>>5562130

The briefing has left you with a few questions, so you go ahead and raise your hand. Agent Simon notices and nods at you.

“Yes? What is it?”

>Did everyone who killed themselves buy items that had no similarities?

“We don’t know. The local police force and forensics have been handling the seemingly unconnected cases, so we are the only ones who’ve realised there’s a connection to Cooper’s. Shopping receipts don’t usually get entered into evidence, so we’ve no way of telling. Our analysts are working to get their hands on things and check what they’ve bought, but it’ll probably come down to us in the field to see if there’s anything common between them.”

>What is the time frame of suicide after the purchase?

“It varies. As far as we can tell, some occur on their way home, others immediately after they get home, and most happen several days after their purchases. We can’t determine a pattern with the timing of the suicides just yet."

>Anyway we could bring equipment that would allow us to see invisible entities?

“We have no indication of invisible entities and no reason to bring such equipment. That’s why we’re heading in. Anyway, it’ll be difficult to justify carrying that around a civilian environment, we’re supposed to be incognito for this one.”

>We are going to be the guinea pig who buys from the supermarket aren't we?

To this, Agent Simon raises one eyebrow.

“That is why you’re here.”

>Self-checkout, or were they checked out by a clerk? Can we even figure that out?

“I’m afraid not. All we know so far is that the individuals made purchases at Cooper’s, nothing more. To my knowledge these places don’t keep records of what exactly they sell, only who buys from them.”

>Any commonalities on who was working in the supermarket on the days that the victims went shopping?

“Our analysts are working on that, but so far nothing has stood out.”

>What was going on in the store at the times the victims committed suicide? Anything behaving oddly?

Simon shakes his head.

“We have no way of knowing what goes on at this place without personnel there. If it doesn’t make it’s way into a media or police report, or nobody else gets wind of it, we’re pretty much blind. As far as we know anything could be happening in the store to cause these suicides, or nothing.”

>>5562132

At this he starts to address the rest of the team, not just you.

“Remember people, this is why what we do is so important. Too many times we’re the first the Foundation knows about anything anomalous, so paying attention to your surroundings and keeping an eye out is of the utmost importance. The biggest killer in this job is a distraction. That goes to you too, D-8. You want to come back here in one piece, you do what I or any of the team say, and you pay attention to what’s happening. Got it?”

You nod your head along with everyone else. You haven’t had the opportunity to encounter a proper anomaly yet, so this should be a good opportunity to see one up close. You just hope not too close, considering the reason you’re being sent in. The phrase “curiosity killed the cat” drifts through your mind, but you quickly ignore it. The rest of the team stands up and follows Simon to the motorpool, and you follow them.

Cooper’s Supermarket is located on the outer suburbs of a city only a couple hours drive from Site-21.
You travel in two white vans, with Sergio’s Classic Pizza emblazoned on the side. Wonder who thought that one up. There’s all sorts of boxes and equipment in them, which Isaac pointedly tells you not to touch. Don’t know why he bothers, you weren’t put on Death Row for theft.

As you approach the location of the supermarket, the front vehicle, containing Simon, pulls into a carpark and your van follows. You all get out as Simon calls everyone together. You can see the buildings of the city in the distance, so you must be close. You wonder why Simon’s getting everyone out here instead of at the supermarket though. You find out when Simon begins.

“We’ve just got a new report from the local police. Looks like there’s been a fresh suicide. It's a little way from here, so we'll have to split up in order to investigate both the supermarket and this new victim. Isaac, Kei, you head to the location, cover is you’re FBI investigating the recent deaths. Grab the badges from the blue box. Jack, you’re with me, we’ll head to Cooper’s and see if there’s anything fishy going on there. And D-8170…

>You’ll be with Isaac and Kei. It could be something they purchased that’s causing this, so you’ll need to go through their shopping.
>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.

>>5562133
>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.

when I said "We are going to be the guinea pig" I was referring to the voters as "we" sorry

>>5562137
+1
Remember: be a D-Boy, not a D-Bag

>>5562133
>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.

Give me da chocolate.

>>5562133
>>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.

>>5562130
>>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.


yay you're back

buy granola bars

>>5562133
>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.
We’ll see about chocolate.

Wonder if this place has security cameras we (and by we I mean someone else on the team) can tap into.

>>5562133
>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.
I wonder what new schemes QM is cooking up to get us killed in horrible ways.

>>5562133
>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.

>You’ll tag along to the supermarket. It’s the only common factor, so there’s got to be something there.

You nod your head. Guess if they want you to be a guinea pig you’ll be hanging around the biggest lead. You just home you won’t end up like rest of the victims. You hop over to Simon and Jack’s van while Isaac and Kei get in theirs. The two vans return to the road, splitting off from each other as they head in different directions.

After a few minutes you arrive at Cooper’s. The supermarket seems like a regular shopping centre from the outside. A large concrete building with Cooper’s emblazoned on the front, a carpark out front filled with cars, people coming in and out carrying bags full of shopping. Your first impression is that there’s nothing suspicious going on, but you guess that’d be the case if the only strange thing happening is suicides.

Before you get out of the van, Jack grabs a big case lying on its side and opens it. Inside is some strange looking antenna thing attached to a box with all sorts of screens and knobs on it. He places it upright and flips a switch.
The machine comes alive, making all sorts of whizzing and booping sounds.

>What is it?

Jack glances at you. “It’s a piece of tech we use. Simon’s got a watch connected to this that’ll tell him if anything magical or psychic occurs. If it’s coming from someone in the store, this’ll probably tell us that it’s them. If we find anything freaky, or someone else dies, and this doesn’t go off, then we can discount those too pretty handily, and work from there. Maybe it’ll be a some ghost under the store, maybe the owner’s snatching people and replacing them, who knows? But this thing can help narrow down the possibilities.”

You nod. Pretty useful piece of equipment.

>I was in prison for a while. We’re really able to make a computer that advanced?

Jack laughs. “Hell no. Portable computers on the level of this thing won’t be coming out for years. Best thing about the Foundation is we get to play with all the cool toys. Now, let’s get to work.”

File: leomonade.jpg (98 KB, 752x686)

98 KB JPG

>>5563196

You both get out of the van and follow Agent Simon into the store. The inside is just as unremarkable as the outside. There’s plenty of people walking about doing their shopping, the cashiers are checking people’s purchases, and the latest song from Queen is playing on the store speakers. Banners advertising all sorts of deals are everywhere.

There’s a man selling baked pies out the front, some kind of promotion, and even a couple kids selling their homemade lemonade. Jack takes a look at the pie seller and turns to Agent Simon.

“Hey, can I grab a pie? Feel like I’m starving.”

Agent Simon quickly shakes his head.

“No. We need to keep our interactions here to a minimum. We can’t do anything unnecessary, since we don’t know the cause or what triggers this. D-8170 can grab a pie though if he wants."

Jack’s response is a sigh.

Agent Simon continues speaking. “We’ll stay here until Isaac and Kei call in with a list of what the latest victim bought and anything else they’ve found. Until then I’ll go talk to the owner and check his records, see whatever new has been brought in, while you two patrol the store until I call in with what you need to buy.

What will you do?
>Go grab a pie. You could do with something to eat.
>Talk to the kids. Children sometimes notice things adults don’t.
>Patrol the shelves with Jack. Something here has got to be causing this thing.
>Patrol the outside of the store. It’s could be something coming into the store, since this only started recently.
>(Write in)

>>5563197
>Talk to the kids. Children sometimes notice things adults don’t.
Tempted to patrol the shelves for choco and because of the perception boost, but who knows what these kids have seen.

>>5563197
>>Talk to the kids. Children sometimes notice things adults don’t.
We'll collect some chocolate later.

>>5563197
>Patrol the outside of the store. It’s could be something coming into the store, since this only started recently.
Time to go dumpster diving. Sift through their garbage for anything suspicious.

>>5563197
>Go grab a pie. You could do with something to eat.
While you’re at it, ask when they’re usually here. If the pies are related, I’d expect the deaths to occur within a few days of them being here. They seem like fresh pies, and you wouldn’t want to keep them out for too long.
Also, ask him how often he sees repeat customers over at the lemonade stand and how good their business is in general.
>Talk to the kids. Children sometimes notice things adults don’t.
Same deal, but ask them about the pie stand.

>>5563376
+1

>>5563197
>Go grab a pie. You could do with something to eat.
>Talk to the kids. Children sometimes notice things adults don’t.

get a drink for the pie make small talk with the kids ask some questions pretend to be on a road trip try to not come off as a creep

>>5563197
>>Talk to the kids. Children sometimes notice things adults don’t.

>>5562130
>Daniel Cruz
Oh no, am I Brazilian? Just throw me in SCP-682's containment room, I have suffered enough.

Are we sure we want to buy a pie considering the weirdness of the store at the moment?

Update coming tomorrow, too tired to write right now.

>>5564095
I don’t want to eat the pie, if that helps. I would like to buy one though.

We can take it back to the machine along with the lemonade.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>Talk to the kids: 3
>Grab a pie and talk to the kids: 3
1 will talk to the kids
2 will grab a pie and talk to the kids

You talk to Jack.

>Hey, what about those kids?

“What about them?”

>Children sometimes notice things us adults don’t. They must be looking out for customers, they could have seen something other people ignored or noticed something out of the ordinary. You know. And they’re probably not connected to this thing. Might be good to see it through the eyes of a child.

Jack shrugs his shoulders in response.

“I dunno. You could be right. Or they might be infecting people with their lemonade stand, using it’s power to force them to kill themselves, and we need to kidnap them and stuff them in bodybags to prevent it from happening again."

You pause a moment as you consider what he just said.

>And I thought I was supposed to be the psychopath from death row.

He chuckles. “Hah, just messing with you. Sure, go ahead and talk to them, just keep your guard up. I’ll stick around the area, canvass a few people. I’ll come get you if Simon calls or anything else develops. Just be careful, we have no idea what’s causing this and it very well might be the kids. And here, take a couple coins to buy some if you want. Just remember that you’ll have to drink it all, just in case.”

He gives you a friendly pat on the back as he adjusts his fedora, and heads to some nearby customers with the air of someone who’s utterly confident in their ability to pester people.

You walk over to the kids lemonade stand. As lemonade stands go it’s pretty good, with a well drawn picture of lemons and glasses of lemonade on it and a neat little sign advertising lemonade for 20 cents. It’s being manned by two kids, a boy and girl, probably brother and sister. They look young, maybe around 13, 14? They’re smiling at everyone passing by and happily handing out lemonade to anyone who pays. Seems like they have plenty to sell, there’s several boxes full behind them and it doesn’t look like they’re about to run out. Surely they’re not behind this? You walk up to them and say hello.

“Hello mister! Want some lemonade? One for 20 cents! Two for 35! A great deal on a day like today! Cool and refreshing!”

>>5565620

It’s still the middle of winter. You decide not to point that out to them.

>Sure. I’ll take one.

You hand over the money and the kids give you a bottle full of lemonade.

>Hey, how about that pie store over there? They sell good pies?

The boy shrugs. “Don’t know, mister. Too busy selling this lemonade to buy any. Lots of people go there and get some though, so I guess.”

The girl pipes up.

“He’s only been here a week, and his pies are more popular than our lemonade!”

Warm pies are more popular in winter than lemonade. You wonder why.

The boy rounds on the girl, red faced. “Shut it, Suzie, you dumbass!”

There’s an audible gasp as Suzie puts her hands to her mouth. “I’m telling dad you said that!”

You decide to interrupt before the situation devolves into more bickering.

>Hey, how long have you guys been here? You sell this lemonade often?

The girl speaks to you this time, doing her best to ignore the glares from her brother.

“A month. And we sell it on the weekend. But I don’t know why we bother when a guy selling pies is outselling us. Robert won’t listen to me-

“He’s a weirdo!”

“I don’t like him either, but he’s selling more than you!”

You see another outburst coming so you quickly try to veer the subject back on track.

>So there’s lot’s of people who get their pies from him?

This time Robert speaks before Suzie gets the chance to open her mouth.

“Yeah, but I don’t like him. Nobody comes back for more. He’s always frowning. He doesn’t look nice. And there’s that other guy in sunglasses…”

The girl shushes the boy. A murderous look from Robert gets her to stop.

“He told us not to talk about him…”

Robert ignores her as he continues talking to you.

“Guy in sunglasses kept on annoying us. Asked lots of questions and kept on frowning. Didn’t like him either.”

>>5565621

>Huh. What’d he look like?

“Like a badguy on tv. Black suit, sunglasses. Mr. Cooper told him to go away. I think I still saw him today when we set up. Betcha he’s doing something nasty.”

At this the girl giggles and receives another glare from her brother.

You think this new information over. The boy doesn’t like the pie seller, but that could just be professional jealousy. On the other hand, there’s been some kind of suspicious guy wandering about, and he’s apparently come into conflict with Mr Cooper himself. You wonder what you should do.

Do you want to ask the kids any further questions?
>Yes (Write in).
>No.

Once you’re done with them, what do you want to do next?
>Walk over to the pie seller and have a chat with him. Might as well ask him about his pies and anything else interesting going on.
>Go grab Jack and look for the man in the dark suit and sunglasses. He’s got to be involved somehow.
>Walk with Jack around the store and pretend you’re shopping. Agent Simon should be calling in soon with what Isaac and Kei have found, and anything he’s discovered. Probably going to order you to spray yourself with fly spray or something.
>(Write in)

Also, will you drink their lemonade?
>Yes, might as well. They seem innocent enough.
>No, it could be dangerous.

>>5565623
>Yes (Write in).
>"Have you seen anything else strange recently?"
>"Where specifically do you think you last saw this badguy? I would like to see him, I think he might be a friend of mine."
>"Do you know anything about the suicides that have been happening recently when people buy things from this store?

>Walk over to the pie seller and have a chat with him. Might as well ask him about his pies and anything else interesting going on.

>No, it could be dangerous.
No risks, offer it to the pie man though. See how he reacts.

Rolled 59 (1d100)

Forgot a roll I had to make. No need to panic.

>>5565623
>yes
>did the guy have any tattoos (unlikely that would know but just in case)
>has anyone they know bought pies and have they seen them around afterwords (could probably word this better maybe some other anon can)

>can we split with Jack so we can go talk to the pie salesman and Jack look for the guy in the sunglasses if not then look for him together

> drink the lemonade we are here as the guinea pig anyway

>>5565674
forgot one question
>who is Mr.Cooper

>>5565623
>>Yes (Write in).
You guys want to know how to properly tax fra- I mean keep all of your hard earned money?

>Walk over to the pie seller and have a chat with him. Might as well ask him about his pies and anything else interesting going on.

>>5565623
>Yes (Write in)
Supporting what idF said and rewriting 9+I to be "Have you noticed anything weird about the guys who bought the pies? Like were they sad or acted weird?"

>>Walk over to the pie seller and have a chat with him. Might as well ask him about his pies and anything else interesting going on.

>No, it could be dangerous.

>>5565638
+1
On an unrelated note, when our D-Boy asked Isaac about his background, he said to ask Daniel, but since that guy got splattered pretty damn fast, can we ask again?

You decide to prod them more to see what you can find out.

>"Have you seen anything else strange recently?"

They both shake their heads. “Nuh uh. Just that weirdo in the black suit. And the pie guy.”

>"Where specifically do you think you last saw this badguy? I would like to see him, I think he might be a friend of mine."

The boy shrugs. “You got a weird choice of friends, mister. Dunno. Saw him walking around the shelves earlier. Didn’t see him go out, so he might still be around.”

“Robert, he told us not to talk about him!”

“Don’t care. Anyway, he didn’t buy a lemonade, so screw him.”

>Did the guy have any tattoos, or anything else that stands out?

Robert shakes his head. “Nope. Other than a massive frown on his face.”

“It’s called a scowl.”

“Shut up!”

>"Do you know anything about the suicides that have been happening recently when people buy things from this store?

“Those suicides? Heard lots were happening. Are they really linked to this store?”

“Robert!”

He gives an apologetic frown to you. “Sorry. Suzie here will rat me out if I talk about things I’m not supposed to.”

To this Suzie sticks her tongue out at him.

>"Have you noticed anything weird about the guys who bought the pies? Like were they sad or acted weird?"

Robert shakes his head. “Nope. We haven’t seen anything weird about them.”

Suzie interrupts. “We haven’t seen any of them since.”

Robert looks at his sister. “You pay attention to who buys pies from that guy?”

“Of course I do! What else am I supposed to do here?”

“You’re supposed to help me sell this lemonade!”

You quickly interrupt before the situation escalates.

>You guys want to know how to properly tax fra- I mean keep all of your hard earned money?

The kids look confused. “What’s tax?”

>Oh, right, too young. Nevermind.

>>5566672

You quickly thank the kids for your lemonade and make a retreat before the two go at each others throats again. You decide against drinking the lemonade on the spot and approach the pie seller. He’s a small man, balding, wearing a white apron with a big pie on it. His store is a lot more fancy than the two kids, wooden, with printed signs advertising his prices, and there’s a heater installed on the bottom with clear glass showing the pies sitting snugly on the racks.

>Hey. Can I get a pie?

The man lights up with a smile at your words, though the smile itself is neither warm nor welcoming.

“Of course, sir! 2 dollars each! And, if you buy a pie today, you get a 50% off coupon for your next purchase of a frozen pie at this store! Buy 2 and get a free pie!”

You hand over the money for one pie. It feels warm, and the smell is delicious. Guess it’s not too surprising that people flock to this.

>It smells good. Say, what brought you to selling pies here? How long have you been selling these?

“Oh, you know, Mr Cooper was generous enough to take up my offer, and here I am. Been here a week myself, but our pies have been in store for the past month. And they’ve been flying off the shelves so fast I was sent in to sell even more! Good business I tell you. Very good business.”

>Interesting. While I’m here, have you seen anything interesting going on? Anything weird?

He gives you a suspicious look.

“You’re not a cop, are you?”

>What? No! I, uh, was actually in prison for a while.

He brightens up. “Oh! That’s okay then! No, I haven’t seen much interesting around here. Just people to sell pies to. And some prick who’s been lingering around, but I haven’t seen him yet. Now how about that pie? Want to give it a taste? Maybe it’ll be so good you’ll want another? Or, better yet, you can go grab some of our frozen ones, guaranteed to taste just as good as baked! Give it a try, it’ll be great, I guarantee!”

The man gives you a wide grin brimming with enthusiasm. Will you have a taste of your pie?
>Sure, it would be impolite not to.
>No, you’re not risking anything.

While you’re here, do you want to ask him anything in particular?
>Yes (Write in)
>No.

As you finish your conversation with the pie seller, you turn around and see…
>Jack, walking towards you.
>A man in black sunglasses and a dark suit watching you.
>A blur in the corner of your eye.

>>5566677
>No, you’re not risking anything.
Tell him we got a crew we’re going to share this with later. They’re not allowed to enjoy it yet though, so we’ll be using this to torture them.

Gotta get the laughs in somehow, right?

In reality, no bites until we’re near the machine at least. I still wouldn’t trust it.

>Yes
>How long has he been doing this for in general? If he has frozen pies in the store, he’s clearly got some capital built up and probably a team to meet demand. Why not have a partner run stands like this?
>We’re an old man, we can get away with gossip. Ask about the suicides.

>A blur in the corner of your eye.
Yay anomalies!

>>5566680
+1

>>5566677
>No, you’re not risking anything.
No thank you sir.

>Yes (Write in)
>Hey so uh, why has everyone who's bought your pies never been seen again? That's pretty sus man.
>When did you first start seeing this "prick" you were talking about, a few days ago?
>Do you know anything about the huge number of suicides that have been happening when people visit this tore?
>Do you believe in magic?
>Do you have something to do with the strange number of suicides that have been happening near here?

>A blur in the corner of your eye.

>>5566680
+1
Perhaps we can throw the pie in somebody's face.

>>5566721
>Hey so uh, why has everyone who's bought your pies never been seen again? That's pretty sus man.
>Do you have something to do with the strange number of suicides that have been happening near here?
>Do you know anything about the huge number of suicides that have been happening when people visit this tore?

We really shouldn't ask these questions they are practically accusations and I doubt he will take it well like even if he knows nothing about his pies maybe killing people how the hell you supposed to react to some random stranger practically accusing you of being responsible for some other peoples deaths.

The magic questions a bit random but fine with the others otherwise so +1 to those.

>>5566680
+1 to these questions better way to go about asking about the suicides.

>>5566677
>No, you’re not risking anything
"I'm going to share with some friends. Rather not be greedy."

>Yes (Write in)
>How long has he been doing this for in general? If he has frozen pies in the store, he’s clearly got some capital built up and probably a team to meet demand. Why not have a partner run stands like this?
>We’re an old man, we can get away with gossip. Ask about the suicides.
>When did you first start seeing this "prick" you were talking about, a few days ago?
>Do you believe in magic? (In a young girl's heart.)

>A blur in the corner of your eye.

>>5567164
I was only asking the magic question to gauge his response.
If he responds confused, then he's probably innocent.
If he appears flustered, then he's probably guilty to a degree or knows something about what's happening here..

>>5567474
>(in a young girl’s heart)
Now you have the song in my head. Thanks anon.

>I have to save this pie. Got a crew I’m working with, going to share it with them. They’re not allowed to enjoy it yet though, so I’ll be using this to torture them.

“I see, I see! Could I then interest you in purchasing a couple more? Delicious food for your friends! No? Okay then.”

The man is enthusiastic and eager to sell you on the pies like any good businessman, but he’s a little too pushy about it. You decide to ask him a few more questions, as way of casual conversation. Never know what you might find out.

>How long have you been doing this for? If you have frozen pies in store, you must have some capital and a team behind all this. Must be a good business. But why not have a partner run a stand like yours?

“Been doing this for a month, like I said. Been selling plenty of pies! And yes, I have plenty of resources at my disposal. Got a whole company that packages and transports these pies, though we’re only selling them here, for now. As way of a test, you see. That Mr. Cooper is a swell fella, I’ll tell you that! Said yes the instant I offered to stock his shelves with these things. Must be something to do with the other pie companies having food poisoning trouble. Bad luck, that is. But it’s to my advantage, so I can’t complain. As for why I’m manning this stand, it’s because I like to! Feels good to interact with customers and see their faces when they take a bite of my delicious pies. I always look forward to seeing them again.”

He seems to be pretty genuine on that front. You can’t really check his story without talking to Simon anyway. You try a different tactic, and lean in conspiratorially.

>How about all those suicides lately? There’s been a lot. Makes a guy worried, especially at my age.

He nods in sympathetic agreement.

“Oh yes, terrible thing, isn’t it? All those poor people! You have to wonder what the world is coming to these days. That war in Vietnam, the danger of those Communists in Europe, and all those violent young people running about! It’s an amazement that people aren’t more miserable. It’s a dangerous world we live in. I only hope that people can find a way out of this mess.”

There’s nothing wrong with what he’s saying, so it takes you a moment to realise why you’re feeling so uncomfortable. He’s smiling. Actually smiling. “Oh well. At least we have comforts like these pies! I hope you enjoy yours!”

File: red snow.jpg (36 KB, 612x408)

36 KB JPG

Rolled 54 (1d100)

The man’s attitude is a little unnerving. You decide it’s time to go back to Jack now.

You’re standing near the front of the store, next to big windows that open onto the car park. The pie stall itself is near the entrance, facing inwards into the store. From where you’re standing you have a wide view of the outside, the snow peacefully drifting downwards, though it hasn’t fully blanketed everything.

As you turn away from the pie seller, you see a sudden blur in the corner of your eye. You look back, and the first thing you see is splashes of red on the window. There’s a body just outside on the pavement, twitching in the growing red snow.

You hear someone scream.

All hell breaks loose. A group of men rush for the door, and you can hear the screams and shouts of women and children all around you. Every shopper in the immediate vicinity has their eyes glued to the scene, and more are coming from all over the store to see what the fuss is about. There’s even a few people starting to choke, and you think you see someone vomit. As you look around, you see Simon and Jack together, calmly discussing something. You think you also see something dark moving through the crowd, but with all the people moving closer you can’t be sure.

What will you do?
>Head to Simon and Jack. They must have some sort of plan or know what to do. Plus, you should tell them what you’ve learnt.
>Rush out to help. They might still be alive, and you could learn something from them.
>Calmly stand back. With all the chaos, it’d be easy to miss something important. You’ll observe the crowd and see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary.

>>5567640
>>Calmly stand back. With all the chaos, it’d be easy to miss something important. You’ll observe the crowd and see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary.
We are perceptive.

>>5567669
+1

>>5567640
>Rush out to help. They might still be alive, and you could learn something from them.
Play the good samaritan. We can also check the body for anything unusual.

Jack and Simon can keep an eye out on the crowd.

>>5567640
>>Calmly stand back. With all the chaos, it’d be easy to miss something important. You’ll observe the crowd and see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary.

>>5567640
>Calmly stand back. With all the chaos, it’d be easy to miss something important. You’ll observe the crowd and see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary.

>>5567669
>>5567687
>>5568012
>>5568204
Roll 1d100, Bo3. DC 60/80.

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5568579

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>5568579

No perception bonus this time?

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>5568579

>>5568588
Oh yes, I forgot to add that, sorry. Still not used to keeping track of bonuses. It didn't matter in the end anyway. You and your luck.

>>5567640

The crowd is screaming and running all around you, but you take a few quick breaths to keep yourself calm. You could go help, but you can see through the window that it’s not needed, and it probably wouldn’t be much use anyway. There’s too much red in the snow for the poor soul out there to be of any help. Simon and Jack don’t look like they need your help either. No, you’ll observe the crowd around you, see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary. Whatever is behind this must be doing something if it’s starting to kill people at the store itself.

You tear your gaze away from the body lying just outside. The twitching has stopped now, and several of the men who rushed outside are stepping back, their hands raised to their heads in despair. You yourself move back, ignoring the sounds of screaming and shouting. You ignore the people running about, the crowd pushing against you as it tries to get a closer look. You’re perfectly calm. You have a long look around you.

Most of what you see is just the shoppers frozen in shock or panicking, but several things stand out. The two kids at the lemonade stand seem pretty upset by the whole thing, they’re currently huddled a little way from it, the brother comforting his sister. He glances a few times towards the scene before quickly looking away again. Poor kid.

You look to the crowd, which must be most of the store at this point. There’s so many people, but one in particular stands out. He’s standing a little further back, far in the corner, and you wouldn’t have noticed him if it weren’t for the fact that he’s standing completely still, watching the seen impassively. It’s a man in a black suit and sunglasses. You look more closely and you see that he’s holding a box of what looks like frozen pies. He glances in your direction a moment, and then turns away and goes further into the store, away from the entrance and the fresh suicide.

Looking around, you can see that everyone’s glued to the horrible scene in front of them, unable to look away. All but one. The pie seller is staring blankly ahead. He hasn’t even turned around, not even moved a muscle. No, he’s standing there, quietly, with a satisfied smile on his blank face. You feel a chill just watching him. It doesn’t even look like he’s noticed you. He’s standing there, not a care on his face, completely distant from the world. You watch as he lifts his hand and gently pats one of his pies.

What are you going to do?
>Confront the Pie Seller. Nobody can ignore something like this. Nobody normal.
>Don’t confront the Pie Seller, but keep an eye on him and watch what he does next.
>Run after the man in black. He’s involved somehow, and you need to find out why.
>Go straight to Simon and Jack and inform them about what you’ve learnt.
>(Write in)

>>5568663
>Go straight to Simon and Jack and inform them about what you’ve learnt.
Some spooky biz is going on and anon no like.

>>5568670
+1; its the pie seller and the pies, plus this shady Mr. Cooper. One is here, one is further in the store, and the rest are at the pie stand or in a freezer nearby

>>5568723
Wait I was wrong. Mr. Cooper is the owner of this supermarket. The shady glowie fed guy os not Mr. Cooper; in fact Mr. Cooper told the shady guy to fuck off, but he's still clearly here and behaving ultra-suspicious

>>5568663
>>Go straight to Simon and Jack and inform them about what you’ve learnt.

>>5568663
>Go straight to Simon and Jack and inform them about what you’ve learnt.

>>5568670
1+

>>5568663
>>Go straight to Simon and Jack and inform them about what you’ve learnt.

>>5568663
>Go straight to Simon and Jack and inform them about what you’ve learnt.

Update coming tomorrow, been too busy today.

>>5568663

To hell with this. That pie seller is giving you the creeps, and the man in black doesn’t look too friendly either. Nobody else seems to have noticed them, and you’re not about to face down something that’s causing people to commit suicide on your own. You back away from the pie seller and head to Simon and Jack. They’ll know what to do.

They’re both still in deep discussion when you get to them. It doesn’t even look like the latest suicide has registered with them.

“-Can probably rule out regular items, like bread and milk. Assuming of course it is something they’re getting-

>Hey.

“-here. Watch hasn’t buzzed so it’s unlikely to be mental control or magic. Something else?”

>Hey!

Simon looks up. “Yes, D-8? What is it?”

>I just talked to the kids selling lemonade and that pie seller. Bought a lemonade and pie off them. Something weird’s going on here. That pie seller isn’t reacting at all to the death, and the kids say that there’s a guy in a black suit and sunglasses snooping about. I just saw him walk off with a box of frozen pies that the pie seller’s promoting, and he says they’ve been selling them here for a month.

Simon and Jack both look over your shoulder at the pie seller. Sure enough, he’s still standing there, utterly calm with a vacant smile on his face. People are still running about and there’s a few people crying, but most of the shock from the suicide has died down by now. Simon looks back at you.

“You still have that pie?”

>Yes.

“Alright. Come with us.”

>What? What about the pie seller! Or the black suited man! Or the body outside?

“Nothing we can do at the moment, not without more information. Come with us.”

You guess you have no choice but to follow them as they walk off. They lead you to a backroom of the store, some kind of storage room. There’s shelves filled with all kinds of stuff, paint, brooms, cleaning products. Must be the janitors closet. Simon follows after you and Jack walk in, and locks the door behind you. He pulls a chair out, and motions you to sit, before standing in front of you.

“Eat that pie.”

>What?

“Eat it. We need to confirm whether it’s related or not.”

>What about-

“Eat It!”

>Eat the pie.
>Refuse.
>(Write in)

>>5571383
>Eat the pie.

We got a willpower bonus.

>>5571383
>"You know, that pie guy was real fucking insistent on having me eat it too. And you two seem oddly disinterested in the obvious suspects..."
>If they refuse to let it, pretend to eat some and see how they react.

I don't trust these two, to be perfectly honest. Call it a gut feeling, considering the last guy who tried to coerce us into eating a pie.

>>5571383
>Refuse.
No. Fucking. Way.

I agree with >>5571414 something don't feel right. I call bull shit on them.

>>5571383
>Aren’t you going to grab the sensor? If this makes me want to kill myself, I probably won’t show it immediately based on what we heard.

>>5571414
I think Simon is treating us like the D-boy we are. Expendable.

>>5571414
+1

>>5571428
The fact Jack hasn't said anything is what's tipping me off. I would've expected some hesitation from him, if nothing else

>>5571383
>Eat the pie.
>As close to eating it in one bite as you can

I can guarantee that absolutely nothing good will come from eating this pie, don't eat it.

>>5571414
>support

>>5571414
+1 Assuming this does what we think it does he is pretty much asking us to literally kill ourselves and while I can buy Simon doesn't care Id expect Jack to atleast give a bit of a damn. Also yeah the results supposed to be delayed how the hell is forcing us to eat it gonna reveal shit?

File: Agent Simon.png (171 KB, 893x793)

171 KB PNG

>"You know, that pie guy was real fucking insistent on having me eat it too. And you two seem oddly disinterested in the obvious suspects..."

Simon simply raises an eyebrow while Jack stands uncomfortably in the corner.

“D-8170. I am ordering you to eat that pie. Don’t test my patience.”

Looks like you don’t have a choice. But damn them if you’re going to roll over. You pick up the pie and examine it. They’re both right in front of you, so not eating it is going to be difficult. Your brain goes into overdrive trying to think of a way out of this. Hell.

You take a bite of the pie.

“Swallow.”

You instead take another bite of the pie and do your best to spit the pieces back in. You think you get rid of them, there’s only a little pastry left in your mouth. Goddamn you hope this thing isn’t what you think it is.

Simon hasn’t once taken his eyes from you. He still doesn’t as he leans his head back a little.

“Agent Doggart, did you see him swallow?”

“Um… no, sir.”

Simon is silent for a moment as he looks at you.

“You’re not going to cooperate?”

>No.

“Alright. Agent Doggart, hand me your gun.”

Jack pauses a moment, before reaching into his jacket and handing Simon a pistol. Simon quickly checks it’s loaded and levels it at your face.

“You are going to eat that pie or I’m going to shoot you right now and get another D-Class here to replace you. You understand? Now, I’ll say it again. Eat the pie.”

Jack isn’t moving. He looks extremely unhappy with the situation. Simon is completely expressionless. There’s no other way out of the room other than the door behind you.

Looks like you don’t have much choice. What are you going to do?

>Comply. You are a D-Boy after all. They probably want to test the effects of the pie on you, but they probably don’t want you dead either. You hope.
>Call his bluff. He can’t commit murder in the middle of a crowded shopping centre, not when the police are already on the way.
>You haven’t been restrained. Wait until he’s about to fire then dodge out of the way and make a run for it.
>(Write in)

>>5572485
>You haven’t been restrained. Wait until he’s about to fire then dodge out of the way and make a run for it.

>“Um… no, sir.”
Dammit, Jack.

Our D-Boy has a literal gun to his head to eat a pie. And judging by Simon's performance last thread, he's not likely to miss, but at the same time, we do have a perk. But the door is locked.

>Comply. You are a D-Boy after all. They probably want to test the effects of the pie on you, but they probably don’t want you dead either. You hope.

I can't see a way out. I hope we still have the lemonade.

>>5572485
>>Comply. You are a D-Boy after all. They probably want to test the effects of the pie on you, but they probably don’t want you dead either. You hope.
Christ, I still can't tell if he's just this dismissive of D-Class life or if he's fucked up in some way.
>Ask them if they ate anything, at least, during this whole trip after we're done.

>>5572558
+1
>"It was nice knowing you guys. Restrain me if I try to commit suicide."

>>5572485
>>Call his bluff. He can’t commit murder in the middle of a crowded shopping centre, not when the police are already on the way.
"Death now, or Guaranteed suicide later, its all the same."

>>5572485
>>5572822
I’ll delete my other vote when it lets me, because I do have an idea based on >>5572563.
>Have them restrain us now (handcuffs? leather strap to something?) and feed us the pie. Should give them an advantage if we do try to commit suicide.

>>5572558
+1 I hope they know that if we don't kill ourselves before the next mission they shouldn't be surprised if we are a bit more damn hesitant when it comes to revealing important information to them.

>>5572828
+1
Add shoving a gag in to avoid biting tongue off

File: The pie is evil.jpg (269 KB, 2048x1365)

269 KB JPG

Rolled 47, 55, 89, 20, 50, 17 + 50 = 328 (6d100 + 50)

>Comply. You are a D-Boy after all. They probably want to test the effects of the pie on you, but they probably don’t want you dead either. You hope.

Hell. Fucking shit. There’s no way out of this, not with Simon pointing that gun at your head. He’d probably do it too, with the reputation he has.

>I hope this is worth it.

You take a bite of the pie. You take a second bite. You feel the lukewarm pastry along with the meat sauce in your mouth, and swallow it. You look at Simon. He nods his head towards you.

>Am I done?

“Eat the rest.”

You sigh, and eat the rest of the pie. As pies go, it’s quite delicious, better than anything they serve you in the D-Wing. Eventually you finish the pie, and only a few crumbs remain. You sit back.

Nothing’s happened.

>Is that it?

“Now we wait.”

>Have you guys even eaten anything during this whole trip?

“No.”

You lean back in the chair. Neither Simon or Jack look like they’ll be very talkative right now. Simon’s as calm as always, while Jack avoids looking in your direction. The minutes go by.

Nothing’s happening.

Maybe it was nothing? It might have been nothing. Maybe that pie seller really is a pie seller, and he’s selling regular pies to people. Maybe he was just in shock and that’s why he didn’t move. You’ve wasted all this time for nothing, and nearly got shot for your trouble. All over a stupid pie. That’ll teach you to blab your mouth. Stupid pie. The pie which you ate. It was a nice pie. You feel kinda bad about eating it now. It was a very nice pie. You could have given it to someone else, but you ate it. It wasn’t just a nice pie, it was one of the best things you’ve ever tasted. Perfectly crisp crust, the chunks of meat, such delicious sauce. You ate that pie. Oh God. All the effort and love that went into that pie, and you ate it. The pie doesn’t exist anymore. You feel sick. You feel so sick you could throw up. But the only thing you’ve eaten is the pie! You would throw up and waste that pie even more! It would be lying on the floor, filthy in your own puke! How could you even think such a thing! You feel awful, hideous. You’re a monster. You ate that pie and all you can do is think about wasting it. Oh God. That pie. You don’t deserve to live. You don’t deserve to live.

Your eyes dart around the room. Some of this stuff must be toxic. Drink enough and you’re sure you’ll be able to atone. Or maybe bash your head against the shelves. Some of them are made out of metal. Or Simon. His gun. You can grab the gun and shoot yourself. No. Stop thinking about it. Do it! You need to do it.

You stand up.

Roll 3d100. You must roll under Simon and Jack’s attempts to stop you to fail. First roll is Simon, second is Jack.

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>5573990
hol' up, are we rolling highest of three or lowest of three here

>>5573992
Highest. But I fully expect someone to roll a 1. I also need an extra 2d100 by the way. Bo3.

>>5573998
That means we have a <10% chance of passing the roll, if we have to roll under 47 or 55. Or, maybe, nobody more could roll. Why should we?
Ah, who am I kidding, there's always that one retard who keeps rolling anyway in a roll-under check.

Who are the other four rolls for? Are all six rolls +50?

Rolled 68 (1d100)

Finally death.

>>5574005
With Simon's +50 it's a 97 DC.

Also it's funny to think that if we actually went into the store with Jack we woulda been on a wild goose chase for about 5 turns.

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>5573990
Rolling.

>>5574005
It’s 3d100. In every quest with crits I know, that means you have to roll all the die. No rolling less because that gives you the success you’re looking for and doesn’t run the risk of a crit fail. The dice have to say their piece in full.

>>5574109
I didn't mean to avoid crits, I mean to avoid an ordinary fail on a worst of x roll. I've seen attempts to avoid it before and they invariably fail from someone rolling anyway, making it moot so I've never seen it seriously put against a qm like that.

>>5574114
It’s rare, but I seen enough QMs hold the full 3 rolls against players before in situations like this that I don’t bother testing. To me, it just delays an update.

That said, mixing roll-under and roll-over systems is pretty rare as-is, and there’s no real consistency I’ve seen where you *want* to fail on whether passing the DC means you succeed at failing or fail to fail. You asked the same question earlier I know.

Unrelated, I’m wondering about the other rolls too. And why another 2d100 are needed on top of this per >>5573998. That many die worries me. Some of them could be the rest of the team elsewhere, but there’s still too many die.

>>5574013
I'm sure glad Simon is such a badass

Rolled 27, 76 = 103 (2d100)

>>5573998

Rolled 29, 44 = 73 (2d100)

>>5573998
Am I the only confused about how many rolls were asked for?

Rolled 11, 7 = 18 (2d100)

>>5573998

Simon and Jack look confused for a moment.

“What are you do-

You lunge for one of the shelves, grabbing one of the bottles of cleaning product there and trying to unscrew the cap. You’ll drink the whole thing in one gulp. You get the screw unstuck, but Simon and Jack are on you in a second. They wrestle you to the ground, and as much as you write and try to bring the bottle to your mouth the only thing you accomplish is spilling it everywhere. Those idiots! You can’t live with yourself after what you’ve done to that pie, and they’re trying to stop you from fixing your mistake.

You let the bottle fall to the side and wriggle out of Simon and Jack’s hold. As much as you kick and scream, they’re not budging, with Simon sitting directly on top of you, the full weight of his body on your chest, holding your neck trying to choke you out. Even as you pummel your arms against him he doesn’t even flinch. You give him a good sock in the face and he doesn’t make a sound.

But his gun! His gun! You can use his gun to end your existence! You reach for it, hanging out of the pocket of Simon’s pants, stretching yourself to the utmost limit to grab it before you pass out.

“Oh no you don’t.”

Jack seizes both of your arms and slams them to the ground. No! No! You can’t let them do this! They’re stopping you from killing yourself! Oh God. You can’t do it. The debt you owe won’t be paid. You won’t be forgiven. You killed that pie. You killed it.

Your thoughts go distant as the oxygen flow to your brain slowly stops. You can’t do it. You can’t end it. Simon’s choke hold is unrelenting. His grip is too firm. You weakly try to pry his hand from your throat but you can’t do it. He’s too strong. They’re too strong. Slowly, surely, your vision goes dim, and you black out.

>>5575413

You wake to the cold feeling of concrete against your cheek. You try to pull yourself up, and find that you’ve been handcuffed. Your feet too. You move your head to see Simon and Jack sharing a smoke above you.

“That was one hell of a fight. Didn’t know the old man had that sorta fight in him”

“The effects of the pie, Agent Doggart. You understand now why I didn’t allow you to eat it earlier? Imagine what you with your training could have done.”

“Yeah, yeah. That black eye is enough warning for me. But how did you know even then?”

“I didn’t, but I suspected it was a product within the store. Talking with Mr Cooper about his latest stock, and the call from Isaac and Kei with the list of Mr Smith’s recent purchases was enough to confirm them. Then it was just a matter of testing them out and confirming the source, as demonstrated.”

“You think he still wants to kill himself? Are the effects permanent?”

“He’s been listening to our conversation for the past few minutes, so let’s find out, shall we?”

Agent Simon turns around and lowers himself to the ground until he’s crouching in front of you.

“Now, how are we feeling?”

>Fuck you. I don’t want to kill myself, if that’s what you’re asking. But I sure feel like fucking murdering you right now.

Simon chuckles. “Well that seems like proof enough. Jack, free him.”

Jack leans down to unlock your cuffs, and stands back as you slowly get up and rub your hands and wrists. He looks like he’s still ready to jump you if you try anything. Not that you’re going to. You really do feel fine now, your anger at Simon and Jack for nearly getting you killed notwithstanding.

>So, what now?

Simon takes one long puff of his cigarette, than drops it to the ground and stomps it out. “Now, we finish up around here. Isaac and Kei should be here soon. Jack, you go to Mr Cooper and order him to immediately pull those pies from sale. Here’s an FDA badge. D-8, you’re with me. You’ll be…

>Flushing out the pie seller. Bet he’s going to be surprised to see your face again.
>Approaching the man in black. We need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing.
>Buying every frozen pie in the store. Better get them off shelves before anyone buys any more.

Also, sorry about the confusion over the dice, I should have made it clearer. You were trying to kill yourself using the three methods I mentioned, while Simon and Jack were trying to stop you for each one. In retrospect, I should have made it 2d100 Bo3 or 3d100 Bo2, to make it clearer and a little fairer for each attempt, but you’ve already passed so it’s no big deal. I’ll make sure to be clearer on what you’re rolling for in future.

>>5575415
>Flushing out the pie seller. Bet he’s going to be surprised to see your face again.
>Go tell Simon to go fuck himself. That shit was sadistic and he knows it.

>Approaching the man in black. We need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing.

Thank god the suicidal us was not smart enough to attempt to bite our tongue off or have any sense of subtlety.

>>5575415
>Approaching the man in black. We need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing.
The only unknown thread at the moment. Rival camp?

>>5575415
>Approaching the man in black. We need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing
I'm doing a write-in too
>Describe in detail to Simon and Jack what thoughts were going through your head due to the anomalous pie. Maybe it can help fight off this thing's effects in case they get force fed one by an enemy

>>5575415
>Buying every frozen pie in the store. Better get them off shelves before anyone buys any more.
"Ah yeas, one of every pie please"

>>5575415
>Approaching the man in black. We need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing.
Surely Nobody.

>>5575415
>Approaching the man in black. We need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing.
Cut off the problem, get rid of the pies.

Update coming tomorrow.

Turns out I am ill. Might not be an update for a couple days, sorry everyone.

>>5577974
Why apologies? It's not like you made the conscious choice to become ill suddenly.

Hope you get better soon man.

>>5577974
No prob. Thanks for letting us know!

>>5577974
>The... THE QM CURSE IS REALLLLLLLL

>>5578349
https://youtube.com/watch?v=gWo12TtN9Kk

>Approaching the man in black. We need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing.

“The only unknown factor in this situation is him and what he’s doing here. He could be the one behind this, he could be a government agent-

“Coalition most likely.” You hear Jack mutter.

“-an anomalous individual, or something else. I don’t like unknowns, especially not when anomalies are involved. Isaac and Kei can keep an eye on the pie seller, but you will be approaching this Man in Black and figuring out how and why he’s involved. After that, we call in cleanup and return to base.”

>Hey, fuck you.

Simon doesn’t reply. Jack mutters something about needing to get those pies off the shelves and quickly walks off. Simon ignores him as he awaits your next outburst.

>Fuck you! I could have died! That was fucking sadistic!

At this, Simon raises an eyebrow.

“Sadistic? No, it was necessary.”

>Why you cold hearted-

“Tell me, if not you than who else? You’re here because you did something that was going to end with your death, and we decided to give you a chance at life. Don’t get complacent. We needed to know what was causing this and it’s exact effects, and you’ve given us that. Furthermore, we now know that the effects are not permanent, which means we can save the lives can be saved. Don’t think you’re not irreplaceable; you’re expendable, a test subject. That’s why you’re still alive. Now, you go looking for this Man in Black while I follow behind. If anything happens I’ll make sure to end it quickly.”

Saying this, he pulls out the pistol from earlier. You get the feeling that it’s not something that’s meant to reassure you. You remain silent and go off in search of this elusive stranger, Simon following with the pistol pointed at your back.

File: Gman.jpg (35 KB, 579x575)

35 KB JPG

>>5579992

Strangely enough, it doesn’t take much to find him. You catch sight of him walking between some shelves near the back of the store, far away from the commotion out front. There’s almost nobody here now. You quickly run over, catching sight of him walking into an aisle several rows up. Can he move that quickly? You begin to run after him, before quickly checking behind you. You see Simon waiting patiently at the aisle you just left. Bastard. He’s going to let you confront this guy on your own. Not like you have much choice with the gun hanging at his side. You venture forward, alone.

You quickly round the corner only come face to face with him. He looks every inch the popular image of a man in black. Suit, sunglasses, suitcase. Not even a hint of an expression on his face. And he’s staring right at you. It seems like he was expecting you, and there’s nobody else in this aisle. Simon probably can’t even see what’s happening here.

You wait for him to move, or even say something, but he doesn’t react to your sudden appearance. Hell, he doesn’t even look like he’s breathing. He could be a wax statue for all you know, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s started smirking.

Looks like he’s waiting for you to make the first move.

What will you say to him?

>Excuse me sir, could you tell me the directions out of here? I’m old and a little lost.
>Hey! I know you’re involved with the pies. Fess up!
>Am I supposed to know what you’re waiting for?
>(Write in)

>>5579996
>Excuse me sir, could you tell me the directions out of here? I’m old and a little lost.
Figuratively and literally.

Glad you’re back.

>>5579996
>Hello, how are you doing? Nice day today, isn't it?
>The pies they got here are real well made. Taste good too. (Narrow eyes at him) But food's meant to be eaten, not guilt-tripped to death over.
Anybody got better write-in ideas? I don't wanna do something out-of-character. So far our D-Boy in his 50s is good at playing up a disguise, like with the mercs at the restaurant. Not here, not with the glowie in our face smiling because he knows. What do we do here?

>>5580000
HOLY QUADS!
Anyway, you think playing dumb will work on the blatant agent man? Especially since he saw us with the pie seller before, and now we're in front of him alive and not an heroed

>Got a whole company that packages and transports these pies, though we’re only selling them here, for now. As way of a test, you see.
>Must be something to do with the other pie companies having food poisoning trouble. Bad luck, that is.
Big important clues to remember after we get out of here
>see their faces when they take a bite of my delicious pies. I always look forward to seeing them again.
>I only hope that people can find a way out of this mess
>he’s standing there, quietly, with a satisfied smile on his blank face
>he lifts his hand and gently pats one of his pies.
What a piece of work
>It’s a man in a black suit and sunglasses. You look more closely and you see that he’s holding a box of what looks like frozen pies. He glances in your direction a moment, and then turns away and goes further into the store
He saw us notice him and saw us holding a pie like him.

>>5580003
No, I don’t think playing dumb would work. But ya know, the weird guy in the back of the store might have unconventional esoteric advice for our D-Boy’s future in this world of anomalies, especially with Simon a bit of a distance away. So who knows what could be learned.

>>5580003
+1

>>5579996
>Hey! I know you’re involved with the pies. Fess up!

>>5579996
>Hey. Got a friend wondering about all these pies. You seem like you’ve been dealing with them for a bit, which is pretty unusual from what others have said. Not many repeat customers, y’know?
>You doing any business with the pie seller? I could use some advice. I wasn’t trained on how to approach guys like him, y’know?

Relatively cloak-and-dagger, but plenty of subtext that we’re being followed, that we’re not any major player in this, and that we’ll take help from whoever can offer it. Which may not be entirely true because we know we’re more expendable to some than to others, but playing the little guy seems wise against a more experienced spook.

>>5579996
>Am I supposed to know what you’re waiting for?
>So you like those pies too? Whats your favorite filling

>>5580188
+1

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5580003
>>5580188
Diceroll between these.

>Hey. Got a friend wondering about all these pies. You seem like you’ve been dealing with them for a bit, which is pretty unusual from what others have said. Not many repeat customers, y’know?

The man in front of you continues smiling as he shakes his head. It’s a little disconcerting to look at someone smiling like that when you can’t even see their eyes. Those shades are so dark you’d swear they weren’t transparent.

“No. He’s never had any customers return. Not to his little stand. But he’s happy nonetheless. Doesn’t that strike you as strange?”

>Uh, I guess…

“Indeed. I think he’ll have a nasty surprise if he sees you again. Don’t you think?” The man gives a little chuckle. “I’d like to see his face when he realises. But, you’re most interested in the pies. I don’t think there’s much you don’t already know. Your friends are always so quick to figure things out, and lucky for you you’re still around to talk about it! I don’t think you need to ask me what’s going on.”

>My boss doesn’t like unknowns.

The man nods sympathetically. “A problem. As Pandora learned when she opened Zeus’s gift. But let’s hope he doesn’t lead you into anything like that!”

You appreciate that this guy isn’t murdering you or being overly threatening, but you’re starting to realise that he you’re not going to get any straight answers from him.

“Ah. I can tell you need something to satiate your friend’s curiosity. Well, my employers won’t stop your friends when they clean up this mess, and neither shall I. But… we would like to keep the pie seller. Contracts are a tricky thing.”

So he works for someone interested in the guy selling pies. Great. As if you couldn’t have figured that out yourself.

>You doing any business with the pie seller? I could use some advice. I wasn’t trained on how to approach guys like him, y’know?

“We were in business with him. Unfortunately, he chose to terminate what he deemed an… inflexible agreement. He’s operating on his own now, and quite successful at it, as he predicted. But,” the man says with a smile, “he didn’t think he’d draw the attention of people like you and your friends. No, he wanted to draw the attention of other persons entirely. A rather unfortunate oversight. For him. As for approaching him, if you really must, you should make him fearful. Fear is such a powerful motivator after all, especially when you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

He gives you a big grin, and then begins walking down the aisle.

>Let him go and return back to Simon.
>Try and follow him again, see if you can’t sneak up on him somehow.
>Call after him about something (What? And keep it brief!)
>(Write in)

>>5581277
>Let him go and return back to Simon
>Call after him about something, we haven't actually made acquaintance yet my name's Dan

>>5581277
>>Call after him about something (What? And keep it brief!)
"Live Long old man"
>return

>>5581404
+1

>>5581404
+1

>>5581277
>>5581404
Supporting.

>"Live Long old man!"

He quickly turns and waves his hand while smiling. You watch as the man walks cheerfully down the aisle, disappearing from view as he rounds the corner. Weird guy. You didn’t even get his name.

You turn around and walk back to Simon. He looks confused as you approach.

“You didn’t find him?”

>No. I talked to him for a bit. Didn’t make much sense. Something about the pies being part of a contract or something.

“But you just walked out of the aisle.”

>What?

Simon raises an eyebrow.

“You walked in and then walked out in only a few seconds. You couldn’t have talked to anyone.”

>No, I did! I had a short conversation with him, it was a few minutes!

“Interesting. Local time manipulation. That’s serious tech. But did you find out what he was doing here? Who he’s working for?

>No. He talked about how he was in a business deal with the pie seller, but it went bad. Now the pie guy is independent, or something like that. And he wanted to attract someone else with these deaths, and not us. Oh, and he wants us to let him and his employers grab the pie guy, and they’ll leave us alone.

“Well, at least we’ve confirmed he’s not hostile, if not opposed to our interests. But what’s that?”

>What’s what?

“That thing in your pocket.”

>>5582436

You look down. Sure enough, sticking out from a pocket in your pants, is a white card. You take it out. The gift of fire. It’s a business card. There’s nothing else on it than the lettering. From that guy you talked too? You hand it to Simon.

“Oh. That would explain things somewhat.”

>What is it?”

“Classified.”

Prick. He gives it back to you.

>Aren’t you-

“No. Keep it. You might find use for it, and it was given to you.”

You shrug, and tuck it back into your pocket. Simon motions for you to follow, and you both start heading back to the front of the store. Isaac and Kei must be here by now. You wonder what they got up to?

Eventually you return to the front of the store. Looks like the body from earlier has been moved. Guess whoever it was must have fallen victim to the pie seller. There’s still some red splatters on the window, but other than that people seem to have gone back to their normal business. You notice a cop outside talking to some people, probably witnesses. That nearly might have been you. How long were you out.? You don’t see Isaac or Kei anywhere.

You look over to the pie stall, and a chill runs through you. The stall is empty, but sitting on the bench are several piles of fresh baked pies. You can’t see the pie seller, but hanging above the stall is a sign, saying FREE PIES! You immediately notice several happy looking people converging on the stall, and several more are walking away with pies in their hands. Oh this can’t be good.

“Shit.” You hear Simon mutter. Guess he’s seen it too. He looks at you. “D-8…

>Go and stop people from getting more of those things. Overturn the stall if you have to. Run for it!
>Stop the people who’ve already got pies. We can’t let anyone eat them!
>We can’t stop this by ourselves. Isaac and Kei should be here, go find them.
>(Write in)

>>5582438
is this worth asking Simon to unload his gun into the air

>>5582438
>(Write in)
>Tell Simon to quickly fire off a few rounds in the air.
Hopefully when people panic, they will either drop the pies to run or drop them to hide somewhere.

>>5582471
+1; hope that doesn't draw bad exposure to us
I want to rush that pie seller and put fear in that bastard. I also want to snag a few chocolates on the way out of here

>>5582471
maybe claim that we are with the FBI and that the pie seller is a communist selling LCD-laced pies

>>5582438
>>Go and stop people from getting more of those things. Overturn the stall if you have to. Run for it!

>>5582471
+1 Although you know theirs gonna be that one guy who values their meal more than their life.

>>5582438
>Stop the people who’ve already got pies. We can’t let anyone eat them!
>(Write in)
>have the agents say the pies are contaminated by salmonella mad cow or whatever disease scare is currently going on.

>>5582553
Well, sometimes you can't save everyone.

>>5582471
+1

Your thoughts are racing as you look at the empty pie stand with the crowd of people around it. It’s just you and Simon and you’re not going to be able to stop everyone. Shit. That’s a lot of people. Too many people. You distantly hear Simon say something. Simon! The gun!

“D-8! Go and-

>Your gun!

“What?”

>Your gun! Shoot it into the air!

Simon looks at you in shock for a moment before shaking his head.

“Can’t believe I’m listening to a fucking D-boy…”

Despite his reservations, Simon reaches into his jacket and pulls out the gun that was pointing at you not a few minutes ago. Without hesitating he raises it and fires it into the air. All hell breaks loose in the store. Again.

The report is deafening, but its effects are immediate. Several people start screaming as the shots ring throughout the store, a lot of people start running about, and a few guys that look to be around their 30s get real spooked and immediately jump to the ground and cover their heads. Guess they've heard that sound too many times before.

But the shots have done their job. The crowd around the stand has disappeared, and with actual gun shots ringing through the store most people have dropped whatever they were carrying and run for cover. The only issue now is that you’ve drawn the attention of the cop outside, who’s running into the store with his gun drawn. Probably calling for backup on his radio too. You hope he hasn’t actually seen who fired the shots, or you standing next to him.

“This is going to be a fucking mess.” Simon looks at you. “But the immediate problem’s been solved. Good thinking. Now dodge that cop and get out of here. Get back to the car, and if you see Isaac and Kei get them to pull out as well. That pie seller’s somewhere in the local area, so now it’s a matter of finding him.”

File: You cant have your chocol(...).jpg (1.55 MB, 3180x1760)

1.55 MB JPG

>>5583479

>What about the deal the man in the suit offered?

“We’ll come to that when we find this guy. Now go!”

You quickly run off down the front of the store. Better make yourself look like part of the crowd. Simon heads in the opposite direction, and as you look back you see the cop follow him. Guess that makes things easier for you. You hear some more gunshots in the distance. You hope that’s Simon and not the cop chasing him. Eventually you slow down and give yourself a breather. You’ll wait in this aisle for things to cool down before trying to sneak out.

It's a few minutes before you poke your head out. Things seem to be calmer now, though everyone is still sheltering behind what cover they’ve found. A few people are slowly beginning to move. You look back at the aisle you’re in. It’s the confectionary section. Hey, you need to grab some-

The man in black quickly passes by the other end, with the pie seller cringing as he follows him. He doesn’t look too happy. Great. You don’t think they saw you. What are you going to do?

>Confront him. You want answers to what exactly is going on here.
>Follow them discreetly. He might not welcome an intrusion into his business.
>Let them go. The suited man said he wouldn’t interfere if you let him take the pie seller, and you want to leave well enough alone.
>(Write in)

>>5583481
>Let them go. The suited man said he wouldn’t interfere if you let him take the pie seller, and you want to leave well enough alone.
Don't open pandoras box.

>>5583481
>>Let them go. The suited man said he wouldn’t interfere if you let him take the pie seller, and you want to leave well enough alone.

>>5583481
>Follow them discreetly. He might not welcome an intrusion into his business
doesn't matter if the man in black sees us we have to report what happens between them
>snatch as many bars as we can discreetly stuff in our pockets

>>5583525
+1
Tempting fate is a pastime.

>>5583525
they really should have given us a two-way pager, I can't think of too many ways a D-boy can exploit it or at least a just a receiving one should be safe

>>5583525
+1, I want to loot chocolate AND put fear in the pie seller before we go

>>5583481
>Confront them, act as a friend to the man in black. He mentioned the pie seller would probably freak out when he saw us alive. Let’s see if you can play off each other and get more info than either of you could separately. Or if you just delay them.

If anything is going to catch him off-guard, acting like we’re both part of the same organization in front of an upset SCP is going to do it. Gives us the chance to get some questions in and delay them.

>>5583525
>>5583530
>>5583563
Give me 1d100. DC 90.

>>5584408
>DC 90
Which unholy god's wrath have we awoken?

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>5584418
Messed up rolling

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>5584418
>90
Shit.

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>5584408
I FOOKEN TOLD YOU GUYS NOT TO OPEN PANDORAS BOX

>>5584430
KEK
D-BOY KEEPS ON WINNING

>>5584430
oh.
wait.

never mind then.

D-BOYZ TAKE IT HOME ONE AGAIN BAYBEEEEEEE

File: Cheeki.png (18 KB, 110x103)

18 KB PNG

>>5584430
I really hate how lucky you guys are.

>>5584430
THE D-BOY SWAG

>>5584437
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3glwtXrj0c
it's all in good fun.

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>>5584437
qm btfo yet again
we can't keep getting away with this!

Dammit. You’re going to lose them. You grab some small chocolate bars from the shelf and stuff them into your pockets before running to the end of the aisle. You look out and see them still walking slowly away. Guess they didn’t notice you.

You briefly consider trying to interrupt and ask what’s going on, or even slinking away while the going’s good, but your curiosity, as always, gets the better of you. You begin to slowly walk behind them, making sure you make as little noise as possible while trying to listen in on their conversation as best you can.

Even though you’re the only ones walking back here, they somehow don’t notice you. Guess the conversation is too intense for them to pay attention to anything else. And boy, does it sound like the pie seller’s in hot water.

“The break was legal, as outlined in the contract, you have no right-

The man in black chuckles.

“No right? You think there’s anyone in this business who cares about rights? Who’s going to fight for your rights? The Serpent’s Hand? Marshall and his associates, if you pay them well? I took you for a fool but, don’t lose your grip on reality as well.”

“They would! I had offered my product and they wanted a demonstration! I wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t interfered! You and your bloody scientists. I could have sold it! It would have been revolutionary!”

“You still don’t realise? You remember that older gentleman that bought a pie from you? The one just before that poor worker jumped from the roof. You know who he was working for? The SCP Foundation. Yes, you were so obvious that you drew their attention down on the very store the product was being sold. Now tell me how the Cart Shoppers would have done business with you while they were hanging around? No response? Too shocked? Maybe I can continue the story. You would have been found out, forced to flee, the product destroyed, or rather “contained”, and you would have eventually come crawling back to us. I’m just helping you get there with as little distress to yourself as possible.”

File: Prometheus Labs.png (180 KB, 936x933)

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>>5584497

“No, not the Skippers! They’ll lock it away!”

“They’re not so scary. There’s ways in and out, if you can find them. But you certainly wouldn’t.”

“At least it worked! I proved it worked!”

“With a meal that when ingested compels them to commit suicide? Crude, Doctor, very crude. And unrefined. You have a survivor.”

“What? No! There wasn’t!”

“The old man from before? It was he. Helped, of course, but as far as anyone can tell no suicidal tendencies at all. Though, in his line of work, that may not be for long.”

“No! No, no, no!”

They’ve reached a door now. Must be to some storage area at the back. You hide behind a pillar as they stop in front of it.

“But you’ll have plenty of time to improve the formula. And this time it won’t be used so wastefully. It’s time to go now, Doctor. Welcome back to Prometheus Labs.”

The door clicks shut behind them. You wait a few minutes before going over and opening it. It leads to a storage room, similar to the one you were in before. There’s nobody in it. You quickly look around to confirm there’s no other way out, and then close the door. Well. Guess you’d better get back to Simon and the others now.

A little while later you’re approaching the van you came in. Looks like the rest of the team is already here. Simon sees you coming and walks over.

“Where the hell have you been?”

>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.
>Keep it to yourself. You want to think over what you've learned. Besides, to hell with Simon for that thing earlier.

>>5584499
>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.
Way above our non-existent pay grade.

What would have happened if we failed that roll?

>>5584499
>>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.

>>5584499
>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information
We're done here

>>5584499
>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.
kick this one up the chain

>>5584499
>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.

>>5584499
>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.
Can D-Boys become agents? I’d love to get a promotion and roll a different character so Daniel can live on forever in the background as the luckiest boy alive. His death is inevitable, but greatly sped up the longer we control him.

>>5584499
>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.

>>5584544
Sped up? Anon we are this guys plot armor! If it weren't for us controlling em he woulda died in the very first mission cause he wouldn't of been crazy enough to decide to ram a car into the scary monster thing! The moment we give up control he is dunzo so as long as we keep up the god tier rolls we can make em live forever!

>>5584499
also
>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.

>>5584499
>>Tell them what you saw. That was some important information.

huh yeah, I suppose we're early enough in the timeline that Prometheus hasn't gone belly up yet. though I do wonder how mind-controlling suicide pies tie into their MO, nanobots perhaps?
regardless we should ask for a blood examination once we get back(if they don't make us take one anyway).

File: Colonel Toad.jpg (48 KB, 468x546)

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>Error: You cannot delete a post this old.

I think up something cool and get foiled by the system. Great. Okay everyone, just pretend these >>5584497 >>5584499 posts do not exist anymore. I'll make sure to delete them quicker next time.

You blink, and see Simon putting something into the pocket of his jacket.

“There you are. Come on D-8, we’re done here.” Strange. You feel a little dizzy. Guess it’s just the stress of everything catching up to you. You did nearly kill yourself in there, and had to do plenty of running after Simon fired those shots. It’s been a long day. You hope you don’t get put into more situations like that, but you suppose that it’s what they expect of you. But that bastard Simon didn’t have to be so cool about it. You’re still not sure whether he enjoys it or just doesn’t care.

The thoughts are swirling in your mind as you step in the van. You look at the gizmo in the middle. Guess that didn’t see much use. Maybe another day. You sit down and feel the rumble of the engine start up as Jack drives you back to Site-21, Isaac and Kei in the following vehicle. Guess it’s back to more lounging around the D-Sphere until they call you on another mission. Maybe you’ll volunteer for more tests. You wonder if Simon will give you another visit to Dave. Probably not.

As you think about what you’ll do back at base you suddenly remember the card you got given. You take the business card out of your pocket. The gift of fire. You wonder what that could mean. Or what it can be used for. You shrug, and put it back. Something to remember. As you place the card back however, you feel something else in your pockets. You reach in and pull them out. It’s some chocolate bars.

Oh. Those will be useful. When you get back you can give them to the Choco King. But where did…? You shake your head. You’re feeling really dizzy. Maybe it’s just the years catching up to you. Too much stress and running about. It’s not like you’re getting any younger. You decide to pass the trip by resting your head until you arrive back at Site-21, make up for how tired you feel. It’s a few hours away, so you’ll have plenty of time to get comfortable.

MISSION COMPLETE

This would have been much more impactful if the previous posts were gone. Goddamit.

And that's it for the suicide pies! I'll write up the proper SCP file in a few days (your first) and then I'll take a break until the end of next week.

As always, please voice any questions, comments, criticism, etc.

>>5585546
Figured as much given the number of keywords we heard. At least we proved our loyalty again, and it’s pretty easy to tie the card to Prometheus given that “the gift of fire” was kinda his big deal in myth. Might still help us in the future.

>>5585548
Simon’s a dick, but at least he’s an understandable dick.

>>5585546
Damn didn't think us learning about [REDACTED] would be enough to justify busting out the amnesiacs oh well aint like we woulda done anything with that information anyway.

>>5585770
>Amnestic
Oh that makes sense. I was confused on why the memories seem to be missing.

On a side note, it almost feels wrong that no new perks were unlocked in this mission. Unless, I am recalling things improperly every other mission has resulted in a perk. I love the dice.

>>5585783
We kept getting perks because we kept critting. We were just shy of one with our eavesdropping.

The fact that you thought it was mission-based goes to show how often we’ve crit!

Something I noticed is that if you look in the pastebin, the last name of our D-Boy is Gomez instead of Cruz

>>5584501
Let's say that the Prometheus Labs representative has a lot more under the hood than you'd think.

>>5585783
No perks, that happens on a 95+, but you grabbed some chocolates and the business card, which can be used later.

>>5585805
Whoops, brainfart, I'll change that.

>>5585984
You livin'?

>>5592387
Ja, I am still alive. Just been a little busy the past week. SCP File will be done soon, possibly tomorrow, and D-Boy Dan will be back around Saturday.

Alright, next update will be tomorrow in a new thread, since this is getting close to falling off. I'll post the SCP File there too.

>>5598453
>Waiting intensifies