Recap:You are ANON, the RED JOKER. In the last chapter, you defeated CERBERUS in battle - Only to have his alter-ego, OKAMI KUROSU, frontman of the band KEREBOS GUARD, die in a freak accident.Unfortunately, upon departing the place with KAZUYA and NATSUMI, your friends - You now find yourself on a train rapidly careening out of control, after glimpsing a monster in the glass.
Previous Thread:http://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/19284924/#19284924The lights flicker, and the train rocks, a jarring THUD making the carriage shake. And again, harder this time - A shuddering vibration that slams you back into your seat, as the intercom comes on: > "Next stop, Seibu West. Next sto-" The words dissolve in a squeal of static, over the *screech* of the train's wheels - You hear startled shrieks coming from the front of the train, over the sudden, inexplicable impact - It feels as if something is *rocking* the carriage, rattling it like a die in a cup."W - What was that?" she sounds startled, looking around herself - "What was *that*?"...It's only a moment, just an instant, but you see it. A reflection in the mirror; A *shape*, hideous and unlovely - The worst parts of scorpion and spider, mandibles clattering toward in a jerking insect motion. The image is *so real* you flinch back - But it's gone as quickly as it comes. The train shudders again, harder this time. You wrench the Emergenct Brake, hard - The plastic handle snapping down, with the *click* of a bolt being drawn back. For one instant, nothing happens; But then the violent tremors redouble, a nauseous sensation surging through you as the train lurches, wheels screeching on the tracks below...You're almost hurled off your feet, but you can feel it - You're *definently* slowing down! Somehow, you manage to hold onto one of the safety rungs as the train's speed dips sharply...-And then you feel cold dread course down your spine, as it begins to speed up again. (Continued.)
>>19296822The 'approaching station' warning begins to chime, again and again - You can hear screams coming from the other cars, at the sudden, inexplicable acceleration. Your swift action has earned a reprieve - But from the looks of it, not for long. Huddled in her seat, pale from confusion and growing panic, Natsumi shoots you a frantic glance- "Wh...what do we *do*?"[ ] Get Natsumi to safety.[ ] Find Kazuya![ ] Transform[ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>19296780Oh, right, I remember reading this. Futuristic robot duels, right?Let's > [X] Transformand kick his ass.
[ ] Find Kazuya!
>>19296841> [ ] Get Natsumi to safety.Potential love interest comes first.
>>19296841[x] Get Natsumi to safety.We get her to safety first, then we find Kazuya.
>>19296906I do like this plan better.
>>19296875> [X] Get Natsumi to safety.You're not sure *where* would be safe, on the train - But a shiver of cold intuition tells you that to stay here much longer is to die. The violent swaying of the train almost knocks you from your feet, but your hand closes around Natsumi's wrist - Pulling her towards you, as you stumble down the cars. Behind you, there's a THUD of impact, as if something slammed against the roof; The entire carriage *jumps*, juddering in response. "Come on!" you say, with a glance over your shoulder - You thought your eyes were playing tricks on you, but you can still see a *shape* moving where no reflection should be cast, as if swimming behind the glass...The compartment's door clatters shut behind you, as you kick it shut - Natsumi's eyes wide and frantic. "Something's *happening*," she marvels, her voice beyond panic - "It's...just like before..."You can hear the scratchy wail of the track below. *Something* is doing this - Another challenger? Did someone *follow* you all the way here? Either way, Natsumi's out of the direct line of fire...But you're not sure how much time you have left...[ ] Find Kazuya[ ] Transform[ ] Free
[ ] Find KazuyaI have my suspicions about him.
>>19296974[x]Find KazuyaIf we transform here with Natsumi, and we end up dying in-game, then when we die here, she'll get injured too.
> [X] Find KazuyaHe'd said that he'd just gone to clean up - But he's been gone far longer than you would expect. With Natsumi in tow, you stagger down the swaying hallways, forced to affect a pitched, rolling gait- "Kazuya - Kazuya, you there?" "Kazu-kun?" Silence. Then, from one car down, you hear him shout back, his voice strained - "-I'm all right!" A pause, his footsteps clattering against the steel floor underfoot - "The brake isn't working! It's..." A long, drawn-out squeal of tearing metal drowns out his words - You actually see sparks fly from the connecting plates underfoot, a rending shriek that sounds *very* much like a scream. Impossibly, the train's speed slackens; With one fevered glance through the window - *at* the window, really - you make out a frenzied blur of motion, a silver-steel flash, a second shape moving almost too fast to be seen."Kazuya?"Silence, but your ears are still ringing. The lights go out, abruptly - Bathing the inside of the train car in darkness, with only the faint glow of emergency lighting - The hairs stand up on the back of your neck, as you struggle to adjust to the sudden gloom. "A...anon-kun?" Natsumi's voice is hushed - Her eyes so very wide, as her hand gropes for yours. "I can't - I can't see anything...?"[ ] FreeYOU HAVE [C]ONTROL.
[]TRANSFORM
>>19296974 [X] Find Kazuya
>>19297070Transform, there's someone who needs to die and we're the ones to do it.
>>19297070It's dark. This is the perfect opportunity to transform. She can't see us, can she?> [ ] Transform
>>19297070Grab Natsumi's hand, get her to a seat.Then transform.Kazuya's already transformed, most likely. Give him an assist.
>>19297088>>19297096>>19297101>>19297105Great we all agree
In the pitch-black gloom, you somehow find Natsumi's hand - Her hand clutches at yours, like a lifeline, a taut hiss of relief coaxed from her lips. "It'll be all right," you assure her, pressing her into the nearest seat...-As the world slips out of focus, and as black becomes red. Before, you were never in motion when you transformed. There's a moment of roiling turbulence, a blur of confusion...But then you hear the solid *clank* as you land, boots maglocking to the metal roof of the train - The slipstream wrenching at your crimson armor, as your mono-optic sight flares to emerald life. You're *on* the speeding train, as it judders it's way along the track - Sparks flying from the sides, rattled like a die in the cup. Through the hell-sight of the red world around you, it looks like a twisting black metal serpent - Only barely visible through the thick, clinging webs that shroud the surface, plastered over every inch of steel. Each step you take rips through the overlapping layers, with an unpleasant sensation like ectoplasm...RED JOKERVS...#%&?@A screeching *wail* cuts into you, as silver light flickers in the distance - Two cars down, you can make out a pair of battling shapes - A horrid spider-centaur, swordlike limbs flailing as it lashes out again and again, mandibles clacking in obscene hunger. But it's the other one that draws your gaze...(Continued)
>>19297220A slender human silhouette, in austere steel - Unornamented, except for the eyes studding the high-crested metal faceplate. It looks oddly blank, unmarred, the spindly limbs moving with surprising strength and speed. With both hands, it hacks and thrusts with a cross-bladed spear, frost fuming on the surface - Each time it connects with the warped nightmare spider, brittle sparks flare, drawing another wail from the thing. Impasse. The monster is being worn down, little by little...But the steel-marked figure isn't good enough to deal a finishing blow. CHROME CYPHER VS...#%&?@You shake your head, as static buzzes in your vision - It's as if your targeting system is refusing to lock-on properly, unable to identify the opponent. A battle's already in progress, but...This is the first time you've seen something like this!YOU HAVE CONTROL> HP: 100%> Meter: 0%
>>19297220That is one skinny-ass suit of armor.
>>19297274I'm pretty sure that the thin guy with a spear, who isn't a monstrous spider, is our bud. Take careful shots at the spider-centaur, prioritize not hitting Chrome Cypher over hurting the spider. If they stop being in close melee unload completely on the spider.
Use CQC weapons up close on the monster. Aim for joints
>>19297324Pretty much this.Without our targeting computer, we'll have to switch to controlled bursts and manual targeting.
>>19297336We don't have CQC weapons, we have Dakka, more Dakka, and an extra helping of Dakka. When we get our Meter up we unlock bigger Dakka.
>>19297274 No targeting? Just makes it a challenge. Start firing off a few rounds at #%&?@. Time to pick a side.
>>19297344Well, that makes me feel pretty useless.
>>19297324The best we can do right now is this.
>>19297351Well obviously we're going after the spider scorpion. It showed up when the train started getting screwy, then the silvery dude showed up when Kazuya stopped talking, it's pretty obvious who is who, and we're not going to fight with our bro right now. We may eventually be forced to fight him, but we'll try to avoid that.
That *thing* - It's untargetable. Your sensors return only scrambled gibberish, until you switch solely to manual aiming; Locked to the surface of the train, you can move freely, though the slipstream whistles past you - You wait for the creature to settle into the crosshairs, before opening up with a careful blurt of fire. The plasma bolts streak from the churning barrels, a four-shot burst that scorches into it from the side - The shots flare against the spider's glistening carapace, making it *rear* up, limbs flailing...Even as Chrome Cypher's spear sweeps in an great arc, severing the first two limbs. They spin away, in a gout of ichor - The putrid blood beginning to eat into the roof, smoking rising, wrenched away by the slipstream. You see Cypher's faceplate swivel, at the sudden interruption - A toneless machine-growl expression of surprise crackling in your ears. A hiss of unalloyed astonishment - "It's *you*...!" -And the creature's stinger *slams* into his shoulder, knocking the silver figure spinning. Those spindly legs fly out from beneath him, and as the train turns, he vanishes - But you can make out chrome fingers grasping at the edge of the car, monotone curses filling the channel in staticky bursts. The spider-centaur's compound eyes settle on you - With a clacking hiss, it *springs* forward, initial prey forgotten, crashing down on the next car hard enough to make the roof crumple. The thing's torso begins to swell - the skeletal 'ribs' framing it's form bulging outward, as cising light takes form...YOU HAVE CONTROL> HP: 100%> Meter: 6%
>>19297415Evasive maneuvers, serpentine, serpentine!
>>19297415Holy shit, he went down like a chump! Looks like it's down to us. Shoot down whatever the thing is throwing at us.
>>19297415Disengage magnetic locks to leap away, then re-engage the locks to stay on the train's roof. Continue firing at the spider all throughout.
>>19297415Keep our guns firing on it, aiming will be easier without Cypher in the melee as well. Do this while taking serious evasive maneuvers. It's charging up for something big and it's rather not get hit by it.
No time for rivalries, we need this thing dead yesterday.Evade and manual fire whenever we get clean shots at joints and such.
>>19297446This
The narrow platform doesn't give you much room to manuever - But your magnetic locks disengage, and you hurl yourself backwards, plasma gatlings blazing. Your shots slash into the creature's torso, one bolt exploding against the hard, translucent shell sheathing those weirdly compound eyes - It shudders beneath the impact, six remaining legs motoring with an eerie arachnid speed. Your pummeling firepower makes it twitch in irritation, scorched and seared by the barrage; But then you skid across the roof, the magnetic locks securing you to the surface, as if tethered in place. The violet-white blast that surges out at you, hurled from the secondary mouth in the thing's torso - It isn't energy, or any projectile you've ever seen before- It's a web.Your sudden shift took you out of immediate range, but the expanding spread of the burst envelops the entire roof; Stray filaments brush against your crimson armor - And then *through*, with little more resistance than monowire. Your left shoulder paldron is simply sheared off - A thin line appears in the surface of the rooftop, as you pull yourself back, the metal sheeting peeling like foil! The spider's nowhere to be seen - You can hear a frantic skittering close by, but the roof of the speeding train is sudden, inexplicably empty...> HP: 91%> Meter: 13%
>>19297469We find that thing before it attacks
>>19297469I do not like this guy, we need to keep our distance, we don't have a good defense against it in melee, and that web seems like bad news. Fire towards the frantic skittering, keep it on its toes, don't give it a chance to ambush or prepare itself.Also if we are put in the situation where it's too close for comfort and using the web we can shotgun it in the mouth.Also do we have any idea where Chrome Cypher went?
Stay low to minimize our drag effect and reduce nose. Without seeing us, it will rely on vibrations and sound, likely.
Are we even up against another player here? This thing doesn't act like anyone we've fought before.Stay low, and stay quiet.
Where is the previous thread?
>>19297512Never mind.You should make sure to archive your threads on suptg, OP.
Hmmm like [C] is it? Does that mean the fights have timelimits?At any rate i'd say keep low and then fuck it up it when we get the chance.
(I'll try my best. The last round was a bit abortive, but the first two threads are on sup/tg/. The link to the previous one should be in the first post.)You strain to *listen*, against the howl of the wind - You're aware that the train is slowing down, to something approaching reasonable speeds - but the clatter of arachnid legs is so very, *very* close by, as you kneel to reduce your profile... As the train sways around the next bend, you hear the brittle sound glass breaking; A quick glance informs you that Chrome Cypher has shattered a window, swinging himself into the gloomy depths of the cars. The spider-creature is nowhere in sight, and for a moment, you wonder if it's given up the fight...-Before the barbed stinger punches through the roof, directly below you. Already on guard, you back away as it withdraws - venomous acid eating through the sheet metal, making it smoke and hiss in a molten dribble. It's *beneath* you.Your gatlings blaze, and plasma bolts punch through the thin metal - You hear the distinctive *hiss* of impacts beneath, an answering wail of mingled frustration and pain coming from the creature below. As a segment of the car falls away entirely, you can make out the horrid shape, remaining legs splayed to straddle the carriage's interior...Right before another spray of webbing blasts upwards at you!YOU HAVE CONTROL.> HP: 88%> Meter: 22%TIER ONE WEAPONRY UNLOCKED> TRISKELION LAUNCHER - 3%/Missile, INDIRECT FIRE. > PLASMA CASTER - 10%/Projectile, DIRECT.
>>19297579Plasma caster, punch a hole right through the web going at us and right into the fucker who is below us.Then keep on firing with our normal guns, keep on shooting, it's in a somewhat cramped place so it'll make hitting it easy.
>>19297579Plasma Caster, fire straight into the webbing and through it into the spider.
>>19297579Plasma cutter, right in its sort of arachnid face.
>> HP: 88%>> Meter: 22%I must ask, HP is our HP or the enemy's HP?Shoot two rockets in wide arcs, going to the right and to the left to distract it and make an opening for better attacks.
>>19297606Sorry, Plasma Caster*
>>19297597This
>>19297609It's our HP.
The Plasma Caster's barrel snaps in line - Right as the expanding burst of strangler webbing fills your vision, fanning out in a slicing halo. The gun's discharge sounds like a small explosion - In the cramped confines, the effect is amplified, filling the car with a surge of fire and death, the backwash of the explosion gouting back at you, flames licking hungrily at your crimson armor. It cores a jagged, searing hole through the roof, then through the floor beneath; The blast slags one of the spider's legs, scorching through it's abdomen, the thing's lashing throes shattering plastic seats, smashing windows into fragments of safety glass; Aflame, it convulses, striking and smashing at random, flailing out in elemental fury, a buzzing *roar* filling your ears - The filaments of webbing leave only shallow cuts in your armor, before they sizzle away like curling smoke, with a wretched scorched-hair smell - But then an entire row of seating *slams* into you, with enough force to crack your cuirass. The breath *whooshes* from your lungs - The impact knocks you, dazed, clean into the next car. You get to your knees, to see the spider-monster churning towards you. Like a slain rider, the human-form torso flops limply, half it's head sheared away - It flails like some obscene ornament, one arm ending jaggedly beneath the shoulder!Even wounded, it's still fast - You can *feel* the open malice radiating from it, a morbid predator anger as it surges towards you on five legs...YOU HAVE CONTROL> HP: 76%> Meter: 18%
>>19297695SHOT IT WITH ABANDON!And shoot 6 rockets at it.
>>19297695Fire at will.
>>19297695Fire another shot from the plasma caster; at this range, even with manual targeting, we can't miss.And we need to open up the distance again. Is there a way out of this car behind us? If so, take it after firing another plasma shot.
>>19297695Fire 6 missiles straight at it, with a priority on taking down legs. 2 missiles each for 3 of its legs. While firing our guns at any weak points but with a priority on taking out its movement.
>>19297709No, wait, we're not immune to our own weapons, it looks like. We better get away from that fucking thing, or we'll blow ourselves up, too.
>>19297718Well, lets shoot it while retreating then.I wonder if Chrome Chypher is Kazuya
>>19297695Is there anyone in the car beside us.
>>19297739Probably
>>19297739It fits the timeline, it could be someone else but he's our best guess. Also he was astonished and said "It's *you*" which points towards it being him, or it could be someone surprised to see the Red Joker.
The Triskelion Launcher clicks open - A payload of six missiles spiralling away on dumbfire contrails, careening wildly across the rapidly-shrinking distance! At this range, the missiles don't have sufficient time to arm; One smashes through a window, spinning wildly as it falls away - Another glances off the spider-centaur's torso, one of the thing's limbs striking it aside...But the remaining four explode together, in near-simultaneous detonations. Everything goes outward, all at once; The sheer sensory overload is like a car crash, again and again, enough to render you momentarily death and blind as the thrashing blasts take part of the train to pieces. Sharpnel pelts out at you, in a crashing wave of secondary explosions - From the sagging *groan* that you hear, the crippled train is *still* going, against all odds - dragging the stricken carriages along, the wind whistling through the gaps in the steel. It sounds like the end of the world; But when the smoke clears, you can see the maimed creature lurching forward, dragging itself on it's remaining legs. It needs all four just to move, now - the torso ending in a blasted, blackened stump. Sharp fragments of debris jut from the weeping wounds in sternum and thorax - But the thing's eyes, those not scorched into charred smears, regard you with open hatred. The thing swings it's heavy head around for a bite - It's in front of you, impossibly, and those mandibles gnaw at your left-arm gatlings, the relentless pressure of it's hinged jaw nearly crushing your wrist; The pain jars the dark spots from your vision. It's as if it *knows* the one responsible for it's suffering - And is intent on inflicting as much as possible, before the shambling wreck perishes. YOU HAVE CONTROL> HP: 61%> Meter: 4%
>>19297875Fire the gatlings at point-blank range, except for the left-hand one; the biting has probably bent the barrels and will cause it to explode if we try to fire it.Also, firing those missiles at short range was pretty stupid.
>>19297875Kill it, blast right into its mouth with our left gatling and right into its eyes with our right gatling. Try to free our left hand so we can get some distance from it. Above all else, FIRE FIRE FIRE.
>>19297875Jam gattling gun down it's throat. Never stop firing.
>>19297865shot with our guns until it stop moving
>>19297865>>19297875Hey hey, we told to keep shooting non-stop.Anyway, get that thing off us and make distance between it. Jump out of the car, on the roof of the next car so that you can see the creature from the hole on the roof. Then open fire at it.
>>19297875For the record, I was one of those who wanted to go with a melee build in the first thread. Oh well.
>>19297912Dakka has served us pretty well so far. We've got this pretty much in the bag, this is the guy's death throes. Dealing with Cerberus with a melee character would have been hell, assaulting his stage like that would not have been fun, we won that one handily because we were able to wipe out his stage without having to go rush into his territory.
The thing's distended maw wraps around your arm to the wrist - slavering tongue coiling all the way to your elbow. Your gauntlet is stuck fast; The sickening *scrape* of it's teeth gouging against the metal is a nails-on-chalkboard screech, as it fights to wrench the limb entirely off. Your right fist pistons into the thing's face - With so much force that the barrels stab into it's eyes, rupturing them with a distinct *squelch*. The thing's sucking flesh, it's acid blood, sends trails of smoke rising from your arm - But not before you clench down on the triggers. Plasma bolts chatter, chain-linked shots eating through the thing's gullet, punching into it's very core - It shrieks and wails and thrashes, as flame scorches through it's eyes into it's brainpan, but the flailing legs strike sparks from your cracked armor as it hammers at you, as if determined to drag you down to death with it...Your left-arm gatling chugs, the mechanisms and barrel clogged with ichor. A sooty explosion judders down your arm, as it overheats, shutting down at last; But not before you've fed the creature an entire charge, it's insides scorched to nothing. With a last rattle, it goes still - Utterly shot through, though the weight is crushing your legs, blade-limbs still scraping at you--Then there's a blue flash, and the weight is gone. The creature's thorax falls away, slumping back on itself as it's limbs curl in death...The edges of the cut still smoking. Better late than never.Chrome Cypher looms above you, his spear gone - Grounding his humming blade, lens flickering as they focus on you. The silver figure seems to hesitate, then, in a toneless growl...> "*How* are you here?"> HP: 52%> Meter: 8%
>>19297988The same way you got here.The more important question seems to be why, and the answer is to save your ass.
>>19297988Was on the train when it started it's attack. Please tell me you're not interested in fighting me at the moment. I'd much rather like to just know what the flying fuck that was.
>>19297988Who are you then?I was on the train when this thing attacked, I was just defending myself.
>>19297998This.
>>19297988>How"Same way as you. More importantly, the *WHY* is to help you. Also, not dying is a pretty nice bonus."
>>19297998>>19298003Don't say "save your ass" for all we know he could have defeated it without our interference.
>>19297999This, please
>>19297999trips gets my vote
>>19297998this
I don't think we ever talked while being transformed
>>19298039I don't think we've ever had any need to. The other battles we've been too busy kicking their ass to taunt them, this however might require diplomacy.
We weren't really saving his ass so much as we were saving our OWN ass.
>>19298084This.We didn't even know he was there before transforming.
>>19298084Well, we came to assist and not died in a train crash, then he decided it'd be fun to fall of the train and not help. It's kinda like saving his ass.>>19298087We knew there was a second figure before we transformed, we saw it.
>>19298095My point still stands. We came to save our own ass.
> Was on the train when it started it's attack. Please tell me you're not interested in fighting me at the moment. I'd much rather like to just know what the flying fuck that was.You hear a *clunk* like an autoloader cycling - Only to realize that he's chuckling, through the voice synthesizer. "Not *yours*, then," Cypher comments, almost to himself. "Thought it was..." the visor pans back and forth, as he shakes his head. "Something new. Something that isn't known."A corona of green corospant flickers around your forms - tendrils of arching witchlight, the inner glow that comes with a Level Up. Cypher takes a slow step back, canting his helmet to the side - In a nod of acknowledgement. "Welcome to a wider world, Joker." he growls, and his humming blade lashes out. Not at you - It's a slow, dragging cut that begins at the bottom of the car, slicing up and over in a perfect, coring circle...-And with a shriek of metal, a spray of sparks, the front of the train begins to pull away, sliced into two perfect halves. Receding into the distance, you see the chrome figure turn - As the world begins to shift and blur around you, one reality seguing into the next...> RED JOKER LEVEL UP > THRESHOLD SYSTEM UNLOCKED> INITIALIZING: IMMERSION TIME EXTENDED.> SELECT UPGRADE BONUS.[ ] FORCE (WEAPON UPGRADE)[ ] METER (FASTER METER GAIN) [ ] GUARD (DEFENSIVE UPGRADE)[ ] SURVIVE (VITALITY UP)[ ] EVOL (ABILITY UNLOCK)[ ] ROULETTE (RANDOM RELIC) YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>19298109>[x] GUARD (DEFENSIVE UPGRADE)
>>19298109[x] GUARD (DEFENSIVE UPGRADE)Our offensive capabilities are okay, and so's our mobility. But this fight showed that some attacks may still hit us, and we'll need higher DEF.
>>19298109[X] EVOL (ABILITY UNLOCK)We just got force, Roulette seems too random, we seem to be living OK without Guard and Survive and I'd rather get more stuff from Evol before we boost the Meter gain. We barely hit 50% and that was with it being on its own ground and getting into melee. No need to focus on Survive or Guard.Also, remember to draw our symbol somewhere, we can't slip up and forget, we've got a reputation to uphold.
[ ] ROULETTE (RANDOM RELIC)
>>19298109roulette!
[X] ROULETTE (RANDOM RELIC)
>>19298109[X] EVOL (ABILITY UNLOCK)This looks like a solid choice.
>[ ] ROULETTE (RANDOM RELIC) Come to daddy
Anything but the roulette.Lets not depend on items.
>>19298128Drawing our symbol really only has meaning when we've thrashed someone with sapience.
>>19298145>>19298136>>19298132Do you people remember what happened to the last person we saw with a Relic? IT BROKE. Also we have no clue if it's going to be good or meh.EVOL.
Look at what happened to our last opponent. Relic didn't save his ass, and it can be broken during a fight. It's just too much liability for not enough gain.
>>19298172EVOL or Guard seem like solid choices.
>>19298109Let's go with [X] RELIC, we may get something awesome.
rolled 82 = 82OP here: Wow, that's a lot of votes. I'll give it five more minutes before I'll go with the majority.
>>19298188Or we could get some kind of useless shit.
>>19298188Or something completely boring and not all that impressive. You only want gambles like that if you've been losing and you need something big to have a chance, we've been stomping all over everyone's face so far, why risk it when we could get a solid upgrade that we know will help.
>>19298205My vote is for EVOL. Also, OP, is high better for relics, or low better? Or is it just a crapshoot?
>>19298188Or we could get something shitty.A Relic is a liability because it can be broken and because it is dependent on conditions for it to work. Having a Relic didn't help the rocker whose face we completely stomped.
>>19298205Or not, kinda the point of random. Not sure why people assume random means always terrible.
>>19298218True, but we were practically built to stomp his shit in anyway.
>>19298219Because the probability of it being useful to us is much lower than a straight upgrade to defense or to evolve a new ability. They can't be broken during a fight, we can't lose them and therefore waste an entire upgrade, and are inherent to us rather than an object that we could be separated from.
>>19298327(It's a crapshoot. Higher doesn't necessarily mean better, and lower doesn't mean it's bad. Looks like we're going with EVOL, then.)You feel your form contort, the witchlight shimmer crawling over your armor, discharging in patient tics of lightning. You *feel* the change coming - Your Triskelion launcher retracting, migrating from your bulky arms to sleek missile pods on your back. But that's only the beginning of the alterations; The pauldrons of your armor fan out, growing wider, more baroque...Before they detach, hovering freely before you, orbiting your form. At your mental command, a molecule-thin plane of energy extends from the emitters; The tiny drones rotating at high speeds, forming half-cohered blurs of slicing force. There's three of them - One at each shoulder, and one at the small of your back - and you can *make* them move through effort of will alone.YOU HAVE UNLOCKED - INTERCEPTOR SYSTEM V1.0(When activated, you can release up to three semi-autonomous Interceptors. At this level, they can attack a designated opponent, or intercept incoming projectiles. If destroyed, they will 'respawn' the next time you're transformed. The meter drains slowly while they're activated, but it only costs 1% for each one to be triggered.)Continued...
>>19298337As the real world snaps back into focus, you register the gloom giving way at last - The lights coming back on. The shrill wail of the train's increasing speed gives way to a tranquil, sedate drone...Almost as though the panic of the last few minutes never happened. The floor is very cold beneath you, as you sit up - To a relieved sigh from Natsumi, both your friends eyeing you with concern. "-See, he's all right," Kazuya says - There's a reddened graze on the side of his head, where he must've bumped himself. "He must've tripped, in the dark..." Natsumi releases your hand, flashing you a wan but relieved smile as she draws back - Exhaling softly. "...You had me worried for a moment there, Anon-kun." [ ] "What happened?"[ ] "Are you okay, Natsumi?"[ ] "You all right, Kazuya?"[ ] FreeYOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>19298383[X] "What happened?"
>>19298383[x] "What happened?"We need to know what's going on, and this is a nice neutral question.
>>19298383[X] Free"I'm fine, how are you guys?"
>>19298416This
> [X] "What happened?""Everything just...stopped." Natsumi's voice is faintly disbelieving, as if she can't quite understand it, either. "I thought we were going to derail, or crash...A-and then suddenly..." "-It was all right," Kazuya finishes. "The lights came back on, the train slowed down...And everything's back to normal." He fingers his newly-acquired bruise, and winces. "I hit my head, when I was at the brake - Still a little sore." "You weren't moving ~ I wasn't sure what happened, until you woke up."> [x] "I'm fine, how are you guys?""Been worse." With an expressive shrug, Kazuya waves off the question - "From the sound of it, I had the easier time." Natsumi shoots him a mock-annoyed glance, her red hair almost falling over her eyes; "Me? It *was* a bit scary, but...I'm glad you were there, Anon-kun." She shivers, just a little. "-For a moment, I thought we were *done* for...But it's just a circuit fault, they're saying..." Her voice trails off, as the intercom crackles to life.> "Next stop, Hajuro-cho. Next stop, Hajuro-cho."Your stop. After *all* that, the coincidence makes you laugh - But not before you see something, something that sends a superstitious shudder up your spine. In the corners of the train, swept-clean before, frayed spiderwebs gather; In each one, like dry, rustling leaves, tiny spiders lie upended, their legs curled in death. The faint scorched-hair smell of burning lingers in the air, like brimstone - And before your very eyes, they crumble to sifting dust, blown away as the doors open.JOKER QUEST IIIEND
>>19298514OP here - Sorry for the rather abrupt ending, but it's rather late on my side. You've been a great audience - I'll run the next game same time next week, if I can't make it this weekend.Thanks for everything, and good night.
>>19298337> INTERCEPTOR SYSTEM V1.0Go! FUNERU!
>>19298543It's been a pretty interesting quest so far. It's like 3am where I am, actually.Any chance you have a future schedule in mind?
>>19298561I'll try to run it on Wednesdays and Saturdays, around 4:00 PM CST.
>>19298514It looks like things are starting to bleed into the real world.So, fa/tg/uys, here's the most important question. are we going for the librarian or friend-chan...or are we waiting for the demon girl?
>>19298674Librarian. You shouldn't even have to ask, we're not going after friend and there is no way in hell we can trust demon girl.
>>19298674I'm biased towards cute, bookish girls myself, so librarian.
>>19298674Librarian or demon girl. we wouldn't be able to trust the latter an inch, but the sex would be crazy.
>>19298700Demon girl is the hottest, it looks like. But there's too much that's weird about her for us to rely on.
>>19298732She may be attractive, but she's also to be trusted about as far as we can throw a train.Also let the Librarian chick has the demure thing going for her, which will only add to potential hotness once she lets down her hair and puts on a nice dress.
>>19298792It's a stretch, but they might be same girl. As to why she turned up in eality, yeah, i got nothing.Is this thread archiving?
>>19298974No, someone should probably archive it.
does anyone know how to archive a thread?
