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>>1751915

Character sheet:

Vanessa

A sensitive soul. Beautiful and weird, charming and vulnerable.

Look: Dainty, disheveled
Age: 17
Origin: Mysterious transfer student

Stats:
Dark +2
Hot +1
Cold -1
Strong -1

Traits:

Growing Pains: Whenever you fail a roll, gain experience.

???: Can enter a nightmare world while sleeping. Somehow.
Heartbreaker: Summon Kate's soul as a heavy blade in the nightmare world.


Current Status:
Harm: 3/5
Stress: 1/5
XP: 3/5
Soul: 2/5
Insight: 1

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>>1751942

You weren't sure what you were expecting to happen to Tyler and Kate while you, Jason and Sam went off exploring. Gunfire wasn't one of them. Hurrying back to the waterfall lake, you found Tyler alone and holding a smoking pistol, bloodied but smiling.

The three of you are crouched down behind some trees and brush, but you made a little too much noise, and now he knows you're there.

"Don't worry," Tyler calls out to you. "I fixed it. Everything's fine."

Jason looks at you, then at Sam, with a grim face. "Stay here," he whispers to both of you, then starts to get up. Sam clutches at his hand, shaking her head, silently imploring him not to, but he brushes her off and finishes standing. "Hi, Tyler. You look a little beat up. What's going on?"

"Just taking care of business," Tyler replies. He slides the magazine out from the pistol's handle, checks the ammo inside, and slots it back into place with a quick, practiced efficiency. "Could you help me search for my glasses? I lost them somewhere around here."

Jason slowly starts to approach him, hands raised cautiously at about waist level. "Maybe, uh, you could put down the gun and then we can talk?"

"Hmph." Tyler flips the gun's safety on and tucks it into the back of his belt. "I should think out of anyone, you'd be comfortable with a firearm, Jason."

"Not right now," he says. "Tyler? Where's Kate?"

"She's right over --" Tyler starts to point to his right, towards a cluster of boulders a short distance away, big enough that Kate could be standing -- or otherwise -- just on the other side. Then he stops, and turns back to Jason. "Wait. Just what do you think happened here?"

"I don't know what to think," Jason says. "Here's what I do know. You've hidden a gun from us this whole time. Just now I heard gunshots. And now I don't see Kate."

>Tyler, please. What did you do?
>Jason, stop. You don't think he -- I mean, he couldn't do that. Right?
>Both of you stop!
>(Throw a rock at Tyler)
>(Stay in the bushes)

>>1751974
>Tyler what did you shot?
Just get to the point and avoid any misunderstanding

>>1751915

>(Throw a rock at Tyler)

>>1751985
Really?

>>1751974
Both of you stop. I think we all know Tyler isn't stupid enough to off an ally in a survival situation.

>>1752007
Can't stop what ain't even started.

>>1752010
I should make it clear that this>>1752007 was my vote.

>>1751974

You can see that things are about to get heated when they don't have to. These two idiots are having some real communication issues. You roll your eyes and stand up from your hiding spot, and head toward the boys. "Both of you, stop! Jason, look -- Tyler isn't stupid enough to kill an ally, okay? He knows that he needs us just as much as we need him."

Tyler says. "I might argue that last item, but --"

"Jesus, shut up and stop making it worse. You realize this looks bad, right? I'm trusting you're not some crazy psycho, here. Now just get to the point and tell us what you shot, so we can avoid any misunderstandings."

He looks down at his bloody hand. "It was a creature of some kind. An animal, I presume. It attacked us, and knocked me down. But I shot it. It's dead." He points towards the boulders. You and Jason move to where you can see what he's pointing at.

A great black shape lies on the shoreline. A creature the size of a huge bear, covered in black fur and bony ridges. It isn't moving.

"See?" you say, turning to Jason. "It was a monster."

Jason protests. "I didn't -- you have to admit it looked bad, all right? I was just looking out for you and Sam."

"Fine," you say. "So where's Kate?"

Tyler goes to adjust his glasses, then remembers he's not wearing them. "Umm. Possibly still underneath."

"Underneath? You didn't think to help her out, or see if she's okay?"

"I-I'm sorry. I struck my head when the beast knocked me down. I could concentrate long enough to aim, but I got dizzy when I tried to stand up, until just now."

"All right. Sit down and take it easy, then. Sam can help if you need anything. Sam, you can come out! Everything's fine!" You reach up to tap Jason on the shoulder. "Let's help Kate."

>>1752096


Cautiously, the two of you approach the beast. It's something in between a black bear and a panther in shape, but larger than either. Its night-black fur is broken up by bony armored plates and ridges. Pistol bullets did almost no damage, but as you get around to the front, you see that one of them struck it in the eye. It's clearly a predator, judging by the fangs.

"They must have brains just like us," Jason says, examining the wound. "Good to know you can still take 'em out with a headshot."

You find Kate, half-conscious, pinned under the creature's front paws. She looks beaten up and has some nasty claw marks, but no critical injuries you can see. Jason grunts as he pushes the creature's weight off, and you grab Kate by the wrists and drag her to safety.

Jason squats down beside you and hands you his water canteen. You splash a little on a spare shirt and start to clean the dirt and blood off of Kate, checking her for wounds as you do.

"What do you think about this?" asks Jason. "Don't get me wrong, it's great that Tyler rescued Kate from this monster and all. And I know you don't like that I'm hard on the guy. But." He looks around, to see if he's being overheard, then leans in close. "This means he had a gun this whole time, right? Ever since we looted the school. Maybe even before. And he didn't tell us. Intentionally kept it secret from us, actually."

>Yeah, that is fucked up. He'd better have a good explanation.
>Yeah, that is fucked up. But I'm not going to confront him about it.
>It's fine. He couldn't trust us.
>It's fine. I'm sure he just ... forgot.

>>1752113
>Yeah, that is fucked up. But I'm not going to confront him about it.
Time to find out if people can get infections on this world(s)

>>1752113
>He woke up in a strange place with people he didn't know. If I was him I'd done the same thing.

>>1752113
>>Yeah, that is fucked up. He'd better have a good explanation.

>>1752124
Add : we should still ask him where he got the gun and what else he's hiding

>>1752113
>>Yeah, that is fucked up. He'd better have a good explanation.
Is... Is Tyler a school shooter?

>>1752113


"Yeah, that is fucked up, I admit," you tell Jason. "But it's a fucked up situation. He woke up in a strange place with people he didn't know. If I was him ... I don't know. Maybe I would've done the same thing. I'm not going to confront him about it. That said, we should ask him both where he got the gun, and what other surprises he's hiding from us."

"Works for me," says Jason. He looks down at Kate. "I hope she's all right. Here, help me pick her up. Let's get her away from this furry asshole. He stinks."

You and Jason take Kate over to where Sam is staying several feet away from Tyler, trying and failing to keep her fear tamped down. You explain the situation to her, and she nods in acceptance, but shakes her head when you ask her to look him over. You end up doing it yourself. Tyler is banged up but otherwise all right.

He describes the creature -- the grizzly cat? sabertooth bear? -- and its attack. How he and Kate were searching for useful stones by the lakeshore when the creature came out of nowhere, presumably having crept silently up on them behind the cover of the boulders. It charged at an incredible speed, catching Tyler unawares and knocking him over, where he struck his head on a rock on the ground. Before it could disembowel him, though, Kate struck the creature in the face with her baseball bat.

"She saved my life," Tyler says. "Seemed fair I return the favor. My head was on fire, and I could barely see without my glasses. And a little 9mm bullet usually doesn't do too much to something like a bear. It was the purest chance I stopped it."

"You hit it right in the eye," you tell him.

"It was stone dead," Jason says. "Killer shot, pal. Gotta admit."

A hint of a satisfied smile crosses Tyler's face, and he opens his mouth to say something--

A bestial roar interrupts. The five of you look over to see a huge black shape rushing in your direction. The creature is somehow very much alive, gaping eye wound and all. It's charging straight at you. Its huge, muscled form sprints across the grass at a shocking speed, paws thundering against the grass. It opens its mouth to roar again, revealing its fangs.

>Fight.
>Dodge.
>Run.

>>1752284
>>Run.
>fight a space bear

lolno

>>1752284
>>Dodge.

>>TYLER, OPEN FIRE!

>>1752284
>Dodge.
We ain't gonna outrun that thing.

>>1752284
>Do the Joestar secret technique
>NIGERU DA YO!!!!
>TL Note : it means Run away!!

>>1752290
>>1752292

>Dodge

Roll Cold (1d10-1) and good luck.

Rolled 1 - 1 (1d10 - 1)

>>1752339

Rolled 4 - 1 (1d10 - 1)

>>1752339

Rolled 8 - 1 (1d10 - 1)

>>1752339

>>1752339

The huge black beast rushes at you. Steeling your nerves, you try to throw yourself out of the way at just the last moment, and barely make it in time. The beast misses you with its fangs, but its shoulder slams into you and knocks you sprawling onto the ground.

Fighting off the disorientation, you see the beast dig in its feet and turn around. Gunshots ring out, incredibly loud this close, as Tyler fires his pistol, but the bullets hardly make an impact in that thick hide. No miracle shot this time. The beast charges at you again, and you're still getting up. You won't dodge it a second time. You brace for impact and wonder if this is how your life ends, being eaten by a huge black catbear on an alien planet --

-- Jason steps in and swings his crowbar down like a hammer, striking the beast in the skull and knocking it off balance. The beast recovers and roars a challenge at Jason. He shouts back at the top of his lungs, swiping back and forth with the crowbar, stabbing with the sharp end, but the weapon's reach is pathetic compared to the beast's long arms and huge claws.

"Vanessa, Tyler, quick!" Jason calls over his shoulder. Grab Kate and get out of here!"

"What about you?!"

"I'll hold it off, just -- just go!!"

>Help him yourself.
>Tyler, do something!
>Just go.

>>1752411
>Tyler, do something!
Gun has gotta do something

>>1752411
>>Just go.
Trust him, we're smol, not gonna do much on our own.

However, maybe we can do that sword thing we did earlier, once we get Kate to safety?

>>1752411
>Help him yourself
Considering we're the one with the magic sword....

>>1752411
>>Just go.

>>1752417
Also shout for Tyler to help

[spoilers]maybe he'll summon Arsene[spoilers/]

>>1752415
>>1752423

>Just go.

Writing.

>>1752411


Your heart is torn, but you follow Jason's wishes. You run to Kate and grab her by the ankles. "Tyler, help me carry her!"

Tyler looks back and forth between you and Jason's battle with the beast, clearly divided. He fires off one last ineffective shot, then puts the gun back in his belt, crouches down and puts his arms under Kate's. You meet eyes with him and nod, and you both lift at the same time. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Sam scuttle out into the open, grab something from the ground, then rejoin you. All of you hustle away from there, back up the hill you came from. You and Tyler carry Kate between you, while Sam leads the way towards the light woodland nearby.

With a screen of trees between the group and the beast, you and Tyler gently lay Kate down to the ground and sit down, both breathing heavily. You can't process what just happened yet, so instead you ask, "Sam, what was that thing you grabbed?"

Sam reaches into her coat pocket and withdraws something small and black. Tyler's glasses. She hands them out to Tyler, her hand trembling, and he puts them back on. One of the lenses is cracked, but still functional.

Relieved of her charge, Sam sinks to her knees in despair. "We left him! I can't believe it, we're -- we're horrible! How could we do that to him? We just ... just ..." She lets out a big sniff, trying to hold back the tears.

"It was what he wanted," Tyler says, staring at the ground, impassionate.

"Don't say that!" you tell him, angry. "We don't know that he's dead! He -- he could've --"

"Could've what? Fought off that beast with a crowbar, or his bare hands? Given it a wrestling suplex?" Tyler looks down at the gun in his hands. He looks emotionless, his face blank, but you can see a cold fury he's trying to hide. "I couldn't do anything, even with this ..."

Kate coughs. You go over to her and see her struggling back to consciousness. "What -- what happened? Oh my god, that monster attacked. is everyone all right?" Even with her own blood all over her shirt, Kate's worried about the others.

"Jason's still out there," you say, and add ...

>He sacrificed himself for us.
>He's going to be all right. Somehow.
>He's going to be all right. I'm going back there for him.

>>1752522
>He's going to be all right. I'm going back there for him.
>You coming Tyler?

>>1752527
Supporting.

>>1752522
>>He's going to be all right. I'm going back there for him.

>He's going to be all right. I'm going back there for him.
>You coming Tyler?

Writing.

>>1752522

"He's going to be all right. I'm going back there for him," you announce, rising to your feet. You're not sure where this fire in your heart is coming from. Back home there's no way you would've done something like this. But that isn't going to stop you. Picking up Kate's baesball bat, you take a firm grip, feeling the wooden grain in your hands. You turn to Tyler and look down at him. "You coming?"

He looks lost for a moment as he meets your eyes, then he realizes what you're asking from him. He takes a moment to think it over, then sighs and gets to his feet. "All right, Vanessa. But only--" He pauses, then shakes his head. "Never mind. Let's get this done." He takes out his gun, checks his magazine, slots it back in, and nods.

You and Tyler head out of the wooded grove and back towards the rocky shoreline. "Be careful!" Sam calls after you.

On the way, you look inwards. Could you maybe summon that sword from Kate. Heartbreaker, it's called, although you don't know how you know. Last time it was in that -- that other place, the one you saw in your dreams. The red forest. But maybe you could still summon it here? You imagine the sword in your hand, trying to recall the feeling of calling to Kate, reaching out to her across the barrier between hearts.

Nothing.

No magic sword, then. Bat and pistol it is. A baseball bat and a 9mm handgun are not the greatest weapons to take into a fight against a predator larger and tougher than a polar bear. But they're all you've got.

You and Tyler cautiously approach the scene of the attack. The beast is gone, or hiding. Jason lies on his back on the ground.

Carefully, on high alert, you both get closer. Tyler catches your attention and points, and in the distance, you catch a glimpse of the black-furred beast from behind as it moves away, before it slips between two plinths of rock and disappears. "It's gone," Tyler says, then turns to Jason. "Is he--?"

You kneel at Jason's side. His wounds are terrible, his shirt cut to ribbons and covered in his own blood. His glassy eyes stare sightlessly at the sky.

You check his pulse at his throat. Take out your pocket mirror and check his breath. Nothing.

"I -- I was sure we could do something," you say, hearing your voice catch. "I thought we'd come back and -- and he'd still be fighting, he'd hold it off somehow, and we'd run in and -- and ..." Tears well up in your eyes.

You feel Tyler's hand on your shoulder. "It was what he wanted," he repeats, still with no emotion in his voice. You stand up and turn around, furious at his rigid coldness, until you see a tear running down the dirt on his cheek, even as his face remains as immovable as a stone. "Should we bury him, do you think?"

>Yes. He deserves it.
>We don't have tools, but we can at least build him a cairn.
>Let's give him a viking funeral, like a warrior.
>He doesn't care anymore. Let's get out of here before the beast comes back.

>>1752668
>>We don't have tools, but we can at least build him a cairn.
FUCK

welp, that's death number 1

>>1752668
>>We don't have tools, but we can at least build him a cairn.

>>1752668
>We don't have tools, but we can at least build him a cairn.

>>1752668

"We don't have tools, but we can at least build him a cairn," you say. "There's plenty of rocks around here. Let's find some we can stack up on top of him. Protect his -- his body from predators. He deserves at least that much."

Tyler nods. You suspect he doesn't believe in rituals like this, and is concerned that the beast might return, but has at least a gram of tact which tells him not to bring it up. You do notice he watches carefully in the direction the beast left from as he helps you gather stones.

A short time later, the two of you have finished constructing a burial mound of rival stones over Jason's body. You wipe a tear from your cheeks. If anybody is going to say something over his body, you guess it should be you.

You think over Jason in the short time you knew him. Brash, confident, reckless. He talked a big game about how he was almost a soldier, and you wondered if he would back it up when the time came.

He did.

>Praise him as a warrior.
>Make fun of him like a friend.
>Honor him for his sacrifice.
>Tyler, you do it.

>>1752740
>Honor him for his sacrifice.

>>1752740
>>Make fun of him like a friend.
RIP

Jason deserved better

>>1752740
We'll make it count.

>>1752740

You force down the lump in your throat, thinking that if this is Jason's eulogy, you're not going to fuck it up by starting to cry in the middle of it.

"Jason -- shit, I don't even know your last name. Jason the soldier wannabe. Your dad was some kind of big shot in the army, and you tried to live up to that. I'd say you did pretty well. You were kind of a jackass sometimes, and hard to get along with. What else can you expect from a jock, really?" You chuckle, hoping that he would get the joke. "But we needed somebody headstrong. We were relying on you to take charge when bad shit happened. And you did, and -- and you paid for it. Any of us who thought you were all talk, well, we were wrong. You came through for us, and you made the ultimate sacrifice to do it." You sniff and wipe a tear from your eye. "Rest in peace, Jason. We'll make it count."

You turn to Tyler. "Do you want to say anything?"

He shakes his head.

"Should we go back?"

He nods.

You take Jason's crowbar with you.

It's a grim-faced, tear-stained group of four that returns to your cave shelter that night. Tyler and Kate are still bruised and bloodied from their own run-ins with the Beast. You're still not fully recovered from your own ordeals. Only Sam has escaped injury so far. She does what she can to bear an increased load of the campsite tasks, rushing around trying to see to everyone's needs.

"This definitely isn't how I wanted to spend our first night in the cave," says Sam. "When we f-f-found it, I was all excited that we would have a place to settle down, even if it was just for a little while. Now I keep thinking of finding it with Jason." She points to a spot. "He stood right there, looking around, and talked about setting up in here."

"He said, "the little back chamber there can give us a little privacy,"" you say, trying to imitate his voice. "What do you think he had in mind?'

"I th-th-think we both know," Sam says, and both of you giggle. You catch Sam sighing as she turns away, though. Muscular bad boys weren't your type, but Sam, on the other hand ... could she have liked Jason, as in like-liked Jason? She's keeping it together so far, but you wonder if this is hurting her even worse than you.

You hear a noise, a kind of rustling and dragging sound. It might just be the wind. Or maybe something is out there. Maybe one of those snatcher lizards, come to steal more fruit out of your bag -- or maybe, you realize suddenly, it could be the beast returning to finish the job.

You're sleeping with Jason's crowbar in your sleeping bag -- not as some weird grief thing, but so you had a weapon close at hand, or at least that's what you told yourself. Clutching it tightly, you ...

>Charge at the noise, taking it by surprise.
>Grab your flashlight and shine it at the noise.
>Shout to wake the others.
>Stay very quiet and hope it goes away.

>>1752864
>>Grab your flashlight and shine it at the noise.

>>1752864
>Shout to wake the others.
Could be nothing could be something either way don't take any chances

>>1752864
>Grab your flashlight and shine it at the noise.

>>1752864
>>Grab your flashlight and shine it at the noise.

>>1752864

Not wanting to disturb the others if it just turns out to be a dragonmoth or some kind of alien squirrel, you grab your flashlight, click the light on, and aim it at the sound, revealing--

"Hi," says Jason.

You scream and drop the flashlight, then immediately grab it back and point it in the same direction. You half-expect to see nothing, that it was just a hallucination caused by grief.

But no. Jason, who you last saw as you buried under a cairn of stones at the lakeside, is sitting right there, on the rock at the entrance of the cave, looking wan and exhausted, but alive. He raises his hand to block the flashlight beam. "Mind pointing that out of my eyes?"

"Jason?! But your wounds! Your heart stopped! You weren't breathing! Are -- are you healed?"

Jason lifts his shirt, revealing clearly mortal wounds. Or rather, they should be mortal, but they're not. Because he's sitting there talking to you despite the gaping hole in his chest. He lowers his shirt and shrugs.

"But how? I thought you were dead! You--" It feels wrong to say "you should be dead" even though, by all rights, he really should be.

Jason says, "I think maybe I was."

"What happened?"

He shrugs. "I got better."

>Hug him.
>Examine him carefully.
>Kill him! He's a zombie!
>Wake the others.

>>1752916
>>Hug him.
>>Examine him carefully.

>>1752916
>Hug him.

>>1752916
>Hug him.
>Examine him carefully.

>>1752916
>>Wake the others.

>>1752916
>>Kill him! He's a zombie!

>>1752916

You rush forward to give Jason the big reunion hug, realizing only at the last moment that you should probably be careful of the huge wounds in his chest and stomach. You skid to a stop and instead, you gingerly reach around his neck and shoulders and squeeze. "I was sure you were gone, you big dummy! I gave a speech over your cairn and everything."

"Is that what that was?" Jason says. "I was wondering why I came to covered in rocks."

You laugh through your tears. "I felt so shitty just leaving you like that. Me and Tyler went back, but by then it was too late."

Jason reaches up to pat your arm. "Don't worry, Vanessa. You did the right thing, getting the others to safety. If I had a choice to go back, even knowing I wouldn't somehow be magically brought back this time, I'd still do it again."

"Oh geez." You stand back and wipe your eyes. "Stop being so damn noble, will you? Just -- just get that shirt off and let me check this out. I think it's done as shirt, anyway."

"You're right," Jason admits, pulling it off. "Guess we can use some more rags."

Up close, his wounds look even more awful. Shining your flashlight at them, you can see his organs with your own eyes, see his beating heart. "My god. You really should be dead. I sure hope there aren't any infectious bacteria on this planet, we're a long way from a regular supply of penicillin. How does it feel?"

"It hurts," he admits. "A lot. But it's kind of remote. It's tough, but I can ignore it."

"Do you remember anything? You know -- in between?"

Jason sighs. "Not really. Something happened, but I can't remember. I don't think there were any angels and pearly gates, or demons and hellfire. I think there was--" He pauses. "No, that doesn't make any sense," he mutters, rubbing his forehead.

"What doesn't?"

He shakes his head. "I can't remember. It's like a dream, you know? It faded right away."

"What do you think happened to you?"

He shrugs. "No idea, really. What do you think? You're the one who went into that weird shadow world place. If anyone would know, it would be you."

"I have no idea, really. But if I had to guess, maybe ..."

>Something brought you back.
>It's some kind of power you have.
>It's something to do with that other world.
>Maybe people just can't die on this planet.
>Write-in.

>>1753035
>you're not you, you're a reflection or some horrible doppelganger.

>>1753035
>>Something brought you back.

>>1753043
pls

>>1753035
>Something brought you back.
>It's something to do with that other world.

>>1753035
>>It's something to do with that other world.
>Jesus fuck we need to do something about those wounds.

>>1753035
>It's something to do with that other world.

>>1753035
I am not spoop. I honestly think it's some kind of evil monster or creature using his image for nefarious purposes.

>>1753066
kys not!spoop

>>1753073
hi spoop

>>1753073
Can confrim am not u.

>>1753077
kys crab or silver

>>1753082
I'm Silver you dink

>>1753089
oy vey

>>1753082
I'm Crab.

>>1753082
100% neither of them.

>>1753114
kys biggie

>>1753106
Resident seaman and diehard Lakifag Biggie Cheese reporting.

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>>1753116

>>1753116
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwjtnP2lTGA>>1753126

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>>1753132

>>1753035


"It's something to do with that other world," you say. "Maybe like -- maybe your soul got caught there, and then Instead of travelling onto the afterlife or whatever, it found its way back to your body. Or maybe you were brought back by something in that world. Or someone."

"No idea, Vanessa," Jason says. "Honestly. I just know that thing ripped my chest open, and I fell down, and there was blackness, and then I woke up with a bunch of rocks on top of me."

For a moment, you hestitate. This is definitely the real Jason, right? There's no chance this is an alien doppleganger, or an evil duplicate from the mirror dimension, or whatever. Right?

"Hey, uh, just to make sure your memory is working right, what school did we go to?"

"Fairmont High."

Okay, so he has Jason's memories. That probably rules out alien doppleganger. But not mirror-dimension duplicate. Damn. Come on, Vanessa, this is crazy, you tell yourself. Think of it this way -- if this was some kind of plan to infiltrate your group, why would they give their infiltration agent these impossible wounds? Wouldn't they make him look like regular Jason, so as not to draw attention?

"Let's do something about those wounds," you say. "They're way too big to be stitched up, but let's at least give you some kind of cover for them. You don't want the wind blowing around in your insides, or to get poked in the wrong place."

"That I don't," Jason agrees. He looks around at the other three, still sleeping. "I know we should get them up and give them the big news and all, but I'm really tired. Can it wait until tomorrow?"

>Sure. You deserve it.
>Are you kidding? This is kind of a big deal.
>You go to sleep. I'll tell them.

>>1753157
>Are you kidding? This is kind of a big deal.

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>>1753157
>You go to sleep. I'll tell them.

>>1753157
>>You go to sleep. I'll tell them.

>>1753157
>>Are you kidding? This is kind of a big deal.

>>1753157


"This is kind of a big deal, Jason, I think we gotta tell them right away. It won't be any less weird for them to see you in the morning than right now," you say. "I can do the talking if you want, though. You get ready to rest."

"Thanks," he says. "I don't exactly feel a hundred percent."

"Understandable, since you should be dead and all."

Quietly you wake the other three survivors, explaining that they're going to see something weird, but that they shouldn't freak out. You then step out of the way to reveal Jason. Sam bursts into tears, this time of relief and happiness. Kate has all kinds of questions. Tyler doesn't say much, letting Kate do the talking. He keeps his eyes on Jason the whole time. You wonder if he's thinking the same thing you were earlier, about shadow selves and mirror duplicates.

You're willing to act in good faith and assume this is the real Jason, miraculously returned from death. Tyler might have other ideas.

Kate stops herself. "Shit, listen to me go on. You're clearly exhausted. Let's get you set up in your bed, such as it is. Sam and Vanessa, can you go through the spare clothes and see what you can make for him to cover his, uh, organs up? I'll have a look at those wounds. Tyler, watch the door, will you? Jason probably left a trail on his way back here."

Jason groans as he sinks to the stone floor of the cave, on his "mattress" of spare shirts and hoodies. "You know, this doesn't hurt as much as it looks. But it still hurts a lot."

(Continued)

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>>1753229

Soundtrack: Stranger Things -- Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CBmwtk7wpc

You awake with a start, wondering if Jason has died again in the night, or vanished, or murdered everyone else because he was an evil shadow Jason all along--

Everything is fine. The new day is dawning with the now-familiar sight of the huge pink and blue striated gas planet in the morning sky. The dragonmoths are chirping as they hum through the air from tree to tree, sipping from the flowers' nectar and snatching bugs out of the air with their long, thin moth tongues.

To the south stretches the green canopy of the tall trees you walked through to get to this point -- several days's travel in that direction would take you back to the "landing zone" and the section of Earth that was brought here. To the north loom the high hills and rocky mountains. Here in between, in this high cave by the waterfall lake, you've found a little place you plan on making a home, even if it's only a temporary one.

Assuming you can stay safe from any more attacks from black beasts and god knows what else. At first this planet didn't seem so bad, all things considered. Now you're not so sure.

Regardless, your supplies are running low, and after Jason describes the agony of forcing his body to walk up that hill back to the cave, you all agree that he won't be travelling anytime soon. You'll be staying here for a while. Hopefully Jason's body will heal, and you can use the time to replenish your supplies, furnish and fortify your camp in the hillside cave, and do some scouting of the nearby area.

The five of you eat a light breakfast. Once the subject of Jason's miraculous resurrection has gone around in circles for the third time and produced no conclusions, the conversation turns to starting to set up the cave, and who should do what.

Survivors:

>Vanessa
>Kate
>Tyler
>Sam


Tasks:

>Gathering (known food, possible food, sticks, rushes)
>Crafting (tools, weapons, traps, baskets)
>Construction (front door)
>Scouting (N, E, S, W, local area)
>Hunting
>Write-in

Going to leave this vote open and call it there for tonight. Thanks for playing, fellas.

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>>1753268
>Creature isn't in the survivors list

>>1753274
Thanks for running.

>>1753268
>Gathering (known food, possible food, sticks, rushes)
Thanks for running Bossman

>>1753275
Jason died, but he got better.

>>1753268
>Crafting
Vanessa

>Gathering
Tyler, Kate

>Construction (Front Door)
Sam

>>1753275
It's kind of a dick move to make the guy with a gaping chest wound work, is all.

>>1753268
>Crafting
Vanessa

>Gathering
Tyler, Kate

>Construction
Sam

>>1753268


The next morning, the group agrees that you should probably stay here for several days to let Jason heal from his wounds from the black-furred beast. He protests, saying that he can walk just fine, but everyone overrules him in favor of waiting until he recovers. Even Tyler speaks up for it.

"And you aren't going anywhere today, either," says Kate firmly. "You're sitting right there and getting better all day."

"Guess I'll just lie around like a useless asshole, then," growls Jason.

"It's fine," you tell him. "You can work with me today. I was thinking we need to round out our tools, and I could use your help making them."

He says, "Something like an axe would be handy. We've got a crowbar, a baseball bat, and couple of knives. None are really the best for felling logs. Oh, and we've got a gun. That's not great for logs either."

Kate says, "I'll look around the area and see what I can find that's useful for you guys. Maybe some food, too." She looks at Tyler and gives him a winsome smile. "Want to come along. help carry a lady's things?"

He looks away. "If you want."

"Sam, maybe you can work on something for our front door?"

"Me?" Sam looks around in a panic. "B-b-but I can't lift logs by myself, and I don't know how to make a door ..."

"It's okay, Sam. None of us know what we're doing, not really. Just do what you can."

She bites her lip, thinking. "Um ... maybe I can try putting some sticks together. I'll go look for some, but uh ..." She looks at the exit to the cave with trepidation. "I just hope I can find them close by ..."

"We'll help you with that part," says Kate. "Afterwards we'll look for something that's edible. Or at least, might be edible."

Kate, Tyler and Sam empty out their bags in the corner you designate the "storage area", then head out of the cave, discussing their options. Tyler says something that makes the two girls laugh. Huh. Maybe he actually does have a sense of humor. Who knew?

You spend a little time sorting through the stuff everyone's accumulated on the journey so far. The main thing you're interested in right now are the blue flint rocks that you picked up. You've got these and a short length of rope, and shortly your gathering team will be back with some sturdy sticks.

"Ever done anything like this before?" asks Jason, sitting up against the cave wall. "Improvising tools out of natural materials?"

"I sowed some patches on my rock concert jacket once," you say.

Jason sighs. "All right, well I can walk you through the basics. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can get something done today."

Choose 2:
>Axe
>Hammer
>Shovel
>Spear
>Bow
>Arrows
>Basket
>Curtain
>Write-in

>>1757938
>Axe
>Shovel
Tools for the tool god

>>1757938
>Shovel

>>1757956
>and a spear

>>1757956
Maybe sharpen the edge so you can still use it to cut stuff

>>1757963
Changing the spear to an axe because someone told me that we can just tape the knife on a stick to make a spear

>>1757938
>>Axe
>Shovel

>>1757991

You spend the morning chipping pieces of blue flint against each other to make an edged blade for an axe and a broad, blunt spade for a shovel. It's tiring work, and your once-delicate hands are soon chapped, but you wrap some cloth around them and keep going. Jason asks a few times to take over, but you won't let him exert himself.

Kate, Tyler and Sam return at midday, dropping off three loads of sturdy sticks they found in the nearby woodlands. "At least one of these should make a good axe handle," Kate says. "Okay Sam, you can stay behind and work on that door. Tyler, let's go find some of that fuzzfruit. That's the only thing we're sure is edible around here."

Kate and Tyler head back outside, while Sam stays behind. She begins laying out a framework of sticks in a shape about the size of the cave door, overlapping them horizontally and vertically. She concentrates intently, muttering to herself as she makes adjustments and tries different arrangements. She might actually pull this off.

You spend the afternoon trying to tie your axe and shovel blades to the sticks with a length of rope. It's harder than you thought it would be, and eventually you relent and let Jason help. While you're working together on tying the tools, together, you ask him:

>How's your chest? Do you feel all right?
>What do you think we should do next?
>Are you sure you don't remember anything from when you were -- you know -- dead?
>What's the deal with you and Kate? She said you two know each other, but ... was that the whole story?
>You and Tyler keep butting heads ...
>(whisper) I think Sam kinda has a thing for you.
>(Test him again to make sure it's the real Jason and not a shadow clone.)
>(Just leave him alone and work on the tools)
>Something else

>>1758045
>You and Tyler keep butting heads ...
>I know he can be difficult at times but he's a good guy

>>1758061
Supporting.

>>1758045

"So, you and Tyler keep butting heads ..." You start out with.

"Sure," Jason says, concentrating on holding the rope tight while you try to work the stone blade into place. "He's a pompous jackass who contradicts me all the time. Not sure why I should like him. I don't know how you get along with him."

"I know he can be difficult at times. He knows that too, though, he told me that. I think he's really trying. He's a good guy, we just need to give him a chance."

"I'll try," mutters Jason. "I guess -- no, never mind."

"Come on, what is it?" You give him your best "tell me a secret" smile. You've pried worse secrets out of stronger men with this smile, and Jason soon relents.

"I guess when we started out I had this idea like I was going to be the leader. I'm the strongest one here, I've got some basic military training. I'm somehow still super popular in school even though I'm not on the sports team anymore, so I guess I'm, you know. Cool. So I figured, obviously I should be in charge, right? I'm not even saying that selfishly, you know? I really thought I was the best person for it.

"Instead, Tyler had his own ideas, and you and Kate kept supporting him. I guess he's smart and all, but it still pissed me off. I was about to have it out with him on that shoreline when -- you know." He glances down at his wounded torso, then looks away. "Can't do that now. Not much of a leader, getting my guts clawed out by a huge cat. Bear. Whatever that was."

You get up to sit next to Jason and rest a hand on his shoulder. "We really appreciate what you did. I'm sorry if you feel like we haven't been listening to you."

"It's fine," he says. "I'm all right with taking orders. Just tell me -- who's in charge around here?"

>I guess it's me?
>Kate's in charge.
>Tyler's the smartest.
>It should be you, really.
>Nobody.

>>1758148
>>I guess it's me?

>>1758148
>I guess it's me?

>>1758148
>Whoever had the brightest idea at the time

>>1758148
>>Nobody.
DEMOCRACYYYY

>>1758148

"I guess it's ... me?" you say, realizing the truth of the statement for the first time, as you say it out loud. "I mean, Kate's got the force of personality, and Tyler's got the brains, and you've got the experience. But for some reason, you all listen to me." You scratch your head a moment under your thick mane of disheveled hair, thinking. "I guess I sort of balance everyone out, you know? I can listen to all of you, and sort of combine all of your ideas into what we should do. Does that make sense?"

Jason nods. "Makes sense to me." He lifts an eyebrow at your surprised expression. "What, did you think I'd object? "A girl can't be in charge" or something like that?"

"Something like that," you admit. "I don't know, Jason. Shouldn't we just go with whoever has the best idea at the time?"

"That's what a leader's job is, Vanessa," Jason says. "Deciding what the best idea is. Everyone puts in their two cents, and the commander decides. Look. All I care about is we work together to stay alive. I can't promise I'll just blindly follow your orders, but as long as I think we're moving in the right direction, I'll support you."

"That's all I would ask," you

"Then consider yourself promoted," Jason says, and salutes with a mocking smile. "Officer Vanessa."

You give your best salute back to him, trying to look as serious as possible. "I accept this honor with great, um, honor."

Jason bursts out laughing. "Oh, man. This is who's calling the shots? We might as well go find that black beast again and throw ourselves into his mouth, save ourselves the trouble." He grimaces as his laughter affects his wounds.

You scowl. "You just said you were okay with it, mister!"

"I know, I'm sorry ..."

(Continued)

>>1758280


That evening, everyone produces the results of their labor. Kate and Tyler roamed for some time in the afternoon, but weren't able to find any large sources of fuzzfruit. They do bring back two for everyone, so that takes care of dinner for the evening, but not much else. However, they brought a number of fruit- and vegetable-like plants which may or may not be edible, for the bolder among you to experiment with. Also, some of the poisonous black berries you vomited up the other day. "Tyler said we could maybe try them as poison," Kate says. "And if not, I thought maybe black paint? Just make sure you don't eat them by accident."

Sam has made good progress on a door of thin, flexible sticks. It won't keep out any determined attackers, but it'll prevent wild animals like the snatcher lizards from casually wandering into the cave searching for food, and protect against the elements a little.

You and Jason have produced a blue flint axe and shovel. With the two of you working together, the tool quality actually turned out halfway decent. "At least for my first-ever attempt at making tools out of wild materials like a fucking caveman," you add.

Kate hefts the stone axe, testing its weight. "I think this is all right, actually. Good work, guys." She gives it a practice overhead swing. "Tomorrow I'll take down a small tree or two, give us some logs for the fire. Tonight sticks will be good enough." She looks up at the ceiling. "Good thing we've got a convenient smoke-hole in our cave, huh?"

The five of you make a dinner of fuzzfruit and your dwindling supplies from home. "Earth food", you realize you're thinking of it as. You finish scraping out the last of the peanut butter from the jar and lick it off the side of the knife. If you can't find a good source of fuzzfruit around here soon, you're going to have to try something else or get moving again.

At some point, you talk to the group regarding:

>What you and Jason discussed about who's in charge, and how to make decisions.
>The food and supply situation, and what to do over the next few days.
>The other world, the big robot, summoning Kate as a sword -- what does it all mean?
>Something casual, to get people's minds off things.
>Something inspiring, to fire their hearts up. (Roll with +1 Hot)

>>1758287
>The food and supply situation, and what to do over the next few days.
Very important this

>>1758287
>>The food and supply situation, and what to do over the next few days.

>>1758287
>>The food and supply situation, and what to do over the next few days.
>>Check the fruit for seeds as you're eating them. I doubt the trees spring up fast but who knows how long we'll be here.

>>1758287

"We should talk about the food situation, guys," you tell everyone. "Oh, by the way, check these fruits for seeds when you're eating. Maybe we can plant some. I doubt they grow that fast, but who knows how long we'll be here."

Kate stops eating. "What? We're not going to be here long enough for a fruit tree to grow, right? I mean, that's what, five years? Ten?" She laughs nervously. "We're ... we're going to find our way back home somehow. I mean, there's no way we're going to be here for that long. Right?"

You look around at the others. They all look at you. "Uhhh ... well, just in case, you know? I mean, worst case scenario, we planted some nice trees that we'll leave behind when we get home. Right?"

"Right, okay," Kate says, sounding relieved. "That sounds fine."

Rescue, you think, biting into the fuzzfruit again. You were starting to forget about that. Is such a thing even possible? Could you somehow get back to Earth? Or are you going to be stuck here in this weird world with these four, for the rest of your life?

It's not something you can afford to think about right now. "Let's focus on the food situation," you say, putting that aside. "If there isn't a fuzzfruit grove around here, we'll need to figure out something else to eat, or pull up stakes and find someplace else."

"We should experiment with other food sources," Tyler says. "Carefully."

"I agree," you say. "We've got a fifty-fifty success rate so far, I say that's okay. As long as we're careful and just eat a tiny bit at a time of new things, we should be all right. Let's each take a turn to try something tomorrow. Sound fair?"

Everyone agrees except Sam, who you end up having to coerce by promising her one of your last chocolate bars in exchange.

With the night growing outside, everyone prepares to spend their second night in the hillside cave. The darkness provides some cover for the awkwardness of everyone bedding down in the same communal room.

"Tomorrow I'm going to make some grass beds," mutters Kate, as you see her silhouette settling down. "I'm tired of sleeping on my shirts spread over rocks."

"Sounds good to me," you say. "Good night, everyone."

Exhausted from the stress of the past two days, you drift off to sleep. You've got lots of plans for tomorrow, so you're hoping to have a nice peaceful rest tonight.

(Continued)

>>1758408

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-M8P14u_G8

Something awakens you. Bolting upright in your makeshift bed, you listen intently, only to cover your ears under the assault of a terrible crashing and howling, echoing through the hills.

"What the hell is that?" you shout during a break in the chaotic noise. You run to the cave entrance, where Sam is on sentry duty. She's crouched behind a rock, paralyzed with fear. "Sam, what is it?"

She points a trembling finger out into the darkness. You can make out the shapes of the hills and trees in the light of two moons, and Sam points just in time for you to see a tree collapse and fall with a crack. Like something knocked it over.

"It's one of them," Sam whispers. "Oh my god it's one of them it's one of them the nightmare drones the queen's servants it's here it's here--"

Another eerie, mechanical howl resounds through the night. Sam screams and drops to the ground, covering her ears. "No no no no no no no--"

Jason and Kate run up to you, half-clothed. "What is it?" "Another robot?" "What should we do?"

>Stay very, very quiet.
>Fuck this! Get out of here!
>Look into the darkness. You can feel something. Reach out for it. (Dark, 1d10+2)

Rolled 1 + 2 (1d10 + 2)

>>1758415
>Look into the darkness. You can feel something. Reach out for it.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>1758415

Rolled 4 + 2 (1d10 + 2)

>>1758423
fucking whoops

>Failure
>Growing Pains: +1 XP

Writing.

Your heart thumps in your chest. Something surges in your head. Looking out into the darkness, you can see something, in between the black spaces. You can feel it, within the darkness, between the planes of space and time. You reach out for it, and inside your mind you push, and--

--you tumble forwards into empty blackness, surrounded by blazing stars, and you scream but no sound comes out--

--you slam into cold stone. Gasping, you push yourself up to your feet, looking around. Surrounded by dark and fog and cold, you can't see anything, until a shape looms out of the blackness and a scream erupts from your throat--

File: shadowed figure.jpg (18 KB, 481x700)

18 KB JPG

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>>1758512
You again? You can almost understand me can't you? I am decoding the structure of your mind. Soon we shall speak as civilised beings (Originally it's begins but I'm pretty sure Raven made a typo). If you survive m pets that is. Good luck on your journey young stranger.

There. Saved you people some time

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>>1758512

As abruptly as you arrived, something shoves you away from that room of dark and fog, and you fall away and back into--

--the space between--

--someplace--

--and somewhere else. You land roughly again, grateful at least that this ground is softer. You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and look around.

Jagged black plinths of rock stab upwards into a blood-red sky, a swollen moon hanging overhead.

Fuck.

Soundtrack: Pyre OST -- Downside Ballad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skza48nMbuo

You're back. Wherever here is, you're here again. You don't know how, but it happened.

Everything is red and black like a photographic darkroom. Your ears are ringing, your sight is blurred. The air seems to crush in on itself, as though space were compressed. Your limbs feel strangely floaty, as though none of this was real, and any moment you'd wake up back in the cave, and laugh with the others about the strange experience you had.

You're still standing at the entrance to the hillside cave, or something like it. A slope of black rock, slick with some kind of liquid, stretches away beneath you into a wood of sharp trees radiating spiked branches.

The echoing howl resounds through the hills, the same one you heard before in the (real world?). One of the spiked trees crashes to the ground.

>Charge towards the sound, ready to fight.
>Move carefully towards the sound, keeping your eyes open.
>Screw that, the smart thing to do is move away from the danger, not towards it.
>Try to summon Kate as Heartbreaker again.
>Try to return to the real world.

>>1758589
>Screw that, the smart thing to do is move away from the danger, not towards it.
>Try to return to the real world.

>>1758589
>Screw that, the smart thing to do is move away from the danger, not towards it.
>Try to summon Kate as Heartbreaker again.

>>1758589
>Find a place to hide and carefully observe whatever's out there
>Try to summon Kate as Heartbreaker again.

>>1758589

Okay, no reason to be a hero and plunge into danger. Whatever's making that sound, you don't want to meet it anytime soon. You make your way out of the cave and start heading across the hillside, intending to put as much distance betwen you and whatever's making those awful mechanical clanks and howling noises and knocking down those trees.

Can you return to the real world? you wonder as you carefully make your way between sharp-edged outcrops of obsidian stone. Is it as simple as wanting to? You try to wish yourself back. You picture the campsite with the other survivors, the colors of the firelight as you ate dinner with the others, the sound of their voices as you conversed. Return! you think to yourself. Go back! Get the hell out of here!

Nothing happens. Okay, you think, squatting down behind a hilltop promontory. You can't get back to the real world, but that thing hasn't come after you. So that's even for now, you suppose. You carefully peer out from behind the rock and see some kind of whip-thin serpentine form rise up from the forest and come crashing down. What the hell is that?

Maybe you can contact Kate, or even summon her as Heartbreaker, like before. You try to stretch your will out to her. Kate! you think. Are you there?

Silence. Nothing.

How did it work before? It was more than just thinking about her, picturing how she looked or acted. You were thinking about the real Kate, the person she was inside. You were thinking about how you felt when she said she'd protect you, and the bond you formed in that moment when your hearts connected--

"Vanessa? Can you hear me?!" Kate's voice somehow comes to you, as though she were speaking directly into your mind. She sounds urgent, like she's been calling you repeatedly.

"I'm here," you think/say to her.

"It's coming straight for us!" you hear her think/say back. "Another one of those machines!"

"It's here too," you think. "How can it be in both places--"

"I don't know, but what matters is we don't have any weapons that can hurt it. Tyler already shot at it and the bullets just bounced right off. It's too fast for us to run away. We're hiding for now, but it'll find us soon."

"But -- what should we --?"

"We have to fight it in that world, Vanessa," Kate thinks with bold confidence. "Do what you did before. Summon me or whatever. If we fight together, I know we can do this."

"Okay," you whisper, and close your eyes. "Take my hand. " With your hand and your heart, you reach out--

--and with a pink sunset glow and a swirling wind, a glowing form appears in your hand. It coalesces into the rose-hued heavy blade, Heartbreaker. "You did it!" Kate thinks proudly. "It was way easier that time. All right, let's do this! Kick that monster's butt! Charge!"

>Yeah! Charge towards the sound!
>We need to observe it first.
>Screw that! We need to all run away, in both worlds!
>But what is this thing? Why is it attacking?
>Wait, what's happening to us right now in the real world?

>>1758678
>Wait, what's happening to us right now in the real world?

>>1758678
>Wait, what's happening to us right now in the real world?

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>>1758678

"W-wait, hold on a second," you say to the big sword, feeling the strength of Kate's confidence pulsing like a hearbeat in your hand. "What's happening in the real world right now?"

"You're here with us," Kate says. "You zoned right out, and we figured something weird was going on, so when that thing came toward us, Jason grabbed you and we high-tailed it out of there. We're crouched in a hiding spot right now. I -- I can sort of see both places at once. It's really distracting but I can still move around here. Can't you?"

"No. I can't feel the real world at all right now," you admit. You try to look past this world, see the green hillsides and soft mosses of the hillside, but nothing happens. "It's like I'm totally here."

"Well, don't worry. Jason and Tyler will keep us safe in the real world, all right? Meanwhile, we've just got to -- wait, hold on ..."

"What is it?"

"It's moving away from us," Kate says. "It turned away like it smelled or heard something, and it rushed off in that direction."

You hear a metallic pounding against rock, feel the ground shaking. "It's coming straight for me, Kate," feeling fear rise up in your gut. "What -- what should we --?"

"We have to fight it," Kate thinks. "There's no other way."

Panicking, you say, "But I -- I can't -- how do I --?"

"Listen to me, Vanessa," Kate says firmly. "You are a strong warrior with magic powers and you are going to kick that robot's ass with me and save our friends! Now let's go!"

Left with no choice but to turn your fear into action, you scream a shrill war cry as you rise from behind your rock cover and brandish Heartbreaker.

A huge robotic drone towers over you, a dozen flexible snake-like appendages attached to a central body. A dozen red eyes focus on you. It blasts a challenge in machine code. Four of its tentacles clamp down on the ground, repositioning the central body. Its upper arms slide open to reveal dark shapes that might be weapons.

Petrified in fear, electrified in anticipation, you clutch Heartbreaker's handle tightly in trembling hands, and raise the blade to point at the machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tdu4uKSZ3M#t=0m41s

That's all for Part 5, guys. Thanks for playing My Teen Sci Fi Nightmare SNAFU, aka Nightmare Planet.

>>1758766
thanks for running

Thx for runnin OP