never see you again.”

“-It's so strange. I remember...everything. But it's like a dream, a dream I never actually had...”

Her eyes half-close, and for a moment, there's only the soft surrusation of her breath.

Then-

“...It hurts. Everything hurts.”

Her voice catches, as if she's trying not to cry.

“My arms, my legs – they *hurt*. It feels like...It feels like I've been sick, for a long, long time-”

A whisper, now-

“...And I don't know if I'll ever get better.”

A moist cough, as she turns her head away – towards the window again – and lowers her head.

“When I saw myself – I...I had to ask...”

“Who is that?”

“-is that me?”

Her hand comes to rest against her hospital gown, just over her flat stomach.

“There are...the scars, where they put the feeding tube in – My body, it's...”

You feel the first shiver course through her, deep down in the marrow, from her very core. Tsukimi's voice trembles, something lurking beneath her words.

(Continued)

>>3739692

“Six years. Six years. It was different, before – But...The way I am, now...”

Her eyes squeeze shut, as if she's afraid they'll burst. The first sob racks her, and it becomes a coughing fit – her slight shoulders trembling, as the first tears trail from the corners of her eyes.

“Joker-kun – I...hurt. It hurts.”

Tsukimi's voice is blurred, shaky.

“And – I'm tired. How...How can I be tired? I've done...nothing but sleep – for six years...”

Another sob, another cough – fighting to keep it under control now.

“Joker-kun.”

Her eyes on yours, now. Her voice so tightly controlled, it trembles.

“I'm – Like this, I'm not a Player...or anything...any more.”

Tsukimi's palsied hand grips the sheets, twists them in her pale fingers – the skin so thin it is nearly translucent, her bones frailer than a bird's.

“Knowing that-”

“Even if you know that-”

“Do you still...”

“-do you still want me?”

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3739692
>>3739723
We didn't bring her back because we thought she'd be useful, we brought her back because we love her.

> [ ] Kiss her.

>>3739723
>"Yes."
>"I made my choice and I won't regret it."

Now gotta hope we live to keep the promise

>>3739723
Actually, how does she even look like through the Red?

>>3739747
(She doesn't have a Red presence.)

>>3739723
"I want you, be it as Hecate or Tsukimi. Everyhing else is secondary.
And hey, see it from the bright side: Now we can go out as a couple without instantly catching glances from suspicious players. Remember how Natsumi reacted to you?
We might not be able to fight by my side anymore, but I know that you will have my back in this world instead. Things aren't as different as you think they are.
I would never forgive myself if I lost you again."

>>3739723
"Want you? Hecate, I've been trying to bring you back since you went missing; I owed you that much for the fact that you were the first person since the Marshal who, in the Red, fought for me and with me. Who saw me as a person and not just some blood starved beast. Now, we've a lot to talk about when you can and, frankly, I'm not sure if I'm going to survive the next few days or weeks but all I know is, I want to spend the rest of the time I have left with you."

Kiss her.

>>3739790
(Gentlemen, I need to turn in for now - However, I'll continue at the first opportunity.)

>>3739723
Whatever we do, call her Tsukimi, not Hecate.

>>3739790
>>3739798
Can you change this to Tsikimi or Hecate

>>3739809
You know...

If you think about it, we traded down a lot. We could have fallen for the blonde demigoddess who badly wanted someone to love, the yandere spirit who would have become a goddess, or any other woman. Instead, we picked the scarred, probably crippled girl with absolutely no powers. I know she's supposedly the love of our life, but we've chosen poorly.

>>3739823
A mundane girlfriend for a reforged Anon.

Now just to make sure that we can still survive despite throwing utilitarianism out. Otherwise all this noble shit will have been worthless.

>>3739823
That's amore, amigo. Also first (Player) girl bias, obviously.

>>3739823
Yeah but each of those had their own issues. Like, Mio for instance continually refused to talk about the Red with us and to let us explain what we'd been doing even though we told her it was important and would explain her light powers. I understand why Mio was unable to do so, seeing as she's scared of the Red and the things that have haunted her and her abuse her whole life but she knew it was important to us and that we had accepted her control of the light.

In my mind, Anon loved Mio and Hecate both. He just loved Hecate more because she was there first, she fought for us which no one else did, she was willing to sacrifice for us and we were willing to sacrifice for her.

Mio on the other hand is a really nice person who cared for us but showed an inability to take risks even though we told her she needed to or else people would get hurt. I think Anon wants both to have an equally happy ending. If Mio had accepted us and wasn't lost, we would still be with her and not with Hecate.

Hell, we shouldn't be with Hecate 'now' in my mind. Not while Mio's still caught and not while Hecate doesn't know about Mio or Cybele. It's not fair to either of them and it undermines how Joker felt about both Hecate and Mio.

>>3739830
We're still being pretty utilitarian. Daegal has been a useful tool to no end.

>>3739838
And don't forget that he probably saw Cybele as something of a soul mate.
Being trapped on a demense is similar to how stay in the underworld. He knows what it's like to live without any human comforts. In fact, Cybele had even less human contact than he did - he at least had other players to interact with.

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>you are Anon, Frost Cestus
Wait what

>>3739851
How many threads did you miss, anon?

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>>3739853
Way more than I should have

>>3739854
Then you are in for a fucking wild ride.

>>3739848
Cybele was mentally a child and was selfish but Hyades are specifically made to try and become Chalice Queens and I can't fault her determination to survive.

Anons, I think we actually *shouldn't* resume our relationship with Hecate yet. Not until Mio is free or dead at least. Like I thought it would be fine if we did before because it would have been hours apart but if we spend weeks hunting down Naoya and the Black Joker as Cestus while fucking Hecate/romancing her and Mio's trapped in the fucking tumour ball?

Yeah, that would be fucking unbelievably shitty. It would be the shittiest thing we've done in this quest and we've
>Hurt at least 3 girls feelings by leading them on and not fully committing to them
>Cheating on Mio with Cybele so that we could survive (understandable but still sweet fuck)
>Had Kaiser kill his own sister
>Let Imago live (again, understandable)
>All of the dudes who were on our side who we merced during the second Kraken fight

This would top all of the shit we've done so far.

>>3739854
What did you see last? I'll catch you up if you want.

>>3739838
I always perceived it as Red Joker loving Hecate because she basically imprinted herself on the century-old killing machine while Anon liked Mio like a normal person.

But in the end, Anon could never fully commit to Mio because the Red Joker is the greater part of his identity, the part that Mio could't understand or love and the part that couldn't let go of Hecate.

Frankly, any kind of relationship between Joker and Mio would end up toxic in the long term because there's a fundamental disconnect the relationship.

>>3739862
>>3739863
Shit last thing I remember is us and best boy running away from Player/Corrector knight things

>>3739848
>And don't forget that he probably saw Cybele as something of a soul mate.
Nah, the soulmate angle is more relevant with it comes to Kotone.

The Cybele thing was complicated and a complete mess, but I don't think Joker ever felt anything approaching affection. More like pity and sympathy.

>>3739892
Oh, you're pretty caught up then. That's Episode 154
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Joker%20Quest
Be glad anon. The best fights in the Quest take place in this section. It makes the Hive Raid, the Six on Six and Athame Joker vs the Five Fuckups look dogshit in comparison.

>>3739884
>>3739897
Kotone is a better example of a soul mate than Cybele. And look, maybe you could say things will never, ever work out with Mio but I still think we should only start up a relationship with Hecate after saving Mio and telling Hecate what we've done.

I want to make sure Mio's okay. I didn't like her for a while when we started dating her but that's because I don't care too much for the slice of life aspect of this quest. Actually rereading her actions and feelings made me like her way more again and I think, frankly, she deserves an explanation and a chance to talk with us before we do anything.

However, currently, I'm still team Hecate. I just don't think we should treat Mio like shit on our shoe.

>>3739897
I would say she was similar to Haze for him. It's a tough robot dad kind of affection.

>>3739790
>>3739798
Can we cut the kiss thing actually?

>>3739892
Dude you are in for the WILDEST ride. You thought our previous fights were impossible and stacked against us? They were all jokes with training wheels. The lore is some real shit too.

Be glad that your can binge it.

>>3739823
Anon's desire, until Nara Dreamland, was to figure out how to put a century of hell behind him and learn to live in the real. Hecate treated him like a person in both worlds and nothing will change the fact that the joker is his life too. The other girls only wanted one or the other.

Hecate understands both sides of him and the others can't compete.

---

I'm getting antsy though, how much time has passed? What are the others doing? Why did that guy think we have time to wait until fucking tomorrow? This is nice and all but someone is actually going to end the world and he's doing something NOW. Or DID, the fuck time is it.

>>3739917
Mio is a good person she is just not mature enough to confront and deal with shit that makes her uncomfortable. It's perfectly understandable that she threw fits when we needed her to listen about the red. She couldn't cope that she needed to be prepared for the insanity of the red and the black. I understand her blaming it all on us as we are responsible for her first contact.

We can't blame or judge her for what happened at Seisin, it's not fair to her. It's irrational but it doesn't matter, we'll have to keep trying to do what we think is best for her.

>>3739975
I don't blame her for it, I just don't think that, at the moment, she's a better choice for Anon romantically than Hecate. We can't know for sure how she is until we meet her which is why I don't want to start up again with Hecate *immediately* until we explain things.

If we have to put her down though, we'll put her down. Truthfully I just want to an opportunity to try and contextualise Anon's actions in a way that make sense as a character and are consistent and make logical sense. And also it's completely out of character for him to just fucking leave Mio in her cancer flesh rape sphere.

>>3740010
>Truthfully I just want to an opportunity to try and contextualise Anon's actions in a way that make sense as a character and are consistent and make logical sense.
We already have all of that from Joker's perspective. There's no bloody fucking need to have everyone else see his way.

We've done plenty of horrible amoral shit throughout the Quest and there's no fucking need to try and make excuses for all of that at this point. Just live with the consequences. Stop being a sappy bitch and just move on, because nobody is going to fucking respect Joker if he goes on a several hour-long rant about how he it made perfect sense for him to exploit Cybele and make a deal with not!Mengele.

Honesty is hardly ever appreciated in this Quest. and being honest in the worst situations possible has caused more harm than anything in the past.

>>3740081
When has honesty caused harm in the quest? Lack of honesty has caused the most harm if anything.

Also, Joker's actions don't really make sense to me because we've had so many spergs try to control him for so long. We clearly showed emotions and care for Mio so then what has Hecate been this whole time? Why did we even go out with Mio if we didn't give a shit about her? If we did give a shit about her, shouldn't we explain everything to her?

I'm not even talking about the not!Mengele thing because that was just utilitarianism, I'm talking about how his treatment of Mio and Hecate is totally inconsistent unless he loved both.

>>3740125
>I'm talking about how his treatment of Mio and Hecate is totally inconsistent unless he loved both.
Of course that's a clusterfuck, but romantic relationships often are.
Just rationalize it as Joker trying and failing to move on from Hecate by forming a relationship with Mio. There was affection in it, but never anything solid enough to call love since all of their interactions were marred by the shadow of Hecate's "death" and Joker having to think of Mio as not only a cute girl, but also a strategic target for the Smilers and potential Chalice Queen.

>>3740157
Yeah that's my point. Considering we fought the Chalice Queen war to try and free her from her essence draining and to stop all those people dying and that we started a relationship with her because she was kind and we moved on while still looking for Hecate, it'd make sense to at least be like
"Okay, I cheated on you with Cybele because I was worried I'd die in the Hyades Games. My bad. Hecate was the person I lost I told you about before we started dating. It turns out she was able to be brought back from the dead. I'm sorry for all the shit."

>Having to think of Mio as not only a cute girl
Anon, that started happening in episode 60 and we got with Mio in like chapter 30~ so we had feelings for her before all of that shit if we look at the quest as a whole.

I'm not saying tell her everything. She's seen the stakes at this point. I just want to say "yeah Cybele happened because of this, this is Hecate who I told you about." Why the fuck would we ever tell anyone about Imago?

>>3740174
>Considering we fought the Chalice Queen war to try and free her from her essence draining
We didn't fight because of that. We didn't even find out about her connection to it until halfway through the tournament. We would have kept fighting either way because we had to keep the power of the Chalice Queen away from the Smilers' grubby hands.

>>3740221
I think the raid was a major factor in that as well but it ultimately doesn't change my point for the most part.

>>3740010
>And also it's completely out of character for him to just fucking leave Mio in her cancer flesh rape sphere.
Maybe anon dislikes useless people whose inaction causes the suffering of others. Mio has proven that she lacks the strength to be the person at his side, and in fact to be anywhere near his vicinity.
She doesn't have what it takes to do the right things.

A second joker quest thread before the first one falls off the board?

Please tell me this isn't the last few threads, I still haven't caught up yet.

>>3741697
OP wants to finish before the end of the year. Prepare for two more years of Joker Quest.

>>3741697
>>3741739
If you notice, the slowdown really kicked in when the mechanics became more complex. From White Joker fight on, fights got longer and longer.

That's one thing about playing as Cestus; less complex combat, more quests.

>>3741943
Yeah, I guess being instantly deleted is less complicated.

We cannot fight White Joker as Frost Cestus. We can't fight any of the shit we used to take on without flinching. We effectively have a 90% HP cap with no defensive mitigation.

>>3742409
Actually, we keep our armor when we use the Carnifex or at least some of it. I'm thinking Apollyon Buster could be a good choice, same with Linebreaker.

>>3742409
Clearly what we need to do is find someone or something that can tell us what pazuzu did to our armour. Imago?

Think the hollow sun can analyze it? Though daegal will have to command it for us. Perhaps we just need to merc some guys, level up and see what we can do.

We should let Geist know the Red Joker is back/coming back and he can come back into the fold if he wishes. Let him go AWOL if he desires but he should still be alerted it's an option.

OP, who is able to tell we were the Red Joker before? It may be a good idea, for the time being, to pose as just another mook of the Joker's.

>>3739751
I only realized this now, but that puts quite the hole in the theory that the Red Joker armour was transferred to her.

>>3742755
Well, even if it's not that easy, I have a little theory going on that any level-ups we get while in this reduced state will translate along when we get the Red Joker armour back. Once we're sure of how we get it back, however that might be, we might consider grabbing a few levels anyway.

Assuming we don't still read as being level capped, that is. If we do then we need to get the armour back ASAP.

>>3743006
Actually, it did just occur to me: Harmonia
The 'seven gems remaining' thing is ominous as hell. I'm thinking it's relevant to our predicament. Maybe we need to get seven levels to break the Red Joker armour free? Maybe we only get to use the Red Joker armour seven more times? Could mean a lot of things, but I'm sure it's relevant.

>>3741739
Well, shit. I found joker quest about 2-3 years ago, and took my time since I figured that it was either dead or finished. Then, I was surprised to see that the game was still going and that it popped up in the board while I was browsing. But by that point there had already been so many "this could be endgame, guys" moments that I figured it still had a lot of life left in it.

I really need to buckle down and just binge until I catch up. I really want to participate in at least one thread before it ends. Even if I come in far too late to make a difference.

>>3741943
Yeah, I can see that. I'm just about where the Joker and Daegle buddy cop drama, road trip through hell, starts. And at that point, even after losing all the moon-girl buffs, we still have literal pages of gear, kit, weapons, and bullshit powers at our disposal. Makes for interesting plays, but I can really easily see how that many interacting mechanics and options could slow down the flow of things. Factor in how OP had to make enemies to challenge that power level on top of that.

Cestus, I'm surprised about, but also really excited. From what little we saw in that one flash back scene against the moon girl, Frost had a really interesting kit and mechanic. Plus those sorts of limitations in comparison to the joker frame must've bred some interesting tactics on Anon's part.

>>3743006
>>3743010
Harmonia's description was always like this. Each gem is a charge, the power is similar to the NIHL. We can fire codebursts with it.

Also, I'm sure any level-ups we get now will stay with us. Possibly Frost Cestus upgrades will even affect the Red Joker armor, at the very least Crisis Arm and Cestus upgrades most likely will.

>>3743184
I'm sure fighting with the Cestus would be interesting, if we weren't also crippled and had none of our gear.
I wish we at least had our signature gear with us - assault shroud and scrander. But then the Scrander would likely be at level 1, meaning that it would be just a jump pack...

>>3743901
The Scrander is less signature to us than our casters/nova gun at this point; we spent a massive chunk of the quest without it.

>>3742426
Upon rereading the Apollyon Buster, we can't use it at all I think; it has an even higher gravimetric requirement than the Cestus and we can't even use the cestus properly right now.

Linebreaker is still a decent choice though.

>>3744727
>Upon rereading the Apollyon Buster, we can't use it at all I think; it has an even higher gravimetric requirement than the Cestus and we can't even use the cestus properly right now.
We don't know whether it has its own reactor, like the Scrander or those tachyon weapons that we could have built.
I'm sure the Sun can tell us whether we are compatible. In fact, have we ever encountered a relic that was incompatible with a player?
The only case that I can remember is Hellion weaponry and that stuff doesn't really count as relics. It's rather Hellion body parts, effectively.

>>3744791
A huge segmented gauntlet, the Apollyon Buster was clearly meant to be a twin (If not a successor) to the Crisis Arm. Unlike the Crisis Arm, it is almost entirely composed of neutronium alloy, and requires an extensive refit of the integrated limb - Precluding the use of other equipment on the arm. The Apollyon Buster's immense energy demands stem from the host of gravimetric suspensors required to maneuver the wrecking fist; and, more importantly, the array of high-yield positron field emitters at the knuckles, which appear to - individually - contain seething red spheres.
>Immense energy demand
Anon it clearly doesn't. Also yes, some equipment is incompatible for Players if the energy demand is too high. It's one of the reasons the Red Joker armor is so great.

>>3742796
I'm guessing most of the people we were in contact with pre hell journey

Just throwing this out here, don't forget to pay a visit to Imagos and tell him exactly how we brought down Rust Kaiser and collect our corrector payment, dude would have a blast hearing about the switcheroo

>>3746854
Imago already paid us back. His Correctors assisted with the escape from under the Shield.

>>3746854
>>3746857
I still think this could be worthwhile but only as Red Joker. Doing it as Cestus seems way too risky and contacting Geist and them is already questionable.

>>3739742
>>3739743
>>3739779
>>3739790

> "Yes."

Such a simple thing.

Such a small word.

But you hear the sharp intake of her indrawn breath, as Tsukimi's hand goes to her mouth – and in the moonlight, you see her tears. She's crying, silently and without fuss, something impossibly tender – impossibly vulnerable – in her expression. The last of her fragile strength, the brittle front she's mustered until this moment, drains away-

When your lips find hers, she melts into you. Her eyes go half-closed beneath those long, long lashes, the softest sigh coaxed from deep, deep within.

There's a faintly bitter taste to her lips – something medicinal, like quinine. A chemical tang, as if the life-sustaining substances that she's been immersed in for so long, for more than half a decade, are now part of her very.

But there's something beneath that, too. A faint, smoky sweetness.

Her hand settles on yours. She doesn't have the strength to squeeze, so she merely holds it, like something infinitely precious. The fabric of her white shift whispers against her skin, and for one moment the distant moon – like a capricious miracle – musters the fey, glossy glimmer to Tsukimi's dark hair.

She's the one who breaks the kiss. Who draws away, the reluctance in her eyes, though her hand never leaves yours. She grips it tightly, just for a moment, like a lifeline.

“No,” Tsukimi murmurs, then she hurries to add - “You'll get sick, too,” the apology in her voice as she turns her head to the side to cough again.

But there's something infinitely soft in her gaze, her pale fingertips going to her lips, tracing over them – before she clasps her hand to her chest, just over her heart.

Silence descends. Soft, intimate. You can hear the gentle surrusation of Tsukimi's faltering breath, her shoulders trembling slightly-

She's laughing. It's strange to hear it, between coughs – her eyes shining fever-bright, a splash of color to her cheeks at last.

“What a pair we make,” she says, once the spasms have ceased. “Joker-kun...Look at us. Look at both of us, now...”

Something creaks, as Tsukimi's head sinks back to the pillow. For a moment, she lies there – her eyes half-closed, her gaze caressing. The sheets are rumpled around her waist – you can see the scars on her legs, long and tapering, vanishing beneath the hem of her hospital gown.

“A couple...” she muses. For a moment, you think she might be falling asleep – but you hear that soft laugh again, soft and husky.

Then-

“Joker-kun, I'm sorry,” Tsukimi says. Her smile is wry, self-mocking, as her dark hair pools on the pool. Those remarkable violet eyes still shimmer with the memory of tears.

(Continued)

>>3747167

“I ruined your life, didn't I? Both our lives. If I hadn't been with you-”

A deep breath, deep enough for her lungs to rasp.

“...you wouldn't have ended up like this. Not – Well.”

Her smile turns a little sad, as her gaze settles on the pure white expanse of the ceiling.

And you hear the ghost of a whisper: Not like me.

Then softly-

“...I was going to tell you, you know. Back there. But-”

A trace of a blush.

“-you did make it really hard for me. So...Maybe it's your fault, too. Just a little.”

Tsukimi turns her head, the pale arch of her neck exposed – her skin like marble, a single strand of hair falling across her pale cheek.

“Really, now...You have a knack for doing things the hard way, Joker-kun.”

She stirs, slightly. With an effort, Tsukimi spreads her delicate fingers, looking down at them as if hoping to divine her future.

“You know – As a Moratorium, I had one ability. The only thing of worth in a world like this. I knew how things worked...And yet, I could never figure you out. At first, I thought...It's because of what you were. Now...I know it's because of who you are.”

“Most people are transparent, but – I never know what you're thinking.”

A sigh.

“I can guess what happened. You gave him the Nihl Sphere, didn't you? You gave it up for me...And in return, he took everything.” That smile, again – a little laugh. “That's what he does. He makes sure. That – And, I think, he was jealous of you. Just a little.”

“Isn't that strange?”

“He's got...everything he ever wanted, now. And yet – He's still jealous. Of you.”

You think Tsukimi might laugh again, but she's too tired. She blinks, once, then again, to clear her head.

“Isn't that...just the saddest thing?

(Continued)

>>3747178
>>3739636
>>3739649

You reach for the clasp, to undo the chain that circles your left wrist.

Then you remember.

But as you consider reaching for the Carnifex – that, or the beginnings of a vague idea about using your teeth – the small, cunningly intricate clasp parts. It slides down into your hand, links of metal – Unlike anything ever forged upon this Earth – pooling in your palm.

“This is?” Tsukimi murmurs, tilting her head to the side. “-It's beautiful,” she says, a heartbeat later. As she moves to fasten it around her own wrist, it locks in place with a sharp, metallic click...Almost before she can touch it. The violet glow of the cut stones reflects in her violet eyes, as she draws breath so-

A faint buzzing, buzzing breaks the tranquil half-quiet. Your phone.

You reach for it.

Then you reach for it again, and this time you glimpse the screen.

Kazuya.

“Anon?” his voice crackles over the line. He sounds...exhausted. Utterly and complicated exhausted. But alive.

“Anon, I – I *met* him. He – He told me everything. We have to talk, but...”

Softer, now. Somewhere, you hear the faint sounds of electronic doors sliding open.

“I think – This is crazy, but...I mean, I don't believe it-”

“I think he's on *our* side.”

His words hang in the air, for a long, long moment.

“And – I'm downstairs, I'll be right there – I think...I think Naoya wants you to kill Pazuzu for him.”

“Naoya - don't get me wrong, he's as evil as shit, but...I think he wants to help you save the world. I think he means it.”

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3747186
>Fuck that, no more faustian bargains with the devil. No more accepting the thanatos gambits.

>>3747186
Wow, losing an arm is really fucking us up in every way.

>>3747186
>“Naoya - don't get me wrong, he's as evil as shit, but...I think he wants to help you save the world. I think he means it.”
Haha what the fuuuuuuuuuuck?

>>3747186
>"I'll be down soon. I really don't want to be taking any more deals, though."

>>3747186
>What exactly did Naoya tell you when he meant "everything"?
>I'll be down in a moment, Lets talk in private.
>Give Tsukimi a goodbye kiss
>"Get well soon.

File: 1550707431423.gif (1.49 MB, 300x300)

1.49 MB GIF

>>3747186
Fucking Naoya man.
"I'll be right there."
Should we relay what Kazuya said to Tsukimi? I bet she'd be able to gauge these turn of events.

>>3747186
Maybe Tsukimi should hear this too?
I mean, she knows Pazuzu the best.

Right now, this doesn't make much sense. Like, I thought the guy would just fuck away on the Diadem, not stay here and try to kill the world. I also expect Naoya to shank us at the first opportunity.

Meet Kazuya before Tsukimi's room. Once we have initiated contact, we can determine whether we should continue inside of the room.

"Tsukimi, I gotta leave you for a bit. Kazuya just came back from his meeting with the White Joker. And what he's saying makes no fucking sense."

>>3747275
>>3747263
Please don't treat her like Mio or Cybele.
Hecate is actually savvy enough to help us with our plans. She's somewhat mentally stable.

>>3747186
Odd thought: maybe Naoya wants us to kill Pazuzu because that's the quickest way to becoming the Red Joker again, and he needs the Red Joker for his own purposes?

>>3747186
"...I let Pazuzu go Kazuya. I gave him the Nihil Eye but he awakened Tsukishi. I'll meet you downstairs. We've some more to talk about."

Turn to Tsukishi. "We've a lot to talk about. If you could come with me, I'll let you instead-"

Give her our phone and stay on the line so she can hear us talking to Kazuya. Then head down and meet him.

>>3747198
>>3747203
>>3747238

“Joker-kun...What is it?”

Tsukimi's voice is soft, her brow furrowing ever-so-slightly – You can see the worry in her eyes, at your words. Her hands, folded on her lap, fidget.

> "I'll be down soon. I really don't want to be taking any more deals, though."

“Uh...Anon?”

Slowly, now. A kind of dawning dread.

“What do you mean...'any more deals'?”

>>3747263

> What exactly did Naoya tell you when he meant "everything"?
> I'll be down in a moment. Let's talk in private.

“I...Shit, yeah. That sounds about right. It's – I don't want to have to go over it more than once. Once is plenty.”

> Give Tsukimi a goodbye kiss

She turns her head to the side, so your lips brush her cheek instead – but then, when you draw back, she leans in to plant one at the corner of your lips. Breaking her own rule.

> "Tsukimi, I gotta leave you for a bit. Kazuya just came back from his meeting with the White Joker. And what he's saying makes no fucking sense."

“Go,” she urges. “Do what you need to. Tell me later.”

You're about to stand, when Tsukimi's wasted hand grips your wrist. Urgent, now.

“Don't trust him. The White Joker, he's...”

She bites her lip. Searching for the words.

“-he's like you. If there's something he wants, he'll do anything to get it. Anything.”

> “Get well soon.”

“We'll see,” Tsukimi says, softly – Her slim fingers tracing, thoughtfully, the alien gems set within Harmonia.

“-We'll see.”

---------------------------------------

Downstairs, again.

Your last sight of Tsukimi, before you closed the door to her room: A hand, waving to you. Free of worry, knowing that this isn't a parting, but a mere delay. An interlude, perhaps.

The elevator's descent seems to take forever. But – an eternity later, there is a cheery ding as the doors slide open, and you see-

“Kazuya-kun!”

...Amane with her arms around Kazuya, hugging him – burying her face into his increasingly tattered coat – as if she means never to let him go.

“You're alive,” she says, her voice gone soft and breathless. “I can't believe it, you're alive-”

And Kazuya-

He looks like he's barely on his feet. He's got bruises on his face, the beginnings of a thousand-yard stare. There's fine dust in his hair, more of it streaking his shoulders. You see him stiffen, see him tense instinctively when Amane hugs him – his arms coming up, instinctively, as if expecting a blow.

But then, something like sense returns to his eyes. Out of a fugue, and into full wakefulness.

(Continued)

>>3747300
Dude, can you do me a favor and jump off a fucking cliff?
At least have the fucking grace to not misspell her name all the fucking time when you do your cringe write-ins.

>>3747308
I'm phoneposting you nig. Fuck this is the first time I posted today

>>3747316
This is basic shit though. And shitty write-ins have been the bane of this quest since forever.

I don't have that one pasta with the *kiss her hand* shit, but I'm sure someone can quote it from memory.

>>3747303

“Ah,” he says. “I, uh-”

Awkwardly – but gently – he pats her shoulder, making soothing sounds.

“-I'm okay,” Kazuya says. “I'm all right.”

Amane makes a sound that might be a sob. Her eyes are damp, behind her glasses.

"I thought you were dead," you hear her murmur, over and over again. "I thought they'd killed you-"

He looks up. He sees you. Relief, pure and unalloyed, blossoms across Kazuya's face. You can almost tell what he's thinking: Joker's here, so everything's going to be all right.

It lasts for all of a moment, before the first cracks show - Before confusion flickers in his eyes.

He can tell that something is wrong, but he doesn't know what it is.

“Anon?” he says – It's a question. “What...”

Kazuya's smile fades, slowly. His hand comes up, rubbing at the dried blood that crusts his scalp – He must have found a tender spot, because he grimaces. Amane's breath catches – she releases him, before he can carefully ease her back.

“-What happened?”

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3747326
What shit write in? We need to talk later? Leaving the phone so she can give input when we talk to Kazuya?

I can't stop thinking of her as Hecate. It's like asking me to remember Regios' real name. We've heard each about as much.

>>3747329
>"Pazuzu is gone, Kazuya. He won't be coming back."
>"And I paid the price for it."

>"What did Naoya tell you?"

(Gentlemen - My apologies, but I need to turn in for the night. I'll continue at the first opportunity.)

>>3747329
I say we pull Daegal aside, have him tell us what happened. Then we can explain. It's more important to know what Naoya's up to.

I refuse to believe he has anyone's best intentions at heart but I bet his plan is like 'Yeah Pazuzu wants to bomb the planet from orbit so that's why we're teaming up."

He's have said it over the phone if it was that big a deal. Press X to doubt.

>>3747329
"You can call me... Frost Cestus.

Details come later. What's important is that Hecate is alive and, by what I've seen, Pazuzu should have fucked off into the ether. Also, bother her and I aren't exactly in best fighting condition. We'll need to give the Hollow Sun a visit later, maybe it can fix up my frame somewhat.

What did you mean by Naoya wanting us to kill the Pazuzu? What the fuck did that guy tell you? What happened to Mio? Did he summon Kotone or the Black Joker?
And who of you two broke the Halcyon tower?
Did you even fight?"

PSA: We have a book in our inventory. Or in Red Joker's inventory, at least.
Hecate used to be able to decipher that shit, but maybe that was limited to the Moratorium power that she just mentioned. Something to keep in mind soon-ish, I would say.

>>3747360
This. She's planning something with the gems too.

>>3747329
>"I paid a price. To get Tsukimi back, I paid a price."

>>3747374
Don't say this. There's no point being cryptic here. We need to pump Daegal for information first before he gets emotional/reacts to what we just said.

>>3747383
good point
>>3747329
>"Pazuzu revived Hecate, he revived Tsukimi, he sealed away the Red Joker armor frame, and left to go to his "promised land". I'm Frost Cestus now. I gave him the Nhil Sphere in exchange."

>>3747416
Make it clear we can remove the Red Joker symbol. The Hollow Sun's diagnostics will be a massive fucking help.

I don't think we've told him the full depths of Naoya's douchery as well, have we?

>>3747426
>I don't think we've told him the full depths of Naoya's douchery as well, have we?
We told him literally everything when we spent a few weeks waiting out the scourge, iirc.

>>3747445
Idk how he thinks the Mio stuff and Naoya mocking us over that was for the good of anyone. Or the lachryma rain.

Like even more than Pazuzu, this is Naoya's fault. The sheer numbers of Smilers, lachryma usage, Imago, Kaiser, Mio, the Black rain that totalled the fucking city. That's all Naoya. We saw what he did to his best pals for fuck sake.

Naoya is setting up a situation where he is more valuable alive than dead to give him time to further his goals and ours at the same time, while preparing the double cross. He'll just keep making these gambits where we have two bad choices and making sure that the least bad is the one where we cooperate to prevent us from making the first move.

I do not care. We should kill him and then do our best to mitigate whatever disaster is coming. Don't fall for his perfectly crafted scenarios and arguments

>>3747966
This seems likely to be honest. Frankly, we can't let him live, at all. Hecate AND the Marshal have both advised against it.

The only way I'd consider allying with him is if he has a way to get the both of us on the Diadem to kill Pazuzu. Except, of course, we'll backstab Naoya mid battle and kill him first.

Whoa, looking cool, Joker!

>>3747966
Getting a little bit ahead of ourselves, I think.

Remember, we're still effectively a babby level 1 player right now. We ain't shit. We can't do a damn thing, proactive OR reactive, until we get our armour back.

>>3747966
CAN we actually kill him? Assuming he's at least as powerful as us. We know he has a Beam Magnum and a lot of energy powers. Maybe Lightning Axiom or whatever could fight him, but I doubt we have a chance.

>>3749140
>We know he has a Beam Magnum and a lot of energy powers
We do have some energy resistance, but I have no idea whether it would even be considered a resistance with the Red Joker frame.

I hope we get a shroud and the cobalt booster at least. That would already tremendously upgrade our capabilities.

>>3749246
Even so we still can't fight him as we are now. I like that Hecate seems more well-balanced and level-headed than the other girls, but she's right in that we fucked ourselves by choosing to save her.

I really wonder how this quest would have gone if we just stuck with Mio. It feels like it would have been a lot easier. It's weird, Mio seems to be the cover girl and all, but she's a neurotic mess.

>>3748384
>>3749296
Anons we have the diagnostics of Daegal and the Hollow Sun to help remove the seal and Hecate is going to be figuring out if she can use Harmonia.

Pazuzu never accounted for Harmonia or the Hollow Sun or even Daegal. That's what will fuck him.

>>3749538
Also why does Amane want to fuck Kazuya all of a sudden

Isn't she a fucking awful person

>>3749562
Awful girls want to bang hot guys too

>>3749562
She wanted to fuck him since the festival.

>>3749574
It's just kind of existentially confusing, like Volt Regios being an incredibly hot girl instead of a guy. That rattled me, badly.

>>3749581
While we're at it, I just want to say that the whole idea of Pazuzu having a crush on Hecate is just grotesque. He's basically Stephen Hawking, and he wants to fuck a woman in her 20s who is mentally 17.

It's not like they could do anything physical. We know he doesn't have a penis. Just the whole idea of this skeleton jester priest clown looking at her and going "I want that" is really disturbing.

It seems slightly unfair that only the girls get the very sexy avatars. There don't seem to be any sexy male Hyades who do the abusive boyfriend thing. None of the Hyades appear to be lesbians either.

>>3749564
>>3749574
Amane thought that Kazuya was the Red Joker when she first met him and was flirting hard for the whole festival which pissed off Natsumi while Kazuya was a based bro and enjoyed the attention despite being fateful. Then, when she meets Kazuya again, he's the one who was an advocate for her while we were busy doing damage control and he's the one who begged for her life before we dropped the Comet on her. That and she got to see how Joker really acts in crisis situations which every character besides maybe Akira and Rook have found disturbing.

>>3749581
It's weird but that's part of the appeal of Joker Quest. Anyone can be a Player.

>>3749605
I think it was more 'birds of a feather' type thing. Both were incredibly intellectual, both had excellent understandings of the Red and spent a lot of time there due to their physical conditions and both wanted to find some way to give up their flesh...

At least that's what Fuma assumed I believe. Tsukimi never gave up on the Real, never gave up on her true self. It's part of the reason that Pazuzu is a coward.
>refused to use lachryma on himself, let others do it for him
>delegated almost every dangerous role to other people
>was too afraid to fight us for the eye
>refused to take responsibility for his followers despite being in charge
>his entire fighting style always has him use a meat shield/meat shields

Compare him to Naoya. Naoya is way more of an outright asshole, dick and sadistic but he fights on the frontlines for his beliefs, he's willing to take a punch, he'll risk everything for his goals as opposed to Pazuzu and he's ultimately motivated for others instead of himself.

You can admire the White Joker. Pazuzu only deserves contempt, pity and disgust. I hope we get a chance to end him now.

>>3749562
>>3749581
>>3749605
Dude
What

>>3748384
>>3749140
Not at all. I didn't say Now.

Naoya doesn't know that we are frost cestus and we need to keep it that way. His plan will go ahead with or without the red Joker and his offer will be the least worst option that incidentally force us to not attack him.

If we go along with it then he will control us, and no we aren't more clever than him so we won't pull a fast one if he knows where we are and what we do.

We should ignore whatever it is, keep frost cestus a secret while figuring out our power level, how to power up and get the Joker armour back. As long as naoya believes the RJ is around but can't find out our movements he will need to adjust and proceed with care.

He wouldn't make this offer if he was confident in his ability to kill us. He needs to assess the RJs new power because he knows we were gone and the black is a power leveling ground. We absolutely shouldn't give him the opportunity

Should we just head to the Hollow Sun like, now? Like immediately? Tell Amane to alert SI while we get Kazuya jacked in and hop abroad his Raptor? Because we have to get him to the Sun *asap* and get ourselves analysed.

Plus, nothing from Regios or Tyrian yet. Worrying.

>>3749690
First we need to talk to Tsukimi.
But before that, we need to finish this talk with Kazuya.

>>3749847
I think that's a terrible idea. Get him to the Sun now, right now, as he tells us everything. We have delayed this too long and it'll keep getting delayed. Just fucking do it.

>>3749847
We need every second, we must reclaim our armour or find out the capabilities of FC and a way to reach those heights.

Make licorice give hecate a cellphone with our number

>>3749881
>>3750138
So we go out with Kazuya to the Hollow Sun, while listening to his talk?

Volt Regios is likely still underway to the hospital.

So we currently have three to four players.
I say Daegal and Volt join us to the Hollow Sun.
We could also ask Licorice to come and give her a terminus upgrade. The first level is basically a free upgrade.
Alternatively, we can tell her to stay put and use her to transmit messages to Tsukimi via the Joker icon.
Fuck, does the Dirac channel even still work?

>>3750157
Why the fuck would you give Licorice the upgrade and not Daegal?

>>3750183
I bet 100% that he's already at full potential.

Volt Regios might actually a better contender for the upgrade, but she had many opportunities and never took them, iirc.

>>3750185
How is he at full potential if he's only levelled up once? He doesn't even have a single meter accelerator

>>3750224
For fuck's sake, dude.

A terminus upgrade is not a fucking level-up. It unlocks potential and adds level-up options for ordinary player armors.
Daegal is about as ordinary as a Joker. To get a terminus upgrade, we fucking had to dive into the underworld and use the lachryma forge. He will need the same kind of ridiculous machinery.

>>3751566
the terminus scrander is literally made from the nanomachines that built the daegal armor, why would it not work?

>>3751825
Didn't he manage to force an upgrade out of a Virtutian Device in the Black even, a place where they should only heal and not upgrade? Even him using it caused it to become orichalcum and gave him AIN SOPH something or other.

You know, I'm starting to think that Invictus and the Stormshroud could be two amazing choices for us to get in the future when we're back to the Red Joker.

For one thing, Invictus would fix a perennial problem with our play style; debuffs. When the White Joker blew out our Scrander, when Alura bound us in place and started torturing us, when she used her powers to pin us in place, when we got poisoned by fighting Kraken and when we were fighting Voivoid and he was capping our health, Invictus would have been a massive help in all of those circumstances. Invictus may have even allowed us to mitigate/prevent Pazuzu's interdiction which would have been incredible.

Also, Stormshroud. Before it was a somewhat risky choice but now?
(tl;dr - Your Assault Shroud absorbs ALL damage when the Stormshroud is active, and damages any target at melee range. However, the effect detonates - violently - if you take massive damage from a single attack.)
We can regen our assault shroud now, we have a forcefield which makes long-range hard to do against us and is designed to absorb big massive singular attacks and now we can have continuous DoT close combat protection underneath that can protect us while the micro-assembler keeps working?

THe stormshroud combined with the Carnifex fixes basically every single problem we have now.

>>3752372
>THe stormshroud combined with the Carnifex fixes basically every single problem we have now.
You mean being Frost Cestus?

>>3755293
I mean *after* but I think Invictus could have prevented or weakened that. It has no stated limit.

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>>3752372
(I note that you won't have access to Oblivion's Husk any longer. You've already removed the Athame: Selecting the Golgotha upgrade was the last time you could ever use it.)

>>3747347
>>3747340
>>3747348
>>3747416

Kazuya stares.

He goes perfectly still, staring at you. You can actually see the colour leave his face, as realization dawns in his eyes. He looks as if you've punched him in the gut, hard.

And he says exactly what he's been thinking:

“Oh fuck.”

His mouth works. Then, hoarsely -

“But-”

“But what about-”

For a moment, you think his knees are about to buckle, his legs about to give way beneath him. He actually steadies himself against the wall, drawing a deep breath that rasps in his throat.

“K, Kazuya-?” Amane's eyes are wide, behind her glasses – A note of alarm to her voice. She gives you a quick glance over her shoulder – quick, accusing – as she takes an instinctive step towards him. “Maybe we should – There's a room...”

“Yeah,” Kazuya says, his face still ashen. “Yeah.”

He gathers himself enough to move in the direction she's pointing – It's not far. Some kind of guest room, maybe, for family and friends to await the news, good or dire alike. The soothing pastel tones of the carpet and the walls, the soft yellow light that fills it, are quite at odds with the look on his face.

“I should-” Amane begins, tentatively.

“No,” Kazuya says. A little too fast, too curt – You see the hurt flare in her eyes, as she bites her lip. Somehow, somehow, he manages to smile. “Just give Jok – Just give us a moment, all right? I just...We need to talk, that's all.”

“If you're sure,” she says, reluctant. “I'll...I'll wait in the lobby, then.”

The door closes. Kazuya drags the nearest chair back, and sinks into it.

His shoulders slump. He buries his face in his hands.

Kazuya?

You wait. He's silent, for a long, long moment – all you can hear is the patient tick-tick-tick of the clock. Time, moving along.

At last, he looks up. His eyes are rimmed with red.

“He made me kill my way to him,” Kazuya says, softly. There's a catch in his throat.

“He'd set up...I don't know. A gauntlet, you could call it. I had to fight my way up, and he was watching the entire time.” His mouth twists, at the memory. “Shit, I don't think they had a choice. There were like, eight of them – One after another – and they just kept coming. They didn't say anything, they just attacked-”

He swallows, hard.

“And I-”

Staring off into the distance, now. At the dark glass of the window, as if something beyond holds all the answers.

“I-”

“I could hear-”

(Continued)

>>3755718
>no more Oblivion's Husk
What the fuck? How did the Old Joker have Forbode?

>>3755718
>I note that you won't have access to Oblivion's Husk any longer.
fug

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>>3755754

(You'll have the abilities you've unlocked. You just don't have it as a subsequent level-up option.)

>>3755718

His voice trails off.

You remember that time, after the assault on the central hive, on the blistered-black rig resting atop the roiling ocean of black oil. The underground chamber full of Cradles. Fists and palms beating against glass. Wailing. Gurgling. Boiling within the suspension fluids.

“Is he...”

A pause.

“Do you think he's still human?”

“To do...what he does, I mean. Maybe – Maybe, inside, he's like one of them. Maybe he's crossed over. Become something...else.”

Kazuya stares down at his hands. Convulsively, he wipes them on his pants – stops himself, knotting his fingers together.

“The thing is, I don't think he enjoyed it. I...I think he does things to see which way people jump. Like...taking apart a clock, to find the tick. All that shit about Welcome back, Joker and that stuff about family...It's just something he says. It doesn't mean anything to him, not really. He just acts like it does.”

A deep breath.

“Then I got to the top. The tower. And I saw...”

“I saw...”

“He was waiting for me, you know. I thought – I thought I could take him. I mean...I thought there was a chance, you know? But-”

“-He had the monsters with him. Both of them.”

(Continued)

>>3755754
Either it was his special ability, considering that the tin star upgraded it and he was the gunslinger - a role traditionally known for its reflexes.
Or he also used the Athame. He did talk about what it feels like to use it, after all.

>>3755765
I suspected Forbode was his ability. I think we all did. He doesn't seem to have had any other OH abilities as he held the physical version of Golgotha.

Man I'm glad we got Golgotha last upgrade. I would have liked Invictus or Stormshroud too but now we can use Golgotha more and further
And we have a surplus of useful abilities to get anyway; Cestus, Carnifex, Beam Magnum, Leech Module.

>>3755764
"What did you mean by save the world? Bringing back the Black Joker is the opposite of that and that's all he wants now."

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>>3755764

“I couldn't fight that. Not all three of them, not at once. I looked but I couldn't see her...But she had to be there. She had to be close.”

“I don't think she heard me. I don't think he let her.”

Kazuya looks up. He sounds stricken.

“And then – he's there. They're like his pets, now. He's like – 'Don't be foolish. I need you to deliver a message, nothing more'.”

“I – fuck – I don't think I should've gone. He knew something. I don't know how he knows, but he did. And then he tells me...”

His gaze goes distant. His lips move, as if reciting – As if all of this is so important, he's impressed it directly into his memories.

“'This world will end in four days'.”

The words hang in the air. Kazuya's eyes dart to you, as if daring you to say it's not true.

“He said...He says, when Pazuzu opens the way to the Promised Land – That's it for the world. The – the Shroud's going to collapse completely, and...There are things that will come through. Terrible things. Not just here, but everywhere.”

“There's more. He says...” a deep breath. “The Diadem...It doesn't have enough energy, you see? Not enough by itself. In order to do that-”

“He's going to need more. He's going to need...All of it. Everyone in the city, for a beginning. And – Naoya said...Pazuzu doesn't care. He'll do whatever he needs. He doesn't care how many people he hurts, or kills, or...If it's all gone when he leaves. It doesn't matter to him.”

> "What did you mean by save the world? Bringing back the Black Joker is the opposite of that and that's all he wants now."

Kazuya shakes his head. He frowns.

“I...don't think that's how it works. Naoya – There's something he wants with this city. Something that he needs. He wasn't even trying to hide it.”

He gives you a look-

“If – If he wants Kotone back...” the name sounds strange when Kazuya says it. “He wouldn't...He wouldn't want her to be a monster, would he? He'd want her to be...herself. Not...”

Words fail him. Kazuya ponders this for a moment, then continues.

“He says...Pazuzu can't just open the way whenever. The ideal time is, like, six months from now. But acceptable is four days away. He thinks he's willing to risk it.”

A deep breath.

“Naoya – He said...Pazuzu's body is dying, you see? He doesn't have the time. He has to do it *now*, or he might never have another chance. The Diadem...It's probably cloaked, or in orbit. But he'll have to drop the field when he tries to open the gate, and then...”

“-That's our window. That's when the Diadem's vulnerable.”

“That's when we have to stop it.”

(Continued)

>>3755830

A silence descends, except for Kazuya's labored breathing.

“I...wanted to ask him more, but – But he stopped. Just stopped, as if he'd heard something. Seen something. Then he said-”

“He said...Tell Joker he made the right choice.”

Kazuya's hand comes to rest on his side. He winces.

“He had – He's got – the Beam Magnum, too. But you already know that. He just raised it, and-”

“He blasted everything away. He wasn't even aiming at me.”

He smiles, at last. Tight-lipped, rueful.

“I...dug my way out of the rubble. Then-”

“...You know the rest.”

His eyes close. “There's more, but...”

“This – What you were saying earlier. Is it...”

“-is it true?”

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>3755830
Wait, are you saying we need to attack the Diadem with an ARMY OF HELLIONS?

>>3755837
>"I don't know. I'm not inclined to believe a single damn thing that comes from his mouth. I'd trust just about anyone over him."

>"Even if we take it for the truth, why would my choice be correct? If what he said was true, then the best option would have been killing Pazuzu then and there no matter what."

>"Naoya's hiding a lot more, Kazuya. Maybe even lying about what Pazuzu intends to do. Somehow, this plays into his hands."

>"Either way, we can't risk just ignoring it. We need to go to the Hollow Sun. That's the only thing that can stand up to the Diadem right now."