>>34475298
>[ ]"You mean... Dave? What did Dave do? Who is he?"
i doubt he'd release our friends if we asked, so let's just buy some time, get more info and hope for the best

>>34475298
>>34475298
"Look I know they might not great people, hell they are all sorts of terrible, but they've supported me when I asked it of the so far, I may have no memories of before, but I have made plenty with them and I can't just ignore that, so please lets talk about it, about us, about our home and everything else, but after they are safe, I wont leave them, so please help me, help them, the we can talk about everything"

>>34475493
Deep, forgot to mention that writein is modifying the "enough talk" option, to be less hostile, am on phone so can't post well

>>34475298
>[X]"You mean... Dave? What did Dave do? Who is he?"

"You mean... Dave? What did Dave do?" You feel like you're just getting more questions than answers again!

"He was there the whole time! He was pretending to be with them, he was wearing the white coat and everything. We all thought he was a friend. And then when they were playing, he did... something! He ruined it all. He made all of this!"

He waves his hands at the view of the Zone once more. You blink. "He made... the Zone? How?"

The boy's face cracks. "I don't know! I just know he killed EVERYONE!"

You look incredulously at him. This is silly! "Who even is he?"

He pauses, eyes lighting up as if pleased he has the proper answer to something for you. "He's just a regular American. He got dragged into an endless war against abominations from another plane of existence. He does all sorts of horrific things just to make sure humankind as a whole stay alive for another day."

"Wait, how do you know something like that?"

"I can read minds," he states simply. "Not yours though." You're not sure the offhand statement cheers you at all. "Apparently he works for a fake government agency called Delt-"
BANG
Something hit's the boy's shoulder. A scream and a spray of blood spatters your face.

"Quiet you." Dave voices echoes ominously quiet from the cave mouth behind you. He's holding Viktor's rifle, with Viktor looking on helplessly.
The boy has disappeared, as if he was never there. The only trace of his passing is the warm blood now sticking to your skin.
Without hesitation, Dave throws down the rifle and sets off in a full sprint over the edge you're sitting at and hurls himself bodily into the wilderness.

[ ]Go after Dave. Try to stop him.
[ ]Wait here for everyone to come back.
[ ]Other.

>>34475649
>[ ]Go after Dave. Try to stop him.
shout something like "if you're still here, bring everyone back, we need their help"

>>34475649
>[x]Go after Dave. Try to stop him.
Oh no, you don't!

>>34475649
>Delt-a green?

>>34475759
Most likely.

>>34475649
We need to GET the others. Whatever Dave needed us for, this probably wasn't all so let's not chase him yet.

>>34475649
>[ ]Other.
Get others

>>34475298
>read the open post

Well this got dark in the threads I didn't read.

>>34475649
>[X]Go after Dave. Try to stop him.

You leap off the edge after Dave. He's already a hundred paces ahead and sprinting away fast.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" You break into a full sprint after him. Adrenaline pumping through your entire frame, you power through harder, faster than you've ever run before in order to catch up to the man just as he dives into a full-body tackle at an empty spot of air.

He slams into something solid and crashes to the ground with it. As you reach him, he lifts both hands up ready to smash the skull of the boy who just returned to your vision, pinned beneath the huge man.

You barrel into Dave's side, knocking him over before he can kill the boy. "Stop it! What are you doing!?"

Dave shrugs you off, returning to his position and ready to bring the final blow down. "Back off Loli," he snarls, "the monster must die."

[ ]Demand he explain what he's doing.
[ ]Take him down by force.
[ ]Let him do it.

>>34475901
>[ ]Take him down by force.
i don't trust dave with clear explanations
shame we don't have one of these tranq guns, guess we'll have to break a few bones...

>>34475901
[ ]Take him down by force.

I'm sticking to the one that answers questions for now. Try not to go lethal unless necessary though.

>>34475901
>Holy crap, I think the experiment might actually be working! This is the best result I've ever seen!

>[X]Take him down by force.

You smash into him again, reaching up to grab both his arms. "NO! STOP IT!"

Still pinning the squirming boy to the floor, he twists his body to face yours. He pulls his neck back, meaning to headbutt you.

[DC 16 Beat Dave! check]

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>34476216
how are we rolling this time? 1d20?

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>34476216
we rolling d20's?

also, anons, why haven't we gone back looking to help our friends yet, fuck Dave, but the others, they are our friends?

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>34476216
Damn that poorly fitting helmet.

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>34476234
>Rolled 15 (1d20)
...

off to a great fucking start

>>34476231
And Shota isn't?

>>34476234
>>34476238
The dice. They know.

>>34476238
>Rolled 16 (1d20)
Fuck you dice gods, now you're just toying with us.

Makes me wish we had reroll mechanics and shit

>>34476231
dave is about to ruin everything
our friends can be safe, as viktor just got teleported somewhere else

>>34476245
>And Shota isn't?
we don't even know him anon, and he's trying his best to murder our friends, the people we've been with for a very long time, the people who stood by us, who we stood by

and you want to abandon them to chase fucking Shota?

get the fuck in character anon

>>34476260
>our friends can be safe, as viktor just got teleported somewhere else
We don't fucking know that, we don't fucking know anything about those god forsaken caves anon, other than Ice, Kris and Vasa are still trapped in there fighting for their lives.

We need to get Dave to stop being fucking retarded for 3 seconds, and get Shota to stop trying to kill our friends, and sort this shit out

>>34476245
>And Shota isn't?
Fuck no he isn't, not with the way he's trying to kill them all.

He can be our friend after he stops being just as bad as he says they are and isn't working to kill the people we've lived and fought alongside for weeks and months

>>34476261
No, I want him to save them. Because if we go back in we'll get lost and wander around aimlessly while they die. But he probably knows how to get them out.

Besides, he's done nothing but good until then. He's not evil, he's probably just afraid. Doesn't that sound familiar? Being afraid of everyone around you and responding with violence because of it? Have some sympathy!

>>34476365
Those are some good points anon, and yeah, I agree that we need him to get our friends back, but we gotta be fucking quick about it, the longer we put up with his shit and don't get him on our side and helping out, the worse things get for them in the caves

>>34476216
>>34476234
As he jerks forwards, you jerk back in an attempt to avoid the impact. You don't quite make it, his forehead connecting with yours just enough to send an uncomfortable crack through your head. You step back, keeping your footing. With you no longer trying to pin him, Dave immediately goes back to trying to crush his target's skull. You leap back into the fight, aiming your nails at his face this time. If you can't overpower him, you can at least tear him up a little! One of your hands is caught out of the air by Dave's, but the other sails clear through to his face.

You run your nails across his skin, raking the layers off and drawing blood. He doesn't react to your attack beyond shifting his weight again and punching you in the side of the head. Your world is filled with stars, the entire world on your left side is ringing. With you stunned he punches again, into your gut.

Winded, you collapse to your knees, now helpless to watch him murder the boy you haven't yet been able to befriend. Dave brings his hands down. You cry out.
Something hits Dave in the neck, knocking him off balance. He topples over, and the boy quickly scrabbles to his feet and disappears once more.

Hands grip your shoulders, supporting your limp weight. A voice near your ear. Vasa's face, mouthing something.
She frowns, shakes you. The ringing starts to subside. "Loli? Talk to me, come on!"

Dave is lying, unmoving on the floor.

>?

>>34476474
vasa? glad you made it out? is the boy ok?

>>34476474
"Vasa-neechan? Where are the others?"

give her hugs, and check on Dave, see if he's knocked out or what, we might need to restrain him if he's alive

>>34476474
Look around for Shota? He probably disappeared again now that Vasa showed up.

Mumble about stupid poorly fitting helmet.

>>34476529
>disappeared
I just realized how poorly chosen that word was. Let's say ran away instead.

>>34476474
"You... saved him? Even after what he did to you?"

>>34476474
"There not enough chocolate to deal with all this."

>>34476833
man we are going to need so much chocolate for a proper chocolate breakfast for us and our friends

>>34476851
Man, how many friends are even gonna make it out of here. We've got Doggy who wasn't around to get hurt, and shota looks like he's really trying to talk to us now, but Dave is out and we're headed into rocky territory, what with the accusations of trying to sell us to the military like we're Bruce fucking Banner.

>>34476851
And we only have one bar left if we don't count the bar we promised to our brothers and sisters. Which we shouldn't because we're definitely staying good on that promise. You don't make light of chocolate promises.

>>34476906
>we're headed into rocky territory, what with the accusations of trying to sell us to the military like we're Bruce fucking Banner.
Don't worry anon, believe in Loli's power of FRIENDSHIP.

We'll FRIENDSHIP the shit out of these problems, and if that doesn't work, then we'll stab them, unless they are our friends, then we'll hug them until the problems go away

>>34476906
>we're headed into rocky territory
That's when friends either become true friends or not friends, anon. You'll just have to believe. Either we have great friends or we never had any at all.

>>34477004
We shall make them great friends anon, and we'll drag them kicking and screaming if we have to.

Reading the last thread to catch up. Dafuq is is this shit about?

>>34477068
Everyone's lying. We are the Zone. Murder and backstabbing galore.

>>34477056
You can't force someone to be your friend because then you wouldn't be theirs and friendship works both ways! All you can do is show them the way.

>>34477103
>All you can do is show them the way.
With chocolate and hugs!

>>34476474
"Vasa-neechan! You're okay!" You pull her into a hug, which takes her by surprise. She quickly tries to peel you off. "You saved him? After what he did?"

"What? Save who?" She frowns at you, tilting her head a little.

"The bo-" you look over, and realize that he's long gone by now. All that's left is Dave with a small dart in his neck.

"Come on," Vasa pulls you to your feet. "The others are waiting for us."

It's true. The others are waiting near the cave mouth for you. Ice and Kris are sitting quietly as if they'd seen a ghost or ten while Viktor is kicking his feet, unsure of what to do.

[ ]Demand answers to questions.
[ ]Hug everyone.
[ ]Try to wake Dave up.
[ ]Other.

>>34477130
>[ ]Demand answers to questions.
Lies are bad for friendship!

>Holy crap guys. I'm sorry for being super-slow and all, but this mk3 proto rig was supposed to be a proof of concept with 40% efficiency. Yesterday I hit 60% efficiency and it looks like I'm tapping 75% right now.
>This is so awesome.

>>34477130
>[ ]Hug everyone.
>[ ]Other: restrain Dave.
>[ ]Hug everyone.
>[ ]Demand answers to questions.
>[ ]Hug everyone.
Sorry but I can't resist

>>34477184
no probs HK, I don't mind at all

>>34477130
>[ ]Hug everyone.
>[ ]Demand answers to questions.
>[ ]Hug everyone.

I don't really think the things Shota said about them and their motivations for being with Loli would worry us too much, I don't think we'd either take them completely seriously or care a lot, as long as we can still be friends and have fun.

>>34477130
>[ ]Hug everyone.
make sure they're ok and not just illusions

then we can start demanding answers

>>34477184
cool

>>34477130
>[ ]Demand answers to questions.
We should probably get to the point here. Also maybe tie up Dave so we don't have to shoot until he makes us.

>>34477225
Also maybe tie up Dave so we don't have to shoot until he makes us.
THIS THIS THIS THIS
we want to make sure he can't do anything

>>34477186
>>34477213

The point is that they lied to us. They should show they're really our friends and not just trying to use us.

>>34477241
Man, that's really not something we can decide for them.

>>34477240
He WAS tied up. Didn't help.

>>34477254
he wasn't tied up enough

>>34477241
I know anon, but they are still our friends, even if their motivations are suspect

>>34477184
Don't accidentally create the Zone or some such nonsense you crazy diamond.

>>34477270
Then they can tell the truth. It's not that hard. We do it all the time. If they can't, they're not friends at all. Simple.

>>34477315
>If they can't, they're not friends at all
It ain't that black and white or that simple anon, you would be a terrible friend, people always have issues and secrets, moreso in the more dangerous parts of the world, and we're in The Zone for fucks sake, you don't survive unless you do what they do.

Loli wouldn't just stab them or leave them to die just because of this, she'd give them a chance and help them out, to realise the value of true friendship.

Remember when Kris was talking about something shady she was involved with and the cues about how she was getting fed up with it and not taking, presumably, her bosses orders? And how Loli acted then?

>>34477349
I didn't say to stab them. I want them to tell the truth and be real friends. Haven't we been theirs? Haven't we done everything to be good to them? Don't we deserve to be treated like a friend and know who they really are?

>>34477130
>[X]Hug everyone.
>[X]Restrain Dave.
>[X]Demand answers to questions.

You rush up and pull Kris into a tight hug, both hands wrapped around her neck. After a moment, she returns the hug. "Hey Loli. Glad to see you're okay."
You say the same back, then move to hug Ice. He doesn't make any move to lower himself so you end up hugging his waist. You don't break the embrace until he gently ruffles your hair.

With that out the way, you bring everyone over to the prone form of Dave and set about re-tying his hands together, hopefully tight enough this time that he won't break out again. He doesn't seem eager to wake up any time soon, even after Ice kicks him in the crotch.

In the quiet moment that follows that motion, you turn to address everyone. "Now, I've had enough of this. I think it's time you guys answered my questions!"

Kris looks pensively at you. "Alright. What questions?"

>?

>>34477494
Truth. All of it. Why you really want me around. Why we're going north. Anything else I don't know enough to ask. Now. Or I'm taking my knife(ball) and going home.

>>34477494
"That boy said he could read minds and said some weird things about you guys and why you stick with me, like he said Vasa-neechan only stays near me because she's safer on my side and she knows her daddy is dead and she's being used by the army girl which I think means Kris-neechan, and that Kris-neechan only wants me to be a weapon for her boss and that she's stealing from 'us' whoever that is and that Dave got dragged into some big war thingy against abo-abominin-abominu- big meanies and he's trying to save humankind and works for some government agency thingy and it was confusing and didn't make a lot of sense and now I'm worried about my friends.

*breathe*

And things are weird and crazy and I don't know whats going on and I though you guys were hurt or worse and I'm really happy your safe but I don't know whats happening and I just want people to tell me the truth."

Say all that in fast-kid speak but not hostile, just confuzzled.

Then hug them before they have a chance to answer and start eating some chocolate while we listen to what they have to say.

>>34477597
>>34477494

Something like this unless anyone wants to call out certain piece of bullshit they have been feeding us.

>>34477494
>Why are you two really in the zone? Don't skimp out on the details. Shota and Dave are up to some suspicious shit and we don't know what the fuck anymore, so let's quit with the secrets.

>>34477494
If she doesn't actually say it, then ask her, specifically, if she's trying to sell us to somebody. Who. Why. And if she really even cares for us in the first place. It'd be nice if she could honestly say no and yes, but.

>>34477494
Start small. Ask her something simple and innocent like where Vasa's dad is and how she knows that anyway when nobody in the Zone seems to want to go here.

Nothing directly related to what he told us yet. See if she sticks to her story or not.

>>34477597
>Now. Or I'm taking my knife(ball) and going home.
That might be a bit drastic, lets give them a chance to explain before we turn on the puppy eyes and pout and bring out the threats

>>34477494
i like that one:
>>34477611

>>34477611
>Then hug them before they have a chance to answer and start eating some chocolate while we listen to what they have to say.
How about you don't undermine the entire point of bringing this topic up again by doing this.

>>34477494
Seconding >>34477611

Sounds like something a confused and panicked 12 year old would say

>>34477611
>Then hug them before they have a chance to answer and start eating some chocolate while we listen to what they have to say.
Might want to leave that bit out, we can hug them or revoke their chocolate privileges depending on their answers

>>34477632
From what I remember we've already asked a few times and always get the run around and/or half truths. It's time to be sick of this shit. If we're as important as everyone thinks we are, and if we /actually/ friends, we deserve some answers.

>>34477630
Like this guy says. Put her on the spot before we start grilling for info.

>>34477184
wut?
>tapping 75%
Science has gone too far.
I've no idea what you're doing

>>34477667
Oh, especially since it seems Shota is actually willing to give those answers if he aint being shot at.

>>34477686
It's probably an exo-suit. Maybe a mecha.

>>34477686
yeah
place your bet on when it's going to explode

>>34477611
No. Just please no. We're not going to be the weak one now. They're deep in the zone and the one person that might be able to keep them safe has already expressed her unhappiness with them. They come to us.

>>34477667
What if we don't get them? Are we just going to ditch the whole lot and go back to indiscriminately murdering the inhabitants of the Zone?

>>34477720
fuck that, we're going to drag them along for the ride and they're going to have fun whether they like it or not!

>>34477720
We're the team MVP and neck-deep in the weird part of the Zone. I doubt they'd risk holding back answers if they thought we might leave.

>>34477686
It kinda seems like HK is a chemist so I might guess he is on track to get 75% of his idealized yield from what ever setup he is testing. Maybe.

>>34477720
We're in the zone to have fun remember? Keeping secrets and being manipulated/used by friends isnt fun. We'll go find fun.

>>34477667
It is indeed. time. That's why the tantrum was thrown last thread, before we even talked to shota. To show them that Loli may not know what they're really up to, but she can sense they aren't being as honest as they should. And that's a serious problem. So now they have the chance to be honest without us having to interrogate them.

And that's why I suggest just starting small. Give them the chance to prove their character out of their own accord.

>Wow! That's some discussion!
>Working up a response now.

>>34477494
"That boy said he could read minds and said some weird things about you guys and why you stick with me, like he said Vasa-neechan only stays near me because she's safer on my side and she knows her papa is dead and she's being used by the army girl which I think means Kris-neechan, and that Kris-neechan only wants me to be a weapon for her boss and that she's here to steal something. And Dave is in some big war thingy against monsters and he's trying to save the world and works for the government and I don't understand any of it and I just wanna know what's going on with my friends!"

By the end of your question (that actually wasn't even a question), you're starting to crack up as emotion fills your voice.

Vasa refuses to meet your gaze. Ice and Viktor are looking in confusion between you, the two girls and the unconscious Dave. You can almost see Kris' gear grinding as she tries to answer you.

"It's true. I'm... not army, but a kind of... special forces, I guess. I got... contacted by a man," she begins hesitantly. "He didn't say who he was, he just said that there was a little girl in the Zone and he really, really wanted her to get out safely. So I'm supposed to bring you with me. But... I'm here for..."
She stops, looking to the others, then back to you before continuing more strongly. "I'm here for a document in one of the secret labs below the old city. The entrance is at the Wish Granter. That's... that's why I want to go there."

"That's it. That's the truth. I don't know anything about Dave though. You'll have to ask him yourself."

>?

>>34478024
Who's the man? What does he want?

>>34478024
>he just said that there was a little girl in the Zone and he really, really wanted her to get out safely. So I'm supposed to bring you with me.
could that be...
describe our dad to her, just in case

>>34478024
"See? That wasn't so hard was it? Friends shouldn't hide things like this from friends. Who is this man who wants me? Why does he want me out of the Zone? You didn't say whether you were going to obey his orders."

look to Vasa

"Vasa-neechan, is what the boy said about you true?"
if it is, then dispense HUGS

>>34478061
might be our papa

>>34478072
>describe our dad to her, just in case
Seconding this, see if we can match up anything with what Kris knows of this man

>>34478024
Really? That's it? That's it?! The big stupid secret is some stupid guy who is prolly my stupid daddy sent you on a stupid scavenger hunt for stupid papers in the center of this stupid zone and to bring me back? Why didnt you just say that to begin with? Stupid!
>Then glare at Vasa
You're turn.

>>34478099
>You didn't say whether you were going to obey his orders.
cut that bit and it can work

>>34478072
>describe our dad to her, just in case
>>34478099
>might be our papa

It's most likely not. He couldn't afford to hire people like that unless he himself was keeping some huge secrets. Which we obviously wouldn't suspect!

>>34478145
The client didn't ask for the documents, anon. She's delaying her mission to get those. She didn't say why she wants them or how she knows about them. She should probably tell us.

>>34478170
>He couldn't afford to hire people like that unless he himself was keeping some huge secrets.
He's OUR dad, you know, us, the little knife demon big scary mean have nicknamed the goddess of death, I'm sure that was far as we're concerned, our family is not by any means 'normal'

Damn time for me to sleep. Cheers HK.

>>34478170
or maybe he sold his liver/kidney to get us back

we learned how money works not so long ago, i think these details are well above us

>>34478024
"The man... who was he? What was he like?"

She shakes her head, "I don't know. He was just a voice on the phone. He has a weird accent though. I couldn't place it at all. And after the call, I got wired a lot of money. A LOT of money."

You take the information in, then respond happily. "See? That wasn't so hard was it? Friends shouldn't hide things like this from friends." Turning to Vasa next, "is what he said about you true?" She finally looks up to meet your gaze. Then she simply shrugs.

"People don't live long in the Zone. If he's gone, it would't surprise me." Kris looks away, a stony expression on her face.
"That doesn't matter now, though. Well, at least we know where we're going. And from the looks of it the city center isn't too far away."
She points to the outline of the buildings just half a mile from you over a mostly-open field.

[ ]Ask more questions. (Write-in)
[ ]Get everyone ready and head for the city.
[ ]Other.

>>34478170
Eh, true. but Loli is still a Loli and if a kid runs away from home and hears someone wants them back, who's gona pop in thier mind first? I think a kid wouldnt even do the whole describing thing to make sure and just jump right to "definitly my dad"

>>34478202
Well its more likely that her official mission is to get the documents, and that she was hired for retrieving Loli on the side

>>34478218
Man, this takes me back to when I was a little kid. I lost track of my step-dad and went looking for him, but then I realized I had no god damn clue how to describe him. I am bad with clothes and with faces and generally the appearance and concerns of other people, as it turns out. He was a little mad when I found him, but to this day I will even forget what I am wearing unless I stop to look down.

>>34478218
Or it pops to someone who has already tried to kidnap her for purposes she doesn't understand. You know, such as the military. Or scientists. Or bandits.

>>34478209
What are the documents? Why do you want them? Are they yours? If not, isn't that stealing?

>>34478209
>[ ]Other.
HUGS, especially Vasa-neechan

>[ ]Ask more questions. (Write-in)
"So Kris-neechan, what are you going to do about this job this mysterious man gave you?"

Then wake Dave and see if we can do anything to free Eliza
How the fuck can she get stuck in place with no possible exit when she managed to get in there in the first place? That does not make any sense to me that we can't extract her from whatever the fuck that 'cave' was

>>34478270
We entered from the other side. Most logical explanation.

>>34478270
>>How the fuck can she get stuck in place with no possible exit when she managed to get in there in the first place? That does not make any sense to me that we can't extract her from whatever the fuck that 'cave' was
>The Zone laughs at your "laws of physics".

>>34478280
But we tried to get her out, from the way we came in, there was only one way big enough for her to enter from, and that magically turned into a dead end solid wall so what teh fuck is up with that?

Is Eliza just forever trapped inside some random as fuck cave that makes no sense?

Eliza had almost all of our gear on her, in our bags strapped to her.

So what the fuck are we going to do now without all that and her?

It just feels really weird and random for her to seemingly cease to exist for all intents and purposes, and I'm having a hard time understanding why

>>34478307
So she's just gone, majik'd away and our of the quest forever with all our gear that was with her?

What.

Friendly reminder that we promised our brothers and sisters chocolate if they could find our friends. Don't make us a liar by walking away now!

>>34478270
>HUGS, especially Vasa-neechan
Seconding this.

>>34478209
>weird accent
eh, could be, if i remember well he's japanese

hmm...
yeah, hugging vasa is a priority

not sure what we should do to/about dave...

do you think we can get shota to show up in front of our friends? if he's on our side i'm sure we can get these documents a lot easier...

>>34478323
what are you talk... oh right, the ghosts...
yeah

>>34478323
That's an interesting point, we should go back in with some of our party and offer them the chocolate bar, all our friends got out alive, so they deserve at least half of it, and if they can help us get Eliza out, they can have all our chocolate, or at least the good stuff we have, the Ukranian chocolate might offend them.

>>34478209
after HUGS are dispensed and any further questions are answered, we should do >>34478323 & >>34478370
give our 'brothers and sisters' the chocolate and see if they can help with getting Eliza unstuck and out of the cave.

we can further incentivize them by saying that Eliza had some of our chocolate with her, in our bags, and if they can bring her out 'safely' or intact or unstick her, then they can have the chocolate

>>34478370
>we should go back in with some of our party and offer them the chocolate bar
we might not want to go all the way back in, but we could at least go into the entrance and see if we can talk to them or if not, then leave the chocolate in the shadows where they can get their reward

>>34478366
>do you think we can get shota to show up in front of our friends?
No, definitely not. Dave has shot him, Vasa tried to shoot him. He trapped them in that cave. He's not going to expose himself. There's a decent chance he'll be watching though, so we could just tell them to wait here and rest or whatever, walk off a bit and sit our ass down and wait for him.

>>34478398
That'd be a lie. Do not lie to them. They're psychos like us, they could flip from friendly to murder in a second.

>>34478424
>There's a decent chance he'll be watching though, so we could just tell them to wait here and rest or whatever, walk off a bit and sit our ass down and wait for him.
we could also leave him a note or something too

>>34478424
>That'd be a lie. Do not lie to them. They're psychos like us, they could flip from friendly to murder in a second.
Why would it be a lie?

IIRC we had chocolate in our rucksacks and as far as I can tell, we left them with Eliza/effectively threw them away when our noble and valiant steed was unjustly removed from the quest

>>34478431
That'd of course be assuming anybody taught him to read. Seeing as both he and we are probably some kind of insane experiment, that's not guaranteed.

>>34478447
The chocolate we have is on us. That's all of it. Why would we ever leave any behind? That's insane.

>>34478307
>>The Zone laughs at your "laws of physics".
So what does that mean?

Our tank just got fiated out of existence?

Because I'm not seeing any reason for it or any way to get her out/back/recover her and fuck leaving her to rot in some bumfuck crazy rapecave

>>34478459
>The chocolate we have is on us. That's all of it. Why would we ever leave any behind? That's insane.
Well if that's the case and my recollection is wrong, then we can just offer them more for their assistence

>>34478474
We can. But it'll be our last bar. Could attempt other valuable commodities such as STORIES OF ADVENTURE (told by Kris, because if she entertain grown men then she can clearly entertain children too) and the argument that, if they help us the story will end happily and we can come back and tell the rest of the story and play with them again, but if they don't help us... then we'll never be able to come back and finish the story.

Are they strong enough to resist the power of fucking cliffhangers?

>>34478534
>But it'll be our last bar.
To free Eliza from that bugfuck mess of randomness, I'd sacrifice our last chocolate bar

>>34478534
That might work, except for the extortion, that might just make them angry and want to hurt us, they didn't seem all that 'stable'...

>>34478548
Yeah, I was already prepared for having to sacrifice it to actually getting them to let us leave after finding our friends, but then they made it out on their own apparently. Something like leaving it here as proof that we'll come back (because who would leave chocolate behind like that?) but only if they don't eat it themselves.

>>34478582
well we said we'd give them some chocolate, and our friends made it out alive and intact, so we should give them some chocolate

but I still want to see if we can get their help in freeing Eliza

>>34478641
>but I still want to see if we can get their help in freeing Eliza
derp pressed enter too soon, means

*but I still want to see if we can get their help in freeing Eliza, even if we can't take her into the city and have to leave her covered up in a safe place, its better than letting her rust and rot, forgotten and trapped in a random cave full of FUCK YOU

i think dave took the "eliza" chip that made the tank work
who knows where he put it and how to put it bck in the right spot

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>>34478716
He put it in his jacket/coat, and I it was a circuit board, I'm sure Viktor can put it back.

And speaking of Eliza, guess what Decu graced us with? pic related from his drawthread.

I miss Eliza :'( we better be able to get her back

>>34478741
goddamnit that pic is adorable, and yeah, I hope so too anon, but I've no fucking idea where to even begin trying

>>34478741
so cute

>>34478716
It's possible. Not clear. If I recall, he originally REMOVED some shit from the tank to turn it into Eliza, and now he removed some more. If Eliza was essentially on that circuit board, then he just displayed another example of having no idea how to deal with Loli by saying that yes, we're gonna leave her here. He should know that overemotional little balls of flesh and knife might end up getting emotional about that.

>>34478741
This might actually be the first time anybody drew anything for LSQ. If not, it's been kept hidden from me.

>>34478798
It's so cute I don't even mind the proportions. Much.

>>34478828
he got rid of some things shackling her AI IIRC, then he took out her circuit board, which was 'her' in essence, when she got stuck in the caves

if we can get her out, I'm sure Viktor can put her circuit board back in, what with him being the handyman and it being reliable russian tech, even if its experimental, they'd use electronics that would interface with the tanks native systems well, which means easy to use/swap out/repair

>>34478856
Or you can put her in something else, which is probably what Dave was thinking. But he didn't explain that to the Loli, did he now? No, he said we're going to leave our friend right here. Forever? Maybe, he didn't not say it.

>>34478209
You look back to Kris. "The document... what is it? What's it about? How do you know about it, and is it yours? Because if not, that's stealing!"

Kris readies herself to explain, "it belongs to the men who originally built the labs of course. They're the ones who want me to get it back. So no, it's not stealing. I don't know what it is, just that they really need it."

Well that makes sense at least. Ice and Viktor have apparently stopped listening to you and are trying to poke Dave awake. Ice is muttering something about not wanting to carry his useless ass.

Remembering your promise to the shadows, you head back to the cave mouth and walk inside. A little ways in, however, you come up against the back of the cave. A complete wall with no gaps or crevices at all. In confusion, you pace back out of the cave and head in again, looking to see if you'd missed the tunnel. You definitely didn't. It's no longer here.

Well, you're not one to break promises even if you can't hand off the prize in person. You decide to leave the bar of chocolate on the floor of the cave near the back wall and move back to the others. At the last moment as you're leaving, you get the urge to look just one more time. The chocolate you just placed is gone, and a faint, distant laughing echoes through your mind. This place is weird. You don't look back again.

When you emerge, Dave is sitting bolt-upright on the ground, quietly letting Ice tighten his restraints behind his back. He doesn't say anything as you approach.

[ ]Ask more questions. (Write-in)
[ ]Get everyone ready and head for the city.
[ ]Other.

>>34478880
>[ ]Ask more questions. (Write-in)
to dave: "who are you really? what is that delt-thing? what are you trying to do? destroy everything here?"

>>34478741
>Well isn't that something.

>>34478880
>[ ]Ask more questions. (Write-in)
"Dave, since we're all finally telling the truth and not hiding secrets, care to explain what all this weirdness with you is about? Some weird war against monsters and keeping humankind alive one more day at a time and being apart of some government agency? Also, how can we get Eliza out of those caves, is she going to be stuck there forever and ever? Because that would be super mean and really sad, and even if you took her brain-thingy her body doesn't deserve that."

Also

HUG VASA, she needs some cheering up.

>>34478913
Indeed it is, we better be able to get Eliza back, we went in with all our friends, Eliza included, and with her stuck in there, we're one short.

NEVER SPLIT THE PARTY

>>34478880
>At the last moment as you're leaving, you get the urge to look just one more time. The chocolate you just placed is gone, and a faint, distant laughing echoes through your mind.

That's great. We held up our promise rather than letting the horde of ghosts of what probably used to be our brothers and sisters in some crazy lab get angry at us for breaking the promise. Well except the one girl who was already angry with us, but she didn't seem to pursue us or anything so she probably wasn't THAT angry.

>[ ]Other.
"The boy thinks you're here to steal. It'd be better if we could explain that you didn't mean to steal anything at all.

You're SURE it's not stealing, right?"

where'd the other anons go?

its getting pretty late here and I've got an early start tomorrow so I won't be able to stay around for long

>>34478880
"Dave! You missed out. The rest of us are all finally telling the truth and not hiding secrets. I think you should join in! Apparently you're fighting a war with monsters with the government for all humankind. Also, Eliza is still stuck in the cave and we should get her out because that place is scary and she shouldn't be stuck there!

He blinks a few times, processing your thoughts. "Eliza is safe. Body's no use now." He blinks again, then looks between you and the others, his gaze settling on Kris who is staring right back, then back to you. "I may tell you the rest. Not now."

"Yes now. Everything now!"
He remains silent. You pout. Then pout harder. Then open your mouth to complain at him. He answers first.

"Untie me, and I will tell you everything." His eyes are fixed on Kris again. You notice her nervously fingering her weapons.

[ ]Untie him. You want to hear this.
[ ]Leave him tied. It can wait... for now.

>>34479261
>[ ]Leave him tied. It can wait... for now.

>>34479261
>[ ]Other
Stand between the two of them before they get violent.
"...why are you staring at each other like that?"

>>34479261
seconding >>34479307

>>34479261
>[x]Untie him. You want to hear this.

>>34479346
It feels like at least one of them is edging to kill the other, probably both. This is also known as not playing nice. Children who don't play nice don't get what they want.

>>34479261
You move between the two as they stare each other down. "...why are you two staring at each other like that?"

Neither responds to you, though Kris starts muttering under her breath. "It's you... The agent I was warned about. I didn't honestly believe you could still be alive." Her voice rises in volume. "You've been messing with my plans, with us, this ENTIRE time, haven't you?" Her

Dave's expression remains cold, completely neutral.

"You're the one who tipped off Duty." Silence. "The one who locked the SAM to fire two years from now." More silence. "You're the one controlling that damned drone, aren't you!?"
Dave doesn't respond. Kris' fingers twitch towards her gun again. The two of them are completely ignoring your attempts to calm them down.
Dave blinks. Kris moves, and so does Dave.

[ ]Try to stop one of them. (Choose)
[ ]Try to stop both of them.
[ ]Get out of the way.

>>34479821
>[ ]Try to stop both of them.
"WHY CAN'T WE ALL BE FRIENDS?!"

>>34479821
>[ ]Try to stop one of them. (Choose)
DAVE

Stopping both sounds sounds like asking to fail. I'm with the K.

>Can I get another vote up in here or I need to coinflip?

>>34479909
>I'm with the K.
So am I, but I'd rather neither eat a bullet, especially when we've got no idea about all the stuff Dave knows and is involved in.

>>34480003
I'll change mine from >>34479838 to seconding >>34479909
>Stop Dave
I'm hoping we can just incapacitate him so we can get him to spill the beans

>>34480038 here
its getting way too late and I gotta be up in 6 hours, so good night all, and fellow anons, keep us and our friends alive

>>34480003
Give it some more time. With the slow pace people usually drop in and out a lot.

>>34480054
its been 20 minutes anon, I think the rest are asleep like I should be

>>34479821
With Kris' rifle halfway to the draw, Dave is already upright and lunging towards her. Without a moment's hesitation, you intercept him with your entire body, smashing him away before he can hit Kris. Her rifle tracks around to follow the both of your towards the ground but she doesn't fire with you in the way. Though Dave already seems to be half-way through untangling himself from his restraints judging by the range of movement he has in his arms as he tries to incapacitate you.

[DC15 Stop Dave! check]

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>34480092

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>34480092
praise the dice?

>>34480066
that's not so unreasonable. HK is running in his daytime, just posting when he has a free moment. Some of us are doing the same, given we're on the same time.

>>34480136
>20
...

That was worth checking chrome before falling asleep

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>34480092
sorry, i had to leave for a while

>>34480136
>>34480138
>>34480342
Excellent rolls today. At least one of them is.

What the hell is this about a SAM though? What were these guys doing with a SAM?

>>34480136
>Here I am trying to engineer a scenario where at least one person dies and you go and roll a 20.
>It's like the dice gods are telling me not to be a jerk...

>>34480617
utsukushiiiiii~

>>34480617
Today's a good day.

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>>34480617
Don't you believe in friendship?

I'm still partial to killing Dave.

>>34480681
I'd rather kill Kris.

>>34480725
I concur.

>>34480725
Get out.

>>34480725
Kris is easy, though.

We can kill her whenever we damn well want if she doesn't play nice. Dave is a lot more difficult to kill and a lot more dangerous. And he never played nice.

>>34480762
>>34480765
Almost at the exact same time. Impressive.

So, we won the roll to Stave the Dave?

>>34480092
>>34480136
You dodge out of the way as Dave flails towards you, hands still bound - just. With you clear, Kris tries to take her shot but you kick back, barely managing to flick the rifle's muzzle to one side and letting the bullets hit dirt instead of flesh. Dave rolls away from the dirt explosion and rights himself once more, spinning into a spinning kick in the same motion. You shift your weight to allow the impact to glance you to the side without damage and spring back position between the two.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, LOLI!" Kris screams in your ear, moving to one side to bring her gun to bear again. In the moment you're distracted, Dave leaps forward again and almost slips under your guard but you shunt Kris back, flat on the floor with her rifle skittering away. With just the two of you in the game now, Dave eyes you up carefully, looking for a weakness in your defence.

"Stop it, Dave. Please just calm down! We can talk about this!"

He shakes his head slowly. "Too late for that."

Without another word, he turns and sprints across the field towards the old city. At his full speed, he'll be there in under a minute.

"Damn it, Loli!" Kris pushes herself back to her knees, grabbing for her rifle. "Kill him! Now! VASA!"

[ ]Let them shoot Dave.
[ ]Stop them both.
[ ]Chase Dave.

>>34481374
>[x]Stop them both.

>>34481374
>[ ]Chase Dave.

>>34481374
>[ ]Chase Dave.
I actually like Dave, I don't want him leaving us.

>>34481374
Take K's rifle, ask Vasa to stop him but not kill him.

If K can't shoot and D can't run, maybe we can actually figure out what the hell they're on about.

>>34481374
>[X]Stop them both.
>[X]Chase Dave.

You grab Kris' rifle before her fingers can close over it, then shout to Vasa not to shoot Dave before setting off at a sprint after him.
You're already getting sick of chasing this man. He runs way too fast! By the lack of gunshots, you're guessing Vasa decided to follow your instructions over Kris'. And by the shouting, Kris isn't happy about it and everyone is now running after you.

But Kris' gun is slowing you down. You drop it, speeding up just a fraction. There! You're starting to gain on Dave again. You might actually be able to catch up to him before he reaches the city limits!
Two hundred yards to the city, and fifty paces between you... A hundred and fifty, you're down to thirty paces apart.
The last hundred yards, and you're almost close enough to grab him!

Something ahead catches your eye, and you immediately stop your chase to dive to the ground for cover. Two men in black and red armor stand between the buildings, right where Dave is rushing towards. Another figure lurks in one of the windows overlooking the open ground above you. They're all holding really big guns.

As they're bringing their weapons up towards the both of you, Dave shouts at them.
"PLAN B!"

[Part 43 Cliffhanger]

>>34481729
God fucking dammit, Dave. Next time I'm voting to kill instead of befriend.

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>>34481729
DAAAVE!

fucking amazing thread btw

>>34481729
These fucking people and their fucking allergy to honesty. Well, I guess we haven't had a good fight in a while now, so this is how it'll have to be.

I sure hope Shota stuck around, exosuits are nice and all but "really big guns" at close range is still trouble.

So Kris is only here on a job? Either she's still leaving us in the dark or her entire motivation is piles of money.

>>34482023
Both are very likely.

>>34482023
No no no.

TWO jobs. First she got hired to kidnap us, then decided that while she was here, she'd use us to help recover those documents for an entirely different client. More money.

She didn't tell us anything about this "special forces" she's supposedly part of though, or how she came to be part of such a group or whether anyone else from that group is around.

And seriously, when the hell did she try to use SAMs and what for? The goddamn drone?

>>34481729
Thanks for the thread Kaleun! I forgot to say so earlier.

>no end of thread post

Now I'm getting nervous. Did HK explode?

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Alrighty! Next thread will be... Sometime next week, I'm not sure yet. And depending on how fast everything flows, it may or may not be the last thread. Get hype?

As always, I'm available for Q&A now and the rest of the thread is open to discussion.

I hope you're all enjoying the ride, and I'll see you all next time. Thanks for reading!

>>34483526
You sneaky son of a bitch, I was just putting in the archive request when you beat me to it.

My description was better.

>>34483526
Feels kind of sudden that the it's ending in 1-2 threads. Are you going to take a break from QMing or do you have something else in mind?

>>34483643
He's been whining loudly about LSQ refusing to end for ages. The end started the moment he decided to go "yes you can now afford the things you need, please just go already." It felt kind of rushed that we got skipped straight to where we needed to be this time due to shota magic, but at least he's making an effort to end the quest properly. I'm personally not ecstatic about the quest ending when there's still tons of stuff we'd like to do, but I'll sure as hell take HKs efforts over your average QM disappearance act, 1-thread rushed endings or just flat out "cba anymore, see ya guys."

The threads have been fun, even if they're not going where I think most of us would actually like to go.

>>34483643
Personally I'm just hoping he'll hold it when I'm not at work.

Fucking time zones.

>>34483526
really enjoying it, pretty hyped for the ending

>>34483643
not sure if he'd be intrested, but i'm pretty sure his style would be perfect for a quest based on elfen lied

>>34484863
when he holds them when he's working is usually the only time I can make the threads

fucking time zones

>>34481729
We should have got Vasa to hit him in the legs damnit...

Oh well, next thread he can either stop being a big dumb meanie or we give him his retirement plan

>>34486067
Sorry! I can't always get the other anons to vote for my suggestions. Though half way across the field would just put him in a somewhat less advantageous position, really, he can still get his duty friends to shoot at us from there.

What's most disappointing is the complete lack of faith in us, resorting to this plan as soon as someone actually starts to tell us what's going on. It's just making me more and more convinced he's not up to anything good at all. K lied to us, was apparently hired to kidnap us for some probably bad guy AND decided that wasn't quite good enough so she's also using us to help her steal some papers for some other probably also bad people... but at least she's not cooperating with DUTY to kill us.

>>34486311
>but at least she's not cooperating with DUTY to kill us.
Yep, and she's still been a friend throughout it all, though Dave... Dave hasn't...

I would prefer to take him down non-lethally and get some answers from him, but at this point I've come to accept that we're most likely going to have to kill him for being a big dumb meanie.

>>34486311
>AND decided that wasn't quite good enough
more like her mission is the priority, and she got paid to bring us out safely as a side job

>>34486422
>I would prefer to take him down non-lethall

Indeed. It would be much more fun for all involved parties if he's still alive while we carefully and elaborately cut him into little heart shaped pieces of Dave to present to Shota to return his previous gesture in our own Giltinè style. But we'll see about whether or not it's worth the risk to try to capture him alive.

>>34485449
>elfen lied
Haven't watched/read/whatever it. Wouldn't know.

>>34483643
>Feels kind of sudden that the it's ending in 1-2 threads.
I sorted of skipped out several long scenes/scenarios from my planned progression so we could hurry the ending. An actual explanation of the SAM among them, though that may still come up. Trust me though, this would be better than letting me draw it out and quality dropping even further until I give up and drop the quest entirely.

Plus, depending on which of the many endings I have in mind we wind up at, there's nothing stopping there being a (short) sequel/spin-off.

>>34483643
>Are you going to take a break from QMing or do you have something else in mind?
There is something else. More information to come in time.

>>34484863
>Personally I'm just hoping he'll hold it when I'm not at work.
If I make a mid-week thread, it will most assuredly end before the final scenes. Those will only air on a Saturday, so everyone has the best chance of participating.

>>34483899
And now I feel bad. Sorry, anon.

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>>34488815
Before the end, I want to tell you that LSQ's been fun since the first thread, and I respect your decision to end it with dignity rather than let it stagnate.

You're a pretty cool dude, Kaleun. For reals.