>>37744637
>- Maximum HP reduced.
>- EXEC_DICTUM and EXEC_REPULSE removed from Equipment List.
THE PAIN IS REAL

>>37744637
Aww yeah, here we go again.
Also, OP, I was one of the guys who had some criticisms last thread, the one who mostly talked about the gimmicks.
I also saw your post in the weekend QTG, but I can't seem to find it again. Oh well.
Anyway, I want to say that I still enjoy JQ a lot.
It's just that last session felt kind of aimless.
We were tortured, and got some things taken away, seemingly permanently.
IIRC you yourself said you had no real plan about how to do this, but that just makes me wonder why it was done.

Above - The black moon, against the deeper black of umbral space. The cold light of dead stars, their eerie illumination shining down on Cybele's Demense; A weird anti-light that gives the blood-red gloom shape and form, as pandemonium erupts. The shriek of the Tempest Scrander coming to life - the rasping, heat-shimmered forks of static blue charge flaring from the thrusters - the swirling haze of red particles in the untremored air - merging with the brittle clash of metal-on-metal, the swarming, surging shapes forced into lurching motion as they close in on you-

All of this in the span on a moment, as the first detonations begin; Blasts juddering the ground with a gritty thump, showering down dirt as an after-curse; Smoke swirling in the air as the first reanimated Players begin to fire-

MARROW REIVER. KING ABBADON. CADMIUM EYE. MADDER RED. ARC SERAPH. LEGION ARMIGER'S orphaned bodies shambling forward in their serried ranks, the *crack* and spit of their gunfire streaming through the air like horizontal rain, die-straight zips of hypervelocity rounds that vanish as fast as they appear...

You leave them behind. You leave them all behind.

The *whuff* of IRON OGRE's kinetic mace splits the air, the detonation like a short-fused grenade. Static trails from your limbs, your Abruption Jets wrenching you forward in a surge of brutal, dizzying speed-

The world unfurls as you accelerate through it. Thrashing, twisting vines snake across every conceivable surface - Uncoiling across the false earth of the Demense, scaling the inner curve of the grand bastion like ivy. Mad floral life, an infection taking hold - Erupting amid the destruction, dozens of small black blossoms like screaming mouths...

(Continued)

>>37744753
From what I understood, the point was to present us with a challenge that could not be cleared with the use of physical violence or threats. We were meant to look for more round-about methods, like talking Suoh into betraying them, pissing off the prez so that she would disrupt Alura's charms by trying to kill us or trying to trick Alura herself.

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>>37744813
>KING ABBADON

>>37744813
>MADDER RED
Man, those names.

>>37744813

They're already stretching towards you, screeching and hissing in your mind. The backwash of your Tempest Scrander shreds the shrieking black buds, petals sucked into your swirling slipstream; the raw green ends of slashed vines oozing sickly black oil, bristling up from the darkest corners of the earth.

If you listen, you can almost hear - Clawing at the edges of your mind, the echoes of a malicious whisper-

J̞̹͍̱̣Ò̝͔̤͈̜K̞̱͡E͙̖͈R͎̣̙̠̮̩

So: Not dead, then. Not even close.

A titanic impact - Like a rogue meteor - makes the earth judder in torment, a giant spike of calcified stone pounding against the hull; It slams into the ground at an oblique angle, like a stake through a vampire's heart. Chunks of stone clatter from your armor, denting your crimson plate, scarring the finish-

Calcite Arrow's voice, rising over the chaos-

"*Why* can't I *hit you*-"

And Utopia's answer - the old plumminess, the well-bred but malicious geniality buried deep and sinking fast-

"Dear boy-"

"...I'm not real."

(Continued)

>>37744850
Yeah, but talking Suoh into betraying them was fucked over from the start by that anon calling him a pussy, and Wata, in his attempt to fix it, basically used the words of his dead friend against him callously.
Pissing off the prez wasn't really tried, and I'm guessing it would've ended the same.
And Alura was batshit insane, even more than usual, and we had nothing to really offer her. Also she was fisting our very soul which was kind of hot somehow.
That can't really be held against JQOP, though.
I guess what I'm critizing is that it felt like punishing us for simply not seeing the trick when it seemed to be a 'regular' combat session to me?

>>37744931
>I guess what I'm critizing is that it felt like punishing us for simply not seeing the trick when it seemed to be a 'regular' combat session to me?
I don't really see how the hell did it look like a combat scene.

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>>37744910

Faster. Faster. Racing the burning line of Inox Fang's swords, blurring forward towards Cybele - They leave her hands, building the rotation that threatens a storm; Spinning, chopping, like lethal propellers - becoming twin razor-edged blurs that burn with crawling violet fire...

-Your Assault Shroud is faster. The nanomaterial cloud swirls around that tiny, collapsed figure - gathering around her, like a crimson haze - sketching themselves into interlocking hexagons, locked together like the teeth of a fractal dragon. The expanding dome is indiscriminate; the shambling, half-animated husks around Cybele crumple beneath the crushing weight, or shear apart beneath Inox Fang's thrown swords-

When they meet - the racing barrier a heartbeat ahead of the cleaving blades - the screech of first and final impact suggests a damned soul impacting an electrified high-tension wire.

It is considerably louder that Inox Fang's shriek of raw anguish, of the purest, most lethal frustration-

NO

NONONO-

There is nothing of Shizuka in her voice, now.

(Continued)

>>37744910
>So: Not dead, then. Not even close.
Oh god.
What is if that's what happened to Hecate?

>>37744954
Wait, shit, correcting, we didn't get the combat interface. My bad.
Anyway, yeah, you're right. Not the usual combat scene. Renders my point rather moot.
It still left me frustrated, though.

>>37745006
Meanwhile, I was waiting for Ruler.
Didn't realize that we had to call him.
Or that he could hear us, in the first place.

>>37744973

The violet fires of EXEC_HARROW spiral across the distance - Inox Fang convulsing mid-leap to evade-

...She's too slow. The burning mark carves a flaming track across her, as her form begins to tumble; Lighting up like a beacon in your HUD, targeting data skittering across your sensors. The crimson lattice of the Vector Trap unfurls into the mismatched guns of RUBICANTE and CAGNAZZO - the thunder of RUBICANTE's first whirling shot mingling with the *crack* of CAGNAZZO's speeding rounds...

You hit her. Three times, four - Cagnazzo's impacts glowing against that gleaming steel hide. The warping entropic blur of Rubicante's heavier round misses by a handspan, and chews through one of LEGION ARMIGER'S stumbling bodies...

At first glance - There are a dozen Players active, and closing with the singleminded insect focus of the dead. Some you've glimpsed in passing, others you've only dimly intuited - their eyes shining and hungry in the flickering orange light that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once as you swing Rubicante to track Inox Fang's desperately evading form-

-A blur of motion, at the corner of your vision-

You sidestep, as Adamant Aegis - As the thing that *was* Adamant Aegis - lurches past you, tattered cape swirling in his wake, lance leading. Afterburners smolder with dirty crimson light, sparks and filthy smoke coiling around his gutted form like funerary incense...

And the air fills with knives. The first one strikes your Sinistral, and glances off - the second cutting a shallow track across your left arm, slicing through your plate without resistance-

...As Madder Red's dead hands bristle with knives, like a magician's trick, King Abbadon - A towering figure hauling the great anvil of his chain-wrapped Gauss Cannon before him - swings his mankiller to bear-

All of them, converging on the half-sphere of your Fortress Mode barrier. All those sins come home to roost.

(Continued)

>>37745085

"You're dead, Joker!" Shizuka's voice, again - Inox Fang's talons shrieking as she skids to a stop, swords clenched in taloned fists. "-Hold him down and RIP HIM APART-"

And then there is that infernal buzzing, buzzing, at the very edge of perception - that rises as if in answer to her words, over the earth-shaking fury of Calcite Arrow's shots; A great vine-wrapped mass gathering, like the embodiment of the infection that has taken root at the very heart of Cybele's demense...

A shape. A figure.

-A face.

HP: 133.7%
COBALT BOOSTER: 124%
ASSAULT SHROUD: -FORTRESS MODE-
METER: 26%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37745097
So, Cybele is protected by our fortress. Three dead players are actively assaulting us.
And Inox laughs her ass off.
Meanwhile, Alura regenerates.

The question is if Alura can revive dead players after we re-kill them.
If she can't, it would be best to murder the dead players and Inox first and then deal with Alura.

>>37745131
So, Abbadon and Aegis are melee specialists.
Madder Red is the guy with the throwing knives that ignore our armor.

I say we take him out first.
Rush Madder, push the Plasma Caster into his face, while using Swarm on Abbadon to tie him down. Follow up with Crisis Arm and Sinistral swipe on Madder.
Keep ready to evade Aegis, because that guy's melee power is ridiculous.

Also, don't forget to use Argus. We need to know how many people are outside of our FoV.

>>37745131
>If she can't, it would be best to murder the dead players and Inox first and then deal with Alura.
I honestly feel like we should just take the chance to stab her with the Athame the moment we get the chance.
>>37745097
Anyway, fire the Rubicante at the Players attacking Cybele. After that switch to the Immolator and start burning everything. Don't forget to shoot a Chain Mine at the largest mass of players around.

It's a good chance to utilize our Leech Module for mass fighting.

>>37745182
We definitely need to heal. Let's hope that those guys drop essence. Otherwise, just heal with the emblem.

And use Booster moderately for enhanced movement.

>>37745097
Hm.
First of all, we should take out the Evil Dead.
The smart thing to do would be to set them against each other, but that seems pretty hard.
So let's Crisis Arm Madder Red, then take out Adamant and Abbadon from a distance with our guns.
We should probably fire the Immolator at Alura.

Seriously, captcha? Identify all steaks?

>>37745161
>>37745182
>>37745193
>>37745232

You form the binary invocation - A terrible *wrenching* sensation as your Essence bleeds free, erupting into death's-head parasites - a swirling cloud of them, boiling forth, descending like ravenous locusts on KING ABBADON's singular form. Their mandibles chitter, biting, gnawing into the ruins of his pitch-blackened armor; Swarming in fat squirming masses, a writhing weight of feeders swamping through the cracks of his visor and his speaker grille, crawling in to consume whatever remains-

The Gauss Cannon fires anyway. The thunderclap of the shot judders the very core of your being, a sledgehammer howl. Almost an artillery weapon, it has no business being fired like that - the shell shredding up the floor of the Demense into a hail of lethal sharpnel, blasting a raw scab of scarred metal and rotating fragments from the vine-streaked earth.

A torrent of black exhaust, fuming into the air-

The Cobalt Booster surges with actinic blue light, your limbs stinging with cold strength. It impels you forward, towards the skeletal, leering figure - His mask a bright slash of screaming red beneath crossed-out eyes and the bloody starburst of a bullet wound, lurching to meet you with a razor in each hand-

You punch into him.

*Through* him.

(Continued)

>>37745392
>*Through* him.
Time to see if he drops essence.

>>37745459
Boy, I hope so.
It always feels like centuries since the last upgrade somehow. I guess that fits into how Red Joker seems to work, though.

>>37745392

The furious surge of your blurring rush flings you forward - Flames and crimson sparks licking at your heels, the Hand of Midas shining, fiercely gold, as it resolves into the superdense alloy fist of the Crisis Arm...

-And then you punch Madder Red's head off.

There is nearly no resistance, acceleration rings given less than the space of a second to accrue; A decapitating hook, a murderous straight-ahead punch that splinters his helmet like glass, that ruptures the optics in that leering nightmare of a face...

Tinny, canned laughter - From everywhere and nowhere at once -

Stop-

Stop *laughing*-

Black oil spurts like arterial spray from the stump of the severed neck. It doesn't stop those wicked razors from flickering out - Slicing a deep gouge across the facing of your cuirass, slashing the coolant cables of the Cobalt Booster; the dopplering whine of diminishing energy filling your HUD-

Your fist flares into the blunt ingot of the Plasma Caster...

The blast, point-blank, is like the flare of a dying sun. Madder Red's form cannot decide whether to burn, disintegrate or explode - And so it does all three at once. The Player's husk simply fragments like an overripe fruit; Burning vines spilling from the carcass like centipedes, like twisting snakes as surreal flecks of crimson-stained motes swirl around you-

(Continued)

>>37745488
>crimson-stained motes swirl around you
Corrupted essence?

It looks like swarm is the best option here. It can replenish itself by eating all of the husks.

>>37745488
>A decapitating hook, a murderous straight-ahead punch
Now all my boxing knowledge comes from Hajime no Ippo and similar manga, but did we throw two punches or just one?
A hook is a punch from the side, a straight-ahead (usually called a jab or a straight) rather isn't.

>>37745530

(My apologies, my mistake - The correct phrase should have been 'a decapitating blow'.)

>>37745488

-A sound, immediately familiar, but you *can't turn fast enough*-

You stagger, struck from behind - Already in the act of turning as the Crisis Arm shivers apart, crimson light weaving itself into Rubicante's red-iron revolver; Stray shots whine around you, as LEGION ARMIGER's tattered bodies - Two of them - shamble towards you, bullets of buzzing metal smashing in your plate: Both are barely standing, the crack-crack-crack of their shots overlapping, simply pulling the triggers over and over again-

When Rubicante's entropic wake ploughs through them, they twist apart and *shred* as reality bucks and tears beneath a whirling scarlet corona of light.

There is a new light in the depths of the Demense, now, over the crazing brambles and hissing vines and the brutal barbed thorns that erupt from every conceivable surface, amid blossoming black roses. Sickly crimson motes, frothing above the smoke and the flames and the struggling, lurching shapes all around you.

King Abbadon fires again. The muzzle-shock is huge, and the pressure smack puffs up dust from the ground all around him. The shell spits past you, creating a corkscrew ripple that slowly dissolves; It hits one of the twisting spires of rock left in the wake of Calcite Arrow's desperate shots, the shattering impact of violently dislodged mass making the ground lurch underfoot-

You glimpse, dimly, that looming figure struggling to swing that massive weapon in line with you, weighed down by swarming, devouring parasites dragging it down...

The last shot - the relentless gnawing of the swarm - has ruptured something within that lurching husk. The Gauss Cannon's feed lines bleed energy vapor into the air, King Abbadon's reactor gagging and choking-

And then the internal blast comes, sudden and bright and hot and vast, and twisted outline of the shambling Player vanishes, atomised.

(Continued)

>>37745640

The secondary heat-sear ignites those around it - You glimpse, fleetingly, staggering living torches in the instant before the pressure-wave hits you and punches you from your feet. When you hit the ground, the impact rattles your optics into static as everything tumbles downwards-

A shape, looming above you. Half-glimpsed, as your internal gyros - as your servoes - whirr fractiously, fighting to right yourself. You're sprawled on your side, your sensors fighting to target that lightless form-

L̥͔̟̟͖̦̗̇̎̏ͤ̃̈́̒ǐ̞̮͎͕̑ͪ̇̀̚t̛̤̼͚̞͓̳̻͑ṭ͍ͮ̽̌ͤ͊̇̚ḽ̠̦͚͈͙̙̌êͨ̒ͪ̆ ̟̲̣̞͎͗͘b̪̺̰̀ͦ̎͑͛r̲͇̰͙͓͈͙ͮ͒ͨ͗͊̒o̺̮̘̜̳͔̓ͧͯ́ͩͦẗ͍͕̰̗̥͎̙́̾h͕̯͠ͅe̐̌͏̤͙̯r̷̙̯͍̗̈̈͊͊͆.̗


HP: 105.9%
COBALT BOOSTER: 89%
ASSAULT SHROUD: -FORTRESS MODE-
METER: 37%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37745726
Right, Abbadon and Madder Red seem to be dead. Again.
That leaves MARROW REIVER, CADMIUM EYE, ARC SERAPH, and LEGION ARMIGER.
Of those, some of Legion's bodies we can see.
Scan for the others, using the Argus System.
Also, check if we can use Cybele's emblem here.
Don't use Hellebore's emblem, as that probably does horrible shit to Mio.

>>37745726
>A shape, looming above you.
Use Abruption Jets to get some distance. Thank fuck that those things are all over our body.
While sliding away, shoot the dual Plasma Caster and make an Argus Scan to learn about our situation.
Repair any inhibiting damage on the way.

>>37745762
>some of Legion's bodies we can see.
Remember: The bodies are infinite as long as the dude still exists.

And apparently we don't get any essence from kills here.
And our swarm got wiped by our enemy's death, so using that option doesn't work here.

>>37745726
>no Leech heal
Well, shit. Use some Meter and Booster to heal.

"Don't worry Ogre, I'll make sure to finish my job this time."
Use the Aquila and the Jets to move away while giving him a Boosted Plasma shot. Follow up with the either the Mine or double Tau.

>>37745846
>Use the Aquila and the Jets
Man, that mental image.
>Jets on feet and hands activate because we are lying on your back
>Sliding the distance, then activating one of the thrusters on our back
>Suddenly standing upright while still having backwards velocity
>Aquila activates and cushions us into hover mode

>>37745726
>L̥͔̟̟͖̦̗̇̎̏ͤ̃̈́̒ǐ̞̮͎͕̑ͪ̇̀̚t̛̤̼͚̞͓̳̻͑ṭ͍ͮ̽̌ͤ͊̇̚ḽ̠̦͚͈͙̙̌êͨ̒ͪ̆ ̟̲̣̞͎͗͘b̪̺̰̀ͦ̎͑͛r̲͇̰͙͓͈͙ͮ͒ͨ͗͊̒o̺̮̘̜̳͔̓ͧͯ́ͩͦẗ͍͕̰̗̥͎̙́̾h͕̯͠ͅe̐̌͏̤͙̯r̷̙̯͍̗̈̈͊͊͆.̗

Yeah no.
Scan And Abruption Jet the fuck away shields up lads

I was thinking RUBICANTE HP rounds might be able to damage Alura any thoughts? I can't think of any way to kill the infection

>>37745864
>I was thinking RUBICANTE HP rounds might be able to damage Alura any thoughts? I can't think of any way to kill the infection
Rubicante might be an option, but only Athame is likely to be a surefire win.

The aftermath of this event will not be funny.

>>37745864
Just burn it down, man. Burn it all down. Can't go wrong.

>>37745875
Yeah, we should probably figure out where we go after this with Cybele.

>>37745864
>I was thinking RUBICANTE HP rounds might be able to damage Alura any thoughts? I can't think of any way to kill the infection
You can't kill Alura with brute force unless you burn every single one of her plants and seeds to ash. We have to use the Athame if we want results effect-immediately.

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>>37745875
Yeah tell me about it I've been internally screaming for the past 3 or so threads

I may or may not be panicking

>>37745888
>Yeah, we should probably figure out where we go after this with Cybele.
We no longer have a reason to kill her and we'll definitely need her power now that we're playing on "JOKER MUST DIE" difficulty. I say we keep her around for now.

>>37745914
>We no longer have a reason to kill her
Well, yeah, aside from the whole "eternal suffering in the face of absolute betrayal while trapped on the moon" thing.

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>>37745894
>>37745888
I'm not saying I have a hard on for burning shit down to the ground but this pleases me greatly.

What's the fastest way we can let this bitch burn? Fusion Anhillator?

>>37745864

> "Don't worry Ogre, I'll make sure to finish my job this time."

Static thrusters flare, at the joints of your elbows - Your armored boots - your palms - the tooth-grinding screech of metal-on-metal drawing lurid sparks, as you cross the ground on your back-

Iron Ogre's kinetic mace descends in a mauling sweep, and connects with nothing but the ground. You can feel the impact-wake in your endosteel frame; the blunt, brutual impact detonating where you *were* a split-second ago, cracks skittering forth as he wrenches it free in spined fists. His gorget is cracked, blasted open by your shots from before; the edges cracked, blackened, revealing nothing but a gaping void where his Essence Core should be. Things squirm within that space, forcing him into lurching motion, the hell-light of the flames limning his form-

Streamers of superheated air bleed from the Tempest Scrander's thrusters, as turbine power builds; The crimson half-sphere of Cybele's prison/refuge is directly behind you, static sparks dancing across your armor as the Abruption Jets flicker to nothing - Iron Ogre's hooved feet pounding the ground, as he accelerates into a lumbering charge-

(Continued)

I want to go out and buy food.
But I'm afraid that you will fuck it up if there's one less poster.

>>37745964
>I'm not saying I have a hard on for burning shit down to the ground but this pleases me greatly.
I know the feeling, yeah.
We could use the Leukocyte here.
She did block it off earlier.

>>37746012
Shit, yeah, we are now unlocked.

OP, does the Alura biomass all concentrate on a single point?
This would be the moment to nuke it for some respite.

...Also, where the fuck is Inox? I've got a bad feeling.

>>37746006
Now that you mention it, there are only six posters.
That's way lower than usual.

>>37746029
She was last seen telling the now doubledead players to rip us apart.
I'm betting she's trying to reorganize and marshal some of the other dead players to attack us when we expect it least.

>>37746058
>I'm betting she's trying to reorganize and marshal some of the other dead players to attack us when we expect it least.
Have you missed the descriptions of vines assembling everywhere? Alura vines?

>>37746072
I haven't, but what do they have to do with Inox Fang?
Or are you saying they're consuming her or the other players?

>>37746106
I'm saying that it looks like Alura is currently re-assembling in a central location.
Inox is a separate point.

>>37746125
Well, yeah. Let's endeavor to do something about Alura, then. I'm just saying it wouldn't hurt to do an Argus scan.

>>37746154
As I said:
If there's a central spot, we nuke it.
Maser Bombardement should be a good start.

>>37746171
In doubt that will do much. She can probably regenerate as long as there is something left.

>>37746229
I want to delay her while we kill her minions and get ready for Athame usage.

>>37745810
>>37745846

You bring your fists up - Schematic lines sketching themselves into existence, burning bright amid the soot and ash fogging the air; You level twin Plasma Casters at Iron Ogre's form, bracing yourself against the recoil-

A flicker, a warning chime from your Argus sensor-

Lightning blasts the air. Pure electrical hatred, scourging bolts forking towards you; You bring your Sinistral up - But it slams into you anyway, your myomer muscles seizing in violent spasms, burning within your armor as cising sparks crackle across your armor-

Above, a hovering figure - Ball-lightning crackling around cobalt-blue gauntlets. Wings outstretched, humming with static thrusters as webs of discharge spit and hiss as your system fights to adjust-

ARC SERAPH. Alabaster white and royal blue, except for the line that bisects his visor, the edges of the gash knitted back together by snaking vines - Not enough to hide the hell-light, the synthetic bloodshine, that flickers within. You have to-

Iron Ogre's mace slams into your side. The discharging force hurls you - bodily - across the Demense; You smash into the Assault Shroud's barrier and rebound, smoke wisping from your charred armor - Emerald motes dancing around you, fighting to restore the damage, the nails and blades of the kinetic weapon puncturing and gashing scarred crimson plate in a dozen places...

-And clearing the shot.

Flame-flash gouts from the muzzle baffles of your Plasma Casters. Shot through with an expanding halo of hypervelocity flechettes - Coolant warnings pulsing redly at the corners of your vision, heat cycling through you as the Cobalt Booster fights to sustain the power surge - the expanding flash of fire is blinding; Your mono-optic sensor cuts out in the fury of discharge as Iron Ogre takes the blast head-on.

(Continued)

>>37746315
So Ogre is ogre and a lightning fucker is trying to grill us.

How many players are left from the list of names that we do have?
Maybe we should look into the episode guide to see the properties of each player.

>>37746315

Chunks break away from his armor, the shattered pieces thrown behind. His chestplate cracks, a drillspike splintering, spraying shards that riochet and spit across the narrow distance. His knee joint gives way - His cuirass a moment later, as plasma flame eats through his fractured, damaged plate and into the snaking cluster of vines at the core of his being, that force him into motion like a puppet...

And he ignites like an incendiary round, and locks up as he grinds to a halt, hungry flames leaping - greedily - from the rents in his twice-destroyed armor, flickering crimson motes reeling from the rending wounds.

How many left? How *many*?

ARC SERAPH, still hovering, still patiently gathering charge for the next devastating bolt - The shattered remnants of one of LEGION ARMIGER'S bodies, dragging itself towards you, missing everything beneath the torso.

CADMIUM EYE, the solitary orb of his namesake shuttered, lost somewhere in the smoke - Staggering forward with insect focus-

The shifting shadows, the churning smoke, the splitting impact of Calcite Arrow's shots - Firing blind, firing at ghosts...

The thorn brush, bristling and whispering with the voice of the black roses-

(Continued)

>>37746380
>flickering crimson motes reeling from the rending wounds.
What if these are fragments of Alura that are assembling after each of our kills?
What if kills make her stronger?

>>37746373
See >>37745762.

>>37746388
Well, then we really ought to get started on shutting her down, then.
Let's start by pulling out the Immolator, firing on the vines, and see what happens.

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>>37746380

Shots whip at you across the distance. The bang of handguns, the crack of energy weapons - Too far to do more than annoy, ranging shots. Who's firing? From *where*? The only surety is the solid shape of your Assault Shroud's Fortress mode...

And the guttering flames of EXEC_HARROW.

Close. Near.

Behind you, always behind you.

Circling, silent, without ever taking hold.

HP: 89.5%
COBALT BOOSTER: 56%
ASSAULT SHROUD: -FORTRESS MODE-
METER: 28%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37746447
>Circling, silent, without ever taking hold.
That bitch.

To re-iterate an old question: Our chain mines can't do a delayed explosion, can they?

I guess we load our Fusion Annihilator with a few shots to kill Arc Seraph. Adamant Aegis doesn't seem to be anywhere close right now.

Am I reading correctly that we can't heal with the Emblem right now?

Guys, what do we do about the bitch in our back?
I guess Rubicante and Cagnazzo makes sense, due to the tracking shots.
Better yet, fire a few missiles at her while we deal with Seraph, (They can fire behind us if we have a Harrow lock, right?) then turn around and use the dual handguns.
The missiles should stall her for a moment.

>>37746475
Shoot Cagnazzo at Arc Seraph while preparing Lvl 2 Sinistral if needed, blow up the Harrow Mark and shoot Inox with Rubicante. Give him a good taste of a Chain Mine, grab the Immolator and start burning the garden while moving where Alura is taking form.

It's time we finish her with a stab through the heart.

>>37746475
Keep the Sinistral attached to our charging element while we deal with SERAPH. We need that elemental resistance.

>>37746475
Right, reformulating my plan:
Let's set the vines on fire.
If we're lucky, this will make the dead players stall for a while. Even if we're not, we'll hopefully delay her impending resurrection.

>>37746499
How to deal with Inox...
Hm. Let's put her off for now and prioritize by focusing on Seraph.

Guys, don't forget:
We are slowly bleeding HP and can't regenerate outside of killing one of the five living people in this place.

>>37746558
>Hm. Let's put her off for now and prioritize by focusing on Seraph.
She's trying to catch us off-guard.

>>37746572
And if we deal exclusively with her, Arc Seraph will instead.
I'm saying it's therefore better to focus on him, because he has to recharge.

>>37746499

>To re-iterate an old question: Our chain mines can't do a delayed explosion, can they?

(They can't. It's effectively a single missile that splits into micromunitions and explodes after homing in on the targets.)

>>37746594
Not arguing with that.
It just sounded like a "let's ignore it until later" thing.
We need to have a plan for when she does try to attack.

>>37746604
We have the Harrow mark on her. We can just blow it up the moment she approaches to attack and take her down.

Serious question: is this the time for exec_swarm?

We lose some health, BUT we can control it with koleos and re-absorb it for more health, which we may gain by the kills it gets via the leech module also.

Its a risky maneuver, but it can help nom on the joker virus vines too.

>>37746765
>is this the time for exec_swarm?
See >>37745640
Our enemies explode and purge the swarm.
We also don't get leech health. Our enemies have no essence cores.

>>37746475
>Who's firing? From *where*?

Argus sweep, ruin the sniper's aim with slake'd lasers on the return fire?

>>37746499

> Am I reading correctly that we can't heal with the Emblem right now?

(You can, in fact, still heal with the Emblem.)

>>37746528
>>37746532

The bright tracer rounds of Cagnazzo stitch the air - Searing down the length of the Demense's space, lancing towards the serene winged figure. Your shots smash into an electromagnetic barrier - The flickering charge diminishing, as shielding energies dance and crackle in a witchfire corona around Seraph's hovering form...

Spiteful electric discharge lances at you, in answer. The Sinistral's ghost-steel field expands; the ravening bolts strike the crackling surface and deflect in arcs of leaping lightning, scorching the battered ground on all sides. Fractured energies strike the surface of your Assault Shroud's barrier, now charred and tattered from glancing shots - You've lost all sense of time, each moment collapsing into the churning fury of the fight.

All around, visibility has diminished to almost nothing. You're fighting nearly blind, guided only by your sensors - Fire squirms in the upper levels of the Demense, casting hectic, jumping shadows. Vines rill as they burn - Fragments of metal tumble from above, as forking traceries of energy light up the darkness like veins-

Some form of combat is still raging. There are strange, inexplicable noises - Like the echo of some far-away war.

When the second surge of lightnings come, you're ready for it. It is a single crackling stroke, a charged burst that slams you back, your feet skidding - The straining effort juddering through your arm, your whole form smoldering as you soak up the punishment-

Just long enough to bring the Fusion Annihilator to bear.

(Continued)

>>37746795
>two guys wage an entire war to the point of the entire air being filled with smoke and other shit
Man, shit.
I wish we had the boosting module for Argus.

>>37746572
>She's trying to catch us off-guard.

This is a good point. fake-out feint while she tries for the backstab, then harrow-detonate to stagger her
+ one of, depending on ranges:
+ a dual-emulated crisis arm to the face, follow up by a Consume punch to her core, and just suck out whatever she's got left keeping her going
OR some combination of slake arms + rubicante+cagnazzo, just blow into her.

>>37746825

This is actually a case in point for the drone system + joker communication modules. Gunbots are also scoutbots.

There is one alternative to Athame.
Quantum Singularity Cannon

Good luck getting 100% meter, though.

>>37746847
..... you know what we must do now.

Either gauntlet consume or black hole the bitch.

>>37746847
Eh, by the magic of selfharm it can be done.
Would rather not, though.
Why not use the Leukocyte?
We've never used it before and if now isn't the time, it'll never be.

It is time

To microwave-sanitize the mooon.

>>37746884
Because the QSC is total obliteration.
Tachyon Cannon is temporal scrambling... Which may bring back Cybele's eye and get our Utopia Call back.

>>37746884
Do you want to destroy Cybele's demense?
>>37746875
Consume didn't work all that well on Shuya, though.

Guys, I just realized something.
We need 100% to unlock the QSC.
But we don't need 100% METER to fire it.
BOOSTER is sufficient. We can fire one QSC every ten rounds if we get T4 unlock.

>>37746898
Oh, hey, a new poster?

>>37746910
Shit, you're right. On the other hand, does she really still have use for it?

>>37746935
>does she really still have use for it?
Her essence core and processing power is kinda part of the demense.

>>37746910
>Do you want to destroy Cybele's demense?

the point is that microwaves wreck organic things like, oh, black joker infestations that aren't armored against it

> powerful microwave laser - With a beam radius of approximately ten feet - at the designated target.
Its a precision strike.
>As a radiation weapon, the MASER BOMBARDMENT generally isn't impeded by intervening materials.

Nuke the fuck out of alura right now. Just her and her reforming cyst.

She can't hide within the floor either.

>>37746935
Yup! Just arriving.

>>37746935
>Shit, you're right. On the other hand, does she really still have use for it?
She never became the Chalice Queen, so her existence is still bound to her Demense and she can't leave it without the purple crystals. Destroy it and she probably dies.

>>37746948
>Nuke the fuck out of alura right now. Just her and her reforming cyst.
That was the initial idea.
Partially due to the really low power cost. Only 35%.
At worst it delays her.

>>37746935
Shit, didn't mean to quote the first one there.
Though I was right somehow? Hm.

>>37746944
>>37746950
Right. That kind of restricts our options in exploding everything, yeah.
Still, gonna vote for burning Alura's garden down to the ground.

>>37746795

Two charges. No time for more.

The wrist-thick beam of blinding energy shears forth - It hits Arc Seraph square, as he tries to fire back from his shrinking shield aura, like the echo of a personal storm; But the hellish lightning fails to develop enough to whip forth, a stuttering attempt at ignition...

The detonates that follows is not a huge, satisfying sunburst of annihilation, but Arc Seraph ruptures and explodes all the same. An expanding sphere of lightning belches forth from his shuddering form, as his cracked and violated armor tears open like a punctured membrane - Toxic energies spewing forth as whatever remains becomes a ball of attenuated flame, that smashes into the ground with the brittle CRUMP of a burning kite.

A kind of silence descends. On your HUD, on your sensors, Inox Fang's trace jumps and flickers. Wary, now.

You know where she is, at any one time - But that changes from moment-to-moment, like a ghost-image, like an illusion. As if she is editing herself into the flow of time, one jagged instant to the next.

"-I-"

Her voice. Everywhere, and nowhere at once.

"-always-"

Behind you, then somewhere ahead. How...?

"-hated you, Joker."

Dopplering in and out, like her voice. You're almost backed-up against the half-sphere of the Fortress Shroud; Cybele's Emblem beginning to glow, at last, to pulse with a ghostly radiance - As if you're imagining it.

"I was going to walk again."

Closer. Further.

"I was going to *walk* *again*-"

A shimmer, in the twisting fog - The riling shrieks of the black roses growing louder, now, a rustling chorus.

A catch, in Shizuka's voice.

"-Do you know how that *feels*?"

Thirty meters to the left. No, right. No, directly in front of you.

HP: 80.1%
COBALT BOOSTER: 66%
ASSAULT SHROUD: -FORTRESS MODE-
METER: 35%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37746967

Gotta specificy that shit, man! Everyone looks at 'orbital support fire' and assumes its gonna be 'nuke the entire sector and then some'.
Its the classic way to be sure, after all.

But its not the only joy to come from the skies, just kind of the gamer mentality's default assumption.

>>37746980
Wait, wasn't this the trick she did with her partner when he was still alive?
Anyway, her emotions seem to be running high.
Do we have her emblem on us?
I was thinking of either presenting or slagging it.

Otherwise, Argus Scan, I guess.

>>37746980

> "But your sister's still here. See how she smiles?"

>>37746980
>YOU HAVE CONTROL

Argus on(its probably already), and begin the leukocyte charging. Aim for alura's face with a maser-strike, and walk the beam if we need to / she evades / targets of opportunity in the way.

I kind of suspect she's trying to reform and/or invade cybele directly, but cutting her shit out before she has a chance to spread more of her nanovirus can only mean good things for us, and/or staggering her control of her zombie-plant-players.

Other than that? "You made a choice to gun for the joker in the semester. You knew what you were getting into when you pulled the trigger."

Bait her. taunt her. Make her come for us. Use aquila and abruption jets to intercept her if she comes for it - she's still going to try to bypass us and strike at cybele, but maybe we can coax her into splitting attention, fucking up, or letting us nail her with fist.

I still want to see us pull off a cross-counter with the crisis arm at some point. that's like the one thing i'd love to just happen to kraken or one of our other big enemies.

>>37746980
Any witty one-liners to catch her off-guard?

So she teleports around. Either she's teleport spamming or a time stopper.
Or she can spawn copies and appear at their positions.

Our best bet is something that doesn't need too much aim, until we figure out the trick.
If swarm wasn't so dangerous with our low HP, I'd suggest it as a way for area denial.

Can we do a sweeping horizontal attack with the Fusion Annihilator to see if she can pass through the beam?

...Ha!
Vulcan fire. Sweep horizontally with both arms. Try to get random hits in.

>>37747076
>Can we do a sweeping horizontal attack with the Fusion Annihilator to see if she can pass through the beam?
>...Ha!
>Vulcan fire. Sweep horizontally with both arms. Try to get random hits in.

Actually, this spells 'axel grips' better to me than it does wasting our meter on those weapons.

It is the SURPRISE! Laser! weapon after all.

>>37746980
Guys, do we know that both Inox Fangs were sisters?

Because:
"Is it anything like getting your sister murdered by being over-ambitious?"

>>37746980
"Don't blame others for your own mistakes, Shizuka. You had your choice and you fucked up. Should have been happy that you're still alive in the first place."

Maser Bombard where Alura is forming, start charging the FA, blow up the Harrow mark and blow Inox away when she appears. Have the Condemner in sword mode in the spare hand.

>>37747095
We used it to bisect White Joker already.

>>37747076

I would say keep the fusion annihilator out now that we have it. Burning death and tri-barreled fusion minigun is exactly what this situation called for. - it has the rapid blast mode and can safer hold charges, so cycle some up and get ready for reaction -fire.

>>37747068
Kraken is dead already, I thought?
We don't really have many big enemies left, besides Pazuzu or other Smilers. Maybe Rust Kaiser, too, but getting close to him was basically suicide.

>>37747103
Wait, you guys!
Last time, we broke through the illusion with a Scrander Attack. Can we try that again?

>>37747122
So sweep Fusion Annihilator to the right and Vulcan to the left?
We have the Talon, after all.

>>37747103
>>37747059
I don't think she has a sister, guys. Most likely she separates her essence into different bodies and whenever one of them is lost, the essence that would otherwise exist in a certain body part is lost and leaves it paralyzed.

The clone we killed used the essence of her lower body, which is why she lost her legs. Now she probably separated the essence of her arms, torso and head.

>>37747139

Better yet: use the Fusion Beamer we have holstered in the midas talon, do a quickswap via vector trap. Rock the fusion beamer with the fusion annihilator.

Throw plasma at people like we're Doomguy.

>>37747150
Ok, then scratch >>37747103.
It would make us sound like an idiot.

I guess her Crest allows her to create a copy of herself, which carries the other half.

But why would you think that she lost control of legs after her defeat?

>>37747170
Can the Fusion Beamer do sustained fire?
The point is to attack a large horizontal plane.

>>37747124

do we really want to scrander crash right next to cybele? We can't afford any incidental casualties to our side.

This.... might be the time to deploy the Tempest Cannon technique though! we never actually had a chance to try that one out yet!

>>37747178
>But why would you think that she lost control of legs after her defeat?
We don't know how long she has been unable to walk, but looking at her reaction, she likely had a chance at recovery, but losing half of her essence rendered that hope moot.

>>37747202
>Tempest Cannon technique
What was that again?

>>37747193

I'm hoping so, because 'beamer' sounds a lot like it!

Which hollow sun guide is it in? I don't see it in my latest bookmark.

>>37747222
Intentional combination of reflective sinistral and tempest discharge to funnel it in a specific direction instead of an AoE - since the sinistral can tune into and then reflect the energies we can use it kind of like a redirecting mirror and/or focusing lens for the shock.

>>37747245
>Which hollow sun guide is it in? I don't see it in my latest bookmark.
I think it might be the Photon Beamer, with Fusion Beamer being a typo.

>>37747245
...Has that ever been stated to actually work?
Because it sounds very suicidal and like rules lawyering.

>>37747245
>I'm hoping so, because 'beamer' sounds a lot like it!

>With the miniaturization of Cobalt Laser technology from the Red Comet, the Photon Beamer now has a secondary firing mode - Instead of releasing the entire charge in a single blast, it can now release a powerful cutting beam that can shear through the heaviest armor.
>While existing for a scant few seconds, the beam can be 'swept' across a distance to scythe apart targets.

>>37747279
Well, that sounds exactly like what we need!
Let's Katawa Shoujo this bitch even harder!

>>37747293
>Katawa Shoujo
At least make it a Frenda joke.

You know what I wonder about?

Can Cybele utilize the GARM?
Because fuck, if she can, we can summon that fucker and have her safe and killy.

>>37747309
if only it had the autopilot.

>>37747300
I haven't actually played it. VNs or dating sims aren't to my taste.

>>37747300
But Joker is the one who got Fre/nda'd by Ixion.

>>37747324
But we are much more like Meltdowner.
We have an explosive temperament and our Fusion Annihilator is unstable.

>>37747103
>>37747117

> "Is it anything like getting your sister murdered by being over-ambitious?"
> "Don't blame others for your own mistakes, Shizuka. You had your choice and you fucked up. Should have been happy that you're still alive in the first place."

"You-"

A hiss of indrawn breath.

"-You don't know how it feels, to lose *part of yourself*-"

The Fusion Annihilator's charge mounts, telltales winking to life. One charge.

>>37747047
>>37747059

Two.

Absolute silence greets your words. Not the mere absence of sound, but utter shock-

You've done it.

You've actually shut her up.

Three

The Orthus Crest catches the unnatural light; the jumping, flickering track of EXEC_HARROW pausing for the span of a second - And you sense the moment of crisis, where everything hinges on one breathless instant...

BUT YOU WILL.

Abruptly, the fires of EXEC_HARROW wink out. Not extinguished, but displaced - As if Inox Fang's presence is now elsewhere, in the motes of green light that dance in the twisting air, those words echoing hollowly as the slither and rustle of vines builds, builds...

(Continued)

>>37747340
Man, we just went full White Joker.

>>37747340
Oh, bloody hell. She's going to try and attack Cybele, isn't she?
Either that or crippling us, but I'm betting on the first.

>>37747363
>She's going to try and attack Cybele, isn't she?
We didn't get the "recall fortress/make fortress stab people" upgrade, did we?

>>37747361
WJ and RJ are basically mirror images. Either could've become the other if the circumstances were reversed.
Makes me think of the whole Ii-chan/Zerozaki thing from Zaregoto.

>>37747363
>>37747391

We did not.

However! I nailed that eventuality here. >>37747068

i swear i'm like the only FPS player who can stay on the objective. Its a habit that has leaked into other games now.

>>37747416
>i swear i'm like the only FPS player who can stay on the objective.
I'm always on the objective, unless others are threatened, because the blueberries never go where the danger is.

>>37747426
Man, danger is where the FUN is though.

>>37747426
>blueberries never go where the danger is.
Nigga what?

>>37747405
If White Joker had escaped first we would probably be in his position and he in ours, yeah.

>>37747416
>>37747391

Actually, we did. Koleos is an artifact for that, its not a hollow sun upgrade! Lost in the translations and pastebins, i think, but we can do this.

If someone tries to slam us against our own fortress we can just reabsorb it.

>>37747440
Depends.
I fucking hate killboxes. Especially in Dust, where killboxes consist of organized squads with high-level gear.
I feel weirded out whenever I take them out with standard gear. Those guys suck at the game and are just stronger because of gear and their team.

>>37747450
>Nigga what?
Allied radar blips in Dust look like blueberries.
Enemies are redberries.
And newbies are newberries.

>>37747468

Better than my planetside time. We didn't use the berry-designations. Instead we had kids tv shows.

Barneys, elmos, and smurfs.

>>37747464
That would only work if we were able to transform the fortress into the swarm. Which we can't.

>>37747340

You realize - Caught on the cusp of a premonition - that through the twisting smoke, a silence (Utter and complete) has descended. It is so very, very quiet, now; As if-

J̵͇ͧͨ̂̎O̦Kͭͩ͛̂̃̔͏̰̫͉Ẻ͚̙̥̙͇͆ͧ̄̅͗Ŗ̝̟͓͍ͧ̒ͩ̓ͥ͌

Your Argus sensor - the number of Essence signatures has diminished. Fading, dying-

"Joker-kun..." Cybele's voice, weak - Your *feel* her presence, as faint as a cobweb, brushing against you from a vast distance. The Demense is growing dark - a creeping darkness stealing over the vast space, lit only by crimson sparks; Like fireflies, like wisps of foxfire. It is a miracle that you can hear her at all, through the dense shell of the Fortress Shroud; You can't imagine what the apocalyptic combat must have been like to her.

"...Joker-kun, what's..."

Still thready, still wan from the pain.

"-what's *happening*-?"

HP: 80.1%
COBALT BOOSTER: 76%
ASSAULT SHROUD: -FORTRESS MODE-
METER: 18% (FUSION ANNIHILATOR: 4 CHARGES)

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37747485
>smurfs
That greatly offends me.
As an RTS player, I know smurfs as a descriptor for alt accounts.

But what is the relation of those terms to the players?
And was it Planetside 1 or 2?

>>37747486

... have we ever tried? Because the fortress mode only removes the HP meter from our body. Its still a giant bulk of nanoreseves though.

>>37747504
Barneys are green and purple. Thats vanu.
Black and red are the elmos
And the blue guys are the smurfs, which would be the NC.

>>37747498
>YOU HAVE CONTROL

hey JQop. Where da maser strike? Its made for this shit.

>>37747498

> "Cybele, get us out of here. Now."

>>37747498
>"-what's *happening*-?"
"I have no idea. Do you feel anything happening to you?"

Take this time to regenerate from Booster.
So Harrow left our scan range?

This is either the calm before the storm or Alura is pissing off.

"Ruler, are you here?"
(I wish we had the Advent Caster for this sentence)

>>37747538

I think it's time to run like hell. Some serious shit is about to go down. Wasn't the whole purpose of this to escape the demense?

>>37747556
That's... Actually not all that bad of an idea.
However, what happens if we leave the demense unprotected?

"Cybele, if your demense is unprotected, would you be in danger? If not, we need to get away from here."
Give her NIHL charge if necessary.

>>37747586

What CAN we do at this point? Alura's taken over the entire place!

>>37747498
>YOU HAVE CONTROL

"Are you okay? Is she still inside you? I think she's trying to steal the demense out from under you. Can you fight it? Like we did in the tournament. You need to use this place against her. tell me what to protect. How to hurt her, where she is. If either of us go down...."

>>37747581
No, we're in cybele's demense, the heart of her power. If she loses this place, we're kinda fucked.

>>37747498
>You realize - Caught on the cusp of a premonition - that through the twisting smoke, a silence (Utter and complete) has descended. It is so very, very quiet, now; As if-

As if she's just killed and stolen utopia ruler's illusion power.
Fuck.

Get ready for the final wave.

>>37747599
This is, uh, exactly why i've been calling for the maser strike. Its an anti-organic area saturation weapon.

>>37747498
"Sorry Cybele, but I want you to scan for Inox Fang and Alura. Right now, I'm your Champion and I'll do what I can to protect you."

>>37747614
So, large-scale radiation bombardement?
Maser has an unfocused fire mode.

Hey, are there any Hollow Sun weapons that would be useful right now?
We have the arsenal beacon and a bit of time.

>>37747498

Dispel the Assault Shroud barrier, at least.

>>37747645
Why the hell do you want to leave Cybele vulnerable to attack?

>>37747645
This gives me Hecate flashbacks.

Remember, we can't recover the fortress nanites without the appropriate module.
We don't have that module because everyone called it worthless.

>>37747656

Because there's no-one else in the demense. It's just us, Cybele and Alura who doesn't need to see you to hurt you.

>>37747673
>It's just us, Cybele and Alura who doesn't need to see you to hurt you.
And possibly Inox, Arrow and Ruler.

>>37747498
>"-what's *happening*-?"

"She's..spreading. Trying to take over.

We're linked, right? Connected at the very soul. I have something in me that can stop her influence, block it out, resist it, even fight back. I need you to find the Gold within me, and bring it out on purpose - and down our link back to you."

Unleash daegal containment in controlled manner. When in doubt, find a crazy solution and throw the nihl sphere's weight behind the problem.

>>37747702
>>37747634

Guys, DON'T DO THIS.

Our TOP PRIORITY is GETTING OUT OF HERE. We cannot risk being trapped in the demense with Alura, because we'll basically be at her mercy. Cybele is completely helpless against her.

>>37747702
The fuck.
I mean, if this was even remotely possible, I wouldn't be against this. Hell, it would be better than Chalice Queen armor.
But it's absolutely fucking impossible. I think. We don't even know how much essence Cybele has. And you need vast essence storage to defeat the encroachment.
On the other hand, Cybele does have massive willpower due to being a Hyades.

Also, your line is kinda corny.

>>37747688
Also the other dead players.
We can't really leave her alone now.

>>37747702
That's not the worst idea, actually.
The problem is that Cybele may not survive contact with Daegal. It's an Essence hound, and so is she.
That's why they needed to hold the tournament, after all.

>>37747740

Can we Nihl Charge to bring her to the surface? That's what we did last time, right?

>>37747643
yes, yes and yes. 30% booster is worth the strike now.

Also the inferno cannon. Maybe.

If we really wanted to, we could arm cybele. Give her an artifact and pop a fusion cell from slake to a fresh, non-altered sidearm for her.

>>37747729
That's why I did >>37747586.
For all we know, Cybele IS her demense.
We need her confirmation.

>>37747751
>>37747729

Why do we want to leave?

It sounds a lot like you're trollposting a suggestion to win the fight but lose us the war.

Remember, hyades are always stuck in their demenses - they return there, recharge power from there, have their castles and fortresses built there during the tournament.

If alura claims it, cybele is fucked, which in turn fucks us.... next episode as soon as the nihl charge runs out. This double-fucks us because she uses the whole charge, and then gets spawn-camped and dies.

So in short, no, that is a terrible idea.

If we want to shut the demense down, kick everyone out, and save cybele by booting her back to the storage-server for the hyades.....

We Athame her. Right now. It'll do all of the above by sending her dormant.

Or we could stay and fight, break out the big guns, and may be actually do a true blow against alura again.

>>37747729
Cybele is dead if we leave and Alura takes over her Demense. And Cybele is doomed regardless, because she is under Alura's control.
Our only choice is to end this here and now.

>>37747796

What I'm asking is HOW do you even intend to kill Alura? She's not physically here.

>>37747845
We can damage her physical presence here.

I wonder if she needs Arrow to manifest.

>>37747845
She must have a Champions or some conduit in order to influence this Demense either way. Destroying the conduit or stabbing it with the Athame should do the trick.

>>37747599
>What CAN we do at this point? Alura's taken over the entire place!

Well, we either need to take it back, or burn her out.

>>37747845
Damage to resources, meatpuppets, and player-avatars is still damage.

Our 'win' condition is to burn her essence out of this place entirely - flamers, flamer, masers, incendiaries, missiles, etc. Burn. Everything.

That statement may not be true though: to challenge a demense, a hyades has gotta be there in person. She's just cheating, but she has to have influence here - power, essence, lachryma - something that controls her local source of grunts.

So we need to gun for her main node and/or general.

OR she's remote-controlling influence, and isn't really here - but her link to that remote power is, and is buried in one of the player-zombies.
Thats a link that can be cut, or attacked directly with the Athame.

My initial idea was trumping the Apocalypse Scenario by using the athame to send the entire master-server for the black joker into torpor.

basically this is a tournament demense-challenge in disguise.

We need to get cybele on her feet and into contesting shape.

>>37747917
good eye!

>>37747498
>"-what's *happening*-?"

"I've realized this is just like a tournament challenge - except alura is cheating. Her power is plant-zombies. man up and get ready to fight back. "

"I'm gonna try to bring something in. I need you to open the door here for....it." ANd by it, we mean the maser-bombardment. If she controls the doors to to her domain, then we just pre-arrange permission to crash the party with the orbital strike. Teamwork! between husband and waifu.

>>37747969
>waifu.
Isn't she more of a mistress?

>>37747925
So how do you propose we find her main node?
Personally, I'm still voting for attacking the vines, preferably with fire.
After that, killing everything in sight that isn't Cybele.

>>37747987
Yeah. Who our main waifu is, is still in question.

>>37747996
>After that, killing everything in sight that isn't Cybele.
Especially Ruler!

>>37748007
Killing a hallucination is easier than killing Ruler.

>>37748007
If he isn't dead already.
Then again, we never liked him anyway, and have no more use for him.

>>37747987

.... haha, yeah, thats a good way of putting it.

The thing i've found interesting about the hyades girls is that clearly they are allegories for relationships, and I found it interesting that we're not the only one with two wimmens - there was that other champion that also had a pair, either sisters or a two-in-one unit.

I guess what i'm getting at is, a link wouldn't form if it wasn't a possibility. So the conclusion we can draw from this is that cybele is, or could potentially be, Bi. take from that what you will.

>>37747996
It comes down to tactics, strategy, and terrain - the main node is the one resistant to damage, and the one she moves to protect. it should also be something the opposing hyades can sense where it is.

Killing everythign with fire and then shooting whatever is left is also the right move.

A literal recon by fire, if you will.

Will we ever get essence again?

I wonder what our still living allies are doing currently.

>>37748048

I was kind of praying that something was going down on the other side, which is why we're getting this break in now.

... it may not be a good throwdown though.

>>37748042
After killing Cybele's mother/older sister, I wonder if all of the Hyades knew each other in life.
And what this means about Hecate.
And the room where Hecate's body is kept alive.

>>37748064
Nothing. Cybele hasn't suggested any relationship to Alura, or any of the Hyades whose champions we killed before the tournament.

>>37748064
That actually makes me wonder about Anon's parents.
It'd actually fit the tone of the quest if his mother was some sort of Hyades as well.

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>>37747643
>>37747538

Low orbit.

The LEUKOCYTE. Silver and glittering steel. An orbiting satellite crossing the face of the planet at almost thirty thousand kilometers per hour. Primary optic focus is on the planetary horizon - Secondary observation carried out by the datastreams monitored by the electronic connections of the silicon brain.

A cluster of signals, from the parent node. A withering hail of security checks and analysis scans lasting a fraction of a heartbeat - Isolating the secure frequency, verifying, maintaining. The binary chatter of an emotionless greeting.

The order is given. Automated clamps release, huge arrays - layered with row after row of maser emitters - extruding. Guidance jets, flaring to life as the orbital weapon begins to rotate, with tectonic enormity...

-Away from the terminator of the planet below. Auxiiary optics cycle to life, focusing upon the distant sphere targeted by the parent node; Slowly, ever-so-slowly, coming to bear on the target.

Ion thrusters, burning. Charging elements cycling to full power.

The order is given.

-----------------------------------

>>37747564

> "I have no idea. Do you feel anything happening to you?"

"*Happening* to me-" A shivery, aching breath - "I don't...You have no *idea*-"

There is a nameless, formless dread to her words - And with it, something that might almost be resignation. A deep soul-weariness, a hopelessness-

> "Ruler, are you here?"

No answer. The sweep of your Argus system registers...

A blank. Nothing.

Gone.

>>37747645

The barrier crumbles, sifting away to nanomaterial ash that flakes away to nothing...

Cybele lies where she's fallen. As if she might never rise again - A pale hand pressed to the side of her face, to her eye, the long, trailing sleeves of her kimono gathered around her; Her features in profile, her shoulders trembling as her lips shape a shivery 'O'-

And when her hand falls limply to her side, you glimpse the ruin beneath.

(Continued)

>>37748106
Awww yeah! LEUKOCYTE time!

>>37748103
>inb4 Alura is actually Joker's long lost mother

>>37748106
>Ion thrusters, burning.
It's funny how we have sci-fi tech everywhere.
But our satellite is propelled by ion thrusters.
Which were sci-fi a few decades ago, but are now in active use.

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>>37748106

COLONEL VOLTON
UNLEASH THE HYPER DISINTEGRATOR CANNON ON THEIR ASSES.

>>37748132
Or Cybele is.
Now that'd be a mindfuck.
Would still bang, though.

>>37747498

JQOP, can she at least teleport us out?

>>37748179
>Bishamon was trying to fuck our mother
>Cybele is our sister

>>37748198
Why the fuck would you do that?

>>37748179
Cybele is too naive and childish to be a mother.
Imouto maybe? I've been having a strange premonition concerning the whole Little Sister Mio thing in Ruler's illusionary dream.

>>37748198
We already discussed it and decided that running is a suicidal idea. Stop suggesting it.

>>37748198

Interested in knowing the answer, but..... I suspect she doesn't have the strength to move. From context clues, this is clearly her deathbed.

>>37748223
Remeber, hyades were present in the last cycle of the game, with Old Joker, White Joker, Argent and the others. Soo......... that gets into questions of whether there are 'fresh' hyades for each generation, old ones that are still around, or a mix of both with powers being inherited/given to a new entity. as the next game starts.

>>37747969
>>37747702
>>37747634
>>37747614

"Anon-kun..."

There's an urgency to her words, now - A kind of desperation. You're not sure if she's heard you; Her breath coming faster, faster now. Her eye, mercifully, closes - But to her, every motion seems to be an effort.

In a small voice, almost lost in the brambles snaking across the inner surface of her Demense. Blotting out the light of the stars. You hear - you sense, dimly - machinery, moving all around you, beneath you; a deep, tortured groan thrumming through the very structure.

"Did you-"

Heedless of what's happening around her. As if it doesn't matter at all.

"Even if it was just a little-"

"Even if it was only for a while-"

Her eye meets yours. Infinitely calm, somehow.

"-Did you ever love me at all?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37748256
>[ ] Free

"Yeah. If things had been different, if there hadn't been an apocalypse to cancel...."
"I... I didn't at first. But, you were always there for me. And that counts for something."

Maybe work in something about people dying or leave it like that is. I can't decide.

>>37748256
"No. But I cared. I wanted better for you."

>>37748256
>"-Did you ever love me at all?"
"Yes, as someone to protect and nurture, even if I initially thought that you were just trying to control me.
I really wanted to give you freedom. I know how you feel, after all. But I can't kill innocent people for it.
I made another girl, who is equally important to me, the Chalice Queen because I thought that it would avoid unnecessary death. And I knew that I was hurting her with it.
And now her mother's soul is trying to eat her. I'm not sure who of you two has it worse.

Is there anything that I could still do for you?"

I really hope I'm not too corny. I feel like she's about to die, so I'd like to give her a wish.

>>37748314
What i was considering adding.

"The last girl to get as close as you did.... she died too. Just before we met. Thats why I could never say anything."

>>37748315
this is good too. I like it, and i just wanted to point out that now we get to anaylze the joker's feelings vs actions vs shipping over the last 50 threads and haha fuck i'm expecting this to be a trainwreck. lets try to keep it concise and discuss openly though, okay?

I personally think RJ is a fucking mess after hecate, and just goes with whatever conflicting desire is riding out on top of his boner who's really driving the show. Hesitant to commit, dancing from girl to girl in an ever-escalating search for connection that could only be a pale immitation of the one that COULD have been, rubber banding between too much and too little in a rebound-relationship from hell.

>>37748357
>I really hope I'm not too corny. I feel like she's about to die, so I'd like to give her a wish.

Corny as fuck but i feel like it touches on some of the important points.

Maybe one of the others put it better, though?

>>37748365
And then he thinks "fuck it, the endgame is coming" and tries to patch it up with Mio.
Only to realize that she doesn't want to know about the Red and is actually not the kind of person that could support him.

And he probably feels like a dick for getting three girls killed horribly. Twice with one choice.

>>37748388
>Maybe one of the others put it better, though?
The "No. But I cared. I wanted better for you." one is very nice. But I feel like it's still lacking a small element.

I have no idea how to perfect it.

>>37748256
"No, not like you love me. But you're one of the people I care about the most in the world."

>>37748357
>I made another girl, who is equally important to me, the Chalice Queen because I thought that it would avoid unnecessary death. And I knew that I was hurting her with it.
>And now her mother's soul is trying to eat her. I'm not sure who of you two has it worse.
Entirely unnecessary. This'll just give her a mental breakdown like Mio.

>>37748432
What it lacks is some admission of guilt.
Something about Anon feeling like shit for what he did.

Maybe,
"My first time in the Red was being trapped here for a century. I know what it must feel like to be trapped up here. And I also know that I would have done anything to hurt a person who betrayed me like I did you.
I'm sorry."

Wasn't planning on joining since I was so late, but I'd like to remind everyone that we've told her about Hecate, and now she knows about Mio. She's asking what we feel about her, not what we felt about another girl.

>>37748462
>Wasn't planning on joining since I was so late
Fuck you, fucker.
I couldn't do my groceries because you didn't appear.

>>37748454

That's actually very honest, but I don't think she cares about that right now. She just wants to know how we feel about her.

>>37748392

my biggest regret is not being here that one threat where all the anons explained it terribly and then tried to solve all their problems with the nihl sphere.


>>37748432
workng on it.

>>37748256
>[ ] Free
"There's love, and then there's feelings. I wanted better for you, to take you away from this place. Put you on your feet and make you smile. It could have been real love, in time. if someone close to me hadn't died just before we met."
"I'm still going to cry when you're gone. IF you die here. As we are now... I love you like family. Closer than everyone else in the world, you know my heart, broken as it is. Is that good enough?"

>>37748454
the angle i was thinking of involved 'fuck it my ex GF died in my arms, its hard to feel love again after shit like that'. Yours is good too and an important part. I think i did a pretty good job above though.

>>37748462
>She's asking what we feel about her, not what we felt about another girl.
But her knowing about Mio's situation will give her vindication.
A little bit of spiteful "serves you right".

>>37748472
Man, don't count on him to solve everything. That's not always gotten the best results in the past and I don't think it will in the future.

>>37748392
Don't forget the longass time spênt in what is basically hell, only to have to mercykill your mentor to survive.

>>37748495
>"There's love, and then there's feelings. I wanted better for you, to take you away from this place. Put you on your feet and make you smile. It could have been real love, in time. if someone close to me hadn't died just before we met."
>"I'm still going to cry when you're gone. IF you die here. As we are now... I love you like family. Closer than everyone else in the world, you know my heart, broken as it is. Is that good enough?"
Are you a songwriter?
Because fuck, that sounds like song lyrics.
But I like it. The end is slightly but not overly corny.

>>37748472
Real life > game, always. But it looks like the conversation swung on the point I suggested, so it's not like anything of value was lost.

>>37748495
I dunno, hearing "It's not you it's me" is the worst possible thing for her right now.

>>37748509
But we don't want her feeling spiteful, we want her...did we ever decide what we wanted for her? Besides not liable to ruin the relationships with people we actually cared about? Not trying to be sarcastic here, that's how I remember most of the talk about her turning out.

>>37748549
>But we don't want her feeling spiteful,
I don't mean actual spite.
I mean this little bit of spite that gives strength. Some self-confidence in a moment where she's totally crushed.
"See? Fate is on my side"

I don't remember the talk.
My opinion was to think of Cybele as something like a protegé. Someone to bring back into the real world and get her slowly accustomed back to it.
Basically, imouto-zone.

>>37748530

haha no. But sometimes I pun songs and re-write things. I was responsible for the Shadowrun Space Slam on the board last year., so i guess its leaking through, kinda?

I do have some really good music going on lately though. Beats Antique owns.

>>37748549
>I dunno, hearing "It's not you it's me" is the worst possible thing for her right now.
Yeah but that's expecting anon to answer honestly a question they can't. I don't believe the majority of the board can process the kind of feels this stuff touches upon accurately so.... going "yes, but it took a while, and i'm sorry it wasn't as much as you deserved" was where I ended up. There's words and then there's implied meaning.

And then there's succinctness because she's kind of out of it and brevity is worth it. She may not have the faculties to read into things, and i kind of got the feeling this was a 'i just want to hear you speak and a final yes before I drift off into the night'

(Gentlemen, give me a moment. I'm going to have to think about this.)

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>>37748106
>The order is given.

>>37748530

haha no. But sometimes I pun songs and re-write things. I was responsible for the Shadowrun Space Slam on the board last year., so i guess its leaking through, kinda?

I do have some really good music going on lately though. Beats Antique owns.

>>37748549
>I dunno, hearing "It's not you it's me" is the worst possible thing for her right now.
Yeah but that's expecting anon to answer honestly a question they can't. I don't believe the majority of the board can process the kind of feels this stuff touches upon accurately so.... going "yes, but it took a while, and i'm sorry it wasn't as much as you deserved" was where I ended up. There's words and then there's implied meaning.

And then there's succinctness because she's kind of out of it and brevity is worth it. She may not have the faculties to read into things, and i kind of got the feeling this was a 'i just want to hear you speak and a final yes before I go into the night'

>>37748256
>You hear - you sense, dimly - machinery, moving all around you, beneath you; a deep, tortured groan thrumming through the very structure.
Am I the only one picking up on this? I think she's doing something, maybe a.... final fuck you, or a self-destruct or something.

Something's clearly happening.

..... or alura is coming at us from below!

uh.Thats some tunneling action i think. Maybe she's going for something in the demense instead of teh controller? We've seen people corrupt stages before.

So..... two birds with one stone. Pick up cybele, put her on our back, hold her in place with the slake arms and chicken-fight the rest of the battle.

All we have to do is not get hit and stay mobile.
Then... go stomp on alura. take the objective with us!

>>37748623
Well. I'm not sure if that is a good sign.

>>37748623
>(Gentlemen, give me a moment. I'm going to have to think about this.)

Penny for your thoughs, precious?

>>37748549
>But we don't want her feeling spiteful, we want her...did we ever decide what we wanted for her?
Honestly, the only way I imagine Cybele being happy is if Joker dies to let her live. I can't imagine them being a happy couple.

>>37748623
>Cybele decides she has enough of it.
>"Fuck you, you backstabbing bastard!" she cries and summons the last of her power.
>The ground around you reforms and tendrils pierce your essence core
>Mio suffers forever, Cybele dies, Hecate never wakes up, Natsumi spends the rest of her life in a psyche ward for depressions, Kazuya starts drinking and abusing drug and turns into a hobo, White Joker uses his position of power to fuck all of the girls that you ever interacted with, both figuratively and literally, and Asuna is never able to sleep ever again because she constantly lives through your worst moments
>Yui becomes a well respected businesswoman, though she sometimes feels lonely about losing out on love

>>37748673
You forgot the Smilers.
Otherwise, yeah, seems likely.

>>37748667
There is more to life than couple and no couple.
In fact, I would cheer her on if she finally found someone else, after being freed into the real world.

>>37748665
>>37748646

(It's a very complex situation.)

>>37748673

(Technically, their actual fates would be far worse. Still funny, though.)

>>37748697
>far worse
worry.jpg
Only way it could really get "far worse" is if it leads into some kind of apocalypse.

>>37748690
My point is that Cybele will never move on as long as Joker is around. If he's there, she will be dependent on him, which is why I can only imagine her as happy without Joker around.

Well, can't go to do my groceries, but I can eat at subway.
I'll be back in half an hour and hope that nothing got fucked up in the meantime, aside from Alura.

>>37748730
That's kinda the case.

>>37748697
Oh, I get it. Her ability to resist is tied into her mental state, same as Mio's was.

>>37748730
I hate using all caps, but that's really the only way to say WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS?!

>>37748737
>That's kinda the case.
I wonder what the fuck are Players around the world doing now. Do they know about the Apocalypse and are they trying to prevent it?

>>37748697
>(It's a very complex situation.)

Do you mean with cybele or whats about to go down tactically?

>>37748759
In that case, what do we say to her?

>>37748760
We have to get a message out there... We need the Red, White, and Blue Joker

>>37748314
>>37748315
>>37748357

> "No. But I cared. I wanted better for you."
> "No, not like you love me. But you're one of the people I care about the most in the world."
> "I... I didn't at first. But, you were always there for me. And that counts for something."

The Demense quivers, shaking as if caught in a violent earth tremor. There is an odd moment of calm - the sounds quiet but close, like the hushing of a gentle sea. Almost tranquil, like the grumble of a distant storm. But there is a presence, drawing closer - Closer than ever before, a palpable thing.

And Cybele begins to cry. It is a low, soft sobbing; her breath hitching in her throat, her tears streaming serenely down her cheeks. As if it is all the strength she can muster - And perhaps it is.

There is an utter desolation to her weeping - her pale face turned away, in this moment of extremity, as if she cannot bear to look at you-

...Or she cannot bear for you to look upon her.

(Continued)

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>>37748759
>Oh, I get it. Her ability to resist is tied into her mental state, same as Mio's was.

Aww fuck. So she needs a glimmer of hope to get through this. Or we're gonna lose another girlfriend to the smilers?

>>37748802
Sorry, all i heard was red white and blue. But don't worry, I brought the FREEDOM PARTY

>>37748819
Ruh-Roh

>>37748793
Pretty sure it's too late for write-ins.

>>37748802
White won't want to cooperate, and I recall there being only 2 Jokers left, besides the Black Joker.

>>37748819
Oh boy.

>>37748819
Yeeeeep.

>>37748802
>We need the Red, White, and Blue Joker
Captain America's probably still on ice.

>>37748849

if it isn't, i think we should just scoop her up in our arms like its the start to picking er up and running off with her.

Do we still have the Fusion Annihilator charged 4x?

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>>37748819
Ehhhh its fiiiine

>>37748939
Can't even hug her with our robot hands.

>>37748819

It doesn't last long - And perhaps that is the very worst part. Her sobs quieten, gradually; smoothing out, fading to nothing, until only her soft breathing fills the narrowing space of the Demense.

> "Is there anything that I could still do for you?"

Cybele looks up at you, her gaze dull, unhappy. As if she's never seen you before - Or as if she cannot recognize you. Her eyes - One true, one ruined - are not accusing. Just disappointed, and so very, very alone.

But in this moment, you are all she has, and she knows it.

And, softly - very quietly, the tiniest tremor to her words, as if she's reluctant to ask even this of you-

A catch to her voice. Faintly, and without hope:

"...I want to go *home*-"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

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>>37748987
Are we the Red Man now?

>>37748998
Time for Nihl action.

>>37748998
Well, seems like we fucked that up.
She doesn't really have a home anymore, though.

>>37748998
>[ ] Free

"I was never going to leave you here. Even if it meant clawing the other eye out of pazuzu's face."

>>37748998

Wow, congratulations JQOP. I feel like absolute shit now. What were we supposed to do, lie to a dying girl and tell her we loved her all along?

>>37749130

Yeah, let's not say that. Let's just port her out of here.

>>37748998
"The road is blocked by roses. Show me the direction and I will clear the path. I will lead you home, Saori."
>>37749065
We don't need the Nihil. She has her own crystal.

>>37748998
"...Sure. Let's do that."

Draw the athame. "Saori, where is Alura's essence core?"

>>37749120
Yes. Or even a little bit.

>>37749120

you could have, you know, not acted like a jackass over the last hundred episodes. tis house of cards tumbling down is literally our own making.

>>37749177
haha. I see the name correction you did there. And... i see you and wata are on the same page.

>>37749159
The Leukocyte got its order and we the FA charged to 4. We need a target to hit.

>>37749201
>The order is given.

I'm still smiling

So, uh, where did Shizuka go?

>>37749358
Shit, yeah. While we're having our moment, there's kind of a lot of combat supposed to be going on.

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>post JQOP's face when we finally use the Leukocyte

>>37749358
After Kazuya. She left, and she can't get at Mio or Hecate and doesn't know Natsumi is a Player/a member of Argent's faction. She has to (try and) hurt Anon somehow.

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>>37749391
Eh, it's not even the one that causes Mass Destruction. Still good, though.

>>37749416
>Shizuka comes to kill Kazuya
>can't touch him because anti-Red barrier

>>37749416
I got the image of a Japanese school girl in a wheelchair trying to go full murderhobo.

Its sad and hilarious at the same time. I think I'm a bad person

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>>37749391

>>37749470
Think I've seen a movie where that happened. Japanese horror films are ridiculous.

>>37749470
Then I am too, anon.
I laughed.

>>37749508
And American horror films aren't? Need I remind you of that one film where a sentient tire killed people? Was called Rubber, IIRC.

>>37749065
>>37749177
>>37749189

The shutters of the Helix Gauntlet retract, as the violet glow filters forth. It mingles with the faint radiance of Cybele's Emblem, the crest that ties you all together; the anti-light of the Nihl Sphere suffusing everything, as if you kneel at the heart of a star.

In your left hand, the Athame. Hellebore's first and only gift, grey and pitted against your crimson gauntlet.

Somewhere, you feel the pressure of Alura's mind falter. Thick vines slither forth from the riot of catastrophic vegetation, their stems topped with dozens of black roses, budding everywhere. Hissing, shrieking. Crackling hysterically, hungrily, insanely. Like thirsty syringes, questing after blood-

...Or prey.

The vine-stricken husks are pushing in closer, shambling forward, lurching in their haste. Closing, in their serried ranks.

-------------------------

The Leukocyte fires.

-------------------------

The first thing you notice - the very first - is the radiation distort that sobs through your sensors, blurring them with whooping static. The bars of black smoke streaking the air begin to dissolve; the mist boiling away, evaporating. Everything seems to shimmer, to blur...

It is not a beam, or a blast, or a flash.

It begins with a sound. A terrible, throatless noise that weaves through the Demense, a moaning blast of high-pitched sound that rises, shifts frequency and drops again, a wavering, ghostly oscillation...

The first shambling Player pauses, head canting to the side - As if aware of a distant noise. That odd motion is echoed by a convulsive twitch of limbs, the suggestion of spastic motion...

There is a muffled, raggedly wet sound. The greasy smoke thickens into a choking cloud. Joints belch billows of vapor, the edges of armor beginning to glow eye-burning white; Metal slewing away in a waxlike sheen of melting surfaces and burning components, drizzling liquid metals across the ground-

(Continued)

>>37749818
HEEEREEE WE GOOOO

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>>37749818

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>>37749910
also disemminating this for when we use the level 3 orbital cannon

>>37749548
All right, that's fucking weird.

Best horror film I ever saw was a indie one, basically a buddy comedy as a horror flick. I think it was Canadian actually. Rather than slasher music they used classical music, and that only made it all worse. Like, the stoner duo kidnap a girl and accidentally kill her, and when they try to chop off a finger (as a warning to her father) it turns out she's only MOSTLY dead, so she wakes up... Christ I think I had to stop watching twice.

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>>37749818

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the hype has arrived

>>37749818

And then their weapons ignite in their hands.

And then all their ammunition begins to explode.

The first sooty detonation is a CRUMP of a hand grenade - Erupting into a ball of flame and ragged sharpnel. The others begin to twist out of shape, to *distort* - Warping out of alignment, as myomer muscle swells - peeling the armor back, as they flounder and flap and *melt*; Hydraulic fluids boiling, lubricants igniting, strut supports melting to nothingness as a hundred tiny fires erupt across the deck-

It is a sweeping wave of destruction, an extraordinary phenomena heralded only by the roiling air - barely-seen heat-blurs churning in the intervening space, your temperature readings shooting up with sickening speed. Armor bakes and splits, joints melting, empty plate clattering down to melt into sludge on the decking; Like a flashlight of annihilation, an invisible furrow of ruin, cutting across the warped and blasted Demense as the air fills anew with foul choking smoke...

It is the black oil inside them that burns. Great ragged bursts of flame lick upwards, fuelled by thick welters of fluid; as the intricate lattice of vines underfoot swell and burst and wither - Joining the inferno that burns mere meters away, the crackle and snap of the eternal fires mingling with the riling shriek that pulses in the air-

You leave them behind.

-You leave it all behind.

(Continued)

>>37750032
We should give the order again.
Just to be sure.

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>>37750032
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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>>37750032

Light and color jump and twist around you - Light from the explosions, light from your Emblem. Emerald, shot through with violet - In the non-space between moments, as the world fades and unfurls itself at once...

Blink. A vast and profound emptiness.

Blink. Flares of red. The harrowing screams of infinity.

A sense of acceleration...

"-Oh." A soft sound. A tremuluous, wavering sound.

The black rain has ceased, but what follows is no better. Filthy yellow light spreads across the vast, disputed city of Arcadia, the haze like rainstorm vapour, obscuring the skyline and the distant bulwark of the Diadem. The swollen malignancy of the grand shield stains the sky - Cancerous in imagery, a wavering, flickering barrier that seals off all escape. The sky is full of fire, half-glimpsed through a roof of moving smoke; the Nihl Sphere - And Cybele's Emblem - has carried you only as far as a black rooftop, flat and sticky with oozing Lachryma.

There are Correctors, damnation swarms of them, in the agonized skies. Blue-white fire crackles above the diadem, irradiating the stricken world, triggering massive, unnatural aurora displays amid black fog and churning atmospheric filth.

It sounds as if the sky is caving in.

(Continued)

>>37750433
>There are Correctors, damnation swarms of them, in the agonized skies.
Well, at least there's essence for us.

>>37750433
Well, seems like we fucked up the Red.
Sasauge, Joker-kun.

>>37750474
Always stay optimistic, eh, anon?

>>37750529
>Always stay optimistic, eh, anon?
I wish I could write decently enough for "Joker spergs about guns" OC.

>>37750433
>the Nihl Sphere - And Cybele's Emblem
She isn't using the charge she got from the Zinnia?

We used the killsat for the first time.
And, technically, we did so on our daughteru, considering what a demense actually is. While passing up the chance for using it on super Mengele.

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>>37750433

"Everything's-"

Cybele's gaze is searching, questing - Her voice wondering, distant. As if she cannot quite understand the parameters of the world she has found herself in; Like the fragment of the foulest nightmare, beyond the grotesque city towers - A monstrous thing of spiked architecture and insectile buttresses - you find yourself on.

She reaches out, with a trembling hand. There is something infinitely graceful and infinitely sad in the motion - A kind of gentle puzzlement, a resignation, an acceptance.

"...Even here-"

A single tear tracks from her eye. Not clear, but black.

"Everything's-"

"-broken-"

Very, very slowly, Cybele's hand lowers to her side. Her eyes close - with her head turned to the side, her form is unmarred, perfect - as if she is merely going to sleep. The rise and fall of her chest does not slow - It simply stops, between one breath and the next.

Cybele?

And somewhere - Somewhere infinitely distant - the last Hyades's Demense goes silent, as the flickering, wavering light within the Cradle - within the shell that holds everything Cybele is, was, or could have ever been - is extinguished at last.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 121

TO BE CONTINUED

>>37750777
;_;

>>37750777
RIP

Now time to figure out how to get Mio back.

>>37750777
There goes another waifu. Now let's see where Mio went...

Incidentally, how many dead girlfriends is that now?

>>37750777

(Gentlemen; My apologies, but it is extremely late on my end. There's little that I can say about this episode, without giving too much away - Good night, and God bless. You've been a wonderful audience, and I hope to see you again next time.)

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>>37750777
Heaven's trips.

It's weird how many feels this quest creates for me.
Today I've felt like shit while thinking about what's happening.

Thanks for running, OP.
I seriously hope the endgame will end on a satisfying note.
I definitely want to honor all of the fallen, at the very least.

>>37750777
Uuhmm.. what's happening, don't get it.

>>37750875
>There's little that I can say about this episode, without giving too much away
One day, you'll have to explain all of this to us.

>>37750777
Meh.

OP, can I ask that you try to avoid running so late in the future? The purple starts drowning out the content. I know you're busy so you have to start late but it doesn't help.

>>37750916
She dead, man.
Died of a broken heart.

>>37750875

Wait, doesn't the death of a Hyades have a certain kind of fallout? That's the whole reason we had the Athame, right?

>>37750916
We already know that the Hyades are sitting inside of cradles.
The cradle that containts Cybele's body was apparently destroyed.

By the way.
Did Cybele drop essence?
I want to put her essence signature into the grinder. To make a memento relic.

>>37750875
Ever think about getting a ask page?

>>37750968
Jesus, Anon. That's exceptionally morbid.

>>37750943
Remember: Joker is special in relation to his Hyades bond.

>>37750940
>The purple starts drowning out the content.
wat

>>37750940

(I'd prefer to run earlier - if at all possible - but my schedule is uncertain at best.)

>>37750943

(Yes.)

>>37750916
>>37750918

(Her Essence Core was destroyed.)

>>37750968
That's evil. Like, holy fuck, no.

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>>37750777
Wow, that made me feel.

Talk about shitty last moments, eh?

>>37750996

(Specifically, we'll have to see how things play out next episode. I will say that you're not immune in this instance, however.)

>>37751005
>>37750993
Would you prefer her essence to give us a level-up, like all of the nameless people that we killed?

Ogre gave us Kura. We got nothing to remember Cybele by.
And I kinda want to use Kura, the Nihl Sphere and the like in the showdown, to shove it down the throats of all of the BBEGs.

>>37751050
No. Just no.

>>37751025
The worst part?
She experienced this *twice*.
First she thought Joker would free her. And she got betrayed.
Then she thought she could at least die in the sun. And she experiences the same shit.

Being Cybele is suffering.

>>37751066
Then think of a clever combat move that could symbolize Cybele once the time comes.