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The last episode was a return to form for Makoto, as she had endeavored to get some training done with Lau Chang on her day off from work. However, the simple day was made a lot more complicated - an Inves had broken through a Crack in the gym, and had maliciously claimed someone's life.

Makoto promptly gave it what for, in front of the evacuated people from the gym. While the Inves did go down, it took two massive attacks to ground it - much more than a normal Evolved.

Is this the sign of things to come for the Forest?

>Follow Makoto
>Follow Erina
>Other (write in)

Peachy reporting in.

>>41541613
>>41541628
>follow Makoto

>>41541613
>Follow Erina

>>41541613
NORG here
>Follow Makoto

>>41541656
should say, this is eieiOH finally got some free time

>>41541719
Welcome aboard, bro. Glad you could make it.

>>41541651
>>41541656
>>41541671

You prowl around the locker room, and with a sigh of relief, discover that indeed, the warmth was the shower just being left on.

However, you can hear the stamping of multiple pairs of feet down the hall, as you change into clothes for blending in - must be Yggdrasil Corp, sent to clean up the mess--

Wait.

That metallic clinking sound.

That sounds more like soldiers or police than Yggdrasil --

And they're coming for the door of the locker room. You can hear them form up on either side of the door, and judging by the footsteps and clatter there's a lot of them.

"If anyone's inside, put your hands on your head and get on your knees!" one of them calls, a gruff sounding man with the vocal power of a megaphone. Probably why he's the one talking instead of anyone else.

The guns you heard, though, are worrying...

>Try to escape via the window
>Comply with instructions
>Talk back
>Other (write in)

>>41541877
>>Try to escape via the window

>>41541877 escape!

>>41541877
>Escape

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>>41541892
>>41541962
>>41541989

Nope. Nuh uh, you've already got enough problems as it is. Those are police, no doubt about that. Your brain starts surging into "fight or flight" mode, and you know for a fact you can't resist bullets and a lot of people.

It's flight time.

You scramble for the high window, climbing on lockers and opening it as best as you can, wiggling through the opening, just barely making it over the wall before you heard the door burst open. Your driver suffers some scratches from the awkward placement, but thankfully everything's in one piece.

You hear the armed people stream into the room...

>Wait near the window to listen in
>Nope, fuck that, get outta the area

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>>41542110
>Nope, fuck that, get outta the area

>>41542162
You didn't bother to stick around. One of them could get the right idea and peek outside, and then you'd be in even more trouble.

You dash away, duffel still over your shoulder, and try to get as far away from the gym as possible - ducking into alleyways, flying through the residential areas as fast as you can manage.

Now let's hope that no one saw you...

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>41542581
Let's just be ready to run like hell.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>41542581

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>41542581
'Sup Sagara. Good to see you.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>41542581

>>41542816
WELP

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>41542581

>>41542791
>>41542816
>>41542847
>>41542849
>>41542986

As you're sprinting down the sidewalk, you crash face-first into someone, sending both of you spiraling to the sidewalk. It's certainly painful, and you struggle to get up for a moment, seeing phantom lights and stars dance ni your vision.

"Kinushima...?"

It had to be him, didn't it? Out of all the people you could have sent yourself careening into on your way home from whatever the fuck just happened, it had to be...

>Takatora.
>Kaito.
>Jonouchi

They certainly don't look happy to see you, though. They manage to pull themselves off of the ground, offering a hand to you...

"What is going on, why are you running? Are you in trouble? Do I need to call the police?"

>>41543099
>Jonouchi

>>41543099
>Kaito

"When did you get so concerned about me?"

>>41543176
>>41543147
Tied

>>41543099
>Kaito.

>>41543585
>>41543176

It was Kaito. Long jacket slung over one of his shoulders, and an impassive, just this side of annoyed expression.

"When did you get so concerned about my well-being?" you asked, taking his hand and standing up. He looked away for a moment, refusing to answer your question.

"Not important. However, what's going on? What's the rush for?"

"Uh, it's about... I was gonna get caught by the police, so I ran for it."

An arched eyebrow, soon replaced on his expression with a furrowed brow.

"The police? Not Yggdrasil, but the actual police?"

"Yeah, and they sounded armed to the gills. Assault rifles and all that, heavy body armor. I got the fuck outta there as fast as I could, no way I wanted anything to do with what was going on."

He walks towaards you, locking eyes.

"You sure you shouldn't, y'know, explain the entire thing here, Kinushima? Why in the hell would the police, of all things, be after you?"

>[Free response]

>>41543820
"You sure care a lot more than usual, is this another way of showing your strength? Anyways it was a coincidence, there was an Inves that attacked earlier and I had my stuff stored and went to back to get it and then they just showed up."

>>41543820
Went to meet a guy who was going to teach me martial arts, there was a Crack there, one person died, Killed the Inves, went to the locker room detransformed, some guys who were either Police or JSDF showed up and demanded I turn myself in. Naturally, I refused, jumped out of the window and ran the fuck away.

>>41543975
>>41543860

"Was going to meet a guy that was gonna teach me more involved martial arts. Was a crack there, people were scattering, but the Inves that came out of it already got to a person in there. Killed the fuck outta it - probably on Beat Rider Hotline - went to the locker room to try to at least get my stuff back, and some people who were either SWAT or maybe even JSDF were knockin' at the door of it, ready to shoot if necessary. Ya don't bring rifles to a civil discussion."

"And?" he asked.

"What do you think? I got the hell out of there, climbed out the window. Still got my stuff, so I should be safe, but I don't know what the hell is going on, or what those people wanted with me."

Kaito crosses his arms, giving you a look that's as opaque as the clouds.

"So what do you intend to do? It's possible that those people were clearing the area for the Yggdrasil people to make sure there wasn't any leftover cracks. Which, by the way..."

"Yeah, I know. It was an instinctual feeling - those sounded like actual guns."

"And you didn't bother to at least comply?"

"Well... I mean..."

"I may not like the police as much as you or anyone else," he continues, "but there was a good chance they would have let you go, I reckon. Since you're a Rider and everything."

"Wasn't gonna take any chances."

"Still... what's your plan now?"

>Go back to the crack. Yggdrasil should be there, right?
>If Yggdrasil's got it, nothing to worry about. Do something else for the day. (write in)
>Switch perspective (Erina, or write in)

>>41544234
>Go back to the crack. Yggdrasil should be there, right?

>>41544234
>Go back to the crack. Yggdrasil should be there, right?
No one expects us to run away only to turn around and run back to the scene of the cri- I mean, the... Not-Crime? Let's go with that.

>>41544270
>>41544554

"Gonna go back to the crack. Unless the police started to employ Riders in their force ... which might be a good idea for another time, but now! I should probably get back to it, see if they need help. They probably do."

He nods after a moment, slinging his coat over his jacket.

"Don't make me come after you to fix your shit, just as a warning, he offhandedly mentions, turning back to his original stride.

...stupid Kaito.

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

It's not long before you head back to the scene. Unsurprisingly, there's a couple police cruisers around the gymnasium, lights still rotating but no sound. Plenty of people are rubbernecking at the entrance, but police tape prevents further entry from any outsiders. Yggdrasil trucks are also in front, bulky and slate gray with the logo emblazoned in white. Plenty of workers in hazmat suits are standing around. Some seem to be toting what looks to be gardening equipment - specifically, a back-mounted spray system of some kind.

You don't see any signs of any armed forces, though, aside from the standard issue Nambu revolvers the police are toting.

There's a couple officers standing aside, with the young man who you had talked to a few minutes ago.

>Try to walk in the front
>Talk to the officers and the man
>find someone else to talk to to try to get into the building
>Gather more information via people rubbernecking outside
>Other (write in)

>>41545005
>Gather more information via people rubbernecking outside
No reason to seem suspecious.

>>41545005
>Gather more information via people rubbernecking outside

>>41545067
>>41545573

It takes you only a couple moments to ask around. You feign the innocence of another younger person, on her way to the gym oblivious of the day's events outside of her iPhone and latte. You find yourself a little bit relieved that they don't see through your disguise, but they divulge regardless.

They talk in similar tones, of hushed surprise and reluctance. First an ambulance came by, dragging along in its wake police cruisers. Reports of an Inves, they said. And the way they say "Inves' carries a weight that hadn't been considered by you yet - an actual, dangerous risk.

"It killed someone!" a nearby woman whispers to you. "Straight out slashed the person's throat and drank its blood! How horrible, to think that these things are being used for sport?"

If only you could inform her just how much of a sport the Riders think of these creatures.

Soon after, they continue, the Yggdrasil trucks show up. Armed security guards, fanning out like they've been training for this for years. Spreading into the gym - finding a couple people still remaining inside. No harm came to them, but the intensity of their stares and the flagrance of their weapons put everyone around uneasy. An unsettling kind of air around how they moved - fifteen, maybe twenty, according to the bystanders.

"So far, all that we've seen out here is that guy in the suit, with the green pocket triangle, talking to the police officer. Girl with the pink tie has stuck by his side the entire time. No body yet, though."

Takatora, to be sure. But who was the other girl?

>Go talk to Takatora.
>Go talk to the police officer
>Walk in the front.
>Other (write in)

>>41545745
>Go talk to Takatorabatta

>>41545745
>Other (write in)
Don't go to talk to Takatora, but wait for him to come out on his own. If a lot of time passes without him reappearing, slink off to an alley where we can transform and head to the Forest with our Rose Attacker, see if he's wandering around in there again.

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>>41545946
>>41545772
Gonna pause here for the time being, until I come back from work around 9:30 or so. Kind of waning with my writing muse, but hopefully talking with people at work will rekindle it.

Hoping that this episode will have a bit more of an investigative thing to it, see how that turns out.

OOC time and discussion is go, free talk, y'know the drill.

>>41546224
Hail banana, then. Sorry I wasn't here earlier, been a busy day. Still, I'm relatively free now, so time to enjoy some dancing fruit ninjas.

Looks like Yggdrasil is doing more to involve the actual law enforcement with this. Which is good, in canon they more or less took it over entirely. This way there's a bit more involvement with the legitimate authorities, offers a bit of hope that Yggdrasil's going to be less morally ambiguous. Then again, there is this mess with the Inves Green harvesting thing, which does seem ominous. So maybe I'm being premature in that assumption.

>>41546224
Hail Banana!

>>41546376
Well, the law enforcement getting involved with Yggdrasil might mean there's bigger conspiracies going on.
we'll have to investigate further.

Also, I just realized Inves Green is Made of Inves (who might once have been people).

>>41546892
And here I was thinking of it as a "Kaiju Blue" reference, given how many of the mega-Inves are Pacific Rim references. Totally missed that pun. Neat.

>>41546224
Hail Banana

>>41546892
The Inves Green goo is kind of interesting, do wonder what would actually happen if you got hit by it.

>>41547039
Well, I think it's the same stuff as the Inves goo they bleed. The stuff seems to be a pretty potent mutagen. Probably full of concentrated Helheim spores. Which makes it worrying to imagine what Yggdrasil is doing with it.

>>41547002
I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but it's amusing anyway.

>>41547111
There was that white stuff we found that one time in the Helheim, back when we found Bat-kun for the second time.

That stuff made a dead branch flower and seemed mutagenic as well.
Kinda reminds me of that silvery mutagen from Bionicle, Protodermis, I think it was called.

>>41547287
>There was that white stuff we found that one time in the Helheim, back when we found Bat-kun for the second time.
That's what I mean, The Dragon Evolved Inves we fought bled it. I think it might be some reservoir of high-concentration Helheim spores the Inves keep within themselves to moderate their mutated biology. Possibly some sort of analogue to to lymphatic fluid, using the spores in place of white blood cells.

>>41546224
Man, I totally forgot this was happening today. It was awesome to see it pop up as I was randomly browsing.

Here's an interesting thought: Would it be a good idea to get a driver for Lau Chang? He seems capable and trustworthy, although you never know...

Also hail banana.

>>41547600
I don't know if Lau wants to get into the whole Inves-fighting scene. Could be something interesting to raise with him, but for now let's not make any assumptions.

Banana.

Bumping for bananas.

>>41547002
>>41546892
Could also have been a reference to Hierophant Green, to be honest. Sagara's a Stardust Crusaders fan, remember?

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Back. alright, Where were we?

I believe we were tied with what to do in front of the gym, so I'm gonna do a repost of the choices.

>Go talk to Takatora.
>Go talk to the police officer
>Walk in the front.
>Other (write in)

>>41553138
Cool, we're back.

>Go talk to Takatora.

>>41553138
>Go talk to Takatora
Seems like the best option.

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>>41553624
>>41553454

You break from the group of gossipers, striding with at least some semblance of purpose - in your workout clothes, still somewhat sweaty from the exertion - and head right over to Takatora. The woman next to him steps forward, in an attempt to show off some kind of protection, of dominance.

You don't stop.

Takatora breaks his concentration from the officer, muttering something to him to end the conversation as he turns to face you fully. His expression is still as opaque as ever, though - you're not sure your current appearance is helping your impression much.

"Kinushima." He says after a moment, and a loud sigh, pushing a hand into the pocket of his slacks. "What an unexpected surprise. What can I help you with?"

The woman just stares at you, with an intensity and ferocity that verges on jealousy.

>Free response.

>>41554135
"So, Yggdrasil's working with the Police right now? Or is that the other way around?"
"So, what's it look like in there?"

>>41554135
"Hello to you as well, Kureshima-san. How are you doing today? Personally, I'm not doing well, my workout got interrupted by an Inves attack. I thought you might want to hear about it, it seemed rather unusual. The Inves was far more aggressive than normal. More durable, too. Should I talk to some of your scientists about that, give a report? I admit I'm not too clear on your research methods, but I figured it might be helpful to have a firsthand account of it."

>>41554135
"Just checking in. The Inves was acting kind of weird, was hoping I could pester you into an explanation for that. Also I kind of wanted to find out the deal you've got with the police, this is new. Is that a reaction to the changed behavior?"

So apparently now was the direct time for my computer to start upgrading to W10 and it's going real slow. Will rejoin when it's done, but until then, back to Ooc time.

Sorry yall

>>41555499
Okay. See you later, Sagara.

And thankfully that didn't take too long, I'm back! Let's get back to it.

Writing reply now.

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>>41555191
>>41555110
>>41554897

"Just checking in," you reply, nonchalantly. "How you doing?"

"Could be better," he mutters, glancing towards the gym. "Heard reports of a Rider already on the scene before we arrived - you, I'm presuming, due to the clothing." You nod in response.

"Can you tell me anything that was of note with this specimen?"

"The Inves was acting more... predatory in its actions. A higher level of sentience, perhaps. Far more aggression, more durable, actively went after a human instead of mindless hunting for Lockseeds like the Inves are wont to do. Are you sure you don't want me to give your scientists a report? I'm not too clear about your research methods--"

He puts a hand up for you to stop.

"I see..." is what he says for a moment, eyes glued onto the doors of the gym.

"Also," you continue after a moment, "what's with the police around? Is this a new reaction to the changed behavior of the Inves or something? Or did the police call you in?"

He chuckles. "The police went to us first. They don't have a rider of their own, how do you expect them to take down a predatory animal? That's more of our territory."

"And besides, it's not like we don't own the police."

He starts walking inside, the woman keeping step next to him.

>Follow.
>Stay.
>Other (write in)

>>41556619
>Other (write in)
Look around for Lau. Did he ever show up? If he did and saw the fight, ask for an assessment.

>>41556651

You look around for Lau, but there's no sign of him whatsoever. May have possibly been scared off by the commotion.

>Follow.
>Stay.
>other (write in)

>>41556910
>other (write in)
Didn't Kouta say Team Gaim wanted to talk to us? Let's call them up and head over. I think we've gotten all we can out of Takatora.

It's getting to 1:30, does anyone mind if we continue this next week?

>>41557356
Yeah, that's fine, Sagara. See you next week.