>>3413388
>>Meyu's in charge

>>3413388
>Pip's in charge
Emi might be too busy healing people up to make snap decisions, and Pip will have an easier time, I'd think, helping everyone hide QUICK if Legion comes by than Meyu would.

Having some trouble on this end. I'll leave the post up for further voting/discussion, and continue the thread either later tonight or tomorrow.

>>3413388
>Meyu's in charge
>Tell him to play it cool, the Legion know we're here, and are probably pissed.

I have the feeling this is gonna get bloody, so putting the most experienced leader on it should be best.

>>3413388
>>3413543
>>Meyu's in charge
>>Tell him to play it cool, the Legion know we're here, and are probably pissed.

>>3413388
>Meyu's in charge

>>3413496
If you resume tonight, can you put a note up on your twitter just so we don't miss it?

>>3413673
Yeah. I'm almost done here. Should have a post up by 9ish, and we can continue for there.

"I'm gonna say Meyu, with Pip as his second" You say. "I'm kinda ditching after sending up a huge flare telling the Legion you're here, so I apologize for that..."

"Not our first melee, won't be our last" Zaine says. "I don't suppose you know a way to lighten up the load a bit..."

"Well... they only know that I'm here" You say. "I shoot off a few more beams, maybe I can get them to follow me west instead of looking in the town"

"Do it" Zaine says. "We'll set up some defenses and conceal ourselves as best we can. You go do your thing"

"Good luck" You say.

"Same to you" He replies as he dashes off.

Once Zaine's at a safe distance, you rev up the Rook and cause a small explosion nearby. The concentrated soul turns a good sized area of grass into dust, but you don't stay and admire your work for long. You throw on your goggles, hit the boosters, then hit the road.

Along the way you make another couple explosions, but you don't slow down. Let the Legion think you hit them here, scrapped their dragon, killed a few of their patrols, and moved on. Not much reason for them to search the town after that, except to recover their monster.

You make it to the camp in under an hour. You probably could have made it even faster, but that would've risked burning out the Rook's engine.

As you pull through the gate, you get Coral to point out a few key people's locations: Caiah, Lyvia, and Altea.

She can't point out Terry, strangely enough. You guess she hasn't been properly introduced, despite the fact that she happily helped him out earlier... something which you'll have to talk to her about later.

According to Coral, Caiah is down by the Spire itself, while Lyvia and Altea are still in the camp...

>Go straight to Caiah

>Go see Lyvia first

>Go see Altea first

>Other

>>3413743
>>Go straight to Caiah
>>Send Coral to Lyvia
Lyvia knows about Terry so she's probably best equipped to think about what to do.

>>3413743
>>3413781
Seems Fair enough. Only real concern is that we just distracted the legion to head directly towards the camp, but they (hopefully) will be here later.

>writing

>>3413855
The force the Legion has in that area is far too small to be any threat to the coalition camp.

You write up a quick note to Lyvia explaining the situation, then turn the Rook toward the Spire and hit the gas.

...

You're not sure why you put it that way. There's no gas involved anywhere in the Rook.

...

Probably not what you should be thinking about right now. Game face, Yuu. Let's go.

When you reach the Spire, there's a small force already there. Derrick seems to be the leader, so it must be the force sent to clean out the abominations... except they're all just sitting around.

Caiah isn't hard to spot. She's up on her raptor, next to Derrick and Marybell.

"Yuu?" Derrick asks as you ride up. "I thought you were-"

"I was. Came back. Where's Terry?" You ask.

"Terry is in there" Caiah says, pointing to the Spire. "He said he needed to blow off steam... Yuu, what happened over there?"

"Terry showed up, I blew a dragon out of the sky, he got mad and came here looking for you" You say. "Came back to warn you... but I guess I'm a bit late"

"He mentioned something like that..." Caiah says. "But even I'm not quite sure what he was talking about"

>Go in and find him

>Stay here with Caiah

>Other

>>3413911
>>Go in and find him
>>Be ready just in case it comes to a fight.

>>3413911
>Stay here with Caiah

The choice here feels like getting him to talk to us about stuff he wants us to hear vs. stuff he's angry about. I get the feeling that we're going to get more Angry DM rants if we walk at him, whereas he might throw us a plot hook if we stake him out.

>>3413942
>BUT MY NARRATIVE
>Wa-
>YOU IGNORED MY NARRATIVEEEE
Terry's script never catches a break.

>>3413942
I'm not sure we have that much time to kill.

>writing

Rolled 39 (1d100)

"I've gotta go find him" You say. "Get him to leave, or at least spill some info that's useful for once"

"That might be dangerous..." Derrick says.

"The real danger is back where I left the others, and I've gotta get back there myself" You say. "Terry is a sideshow, and it's time he learned that"

"D-do you want me to go with you?" Caiah asks.

"If you want" You say. "Lyvia will be joining me soon enough. Nobody wants a piece of this guy more than her"

"Alright then..." Caiah says.

"Hold down the fort, Derrick. We're going in" You say.

>Roll 1d100 with focus

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>3413995

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>3413995

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>3413995

>writing

You ride in on the Rook, with Caiah beside you on her raptor. You think its name was... Precious... or something?

...

There are a lot of dead abominations in here. A good portion belong to the group that you killed at the entrance, but there are more still that have been cut up.

"This all Terry?" You ask.

"Seems that way" She says. "He blasted the ones blocking the door away, then went on a rampage"

"Any idea how to find him?" You ask.

"Follow to corpses" She says.

You go ahead slow, as Caiah is having a bit of trouble keeping her raptor in line. The trail isn't hard to follow at all, but there's no telling what you'll find at its end...

This kinda reminds you of a story you once read to the kids, involving a trail of breadcrumbs and some other stuff... you weren't actually paying all that much attention to it, despite the fact that you were the one reading it.

You do everything you can to not focus on the gruesome scenery around you, while still keeping your eyes on where it goes. It's difficult, to say the least.

If you didn't know these things used to be human, you'd never guess it from what they look like now.

While you focus on the road, your attention is suddenly dragged to the side as Caiah's raptor suddenly loses it, bucks her off, and runs.

"Shit..." She says.

You stop and help her up. "You okay?" You ask.

"I'll be fine... but we probably won't be seeing her again..." She says.

>Ride with me

>We'll walk from here

>This is why I prefer machines...

>Other

>>3414180
>Ride with me
Time's a wastin.

>>3414180
>Ride with me

Vroom Vroom.

Actually, what noise does the Rook make? A whirring?

>>3414180
>>Ride with me

>>3414209
It's pretty much just a whirring sound. Like most carts, it's pretty quiet.

>writing

"Get on, then. We can look for it later if we have a chance" She says.

"Ugh... alright" She says, as she sits behind you. "Couldn't have left a little more room back here?"

You start moving. "This is still the frame the hunters made. Working on a redesign that'll have a bit more passenger space, and maybe some more cushioning..."

Caiah snorts. "You sound like my friend..." She says. "He's a bit of a machine nut too"

You leave that be, knowing any attempt to ask about him will be met with silence.

When you find Terry, he's finishing off a group of creatures.

"Oh... that didn't take long" He says, giving his blade a whirl as he turns to face you. "Come to return your stolen property?"

You step of the Rook and pat the mageblade in your pocket. "Nope. This belongs to me now" You say. "Wanna tell me why you came out here to find Caiah?"

"You wouldn't understand" He replies. "It would take hours to explain, and I don't have that long"

"So give me the condensed version" You say. "I'm sick of the 'mysterious man' gig. What did you mean when you said my powers were wrong?"

"I didn't mean the powers were wrong, I meant that you having them was" He says, casually stabbing a creature as it attempts to get back up. "As in: you should not have this much power"

"But I do" You say.

"But you do" He replies. "And that changes things. It changes things drastically"

"Even I'm not following you here..." Caiah says. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Terry frantically claws at his hair. "Ahh! How to explain this..." He says. "Caiah, in all your stories what was the hero like?"

"He was... I dunno... heroic?" Caiah says.

"Of course he was heroic. That's a hero's number one quality. What I mean is: how did he fight?" Terry asks.

"With a mageblade" Caiah says. "He was said to be a master..."

"Yuu, would you say you're a master of the mageblade?" Terry asks.

...

>I'm pretty good, yeah

>No

>I asked for answers, not questions

>Other

>>3414314
>>No
>>There was one in another timeline who came to a bad end though.

>writing

"I'm not, but I did borrow some mageblade expertise from another version of me" You say.

"Huh, perhaps that's the one Caiah is thinking of..." Terry says.

"I doubt it..." You say. "He was hit with Raven's mind control boon, and from there on it wasn't very pretty..."

"Guess not" Terry says. "But here is my point: Is this the hero you read about?"

"No, but that's-"

"Of course he wasn't! Your version of this man here couldn't defeat the Black God. We wouldn't be here if he had" He says. "Of all the versions of this guy here, all of them have lacked the power to strike down that beast. I lacked the power to take down that beast"

"And you think I could?" You ask.

"I think you've got a pretty damn good chance" He says. "Which is more than I could say for all the schmucks who came before you. I-"

Terry is cut off by Lyvia diving straight into him, ramming headfirst into his stomach. He reels back, just barely getting his mageblade up in time to parry a spear of ice that's thrown his way.

"Damn it, not now!" He says. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"You RUINED me, Malteris!" Lyvia cries, as the temperature suddenly drops by about ten degrees. "You'll pay!"

>Calm Lyvia down

>Let her do her thing

>Other

>>3414397
>Calm Lyvia down
It looks like I was right about Terry being a time-travelling version of me, and I'm FINALLY getting some useful answers, please wait to shred us to ribbons until after that?

>>3414397
>>... you RUINED my daughter?

>>3414426
...pfft

Have to sleep. I'll leave this post up overnight and come back to it tomorrow around 5-6pm

Today's word of the day is magelbade, which is what my fingers try to type EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME I want to type mageblade. Super frustrating.

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time.

>>3414436
Thanks for running.

>>3414397
>Let her do her thing
We can wait

"Lyvia, sweetie-" You say, lifting up the angry Leviathan and pulling her in close so you can stroke her hair. "-I need you to chill out for a second, okay? Terry here was just being useful"

"But he-"

"I know what he did, and you can freeze him and shatter him into a million pieces in a moment" You say. "Right now I need him in one piece so he can continue talking"

"Can that one piece be frozen?" She asks.

"No" You reply.

"... can I least get his legs?" She asks.

"I dunno. Hey Terry, will you keep talking if I let Lyvia freeze your legs?" You ask.

"If she casts anything, I'm gone" Terry says.

"No dice, sweetie. Sorry" You say, giving her a squeeze. You're glad Lyvia is so easy to calm... "Now, what were you saying?"

Terry finishes rubbing the pain out of his stomach. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted..."

"She's not apologizing, and I won't make her" You say.

"Every version of you that I've dealt with has either struggled against that dragon, failed to get this far, or fell to the dragon" Terry says. "You are the one in a trillion oddity that I've been hunting for. The person who could kill the Black God, and end this cycle"

You squeeze your eyes shut. "Why don't we take this back a couple paces to where you tell me who you are and why you've been looking for me?" You ask.

"Weren't you listening?" He asks. "I am YOU"

>Bullshit.

>How?

>Okay Lyvia. Now you can get him.

>Other

>>3416347
Then how did the Dragon not kill yuu?

>>3416347
>>Just so we are on the same page, what's the cycle?

>>3416347
>Bullshit.

>writing

"What cycle?" You ask.

"The cycle of you failing to kill the Black God, causing the Convergence of Worlds in the hopes of strengthening the seal, which it doesn't, it only pushes the problem forward onto Caiah's generation where the combined forces of me, her, her boyfriend, and another Pure Demon who I haven't mentioned yet finally kill the bastard, but only after it manages to kill most of the life on earth" He says. "But! With you as powerful as you are, we can skip steps 2-4 and just kill it. End the cycle right there. Make this the end"

"Caiah's generation?" You ask.

"You wanna tell him, or should I?" Terry asks.

"Guess I have no choice now..." Caiah says. "I'm... from the future. Not your future, since the Pure Demon who fought the Legion in my history was a mageblade master named Felix"

You furrow your brow. "That's... Ilica wanted to name me Felix" You say.

"Yeah..." Caiah says. "You uhh... I guess it's he, isn't it? He married her, in the end"

...

Caiah suddenly realizes something. "What do you mean my boyfriend will be there? You killed him!" Caiah says.

"I pulled out his heart, while he was giving his life for yours. Then I pulled out yours, while you were giving your life for New Leon" Terry says, as he turns to you. "And by the way, I haven't done it yet, but in my future I'll be pulling out your heart as you give your life for Andrea... or Madelaine, as you call her now. I didn't kill him, or you, or you. I made you into what you are."

...

"That's in the past" You say.

"Not for me" He says. "Caiah and I, we're on our way back to the beginning"

"So she is Caian" You say.

"Yup" Terry says. "But more importantly, you can kill the Black God. Let's get back to that, shall we? Because it's very important"

"I don't even know how to reach the Black God" You say.

"Well you have to pass the 8 trials first, then you have to fight me, because my future self is stuck behind that portal..." He says. "I'd offer to help you there, but the trials are important. If you can't face the harbingers, then you can't face the God, even with your power"

"I still have to defeat the Legion" You say.

"Damn it..." He says. "Well can you hurry it up?"

You raise an eyebrow at him so casually asking that. Meanwhile, Caiah looks just as confused as you are.

>So why tell us this now?

>Can you at least lend a hand?

>Lyvia can blast him now

>Other

>>3416347
>Okay Lyvia. Now you can get him.

>>3416494
>>Is the converged world where batman exists?
>>So, can you explain the whole thing with Lyvia? She's still pretty mad I think.

>>3416494
>So why tell us this now?
>>So, can you explain the whole thing with Lyvia? She's still pretty mad I think.

I'd like to think that making all the females into anthros was somehow a very important part of the plan for beating the Black God.

>writing

>>3416551
Terry: Monstergirls are just my fetish. Got a problem?

>>3416575
Monster girls are also Yuu's fetish though...oh my goooooooood.

"But why make all the women into hybrids?" You ask.

"Because I could" He replies.

You feel Lyvia shaking in your grasp. "And Lyvia?" You ask.

"I didn't think it would affect the queens" He says. "Them losing their forms was a massive blow to the good guys in the fight against the Harbingers"

"But now you know..." You say.

"And it changes nothing" He says. "Even if I went back now and decided not to hybridize the women, it would have no effect on this timeline"

"Alright then... why tell us all this now?" You ask.

"Because we're SO close" He says. "Do you have any idea how long I've been on this for? It's been a long time, and now the end is in sight"

"You just need me to beat the legion, then the trials, then the Black God..."

"And you have the power to do all these things" He says. "Mahron, slippery bugger that he is, won't be able to withstand you. The trials are all practically made so that a Pure Demon can ace them... well... not really, but you can beat them"

"And the Black god?" You ask.

"Hone your strength against the Legion, and the Trials, and the Black God..." He says. "You stand a better chance than anyone before you. Even I only barely managed to pierce its outer form..."

"You're not filling me with confidence here..." You say.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've seen you fail?" He asks. "I've very little confidence to give, my young friend. I'm afraid you'll have to supply your own"

It's quiet for a moment, as everyone lets that sink in.

"Alright. Now Her Majesty may blast me to her heart's content, and I shall narrowly escape with a mild to moderate case of frostbite" He says. "Sound good?"

>Anything else?

>>3416612
>Well, before you go - do you know anything else that could possibly give me an edge? The concepts behind certain techniques, or the location of something useful other than what's in the trials? Maybe knowledge about an event that I can shoot down before it becomes a thorn in my side?

>>3416612
>>Who is Madeline and what was our relationship?
>>Who did all the other ones marry besides Illica?

>writing

"Before you go... is there anything you have that might give me an edge? Any big events that usually happen that I can get the jump on?" You ask.

"Uhh... Well normally... hmm... I would just say don't let Mahron anywhere near the ruins" He says. "Treeborn Cradle he can have. Not much you can do to stop him from getting there at this point, and the Puppeteer was always the weakest of the Harbingers. But the rest have to be off limits"

"Why? Can he release the Harbingers?" You ask.

"That I cannot tell you" He says. "Oh, and how's Cheska doing? Is she human right now?"

"Yeah" You say.

"Oh, good. I always liked her..." He says. "Uhh... did you end up killing the winged slut yourself?"

You raise an eyebrow. "Raven? No. Altea did" You say.

Terry laughs. "You should always swing the sword yourself" He says. "Oh, and make sure you have Kanzka with you on the way to Johnston. The tunnels there are like a spider's web, so you'll be needing a spider"

"That's it?" You ask.

"Should be" He says, turning to Lyvia. "Blast away"

Lyvia buries her head in your chest. "I don't feel like it..." She says.

...

>I guess you can just go then...

>Just a little blast?

>Does Caiah have to follow you this time?

>Other

>>3416670
>I guess you can just go then...

>>3416670
>>I guess you can just go then..

>writing

"Guess that means you can just go..." You say, still stroking Lyvia's hair.

Terry shrugs, creating a new black knife ad cutting a hole in space.

"Wait, where are you going?" Caiah asks.

"Not far" He replies. "Not anywhere in time. Probably just off to the other continent to go check in on some stuff..."

Terry jumps into the portal, and it closes behind him. The rest of you stand in silence.

"What the fuck" Caiah says. "All this time... I... what the fuck"

"I'll say... but maybe watch your language" You say.

"Sorry..." She says. "So he was never trying to cause chaos... he was trying to find a version of you that could kill the black god"

"It all kinda makes sense now... but it also kinda doesn't" You say. "Why not just find me and train me?"

"For all we know he's tried that" She says. "I remember him saying something to me once... it went like 'Warriors are trained. Heroes are risen'... or something"

"Makes sense" You say. "Anyone who can hold a weapon can be a warrior... but it'd take a special kinda courage to go toe to toe with a God"

"Do you have that kind of courage?" She asks.

"Don't think I have a choice" You say. "Man, Demon, or God. I'll fight whatever I have to"

"That's the spirit... I think" Caiah says. "I'm gonna be honest, I'm kinda confused now"

"Yeah... yeah..." You say. "I still have to go back and make sure all my friends aren't being slaughtered though..."

>Ask why Lyvia didn't blast him

>Head back

>Ask what Caiah will do now

>Other

>>3416709
>>Head back
>>Do you want to stay with me this time, Lyvia?

>>3416709
>Ask what Caiah will do now
then
>Head back

>writing

"What will you do now?" You ask.

"I dunno..." She says. "If it all hangs on you, then I guess I'll stick close and help out... but then nothing I do here will have any effect on my home..."

"Take your time" You say. "I've gotta get back, and I don't think I'll make good time with your heavy armor riding with me... no offense"

"And I still have to see where Precious ran off to... and finish killing all these things" Caiah says.

"How about you, Lyvia? Do you want to come with me?" You ask.

"No... it's okay" She says. "I'll go back to my tent..."

"Oh... alright" You say, setting her down. "Is there anything you need?"

She shakes her head and spreads her wings with a sad smile. "I'll be fine" She says, as she takes flight.

...

"Actually... would you mind leaving the extermination to the army?" You ask. "I'd kinda like to have someone looking out for her..."

"Yeah. No kidding" She says. "I wonder which part of that got her so down..."

"Maybe you can ask her" You say.

Caiah nods. "You get going" She says. "I think we could all use some time to think this all over..."

>Anything else before you go back west?

>>3416756
>No

>writing

You nod to Caiah, and mount up on the Rook. "Oh, and would you mind explaining this to the guys at the gate? Speed is still key for me here..."

"No problem" She says.

"Thanks" You say. "See you later"

You take off as fast as you can, not stopping for anything. You fire a blade barrage wherever the abominations have started to trickle back into the street, and in no time you're blowing right through the front gate and back on the road.

Part of you kinda wants to stop and see if mom can help you sort some of this out, but the rest of you knows this is something you'll need to sort out for yourself.

Kinda weird knowing that you're somehow the one Yuu-... you guess you shouldn't call it that, given that they're not all Yuu... the one you that has a chance to end this.

It's a lot to take in, and it's a lot to put on one person.

You're already strong, but there's still so much of this power that you have yet to grasp. You've only scratched the surface on physical enhancement, your flying is shoddy at best, your range is limited...

But not one of the other versions of you had this, and if they did then they somehow didn't make it this far.

What happens if something bad happens to you, that you can't stop? A friend betraying you, or even just a bad accident? Is this world just doomed?

You shake your head and focus on the road. This is exactly how you might cause one of those accidents. One wrong move at these speeds and there might be no getting up... You need to keep your head in the game. Questions can be answered later, when nobody's life is on the line.

>1/2

The scene when you return is... not the prettiest. None of your friends are badly hurt, but the building they holed up in is in shambles.

You see Emi patching up Meyu's arm, while Ilica, Storm, Gerard, and Zaine pile up the demon corpses. Cheska is off on her own, staring at a kill that was obviously hers, based on the body's charred state. Michaela looks like she wants to help, but doesn't know what to do...

"Guess my distraction didn't work out..." You say.

"Not your fault, kid" Zaine says, knocking on his thigh. "Not as quick as I used to be. Buggers spotted me coming back"

"Damn..." You say. "No one hurt too badly?"

"Almost lost my damn arm" Meyu says.

"No you didn't... this wasn't even that deep" Emi says.

"Well he didn't know that" Meyu says. "You look like you've seen a damn ghost. Are we in worse shape than we thought, or did something happen out there?"

>You guys do look kinda terrible...

>See what's up with Cheska

>Just learned some things...

>Other

>>3416838
>>See what's up with Cheska
We should make some time to talk to Madeline about this after initial crisis passed.

>>3416838
>>Just learned some things...
>See what's up with Cheska

>>3416838
>See what's up with Cheska

>Just learned some things...

>writing

"Just learned a few things that I maybe wasn't ready for" You say, pointing to Cheska. "She okay?"

"She just said she needed a time out" Emi says. "I was going to talk to her once I was finished here"

"You worry about him, Emi. He's no good to us if that arm falls off" You say, as you head over to Cheska and sit down next to her, ignoring Meyu's grumbling. "You okay?"

Cheska startles. "Huh? Oh... yeah" She says. "Yeah. I'm fine"

"You know I know that's a lie" You say.

Cheska sighs. "Yeah..." She says. "It's just... I used to enjoy this..."

You turn to the corpse. "Ahh... this is the first since you became human" You say.

She nods. "I used to laugh at the screams" She says. "It was like music to my ears... and when it stopped, it always felt great because that's when they had died and fed my compulsion..."

"Not so great now" You say.

"No. It isn't" She says, shivering slightly. "I keep telling myself that this was a bad person and I shouldn't feel bad for killing them... but I was a bad person"

"He would've killed you, given the chance" You say.

"I've told that to myself too" She says. "Maybe I didn't deserve this second chance after all..."

>Doesn't matter if you deserved it or not

>Maybe you should think about switching professions...

>Hug devil

>Other

>>3416903
>Doesn't matter if you deserved it or not
>Lots of people end up in positions they don't deserve. It's all about making the most of the situation you're in.
>The fact that this feels shitty shows that you're clearly not bad now, and that should be enough to keep going.

>>3416903
>>It's okay to feel bad. That's the difference.
>>We can always find you something else to do though if it's too much.

File: Spoiler Image (597 KB, 1600x900)

597 KB PNG

>>3416917
Don't believe in yourself, believe in the Yuu that believes in you

>writing

>>3416925
When we successfully breed, we should name our children Ai and Mii.

"Doesn't really matter if you deserved it or not" You say. "Lots of people end up in places they don't deserve to be. I should know. I beat one of them with my shoe last night"

Cheska snorts. "Thanks...?"

"I'd actually be more worried if you didn't feel bad about killing people, after all the work we put into making you human again..." You say. "But if you can't handle killing, then you might need a different role..."

"You're not gonna send me home, are you?" She asks.

"I'd rather not..." You say. "Still plenty of ways fire magic can be used without killing. So from now on your job is suppression. Fire is a good deterrent. Use it to control where our enemies can and can't go"

"But what if someone is about to be hurt, and I have to use it on someone?" She asks.

"Then use it in the knowledge that you're saving a life, not taking one" You say. "We'll see how this works, and if it's still too much then we'll try something else, okay?"

"Yeah..." She says. "Doesn't really help me right now... but okay"

"Not much I can do about that..." You say. "You want me to stay, or go?"

"S-stay" She says, leaning to the side and resting her head on your shoulder.

"Okay" You say.

...

"Sorry for dumping this on you..." She says. "I heard you talking over there. Did something bad happen back at camp?"

"Maybe not bad... just... difficult to wrap my head around" You say.

"Alright... well... you listened to my problems. Only fair that I listen to yours" She says. "What's up?"

>Caiah's from the future

>I have to kill the Black God

>Terry is another me

>Other

>>3416963
>>Caiah's from a future where we didn't destroy the black god. I guess they stopped him eventually, but a lot more people died first.

>>3416963
>Terry is another me

That's the most mind-fucky one.

>>3416963
>All of the above

>writing

>>3416963
All the Above

"So you remember when we fought Mahron, and I had to call the strength of other versions of myself?" You ask. "Ignoring the aftereffects"

"Yeah... what about it?" She asks.

"Well... Terry is one of those other versions" You say.

Cheska turns to you, mouth agape. "Holy fuck" She says.

"Yeah... and Caiah comes from the future" You say. "But not our future. A different future, of a different me, who failed to kill the Black God"

"That explains why she never talked about her home..." Cheska says.

"So apparently when the other me couldn't kill the god, he did something called the world convergence... whatever that is. But that was just a bandaid, and the black god escaped anyway and killed a lot of people before Caiah, Terry, and a couple other Pure Demons managed to kill it" You say. "And the only way to prevent all of that death happening in our world is for me to kill the Black God myself"

...

"Holy fuck" Cheska says again.

"You know before he left, Terry got Caiah's whereabouts from Coral..." You say. "I was mad at the time, but he's just... me. I wonder if she can even tell the difference..."

"I'm sure she can" Cheska says. "So how the hell are they time traveling anyway?"

"They didn't tell me" You say. "I didn't think to ask either..."

"Might've been a good bit of info to get..." She says.

"I did learn that Terry is the one who ripped out my heart" You say. "I became a Pure Demon because I died trying to save Madelaine, back before we were transported here"

"Damn" She says. "But he's you, isn't he? Who ripped out his heart and made him a Pure Demon?"

"I honestly don't wanna think about that" You say. "I'm still stuck on the whole 'killing the black god' bit..."

"I know. I'm trying to get you to focus on something else" She says.

"Oh..." You say. "It's not working"

"I can see that" She says. "Usually you jump at riddles..."

"Guess I'm not in the mood today..." You say. "We should get out of here. I dunno what the Legion's response to this will be, but I'd rather not wait to find out"

"You sure you don't wanna rest for a bit?" She asks.

"I can rest when we make camp for the night" You say. "You up to get rid of those bodies?"

"That I can do" She says.

"Good" You say as you stand up. "The rest of you, get the carts up here and get ready to leave. I want to be out of here within the hour..."

That's all for tonight!

Next thread will be on Saturday. Still working on those bins, trying to figure out where they would fit best into the timeline.

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time.

>>3417039
How far would you say we are from the the endgame of the story? Since I think this is a pretty huge and worldview-changing twist to casually drop so early on (Only 1/8 ruins cleared and the legion still hasn't been taken care of)

Knowing all this does seem to make Mahron seem not as intimidating and significant in the grand scheme of things. We might be able to kill him next time we meet.

>>3417039
Will this be the last time we see Terry for a long while?
Can I ask what Terry did once he got out of the cave to turn into the weirdo he is today?

>>3417665
It isn't too long now. But don't think I'm dumping out all my twists here. There's still more to come.

And I would strongly advise against underestimating Mahron. Despite how powerful you are, and what Terry says about him, he is still very much a threat.

>>3417666
He'll be around.

Well I finally caught up. Cool story Smiley I'm happy that my guess that Terry was yuu turned out to be correct. Also Namaki is best girl

You find nothing but an empty hideout in the next town, despite hours of searching. By the time you've all confirmed that there's nothing here, the sun is starting to set.

"Might have to hole up here for the night" Meyu says. "We're behind enemy lines now, and it'll be hard to conceal a camp on this terrain"

"We can't like... get Zaine to make us a tunnel?" You ask.

"I wouldn't sleep in a tunnel made by Zaine" Meyu says. "That there is a one way ticket"

"While I understand where you're coming from, my feelings are still hurt" Zaine says.

"We could get Emi to take a look at that if you want" You say.

"I'll walk it off" He replies.

You go and pick out a suitable building to bunker down for the night in. The group ends up settling on the town's old church, since it has a small tower that would let whoever is on watch get a good view of the surrounding area.

Once you're inside, Gerand and Zaine get to work fortifying it while everyone else clears some space for beds.

"So how's the watch gonna work?" Madelaine asks. "We've got so many people. Do we leave one person on watch at a time or what?"

"I'd go with 2, maybe three" You say. "I'll take the time when the night is darkest. You guys can figure out the rest. I'm gonna go see where that door leads"

"Probably a basement. Have fun. Holler if there's somethin' down there you can't handle, so we at least get a little warning. 'Cause if you can't handle it, I don't like our chances"

You shrug and head for the door. Like Meyu said, it just leads to a basement.

Lots of skeletons down here. Looks like this might've been where the people of this town holed up when the Legion attacked. You notice that they're all up against the walls, and the bones seem like they were picked clean of flesh.

There's also dried blood running along the floor, coming from around each of the skeletons and running to the center of the floor.

"Weird..." You say. "No sign of any struggle. It's like they all cowered away from something and then just... died..."

You put your head to the ground to see if the floor dips toward the center, as that might explain why the blood all flowed that way. It's not perfectly level, but there's nothing that would naturally cause this...

Could they have performed the boon ritual here? You know from Cheska that it only takes 8 sacrifices, but they could have gone overboard to try and get a better boon...

>Call Cheska

>Examine further

>Leave it be

>Other

>>3430299
>Call Cheska
>Examine further

>>3430299
>Call Cheska
>Examine further

>>3430299
>>Call Cheska
>>Examine further

>writing

You send Coral up to grab Cheska and get a closer look at the skeletons. Adult sized skeletons seem to be clutching the little ones, and there's one long Serpid skeleton behind which it looks like a few others were trying to hide.

"Fat lot of good it did them..." You say.

"Hey Yuu, Coral was- whoa, damn" Cheska says as she comes in. "This is pretty ugly"

"Yeah" You say. "It's pretty weird too. Come look at this..."

You show Cheska what you've been checking out, and ask her for her opinion...

"So? Could it have been the ritual?" You ask.

"Don't think so. You saw the Inquisitors trying to do it in Bell's Run. They're missing the inscribed circle, and I don't think any of these bodies are in the right spots..."

"So what could have caused this?" You ask.

"Not a damn clue" She says. "Maybe the knife boon that grew legs and tried to fight you?"

"You think it just came down here and absorbed all the flesh?" You ask. "I don't think it was capable of that. I watched it try to devour a corpse. It had to wrap around it and cut pieces off"

"So... what else could have done it?" She asks.

You crouch down and run your fingers across the floor. "Whatever did it must have taken in everything, otherwise there'd be a big pool" You say.

"Well whatever it was, let's hope it's not still in the area" Cheska says. "I happen to like my flesh where it is..."

>Let's head back

>You doin' okay?

>Look closer

>Other

>>3430409
>>Look closer
>>Sorry for having to call you for something like this.

>>3430409
>Look closer

>writing

"Sorry for calling you down like this" You say. "This is... probably not what you want to see right now"

"It's fine" She replies, nervously grinding her foot into the floor. "I'm... kinda the expert on this"

You feel kind of ashamed by that comment. Here Cheska is trying to leave her past behind, and you just brought her down here where there's a giant reminder...

"No... you're not" You say, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Even as a Legionnaire you were never a part of this ritual slaughter"

"Yeah..." She says. "But seriously... do we know that whatever did this isn't still here?"

You snort. "No. Blood's been dry so long that there's a layer of dust on it. Whatever did this long since moved on"

"Good" She says. "I'm on first watch, by the way. So I'd better get set up, and you'd better get some shut-eye"

"Oh. Cool" You say. "Who am I with on my shift?"

"Emi for the first half, then she switches out with Gerard" She says. "Odd grouping, I know. I figured Pip would want the late watch, but she opted to go first with me"

"Smart. She gets more sleep that way" You say. "And if there's one thing Pip loves, it's sleep"

>Anyone you want to talk to before you sleep?

>>3430492
I got nothin

>>3430492
Let's see if we could switch one of our partners out with Madeline to talk to her about what Terry said.

>writing

Cheska gives you a hug, then heads back upstairs. You give the room another once-over to see if you missed anything, then follow suite.

You decide to go talk to Madelaine. Some of the things Terry told you involved her, and you haven't really gotten to unpack any of that yet.

She doesn't really want to talk about it when you go to her, but instead decides to switch watches with Gerard so you can do so later.

After that you set up your bedroll, then you set up Coral's tiny bedroll next to it, and go to sleep...

...

You're awakened a few hours later by someone nudging you with their foot. "Up you get, Yuu" Gerard says. "Your turn"

You lever yourself up and rub your eyes. "I'm up" You say. "Anything interesting?"

"Couple little monsters sniffin' around" Gerard says. "Not really dangerous, but they make good target practice"

"Cool" You say, nudging Coral.

Coral stirs, sitting up and stretching out, looking up with a big smile as her wings flutter.

"Ready for your watch?" You ask.

Coral nods, hopping up onto your hand so you can deposit her on your shoulder. You then nod to Gerard, and head up to the tower.

Emi's up here peering out the window, her tongue flicking out every now and then.

"Sleep well?" She asks.

"Pretty well" You reply. "All good up here?"

"So far" She says.

...

>Ask about her research

>Ask if she wants to play I spy

>Get on watch

>Other

>>3430585
>>Get on watch
>>"So which of us in here smells/tastes the best?"

>>3430585
>>Get on watch

>writing

You sit down on the other side of the tower with your head peeking out the window, giving you a good view over the small town.

...

...

"I'm curious... what does my smell taste like on your little tongue?" You ask.

Emi turns her head, giving you a look that says 'seriously?'

"Just curious" You say. "I can only smell things with my nose, so I'm kinda wondering if things are different on the tongue"

Emi sighs. "It's the same smell on both" She says. "The tongue forks just help me figure out which way the smell might be coming from"

"Oh..." You say. "Who would you say smells the best in our crew?"

"I've... never really thought about it" She says. "I'd like to think that it's me..."

You give the air a sniff. "That's fair. You've always got a kind of floral scent" You say. "Is that perfume?"

"It's a rub that I use to keep my scales healthy" She says, her tongue flicking out again. "But if I had to pick someone other than me... probably Michaela. She always smells... fluffy"

"Fluffy?" You ask.

"Or... feathery... I guess" She says. "Most good pillows are made from feathers, so she smells like that"

"Oh..." You say.

>What do I smell like?

>I didn't know you had to rub stuff on your tail

>Other

>>3430646
>>I always thought a serpid or fuzzy animal tails would make the best pillows... Storm... I guess he's an opponent I can't underestimate.
>>I didn't know you had to rub stuff on your tail

>>3430646
>>I didn't know you had to rub stuff on your tail

>>3430646
>I didn't know you had to rub stuff on your tail

>writing

"I've always thought that Serpid or Vulpid tails made the best pillows..." You say.

Emi stifles a giggle. "Yeah, when they're attached" She says. "A pillow full of fur or scales wouldn't be very comfortable..."

"I could see that" You say. "And I didn't know you had to rub anything on your tail"

She reaches into a pouch at her hip, tossing you a little lump of something. It smells pretty strong.

"I make it myself, using an old recipe my grandmother gave me" She says. "Keeps my scales from drying out, so I don't have to shed as often"

"I've never seen you shed before..." You say, tossing the lump back. Your hands now smell like Emi's tail.

"It's kind of a private thing..." She says. "Especially because I have to be kinda... half naked to do it"

"Ah. That makes sense" You say.

Looking down into the street, you see a couple of the monsters Gerard was talking about. Couple small things. Not big enough to threaten your defenses, but still... good target practice.

You decide to test a few new things on them, focusing soul into the monster and forming a sort of 'Heart Breaker' within it.

It's pretty effective, though you don't know how it would perform on something larger.

"Having fun?" Emi asks.

"Just testing something out" You say. "You want a piece?"

"I'm good" She replies. "I'll just keep my eyes out. You seem to have the little guys handled"

"Cool" You say. "Now... what if I try it this way..."

>1/2

Things are quiet through your the rest of Emi's watch. You chat with her every now and then, and remove any monster that comes sniffin' around.

You mostly talk about her research. She's got it all figured out, she really just needs a way to test it... which she really can't do in a vacuum, since the method she's working on is for life or death scenarios.

Though it does seem like the kind of thing you'd want to test before someone's life is on the line... but according to her there's no way to tell if it can help her avoid "the slip" until she's got someone who might reach that point.

Eventually her watch ends, and she slithers down to go poke Madelaine. You figure it'll take a while since you know how much she dislikes waking people up, so you sit tight and keep watch.

As you expected, Madelaine doesn't come up for another little while.

"Ahoy-hoy" She says as she comes up. "Emi says it's been quiet"

"It has been" You say.

"Cool. I'm goin back to sleep..." She says, turning back towards the stairs.

You block them with soul.

"Alright, alright. I was kidding" She says. "I'll stay, but I get to take potshots at the monsters"

"Deal" You say, switching sides so she gets to see where the monsters have been coming in.

>Tell her what Terry told you

>Ask if she slept well

>Other

Taking a food break here. Will resume writing when I return.

>>3430736
>>Tell her what Terry told you

>>3430736
>Tell her what Terry told you

>>3430736
>>Tell her what Terry told you

>writing

"So Terry told me something interesting" You say.

"Is this what you wanted to talk about?" She asks.

You nod.

"Okay" She says. "What was it?"

"Apparently I became a pure demon when I died to save you" You say. "And your name used to be Andrea"

"Really?" She asks. "That name doesn't suit me at all"

You chuckle. "Yeah, Madelaine fits better" You say.

"So what am I supposed to do with this knowledge?" She asks. "Am I supposed to... fall into your arms or somethin'? Be wooed?"

"If that woos you, then you might have issues" You say, putting on an exaggerated 'lady's man' voice. "Hey baby. You don't remember it, but I saved you in another world. Let's see them panties drop"

She puts a hand over her mouth to keep her laughter down. "Oh lawd, have mercy. I can feel them slipping" She replies, laughing a bit more before switching to a more serious expression. "So how'd he know all that?"

"Because he was the one who did this-" You say, lifting your shirt to show the scar. "And apparently he did the same to Caiah, when she was sacrificing herself to save Leon... no, he said New Leon"

"New Leon? What happened to Old Leon-... err... Current Leon?" She asks.

"No clue" You say. "But apparently there's been a cycle going for a while that keeps going because the other versions of me couldn't kill the Black God. But he thinks I can actually end it"

"No pressure, right?" Madelaine asks. "Maybe the rest of us should have let you sleep..."

"It's fine. I've got the good eyes, after all" You say.

"Right, but still..." She says. "Is there anything I can do?"

>You mentioned panties dropping...

>Know any good jokes?

>I'll be fine

>I could use a friend

>Other

>>3430894
>You mentioned panties dropping...
>but for real
>I could use a friend

>>3430894
>>Can you find out if Michela makes a better pillow than Emi? You're the only one I can ask.
>>I just wanted you to know. Didn't seem like something to keep from you.

>writing

You know, about us being almost definitely the most powerful Yuu...
I wonder how many other versions of us have called on our power, like we did for speed and technique that one time?
...I wonder if our personality has ended up overriding them at all.

>>3430915
Presumably none against the dragon, at least none that Terry ever met, or he would have seen them obliterate it before. That or there are some limits to what other versions can do.

"You mentioned panties dropping..." You say.

"Hey man, not while we're on watch" She says. "I ain't gonna be the one to go to the others and say 'hey sorry we let those guys sneak up on us. I was busy giving Yuu a sympathy fuck'."

"I was kidding" You say. "I think what I need now is a friend..."

...

"You uhh... you want me to go grab Cheska?" She asks.

You turn and raise an eyebrow at her.

"Kidding. We're friends" She says. "I'm always here if you need me"

"Thanks" You say. "And can you find out if Michaela makes a better pillow than Emi? I'm curious, and you're the only one I can think of who could find out"

"Uhh... sure?" She asks. "Kind of an odd thing to ask, but I'll see what I can do"

...

"But if we weren't on watch..." You say.

"Yeah, I'd be down" She says. "I did say I could do that again, and it's... been a while... y'know?"

>Gretchen's got a machine you might be interested in...

>You know I'm not the only man in the world, right?

>Insert table joke

>Other

>>3430937
>Gretchen's got a machine you might be interested in...

Insert obvious "Go fuck yourself" pun/wordplay.

>>3430937
>>Now I really wonder what our relationship used to be... What would Andrea say if she saw this now?
>>By the way, did you know you made the maids install soundproofing? You traumatized the bat.

>writing

"I think Gretchen's got a machine you might be interested in" You say.

"The sex machine?" She asks. "Pip told me about it. Tried it while I was in Lutain. Pretty good"

"Really?" You ask.

She nods, looking over at you. "Was... was it your dick she used for a mold?" She asks.

"Actually yeah... how'd you know?" You ask.

"Hmm..." She says, turning back out the window. "Just felt kinda familiar is all..."

...

"You actually let that crazy goblin make a mold of your dong?" She asks.

"Yeah" You say. "It was for science"

"Damn..." She says. "If I had a dick, I probably wouldn't let a gal like her anywhere near it..."

"Gretchen's not that bad" You say.

"Dude, she's got 'can't get off unless she's tied up and being penetrated in at least 2 orifices' written all over her" She says. "Freaky, you know?"

"I don't wanna hear that from the girl who was so loud they installed sound proofing in my room" You say. "You know you traumatized the bat maid? She's still scared that I'll get up and fuck the shit out of her if she's too loud at night"

"Kinda sounds more like you traumatized the maid" She says. "You were the one who did the fucking, after all"

"And you were the one who couldn't keep her voice down" You say.

"What can I say? If it feels good, I make noise" She says. "So your room's soundproof now, huh?"

"Yeah, thankfully..." You say.

"Why? It's not like I'm next door anymore" She says. "Does your cousin snore?"

"No" You say.

...

"Is she as bad at masturbating as I am?" She asks.

"Also no" You say.

"So what's makin' you so thankful to have soundproofing?" She asks.

>None of your business

>You're not the only screamer in the house

>It's just nice to have

>Other

>>3430983
>>It'd be bad for my authority if they heard you take advantage of me again.

>>3430983
>You ever try to sleep in a house full of children and maids that like giving children sweets?

>writing

"You ever sleep in a house full of children, and maids who like to bribe said children with sweets?" You ask.

"Yuh-huh. Except you're up long before they are, and in bed long after them" She says. "And you don't even nap in there. You nap with the kids"

"With Alisette, mostly" You say. "Fine. It'd hurt my authority if they heard you taking advantage of me again"

"Oh, I took advantage of you?" She asks. "You're the one who came to me. Not my fault you couldn't sleep through what I was doin'..."

"Should I call Gerard up? Remember what his plan was?" You ask.

"Oh yeah..." She says. "Well... whatever"

...

"So you actually went and tried the device?" You ask.

"Yeah man. That is cutting edge sexnology" She says. "Much more satisfying than any table I've been with"

"And here I thought you hated the table jokes" You say.

"I'm willing to admit that they're kinda funny... just don't overdo it" She says.

"Gotcha" You say.

"And try not to make them when other people are around" She says.

"I can manage that" You say. "Any idea how we'll repay you for having to deal with Graumer yet?"

"Not yet" She says. "I might just sandbag this favour for when I really need it"

"That works too" You say, looking down at your timekeeper. Your watch is almost up...

>Anything else?

>>3431071
>>No
>>Good night, Andrea!

>>3431071
I still got nothin

>writing

"Well, my watch is just about up" You say.

"Who's next?" She asks.

"Michaela" You say.

"Okay, that's not so bad" She says. "She's not sharing one with Storm, right? I kinda forgot who I'm supposed to wake..."

"No. Storm was up here earlier. You'll be switching off with Ilica" You say.

"Oh good. Because we just joked about fucking. Those two would actually fuck" She says.

"They have a little more discipline than that..." You say.

"Uh huh. Sure" She says. "Why do you think they took separate watches? It's because they know they don't have the discipline"

...

"Yeah, you're probably right" You say. "I'll see you in the morning"

"Aww, don't I at least get a good night kiss?" She asks.

...

>Sure

>Goodnight Madelaine

>Careful what you wish for...

>Other

>>3431148
>Sure
And give her a kiss on either the forehead or the cheek.
Absolutely devilish

>>3431148
>I only kiss when I mean it.
>Goodnight Madelaine

Our kiss is too strong to mess with. Every girl we've hit with it so far has been instantly sodden.

>>3431148
>>Sure

>writing

You mull it over for a second, then shrug and move in. You put a hand under Madelaine's chin, putting your thumb on her lower lip like Lola showed you, and hover in front of her face for a moment.

Her eyes widen, and her cheeks turn red as she brushes the tip of your thumb with her teeth.

You smile. "Goodnight Madelaine" You say, turning her head and giving her a kiss on the cheek before pulling away.

"Wha-... you..." She says, getting flustered. "That was rude"

"I am a very good kisser, Madelaine" You say. "You need to keep your eyes out for enemies, not possible places to run out and jill off in"

"Okay, you can't be that good" She says.

"Don't test me Madelaine" You say.

"Oh, I'm testin'" She says. "Show me what you got, fuckboy"

"You asked for it..." You say, moving back in and putting an arm over her shoulder to pull her forward.

She lets out a surprised moan as you lock lips, and continues to moan as you give her the full course. Only when you're satisfied do you break it off, leaving a trail of saliva between your mouths.

Madelaine looks like her brain went on pause for a second there, only wiping away the saliva when it finally reboots.

"Oh fuck it's that good" She says.

"I warned you" You say.

"Think you could keep watch for another 5... maybe 10 minutes?" She asks. "F-for uhh... reasons?"

>Goodnight Madelaine

>Only to keep watch

>I can make it happen in one

>Other

>>3431242
>>I can make it happen in one
>>But only when we're not on watch.

>>3431242
>>Goodnight Madelaine
she was warned

>writing

"I can make it happen in one" You say.

"Seriously? Can you-"

You put a finger on her lips. "But only when we're not on watch" You say.

She lets out a groan. "Fuck, man" She says.

"I did warn you" You say. "You could have believed me"

"So you're just gonna leave me like... this?" She asks.

"Now is not the time or the place, Madelaine" You say.

"Then... I'm calling in my favour" She says.

...

"You what?" You ask.

"My favour" She says. "I'm using it"

"For this? Seriously?" You ask.

"Yes" She says.

You check around the windows to make sure nothing's come up while you've been messing around. "The favour. The one you could use to get anything in the world from me" You say. "You're using that right now. Because you're a little worked up?"

"Did I stutter?" She asks.

"Well you're certainly not thinking straight" You say.

"Of course I'm not thinking straight" She says.

>Well if this is what you wanna spend that favour on...

>Fine, I'll make it a freebie...

>Why don't I just take over the rest of your watch...

>I'm going. To bed.

>Other

>>3431345
>>Fine, I'll make it a freebie...

>>3431345
>Only if you promise not to make a peep. There's a few people here with good hearing, you know.

>writing

"Fine. Alright. If it means that much that you'd be willing to call that in, then I'll help you out" You say. "But not a peep, understand? Lotta people in here with good ears, so keep the vocal chords under control"

"F-fine... maybe" She says.

"Good" You say. "Now. Back against the wall. Mouth shut. Legs open"

She nods and does as you say, as you go down to your knees so you can reach into her pants while still looking out the window.

Madelaine gasps as your hand first finds its mark, quickly covering her mouth with both hands as you get to work. With your focus on keeping watch, you let your hand do what it knows.

You're pretty sure it takes less than a minute, even though you're not keeping track of time. But then she's always had something of a hair-trigger... and she manages to keep a cork in it throughout, which earns her a smooch or two as she's coming down.

"Good now?" You ask.

"So good" She says.

"Alright. Fix yourself up. I'm gonna go wake Michaela" You say, as you pat her on the cheek and head to the stairs.

"W-wait... uhh..." She says, still blushing. "Th-thanks"

"You can thank me by staying focused" You say. "Goodnight Madelaine

She nods and fixes her clothes. "Goodnight Yuu" She says as she goes back to watching out the window.

You head down the stairs and poke Michaela's wings to wake her up. They're pretty damn soft. You can imagine it'd probably feel pretty nice to rest with your head on them...

But that's something to think about later. Now is the time for sleep.

>1/2

You wake up a few hours later feeling kinda groggy, but otherwise awake.

Meyu and Quria are the only other people up. The former is currently working on a small cooking fire to get breakfast started, while the latter watches.

"Mornin' guys" You say.

"Bon matin" Quria says.

"Mornin' kid" He says. "Sleep well?"

"I've slept better" You say. "You?"

Meyu chuckles. "Pretty good" He says. "Night watches take some gettin' used to. Don't worry about it"

"Did we bring any coffee?" You ask.

"That's all back in the carts. Closest thing we've got to coffee is these chocolate things your rabbit friend sent" He says.

"Oh, those bars that Hella made?" You ask. "I might pass... I tried one of those back when we were marching on Riverhold..."

"That bad, huh?" He asks.

"They taste pretty good, actually. Except I ate it around 3, and I was still wired well past midnight" You say. "It's the kinda thing you want when you have to stay awake. Not for when you just want a bit of a wake up"

"Yep. Would you believe that stuff used to be a standard thing for soldiers to carry?" He asks. "Hell, the ones they used to give us were laced with worse things than these. They'd make you feel like you were warm when you were freezing, well fed when you were starving, and keep you awake for days on end..."

"Seriously?" You ask.

He nods. "They phased 'em out when people started getting addicted" He says. "Soldiers were loosin' teeth to the things, dying of frost, dying of hunger... the bad really outwieghed the good"

"Huh..." You say.

>You ever try them?

>Ask about where to go next

>Go wake people up

>Other

>>3431457
>Other- Where can I get some?
>You ever try them?

>>3431457
>What exactly was in it that did all that, anyways?

>>3431457
>>Ask about where to go next

>writing

"You ever try them?" You ask.

"Couple times" He says. "Not my thing"

"What the heck was in them that did all that?" You ask.

"Some drug... Doba I think it was called" He says. "Soldiers aren't allowed to take it anymore, and it's pretty heavily restricted in most cities... except for Locken, which is inconvenient because the stuff gets made there, and then it can be transported to black markets all over the place by river..."

"Wow" You say. "Is it banned in Lutain? I... don't actually keep track of this stuff"

Quria is the one to answer you. "It is. Baron Graumer had very strong feelings about drugs, and you haven't repealed many of his laws" She says.

"Alright..." You say.

"But enough about that. Where're we off to next?" Meyu asks.

"I dunno yet. Quria, you still have that map?" You ask.

Quria nods and pulls the map out of her bag so the three of you can look it over.

"Way I see it, we've got two options" Meyu says, pointing to the nearest town. "This one, northwest of us, seems to be the biggest of these little hamlets. We go there, and we'll basically be there at least all day just to search it"

"Might not be too bad. We'll also get to pick a nice spot to hide out for the night" You say. "Maybe something a little sturdier than this old church"

Meyu nods. "Other option is southwest. Lotsa little ones, all pretty close together. We go there we could hit 2, maybe even three before nightfall" He says. "But then we'll be forced to take what we can get as far as sleeping arrangements go, depending on what they've got where we are when the sun goes down..."

"I say we go-

>To the big one

>To the little ones

>Other

>>3431535
>To the big one

>>3431535
>>To the big one
>>On the way ask Quria if there were some laws we should repeal.

>writing

"We'll go to the big one" You say. "Might take longer to search, but I definitely value being able to pick a good place to bunker down"

"Got it. Start wakin' everybody now, so we can eat breakfast and be on our way" He says.

You nod to him and start going around. Some people are easier to wake than others, but everybody gets up.

Breakfast ends up just being oatmeal. Not the best, but better than nothing. You think you might be spoiled after 2 months of fancy manor food...

Once everyone's done, you all start packing your things back up while Zaine and Gerard remove the fortifications. Once you've all removed any traces that you were here, you head out.

Michaela doesn't sense any demons, so you all stay relatively relaxed as Zaine unearths the carts, but still on guard.

"Sleep well?" Madelaine asks you, as you're brushing the dirt off the Rook.

"Well enough" You say. "You?"

"Pretty damn good" She says. "I was wondering if you wanted some company today. You were riding alone yesterday..."

>Sounds good

>I'm good

>What's with the sudden concern?

>Other

>>3431613
>>Sounds good
>>What's with the sudden concern?

>>3431613
>Sounds good
>Just make sure you have a good grip when I start jumping off of Soul ramps and doing sick wheelies

>>3431613
>What's with the sudden concern?

I get a sinking feeling that there's gonna be drama proportional to the amount we flirt with people since it's not exactly clear how hard Pip/Cheska are gunning in the YuuBowl.

>writing

>>3431635
The theory has been to try and be careful about girls who are easily hurt, which is why no one has suggested going for Hella or Cheska. Pip was really the same issue.

"Sounds good" You say. "Why the sudden concern?"

"Just... wanted to do something nice" She says. "You and I are kinda on this ride 'till the end, so the better things are between us, the smoother this'll all go"

You raise an eyebrow at her, then shrug. "Works for me" You say. "Just make sure you hold on tight. I don't want you to fall off when I start doing awesome jumps and sick wheelies"

"You do anything like that, and I'm squeezing your sack and not letting go until the car stops" She says.

"You do that, and I think we'll be coming to a pretty abrupt stop... in the dirt" You say. "I thought you were trying to improve relations here"

"Baby steps" She replies.

The two of you chat with the others and help pack things into the carts until everyone is ready to leave. Once it's time to hit the road, you take the lead and get moving.

Unlike yesterday, you keep ahead of the other carts so you and Madelaine can talk.

"Alright. Be honest. Is this about last night?" You ask.

"Of course it's about last night" She says. "That right there created a debt that I have to work off, man"

"You know you don't have to..." You say.

"Meh. You're actually not bad company either" She says. "Would you believe that Ilica, Emi, and Cheska are all actually kinda awkward? Especially with the elf in there..."

"Really?" You ask.

"Trying to start a decent conversation is like throwing a match on a wet log" She says. "Makes me wish I brought a book..."

"For tinder, or for reading?" You ask.

"Both" She says.

>Go back and see how that cart's doing

>Really? No girl talk? Nothing?

>What kind of book?

>Other

>>3431705
>>What's the issue with all of them? Give me your skilled assessment as another girl.

>>3431705
>Really? No girl talk? Nothing?
>Have you tried talking to Pip? She might also have some books...

>writing

"No girl talk? Nothing? Really?" You ask.

"Nope" She says.

"Wow..." You say. "Any idea what's goin' on? In your professional opinion as a girl, of course"

"Could be that they just don't have all that much in common..." She says. "It's kinda true when you think about it, and it doesn't really show while they're all actually doing stuff... But it might also be the elf makin' things awkward for everyone"

"Yeah, Quria really doesn't warm up to people... at all" You say. "Maybe you should ask Pip for a book. She's usually got one"

"I know what stuff she reads. I don't need that on a long road trip" She says. "I'll just stick with you... and if I get sick of you, then I'll switch to the back cart with Pip and the holy couple"

"Solid plan" You say.

"But yeah... I'd probably chalk it up to there only being so much girl talk you can do with an awkward elf sittin' there..." She says. "And we tried to get her to open up a bit, which failed"

"I've been trying for two months to get her to come out of her shell. I'm pretty sure she just doesn't trust us" You say. "No cure for that, really. Best we can hope for is to find her allies and maybe get someone a bit more personable..."

"Well... whatever" She says. "I ain't goin' back there until somethin' changes"

"Alright" You say.

...

"So..." She says. "Where'd you learn to work your fingers like that? You been practicing or somethin'?"

You sigh, suddenly realizing that this ride may end up being longer than you thought...

Hopefully she doesn't pry too much...

That's all for tonight!

Next thread might be tomorrow. I've got some family coming over, so it all kinda depends on how long they stay. If they stay long I'll still try to fire off a few posts when I can.

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time.

>>3431866
Would it be possible to give strength to other Yuus? Like syncing but reverse? Because why have one happy ending when we can do so across multiple timelines.

>>3431985
Very interesting proposal.
Considering the powerset available to the chaotics, I think that might actually be possible. After all, pure demons have a whole thing about being able to see the path to do the impossible, and we do seem to have some kind of innate connection to the other Yuus as proven by the sync ability.