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STAGE: NARAKA

The world is a seething morass of noise and static - The bloodthirsty cheers of the assembled Players, through the spiked bars of the great cage - Fifty feet a side, at first glance - that encloses the arena. Charge flickers between the barbs, the sour taste of ozone and the bitter crackle of electricity echoing in your ears...

The last bolt was a scorching white stripe, like part of the screen of reality has burned out. Webs of occluded lightning flicker across the scorched surface of your Assault Shroud; Shreds of nanomaterial flaking off, revealing new rows of crimson hexagons beneath.

Helix Gygas hovers, walking on air. The horizontal slash of his visor is bright white, full of light - The electricity is in him, and he's brimming over with the stuff: Lethal charge sizzling between the Helix blades that hang in the air before him, each double-edged blade beginning to spin on it's own axis, becoming a whirling disc of knives...

"-You can cooperate by *holding still." he sneers, his voice rough and nasal but not weak. The cables that make out his form slither and snake and spark, as if echoing his words; There's something like distortion at the edge of his speech, an echo to every word.

He brings his arms up - Shuddering spheres of electricity seething at his palms - and the the blades lurch towards you, whirring and chopping the air, their moaning drone lost in the roar of the crowd; Blurred arcs barely visible amid the moiling grey confusion outside.

HP: 123.8%
COBALT BOOSTER: 150%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 136%
METER: 19%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25924216
Evening OP. Internet decide to let you post tonight?

Also, cut the power. EXEC_Disrupt, keep firing Vulcans.

>>25924216
Start dodging around, keep on moving, turn on the Aftermages on the Assault Shroud.

He doesn't seem to be moving much so pull out the Tau Gun and hitting him with it. Aim for his joints.

For the blades he's launching at us bring out 3 bits, we'll add more if needed, and have them set to defend us from his projectile attacks as the highest priority, and shooting him if they don't have anything else to do.

Build up Meter, take our time.

>>25924342
seconding this

Deploy two Interceptors to orbit us in order to thin the oncoming Ginsu Bladestorm. Since we haven't used our Vulcans in a good while and we have ourselves a fast-mover, pepper him with plasma to start out.

Scrander out of the way in order to dodge any blades the interceptors miss

>>25924342
Do we really need to waste a codeburst on this scrub?

>>25924342
>>25924346

Your Interceptors undock from your wing binders - Beginning to orbit you in frentic motion, already firing as they spiral into action. The shrill *tsssewwww* of their cohered particle beams sketches sizzling lines of energy across the distance; Your Assault Shroud's filaments dispersing, afterimages trailing in your wake as you *move*...Breaking forward into a sprint, your fists clenching down on the stirrup-grips of your Plasma Vulcans-

>>25924380

Actinic green bolts blast forth, as long, chattering bursts of fire sweep across the arena - Your stray shots striking the cage with slagging *hisses* - as your Rifle Bits begin to lay down one hell of a counterfire; Molten metal sprays as first one, then a second, whirling Helix Blade is sheared *right through* mid-flight - You have both your arms raised, mechanical legs pistoning, cutting towards Helix Gygas at an oblique angle...

"Fuck!" He makes a violent warding motion - The air bulging and seething around him, each superheated bolt slamming into a crackling, fizzing sphere of electricity: Reality distorts around him, as if through a lens - One Helix Blade knifes past you, slicing through your afterimages - It thuds into the ground as you sprint past, wrenching your head to the side as another flits by.

"Fucking - stand still! - you fucking *fuck*!" Like a conductor, Helix flails his hands in increasingly desperately motions: The chasing wash of your constant gunfire hammering into his shield, the radius shrinking bit by bit - You can see tendrils of electricity drawn into him from behind, raw voltage pulled from the bars of the cage...

(Continued)

>>25924626

There's an explosion behind you, fragments of metal zinging off your armour - Not even scarring the crimson plate. Helix Gygas has both his hands up, now - Desperately trying to keep his forcefield coherent, pushing against it as it *shrinks*. You're sprinting towards him, your advance inexorable, unstoppable: Your three Interceptors are turning his Helix Blades into expanding fireballs of sharpnel and spraying metal, focusing with machine precision on each one - The shorn-off haft of one blade *clangs* from your cuirass...

And then he cuts loose with the lightning. Twin bolts, unleashed in the same moment his shield falls: Two crackling streamers of white-cored electricity, curving through the air, drawn towards you like iron fillings to a magnet...

-Except your Assault Shroud is in the way. Your afterimages flicker, as scorched nanomaterial disperses - Static jumps and judders across your vision, your HUD flickering...But you ride the storm out, as you reach *just close enough*...

And then you turn the Codeburst on him.

Reality judders, jerks sideways. There's something like an implosion of violet light, centered on Gygas; Streamers of corrupt data swirling around him, as he yells in not-quite-pain-

"What-" he snarls - Jostling his arms in your direction, even as the seething crackle of lightning dies from his claws. "What the fu-"

HP: 119.7%
COBALT BOOSTER: 80%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 128%
METER: 25%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25924846

"You missed."

Cobalt Boost the Plasma Caster right to his torso.

"I don't."

>>25924846
"Surprise!"

Plasma Caster or Tau.

>>25924846
>>25924923
>>25924928
How about Plasma Caster and the Tau? Cause he's got that force field, right>

>>25924605
He was absorbing energy from the field. Why run the risk of him getting off a lucky shot? We're here to send a message to the Smilers, and as far as it goes "In your base, killing your dudes" is a good one.

>>25924846
"You should have run Helix. Your comrades in the audience wouldn't have cared if you'd vanished with the rest of your team. They don't care that I'm here killing you. In fact, they're loving the show. And you know what? The fact that some of them are getting off on watching me kill one of their own really BUGS me."

Then EXEC_Swarm, using the Shroud.

Yes I spent ten minutes wording that.

>>25925077

That feels kind of a waste, actually. Let's just shoot the dirty bugger, as they say.

>>25925077
No need to burn more Cobalt Booster, we could use that for other things, like Cobalt Boosting a Plasma Caster in his face, or drawing our symbol on the floor with Harrow after we kick this guy's ass.

>>25924923
>>25924928

The Plasma Caster is a close-ranged weapon: The charging coils throb, as you level the snub-nosed weapon - A motion smooth and lethal at once - directly at Helix Gygas's torso.

>>25925077

The telltales wink from green to blue, the Cobalt Booster feeding cold azure power into your weapon.

"Oh ba-"

Those are pretty poor last words to go out on, but Helix Gygas, in the final estimation, is a pretty poor Player.

You fire.

With the raw plasma burst replaced with high-velocity energy scattershot, the spread is wider, less-focused: It's also a lot more destructive. The blast is a brilliant blue supernova, shot through with the expanding contrails of solid shot - At this range, the eye-searing flash is enough to ignite Helix Gygas; Briefly, his form is engulfed in pellucid blue flame.

Briefly, for the fractured moment it takes before that single shot cores through his torso and head at once. He isn't just destroyed - He *explodes*, as the flechettes rip through the end frame at the heart of the coiling tendrils that make up his form: Everything in him expands outwards, at the heart of a roiling column of fire that scorches towards the domed ceiling of the cage, laced with glowing green motes of energy that surge into your armor's vanes, lighting you from within.

The crowd goes wild.

(Continued)

"I thought that I could do things without killing, but it appears that isn't an option for people like you."

Clench fists, tau gun readying itself with a cobalt boost.

"You and they..."

Gersture towards the audience.

"...don't understand something. You all took something irreplaceable from me. So I'm going to keep killing you all until your lives equal what you took away from me."

Aim Tau gun.

"...which means that I won't stop. Not until you're all dead."

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>>25925183
>The crowd goes wild.

Now to grab that laptop he was on and book it.

>>25925183
Wait, that's it? I thought he would have had more in him then that.

>>25925261
Don't forget that flash drive of his.

>>25925165
Hm. Actually, this is a good question: OP, does using Swarm consume Booster and either HP or AS points? Or "Booster and HP" or "Assault Shroud"? I had presumed the latter, but on thought it's probably the former.

Also, victory mark: Blast it into the viewscreens that showed his mark.

>>25925261
>>25925277
Good call. Also, put on the Carnifex in the real world. We're not activating it but using it to hide Anon's identity as he runs for the exit.

>>25925262

Well considering we just ventilated his chest and face with plasma...

>>25925277

It might be fried actually. It was smoking if my memory isn't playing funny tricks.

>>25925311

Speaking of the Carnifex and relics, I'm actually curious if we can take shortcuts in the real world with the Nihl like Hecate did in the Red. Something to look into. On top of everything else.

>>25925311
I actually don't recommend trying to run for the exit. Better to play it cool, the people who might know us already have an easy way to stop us, seeing as their table is between us and the door. Better to play a friend escorting Suou home.

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>>25925183

The brief pillar of blue flame swirls around you, the emerald motes of essence circling like a swarm of startled fireflies - Outside, where twin black suns crash in splintered motion, the purple-cored sphere swallowed up by the expanding red corona of it's counterpart.

The crowd's adulation is a harsh sound, loud and braying; There's the crack of gunfire in it, as some Players open fire - Their shots dispersing against black steel barrier of the cage, in a kind of explosive applause. As your targeting sensors take in your audience, you notice - With a start - a familiar face (Loose curls of black hair spilling free from an architecture of jeweled violet pins) you'd only just glimpsed from the table across...

-She's on her feet, and clapping, too.

Not the one from earlier, but - There's a resemblance, somehow.

They could be sisters.

>>25925257

If anything, the cheers grow louder, still. Deafening, now - But you can detect a upswell to it, a rhythm; Like waves lapping against the surf. Like - A chanting. You strain to make it out...Two syllables, again and again.

...But chanting *what*?

HP: 119.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 70%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 128%
METER: 30%

TIER TWO WEAPONRY UNLOCKED

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25925311
>>25925365

Samefagging; We're wearing our school uniform I think. Kind of defeats the purpose of hiding our identity when we have a blaring LOOK AT ME I GO TO x SCHOOL.

Considering it wouldn't take much to backtrack and thus find us...

>>25925413
Keep our eyes open, scan the area, see if they're saying JO-KER. I'm suspecting another enemy is incoming.

If it seems safe and we're absolutely positive there isn't another enemy about to bumrush us and we can paint our symbol.

>>25925413
We're still here? Is there another player entering the cage? Kraken is two syllables, so is Joker for that mater.

If there's no one else, carve the symbol.

>>25925413

Log out. Grab that damn laptop and get out of the club. Nonchalantly as possible while carrying hot merchandise.

>>25925489
Yeah, we really need to catch up on doing this.

While we wait, carve that symbol.

>>25925365
It doesn't have enough of a stable charge to do it for more than a moment through EXEC_Rend. If we manage to repair/re-energize it then the Red World is our oyster so long as we have the appropriate firepower.

>>25925414
I thought we had a non-standard jacket. Given that our uniform pants are "brown" we zip up the jacket and put on a head covering and we're (heh) anonymous.

>>25925413
>that file name
Until I parsed that filename as "Joker female (black)" I was really confused.

Anyway, out and out. If no one's taking Helix's death as an excuse to tag in then there's no reason for Anon to stick around and let them decide to do it. Grab the flashdrive and laptop both, we can flash the harddrive if necessary.

>>25925502
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/25807039/#p25812472

Laptop was frying, I say leave it, it'll only draw unwanted attention. Get the flash drive

>>25925575

We don't need the laptop per-say. We need the hard drive out of it. So long as we can pop the disk into another computer we're good.

>>25925489
>>25925472
Kaiser is two syllables as well, and this does seem like his kind of arena.

>>25925563

I'm still butthurt I did not think of feeding Kaiser to the Nihl when we had the chance way back when. We fed Bardiel to it, after all.

>>25925622
Will that even work considering there was smoke coming off it? Also, the time between when it started smoking and when we got out of the Red?

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>>25925631
Fuck, that sounds plausible.

>>25925659
We were in no position to even try.

>>25925659
We would have had to get close to him for that. Damaged as he was, I still think that would have been a bad idea, especially considering the condition we were in at the time.

>>25925660

Incidentally, the motherboard and RAM will be toast. The RAM is saddening to see go as we could have taken it to a specialist and had him pull whatever was in the RAM's cache. The hard drive should still be fine so long as nothing too major fucks with it. They're pretty durable considering how fragile they are.

>>25925683
>>25925684

We were right in his face and shot him with a boosted plasma caster. We had the chance and we blew it.

>>25925747
It was the Fusion Annihilator actually, and we were on opposite sides of the room.

>>25925413
>black seductress with purple crystals and a fetish for epic massacres
I sense a femme fatale this time.

>>25925783

I explicitly remember us flying directly at him with the scrander and shooting him in the face with the caster. The annihilator was when we were going retard again when we should have NOPED out of there with the Thief.

>>25925747
Did we ever find out if he survive that? My memory is rusty.

>>25925747
You are completely misremembering the details of that battle.

>>25925814
...FUCK.

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>>25925414

(Actually, you're not: You changed clothes for the date with Asuna. Apologies if it wasn't clear before.)

>>25925472
>>25925489

The violet flames of EXEC_HARROW'S beginnings smoke at your armoured fingers.

...Wait.

Something - Your instincts tell you - Something is wrong.

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER

You wince. The letters that snake across your HUD - They're accompanied by a siren wail, soundless but piercing - an odd silence falling, as the lights flicker for a moment; For a long instant, all you can hear is the crackle of electricity off the cage's barbs, as...

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER

Reality flickers, again. A light wells out from nothing, brilliant enough to cast long, crazed shadows across the arena - You make out a twitching form sketching itself into existence, before it becomes too brilliant for you to look directly upon-

Something lands, like a meteor - With a solid, weighty *thump* that makes the ground tremble. There's a snaking, rattling *hiss* as spike-tipped tentacles uncoil, as a bone-white, brine-dripping form uncoils, his armour writhing and tightening and swarming with neon lines...

RED JOKER VS. KRAKEN

Kraken's crested helmet swings towards you, crowned by pagan horns - An unnatural light smoldering in his eyesockets.

> "Welcome back, Joker."

His flat, affectless voice is utterly at odds with his words; That stained-white bulk unfolding, half again as tall as you.

> "How does it feel to be home?"

YOU HAVE CONTROL

HP: 119.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 75%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 128%
METER: 30%

>>25925846
Well, fuckity fuck fuck.

"Eh, it's not so good, the place has really gone downhill.

So, I guess you're here to also try to kill me. Where's your horse, and your horde?"

>>25925846

"Average. Was a good workout to get burn some frustration. How've you been, Kraken? The Kids still doing fine? (kids obviously in reference to his gaggle of correctors)

We need to bug the fuck out. We have the violet crystal, right? Now's the time to start clenching our anus and pray to whatever God Anon prays to.

>>25925846
>RED JOKER VS. KRAKEN
...On the whole this is probably better than Rust Kaiser.

Not MUCH better, but he doesn't have his army.

"What makes you think I ever left? I know what I am and where I belong... but I haven't even started to find out what I'm capable of."

Then: "This has been bugging me for a while now, but where the hell did you get that horse?"

>>25925828

>The rattling, oil-black links screech as they rake across your armor - You lurch forward, the schematics of your Plasma Caster sketching themselves into being on your right arm; You hear the vicious, voxponder *snarl* wrench from Rust Kaiser's throat, as he raises his jagged cleaver of a sword...

-And finds himself looking down the barrel of your Plasma Caster. At this range, nearly point-blank, there's no question of the shot dispersing; It makes a plosive BANG of discharging energies, a concussive blast like a cannon's point-blank detonation, the searing shot erupting into his pitted helm in a blinding flash-

...There's a secondary detonation, as his right eye; The one burning a cold and sulfurous blue - explodes. The shot whiplashes Rust Kaiser's head back - You hear servoes grinding, as the impact actually *rocks* him back a step, scars cratering his craggy helm. Lethal fragments of black iron spin and skip off your armor - It hit him dead-on, but it didn't *penetrate*.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21755107/#p21755994

Nope. I'm not.

>>25925846
"Home is where the heart is."

>>25925944
Ahh, I thought you were talking about feeding him to it when he was heavily wounded... you know, when it might have had a chance of succeeding.

"...Home?"

Give a chortle of disbelief.

"I wouldn't know. I think I've forgotten what that word means..."

Clench our fists.

"...Maybe I'll be able to find it again once you and Pazuzu are dead."

Fire cobalt burst PHALANX CHAIN MINE.

>>25925846
"I never left, Kraken. The only home I know is the battlefield.

How do you want to do this?"

>>25925846
"Kraken! Still sore about me stealing the Hollow Sun out from under your nose that one time? Helix got to die, and fairly quickly too. I've got something else in mind for you though." Shoot him in the chest with the Tau. We are so feeding this guy to the sphere.

>>25926011
Nope. If he wants to talk and let the Cobalt Booster regenerate I see no reason not to let him.

>>25925846
"Home? Not sure I remember that. I spent so long in hell, who's to say that it didn't become my home?

Oh, by the way. A gift."

EXEC_HARROW.

>>25926011
Pipe down. We need to buy time and regenerate.

>>25926005

We know from first hand experience that placing the Nihl directly against US sucks the booster from 100 to 0 and some of our HP.

Kaiser is one big ass armored HP sponge. Would have softened him up far far more readily than a plasma shotgun to the face.

>>25925846
We really should EXEC_HARROW this guy.

Save it for when he gets in close, though. Keep building meter, for now.

>>25926053
But the sphere has to react on it's own. We tried something like that in the battle against Div-E Sepid but the sphere stayed inert despite Sepid having a huge flaming opening in his chest

>>25926068
>>25926045
YEah, Harrow should come before any other attack.

>>25926011
>>25925257
Is Anon always this overly melodramatic or is it just this one time?

>>25926083

What it comes down to is the Nihl does not get enough love in my book. Something that can make reality it's bitch and then fuck it even harder should get more screentime.

>>25926022
>>25926045
Dammit, guys! No need to jump the gun so quickly. We may have a chance to escape if we buy some time with a conversation.

>>25926117
RJ thrives on the stage. He lives for the performance.

>>25926053
We were a literally defenseless target--we CHOSE to open ourselves to the Sphere.

>>25926045
Also vetoing this. We can wait for the social combat to end.

When we get started we can codeburst.

>>25926117
It varies. Usually it's me, but tonight the ghost of Leeroy has possessed others.

>>25926138
>Escape

Haha, no

Let's HARROW this asshole, if nothing else. Even if we escape, if we can get the death mark, it sets us up for the final battle.

>>25926163

We might have an escape option. The violet crystal we picked up from this mudskin. All we haft to do is clench our anus and pray it works.

>>25926180

>mudskin

>munchkin
Autocorrect knows me far too well...

>>25926117
Ever since Hecate died, Joker quickly turned from a silent killer into a showy madman from some old drama film.
We should be more like Pharos Hercules from Dream Eater Merry

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>>25926206

Nah. John Doe. Gotta be John.

>>25926163
Calm down, we have no idea what Kraken's intentions are and you might just get us killed.
We should analyze the situation first, have fun with an intellectual duel and ONLY then kick ass or bail out.

(One moment. It's a lot of decisions to parse through.)

If Joker ends up opening fire on the Squid that controls the hivemind, I will have strong sexual words with your mother OP. We do not need to start flailing our dick in a room that could very well erupt into Things that eat dicks.

>>25926306
Let's not open fire immediately.

Soon, though. I fully expect this to end in a fight, as it should.

>>25926231
I stand corrected.
Though, Totenaz is already pretty much the John Doe of JQ.
I still want us to pull a "IT'S SHOWTIME!" and destroy a stage.

>>25926333
That also comes after we beat Kraken to death with his own limbs.

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>>25926163
The mark won't last. It's a status effect, not a curse.

>>25926206
Huh, now there's a series I never thought I'd see name dropped on /tg/. For what it's worth I want to see Anon acting more like pic related. who is also how I paladin. That train hasn't just left the station, Anon shot it up looking for Hecate.

>>25926333
Really, we haven't been pulling enough "IT'S SHOWTIME!"s. It's a tragic failing.

>>25926352
I was under the impression that it was a permanent mark.

>>25926329

Well yeah. That's a given.

>>25926333

Nat is Engi Three Piece.

>>25926352

Blue Rose is my waifu. Pepsi Next tasted like ass though.

>>25925914

> "How've you been, Kraken? The Kids still doing fine?

He takes a single weighty step forward, the lashing tentacles of his cloak rising, riling in slow, lazy motion - Rising, like hooded serpents, twisting to orientate on you.

> "Hungry. The Family is always hungry."

>>25925928

> "This has been bugging me for a while now, but where the hell did you get that horse?"

A vile surrusation - The clacking of mandibles - echoes in the closed space. Kraken's not-quite laughter, an alien sound:

> "Family is as family does. You can choose your friends, but you can't pick your family."

>>25925907

The crowd's rapt, hanging on every word: You're not sure if they can hear you, but there's a slow, deliberate pace to this - The staredown before High Noon, imminent violence on the offering.

> "That would be unsporting. After all-"

Kraken's skull swivels, as he looks away from you - His gaze sweeping across the audience, as if searching for something only he can see.

> "...The Hyades have graced us with their presence."

>>25926017
>>25925953
>>25926045
>>25926022

That horned head inclines, gravely; Respect, or just agreement? It's impossible to tell.

> "You think you have secrets from me. But I've seen hell, too, through the cracks."
> "The fire beneath the world, and the beast that ate your heart."

He looks back, and his eyes are unnervingly clear and deep. A Player's eyes should be hidden - Behind smoked-glass, behind crystal, behind steel. But Kraken's eyes seem to see to the bottom of things, and catch something that you missed.

He laughs, that chattering, booming laugh one more time - A laugh that knows something, that comes from anywhere and nowhere at once.

>>25926045
>>25926068
>>25926097

And you think:

Fuck this guy.

(Continued)

>>25926393
One of its effects is that it explodes after a while. No, it's not permanent.

>>25926352
Doesn't matter if it doesn't last cause it explodes when it disappears.

>>25926400
>Engi
Will she ever get on our level and learn Unlimited Halberd Works?

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>>25926333

>IT'S SHOWTIME

We need a giant robot if we're going to start shouting that.

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>>25926468

>Nat will never learn Unlimited Halberd Works
>mfw

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(Apologies if I missed anyone.)

>>25925846

Kraken is still laughing - That same sick laugh - When your arm comes up and you cast the fires of EXEC_HARROW at him. Purple flames erupt, streamers of fire billowing over his armour; You hear a moan of awed surprise from the onlookers, as your deathmark - Grinning and lethal and brilliant - flames to life on his carapace.

>>25926011

The blossom of rose-colored fire is still rising, as your targeting cursor drops onto Kraken: You raise your arm, as schematics sketch themselves into being-

ERROR
ERROR
ERROR

Nothing happens.

Kraken's arm is levelled, too - A violet glow gathering at his fingertips - Mirroring the flames that dance across his armour, spitting and seething. Cising sparks crackle across the forearm sheaths of your armour, the charging elements you use to manifest your weapons-

EXEC_DISRUPT

You hear a shattering, splintering sound, as Kraken's fist comes down; The space around him splinters like glass, and he reaches into the fracture - The sweeping blade and murderous spike of his obsidian axe gripped in a taloned gauntlet, acid-etched and pitch-dark.

> "Game on, then."

Kraken growls - Heedless of the deathmark that lights up him like a road flare, the four thick crushing tendrils bulging from his spine; His voice growing thicker, clotted, and utterly inhuman.

> "Your move, Joker - Come for me."

HP: 119.0%
COBALT BOOSTER: 35%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 128%
METER: 30%

> PLASMA VULCANS DISABLED
> FUSION ANNHILATOR DISABLED
> CHAIN MINE DISABLED

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25926527
....fuck

>>25926527
Motherfucker, you can also cheat.

Okay, what we need right now is distance. Back off from him at all available speed, use the Scrander if needed. Open fire on him with the Tau Gun, have Afterimages going from the Shroud.

Save up meter so we fire the railgun at him, I want something that can get some major penetration in.

>>25926527

Oh balls.

This song just started playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcpGIVbPYrI

>>25926527

>chain mine disabled

FUCK.

Use the Scrander to back off. Bring out the Tau and aim center of mass. Have our three interceptors begin taking potshots at him as they orbit us. So long as they're shooting in his direction, they're doing something.

If we see him begin to close the distance, blind him with the booster then drop a plasma caster right on his face.

>>25926436
But Players heal between battles. The mark will disappear when the battle ends, like every negative effect we've seen so far with the exception of the Black Joker curse.

>>25926411
>The Hyades
I thought for sure you meant the Pleiades, but a quick check revealed that there were multiple Greek star cluster/divine families that I didn't know. Congratulations OP you managed to stump me. I'd be a lot more earnest in my praise if I weren't planning on embarking on a research course to get on your level.

>>25926527
Fucker turned us off? Clever. Are the three you listed the only weapons disabled? Because I say turn on the Carnifex, punch him in the eyes, and then start dodging backwards with the Assault Shroud's afterimages and the Scrander.

If we're completely dark, jump backwards and wait for weapons to come back online.

>>25926527
>>25926589

Our interceptors are still active, so they can go after him too., not that they'll have much of an effect on a heavy armored opponent.

>>25926589
Pretty much the size of it. Play hard to get, go for mobility damage with the tau gun.

>>25926667
I wouldn't turn on the Carnifex, in addition to the health damage it jettisons our armor, which is bad.

And don't punch him in the eyes, that involves getting close to the big scary axe he has.

>>25926667
>But Players heal between battles.

Not if we kill them they don't.

>>25926693

It doesn't jettison armor.

>>25926527
Well, damn.
The guy is heavily armored and has a big-ass axe. Best keep distance with our Scrander, BOOM-BOOM him with the Tau gun and sawe up meter.
Note: Lest the bastard attempts to close the distance, flash him, move out of his vision and lay the smack from a blind spot.

If he's close, use boosted plasma caster then get distance.

If he's a decent distance away? use missiles to distract then use Tau gun

>>25926722
Yes it does. Read the pastebin.

>Despite the significant advantages granted by the Carnifex, several drawbacks may result from it's use: The user's extraneous armour is explosively jettisoned when the Carnifex is activated, to accomodate the hypertrophy of the myomer fibres - Resulting in a significant loss of protection, and rendering the exposed components vulnerable to direct damage. Also, overtaxing the system can result in sudden (and potentially catastrophic) malfunctions, as the user's Player form struggles to cope with the massive levels of energy output and the strain of accelerated function.

>>25926693

>Go for the eyes Boo

>>25926739

OP updated the pastebin then. Haven't checked it since he posted the Carnifex stats.

>>25926739
>>25926766

Err.. originally posted the Carnifex before the errata.

>>25926668
...Target his weapon? Target his arms? We can do a lot to ruin his day with the Interceptors.

Actually, destroying his primary weapon would be hilarious. Not as much as kneecapping him would be, but probably more doable.

>>25926527
Triskelions and interceptors.

>>25926527

I know this is late, but let's try rebooting the disabled systems. Purge the junk data or whatever. I wanna see what the chain mine is capable of.

The Scrander's turbines whirr to life - You leave the ground as Kraken's tentacles unfurl, explosively, lashing out towards you across the distance. The foul, mottled lengths - Tipped with spikes of dirty bone - are propelled by lumpen muscle, turning each one into a crushing flail, an impaling spike-

The first one drives down through where you *should* have been, as you loft high on a column of electric fire. The second one cracks you *hard*, across the cuirass - The bone spike grating dully against your crimson armor, leaving a deep gouge. It flings you back, but a desperate flare of retros kicks you away from the spitting, seething bars of the cage - A twisting line of hungry lightning reaching towards you, as you burn away.

> "Why are you *running*, Joker?"

Kraken's spiteful voice muses - His helmet tilts upwards, as two tendrils plunge into the ground beneath him, bracing him; The other two slowly retracting, with a scraping shriek of carapace.

> "What's the matter? Something wrong with your legs?"

>>25926668

Your Interceptors answer his taunts - Three lines of particle beam fire scorching towards him, as one tendril interposes itself in the way; The rays slice into the chitinous flesh like scalpels, a vile yellow-green smoke oozing out as they gouge into the limb-

That's not metal. That's flesh.

Kraken is armoured in meat and bone and chitin, not steel.

The schematics of the Nova Gun etch themselves into existence - Slowly, painfully slowly - as you soar as high as you dare, leaving contrails of sparks in your wake; There simply isn't enough space. It's like two spiders fighting in a web - You have to check yourself, to avoid a sudden collision-

(Continued)

>>25926828
>>25926737

> "Insects."

There's a metallic *crunch*, then an electronic *squeal* as Kraken's talons lash out - Smashing one Interceptor from the air, swatting it aside - his maw opening impossibly wide...

A fog billows out, as he exhales. There's a bitter stench to it, chemical and reeking; For a moment, you think it's a smokescreen, and then-

...And then you hear the rising *hiss* of your armour beginning to dissolve, smoke rising from the seams as the gust washes over you.

Acid. He's breathing acid.

>>25926896

The Triskelion launchers at your back cycle up: Four missiles weaving through the smoggy air, on their first and final flight. Kraken makes a low sound - A grunt - as he swats the first one away - The second one tumbling aside, as the virulent acid eats into the guidance systems...

-But the Tau Gun is in your hand, now, and he's lit up to your sensors like a magnesium flare. The last rockets of your salvo detonate, in twin fireballs that momentarily obscure his form from view - Except your sensors tell you that he's moving, moving *fast*-

(Continued)

>>25927120

SYSTEM REBOOTING...

You don't know how long it'd take. Two minutes, or two days - Your systems stay defiantly locked down, as you level the Nova Cannon; Your remaining two Interceptors flitting nimbly through the air, even as their forms begin to blur in the acid cloud - The Tempest Scrander charges alarmingly at your back, as you soar over the rising, moiling exhalation...

And Kraken erupts through the chaos, propelled in an impossible leap. His axe comes around in a great, carving arc - But you're already aiming at him, and you wrench both triggers as he *swings*-

His left arm splinters, in a welther of blood and gore. You hear a screeching roar of agony, unlike anything you've ever heard from a human throat - Then there's a crackling shriek of metal being rent like tinfoil, as his axe hacks into your chest-

The impact flings you back. You slam into the bars of the cage - The current sizzling through you, for one agonizing instant, before it hurls you away - and you hit the ground face-first, so hard you *bounce*.

The solid CRUMP that follows must be the sound of Kraken slamming into the floor. A wordless hiss lingers in the air, as thick black smog fumes around him - Too dark to be merely natural. Like the inky cloud left by a squid - He's emitting this to conceal his presence...

Unaware that EXEC_HARROW'S flames still burn, illuminating him in your mind's eye - Your single remaining Interceptor tracking him relentlessly, swivelling this way and that in the growing dark.

HP: 98.2%
COBALT BOOSTER: 40%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 106%
METER: 39%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25927181
Excellent. Fucker won't know what hit him.

Get some distance if possible, move laterally since the cage is behind us.

I don't think we have the time for a Fusion Annihilator, so just hit him again with the Tau gun and build up Meter, I think a Railgun is perfect against him.

>>25927181

Oh wow, we're getting punched around like a ragdoll but we're in good shape.

If he's going to sit in his cloud, we're going to draw the Fusion Annihilator, Cobalt Boost it, charge six times and blow him the fuck up.

>>25927181

He can't see us but we can see him. I'm in favor of luring him into a trap and hitting him with everything ranged we can as we move one step ahead of his counters.

>>25927181

Keep trying to reboot, run Norton Joker Edition if we haft to.

>>25927200
>>25927202

The annihilator is locked down, remember?

>>25927181
Tau Gun again. Keep building that meter.

>>25927202
Fusion Annihilator is locked.

>>25927211
I suggested not using it, while he may be concealing now he's fast as fuck and might hit us with a tendril or otherwise mess it up.

Given that it's unavailable right now it's a moot point.

>>25927181

He's made of fleshy bits, right? Well, you know what goes really well with flesh armor? Napalm.

Launch two missiles cobalt boosted at him. Hit him again with the Tau. Keep. Firing. Get our remaining two interceptors out to replace our lossed ones.

>>25927211
>>25927219
Augh you're right. Somehow I thought it was the Plasma Caster. Okay, back on our feet and launch Cobalt'd Triskelion Missiles.

>>25927181
Expected more damage, lucky us.

We have two other interceptors that can replace what was destroyed.

>>25927233
I think he could use a few more than 2 missiles, 4-6 sounds good. Let him burn, I think the Cobalt Booster cost is constant between 2 and 6 missiles,but I could be wrong.

>>25927250
No, that's the vulcans.

>>25927270

Don't wanna burn too much of our meter just yet. Augh. Still, if we can catch him completely by surprise, then yeah. We should go full macross on his ass.

>>25927181
The armor on those tentacles seems way weaker than what's on his body. Launch the other interceptors and boost them, target the tentacles.

>>25927289
What else are we going to spend meter on? We're in a cage so no room for Railgun and we're not using the Quantum Singularity Cannon. Given that we've got a target lock AND he's not expecting us to be able to hit him there's no reason not to fire everything. This won't kill him but he's going to SCREAM.

>>25927181
My internet cuts out for half the day and JQ just has to be running.
>>25927181
Really wish we could use the cage to repower the cobalt booster.
Anyway:
He's in the darkness because he can see in it, and he thinks we can't.
Let's disabuse him of that notion. Engage plasma caster.

>>25927181

Would our nanite swarm get toasted in the kraken barbeque we're about to unleash or would it be immune to the fire?

If it would survive to feast upon fleshy, then let it rip using our shroud as fuel. if it would be consumed in the firestorm, then wait until Kraken is clear of the flames before hitting him with the nanites.

>>25927362
You're talking about EXEC_SWARM? Probably get toasted by the flames. The shroud has burned before.

The deep rent on your chest sizzles. Green light wells up from the cut - It's a deep one, enough that you can see the myomer muscles beneath...And the acid isn't helping. The constant *sizzle* echoes in the back of your mind, as you get to one knee, then to you feet; You take a shuffling step to the side...

>>25927211

Junk code skitters in frenetic motion - Your systems are fighting to clear the contamination, but you can't tell if they're making any headway. Two more Interceptors - your last ones - undock from your back binders, joining the battered survivor hovering in the air like tame wasps.

Your Triskelion launchers rack, switching fragmentation payloads for napalm. Your targeting cursors drops onto the violet flame that's Kraken presence...

Something swift and terrible moves in the darkness. It hits you - Slams into you - like a freight train, uncoiling muscle lifting you off your feet; The gouging spike smashing you *hard*, crumpling a cratered hole in your scarred plate.

Mental note: EXEC_HARROW only applies to Kraken's core signature.

Sparks fly, as you're dragged back by the unfurling column - Your Rifle Bits laying down some serious hellfire on the lumpen mess that's pressing you back, back; Particle beams stitching deep rents into surface, gashes that gout molten ichor-

Then he slams you into the bars, and your world explodes in pain. Your entire body flares in agony, as the current jags through you: It makes you convulse and buck and jerk, your limbs jittering as you fry - Static erupting over your field of vision, as the Nova Cannon's targeting cursor twitches in every direction at once, your finger spasming on the trigger-

(Continued)

>>25927181
And lo did the Red Joker say.

"Let there be light."

Tyrant 3, right at the flames.

File: 1373446848824.gif-(18 KB, 372x372, Thunderstruck.gif)

18 KB GIF

>>25927414
>Then he slams you into the bars, and your world explodes in pain.
I for one am downright shocked by this turn of events.

The ground explodes. The random shot goes wide, chips of splintered white stone tumbling through the air, the overpressure dispersing the fog just enough for you to see Kraken rising to his feet; New flesh bulges as he shakes off the shreds of armour from his ruined arm, pinning you in place as his other three tendrils coil to strike.

> "Not bad, Jok-"

...He's saying, as you launch your missiles.

The angle is bad. But EXEC_HARROW lights him up, and quantity has a quality of it's own. Your mind convulses on the firing command, and your first four missiles streak skyward; They erupt in a *whoosh* of pellucid blue flame, an inferno raining down from above-

And Kraken flinches. It's an instinctive motion - The fear-response of an animal. He brings his axe up, too late...

Both remaining missiles take him head-on, and he ignites like an oil-slick. Flames roar up: Blue-hot, sour, fierce. You hear them crackle and spit with a furious life, as Kraken's tentacles go into convulsions - You're *dragged*, mercilessly, the cising pain of the current jolting in and out as your abused armour is rent further-

...As you raise the Tau Gun in your deathgrip, and *fire*.

The antimatter round does what your Interceptors can't. The sickening flesh that grips you bulges, halfway along it's length; It *swells*, veins standing stark and angry against the erupting meat-

And then it detonates like a short-fused grenade.

Kraken roars. His remaining limbs rill like a nest of enraged snakes, in mindless, bludgeoning fury - The crushing spikes of their blind heads slam against the bars of the cage, smashing against the ground, in an paroxysm of rage; He's burning, becoming a human fireball, and there's an awful smell of roasting meat and boiling cartilage in the air...

For a moment, you think you've beaten him.

(Continued)

>>25927488

Man, Joker really is lighting up the stage.

What really rustles my jimmies is that Kraken isn't receiving any of the juice. That we can tell anyway. Current will go towards the path of least resistance.. and considering he's a fleshy meatbag...

>>25927520

But then he rises out of the flames. The fire slides off him, his carapace streaked with soot and ash; Steam rises from the crisping surface, blood blisters oozing unspeakable fluids - Even as the last of the napalm flames are snuffed out, licking at his heels...Except for your deathmark, the brand burning bright and awful, with it's own eternal radiance.

His smoking gaze locks onto yours - This time, when his three remaining tendrils whip towards you, you *don't even see them move*. But you twitch to the side, anyway; One them smashes in your knee-joint, hard enough to make the limb buckle - The second goes wide, lashing past your head, so near you can actually *feel* the breeze.

The third one slams into your Nova Cannon, and smashes it to flinders.

The metal casing splinters beneath the awful force of the blow; The dual barrels crumpling as they give way, flinging scattered debris through the air. You're left with a sheared-off trigger housing and the shreds of the components...

>>25927448

-And a wrist-thick focused Particle Beam streaks out from you, ice-white and fizzing, and smites Kraken off his feet. It carves across him, completing the damage your Tau Gun did; The ray slashes in a vertical arc, a smoking, gouging line that takes away everything from the shoulder down in one horrible slice.

Kraken howls, loud enough to make the cage quake, in a sound that could be exhiliration or fury. There is nothing sane in that sound.

(Continued)

>>25927599
Fuck, is he still not dead? Well the Tau Gun is gone which is bad. I hope we get our system reboot soon so we have Vulcans. Otherwise we're out of weapons that don't take Meter.

>>25927599

If that doesn't detonate the deathmark... lordy.

File: 1373447626765.jpg-(55 KB, 640x360, jokercobaltbooster.jpg)

55 KB JPG

>>25927599

> "JJJJOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKERRRRRR-"

He charges. His axe is in his hand, that scorched form propelling itself towards in long strides - Gathering momentum, accelerating with ponderous unstoppability. Scrapcode still clouds your vision, as you shake the fragments of the Tau Gun away; The Cobalt Booster in your chest fizzing fitfully as it cycles-

HP: 65.7%
COBALT BOOSTER: 24%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 74%
METER: 56%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25927636

(Apologies: The Assault Shroud should be at 67%, not 74%.)

>>25927626
Could always try pressing the Nihl Sphere into part of him. When we fought the worm corrector contact with the sphere caused a localized rot and Kraken seems almost part corrector.

>>25927636

CROSS COUNTER

That is, a COBALT BOOSTER-fuelled punch. He wants to go melee?

LET'S DO MELEE.

>>25927636
Fire everything we've got, target the deathmark. Missiles, another Tyrant Burst 3, draw and fire Plasma Caster and have all Interceptors launch and concentrate fire...on the elbow of the arm holding the axe.

>>25927659

Holy shit, let's do this. Even if we die, that's the coolest fucking way to go I can think of.

>>25927636
Jump over him as he charges and Plasma Caster the back of his head.

>>25927636
Fuck, 4 points short of Tier 3. No Tau Gun, no Vulcans, no Fusion Annihilator, no Chain Mine. Fuckity fuck fuck.

You know what, let's be crazy. Turn on the Carnifex, launch as many missiles at him as possible, spend 14% Cobalt Booster on a Level 2 Tyrant Burst, hit him point bank with a Cobalt Boosted Plasma Caster. If he's still up dodge out of the way and get distance.

>>25927659
Why punch when we can shotgun?

>>25927636

Keep Norton Joker Edition running. It's bound to delete system 32 and clear up the problem.

Our leg is fucked. Back off with the scrander.

This guy. Damnit. Now's the time to hit him with the nanite swarm. Use the shroud as fuel. Plasma caster the arm holding the axe. Have our remaining interceptors act as sacrificial bugs to slow down that axe if he gets too close.

>>25927684
>>25927659
I think a Tyrant burst 1 might be better, maybe combined with equipping the Carnifex. Need to avoid that attack at the last second. We can't take more hits anyway, so lets go all out.

>>25927710
>>25927708
>>25927705
>>25927684
For avoidance, we can drop a Shroud clone.

>>25927636
Stun him with a lightning blast and Cobalt Plasma Caster, detonating the mark.
"See ya' in hell, bastard!"

>>25927729

We can. Last ditch gamble, yeah?

>>25927626
Special weapons add to meter as well as draining it.
>>25927649
The walls have eyes.
>>25927636
"Kraken."

Stand ground in front of cage, wait for him to come to us.

Tyrant burst 1, leave an assault shroud decoy for him to charge into and jump over him. Use the plasma caster to push him into the cage if necessary.

>>25927729
Good idea. After the barrage, Tyrant 1 and Shroud clone.

>>25927732
Save the lightning bolt. With Joker's knee damaged we're going to need the Scrander for maneuverability.

>>25927636
Shroud clones.

Jump over him.

Plant our hands on his back, and activate the Tempest Scrander Lightning.

>"WHO LIKES CALAMARI!?"

>>25927636
"It's fortunate for you that you managed to lock out so many of my weapons. Judging by how this fight has gone, you'd have died by now if you hadn't."

>>25927779
I laughed. Best finishing words ever.

>>25927659

I really, really want to try this. It's a retarded idea, but it awesome retarded. We shouldn't go face-to-face with this asshole, because he'll cut us up.

>>25927852

(Apologies, but just to confirm:

Your intention is to use Tyrant Burst - 1 to blind him, then vault over him with the Tempest Scrander, while leaving a Assault Shroud clone to distract him?)

(Then hitting him from behind?)

>>25927868
Yes.

But let's burn the tempest lightning.

LIGHTNING PUNCH

AND CALAMARI JOKES

(Oh god it's the shield of stupidity all over again but I can't stop myself)

>>25927868
I believe so, also using the Carnifex ought to help.

>>25927881
>>25927868

Let's not use the tempest crash considering Joker's knee is fucked. We need THAT the manuever.

>>25927868
Ooh, combine >>25927779 and >>25927659

Lightning punch

>>25927881
>>25927887
This is a terrible idea. I vote against. Though I'm for dodging in the described manner, we should try to blow the deathmark before he gets in reach.

>>25927921
This is a worse idea.

>>25927887
It'll cut us down to 30% HP. I think we might want to hold off. I have to say this is the biggest motivator to Get That Shield though.

>>25927921
Once again. no lightning. That depletes the scrander. You know what happens when the scrander is depleted? Joker dies. His. KNEE.IS. FUCKED.

>>25927926

They're coming out of the woodwork. Stupid ideas abound. Glad I didn't go to sleep yet.

>>25927868
Pretty much. Detonating the deathmark would also be nice, though all we can use at this range are the Scrander attacks and Plasma Caster.

All or nothing.

No mistake. Neither eagerness nor impatience.

As Kraken closes the distance, your Tyrant Burst system kindles a faint glow - The beginnings of the blinding photonic burst to come. The turbines of your Tempest Scrander cycle up, ready to hurl you aside...

Kraken's monotone roar cuts short, as his maw ratchets open - His shout propelling awls of black cartilage into the air. Glancing hits pepper you, the quills stabbing their needle spines through your armour - Pierced, the darts like impossibly thin splinters of black ice, you stumble as fingers of liquid fire spread through myomer fibre-

He's poisoned you.

The Tyrant Burst system FLARES, an eye-searing illumination that bleaches all color to nothing. It flashburns the shadows away, rendering everything momentarily monochrome-

Kraken does not stagger. He doesn't slow. Nictating membranes - Evolution in fast-forward - means he doesn't even blink, as his axe carves through the air, in a headman's swing. The Tempest Scrander kicks anyway, lifting you into the air; For a moment, there's *two* of you, one locked in place, the other struggling free...

-You almost clear him.

Almost.

The swing meant to take your head chews into your leg instead.

(Continued)

>>25927963
Could also try cobalt boosting the interceptors.

should have equipped the carnifex.

>>25928015
Oh fucking hell. Did we get a bad roll?

File: 1373450410512.gif-(2.69 MB, 500x281, Just kill everyone else a(...).gif)

2.69 MB GIF

Those who suggested this course of action are cordially invited to hang themselves.

>>25928050
Looks like a bad strategy to me. accidentally played to a strength.

>>25928050
Either way it doesn't change anything. And this shit right here is why we shouldn't use the lightning punch.

>>25928050
No, we used a maneuver that he was immune to.

>>25928059
Hey, you're the one who veto'd the lightning.

>>25928068
As a desperation move if blowing him to bits failed to kill him.

>>25928068

You keep forgetting Joker's leg is a mangled mashup right now. Our Scrander is the only thing we have to maneuver with. Unless you want Joker to hop on one leg to dodge the tentacle rape, then be my guest.

Now kindly sit back and watch as you very well may get Joker murderglomped by this course of action me and Wata was against.

There's a CRUNCH, as the vicious black calamity of the blade bites deep; Armour plate giving way, your flight turning into a teeth-grinding *lurch* - The red steel crumples inwards, crushed and cut at once, the gouging edge chewing through the buckled joint and myomer fibre and titanium bone-

...And then out the other side.

On wings of jetair and flame, you go tumbling over him - Your flight turned into a wild, skidding arc, one leg missing below the knee; Feedback claws up into your skull, turning the world into a swirling haze of agony - Up is down and down is up, as the ground rushes up towards you with the inevitability of gravity...

You smash into it face-first. There's nothing graceful about it; Your right arm snaps, your Tempest Scrander misfiring as your armoured form skids across the surface, digging a long, damned furrow across the blasted arena - Somehow, you have the presence of mind to cut the engines at the last moment, enough to prevent the Scrander from turning into an expanding electric fireball - But the impact is enough to utterly scramble your sensors for a long, timeless moment, everything jumbled and incoherent-

You're flat on your face, your mono-optic sensor cycling wildly, trying to cohere. There are triangle of empty, fizzing snow on your field of vision - Cracks breaking up your sensor field.

> "Looking for this?"

There's a thump, as something clatters to the ground close by - As you roll over, your servoes whirring, protesting the motion. It's your severed leg, the stump still smoking; You can feel the ragged ends grate as you move - You don't think you can stand up.

Kraken has turned to face you, the black blade of his axe resting on one broad shoulder - His stride weary, his hooved feet crunching little circles in the ground as he stomps towards you.

> "Good fight, Joker. Time to make an end."

You try...

SYSTEM REBOOTED

(Continued)

>>25928160

Your vision is flickering in and out - He must have damaged something internal. But the scrapcode spiralling at the corners of your vision, like kudzu - It's cleared at last, and you can still *see* Kraken as he advances towards you; The obsidian head of his axe bathed in crawling rose flame-

HP: 42.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 24%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 51%
METER: 67%

TIER THREE WEAPONRY UNLOCKED

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25927963

(It honestly defies all probability. I've been rolling for every hit, and it simply doesn't trigger.)

>>25928160

God damn it is about fucking TIME.

Hit him with those nanites already. Deploy the railgun. We're both on our last legs here. Hopefully the railgun passing through his fleshy bits will cause cavitation and actually cause MORE internal damage.

>>25928169

And get ready to dump cobalt booster into the scrander to dodge the next swing. We can't take another big hit like that.

>>25928169
Question: Do we still have the scrander?

>>25928169
>TIER THREE WEAPONRY UNLOCKED
"I didn't want to admit it but I know exactly what you meant when you welcomed me home. Before last month things were *easy*. People challenged me, and I killed them. Thank you Kraken. I'm home."

Then summon the Longinus and blow his chest in half. Launch the Chain Mine too just to be sure.

>>25928194
>We can't take another big hit like that.
>HP: 42.3%
Srsly.

>>25928196

(You still have it, but it might or might not be functional. You have a feeling it might be seriously damaged, however.)

>>25928203

I'll take a mostly functional jetpack that may save my bacon from an axe wielding squid over a nonfunctional jetpack that won't save my bacon from an axe wielding squid.

>>25928169
We're already immobile, use the longinus.

>>25928059
I couldn't help myself.

May god have mercy on my soul

See, if we'd used the Carnifex, we might have pulled that off.

>>25928169
"Home sweet home, eh? Ironically, it feels nice to be back."
Stun him with a sudden Chain Mine and Railgun him with all we've got.

>>25928180
Well, damn. Based Dice Gods are really giving us hell this time.

>>25928235

And we'd be under 10% HP. No. Stop with the Carnifex. It's only useful if we use it at the very start of a match.

>>25928169
"It ain't over till the squid sings.

Sing for me, Kraken"

Double Longinus shot.

>>25928185
YES, dump the shroud into the exec_swarm. We'll need the distraction.

>>25928169
Chain Mine, Triskelion x6 and then double fire the Longinus.

I can't think of a witty one liner.

>>25928180
I thought you said you were going to rebalance it after it wouldn't trigger with Enfer?

>>25928160
"I won't lie. This was a decent fight. Better luck next life."

Fire the loginus at him and follow up with the plasma caster. If he's too close to us, phalanx chain mine and activate fortress mode.

>>25928160
"I won't lie. This was a decent fight. Better luck next life."

Fire the longinus at him and follow up with the plasma caster. If he's too close to us, phalanx chain mine and activate fortress mode.

>>25928272

Think he's rolling just slightly under/over his set percentage.

I have a set of dice that does that every single time. My players hate them because they know shit is about to get deadly.

>>25928169
Flight of Boosted Triskellion Rockets, 6 of them. This is to grab his attention and distract him from a cobalt boosted Chain Mine. We'll follow that up with two Rail gun shots to seal the deal.

>>25928281
>>25928276
>>25928261
You can't use the rail gun first, it takes time to set up.

>>25928260
No, if we'd used the Carnifex we'd have had the speed to avoid him completely.

>>25928302
>It's meant to be fired from a braced position, especially at extreme distances - But it can also be fired from the hip, for slightly less damage at shorter ranges.

>>25928272

(I did. It's approximately 1.75X the original probability.)

>>25928201
>>25928185

Kraken...

-Hesitates.

It's a killer's instinct, sensing danger on the wind at your words; Even as the gyromount brace of your Longinus railgun sketches itself into existence, around your ragged form - Even as your finger squeezes down - He's already moving. The coils of his tentacle cloak contract; Convulsing around him, in a wall of dense muscles and denser bone. His hooved feet dig in as he hunches over, in a defensive curl - A shape that resembles an ammonite's protective shell, steadying himself to take the impact...

And the roar of the crowd spreads up through your chest and down into your legs, and when it finally reaches your head, it translates into: Welcome back, Joker.

And you think -

It's good to be home.

As you pull the trigger.

The first accelerated slug, launched at incredible velocity, impacts directly centerline. It smashes into Kraken, smashes through him, punching through layered chitin and bone and flesh and exoskeleton - Exiting the other side in a plume of gore and ichor and fluids, with such force that it smashes against the far side of the cage...

His protective cocoon uncoils, just as you launch the Chain Mine.

The launcher is a simple, ugly thing. It reminds you of an RPG, a panzerfaust - A single-shot rocket tube slaved to your armour, launching a single massive projectile with honeycombed segments, falling away like a multi-stage rocket: Fragmenting in the air, to unleash the spiralling payload...

(Continued)

>>25928227
>>25928261
>>25928276
>>25928169
Fire off and exec-swarm or chain mine or boostes rocket barrage before any longinus use please

Rolled 88

>>25928321

DETONATE YOU PIECE OF SHIT

>>25928344
Stylistically, I'd want it to blow just as he dies. Looks better that way.

>>25928231
Eh, it's fine. It's going to end in our favor anyway. But we should have done better with all the advantages we had in this match. Rather than a victory where both sides were evenly matched until our superior loadout and ability proved too much for Kraken, this turned into a match that went very much in his favor only for his strategic debuff to serendipitously wear off when it became possible for us to use our most powerful standby weapon.

Rolled 11

>>25928321

Here's a 1d20 roll too. DETONATE YOU PIECE OF SHIT.

>>25928365

I'd just like for it to go boom once. We've dropped it on three or four players so far without any of them going Krakatoa.

>>25928371
Eh, it was decided the moment the Longinus was unlocked. Even if the debuff hadn't wore off we still could have finished him with the caster and napalm missiles.

>>25928371
I just realized that we should have pulled the same trcik as we did with Neon Striker using a Cobalt Scrander Dash inbetween Krakens legs while using the Double as a distraction.

>>25928456
Grab the laptop, USB drive, and exit. Get a better look at what's going on outside. Be prepared to run.

>>25928456
>USB drive protruding at a jaunty angle

But Helix yanked the flash drive when we came in?

>>25928487

(My apologies, you're right. Let me amend that.)

>>25928456
>the USB drive protruding at a jaunty angle
Wait seriously? Helix pocketed it last thread.

Eh, whatever. Grab it, tear off the lower portion of the laptop, pull on a hood if we have one and draw up our collar to hide our face as much as possible. Then get out.

Wait, is there any way we can leave the Joker's mark here?

>>25928456

...did we just get forcefully ejected from the world?

Grab the laptop and flash drive. Be sure to kick the corpse of Gygas before we exit stage right if it is in the room. Take a looksie beyond the curtain and try to blend into the chaos to make our escape.

You can puke when you get at least three blocks away from this shithole.

>>25928456
Is it just me, or is that the same person that chained Megaera?

>>25928496
>Joker's mark in the Real
bad idea.

That's it for me. Bed. It's 7 am. Work in three hours.

>>25928514
I don't think so, I don't recall Hellebore wearing a mask. Pazuzu wears a mask. He would have the ability to interfere to prevent the two of us from killing each other (what would happen to the Red Joker armor if the person who killed the Joker died while doing it?).

>>25928502
>...did we just get forcefully ejected from the world?
Kinda. I'm guessing that some Smiler partisans did something to crash the field when they realized that we were about to end one of their generals on stage. Probably the Hyades.

>>25928514
No, Hellebore wears a veil. This one's new.

>>25928518
I know, but it's been THAT LONG since we placed it. Unless Kraken gets to wear our mark until we meet again I'm not satisfied

>>25928543
We should have tagged the gallery.

File: 1373454311247.jpg-(115 KB, 864x547, jokermasque.jpg)

115 KB JPG

>>25928559

Violet lightning flares.

ERROR

The air opens up. Cracks skitter across the fabric of reality -

ERROR

Kraken is roaring, soundlessly - Lunging forward towards you, as the air fills with pellucid blue fires; Lethal will o'wisps, like deadly baubles tumbled out from a demon's playbox, orientating towards the target-

ERROR

SYSTEM OVERRIDE

The impaling spikes of his extra limbs drive towards you, carrying with it all the force they can muster - Spearing towards your broken form as in the final exchange-

ERROR

And for a moment - Before the blackness between worlds slams down like a guillotine, you see-

********************

A deep ache in your joints - The memory of dread, the raw acid taste of adrenaline seething in your veins.

Your legs buckle beneath you, and your knees hit the ground: And you retch until your eyes uncross, Kraken's last bellow echoing in your ears. Your ears -

In your ears, screams. You push through the cotton in your head, as dizziness assails you; The fever burning beneath your skin, your pulse hammering in your temples -

You're back. You're *back*.

Back in a veiled alcove that stinks of sweat and fear and vomit, your clothes clammy as they cling to you: The laptop perches on the table, askew - The screen fused, the chemical reek of fused plastics and electronics in the air. Nausea churns in your gut, as you taste copper and ozone...

An eternity passes, as you retch - Your gut still churning, as you find the table, clutch at it; The flash drive lies on the floor - Seemingly forgotten in the confusion, fetching up against the couch. The floor is vaguely sticky, and it takes you a long, fumbling moment to get it into your hand...

-Your fist curls around it, your head aching with the echo of screams.

Wait.

The screaming isn't just in your head.

Beyond the curtain, there's a cohered blur of motion in the twitching light...Outside, things seem to be happening very, very fast.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>25928578

(My apologies: Corrected a continuity error -
Thanks for pointing it out.

Also, my connection is really unstable at the moment, but I'll keep going as long as I can.)

>>25928559
I had a plan to use the rest of our meter to blast the Red Joker's mark into the ceiling so that every battle that ever took place there again would be under our eyes.

>>25928578
Oh man, Joker's in a bad way. Destroy the laptop, grab its hard drive and join the crowd that'll be streaming towards the exit. Cover face as much as possible. Check to see if Yui is here, that was an odd spotting at Sheol Star.

>>25928578
Pocket the USB, attempt to be nonchalant as we leave. Check who Kraken was in real life.

>>25928578
We have to go out that way anyway, so let's take a look outside.

>>25928601
It is surprisingly hard to destroy a laptop without damaging the HDD on short notice. Take everything..

>>25928610
>>25928601
>>25928480

For a moment, your vision narrows to a pinpoint, your actinic gasps for air raw in your throat - Your head pounds, and everything seems off-balance, somehow; Your throat making each breath rasp, an aching coldness in your limbs.

Focus.

The laptop is surprisingly heavy; It ticks as it cools over, as you tuck it under your arm - Thrusting the flash drive into an inner pocket. Up close, the chemical reek of charred components is nearly unbearable.

You reach up, and pull the curtain aside-

Outside is...

Down below - Far, far below - the dance floor has cleared at last; Or rather, a *space* has cleared, a vague semicircle as the crowd is pushed aside, as if by convectional motion. The music has stopped, too - All faces turned inwards, staring into the churning, frothing waters that rush past below.

What are they looking at?

You're not sure. You stare and stare, until your eyeballs begin to throb -

-Until it clicks, as last.

The interlocking panels of the glass floor have been smashed, spiderweb fissures radiating outwards from a point of singular impact; From a flat rectangle to jagged edges and torn metal supports, where the reinforcing clamps have given way entirely. A great fall, from above - A great impact -

Like that of a human body, flung flailing, from three storeys up.

(Continued)

>>25928672
>Like that of a human body, flung flailing, from three storeys up.

Oh, crap. We have to go before someone tries to in a murder on us.

>>25928672

The sea of faces below - It swims before your eyes. As you breathe in, then out...For a long, damned moment, you can't tell what you're looking at - The Red World, or reality? People, or the churning grey sea of souls, lit by the twitching light?

All faces. All alien.

There's a babble of conversation, of alarm - Some people beginning to point upwards, in your direction. It's a startling experience; But they're not pointing at *you*, not directly - Just the direction Helix Gygas must've fallen from.

Fallen - Or flung?

Maybe it's the same thing.

There are others on the same level - You push past them, forging your path downwards. There's a steady progress outwards, already; The quicker-thinking or the more cautious, anxious to distance themselves - To find the way out.

It's a strange sensation, just walking away - Any moment now, you think, someone's going to sound the alarm. You feel giddy, light-headed, as you make the descent - Joining the convectional motion of the cloud, the white noise blotting out the blurred chorus in your head...

-It's night.

You draw the hood of your coat up - Fat beads of freezing water running in slow rivulets over your shoulders, down your back, onto the charred plastic casing on the laptop your hold. You continue to walk, until the crowd thins out, moving with a purpose...

And as the crimson lights of CLUB NARAKA wink out, the rain continues to fall.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 49

TO BE CONTINUED

>>25928743
Just as I'm called away! Thanks for running OP.

>>25928743

(Gentlemen: I apologize for the abbreviated nature of the episode. However, my connection has been rather sporadic, and this looks like a natural place to close for the night.

Hopefully, things will be more stable the next time; I've also realized how *complicated* fights between two high-level Players can get, which makes for substantially longer posts.

However, you've been a wonderful audience - Especially tonight. As always, good night and god bless - and I hope to see you again soon.)

>>25928321
>The launcher is a simple, ugly thing. It reminds you of an RPG, a panzerfaust - A single-shot rocket tube slaved to your armour, launching a single massive projectile with honeycombed segments, falling away like a multi-stage rocket: Fragmenting in the air, to unleash the spiralling payload...
Hooray for descriptions!

Well, looks like i missed all the fun.

I seriously hope our jetpack isn't destroyed, but hey, if it is, we can finally hit up the hollow sun to see if it can fix it.

Also, am I the only one who picked up that Frost Cestus may have been a smiler, before he was the joker?

>>25928758

Kraken really lived up to his name, though. He gave us a thorough ass-beating, and he wasn't even using his special gimmick!

It was like fighting DOCTOR OCTOPUS, I swear. This must be how Spiderman feels.

Well, next time it's time to get the shield, I'd say.
It would have REALLY helped us here.
Afterwards we go to the hospital and then the Hollow Sun. We also need to remove that fucker's access rights.

>>25928797

I think the girl did it, actually. They're very clearly the last class of Player, which hasn't shown up yet. After all, it's chalice QUEEN, which implies that all members are female.

>>25928797
>Hollow Sun.

By the way, I was thinking.

We should bring the Misericorde to the hollow sun.

If it can consume things to give it manufacturing resources, we could a) analyze the misericorde and possibly gain clues to who made it and b) turn it into an actually useful artifact.
(part of me wonders if its supposed to be effective against the OTHER joker too, though)

>>25928160
>Your right arm snaps
How the fuck did we even fire the railgun?

>>25928816
Hey, that sounds like a good plan.

>>25928811
That was more concerning his EXEC ability.

>>25928830

You only need one arm for that. It's on a brace.

>>25928830

Didn't we usually have two railguns at once?

>>25928849
That's the vulcans

>>25928816
I just realized the retcons that blade has had over the course of the quest. It started out as a butterfly knife that doubled as a hint that Anon might have something of a checkered past in the Real and now look at it.

>>25925413

While we're at it, the new girls are REALLY hot. The one in the kimono has a classical look, but the other one seems particularly naughty.

I'm still wondering if you can do anything physical with players. If it's impossible to have, uh, 'full contact' with Hecate, that makes things rather more disappointing.

>>25928932
>Not the one from earlier, but - There's a resemblance, somehow.

>They could be sisters.

Didn't Totenaz imply that Pazuzu was trying to manufacture successors? He even implied that he wasn't Pazuzu's choice for Phantom Edge, there was another.

So these similar looking girls could actually be some kind of modified player clone?

>>25928909

Yeah, that went the way of the card we had at first. It feels like the OP was trying out a lot of things at the beginning, before the ruleset was stabilized.

The knife is still checkered as hell, IMO.

>>25928932
>If it's impossible to have, uh, 'full contact' with Hecate, that makes things rather more disappointing

On the contrary, that would be a masterfully slow-played maneuver by the op to discourage latching onto a lady npc.

After all, the quest seems to be about getting the flirt on with as many girls as we can without going anywhere.
Kind of like a james bond imitator.

>>25928909
>I just realized the retcons that blade has had over the course of the quest. It started out as a butterfly knife that doubled as a hint that Anon might have something of a checkered past in the Real and now look at it.
Wait, really? I missed that part. Whats it look like now?
And I thought we didn't carry it with us at any rate.

>>25928932
Please, kill yourself.
We already got enough of this kind of thinking.

This only concerns the non-Hecate part, though.
We need to visit the hospital to see if her true body is there.

>>25929043
It's a stiletto now and a pseudo Relic to boot. And we don't carry it with us, but it used to be something we could carry with us if we expected trouble in the Real.

>>25929160

I like the change, actually. The old one seemed to be, pardon the pun, too 'edgy'. It does make sense that we wouldn't carry around the one thing that would really fuck us up, however.

>>25929043
>On the contrary, that would be a masterfully slow-played maneuver by the op to discourage latching onto a lady npc.
...I am really against the idea of Hecate not being able to be our girlfriend. That would be way too fucking depressing.

>>25929189
There's more to being a couple than sex.

>>25929189
You're in for a long hard war with the Mio supporters.

>>25929189

I'm more curious as to why, so far, it's the girls who get human forms. All the male players have been badass guys in armour.

I'm not actually complaining about this. If I had a choice, I'd rather look like Kamen Rider than Sailor Moon, and armour is way more protective than a fetish outfit.

But I get a feeling there's something up with that.

>>25929189

I actually only joined a few threads ago. What was hecate like? Because Mio seems really cute, and more importantly is going all-out to get our attention.

>>25929230
>I actually only joined a few threads ago. What was hecate like? Because Mio seems really cute, and more importantly is going all-out to get our attention.
...She was our girlfriend. Then she was killed.
And then some fuckwits that didn't read prior threads started trying to get into every girl's pants. We spent about a dozen threads fully derailed and disoriented, with lots of waifu shenigans and fuck-all in terms of actively progressing the plot.

>>25929189

I don't think its gonna happen, one of the first things she said to us was..... something along the lines of not to stray/ or that she doesn't like it if we would. Which implies

>>25929160
>It's a stiletto now and a pseudo Relic to boot. And we don't carry it with us, but it used to be something we could carry with us if we expected trouble in the Real.
.... wait, its one of those relics that makes the transition to the Real world?
... and we just got the mask, which belonged to the red joker, which ALSO is a Real Item?

I take it back, no destroying the misericorde.

>>25929211
It's part of being a couple and without it you'll definitely never get children.
Worst case would be immortal Hecate, though.

>>25929216
The Mio supporters are goldfish. And I think she's fucking adorable.
Doesn't change the fact that the entire plotline shouldn't have happened.

>>25929271
>Which implies
...Did you accidentally a word?

>>25929230
>I'm more curious as to why, so far, it's the girls who get human forms. All the male players have been badass guys in armour.
Natsumi (Chrome Cypher), Kotone (Black Joker) are female.

>>25929230

Bell Zephyr is female, but clearly armoured. Inox Fang is probably female, but is also fully armoured.

Same for some of the mooks we killed.

>>25929282

I honesty like Mio. If Hecate wasn't around, she'd be the best girl: She's sweet, adorable and clearly in distress, which is a lethal combination for any red-blooded guy.

Not to mention the mystery of the fluffy ears and tail. Cuteness aside, that girl really needs a hug.

>>25929301
Though Natsume/Chrome is pretty androgynous in robot form, might be the same for a number of others we thought were/are male.

>>25929282
>...Did you accidentally a word?

yes

>>25929345

I personally think that if she hadn't met us, she'd have met Spaghetti-san that day. We really do screw things up with our presence, you know?

>>25929443
Well yeah. That's the nature of the world as it is.
We are the one thing that everything hinges on in this city, I think the book Asuna lent us said as much.

>>25929443
I'm starting to feel like Raildex is another influence on this quest.
We are just like Kamijou Touma. (His right hand can supposedly remove the "red string of fate" and cause girls to follow him instead of their fated loves) Just with more realistic results.

>>25929462

If so, that would be a neat interpretation of the 'red' joker.

>>25929462

Huh, I didn't see that link. Because so far, this has been absolutely miserable on that regard...We've made Natsumi, and now Asuna, really unhappy. Mio has plenty of heartbreak in the near-future, too.

It's interesting to note that we ARE really powerful, as players go. We utterly schooled Helix Gygas in an especially stylish way, and we basically killed him with a single headshot.

>>25929230

A guy wants to be powerful. A girl wants to be attractive. The red world just gives you what you want.

>>25929492
>Huh, I didn't see that link. Because so far, this has been absolutely miserable on that regard...We've made Natsumi, and now Asuna, really unhappy. Mio has plenty of heartbreak in the near-future, too.
Well, yeah. Three girls fell in love with us and are bound to be heartbroken. We even romanced Hecate, who wasn't fucking intended as a romantic option.
We tried to get Natsumi together with Kazuya, but she's obviously not fully content with that.

That's what happens when you aren't living in the Raildex world.
(Then again, currently it seems like Mikoto is turning into an obsessed stalker. So maybe the author of that series will finally put that aspect of the story to good use. But he's a hack, so I'm not convinced)

>>25929589

This is admittedly a very cynical take on things, however.

>>25929619
I wouldn't really call it cynical.
That's how love works in reality and what is bound to happen when lots of people fall in love with you.
Only option to make everyone happy would be harem end... Except that most REAL people would not be willing to share.

>>25929638

Yes, but do girls really have to get so upset? That's honestly been kind of depressing. It makes me feel like we've been screwing up somehow, when we're just trying not to let anyone down.

>>25929657
>It makes me feel like we've been screwing up somehow, when we're just trying not to let anyone down.

I'll be VERY amused if the Red Joker's invitation to the endgame comes with a 'plus one', and we don't have anyone we can take there with us.

>>25929657

You know, that's actually the least far-fetched part of the whole thing. If a girl is emotionally invested in you and then disappointed, expect waterworks or a slap.

Don't believe me? Do you know how bitter and vindictive ex-girlfriends can get? Dem females be crazy.

>>25929657
>Yes, but do girls really have to get so upset?
...You haven't experienced love, have you?

I can totally understand getting rejected by a girl, even if she's my best friend. But don't expect me to hang around once she gets a boyfriend.
And there WILL be murder if it's somehow rubbed into my face.

>>25929657
>It makes me feel like we've been screwing up somehow, when we're just trying not to let anyone down.
That's how emotions work. Sometimes, you HAVE to disappoint people.

>>25929680
And it doesn't matter if you are male or female.

Love is inherently selfish and selfless at the same time. Sure, you want your beloved to be happy - But ending up empty handed is one of the worst experiences you can get.
And it gets even worse if someone else, whom you might think as undeserving or equal to yourself, is chosen instead of you.
And then it gets doubly bad if you actually constantly interact with one or both of them.

That's why leading the girls one is a really fucking huge dickmove.
You should always be clear, so that wrong emotions can't even start appearing - If they know from the get-go that you are emotionally taken, they will be less likely to fall in love.

>>25929693
>>25929724
Seriously, why the fuck does this even need to be explained?
I would have expected this to be common knowledge.

And yes, I triple-samefagged. It's an emotionally charged topic for me and now I'm even more annoyed by the guys who romanced Mio.

>>25929752

It's mostly because a large proportion of /tg/ consists of sweaty neckbeard virgins.