>>30710476
>>>"Ah, yeah, about that..." explain the actual situation.

>>30710476

>"Ah, yeah, about that..." explain the actual situation.

>>30710476
>"Ah, yeah, about that..." explain the actual situation.
Might be awkward, but I'm sure she'll understand.

"Ah, yeah, about that..." you say, awkwardly, rubbing the back of your neck. "I kind of, maybe, was a bit deceptive when I said that my name was Diana Smith? And possibly also about my age? And marital status?"

Sylvia looks at you askance before saying anything. "Then... wait, what?"

"My name is Abigail Jackson," you begin. "I'm actually seventeen, not 22 like it says on the ID I used. And I'm unmarried, as my age suggests, though I am in a fairly serious relationship at the moment."

Sylvia takes a few seconds to process this, staring at you in confusion and disbelief as she does. "What - why did you lie about that?"

"Well..."

>Write-in.

>>30710603
> "What exactly were you told about us and our situation in general? Let's just say I have a pretty good explanation."

>>30710603
Your church is sketchy and I don't trust them. I don't think it was a councidence you were attacked as I came for you, and for all we know the woman talking to you could have been from the church.

>>30710603
That pain when you update so much faster than normal and get no replies because readers don't bother checking for another post already.

>>30710693
I'm not sure what you're getting at with this post - if you could explain, please?

>>30710603
Just tell her that tying your real identity to the stuff we talked to the church about, especially before knowing jack shit about them, would have been a terrible idea. You're being forthright about things now, after all.

>>30710762
What part of all the shit we told the Church guy does she know? I assume they wouldn't bother hiding much from her, given how we found her last thread, but they still might have forgot/not bothered to talk about stuff.

It's kind of self-explanatory why Abby would lie about her identity if she knows some of the stuff we told him regarding incubators, for example.

"I just didn't know enough to trust the Church," you say, trying to be diplomatic about it. "You were informed about how the Incubator thing works, right? The killing other Incubators to gain more time?"

"Yes..." she says, still not quite getting your point.

"I didn't know enough about the Church to be sure that they wouldn't, you know, try to feed me to you, or something to that effect."

"They wouldn't!" She cries, an unexpected amount of vehemence in her voice.

You raise your hands defensively. "I didn't say they would! I just didn't know. I didn't really have any ideas about the Church, and it doesn't quite have the world's best reputation, you know? Plus, you said yourself that they covered up some of the people you killed."

"That's different! That was an accident!"

"Again, I'm not saying that's true, I'm just saying it's what I thought might have been the case."

She takes a moment, closing her eyes and breathing in and out, mouthing some words. At last, she speaks up again. "I can see how your concern was understandable. But the Church wouldn't do anything like that."

"I believe you, okay?"

She stares at you for a while and then nods, looking down.

>"Do you have any idea about who that Ballista Incubator might have been?"
>"I should talk to my second-in-command about that Ballista Incubator who attacked you."
>"Do you have any questions for me?"
>"Let me tell you about the other people you'll be working with."
>Write-in.

>>30710962
>I didn't really have any ideas about the Church
I didn't really have any good information about the Church

"Don't give your post a quick once over before you post, you already spend 40 minutes on it, hurr."

>>30710962
> Do you have any idea who that ballista incubator could have been?

>>30710962
>"Do you have any idea about who that Ballista Incubator might have been?"
Might as well see what she knows.

"Do you have any idea about who that Ballista Incubator might have been?"

"Ballista...?"

"Right, sorry, Ballista Incubators are like... telekinetics. You're a Healer, thus the healing. I'm a Knight, thus the strength and speed. And durability, but you didn't get to see that. The lady with the knives was a Ballista Incubator."

"Oh. Then no, I don't have any idea. I really doubt that she was from the Church. She was kind of..." Sylvia pauses, searching for a diplomatic word, "crude."

"Do you know what she wanted?"

"She was fairly clear that she wanted me."

>"I suppose it's just a coincidence that she showed up at the same time that I did?"
>"Do you think she can find you now?"
>"It's okay, I'll keep you safe."
>"I need to get in contact with George, tell him what happened."
>Write-in.

>>30711149
>"I suppose it's just a coincidence that she showed up at the same time that I did? I need to talk to George, I think."

>>30711149
>"It's okay, I'll keep you safe. Still, can't believe it was a coincidence that she showed up at the same time I did."

>>30711273
Seconding, we're still not buddy buddy with the church.

"I suppose it's just a coincidence that she showed up at the same time that I did?" You sigh. "I think I need to talk to George." You gesture to the room. "Make yourself comfortable," you say, before pulling out your cell to call up George.

Sylvia glowers at you for a moment, but starts to curl up under the blankets anyway. You leave the room, closing the door behind you, before George picks up. "Mrs. Smith," he says. "Is everything alright?"

You don't bother to correct him on your name. "No. It's strange, the moment I go to pick up Sylvia, I get attacked by another Incubator. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?"

There's a brief pause. "Is Sylvia alright?"

"Sylvia's fine."

>"No thanks to you. What the fuck?"
>"Do you have any idea how this might have happened?"
>"Fuck you, you agree to help me, then send me into a fucking trap?"
>Write-in.

>>30711433
>"You agree to help me and send me into a trap? What the fuck?"

>>30711433
>"Do you have any idea how this might have happened?"
Might as well not be too antagonistic...yet.

Rolled 1

1 - >>30711479
2 - >>30711597

You practically snarl into the phone. "You agree to help me, then send me into a fucking trap? What the fuck?"

"I send you into a trap?" He says, voice dripping with indignation. "You want to do this? The moment I release her into your care, she gets attacked. Isn't *that* a strange coincidence? Are you so incompetent as to be incapable of protecting her from those who wish to harm her for even one hour?"

"The place was cleared out of everyone except our attacker."

"Of course it was cleared out! You know as well as I do that Sylvia could 'Manifest' and attack someone at any time. I did it only immediately before your arrival."

>"Then someone must have been watching her, and attacked when the employees left."
>"I don't trust you, you slimy motherfucker."
>Write-in.

>>30711770
>"She was talking to Sylvia through her earpiece. Am I also responsible for your IT security now?"

>>30711770
>"Then someone must have been watching, and attacked when everyone cleared out. You probably have a spy amonst your ranks."

>>30711770
>"Then someone must have been watching her, and attacked when the employees left."
Why would he remove people after calling us, rather than waiting til we got there? He's been waffling for days keeping them in danger, why would an hour or so more matter?

>>30711770
She was under attack when I arrived, you should have kept the location more secure.

"Then someone must have been watching her, and attacked when the employees left."

"I suppose that's a fair conclusion."

"Why would you remove people beforehand, rather than waiting until I got there?"

"If there hadn't been someone waiting for an opportunity to attack, then it would have been quicker, simpler, and more secure. Fewer risks of someone seeing you and catching on, less time spent packing up and delaying you there, fewer risks of someone following you and having time to plan when they found the facility."

>"It was a stupid decision. You're just covering your ass."
>"Whatever. Look, we need to deal with this problem as soon as possible."
>"I guess I can kind of see where you're coming from."
>Write-in.

>>30711978
>"In any case it's pretty clear you've got people gunning for you. I don't think a lone Incubator could have pulled that off"

>>30711978
Whatever, we need to deal with this. I doubt you told many people about this whole thing. The only way this attacker could have found out is if she were one of the people you trust.

"Whatever," you say. "Look, we need to deal with this problem. It's pretty clear you've got people gunning for you, or at least, gunning for Sylvia. I don't think this was the work of an Incubator working alone."

"I agree."

"It might be someone working on the inside."

"Or it might just be someone who learned about Sylvia the same way you did, Mrs. Smith. Can I speak to Sylvia again, by the way."

>"Ah, about that... my name isn't actually Diana Smith."
>"She's getting ready for bed at the moment, actually."
>"Let me put her on."
>"I have something else I want to discuss."
>Write-in.

>>30712468
>"Let me put her on. My name isn't actually Diana Smith, by the way."

>>30712468
>"Let me put her on."
Might as well.

>>30712468
Put her on, but ask her not to reveal our actual name first.

Inform him of your identity or specifically try to keep it concealed? Next vote is a tiebreaker.

>>30712796
Concealed

>>30712796
Concealed can work, tell her to keep it secret before putting her on seems fine.

>>30712878
I figured it was a good way of measuring just how loyal she is to the church

"Let me put her on," you say, briefly setting the phone to mute before returning to your room. Sylvia is wriggling around on your bed, seeming to enjoy it quite a bit, and even bouncing a little bit up and down. "It's George," you say, holding the phone out to her. Before she can grab it out of your hand, you speak again. "Please don't tell him about my real identity."

She looks at you, clearly debating something, then nods. You hand her the phone, leaning against the wall and pretending to not be listening. You start editing your contacts to include your home number, friends, and such.

"George," she says, deference clear in her tone. "It's me." Pause. "Yes sir." Pause. "No sir." Pause. "I'm fine, sir. Miss- Misses Smith got me out safely. I had a few scratches but they're all healed up now." Pause. "She cussed a lot. She had a local accent. She really seemed to want to take me captive. She seemed really pissed that Mrs. Smith showed up." Pause. "Everything's fine here, yes." Pause. "Okay, sir."

She hands the phone back to you, and you speak into it. "Mrs. Smith here."

"I'll see what I can do on my end to figure out how this happened. Anything else you care to discuss?"

>"No."
>Write-in.

>>30712984
I cant think of anything, but will support questions other people come up with.

>>30712984
Ask if there's anything we need to know to host Sylvia at our house. That we can't just ask her about, that is.

"Is there anything I need to know about hosting Sylvia at my house? That I can't just ask her about, that is."

"You know about the Manifesting, which is the most important bit. I can't think of anything else in particular." There's a pause. "She does come from a... difficult background. All of us have our own struggles to face, but hers have been particularly harsh in this life."

"Are you willing to offer any specifics?"

"No. It's not my place."

>"That's strange to hear, coming from you."
>"That'll be all, then. Goodbye."
>Write-in.

>>30713241
>"That'll be all, then. Goodbye."

>>30713241
>"Sounds like she'll fit right in"

>>30713241
>"That'll be all, then. Goodbye."
Time to ask Sylvia about herself!

"That'll be all, then. Goodbye." You hang up, and head back into your room. "Sylvia," you begin, but are quickly cut off.

"Why do you still want to keep your identity a secret from George?" She looks at you, silently judging you.

>Write-in.

>>30713625
>"He hasn't given me much of a reason to trust him. He's rude to me at every opportunity, and deflects blame away from himself. He even suggested that it was my fault that you were ambushed by that Ballista, even though it was already happening by the time his men dropped me off at the site. In fact, I still have no guarantee that he didn't send her in to try and take me out."

>>30713625
> "I don't actually mind that much, but I didn't feel like explaining everything to him right now, and I was also interested in seeing whether you'd agree to hide my identity or not. I'm sorry about that."

>>30713692
I'm not a big fan of this, she's already got WAY more reasons to trust him than us (even with the rescue) and pretty much all of that is completely unverifiable to her, we might as well be making it up.

>>30713785
Ok, I can support >>30713702
then, except for telling her we were testing her loyalty, people never take that well. Just say you didn't want to explain at the moment, maybe because you were still a bit on edge from the ballista, and apologize.

>>30713625
>"Force of habit, mostly. You probably already know this, but people like us have a lot of reasons to be paranoid"

"I don't actually mind that much, but I don't want to have to explain everything to him right now. It's also kind of a force of habit. You ever hear the saying, 'if you don't want something known, don't say it'? It's that kind of deal. Paranoia is your friend when you're an involuntary conscript in a citywide game of Assassin, only the guns are real and the other players have superpowers."

She just blinks at you for a second or two, then shakes her head and flops down on the bed, facing away from you.

>Ask her something. [write-in]
>Whatever, you have other things to do. [write-in]
>Write-in.

>>30714118
Ask her about herself, just general stuff like what she likes, that kind of thing. We don't want to be prying here.

>>30714118
>"Are there any special accommodations you need?" You'll probably be staying with me for a while."

also >>30714153

>>30714118
> "Hey, I know it must suck to suddenly have to move to somewhere you've never been, only have someone you don't know and probably don't trust around, and have nothing familiar to hold on to...and I'm sorry about that. But I'll try to help make it bearable as much as I can."

>>30714118
>"Just a heads up, if you see a C.H.U.D. around the house, don't panic. She's more afraid of you than you are of her"

>>30714301
Open with this please.

"Hey," you say, sitting down on the bed behind her. "I'm sure this kind of sucks, to be stuck here in some weird house with some weird woman who you maybe can't trust, but I'll try to help make it as easy to deal with as I can."

Sylvia just snorts a little, not responding verbally.

"Are there any special accommodations you'll need? You'll probably be staying here for a while, after all."

That makes Sylvia start actually giggling.

"You alright?"

She calms herself down. "Joke you wouldn't get. No, I don't need any special accommodations."

"What about food? What kind do you like? I should probably get around to making or buying dinner soon."

"I don't really care. Just as long as the portions are filling."

>"Okay, then, I'll go do that." Make dinner.
>"Okay. I have another question..." [Write-in]
>"Okay, then, but first I have some other things to do." [Write-in]
>Write-in.

>>30714492
> "Oooh, well we can't have that! I fancy myself a half-decent chef you know, mostly from necessity, I can't take that kind of statement as anything but a challenge!"
Gotta keep things light. Oh, go make some food, ask if there's anything she wants to do, whether rest, relax reading or on the PC or something, learn to cook, whatever.

>>30714562
I like this one, I'll back it. I can't get a handle on Sylvia's mood or personality yet though.

>>30714733
thirding the back

my handle is that she is currently unhappy

"Well, I just so happen to be a bit of a dilettante in the kitchen, mostly from necessity, and I can't help but take that statement as a challenge."

"Thank you," she says, quietly. She adjusts her position a bit. "Can I just lay here for now? The bed in the facility wasn't as comfortable as yours."

"Sure," you say, gently patting her shoulder once before rising to head to the kitchen.

>Just cook.
>There is time to do some other things before you cook... [Write-in]
>There is time to do some other things while you cook... [Write-in]
>Write-in.

>>30715136
>There is time to do some other things while you cook...
Send Richard a message updating him on what little more we know.

>>30715156
Tell him about the unhappy new teammate and free healz

You decide to get started on some spaghetti, calling up Richard while you start filling the pot with water.

"Yo," he says. "What's up?"

"Just talking with Sylvia, our newest team mate," you say as you add some salt to the water. "She's a bit... depressed, but I think she'll be a very helpful addition to our team."

"I'd imagine," he replies.

"The Ballista is an unknown quantity," you say as you toss the pasta in the pot. "I don't really think that the Church set her up, but she's probably not working alone in any case. I don't suppose you have any ideas on that front?"

"Could be another Incubator group, like ours, who heard about the Healer Incubator, but decided on a different strategy."

>Write-in.

>>30715736
>"Alright, any chance you could look into it?" By the way, dig anything up on your stalker yet?"

>>30715736
> "Any idea on how to find out more? Ideally without putting ourselves in mortal danger."

>>30715736
>"Which means this probably won't be the last time we see them. The Church are trying to work out how she breached their security but to be honest they're completely out of their depth where Incubators are involved. This could be risky, but I think if you can work with them on this it will save us a lot of trouble in the long run"

"Any idea on how to find out more?"

"Nope." There's a pause. "Really, not much idea. I can't just congeal information out of nowhere, you understand. There's a female Ballista Incubator out there somewhere. That's about all the info I've got."

"The Church is going to be looking into it too. It's a bit of a risk, but if you work with them, I think it will save us a lot of trouble in the long run."

There's a long silence, the sounds of the oven working its magic on the pot being the only thing you can hear. "I'll think about it," Richard says.

"Okay..." you pause, looking for a new subject. "Did you dig anything up on your stalker yet?"

"No, Abigail, I haven't dug anything up on my stalker in the past, what, hour and a half? I'm a Scholar, not a wizard."

"Alright, alright," you say. "Well, I'll let you think on it, and work on that. Gotta get back to cooking."

>Anything else before you finish cooking?
>How to deal with Sylvia when you do?
>Write-ins?

>>30716406
Let's just try to be friendly and hold some pleasantly safe conversation over dinner. Ask her if she has any hobbies for example. Also ask what she thinks about the food.

>>30716406
Man, he really does suck with people.
We can just bring food to Sylvia and eat with her, right? Not like she's as bad as mom.

We'll probably need to make something for mom too, she'd probably starve to death before leaving her room with Sylvia here.

>>30716406
Just eat a nice dinner. Not everything must be hard!

A-actually, do you mind if we stop here for tonight? I'm kind of burned out and not feeling like I have a very good handle on Sylvia at the moment. I can go for another couple hours if you guys want though.

>>30716804
Ah, it's okay. I gotta sleep soon anyway.

>>30716804
I always enjoy Incubator Quest, but I don't want you to run when you don't want to.

>>30716804
Sad to see it end early, but it's probably for the best if you need a bit more time to prepare a new character.

>>30716804
Thanks for running! Sad that it was a little bit short, but I enjoyed it as always!