>Current objectives:
-Find your way back to the crossroads.
-Find your way back to Earth.
-Discover what this huge war is about, and how it's threatening to destroy the universe.
-Learn more about the Corruption.
-Stay alive.

>Current inventory
-1 KV-09 Combination assault blade/energy pistol. Modified with the Void Knight Shield
-1 Screwdriver
-1 Adjustable wrench
-Various spare parts
-A pouch of gold coins
-Another pouch with 17 "Calling Crystals"
-6/10 light travel rations
-10/10 full oil can
-10/10 bandages

>Current energy stored
-0 Aether tanks
-3 Void tanks
-0 Apotropeia tanks
-3 empty tanks
-Support tank-Aether (7/12 full)
-Weapon-Apotropeia
-12 EP per tank

>Calling Crystal contacts
-Jodo, chief of Yujun village (Palia)
-Rose, interplanetary drifter (Currently on Aklabra) (Travelling with Oz, Savvi, and Thorn)
-Jax, Hecatun Way Knight (Currently on The Crossroads)
-Parin, Hecatun Way Knight Trainee (Currently on The Crossroads)
-Winnow, Veeka Spirit Singer (Bray)

>Current known techniques
-Blade Wave (cost:5 EP)
-Charge Shot (cost:3 EP)
-Scatter Shot (cost:3 EP)
-Close Lesser wound (cost:1 EP)
-Close Moderate wound (cost:3 EP)
-Repulse (cost:2 EP)
-Repulsor Blast (cost:3 EP
-Reflection Field (cost: 7 EP)

“You WANT to destroy this world?” You ask the creature. This has to be some kinda fuckin’ joke.

“Not the world, rat. It is of no consequence.” The creature turns to face you. Its body seems to shift instead of move, giving it a liquid look. Sticking out of its chest you can see a matte black crystal. Now that it’s in your view you can see that it’s the source of the disturbance, not the creature. “It is the people I wish to burn. These wretched beings who promise peace, yet they kill any who stand before them.” It says.

“And this is your idea of justice? Destroying an entire world just to spite the few people on it who have wronged you?” You ask it.

“DO NOT QUESTION ME, VERMIN!” It yells, the words echoing around the walls of the structure. “Stoencht was my BROTHER, and that wench MURDERED HIM. And now the Proclamation and their genocidal lord have come as well. This is not an opportunity I will be passing up.” The creature’s entire body seems to brim with malice, and you see its hands and feet form themselves into blades. “Nor will I suffer interlopers.”

>[ ] Attempt to reason with it.

>[ ] Prepare for combat.

>>30487871
Attempt reason.

No need to fight unless we've run through other possibilities.

>>30487871
so this is one of the big bad dudes we have been running around trying to find out about? and it seems he has the power to blow up a planet. well fuck. >prepare for combat

>>30487871
>[ ] Prepare for combat.

I think we can conclude that reasoning isn't going to work.

>>30487871
>Reason
Who the hell is Stoencht, and what wench?

>>30487871
>[x] Prepare for combat.
I know /tg/ loves to diplomance, but I don't think we're going to talk our way out of this one.

>writing

>>30487871
Prepare, sure, but try and get SOMETHING out of him

“What the hell did you do?” The Runecaster asked. “I thought discretion was key here, instead I get an SOS and arrive to find that discretion has been tossed out the bloody window!”

“Sorry Osmund… That rock. They were talking about it, they seemed to think that it had the power to destroy a planet. I had to get a look…” Said the Weaver. She was in bad shape, the fight against Kalki had not ended well for her.

Oz rolled his eyes and pulled a rune out of his book. “Don’t worry about it, for now let’s get you back to the citadel and see if we can’t do something about those wounds.” He said. Then he re-sized the rune, placed it on the floor, and picked up the wounded Weaver. As he began to channel Aether through the symbol, the area they were in faded away. In its place was the main hall of the citadel.

Oz always hated this place. It was much too extravagant for its purpose. This was supposed to be a place of learning, and yet it looked like a palace.

“Lord Meltellian, what has happened?” Asked one of the Runecasters present in the hall when he arrived.

“Things seem to have gone awry. I need you to take this lady to the infirmary, I have other business to attend.” Oz said, and he passed Savvi off to the other ‘caster.

“Hold on, where are you going?” Asked Savvi.

“I need to find Rose.” He said as he strode out of the room. “It appears as though ‘Plan B’ has become necessary.”

“Whatever it is you’re doing, it stops now.” You say, leveling your gun at the creature.

<Target lock on the stone, then scan him.

“This is rich.” It says, taking a step towards you on its bladed foot. “The rat thinks it can stop me.” It takes another step forward, growing slightly in size. “Do you even know who I am?” It asks.

The target lock finishes, and you can see the crosshair overlain on the rock sticking out of its chest. “I can hazard a pretty close guess.” You say. One more step. If he takes one more step, it’ll be one step too many.

“Then you should know that you cannot hope to defeat me.” It says, and then it lifts its bladed foot once more. “I am Kalki, lord of the Kalkarri. And yo-“

The foot comes down, and you squeeze the trigger. Once, twice, three times.

>Scan complete!
>Subject is 100% Aether in semiliquid state, with a solid core comprised of Aether compacted into a solid state.

Christ, and you just fired a bunch more Aether at it.
Kalki brings his arms up, widening them to form a shield over the rock in his chest. His arms seem absorb your shots with no damage at all.

“Is that all?” Kalki asks. He throws his arms out to the side. “You had your chance to turn and flee, vermin. Let it be known that you chose death!” He leaps towards you, his body flattening out into a glider-esque shape.

>roll 1d20

Rolled 4

>>30488663
Dis gon' be good.

Rolled 6

>>30488663
>please please please tzeetch, hear my call

Rolled 7

>>30488663
Yikes

>writing

Rolled 7

>>30488663
oh we are so good and fucked
good quest guys!
say goodbye to our cyborg ass!

You bring your blade up and charge it with Aether as quickly as you can. Then you slash horizontally across the now airborne Kalki.

It should have hit, you were dead on.

But Kalki just moves around it, getting inside your guard and slamming one of his bladed limbs into your left temple. Luckily your skull is metal there, but your systems don’t seem to like the jolt.

>Optical systems rebooting.

Your left eye goes dead, along with all your displays. You stumble back, trying to get some distance between the two of you.

Kalki has other plans. He lands at your feet on all fours before springing back up and striking at your head again, his arms coming together into one single bladed limb. You bring the Shield up to block it, but the limb splits apart and goes around it. Both limbs strike directly at your throat.

>roll 1d20

Rolled 3

>>30489228
INCOMING DEAD END!

Rolled 17

>>30489228
It couldn't get any worse, right?

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Rolled 19

>>30489228
>uh mon guay guay fie di sow, uh mon guay guay fie di sow, uh mon guay guay fie di sow

>writing

>>30489275
dear jesus! go uncle go! roll for great justice!

You kick off to the side, twisting and bringing your blade around to counter. Kalki seems to be caught off guard, as he collapses to the floor to avoid your strike.

Then he starts the same maneuver again, but you’re ready for it. You prompt Vicky to load Repulse into one of your Void tanks, and then hit Kalki with it.

The repulse seems to do the trick. Not only does it hit him like a sack of bricks, but it also seems to burn him. Leaving him no time to recover, you hit him with another repulse and thrust your sword at the rock in his chest.

Now it’s Kalki’s turn to backpedal. He glides away to a safe distance, and drops to one knee. “You… What are you?” Kalki asks.

>[ ] Stall for time

>[ ] Ignore him

Rolled 13

>>30489507
>[x] Stall for time
As much as I'd like to get right back to fighting, we need our eye back.

>>30489507
>[ ] Stall for time

Throw in a Space Jam reference

>>30489507
>wait, why aren't we shooting this bastard with void? or at least charging void into the blade?

>>30489507
>[x] Ignore him

We need to end this quick. We just burned through two tanks in one round, that's not something we can afford.

>>30489507
STALL

>Planet is crumbling
>Very harsh time limit
>Anons want to stall.

Yeah, sure, what could possibly go wrong.

You charge Void into your weapon and check your tanks, 1 is full, and 1 is about half full. Both of them are filled with Void, which is fortunate. Void seems to be Kalki’s weakness.

“I’m the Void Knight.” You say. Your eye has come back online, you just have to synch it with your right eye and you’re good to go.

“Not your job, rat. You have metal where there should be bone and flesh, yet you are not of the Kema. You channel the Void, yet you are an Aetherian being. I shall ask again, what ARE you!?!” Kalki bellowed. The Black elemental stood up, positioning himself to charge back at you.

>Optical systems normalized.

Good, let’s get this back on.

>Roll 1d20 with a witty answer to Kalki’s question.

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Rolled 1

>>30490176
a mechanic ..I fix problems(feel fee to clean it up)

oh no....

Rolled 4

>>30490176
"Just shut up and slam"

Rolled 16

>>30490176
I'm Batman

Rolled 15

>>30490345
The hero this universe deserves.

Rolled 10

>>30490176
>HUMAN!

(uh mon guay guay fie di sow...)

>writing

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As the Proclamations’ ships approached Aklabra all aboard them felt something was wrong, VERY wrong. When Monthei had first forged this thread, things had been calm. Eture, Geob, and Dark Priest alike were preparing for battle. The leaders of the Kalkarri were all gathered here as lambs for the slaughter. This information did not come to them without cost, and so they would ensure that those sacrifices would not be in vain.

However, as they came closer, the thread had become... Tumultuous. It was as though they were sailing through a storm. But it was not simply their thread, no, all the threads around Aklabra were in flux. All aboard could feel the aether growing unstable, but the Eture seemed to be suffering from it. All, but the most strong willed of them, had doubled over. Many were clutching their heads, crying out in pain. Then came a sound... like a great reverberation echoing through the holds.

“LEOHRAD!!”

Monthei grabbed his friend before he hit the ground. When they had pierced the veil, the helmsman assured them that the Mausam was in sight. Fortunate, as they could launch a surprise assault. However, at his side, Leohrad started to look feverish, looking as though he might collapse. A ringing could be heard bouncing off the walls. As he began to sway, Monthei kept him on his feet. “Are you alright? What is happening?” Monthei said, worry in his voice.

“I... knew it,” Leohrad responded, pain evident in his voice, “I had my suspicions, but now I’m sure.” He looked as if he was struggling to speak.

Monthei’s worry had turned to curiosity, “What are you sure of?” He asked.

“The Tattvanae,” he responded, “They have something... on the Mausam. Something that the others did not.” Monthei sat him down, slowly. “The others fell to us... but none of the Eture could keep their strength while near that one, we could barely muster the energy to fly.” As he said this, the crystals on his back flickered with bronze light. “They possess something... something that gives off a strong resonance. A din that rings through us... but... it was never this strong before.” Monthei could only have admiration for the power of his friends’ will. “I feel it... as if it’s drawing on the threads leaving this world... focusing their power... on that blasted flying rock, enough to rip this world asunder.”

Leohrad could not see his face behind his helm, but he could recognize the look of despair. “If what you say is true... then I may have consigned us all to oblivion.” He hung his head, “Alas, this is my fault... The people below, all those aboard these ships who fight for freedom... they suffer because I wasn’t fast enough... not canny enough... because I couldn’t kill him on Tattva.”
He sighed, “Well... no avoiding it.” He stood, and strode to the forefront of the ship.

The Eture helmsman was using all of his strength to keep himself steady. “Executor!” He spoke with determination, “Our people are...”

“Suffering from this resonance, I know.” Monthei said with almost fatherly reassurance, “Commandant Leohrad has informed me of the situation.” He continued, “I know it is much to ask, but I need you to bring this ship closer to the Mausam.”

A flash of concern crossed the Etures’ face, “Our... soldiers are in no shape to fi...”

Monthei held up his hand, “Not for them... for me.”

“Executor?” Asked the helmsman.

“Drop me off, as close to the disturbance as you are able. I will tear through this place and end this madness, if I can.” He continued, “Rejoin the fleet afterwards, and try and find a thread that can get you out of here.”

“... Yes sir.” The helmsman responded. He seemed to be in less pain, and looked... inspired.

“One more thing,” Monthei placed a hand on the console. A vision entered his mind. “Rasa,” he said, “I will soon make landfall. Kalki is in my sight, and I will not allow this world to be sundered... would you lend me your assistance?”

A deep hiss came from the other end, “It would be my privilege...”

>>30490731
so evry power player other than the wayknights(hah) and the corrupter that we have heard of all in one place that is about to cease to evist...

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>>30490662
>“Not for them... for me.”

You load Scatter shot into your weapon and smirk. “You really wanna know?” You ask.

Kalki doesn’t answer. He bounds forward, bladed limbs outstretched. The stone in his chest glows faintly, the ground rumbles. You take aim and charge your scattershot, waiting for the right moment to let it off.

“I am Logan Drey, but to you…” You say. When Kalki is within range, you squeeze the trigger. “I am Justice!” You say as the blast hits its mark, beams of white fire searing through the Black elemental. The blast forces Kalki back once more, but this time you stay on him. When he lands, you’re right there with your blade poised to strike him down.

That’s when the ground shakes violently, throwing you off your footing. Kalki takes advantage of this opening to strike at your legs. As he lunges forward to hit your knee you use your lack of balance to your advantage, falling to your right and coming down on Kalki with a closed fist. Your punch hits him right in the middle of his back, striking something hard within and forcing him to the ground. Then you stop your fall, landing hard on your right leg before kicking Kalki as hard as you can with the left.

Again you strike something solid, and Kalki seems to reel. For a moment it seems as though he’s having some trouble holding his form, but the moment passes quickly.

“The godslayer is here. I have played with you long enough, there will be no further delays.” A purple steam starts to rise from the stone in his chest, and the ground shakes more violently. “Let us see how your justice fares.” He says, walking calmly towards you.

>roll 1d20

Rolled 11

>>30491088

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Rolled 18

>>30491088
beep boop

Rolled 11

>>30491088

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Rolled 2

>>30491088
>uh mon guay guay fie di sow, uh mon guay guay fie di sow, uh mon guay guay fie di sow

File: 1393387048402.gif-(2.84 MB, 410x231, We're done here.gif)

2.84 MB GIF

>>30491169

>writing

You slash diagonally across Kalki’s torso and he sidesteps it, his right leg shooting up for a bladed kick at your throat.
You raise your left arm to block it, letting the kick glance off the back of your hand. Kalki’s entire body pivots on his left leg, and his left arm swings around at your neck.
You charge your blade make a desperate underhand slash to get him to back off, but his body moves AROUND your attack. It stunts his own slash, giving you time to back away. But Kalki follows it up with a thrust from his right arm.

You let that glance off your shield, attempting to hit him with a repulse. But when you fire the repulse, the area you intended to hit simply… MOVES. It’s the same result when you try to slash, or stab, or punch, or shoot. You thought you had this figured out, but it seems as though you were wrong.

You manage to defend yourself without taking a hit, but you’re starting to tire. The KV is beginning to weigh on your arm, and your lungs are burning. Underneath you your knees groan with the pressure of each movement. Your energy tanks have all but run out as well.

You try for a final thrust in an attempt to finish him off, but his torso opens and allows your blade to enter it. Then it closes, and you realize the mistake you’ve made. You can’t get the sword out.

“Now then Logan Drey, let’s see what your insides look like…” Kalki says, walking slowly up the length of your blade. His bladed arms poised at your stomach, ready to cut you open.

You feel a slight prick, and then darkness surrounds you.

Rose sat coiled up in the center of a large runic circle. “A-are you sure this is safe?” She asked, more than a little apprehensive.

“Not as safe as I’d like, but we’ve run out of time. It’s become a matter of ‘go ahead with what we’ve got’ or ‘everyone dies’. And I’m not much a fan of the latter.” Oz said as he finished tracing the massive runic circle into the floor.

“What’s happened out there?” Rose asked.

“It seems like Kalki has decided that Aklabra and everyone on it have become disposable. Whatever it is Savvi discovered, it’s creating Aetherian threads FROM Aklabra TO Aklabra. The result is… quite problematic.” Oz left off there, he knew how much Rose would and wouldn’t understand. So he didn’t explain further. “Enough so that it’s forced my hand on this.”

“Have you talked to Thorn about this yet? I’m not really sure she’d approve…” Said Rose, coiling up a little tighter.

“There hasn’t been time, and we’ve delayed long enough as it is. From my calculations we should all be dust already…” Oz said, before he called out to one of the other people in the room. “What the hell is going on out there? I don’t suppose Kalki has up and changed his mind.”

One of the other Runecasters approached Oz with a mirror, showing him the image contained within. “No Lord Melltellian, it appears as though someone has engaged him.”

Oz looked genuinely surprised. “Well I’ll be damned…” He said with a slight smirk.

“Who is it?” asked rose. She’d go and see for herself, but she wasn’t supposed to leave the center of the circle

“It looks like I may have written off our dear Logan too soon, fighting to the end indeed!” Oz said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get down to business then, shall we? Best not squander the time we’ve been given!”

The circle around Rose started to glow. She could feel the energies resonating with the bones in her body, one in her back and one in her finger. It hurt, but she could bear it. She had to, everyone was depending on her.

Then the giant circle flared, and she screamed as the blackness took her.

>>30491626
Please tell me we're gonna get a chance to fight back and you didn't just railroad us into that.

Rolled 16

>>30491685
i have bad feelings about everything going on, and i appreciate the fact that this story does not pull punches
bravo OP bravo

“What…”

Kalki is gone…

“… the fuck?” You say, your words lost to the Void.

You don’t remember opening a rift, there wasn’t time. How in the hell did you end up here?

<Vicky, what the hell happened?
>I do not know. This transit was not caused by you, something else on Aklabra caused it.
<Any idea where we’re going?
>No.

The Void disappears from around you, phasing into a new world rather than entering it the way you’re used to. It’s gentler, to say the least. On solid ground again, you can feel your legs resisting as you begin to walk.

<Okay, now can you tell me where we are?
>I will begin calculating. This may take a while, I cannot detect any Aetherian threads reaching this world.

That’s strange. You didn’t think there were any worlds like that…

Come to think of it, this place looks familiar. Though it’s definitely changed since the last time you were here…

<Vicky stop calculating and save these coordinates.
>Why?
<I know where we are.

You could never forget this place. This is the underhousing district where you found Thitu and got the shield.

This is Earth.

>What do?

>>30491895
Panic

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>>30491895

Rolled 1

>>30491895
internal celebration then ....perhaps get out of this housing thing...remember our resistance training can we contact anyone

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>>30491895
PANIC

>>30491895
WHAT! WHY? WHAT! I DONT, BUT, EARTH, FIGHT, DEAD EVERYTHING, NO AETHER CONTACTS. is earth where void knights go to die? Are there more pieces of armour here? so many questions...

>>30491895
Vicky, save these coordinates, cut a rift through the void, AND GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE

>>30491895
Vicky, rift, NOW

>>30491895
use knight powers, grab a nuke, grab a couple nukes, get back to the multiverse and SET SHIT STRAIGHT

Rolled 17

>>30492067
Then back that shit up
And then make a backup of the backup.

We'll need these coordinates later so we can bring an alien invasion to fight the robots

>writing

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<Back these coordinates up
>Backup complete.
<Now make a backup of the backup.
>Backup complete.

You were kind of expecting her to question that second one.

Now you just have to get the hell out of here before the AI finds you.

>Message received from: Rose

From Rose? She rejected your last message, you wonder what she could want.

<Play message.

You hear Rose’s voice in your ear: “U-ummmm Logan? I-… I could use some help… I know that I ignored your last message but I was afraid that you were mad at me and I wasn’t sure what to say but now Oz did this weird thing with a giant circle to save the people on Aklabra and I think it worked but I don’t know where I am and I’m alone and… and…” The message pauses for a second, and you hear noises in the background before Rose continues in a whisper: “I-I think something is hunting me…”

>End of message.
>Open connection? [Y/N]

>>30492384
Yes. Go. NOW

WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE JUST GO

Rolled 14

>>30492384
....lets not go save our friend for once lets just be an asshole and let her die...of course we go save the snake lady onward to heroic deeds

>>30492384
>Y
>Y
>Y
>GODDAMMIT HURRY THE FUCK UP AND OPEN ALREADY

>>30492384
GOOD LORD YES

>writing

That must’ve been it, Rose must have somehow transported you here.

You’ll have to thank her after you’re done killing whatever is hunting her.
Into the rift you go.

The trip takes a minute. A minute too long, you think.

When you arrive, you’re greeted by the sight of a heavily corrupted world. And the sound of the creatures on it, as well as the sound of a familiar voice screaming.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 17

>>30492681
I bet it is >13

Rolled 15

>>30492681
may the emperor guide our path

Rolled 14

>>30492681

>writing

You run towards where you heard the screaming. Your legs groan in protest to the working you’ve put them through today, and your arm flares in pain. You ignore them for now, there’ll be time to rest later.

You come upon the scene in a matter of seconds, and immediately get to work.

A group of strange purple humanoids have grouped themselves around Rose. You can’t see her through them, but you see her tail thrashing about.

The first one to notice you is also the first to go down, as you thrust you blade straight into his face. You choose not to use any energy here, as these seem to be corrupted beings. You don’t want a repeat of your fight against Kalki.

The rest is not pretty. You gave up all notions of dignified combat when you got here, and the result is nothing short of brutality. Your metal fist crushes skulls as ribcages alike, and your blade cleaves through flesh and bone indiscriminately.

It isn’t long before the crowd disperses as the creatures back away from Rose to get a safe distance away from you.

It looks as though one of them wants to attack you, but another warns it off. “Do NoT, We HaVe WhAt We CaMe FoR. tHe MeRiDaN aNd ThE VoId KnIgHt ArE oF nO cOnSeQuEnCe To Us. ThE CoRrUpToR rEqUiReS uS tO rEtUrN.” It says. The creature’s voice sounds like someone shaking a sheet of tin foil.

“Oh no, I’m not done with you fucker yet!” You shout, dashing towards the nearest creature ready to cleave into it.

“Do NoT bE hAsTy VoIdKnIgHt. YoUr TiMe WiLl CoMe. SoOn AlL wIlL bE aS oNe.” It says. Before your strike hits, the creatures seem to fade away.

<Can we track them?
>No. I am not even sure by what means they travel.

“Damn…” You say out loud. You go over and check Roses wounds. She’s hurt pretty bad, but she can’t stay here. This place is Corrupted and she has no protection.

>Where go?

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>>30493161
>Dangit, I forgot my pic.

Rolled 2

>>30493161
um.....jodo.we go to our good friend the 4 armed lizardman

>>30493161
What about Winnow, the bird girl?

>>30493161
Take her back to her house, and I really think we should check out earth once more.

>>30493206
This

>>30493161

>we could go back to earth and scrounge medical stuff we know how to use?

i have to agree with an earlier post on this one, there needs to be a wiki or something for this stuff.
please tell me this is all written down or planned before you get going OP.
we have, what, 5 storylines right now, and countless threads holding them together. trying to find a course of action at any given time could lead us anywhere.

Rolled 14

>>30493206
she has reptilian bits they are reptilian they have a mage available..

>>30493222
Gonna have to agree on the healer bird-girl

>>30493161
Do we know where Oz is?

>>30493253
>Of course it's all planned.
>I'll have a compendium of relevant info at some point, until that point I'll try to work the ifo about any choices you make into the post.

>>30493375
>No. Rose had the crystal, no one else in the group got one.

>So far we're split between:
>[ ] Go see Winnow

>[ ] Go see Jodo

>>30493413
Winnow

She's probably better at healing

>>30493461
Agreed

Rolled 1

>>30493461
letts take a snake to see a bird.... can not see that going badly...screw it am in i want to see this

>writing

>>30493497
>>30493206
>>30491967
>>30490234
my luck is bad tonight...the emperor and the dice they do not love me tonight

Thinkthinkthinkthink Winnow!
She helped you out when you were near dead. Here’s hoping she can help Rose as well.

You kneel down and pick Rose up, a futile action as her tail seems to drag no matter what you do. After checking to make sure she’s still alive, you sling her over your shoulder and open a rift to Bray.

You come out of the rift at the base of Winnow’s treehouse, and then you send her a message through your crystal.

“Hey Winnow, I could use a hand here. A friend of mine is pretty badly injured.” You say, leaving the message there.

When her reply comes back, it basically says “Come on over.” So you open the connection and go up to Winnow’s house.

“Logan- Oh my goodness! You weren’t kidding! Uhh… Put her down over there. I’ll get some bandages…” She says, about to scurry off to get medical supplies.

“I have that stuff.” You say, pulling your own medical supplies out of your bag.

“Oh, I can just get started then.” She says.

>[ ] Lend a hand.

>[ ] Take a breather.

>>30493729
>[ ] Take a breather.

Probs just get in her way

>>30493729
no rest lend a hand...luckily it iis removable

>>30493729
>[x] Take a breather.
Rule number 1: Never bother the fucking doc when he's working.

>>30493766
second thought we have been fighting all damn day after a night wee did not get much sleep...after partying....if we do not rest we are going to crash

>writing

Winnow takes your medical supplies and gets to work. “Hmm… It looks pretty bad…” She says.

“You can-“ You start before she cuts you off.

“It may take a while, but it’s within my ability. Get some rest Logan, you look like hell.” She says, turning her attention back to Rose.

If she’s telling the truth about how you look, then the outside must match the inside. You feel like hell too.

<How long have I been awake?
>20 hours, 19 minutes and 2 seconds.

Damn, it somehow feels much shorter than that. You take a seat near where Winnow is working and observe. She’s fairly deft when it comes to bandage-work, and it takes her 1/3rd of the time it would’ve taken you to wrap Rose’s wounds.

And then she starts singing. She does have a very nice singing voice, at the very least it puts any human singer to shame. The song she sings is soft and flowing, and incredibly relaxing.

Now that you’ve got a moment to sit, the day seems to be catching up on you…

>[ ] Doze off

>[ ] Stay awake

>>30494078
doze off

>>30494078
TIME FOR A PTSD FLASHBACK

>>30494078
Doze off

>writing

You let yourself relax. Winnow knows what she’s doing. If she could pull your sorry ass back from the brink of death, doing the same for Rose shouldn’t be a problem.

Before you know it, you find yourself getting lost in the smooth melody of the Winnow’s song. Sleep comes pretty soon after…

You awaken in an unfamiliar bed, and your nostrils fill with a familiar scent.

No matter where you are, hospitals always seem smell the same. Fortunately, there are some familiar sounds as well…

To your left you see Hannah resting her head at your bedside. You can’t help but smile. Even when she’s snoring like a walrus with her mouth wide open and drooling, she’s still kind of cute.

You try to get out of your bed, but you find that you’ve only got one of your 4 limbs. You let out a long sigh as you remember that you’ve only ever had 1 of your 4 limbs.

You only vaguely remember how you managed to get back to the base. You seem to recall being carried at some point, and at other points doing the carrying. But engraved in your mind are the blank faces of your comrades as they all turned on you. This was supposed to end it all, this mission had been in the works for months. And in less than 5 seconds it all went to hell.

“Mm-mmmmmm” Hannah moans as she wakes up and stretches, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before she sees you’re awake. “Ro-ho-hooooomeooooooo!” She says gleefully, jumping on your prone form.

“Hey watch th-“ You begin to say before Hannah’s lips meet yours, and your mouth finds that it has better things to do.

After several minutes she pulls away. “You’re a jerk.” She says, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “What was with that stupid thumbs up? What if that was the last time I ever saw you? How would I ever move on if my last memory of you was so… so… CORNY!” She says, breaking out into tears and burying her head in your chest.

You smile and pat her head with your only hand. “I did come back though.” You say.

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“Brett told me what happened…” She says, her face still buried in your chest. Then she looks up at you, smiling sadly. “He said that-GHK!” She straightens right out, gritting her teeth in pain before collapsing on top of you.

That caught you off guard, but you’re pretty sure you know what caused it “You’ve been neglecting your maintenance haven’t you?” You ask.

She pouts and looks away, you know she has.

“I know that you don’t like it when other people look at it, but when I’m not around you can’t just leave it alone.” You say. The guilty look on her face makes you feel guilty for chewing her out, so you sigh. “Get my limbs and I’ll take a look.”

She smiles and gets up off of you, obviously still a bit sensitive after that little hiccup. She grabs your legs from a table at the foot of your bed, as well as an arm you’d never seen before. “They fixed your legs up, but your arm was totaled. They said that you should use this one until they get a proper sized one.” She said.

She put your legs on for you as you attached the new arm and did all the necessary hard/software protocols. “A bit ungainly isn’t it?” You ask. The arm is way too big for you. The hand is easily twice the size of your old hand, and the energy storage tanks on it seemed a bit unnecessary.

“All we had hun, sorry.” She said before sitting on the bed cross-legged in front of you, pulling her shirt up to reveal the small hexagonal patch of artificial skin on the small of her back.

“It’ll have to do for now, I guess…” You say, finishing up with a quick calibration to match what it does with what you want it to do. “So what sort of problems have you been having?” You ask her, peeling the artificial skin away to reveal the small metal piece in her spine.

Your eyes open slowly. You can still hear Winnow singing, she must not quite be done yet.

You look down at your left hand. This ‘temporary measure’ seems like it’s becoming less temporary every day…

You pull out a small part from your pack. A little metal cylinder, it looks entirely unimpressive. But in reality it’s probably the most advanced piece of tech you’ve got on you. Spinal patches were incredibly expensive even when the war started. Finding one on a supply run was pretty fortunate, finding another was something else entirely.

While you’re examining the piece, the singing stops.

“All done?” You ask Winnow.

“Not quite, there’s still some work to be done. But I’m not quite certain I’m the one for the job here…” She says.

“What do you mean by that?” You ask.

She pauses, thinking for a moment before answering you. “Before I answer you, mind if I ask you something?” She says. She looks… worried?

“I… uhh… sure?” You reply.

“Logan… where is Parin?”

>[ ] She went back to the crossroads.

>[ ] Tell her the truth

>>30494819
I think Winnow has earned some honesty

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>>30494819
>>[ ] Tell her the truth

>>30494855
This

>writing

“A lot has happened since I left last night…” You say.

Winnow looks at you expectantly, so you continue.

“She had to go back to the crossroads to be cleansed. I don’t think I’ll be seeing her for a while…” You say.

Winnow looks horrified. “All because the two of you… Oh my… I didn’t think the Hecatun were that against inter-species relations…” She says.

“What?” You say. You get the feeling that she has the wrong idea.

“You and Parin spent the night together last night didn’t you?” She says, looking mildly confused.

“What? Yes… well yeah… But that isn’t why she needs to be cleansed!” You say.

“Oh… Why does she need to be cleansed then?” She asks.

“Her brother showed up. He’d spent too much time off the crossroads so his armor lost its charge and he got Corrupted. He attacked us and managed to hit her before I could drive him off. She had to go back so they could cleanse the corruption from her.” You explain.

“Oh… She was really hoping that her meeting with Zeshua would go well too…” Winnow says.

>[ ] How did you know about… last night?

>[ ] What’s the issue with Rose?

>>30495123

ose aint going anywhere lets
>>[ ] How did you know about… last night?

>>30495162
I am also curious

>writing

“So what’s the-… wait. How did you know Parin and I spent the night together last night?” You ask.

“Well… For one thing, each song of the final dance is meant to bring to the surface the good emotions of the dancers. It starts with happiness, and continues from there until you get to the last song: love. When I went to find you guys after the festival, the two of you were rather… busy. And when I saw you guys leave Bray, I figured that you were looking for somewhere private to… y’know...”

“So if the songs are meant to bring out the emotions…” You trail off.

“The emotions have to be in there in order for the music to bring them out. Don’t worry, anything you feel for Parin is all you.” Winnow says reassuringly.

“And what about Rose?” You ask, getting to the real issue now that your curiosity is sated.

“Right… Well she’s not going to die.” Winnow says.

“There are several degrees between ‘not dead’ and ‘alive’, Winnow. What’s the issue?” You say, pressing her a bit.

“Well… it looks like a piece of her spine is missing. I could stop the bleeding and seal the wound, but I can’t fix a broken back. It's likely that she'll never walk-... err... slither again.” She says. She actually looks ashamed that she can’t do it.

“Why don’t I take over then?” You say, getting up from your seat and putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Logan, you can’t fix something like this! There’s too many things that can go wrong!” She says.

“Not fix.” You say, showing her the small metal cylinder you were looking at earlier. “Replace.”

>End of Chapter 18

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>That's all for tonight folks!

>Next thread time will be posted an hour in advance on the twitter.

>Thanks for joining in ladies and gents, as always I'll be sticking around for a few minutes to answer questions.

>>30495123
>[ ] What’s the issue with Rose?

>>30495492
they stole her spine piece....probably her finger too We HaVe WhAt We CaMe FoR plot thickens

>>30495524

Cheers for the thread OP! Was pretty dramatic today!