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Saurian
Level 2 (1/2 EXP)
HP: 5
EP: 6

STR+ (1d12+2)
SPD++ (1d14+4)
DEX= (1d10)
STA- (1d8)
CTR-- (1d6)
NRG= (1d10)

Passive Abilities
Feast of Kings 1 - STR increased by + for rolls involving biting enemies or initiating a Devour.
Active Abilities
Tonguepunch 1 - Once per encounter, free action. Perform a SPD roll vs your target's STA. If you succeed, deal 1 point of damage to them.

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Berserker
Level 3 (1/3 EXP)
HP: 10
EP: 4

STR+++ (1d16+6)
SPD- (1d8)
STA++ (1d14+4)
DEX= (1d10)
CTR--- (1d4)
NRG- (1d8)

Passive Abilities
Demolition Man 1 - DC checks to destroy obstructions are decreased by one category.
Regenerate 1 - Whenever you succeed a STA roll by more than twice an opponent's roll or the DC, regain 1 HP.
Active Abilities
Beast Eye 1 - Once per turn, free action, costs 3 HP to activate. Gain an additional action.

Rolled 8 (1d8)

Luckily for you, the other Steelshape, whom instinct tells you is named Berserker, is much slower than he is fast. At the very least, if he isn't slow, he's moving at a leisurely pace with a confident, swaggered stride, dragging his concrete slab on the ground like someone who has never used a sword thinks they could look intimidating while using a sword.

>Run away. Now's not the time. (Roll 1d14+4)
>Make the first move and jump at him. (Roll 1d14+4)
>Taunt. (Player Choice, Free Action)
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>613831
>Make the first move and jump at him. (Roll 1d14+4)

Rolled 12 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613831
>Make the first move and jump at him. (Roll 1d14+4)

Rolled 1 + 2 (1d1 + 2)

[Testing /qst/ dice since I'm not sure if plusses are factored in or not]

[Also, forgot to mention, feel free to follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/DMCasual for the latest in Cyber Demon Quest news!]

Rolled 14 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613836
[Also, forgot to mention that in most cases, combat stuff is based on just the first three responses, specifically whichever is highest. Normally I won't do this for people but here's your dice, sir/ma'am]

Rolled 1 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613831
>Make the first move and jump at him. (Roll 1d14+4)
hit and run, do the tongue punch then break away

>>613844
based qm rolls

>>613844
Well now we know to just let you roll instead, you've clearly got the the dice gods favor above everybody else...

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Saw a couple of pics which might be useful.

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#2

>>613855
maybe you might want to vote first?

Rolled 5 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613855
>>613856
[Many thanks]

>>613836
>>613844
18 vs 8
Rolled at capacity & doubled opponent's roll: Two bonus actions!
Opponent rolls at capacity: One bonus action!

Even if he's being leisurely, you're much faster than him on your worst day. Steam hisses from your feet before you spring to life, coiling your entire body and uncoiling it as you shoot towards Berserker like a missile. He's completely unprepared for your speed - you see his body attempting to react by batting you away with the concrete pillar, but his arms aren't fast enough to get near you in time. Slamming him down with your feet, you begin your offensive, flourishing your claws.

During combat, if you have multiple actions available and use actions that have different dice, feel free to make the multiple posts necessary for each roll.
>Attack. (Player Choice. 1 action per attack. Roll Xd12+2, one dice per action used on attacks.)
>Biting Attack (1 action per attack. Roll Xd14+4, one dice per action used on biting attacks.)
>Tonguepunch 1 (Free Action. Roll 1d14+4.)
>Get out of striking distance. (1 action)

You have control.

Rolled 2, 7 + 4 = 13 (2d14 + 4)

>>613873
>Tonguepunch 1 (Free Action. Roll 1d14+4.)
>Biting Attack (1 action per attack. Roll Xd14+4, one dice per action used on biting attacks.)

Rolled 11 + 2 (1d12 + 2)

>>613873
>>Attack. (Player Choice. 1 action per attack. Roll Xd12+2, one dice per action used on attacks.)
>>Biting Attack (1 action per attack. Roll Xd14+4, one dice per action used on biting attacks.)
>>Tonguepunch 1 (Free Action. Roll 1d14+4.)
>>Get out of striking distance. (1 action)
all of them.

Attack the arm to weaken his ability to retaliate. Bite an artery somewhere to start sapping his blood/strength, tonguepunch one eye to disorient, and get out of the way.....

....to start goading him into throwing the concrete pillar at his allies.

Rolled 10, 3 + 4 = 17 (2d14 + 4)

>>613880
[You dropped this]

>>613890
I thought ol 1ufz handled that.

>>613893
[Oh, my bad then. For future cases, if you're going to piggyback off of other rolls, you should link the roll you are piggybacking off of :3]

>>613897
that....may make certain practices more likely, ie. only voting for a particular course of action because that post's rolls were good.

>>613900
[I personally don't see an issue with that, to be honest. If you want to do that action, you can just express support for a high roll, and if you want to do something else you can roll yourself. Feel free to express any grievances that I'm not understanding, though. Update coming in a bit.]

Rolled 1, 6 + 4 = 11 (2d14 + 4)

>>613873
>Biting Attack x2

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>613874
>>613880
5 vs 9 (Tonguepunch fail)
11 vs 9 (Biting Attack success)
13 vs 9 (Attack success: Rolled at capacity +1 damage)

Your body is a well-honed, sludge-oiled killing machine made for murder, and this big beefy hunk of junk is no exception on your hit list. Your attempt to propel your tongue into his eye fails, as you just slightly miss and it bounces off his armoring, but you do manage to step on his concrete-holding arm with a powerful stomp that cracks it at the elbow, steam hissing from your foot as you do so.

Unfortunately, there's no jugulars or visible arteries on either of you, so you have no idea where to bite for maximum damage. Instead, you just bite his neck, causing him to start screaming in your face as you rip out a chunk of metal and swallow it.

And then, you jump back. He attempts to swing the bar at you, but his weakened arm and the fact that you're no longer in striking distance renders it a feeble attempt. Kicking himself up from the ground and rolling backwards, he grabs the pillar of concrete from both ends and tosses it at you as hard as he can, almost bullet-like, as black sludge drips from his arm and neck.

Rolled 7 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613931

>>613934
>>613931
DEX vs SPD
1 vs 11 (Throw fail)

Unfortunately for Berserker, his aim is thrown completely off by probably both rage and his injuries, and you don't even really have to move to avoid his attack as it crashes through the partially-demolished apartment building.

Saurian HP: 5/5
Berserker HP: 7/10 (-3)

Now that you've lost the advantage of surprise, all you have now is the advantage of speed - you know that with his sluggishness, anything you do will hit before he can attempt to hit back. He's clutching his arm and very clearly pissed off, by the way he's begun charging towards you.


Unless you have certain passive or active abilities that say otherwise, after the initial turn, each combatant only receives 1 action per turn. Free actions do not consume said action.
>Fling an object at him. (DEX - Roll 1d10)
>Dash into melee range and attack. (STR - Roll 1d12+2)
>Dash into melee range and bite. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)
>Play keep away.

You have control.

[Also, apologies for the sluggishness and oddities of battle - I've got the system all figured out, now I'm working out the best way to implement and display it to you, the readers. Your patience will be rewarded.]

Rolled 12 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613945
>Dash into melee range and bite. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)

>>613945
>>Play keep away.

Rolled 12 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613945
>Dash into melee range and bite. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)

>>613945
>Dash into melee range and bite.

Rolled 7 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613967
forgot roll

Rolled 9 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613951
>>613949
STA Roll

Rolled 9, 9 + 6 = 24 (2d16 + 6)

>>613974
>>613951
>>613949
STR vs STA
16 vs 13 (Bite attack success: Rolled at capacity +! damage)

You leap in close with one mighty bound, barreling into Berserker and slamming him backwards while your mouth, open at about 90 degrees, grips at his collarbone and tears a chunk out. More blood than you expected spurts out before igniting, which certainly surprises you, going up in a white flare as Berserker roars wordlessly, grabbing your leg and slamming you into the ground. He aims a fist at your face and you brace yourself.

You do not think you are about to have fun.

Rolled 1 (1d8)

>>613985
Saurian's STA Roll

>>613985
>>613989
STR vs STA x2
15 vs 1 (Attack success: Doubled against opposition +1 damage)
15 vs 1 (Attack success: Doubled against opposition +1 damage)

You do not have fun.

Your face gets beaten pretty mercilessly as Berserker smashes your head out of place, causing a fountain of ichor to rise from the back of your throat and spray onto the ground. Just being thrown into the concrete was hard enough to hurt you pretty severely, and you basically feel like death.

If you die here, you're not going to go down without a fight, at least.

Saurian HP: 1/5 (-4)
Berserker HP: 2/10 (-5)

>Devour. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)
>Try to bite his head off. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)
>Slash at him. (STR - Roll 1d12+2)
>Kick him away and attempt to run. (SPD - Roll 1d14+4)

You have control.

Rolled 8 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613998
>Devour. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)

Rolled 4 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>613998
>>Devour. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)

>>613998
>Try to bite his head off. (STR - Roll 1d14+4)

Rolled 8 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>614006
forgot the dice

Rolled 7 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>614004
>>613999
Berserker's STA Roll

>>614025
Just won that one, how did your test go qm?

Rolled 7 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>614025
>>613999
>>614004
Before he even has a chance to respond, you feel an unnatural hunger begin to overtake you. A vile hunger. Your stomach burns as ichor flows from your lips from the very hard punch you were fresh delivered like milk from a milkman.

Your neck splits in half across the horizontal axis, extending your mouth, as teeth emerge from the newly made maw. Your claws dig into Berserker's shoulders as your neck unfurls and unfolds, growing longer and longer, from about two feet to four. Armor plating splits into sectioned, precisely proportioned chunks as your vision splits, your head and neck splitting precisely down the middle with a fresh new set of teeth in between.

You have no idea what the fuck is going on. Thankfully, you don't need to. Your body does the work.

The segments of your neck and head spiral around Berserker's upper half, closing in around his waist and leaving his legs showing as he screams and struggles in vain. Sharp spikes on the inside of your neck unfurl like claws, what once laid flat, beginning to dig into his flesh as you feel your black blood flood the trapped chamber and you begin to crunch down.

Tasty.

Saurian's STR Roll to continue the devouring.

Rolled 13 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>614037
Berserker's STA Roll
>>614029
[Eh. It was tough. I'm not feeling great about it desu.]

>>614042
I got my own spanish test im going into that I don't feel great about

>>614042
Unfortunately, Berserker's struggling manages to pry your monstrous maw apart, and a combination of that plus your gag reflex actually managing to trigger on something causes you to regurgitate him, your mouth and neck putting themselves back together and shrinking back to normal size. You drool a bit. That was weird.

Berserker doesn't look all that great, however. He's completely immobile, but you can tell he's still alive. His body is cut up and skin burnt at various locations, and he's bleeding a fucking ton from every one of the many, many holes you put on him.

Fuck that guy.

>Coup de grace. (Player Choice)

>>614053
[Best of luck, my friend. I have a minimal amount of faith in you.]

>>614054
Tear his limbs off one by one and then eat his head

>>614054
>>614061
this, basically

>>614061
>>614054
This. Might as well do some murderfucking while we are at it

>>614066
>>614062
>>614061
Although Berserker's strength is leagues above your own, you're still strong enough to grab his arm, step on his stomach, and pull. His arm comes loose with a second of tugging, and his unconscious body grunts as you rip his arm free.

Then, you simply stomp on his other arm at the shoulder until it breaks up. The pain makes him wake up and start yelling, something about not wanting to die, so in response you step on his groin and press down.

You don't have nuts, but the symbolism is there. Plus, it makes it easier to rip his leg off just with sheer tugging force, smack him in the head with it, and then gnaw off his other leg, slowly.

You pile all his limbs on top of each other in a macabre display, and he wobbles around a bit like a turtle on the back of its shell. Poor guy. Your neck opens up a bit as you open your mouth and wrap it around his head.

He screams for about half a second before you crush his head and rip it out of the neck. You chew. Tastes like metal.

Now that that's over with, his body having slumped over, you gently push your face and neck back into place from his punches displacing them. The streets are empty and the rain has already washed away most of the liquid evidence of your struggle, cleaning the corpse for you. You don't hear the revving of a single PMC vehicle or the firing of any bullets.

Devestation sits in your wake.

>Eat Berserker's body just on the street.
>Throw his parts onto the roof and then eat him from up there.
>PLAYER CHOICE

You have control.

>>614107
>Throw his parts onto the roof and then eat him from up there.

>>614107
>Throw his parts onto the roof and then eat him from up there.

>>614107
>>614117
Backing this

>>614107
>Throw his parts onto the roof and then eat him from up there.

>>614160
>>614147
>>614117
>>614116
You decide that, at your current level of health, you don't even want to risk the possibility of a normal person coming along and getting some sort of lucky hit on you. So, you daintily throw each arm up onto the rooftop of your shuddering apartment complex, riddled with bullet holes and... a much larger car hole, singular.

You scrabble back up to the roof as the storm intensifies to a near-flood level, which is par for the course. As far as you can remember, that's what the weather has been like - always dark, and usually drizzling at the least. There's a reason that jackets are always in style and umbrellas are not, in that a jacket can keep you warm at the least, while an umbrella is either going to get blown away or get you mugged.

You take your time savoring Berserker's limbs first. You find that whenever you try to eat something that's too big for your mouth, your neck just splits in whatever direction necessary, a black film-like membrane stretched across its length. You feel the bristling of teeth inside your neck, now that you can notice it. From what you can gather, your neck and face are both segmented in a + shape, with rows and rows of sharp, interlocking teeth on the separations. During normal mealtime, like right now, the teeth are all lengthened, elongated, and soft, forming a sheet, but when it's time to bite stuff, your teeth retract into your neck further and stiffen, only the tips visible.

Furthermore, as you noted earlier but can now examine in more detail, the widening cylindrical shape of your gullet is lined with dozens and dozens of spines that lay flat against the inside of your throat, offering completely clear passage to, say, Berserker's leg. And, again as you noticed earlier, when you need to get to swallowing things whole, they whip out from their position lying flat and curl into whatever tasty morsel is inside your neck, pinning it in place as your "muscles" attempt to drag it down into your stomach. It's all very sophisticated and well-planned.

After you finish messily eating what remains of Berserker, you feel fairly satiated, just sitting and observing as the rain pours over your skin, and feeling the way your stomach chamber completely rips and digests him to bits, processing him into the black blood that flows through your nanotube veins. It's all so elegant a system. You wonder who designed it to begin with.

>Metamorphose (Level Up)
>Start moving towards the Northern Octant. Maybe you can try to seek out Jezebel.
>Go see how Buddy's holding up in the storm.
>Head towards the city outskirts. You've never been poor enough to be delegated to the Edge, so maybe it's time for a vacation.
>PLAYER CHOICE

>>614242
>Metamorphose (Level Up)

>>614242
>Metamorphosus
Its always a good time to level up

>>614242
[Oh, and, uh]

You have control.

>>614242
>Metamorphose (Level Up)

>>614262
>>614248
>>614245
While you feel safe for the moment in the all-encompassing embrace of the raging rainstorm, you feel like finding a safe space to metamorphose in the future would be ideal. You don't think you'll be able to do this out in the open a great deal, if not for the fact that your genre savviness tells you that there's no way you would get attacked by another Steelshape right after you killed an ate a different one.

Your body opens up in various parts and black ooze smothers you, forming into a shell as you drift into sleep.

Level up
Level 2 (1/2 EXP + 3) > Level 3 (2/3 EXP)

Pick one:
Upgrade Ability
Feast of Kings 1 > 2 (STR increased by ++ for rolls involving biting enemies or initiating a Devour)
Tonguepunch 1 > 2 (Twice per encounter, free action, melee range. Perform a SPD roll vs your target's STA. If you succeed, deal 1 point of damage to them.)

New Ability
Wide Jaw 1 - Enemies can be devoured whole at 1 hp higher than half.
Shadowlurk 1 - SPD increased by + for rolls involving moving while unseen by anyone.
Horror Maw 1 - Whenever you successfully initiate a Devour, any nearby humans will be stunned with fear for one round.
Regurgitate 1 - Once per day, free action, medium range, costs 1 HP to activate. Perform a CTR roll, then deal half that damage to one enemy. Your stomach is emptied afterwards, and you will frenzy at the end of two rounds or ten minutes (if not in combat).

Integrate Ability
Pugilist 1 - STR increased by + for rolls involving punching or kicking. (Kaiju)
Heat Vision 1 - Costs 4 EP to activate. You can temporarily see Steelshapes and living organisms through thin walls for either 1 round of combat or 1 minute real-time. (Kaiju)
Demolition Man 1 - DC checks to destroy obstructions are decreased by one category. (Berserker)
Regenerate 1 - Whenever you succeed a STA roll by more than twice an opponent's roll or the DC, regain 1 HP. (Berserker)
Beast Eye 1 - Once per turn, free action, costs 3 HP to activate. Gain an additional action. (Berserker)

[Sorry about the delay - I'll leave this one up for a bit for people to discuss pros and cons and whatnot.]

>>614340
>Wide Jaw
Getting to do a one hit kill move when enemies are at half health is a God send

>>614340
>Regenerate 1
Extra HP always good

>>614340
>Shadowlurk 1 - SPD increased by + for rolls involving moving while unseen by anyone.

>>614340
>Shadowlurk 1 - SPD increased by + for rolls involving moving while unseen by anyone.

>>614376
>>614374
>>614340
Guys, most of the battles are oneshots or are really short, having the suprise element+better chances might allow us to just oneshot opponets like this one

>>614340
>Shadowlurk 1 - SPD increased by + for rolls involving moving while unseen by anyone.

[I'm going to be eating dinner and taking care of some life commitments, so today's session is temporarily paused for a couple of hours. Apologies.]

>>614340
>Beast Eye 1 - Once per turn, free action, costs 3 HP to activate
Shit, we only have 5HP

Sounds like a quick way to die

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>>614399
>>614418
>>614472
You awaken from the meal and metamorphosis feeling refreshed, revitalized, and still completely rained on. All traces of Berserker are gone completely, churned into your system. You're not completely healed from the incredible punch that Berserker delivered to you, your jaw still sore, but you're functional and capable.

The rainstorm has only barely let up - now, it's probably visible for a normal person instead of being a sheet of water. The city is your pearl-clutching bivalve, as they say.

>Start moving towards the Northern Octant. Maybe you can try to seek out Jezebel.
>Go see how Buddy's holding up in the storm.
>Head towards the city outskirts. You've never been poor enough to be delegated to the Edge, so maybe it's time for a vacation.
>PLAYER CHOICE

You have control.

Outskirts

>>615095
>Head towards the city outskirts. You've never been poor enough to be delegated to the Edge, so maybe it's time for a vacation.

>>615095
>>Start moving towards the Northern Octant. Maybe you can try to seek out Jezebel.
Lets go find our only friend

>>615095
>Head towards the city outskirts. You've never been poor enough to be delegated to the Edge, so maybe it's time for a vacation.

>>615095
>Head towards the city outskirts. You've never been poor enough to be delegated to the Edge, so maybe it's time for a vacation.

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>>615145
>>615174
>>615183
You begin making your way to the Edge, the outer ring of Neo York. It's the part that you've never been to, the part where the poor, the downtrodden, and the ones trying to hide live. The Edge isn't really an official name that you'll find in any documents, just a colloquialism - the Edge, the Digs, and the Metro, the three rings of Neo York, the buildings getting taller and pointier as you go.

You stick to the rooftops in order to remain unseen from the masses - you wouldn't want to start a panic. Post-Metamorphosis, you feel slick, sleeker than before, easily gliding from rooftop to rooftop with only the soft pshhhtt of your legs hissing with particularly strenuous jumps marking your location.

As you approach the edge, the buildings get shorter and squatter compared to your old multi-floor apartment building. Most of them have only five floors, occasionally six. Rarely, a large spire sticks out from the gloom, constantly broadcasting messages of hope and advertisements for the newest product.

The further you go, the more the sky curves around you. At some point, you realize that you've been heading towards the wall of a dome colored the same as the clouds in the sky - with your eyesight, you can see the line of demarkation where the clouds and the wall are separate, but the lack of buildings and paved roads tips you off.

You've been traveling for a bit. You're at the edge of the Edge.

Why the fuck didn't anyone ever tell you that you lived in a fuckhuge dome? That seems like kind of a big deal. Whatever.

At least the view is good, although the building you're on is only two floors tall, which gives you a pang of sympathy for the poor owners. You feel safe here. Mildly safe. PMCs never really come around here much. Around you is just housing - rows and rows of inefficient housing. People carouse about the streets, children and adults alike of varying shades of skin and hair, all of them equally full of delicious bones and meat. The rain has slowed down to a reasonable level. You see a general store in the distance, and nothing else.

Towards the wall is what you'd predict to be about three miles of open space, dry earth and concrete in equal measure, mixed haphazardly. A space that's completely clear, with nowhere to hide.

>PLAYER CHOICE

You have control.

>>615308
>Break into a house with a computer and try to get into contact with Jezebel

>>615308
explore the wall, see if there are any exits first.

>>615308
Go see what's outside the dome.

[So hey, love you all, thank you very much for participating in the beginning of thread two and the first official combat (which was very thrilling on my end, plus, now I know how to run it). I didn't sleep well at all last night and I'm beginning to get drowsy so I'm gonna stop for tonight and return tomorrow. Thanks for playing along so far!]

>>615484
Thanko

>>615308
There are unseen pathways everywhere, in all the cities on earth. People walk over them all the time.
Enter the sewers somewhere.

Rolled 4 (1d4)

>>615344
1
>>615387
2
>>615391
3
>>616761
4

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>>618436
As a wise man once told you, some time ago on the internet, when you were looking for ways to get into a particularly well-guarded building's server farm: "There are unseen pathways everywhere, in all the cities on earth. People walk over them all the time."

You climb down from the rooftop you are on into a dark alleyway, looking for a manhole cover. Once you find it, you easily stomp it in half, bending it around the imprint of your roughly circular foot, and then immediately run into a problem in that your chest piece is too big to fit into the manhole, as well as your arms and legs jutting out all impudently.

You could probably rip the ground up a little, but it would take time, make a lot of noise, and leave a trail in case anyone is chasing you. You're not sure if you want to risk that.

>Head into the sewers anyway, who knows what you'll find?
>Give up the idea, unfortunately, but stick it in the back of your head for later. Then, come up with something new to do. (Player Choice)

You have control.

>>618519
>>Head into the sewers anyway, who knows what you'll find?

Might as well, though I don't know what we'd even do there.

>>618519
>Head into the sewers anyway, who knows what you'll find?
Fortes fortuna adiuvat

>>618519
>>Head into the sewers anyway, who knows what you'll find?

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>>618741
>>618849
>>618854
You decide to head into the sewer system, trying to be as stealthy as possible as you tear up concrete. Unfortunately, while your claws are very well suited to rending flesh and your weight and movement speed are combined enough to push you through walls, just clawing open hard, thick concrete is difficult. So, you grab the manhole cover and start whacking at the edge of it, to no avail, only breaking off pebbles of the hardened material.

You... Don't think you're going to be able to get into the sewers this way. Not today, at least. You hear footsteps, and raucous voices from the street approaching rapidly.

"You hear that racket too?" "Yeah, sounds like a bell!" "Over here, guys! I heard it over here!"

Young. Youths. The eldest voice that you can distinguish sounds only about 19, in comparison to your 28 years pre-transformation. The thought of their bodies makes you salivate slightly against your will, leaving a spot of black drool on the concrete.

>Run deeper into the alleyways.
>Stand and let them witness you.
>Hide and watch/listen.
>Get in the nearby dumpster and prepare to ambush them.
>PLAYER CHOICE

You have control.

>>619173
>>Get in the nearby dumpster and prepare to ambush them.

>>619173
>Let one or two of them have a glimpse of you, then sneak away and listen to them. Maybe they have rumors of other Steelshapes?

>>619173
>>Get in the nearby dumpster and prepare to ambush them.

>>619173
>Run deeper into the alleyways.

>>619266
this

>>619173
>Run deeper into the alleyways.

>>619266
This

>>619266
>>619350
>>619493
You prepare yourself to get intentionally caught, just a little, perhaps to put some fear into them, and perhaps to see if their reactions elicit information about the potential whereabouts of any other Steelshapes. Of course, as soon as they round the corner, you flit out of sight, leaping easily up to the rooftops and then stomping a couple of times, to sound as if you're leaping away.

You totally, totally do not leap away. You instead duck down out of view and press the side of your head down to the rooftop. You count a total of four voices - two male, two female, with a probable guess of the youngest being 15 or so and the oldest at 19.

"What! Did you see that?" "What the fuck was that?" "Dude, I don't know, looked like some kind of monster!"

You listen to their assorted mutterings as they collectively freak out and hear them awe over the bent sewer lid.

"It was trying to go into the sewer!" "It's running! Let's chase it!" "Wait, Ava, what?" "I'm gonna chase it!" "No, wait, it could be dangerous!"

You hear the sound of someone going "Hup!", clattering and clanging, and then small hands making their way up the ladder of a fire escape. If it's the girl that mentioned chasing you, you'd guess she's about 18. Maybe 19. She's getting closer, while her friends all try to get her to come back.

>Stay where you are, act like a scared animal, don't reveal that you're sentient.
>Stay where you are and engage in friendly conversation.
>Stay where you are and kill + eat.
>Run.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>619828
Stay, scared animal. Shit, lets be a doggo

>>619828
>Stay where you are, act like a scared animal, don't reveal that you're sentient.

Staying will probably force a control check about eating them, so talking really has the highest chance of blowing our cover if they record anything. Running is boring as it'll mean these last few updates will have done nothing. Scared animal gives us options and an out if we eat them, we'd just be another toxic death mutant.

>>619828
>>Stay where you are, act like a scared animal, don't reveal that you're sentient.

>>619828
>>Stay where you are, act like a scared animal, don't reveal that you're sentient.

We may want to use our 133t haxxor skills to find more steelshapes to eat.

File: AVA.jpg (422 KB, 750x577)

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>>620088
>>620039
>>620037
>>620030
The girl who emerges from the fire escape is a sight to behold. A shock of neon pink hair (which isn't odd) and bright blue eyes without being covered in contacts or dyed (which is odd) - You'd be able to see the contact lenses if she was wearing those, and dying always leaves a small ring near the pupil of the original color, plus, is probably too expensive for anyone in the Edge. She's about 5'10", lanky and thin, with a gymnast's build, lean and lithe. You can easily tell how she's made it up from the ground to the fire escape without the ladder being fully deployed.

"What the fuck?" She cries out, backing away and almost falling off the roof as you back away yourself, on all fours. You find that adopting an animalistic stance like this is surprisingly and completely disconcertingly easy. As soon as you see her, your mouth begins to fill with ichor that spills from your teeth, starting to trail beneath you.

This girl seems nice. You really don't want to eat her, but you think in another hour or so you'll lose the ability to control yourself. You already feel your neck pre-emptively attempting to flex towards her, which freaks you out a great deal. You let out a distorted, mechanized groan, the best you can manage, at least.

You were never really into pet play. It's more of a rich people thing.

"What is it?" "It's some kind of animal... I think! It looks scared!" Ava says back down to her compatriots. "Some... Big robot animal motherfucker. Its ribs are on the outside, and it's got a damn cable tail!"

"What the fuck?" You hear three other voices cry out in unison.

Ava squats down a little, putting her hands on her ripped-jean knees. "Don't worry... I'm not plannin' on hurtin' ya."

>Go towards her.
>Back away slowly.
>Stay put.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>620263
>>Go towards her.
Lets kidnap her

>>620263
>>Back away slowly.
Come here girl. Let's see where this goes.

>>620263
>Pet fluffy tail.

>>620263
>>Back away slowly.

>>620263
>Go towards her.

A scared animal backing away normally means it'll attack if they go after it, so they wont pursue.
So let's go closer. I don't know if we can even do basic controls of our tail outside of murder, but if possible let's swish it back and forth.

File: LIV.jpg (163 KB, 894x894)

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>>620378
>>620286
You back away slowly, hanging your head low while our tail swishes back and forth, dragging on the rooftop. You let out another dull groan, sticky salivary fluids dripping from your sharp, malformed maw and onto the ground.

"Are you alright, Ava?" "Yeah, it's definitely scared! I think someone hurt it! Or it, like, escaped from somewhere? I ain't never seen no animal like this before." Ava responds, as she slowly makes her way towards you, cautiously, moving slightly to the side. You hear the noise of more small people scrabbling their way up the fire escape, the sound of a ladder clanking downwards, and then youths making their way up to the rooftop.

The first to arrive looks to be the youngest, easily 15 or 16. She looks surprised but not startled like Ava was. Black eyes. That's closer to normal. "That's... Certainly something. Not sure what to make of it."

Ava speaks with a drawl and a drag on her voice. She smokes, from the small hoarseness, but not often. She's probably not particularly well read, and you can tell she's vulgar. Liv seems much more well-put by comparison - her voice is mild, petite like her, polite sounding without a hint of scratch. She's unused to raising her voice. You think she's the smarter of the two.

You used to do a lot of this armchair psychoanalysis. You were usually pretty good at it, because it helped get into locked offices when you called someone's secretary. Becoming a Steelshape has only really enhanced those abilities.

"What do you think?" Liv asks Ava as the two of them slowly try to get closer without scaring you.

"Damned if I know, lass. No guesses here." Ava offers, helpfully.

"Maybe it's some kind of... Lab experiment. It's clearly mechanical, at least on the outside, but it's moving far too smoothly to be some sort of robot. I think it's some kind of cyborg." Liv says, helpfully, as she raises a smartphone up and closes one eye, seemingly to focus her vision.

Ava puffs a blast of air from her lips to blow her bangs out of her eye. "More like a demon, I'd say."

>Try to knock Liv's phone away before she can take a picture of you.
>Let things be as they are. See where this goes.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>620562
[Shit, sorry, I didn't see this post in time. Also, short 30-40 minute nap for me.]

>>620578
Run away

>Let her take a picture, post it on the internet, ambush whoever comes for us.

It's not like we live here.

>>620578
>>Try to knock Liv's phone away before she can take a picture of you.
I think it's time to take these two by the throat and ask some questions about this place. Their answers determine how long they live.

>>620578
Knock the phone away but remain otherwise amicable.

>>620578
>>Try to knock Liv's phone away before she can take a picture of you.

>>620604
Actually change my vote to this.

>Try to knock Liv's phone away before she can take a picture of you.

>>620578
>Kidnap both of them
It would be nice to have some pets

>>620588
It's fine, shit happens

>>620604
Thirding this, I'm curious as to where it'll go

>>620604
Supporting.

File: NOAH.jpg (91 KB, 1095x730)

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>>620790
>>620763
>>620615
>>620604
As you hear the click click of Liz taking numbers and numbers of pictures, from every angle, none with flash. That can't be too effective, to be honest - in the dim atmosphere of the Edge combined with the constant cloud cover, you're pretty hard to see more than the outline of, although to the human eye you probably look a bit more easier to discern.

Ava, however, has continued getting closer to you, while the second youngest makes his way up the stairs of the fire escape and up onto the roof. "Whoa..." He says, his voice smaller than Liz's, weak. He sits on the edge of the rooftop, facing you.

Ava gets within touching distance of you, and almost immediately begins to gently pet your exposed skull. She shudders and continues to pet you, turning back towards the other while you hear Liz saying "Be careful!", continuing to take pictures of the two of you.

>Snap at her but don't hurt her.
>Bite her hand off.
>Murder murder murder.
>Let her continue to pet you and pretend to respond positively. (It feels like nothing)
>Try to back away.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>621195
>>Let her continue to pet you and pretend to respond positively. (It feels like nothing)
If she lowers her guard she'll be easier to take

>>621195
>>Let her continue to pet you and pretend to respond positively. (It feels like nothing)

>>621195
>PLAYER CHOICE.
Back off and leap away.
Find some hobo or criminal to eat.

>>621195
>Let her continue to pet you and pretend to respond positively. (It feels like nothing)

>>621195
>Let her continue to pet you and pretend to respond positively. (It feels like nothing)

Can we make generic purring like noises in a way that is not pants shittingle terrifying?

Play nice for now.

>>621291
[No, we cannot.]

>>621320
can we try

File: CADMIUM .jpg (40 KB, 600x849)

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>>621291
>>621287
>>621272
>>621207
As Ava continues to pet you, you pretend to react positively as best you can, pressing your bony head into her hand and causing her to let out a strange sort of exhale-gasp-"Ew..." combination of sounds. You try to purr, but all that comes out is a distorted rumble not unlike the sound of an earthquake passed through several bitcrunch filters. She continues to tentatively pet you as the final of the teenagers makes his way up the fire escape.

Bony. The smell of acrid cigarette smoke accompanies him - you've heard stories that cigarettes used to be big money makers and completely horrible for you, but in your modern times, cigarettes are about as harmful as a rainstorm. Which is to say, not at all. "Some kind of demon, alright." He says, his voice surprisingly deep, commanding. It's clear who's in charge here. Instead of languishing on the sidelines like Liz or the other boy, he immediately makes his way towards you and bends down to meet you eye to eye. "Cadmium. But people call me Cad. And since I figured you couldn't incidentally overhear his name since nobody talks to him, the small fry is Noah."

"I'm not small..." Noah says, looking down at his feet. It is clear to everyone involved that he's completely incorrect.

"Why are you talkin' to it?" Ava says, as she pulls her hands away, and your gaze is forced to meet Cad's. "It's like a big fuckin' cat, man. It's not gonna understand you."

"Nah... I think it can hear us. Can't ya?" Cad says, putting his face a little uncomfortably close to your own.

"And what makes you think that?" Ava says, while Liz's "Careful, Cad!" is drowned out.

"Just something in her stance. Or his. Poor thing doesn't have any junk outside of the stuff on its shoulders. I don't think whoever made this wanted a cat brain in their..." Cad says, before bending down to examine your claws. Ichor pools in your mouth. "Weapon. You're definitely not made to be friendly."

>Nod yes, but back the hell away from him.
>Remain unresponsive to his questioning and growl.
>Bite bite bite bite bite.
>Shake your head no.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>621523
"Well aren't you a clever little boy."
Then leave.

>>621523
>Appear interested in the cig, start following the trail of smoke
>Keep to the shadows, growl at the camera if Liz gets closer.

>>621587
Backing.

>>621587
The jig is up why continue?

>>621561
>>621523
>2nd

>>621561
Also find somebody to snack on, preferably somebody no one would miss.

>>621561
This, but add a horrifying laugh to it.

>>621561
This.

>>621587
This, because
>leaving obvious plot threads

>>621587
This one

>>621587
Lets do it

>>621561
this

[Next new vote will be a tiebreaker, and if nothing happens in 10 minutes, I'll flip a coin]

>>621561
This

>>621587
THIS.

>>621587
this

>>621803
>>621711
>>621658
>>621637
>>621609
>>621561
Your face contorts into a horrifying, toothy grin as Cad makes his declaration, and you rear up on your legs, returning to a humanoid stance, your jutting neck towering over Cad. "Clever boy." You say, chuckling to yourself, the first time you get to really examine your voice in detail. You sound like your voice, your normal voice, from what you can remember of it, filtered down through a computer that dropped it two octaves and then ran it through a shredder.

Ava and Noah both shriek in fear, and you can tell that somebody's pissed their pants, but you're not sure if it's Liz or Noah. Cad, however, just shoots you a sly, cocky grin. "If you ever need a place to stay just go making that racket again and I'll find you. I'm sure life on the rooftops must be hard for a... Whatever you are."

You aren't sure if you want to rip his smug little head off or compliment him on his chutzpah. Instead, you turn around, your tail swishing against the ground, and begin to make your way away from the group.

However, just as you jump up from the rooftop to the next one over, without an alley in between to give distance, you hear someone yelling behind you. "Wait!" Liz cries out as she runs towards you, and you hear Ava mutter out a "What the fuck...", drowned out by Liz's words.

With the relative positions of the rooftops, you're towering even more over the girl. She's... 5'0". Exactly. You remain silent, as you stare at her over your shoulder.

"Wherever you're going, I want to go with you."

Cad grins wider, Noah gasps and covers his mouth, and Ava mutters more expletives. You're just as confused. Why the fuck?

>PLAYER CHOICE

You have control.

>>621852
>>621984
[Sorry folks, I made a decision about which would be the tiebreaker and had to go with it.]

>>621987
>Why should I let you

>>621987
Seconded >>622012

>>622012
this

>>621987
Uh... let her get on our back I guess?

>>621998
thats ok, I accidentally linked to the wrong post, so actually I got the result I wanted.

>>621987
>'It had better be for a short while,because otherwise... I'll EAT you.'

>>621987
>>622012
Why the fuck indeed.

>>621987
>"You all seriously have no sense of self-preservation"

>Grab her and leave

>>622012
>>622019
>>622023
>>622126
"And why should I let you?" You say, somewhat shocked (but the distorted tone of your voice hiding this).

"I mean, traveling with a weapon... I'm sure I'll get to study lots of bodies." She murmurs, presumably trying not to let her friends hear. Cad gets the picture and turns around to plug his fingers in his ears, while Noah just watches, mouth open in awe. "I want to see you kill people. I would enjoy the... Process." She says, still being quiet, while Ava cranes her head towards the two of you, presumably to hear better.

You can hear her just fine. "I... uh, hope you heard that." She says, louder. "I don't really want to say it out loud again."

>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>622148
>Why does it turn you on?
>Take her with you
And so starts the breaking in of our new waifu

>>622148
>I don't babysit and people around me tend to die. You do get the meaning, yes?

>>622159
this

>>622148
"Fucking teanagers"
Grab her and go eat someone.

>>622148
>No.

>>622148
Take her I guess. Why not?

Quick everyone time to claim your waifus

>>622181
seconding

>>622159
>>622172
"Why, does it turn you on?" You say, low and conspiratorial, smirking as you wrap your tail around Liz and pull her over to you. She clings to your back, grabbing hold onto your ribcage and slipping her arm between a gap in your spines.

"I'm not at liberty to answer that." Liz says, squeezing you. She's so fragile and warm, and you can feel her heartbeat - you could honestly flex your tail particularly hard and rip her in half.

"Will we see you again?" Ava asks, while you turn your head away, and you hear Cad walk over and encourage everyone to get on with their day. You're not sure what growing up in the Edge is like, but losing a friend all of a sudden, you'd guess, is nothing unusual. It happens in the Digs too.

"I'm not sure." Liz says, grabbing your ribcage tighter. You can tell from her voice that the answer is no. Or, at the very least, she'd like it to be a no. You're not sure if they can, either.

"See you around, weapon." Cad says. He's the last to go back down the fire escape. You wait until you hear their feet hit the pavement again.

"What first, uh... Weapon?" Liz asks, once everyone is enough of a distance away, still clinging to you but your tail not wrapped around her. You probably have about 45 minutes before you go nuts, so maybe eating would be nice.

>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>622491
Ask her if there's anyone specific who she'd like to see die

>>622491
eat some guards at the edge of the Dome.

See how important it is to them to keep people from going out......or getting in.

[I think I will pack things up for tonight, and we'll finish up this session tomorrow. Many thanks to whoever suggested going to the Edge, I wouldn't have considered adding these expendable meat-bags to the story if you guys never brought us here. Hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you for reading/participating!]

>>622505
This.

>>622692
Thanks for running DM.

>>622505
This

>>622505
This

>>622505
>>622775
>>624033
>>624577
"Is there anyone specific you'd like to see die?" You ask, causing her to gasp and shudder slightly at the thought. She grips your ribcage tighter - it doesn't hurt at all, and you're pretty sure most of the "bone" is ornamental anyway, so you're not worried about her ability to harm you in any way.

"Um... Not really. Anyone you'd like to kill, I could watch. And maybe help if you'd want." She says, as you start moving once she tells you that she doesn't have anyone in particular. "I kind of want to see you in action first before I sic you on anyone. I-Is that okay?"

"Understandable. What do you mean by help?" You ask, as she grips very tightly to you, wind whistling past the two of you as you leap and bound through the rooftops of the Edge.

"Well, I'm a pretty girl and you're... You. If you needed to lure someone out of sight I could help. Or maybe strangle them. Or... Yeah... I think you get the picture." Liv says. You wonder what exactly happened to this girl to make her speak about such a horrific thing so easily. Well, not really. You're mildly curious but, at the moment, more hungry than anything else.

>Drop into an alleyway and use Liv as bait to draw in a lowlife or two, then Devour.
>Deny her offer for the time being and just look for the closest bum to eat.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>625190
[Fucking hell.]

>>625190
>>Drop into an alleyway and use Liv as bait to draw in a lowlife or two, then Devour.

>>625190
>Drop into an alleyway and use Liv as bait to draw in a lowlife or two, then Devour.

>>625190
>>Drop into an alleyway and use Liv as bait to draw in a lowlife or two, then Devour.

>>625190

>Drop into an alleyway and use Liv as bait to draw in a lowlife or two, then Devour.

[Nice to have you back.]

>>625190
>Drop into an alleyway and use Liv as bait to draw in a lowlife or two, then Devour

>>625296
>>625219
>>625212
>>625208
>>625198
"Hold tight!" You say, as you jump from a rooftop and then angle yourself to fall straight down, cracking and denting the concrete as you land, steam hissing from your legs as you uncurl your body up, and gently nudge Liv off of you. The alleyway is dark and unlit, and is one with an end rather than connecting two streets. "Go out there and bring me any scum you want, however you want."

"And what will you do with them?" Liv says, as she climbs off of you and clatters down to the ground, beginning to slowly walk backwards away from you.

"You'll see."
The wait is agonizing. You see Liv at the street corner, plying her eyes and occasionally talking to passerby, once or twice making lewd gestures with her hands and face. Nothing like those Edge girls, you've been told. Alternatively, stay away from those Edge girls because they have more diseases than a PMC biolab. You've heard conflicting stories about the sexual prowess of Edge girls, is what you're getting at here. Either way, you see her hit it off with a group of strangers, all of whom appear to be various kinds of lowlives, with dirty, torn clothing and lecherous grins. Liv turns to you with a sly smirk, eyes narrowed, eyebrows tilted downwards as she leads them along with her hand to an invisible leash. Already, one of them has his belt off while another of the four is trying to wiggle out of his pants.

You lie in wait, hidden in the shadows of a dumpster. There sure are a lot of trash receptacles in the Edge. Liv walks past you, and none of them turn to look. Poor fools. Now you're behind them, and very, very hungry.

>Devour one as a show of force.
>Kill them all first, then take your time eating them. (Player Choice)
>PLAYER CHOICE

You have control.

>>625340
Player Choice
> Kill and eat all but one, leave that one injured and tell Liv to get creative.

>>625368
I like it

>>625340
>Kill them all first, then take your time eating them. (Player Choice)
Kill them all in different maners,tail wipe,toung punch,slice in half and bite off a head if we can. After we kill them, try and eat as many as we can at once, maybe make a human sandwich of some sort.

>>625340
>>625368
this.

>>625387
now now, have to save something for later.

>>625368
Second it

>>625368
>>625387
Combine these two. Kill all but one in different manners and leave on injured for her. We're putting on a show!

>>625368
>>625397
>>625408
>>625411
You begin.

Well, not intentionally.

Liz tries to hide the obvious shock on her face as your neck begins to extend and your head splits open, sharp blades inside your throat slowly uncurling as your teeth retract from their sheet-like state into your neck, turning into sharp, hungry points. The men seem to be assuming that her eyes are widening at the sight of their unsightly... Well, you know.

She lets out a cute giggle as you grab one of the men and force him inside your maw as your head closes down on him. Ichor fills your throat as the spines inside of it crunch and cut his body up, ripping his clothes to bits and dissolving him into sludge as your neck bulges. The bulge travels downward into your chest cavity, and the three other miscreants all begin to turn around slowly in horror at the noises of a body being processed into food.

"What... The f-" One of them says, before your tail impales his throat, curving to avoid his spine and leading him choking and gagging on his own blood. Liz begins giggling, covering her mouth to avoid bursting into hysterics. One of them runs forward and attempts to punch you in the jaw, resulting in an audible crack as his wrist completely dislocates out of place. The other one falls down to the ground and tries to kick away while the third just gurgles and groans, covering his neck uselessly.

You appreciate the man's bravado. That's why when you rip his head off, you make it as fast as you can, tearing a segment of spine with it. Or, rather, all of his spine, and several branches of blood vessels, meat, and bits of lung and ribcage. Holding it like a mace, you bat the one trying to run away across the side of his head, and then the other way across before opening your mouth wide enough to put the entire skull in and crunch down hard, causing him to pass out, bleeding from the nose and mouth.

You decide to finally put the throat-pierced one out of his misery and ram your tongue through his forehead and out the other way, hopefully killing him instantly. At the very least, you've probably partially lobotomized him, so he won't feel much as he bleeds to death, spasming on the ground and twitching like a mannequin on top of an industrial fan. You point to the one that you simply knocked out.

"All yours."

Liv smiles an unearthly, vile grin. It almost seems to extend past the edges of her lips like a Glasgow smile, although maybe you're just seeing things. Her pursed lips crack open as she bursts into muffled laughter, covering her mouth as she kicks the miscreant in the head with her fashionable boots, over and over and over again, his body shifting with every blow until he's up against the brick wall of the alleyway.

Eventually, his skull starts to deform, pressed up against the brick and a hard toe boot, and then one of the kicks, after about 16, causes it to cave in entirely, skull collapsing inward and becoming a huge mess.

[Fuck, I keep mixing up Liz and Liv. It's Liv. Liv is the canon name. Liv.]
>>625571
You feel like your earlier question is answered now, because you can very easily smell Liv's... Well, yeah. You know what that smell is from your roommates in college. It's not one that you've personally had the pleasure of experiencing. But it's definitely what's going on here.

Liv takes a couple of minutes to lean against the dumpster and pull several napkins out of her chest area, under her shirt, using them to clean the blood and brain out of her boot the best she can, while you clean up the bodies. Once all is said and done, you're content and satiated, and Liv is panting with exertion and probably also arousal.

"That was fun." She says, sounding like she just got done getting her intimates smashed in, voice breathy and panting. "Let me just... Regain my composure and then I can tell you where the people I don't like are. If the offer's still on the table, that is."

>Of course. Compliment her on her violent streak.
>Ask how long she's been holding in these sorts of feelings.
>Deny her offer - it'd probably be safer if we killed unknowns for the time being.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>625603
Ask her how long she's had these feeling

>>625603
>Of course. Compliment her on her violent streak.
Don't forget to have a snack before go on to the next victim.

>>625603
>Ask how long she's been holding in these sorts of feelings.

>>625603
>Of course. Compliment her on her violent streak.

>>625603
>Ask how long she's been holding in these sorts of feelings.
Then
>Of course. Compliment her on her violent streak and reward with head pat.

>>625603
>>Of course. Compliment her on her violent streak.
>>Ask how long she's been holding in these sorts of feelings.

>>625629
>>625633
>>625662
>>625667
>>625679
>>625680
"How long have you had these kinds of feelings, girl?" You ask, cocking your head as she wraps the tissue in another tissue to hide the bloodstain and then pushes it into the bottom of a dumpster.

"As far as I can remember." She says, wiping her hands on her shirt. "Why? It's not going to be a problem, will it?"

"Not at all. I appreciate your violent streak. It'll help. Who first? You say, beckoning for her to climb back onto your back. She smirks.

"Noah or Ava. Either of the two, I don't care. Not Cad. He's cool. Whichever one bugged you more, I guess."

>Ava.
>Noah.

>>625876
>Ava.
Time for some sweet sweet murderfucking!

>>625876
>>Noah.

>>625876
>Ava, then display her recognisable remains to Noah.

>>625876
>Ava

>Ditch her

>>625876
Supporting
>>625939
At least keep her head

>>625939
This

>>626013
>>625939
>>625913
Once you tell her that you'd like to kill Ava first, she leads you through the neighborhood, towards the sounds of blaring alarms and gunfire. As you pass from rooftop to rooftop, the sound of worry in her voice grows.

"What...? Nothing usually happens here... What's all the noise?" Liv says, her voice going worried as you notice smoke mixing in with the rain in the air. Something's going on, and once you reach the scene, you know what. "Oh... my god."

Ava's already dead, her face ripped open vertically and chest cavity disposed of in a similar manner, splitting her from her pelvis up to her clavicle and then her body ripped apart in a garish display on the middle of the street. From your position, Cad is visible in the same alleyway from before, as you can tell from the banged up manhole cover, covering up Noah with his jacket and shushing him, cigarette extinguished.

"Damnit, someone killed her first... Wait, what?" You hear Liv muttering to herself. You hear the sounds in the distance of PMCs approaching - there's never PMCs that get near the Edge. It's where people go to die. Why are there vehicles coming?

You see your answer just before it's almost too late. Your answer was hiding in the shadows, until you got close enough for it to jump out towards the rooftops. Your answer just narrowly avoided decapitating you as it flew from its hiding spot at you like a bullet.

File: Puma.jpg (77 KB, 744x1074)

77 KB JPG

Rolled 6 + 6 (1d16 + 6)

>>626486
"God damnit, you were hard to track down." The feminine Steelshape says, landing on the rooftop behind you as Liz climbs down from your ribcage. "Glad to see you have a heart for these little bastards though, Saurian." She says, before pointing her blade at you.

A name emerges in your mind. Puma. "Saurian? Is that your name?" Liz asks, as she backs away, shaking her head. "What did I get myself into..."

"Now's not the time!" You yell, expecting to get blindsided by Puma, but instead, she stands there, pointing her sword at your neck.

Puma
Level 3 (0/3 EXP)
HP: 5
EP: 3

STR- (1d8)
SPD+++ (1d16+6)
DEX+++ (1d16+6)
STA-- (1d6)
CTR= (1d10)
NRG--- (1d4)

Passive Abilities
Scratch Damage 1 - If your STR roll for a melee attack is beat by 1 or less, the defender will take 1 damage.
Glass Cannon 1 - Any damage you deal or take is increased by 1.
Flight and Fight 1 - You may move and attack in the same action at the cost of decreasing your attack roll by 3.

"It's your move, Saurian. Attack me."

Rolled 9 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>626523
Saurian's SPD Roll

>>626533
>>626523
SPD vs SPD
13 vs 12 (No bonus actions. Saurian moves first)

Steam hisses from your legs as you prepare to mobilize yourself. Liz curls up into a ball and just watches through her fingers, trying to hide her face.

>Taunt (Free Action, Player Choice)
>Pounce (STR - Roll 1d12+2 and move into melee range)
>Leap & Bite (STR - Roll 1d14+4 and move into melee range)
>Beckon (STR - Roll 1d12+2. Enemy attacks first and you counterattack against their STR roll)

You have control.

Rolled 11 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>626569
>Leap & Bite (STR - Roll 1d14+4 and move into melee range)

>>626569
[For clarification, I think the way I will do fights is to have a handful of context sensitive actions - in a fight like this, for example, you would have Beckon because she asked you to make the first move, but not in a rough-and-tumble, less formal affair. Also, for clarification, Beckon will have her roll vs your STA, and then you roll STR against her result for her initial attack. Most actions that aren't basic attacks or abilities will be context-sensitive in some way.]

Rolled 1 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>626569
>Leap & Bite (STR - Roll 1d14+4 and move into melee range)

Rolled 7 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>626569
>>Leap & Bite (STR - Roll 1d14+4 and move into melee range)

Rolled 3 (1d8)

>>626586
STR (Saurian) vs STA (Puma)
15 vs 1d6 (Attack success: Doubled against opposition, rolled at capacity, +2 damage)

As you spring forward, mouth outstretched, your teeth close around her side as you latch onto her and rip out a huge chunk of material that you hungrily swallow down as she rams her sword into your dorsal spines. You feel it rip into your stomach cavity and pull away from her, hoping that it's nothing more than a minor wound. Liv makes... Weird noises from the sidelines as you begin to swipe and slash at Puma, with her deftly dodging and dancing around every hit. You're fast, but she's fast and nimble - you can barely touch her outside of that incredible bite that's causing her to leak gallons of ichor down her leg.

Rolled 4 (1d8)

>>626754
Saurian's STA roll

>>626756
STR (Puma) vs STA (Saurian)
3 vs 4 (Attack failure: Scratch Damage 1 triggers, Glass Cannon 1 triggers. +2 damage)

What felt like just a minor wound in your back suddenly begins to spray blood down your tail and spine. Puma is clearly injured too, with the way her dancing movements falter and fail, her legs twitching rather than gliding. You two continue to slash back and forth at each other on the rooftop - you go twice with your claws and she goes once with her sword.

This fight isn't going to last very long. You can tell that.

>Combat Banter (Free Action. Player Choice)
>Tonguepunch 1 (Free Action. SPD - Roll 1d14+4)
>Attack (STR - Roll 1d12+2)
>Bite (STR - Roll 1d14+4)
>Feint & Headbutt (STR - Roll 1d12+2, deal no damage but stun on a success)
>Devour (STR - Roll1d14+4)

Saurian HP: 3/5 (-2)
Puma HP: 1/5 (-4)

You have control.

Rolled 6 + 2 (1d12 + 2)

>>626798
>Combat Banter (I always wanted a pet cat, can't wait to have you mewling under me like the pussy you are)
>Feint & Headbutt (STR - Roll 1d12+2, deal no damage but stun on a success)

Rolled 3 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>626798
Tonguepunch,
Bite

Rolled 13 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>626834
And here's the bite

Rolled 2 + 4 (1d14 + 4)

>>626798
>Tonguepunch 1 (Free Action. SPD - Roll 1d14+4)
Feint & Headbutt (STR - Roll 1d12+2, deal no damage but stun on a success)

Rolled 12 + 2 (1d12 + 2)

>>626859
And the headbutt

>>626834
>>626837
>>626806
SPD (Saurian) vs STA (Puma)
7 vs 1d6 (Attack success)
STR (Saurian) vs STA (Puma)
17 vs 1d6 (Attack success: Doubled against opposition, rolled at capacity, +2 damage)

"I always wanted a pet cat... Can't wait to have you mewling under me like the pussy you are!" You taunt, as you slash in an uppercut and glance the tip of her helmet, carving a deep rift into it. For a moment, you see a bright red light shining like rubies in her eyespots, and then it disappears as the momentum of your attack lifts you into the air.

She attempts to ram you with the pommel of her sword, but you grab her arm and snap her wrist, ripping her hand off. If she had a face, you could swear, she'd be... Smirking?

You get the distinct feeling she'd be smirking. Why would that be?

You grab her sword, toss it aside, and ram your tongue through her neck as you latch on before your own throat expands just enough so that you can wrap your teeth all the way around and decapitate her in one solid crunch.

"Thank... you..." Her head mutters as you wrap your tail around it and crush it. Her body stumbles, stammers, twitches, and falls completely over, beginning to spasm as ichor leaks out of what was her neck at one point. She twitches and seizes like a dying spider before curling up and then flopping down like a starfish, dead.

With the battle lust out of your system... God damnit, you can completely tell that your compatriot has had some sort of climactic experience at the climax of your battle. You're a mechanical death murder machine, but really, what a fucking weirdo. Your neck shrinks back to normal as you stumble backwards, your tongue retracting back into your neck.

"Hhhh..." Liv exhales, one of her hands having gone downward while the other remained to cover her face. "Incredible..."

>Puma seemed like a decent opponent. Eat what you need, and then leave the rest of her body up here as a monument.
>Puma seemed like a decent opponent. Eat what you need, and then bury the rest of her with Ava's remains at the field past the Edge.
>Rules of nature. Consume to survive.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>626932
>>Rules of nature. Consume to survive.
>Take her sword as a trophy

>>626932
>Rules of nature. Consume to survive.
Eating something as a human never tasted so good.

>>626932
>>Puma seemed like a decent opponent. Eat what you need, and then leave the rest of her body up here as a monument.

>>626932
>Rules of nature. Consume to survive.
And they run when the sun comes up.

>>626932
>>Puma seemed like a decent opponent. Eat what you need, and then leave the rest of her body up here as a monument.
we should just stab her sword through her into something solid, so she's hard to remove. makes a nice territory marker.

I wish you guys picked the spooky squid instead of saurion :(.

>>626932
>Rules of nature. Consume to survive.

We need to eat the DNA of the soul

>>626932
>Rules of nature. Consume to survive.
We have to evolve further than our foes.

>>626932
>"Thank... you..."
Hey, the only downside is looking monstrous and getting hungry all the time, which is also a human condition termed obesity, and that one doesn't come with any perks. Protagonist can still take hacking jobs since the shit is all remote anyway.

>>626932
>Puma seemed like a decent opponent.
That's precisely why she should be eaten! It would dishonor her to do otherwise.

>>627051
[John no longer has the finger dexterity required in order to operate a keyboard as fast as he used to be able to work at +130 WPM, and getting sharp claw fingers that don't articulate well has severely decreased that. Plus, cracking usually requires sneaking into a physical location in order to gain access to the server files, which John can't really do in the traditional manner anymore.]

>>627087
he's pretty much robotic now right? can't he wirelessly interface with a computer like a computer?

>>627104
Maybe if we took jacker/get an ability that allows us to.

>>627104
[He doesn't have any sort of wireless transmission stuff inside of him, just lots of graphene, nanotubes, and titanium. If you eat a Steelshape that is made to interface with computers, however, you can do that.]

[Update coming in a couple of minutes.]

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>>627036
>
>>626998
>>626976
>>626967
>>626950
It's only natural that you do what you need to do. As you hear Cad comforting Noah and the sound of approaching PMC vehicles, you take the time to consume whatever of Puma you can - you're satiated by the earlier meal, but your hunger never seems to truly end.

You find a deep respect for Puma growing inside of you. You're honored to have fought her, despite her killing someone that you knew and cared little about. You don't eat her jacket, or her sword - you toss the jacket to Liv and take the sword as a trophy. The sword itself is about 3 feet long and incredibly heavy, and has some sort of trigger in the hilt that, when you press it, causes the edges to heat up rapidly.

You distinctly notice that Puma did not make use of that feature. You feel almost cheated.

Liv manages to fit herself quite well into Puma's jacket - it looks like before she presumably became a Steelshape, she was someone of a similar build. The sounds of the familiar PMC Humvees is approaching fast. "Should we be worried about those guys?" Liv says as she walks up to you, dabbing her crotch with a napkin before stuffing it back down her shirt. She gestures to the flood of soldiers spilling out onto the streets.

Soldiers that you know by uniform. No insignia needed.

You immediately pull Liv down to the ground. "Your friends are dead. Those guys are from the White Skull organization. They're dangerous" You explain, running off what you remember. The White Skulls are less of a PMC and more of... Well, more like you - a weapon. They're deployed into an area to completely scour it clean of whatever they're targeting, usually including witnesses. Many times, entire districts have been sterilized because of a 'witness chain' - nobody ever admits that they know who it was, because speaking up like that will add you to the body toll, but you know that it's the White Skulls.

Getting out of here will be a shitshow.

"Is there at least anything we can do about Cad?" She asks, looking up at you. You growl, almost unintentionally.

>You're going to have to make your way out of this neighborhood eventually. You might as well start the fight early and try to draw their attention.
>Now isn't the time to engage. You have to run.
>Wait until they start coming to the rooftops.
>PLAYER CHOICE

You have control.

>>627201
>>You're going to have to make your way out of this neighborhood eventually. You might as well start the fight early and try to draw their attention.

>>627201
Let's try to stealthily escort Cad, Liv, and the other dude out of here.

>>627242
this

>>627242
yeah, might as well.

My thoughts are:
>go to alleyway where Cad is
>tell him "you can try to survive the White Skull on your own, but you'll probably have more luck with me"
If he agrees just like that we can go through the sewer like we planned earlier.
If he agrees but has a different idea than the sewer we can hear him out.
If he refuses, we can either go up to slaughter the White Skulls or escape into the sewer along with our new companion as planned originally.

I would like to ensure that the "youths" survive the White Skulls.

>>627318
>>627307
>>627292
>>627242
"Yeah. I'm gonna try to save your lives." You say, grabbing Liv and tucking her into your chest as you hop down from the rooftop into the alleyway, making a noticeable amount of noise as you land in front of a cowering Noah and Cad.

"You're back, weapon." Cad says, clutching Noah tighter to his own chest as you let Liv down.

"I've had experience with these guys. White Skulls. You can try to survive them on your own but you'll probably have more luck with me." You say, as you grab the manhole cover and slowly bend it back into shape.

"I trust you. Where to, weapon?"

"These guys are going to scour the place clean. You're gonna need to hide in the sewers, and maybe you'll make it out of here alive." You command them, as you hear the noises of footsteps getting closer.

"Aiight. C'mon, Noah." Cad says, as Liv already begins following your orders and scampering down the ladder into the sewer. Noah nods - it's clear he's been crying heavily, and begins to go too, with Cad being the last. "Will you be following us, weapon?"

>No. Just stay down there and wait until the shooting stops.
>I'm going to try my best.
>PLAYER CHOICE.

You have control.

>>627410
>>No. Just stay down there and wait until the shooting stops.
We won't fit and will only end up making lots of noise

>>627410
>No. Just stay down there and wait until the shooting stops.
>>627410
Yea I don't think we even finished widening it for ourselves.

>>627410
>No. Just stay down there and wait until the shooting stops.
"And my name is Saurian."

>So, you grab the manhole cover and start whacking at the edge of it, to no avail, only breaking off pebbles of the hardened material.
>You... Don't think you're going to be able to get into the sewers this way. Not today, at least.
Yea, it's into the hole for them, but the weapon won't fit. The MC will just have to ensure the sewer doesn't end up being a grave. They ought to enjoy the smell. I'm curious which physiology it irritates more: human or cyberdemon.

>>627457
Nah man that's just a title. It's John Smith.
I just thought of a pun. Saurian but not Saurian. Too bad it's shit and it is not the context in which to use it.

>>627439
>>627447
>>627457
"Just stay down there until the shooting stops. And my name is Saurian." You say, grabbing the sewer lid and putting it back over the sewer as Cad nods respectfully and makes his way down.

They're coming faster.

Faster.

Fas-

Flashbang.

You're stunned for about a tenth a second as your eyespots adjust to the light much faster than you assume they intended for you to do, but as soon as the grenade goes off, you begin getting peppered with bullets. They're better than Cathode - the bullets actually hurt, but bounce harmlessly off of even your rubbery skin. You grab a dumpster and blindly throw it in the direction of the pain, and you hear a grunt and a meaty sound as you presumably turn one into a fine red paste.

"Cover my twelve!" "Roger!" "Annihilate the Steelshape at any and all costs!" "Arming grenade!"

You feel something slam into you, and then, fire.

>>627555
You emerge from the grenade unscathed, but coated in a burning liquid, like some kind of oil. You think they expected to melt you.

They're wrong. Now you're angry AND on fire. You can't see any of them because they're continually ducking in and out of cover, rolling across the alleyway and peeking out from behind covers, but you're implacable as they pepper you with puny fire. You grab the second dumpster and throw it into the humvee they're using for cover, ramming it right into the engine block and getting someone caught underneath of it.

You emerge from the alleyway right as a second grenade rams into your head, bounces off, and explodes, coating you in more burning liquid. It drips and cascades off of you, useless, until it touches your saliva, causing it to ignite. The flame travels inside of you.

All you can do is scream in pain as you close your neck off the best you can, crouching down and letting them assail you with gunfire before you belch out the mostly-digested contents of your stomach. "Contents evacuated! Switching to traditional ordinance!" You hear someone shout out in your daze - you've integrated all of Puma's parts, but with your body's cavities so empty, you're starting to get hungrier and hungrier by the second.

Your eyespots finally catch sight of their weapons. They grab grenades from a satchel, small cylinders with a pin, and pass them across their opposite breast, some kind of magnetic mechanism causing the pin to spit out onto the ground. With a solid throw, they engage in mid air, propelling themselves with a booster, some kind of white flare, until they reach speeds much higher than a baseball, nailing you in the head and then exploding. As soon as one finishes exploding, you're hit with a second one from the other direction. Slowly, you can feel your shoulder armor beginning to deform as the repeated blasts start hammering at you, disorienting you more and more.

You have no idea what's going on. You can't make heads or tails of your situation.

You're hungry.

You're in pain.

You hurt.

You're...

You're...

Saurian HP: 4/5 (-1)

You are not in control.

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34 KB JPG

>>627598
Awww sheit
>pic semi-related

Oh shit

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105 KB JPG

>>627598

You deflect a grenade with a well armed wild slash as hunger grips your flesh and steel. You grab another one and crush it easily, the explosion enveloping your hand. You're no longer capable of feeling pain - it's safe to see for anyone involved that you've gone almost completely off the deep end. You get beaned with two more grenades but the explosions don't even phase you anymore. You just run to the nearest soldier, your neck extending for you as you snap their upper half off. You don't even open your mouth - your head splits in half vertically to make it easier for you. What's left is a lower torso that takes half a step forward before collapsing.

Good. You're hungry.

You take a count of how many morsels there are. Three cars, one deformed heavily, and 17 White Skulls.

You're going to eat them all.

You grab one of the cars and lift it up with some effort, like how you used to struggle to lift a carton of milk. Oops, you miscounted - 15. And then, there were 12.

"Fall back, fall back!" You hear one of them yell, somewhere, futilely. You jump probably higher than one of the buildings, leaving a sizable crater behind you, with strength you didn't know you had and you doubt you'll be able to summon again for a while. You come down onto the engine block of one of the cars, completely crushing it and lifting its back end off the ground like a wheelie in reverse. You punch through it and grab one of the seats, ripping it out and launching it faster than they can even throw one of their rocket propelled grenades, completely turning one of them into a red and pink smear. 11.

You feel some kind of ping run through you and notice a hole in your arm. Your mind does the math before you need to, and your gaze tilts towards one of the soldiers, being backed up by another one, with a rifle longer than its user is even tall. Punched clean through you. You jump off the car just as a second bullet would've whizzed through you - you don't want to take the risk of getting peppered with something that high caliber, but even then, the sniper and spotter manage to peg you in the head. Thankfully, it deflects and leaves a hole in a building, but puts a sizable dent in your bone crown and hurts like a motherfucker. He tries to run away but you completely remove his ankle on your way back down and are fired at from point blank. You don't like that at all, so you ram your tail through his pelvis, and out through his mouth, turning him into a shish-kabob that you then use to bludgeon the other one to death with three hard thumps, almost liquifying both of them in their armor. You rip an arm off and eat it because you're hungry, god damnit. 9

There's another pinging noise as two more high caliber bullets bounce off of you from the other side of the road. They need better aim. High jumping isn't the only thing your legs are good for - but before you leave, you grab one by the throat and bring him with you, punching one of the snipers with his own ally