(Sorry for the delay: I had a late start.)Recap: You are ANON, the RED JOKER. In our last instalment, you helped CHROME CYPHER and multiple allied Players purge a titanic, city-devouring CORRECTOR from the face of the earth, thanks to your QUANTUM SINGULARITY CANNON. Later, you also convinced your buddy, KAZUYA, to finally confess to NATSUMI, the girl he's always had a crush on...Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Joker%20QuestPrevious Thread:http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/20068677/Equipment FAQ:http://pastebin.com/UwxgWj6j
>>20143325Yesterday was the longest day of your life. Between the Armory Guardian, the excruciating agony of the Vitruvian Device and the minor war that followed...It's no surprise that - As soon as you got home - you slept like the dead for sixteen hours straight.You dreamt you were awake the entire time, longing for sleep. Now, though...Now, it's just after midnight, and the city is picking up the pieces. An entire day has come and gone, and you feel - Well, you feel like someone's taken you apart, and pieced you back together with duct tape. But it'll pass. It always passes. Tonight, though...You have somewhere to be. You can't afford to lie around, as much as you'd like to: Not today, of all days. Any longer, and you'd miss it. Your limbs feel like lead, as you haul yourself from your bed - Your bleary eyes looking around the confines of your flat. It's...[ ] ...Rather cluttered. You've been meaning to tidy up, but you can never quite find the time.[ ] ...Neat, but mostly empty. You don't spend much time at home. [ ] ...rather lived-in. You've done your best to make it as homely as possible, but even so...YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20143325Is...Is that a GM's head?
>>20143380[X] ...rather lived-in. You've done your best to make it as homely as possible, but even so...Fuck yeah joker quest.
>>20143380[X] ...rather lived-in. You've done your best to make it as homely as possible, but even so...It feels like home, a tiny bit untidy, a bit broken in, all the furniture is softened from use.
>>20143380[X]lived inWe need to check up on a few things before we head out, namely:-The pulse blog. There were thousands of other competitors present to face the corrector. I have a theory that the number of accidents in the area lowered drastically as a result(more people worried about fighting the corrector rather than eliminating one another). -The knife. The one we had with us when we fought cerberus. You said we only used it once. What can we remember of that one time?-The inflence of both our status as the red joker, and the curse of the black joker. How much bleeds over from our world to the next and vice versa? It seems to me that people participating in this "game" seem to gravitate towards their alter-ego subconsciously in what they wear, their personality, the tools of their trade, so on and so forth.
Wait a sec..is this "Totally not Acell World" the Quest, or something?
> [X] ...Rather lived in.That's right. It's nothing special, but it's yours. You've done your best to keep it tidy, but still...Things do pile up. The tiles are cold against your bare feet, as you splash water on your face - The black screen of your laptop winking back to life from 'standby', as you twitch the mouse. It's an odd site; The blog is a series of articles cataloguing the disasters that've befallen the city, one after another - The recent earthquake, of course, is the most recent update. The main draw, of course, is the literal 'Black Room' itself...An imposing flash animation of an obsidian monolith, countless names scrawled upon the surface - Increasing day by day. You've already read about the 'freak earthquake'. Massive property damage...But conversely, little loss of life. It's a miracle of sorts; For something of this magnitude, the death toll is *way* below the average, with a mere handful of deaths - The industrial district was hit the worst, with several half-built buildings utterly levelled...-Still, it could be much worse.(Continued.)
>>20143658Kinda sorta. But supernatural and much more dangerous to the participants.
>>20143658Yes and noCombat is lethal and causes the users to die by an accident if they losePlayers have mecha style suitsThere's no abilities used in the real world or money gained from it just combat and power that separates the real world from the arena world which we still know sweet bugger all about
> The Knife.Not for the first time, you look around you - With a vague, blurry frustration, as you push through the cotton in your head. Where did you put it? You remember, of course. In a lead-lined box, underneath your bed - Right where you left it, after the disastrous concert. As always, you unclasp the simple box, checking that it's still there...You can't be too careful, when you've dealing with something not *quite* of earth. It's not really a weapon, but a memento; A keepsake, really.A reminder of the time when...[ ] ...Your armor was a dull, pitted grey.[ ] ...You still wore sky-blue plate, rather than crimson.[ ] ...Your armor was still fashioned from brass. [ ] ...You were sheathed in emerald-green steel. It tugs at your hand, with the weight of memory. It's hard to believe that it used to be...[ ] ...A great hammer. [ ] ...A two-handed blade.[ ] ...The casing of an oversized gauntlet.[ ] ...Part of a matchless shield.YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>20143774[X] ...You still wore sky-blue plate, rather than crimson.[X] ...A two-handed blade.
>>20143774[ ] ...Your armor was a dull, pitted grey.[ ] ...The casing of an oversized gauntlet.
>>20143774[X] ...Your armor was a dull, pitted grey.[X] ...The casing of an oversized gauntlet.
>>20143774[x]... You were sheathed in emerald green steel[x]... The casing of an oversized gauntlet
>>20143774[X] Sky Blue plate[X] Two handed bladeMAXIMUM CRAZY ENGAGED
(OP here:It seems the majority is for 'Gauntlet' so far.Still need a tiebreaker on the armor color, though.)
>>20143774> [X] Sky-Bluebecause grey is boring. My other vote is for FIST, because that's what everyone wants.
Blue to red is so cliche. The image of the grey filling in with color appeals to me far more.But I already made my vote.
[x] ...Your armor was a dull, pitted grey.[x] ...A great hammer.
>>20143912You have a point. I'll change my vote to grey, then. Op, I'm this guy, btw:>>20143909
>>20143912That's just about as cliche though with the whole blank slate trope.
You turn your hand over, holding your palm up to the air - Then curl your fingers into a ball. Once - Just once - before the Plasma Vulcans, your right hand was sheathed in a monstrous cestus, lined with green enamel and patient tics of lightning...Ending in jagged industrial talons, balancing the heft and power of a titanic wrecking fist.Now...This knife, hammered from gritty grey steel - It's all that's left. You sheath it, and fold it away into your coat pocket.It's time to go. You head out, your breath fuming in the air. It's a cold night, and it's even colder when you reach the streets at last; An unseasonal chill. Something in the air...White clouds swirling beneath the glow of the full moon. You should...[ ] Walk. It's not far.[ ] Use Kazuya's scooter. [ ] Take a shortcut through the red world. YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20143985[X] Walk. It's not far.We don't need to use the scooter and I can't see taking a shortcut through the red world as a safe option.
>>20143985WalkKazuya's scooter was wrecked and the red world is always dangerous one way or another
>>20143985[X] WalkWe've been spending an awful lot of time in the red world as of late. We should show SOME restraint.
Uh, question did we ever get around to reading that book Asuna gave us the first time we went to the library?
>>20143985You walk. It's a good night for it.How many times have you done this, so far? You know the way, but it's harder to find the place each time...Today, you're cutting it especially late, in fact. Even through your thick coat, the chill bites all the way to the bone - but it's almost refreshing, clearing your head after an entire day of sleep. The streets are eerily quiet, here...But that's hardly unusual. People shy away from this particular route, on instinct - They shiver, and walk on without knowing why. For the first time, you almost miss it; It's something in the interplay of shadows, the jagged edge of the city's skyline, that makes the street blur together. It's another ten minutes of walking back and forth...-But at last, you're there.(Continued.)
It's at the end of an alley, cold and dark. The wind howls mournfully at the gap, as you step in; Momentarily silhouetted against the light. Your footfalls are the only sound - Other than the faint chittering of rats - as you walk to the pitted wall at the far end...There's a mark on the surface, etched into the stone. It's a mark you've made...A dozen times, now, maybe more, though it was drawn in a different hand....The grinning, lopsided harlequin smile of the Red Joker. [ ] "Hello again; It's been a while."[ ] "...What am I doing? I have to stop coming here..."[ ] "-Hey there. I brought you something, this time."YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>20144098[X] "-Hey there. I brought you something, this time."We talk to the gravestone of the previous Red Joker when we need to think or anything like that. I like that.
>>20144098[X] Hello again; It's been a while.And there it is- Our fates entwined for better or worse.Well then gentlemen, let's get to work.
[X] "-Hey there. I brought you something, this time."
[x] "-Hey there. I brought you something, this time."Woohoo backstory incoming, I hope.
>>20144098[ ] "-Hey there. I brought you something, this time."I hope it's a cat.The thing thats here, not the..not what we brought.
You take the Relic shard - A barbed fragment from Kerebos's guitar - and set it down on the alley floor, beneath the mark. You've never liked this place; It's always too quiet, devoid even of the filthy scurrying of rats, or the chill caress of the wind. Just utter stillness and silence.-He'd have liked somewhere he could see the sun. Faint motes of light - A wan green glow, barely visible - dissolve into the night air. For an instant (Just a trick of light) the filth of the alley seems to lift; A fitful sputter of sparks giving way to a momentary glow of heat. The Red Joker's symbol grins it's eternal death-head's grin; In another world entirely, this place would be markedly less pleasant - The lightless heart of a deep crater, descending all the way to the core of the world. It was the only place you could leave him, and you're sorry about that. (Continued.)
>>20144226It's odd. You never really knew who he was, until those final, hateful hours; When he brought you out of the infinite dark, back through the hole in the heart of the crimson world. A place that can only be reached in one world...Well, maybe it's for the best. [ ] "...I wish I could've done more."[ ] "-I'm sorry for what happened...But it was the only way."[ ] "I don't know why you did...What you *did*...but I still owe you."YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>20144278[ ] "...I wish I could've done more."We choose something along the lines of "He was suffering" before if i remember right, so this would fit nicely.
>>20144278[X] "...I wish I could've done more."
>>20144278[x] "...I wish I could've done more"
>>20144278[X] "...I wish I could've done more."Maybe we'll get the chance when we reach the endgame. Maybe our predecessor will see the sun then.
>>20144278> [x] "...I wish I could've done more."...Yeah. It's a foolish wish, but still - You'll always wonder what might have been, on tonight of all nights. If only you could've done something, anything other than to make the end quick...It was a mercy. He'd been eaten alive, and you'd seen bone and organ meat beneath the shards of red plate. And the *smell* - Like battery acid, like liquid madness, rank and suffocating.> Always the drop, always the drop into endless fires below...That was as close to dying as you've ever come. If not for him...An old man dies, a boy lives. You hope he considered it a fair exchange.[ ] "You were right: It's happening all over again."[ ] "Don't worry; I'll be the one to win, this time."[ ] "...Sleep well, old man. And thank you."YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20144392[x ] "...Sleep well, old man. And thank you."
>>20144392[X] "...Sleep well, old man. And thank you."No need to burden the dead with our troubles, thank him for saving us, it won't be enough to pay him back but it's all we can give him.
>>20144392[X] "Don't worry; I'll be the one to win, this time."For all the lives we've been forced to take, for the one who came before us... We're going to raise hell. We're going to take the fight all the way to the top.
[ ] "Don't worry; I'll be the one to win, this time."[ ] "...Sleep well, old man. And thank you."
>>20144466>>20144414Both good reasons.
> [X] "Don't worry; I'll be the one to win, this time."> [X] "...Sleep well, old man. And thank you."That's right. It's up to you now, whatever you choose; For his sake, you'll reach the end of it all.It's the least you could do. Until next time, then, you think - stepping away from the wall, as the last fragments of the Relic complete their disintegration. You're cold, hungry, and sore...And yet you can't help but feel a weight lift from your shoulders, a burden you didn't even know you were carrying. It feels *right*.You take one last look around the squalid little alley, as you turn to...-Your foot kicks something (A discarded can?), and you hear a frightened *gasp*, over the rattling clatter. The shadows in a corner of the alley grow a head, then shoulders - Then a sudden mitosis that leaves the darkness behind, resolving into a shape stumbling for the way out.[ ] "Who's there?"[ ] Catch up to it.[ ] Let it go; Whatever it is, it's already fleeing.[ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20144561[X] Catch up to it.Given that it's running I don't think asking who it is would convince it to respond.
>>20144561Catch up to itAnd when it turns out to be Hecate talk to her about what red was to her.
>>20144561[X] Catch up to it.>The shadows in a corner of the alley grow a head, then shoulders - Then a sudden mitosis that leaves the darkness behind, resolving into a shape stumbling for the way out.UH HUH SURE THING BLACK JOKER.
You break into a brief sprint; Three long strides take you to the retreating figure, as it draws away from you - You hear quick, panicked breathing, as you reach out...-Your hand closes on a shoulder, an instant before clawing nails rake down your arm. The blow's desperate, but with little force - It slides off your coat with little more than a unpleasant sound, as the shadowy shape staggers into the wall-You make out frantic eyes, long hair framing delicate features- Contorted in a kind of blind, animal panic - as the girl tries to pull away from you, a faint *gasp* sawing from her lips. Even in the poor light, you can make out the faint bruises on her throat, her face - The rents and stains in her...cassock? No, it's a school uniform, though not one you recognize.[ ] Let go.[ ] "Easy - easy! I'm not going to hurt you."[ ] "Who are you?"[ ] "What are you *doing* here?"[ ] Free
>>20144651[X] "Easy - easy! I'm not going to hurt you."[X] "What are you *doing* here?"In as gentle and comforting a tone as possible.
>>20144651[X] "Easy - easy! I'm not going to hurt you."[X] "Who are you?"[X] "What are you *doing* here?"
>>20144663Seconding this. "I'm sorry for grabbing you, its just... usually nobody comes here."
> [X] "Easy - easy! I'm not going to hurt you."Maybe it's the tone of your voice, but the frantic light in her eyes dims - Just a little - as she relaxes; You can feel her shivering, as you release her...Drawing away, just a little, as she regards you cautiously, shrinking back onto herself. "...I'm sorry," she says, faintly - Her words tinged with an odd, fragile edge. Her pale face is white in the dark, her lips cracked and faintly purple - One arm clasped to her chest, in a warding gesture. "I thought you were..." Her voice trails off, and she looks away. > [X] "Who are you?"She just shakes her head, no, regarding you with that wan face. The hem of her dress trails in the mingled scum of the alley, patchy stains on the dark fabric. She looks like she's been crying. > [X] "I'm sorry for grabbing you, its just... usually nobody comes here."> [X] "What are you *doing* here?"No-one comes here. In this crimson world, this place doesn't exist; Most people would shy away, given the oppressive atmosphere that hangs over the area. It's not that they *can't* - It's just that generally, most people would prefer *not to* be here.Except you, of course. But you're different."No, ummm, I..." She wipes at her eyes, a soft sob in her throat. "-It's all right. I'm, I'm sorry too - I was just...just..."Another slow shake of her head.(Continued.)
Then, at last: "...Kotone," she offers, in a tiny voice. "I'm Kotone..."[ ] "You're from Seisin High, aren't you? Did you miss your train?"[ ] "-It's a little late to be out, tonight."[ ] "...Shouldn't you be at home?"[ ] "Are you all right?"[ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20144831[x ] "Are you all right?"
[ ] "Are you all right?"[ ] "You're from Seisin High, aren't you? Did you miss your train?"
>>20144831[X] "Are you all right?"[X] Free.The only reason I can think that someone else would come here is if they were running from something. What are you running from?
>>20144831[X] Did you know him? Did you come to pay your respects as well?
>>20144916This
>>20144876Let's go with this one.
> [X] "Are you all right?"> [X] "You're from Seisin High, aren't you? Did you miss your train?"...Yes, she's from Seisin - An all-girl's school, on the other side of the city. At first, in the poor light, you didn't recognize her uniform. She looks away, unwilling to meet your eyes; "...I fell," she says at last, whisper-soft, her gaze lowered to the alley floor, with a tiny shake of her head; But you see her wince, as her questing fingertips brush against her bruised face. > [X] Did you know him? Did you come to pay your respects as well?"No, I..." Kotone begins, wavering; You notice that she's soaked through, the stained fabric of her dress clinging to her skin. "I, I don't..."> [X] The only reason I can think that someone else would come here is if they were running from something. What are you running from? "...Running from?" A pause, as those dull eyes meet yours; Then she nods, slowly. "...Yes, I think I have to do that. I...I have to run away." Softly, her voice tightening: "-I don't know where to go..." [ ] "I'll walk you out of here. This place isn't safe."[ ] "I could call a cab."[ ] "...Is it really that bad? Let me take you home."[ ] "You could stay over at my place. Just for tonight, I mean."[ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20144998[X ] "I'll walk you out of here. This place isn't safe."[x ] "I'll walk you out of here. This place isn't safe."
>>20144998[ ] "I'll walk you out of here. This place isn't safe."[ ] "...Is it really that bad? Let me take you home."
>>20145025Okay that second one was supposed to be [x][ ] "You could stay over at my place. Just for tonight, I mean."I'm just terrible it looks like.
>>20144998> [] "You could stay over at my place. Just for tonight, I mean."It feels vaguely exploitative, but it seems to be the best solution. This girl is clearly an abused kid.
>>20144998[X] "I'll walk you out of here. This place isn't safe."[X] "You could stay over at my place. Just for tonight, I mean."but if you're not comfortable with that[X] Let me take you home.
[ ] "...Is it really that bad? Let me take you home."[ ] "You could stay over at my place. Just for tonight, I mean."
>>20144998[X] Running isn't always the answer, sometimes that makes it worse. At any rate, you should consider yourself lucky tonight- I'm in the business of making things run from me. And whatever happens to be after you will be doing the same by the end of the night. Let's go.
> [X] "I'll walk you out of here. This place isn't safe.">> 20144998> [X] "You could stay over at my place. Just for tonight, I mean.""I can...?" This time, the shivery desperation in her voice is all-too-obvious; You nod, and she smiles, wanly - A faint, tremulous curve of her lips. It's a small gesture, but you can feel the pure, shaky relief in it - As if glad for any reprieve, no matter how small. You make an odd pair, as you walk back the way you came; In the distance, faint noises issue forth, growing louder as you head for the safety of the well-lit streets. The temperature is still falling - It's going to be a cold night, one of the coldest you've known. Kotone follows you in silence - Trailing behind a little, as if oddly hesistant now...But it's not long before you reach your flat, the door creaking slowly as it swings open. When you step inside, you hear her exhale, softly - A shivery sigh, as if all her pent-up tension, the vague, gnawing fear, has been soothed at last. "...It's nice," Kotone murmurs, her eyes wide and soft; Looking around herself with a faint puzzlement. "Ummm, where should I...?" [ ] Feel free to sit anywhere. [ ] Are you hungry?[ ] -We really should get those treated.[ ] Free. YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20145177[X] Feel free to sit anywhere. [X] -We really should get those treated.Tell her to sit down somewhere and that we'll be right back as we go and fetch a basic first aid kit and deal with her wounds. Once that is done we'll get her some food and give her a blanket and the couch.
[ ] Feel free to sit anywhere. [ ] -We really should get those treated.[ ] Are you hungry?That order
>>20145177[X] Make yourself at home. It's nice to have visitors once in a while.
> [X] Make yourself at home. It's nice to have visitors once in a while.> [X] Feel free to sit anywhere. > [X] We really should get those treated.The next hour passes quickly, for you; It takes you a moment to find the small first-aid kit you keep at the ready, a bit longer to tend to Kotone's cuts and bruises. They're superficial, but still painful - To her credit, she doesn't flinch much, beyond the occassional wince as you dab the cuts with disinfectant. In the warm glow of your apartment's lamps, you can't help but think: She looks almost like a doll, her face pale and composed but for the hollows beneath her eyes. > [X] Are you hungry?-you ask, as you're gathering up the medical detritus; She doesn't answer, except for a tiny nod. She does revive, though, when you set the plate before her, (Tomorrow's packed lunch.) eating with a delicate, almost dainty grace. Well, mostly. Maybe it's the stress of the day, or being out of the cold at last; But more than once, you notice Kotone sway slightly, her fingers almost losing their grip on chopsticks or spoon - Before she blinks herself awake. "Thank you," she says, her voice soft, sleepy now - Then a little embarassed at her own drowsiness, as she smothers a yawn with her hand. "...It's been - you've been - very kind." [ ] "Don't mention it; It's my pleasure."[ ] "What were you running from?"[ ] "It's all right; You should get some sleep."[ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20145335[X] "Don't mention it; It's my pleasure."[X] "What were you running from?"Don't push her on who she's running from, but see if she is willing to talk about it.
>>20145335[X] "It's all right; You should get some sleep."Let the poor girl sleep, she's drifting right off. We can question her on the morrow.
>>20145335I kind of like this girl, she seems like one of the classical japanese beauties. damned if i can remember the name. edit: Found it, it's yamato nadeshiko
>>20145335[X] "It's all right; You should get some sleep."Then[X] TRANSFORM!If the thing she's been running from followed her all the way here from the alley, It won't hesitate to attack her when we're sleeping- Fuck giving it that chance. We're going to sit down next to Kotone and wait for this thing.
> [X] "Don't mention it; It's my pleasure."> [X] "What were you running from?"There's a long silence - Broken only when Kotone looks away, biting her lip. Her fingers trace her bruised cheek, a flicker of something unknowable - reluctance, shame - crossing her features. "...I'm sorry," she says, faintly; "-If I can, I'd...I'd rather not say." She looks downcast, her pale hands on her lap - It's almost a relief when you leave the room to retrieve a spare blanket, circling back...To find her curled up on the couch, relaxed into a deep, exhausted sleep. Asleep, Kotone seems strangely relieved; As if her worries have been wiped away, the lines of her face relaxing at last, long tresses of dark hair spilling across the cushions. She murmurs, faintly, as you drape the thick blanket across her - More than once, you hear her mumbling in her sleep, half-cohered muttering that means nothing. (Continued.)
>> 20145410It's a few hours later, when you've shut the door - turned the lights off - that you draw a deep, slow breath...-And step sideways, into the crimson world. As you've found, not *everywhere* has an analogue in both words - Your apartment, however, does. Here, it's pretty much the same, though devoid of decoration - An empty flat, bare of any furniture. Through the window, you make out the full moon; The mournful wind ghosting through the night. Your armored boots clank on the floor, as you pace across to where Kotone would be sleeping; Just a faint, ghostly wisp marking the spot where she should be. You wait. (Roll a 1d100.)
rolled 41 = 41>>20145508rolling for happenings.
rolled 26 = 26>>20145508
rolled 33 = 33>>20145508
>>20145564>>20145548>>20145531You wait. Time flows strangely, here; You're not sure how long your vigil lasts, as you stand guard. Two hours, at least, maybe three - At some point, the grinding screech of armor, the clash of steel-on-steel makes you start...Until you look out the window, making out the back-and-forth flicker of a nocturnal duel. DERLUG VSGRAN BELLION.Derlug's Storm Guns spit crackling bolts of artifical lightning - Even as his opponent smashes them aside, deflecting each hissing blast on a winged tower shield, the surface bristling with thorny barbs. A cyclopean eye on the surface wrenches open; You feel the shudder of gravimetric distortion, as shattered flechettes of rock lift from the surface of the cracked and blistered road below...-Before they blast forth in a rotating storm of shards, fracturing against Derlug's armor, drawing a muffled cry. The pitch-black gunslinger staggers, returning ineffective, two-fisted fire; Something like an EMP grenade fills your vision with a crackling wash of static, even at this distance. Business as usual, then.[ ] Take a closer look.[ ] It's a private matter; Not your concern.[ ] FreeYOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20145640[X] It's a private matter; Not your concern.The girl is our main matter.Keep an eye on them as they fight but don't leave the girl's side.
> [ ] It's a private matter; Not your concern.Wow, people are still fighting? It's not really our problem, is it? Just watch to see who wins, while we stay here.
rolled 51 = 51>>20145640> It's a private matter; Not your concern.The moment they indanger the girl, whe take em both out.
[X] It's a private matter; Not your concern.Make sure they don't spill over into our apartment but otherwise keep an eye on the girl
Demon names again? This is really intriguing.
>>20145640[X] We should be watching the things that AREN'T the battle. Does anything look or feel off about your surroundings? What about that cold feeling that's been slowly intensifying the whole night?
You keep waiting.Beneath you, the fight comes to a sudden end; As lightning bounces off his shield, Gran Bellion - A hulking shape in jade-green plate - crosses the distance in a sudden lunge, slamming into Derlug *so hard* the impact spades him right into the air.But only for a moment; The shield slams down again, and again, stray lightning bolts crackling in all directions, until a final hammering blow crumples Derlug's helmet like tinfoil. For an instant, Gran Bellion's victory roar echoes through the buildings, as his form crackles with witchlight; Before he fades out, the night gloomy once more.You keep waiting, and then...-You hear it. It's a faint mutter, like the murmur of the wind; A cold you can feel right to the very core of your being, cold to the bone. Colder than you've ever felt; You feel frost crystals blister against your armor - And a buzzing, buzzing, like the surrusation of insect wings. Something is coming, and it's somewhere in this building. YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20145759Spool up the Vulcans. If we know there is only one way to get into our apartment we may want to go there to cut whatever it is off from the girl.
>>20145759Get ready, we don't know who or what is coming but don't look outright hostile.
>>20145759Okay we have an incoming threat. Get our Vulcans warmed up and ready to fire. Watch the entrances to our room but be prepared for it to come from below. Listen to the buzzing and try to get to it but don't wander far from the girl.
>>20145759Launch an interceptor and have it hover over Kotone. Use the assault shroud to create an image of you looking out the window, intently watching the end of the battle. Hide in the shadows and wait.
Derlug didn't left anything behind?
You move towards the living room - Or the crimson shadow of it, your forearm sheaths withdrawing; The familiar growl of your Vulcans thrumming in the chamber, as you step forward...-The ground gives way beneath your feet. There's no warning - Just an *absence*, where the floor should be. You *swear* that was something there, when you set your foot down - But a black pit yawns open beneath you, and you fall for one heart-stopping instant...Before you *slam* into something, with tooth-rattling force. The impact is stunning, almost enough to break you in half - You hit the ground like an armored meteor, crashing down into, into--Into a place you've never seen before.You're in a hall, of some kind - One panelled with flat black stones, meltwater drip-drip-dripping from the obsidian walls. It's dark, but there's just enough light - A faint glow - for your optic sensor make out faint movement in the darkness...YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20145829It seems like his opponent won, so his opponent got the levelup. Just like us, but from the outside.
>>20145833Shoot something. See what the muzzle flash reveals.
Your forearms Vulcans cycle up, with their tooth-grinding chatter; White flame spouts from their barrels in uneven jags of light, like a strobing torch - Your helmet system drinking in the light, lighting up...-You're not alone at all.There are shadows in the shadows, dark shapes that resolutely refuse to become visible, even to your eyes; Like holes in the fabric of reality. There's a chittering noise, like skittering rats...And the locust-wing buzzing, *buzzing*, now growing louder, *closer*...YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20145883Launch interceptors.
>>20145883Right then, time to apply the Tyrant Burst's second ability- A short-ranged photonic burst. (10-25% per blast.). Lay into the fiends with full vulcan coverage.
>>20145902>>20145833BY ALL YOUR SUGGESTIONS COMBINED; THIS IS .... SECONDED!!!!
>>20145954(Didn't see the most recent post, I'll rewrite the update)
>>20145954I call bullshit, somethings not right here. We dont get no Health and Meter Counter and i refuse that there is something we can do NOTHING against. I think we might have been caught in a illusion.
A surge of will, and your Inteceptors launch, their energy fields ripping the darkness to pieces wherever they move; You hear them riochet off the stonework, your vision jumping and flickering in the uneven light, as the attack drones scythe through the air, churning and slicing- The shadows ripple towards you. Your first Interceptor tears into the guts of the nearest one; Something splashes across the red-and-black marble underfoot, something that hisses and steams. A massive, clubbing blow from *nowhere* sends you reeling; You make out shapes writhing and flailing in the gloom, as they *come for you*- -There's a fitful sputter, as the charging coils of your Tyrant Burst cannon flicker to life...Discharging in an eye-searing scatterburst, photonic flechettes blasting in a wide cone before you. You hear screams - High, thready wails - as three shapes fall back into the darkness, evaporating in smoky contrails...Time slows, as you open fire. You swing right, and pummel something foul and shadowy, as you squeeze the triggers and KEEP SQUEEZING, unleashing a sustained burst - Until fitful illumination fills the room; Demon-shadows shredding before the barrage, an endless coiling tide... ...Something punches into your back, through your Assault Shroud. You feel the cold agony of the blade, as it *twists* - The pain is freezing, like glacial ice, as it plunges through your crimson armor and into your torso from behind...YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20146019Boost out and use an interceptor as a platform so we can redirect ourself to firing on whatever it was that just shanked us from behind.
>>20146019Ram backwards into the wall, crush that fucking thing. DO NOT STOP SHOOTING, and keep unloading the tyrant burst.
>>20146019Fuck. Use Cobalt Booster to strengthen our body, just enough so we can rip the blade out. Shoot whatever's holding the blade with our vulcans.
They're rushing you - Clawing at you, hacking, gouging, cratering your crimson armor, gashing it to grey. You reverse, slamming backwards into the obsidian walls - Something wet and fragile crumples like a crushed spider, as you reach back for the blade...-It doesn't want to come out. You set your feet, as cobalt lightning sizzles through your nerves - And you *pull* like never before. If it hurt going in...It hurts going out infinitely worse. You hear your pulse hammering in your ears, as you wrench the blade - like a spear, hooked and cruelly barbed - from your back, taking what feels like a solid chunk of your flesh with it...Before you promptly drive it into a squalling, clawing *thing*, as it tries to wrench your head off. In the faint blue glow, and fitful, jumping white light - As you lash out, splitting the skull of another half-seen *thing*, cutting down the others in blinding flashes of gunfire - you make the shape of a door, on the far end, your feet grinding the fallen into the ground; How many have you killed, so far? Another charging whine, another desperate, half-cohered blast that splits the air; It's weaker this time, lighting up just for a moment - But you can hear the shrieks as the light sears into them, buying you a moment to catch your breath...YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20146149We aren't going to last long like this. Start heading down the hall, taking potshots at any of these things that we go by.
>>20146149Run for the door. I don't know what the fuck is going on, but it can't be good. Holy shit, this is like some kind of nightmare.
>>20146149There's no way we haven't built enough meter for at least tier one munitions. Try firing a barrage of missles into the swarm, see what's working.
Staggering, you stumble towards the sliver of blackness, crunching over sprawled and mangled bodies - You can feel the slippery warmth of you own blood, trickling down beneath the armor, steaming in the chilly air. You fire away, half-blind, blasting at motion, cutting down your attackers in swift flashes of gunfire, your legs stiff and leaden...Rockets erupt from your shoulder racks, coiling away on wings of jetair and flame. The explosions are tight-packed, nearly point-blank; All the light does is to make the darkness filthy, now, thrashing limbs hurled in all directions as the shockwave buffets you...-And then you slam into a door that gives beneath your shoulders, swinging outwards beneath you, and you fall through again, into...You're somewhere else. Somewhere vast, dark and monumental, all black marble and ebony. You can feel the ground throb beneath your feet, quaking in paroxysms of rage.There's blood everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on the cracked marble - On you. The red of your armor is flaking off, to a pitted grey; Your limbs weak, heavy, as you struggle to get your bearings...You're not alone.(Continued.)
>>20146259He's waiting for you, black as night - Made of rage, masked by shadow. A baleful, red, staring light jags from hideous multifaceted eyes; They fume with power, limning his huge shape. He hears you move, or senses you, and he raises his massive head. The terrible light wells up from within his gorget, underlighting his face, giving the regal darkness a form.You can feel the hatred radiating from him, wave of palpable malice beating against you. He fumes with crackling power, polluting the world just by standing in it. His helmet fans up and outwards, into massive, hooked steeples of polished horn. The unlight sucks through the air, as it moves with him - An immense, metal-gloves hand reaching out to you.Beckoning, in the shivering flame-light.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20146310Oh.Shit.SHOOT HIM.
>>20146310>Metal Gloves handOh.Oh fuck.Guys, what happened to our old armor after we became Red Joker?
>>20146310Grab his hand and throw him towards that shit.
>>20146339I think it was made into the knife we're carrying? Jesus christ, what is happening?
>>20146310I think that stunt we pulled with the Singularity Cannon pissed somebody off. Shoot him, Interceptor him, use the Plasma Shotgun if we can!If we have reverted to our pre Joker body (our armor has gone grey, guys), punch him in the face!
>>20146310"Here we are at last, two halves reunited. I never thought I'd get the chance to thank you properly for your gift. It'd be remiss of me to not bring a present of my own- ENJOY!"PUT ALL COBALT BOOSTER ENERGY INTO VULCANS, USE THE SYMBOL AS AN ATTACK, CARVE IT INTO HIS CHEST. DO. NOT. STOP.
You bring your arms up, as he lunges. He makes no sound as he unfurls, growing larger; You glimpse, dimly, ebbing folds of darkness swallowing up your shots, as you unleash plasma fire at him - You get off two bursts, before the concussive force of his fist pulverizes your chest. You hit him. You *hurt* him. You feel a flash of fierce triumph as your boosted shots slam into that death-head's, blue-hot with cobalt lightning; It snaps his head back, and...Something - moving too fast to see, sharp as a million blades - makes a blazing blue spike as it shears through your left-arm vulcan, in a crescent of white fire. You hit the ground, your cuirass cracked; Your blood mists in the air, as you're hurled back into the far wall. There's no pain, but you can't feel your legs. You can't feel anything from the waist down, your ears still ringing from the titanic impact. The jaws of his helm yawn open and...-A churning cloud billows forth, towards you. You can hear the surrusation of their steel wings, the light gleaming off their flickering locust-shapes - Chittering hungrily, as they boil towards you.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20146412(Forget my trip, sorry.)
>>20146412Guys.I don't think we can win this fight. Search for an exit, and if you can find one bolt if movement is still possible at all. If it isn't, then UNLOAD EVERYTHING WE HAVE ON THIS SOB.
>>20146412I think we need our fusion annihalator. Please tell me it is charged. We need to cut through this swarm.
>>20146412It's a long shot but, see if we can't sneak an interceptor past the swarm into the black joker's mouthhelm. Destroy him from inside.
You try to move - You manage to raise yourself, your arms scraping against the blood-slick tiles - only to hear a dry, horrid grinding, a flare of sickly pain shuddering through you...-It's not that you can't feel your legs. They're on the other side of the room, as you try to move jagged stumps - They grate together with a ghostly flare of agony, as the devouring swarms boil towards you- There's something - wrong - with your left arm. You bring it up and-...And it's not your Fusion Annhilator. It's a long-barreled rifle of archaic design, bristling with the flat shapes of charge packs and coolant wires...-A Beam Magnum.And you think, what?And the Black Joker's fist punches into the ruin of your chestplate, and you-...And at last, you wake up.**********************You awaken chilled with sweat, the taste of raw flesh on your tongue. Your limbs quiver; You have to touch your own face, to believe that there's no blood upon it, that you're not in your crimson plate.You're...You're on your bed, the familiar ceiling revolving, slowly, into view. It's early; The sun just barely beginning to reach out with tentative beams of dawnlight. Your flat is silent, but - You heard something. You heard *a door slam*, the echo still lingering in your ears.YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20146522"Kotone?"Did- did we just see the black joker's latest kill? Perhaps the memory of him converting death caliber?
>>20146522NOPE. Jump out of bed, that's most likely the girl leaving the house.Check if she is still here. If not, we should go after her.
>>20146537Thats.... Likely. You think Blacky Boy is after Kotone? Trying to turn her into a host or something?
"Kotone?" you call, hoarse - Then again. "Kotone!"You feel stiff, soul-weary; The dream's edges too lucid, too sharp. Your hands - They're clean. Too clean. The dream-echo of the buzzing pounds inside your head, as you force yourself to your feet; The world sways, and you almost fall, until you brace yourself against the door. That nightmare - whatever it was - felt a real as waking life. Your limbs are still twitching with pent-up adrenaline, your body cold and clammy with sweat. "Kotone?"She's gone, but there's a note on the table; The paper curling at the edges, written in a strong feminine hand. It says:> Thank you for everything. I never want to see you again.And beneath, there's something - A mark that draws your gaze, that burns with fire so black your eye cannot hold it...It's a horned and laughing harlequin; A crude, scribbled graffitio, with a mouth pulled open until all you see is teeth. The shark-toothed grin seems to grow wider, and wider still- ...Until you realize the paper is beginning to smolder. YOU HAVE CONTROL.
>>20146593I can tell you with absolute certainty that whatever the black joker's planning means NOTHING good for us.
>>20146608FFFFFFFUCCCCKKKKKKHoly ffffffuck. Throw it as far away as possible.
>>20146608...Guys.We are gullible fucks.Back away from the paper, try and put it out if it bursts into flames
>>20146642She is running from her own ability.She wants to protect us from herself.This doesn't bode well.
You drop it, as if stung by a live scorpion, and back away. It doesn't burn; Not quite. Instead, the symbol widens in a smoking hole, until the paper crumbles to ash.Then less than ash.Then a wisp of smoke, uncoiling in the air. Then nothing. And then you're looking down at the slumbering city as it comes to life, the first rays of dawn rising over the horizon, spreading a golden caress across the world. Somewhere far, far below - Somewhere out there, in the bustling city - The Black Joker walks, cloaked in flesh: Frail, insignificant, shabby, miserable...And terrible, in the pure simplicity of his nature.He passes on unsuspected and deadly, like a canker in the heart of men. JOKER QUESTTO BE CONTINUED.
>>20146729CHAPTER TENEND.(Thank you all, you've been a wonderful audience. And thank you for bearing with me: This chapter has been a fairly exposition-heavy one, and I apologize for the inconvenience.I have to turn in for now - It's really late - But I'll try to run the next instalment this coming Monday...Or, failing that, next Thursday at around 2:30 - 3:30 Singapore time.Good night, and god bless.)
>>20146666Actually Satan, her running away from her abilities is best case scenario, if she has them.Worst Case scenario: She isn't running at all.After all, it seems a bit convenient that she happened to run right to gravesite.
>>20146752Good point but you got it slightly wrong666 is Satan 6666 is mega satan
>>20146608Wow, we are total suckers for a pretty face, aren't we?
>>20146752Maybe she knew we were coming.
