>Current objectives:
-Stay alive.
-Keep the skeleton-key safe
-Find your way back to the crossroads.
-Liberate Earth
-Put an end to the war.
-Put an end to the Corruption

>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"
-5/10 light travel rations
-7/10 full oil can
-5/10 bandages
-A skeleton-key

>Current energy stored
-1 Aether tanks
-4 Void tanks
-0 Apotropeia tanks
-1 empty tanks
-Support tank-Aether (12/12 full)
-Weapon-Empty
-12 EP per tank

>Calling Crystal contacts
-Jodo, chief of Yujun village (Palia)
-Rose, interplanetary drifter (Currently on Braghendire)
-Jax, Hecatun Way Knight (Currently on The Crossroads)
-Parin, Hecatun Way Knight Trainee (Currently with you)
-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)

Parin moves her face closer to yours, and you’re 100% sure you know what she wants to do. “Plenty of time for that…” You say, moving in for a kiss.

>I’ve detected several rifts. They do not link to this world’s threads.

You twitch. Not now, can’t they see you’re busy?

It pains you to do this, but “… Later” You say, and you pull away. Taking a deep breathe to cool your head, you pull your KV out.

Parin looks disappointed, but she deals with it. After a moment, she arms herself as well.

The monsters that come out of the rifts are even uglier than the one that you named ‘ugly’. Each one is different, but all of them are corrupted. And ugly.

These guys have some nerve, showing up now. And you’re gonna teach them that cockblocking the Void Knight has consequences.

Dire consequences.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 3

>>31764881
BLAST THEIR BLUE BALLS OFF IN KIND

Rolled 20

>>31764881
Nobody cockblocks the voidknight.

Nobody.

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Rolled 5

>>31764881

>writing

>>31765030
Apparently...

Three rifts, all letting monsters into this world. If you push it you could probably cover 2 of them, leaving Parin to handle the third and maybe some excess from yours. You’re well aware of your of your own abilities, so this entire plan hinges on how well Parin handles herself.

And as the first of the monsters reach the two of you, she does. You look over to where she’s fighting whenever you get a second, and you’re always impressed. She fights with a style similar to Zeshua’s. Which makes sense, as they probably had the same teacher.

It’s a stark contrast to the way you fight, following the tenet of ‘they can’t fight back if they’re cut in two’. Still, you could definitely use some work. You can’t help but remember seeing Thorn when she was fighting with Oz. Her sword is bigger than yours, yet she still fought with more skill than you ever have. Thus far you’ve been working on sheer instinct, but that can only get you so far.

After fighting for what feels like forever, the rifts eventually close. You and Parin are both breathing heavily, spattered with a fair amount of the monster’s blood and surrounded by corpses.

>[ ] Now, where were we?

>[ ] How did you know those were coming?

>[ ] Other.

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1.37 MB JPG

>>31765467
Now, where were we?

>>31765467
>[ ] Other.

"So, whats going on NOW?"
Because it's always something

>>31765467
>>[ ] Now, where were we?
>
>>[ ] How did you know those were coming?
but not in that order....mebe calling rose after to report on our....less that optimally successful mission

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>>31765467
Breathing heavily? Heart pumping? I like where this is goin'
>Now, where were we?

>>31765467
She most definitely seemed pissed at the moment being interrupted... best to vent, THEN get down to business.

>writing

You sheathe your weapon and take a moment to breathe. Looking around at the battleground, it looks more like a slaughterhouse had babies with a Jackson Pollock painting. The monsters, it seems, all had different coloured blood as well as being diverse and ugly as all hell. The bodies are piled high near where the rifts opened, and several of the dead fell into the crater left behind by the suicide-runeseeker.

Finished surveying the carnage, you grab Parin by the hand and pull her into you. “Right, now where were we?” You say.

She smiles, wrapping her arms over your neck. “I’ve got a pretty good idea…” She says, before meeting your lips with hers. She moans lightly into your mouth and leans in, seeming to enjoy this more than you do…

For a few minutes the two of you stand together and… ‘blow off steam’, before you finally part. “Ssssooo… what brings you to my neck of the woods?” You ask, still breathing heavily.

Parin slaps her forehead. “Shit, the Crossroads! I totally forgot about-… I mean, we should go. They’ll be waiting for us there.” She says, trying to cover up her little panic moment.

>[ ] I thought they hated me there.

>[ ] Let’s go.

>>31766363
"Little preoccupied were we?"

Then

>let's go

>>31766498
This, but
>I thought they hated me there.

IC we don't know what happened or why she's here.

>>31766583
this

>writing

“Little preoccupied, were we?” You say, smiling at her smugly.

Her face immediately turns blue, and she embarrassedly tries and fails to stutter out a response.

“You really are too cute when you’re flustered.” You say, laughing at her.

Parin punches you in the shoulder. “Ass.” She tries her best to look mad, but your laughter proves contagious and she joins in.

“I thought they hated me over there, why the sudden change of heart?” You ask once you’re through laughing.

“Things have changed. Zeshua had a clone of himself running around telling everyone how bad you are. But we forced him to show his true colors, and then the Corruption attacked. Grandpa figured that they’d attack you as well, so he sent me to help.” She says, cutting a rift into the air and extending her hand.

>Anything further?

>>31767186
... Grandpa?
One has to remember that he doesn't know she's referring to Nosim.

>>31767269
Makes sense to clarify.
Any other questions can wait for AFTER the ass kicking.

>>31767186
Im good.
>>31767269
We also dont know if she's referring to anyone but her actual grandfather. So I see no reason to question it.

>writing

>>31767186
>damn trip fell off

“You have a Grandpa?” You ask, taking her hand.

She looks surprised for a moment. “Of course I do. Well, it wasn’t MY Grandpa who sent me. Nosim was the one who told me to come here.” She says.

“You call Nosim your Grandpa?” You ask.

She smiles and nods, gripping your hand and hopping backwards into the rift.

Unable to speak further, you bide your time observing your surroundings. It’s been a long time since you’ve travelled along an actual thread. Save for the membrane of Aether around you, it really doesn’t seem all that different from travelling through the Void. In fact, you almost prefer the Void. The Aether membrane dulls your view of the infinite universe and the stars that dot it.

After pondering your methods of travel for a while, you arrive in the Crossroads. This time, you land with more grace and less… vomit.

You’ve arrived in a room with 12 sides, and all around are the corpses of monsters similar to the ones that attacked you. Similar to the field where you fought them, the room is spattered with the different colors of blood that the creatures have.

There are several Wayknights here, and most are either patching themselves up or looking after the wounded. Off to the side you can see Nosim aiding Achillea, who seems to have been injured.

>[ ] Lend a hand

>[ ] Ask what happened.

>[ ] Other.

>>31767900
>Lend a hand
We got a bit of healin' mojo, ya?
>Then ask what happened while assisting

>>31767900
ask what happened we are the least magically competent person here

>>31767900
Ask if there's anything we can do.

>writing

You move quickly to where Nosim and Achillea are.

“Acchi, what happened?” Parin says.

“We thought we were done with them, but another wave came in. They had these little crystal launchers-“ Achillea starts into a fit of coughing.

“Anything I can do to help?” You ask.

“I fear that this is beyond your ability… They seem to have found a way to Corrupt Wayknights through their armor with these.” Nosim says, holding out a long, thin, and all too familiar barbed purple crystal.

“Those were made to Corrupt people?” You ask.

“Yes, just about all of the space in the medical houses has been taken up by those requiring cleansing.” Nosim says.

“Logan, you had like… 6 of those in your back…” Parin says, letting the implication hang in the air.

<Vicky, I haven’t been Corrupted have I?
>No. I would have warned you if you were.
<So, why not?
>Those crystals got Void energy past your armor, it has since dissipated. Corruption requires Aether as well as Void, you have neither.
<So even without the armor I’d be fine?
>Yes.

“Logan, you still there?” Parin says, drawing you away from your internal conversation.

“Wha-? Oh, yes.” You say.

“You should get yourself examined, the Voidknight being Corrupted will not improve our chances.” Nosim says.

>[ ] No need.

>[ ] I’ll get right on that.

>>31768655
So we're immune? We've never actually needed the shield at all?

And back on earth there's another 7 billion of us?

> no need

>>31768655
>>[ ] No need.
lets not tell them why though>>31768923 there are as far as we are aware no humans on earth(last of the species.....)

>>31768969
No FREE humans. But if we're all immune to the corruption, then I think a case can be made to have these guys help us stick it sideways to the ai

>writing

“No need, I drew the Void out when we were removing the crystals.” You say. The idea that you’re immune sticks in your head, along with the implications it carries. You leave that for a later time, though. There’s still information you lack on this. The current state of Earth being high on that list, as well as whether or not it’s just you who’s immune.

Nosim eyes you suspiciously, but acquiesces after a moment. “I suppose you might be able to help then, would you be able to do the same thing here?” He asks.

<Could I?
>I could set the intakes to collect Void exclusively.

“It’s worth a shot.” You say, venting out some of your full tanks and placing a hand over the area where Nosim was working.

The process is slow, but it does work. “So what exactly has been going on here?” You ask while you work.

“About a day ago, Jax and Zeshua both showed up and demanded an audience with a council. Both of them had a different version of the events that took place on Aklabra between you and Zeshua. But, as Jax only had what he heard from you and Zeshua experienced it firsthand, his side was taken. He knew that Parin knew the truth, so he attempted to have her killed. This much I was expecting.” Nosim says.

“So you dealt with the attackers, she woke up and told her side, and then all of this happened.” You say, finishing the story for him.

“Yes. A shame that Zeshua escaped, though. We are likely to see him again, which is a prospect that I do not relish…” Nosim says.

“We’ll get him next time, Gramps.” Parin says. Something in her eyes bugs you, a kind of grim determination. Perhaps she’s taken a bit too much from your example…

>continued

“I heard you’ve been busy since you left here.” Nosim says, watching the Void tank on your arm slowly fill as it draws the energy out of Achillea.

“Had to entertain myself somehow, what better way to do that than to attempt to uncover a way to stop the apocalypse.” You say sarcastically.

"And what have you uncovered?" Nosim asks.

>[ ] Tell him about the Corrupter.

>[ ] Tell him about the Skeleton keys.

>[ ] Tell him about Earth.

>[ ] Other.

>>31769696
>>>[ ] Tell him about the Corrupter.
>
>>[ ] Tell him about the Skeleton keys.
>
>>[ ] Tell him about Earth.
cliffnotes version though that be a lot of data

>>31769903
This

>>31769903
This
Also, we DO have the ability to give show-and-tell. Should it be necessary, anyway.

>writing

You spill everything you’ve learned to Nosim, the Corrupter, the Skeleton keys, and finally the fact that you made it back to Earth.

“Well, that’s good news at least. I hadn’t managed to chart it down, I was actually starting to believe it didn’t exist. So did you stop in, say hi to your friends and parents and then leave? You musn’t have been there very long.” Nosim says.

Parin looks at you with the most apologetic, sad eyes anyone has ever given you. And the two of you both remain completely silent.

Nosim looks back and forth between you, slowly coming to the realization that he’s touched a nerve. “Oh, I apologize. I forget sometimes that people’s home circumstances aren’t always the best. Speaking of which, Parin, we’ve gotten word from your house, your family is alright. Turns out that Zeshua wasn’t actually lying about your father being sick, he asked your brother to take his place in the meeting so he could rest.” Nosim says.

Parin sighs, relieved.

It takes you a moment to notice, but your void tank seems to have stopped filling. Switching your left eye back to the Visio rune, you see that your work is done.

“Well done. I don’t suppose you could replicate a machine like that on a larger scale, could you?” Nosim asks.

“I barely know how this one works.” You say, letting out a huge yawn.

“Speaking of people needing rest…” Parin says.

>Anything else?

>>31770436
nope

>>31770436
I suppose asking if we can bunk with parin is out of line, isn't it.

>>31770739
I wouldnt chance it

>>31770801
Balls...

I'm good then.

>writing

>>31770436
perhaps we need to make a call to inform our other allies of our current situation>>31770739
I would think so

“Yeah, it’s been a long day.” You say.

“At this point I think it would be rude to send you back off to find somewhere to rest, I’ll have one of the trainees find a room for you in the barracks.” Nosim says.

For a second you want to decline and find some way to spend tonight with Parin, but common sense gets the better of you. Parin seems to have the same thought, and come to the same conclusion.

By the time you’re done making sleeping arrangements, the ‘council room’ is all but empty. Even the corpses are being brought out by the Wayknights, most likely to be burned or magically disposed of somehow.

You don’t really care, so long as someone gets rid of those ugly things…

The walk to your new room takes longer than you thought it would, as the barracks is on the opposite side of the Milestone.

The room they gave you is mid-sized, furnished in the standard way with a bed, a chair and a desk.

Now that you’re here, you…

>[ ] Call Rose/Oz and update them

>[ ] Call Parin, for reasons.

>[ ] Perform maintenance.

>[ ] Sleep.

>not sure how this one didn't make it in.

>>31771219
>>[ ] Call Rose/Oz and update them
then sleep
am tempted to maintain but somehow I feel it can wait till morning

>>31771219
>Call Rose/Oz
>Maintenance, in case we get jumped in the night
>Call Parin, but only to thank her, and wish her a good night.

>>31771492
This

>writing

>>31771492
This, indeedy

You’ve got a few things to do before you can call it a night, so you sit down and get to them.

First, you have Vicky call Rose and place the calling crystal as well as your tools and your arm on the table.

>Contacting Rose…
>Direct line open.

“H-hello?” Rose’s voice comes out of the crystal.

“Hey kiddo. How’s it going over there?” You ask, pulling out your screwdriver and getting to work on your arm.

“Good. Oz and Thorn convinced the Matron to join us. We’re going to Savvi’s world tomorrow. Did you find who you were looking for?” She asks.

“Not exactly. I got one of the keys, it’s… not attached to anyone at the moment, though. Where’s Oz right now, I’ve got some stuff he needs to hear.” You say.

“He’s been asleep for a while. I just got up a few minutes ago, to start meditating.” She says.

You talk to Rose for a little bit longer. For a while you consider telling her about Thellis. But it’s better to break that to her in person. By the time you finish talking to her, you’ve finished up with your arm.

>continued

>>31772004
With that out of the way, you put it back on, take off your left leg and call Parin.

>Contacting Parin…
>Direct line open.

“Hey Logan.” Parin says.

“Hey. How’s it going?” You ask, making small talk.

“I’ve definitely been better. It’s nice to be back in my own bed, in my own house, but…” She says.

“A little bittersweet, right?” You say.

“… Yeah… So what’s up?” She asks.

“Nothing much. I just wanted to thank you for coming to my rescue earlier.” You say.

“Don’t worry about it. You would have done the same if it was me.” She replies, laughing it off.

“Yeah, but still. Thank you.” You say.

There’s a silence that stretches for a long moment, before Parin replies. “You’re welcome.”

“Good night Parin.” You say.

“Good night Logan.”

The crystal loses its glow, and with a sigh you stick it back in your pouch. With the calls out of the way, you quickly finish up with maintenance and get ready for bed.

You leave your limbs on, taking off most of your clothes before lying down.

Sleep comes quickly...

The room is on fire. You don’t know where you are. You try to stand, but you have no legs. You hear a pop and something slams into you-

>MEMORY FILE CORRUPTED

You’re on a stage, dressed as a bush. A young girl is on a balcony. She falls. You run over to her-

>MEMORY FILE CORRUPTED

You’re in your house, grabbing things in a hurry. Your parents enter the room. You grab your father by the face-

>MEMORY FILE CORRUPTED

Before you is a vaulted steel door. You turn to the man next to you and ask him a question. He doesn’t respond. They all turn to you-

>MEMORY FILE CORRUPTED

She has her back to you. Your wrap your arms around her. You grab a gun from her waist and press it into her back. You pull the trigger-

>MEMORY FILE CORRUPTED

You wake with a start.

<What the fuck was that?
>Scanning…

You try to recall the events you saw in the dream, but the end is the same.

Non-existent. It isn’t there. You KNOW that there’s more to these memories, there HAS to be. How could you have not noticed this?

>It appears as though some of the memories that were stored in the artificial parts of your brain were damaged during assimilation.
<That’s important information, Vicky. Why didn’t I know about this before?
>It hasn’t come up. I was unaware of this until you attempted to access them.

Damn, those are important… How can you move forward if you can’t even trust your own brain?

<Is there a way to fix it?
>Processing…

You get out of your bed and pace around the room. Through the small window you can see that the sun is rising here. You aren’t sure if that means it’s morning or not, but you feel rested enough for it to be.

>This is only a theory, but if something could kickstart these memories I believe they could be accessed.
<And what the hell would kickstart them?
>Going to the locations where they took place, seeing the people who were in them, etc.

That would be fine, but as far as you know most of those places don’t exist anymore. And those people… You killed them… Right?

Your parents died, you can piece together that much. The memory of Hannah is more difficult. You’re almost certain you killed her, but there’s nothing after that to support it. No mention of her actually being killed…

>[ ] Holographic recreation of events.

>[ ] Move on with your day.

>>31772055
fuck vivky is corrupted

>>31772370
Recreation.

>>31772370
>>[ ] Holographic recreation of events.
only way

>writing

You quickly set up your projector function to display the first of the 5 known missing memories.

The scene is almost entirely ablaze. From what you can gather, ‘you’ seem to be dragging yourself across the floor by your right arm. You know you have no legs, and you can assume that your left arm is also gone. And judging by the fact that the image is in 2d, so is your left eye. But there doesn’t seem to be anything more to gain from this, so you move on.

You know this one. Your 3rd grade class was doing a production of Romeo and Juliet. Which, looking back, is NOT appropriate for children. The girl on the balcony is Hannah, and when she falls, she hits the ground hard. At least you assume, as all your memories of her after that are of her in a wheelchair.

The next one you recognize. It’s from the day that the AI first took over. You went home to gather your things, and your parents tried to plug you. You killed them. With your bare hands, you killed them and never spoke of it to anyone.

The vaulted door… You stare at it for a while. That’s as far as you got. Behind that door is the AI’s core, and you were that close to putting it down for good. But when you asked for the charges to blow it open, half your men turned their guns on you. You don’t remember anything after that, until waking up in a bed with Hannah next to you…

And then there’s Hannah… You play through that scene once, twice, three times. Looking for something… anything.

“There has to be something here…” You say out loud.

But after playing it over 3 times, you’ve got nothing…

>[ ] Leave it for now.

>[ ] Examine it further.

>>31773198
Examine further.

>>31773198
Leave it

>>31773198
>>[ ] Examine it further.
not giving up

>>31773394
THIS

>writing

Okay, you’ll give it one more run through and then call it. You do have other things to deal with.

The recording plays once more. You distance yourself from the emotions it should invoke, looking at it with a logical mind.

It takes you a second to see it, but when you do you immediately stop the recording.

There at her hip, in her holster.

That isn’t a fucking gun, it’s her goddamn stunner. You shot her in the back with a stun gun.

But this information is COMPLETELY useless if you can’t remember what you did after…

As you try to recall anything helpful, someone busts into your room. Looking over, ready to fight in case it’s someone hostile, you see that it’s Parin.

The first thing she notices is the ghostly girl in the middle of the room…

>[ ] Explain.

>[ ] Dismiss.

>>31773754
Sigh... it's the dead wayknights all over again...
>There's a perfectly good explanation, for all this

>>31773883
This

>>31773754
>Explain
She's been pretty cool to us, I think reaching out is a good thing. Also...
>Stun gun!!???
TELL me we double-tapped with SOMETHING

>writing

>>31774033
>There's only one way to find out.

>>31774069
That happened, like, 2 days before Thiu, right? that dude we were fixin up said he was sorry SOMETHING went down? Mr. Ruthless Ranger probably broke her neck, and ripped out that spinal piece

>>31774163
For all we know, he was talking about her being turned.

As dizzy said, there's only one way to find out

She looks at the image for a while. “Who… who is that?” She asks, finally breaking the silence.

You sigh, thinking about how to explain this. “Her name is Hannah. Back on Earth, she was my partner.” You say.

“What happened to her?” She asks, still staring wide-eyed at the image.

“She… died… probably. I’m not sure anymore. My brain is… not quite functioning properly.” You say, biting your thumb in frustration.

“You can’t just go back and check, can you?” She asks.

“Not without some heavy firepower…” You say, cutting the image. “But that’s an issue for another time. What brought you here?” You ask.

“Gramps told me to come get you, the council was hoping to hear about your work.” She says.

>What say/do?

>>31774343
That world took almost everything from me... and I have to save it. Every time I think about it... the less I want to do with it... and I have to go back... We better go, see the council.

>>31774740
This, but a little less melodramatic. A simple "I have to go back" will do. Maybe ask if she would support us?

>writing.

>Interest has waned pretty sharply, this'll be the last one for tonight.

>>31774740
I agree with the fact that he probably partially hates his own planet, at this point, though I think that could be less melodramatic.
That gets me thinking, didn't the Dark Priests call their world Dead? Wonder how hard it sucks compared to Earth.

>>31774979
am sorry am just sorta going through emotional stuff

“Sure” You say, following her out of the room.

You follow Parin through the halls of the Milestone down to the council chamber. You know the way from last night, but this way you can let your mind wander. And it only goes back to one place…

Hannah and Earth.

Possibilities run rampant in your head. But they all end at the door. The huge, vaulted steel door. As you are now, with all of the power you’ve gained, you could probably carve it open and hack that damned computer to pieces. And you’d damn well love every minute of it.

Too many variables exist, more gaps in your knowledge. You don’t know the state of the resistance, whether or not the AI beefed up security since you nearly made it. Hell, you don’t even know what kind of effect destroying it would have. Your knowledge of the CBSC is limited, and shutting the AI down could either free everyone, or kill them.

When you reach the council chamber doors, Parin turns to face you. “Something on your mind?” She says.

“Kind of. Is it that obvious?” You ask.

Parin nods. “You’ve been quiet.”

You sigh. “I have to go back.”

“I know.” Parin replies, pulling you into a hug. “I’ll be with you when you do. You’ve fought hard, you deserve to have your home back. I can at least help you with that.”

Parin plants her face into your chest. You can’t get a read on her emotions, but you know that she isn’t happy…

>End of Chapter 24

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>That's all for tonight ladies and gents!

>Next thread will be up on the twitter before it starts.

>As always, CWK and I will be sticking around for a while to answer questions.

>>31775136
Aww, I hope you feel better soon!

>>31775312

Cheers for the thread OP! You doing a great jobs, both of you.

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>>31776835
Very much appreciated! Have yourselves a pleasant night.

>>31775312
Aww, somebody saved my mini-drow!
That's a nice feeling.

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>>31776975

OP uses it as a goodbye image in every thread. You drew it? It's an adorable thing.