>>3082189

You involuntarily tense up. Yu Yan told you as much, but it still caught you off guard.
“You already knew that, didn’t you?” You nod. It was that obvious, huh? “Johnny, have you ever been staring at someone reacting to what’s happening around you and think ‘I’m living this moment too, I should feel the same way she’s doing now’, but all you could do was keep staring at them? They felt so human and I felt so separate. So alien. It was the first time I didn’t cry in front of Mom’s grave. Do you still miss Mom?”

“Of course I do.” How could you not? That phrase of hers is one of the only things keeping you going!
“You sound sincere.” Her eyes don’t leave yours. “Do you think I hate you right now…?”
“I want to think you don’t, and that you’re extremely angry with me for obvious reasons. I’m not undermining your feelings, and—”
“That’s enough, you stopped being sincere there.” Cut dry without any malice. “I don’t hate you, Johnny. I never will. My own father killed our mother, and I still love him. What are broken promises compared to something like that? You even saved my best friend yesterday. Thank you.” Amelia gives you the briefest of nods.

“Nariko…” So these two are best friends now? Since when?

“I can see it in your face. ‘You two are best friends?! Didn’t see that one coming!’ I didn’t know either until yesterday, after she started to apologize to me about how cruel she was, making such a rash decision after a stupid tantrum.” Her monotone voice starts to falter a little. “I always wondered what it felt to have a real best friend. Someone who didn’t hang around with me just to pity me. Maybe it was going to be something like what I have with you… But when Nariko said that to me, I didn’t feel any joy – all I could think of was ‘I almost left my best friend to die ‘cause I was enjoying my self-pity party.’” Amelia looks back at the window. “She was a dummy, but I was the real big dummy all along.”

“Don’t take the blame, it’s more my fault than anyone else’s…” You feel like you failed Nariko. If you were stronger or more quick to notice these things…

“Yeah, you heroically saved Nariko from killing herself for barely any reason. You channeled energy outside your limits for one amazing feat – to save the life of someone you love. Just like you did everything you could do to save Nina went she turned into a giant monster. Just like when you answered Lise’s cry for help. Is that what you can do you when you love?” Amelia keeps staring at the window, talking almost in a trance. Even her strange demeanor doesn’t change the shape of her flame. Saraswati continues to flicker steadily on her foot.

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>>3082190

“Love? You’re watching too many cartoons, Ame.” She sounds corny as hell. You only did your best. There’s nothing corny about that! Nothing at all!
Her blank face shows her embarrassment not even a second before she shakes it off and continues talking. “Did you forgive me because you love me, or because you need me…?”
“I told you you’re always going to be my dull derpy little sister, no matter what happens.” That is what you told her.

Amelia immediately turns to you, eyes narrowing in disdain. “I don’t feel a drop of sincerity coming from you, Johnny. The only reason I’ve ever believed you was because I wanted to. You could bend reality to save the others, but you couldn’t keep a single promise with me. You never cared… And you won’t manipulate me. Not anymore.” She looks so hurt and empty at the same time, but you told her the truth! She’s your sister!
All these thoughts shrink less in your mind as Amelia stares deep into your soul. Even though Kirm healed you up, that cold painful ache starts creeping back in your chest…

“Johnny, I love you dear brother; but the day I pulled you away from that car was the day I let the only person who loved me back die.”

…Fuck. Even if her depression is getting the better of her, this one stings harder than when Nina broke your heart.

“I… I’m sorry…” You cannot find the right words to say, and end up opening and closing your mouth uselessly.

Wait, what’s happening? Why is your bed wet…?

“I refuse to be a dummy anymore. I won’t drown myself in self-pity… I won’t stand idly by and be a ditz, letting others walk over me… I’ll protect you and everyone I love, even if you can’t love me back.” Her hands are on your legs, you see water coming from them! “Even if you try to stop me.”
“Johnny! She’s planning to hurt you! We can’t afford this!” Philonune screams impotently. “If she manages to shock you, we’re done for!”

“Dad went unconscious for a few days the first time I did this. You have a flame so it won’t be as bad for you. It’ll take a lot more energy than what I fed him, but that’s okay… You won’t go be a stupid hero tomorrow. You’ll be safe. Then I can start trusting you again.” Looking in her eyes, you see no trace of hesitation. No remorse. No sympathy. “Your promises mean nothing to me now, but maybe they will later.”

You can see sparks coming off her arms, crackling around her hair… They gradually descend down towards her hands…

“Now just shut up and stay down.”

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>>3082197

This is a decisive moment! What can you do?!

>“Amelia, we need everyone to protect Constance! If you knock me out, that’ll be one less person to back the others up!”
>“Time out! I want to talk to your bear first! She must be putting you up to this! At least do that for me first.”
>“Go ahead. I didn’t go anywhere for Neko, I’m not going anywhere for you.” This is going to suck…
>“Do you even understand the dangers of electrocuting someone!? What if I get brain damage from being knocked out so long? What then?”
>Summon Philonune and pull her away from you! If she can’t touch you she can’t zap you, right?!
>Shove her away from you and get out of the bed! Run for the door, find someone to help! Someone’s gotta be awake!
>”If you expect me to just sit here and let you do this to me after what I went through, Amelia, you’re still a dummy.” Shove her away from you and summon Philonune, holding his spear at her. You can’t let her have her way!
>Write In.

-----

Information:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QM91m
Discord: https://discord.gg/AmjbaTR
Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=do+your+best+quest (Rough Grammar ‘till half of the 9th Thread)
Complete Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-nIx_dvaNCPQ7zLg2BK_ucCyGNM741kAANxqXj7hdDs/edit?usp=sharing

Votes:

Votes are counted until 25 minutes have passed. This rule doesn't apply to the last reply of the day.
Votes that require a dice roll are counted until 15 minutes have passed, so we can speed up the process. Rolls are counted until 10 minutes have passed, so be prepared!

(NEW) Dice Mechanic:

We always roll 1d100s!
Since most people weren’t happy with the system of averaging top four rolls, we’re using best of 2/3/4 depending on the attribute a prompt requires. If Johnny is a genius and it’s a Knowledge based roll, he gets more rolls (Max. 7)! If he sucks, he gets less dice (Min. 2)!

When asked for rolls, I will specify how many you’re going to get. Rolling begins after it’s asked.

Rolling over a 95 is a critical and ignores all other rolls! In the same vein, rolling 5 or under means a critical failure (only for hard rolls and above).

The difficulty of the roll is tied with the effectiveness of the action. In other words, the harder the option the better the result!

Don’t forget that at the end of the day, this is a story-driven quest! What the prompts are describing is more important than the difficulty of the rolls, for results in a fight.

Again, rolls are only counted when they are posted within ten minutes of being asked, so watch out!

>>3082199
>“Go ahead. I didn’t go anywhere for Neko, I’m not going anywhere for you.” This is going to suck…
then
>“But Amelia, we need everyone to protect Constance! If you knock me out, that’ll be one less person to back the others up!”

>>3082199
>”If you expect me to just sit here and let you do this to me after what I went through, Amelia, you’re still a dummy.” Shove her away from you and summon Philonune, holding his spear at her. You can’t let her have her way!
We just got over us letting Neko attack us, which seemed like a good idea at the time. This is literally the same situation. Even if Amelia is our sister, fuck that.

>>3082189
Since it's an important vote, let's extend the vote duration for tomorrow! Sorry I couldn't run earlier today.

>>3082199
>”If you expect me to just sit here and let you do this to me after what I went through, Amelia, you’re still a dummy.” Shove her away from you and summon Philonune, holding his spear at her. You can’t let her have her way!

>>3082199
>”If you expect me to just sit here and let you do this to me after what I went through, Amelia, you’re still a dummy.” Shove her away from you and summon Philonune, holding his spear at her. You can’t let her have her way!

>>3082199
>”If you expect me to just sit here and let you do this to me after what I went through, Amelia, you’re still a dummy.” Shove her away from you and summon Philonune, holding his spear at her. You can’t let her have her way!

>>3082199
>>Shove her away from you and get out of the bed! Run for the door, find someone to help! Someone’s gotta be awake!

>>3082199
>”If you expect me to just sit here and let you do this to me after what I went through, Amelia, you’re still a dummy.” Shove her away from you and summon Philonune, holding his spear at her. You can’t let her have her way!

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“If you expect me to just sit here and let you do this to me after what I went through, Amelia, you’re still a dummy.”

You shove Amelia away from you using your bed sheets, reaching out to summon Philonune as you do so! Amelia’s expression twisted into pure betrayal within the milliseconds you rushed her.

Your petite sister trips backwards onto the floor. This doesn’t stop Amelia for long, her rolling away into a kneeling position and tossing the sheets off of her. She stands up to go on the offensive, but your partner points his weapon at her, directly at her neck. She freezes in place, looking down wide-eyed at Philonune’s weapon just inches away.

You didn’t want this to happen, but you won’t fall for that again. Neko stabbing you was the only lesson you needed.

“Please give up, sis. You can’t really summon your bear in that position. Nobody needs to get hurt.” Are you really going to be able to hurt Amelia…?
“I’m stronger than you think, brother.” The utterly empty reply from your closest family member sends chills down your spine.

Amelia raises her flameless foot and stomps on the other one, invoking her partner! You can do that?! A conflicted bear appears on the scene as she flies her partner away, putting a couple meters of distance between you two. Saraswati looks back and forth from Amelia and yourself multiple times. Was she against this all along?

“Partner, we had her! Why didn’t you move?!” Philonune snaps at you! Did he seriously expect you to attack your own sister? You’ll need to talk with him after this…

There’s no need to waste time thinking unnecessary things! You need to act now, and act fast!

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>>3084282

You’re still on the hospital bed with Amelia to your front. No sheets on you, but a part of the bed is still wet along with your legs – a solid jolt could do you in if it lands accurately… To the left of the room is the door out into the hallway. Directly across the room behind Amelia is a TV hanging on the wall. Immediately to the right of you is the Johnny Memorial, filled with flowers and the many get well messages on the little desk. In front of the bedside desk, the window on the wall is left open from Neko’s entrance yesterday. And in the corner ext to the window, a closed wardrobe with some unknown stuff inside.

Amelia is waiting for you to make a move… Her icy gaze doesn’t budge from you.

What’s your strategy here?

>Escape through the door! Amelia is the closest one to it though… [Hard Roll] [Athletics Based]
>Escape through the window! Philonune can float you down, but what about people on the street? [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]
>Push her back further with Philonune then lock her into the wardrobe! She can still breathe in there. [Medium Roll] [Athletic Based]
>Try to preemptively counter/interrupt Amelia with Philonune’s light-reflecting ability! This should buy you an easy opening… [Normal Roll] [Courage Based]
>Show her something from your memorial! Anything to make her snap out of it! But which thing? There’s a lot here! [Hard Roll] [Knowledge Based]
>Write In.

>>3084287
>Show her something from your memorial! Anything to make her snap out of it! But which thing? There’s a lot here! [Hard Roll] [Knowledge Based]

>>3084287
>Try to preemptively counter/interrupt Amelia with Philonune’s light-reflecting ability! This should buy you an easy opening… [Normal Roll] [Courage Based]
>Escape through the window! Philonune can float you down, but what about people on the street? [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]

>Try to preemptively counter/interrupt Amelia with Philonune’s light-reflecting ability! This should buy you an easy opening… [Normal Roll] [Courage Based]

>>3084287
>Smash the buzzer! Hit every emergency button, yell, stomp and use Philo to smash shit and make as much noise as we can.

We need backup, holy shit Amelia

>"I learned the lesson from neko, no one will get a cheap shot on me again"

>>3084329
>>3084338
Light Reflecting ability won! Please roll (Since it's courage based is a best of 4)!

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>3084357

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>3084357

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>3084357

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>3084357

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>3084357

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“I learned my lesson from Neko. No one will ever get a cheap shot on me again.” Because it really hurts! “Not even you, Amelia!”

Since Amelia is so focused on your next move, it gives you an excellent opportunity to use your hidden ace! Philonune’s ability to deny light or whatever isn’t very useful, but it helped you catch Yu Yan out back when she was Rise trying to stab you to death. Good times!

Philo is floating in front of you, blocking Amelia’s view. She doesn’t see a little of Philo’s weird essence flow onto your glasses. At will, you move Philo out of the way and make all the light blast outward in a concentrated burst!

“Ahhhhhh!” Amelia instinctively moves her arms up in front of her, but it’s too late! Did she even know you could do that, or did she forget? Either way Amelia turns her head away from your direction, blinded. Saraswati and her cloud slowly descend to the floor, both also blinded! A throbbing feeling pulses in the back of your eyes as things get dizzy for a moment. “It hurts…” Amelia sniffles as she begins to sob her eyes out, breaking your heart in the process. That’s been happening a lot lately, hasn’t it…?

“She’s wide open, now’s our chance!” Philonune is getting into this now. He’s definitely taken the lesson from Neko to heart – to stop being quiet and standing by idle. Then again, so have you. “We can engage her directly, or use this to make some distance. Find a place to hide and plan ahead. Which is it, Johnny?”

Amelia starts blinking rapidly as she tries to regain her composure. You have a window of opportunity…

What do you do?!

>Tackle your sister and then drop her inside the wardrobe! This will buy you more time, and she can still breathe inside. [Normal Roll] [Courage Based]
>Escape using the door! Finding Dr. Calamity’s room with Yu Yan proved you can lose people in here! [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]
>Escape using the window! Hopefully Philonune can get you down faster than anyone on the street can notice. [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]
>Try to knock her out using Philonune! She won’t be down for long, having an entity will make her recover quicker. [Hard Roll] [Courage Based]
>Write In.

>>3084593
>>Try to knock her out using Philonune! She won’t be down for long, having an entity will make her recover quicker. [Hard Roll] [Courage Based]
I trust the rolls

>>3084593
>>Escape using the door! Finding Dr. Calamity’s room with Yu Yan proved you can lose people in here! [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]

Also make a ruckus to get those people on their feet

>>3084593
>Escape using the door! Finding Dr. Calamity’s room with Yu Yan proved you can lose people in here! [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]

>>3084593
>Escape using the door! Finding Dr. Calamity’s room with Yu Yan proved you can lose people in here! [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]

>>3084625
>>3084642
>>3084644
Escaping like a coward won! It's Athletic based so you guys get a best of 3!

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>3084653

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>3084653
Oh boy, at least it won't be a hard roll

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>3084653

>>3084656
>Speedy Gonzales

It's a little sad to crit when running away from a little sister

>>3084660
You mean heartbroken out of her mind with electro powers feat. dante from devil may cry little sister? Sounds about fair

Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>3084653

>>3084678
I'm expecting an Indiana Jones gauntlet run now, TOWARDS the screen, chased by a flying bear and Amelia throwing lightning bolts everywhere

>>3084701
I'm expecting an athletics level up soon, but an idiana styled runaway would also be great

It must be one hell of a run

File: 1214.png (168 KB, 512x512)

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“Let’s get the fuck outta here!” You telepathically respond to your partner, as your legs move you to the door faster than your thoughts! You’re so freaking fast you highly doubt your renegade sibling will be able to catch you! Maybe you’re even faster than that one time you had to buy the you-know-what for you-know-who! Or when Blake wanted to murder your face! Good times.

In fact, you were so freaking fast, you gained 2 Athletics points from this alone! Gotta get better! Gotta go fast!

You’re already out of the room and slam the door behind you, putting your body on it as an obstacle! Where do you go now?! Why didn’t you think this before? Oh right, you didn’t expect your little sister to turn into a murder machine, or a ‘I’m electrocuting you unconscious to save you’ machine. Whatever, you need to move!

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” You start yelling without thinking, then you start yelling consciously! Maybe a bit of noise echoing all over the halls will wake someone up?!

“Jooooohnnyyyyyy…” A demented drone suddenly rings out from the other side! The door starts shaking in place as your sister slams at it relentlessly. You start running through the hallway as you hear the door behind you getting torn down! Doors blur past you. Chancing a peek behind, you see Amelia piloting the cloud menacingly, approaching every second. The bear doesn’t look pleased from what you glimpsed, more disappointed than anything.

“Oh god, they’re so fast!” You manage to yelp out between your breaths.
“If only we had a wheelchair…” Philonune grumbles. “Human technology would surely save us from this problem.”
“Those are not supposed to be fast!” Without looking, you revert Philonune back to flame form to conserve energy.

“Stop… Stop…” Amelia’s dull moans carry through the air to you…

You keep running with all your strength through this long hallway. The pain of your wounds are barely noticeable against the fear of your sister getting to you. You end up making a sharp turn to the left and crashing into someone, sending that poor person creashing down!

“I-I’m sorry!” You blurt out to your unfortunate victim. Incredibly, you’re still standing.
“My butt…” It’s Nurse Kata! She felt ass first on the floor! “Handsome, you’re not supposed to run in the halls! You aren’t even supposed to be out of your bed! What’s wrong with you?” Kata is not a happy bunny. “Don’t you have anything better to spend all that energy on? A young guy like you alone in his room could do a thing or two, you know?”

>>3084999

What do?!

>Ignore and keep running! Less talking, more running! [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]
>Help out! Amelia won’t attack with someone else here, right?![Normal Roll][Courage Based]
>“Help me! Amelia’s trying to kill me!” Obvious exaggeration, but fuck that! [Normal Roll] [Handsomeness Based]
>“Quick! Tell me where the others are! No time to waste!” Then run for your life! [Normal Roll][Athletics Based]
>Write In.

>>3085001
>Help out! Amelia won’t attack with someone else here, right?![Normal Roll][Courage Based]

>>3085001
>“Help me! Amelia’s trying to kill me!” Obvious exaggeration, but fuck that! [Normal Roll] [Handsomeness Based]

>>3085001
>“Help me! Amelia’s trying to kill me!” Obvious exaggeration, but fuck that! [Normal Roll] [Handsomeness Based]

>>3085001
>>“Help me! Amelia’s trying to kill me!” Obvious exaggeration, but fuck that! [Normal Roll] [Handsomeness Based]

>>3085001
>>“Quick! Tell me where the others are! No time to waste!” Then run for your life! [Normal Roll][Athletics Based]

>>3085008
>>3085013
>>3085028
Asking for help won! It's Handsomeness based so that means 4 rolls! Please Roll!

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>3085054

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>3085054

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>3085054
Please

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>3085054

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>3085054

>>3085118
Thats pretty good

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(Success! It’s a Good Roll! Forgot to mention these at the beginning of the other post! Sorry!)

“Help me! Amelia’s trying to kill me!” You plead for help to the strange nurse as you point down the hall where you came from. Amelia should show up any second now…
“That little pumpkin isn’t capable of—” She peeks behind you and sees the little murder machine going full force. Unlike most normal people, Kata is capable of not only seeing entities, but flames too! “Oh my, I do feel a murderous intent coming from her, even this far away!” Kata chortles a little. “You’ve really done it now, haven’t you boy?”
“Please help me.” You mumble again as you help her stand up. Kata gives you a reassuring nod and moves in front of you. “Thanks.”

“Halt, little missy!” Nurse Katastrophe orders in the same stern tone she usually uses with Trent. “This is a no-fly zone! I’m going to have to ask you to get off!” Without looking, Kata waves you off with one hand. Does she want you to run…? Isn’t she going to question the situation…?

Is now the time to have such doubts?! Hell no! You start running away aimlessly in any direction but the one you came from. Meanwhile, the voices carry through the hallway…

“Move aside…” Amelia’s locked onto you! Is there no escape?!
“That’s not possible; you are planning on hurting one of my beloved patients.” Nurse Kata stands her ground against the rushing bear! “And as a professional, you know I can’t let you do that, cupcake!”

You should watch where you’re going instead of watching how this develops. Tripping on something in the way would be the last thing you want when running for your life.

Even so, you can’t resist spectating this trainwreck!

“Tch…” Amelia expertly evades the nurse in her way with a neat flying maneuver! Guess fighting a giant bug helped her develop such technique! Amelia’s path to you is free now! Shit!
Suddenly, her amazing aerial abilities come to a screeching halt as she drops out of her cloud, Nurse Calamity somehow managed to grab Amelia by her hair and drag Amelia into her arms!

“Did that hurt? I’m so sorry.” Kata traps Amelia in a bear hug, who starts to struggle. How does she not have whiplash after being plucked out of the air midflight?!
“I’m sorry about this…” Amelia apologizes out of nowhere. That didn’t sound good…

Saraswati turns her cloud back towards her master. It shrinks in size and gradually slows in speed. Amelia manages to create a smaller cloud in her hands that starts watering the floor, and thanks to her continuous struggle, makes the poor nurse slip on the wet tiles! The moment Nurse Kata lets her go, your sister leaps back onto Saraswati’s cloud.

Now you’re far, far away from them, but with nowhere to go!

>>3085310

What next?!

>Hide in one of the nearby rooms and call for help! You have a phone for god’s sake! [Normal Roll] [Knowledge Based]
>Tempt your luck and run around until you find someone else! How hard can it be?[Hard Roll] [Athletics Based]
>The elevator is somewhere nearby! Use it to flee to the roof! [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]
>The elevator is somewhere nearby! Use it to flee to the ground floor! [Easy Roll] [Athletics Based]
>Screw this chase! Go back and check on Kata. Face your rogue sister! [Easy Roll][Courage Based]
>Wait a second. There’s something you can do with Philonune that might just pay off…[Very Hard Roll] [Knowledge Based]
>Write In.

+2 Athletics Points.

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>>3085315
>Wait a second. There’s something you can do with Philonune that might just pay off…[Very Hard Roll] [Knowledge Based]
M Y S T E R Y
B O X

>>3085315
>Screw this chase! Go back and check on Kata. Face your rogue sister! [Easy Roll][Courage Based]

>>3085315
>Screw this chase! Go back and check on Kata. Face your rogue sister! [Easy Roll][Courage Based]

>>3085315
>>Wait a second. There’s something you can do with Philonune that might just pay off…[Very Hard Roll] [Knowledge Based]
May the dice gods be merciful

>>3085315
>Wait a second. There’s something you can do with Philonune that might just pay off…[Very Hard Roll] [Knowledge Based]

>>3085322
>>3085382
>>3085441

Knowledge are 3 rolls, please roll!

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>3085452

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>3085452

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>3085452
OH DICE GODS I BEG THEE

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(Success! 89 is a good one for a hard one!)

You were thinking for a long time now how to make Philonune’s power more useful. Being able to control your own perception of light is ridiculously limited. It feels like everybody else has a better power than you do. But maybe you’ve had it wrong this whole time…

Each time you’ve used Philonune’s power to blind people (only twice), it has been to make light reflect away from your glasses.
Each time you’ve used Philonune’s power to see things unseen by the naked eye, you’ve used him to make your eyes process alternate light instead.

Philonune’s power doesn’t just control your own perception of light. It controls how light affects you. Since your eyes aren’t the only thing of yours this can work on, then…

You lock eyes with Philonune giving you a knowing smile. Willing yourself to draw on that power of his without touching him, you notice a strange liquid rapidly crawling up your arm and spreading across your body and clothes. The weird essence looks like liquid mercury, and watching it happen starts to make your eyes ache like before. Eventually it reaches to your face and covers your mouth, then your nose, then your eyes… For a moment everything goes inky black, then you can see normally again. You vaguely feel the otherworldly substance over your eyes, a distant sensation. Looking down, you can barely make out your body’s shape – and your body’s colors have become one with your surroundings like a chameleon! Thank god you don’t have to be naked for this!

“Cupcake! We’re going to have a talk about this later!” Kata shouts, more infuriated than you’ve ever heard her. “This isn’t funny or cute! Get back here!”
“I’m sorry…” The empty husk of your sister responds, drawing nearer.

Amelia crosses the space in front of you, trying to find you to no avail – she continues flying away until you no longer see her. Your new miraculous ability is a complete success! Relieved, you try to move away from the wall, experiencing a sudden nausea stopping you. Holy crap, moving too fast too quickly takes up a lot of power! You might throw up or worse if you try pushing it further. Better to stay still when you do this…

“So that’s where you are.” Kata spots you! Wait, how?!
“Uh…? How are you able to see me?”
“I can’t. I took a guess, I still can see your flaming moving around – so I knew it was you.” She’s sharper than you gave her credit for.
“I need to work on that.”

“So what should we do…? You naughty sister is acting all crazy now. I do want an explanation; don’t tell me you like to break hearts for funzies. I could call security, but dear Nina won’t be happy about that, hmmm?”

>>3085834

What do you do?

>Let Kata call security on your sister.
>Call Nina, she needs to know this first – she’s leader after all.
>Pursue Amelia and surprise attack her.
>Call Amelia. Try to negotiate with your lunatic little sister.
>Write In.

>>3085841
>Call Amelia. Try to negotiate with your lunatic little sister.

>>3085834
>>Call Nina, she needs to know this first – she’s leader after all.
Never negotiate with a mad person.

>>3085841
>Call Nina, she needs to know this first – she’s leader after all.

>>3085841
>>Call Amelia. Try to negotiate with your lunatic little sister.

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“I guess I should call ‘dear Nina.’ She’s the new leader after all.” And you’re out of good ideas. Definitely no talking to Amelia now.
“The one over there is the janitor room. Great place to hide.” Nurse Calamity points to the room in the back. “I’m guessing being invisible is quite tiring.”
“Thanks…” You do a feel a little tired. Even standing still with this active drains you, though not as badly as moving might… “I’m sorry for everything going on.”
“Don’t worry, I’m enjoying myself; just don’t make me feel I made the wrong choice in helping you, understood? I have no desire for silly boys who toy with girls’ hearts. But naughty boys who toy with other things, hehehe, that’s a whole other story if you catch my drift.” She rubs her hands together, giving you a knowing lock.

“Alright…?” What did she mean by this?

“The key is inside in case you feel the need to lock yourself in.” Nurse Calamity opens the room with a mysterious key. Inside there’s a lot of different cleaning supplies and sanitation equipment all over the place. Enough room for at most… three people, more or less. “I’ll inform Constance about your sister’s shenanigans if you don’t mind.” She starts spinning it on her finger. Must be a master key if she’s showing it off this much.
“Thank you again, and I don’t. I’m sure Amelia isn’t going to do anything risky to anyone but me. I’ve been wrong before though, so better safe than sorry.” You turn your camouflage cover off and head inside, waving goodbye to the friendly nurse.

“Take care, handsome.” Kata waves back and walks away, steps echoing farther and farther. Better make sure nothing bad happens in the meantime.

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>>3086130

You dial your beautiful ex-girlfriend’s number and wait for the call to connect. In four rings, the phone picks up:

“Hi? Johnny? What’s wrong? You don’t need to call us, we’re here at the clinic. I thought Yu Yan told you yesterday.” That’s your voluptuous teacher’s unmistakably soft voice! She sounds sleepy. If only you were there with her instead of in this utility closet! “Gimme a second, the others are sleeping. Need to leave the room… Wait, where’s Amelia? Wasn’t she with you?”
“I think I can help you with that…” Time to tell her about your sister’s murderous rampage.

You briefly explain what’s going on.

“Could you repeat that? I didn’t get it the first time.” Her voice comes clearer and less mumbled. Good thing she woke herself up, this is serious…

You briefly explain what’s going on again.

“Oh gosh…” You can feel her facepalming right now. “So that’s what she meant that day…”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m paraphrasing here, but when Amelia and I visited you after you were treated she said ‘For his own good, I hope he doesn’t wake up anytime soon.’ I thought she wanted to scold you or something harmless.” Yikes, Amelia... “I’m trying to contact her. No response. Assuming she knows we know she’s up to no good, we’re being shut out.”

“I swear I’m telling the truth. She’s going full psycho and it’s all my fault.” Is it really your fault this time, or are you guilting yourself for no reason again…?

“I believe you. Either way, I need to take care of this on my end.” Nina’s voice grows stronger than before; she’s definitely taking this leader role seriously! “Stay where you are, I’ll get the others to look for Amelia. Sending someone available to your place too. Whatever happens, do not open the door to anyone… Take care, please. I don’t want anything bad happen to you again. Not if I can help it.” She hangs up very quickly. You’re not sure if you missed hearing her worry that way, but you’re happy to know she still cares.

What now?

>Follow Nina’s orders and wait. Maybe play some shitty phone game in the meantime.
>Follow Nina’s orders and wait. Chat with Philonune about recent developments to pass time.
>Shore up your new Janifort by locking the door and moving a cart to block it! It’ll buy time, won’t it?
>Is it safe to call Amelia now? Either she’s farther away from here, or she got lost and looped back nearby…
>Relax after running that long and using Philonune’s power – by mobile shitposting! :^)
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the day, we continue tomorrow!)

>>3086134
>>Follow Nina’s orders and wait. Chat with Philonune about recent developments to pass time.

>>3086134
>>Follow Nina’s orders and wait. Chat with Philonune about recent developments to pass time.

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“Well we have some time before we get an all clear… Want to have a little chat in the meantime?” You take a seat on one of the boxes.
“About what exactly?” Philonune flies around the closet, reading the labels on cleaning supplies. Why do janitor closets always feel messy even when they aren’t? One of life’s greatest mysteries!
“Recent developments.”
“Such as your relative attempting murder? I know the feeling by the way.” Philonune says very casually.

“You do?” He has a sister?! Just how similar are you two? Does he also have issues with his father?!
…Do angels even have parents, or are they just created from random stuff? Something to ask later…

“I was persecuted by my own kind, remember?” Philonune’s voice comes out somewhat absentmindedly. Too absorbed from reading boring labels in this boring closet. “Spent a long time as a fugitive, fending for myself, alone in the world.”
“Oh, you meant that. That’s alright I guess.”
This pulls him away from the labels. “You seem underwhelmed by my comment. Do you want me to talk about how unreliable our partners are again?”

“Look, I’m not justifying her solution or anything, but I think Amelia has good reasons to feel the way she does..”
“Does she…?” Philonune raises his… eyelid? Though he has no eyebrows, you sense him trying to be cheeky.
You sigh hard, breathing out rougher than you expected. “I don’t fucking know at this point. Everyone around us is acting weird and stupid, and I don’t get what’s going on anymore.” First the Neko stabbing aftermath, then the group leader arguing, then running away from the one person in your life you never expected to run away from.

Everything’s starting to wear you down now. It wasn’t always this, was it? Or were you just oblivious again, like you used to be?

“Brooding about it won’t make you feel better. Perhaps the better subject to talk about is your recent discovery.”
“You mean turning invisible?” It’s more camouflage and less outright ‘invisibility.’ Useful nonetheless!
“Good thinking there, partner. Coming up with original strategies in the heat of battle is a hallmark of true warriors.”

“It’s an idea I had for quite some time.” Basically the logical extension from using Philonune for sunglasses, except applying it to all of you. “What? You never figured you could use your power for something like that?”

>>3087525

“I’ve never lost a single duel in my life, I never saw need for such tactics. Don’t get me wrong, I highly appreciate your forward thinking! You always find new ways to surprise me, and I’ve been living for… at least two thousand years, I believe.”
“Lately for the all the wrong reasons...”
Philonune floats right in your face. Past the usual smile, you can feel his uncharacteristic sternness. “Stop beating yourself over mistakes of the past. Not everything you’ve done has a direct correlation with what is happening right now. Our allies have their own baggage they’re struggling to escape from, projecting their problems onto us, and –”

“I know, I know. They’re being harsh on us and all that stuff.” Honestly, going over the same old problems is wearing your patience thin. Rubbing your forehead helps. “But fuck. I feel I could have done something useful – yeah I couldn’t save Bradford, and the Neko stuff was stupid, and… what was the other dumb thing I did? But anyway, the point is Amelia, Nina and Nariko lost control of themselves because they felt alone and unloved or whatever. I thought I was being of help to them. And I was wrong.” Amelia is kind of an exception to this, going full insane. Maybe you did something worse at some point to set her off?
“We will overcome this.” Philonune grins wider. Now that you discovered this new use for your old power, things are starting to look up!

Suddenly, a few sharp knocks hit the closet door. How did you not hear footsteps with how echoey the hallways are?! A gentle voice follows them up…

“Dear Johnny, are you in there? Please respond if you’re in there. Ms. Uccelli didn’t tell us exactly in which custodian storage you were in.” Sounds like Nariko trying to be sneaky! “I’m supposed to be searching for Amelia, but decided to investigate these closets…” She pauses for half a minute. “…Tch. Wrong room again.”

Nina told you to not open the door. She didn’t say anything about talking through it… but is this the right option?

Speak or stay quiet?

>“Yes, I’m in here. Don’t stop here, go and find Amelia! I’ll be fine!” Make her leave!
>“Yes, I’m in here. Get in! The door is unlocked!” There’s plenty of room in here!
>Remain silent. No one has voice mimic powers far as you know, but still…
>Write In.

>>3087528
>>“Yes, I’m in here. Get in! The door is unlocked!” There’s plenty of room in here!

>>3087528
>Remain silent. No one has voice mimic powers far as you know, but still…
We got told what to do. Disobeying would shatter what little cred we still have with the others. If that really is Nariko, we can just apologized to her later when it's safe for us. Right now, we have to stay put and stay quiet.

>>3087528
>Remain silent. No one has voice mimic powers far as you know, but still…
Gotta be careful

>>3086134
>ex-girlfriend

reee

>>3087528
>Remain silent. No one has voice mimic powers far as you know, but still…

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>>3087572
You wanna fucking waifu war you little shit?

>>3087528
>>Remain silent. No one has voice mimic powers far as you know, but still…

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Staying silent is the best option, whether if that’s really Nariko or not. You need to start obeying orders from now on or else nobody will trust you again. You hear her slowly walking away in disappointment. Fuck ‘Do Your Best’ as your catchphrase, it’s time for ‘Safety First’! …Or is it copyrighted? Why are you thinking this?!

After a few minutes of mental chit-chat with Philonune, something floats inside the room from the open window! It’s Bradford Jr., and you still have no idea how he’s able to do that!

“Meow!” The fat cat meows in his deep voice. Is he carrying some type of rope?
“S’up.”

Out of nowhere another cat leaps inside! It’s Melodia!

“Meow!” The cute cat meows in her sweet voice. She’s also carrying a rope. That makes two…
“S’up.”

Yet again, another cat climbs inside! It’s... that derpy looking cat from that one time before Flint almost killed everyone!

”WOOF!” The cute cat barks in an extremely intimidating voice. The fuck? He has a rope too.
“Okay, what the hell is going…?” You involuntarily ask the animals, who you thought could answer your question. Maybe you should close that window so no more cats barge in?

As you approach the window to close it, a thin blur falls in! It’s Yu Yan, who collapses on the floor. There’s ropes tied to her, the same ones with the cats. Your hobo hyperventilates while trembling, far from smug…

“Safety, sweet safety…” Yu Yan murmurs, barely audible, starting to kiss the ground! Ugh, doesn’t she know janitor closets are ironically dirty?
“Are you alright?”
“I had to climb all the way from the ground to get up here… The cats helped me… Neko just told me to believe in the cats…” Yu Yan stops kissing the floor to pull herself up to her knees. “Who knew? Thank fuck the crazy shut-in was right!” She starts to giggle in an unsettling way.

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>>3087756

With their mission accomplished, the cats decide to dance furiously in victory, a dance number you swear you’ve seen somewhere before. Almost looks choreographed… Did Neko teach them to do this?! Either way, you ignore the distraction to ask your less smug hobo the most important question:

“Why did you climb up from the outside?”

“To get in this room, silly.” Yu Yan finally snaps back to her smug self.
“Why not use the door?”
“Cowtits told us not to use the door in any way, shape or form… Don’t ask me why.” You help Yu Yan stand up. “So I had to get in from the window. For a moment there, I was afraid you had this closed!”
“Why didn’t you use the next room’s window instead of climbing up to this one…?”

Yu Yan freezes in place, staring at you. Slowly, she holds her hand out in front of her, and slams it into her forehead with excessive force!

“Fuckin’ hell, it all makes sense now… it was all that hellish nerd’s scheme to make me suffer! I’ll have my revenge one of these days!” Yu Yan is so petty, it’s kind of funny. Just the thing you needed after how tired you were.
“Maybe it’s because you did something?” You shrug.
“Bah! Me? I’m just your innocent everyday girl! What could I have possibly done to deserve this sort of unreasonable suffering?”

Strongly compelled, you silently exchange glances with Philonune on hearing this.

“Anyway, are you the backup Nina sent me?”
“It was supposed to be Neko. Coward didn’t want to climb another wall. Pfft, you’d think she’d be an expert at climbing walls with the cat theme and all.” Yu Yan doesn’t seem to mind anymore. That’s a relief… “One part of me thinks she doesn’t want to get close to danger like the scaredy cat she is! I feel it though; Ames can get real intense real quick.”

“So you’re up to date with that, huh?”
“Yeah, and I came to save my beautiful prince. Not the castle I was expecting, but I don’t mind helping redecorate.” Yu Yan draws slightly closer to you while the cats lie in a corner.

What are you going to do with Yu Yan?

>Ask her to bring Neko along. Too much Yu Yan alone can’t be good for your newfound health. You need another hobo in here!
>“So you were helping Ame to kill me? Kinda disappointing. I thought you’d be more original about it.” Tease her hard!
>“What are they planning to do to my sister? I really don’t want them to hurt her.” Even though she tried to hurt you badly…
>“Okay, but how did you get up here? Are the cats that strong, or did you lose weight lately?” Tease her with a legit question!
>”Did you sleep better this time, or are the nightmares still bad? I wish I could have helped more.” Show you care about her!
>”Check this out. I realized how to do this literally ten minutes ago.” Do the chameleon blending trick again! Be a smug show-off!
>Write In.

>>3087758
>Ask her to bring Neko along. Too much Yu Yan alone can’t be good for your newfound health. You need another hobo in here!

>>3087758
>”Did you sleep better this time, or are the nightmares still bad? I wish I could have helped more.” Show you care about her!
>”Check this out. I realized how to do this literally ten minutes ago.” Do the chameleon blending trick again! Be a smug show-off!
One hobo is enough, teasing her on top of the heights phobia is a dick move, and asking about Amelia is something we can do later. Better to be (rightly) concerned about her well-being, and show off the cool superpowers we rarely used until now.

>>3087758
>>”Did you sleep better this time, or are the nightmares still bad? I wish I could have helped more.” Show you care about her!

Who's our new gf

>>3087818
he's single.

>>3087821
I'll volunteer myself

>>3087758
>>“So you were helping Ame to kill me? Kinda disappointing. I thought you’d be more original about it.” Tease her hard!

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“Did you sleep better this time, or are the nightmares still bad? I wish I could have helped more.” You ask your hobo genuinely, despite what Amelia might think.
Yu Yan looks at you in open shock for a solid two seconds before talking. “All this shit is happening to you right now, and the first thing you ask is about me? Yo… Yo…”
“Am I wrong? What’s going on Yu?”
Your hobo’s face has no trace of any mirth. She visibly trembles in place before putting a tensed hand on her forehead. “I think I’m going crazy here! Literally everybody is calling you names, thrashing you all over the place and saying how irresponsible and careless about others you are… But I just don’t see it! You’re a good guy! At worst you’re reckless, but your heart is in the right place! They’re fucking blind if they’re ignoring all the work you keep putting in!” Yu Yan points right at you with her other hand. Her expression is an intense anger unlike anything you’ve seen from her.

“Tone it down, please. Amelia could hear you.” You plead in a whisper, checking the door behind you. “Besides, I really fucked up late—”

“Shut the fuck up right fucking now.” Yu Yan interrupts you, moving her hand in a cutting motion. “Big Magumbos is right, you seriously need a hug! C’mere big boy, I might be a small package but I’m fulla love.” She spreads her arms wide, standing firm. Starting to sweat a little too…
“I’m fine, really.”
“C’mon, I know you enjoy it when we cuddle.” Yu Yan slowly gets closer. “I gotta say though, the teach knows you well – she knew you’d turn me down.I thought my charm was going to be enough.”

“Yu Yan, I really appreciate the gesture but last time I hugged someone, my wounds opened…” The perfect excuse!
“Oh right, hehe… I forgot, my bad.” Yu Yan scratches the back of her head. “I mean, I could totally clean up any blood with all the stuff in here…” She mumbles under her breath, checking out the same equipment Philonune looked at earlier. Judging from him chuckling, it seems he approves of your hobo’s curiosity.

“So how did you cope with your nightmares this time without me there?”
“Weeeeeeeell… I was having a little bit of trouble until a certain wonderful teacher helped me with that – her sacks of fat are really comfortable, I even played with them and she didn’t say anything!” An extremely smug Yu Yan confirms something you know firsthand. “…I know you know a thing or two about this.”

“W-what do you mean?” Uh-oh! Calm down, she might be bluffing…

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>>3087995

“You think I forgot about that one time you two were cuddling watching that shitty horror movie?! Those lustful eyes of yours are unmistakable, you really took advantage of the situation too! Then again, the two of you are pretty thirsty anyhow.” Yu Yan remembers the first night she stayed at your apartment. Shit, she figured that much out! Bad move on your part, but this is fine. You can deal with this. She shouldn’t know the full truth. “I know you get pretty ‘active’ with a simple touch. Couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, huh?”

“I don’t like where this conversation is going…” Turning it back on her is the best way through this… “If you want to talk about real thirst, I thought you were planning to confess to me last night.”

“It was a pretty nice place for a confession, eh?”
“Who knows what my answer would’ve been if you went through with it?”
“Don’t be silly, that doesn’t matter! I would never ever ask you!” Yu Yan’s smug is too strong! “B-Because chicks wanna be confessed to, ya know?” She turns a little red, folding her arms and turning away. You’re getting to her!

You sigh out, playing along. “Too bad. Guess nothing’s going to change then.” This should get you to avoid her bait and throw out your own!

“Up to you, this delicious body is yours to take whenever.” She raises her legs, borderline flashing you. Is she serious? “I wonder if you’re taking me seriously and reading too much into this, hmmm? Don’t get too excited!”
“Reading too much? You’ve been pretty blunt just now.” Or in nearly any conversation you two have ever had. And she’s the one calling you thirsty?
“It’s all in the tone, dear Johnny.”

“I have a real question to ask now: did everyone really talk shit behind my back?” Is everyone you know that much of an asshole? It’s normal for people to do that, yeah, but it doesn’t make it any less painful!
“Do you really want that…?” Yu Yan returns to being completely serious. “Because after I tell you, I can’t un-tell you, you know?”

Do you take the risk…?

>Yee.
>Nah.
>“Did anyone at least try to defend me?” Take the positives.
>“Maybe I can take the hug now.”
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the day, we continue tomorrow in a short session! Thanks for playing so far!)

>>3088002
>Yee.

>>3088002
>Yee.
>"Just tell me already. I can take it."

>>3088002
>>Yee
Then
>>“Maybe I can take the hug now.”

>>3088002
>Yee.
>“Maybe I can take the hug now.”

>>3088002
>>3088010
also
>“Maybe I can take the hug now.”

>>3088002
>>Yee.

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“Yee, I can take it.” You are a grown ass man who used to be a total loser before you got superpowers. Expecting everyone to like you is unrealistic!
“If you insist…” Yu Yan looks uncomfortable. “Everyone is talking shit about you, especially Amelia and Osgood, and honestly the dick isn’t too far behind. Amelia mainly calls you names and the other two talk about how incompetent you are and stuff.”

“Like for example…?”

“I zone out and leave the room whenever they start talking trash, not worth sticking around when they get that way. The shit they say ain’t that clever, so going into specifics is useless – trust me when I tell you that they sound legitimately hateful every so often.” Yu Yan then tries to go into specifics, completely ignoring her own advice. “Lemme think. Aside from those three, uhm… That fucker who calls me ‘Yupie’! He’s the worst one to me; he just talks shit so he can fit in like a loser would. It’s so easy to tell he doesn’t know you one bit. Maybe he’s still salty about the beating you gave him. I rub it in his face as much as I can.” She points at her chest with her thumb, puffing up proudly.
“You mean Henry, right?”

“He has a name?! Oh shiiiiiit, that’s something I never knew existed!” This is said so slowly and with so much emphasis, Yu Yan almost doesn’t sound sarcastic. Almost. “Well, the guy who I allegedly stabbed has two modes. Fuck You mode, and FUCK YOU mode – so he bad mouths everyone equally including you. Can you believe he was less harsh to you than to Amelia, Richard and Osgood? Just wanted to put things in perspective.”
You expected nothing from Trent, and you’re still let down. Then again, you must’ve made a solid impression on him if his insult count is anything to go by.

…Did not a single soul defend you? No one remembered all the good you did for them? There has to be at least one!

“Nariko?”
“Talked shit. This was all pre-suicide attempt though.”
“Matilda?”
“Talked shit. She’s planning on telling you upfront though.”
“Lise?” She did get annoyed when Richard was being an ass to you.
“The wheelchair gal? Didn’t say anything, mainly cuz Constance gets real annoyed when she hears someone bad mouth you. It’s easy to tell she has a thing or two to say, outside of that.”

You’re starting to lose hope here…

“Kata?”
“Does calling you a ‘naughty boy’ count as bad mouthing you, even if she’s completely right?”
“Dr. Calamity?”
“Slight disappointment. He didn’t say anything specific.”
“Bradford Jr.?”
“Johnny, he’s dead.”
“I meant the cat!”
“Johnny, you’re asking me for a cat’s opinion… I can’t talk to them! Do I look like some NEET loser who would hoard a bunch of cats to you?” She folds her arms and looks away again, pouting. It’s cute, but not enough to make you feel any better.

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>>3089583

You decide to remain silent. It’s long enough that Yu Yan begins to seem worried.
“You dick…” Yu Yan is not amused.

“I’m desperate here, come on…” You feel more betrayed than Philonune was in at least one point in his ridiculously long life!
“If that was true, you wouldn’t be evading asking for a certain someone.” Yu Yan raises her eyebrows.
She’s right! “Oh, you’re right! What about Nina?” Your ex-girlfriend would never stab you in the back!
“Yes! Me! You know me! I’m the most excellent human being there is, becau— Wait, I actually forgot about her too. How could I forget tits that huge?!” Yu Yan puts her hand on her chin, closing her eyes. “…Now that you mention it, she didn’t say one bad word about you. She left the room every time someone started to… Weird.”
“Don’t say ‘weird’, give me some hope!”

“That’s pretty good in comparison, dude…” Yu Yan shuffles her feed, clearly awkward about all this. Breaking people bad news tends to be that way. “I-I m-mean you can’t expect someone to stand up and shut everyone up to defend you in front of everyone, right? It’s been a hard row of days for everyone, you know? Feels like everybody took this chance to suddenly start being idiotic for barely any reason!”

“I feel like shit…”
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be, I asked for this.” You stare blankly at the floor. “…Maybe I can take the hug now”

“C’mere big guy.” Yu Yan embraces you. You want to hug her back, but you can’t raise your arms out of how bad you feel. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you…”
“I’m just doing what I can, as best as I can…”
“I know.”

Out of nowhere, Yu Yan’s phone starts to ring, rudely breaking the nice moment. With one arm still hugging you, she answers.

“Yes…? I can’t leave him alone though, Yeah I get it, but you need to bring someone, alright…? I’ll go then. Bye.” Yu Yan hangs up. “They got Ames. Want to me to go there and talk to her. Don’t leave the room yet, okay? It’s still risky out there. Someone’s coming here to replace me. Same rules apply.”
“Thanks for the hug, Yu.”
“Don’t mention it.” Your hobo lets go of you to go open the door, turning to give you one of her usual smirks. “On second thought, you should totally keep mentioning it whenever you can. Especially around the others!”

“What happened to not using the door?”
“I’m not climbing anytime soon. Take care! I’ll go cheer up Ames, don’t worry!” Yu Yan leaves the room, dragging the cat trio with her. They don’t even bother to free themselves, meows echoing down the hall.

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>>3089585

Not even five minutes pass before Yu Yan’s replacement climbs in through the window. How do these people keep coming in through the window without anyone seeing them?! Anyway, it’s Matilda! She has a loaded bag with her.

“You’re looking rough.” Understatement of the week, Matilda!
“S’up?” You try to act casual even though you are a bit of an emotional mess right now.
“The others were able to capture Amelia. Before we get into that, however, you should take this.” Matilda hands you a box from her bag. “It’s lunchtime, Your sister told us about your escape. Knowing that, I went and bought you this to help you recover.”

Opening the box reveals a burger! “Don’t worry, you will pay me for this later.” …And just like that, Matilda ruins it!

What now?

>“Can I go see my sister now, or will I get zapped the moment I walk in?”
>“What sort of cheap fast-food place did you get this from?” Smells weird!
>“Did you come to complain to my face instead of behind my back? Yu told me.”
>“How much do I need to pay you for you to keep quiet until this is over?”
>“It’s been a rough day, Matilda.” Okay, THIS is understatement of the week!
>Write In.

>>3089596
>"Alright, lay it on me, I'm ready for whatever you have to say."

>>3089596
>“Can I go see my sister now, or will I get zapped the moment I walk in?”

>>3089596
>"Alright, lay it on me, I'm ready for whatever you have to say."

This shit is depressing. Ando should go solo and leave all of his "friends" behind if they're just gonna take turns shitting on him. I'm sick of it.

>>3089703
That's what I'm going for m8. The moment the others inevitably get BTFO just like Johnny did, they'll be begging him to help them. The chameleon use of Philo's power makes it even more viable for Johnny to go Metal Gear on his lonesome, exploring the city on his own to figure stuff out and investigate places. Hope things tend towards that direction eventually

>>3089596
>“Can I go see my sister now, or will I get zapped the moment I walk in?”

We need to give our team a little reality check, then we'll be off on our own, fuck 'em, they'll be crawling back to Big Dick Johnny in a few days

>>3089608
>>"Alright, lay it on me, I'm ready for whatever you have to say."
This

>>3089596
>"Alright, lay it on me, I'm ready for whatever you have to say."

>>3089768
As long as we keep ties to Nina (because she's the leader) through out solo ops, we should be fine. I doubt Yu Yan will backstab Johnny, and Nariko won't go against him over her own goals after Johnny saved her life like that. Henry feels like the wildcard here, and Trent could just as easily go "fuck that, not my problem now" and stay out of things.

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“Alright, lay it on me; I’m ready for whatever you have to say.”
“I’d prefer if you eat first. I know how you behave when you’re tired, I don’t want to find out how unpredictable you become when you’re hungry.” Matilda taps her foot on the ground. “Plus it’s not the appropriate time for it.”
“Knowing me and how ‘reckless’ I am, this could be the last time we have a decent conversation.” You say in obvious sarcasm.

“Then you should eat already, if you want a decent conversation that badly.” Matilda takes her bag off and starts searching for something.
In the meantime, you dig into the burger. “This is pretty good. Mhm…!” The smell is a strange one you’re sure burgers aren’t supposed to have.
“I knew you would enjoy it.” Matilda looks oddly content with your comment. “It’s not even the chef’s specialty.”

“Where did you get this? Maybe one day when I get too lazy to cook, I could crash that place.”
“It’s a secret. If you survive tomorrow plus a small fee, I’ll take you there myself.” Matilda pulls out two glass cups and a bottle.
“What’s this?”
“My grandfather’s always said it's better to have a real talk with someone over a drink.” Matilda pours two glasses of whiskey. You recognize ‘Magnum Melbourne’ because it’s your father’s favorite brand..

“I don’t think I’m capable of drinking that.” Not without feeling more like that scum father of yours.

Matilda glares at you.“Don’t be a coward; it’s a sign of a strong bond between master and apprentice.” She recites the way her grandfather must have told her, word for word. Sounds like an excuse for Mr. Spice to get wasted. Can’t blame the guy, he had a tough life.
“Just give me a glass of water, please.” Drinking that whiskey is something you really can’t afford to do now. “You know I’m wounded, don’t you? What if it causes nasty side effects with the medicine I still have in me?” Maybe that’s good enough an excuse…?

“Fine.” Matilda somehow expertly pours all the liquor back into the bottle without spilling a single drop! “Guess we won’t be drinking then.”

“My bad...”
“I don’t want to hear your pitiful excuses. The mood is ruined beyond repair.” Matilda’s intense glare becomes more vicious and predatory!

“So where do I start…?”

You take a deep breath, mentally readying yourself for what’s to come. “Lay it out for me then. I’m all ears.”

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>>3089852

Matilda drags a chair and sits very formally. “There are many inexcusable missteps you’ve committed in such a short amount of time, I have no idea what your train of thoughts were when you foolishly decided to plant yourself in harm’s way yet again. This wasn’t one of your heroics. This was some of the plainest, undeniable stupidity I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with.” Matilda closes her eyes, keeping her face neutral despite her words. “As your personal trainer, I cannot help feeling disappointed in your actions. You completely forgot the objective we agreed upon and forced everything in jeopardy. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”
“Yes…” This scolding was about what you expected from her. The only reason she’s mad is because she wants you to beat Flint Masterson, fulfilling her rivalry with him through you as proxy.

Matilda opens her eyes back up to you. “…But that’s not what I want to talk about. Do you remember what I told you after your encounter with Flint? After he left you half-dead?”
How could you possibly forget being beaten to an inch of your life? “Yes, that you’ll train me if I help you beat him.”

Then you spanked her ass inside that abandoned house. Thankfully not literally!

“That’s also not what I’m referring to. Before we made that deal, when you were severely wounded and I brought you back home – in this very clinic, I told you to never do that again and that you worried everyone.” She gestures at the closet around you, at the clinic beyond it. “I don’t think I made myself clear that time, I understand it’s easy to misunderstand me, as it is with anybody else.” Matilda explains solemnly.

“The other day, I was informed of your condition, how you put yourself at risk and paid the price. I didn’t feel angered, betrayed, or disappointed… I was worried; I was worried about you, Johnny Ando.” There’s something in her expression as she says this, one you can’t quite place. “The same as in the occasion I failed to explain myself clearly. I do not know if knowing this information would have influenced your decision that moment, or even knowing now would change your actions for the foreseeable future… So I want to make it clear this time, without fail…”

”Are you willing to continue our partnership in the face of these blurred lines, or not?”

How will you respond?

>“I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here…”
>“Yes, I do care. I still want us to be friends, Matilda.”
>“I don’t think I’m capable of continuing this after all that happened. Sorry.”
>Write In.

>>3089854
>“Yes, I do care. I still want us to be friends, Matilda.”

>>3089854
>“Yes, I do care. I still want us to be friends, Matilda.”

>>3089854
>“Yes, I do care. I still want us to be friends, Matilda.”
Not giving her up. We need to keep what few real allies we have

>>3089854
>“Yes, I do care. I still want us to be friends, Matilda.”

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“Yes, I do care. I still want us to be friends, Matilda.” You put your shitty tired feelings aside and smile at her!
Matilda opens her eyes wide, then closes them and smiles back. A real smile. “I do like the way you put it, yes.” That’s it! There’s the Matilda you know! “I hope we keep our business relationship as professional as always, Johnny. And also, that doesn’t mean you get to slack off in training either.”
“Whatever makes you happy. Besides, you know I would never have it any other way.” You nod in genuine happiness. Finally some joy today.

“Excellent.” Matilda blinks and looks down at herself. Did something confuse her? “…Should we seal this with a handshake? A fist pump? A hug? Or are you interested in a massage?” She shows you her hands and moves her fingers in creepy motions. Oddly unsettling.
“Do you really know how to give massages?”
“Yes, I took classes. Everyone including my grandfather has declined one.” Matilda holds a hand up in front of her, examining it closely. “Disappointing, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”
That’s enough red flags! “Maaaaaybe later then…”

“…Do you mind if I’m honest with you for a second?” You’ve never seen Matilda this talkative. Recent events must be affecting her in her own way.
“That’s what friends are for.” At least, you assume they are. You’re more or less as inexperienced in this as her, having had only three people outside your family bother to keep you around – before they blew into smithereens at the Arcade while you ditched them. Good times!

“I do not wish to continue training the team. Solely you.” Matilda goes into training manager mode! “The others no longer fit my criteria for good apprentices. I’m sure you can understand why.”

“I don’t exactly think I have the discipline either though.” Sure she’s put you through training that even actual demons from Philonune’s world might find grueling, but still!
“Discipline is taught, Johnny. You meet the criteria almost to a tee, ignoring your recent… exploits.”
“I don’t think you need to excuse yourself with me. I’m not the leader, not anymore. You’ll have to give the gang their money back.”
“That’s exactly the conundrum I’m in, I need to figure out how to avoid refunding them effectively…” Matilda loses herself in thought briefly. “…Persuading Ms. Uccelli with your charms is a fitting method on your part. You have her under your control after all.”

>>3089944

“We’ll figure something out.” As you say this, you figure something out yourself! Something you were starting to forget…
“Oh, and Matilda…”
“What is it?”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Try to avoid meeting an untimely end next time, understand?”
“Crystal clear.”

Suddenly Matilda’s phone starts to ring. She answers and listens silent for a few seconds, then says:

“They want you to visit Amelia as a final test. Worst case scenario, they plan to tear her flame apart.”

Sadly this is all we have for this week’s thread! Thanks for playing!

+Matilda still believes in you!

>>3089946
Things just keep falling to pieces, sweet

>>3089944
Funny how we still haven't tried flirting with Matilda
I'm not saying get into a relationship with her, we'd probably get killed by her old man, but her reactions would be cute

>>3090221
Hand holding breaks the serious girls.

>>3090221
Funny how we still haven't tried nutting on anyone's forehead.

I hope Osgood gets killed off next.

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>>3100268

Nina, Richard and Henry go inside the room, closing the door behind them. As they do so, you hear Yu Yan loudly complaining about Nariko getting her shirt wet! Guess you can trust Yu Yan to take care of those ingrates without you there. One of the only few you can trust at all…

You’re left alone in this corridor room with Matilda.

“I will keep you informed for a small fee.” Matilda proposes without you saying anything. “But more importantly, I can administer punishments to those two free of charge.”
“It’s alright…” It’s not alright.
“Are you really sure now’s the time for a walk?”
“I don’t owe them anything. They made it plenty clear where they stand.” What a reality check… “If you feel like this is getting too dangerous, please let the others know before you leave.”
“I have a debt to pay. I won’t leave this easily. Take care, call me if you need anything. My service’s lines are always open.”
“Thanks.”

And so, you are back in the clinic lobby on the ground floor. It’s after lunch now. Everyone looks busy, no one looks familiar, you’re still alone.

Business as usual.

Where do you go?

>Go to your apartment. You need familiarity and comfort right now.
>Walk around your neighborhood. Being in the area might be good.
>Call Roger Jackson! You need to talk to someone unrelated to this.
>Call Scarlet! You need to talk to someone unrelated to this.
>Call your guardian, Rufus Hogg! Talking to him might make you feel better after this.
>Write In.

>>3100270
>Go to your apartment. You need familiarity and comfort right now.

>>3100280
(Wrong thread)