The atmosphere inside “Boss’s Café” is tense. At least it feels that way to you.

It’s now 11:10; 10 minutes past closing and the teenage couple at the table by the window are just now starting to get things together to leave. Normally this wouldn’t bother you, but you and your coworkers have been working non-stop since 7 this morning. 16 hours with no real breaks, only a few short windows when there were no customers in which the 3 of you ate whatever was on hand to keep yourselves going.

But now you’re in the final stretch. You gently put down the mug you’ve been idly washing for god knows how long as Marissa rings the lovebirds out. As they go to leave you quietly follow them to the doors. “Thank you for coming, have a nice night!” You say with best smile you can manage.

And as soon as the door shuts, you flip the lock, turn off the ‘open’ sign, drop the blinds, zombie walk to the nearest chair and collapse into it.

“Ugh, I thought those two were never going to leave.” Marissa says, as she stretches out and flops down onto one of the comfy chairs by the fake fireplace.

Sahil leans over the back of Marissa’s chair and pokes her in the head. “Don’t get too comfy, we still have to clean up.

>[ ] We should get to that

>[ ] Let the morning crew handle it

>[ ] You two head home, I’ll take care of this

>>40845102
>[ ] You two head home, I’ll take care of this
>COFFEE!

>>40845102
>>[ ] You two head home, I’ll take care of this

>>40845102
>[ ] We should get to that

>>40845102
>[ ] We should get to that
Make a long grunt then jokingly say
>[ ] Let the morning crew handle it

>>40845289
Let me just fix this.
Make a long grunt then jokingly say
>[ ] Let the morning crew handle it
then
>[ ] We should get to that

>>40845102
>[ ] We should get to that

>writing

“At the risk of sounding irresponsible, I say we let the morning crew handle it” You say.
“Really?” Marissa asks, her eyes alight with hope.
“No. Get to fuckin’ work” You say, grunting as you stand back up and stretch.

“You tease” Marissa says.
“Oh, come on. It’ll be 10, Maaaaaaybe fifteen minutes. Then you can go home, or something. Whatever it is you kids do these days.” You say.

“You’re like… 3 months older than me” Sahil says.
“Yes, and that’s three months of experience I have that you don’t. Now less talky, more floor moppy” You say.

Sahil heads into the back and grabs a mop, setting about cleaning the floors and tidying the tables. He’s an average looking fellow, with darker skin than yours and some obvious acne scars. Though his million dollar smile all but makes up for any shortcomings in the looks area.

You help Marissa get out of her chair, and she goes behind the counter to clean up the machines. Luckily for those lovebirds, her usually sharp tongue has been dulled by the length of the day. Her dark eyes and ebony face showing visible signs of how tired she is. Her hair, up in a little afro, still looks just like it did when she came in.

You head over to the register and start closing it out. Once the three of you are done, you can finally go home.

>[1/2]

“Done” Sahil says
“Done” Marissa says
“Aaaaaand done” You say.

The three of you look at each other.

“Alright” You say. “Now get out”
“Yes sir” Marissa says.
“See you Sunday” Sahil says.

They both grab their jackets and head out the front door, leaving you alone to close up the shop.

Today was a disaster…

It wasn’t enough that Boss had a place to be (You don’t ask questions about his activities). But at the same time Yui took the day off to go to a convention, then Safi and Dwight called in sick. You couldn’t get a hold of Loretta, and everyone else was busy.

You walk around turning off the lights and checking all the locks, and then finally make your own exit.

Outside, you pull out your cellphone…

>[ ] Text Yui

>[ ] Text Dwight

>[ ] Text Safi

>[ ] All of the above

>>40845890
>>[ ] All of the above
>"Y'all niggas gay."

>>40845890
>[ ] All of the above
You guys suck

>writing

You whip out a quick couple of texts.

[Yui]<How was the con?
[Dwight]<You owe me lunch
[Safi]<Where’d you head off to?

You check the time on your phone before you put it away, it’s 11:30. Not too bad. When you get back to your apartment you can feed Moriarty, maybe play some video games and be in bed by 1ish

Speaking of Moriarty, he is going to be pissed. You meant to head home and feed the poor kitty when your shift was supposed to end at 3:00. Ah well, hopefully he isn't too mad. He knows where the food is, and he’s getting close to being able to open doors.

In your pocket, your phone buzzes a few times. You pull it out and check it.

[Yui]>Great! There were so many cosplayers!
[Yui]>I’ll have to show you my pictures sometime
[Yui]>How was work?
[Yui]<Ugh
[Yui]<Dwight owes me lunch. It was just me, Sahil and Marissa ALL DAY

You put your phone back away and pull out your iPod, putting in your headphones and pressing play so it takes off where you left it this morning…

https://youtu.be/SBjQ9tuuTJQ

Out of curiosity, you check your watch to see what your actual time is. 11:15. Not bad.

Considering you abused your ability a little to get through today, you were expecting to be ahead, not behind. Being 15 minutes behind, you could probably hold double speed all the way home…

>[ ] Speed time to get home faster

>[ ] Leave it be, it’s not a long walk

>>40846273
>[ ] Speed time to get home faster

>>40846273
>[ ] Speed time to get home faster
No harm no foul.

>writing

>>40846273
>[ ] Speed time to get home faster

You pull your headphones back out and put them in your pocket. As much as you like the Foo Fighters, listening to music in slow-mo is not a fun experience.

You actually have music to thank for helping you learn to control this power. It was terrifying at first, flipping uncontrollably between fast and slow time. But as you got the hang of it you could keep yourself relatively close to normal-time.

It was music that let you figure out where ‘normal-time’ actually was. Songs would sound weird when you sped them up or slowed them down too much, so you tweaked yourself until they sounded right.

You look around and keep your eyes out to make sure that no one sees you, then flip yourself into double-speed. Breaking into a run to take advantage of it.

It takes ten minutes running to reach the entrance to your apartment building, in your time. Checking your watch, it only took 5 minutes of regular time.

As you unlock the front door with your key fob, your phone rings again.

[Yui]>Oh I’m so sorry! If you had told me I would have come in!
[Yui]<Don’t sweat it. At least you took the day off in advance
[Yui]<Besides, I know you’ve been waiting for this con for a while

You send the message as you walk in and head to the elevator. Your apartment is on the 7th floor. Some might say it’s good luck, but you balance that out by having a black cat walking around, crossing your path all the time.

The elevator lets you out and you head down the hall to your apartment and unlock the door.

The hallway is cluttered with stuff. From the looks of it you have a new neighbour.

You open your door and the first thing you notice is that Mori is not meowing at you to feed him…

And there’s no cat food all over the place…

Come to think of it, it’s like he isn't here…

>[ ] Go ask your new neighbour if they’ve seen him

>[ ] Search your apartment

>>40846643
>[ ] Search your apartment
If no answer then
>[ ] Go ask your new neighbor if they’ve seen him

>>40846643
>[ ] Search your apartment
Maybe he is sick?

>>40846643
>[ ] Search your apartment
if that doesn't work
>[ ] Go ask your new neighbour if they’ve seen him

>writing

“Moriarty!” You call out.

No answer.

You check all of his little haunts in the apartment. Nothing.

“Oi Fuzzball! If you come out now I promise not to neglect you again!” You call out again.

Still no answer…

You breathe deep and sigh, checking the one place he usually refuses to go: the balcony.

Of course, the glass door and the screen door are open. And your balcony links to the one owned by your new neighbours. Checking around the metal divider, you see that their door is open too.

“That little…” You mutter. Your cat is smart. Sometimes you wish he wasn’t.

You head back out of your apartment and knock on your neighbour’s door.
You hear footsteps on the other end, and a little girl answers.

“Hi” She says.

>[ ] Introduce yourself first

>[ ] Have you seen my cat?

>[ ] Where are your parents?

File: 1418231709386.gif (1.12 MB, 330x248)

1.12 MB GIF

>>40846952
>>[ ] Have you seen my cat?
loli..

>>40846952
>[ ] Have you seen my cat?

>writing

>>40846952
>[ ] Have you seen my cat?

“Have you seen my cat?” You ask.
“I dunno” She says, swaying back and forth. “What does it look like?”
“Little, black, blue eyes” You say. “Meows a lot, kind of a jerk sometimes”
“I saw him” She says.
“Can you tell me where he is?” You ask.
“I dunno…” She says, smiling mischievously. “What’s in it for me?”

“I’ll give you candy” You say.
“I’m not supposed to take candy from strangers” She says. “Besides, that’s weak”
“Fine” You say. “How ‘bout I don’t tell your parents that you’re still up at…” You check your watch “11:40”

“Mommy said it was okay” She says. Her face betrays her, though. She knows she’s beat.
“And just where is your mommy?” You ask.
“She went out” The little girls says.
“When will she be back?” You ask.
“Not supposed to say stuff like that to strangers” She says.
“Well then, I’ll just have to wait here until she gets back then, won’t I?” You say. “Always good to greet the new neighbours”

The little girl’s face scrunches up. “You drive a hard bargain mister” She says. “Your cat was here. He left though”
“Where’d he go?” You ask.
“The elevator” She says.

So he could be anywhere… Fuck.

>[ ] Start looking

>[ ] Leave it until morning

>>40847328
>[ ] Start looking
follow the plot

>>40847328
>[ ] Start looking
Don't want him to get mauled over a territory dispute.

>>40847328
>[ ] Start looking

>writing

“Well, thanks kid” You say.
“Sarah” She says.
“Nice to meet you Sarah” You reply. “I’m Saif, Saif Malikov. I live next door”
“You promise you won’t tell my mom I was up so late?” She asks.
“Cross my heart and hope to die” You say.

She smiles. “Nice to meet you Saif” She says, and then she quickly closes the door.

Well, their daughter is interesting. Let’s hope the new neighbours aren’t crazy…

You turn away from the door and head back to the elevator. Searching all the floors would be both time consuming and fruitless. You know damn well where that little fuzzball went…

The elevator takes you back down to the lobby, playing calming elevator music the whole way. Your phone buzzes a couple of times as you exit…

[Dwight]>Moga’s Pizza good for you?
[Dwight]<Think bigger

[Yui]>That’s true. You should come with me next time. It was a lot of fun
[Yui]<Maybe. You know I don’t like conventions.
[Yui]<Too much sweat. Too many people.

You put your phone back away and leave the apartment.

You know Mori is out here. Now it’s just a matter of finding him…

>Dice time!

>Rolls will be with d20s.
>Instead of taking the best of three, the rolls will be added up.
>For challenges, only the first 3 rolls will count. If the stated target number is not reached within the first 3 rolls, it is a failure
>For time rolls (ie, how long it takes to complete an action) all rolls will be counted until the stated target number is met. The more rolls it takes to reach the target, the longer the action will take.

>This is a time roll
>Target number: 20

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>40847772

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>40847772
Oh, no worries, I'll handle this.

Come here you damn cat.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>40847772

>Roll succeeded!
>20 in 2

>writing

>>40847873
Pfffft oh, stop, you're hurting me!

File: Mori-tree.jpg (111 KB, 1200x800)

111 KB JPG

“Alright fuzzball. I know you’re out here” You say. “You want to make this easy for me?”

Nothing… Maybe you should take him down to China Sea after this. Then you could get yourself a cat that isn't smart enough to escape your apartment…

You search through the bushes, the grass, checking the corners of your building, calling out the whole while.

“Damn cat…” You say. “Tell you what Mori, come out now and I won’t take you to the Chinese food place”

You hear a desperate mewl coming from a tree on the apartment building’s lawn.

When you investigate the source, you see a pair of little green eyes staring back at you from a low branch.

“Mew” Mori says.
“Dang, I was this close to getting a new cat” You say, reaching a hand up to the little kitty. “Come on, fuzzball. Let’s get you fed”

Mori hops off the branch and onto your sleeve, crawling up your sleeve to your shoulder, and then down into the breast pocket of your uniform.

“Snug?” You ask.
“Meee” Mori says, looking up at you from your pocket.
“I’ll take that as a yes” You say, patting the pocket.

As you head back to the building, your phone buzzes again.

[Dwight]>KFC?

You facepalm.

[Dwight]<It’s like you’re not even trying

You put your phone back away as you enter the building. But when you try to unlock the door with your key fob, the power goes out.

“The fuck?” You ask.

You pull out your phone to see if you can call someone inside. They removed the damn manual locks in an attempt to be all new-agey, so when the power goes out your only options are to ask someone to open it for you, or to use the back door…

Your phone is dead, though. You try turning it on. Nothing.

You check your watch to see if it’s something that’s effecting electronics. Your watch still seems to be working…

The face says it’s 12:00

>[ ] Take a look around

>[ ] Head to the back door

>[ ] Try to find someone

>>40848234
>[ ] Head to the back door
you said he had blue eyes before

>>40848234
>>[ ] Head to the back door

>>40848313
And the picture has yellow eyes.

Kek.

Magical eye cat.

>>40848234
>[ ] Head to the back door

The cat has blue eyes. First thread and I'm already having continuity issues...
Fuck

>writing

>>40848451
Or so you say, it's obvious that you played your spy cat hand too early!

>>40848514
>>40848451
I was thinking it was an eldritch abomination.

>>40848234
>>[ ] Head to the back door

>>40848534
I'll meet you halfway, Speldrich Catbomination

You put away your now useless phone and head out and around to the back door.

It’s not just your building, the whole town seems to be off. Right from the apartment across the way, to the streetlights, to the church tower, to the airport…

If it’s this bad, maybe you could get up to the roof and see if Toronto got hit. You can usually see the CN Tower from your roof on a clear night, and tonight is exceptionally clear.

You look up at the skies, relishing in the best part of a blackout like this: the stars.

Without the light pollution, you get an amazing view of them…

Or not. There isn't a single celestial body to be seen, save for the moon… is it always that red?

The moon comes into view as you round your building, and everything is cast in a red glow. It’s like something out of a horror movie…

On top of all that, it’s quiet. Incredibly quiet. It’s more than the usual lack of electronic buzzing. There are no planes, no cars, no people, no dogs…

It’s like you’re alone out here.

>[1/2]

File: 0986fngr6.jpg (25 KB, 625x400)

25 KB JPG

>>40848578
Welp, we're fucked.

You get to the back door and try to unlock it. Your key jams.

You jiggle it, but the lock won’t budge.

“Did someone fuckin’ break this thing?” You ask.
“Meeew” Mori says.
“Yes yes, ‘feed me, servant’ I know” You say, scratching his head. “I need to get back inside first…”

>[ ] Try to break the door

>[ ] Try to climb up to your balcony

>[ ] Look around to see if you can find some people

>>40848681
>>[ ] Try to climb up to your balcony
become the catbomination

>>40848681
>[ ] Look around to see if you can find some people

>>40848681
>[ ] Look around to see if you can find some people

>>40848681
>>[ ] Try to climb up to your balcony

>writing

You look up and circle the building, looking for your balcony. You recognize it from outside, only because of the big Guyanese flag hung on the balcony of the apartment below yours.

“Hang on fuzzball, we’re going for a climb” You say, then you back up a few paces to get a running start.

You run at the first floor, jumping up and grabbing the floor of the 2nd floor balcony. Then you heft yourself up, careful not to crush your passenger.

You look inside the apartment whose balcony you’re on, and see no one inside. Like the rest of the town, everything is powered down.

Wasting no time, you get up on the ledge and grab the floor of the next balcony up.

You make it up to your balcony and find the back door still open. Peering over into your new neighbour’s place, you see the lights are off. You call out for Sarah, but receive no answer…

Looking back out into the city, you see someone wandering the streets.

You can’t quite make them out from here, but they seem to be wearing a… dress?

>[ ] Shout out to them

>[ ] Go down and say hello

>[ ] Grab a weapon, then do [one of the above]

>>40849106
>>[ ] Shout out to them
>"Yo, nigga! What's good? You Seein't dis shit!?"

Make sure to set Mori down and get some food out, though.

>>40849106
>[ ] Shout out to them

>>40849106
>[ ] Shout out to them
"Oui who are you?"

>>40849106
>Get something for the cat to eat
>Get something for us to eat
>Shout out to them

>>40849106
>>[ ] Go down and say hello

>writing

You go inside and quickly open up the cupboard, pulling out the bag you keep the catfood in, opening it and placing it on the ground.

Then you put Mori down next to it.

“Don’t gorge yourself fuzzball. I’ll be back soon” You say.
“Rrrr-rrrrrow!” Mori replies, before hopping onto the bag of catfood and climbing up and into it.

Right, now you need a weapon.
You look under your couch, and grab your knife. You put it in your pocket, and then head back to the balcony.

You probably won’t need it. You never have. This neighbourhood isn't the best, but your fists and feet have gotten you by thus far. You’ve been practicing different martial-arts for as long as you can remember.

You aren’t sure why, but you’ve always felt like you aren’t strong enough. Even now, when you know that there’s maaaaybe 3 people in town that could take you on in a fair fight, you still feel like it’s not enough.

The question now is, will you have to add whoever it is that’s down there to the list…

“Oi!” You shout.

The figure looks up.

“Hello” They say. “Lovely night”
“Sssssure… Listen, do you know what’s going on here?” You ask.
“I certainly do” They say. “Why don’t you come down here and find out?”

“I think you can say it just fine from down there” You say.
“Aww… not going to come down and play?” They ask. “That suits me just fine”

The figure reaches into the ground with their stone arm…

Wait… they have a stone arm? A bigass fucking stone arm where their right hand should be. How did you not notice that before?

They pull a chunk of stone out of the ground and throw it at you.

There’s no way that’s making it up here. No one is that stroooo-oh god it’s coming right for you!

>Rolling time
>Challenge roll
>Target is 30

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>40849506

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>40849506
Got it.

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>40849506

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>40849506

>Roll passed!
>37 in 3

>>40849529
Doesn't count, d20s only

>writing

You drop into slow time. It’s difficult because you’re already behind, but you manage.

Half speed… third speed… quarter speed… lower and lower.

When the stone hits you, your body is moving so slowly through time that you’re like a block of iron in regular time. Instead of crushing you, it bounces off.

And then unfurls to reveal its humanoid form, grabbing the railing of your balcony and moving back in to punch you

You quickly return to regular time and deflect its fist. When it tries again, you take its momentum and use it to throw the stone man off of your balcony.

You look down and watch it shatter on the floor below, then look back at the one who threw it.

They’re clapping… It makes an odd sound due to the one giant stone hand, but it still makes a sound…

“Impressive” They say. “Was that body reinforcement? No… some kind of forcefield?”

You remain silent, and ponder your options.

This is fucking crazy. The red mood, the power outage, this crazy person in a dress with a giant stone hand throwing rock men at you…

“Not going to answer?” They say. “All the same, you will take your secret to your grave then”

They reach back into the ground and start to pull out another stone…

>[ ] Jump down, use slow time to cushion your fall, and try to beat this person

>[ ] Stay up here and deal with the stone men as she throws them

>>40849909
>[ ] Jump down, use slow time to cushion your fall, and try to beat this person

>>40849909
>[ ] Stay up here and deal with the stone men as she throws them
Knock a few more out of the way while we open the door. Then GOFAST somewhere where she can't see and make a plan.

>>40849909
>[ ] Jump down, use slow time to cushion your fall, and try to beat this person

>writing

You glare at the person below. If it’s a fight they want, you’ll give it to them.

You vault over the railing and hold your arms out to control your fall. About 2 thirds of the way down, you slow time down.

This isn't the first time you’ve done this, thankfully. You experiment with this ability of yours whenever you come up with an interesting way to use it.

By your perception, you keep falling at the same rate. Only the lurching feeling of falling disappears, and there’s almost no impact when you hit the ground. Because in real-time, you slow right down and touch down at a nice comfortable rate.

As soon as your first foot touches the ground, you speed time back up, going past real-time to triple-time. Using this burst of speed, you close the distance between you and Stonehand.

You resume real-time once you get close. As awesome as it would be to continue fighting in fast-time, it’s a good way to break some bones.

Your punches fly faster in fast-time, but your body becomes closer in state to a liquid. This means that connecting a blow in fast-time can (and has, incidentally) end with you breaking some bones…

So you move in, poised to strike.

>Dice time!
>Challenge roll
>Target is 30 again

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>40850261

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>40850261

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>40850261

File: Q54SwNn.gif (689 KB, 266x199)

689 KB GIF

>>40850370

>Challenge success!
>47 in 3

>writing

>>40850410
I rolled a 1 and then a 20, in a quest where crits don't matter.

Probably for the best, dice gods. Probably for the best.

I finally get back home, and here's Smiley runnin' Blood Moon! Shine on, you crazy diamond.

Incidentally, what does Saif look like, and what does the girl in the dress look like, besides 'girl in a dress'?

>>40850412
So what does are guy look like?

The dress-wearing person swings their big-ass stone hand at you, making you stop your advance and duck under.

Still crouched, you thrust one leg forward and pivot on it, bringing you inside the range of the big stone hand.

At this distance, you can finally see your assailant’s face… or rather the mask that’s covering it.

The mask is white, with 3 congruent circles for eyes and a mouth. They’re wearing what appears to be an evening gown, and on their not-stone arm they have a silky looking opera glove. The stone arm covers the person’s entire right arm, making them appear asymmetrical.

You throw a left hook at Stonehand’s face, but it’s caught by their gloved hand. They crush your hand and bend it back with impossible strength, forcing you painfully back and to the ground. You look up and see them readying to crush you with their free hand.

Remembering the knife in your pocket, you reach for it and slash at their stomach. They let your hand go to get away, but you still manage to draw some blood.

Unfortunately, your left hand is worse for wear… And your knife should’ve gone much deeper than that. Their skin was tough. More like a hide than human skin…

Stonehand runs a gloved finger across their new wound, bringing their hand up to examine the blood.

“I had forgotten what strength desperation can bring” They say. Thetop half of the mouth circle on the mask disappears, giving them a smile. “Show me more”

Stonehand lunges forward, leading with their titular hand…

>[1/2]

>>40850623
Right, so our best bet is a kind of cross-counter where we just point the knife out and slow time as they run into it. Preferably using fast time to get in position and free up our time "balance"

You enter fast time to counter the speed and ferocity of their lunge, stepping to the side and readying a knee to their stomach before returning to real time.

The knee connects, but it doesn’t seem to faze them. In fact, it feels like you just kneed a brick wall. Pain shoots through your leg, but you grit and bear it.

They turn and swing at your head with the stone hand. In response, you get into position to deflect it and slow down time.

In your slowed state the stone hand bounces off of your arm, doing little actual damage. While they’re regaining themselves after that unexpected deflection, you switch up your tactic…

>[ ] Use the knife, go for the throat

>[ ] Grapple them

>>40850713
>>[ ] Use the knife, go for the throat

>>40850713
>GOFAST behind, knife the throat

>>40850713
>>[ ] Grapple them
Momma said knock you out

Herakles choked the Nemean Lion when stabbing it didn't work.

>>40850758
Can we stay long enough in slow time to finish the choke, though?

>>40850713
>Super speed shanking

>writing

You grip the knife tightly and enter fast time, whipping around behind Stonehand and returning to real time

You put one hand under their chin, and with the other you jam the knife into their throat as hard as you can.

*ting*

What?

You’re no expert, but you’re positive that that isn't the sound that a stabbing makes…

You pull the knife away and see that the tip is missing…

“Ohh? Is that all you got?” Stonehands asks.
“I-“

The stone hand reaches back and lifts you up by your collar, whipping you at the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of you.

“And you’ll make 29” They say, drawing their massive hand back and sending it straight at your chest.

You slow time down… too slowly. The punch connects more quickly than you thought it would, and you hear more than feel your ribs cracking.

You lose your focus and time starts to wobble between slow and fast. You try to get control of it, but you can’t quite seem to catch it. You try to take a deep breath, but it gets cut short by the stone fist crashing into your chest again.

“You were almost interesting” They say. “More so than the others”
“wha-…”

Your reply gets cut short as the stone fist fills your vision.

>[1/2]

Mortal…

…

Mortal…

…

I know you can hear me…

“Five more minutes” You say.

Do you know where you are?

“I’m in my bed”

You are on the ground, in the street.

“Why would I be there?”

Because you are dead

“How did I die?”

Not important

“What is important?”

You are

“What about me?”

Tell me, mortal. Do you want to live?

>Do you?

>>40851096
sure why not

>>40851096
Yeah Duh

>>40851096
I just a handle on this time thing, I don't wanna run out of it.

>>40851096
No, fuck that shit, I wanna punch dat bitch in duh face.

>>40851096.
ya i do its nice there's food and friends

>>40851096
Do I get a wholesale discount for 9 lives?

>writing

>>40851230
>A.K.A. confused thing is unable to form a coherent response to the bullshit it just heard

It all comes flooding back to you. Your life. You have school tomorrow, you were going to make Dwight buy you lunch at the nice Korean restaurant, you were going to play video games with Yui, tell Claire that you think she’s pretty, tell Devon he’s an anus, graduate, go to college, do something with your life…

It can’t end here.

“I do” You say.

The voice comes into view. It originates from a beaten up suit of armor. You don’t know how you know this, but the suit of armor is empty. A shell, or an image…

It holds out its hand and gives you a mask. A black mask, with upturned crescent eyes and a wide smile.

The mask shatters as soon as you reach out and touch it.

“Then live” The armor says. “Live to fight. Live to die”

The world comes back into view as you leave the strange null-space you were in.

“Live to win” The voice says. “Welcome to the Arena, Saif Malikov”

>[1/2]

You pull yourself to your feet. The pain is gone. Your hand is healed, your chest is no longer broken.

Ahead of you, Stonehand is walking away.

“One more down” They say. “That makes 30. They all die so easily”

“As… fucking… if” You say. Rage seethes within you.

Stonehand turns around, white circles within the black circles of the ‘eyes’ on their mask. “You are… what?”

“Like I’d lose here” You say, walking over to them. “To some asshole like you”
“You are not dead” They say.
“YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT!”

You pull your fist back, and slam it into their face with all of your might. The force of it sends them stumbling back, eventually they fall over backwards.

You rush forward again, ready to pummel them into the pavement.

…

And then you’re back at the front door to your apartment, key fob at the sensor, and Moriarty in your pocket.

The sensor beeps as the lock on the door clicks open.

“What the fuck?” You say, still breathing heavily.
“Mew” Mori says.

You whip out your phone and check the time. 1:00.

That wasn’t a dream. That wasn’t a hallucination. That happened.

“Rrrrrr-rrew!” Mori says.
“Yeah, I’m tired too” You say.

Your phone buzzes again…

>[ ] Answer it

>[ ] It’ll wait. Go sleep.

>>40851542
>Get some food for us and the cat
>Answer it

>>40851542
>>[ ] Answer it
Obvious plot hook is obvious.

>>40851542
>>[ ] Answer it

>writing

“Who the fuck…” You say, pulling out your phone as you go through the front door.

Unknown number, unknown name…. cool. Might as well answer it. If it’s coming right now, maybe it has something to do with whatever the fuck is going on…

You hit accept.

“Confirmation. Is this. Saif. Malikov?” The voice says.
“Yes” You reply.
“Confirmed. Welcome to the Blood Moon” The voice says.

Then it hangs up.

You look at your phone, and up in the corner you see the words ‘new apps installed’. New apps installed?

You flip through your front pages until you come across the one thing that doesn’t belong. A cartoon moon, painted red with the word ‘Blood Moon’ under it. You hit the app, and a loading screen comes up featuring a red moon going through its phases.

“Just who the hell designed this shit?” You ask.

As the app loads, you hit the call button for the elevator.

The loading finishes, and the screen shows several ‘news posts’. Most of them are about ‘X’s champion was killed’ or ‘X’s champion joined’, there are even a few ‘X’s champion allied with Y’s champion.

You scroll down, counting the number of joined versus the number killed.

By the time the elevator makes it down, you’ve finished. 100 joined. 80 killed…

You step into the elevator, and bump into someone else who is also getting on.

“Oh! Sorry… Ms. Browning?” You say.
“Saif?” She asks.

Odd. You didn’t know Ms. Browning lived here. She’s your teacher in your favourite class:

>[ ] Music

>[ ] Physics

>[ ] Drama

>[ ] Other

>>40851847
>>[ ] Music

>>40851847
>>[ ] Music

>>40851847
>[ ] Physics

Of course! We need to know these things so we can tell Newton to fuck off with his laws.

>>40851847
>Relativity
mmmm, spaceships

>>40851847
>[ ] Music

>>40851925
I don't see the relation between those things, but I didn't know they even taught courses on relativity, so the fuck do I know, right?

>writing

>>40851998
if i was smiley i would count that as a vote for physics

>>40851847
Musical Physics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqtdpuZxvk

>>40851998
the simplest example for relativity starts with:
>Roy is standing on Earth
>A spaceship flying at .9c flies away from Earth...
>At what speed......does Roy observe?

>>40852045
ya know i watched that yesterday

>>40852075
>>40852027
and yes, this DOES fall under physics, in retrospect.

“What are you doing here” Ms. Browning asks.
“I live here” You say.
“Oh” She says. “I didn’t know that”

“What floor?” You ask.
“7” She replies.

You hit 7. Convenient, 7 is also your floor.

You look Ms. Browning over in the corner of your eye. She’s pretty good looking for a teacher. If you were an immature, hormone driven teenager you might even say she was hot.

And you are in fact, an immature, hormone driven teenager. So yeah, she’s pretty smokin’. She has shoulder length, dirty blonde hair, tanned white skin with a small dabbling of freckles on her face, ocean blue eyes, and modest sized breasts.

Now, Music isn't your favourite course because of her. She’s a pretty cool teacher, but it would be hard to find a teacher that could make you dislike music…

And now you’re getting flustered…

“Whatcha looking at?” She asks.

Damn, have you been caught?

No. You’ve been looking at your phone… And the Blood Moon app…

You’re not sure which would be worse, the app, or getting caught staring…

“Some new app I found” You say. “News and stuff”
“Ahh” She replies. “And if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out so late? You know it’s a school night”

>[ ] I could ask you the same question

>[ ] Cat

>>40852147
>[ ] Cat
>16 hour shift

>>40852147
>>[ ] Cat

>writing

>>40852229
>>40852187
Yes, the number one way to acquire women.

Small animals.

>>40852311
Chicas love gatos.

Mori chooses this moment to rustle and poke his head back out of your pocket.

“Meeeee” He says.

Ms. Browning stares at Mori.

“You heard him” You say. “Little jerk got out, I had to look all over”
“Awww, he’s a cutey” She says, reaching over and petting him. “What’s his name?”
“Moriarty” You say.
“Well, if you wanted a good cat, you shouldn’t have named him after a bad guy” She says.
“Starting to realize this myself” You say.

Mori reaches out and gently paws Ms. Browning’s hand, purring as he enjoys his head pets.

The elevator reaches the 7th floor, Ms. Browning takes her hand away, much to Moriarty’s Ire.

His tiny, adorable Ire.

You both leave the elevator.

“Well, I guess this is goodnight” Ms. Browning says.
“Yes” You say. “See you tomorrow”
“See you tomorrow” She replies.

And then you both walk in the same direction…

All the way up to the apartment next to yours. The one Sarah lives in, and the way Moriarty escaped.

“Oh…” You say. “You just moved in then?” You ask.
“Yes… how did you know?” She asks.

You smile and unlock your door.

“Ah” She says. “That makes us neighbours then”
“It does” You say.
“Goodnight Saif” She says.
“Goodnight Ms. Browning” You reply.

You both go into your apartments…

You aren’t sure whether or not it’s a good thing that you have your teacher living next door to you… Still kind of a neat coincidence though.

>[ ] Head to bed

>[ ] Look around your apartment

>[ ] Shower

>[ ] Other

>>40852418
>>[ ] Look around your apartment
if nothing suspicious
>>[ ] Shower

This seems like Fate/stay Night, except without ancient heroes, and a helluve lot more cutthroat; I don't wish to find unpleasant surprises.

>writing

>>40852418
>[ ] Head to bed

You close the door behind you and pull Mori out of your pocket by the scruff, setting him down on the ground. He looks up and meows at you, and then walks over to the couch.

He’ll be fine. The only reason he ever goes on the couch when no one is sitting on it is to sleep. Which means that what he ate earlier is still in him… or something…

You check around your apartment, specifically under the couch. The knife is still there. Still in one piece.

You pull it out and examine it. It’s the same knife. Just as sharp as it’s always been.

Out on the balcony, there’s no sign of the damage that Stonehand caused. You look down to the street, and there’s nothing where that stone man fell…

There’s also no sign of your fighting in the street either…

You shake your head and pull your shirt off as you head inside and into your bathroom.

Giving yourself a once over in the mirror, you see that there’s absolutely no sign of the damage that Stonehand did to you. Not even a scratch.

You splash water on your face and look yourself over.

You look about the same as you ever have. Brown skin, black hair, light brown eyes. You’ve been told that you’re handsome, and you choose to believe that because you have no idea how to judge your own looks. To you, the face looking back at you just looks gloomy…

Your body is toned from years of doing every single type of martial art that someone would teach you. The only blemish is a scar from a bite on your arm, that you’re pretty sure came from a person.

Though you don’t remember ever getting it…

Satisfied that there is nothing wrong with you, you turn away from the mirror and turn on the shower…

>[1/2]

You come out the bathroom a few minutes later. Having already changed into your pajamas, you lazily saunter over to the couch.

Moriarty is sound asleep, as you thought he’d be. And you think you’re right behind him.

You gently lift the sleeping kitty up, lay down on the couch, and put him back down on your chest.

Somehow sensing that you’re here, he starts to purr in his sleep.

You get comfortable, and close your eyes. The App, the Blood Moon, Stonehands, that suit of armor; all of that can wait until you’ve had a good night’s sleep.

Or, y’know… as much sleep as you can get considering that it’s 1:30…

Tomorrow should be fun…

>End of Night 1

That's all for tonight!

I hope you guys enjoy the new project. Feel free to ask questions or leave suggestions.

Chances are that I'll be running this for a longer period tomorrow. I'll let you know if that changes

>>40852771
The plot thickens...

Loving it so far, Smiley! One small discrepency: The Guardian said it would give it's 'Fool's Shield' to a girl. Is that us? I imagine the beat up armor represented it.

>>40852820
That was not a mistake, and that is all I will say about it.

>>40852853
Fair enough.

>>40852771
So, banging the teacher when?

>>40852853
>another magical girl quest

God I fucking hope not, there are nearly as many of those as DBZ quests, I swear.

>>40852919
Saif is male.

>>40852941
Yeah, so was the protag of one of those damn MG quests.

Of course I never actually read it, so I have no fucking clue what's going on over there.

Thought that magical girl shit was just "Uguu you transform girl now so kawaii" or some shit. Whatever man, I'm not an expert on this shit, I'm just a whale biologist!