Possible plan to buttfuck Bell Zephyr:
- Kura whip
- Reel Bell Zephyr in
- Punch her in the face with a cobalt boosted Crisis Arm
- Augment it with the Stormshroud. Or a Stasis Field upgrade.

>There's always an ending.

How close are we?

>>42884568
Depends on whether we job in this encounter or not.

>>42884568
I hope not too close.

>>42884525
Half an hour huh.

OP, do Chagan's modes scale with upgrades to the basic templates? Or is it independant of how much a weapon is upgraded?

>>42884525
Putting in one vote for Emulator Module upgrade or one vote for Power: Weapons 2.5

>>42884525
Wait!
Can we use our level-up on Relic Attunement with CHAGAN?

>>42884649
My choices:
- Melee weapon
- Cobalt Booster
- Fatalism/Stormshroud
- Inertia Field
- Frame Integrity

>>42884666
>Fatalism/Stormshroud
Would be my vote.
Or Athame synthesis.

Guys, just remember.
We should have more than 60% Meter right now. And we need QSC against Anima, unless we use Void Grenades or the Oblivion's Husk claws, both of which may or may not work.

>>42884649
>>42884666
Posting the sheet from last session.
>http://pastebin.com/ZUTjunJ4

>>42884657
Yeah, but I say we go for Emulator, Weapons 2.5 or Scylla instead. The first two will be just as good as Chagan, the third will give us two close combat weapons for free.

>>42884666
Fatalism would also be a good call, but none of those other options drastically change our ability to fight. Improved Emulator and 2.5 are game changers. I honestly can't say what Scylla could give us, but at the very least improved close combat/regen/being for free now is expected. With possible integration of actual weapons into each.

>>42884525
JQ, at this point, if I sent you an email requesting it, would you provide ALL the spoilers?

>>42884525
Voting for Fatalism. It's by far the most important upgrade at the moment.

>>42884649
>Weapons 2.5
Doesn't have enough of an impact this late in the game. We'd need to also upgrade Chagan for them to be useful.

>>42884683
We have way too much good shit at the moment and it's not exactly clear what'll do what.

I'm putting in a vote for Emulator Module, myself.
Notice that it's the only one described as a System Upgrade instead of a Relic Upgrade.

>>42884684
2.5 and Chagan is nice synergy.

Cobalt Booster allows us to get more codebursts.

Frame Integrity is most likely low-level Fatalism with an effect that triggers more than once a round.

So, I'd be okay with t2.5 or Chagan.
But ONLY if someone proposes a surefire way to murder Bell Zephyr.

>>42884684
>none of those other options drastically change our ability to fight
Seriously? Stormshroud lets us tank hits. Something we otherwise have no ability to do.

>>42884710
Tank hits and hug people to death.

>>42884666
>Melee weapon
We have enough of those.
>- Cobalt Booster
Might be good, but might be meaningless if the Booster isn't fully replenished by the level-up.
>- Fatalism/Stormshroud
Fatalism is good, but Stormshroud won't hold out it this fight.
>- Inertia Field
Doubt it'll have much of an effect against Megumi.
>- Frame Integrity
Doesn't seem like it'll have much effect this far in.

>>42884693
What? It will unlock new weapons and improve all of our mains. The options are designed to get better as they're unlocked. What you're saying makes no sense. In fact, it'll give Chagan more options, making it even better.

>>42884706
Against Bell, Fatalism might be our best chance to dodge all those crits.

>>42884710
Yeah, but if she gets a crit she'll pop it and Bell nearly always gets crits. We either wanna kill her fast or use fatalism.

(TERRORSIGHT: http://pastebin.com/vhCikvNH

CHAGAN: http://pastebin.com/7Jpf87Jf

Gentlemen, after a lot of thought and experimentation, I've decided to exclude CHAGAN'S Pulse Induction Field from the Relic's first level for better balance.)

The crackle of flames, licking against your armored boots-

The sickly glow of CHAGAN's generator, as the verdigrised orb spreads brass and basalt filigree across your left arm, glowing as if fresh from the forge-

RED JOKER LEVEL UP: http://pastebin.com/ZUTjunJ4

Somewhere, there is the brittle clash of the Fatal Abyss against Inox Fang's klaives. They move like ghosts, like spectres, dopplering in and out of existence; the Thief is a ragged smear in his black coat and grinning skull-mask, his blade a lightless intersection - a slice of unutterable blackness - against the churning smoke all around.

Everything is a blur. Glimpses of movement - A raised sword. A fist drawn back. A deflected kick wheeling away. There is something breathtaking about the exchange, something almost as wonderful as it is horrible. Steel smacks armor, and metal smacks steel back. A shower of sparks lights up the room as a klaive rebounds at speed, carving a jagged channel through the stone. Totenaz twitches his head to the side, to avoid the whirling blade-

-And abruptly, Inox Fang is in front of him. Fanged mask snarls into grinning skull as they lock - flickers of cising electricity jagging across the 'X' of matched klaives, fading to nothing where they touch the Fatal Abyss's lightless steel.

(Continued)

>>42884706
I imagine Maser Grenades or the Malefactor will be good against her.

Ok, guys, synergies are nice.

However, I just realized that Fatalism or Frame Integrity would be best.

Remember, Joker is weak against criticals. We constantly get dismembered and our enemy right now is a critter.

>>42884727
>In fact, it'll give Chagan more options, making it even better.
No.
Re-read the pastebin. Chagan currently only affects Tier 1 weaponry. As I said, we would need to spend another level up on Chagan for it to cover Tier 2 and 2.5.

>>42884740
No, you aren't getting it. 2.5 will unlock and improve new weapons for all the tiers. 2.5 refers to how we upgraded our weapons from tiers 1 and 2. 2.5 will be an overall improvement of all weaponry.

Fatalism, 2.5 or Emulator are our best bets.

>>42884729
>TERRORSIGHT
Guess we have a way to know how to take down Alura/Anima now.

>>42884729

"-We *made* you." Inox Fang's voice is a malevolent hiss, Shizuka's composed lilt lost in something terrible, something infinitely malicious. "How does it feel to know that, freak? You were always our *dog*, made to *crawl* for us - Everything you do, everything you *are*-"

A flick of the Thief's wrist - and in a blink, there's a knife in his free hand. The monofilament dagger rips in, low, right under the sternum - A gouging, ripping cut across Inox Fang's ribs. Lachryma wells out from the wound - smoking, dissolving into vapor as Fang reels back-

The Thief takes a single step forward - in that half-second reflexive blink - and jams the blade right through Inox's hip joint, leaning on it with all his strength. The hilt snaps off in his hand, but the whining, fractious blade continues to gnaw through the softer fibres of mutated flesh; His follow-up nearly takes her head off, as she *flickers* - a meter back, another - the aborted swing hissing through the burning air.

"Better a dog-" the Thief says, levelly, his eyes burning like embers.

"-than a monster."

He advances without impatience - A relentless, straight-ahead march, the Fatal Abyss held out and to the side. The sword's point drags against the ground, with a screech of sparks - His strides lengthening, becoming a run - accelerating to an all-out charge-

The mist coils across him, and he is gone.

Daegal lies where he's fallen. Discharge flickers across his golden armor, his limbs twitching like a dog with nightmares. The regal mantle of his Assault Shroud continues to smolder, smoke wisping out from the shattered ruby of his Cobalt Booster. You can sense his immense frustration, through the agony that racks him.

He wants to get up. He wants to *help*-

(Continued)

>>42884740
True.

However, either upgrade will already add quite a bit of power.

Man, this decision is fucking hard,

Fuck it, I'm >>42884735
>>42884706
>>42884666
and I have no idea what to vote.
The cost of Fatalism is too significant. Right now we'd use a huge chunk of meter if we activated it.

I say 2.5. Fatalism is awesome, but we need to save Meter right now.

>>42884762
Use it on Naoya, Black Joker, Pazuzu or Mio.
Nothing else warrants it,

>>42884782
I doubt it's possible to destroy Black Joker anyway and everyone else can be killed with a sufficient application of destructive force. Not Alura.

>>42884755
>2.5 will be an overall improvement of all weaponry.
Is there any evidence at all for that?

>>42884798
The real problem with Terrorsight is that it can't be deactivated and we'll lose Auspex if we use it.
That's a serious downside.

>>42884801
It will most likely add a few weapons to METER tier 2.

>>42884808
Better weakened than helpless.
>>42884770
>I say 2.5. Fatalism is awesome, but we need to save Meter right now.
We can use Booster to pay the price.

By the way
>>42884729
>Gentlemen, after a lot of thought and experimentation, I've decided to exclude CHAGAN'S Pulse Induction Field from the Relic's first level for better balance.)
Don't forget this sentence.

>>42884820
Don't forget the same thing happend with the Athame.

>>42884782
If the whole Highlander Prophecy nonsense we've got going on is still applicable, I don't think we're going to be seeing Mio for awhile.

>>42884823
But Athame is a nigger.

>>42884765
And Theif continues to be the only ally worth a damn.

>>42884808
I think Terrorsight is best used in a one versuse one, and not in a situation like this.
Having said that, i think we could benefit greatly from Fatalism in this encounter, due to it negating crits. I have absolutely no idea of what to pick else though. I thought long and hard about it one night a few weeks ago, but i just don't know.

>>42884842
You shut your whore mouth about Kazuya!

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>>42884765

A̬͚̥̱͘n͖̖̲͡ọ̶̀n̢̻͕̺̦ͅ-̵͔̝̲̠̯͇̖͘k̩͜͠ṳ̹͜n̝̹̜͙̳͟͡͠.̵̦̀̕.̬͔̜͈͇̙͓̕͠.͏̨͍̯̫͖̳̮͔̲͡W̵̯͘h̵͔͈͖̘͉͍͘ͅỵ̹̦͈̘̘̮͘?̡̨̢̯̲̱̱̦̪

The chitter of insect mandibles - the clatter of CICATRIX's spines - resolves into an awful mimicry of Megumi's voice. There's mockery in it, a high falsetto, a crooning at distress.

A͎͉̥n̛͙͕̝͕͙̞̼̭o̷̴̰̗͞n̵̜̦̭̫-̺̘͕ḵ̙̗̗̰͠u̷̘͓̙͈̯͞n҉̩̫̙̣͉̹̯͢,̨҉͔̟̪ ̛͎̞̳̰̬p̠̭̠͎͍͔̥ͅͅĺ͉̺͡e̜̱ą̷̬̼̞s̴͏̺̭͓e͖̱̭̤͜ ̯̦̲̜ͅh͇̦̜̪̞̥ò͙̟̪͍͍̯̣͚̀l̴̸̟̭̹̜̣d̘́ ͔̺̦͚̼̙̤̫̬m͕̥͉͈̞̭ę̸̥͕̫̲̺̩.̨̤̩̗͘ͅ ̴̖̹̬̲̭̲̗̤͓

A̼̘̝͟n͏҉̮̘͚͖͕͠o̹̥̖͎̝͉̪͚͘n̦̹-̷̮̹̕k̼̘̪̭̟͎͚̞̯͟ú͎̱͓͉̘̯n̛̥̱͠,̢͔̩͉̗̜̮̹̳͉ ̨̫̲̖͈͠Į͕̞͇̫̩ ̺̩̙̗̩̠͝w̰̺̜̫̟a͇͇̳̕ń̺̲̖͡t͔̮̮̗̩̰̯̕ͅ ̤͙̦͙́͠ỳ͍͞ͅo̧͎̬u̶̧̹̮̹̞̦̟̯͕ ̻͚͜ͅṯ̶o҉̰̦͍͉͠ ̧̘c̝̜͓̠͓͢o͍̣̬͉̺̗̤̤͢ḿ̲̹͇͔f̸̠̼͟o̮͇̥͢r̴͟͏̮̙̖̞̟̬t̨̛̯͓̞͍̩͕͇̦ ̼̹̲̝̯̘̙͓́̕͝m̛̥͇̩̖͚̥̪̻̖͡e̴͓̣̬͝-̥̝ ͖̰̗̤̭̰͔͢

A̹̬̘n҉̠̮o̥͙̺̙̕͠n̷̠̥͖̟̫̠̖̰͢͢-̢͇͕͡k̴̶̢͙̥ͅu͍͇̮͖̤̠̳͝͝n̴̹̳̙̗̟,̼̘̤̲̝͡͠͝ͅ ͚̠̱̲̟͈w̵̥͈̗̺̲̪̥̮͚h̴̗̖̰̩̥͓̹̖ỳ͏̳̦̝̟̻͕͈,̻̻̰ ҉͙͈̕͜w̭̪͡ẖ̦̱̮͕̗y҉҉̖̮̗,̴҉̭̕ ҉̩̱̩͎̮̟͍̗̟͞W̨͔̟͕̥̲̬̤͎͞H҉̵̛̙̥̙͎͚ͅÝ͏̼̳̭̟-̧̞̥̠͠

Bell Zephyr's mask is unmoving, cut from bone and ivory. Distantly, you hear metal buckle, joints warp - Something terrible is happening to Rust Kaiser. There is a sense of vast internal pressure, of strain, as EXEC_CASTIGATE warps everything that he is.

(Continued)

>>42884847
The fact he has no heavy weaponry other than the crappy mass produced shit makes him nearly useless.

>>42884858
Well, looks like we broke her.

>>42884860
Give him Rubicante and Cagnazzo and you'll see some serious shit.

>>42884872
We're a bit preoccupied.

>>42884801
Yes. We've gotten this upgrade before you know.

>>42884882
Please enlighten us.

...Oh wait.
We DID have t1.5.
It upgraded our missiles.
Remember?

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>>42884858

Fingers of black iron dig into the surface of a memory tower, fighting to haul himself upright - Flaws splinter through the quartz, and it shatters in his hand, the complex crystalline data-structures losing cohesion, going dark.

He throws his head back. Huge, armor-plated shoulders bulge aggressively, his mismatched eyes blazing.

He roars.

The sound is dreadful in both volume and tone, a sound of raw animal frustration - It makes the tiles underfoot splinter, slate-grey nails gnashing behind the mouth grille of his helm as he rages, fighting his own treacherous body, foetid energies smoking off him-

J̷̲̳͡O͈K̵͓̹̯͙̰͟ͅḚ͖̠R̵̠̠̯̟͜

-͏̨̲̪̞͇͔̩̖J̧̨̘̰ͅO̴̢̨̹̜̤K͇̣̤̱̣̼̙E̩̱̜͔͖͕͢R̴̞̳̀-̛҉̟̱̤̳̯̼̻

It is as if he can give only one name to his world-shattering agony, and it is yours. His legs moved, a creaking werewolf cackle of protesting joints as he forces himself to his feet - Servoes growling, tangled power cords tightening brutally, impelled by his fractured, buzzing consciousness alone-

As Daegal - With a grim determination, swearing under his breath - begins to crawl, hand-over-hand, inching forward one clawing span at a time...

"-I should have killed you a long time ago."

Bell Zephyr's words are delivered in an insect buzz - Somehow more lifeless, more artificial, than the chittering Relic that puts the lie to her words.

"Joker-kun...I should have killed you the day we met."

Her lissome legs tense beneath her. There is an exquisite poise to her form, as her coiled scourges hiss - their razor lengths threading across the ground, squealing and scraping as they slither along, feeling their way across the splintered ground with lascivious caresses.

(Continued)

>>42884898
"I should have done the same."

>>42884898
>"Joker-kun...I should have killed you the day we met."
"And I should have put Kou out of his misery earlier. It's the least I could've done."

>>42884898
When will the blame game for these people end? Joker's done. a lot of shit, fucked up a lot as well, but they brought this on themselves. Joker isn't at fault for trying to stop them, they are for getting into this situation.

Why is Anon's life such suffering?

>>42884946
No good deed goes unpunished. Or some shit like that.

>>42884898

(Gentlemen: While the votes are many and varied, FATALISM seems to be the preferred choice.)

Her head cants - tilting to the side, to regard you sidelong.

"I wonder why I didn't?"

"Maybe - Maybe, I wanted to punish myself."

It is an eternal moment. The last of Enfer's Essence gathers, coheres - the last echoes of his death dying away at last, whorls of green flame spiralling around you.

> "I should have done the same."
> "And I should have put Kou out of his misery earlier. It's the least I could've done."

A nod, a soft sound - Something like a sigh. Bell Zephyr begins to move - Deceptively slow, without haste, a dancer's grace in every motion-

-*Now.*

HP: 106.9%
COBALT BOOSTER: 58%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 46%
METER: 53%
ENCROACHMENT: 0%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

Rereading old upgrades right now.

We needed a Force upgrade to get the QSC.

As an aside, the TAU was apparently a result of a corrupted upgrade that interacted with Frost Cestus' signature.

I can't find the instances where our missiles changed to indirect fire weapons and the rack expanded.

>>42884964
Ok, summon Kura as a whip.
Reel Bell Zephyr in.
Use Booster-fed Scylla to strengthen our grasp on her.
Then, punch her face in. Use booster for a good Crisis Arm strike.
Remember to aim at her vitals with Auspex.

>>42884964

ABILITY UNLOCKED:

FATALISM:

(COST: 20% METER/15% ENCROACHMENT)

Each round, the first critical inflicted against you is negated. Some trick of fate turns it into a clean miss. This is a completely reflexive ability - It activates the first time the enemy would land a critical each round.

While costly, a miss is universally preferable to suffering the effects of a critical heat.

>>42884964
>(Gentlemen: While the votes are many and varied, FATALISM seems to be the preferred choice.)
I guess so, yeah.

>>42884964
Hit her with the Scander Bolt but try and save it until we're sure we'll get a hit.

>>42884988
Activate it.

We definitely need it right now.

Man, I love these buffs.

OP, does the Oblivion's Husk list expand upon selecting an upgrade?
The wording implies that each upgrade choice can be improved. Shouldn't there be a lvl 2 Forebode choice or something in the list then?

>>42884988
So it costs meter each time? shit that is a heafty cost but I guess a crit would be much worse.

>>42884986
>>42885003
Combine these.
If she's about to cut the connecting, send the bolt through Kura.

>>42885012
Wait, what?
I seriously hope you mis-interpreted it.

>>42884986

(Note that SCYLLA is severely damaged. Enfer decapitated one head, and the other is missing a lower jaw - i.e. It can't bite.)

>>42885006

(It's automatic. You can't consciously activate it: Each time you're about to be hit by a critical, it automatically kicks in, and the price is applied each time. Your survival instinct simply eclipses all other considerations.)

>>42885006
It's reflexive, we don't need to activate it.

>>42885021
>(It's automatic. You can't consciously activate it: Each time you're about to be hit by a critical, it automatically kicks in, and the price is applied each time. Your survival instinct simply eclipses all other considerations.)
Holy fuck.

Can we at least decide to pay from booster?

>>42885034

(I'll take it from Booster whenever you have Booster remaining.)

>>42885045
Welp.
Time to get upgrades to offset Fatalism.

>>42885034
Yeah I'm kinda regretting that choice now. Especially against a heavy critter like Megumi this'll suck our Booster bone dry.

>>42884964

(Gentlemen, I'll give it about five to ten more minutes before I lock in the decision.)

>>42885021
>(Note that SCYLLA is severely damaged. Enfer decapitated one head, and the other is missing a lower jaw - i.e. It can't bite.)

Then use Muleta shrike blades and a Vulcan to box her in while using Kura instead.

>>42885067
>>42885055
I warned you about it. also, kura has already been weakened since the last time we used it; its not at its best right now and Bell can probably break it.

When we boost back, blast her with te scander and follow up with Chagan nova gun to the torso.

>>42885097
Make that Chernobog instead of just Vulcans.

>>42885120
This tactic requires both hands.

>>42885120
I'll vote for that too, it doesn't cost meter after all.

>>42885137
CHAGAN incorporates a talon.

>>42885154
Kura + Crisis Arm is still two hands.

>>42885169
Can we use both? I thought the CHAGAN took up an arm slot like a Neutronium item.

>less then 50% of players have an idea of the RJs current status.

Jesus fucking Christ guys.

Also, why do you keep insisting on trying to close combat an opponent who specialises in close combat an critting/breaking things with a damaged weapon?

>>42885220
I think people were expecting the Leech Module to heal Scylla.

>>42885228

Your right hand comes up. The crimson void of the hypersphere erupts into KURA's thorned length - It rills in your grasp, the shape already fixed in your mind; A black-barbed lash, a braided cable that *uncoils* like a live thing. There is a brittle *hiss*, as it splits the air - slicing across the distance, towards where Bell Zephyr-

-had been-

She isn't there. A breath ahead of KURA's sizzling arc, she *leaps*-

And even though you *know* it is coming, even though your Inertia Field slows her from an invisibly fast blur to a mere speed-distorted phantom, you look up just in time to glimpse the bottom of her boot as it comes down towards your helm and smacks you tumbling towards the floor. Scylla's remaining maw lunges at her - a violent surge of motion, jawless mouth spearing forward-

Until a contemptuous whipcrack of her razor-edged scourge shears the hydra-maw in half. It is the work of a moment - her arm becomes a leather-sheathed blur, and in a single heart-stopping jolt, feedback crackles across the channel like a lightning storm. Even as the first Shrike Blades streak across the distance - single-edged, hiltless swords, the barrels of your remaining Vulcan levelled in the blank moment before the agony rips through you-

Bell Zephyr continues her spin into a blindingly fast wheel-kick that brings her heel against your cuirass with a *crack* like the report of a huge-bore rifle.

The force in that blow is immense. Your feet leave the ground - there is a dizzying moment of weightlessness, as you hit the floor at a steep angle, skidding along it, and slam into the far wall so hard part of it buckles and collapses into you.

All in one swift motion. All before your fist can clench down on the stirrup-grip of your Vulcans.

(Continued)

>>42885238
Welp. That went well.

>>42885258
I think we should hit her with a Nhil powered Disrupt.

>>42885238
Fuck.
This went badly.

Huh, apparently our missiles turned into a missile rack when we did our first EVOL upgrade.

I guess it makes sense. Our inherent ability is, after all, danmaku.
Now I wonder if Ability Unlock is a force multiplier.

>>42885266
>>42885261
>>42885258
Why are you people trying to fight a close range expert in close range? We have the speed and firepower to CRUSH her

>>42885311
Well considering she just moved faster then we could see I don't think we have the speed edge.

>>42885311
How about you make a fucking suggestion?

>>42885261
Sure. We'll need to pay with Meter too, though. We don't have enough Booster.
There goes the plan for hitting Alura with the QSC.

>>42885311
>the speed
It's fairly clear we don't actually have the speed.

>>42885322
I miss the Carnifex.

>>42885238

Your cuirass cracks. So do the endosteel ribs beneath your armor. Flaws scale across your torso plating, warning of falling hydraulic pressure, of internal damage - your sensors flicker, the terrible acceleration still reeling across your sensors as-

"You're-"

Through the fog. Through the mist. Auspex lights Bell Zephyr up from within, as she advances - there's something implacable in her approach, the narrow distance shrinking-

As if she has all the time in the world.

You fire anyway. Your Vulcans erupt into a starburst of muzzleflash, bolts sizzling across the distance - charging coils pulse as each searing shot flares, ionized rounds erupting in actinic blasts-

"-slow!"

She evades. There is a terrible grace in her every motion, as if your shots are nothing more than slow-tossed balls - There is no flaw in your aim, your instinctive perception of where she is and where she *should* be merging with the chime of the target lock, the cursor jumping and twitching as your Plasma Vulcan whirrs between bursts of fire-

There is no secret to her evasions, no trick. Bell Zephyr moves as if the world has slowed down, and she knows your next move before you make it.

(Continued)

>>42885311
>There is no secret to her evasions, no trick. Bell Zephyr moves as if the world has slowed down, and she knows your next move before you make it.
Get fucked.

>>42885341
You can't evade fire.

Time to test our flamethrower.

Also, she might have intention reading, so I advice spoilers.

>>42885363
Right, good idea.
You totally can avoid fire, though. Just dodge past it.

>>42885322
>>42885321
>>42885317
You idiots, summoning a new weapon and using it slows us down. I you read our past encounters with her, after getting the "you cannot be surppriseed ability" we got a speed upgrade which with the athame allows us to match her in speed if we use our abjuratiob jets.

Hit
>>42885238
Cast exec from shroud (her attacks penetrate anyway), fire the scander at her and follow up with the nova gun/Chagan thibg

>>42885363
I think the huge vulnerable fuel tanks would kick us in the ass

>>42885380
>You idiots, summoning a new weapon and using it slows us down.
Nigger, we have an upgrade that negates the weapon switching penalty. Weapon switching is a free action for us.

However, removing Kura is a different story...

>>42885380
We didn't summon a new weapon, though. We attacked with the Plasma Vulcan and she still dodged that, you dyslexic twat.
Also why the fuck are you suggesting summoning a new weapon in the same post you suggest summoning a new weapon slows us down?

>>42885380
We didn't get a speed upgrade, we just have a spidey sense that tells us of danger

>>42885397
Chagan is already equipped as are the scander and the coat. Nothing I said there changes our equipment.

Also, if you want to summon kura, that takes no time. Summoning it and then making it change shape takes longer. Never minding its a heavy weapon.

>>42885419
Ops explicitly said it boosts speed on top of everything else. Also, autocorrect is a fucking cunt

>>42885445
Where did they say that?

>>42885445
Initative, not speed.

>>42885341

She's taken your measure. She holds herself poised, her arms wide, a crackling scourge in each hand - Like a great white-crested owl, perched upon a branch. Dust kicks up around the blades of her feet, trailing sparks with each step. A throb of pain pulses through your right fist, as KURA's fangs sink deep - seeking to bond, to leech, to feed-

With a final, artistic flourish, Cicatrix extrudes blades of burning light. They are red - unutterably, unspeakably crimson - spreading out from her shoulder like bony spikes, or the fingers of a bat's wing.

Your Helix Gauntlet chatters with violet unlight. The Nihl Sphere glows-

And you hit her with something she can't possibly dodge.

When EXEC_DISRUPT hits her - the jagged, brittle edges of code erupting around Bell Zephyr, like a hail of broken shards - she cries out; It is a wail of shock, of distress, as Bell Zephyr stumbles - the heels of her palm pressing against her forehead in pain. Cicatrix's blades tremble, wavering in the air-

And then they splinter like glass beneath a sledgehammer.

The detonation rattles fragments from the memory towers, jewelled shards fracturing into the air - when she stumbles, the white noise of agony, a blurt of wordless sound, spews from her speakers, as smoke swirls around her like funerary incense-

You have one shot.

You take it.

(Done)

>>42885467
>You have one shot.
>You take it.
Hooray!

>>42885460
>>42885457
Ops mentioned I. His posts how we both get automatic priority and a slight speed boost.

>>42885487
He didn't say we hit.

>>42885467
>Memory Tower
Hey, guys, wha if the memory towers that are constantly breaking actually have an important function?
I suggest we nuke them after the battle.

>>42885467
Please God let it be Chagan and nova gun. The debuff and damage will let us ruin her next turn as she's forced to slice off the petrified portion.

>>42885467

Electric discharge spits from the ruins of the Tempest Scrander - the last spark, the last flicker of animation, all that pent-up charge - channeled into you. *Through* you.

A line of lightning. Bright and urgent and overwhelming. It burns through the air. It lights up the world.

It buries itself into Bell Zephyr. You actually *see* her crimson armor scorch, blacken - an inarticulate cry wrenched from her lips, a detonation ahead of the bleeding line of disturbed space-time. There is a *crack* like a storm cloud spitting thunder directly at your eardrums as the forking arc of pure, dazzling, blistering energy lances forth: a vast froth of red corospant envelops Bell Zephyr, chained lightning that crackles and coils like live snakes. The immense whiplash discharge becomes a snap shockwave of heat and debris-

And she bursts into flame.

The recoil pushes you into the crumbling wall, but the main force hits Bell Zephyr like a battering ram. It hurls her through the air a dozen meters - Picked up and *thrown* - limbs splaying as the raw electric surge dearticulates her, like a broken doll; when she hits the ground, her fist spasms open, a scourge rolling away from her grasp as the points of her clawed glove dig trembling lines into the ground-

(Continued)

>>42885568
Fucking Brutal.

>>42885568

Your drivers shriek, as you wrench yourself upright.

No more delays. No more mistakes. KURA's gnawing jaws spike phantom agony through your mind, as the Tau Gun sketches itself into existence, the Vector Trap disgorging a half-real construction of glowing schematic lines, clenched in your left fist...

-And CHAGAN surges forward to consume it. System patterns reconfigure, as the genius of the Nova Cannon's design is swallowed up - System patterns reconfiguring like sunlight on moving water, articulated plates of smoldering brass and black iron assembling themselves around a fist-sized frosted green sphere. Strands of blackness seethe and whisper to themselves within the trigger-spines of the array, gray and gold smoke wisping up from the barrel as you level the vast mechanism that encases your arm-

Targeting rings align. Silent filaments of gray lightning stream between the spines, the entire weapon juddering in a monstrous discharge as it spews forth a seething blot of unutterable darkness, black-on-black: It unfurls as it boils through the air, *curving* towards Bell Zephyr's fallen form-

You hear the crash of pounding boots. The screaming whine of protesting servo joints. The juddering crash of a *leap*, a force as blunt and brutal as a grunt of pain-

There is nothing of agility in Rust Kaiser's motions. It is an abhuman burst of physical acceleration, an animal sprint, right, immense feet raking and sparking the tiled floor. When he ploughs forward, his size to speed ratio defies reason, defies sanity - as he comes up like a bull ape, almost pounding on his hands and feet, his legs and arms hurling her body mass forward in a gallop that shakes the ground and splinters memory towers with the blind speed of his passage-

Catoblepas's bolt takes him in the heart.

(Continued)

>>42885692
Extra Fucking Brutal.

>>42885692
So Chagan is basically a mech for our guns?

>>42885692
Aww yeah.
We're back in business.

Shit am I late is the killing over?

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>>42885692
>Rust Kaiser is about to bite it
Muh Essence
>inb4 keikaku doori

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>>42885692
Good. I'd like to say good riddance, but we know Rust Kaiser has a habit of not dying, so i'll keep it cool.

>>42885750
If we level up again I'm definitely voting for the Emulator Module.
Imagine if it let us have two Chagans.

>>42885692

He does not attempt to block the shot, or evade, or attempt the slightest deflection. He hurls himself *into* it, headfirst, the shadowy eruption boiling across his superdense armor - It hits him under his left arm, as he throws his guard wide and absorbs the hit in his physical core. Rivulets of energy claw across pitted black plate - but instead of eroding it, they *change* it. From meteoric iron to petrified stone, to black marble-

Rust Kaiser sways back a step. The Catoblepas hums against your fist, cycling, fighting to recharge-

And with a mighty swing, Rust Kaiser crashes his fists through the air, metal-shod arms whipping just in front of you as you hurl yourself to the side.

EXEC_CASTIGATE slows him.

It is your salvation.

The momentum is enough for both of his huge hands to plunge INTO the wall, the impact burying his fists halfway to the elbows-

J̠͎̱͇͚̱ͅO̠̝̘K͍̩̲̺Ę̖̠R̷

He wrenches his arms free. That blank gaze turns towards you, as he takes a floor-shaking, measured step - his torso armor crumbling, the gouges and holes as the black marble flaws away beneath its own weight just pockets of shadow in the smooth, terrible light-

As for the very first time, you see what is *within* him.

(Continued)

>>42885772
I thought the paste said we couldn't do that?

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>>42885791
>As for the very first time, you see what is *within* him.

>>42885791
"Imago sends his regards."

>>42885750
>Rust Kaiser essence corrupts Joker

>>42885772
Or we upgrade Chagan.

>>42885791

(FATALISM activated.)

There is flesh within his armor. Grey, tumorous flesh. It pushes out from the gap, ever-growing; shapeless, warped, squirming. Threads of blackness coil through it, the harsh, corded lines of muscle, of organ meat - vile carciomas, scaly macules and papules, all that sickly grey shade. It continues to swell, to grow, to *bulge*-

"Kou-?" Bell Zephyr's voice is a low whisper, a pleading whisper- "Kou, *don't*-"

-And when Rust Kaiser *drives* forward, pushing off the ground in a lunge, his great hooves tear gouges in the concrete as his deformed legs propel him towards you at a full run.

HP: 79.5%
COBALT BOOSTER: 69%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 16%
METER: 63%
ENCROACHMENT: 15%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

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>>42885854

(Forgot my picture - Apologies.)

>>42885854
Hmm. Seems like Kou's a cancer.
Years of videogames have taught me that when faced with fleshy enemies to use fire.
So I'd use the flamethrower.
Maybe activate Terrorsight?

>>42885854
I guess we continue using petrification. Void grenades would take a round to switch to.

My guess is that he will explode.

Fire a Chain mine at him. Continue using the petrification attack.

Use Booster and Abruption Jets to stay the fuck away from him.
Use the environment to prevent him from charging in a straight line.
Use after-images to throw off his aim if he comes too close.

I wish we could duck behind cover and throw a decoy for an ambush.

>>42885875
>Maybe activate Terrorsight?
Do you have brain damage?

>>42885887
>Use the environment to prevent him from charging in a straight line.
If we can somehow make him barrel into Zephyr that would be amazing.

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>>42885854

>>42885887
This.

>>42885898
We'd need to freeze her for that.
And we don't have EXEC_DICTUM anymore.

Also, how do we prevent Zephyr from attacking us while we are fighting Rust Kaiser?

>>42885898
We should try to take her put if the opportunity present while we run

Worst case Cancer Joe takes another attack for her

>>42885854
Hit him with 4 boosted triskelion missiles since fire is always effective against Lachryma mutants.

>>42885920
No.
Use boosted chain mines against him.

Fire four missiles and an EXEC_SWARM at Bell Zephyr.

>>42885927
No swarm, we don't have enough shroud for it so we'd have to use HP for it.

>>42885927
>EXEC_SWARM
Did we throw out a swarm earlier in the fight? I can't recall.

>>42885927
Wait, can't we HP-fire Swarm to get health back?

What would be a good target for some health boost?
Is Calcite Arrow still alive?

>>42885942

(He's still alive, but he's currently engaging Rook.)

>>42885957
What about our Golden Boy?

>>42885970

(He's just retrieved Armaros's sword.)

>>42885970
Still cooking on the ground I think.

>>42885976
Jesus H. Christmas fucking hot sauce Daegal kids got mixy I love it

>>42885976
Ok that is much better

>>42885854

Don't forget to include this OP. >>42885804

>>42886060
I don't think its a good idea to make him even madder

>>42886076
I'm hoping he pauses long enough for us to get in some heavy hits, he thinks Imago is dead after all.

>>42885875
>>42885887
>>42885920
>>42885927

Rust Kaiser's steel-shod hooves shake the ground - his howl thunders from his chest, a wall of blank sound, the full-throated roar of an animal, a primordial ravager, in a rage-

He only has his fists. That earns you a moment - With his sword, he'd already have cut you in half.

Your Abruption Jets flare in a desperate evasion, as he lunges at you - you hurl yourself away from him and hit the tiled ground several metres back, landing in an abrupt tumble. Step by lumbering step, he comes after you - iron-shod fingers driving forward with brutal strength, to seize you and rip you apart-

The Catoblepas hums with gathering charge. Too slow, too *slow*. The schematic lines of your Chain Mine swirl around your right arm...And dissipate, as KURA's leech maw continues to gnaw at your armor. That hesitation nearly costs you everything; You duck a lateral swing, then roll to avoid a cataclysmic punch. He keeps coming, keeps swinging - every blow a meteoric impact, the tatters of your Assault Shroud trailing afterimages as you rip KURA from your wrist, jerking your head back hard to avoid his next swing-

The evasion is whisker-close, this time. You're running out of room to dodge - Rust Kaiser's fist smashes down against the ground, the painful, plosive bang creating a radiating crater in the tilework; a bullet hole in a mirror, the concussive tremor making the ground *ripple* in waves-

(Continued)

>>42886160
FUCKING KURA.

>>42886172
Iron Ogre must be laughing in his grave.
Or spinning.

>>42886172
Right. After this fight we're giving this thing to Kaz, a gift from Brogre or not.

>>42886160

Catoblepas's maw spews another fuming bolt of shadow - And this time, Rust Kaiser turns *into* it, one spined shoulder guard taking the shot. The eruption of seething anti-light boils across the splintered ground, petrifying it into gleaming black obsidian, momentarily fusing the limb in place, wedged tight by the inward-punched stone-

> "Imago sends his regards."

...And he pulls, pulls, *pulls* with the mindless fury of an animal in a trap, until flesh tears and graft bonds shear-

-he roars-

-And with strength beyond belief, Rust Kaiser's fist smashes his own arm into riocheting flinders of stone. You glimpse the twisting frame beneath, just for a moment; Like bones, like a shattered human skeleton, dripping with gore, remaking itself as you back away. Vile, seething flesh grows - what looks like organs, or eyes, reassembling or uncooking. Shards of black marble slough off, or are swallowing like shedding skin as new flesh forms beneath in, expanding into the shape of a three-taloned limb-

I̵̭̟M̯̫̰̰̣ͅḀ̵̯̻̮̗̹G͈̺̜ͅO̭̼̜͔͔̲͘

There is unmatched fury in that single word, that single utterance.

I̧̥̱͔̠̯̹͖M̱̯̝̫̺A̢G̵͈̮̞̭̩̥̯O̦̻͍̞̯͔

R͇̮͖͍͢I̞͉̱͚̰̥̲͜P͏̺͕̖̣̜̥ ̴̘̩͎Y͉͚̣̖͕̤O̶U̗̱̦͡
̬̮̦̫͖͓̀
̲̱̬͕͓͇̼͠A̱͔̮̭̹̖P̵͎̦͚̼͍̭A͟RT͙

Bands of red oscillate across his form, pulsing in time with his rage. EXEC_CASTIGATE is still within him, and it turns every motion to agony.

He does not stop. Not for a second.

(Continued)

>>42886205
KURA is very useful, we just used it at the wrong point.

>>42886217
I FUCKED UP I'M SORRY.

>>42886232
We've all been there, anon.

>>42886217
Goddamn, Kaiser is metal. Wonder if SMITE would've done better.

>>42886217

A quartet of missiles explode against him, and bathe him in raw flame. Your Triskelion Launchers cycle, as the salvo erupts into vast blossoms of flame - azure fire clings to him, rising like a crest from his cancerous flesh, coiling across pitted black iron as it swirls across his form. Cysts, and worst things, boil and pop, drooling black pus - Pus that catches flame, too, staining the world around him a dirty, burned black-

As the inferno sidewinders in hissing coils around Rust Kaiser, he reaches out - both arms - closing them around the shivering crystal of an orphaned memory tower-

He pulls it free. With a deep, grinding groan, he wrenches the pillar off its foundations, a column larger than he is. His fists - one flesh, one metal, fragments of armor streaming from his chest - gouge handholds in the flawed crystal-

As you level the Chain Mine and-

And Bell Zephyr's scourge slashes across you from behind.

It is a desperate blow. It is a blow that is delivered with neither skill nor precision - at this range, the broad slicing arc of the segmented lash is so denuded, the angles dwindle down into the infinitesimally small. Your Assault Shroud takes the worst of it; the ruins of your Tempest Scrander are enough to serve as a second layer of ablative armor, as the edges of the lash razor through them with a shriek of rending metal.

It nearly severs your spine.

(Continued)

>>42886232
No, this is perfect. We're leading him to his end. We'll walk into our mines and be blown to bits.

>>42886300
WHERE THE FUCK IS EVERYONE ELSE, WHY ARE WE FIGHTING TWO OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE BY OURSELVES

>>42886300
I thought Forebode was meant to stop us getting hit with sneak attacks.

>>42886318
>We'll walk into our mines and be blown to bits.
Wow, anon. I hope that typo isn't prophetic.

>>42886300
All in favor of freeing the beast inside the scarlet Joker say Aye

>>42886318
>WHY ARE WE FIGHTING TWO OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE BY OURSELVES
Armaros is dead, Rook is completely gone, Haze was getting fucked up the last time we saw him, Daegal is out for a bit, and the Thief is busy fighting.

>>42886318
>WHERE THE FUCK IS EVERYONE ELSE, WHY ARE WE FIGHTING TWO OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE BY OURSELVES>>
Thief is busy fighting Inox, Daegal is probably dodging Arrow's attacks, Haze is almost dead and Rook is undergoing a BDSM session with Alura.

>>42886327
*They'll, not we will. Seriously, we should have blown him to bits. At least the Ascalon is going to punch out of his chest now.

>>42886320
Forbode doesn't let us get ambushed. The attack couldn't have been that bad though because FATALISM doesn't affect.

>>42886340
Chuunifag get out.

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>>42886357
>calling someone a chuunifag in a Joker Quest thread
Anon, pls.

>>42886357
>Chuunifag
Que?

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>>42886320

"Got him-" Bell Zephyr's voice is brittle with hatred, as her weapon winds back for another strike. One arm hangs limp at her side, the electric crackle of her scourge gone dim - tiny flames still smolder across her form, the pagan crest of bone-ivory that crowns her charred and blackened-

Her attention is entirely on you.

That is her mistake.

Sparks flare across the rent, as your legs crumple beneath you - Systems fighting to recohere-

There is a sound. Sledgehammer-echo-roar.

A fury of white light and heat leaps across the distance. The effect is huge, the explosion monstrous. It goes wide - a ball of seething sunfire - erupting into a sunburst two yards in diameter. Bell Zephyr is hurled aside by the blast - Her agility gone, she lands on her shattered arm, skidding, sliding, tumbling as smoke wisps from her already-charred limbs-

Rust Kaiser turns.

"Come on! Come *on*, ugly!"

Armaros's sword - Ascalon - is not a subtle weapon. It is a huge claymore, a great, cleaving edge that flares out into the open top of a barisage cannon. In Daegal's hands, slammed into the floor to brace the huge weapon, spiralling gold inlay coils across the peerless steel - silver chased with gold, a lion's open maw exhaling smoke.

There is defiance in Daegal's voice, defiance and disbelieving terror as he leans on the blade - Both hands grasping the hilt as he wrenches it from the ground, levelling it at Rust Kaiser.

"-I did that. Me. *I'm* the one you want, you bastard-"

Red and azure light flares in the mismatched lens of Rust Kaiser's eyes.

"Bring it *on*, you miserable, evil *fuck*-"

(Continued)

>>42886548
>Daegal is about to score his first level up

>>42886548

There is a low rumble. The shriek of a great bird of prey. The rush of tattered wings-

And then the battered remains of Rook's vast avian form - black mist boiling from the shreds of shadow that twist around him, bleeding Lachryma from every surface - smashes through the columns between you, and fills the air with a hail of razor shards.

And after that-

-Everything goes straight to hell.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 142

TO BE CONTINUED

>>42886566
>-Everything goes straight to hell.
Oh, goddamnit.

>>42886566

(Gentlemen, I hate to stop here. However, it's extremely late for me, and tomorrow is the start of a new work-week. The end of this round also looks like a natural break-point.

Good night and God bless - You've been a wonderful audience, and I'll see you again next week.)

>>42886582
joker. pls. stahp being such a tease. pls.

>>42886582
On a scale from 1-fucked how fucked are we?

>>42886582
Thanks for running, JQOP.

>>42886582
Does anybody on team joker use acid? Where's Haze?

>>42886603
if we use Shoggy's All Guardsmen party meter, I'd say it's on
>FULL BORDER OCCURRENCE RIDE.

>>42886566
WE'RE ALREADY IN HELL, HOW COULD THIS GET ANY WORSE.

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>>42886548
Who was the bastard who said Kazuya is useless? IN YOUR FACE!

>>42886646
I said he was useless because he didn't have any good weapons, which he does now but I feel it's a bit late considering all the damage he's taken.