>>35625963

Pen poised over a fresh, virgin page of the slim black journal that you continue to entrust your own memories to, you turn back towards the Culexus. Now, About Oriko's headquarters in the Akashic Realm--

+ I saw Oriko's army, Warmaster. + Yuma's pulse cuts you off. + Sorry, I just gleaned the questions from your surface thoughts. Quicker this way. + Both you and Kyoko share a brief glance, one that Yuma doesn't seem to notice as she continues. + I can't pin down the exact number of the forces she's managed to gather, but a conservative estimate would be fifteen, sixteen full-sized squads in all, inside what looks like a deserted building of some kind. +

"...Sixteen squads?!" Kyoko blurts out, her one eye wide. "That's nearly...! Uh, wait..." The red-haired Eversor mumbles to herself as she looks down at her fingers. "Carry the...hmm, no, wait, that's an imaginary number--"

More than a hundred Magical Girls, then, you cut in, interrupting Kyoko's brow-furrowing mental calculations and at the same time earning yourself a disappointed look from your best friend. You ignore this and look back towards Yuma.

Those sixteen squads, then - that's a conservative estimate, she said?

Yuma nods. + I...do have to note that some of them have already begun to turn in the Akashic Realm, Warmaster. More than a handful aren't Magical Girls anymore, but rather Witches walking around in corpses. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned the moment they transformed. +

Wonderful. You shake your head at this, smiling thinly. This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

Well, about this entire thing being a trap--

[1/2]

>>35625973

+ I can't say for certain if it's a trap or not, Warmaster. + Yuma shakes her own skulled helm. + But what I can say for certain is that the Red BITCH-- + With her emphatic mental spitting of the word, you also feel the briefest kiss of an icy-cool rage emanating from the Culexus. + --knows that I'd set off her little trap, but she doesn't know I survived. +

...And how can she say THAT for certain?

+ I heard her laughing about it. + Despite her features being masked by her skulled helm, you know that the young girl in the leather hardsuit is staring at you with cold eyes of frozen ruby. + Laughing and calling me an idiot for falling for the oldest trick in the book. +

...Alright, then. So, one last question. Yuma said she could teleport five people in and out of the Akashic Realm safely and quickly. What if there were six instead of five?

"Yeah, would six be okay?" Kyoko cuts in. "I mean, we are planning to rescue Oriko, right? So we have to come back with her, along with the entire kill-team!"

It's here, then, that your mind link with the Culexus grows silent and cold, as if Yuma had suddenly withdrawn into herself to consider the question. It comes back into life a moment later as a tingling in the back of your skull, and when she speaks through it, it's with the same hesitation she had before you told her to forcibly tear your prisoner's secrets from her brain.

+ I've...well, I can try, Warmaster. I've never tried it before - unassisted, anyway - but I'll do my best. +

Silence. Awkward and stifling.

Then--

"Good enough for me!" Kyoko cackles, raising a hand to hammer the Culexus' shoulder with a bone-crushing slap - but stops herself just in time and simply smacks you instead, very nearly caving your lower back in with the gunshot-loud impact. It's all you can do to stop yourself from collapsing to the floor and curling up in pain.

[2/3]

>>35625982

"With Yuma-chan on the job, Oriko's practically saved! Right, Murderface?" Kyoko grins at you, completely and utterly guileless.

Jesus. Fucking Eversors. Fucking unfairly-amplified upper body strength arbitrarily decided on by a fucking alien with no fucking sense of fucking balance--

"Eh? What was that, Murderface? I didn't catch that, you're mumbling and growling at the same time--"

YOU SAID YEAH. FOR FUCK'S SAKE, YOUR FUCKING BACK.

"Awesome!"

Ghh. ...Yes, you can still feel your legs. No, you're not going to shoot her kneecaps out. No shooting your best friend's kneecaps out. It's not something you should have to repeat to yourself, Christ.

Anyway. What do you do now?

[]Take what you learned to Kyuubey and get to organizing that Kill-Team. You have a Prophet to murder and a civilian to save.
[]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

Mostunexpectedtimeoftheday.jpg

>>35626008
>[X]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

NO PUTTING SHIT OFF

>>35626008
>[X]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

Lets ask some more before we get down to business.

>>35626008
[X]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

Lets get the damn "nothing wrong" thing over and finished.

>>35626008
>[x]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

>>35626008
>[X] Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk with Yuma first.

Game time

>>35626008
>[X]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

Threadly reminder that the updated eBook can be found at http://pastebin.com/kbGzcbDb
link to the Fanart gallery: http://wiki.magicalgirlnoir.com/index.php/Fanart
link to the journal pastebin: http://pastebin.com/SZkxPycM

>>35626008
>[]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

>>35626008
>[X]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

>>35626008
>[]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

I don't think we have anything to offer her, but if there's any chance she can't handle six without further injury, I want to know.

If we have to settle for four, four it will be.

And we need to ask the Triad about the Akashic Realm. I have a feeling that going there in person is likely to be Bad for us, but we can't avoid it.

But we can keep the risks for the others down to managable.

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>>35626008
[x]Ask Kyoko to get your retinue assembled in front of the Incubator's Office. There's something you want to talk to Yuma in private first.

>>35626101
Does the four or five count Yuma?

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>>35626008
SURPRISE DONGLORDS WE SUNDAY (sunday sunday) NOW

So I think we should bring: Our self (obviously), Blueberry, Rea, Wendy, and I don't really know for the last one.

>>35626124
Dammit cat, I Monday now, stop ruining my life.

On topic, I wonder how this little private conversation with Yuma will go. Is it going to be Chiaki getting filled in on just exactly what Yuma did and saw, or is it going to be a drawn out festival of emotion filled with bonding, forgiveness, and multiple bottles of Kong?

>>35626214
The latter most likely, after were done of course.

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Thinking about it. Remember that time we rescued Misaka from the warehouse?

One of the girls what we killed was going on about how "We shouldn't be here!" and "Your where supposed to arrive too late!"
This means that the only thing that break Oriko's future sight ability is our timestop. What Oriko saw at the warehouse with her future sight ability was a version of us that didn't use the timestop.

So obviously using our timestop is the saw to beat Oriko. One way we can do it is to engage timestop while we are fighting Oriko and inject her with some sedatives and then return to our original position and resume time. Hopefully she would be too focused on fighting us to realise that she was falling asleep until it was too late. It would be better if it was a situation where we had to save a companion, so she won't suspect that we did something else under time stop.

My stupid half baked idea anyway.

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>>35626213
We should bring Kharn.

I am serious.

>>35626214
>I wonder how this little private conversation with Yuma will go. Is it going to be Chiaki getting filled in on just exactly what Yuma did and saw, or is it going to be a drawn out festival of emotion filled with bonding, forgiveness, and multiple bottles of Kong?
neither. We've got nothing we can offer her that she wants.

Just need to know the reason for her hesitation, because we're not voluntarily putting her already weakened self through that again.

Poor Yuma has been harshly used, but... I think we're about even, and I don't think she wants Chiaki's sympathy, and realistically we can't even really offer her a boon. The Offico can't afford to lose it's only Culexus on a wild goose chase in the Akashic realm.

We kind of HAVE to go in but alone we're a sitting duck, so we'll have to pick someone to take. But we'll have to pick with care, because there's a very real chance that anyone going into the Akashic realm isn't coming back.

Blueberry is probably a shoe-in, especially given the whole witch gem thing we found, plus she's damn night unstoppable... but she's also a predictable choice.

>>35626272
Interesting idea. I can see two potential problems though.
1. Would a sedative work on a meguca?
2. Using timestop (which is obviously somekind of dimension shifting thing) inside the Akashic Realms could potentially be a very bad idea. Still, hopefully the three stooges might know. Assuming we ever get a chance to talk to them.

>>35626320
Would Kharn count as two people for the teleporter I wonder.

>>35626310
if only anon, but i think she's hung up the sword cause 2 pregnant now or something iirc

>>35626310
Kharn is preggers with twins and also already half Witch. I can't imagine a hell like the Akashic Realm won't do terrible things to her.

>>35626325
As much as I want to bring her (I really do) She probably busy being pregnant.

>>35626310
we need oriko virginity intact

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>>35626272
>>35626272
>>35626272
this guy knows what's up

>>35626324
Threadly reminder that as far as we know, Oriko still isn't a Meguca, just a civillian with a golden weapon. Although having a golden weapon may mean she's already not quite human anymore either.

>>35626324
Recalling back to the flashback where Malal rescues Kharn from being a pit fighter for life I'm pretty sure Souji had sedatives that would work on Kharn - if they'd work on fucked-up half-witch Kharn I'd be willing to wager the same shit would work on Oriko.

>>35626334
>>35626330
They are probably lich babies, they should be fine.

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>>35626324
>do sedatives work on meguca

Using enough or a sufficiently powerful one will work just fine. There are people that focus on that as a strategy, even.

Whoever we choose, there are a few considerations.

First, as much as I would love to have Kharn with us, we should stick to people who are here at the moment. Our enemy can see into the future - we do not want to take additional actions that they can interfere with.

Second, we should leave someone capable behind, in-case we die. Think carefully about who you trust to run the Officio if we don't come back. Sayaka or Kyoko would be the obvious choices, but I don't imagine we can take one without the other.

>>35626343
Killgore turned into a bloodthrister.We should be concerned.

>>35626372
We have a teleporter, she can use the golden axes, and she has experience in fighting large numbers.

>>35626337
What for

Tomoe, Ashford & Miki

>>35626372

>Second, we should leave someone capable behind, in-case we die. Think carefully about who you trust to run the Officio if we don't come back.

That's a good idea. I can easily imagine that once we complete our mission, get out of the Akashic Realms back and get back to earth we would get told "You have been gone for a very long time"

>>35626407
Should bring Wendy, we need anti illusion and it helps the 9ths relationship with the church.

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>>35626421
>we leave mumi

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>>35626421
>implying we get back

>>35626432
I figure we get Wendy to knock out Midori, then we cold-cock Wendy and leave Kyoko to mind the farm while we're... indisposed

>>35626399
for ourself of course!

>>35626440
Mami is the acting Warmaster while we're gone.

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>>35626454

>>35626446
Ah, well, carry on then.

Kirika would probably approve with this kind of use of the katana. Would that count as a threesome ?

>>35626444
We need to bring a callidus.

>>35626421
Oriko didn't seem to have that issue.

>>35626454
Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

>>35626487
>>35626467
She was pretty much acting Warmaster between Kharn retiring and us being nominated.

>>35625973
>over a hundred magical girls
This isn't a splinter group, this is practically its own goddamn Officio by now

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>>35626501
I think Mami, Miki, Wendy and Sakura would be the best choice.

Teleport five people means we can only bring two people besides ourselves and Yuma if we're bringing back Oriko, and six people means we can only bring three if we're bringing back Oriko.

>>35626525
Kharn, Malal, and Girl A didn't have trouble killing pretty much an entire Officio. Granted, they're who they are and had golden weapons, but still.

>>35626025 >>35626040 >>35626062

You gingerly massage the spot where Kyoko had affectionately tried to Bane your ass with an open-palmed slap - and it takes you a few moments of silently hating the red-haired Eversor to death before you ask her to round up your retinue at the Incubator's Office. There's planning to be done, and you want them all there when you take what you've learned to Kyuubey himself.

"HUh? Oh...oh, yeah! Sure! I can do that!" Kyoko vigorously nods, finally disengaging from Yuma (but not after giving the Culexus another playful noogie through her helmet). "Er...what about you, though, Murderface? Aren't ya gonna be there? I mean, we should just go an' fetch them together, since you'll be there and everything--"

You stare sullenly at Kyoko for a few seconds before shaking your head. ...Yes, of course you'll be in the meeting, you'll be the one to lead it, after all. But you're asking her to do it on her own, because you need to ask Yuma a couple of questions first. You'll just catch up with everyone at the Incubator's office in a little while.

"Oh, don't worry, I can wait!" Your best friend grins again, almost glowing in her frank and open innocence. ...Jesus, if Kyoko wasn't your best friend at all, she'd be setting off all sorts of alarms in your head - the sort that would have you take an automatic rifle in your shower while you washed up and wolfed down breakfast, all at the same time.

You open your mouth to try and reason with the red-haired Eversor - to appeal to her common sense - when Yuma politely drives the point home for you. + I think Warmaster Matsuda just wants to ask me a couple of really boring questions, Miss Kyoko. Something about... + She inclines her skulled helmet towards you in genuine puzzlement. + Uh, what? Bringing guns into personal showers? +

[1/2]

>>35626576

"Oh! Hah, I didn't know that was still a problem! Okay then!" Kyoko cackles, before turning towards you and ripping off a perfect salute. "I'll get everyone rounded up as quick as I can! See you at Kyuubey's office, Murderface!"

And with that, your best friend leaves, taking off like a shot, smartphone already in hand and held up to her ear. Her rapidly-receding footsteps barely masking Sayaka's voice shrieking from the tiny speaker of her mobile device.

Silence, once again, as the doors swing shut, leaving the both of you alone in the deactivated Silent Room.

+ Miss Kyoko really likes you. + Yuma pulses after what seemed like an eternity. + I...I have to admit I'm jealous. Even Miss Sayaka feels the same way. +

You can't help but smile at that, despite everything. Yeah, even if she can be a pain in the ass sometimes, you don't call Kyoko your best friend for nothing.

...Wait, Sayaka's jealous too? Of you AND Kyoko?

+ You won't get her to admit it even if you threatened her at gunpoint, but yes. + Yuma looks back at the doors where Kyoko had exited the room from. + Not that she sees you as a threat to her relationship with Miss Kyoko, just that the both of you seem to get along really well. Like...like a house on fire, I remember her saying. +

Ah. Well. You'll agree to that.

Silence, again. The uneasily-heavy silence of two people waiting for the other to talk.

What do you do?

[]Absolve her of guilt. "Whatever it is you did, I don't even remember it. Just focus on what you have to do."
[]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.
[]Ask her about Oriko. Is saving her possible?

>>35626563
I think Arhiman Round One was only fifty Meguca, which Arhiman itentionally let us kill most of them, and we had Malal and Kharn, and a Timestop that wasn't as hindered as ours is now.

This time around, we don't have those advantages, plus Arhiman is probably going to have a better idea of what we're capable of and less of a desire to play around. We also still don't know how the red Culexus froze and then roasted a bunch of magical girls in that church.

>>35626588
[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.
[X]"You did nothing wrong."

>>35626588
[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.

Absolving her of guilt would be pretty worthless, if we don't fully know or remember what happened.

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>>35626576
>the sort that would have you take an automatic rifle in your shower while you washed up and wolfed down breakfast, all at the same time.
Heh

>>35626588
[x]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.

>>35626588
>[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.

>>35626588
[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.

Make us understand, Yuma.

>>35626599
100 meguca who she needed killed for her wonky golden staff bullshit to happen as I recall.

>>35626588
[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.

Its kinda hard to absolve someone if we don't really know what they did in the first place.

>>35626588
[x]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.

>>35626599
She didn't freeze them, she blew all their soulgems apart before they could even react.

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>>35626588
>[]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.
>[]Absolve her of guilt.

Forgiving Yuma is important if we ourselves want to be forgiven by Pinky.

>>35626588
[x]Absolve her of guilt. "Whatever it is you did, I don't even remember it. Just focus on what you have to do."

I don't want her hesitating right now.

>>35626588
>[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.
>[X]Ask her about Oriko. Is saving her possible?
let's have a nice talk with our friendly Mind Sculptor

How big is a squad? 8? 12?

>>35626588
>[]Absolve her of guilt. "Whatever it is you did, I don't even remember it. Just focus on what you have to do."
>[]Ask her about Oriko. Is saving her possible?

NOTHING. WRONG.

>>35626588
>[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.

>>35626588
Why not everything? If we do have to prioritize though in the following order:
>[X]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.
>[X]Absolve her of guilt.
>[X]Ask her about Oriko. Is saving her possible?

While questions about the upcoming mission may be pertinent, the whole guilt problem is going to stick around long-term unless we deal with it now. Like it or not, Yuma is a valuable resource, and we can't afford to compromise her future competency and add to the potential of her witching out.

>>35626638
Nah she did something really wrong, but I think her recent actions have been commendable.

>>35626638
Any forgiveness is pointless if it comes from someone who does not know what she did.

Saying "I don't remember your crime" won't erase her guilt.

Understanding what she did, and THEN forgiving her would.

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>>35626588

>>35626546
Dark future Mami is so delicious

So how pissed will Kyoko be when Oriko gets killed?

>>35626588
>[]Ask her about what she actually did to you, and what she learned from it.
and maybe tell her, just a bit.

Green hair is the danger, but she needs to know that there are other us's, that not all of them may be as neutrally disposed, and one might even have minions.

Also, journal: "pull Ashford off Pete and see if she can give Yuma's hardsuit a tech-boost."

>>35626842
So, what do you think we will encounter when we enter the AR. It was previously implied that many encountered their own witches. But Chiakis witch is technically already out there running around as Homucifer.

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>>35626842

>>35626903
What will we find?
>>35626905
This. This is what we will find
mechamumi
giga drill finale

>>35626903
there's more than one possible witch per meguca, anon. There's all the possible pasts, all the tomorrows.

And there there is Walpurgisnacht: the embodinment of all Witches.

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>>35626887
>implying Kyouko will survive

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A few threads behind. Did Dan ever finish the "idol/noir cards?"

>>35626980
Nah, he burned himself out with MGNQ at about that time.

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>>35626983
Shame. I had checked his gallery and was wondering what happened.

>>35626983
>Shut In Vampire Princess hasn't updated in a while

>>35627063
Maybe Cupcake asked to be real again.

>>35626905
>operating heavy machinery
>loose hair
>no PPE
No. Bad Mumi. License revoked.

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>>35627035

Feel a teensy bit bad that I didn't finish the design quickly enough for Dan to detail it properly.

We should take both Wendy and Midori with us, along with some sort of beacon Yuma can home in on to teleport help to us. The Callidi come because we trust them, they’d probably witch out if something happened to us while we weren't there, and they’d give us the best chance of not having to butcher our way through an Officio's worth of magical girls to reach Oriko. Once we get to Oriko, we have Yuma teleport in an Eversor who isn't either Kyoko or Sayaka if Oriko can be saved, or both Kyoko and Sayaka if she can't.

Either way, once we're done we'll want to drop a nuke on the Hell Fortress. That many magical girls witching out in the same time and place is too much of a Walpurgisnacht risk not to deal with.

>>35627276
I really like her design. Still haven't read Attarou's writeups.

Rolled 6, 3 = 9 (2d6)

>>35627299
>taking Midori and Wendy on a near-suicide mission
Wouldn't make sense IC.

>>35627347
Odette isn't one of Attarou's she's Archival's main character.

>>35627347
You need to. They're good.

>More than a hundred Magical Girls

This is a trap. Remember that Ahriman pulled this shit before once and got her Wings afterwards. The Girls there are probably just another sacrifice.
The same thing as with Kharn and Malal back with Girl A.

We should go alone, armed with all the golden Weapons, pretending that we want to reason with her and came alone as a sign of goodwill, and use Timestop when we can to get the Staff out of her hands.

The more of her Megucas we probably kill off the more powerful will Ahriman become.

>>35627361
>They're good.

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>>35627360
>>35627361
I'm fucking horrible with names. I actually HAVE read Attarou's, but haven't started on Archival's yet.

>>35627350
actually, better than you might think. We might be able to avoid most combat and get into a straight one on one with the staff-bearer.

>>35627350
They’re the best Callidi we have that are also expendable without compromising any of our squads. And, quite simply, we’ll feel better knowing that they have our backs, since we don't want to bring Kyoko or Sayaka in unless we absolutely have to.

>>35627403
The problem is that Oriko will probably know we're bring Calliduses. And even if not, she can probably summon those said 100 pretty quick if we can't kill her fast.

>>35627417
>that are also expendable
You what

>>35626600 >>35626606 >>35626608

Just as you open your mouth to speak - to break the silence draped upon both of you like a thick, choking blanket - it's here that Yuma raises a gloved hand, again.

+ I know, Warmaster. You don't have to ask it. I-- +

You frown at her here, crossing your arms over your chest. Alright, fine, it was cool the first couple of times, but this pre-empting thing is getting on your nerves. Isn't there some sort of rule that says something about not reading people's minds without their permission, or something? At least, the minds of the people you're actually on the same team with? Because it's just rustling your jimmies something fierce, now. Ninth Officio Culexus or no, you don't like anyone screwing around in your head.

The second sound that Yuma makes in this entire conversation is a gargling, rasping noise at the back of her throat - sounding suspiciously like a vox-corrupted chuckle. + There is, actually. Miss Malal penned it herself. But I didn't even need to read your mind then, Warmaster. I knew what you were going to ask even before I ended up...like this. + She taps at her leather-encased throat. +...Thank you, by the way. For letting me have the luxury of telling Miss Kyoko about my voice. I'll...tell her when I'm ready, of course. +

You nod. She'd better.

Now, about what she did. And what she learned. You want to know--

+...Everything, yes, I'm aware. + She glances towards the doors where Kyoko left the room, before beckoning you closer with a gloved hand. You do so after a moment's hesitation, moving to the side of her makeshift bed and sitting on the edge. + This would be much faster and easier if I just show you, Warmaster. This way, you see everything, as I remember it. +

Show? What, she's got a recording of everything or something? You can have someone fetch Remov from your office if that's what she needs--

[1/2]

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>>35627350

For the same reason we did the Big Shell mission and were then whining "we should have brought Midori along?" Because her powerset is fairly versatile and powerful in a team setting.

>>35627417
>that are also expendable without compromising any of our squads.
U wot mate
I'm not sure how our girlfriend or our old friend/biggest link towards dealing with the cult later are considered more expendable than the nameless mook calliduses we have.

>>35627444
Not that anon, but I sure consider the waifus expendable.

>>35627465

+ No, we don't need Remov for this. I'm just... + Another silence borne of hesitation. + I'm just going to psychically send you a copy of my memory of the entire incident. Of what I did. +

Ah. Well...if it's quicker and easier, sure. You blink here as a chill suddenly crawls its way up your spine, as if your body is inwardly recoiling at the mere concept of it. You shake your head a moment later, rolling your shoulders. Maybe you're...just tired. Yeah. Maybe.

Anyway, what do you need to do? Do you need to be in a trance, or something?

Another mechanical-sounding noise, issuing from a permanently-ruined throat. + No, Warmaster. I just need to hold your hand. I can do it remotely, of course, but my injuries aren't helping me focus enough for that. So physical contact will have to do. +

Right. Well. Sure, then.

You hold out your hand, and Yuma takes it with her gloved own. Her touch is...well, it's reassuringly warm, even through the studded leather. Soft.

+ Please relax, Warmaster. You'll need it. +

You're trying. It's...somehow, you're nervous about the entire thing, even if you're not sure what exactly is going to happen.

+ Everyone gets that. + Yuma's voice is unusually comforting. + Now, please your close eyes, and I'll start. +

You obey, closing your eyes behind your glasses, and then--

. . .

. .

.

[2/3]

>>35627444

He seeks the anti-waifu equation!

>>35627477

--You reopen them again, gasping for air, gasping for breath that just wouldn't come. Tears, prickly and hot, trickles down your cheeks in an unwarranted flood. The taste of rotting flesh thick on your tongue, twisting your stomach, threatening to make you sick all over the pristine Silent Room floor. The metallic, coppery scent of an entire lake of blood filling your nostrils.

Yuma was right. It was quicker.

You're not so sure about easier, though.

In one instant, you knew just what she did. All of it. But more than that, you also knew how she felt. All the sensations, the sights, the sounds - the nightmares.

How she decided, upon her outrage at hearing of Malal wiping your memory, to violently take what you saw happen to Kharn that one night. That one night that you don't even remember - a night of blood and betrayal and treachery, with you stumbling into an ambush that Kharn almost died trying to murder you out of.

It should've ended there, but whether it was intentional or not, Yuma ended up sharing more than she promised. You saw brief snatches of what Walpurgisnacht was. What Kharn had become then. What Yuma - and her best friend, Cavefish - nearly died trying to protect themselves from. What the Black Templars sacrificed themselves trying to save the world from.

And more importantly, you saw Malal, her regrets fading on her lips as her corpse disintegrated into nothing.

It's when you manage to pull away from her grasp that you manage to pull breath back into your lungs - and the first breath feels like breathing fire and hate, making you cough and sputter. The tears that you'd been crying without knowing stinging like acid, and you hastily scrub them away with the sleeve of your costume, cursing and hissing underneath your breath.

[3/4]

>>35627483
Heh. Made me chuckle.

>>35627483
It's beautiful, isn't it?

>>35627434
>The problem is that Oriko will probably know we're bring Calliduses.
She can count on anything we bring, because she's a seer.

>>35627487

Jesus. No wonder you're fucked up. No wonder Souji blamed you for Kharn. Christ.

+ War...Warmaster? + Yuma's pulse is one of shocked, mortified shame. + I...n-no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to share all of that with you. J-just...it was just supposed to be what I did, not...not everything else. I'm sorry, I...+ A choking sound erupts from her vox speakers, just as unnatural as her own ragged chuckling. + I'm...I'm sorry...+

Burying her helmet's faceplate in her own gloved hands, your Culexus Rank Leader begins to cry.

Horrific, choking, gurgling cries from a ravaged throat that will never speak again.

How do you react?

[]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.
[]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.
[]Leave it at this for now. Tell her you want her focused on her job - you'll decide what to do after the mess with the Prophet.

>>35627506
Take out Moemura glasses.
"I just wanted to clean my guns."

>>35627506
[x]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

ADMINISTER HEADPATS

>>35627506
>[X]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.

>>35627444
From a personal perspective? No.

From the perspective of the Officio? Yes.

And since IC we have to go into this assuming that there's a high chance we and everyone else on this mission will die, we want to be sure that we don't fuck up the Officio too badly if things go pear-shaped.

Which is part of why we’re leaving Sayaka behind unless absolutely necessary; as Equerry, she's the logical one to at least temporarily assume command of the Officio should we snuff it.

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All this talk about killing...

Could Shiki Tohno kill megucas?

>>35627506
>>35627506
>[X]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

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>>35627506
>[]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

We can't change our mistakes in the past. We can only focus on not making more in the future.

>>35627506
>[X]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

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>>35627506
>[x]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

older sister mode time?

>>35627506
>[]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

Acquire imouto #3.

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>>35627506
>[]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

>>35627506
>[]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.
>[]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt how she feels, and we know the truth. There isn't any need to hold it against her.

>>35627518
That would be so ice cold.

>>35627506
[X]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

>>35627506
[X]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

>>35627506
>[x]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.
I'm ready for healing.

>>35627557
It must be done. Cause we troll

>>35627506
[X] Forgive her you fool.

Then awkward headpats.

>>35627506
>No wonder Souji blamed you for Kharn. Christ.

No, Decu-chan, that bit still doesn't make any sense, even for Chiaki's self-loathing and self-inflicted guilt.

>>35627506
>[X]Leave it at this for now. Tell her you want her focused on her job - you'll decide what to do after the mess with the Prophet.

Forgiveness feels to quick here.

>>35627506
>[X]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.
>[X]Leave it at this for now. Tell her you want her focused on her job - you'll decide what to do after the mess with the Prophet.

Lets hope the three stooges also saw the whole thing. Maybe that would soothe Murderface a little bit.

Wish we could talk to those three.

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>>35627506

>[x]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

This is eating away at Yuma, to the point where she pushed away Kyoko and wanted to die getting Oroko's location. Forgiving her is the only way to get her to stop blaming herself.

>>35627506
[x]Well gee, I guess we're just best fucked-up-the-world buddies now, huh.

>>35627434
she doesn’t seems to be this good on predicting the future yet so even if she see us bringing Calliiduse she shouldn’t be able to tell our exact location

>>35627506
>[X]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.
let's see how she fells about the fact not the consequences

>>35627506
>[]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.
"Well, I guess that's us about even, at least to my records."
[update the journal]

>>35627506
>[X]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.
>[X]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.

It's a shame I can't remember the speech that Black Templar 2fast5furious gave, but it seems it would also be fitting for Chiaki to paraphrase it in her own way.

>>35627506
>[x]Get mad that she's been treating YOU like the asshole.

...is nobody else going to say it?

>>35627581
I figure Chiaki would understand making stupid fuckups. Especially in times of stress. If Chiaki/Homura deserves a 2nd chance after all the craziness that she has done, then I figure Yuma does too.

Especially since thanks to all this telepathy, Chiaki KNOWS that Yuma regrets it horribly and feels massive amounts of shame and guilt over it.

I figure its best to just let it go. Its done and can't be undone. Time to move on and fix what can still be fixed.

>>35627643
She wanted us to hate her, so that when she did die, it would be complete. No one would miss her for long, especially the girl she wronged.

>>35627643
Correct, because you’re the only one here who's that much of an asshole.

>>35627350
Midori has already been on a suicide mission for us. She dealt with Pinky, personally, up close, and didn't die horribly.

Wendy's dream-worlds actually give us an advantage in the Akashic Realm because they're theoretically similar in nature - twisted, byzantine strangeness.

Not taking them both would be foolish. Kyoko and Sayaka, Wendy, Midori, andus - Oriko on the way out. and then Chiaki armed with Yuu, the Golden Deagle, and Kirkatana.

I think it would be safe to say we could actually win that fight.

Right before the Red Culexus & Orikariman witched out together and ate us.

>>35627483
Not even remotely what I was going for, but still lol-worthy.

>>35627506
>[]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.
>[]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

>>35627506
>[x]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.

>>35627506
[x]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.
[x]Forgive her. While what she did was fucked, you can at least understand why she did it.

Ha ha! Time for healing!

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>>35627506
anon loves the imouto
anon forgives the imouto
mumi is proud

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I got it.
I have the perfect team guys.
Listen. Guys, listen.
We take Mami, Kharn and Kyouko, and they make up our offensive team.
Then Wendy and Midori are our supports.
We keep Tiny Pete up our sleeve in his mini form as our Ace in the Hole.
And then the party piles into the Sayak-car for Yuma to teleport in.

Blam. 7 team members in 5 slots.

>>35627581
We don't have time for her to suffer through forgiveness.

We could be dead in a few hours.

And Compared to the shit we've done, Yuma's fuckup really is a drop in the bucket.

>>35627740
How many imoutos are we going to get?

>timestop in Akashic Realm
If using the Timestop in the 'normal' world pulls a bit of the Akashic Real mover (or shifts us into the Akashic Realm), would using Timestop in the Akashic Real do the opposite, and pull in a bit of the real world?

Damn, some time to experiment before teleporting straight into Oriko's base would have been nice.

>>35627747
All the Imoutos.
All of them.

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>>35627747
All of them.

We must collect them.

>>35627760
The three stooges might have some idea.

>>35627767
didney worrl

>>35627767
Someone needs to put crispy Yuma in there too.

>>35627506
>>35627506
[x]Ask her if she felt that she made the right decision.

Then add:

[x]I cannot forgive you. Not because I don't want to but because I am not in a position to do so. The person you did that to doesn't exist anymore. She is as foreign and strange to you as she is to me. There is no one to ask forgiveness for. I do understand your reasons for it though.
If it is any consolation to you, I would have probably done the same in your place.
[x]Headpat

>>35627788
I agree. Maybe also add Misaka.

>>35627740
>mumi is proud
[Shadowruns intensely]

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Clearly Kyoko has the best solution to the matter.

>>35627527
Probably, but then they'd witch and he'd probably be killed in a barrier.

>>35627811
Fuck, no wonder her Witch has a candle for a head.

>>35627546
nope. Warmaster modo.

It is, after all, as Warmaster that we can sympathise, having just basically had to make the same call, though on a far more noxious target.

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>>35627767
>knife fight Wendy for Slam

>>35627650
>If Chiaki/Homura deserves a 2nd chance
ha, no.

We're just a karma houdini.

When justice catches up to us, it is going to be specTAC~U~laaaaaaaaaaaaar

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>>35627846
I lose it every time I see this.

>>35627849
Why not a karma chameleon?

>>35627846
how could i forget about the single greatest piece of art MGNQ has ever spawned

>>35627861
>>35627867
I don't get it.

>>35627880
What's not to get? It's Wendy having a Puerto Rican knife fight with the Phillie Phanatic while Chiakis in Michael Jackson coats do Beat It in the background.

>>35627866
because we're not a boy, george

>>35627886
I remember a .gif version that was outstanding. Need it in my life.

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So we can all agree that Yuma is now burn toast, therefore best imouto.

>>35627886
>It's some kind of Baseball thing
Ah.

>>35628024
Your taste is objectively proper

crispy waifu best waifu

>>35628024
>>35628061
So when she puts out, does that mean she gives a crispy fuck?

>>35628078
Is Yuma a virgin anyway?

>>35628090
Ask Haruka.

>>35628090
"...They didn't call her 'Cave'fish for nothing."

>>35628090
She fucked Malal over, so no.

>>35628078
I'd guess she'd taste like bacon at least.

>>35627519 >>35627535 >>35627545 >>35627546

You're still shaken from the memories that Yuma shared with you, in that brief, gut-wrenching moment of almost sickening honesty. And if you'll be honest with yourself, part of you feels...angry. Not the same kind of raving, berserker rage that Murderface had been raging with earlier, but an equally-dangerous one that indignantly justified you pulling out your Desert Eagle and emptying the magazine into the Culexus' helmet.

A righteous fury, of discovering the grievous wrong that had been done unto you, and how violence can only redress it. How only someone dying by your hands would be enough to pay that debt.

But as quick as that anger flares up inside you, it's with the same speed that it grows cold. Cold with the realization that Yuma, already cursed in her existence as a Culexus, also had to carry this burden, this weight, the entire time. The weight of her sin, and the weight of those who died because of it. Her Black Templar comrades. Her friends. Malal. Cavefish, whom you briefly sensed as someone you probably would have enjoyed having a drink with.

Their ghosts - including yours - pulling Yuma down into the murky depths of her own grief and despair.

In a way - in a sick, sad, and laughably pathetic way - the both of you can be considered similar. The difference is that you don't remember quite enough for the ghosts of your past to haunt you - all except for a pink-haired, shark-toothed one.

It's also here that you realize that Yuma had tried to atone - in a way that only someone as fucked up as you would consider logical. With the guilt eating away at her, she'd deliberately began to detach from everyone, with the exception of a Third Officio traitor. She didn't want to be missed, not by you, not by Sayaka, not by Kyoko - when she finally died. Forgotten, buried in the Hall of Anamnesis' archives. A fitting death for such a hateful, blasphemous sin.

[1/2]

>>35628024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usxrnYRZf_g

>>35628175

You let out a sigh, and look towards the crying Culexus again. Her padded shoulders quivering with every ragged, burbling grunt. ...Christ, by the way she's sobbing, the inside of her visor must be fogged up something fierce.

You reach out with a hand towards her leering skull of a helmet, and then, carefully, gently - pat her on her shoulder.

"You're forgiven," You hear yourself say quietly. "What you did was fucked, and you know that."

It takes Yuma a moment to stop her horrific crying. + Wha...what? But...Warmaster, I'm horrible, I-- +

"I didn't say you weren't." You cut her off, making her flinch. "But you know what you did, and I know how much you've suffered since then. I felt it, anyway." Shaking your head, you pat her on top of her helmet this time. Like you would a little sister. "I can at least understand why you did it, too."

More silence. More painful, choking noise. + Warmaster...Matsuda... + Even her pulsing voice, normally composed to polite perfection, is on the verge of breaking down into tearful sobs. You shake your head again, and stand up from her bed before she could.

"Rest up. We have the Prophet to take care of." You snap at her, forcing a professional calm back into your voice. The...'Warmaster' voice, as Vintage had put it. "I want you ready once I've assembled the Kill-Team, alright? I want you focused."

Silence, and then a pulsed emotion - one of meek, humble gratitude, and a renewed resolve replacing the rotting, guilt-ridden carcass of regret that had been propped up for display for almost an eternity.

+ Un...Understood, Warmaster Matsuda. I live to serve. +

How do you react?

[]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.
[]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

[]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

NOTHING. WRONG.
TOLD YOU 30 THREADS AGO.
NOTHING. WRONG.

>>35628188
>[]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

>>35628188
>[x]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.

>>35628188
[X]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.
[X]Don't go the incubators office! Talk to the fucking three stooges before going to the AR!

>>35628188
>[]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

>>35628188
[x]Call me onee-chan.

>>35628188
[X] "That makes two of us." Onward to QB's office.

>>35628188
[x]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.

>>35628188
[x]Call me oneechan.

>>35628188
>[]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

>>35628188
>[]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.

>>35628188
>[X]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.

>>35628188
[X]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.

Affection time is over, professional time is NOW.

>>35628188
>[x]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.

>>35628188
>[]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

[x]Call me oneechan.

Take her to get sundaes later!
Take all three to get sundaes later!

>>35628266
"Yuma, I'm going to get very annoyed with you if you get yourself killed now.

Understood?"

>>35628188
[x]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.

>>35628241
>not onee-sama

[x]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.
[x] Consult the three stooges first

>>35628188
>[X]"Call me Chiaki. You've earned that much at least."
>Then leave the room and consult the three stooges. We need their input into the shitstorm we're about to brave.

>>35628297
You are wise, anon.

>[x]Call me oneesama, and lick your lips while you say it.

>>35628188
[x]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.
[x]Consult the Necrosages!

>>35628297
Quiet, you weeaboo

>>35628241
>>35628232
Damn it guys my sides!

>>35628188
>[X]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started.
as much I would love to tell her to call us oneechan it will ruin the scene

>>35628188
[x]"Call me oneesama. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

>>35628297
This is a good idea.

>>35628188

>[x]Leave in silence. That should be enough. Then go straight to the Incubator's Office to get the planning started
>[x] check in with the stooges

Yuma's not our friend. friends get first names.
Yuma's our last culexus. We are her Warmaster. Everything else is settled between us.

>>35628188
[x]"Call me Chiaki-oneechan. You've earned that much at least." Then leave.

>>35628188
>[x] Call me Chiaki.

>>35628332
>not Chiaki-neechan

>>35628297
Seconding.

>>35628341
>>35628340
>>35628332
>>35628324
>>35628307
>>35628297
>>35628286
>>35628241
>>35628232
Fuckin NEEEEEEEEERDS

[x]Call me onee-chan

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>>35628188

>>35628382
>not aneki

>>35628405
>not anego

>>35628401
how won? are we making her call us oneechan?

Will Haruka love a chinless monster?

>>35628437
I wish. It was actually very close, but we're leaving in cool silence.

>>35628437
>are we making her call us oneechan?
Is she losing her way?

>>35628443
>implying Yuma won't get a kickass mask

>>35628456
I think she just found her way.

>>35628405
>Not boucho.

>>35628488
>not aneja

>>35628455
Damn.

>>35628494
>not aneue

>>35628455
What?

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>>35628153
Humans taste like fish.

>>35628455
Actually, I'm pretty sure some version of "You don't have to be so formal with me, Yuma" won. Count the "call me Chiaki" and "call me nee-chan" votes together to check, because FPTP voting is for scrubs.

>>35628547
murderer

>>35628519
>not onee

>>35628458
I wan't here to get Raiden's mandible/chin replacement personally.

>>35628503
We can always tell her to do it later. Like before getting ported into the Akashic realm we tell Yuma that that if we make it back she is under orders to eat lunch with Kyouko everyday and that she has to us Onee-sama from now on.

>>35628547
What would you know, Beato? Not like you've tasted a vagina before.

>>35628547
From what I've heard, they taste like a combination of deer and pig

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>>35628455
sorry then I was almost changing my vote to that

>>35628456
only if she can find out who kill her dad

>>35628488
>bouncho
that would be awesome

>>35628551
I would argue that when something is sufficiently distinct in tone then it counts as a separate option.

That said, I relayed the count to Decu, not just a 'who won' message - if he agrees with you then that's what he'll go with.

>>35628583
I never said anything about vaginas.

>>35628589
Are you saying you know better then the Kobe killer?

>>35628600
Kobe Bryant's dead?

>>35628600
No, but it gets names like "white deer" and "long pig" in cannibalistic cultures, so I tend to defer to them.
And the Kobe killer was a nip, so of course he'd compare it to fish

>>35626636

Depends on Officio I think. Ninth's is supposed to be eight people, don't know if leader is counted into that. Sixth's is less. Every Officio also likes to shove its number into everything, so it might just usually be that number.

>>35628299

You leave Yuma's recovery room without another word. That should be enough - you don't trust yourself to say anything else, anyway. And at the same moment, you finish off the sentence you'd left hanging on your journal's now note-filled page.

"Updated my journal," You grumble to no one in particular, before shoving your journal back into your inventory and heading off towards the direction of the Incubator's office.

On the way out, you bump into Touno Asai, the Apothecary Primus that was instrumental into bringing Yuma back alive and in one slightly-charred piece - and you make her blush by thanking her for her work. She demurely accepts your gratitude, assuring you that it wasn't just her, but rather the entire Venenum rank, that brought Yuma back from the precipice. You tell her to convey your thanks to the rank, then, and leave her while she salutes.

+ Nicely done. + Dildoes' smooth, icy voice somehow soothes the throbbing beginnings of a migraine that thumped against the back of your eyes. + You gain the whereabouts of the next person we need to kill, and rescue a valuable member of your retinue from one source of endless distraction. +

An audible, palpable hair-flip. + See? This is what happens when you listen to years of experience and ironclad common sense, Nameless One. Listen to me, and one day you may actually get on my level. +

+I...I don't know...+ Braids' hesitant tone sounds like she's in pain, still, but not like before. They must still be shrugging off the effects of...whatever Pinky did, back during your inauguration party. + I, um, I did like how she was really sorry for what she did to us, though...Y-Yuma-san, I mean. She seems like a nice person, just that she was forced to do something really silly--+

[1/2]

>>35628589
>>35628547
Dont know about the taste of human flesh but burned human meat smells of bacon.

>>35628865

+ HRMPH. + The bladed grunt is loud enough - and painful enough - that it forces you to slow down on your stride. Its sender curiously - but, you guess - understandably irate, her mood as black as the jagged rusting armor bolted to her form and welded to her flesh. + YOU. FORGIVE. A. SNAKE, NAMELESS. DILDO. + Her voice is harsh, but there's an almost childishly-petulant tone to it. Like she's sulking. + IT'LL. BITE. YOU. IN THE ASS. IN THE END. +

Hnh. Well. The gang's all here, at least. This means you don't have to go into that room to ask them some questions, too. You can just do it while making your way to Kyuubey's Office.

So, what do you want to ask?

[]Ask them how they're doing.
[]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
[]"...Nameless Dildo?"
[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.
[]Other.

>>35628885
>[X]Ask them how they're doing.
>[X]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
>[X]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
>[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.
exposition ahoy

>>35628885
>[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
[X]Ask them how they're doing.
[X]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.

Pinky is a harsh one.

[x]Ask them how they're doing.
[x]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
[x]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
[]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
>[x]Ask how they are.
>[x]Ask about the Akashic Realm.
>[x]Ask about Madoka still existing if they don't already know.

>>35628885
>>[X]Ask them how they're doing.
>>[X]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
>>[X]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
>[]Ask them how they're doing.
>[]"...Nameless Dildo?"
>[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
>[x]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

Warmaster face engaged.

>>35628885
>[]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
>[]"...Nameless Dildo?"
>[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
>[X]"...Nameless Dildo?"
>[X]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.
>[X]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
I would ask them how they are doing but we are kind of in a hurry

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING

We are not the only oficio who has had it with Prophet's shit. Tenth and Seventh at least should also be out for blood. Offering them participation in this would build better relationships AND fill the slots with more high-profile players.

>>35628885
>[]"...Nameless Dildo?"
Muderface a cute.

>>35628885
>[]Ask them how they're doing.
>[]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
>[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
>[]Ask them how they're doing.
>[]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
>[]"...Nameless Dildo?"
>[]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

>>35628885
[X] Ask how they are doing
[X] Nameless Dildo?
[X] Akashic Realm

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>>35628885

>[x]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

They helped create this timetime. They must know something about the Akashic Realm.

Still makes sense that it's the dumping ground of failed timelines.

Kriemhild Gretchen, Kriemhild Gretchen everywhere

>>35628963
That's thinkin' like a Warmaster. Something to consider once we get to Kyubey's office. Sending an encoded and secret missive to the Warmasters of the Tenth and Seventh regarding that we know of the Prophet's whereabouts but not saying specially where might be an idea.

>>35628963
Actually pretty smart.

May even have capabilities to teleport more into the zone.

>>35628885
[x]Ask them how they're doing.
[x]Ask if they saw Yuma's memories, and what they thought of it.
[x]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

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>>35628885
[x]Ask them Everything in that order.

>>35628995
...Kriemhild Grutchin?

>>35628963
I like this idea, but it could delay us a lot if we put it in action. I say we should do it if it's implementable in a day or less.

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>>35628865
>She seems like a nice person, just that she was forced to do something really silly--+

Haha.

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>>35629031

Madoka's witch.

Remember that madoka used to live normally in this altered timeline, however she always kept finding out what happened to her and Homura kept resetting the timeline so madoka could forget and they could start again.

Obviously those timelines didn't just... disappear....

>>35628885
>[X]"...Nameless Dildo?"
>[X]Ask them about the Akashic Realm, and who they think should join you in the Kill-Team.

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>>35628885

>>35628963
I wonder if outsourcing for this mission is even a good idea. And if it is, who the heck would we take with us?

I wonder if Tiny Pete is ready to go?

>>35629183
THIS!!! Our Brobot should go with us!

>>35629158
I shall speak the loathsome word.

We trust the other Officio's judgement.

If we have the means to teleport a larger group, then huzzah, if we don't, I'll feel better sacrificing someone from another office. It would also, if things go to shit, leave our Officio in better strength if we're not gutting the top for a suicide mission.

>>35629183
If Pete's teleport beacon works, we could bring him along, then just shove Oriko straight into him and have someone back at the Officio (or preferably in some nice deserted area we can fortify) use the beacon to pull him back. Once Oriko is extracted, the remaining team only need to mop up long enough for Yuma to bring them back out.

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Sorry everyone, but I have work in six hours so I'm afraid I have to cut this one short! Thread to resume on Friday night!

Thank you for your participation, feedback is always great! We have four writeups incoming, so questions answered after them!

>>35629091
I know about her. I was speculating about Madorka's witch.

>>35629328
Thanks for the fun, boss.

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In a bar half a notch below classy on an evening half a notch above dreary, a red-haired woman dressed in bright, offensive yellow waved toward the door. There wasn’t really any danger of her companion MISSING her – nobody missed her, when she wanted to be seen – but the kind little gestures of normalcy still existed even between people like them.

“You changed your outfit.” This kind of greeting was as good as any, Vintage decided. It wasn’t like they’d gotten a chance to talk in…a while. Quite a while. “The Eleventh Yatagarasu?” she added, sliding into the booth. The redhead shifted smoothly into a pout.

“I don’t spend my ENTIRE life pretending to be other people.”

Vintage quirked an eyebrow.

“I don’t spend my entire life pretending to be previous Spymasters.”

Higher, she decided. She could quirk it just a little higher. Reginald’s head tilted coolly to the side. The redhead – colloquially the Spymaster, ceremonially the Fourteenth Yatagarasu, often Yuri Satou, and to her closest friends, a pain in the ass – slumped into her seat.

When it became abundantly clear that pouting wasn’t going to get her anywhere, however, she snapped back up into a smile.

“So how was she?” The Spymaster chirped, leaning in.

“Your suggestions were…helpful. She really holds a crowd like nobody I’ve ever seen. Well, outside of a few bloody battles, back in the day.” Ah, whiskey. When you get it straight, you don’t even have to wait for your drink. Vintage gestured to the bartender to leave the bottle. “I missed the beatboxing, though. Damn shame.”

“I…No, no, Shijou’s great, but that’s not…” Her friend’s shit-eating smirk informed the Spymaster that she was well-aware that it wasn’t. She sipped at her own minty aberration of a beverage. Vin hadn’t changed much, she decided. “I MEAN the new Warmaster.”

(1/6)

>>35629328
Thanks for writing, hope you don't oversleep for work!

>>35629328
Is outsourcing on the kill team allowed? And who comes recommended?

>>35629328
thanks for running Deculture

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>>35629354

“Matsuda, hm…” She sipped at her whiskey, then after some deliberation, dribbled a little bit from her personal flask into the glass. Reginald fluttered down from her head to perch on the bottle, and as she rose her glass again, she paused long enough to let him snap up a tiny beakful.

“She’s screwed,” the former Warmaster decided, and left a small pause to let it sink in. “Or worse, she isn’t, and she’ll end up like us.” Vintage’s laugh was sharp and bitter, and she downed a shameless mouthful of amber salvation. “Doesn’t even enjoy it, you know, she’s wound up tighter than…well, you. And that’s before the paperwork! But I’m sure Mami will keep her going long enough to do what she needs to do. Or at least, long enough to find someone better for it.”

“Aw, that’s mean. I kind of got this troubled loner vibe from her, myself. Like, she wants to enjoy it, but she doesn’t want to give in to the MONSTER WITHIN.” The Spymaster sighed, tracing the rim of her drink with a manicured finger. “I just want to hug her and tell her it’s okay to let go a little bit.”

“Is that before or after you crush her under your silken heel, or however it is you put it nowadays?”

“Presentation is an important part of a high-class meal. You can’t just dig into it like an animal, you have to savor it with all of your senses.”

A pause, then a grin split her face.

“She’ll probably hate me, for a while. That’s kinda fun, too.”

---

(2/6)

>>35629373

It was a few drinks in when Vintage got to her point – or, perhaps, when the Spymaster got to hers.

“So have you reconsidered yet?” it was a quiet, earnest question, one that cut through the relaxed, almost jovial tone of the conversation like a pop-culture katana. The Spymaster’s smile faded, her form flickered, insubstantial and impossible to look at before settling elsewhere – a tall, buxom figure with silver hair, hunched over the booth as if weighed down by years at the top. She still smiled an awkward and forced smile, as she took a reflexive glance around. Nobody was looking.

Nobody here would look, nobody here would know, or even remember differently, aside from the two of them. She could hardly call herself the best in the business if she couldn’t manage that much.

“…You know I’d like to, Vin. Things got complicated down here recently – I’m sure you know about that – and I’m not…” She scratched at the back of her neck, looking at anything but her friend. “There’s nobody to take over. Nobody I trust enough.”

“…I’m sure the Thirteenth would. Satou was-“

“Completely insane? Yeah, no thanks.” She downed the rest of her drink and ordered a beer instead. “I’ve got a few people in mind, but they’ve all got problems I’d need to iron out. I don’t think I can do that anytime soon. Two of them aren’t even contracted, and one of those isn’t even a prospective, just…a hunch, I guess. I think she’ll do well, but she needs training from the ground up.”

(3/6)

>>35629362
Somebody expendable, a distraction, or just someone who can deal with alllll those megucas.

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>>35629390

“What about your Equerry?” Reginald dipped his beak into Vintage’s drink for the twentieth time.

“Ugh, the moment something pisses her off the war paint will go on and the whole Yatagarasu legacy’ll go down the toilet. Two’s great, but she’s not really…like…you know? And that leaves Prime and your little sister. And your sister’s…well, she doesn’t lay around in her room all day snacking anymore, right? But there are a lot of complications.”

“I’ll ignore the shot at my family for now.” The former Warmaster smiled a little, and the Spymaster smiled in turn. It seemed to lift the mood a bit.

“And, I mean, I’m not giving Prime the satisfaction. I’d rather chew my own soul gem than let her think she’s right.”

“And she hates you, doesn’t she?”

“She doesn’t HATE me.” The Spymaster paused, poking at her beer bottle with a fingertip. “…Do you think she hates me?”

“Without a doubt.” Vintage shrugged, taking a deep draught of whiskey. She froze halfway through as a small noise escaped her companion’s throat, then reached across to pat her shoulder. “Not everyone can like you. Not even when you’re perfect. Arguably, perfection is repulsive for people raised in an imperfect society. On top of being entirely subjective to begin with.”

“Thanks. You sure tried.” A little smile from the Spymaster lit up the booth again. Just a little bit. A few minutes passed between them, but each had slowed down, for the most part, to nursing their drinks.

(4/6)

>>35629408

“…It’s ungodly boring up there. It makes me want to choke someone.” Vintage broke the silence, and the Spymaster snorted. “No, really. It’s like Warmaster duties but with none of the interesting bits, all the time. Are you SURE you haven’t reconsidered? We could raise Hell up there. It would be just like Bogota.”

“Sure, Bogota was FUN, but Satou never let me forget it. …Geez, I was still pretty green back then…”

“You’ll always be green to me.” The near-predatory grin was enough to make the Spymaster laugh, with a snort at the end that made her stop and cover her nose.

“Oh, Shempai~”

Another few minutes passed as things edged toward awkward again. This time, it was the former-redhead that spoke first.

“…It’s really bothering you, isn’t it? Being stuck up there?” Vintage’s eyes met hers, and she glanced down to Reginald, as if to check something with him.

“I don’t hate it. Quite the opposite, I’m proud to be there. But it isn’t without its downsides.” She lifted the whiskey bottle again, then let it drop back on the table.

“…It isn’t Varrigan, you know. The procedure’s been developed. Refined. It won’t turn you into a monster.” She paused, then shook her head. “Not you in particular, anyway.”

“Do you think I’m afraid of turning into a monster? I spent like half of my childhood wanting to be a giant spider-“

“I do. You are.” She shut down all protest, and their eyes met again. The Spymaster was exposed to a cold certainty in Vintage’s tone that jabbed her at her core. “…I know you’re trying to work the angles, here. I know you hate being uncertain more than anything else in the world. But we have our secrets to keep, and I’ve given you more than I can afford to in trying to put your mind at ease. I need something definitive.”

Vintage pushed herself to her feet, finishing off her drink shortly thereafter.

(5/6)

>>35629428
“I’ll…start lining up scenarios and running numbers. I’ve got handlers on the mundies testing their capabilities, and Two and Three might be able to function together well enough to make up for Two’s…thing. Mmkay? I’ve got your back, darling.” The Spymaster winked, a tiny, glowing star bouncing out from the edge of her eye.

“Sooo….” Awkwardly, she slid out of the booth, and joined Vintage on a march to the door. “You staying earthside for the night?”

“I could be convinced.” Some of the ice in the Maerorus’s tone melted away, and the Callidus eased her arm around her waist.

“We could play truth or dare. Or practice kissing.”

“Hah. Just like middle school.”

---

In a hotel room half a notch below classy, the woman colloquially known as the Spymaster woke up alone. Well, alone save for a small, fat, red-eyed crow with a letter clutched in its beak. On the front was a name, one many people had spoken since she became the Fourteenth Yatagarasu, but one only a handful could give any real meaning.

-For the time being, I’ve decided to leave Reginald in your care. Think of him as your own personal Yatagarasu – take him with you as much as you can, and you’ll always have my eyes on you.

-Vin-

She wasn’t sure whether it was romantic or threatening. Maybe that was the fun of it.

(6/6)

>>35629444
Thanks for reading, folks, and thanks to Archie, Archival, Attarou, Twiceborn, and Midori for testreading to help me line things up a bit better.

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>>35629475
>More Vintage
>More Spymaster
>Spymaster being on the backfoot

Trials of the Thrice-Cursed

Ch.0-1: Alone

I used to work for the Ninth. That was a lifetime ago, or at least it feels like it was. Eversor I was, a pretty damn efficient one if you'll allow my bias. It was a pretty nostalgic time actually; I even managed to make a couple friends. Someone as reclusive and twisted as I was? Go figure how that happened. Well, I'm still reclusive and twisted, but for different reasons now...

It all came down to Planet Hell on my last mission with them. On paper it looked pretty good; a solo hunt in a high-level barrier with no friendly fire or rescues to worry about. It was a pretty strong one too - forgot which class, though, I was never any good with that scale thing - so I got pretty excited of course. Sure, it's natural for all Eversors, but for me there's something more to it. Some kind of deeper connection if you will.

Everything went just fine at first. I got to the target area without any problem, no by-standers, no rivals, no ambushes, just me and the target. I smelled something weird when I first entered the Barrier, but I quickly shrugged it off as just some random whim of the Barriers' like so many others.

I was wrong. So goddamn wrong...

It was a good fight I won't lie, a fun one I'd fight again another day, but when the Witch started to lose the Barrier started to distort. I didn't really pay attention to it at first - again, fucking stupid arrogant me... - after all Barriers shatter when Witches die right? So it didn't seem too out of place. Early? Sure, but not entirely unbelievable. As the encounter went on the Barrier continued to go to shit, distortions and rips into reality forming all around, enveloping everything. No seriously how the fuck didn't I realize this earlier? How stupid can I get when I'm engrossed in combat!? I should have recognized those distortions from the start.

They were made from the same kind of energy my magic uses.
[1/8]

>>35629328
Will we have a chance to chat with the stooges for some time next thread?

I want to apologize to Braids, and ask a lot of questions (lots of them have come up since our last talk).

Before long everything started to break down the normal way, but it didn't shatter back to the normal world like it usually does. No, the Rifts just grew and before I could do anything about it there was no escape anymore. Everywhere around me was this warped energy I knew too well, always shifting in colors, angles and lights, flowing like currents with no regard to physics or logic. It would have been reassuring to me, normally. Except I didn't -ask- for it to show up this time.

When I came to, I seemed to be in roughly the same spot as I was supposed to be if the hunt had ended normally, but I could feel something was wrong, horribly wrong. The first thing I noticed was that Warbringer, my chainaxe, was no longer by my side and I wasn't able to summon it back to my location no matter how I tried.

Then Planet Hell happened for real.

Before I could re-assess my situation, I took a bullet to the chest and staggered. Large caliber, downwards angle, nasty business. Vindicare for sure, probably a green squad dispatched on the fly because they were the closest. Why? Because they didn't go for the head or Soulgem. Well, I suppose a gaping hole where the heart is supposed to be would have stopped your average rank-and-file, but I'm an Eversor. More importantly, one that specializes in being -really fucking annoying to kill-. Two more shots followed after a few fractions of instants but I was able to stop them with one of my armored hands. The rounds punched deep into the black metal painfully, but with worse damage avoided.

I didn't stick around for long after this; I didn't know how many, where or why. This is the kind of challenge I'd normally love, but without Warbringer with me I just felt so vulnerable, kinda naked, so I ran. I ran like the wind while my regeneration kicked in. Several more bullets were fired, some piercing flesh and detonating, others missing their marks, grazing long ebon hair or being deflected.
[2/8]

By the time I finally got some quiet, I think I could count 3 whole squad's worth of guns, judging from the number of different angles and the variety in calibers. Shockingly didn't kill a single of these fuckers on my way out, lucky them... not so lucky -me- however.

I had managed to find some cover in a deserted underground parking lot, but they were waiting for me - whoever the fuck it was that was gunning for me. I never really interacted with those girls with the weird-ass suits and biker helmets, so I didn't know what to expect when I spotted one in the shadows.

I learned. Fuck did I learn. I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. Actually I lie, it was a great pain and I'm not that merciful, but you get the point. I almost fell to my knee from her sheer presence. I didn't know how or why, but to keep it simple it felt like being stuck in an active Silent Room. Except you're not, you're totally on free grounds.

I tried to collapse the area between the two of us with one of the sorcerous spells in my arsenal, but nothing came, as if her mere presence prevented me from channeling anything. At this point I pretty much just freaked out and bailed again. I pride myself in being fearless, but when your weapons are suddenly taken away from you and you just feel like a declawed, defanged tiger, you just don't fucking stay there asking to get put down.

I knew not to try to fuck with her, so I didn't. I ran again and thank fuck at least my body was still as fast as it was supposed to be. I had to take some potshots from relocated Vindicares when I got out, but those were healed by the time I found another hole to hide out in. They must have decided not to give chase because it really wasn't that good of a hiding spot, but I'm not complaining.
[3/8]

Now that I was finally able to catch a breath, I took out my cell and tried to link up with the Officio, ask what the fuck was going on. Had they just suddenly decided to retire me like that?

Nah, couldn't be... it wouldn't have been such a sloppy job if they had because they'd have planned it way in advance and they'd know what to expect of me, so what else?

And it's then that I realized just how truly fucked I was.

My cell didn't have any of my contacts in the Ninth anymore, nor did it have the little app I got to receive missions and notices on the go.

I was alone.
[4/8]

Ch.0-2: Alone - part.B

I used to work for the Ninth. That was a lifetime ago, or so the whole goddamn universe aligned to make me feel that way. I was pretty thoroughly confused at first - and I still am but that's beside the point. After losing the ability to use most of my strengths and suddenly being ambushed by an unknown force that may or may not have been my own Officio deciding to retire me, I desperately needed answers. It didn't really matter what, just... anything to get a clue would have been fine at that point.

So what did I do? The most glaringly stupid thing I could possibly try? Well yeah, of course. Because it was the most direct way to be sure if they really decided to retire me.

I may not have been the smartest Magical Girl around, but I at least knew my hunting grounds, so I was able to lay low and get through the city without attracting too much attention. Well, not as efficiently as a Callidus would have, but enough to not get attacked on the way to my destination.

Besides, my target was in a fairly populated area, so with the human traffic it wasn't too hard to hide my... defining features. I slipped my armored hand into one of my kimono's large pockets and produced a keycard from my inventory, hiding the trick in the process.

I wasn't exactly surprised when the security system at the gate refused to take my clearance, but it still made my body tense and my throat choke a bit. Deep down I figured it would happen, but I had refused to accept it, taking another, desperate sweep to no avail. Well, at least it didn't ring some sort of alarm... none I could actually -hear- anyways.

I knew I should have bailed, but I couldn't help but just stand there dumbfounded for a moment. Was this really all happening? It was so sudden. It was so out of nowhere... just, why?
[5/8]

I gritted my teeth and looked down, staying for a while longer. My cold fingers shook lightly and let go.

When I finally managed to regain my composure, I realized a few of the local Greens were staring at me from outside the lobby. I let out a small sigh to steel myself and straightened my posture. They were staring, sure, but that meant they weren't actually attacking me. So either I was getting this all wrong or the memo didn't get passed down just yet. Either way it meant I didn't have anything to worry about for the time being.

I figured if there's anyone left who might give me the time of day, it'd have to be one of the few good friends I had here. I knew just which to ask for, actually; she's pretty special; she has a really unique ability and a big reputation. There's no way they wouldn't know who--

They didn't. They seemed genuinely clueless when I told them her name. Even when I used that really fucking silly nickname she hates and -everybody- worldwide seemed to know back in the days.

That's just impossible... yeah.. it's impossible.. there's no way.

"Ma... did they... they couldn't have..." I found myself rambling in disbelief. I must have looked pretty creepy because the fresh contractees backed off really fast. Well, I can't really blame them if they stole a good look at these baleful eyes of mine.

At this point I just headed off, still stunned and in shock. I disappeared back into the human mass and slipped away with a slow, dragging pace. Whatever had happened to me didn't happen only to me. One of the two best friends I had allowed into my trusted, personal space was gone too. For a moment I wanted to try to find some relief in the fact that I wasn't alone, but guilt sucker punched me just a few seconds afterwards. Fuck this I don't want her to have to go through any of this shit too...
[6/8]

Before I knew it, I was on autopilot. My body headed back to where my new home was. I had managed to get a nice place with all the money I made from missions and other odd jobs on the side about a year or so back. I still had a ridiculous amount to pay for it, but I thought I'd be fine if I kept that kind of income steady. The place was pretty comfortable and well located too, a sweet little haven to unwind and relax at.

So what the bloody hell was this construction site doing in its place!? This time I had to stop and lean against one of the nearby lampposts to take it in. What. The fuck. Seriously. What the fuck is going on. It's almost as if...

I flicked my cellphone back open and checked the date more carefully. Yeah.. I may tend to lose track of time, but I'm pretty sure a whole three years difference is a bit of a big deal. I took a heavy, deep breath and slumped against the lamppost. So was that it? Did this mean that weird as shit Witch Barrier sent me back three years? Was I just at the wrong place at the wrong time for that Vindicare shooting gallery?

I took another deep breath and tried to let things sink in. So far... it would have made sense. It would have worked with the twisted logic of this fucked up day. But that was just an assumption, I needed a better way to make su--

I double-checked the date and blinked. This day and month.. this hour.. I recognized it. That was the day of the trainwreck at the sorting station for all the smaller towns around. There was a suicidal train driver who picked up speed way past the limit and he got flung like a boomerang at the turn. If this was supposed to be the past, then it would happen roughly one hour from now, at 9:13.
[7/8]

I didn't waste any time and headed over to the station, it was 8:22. At that point I started to miss my bike. I used to have a pretty classy Kawasaki sport-touring that worked great in urban. It didn't have any of those fancy-ass mods like the Eight's or the Fourth's would have, but I still liked it. Well, it was gone like the rest, so there was no point in rambling about it too much.

I eventually made it to an elevated area from where the spot the trainwreck was supposed to happen at could be easily seen and plopped down onto the grass with a sigh. It was 9:04 and I hadn't run for this long for a long time.

I stayed there, silent, watching with nothing to say and nothing to really think about. This was my only real lead and if my hunch was right then things would go to shit in just a few minutes.

9:11 : You know. I should probably have felt like an horrible piece of shit for just sitting there waiting for a bunch of innocent bystanders to get crushed into soylent green fodder. I really should have. But at that point, I just felt hollow.

9:13: There it went, that should have been the one. My eyes stayed glued on the lead wagon for a while, dimmed and tired, but after a few seconds I realized it was going at normal speed. It wasn't going to break off the tracks. It took me a few seconds more to actually realize what that meant and that it just took a huge shit on my little pitifully-cobbled theory. I sighed heavily and waited, thinking maybe it had just been delayed a little.

10:25 and still nothing.

'Guess this wasn't the past after all.

I was still just as fucked, though.
[8/8]

Human Resources 3: An Offer He Can't Refuse

We go a while back, Peter and I.

I was fresh out of high school at the time, all full of hope and dre- well, no, I got that out of my system a while back. Wanted to be an actress, at the time; still do, really. Film or theatre, Hollywood or Broadway, I didn't much care. Just not Japan, no future in that kind of thing, here. When's the last time anything worth watching came out of this rock? Even picked up some English for that end. Bit rusty, but enough to talk to the Eighth when I have to, as it turned out a few years later.

Don't give me that voice acting spiel, either. I'm not going to be some faceless sound in a microphone.

I guess it was the idea, on some level. The thought that you get to pretend you're someone else and, for a little while, everyone believes you, connects to someone you just made up, thinks you're whoever you tell them you are. I wasn't too happy with who I was back then for a lot of reasons, so that might have been part of it. Honestly, though, I just always had so much fun with it. ...Not that the fame and stacks of cash hurt any, if I made it big.

Needless to say, I didn't. I didn't make it at all. In fact, I didn't even start. You get a helping hand from on high up until high school, but then you reach university and the floor's swept out from under you. Family couldn't rustle up the money for university, acting school, the sort of connections that get you into the acting world, anything like that. I didn't have the training, the people or whatever else I'm supposed to have. Just how it goes, and my day job at a register sure wasn't going to change that. What can you do, really?

Along comes an Incubator, like a carrion bird for dreams. He gave me this big talk about granting a wish, how he could make me everything I wanted to be. Promised me the world. Too bad he laid out way too much, or at least more than he should have. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I met Little Coobs – Peter just stares at me when I call the Ninth that – instead of the Third.

He's what you might call one of the traditional, old-fashioned Incubators. Really by the book, didn't have enough of... himself in his head to be clever; all empty inside, like they're supposed to be. Might be a genius in his own way, but he didn't have the first clue about humans. Told me everything, see? Fight witches for a living, maybe die, unless I miraculously last to retirement, or most likely just turn into a witch myself.

Not a bright guy, sometimes.

Knew someone like him, once. Sold watches, and I think maybe some other branded stuff, all 'genuine' if you ask him. Real cheap, too, almost too good to be true. I met him at a better time in my life, so I was having none of it. This little rabbit, though... well, he was one lucky guy, showing up when he did. I had an ear to listen, to see what I could get out of him. It was a tempting offer, somehow, despite all the strings attached. Despite the promise hanging over the door that I'd be coming to die, or worse.

I'd say I know a scam when I see one, but I like to think you don't need to be all that clever to spot this one. Given that he got some contracts even back then, though, I'm not so sure.

(2/?)

And that's all from me. This is the first time I try to post writing on 4chan so... p-please be gentle!

I also made an ask.fm accounts just for this if... if you guys are interested..

We talked for a while, partly since I was hoping I could figure him out. Fat lot of good that did, but I did learn a thing or two about entropy, mostly that Incubators love bringing it up with every other word. At least, the real old school ones do. It's a funny feeling, realising the world's so much bigger than you know. That there's all this stuff going on around you that you never knew about.

I spent a while there, on that rooftop. It was a nice view, with the blinding orange sunset over Mitakihara's skyline. Just me and some half-cutesy, half-disturbing alien sitting next to me, with his ears flapping a bit in the wind. Staring at me with the same wooden expression, the same beady little blue eyes for ages. I still haven't figured out if they can change that at all; physically, I mean. It'd go a long way towards helping them reel in contracts if they didn't look so weird and creepy once you think about it. Still, there we were, a pair of silhouettes in the sunset, while I started to figure out just how little both of us understood.

I didn't take the contract, in the end. Turns out it's an offer I can refuse after all.

He didn't get it at all, I told him. He doesn't get US at all. Not a clue about what he's doing. Funny, huh? Ancient alien or whatever, getting lectured by some girl right out of high school. I like to think it did him good, because like I told him, his schtick was barely good enough to convince the odd desperate teenager. That's when I made him a counteroffer, and he might have looked surprised if he could do that at all. Told me later that it hadn't happened before. Somehow I felt a little proud about that, at the time.

(3/?)

>>35629687
Who

I offered to teach him, in a way. To manage things for him. Get him some fresh recruits. Give him a little pointer here and there to help him snare more new blood, or get his Officio running more smoothly. I'd like to pretend I was oh so special, but the truth is that most of it wasn't that hard. The contract details were some of the first things to go. It's all sensitive, dangerous information, the kind that needs to be explained properly and carefully. Slap on some security clearances, and put someone in charge of relaying it properly to the greenhorns.

That means me, obviously. An Incubator can't lie, or so I'm told, but if I happen to twist things a little, to never tell these kids just how they're going to end up, how's he to know? It wasn't his fault. Plausible deniability, one of the older and better tricks in the book, and I handed it to him on a platter. Once in a while, someone blabs a little too much, and one of the girls at the Third finds out. Sometimes we ship her off to another country, other times we have her retired. Once in a while, they witch out just from learning what's going on.

What's in it for me? Well, it's good practice, partly, but the paycheck doesn't hurt any. Little guy can afford to spare me a good bit of money given everything I do for him. Third wasn't exactly doing great for a while, little low on recruits for obvious reasons, but I've propped it up pretty nicely, and the business side of it isn't doing half bad either. Got its hands into supporting a fair number of orphanages and hospitals, too. Makes a good impression and, frankly, a real good hunting ground for new catches.

(4/6)

>>35629627
Thanks for the writeup, Zwei! Looking forward to the rest!

From there, it's down to me. Perfect older sister of all the Third, looking after each and every one of them. Not to grease the wheels or keep everything running smoothly, of course. Not because having them witch out or snap prematurely would be inefficient. No, it's because I care about each and every one of them, and we're all making it through this together. I could show them the ropes, tell them everything they need to know, because I've been at this for longer than any of them.

Ate it all up, too. I've been just a little bit older than all of them for... oh, a while now. Keeps me on my toes, adjusting my look in one direction or the other over the years so I'd stay just the same. Just what the image calls for. Sure, I don't change any, and that might seem suspicious if any of them lasted more than a couple years. They don't, not so far.

That's about how it's been until now. Main difference is, I got better. Petey did too, little by little, in his own way. Sometimes I think it might be bothering him. End of the day, that's about all there is to me: The woman who threw her wish away, and made her own deal with the devil.

Poor old Mephy, I don't know what he'd do without me.

(5/6)

Some might say it's... oh, I don't know. Cruel, selfish, selling out humanity. Human trafficking, if you want to slap a term onto it. I've given the last couple of years to helping an alien take the souls of kids and jam it into rocks so they'll turn into monsters. Some people might hate me for that. Some might lecture me. You know what?

Get off your goddamn high horse before I punt it out from under you. The door's over there.

I didn't get my dream either. Why should they? Whatever the reason, I spend all my recent years looking after a gaggle of psychotic brats, making sure they keep ticking, hearing out all their stupid problems and throwing away my life for it; like I said, as far as anyone from my old life knows, I'm dead. The best company I've got in all this is some kind of living mascot that wouldn't know a human emotion if it hit him in the face, and given that he swallows grief seeds sometimes, I'm not completely convinced that it doesn't literally do just that. You know what, though? I'm the only one in this Officio with anything close to standards. I've never hurt anyone; I carry a gun just in case, but I'm not a killer. I haven't lost my mind like the rest of them. I don't giggle while I carve up monsters. You'd think that would mean something.

But hey, think of the poor children, right?

(6/6)

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>>35629785
>Harumi being a huuuuge edgelord