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>>47399544

Quiet noise.

All is still, in the aftermath of the last battle. From far, far above comes a soft creaking and grinding, the sound of vast machinery at work - At some point, the walls of the chamber have dimmed to translucency (Windows? Screens?) - affording a view out across the ruins of Arcadia.

The world is a sea of luminous smoke, underlit by widespread firestorms. Some buildings glow pink, reflecting the light of the inferno. Overhead, the sky is full of fire, too - A mirror of the ground.

There are flashes. Wavering bursts of illumination, dancing and jumping in the dark.

The Shield has fallen. Early, or too late? You can't tell from here.

On all sides, Memory Towers murmur and slide, turning slightly one way, then the another - Responding to the blooms of light in the vast darkness. Your form is momentarily silhouetted against the harsh illumination; Ragged, scarred by war, hard-edged and patchwork. Black tar leaks from the joints in your arm, bleeding Lachryma - the ache of raw nerves replaced by cool, machine precision, unwavering in their aim as Rubicante's muzzle hovers mere inches from Alura's face.

Her head is down, her shoulders heaving with the force of her sobs. Alura's pale skin is streaked with ash, with soot - crystal shards leaving angry red welts against her arms, like a thousand papercuts. Every now and then, she blurts out a curse, or whines a regret - weeping, as if she could stay like this forever.

And you watch her.

The hyper-awareness of FOREBODE - A fragment of a previous Joker - is centered squarely on her. Waiting for some last-ditch effort - a holdout, an easily concealed backup, some Codeburst or power, a tiny bit of treachery at the very core of Alura's self - to be brought to bear.

You find none.

Around you-

(Continued)

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>>47399559

Kazuya has found his footing, somehow. He's limping, his strides easing as golden filaments trace over his armor again and again - the limb twisting back into alignment, tiny welder's-arc sparks flickering against peerless orichalcum.

"Anon-" he begins - There's a new respect in his tone, a kind of fear. His gaze darts warily across the tableau - Alura, on her knees. You, your gun levelled against her head. A silence lingers, as he looks away; You can't tell what he's thinking, as he half-walks, half-staggers, over to the Thief.

"Akira-"

The Thief exhales, a low, rasping hiss of agony. His ember eyes flicker weakly, in the pits of his skull-helm.

"Sword."

Daegal hesitates - "You don't *need* it - Akira, it just makes things worse-"

"*Now*," the Thief almost snarls, a fractured burst of static from his damaged vocalizer. A curt grunt of warning saws from his speakers, as Daegal reaches for the Fatal Abyss-

And as if it means nothing at all to him, he places it in the Thief's remaining hand. Closes his fingers around the hilt.

To Kazuya, that accursed, terrible blade - It's just a sword. Just a *thing*, that matters not at all.

"Can you sta-"

"No."

(Continued)

>>47399576

Hydraulics hum, as Daegal hooks the Thief's arm around the collar of his armor. He stands, gleaming - Heedless of the gore and filth and ash that Akira's remaining hand smears against his shining plate. They make for an odd, three-legged creature - The Thief's grunt of pain smothered, his black-gloved hand squeezing the Fatal Abyss's hilt like a talisman.

And perhaps for him, it is.

"Joker-"

Haze, now. On his feet again, his namesake oozing from the vents on his back. A one-man biological weapon - Strangely vulnerable, as he cradles the stump of his arm against his chest, eyeslits flickering yellow. Somehow, somehow, he's survived; He raises his remaining hand, as if he's about to clasp your shoulder-

A beat.

He lowers it to his side, wary gaze settling on Alura.

"Is she..." Haze begins, searching for the words - "...Is she - *safe*?"

No.

"It's just - Rook's all...all fucked up, and-"

"What are you going to d-"

Alura lifts her head. Haze flinches - He takes a wary step back, despite himself.

"How does it feel?"

"Wha-"

There's something scornful in her gaze, something predatory as she leans forward - but her tone is pure spite.

"How does it *feel*? To know you'll never *have* him-"

Her lips twist, in something that is almost a smile.

"-in the way I did?"

"You-" Haze's fist clenches, trembling. An injector spike snickers from his wrist, dribbling beads of venom.

[ ] "Shut up."
[ ] "Haze. Go make sure Rook's okay. Now."
[ ] "Is that all you have left, Alura?"
[ ] "She's trying to wind you up. Ignore her."
[ ] "I'm the one asking the questions."
[ ] "She's all yours, Haze."
[ ] Hit her.
[ ] Shoot her.
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>47399750

What, haze is gay?

>>47399750
"You tried."

>>47399792
Wait he isn't?

>>47399750
>[X] "Haze. Go make sure Rook's okay. Now."
>[X] "Is that all you have left, Alura?"

>>47399807
>>47399890

> "You tried."

Whatever Rook might be. Whatever he has become-

-he's not her creature.

The words come out flat, affectless - Like slow machine-gun fire. Enough to make Alura blink, hard - Half-turning, the barrel less than an inch from her left eye.

It's different, isn't it? When there's no possibility of escape. When it doesn't matter what she does - She can't duck away from it. She can't take a wound, instead of the kill shot.

All she can do is see it coming.

Those thoughts flash across her elegant features, as vivid as an open book. Her lips press together in a thin line.

> [X] "Haze. Go make sure Rook's okay. Now."

"But-"

There is heat in his voice. More than mere offense, from her taunt.

His gauntlet opens, slowly. The spike retracts with a steely hiss.

The look he gives Alura - Even though his helmet registers no emotion - is malevolent.

> [X] "Is that all you have left, Alura?"

The smile slips off her face. Tear-streaked, her hair in disarray, she's still beautiful - objectively so. But the spite that makes her face curdle, twist upon itself - just a spasm, a moment then gone - makes her look mundane, only for an instant; like everyone else. It ruins the illusion.

"Oh, there's more. A lot more."

She turns to you, her face unhappy, but her posture provocative.

"-I can be anything you want. You know this. I can't fight you - *I* know this."

Dark almond eyes look at you, moist and miserable. Her slim fingers move to the clasps of her dress, the rounded tops of her breasts pressing up against the silken fabric.

"Come on - We both know where this is leading. I know you're going to."

"You're going to sculpt me into whatever sick punishment shape you want, and I'll crawl and debase myself, and we'll both know who has the power *then*-"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>47399890
Also while it's really good to see you back, this might be too late/early for most people.

>>47400093

(Probably. My apologies - I actually intended to be at work today, but I was more ill than I initially expected. Recovering well, though.)

>>47400085

That's so fucked up, I don't know how to respond.

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>>47400085
Is there anything we need to know from her anons?

Cause I'm for capping her now but can't help but feel like im forgetting something

>>47400085
I guess the gist of what I want to convey is that
>Pazuzu really took all the fun we might have had about doing that to her, if there was any in the first place
>And how about she help us take him down, because fuck that guy, she tried her best and yet he discarded her like everyone else, at least with us she can make a chart about why we're killing her.
>And in case she's hesitant to help us, there's still a good chance we'll die regardless so don't think of it as making sure we live, think of it as making sure -he dies-.

>>47400244
No, fuck no. Absolutely no.

>>47400232
Any medical/repair facilities we can raid, since aside from Daegal eveyrone is varying degrees of FUCKED?

Insight into how to beat White and/or Black Joker?

>>47400251
Alright, so just shoot her then?

Like I don't know she wasn't even the penultimate boss, so what exactly are we supposed to do?

>>47400244

We are not working with her. You cannot trust this bitch an inch. I say we feed her to Rook.

>>47400085
>
"You're going to sculpt me into whatever sick punishment shape you want, and I'll crawl and debase myself, and we'll both know who has the power *then*-"

"I'm not you"

>>47400300
Fucked that up.

>>47400085
"You wanted to be beautiful, didn't you Alura? Too bad that no mask can hide the ugliness behind it."

>>47400285
I'm not saying we're working with her, but maybe just tell us how to beat him before we kill her. Because fuck that guy.

>>47400300

> "I'm not you."

The words hang in the air, for what seems like an eternity.

Alura's expression tightens. There is a flash of - something - in her eyes.

>>47400342

> "You wanted to be beautiful, didn't you Alura? Too bad that no mask can hide the ugliness behind it."

She flinches - Actually flinches. For a moment, she looks hurt, almost frightened-

And now you see what's in her eyes.

Hatred.

"Charming," she sneers - Her lip curling. "-Is that what you told Cybele, when she crawled into your bed?"

Her voice is soft, now. Softer.

>>47400244

"He'll kill you, *Joker*. But he's not the one you need to fear-"

Alura bites her lip, hard enough to draw blood. A bead of it traces the curve of her chin.

"-Because deep down, he's as pathetic and lonely as you. Chasing the same dead woman. Making excuses for her, again and again-"

She swallows, hard, before she chokes on her own hatred. Her bosom heaves, drawing deep breaths - Fingers curled into claws.

"-Do you even know what Naoya's doing to Mio, *right now*?"

Daegal, some distance away, stiffens - Frozen in the action of reaching for the Condemner.

There is a feverish light in Alura's eyes, almost spitting the words, flecking her full lips.

"She needed you - She *made* you her protector - and you couldn't even do that. How does it feel, Joker? How does it feel to be some miserable girl's *wet dream*-?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>47400486

Can we just shoot her in response? I hope she hasn't got some attack lined up that will go off on her death.

>>47400628

Let Rook have her. This has been a long time coming.

>>47400486
I don't really have anything to say, like say that it's bigger than us, and it doesn't matter how we feel?

Say that we'll get ours soon enough, but not just yet?

Just shoot her?

It's been so long that I have no idea what we want from her or what we're doing next except trudging onwards to get curbstomped by White Joker.

>>47400724
Actually I think letting Rook kill her might be a more fitting end but I'm worried she might be able to mess with him.

(Gentlemen, perhaps I should stop here for now? I'm aware that this is irregular, and for that I apologize - I wasn't expecting to run a session today, except that the opportunity arose unexpectedly.

We could continue, instead, this coming weekend as per the regular schedule.)

>>47400486
To Rook - "You want her or shall I end it now?"

Otherwise just shoot her. It's better than she deserves but we got no more time to waste on her. Plus I wouldn't trust any info she'd give us anyway.

>>47400757
That seems like it might be a good idea since this thread is nearly empty. Thanks for running if you do decide to stop.

>>47400782

(Sure, that seems like the better option.

Again, my sincerest apologies.)

>>47400786
Could you do a brief recap as well, if that wouldn't be too much trouble?

Also hope you enjoy the free time from being on sick leave and feel better as well.

>>47400813

(By all means.

The Smilers succeeded in seizing control of the Diadem, and proceeded to bombard the city of Arcadia. Hundreds of people were incinerated in the barrage. Others were harvested by Players, or torn apart by the Cryptids unleashed from the Diadem.

You gathered a strike team of Armaros, the Thief, Daegal, Rook and Distortion Haze to infiltrate the Diadem via a teleportation portal, with the intent to sabotage it from within and stop the slaughter. Simultaneously, the survivors of the initial attack - Including a number of newly-awakened Players - staged a breakout attempt, to destroy the Shield Pylons preventing their escape from the area.

After battling your way through the Diadem, your team encountered Rust Kaiser, Calcite Arrow, Enfer, Alura Une, Bell Zephyr and Inox Fang. You defeated them, after a grueling battle - But not without cost, as Armaros was killed by Rust Kaiser and Bell Zephyr.

Alura is the last survivor of the battle. It appears that Pazuzu has stripped her of her powers and withdrawn all support, leaving her in her fragile Hyades form.)

>>47400932
Wait, do we even need to fight Pazuzu right now, or can we just scuttle the Diadem and make him come to us?

>>47400987

(The Diadem is a vast structure, about the size of a floating city. It is far larger within than without, due to the ship's unusual properties.

The most efficient way of scuttling it would be to destroy the Diadem's nerve center, where Pazuzu is currently located.)

>>47401013
Well shit, guess we better hope killing her will heal us a lot.

So, the thread is over?
Anyone still here for discussion?

>>47400654
Can Rook even move enough to do that?

>>47400486
>"She needed you - She *made* you her protector - and you couldn't even do that. How does it feel, Joker? How does it feel to be some miserable girl's *wet dream*-?"
Isn't that basically Alura projecting?
If anything, her hard-on for torture and destruction means that we are her wet dream.

We could throw that back at her in some way in the next session.

>>47401252

Well, he was still alive enough to shoot Alura in the back in the previous episode.

Really, Alura's just utterly repulsive as a character.

>>47401266
>Really, Alura's just utterly repulsive as a character.
Eh, I can guess where she's coming from.

But yeah, the end result is the kind of person that simply needs to die. If she didn't have superpowers, she'd still be as bad, but far more cunning. Killing husbands, gaslighting them and shit.

>>47401276

No, I mean, this is vile shit. The stuff she's saying should get her a broken jaw, at the very least. I don't understand why we're listening to the poison she's spewing.

>>47401290
>I don't understand why we're listening to the poison she's spewing.
To stall for Rook to stand up?

The only thing she can do now is die on her terms.

We want her to die on our terms. This means not rising to her bait.

>>47401290

She's just messing with us the way she was trying to fuck with Haze's head.

>>47402233
How about saging this thread instead of making a pointless bump?

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Aw yeah I caught a live thread!

>>47404288

Thread's not live.

>>47404922
Neither is Hecatia ;w;