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>>3431655
first for running out of things to be first for but here's a cute pic anyway

First for the beginning of the end.

>>3431655
I want to shoot down Russians with Rose!

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Benjamin Gurlick, 47, of Diablo Grande, CA sits in his office reading yesterday's Sunday funnies. They never fail to put a smile on his rotund face. With a high-pitched belly laugh, he says to himself: "Oh, Marmaduke. You crazy dog."

His opposite number, Cynthia Strupple, 30, the team lead who covers the night shift, packs up her lunchbox and backpack. "Got it all covered from here, Ben?" She asks. Same question, every day, and now the same answer:

"Sure thing," he says, sipping coffee. But he almost spits it out again when he sees the hijinks Garfield got up to this week. Garfield, you crazy cat.

"Have a good one, Ben. See you in 12."

Alone again in his office, Ben folds the paper up and looks around. He checks his watch. 6:03 AM. He's three minutes into his 12 hour shift.

He sighs.

And then he spend the next twenty minutes sobbing.

It's a Monday morning ritual.

After he composes himself, he does his morning rounds through the server towers, performing his routine diagnostics, plus some additional checks instituted in the wake of the 3/10 hack. Aside from keeping the place tidy, this is all his life amounts to, and all it ever will. He's been maintaining this facility for 10-odd years, his life like a boat passing through a dark tunnel and picking up speed, like that infamous scene from Willy Wonka. There's no knowing, where it is we're rowing...

The most interesting thing to happen in the past few months was a surprise inspection by the company's CTO, Alex Best, who showed up to quiz him on the security protocols here. He thinks he pleased him. At least he assumes so; he hasn't been terminated yet. Ben, who is gay, was instantly attracted to Alex -- the young man's fit, slender body, his boyish smile, his delicate scent. His youth. He was a vision of Adonis, a Greek statue Ben could have happily fallen to his knees and worshiped. Ben found himself pining for Alex desperately. So it hurt all the worse when Alex said those words to him: "you are such a waste." Those words have been keeping Ben awake nights, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, playing them back. You are such a waste.

As pathetic as Ben knows it is, he still pines for Alex anyway; a beauty so far removed that reaching for it is like reaching for a distant star.

Back to reality. Ben is startled by the toot of the on-duty guard's golf cart's horn. "Got a delivery out at the docks they need you to sign for," the guard tells him.

Anything to break this monotony is welcome, as far as Ben is concerned. He treks to the docks, a walk so long it leaves him winded. A FedEx delivery many presents him with a tall crate on a dolly. It stands a couple inches taller than Ben, about the size of a small refrigerator. A shipping label lists the net weight -- 210.5 lbs -- but not the contents. Another sticker below it reads:

>DO NOT OPEN/HOLD FOR ALEX BEST

As Ben signs, the delivery man asks: "Where do you want it?"

"This way," Ben directs him, and leads him towards his office.

>>3431684
Oof.

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When the delivery man is gone, Ben anxiously sits at his office chair and stares at the crate for a long time, internally debating his course of action.

Why did Mr. Alex Best send such a package here? Why does he want it held? Surely this is why he was checking up on this place's security so recently.

After agonizing minutes of vacillation, minutes that drag into hours, he finally decides. He wants to get ahead of the game. He wants to look like he knows what's going on inside this company. He wants to please Alex Best, to show Alex Best that he isn't a waste. He finds a crowbar in a maintenance closet down the hallway, returns, and pries open the box.

As the nails securing the top of the crate pull loose, Ben sweeps packing peanuts away to find a nondescript server tower inside. Emblazoned on one side is the word DIOGENES.

A secret project, huh? Probably a continuation of Sand Reckoner. Alex clearly trusted this special piece of equipment to the Diablo Grande facility because he knew that it would be in capable hands with Ben.

Ben smiles to himself. But this isn't enough. He wants to know what's stored on this server. Sure, it's not ready to go online yet. But he can at least hook it up to an isolated network, in a secured environment, and take a peek inside. What's the harm? He's going to show Alex Best that he's no waste.

SEASON 3 OP (A): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncjy-f_wafs

>>3431693
BEN YOU FUCKING FOOL

>>3431693
One second too early, OP.

>210.5
So where's the second one being sent?

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Guess who's here early! I'm ready to destroy some commie ass with best girl! Let's go!

>>3431693
What a dumbass

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Rose is pinned down behind the tall back of a VIP booth, gripping her shotgun tightly, and breathing ragged. It's fortunate you notice her there, to your left, because she grabs your ankles as soon as you step through the beaded curtain, and drags you down. If you hadn't realized it was her, you could have easily shot her.

There are corpses littering the ground, and the small room reeks of gore.

"What the fuck!" Rose hisses. "Why are you still here?"

"Why are you still here? Let's go! Do you have a death wish or something? It's not worth chasing after Stasi--"

"You're an idiot! You let Rose bug your phone, didn't you?"

"Will you stop talking about yourself in the third person already? Jesus Christ."

"Not me. You fucking moron. The other Rose. Fake-Rose."

You peek around the corner of the booth, just barely -- and glimpse Stasi Lebedev tucked behind another VIP booth on the opposite side of the room catty-corner from you. She's huddled up, with a gun in her hand, pointing its muzzle at a bubblegum pink tuft of hair. You don't have long to assess that scene before one of her mooks, cowering beside her, fires blindly around the corner, and forces you back.

It's a standoff -- there is no exit on their side, so they're trapped -- but they have a hostage. Rose2.

"Let me go!" Comes her distinctively shrill voice now. "You'll be sorry you messed with me! I have ESP! I -- oof--"

There's a loud thwack, of flesh against flesh; Stasi slapping Rose2 quiet.

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>>3431693

>>3431723
Oh how the fuck.

>>3431693

>This fatass stole DIOGENES.

This won't end well, I have a feeling this is going to go one of two ways.

1.This idiot sees something he shouldn't and gains power over the various servers using the new improved implants.

2.The Russians burst in on him the middle of his cuddle session with his Alex body pillow and steals the server for themselves.

Either way, there will cum and blood spilled everywhere.

>>3431723
>but they have a hostage. Rose2.
Oh shit

>>3431723
What the fuck is the deal with Rose being synonymous for stalker?

>>3431723
>"You'll be sorry you messed with me! I have ESP! I -- oof--"
I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD AN ANIME ON MY SIDE!

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OP's going to finish off the chuuni bodycount he started so many years ago.

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"She followed me here?" You breathe.

"As she likes to say: a-durr."

"So there's one more thing you have in common besides a name. You can't fucking stay away from danger, can you?"

"If it weren't for me, you'd be dead right now! You should thank your lucky fucking st--" Rose's incipient tirade is interrupted by a hail of gunfire that she returns, falling to her belly and spraying buckshot at the opposite wall, forcing the would-be assassin to retreat. You can't help yelping in surprise and fear at the sudden miniature firefight.

As Rose pulls herself back to a sitting position again, you glance towards the room's center. Among the bodies is that of Tyrus Kang -- but the shallow rise and fall of his chest shows that although he's wounded, and unconscious, he's very much alive. For now.

"How many are there?" You ask.

"It doesn't matter. I'll take care of Stasi and her men. Go back to Gal's with your sister and wait for me!"

"Fuck that. You expect me to up and abandon you? I'm not leaving. So let's you and me come up with a strategy here--"

"Asshole. Idiot! You're just going to get in my way."

"Don't you start nagging at me now. I won't go."

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>>3431723

>"Let me go!" Comes her distinctively shrill voice now. "You'll be sorry you messed with me! I have ESP! I -- oof--"

>There's a loud thwack, of flesh against flesh; Stasi slapping Rose2 quiet.

Is it bad I almost want to let her get shot? Not in the head mind you, I may hate her, but I don't want her dead.

But a simple bullet in the knee will work. Give her a limp for a lesson that will teach her not to be such a bubblegum flavored retard.

>>3431684
>>3431693
Okay but really now, is it strange that the thing that concerns me most about this that they had their top secret new server shipped to their hypersecure facility via FedEx?

>>3431743

>Tryus got shot.

And shit just got 10x worse. Fuck, now there's a dumbass and a gangster to save.

>>3431757
We don't HAVE to save Tyrus. If anything, letting him die here will just save us time later.

On the other hand, we can only let that happen after Stasi's been taken care of.

>>3431743
I love how both of the Roses have a tracking app on us

>>3431768
Now I have to wonder if Ally even noticed Rose2's.

>>3431743
I am getting uncomfortable flashbacks to the sewers.

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>>3431749

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"God fucking damn it," she growls. "Why can't you just listen to me for once in your worthless life?"

"Because--" you begin. You swallow hard. How can you make her understand?

"Out with it!"

There's no helping it. You have to tell the trtuh. "It's because -- I'm in love w--"

"God, you're pathetic."

You furrow your brow. "W-what?"

"You're such a weak-willed fucking loser. I hate you."

"Rose, this isn't the time. You don't mean that." You try to pull her close, but she swats you away.

Her voice drips real hatred off every syllable: "Just looking at you makes me sick. What does it take to get that across to you? How many times do I have to say it? Are you that delusional? You think I care about you? You creepy, orbiting weirdo. Alt-right piece of shit. Disgusting trash."

"For god's sake--"

"Awww. Is the baby gonna cry? You make me puke. You're an ugly, unlovable, noodle-armed beta male. You think you're some biiig, scaaaary dom but you can barely lift a jug of milk over your head. You need a girl's help just to hold someone down. It's pathetic."

You shake your head, feel your nostrils flare and your face twitch. Rose keeps going:

"All you've ever been good for is bossing around. Just like the spineless wimp you are. Fucking with your head. But you're too stupid to understand that you never meant anything to me. How obvious do I have to make it? You think all that abuse somehow means I care about you?... god. Now you're all clingy and lovestruck."

She laughs cruelly at you: "It'd be funny if it wasn't so fucked up and sad. Well I'm bored of playing with you now. I think I should go find a real man. One who isn't such a sniveling little girl. Just about any guy on earth would be better than you. Maybe I'd actually cum for once in my life if I got a real man's dick in me. Just leave me alone already, you stupid prick."

A maelstrom of conflicting thoughts whirls around your skull. You know Rose can't possibly mean this -- but the way she says it, the force she puts behind it, is heartbreakingly convincing. There must be the shadow of truth hidden in it. Not even Rose is that good of an actress. But then again -- you know her. You know how she thinks. You've been in this situation before, on the other side of it, even though she doesn't, or refuses to remember.

It hurts all the same. That's the awful thing about Rose, in the end: she knows how to hurt you worse than anyone on the planet.

You absorb her words like a sponge soaking up water. You let them pass through you. You close your misty eyes and take a couple deep breaths. Then, steeling yourself, forcing your voice not to tremble, you say: "I won't go."

Rose is appalled. She grimaces with her lips wrapped around her teeth and her tongue poking out in frustration. "You're a like a mangy dog that won't go away."

"Yeah. Sure. You got it. I'm a dog. A clingy beta orbiter. Blah, blah, Rose. Now that you know I won't go away, you have to deal with me."

>>3431778
>>3431781
Yep.

>>3431778
>>3431781
called it but maybe it turned out better than expected?

>>3431781

>It's the scene in the sewer again but in reverse.

>Rose telling Alabaster to fuck off and die because she loves him.

Is this what it feels like to be in an abusive relationship? It hurts so much but I don't want to leave!

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>>3431781

>>3431781
They really are exactly the same

>It hurts all the same. That's the awful thing about Rose, in the end: she knows how to hurt you worse than anyone on the planet.
That's cuter than it should be

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it's time

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Stasi's voice rings out: "You are outnumbered! Surrender yourselves or die!"

"Go to hell!" Rose shouts.

"We will kill the girl!" Stasi threatens. "If you do not turn yourselves over on the count of three -- we will shoot her!"

"Kill her and you'll be dead in two seconds flat!" Rose says. Call her a hardline negotiator.

"How many?" you ask Rose again, whispering.

Rose considers her options, and, realizing she is never going to get rid of you, she answers. "I counted three, including Stasi."

"Does Tyrus have any guys left?"

"I don't think so--"

While you're distracted by your strategizing, one of Stasi's men bounds towards you. He barrels into a diving skid, like a baseball player stealing second, and gets a vicious-looking Uzi pointed directly at Rose's face. Rose's eyes go wide. The report of gunfire rings in your ears. The phosphoric after-image of the blast blinds you.

>>3431781
She's trying to use our own trick on us ;_;

>>3431799
>That's cuter than it should be
It's practically an admittance that they're something like soulmates.

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And it all happens so quickly that he's dead before you even know it.

He falls back, supine, the gun rebounding off the tile floor beside him, unused. All that's left is a tinny echo in your eardrums, half drowning out the electronic music from the abandoned club below still vibrating the floor.

You assume that Rose's crack aim is to thank for saving her life just now. You've seen her win quick-draw with Russian mobsters once before. But looking down at the man's body now, the small, clean hole in the center of his forehead, you realize he wasn't killed by a shotgun blast. And that's what Rose holds: a shotgun.

So, then -- it had to you. You killed him.

You examine the glock in your hand. It's warm and your fingers still tingle with the force of the recoil. There's no mistaking it. You fired your gun just now. You took that man's life with such little hesitation that you didn't even realize it had happened until it was over.

"Alabaster..." Rose breathes.

You gawk at your gun, then at the corpse you created, then back at Rose.

Rose presses her advantage. She shouts across the room: "You're next if you don't let her go!"

There is a long, tense silence before Stasi finally replies. "The police are sure to arrive soon. None of us wants that. We can all leave this place alive, and free."

"Yeah? How?"

"We will hand the girl over. We will let you leave unscathed if you do not attack us."

Rose casts you an uncertain look.

[ ] Take the deal.
[ ] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

>>3431824
>[ ] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

>>3431824
oh fuck this is such a terrible idea
>[x] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

>>3431824
>[ ] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

she'll fuck us eventually, might as well force her hand now rather than later

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>>3431824

>[X]Now or never Kill Stasi

We've already got blood on our hands, no going back now. It's time we put these mobsters in there place. The ground.

>>3431824
It's so fucking risky, but there's literally no way we can trust her. All she wants is the implant in our skull - she'll shoot all three of us without a second thought, then move on to the rest.

>[x] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

>>3431824
>[ ] Now or never. Kill Stasi.
Can't get our Comiket ep with this hanging over our head.

>>3431824
>[ ] Now or never. Kill Stasi.
This has to end right here, right now.

>>3431824
>[x] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

>>3431824
>[ ] Now or never. Kill Stasi.
Don't need her biting our asses later

>>3431824
>[x] Now or never. Kill Stasi.
There's no other way. Everything must burn from this point forward.

>>3431824
>[X] Now or never. Kill Stasi.
Better dead then red.

>[x] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

The die is cast. Closing and writing.

>>3431857
Time to panic.

What's your pastime tonight, /fq/-tachi? I finally have first world internet again, so so many things have opened back up. I also start my new job this week!

>>3431865
Finishing up testing on 43 synth chips.

>>3431865
>spoiler
god job anon!
I spent most of today writing a paper, but I have finally finished and am now debating if I want to play more Ace Attorney or CoH2

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>>3431857

>The die is cast.

Worry.exe

>>3431865

>That spoiler

Excellent news anon! I'm proud of you!

As for my pastime, playing SMT 4 and writing, both tasks that keep me up at nights from the stress, but since I'm a pain-loving masochist I'm totally fine with it!

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>>3431857

THE CAST IS DIE

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>>3431897

>>3431824
Why must we be so reckless, rip rose2 or tyrus or someone. Maybe rose gonna get shot and will need some tenderness

>>3431925
RISK KILLS.
That's how mafia works.

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>[x] Now or never. Kill Stasi.

Locking eyes with Rose, you wordlessly reach a common understanding of what has to happen. You nod; she nods. It's a skill honed over the course of many interminable board meetings at Darkbloom Analytics. Maybe Rose2 was wrong about which Rose has ESP.

"Okay," Rose calls out. "Hand her over -- and we'll go."

"Your weapons first."

"No," Rose says. "Fake-Rose first."

"...Who? Oh. The girl... no. You must show that you are not aggressive."

"Stop fucking around. Unless you want to live in an American prison for the rest of your life?"

There's a brief sound of tussle, then girly grunts, and heavy footsteps. Rose2 is being led out by Stasi herself, who holds a gun to her back.

"Come out," Stasi says.

"Where's your other man?" Rose demands.

"For God's love--" Stasi sighs. She turns, and without a thought, she shoots her own man in the head, right where he sits in waiting. "Are you happy?"

You go first, and Rose follows. You keep your guns at the ready as you meet Stasi in the rooms center.

"Ally--! I -- I'm so sorry--!"

"I'll deal with you later," you say.

"Your guns now, please," Stasi says.

Rose stands her ground.

"You are not in a negotiating position. I am quick enough to kill all of you before you can pull the trigger once. But let us be civilized, yes?"

You and Rose are simpatico, again. She knows as well as you do that you're the one with the gun for the job. It's going to come down to how good your aim is. Can you hit Stasi in the tiny portion of her head visible from behind Rose2's body? You're no William Tell.

Rose kneels haltingly and sets her shotgun on the ground. Stasi watches, pleased. You begin now to do the same -- but at the last second, you fall to your knees, raise your gun, and fire.

"OWWWW!" Rose2 squeals. A mist of blood explodes from her shoulder.

The bullet passes through her, and hits Stasi too, somewhere by her collarbone. She jerks back. Rose2 falls to the ground, shrieking.

Rose isn't frozen by shock the way you are. She grabs her shotgun again, steadies it, and blasts Stasi in the chest.

Stasi collapses. She gurgles, her lungs aspirating her own blood. But her eyes are aglow with sheer hatred. It's at this moment that Tyrus, crawling forward on his belly like a WWI soldier in a trench, clambers atop her.

"This is for Marquis," he snarls. He puts his glock underneath Stasi's chin, meets her hateful glare with one of his own, and fires. Stasi's head explodes.

You help Rose2 to her feet and pull her back. "Let's go."

"Ally-- Ally--!!"

"Don't look," you say, shielding her face with your own body.

"It hurts so bad! Owww..."

Rose takes the lead, sweeping her shotgun side to side, scanning for threats, as you exit the bloody scene. The last thing you see of it is Tyrus, lying atop the bloody mess that used to be Stasi Lebedev. He pinches his thumb and forefinger together, and pulls a long, thin wire from what used to be Stasi's right eye socket. Could it be?

>>3431956
>He pinches his thumb and forefinger together, and pulls a long, thin wire from what used to be Stasi's right eye socket. Could it be?

AAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

>>3431956
Well okay then.

>He pinches his thumb and forefinger together, and pulls a long, thin wire from what used to be Stasi's right eye socket. Could it be?
Russia sold the technology to the Chinese government confirmed.

>>3431956
Everything went better than expected, until the implant tells Tyrus that Alex was the killer.

>>3431956
>Could it be?
no no no no NO NO NO NO

>>3431956

>"OWWWW!" Rose2 squeals. A mist of blood explodes from her shoulder.

Hey what do you know, I got my wish, a bit messy, but still got the job done with minimal casualties.

>and pulls a long, thin wire from what used to be Stasi's right eye socket. Could it be?

And the worst outcome blooms to fruition. Not only do the Russians have their hands on implants, but now Tyrus knows there's more going on here then a bad deal with a couple of Commies.

So much for a peaceful exit.

>>3431956
>"OWWWW!" Rose2 squeals. A mist of blood explodes from her shoulder.
OOF

>>3431969
ffffuck, this is plausible

So does she stay dead?

>>3431978
This is Fuck Quest. Nobody stays dead.

>>3431976
>And the worst outcome blooms to fruition. Not only do the Russians have their hands on implants, but now Tyrus knows there's more going on here then a bad deal with a couple of Commies.

The real question is whether or not it's Catachresis or an actual 6th one. A 6th is the worst possible case because it implies more. It being Catachresis implies they found Camelia's body. Both have their own waterfall of issues.

>>3431956
Ok that was better then I feared

>He pinches his thumb and forefinger together, and pulls a long, thin wire from what used to be Stasi's right eye socket. Could it be?
Fuck

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Stasi had men in waiting in the club below. One of them swings around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, leveling a gun on you, but Rose dispatches him immediately. She's gotten good at killing without remorse.

Rose2 yells incoherently. More or less carrying her, as she bleeds profusely against you, you can't help defend yourselves, and so it's all up to Rose -- to protect you all as you make your way out of the mostly-dark, empty club. You can already hear sirens on the distance.

"This is crazy! Oh my god -- oh my god!!" Rose2 wails.

"Shut the fuck up," Rose says. "Christ..."

It's enough distraction that she almost doesn't see the man crouching behind the bar on the other side of the dancefloor.

Rose blocks your path with an outstretched arm and forces you backwards with her, behind a column, at the last moment. The man rises to his feet and fires. Rose returns fire, but the distance is too much for the buckshot's spread to hit him. Another man, flanking you, approaches from your right -- Rose wheels in a beautiful 90 degree arc and blasts him away, but you know there's going to be more. You need to get the hell out of here.

"Run for it?" You suggest.

"Fuck... we have to," Rose says. "Count of three--"

"I can't run... I can't... it hurts..." Rose2 whines.

"You useless sack of shit!" Rose shrieks. "Get it together. Fucking cunt! Let's go!"

Rose2 cries pathetically.

>>3432029
come on

COME ON, FUCK

>>3432029
NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO CRY LITTLE RETARD. NOW IS THE TIME TOO BE STRONG

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>>3432029

Go figure that Rose2 would be absolute dead weight, leaving it to good Rose to save the day, again.

Do I really need to make a case as why one is clearly superior to the other? I think Rose2 does that well enough for me.

>>3432046
I get your point, but would anyone actually say that Rose2 is better than Rose?

>>3432057
Careful, you'll summon them.

>>3432032
>>3432044
>>3432046
You guys have never been shot, I figure?

>>3432066
I started off with 9mm, now I shoot myself daily with .50 cal rounds to keep my resistance up. Rose2 has clearly been slacking.

>>3432074
kek

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"I--" you begin, but stop when you hear a horrible wail from the bar, and low animal growls. When you peek around the column, you see a rottweiler on top of the man who was waiting for you behind the bar. The rottweiler is busy chewing on the man's neck.

"Lady! Back!"

Lady obeys, and circles his master's legs, on the lookout for any further threats. His tawny mouth is dripping red with human blood. In the low multicolored lighting here, he looks like a hound from hell.

"Just like old times, huh?" Kay says, approaching. "Killing Russians together -- it's nostalgic."

"How the fuck--" you sputter.

"I know where all the best stories are! It's my job! Hey, hate to bother you, but we've got cops. We gotta go."

She leads you behind the bar, and over the corpse of the man Lady killed, then through a deserted kitchen, and out swinging double doors to a small, dilapidated back parking lot. A chain link fence leads to a storm tunnel.

"Can Hubba Bubba climb?" Kay asks.

"I can't... I totally can't..."

"Up and at 'em, then," Kay says. She squats behind Rose2. Getting the cue, you join her. Together, you haul her up like a sack of potatoes.

"Catch her on the other side," Kay instructs Rose.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" Rose2 cries.

Rose struggles to get over the fence, herself -- she was never athletic. When she finally does, she topples to the gravel abutment with a soft grunt, badly scraping her knees and wrists as she lands doggy style in the rocks. She quickly rises to her feet and holds out her arms. You and Kay heave Rose2 over the top.

Rose tries to catch the poor girl, but the weight is too much and Rose is too weak. They stumble backwards together, then go rolling down the pebbly slope, and land splayed out on the damp concrete ground leading to the storm tunnels.

"Lady! Climb!" Kay shouts, snapping her fingers. Lady bounds and jumps and almost clears the fence. Kicking his hind legs wildly, he gets himself over the top. He runs down to where the Roses lie crumpled in a heap. He sniffs them curiously, and then licks Rose's face, smearing it with human blood.

"FUCK!" Rose yells.


"Ow ow ow ow ow ow--"

You and Kay get over and hurry down, just as the approaching sirens arrive in the club's front parking lot. You and your ragtag group scurry into the shelter of the tunnels and escape.

>>3432074
Big man, had to start with .22lr myself.

>>3432081
Ahhhh holy shit.

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>>3432066

Anon I eat lead for breakfast, shrapnel for lunch and finsh the day off with a heaping helping of thermite. All Rose2 took was a teeny tiny 9mm shot, miss me with that gay shit.

>>3432081
This'd be cute if not for the throat ripping HE just got through doing.

>>3432081
Woof.

>>3432081

OOF, today is not Rose's day. Both of them.

>>3432081
Duly noted, Rose2 answers to Hubba Bubba

>>3432081
Based Lady

>>3432109
She answers to Rose2 I doubt she has many complaints about anything we call

>>3432124
Point taken

>>3432081
Lady is a GOOD GIRL (male)

I guess OP is taking all the "Rose2 is a waste of space" memes literally now.

Also my designer sense is tingling. If we had taken the deal with Stasi, she'd shoot Tyrus on the way out and become major antagonist. In our current timeline Tyrus is now ascending to antagonist role.

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You use a pocket knife to rip the left sleeve of your shirt and use it as a makeshift bandage for Rose2. The entry and exit wounds are small, and clean, but continue to bleed profusely. She's going pale from the blood loss.

"Fucking wild, huh?" Kay says as you slowly walk through the dark tunnels, southward, looking for a good place to cut back to the surface streets. "Where to now?"

Her eyes gleam with raw excitement. Seeing this, it's at this moment you realize something about Kay Vera. "You don't care about the story," you say.

"What?"

"You're not in this to get a really good story, are you... you never have been. You're a thrill seeker. You enjoy being in dangerous situations. You keep purposely putting yourself in danger -- because you get off on it --"

She rolls her eyes. "Spare me the armchair psychoanalysis, Alabaster."

"Cerise has to be at Gal's right about now," Rose cuts in. "I'm sure that's where she went. Alex and Sable, too."

You nod. "What about Whitney? We've got the fucking Russians after all of us now--"

"She's probably at work -- she should be safe there. Dr. Carte and Vivian, too."

"I have to stop..." Rose2 groans, her breathing labored.

"We're almost there," you tell her, although you're not sure whether that's really true. "Listen -- why did you follow me, huh?"

"I... saw you were going into a strip club... and I thought to myself -- well, that's so silly -- why would he do something like that?..."

You shake your head. Rose is more blunt, though: "you stupid bitch."

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

How are you going to explain this to Mom? And, oh god, Amber -- this kind of thing is sure to tickle her curiosity in the worst way.

Kay snaps her fingers, halting you, and points to a branching path in the tunnel that leads to daylight, an exit. "This should be good -- I can make sure Pinky gets home safe, if you want to take The Brain back to Gal's with you."

[ ] Ok. (Head to Gal's with Rose.)
[ ] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[x] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[ ] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[ ] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[ ] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

we shot her so its the least we can do

>>3432168
FUCKKK I'M GETTING A BAD FEELING FROM BOTH OPTIONS
>[X] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[ ] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
aaaaaa this is actually a tough one

Sable, Alex, and Cerise (and by extension, David) are all at Gal's and we need to figure out what the fuck is going on with Sable.

But I feel responsible for Rose2. Also, more Amber. :(

>[x] Ok. (Head to Gal's with Rose.)

>>3432168
Kay was after the tanoshii all along.

>[ ] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[ ] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[x] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

>>3432168
>[x] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)
Let the fuckery commence.

>[x] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

Closing and writing!

>>3432168
>[X] Ok. (Head to Gal's with Rose.)
We really need to sort shit out with the gang ASAP, we can make it up to the Catachresis family later.

>>3432199
Hurt/comfort with our adorable lil' pink gumdrop when?

>>3432168

>[X] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

Boy do we have a lot of back lash coming our way, might as well get the worst of it out of the way.

>>3432199
I don't like that exclamation point.

>>3432168

>"Fucking wild, huh?" Kay says as you slowly walk through the dark tunnels, southward, looking for a good place to cut back to the surface streets. "Where to now?"

Have I mentioned that we need more Kay, just in general. Not just cause I have the hots for her, but I think her character has the potential to be top waifu status if we give her more attention.

I love my spartan journalist thrill seeker!

>>3432205
Hopefully next post

>>3432209
I sure do

Who do you guys think the actual big bad is? Tyrus? Mara? Phantom Darkbloom? Sable? Or some other fuck?

>>3432226
>Hopefully next post
I have my doubts. Regardless of our reasons she is probably going to be fucking pissed at us. Which is understandable given that we did shoot her and if out aim was a little worse, we could have easily killed her.

>>3432253
Mara is the "final" boss, but I'm convinced the final confrontation at the brink of it all will be against Alex and Sable.

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>[x] I should be the one to explain this to Mom. (Let Kay and Rose go to Gal's, take Rose2 home.)

You load the woozy Rose2 into the back of the Uber and climb inside with her. Poking your head out the window, you instruct Rose: "Wait for me."

"Of course," she says.

You roll the window up as the car pulls away.

The driver gazes suspiciously at you in the rearview. Kay's peacoat, over-large on Rose2, conceals her bullet wound. It doesn't conceal that you're missing one of your sleeves, though. The driver understands implicitly that he shouldn't ask.

Rose2 rests her head against you. The pain is passing, it seems, at least enough that she isn't crying. But she gazes forlornly up at you.

"You don't love me, do you," she says.

You clear your throat awkwardly.

"You love your cousin after all."

"It's complicated," you tell her.

"There's nothing complicated about it," Rose2 says. After a long pause, she adds: "It's okay. I understand. I'm not smart... I'm not useful... I don't have anything... and I almost got us killed. Why would you love me?"

Tears are streaming down her face.

"But -- I love you so much, Ally -- I really, really do..."

You put your arm around her good shoulder and hug her close.

"Amber said you'd do this to me," she says.

"I didn't mean to make you--"

"It's okay. I don't mind. If I can be close to you, it's all okay."

The car pulls up outside Mom's house. Time to break the news.

>>3432272
Well that was a stab in my soul.

>>3432272
>they took a damn Uber
Oh c'mon guys.

Also oof.

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>>3432253
Benjamin Gurlick, 47, of Diablo Grande, CA.

>>3432272

>>3432272
Okay, I didn't really like Rose2 but I have to admit I like her a lot more now that I know she's not going to murder us. The poor thing...

>>3432272

>"It's okay. I understand. I'm not smart... I'm not useful... I don't have anything... and I almost got us killed. Why would you love me?"

I can't tell if this is manipulative or genuine. Usually I'd be throwing up, [X] Doubt on lines like this, but since she got a bullet in her shoulder, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

For now anyway.

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>>3432272
>"You don't love me, do you," she says.

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>>3432272

>>3432287

>That spoiler

Hey don't even joke like that, you're giving OP ideas. What if Ben is actually a Yoshikage Kira-tier villain, he's only pretending to be an average office drone to conceal his true, 4D-chest playing psycho identity?

Actually that sounds fucking awesome, I hope OP does this.

>>3432272
Wait, is she not a Yandere?

>>3432272
Oh now I just feel awful.

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"Russians! I can't -- the nerve of those people! I knew it!"

"Sure. You knew it..." You mutter.

Amber is busily disinfecting Rose2's wound and applying gauze. She works with the speed and alacrity of a field medic. You decline to ask how on earth she's so good at cleaning bullet wounds. You're not sure whether it's rotten luck or great luck that she's here right now, home from school due to the inferno that destroyed North High last week.

Rose2 hisses in pain at various points, but takes it like a champ.

"Ronald Reagan was a pansy! He should have nuked that country back to the stone age while we had the chance!"

"Always with the nukes, mom, geez," Amber says. "Nuke this, nuke that. There are other geopolitical solutions, you know."

"Ow! Amber -- not so rough--"

"Buck up, buttercup." Amber glances back at you. "The good news is it should heal on its own. No need to get docs involved. Docs see a gunshot wound, they call the pigs -- then it's game over. So we dodged a bullet here... uh, no pun intended."

"That's good," you say. "But you might catch some blowback. You should all come live at Whitney's for a little while -- at least until this all blows over -- we'll have security."

Amber laughs: "Pfft. When I told you to let me live a normal life, I didn't mean for you to move me in with the rest of the Beverly Hillbillies. I'm fine right here, thanks."

Mom purses her lips. "I don't know. If they're willing to kill so brazenly -- if any of those Russians made it out of that club, and they know Rose was there -- we could all be in danger..."

"You blasted 'em all away, right?" Amber says. "Pow pow. Problem solved."

"I don't know. I think? I mean, maybe? But-- oof--"

You get cut off by Mom hugging you tight. "You poor thing! Having to risk life and limb like that --"

"Jesus H. Christ," Amber says. "You'd think he was your son, the way you treat him sometimes..."

Mom lets you go with an awkward glance away to the side.

"You can all go live lifestyles of the rich and famous, if you want. But I'm not about that. Those Russian bitches can come find me if they want to die like their buddies did."

[ ] Force the matter.
[ ] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

>>3432348
>[x] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

It's dangerous to keep all our eggs in one basket.

>>3432348
>[ ] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

>>3432348
>[X] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)
Probably unsafe, but what the hell; let's win some points with Amber.

>>3432348
>[x] Ask Mom what she thinks

>>3432348
>"Always with the nukes, mom, geez," Amber says. "Nuke this, nuke that. There are other geopolitical solutions, you know."
r e c r e a t i o n a l

>[x] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)
I choose this not knowing at all who it could possibly be.

>>3432348
>"Nuke this, nuke that. There are other geopolitical solutions, you know."
Who are you and what have you done with Amber.

>>3432368
This desu

>>3432348
>[ ] Force the matter.

>>3432348
>[x] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

>>3432348
>[ ] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

>>3432348
>[x] Force the matter.

>>3432348
Seconding this: >>3432368
>[x] Ask Mom what she thinks
The problem with this is that we don't know if a security detail run through DBA (maybe a private contractor? Tyrus?) is going to be totally watertight, and Russian-free.
IF we can have some assurance that's the case, we could do some quick work on home security system and get a detail put in place for them.
Otherwise they'd be better off coming to the mansion.

>>3432348
>[ ] Force the matter.

>>3432348

>[X] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

Forces divided are weaker apart, but harder to hit. I don't like leaving them alone, but at least it minimizes damage in the event an attack does occur.

>>3432348
>[ ] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

>>3432368
Supporting. Though write ins hardly ever win in this quest

>>3432384
>contacting Tyrus to protect the Catachresis family
Besides the obvious issue of the fact that he's probably been pulled by the cops by now, and will naturally be incommunicado for a while, I totally forgot about the Camelia/Tyrus affiliation from S2.
Who knows what sort of clusterfuck situation that would bring.

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"What do you think?" You ask Mom.

Mom frowns. "I know my daughter. If she doesn't want to go somewhere -- there's no forcing it."

You know Amber perfectly well too, and that's the truth. So, then:

>[X] Let them stay at the Catachresis house. (But give them security detail too, of course.)

"I'll get you guys some security," you tell Mom. "So your life isn't disrupted too badly-- you and Amber can stay here for now."

Rose2 sniffles. "If they want anyone, they want me, right? As long as I'm at Whitney's, you guys should be safe."

Amber arches her eyebrow. "You wanna move into the fuckhouse? Wow. You're one horny broad, sis."

"Amber!" Mom shouts.

"Just saying."

"I'd stay out of your way..." Rose2 insists. "Really."

Rose2 has an apartment in Palo Alto that she resides in during the work week. Keeping her there is almost out of the question -- you can't trust her alone. She'd be easier to keep an eye on at Whitney's place. But at Mom's, with security, the situation might be less difficult.

[ ] Let Rose2 move in with you.
[ ] Keep her here as well.

>>3432066
Shot in the thigh and cried like a bitch. Didn't give the fuck up though.

>>3432411
>[ ] Let Rose2 move in with you.

>>3432411
>[X] Let Rose2 move in with you.
YES

>>3432411
>[x] Let Rose2 move in with you.

>>3432411
>[X] Let Bazooka Joan move in.

>>3432411
>[x] Keep her here as well.

>>3432411

>[X] Let Rose2 move in with you.

I trust Rose2 not to get shot about as much as I trust Whitney not do something stupid. Bring her so we don't have to have her death on our conscience.

>>3432411
>[x] Let Rose2 move in with you.

>>3432411
>[ ] Let Rose2 move in with you.
Eh.

>>3432411
>let rose 2 move in with us

>>3432411
>[x] Keep her here as well.

>>3432411
What perfect timing to come to the thread.
>[X] Let Best Girl move in with you

>>3432411
>[ ] Let Rose2 move in with you.
I wanna fuck her

>>3432432
But Vivian's not part of this vote, Anonymous-dono.

>>3432411
>[ ] Let Rose2 move in with you.

>>3432411
>[x] Let Rose2 move in with you.

>You wanna move into the fuckhouse?
Jesus that's a flashback.

>>3432411
>[ ] Let Rose2 move in with you.

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>>3432437
Damn right she isn't. She also isn't best girl.

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>>3432442
Such delusions.

>>3432411
God, I just don't want to hurt her anymore. Her justification seems manipulative, but she might be right, and I hate it.
>[x] Keep her here as well.

>>3432418
>Bazooka Joan
Nice.

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>[X] Let Rose2 move in with you.

Rose2, still wincing in pain, climbs into the back of Mom's SUV. Mom is going to chaperone her to Whitney's place. As you approach the car to join her, Amber pulls you aside.

"Break my sister's heart, and I break your spine."

"Since when do you care so much about Rose2?"

"You're a real dumb asshole, you know that? Anyway, she's Rose1. Rose2 is that fat SJW whore you call a cousin -- I'm sorry. First cousin once removed."

"She's had a rough time. I'll try to be gentle with her -- but she's got this puppy love, you know?"

"Uh huh. I'm telling you, Alabaster. Broken heart, broken spine. Fucking bet."

You frown. "Got it."

She puts on a chipper expression. "Great! Then have a pleasant day."

>>3432411

This was Rose2's plot all along, she just needed a foothold in our home to execute the true yandere.exe. The good news is that with the blood loss she won't be able to contaminate our cookies for at least a little while.

>>3432348
>>3432368
Let's try this.

>>3432454
>she says after losing her virginity to us
>twice

Okay, other best girl.

>>3432454
>"Break my sister's heart, and I break your spine."
Don't threaten me with a good time.

>>3432454
...Did she not hear about the conversation we literally just had with her sister?

>>3432471
We had that conversation in the Uber ride to Rose2's house, Amber wasn't there.

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At home, you lug the duffel bag with Rose2's personal effects inside, and drop them with a soft plop on the floor in the foyer. Rose2 wanders around, in awe at the opulence of her temporary new home. It's enough to make her forget the wound in her shoulder.

"We can set you up in a guest bedroom," you tell her.

"Holy crud. This place is even bigger than I thought. So sugoi. The last time I was here it didn't seem so big!"

"That's because there were a bunch of people here -- never mind. For the time being, until I can get the security detail here, you'll be safest at work. I'll drive you back."

Rose2 turns around. She saunters up and gives you a coquettish smile. "Ally... everything we said earlier... I know how it is... but you still think I'm cute -- don't you?"

You frown.

"Will you show me my bedroom?" She asks.

[ ] Show her the bedroom.
[ ] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

>>3432487
>[X] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.
We should really talk to everyone else about what's going on, we can plow Rose2 later.

>>3432487
>[x] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

Way bigger fish to fry, right now.

>>3432487
>[x] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

Yeah yeah, wrong choice.

>>3432487
>[x] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.
Yeah, nah. Let's not fuck her while she's experiencing severe blood loss.

>>3432487
>[x] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

>>3432487
>[X] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

>>3432487
>[ ] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

>>3432487

>[X] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

Jesus woman, the hole in your shoulder hasn't even closed but you want your lower one opened up?

We have way more important things to be doing than chewing on some bubblegum right now.

>>3432487
>[ ] Show her the bedroom.

its not fucking, its just comforting, her lover shot her after all

>>3432487
>[ ] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.
Eh, don't wanna have to sit through a 2 hour wait for another lewd. Sorry Roce

>>3432487
>[ x] Show her the bedroom.
How gay are you guys?

>>3432506
>it's just comforting
Remember your Katawa Shoujo lessons.
AROUND PINK HAIR
BEWARE

>>3432487
>Send mixed signals, but take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

We have our spine to worry about here.

>>3431781
Kino

>>3432514
This is the most chaotic neutral choice.

>>3432487
>[ ] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

>>3432507
Same the 2 hour wait really does kill the entire flow of the quest

>>3432487
>[ ] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

>>3432487
>[X] Show her the bedroom

>>3432504
>Jesus woman, the hole in your shoulder hasn't even closed but you want your lower one opened up?
Oh I thought we were going to fuck the bullet hole
>>3432487
>[x] Show her the bedroom
finger her bullet wound

>>3432487
Changing my vote.
>[x] Show her the bedroom.
I wouldn't be able to help myself, and I don't think Alabaster would either.

>>3432487
[ ] Show her the bedroom.

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>[X] Best not to send mixed signals. Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

"There's plenty of time for the grand tour. But later. Let's get you safe, yeah?"

Rose2 pouts. "Yeah. Safety first, huh."

She glances around, and spies an arcade cabinet in the living room. "Whoa -- Metal Slug? Can we play later?"

You almost wish you had a head as empty as Rose2's.

---

The rest of them are back at Galatea's as expected. Gal herself is cowering in one corner, hugging her legs, staring at her feet. She doesn't like visitors, and she especially doesn't like these visitors. When you enter the loft, Sable is in the midst of a full-on freakout:

"It's over!" She shrieks. "It's all over!"

"What's over?" You demand, stepping up to where she sits on Gal's bed.

"Humanity! We were at the cusp of greatness but we gave it all up! Sand Reckoner... Diogenes... virus and antibody -- the mind phage --" You recoil in confusion and cast a bewildered glance to Cerise, who's equally lost and unsettled, ditto Rose. "--useless useless useless USELESS -- we cast our lot in with the bringers of the plague!! The only POSSIBLE hope is -- IF the lighthouse --"

Alex, totally calm and placid, approaches Sable now. He kneels down in front of her as she rants and clutches her face.

"Ms. Guiteau," he says, "I'm very sorry."

This interrupts her incoherent rambling just long enough for her to make eye contact with Alex, before he reels back and slaps her hard across the face. The sound of it echoes through the loft.

"You!!" She shrieks, even shriller than before, "YOU LITTLE CUNT!! YOU FAGGOT, COCK SUCKING--"

Alex slaps her again. She bows her head, slumping forward, and goes silent for several long moments. Then she starts to cry pitifully. Gasping, heaving, ugly sobs.

Alex slaps her a third time. Again she goes quiet and still. Then: "death death death death death" she mutters over and over, like a zombie.

Cerise and Rose are absolutely horrified. So are you. Alex, abashed, glances back: "I know how this must look. But she's like a frtizy router sometimes. You gotta smack it back into working order..."

He tries again. And this time, it actually works. Sable, face red and streaked with tears, blinks dzaedly, but then finally seems to compose herself. Her muscles loosen and she sighs -- so does Alex.

"Thank you," she tells him.

This woman was never the paragon of mental health, but the past year or so of living underground hasn't done her any favors. She must be totally unmedicated.

>>3432583
>She glances around, and spies an arcade cabinet in the living room. "Whoa -- Metal Slug? Can we play later?"
My opinion of her has gone up a few points

>>3432583
Holy shit, she's completely off her rocker.
Holy shit Alex.
Holy shit.

>>3432583
Oh boy.

>>3432592
>>3432583
"Whoa -- Metal Slug? Can we play later?"
I also demand to know the number of slots.

Whitney would never settle for a measly MV1.

>>3432583
>Whoa -- Metal Slug? Can we play later?
Her taste in video games is better than her taste in anime, clearly.

>>3432583
Huh. So, how turned on is Gal right now, seeing this?

>>3432583
>She glances around, and spies an arcade cabinet in the living room. "Whoa -- Metal Slug? Can we play later?"
>You almost wish you had a head as empty as Rose2's.
kek

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You sit, feeling your heartbeat return to normal. "Where has she been all this time?" You ask.

Rose explains the conversation that took place in your absence. "She's been hiding. From everyone. And -- in her words -- building an army."

You breathe hard through your nose, half-laughing -- "an army?"

Rose nods at Gal's monitor. You wheel around in the chair and look at it. Displayed in a browser window is a Soundcloud podcast: Sofia Sant-Elizabeth's Illuminati Report. Helpfully, now, Kay leans over your shoulder and clicks play.

"You're all being hoodwinked!" That's Sable, all right, voice tremulous but somehow silken, and perpetually on edge. "Big Data has you in their clutches. Everything you do and say, is logged, and monitored, and dissected for dissent! And the dissenters are murdered! All you Facebook-using, meme-liking, upvoting lackeys -- you can't see the truth. The real, unbelievable truth right in front of you--"

You click the stop button.

"Well she's probably right about all that," you admit. You turn to her: "Can you tell us now, with words, what the problem is?"

"Darkbloom Analytics must be destroyed," Sable says.

"Ms. Guiteau--" Alex begins.

"What?" Cerise snaps. "What on earth is that supposed to-- why?"

"There is so much about this world you don't understand. David Darkbloom didn't understand -- not even I fully understand -- and I'm one of the most intelligent people in human history--"

Yep. Same old Sable, all right.

"If we don't act now, we'll lose everything. You understand? World-changing technology like this cannot be kept under the bell jar. Someone is going to get their hands on it. Better that it's the people than whoever is about to kill us all and take it for themselves."

"Stasi is dead," you say. "We can fend off whoever else comes to fill that vacuum. And we can get rid of Mara, too, eventually -- once our investors get comfortable enough with the idea of Whitney actually running things. It won't be long. She's losing her grip on power."

"No, she isn't. She will never go quietly. Don't you see? Her venality, and lust for power for its own sake, and petty-minded, short-sighted... smallness... she will ruin us all! This whole world! We've got a choice, of what kind of future we have... hers is the future of a cartel, or -- warring cartels -- fighting over the keys to this technology. If not Mara, then someone else. The Russians. The Chinese. The CIA! And all the rest of us, the common people, in their thrall. That's... that's a dystopia! I didn't set out to make a cyberpunk dystopia, Alabaster. I'm here to bring us utopia!" She looks frantically from face to face. "Utopia! A new era for humankind! Age of Aquarius! Come on!"

"Christ," you mutter.

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>>3432583

>We were at the cusp of greatness but we gave it all up! Sand Reckoner... Diogenes...

Did Benjamin Gurlick doom us after all?

>>3432605
>Soundcloud podcast: Sofia Sant-Elizabeth's Illuminati Report. Helpfully, now, Kay leans over your shoulder and clicks play.
What a blessed reality we continue to live in.

>>3432605
>Sofia Saint-Elizabeth
Amazing.

>I didn't set out to make a cyberpunk dystopia, Alabaster. I'm here to bring us utopia!"
Amazing how everyone who claims the latter always winds up with the former...

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>>3432583

>"Whoa -- Metal Slug? Can we play later?"

What's this, good taste from Rose2? I didn't even know the words 'Good' And 'Rose2' can even work in the same sentence.

Also, that entire sequence of Alex literally slapping some sense into Sable truly shows our little twink has grown a pair, I can't even imagine past him so much as touching Sable, let alone beating her when she acts up.

They grow up so fast...

>>3432613
>What's this, good taste from Rose2?
I'm going to laugh if we learn that she has amazing taste in vidya.

>>3432605
>Sofia Sant-Elizabeth's Illuminati Report
Of course

>>3432613
I mean she has had scenes where she said sub > dub and knew about the modern masterpiece Suck My Dick or Die. She's a diamond in the rough

>>3432618
Her favorite video game is League of Legends, which means it can't be all that great.

On the other hand, her favorite Zelda is Minish Cap which is severely underrated.

>>3432605

>That entire rant

How am I not surprised that the moment we left Sable unchecked she became a Utopian hare-brained conspiracy crazy? I mean, she's not wrong, but anything with the word 'utopia' attached to it is never usually right.

In the words of another famous conspiracy theorist, Sable might just be kinda retarded.

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>>3432628

There are lots of kinds of intelligence, but at the very least, she can't compete with the best.

>>3432628
>In the words of another famous conspiracy theorist, Sable might just be kinda retarded.
At least he was honest about it.

tfw no kinda retarded conspiracy theory wife. Imagine how she must look late at night in the back of her van, recording a new episode bathed in the glow of her laptop's monitor (or her phone's screen), screaming at the top of her lungs about the truth. The anxious atmosphere as she sits in a McDonald's parking lot, using the Wifi to upload her latest anti-technocrat speech, how many people inside unaware that just 20 feet away sits one of the most wanted people in the country and she's trying, in her horribly misguided way, to save their lives.

I want to escape with Sable! I really want to!

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>>3432636
It bewilders me how appealing life on the lam is to me.

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She calms herself. "We're at an inflection point, as a species. And it came as a result of our collective actions." She touches her chest: "I had a hand in it--" she begins to point, now: "you had a hand in it. And Alex. And your sister, and David Darkbloom, and, and-- Rose..." she gives Rose a confused look. "I'm not sure what it is you do, exactly, Rose."

"Good," she says.

"Well anyway, even Rose. We all took part. So we all own it: which way the inflection point turns." She uses her index finger to trace invisible paths through the air: "does it all turn down... or... back up? You took calculus, right, Alabaster?"

"I got a C... minus."

"That's fine. Close enough. C's get degrees, yes? You understand the metaphor."

"He doesn't," Rose says.

"Yes I fucking do, Rose--" you turn to Sable. "I understand the metaphor."

"He doesn't."

"I will spank you, Rose. I will pull down your pants and spank you right fucking now."

"We're through the looking glass," Sable tells you. "Something about this world changed on the night of June 1st. You know it. You see it, too. It's in your eyes. Plain as day. You see the dark silhouette of truth behind this distorted reality, don't you? It must be your implant... but you don't see it fully -- you can't -- you can't even let yourself--"

"Do you need to slap her again?" Kay asks Alex.

"Let's let her finish," he says.

Kay shrugs.

>>3432643
>the night of June 1st
Oh shit.
Here we go.

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>>3432643
>"I will spank you, Rose. I will pull down your pants and spank you right fucking now."

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>>3432643
IS IT FINALLY GONNA HAPPEN?

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>>3432643
>she gives Rose a confused look. "I'm not sure what it is you do, exactly, Rose."

>>3432643
>I will spank you, Rose. I will pull down your pants and spank you right fucking now.
God, I wish.

On the subject of girls named Rose that we've had sex with, is Rose2 totally alone in the manor right now?
If Vivian or Whitney were home, they'd probably have shown up, right? Am I too paranoid about this?

>>3432656
Speaking of Whitney, reminder that she knows something we don't and is likely, in her very Whitney-ish way, working on solving it in the background.

>>3432656
>Take her back to work, and return to Gal's.

Come now anon, this was clearly explained.

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Sable looks at her. "You were in the service, yes, Ms. Vera?"

"Sure."

"Then have you heard of Albert Stubblebine?"

"Oh hell yeah," Kay says. "The guy who thought he could walk through walls?"

"Tell them."

Kay explains: "He was this army guy who got into psyops shit back in the 70s and 80s. He had all sorts of cockamamie schemes... turning soldiers invisible, ESP, you name it. Back then, you could get easy funding for anything, as long as you said it could stop communism."

You've had about enough of crackpots who think they've got ESP.

"Well, he legitimately believed he could walk through walls. People would go to see him in his office and he'd be butting his nose up against the wall, trying to pass through it. And no one in the chain of command ever thought to say, hey, perhaps this guy is a little bit nuts. You know? A little bit cuckoo. The military is run by undiagnosed schizophrenics... all the way up to the top. It's quite a sad state of affairs."

"He was right," Sable says.

Kay motions at Sable with her palm. "Case in point. This was Major General Stubblebine's kindred spirit."

"The space between atoms is more than 99% empty," Sable says. "More than 99.9% empty, even. It's 99 and twelve 9's percent empty... then a 6. Stubblebine reasoned that if you could line up all those empty spaces, just so -- you could phase through solid matter. But of course, that's a naive understanding of physics. The law of averages means that in bulk matter, you could never line things up that perfectly. And in any case, intramolecular forces are far too powerful to allow the nuclei of atoms to intermesh like that. So actually, of course, the whole theory was impossible."

"but it wasn't..."

Gal, for the first time, speaks up.

"That's right," Sable tells her, looking at her as if noticing her for the first time. "That's exactly right. It's not impossible after all."

"Don't encourage her," you tell Gal.

"no... no, you know it too. when we linked our implants together... and we saw so much... you felt it, didn't you?"

You shake your head. "I don't know what I felt--"

"like you could change something... like you could change something if you just had the strength to do it..."

"Knowledge is power," Sable says. "Saturday morning cartoons were right all along. What if the power of Sand Reckoner is more than knowing? What if by knowing, you can act? What if you can act upon -- reality itself?"

>>3432656
She's at work cause that place has actual security. Not like security ever matters though

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>>3432643

>Something about this world changed on the night of June 1st

>It's in your eyes. Plain as day.

Now that's a metaphor I get, it's Cerise ain't it? This all comes back to big sis, something about that day when her eyes went blue, nothing's been quite the same since.

It's been hard to tell if any of this is dream or reality, for all we know, we could be the ones in a coma, living in some fucked up reality made by Cerise's implant.

Is all a lie? or the truth? Either way, I think the world as we know it will come crashing around us soon enough. Perhaps even, literally.

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>>3432674
Ohhh man.
Reality Warping Cerise is the new reality.

>>3432674
fuck

>>3432674
OP you're doing it again, all giving me the shakes and whatnot.

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That's all for tonight. Tomorrow evening at 9 PM EST, join me for the conclusion of the episode.

>>3432674
So what she's implying is that there is, in fact, a possibility of impregnating Alex?

>>3432681
WAKE UP

>>3432692
AAAAAAAAAAA MY BALLS ARE SO BLUE

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>>3432692
(By tomorrow, I of course mean tomorrow, and not tomorrow tomorrow. Sunday evening.)

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>>3432674

>What if the power of Sand Reckoner is more than knowing? What if by knowing, you can act? What if you can act upon -- reality itself?"

Oh fuck shit's getting wild.

>>3432692
Lookin forward to it

>>3432692
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

>>3432666
Wasn't it just conjecture? We just assumed she and Vivian would both be at work when we were in the sewers, right?
We're just going off of what Rose said, and that might be based off of tracking applications/devices, but is it a sure bet?
I have to admit, I've totally lost track of what time it's supposed to be currently, and I know that matters. I'd forgotten from last week.

>>3432692

Thanks for the hard work OP!

>>3432692
FUCK

>>3432692

Goodnight, sleep tight OP, excellent stuff so far, plot stuff is almost as good as the lewds. I'm ready for reality warping madness soon.

>>3432677
>Not like security ever matters though
Man remember Spancer? He was completely pointless

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>>3432711

>>3432711
But we do remember Spancer.
A shame nobody will remember you.

Night OP, best episode since S2 so far in my opinion.

>>3432692
Thanks for your work, OP. I'm looking forward to it.

>>3432719
Doesn't change the fact that he was the most useless bodyguard ever. Whenever he would've been useful he was just magically teleported away

What if it's not just Penelope manifesting reality out of the ether?
What if Camelia is capable of doing the same with Alabaster's memories on some base level?
What if wherever Catachresis is, it's doing the same thing?
What about Galatea?

And what the fuck kind of implant was Stasi rocking? How many more bootlegs are in circulation?

>>3432743
>And what the fuck kind of implant was Stasi rocking? How many more bootlegs are in circulation?
Reminder that we still don't know if it's a Commie Clone or Catachresis, or even some other variant. that needs to be answered first.

Boop, 4:21.

>>3432797
One second too early.

Lotta stuff went down this episode and all I gotta say is that I'm satisfied with yoinking Stackleford's revenge on Stasi.

>>3432674
So....
Old Camelia affected reality by use of the Sand Reckoner to get back the life she never had...the life she lost.

Camelia recreated her dead family, her mother, her sister. The life she didn't get to live because of Darkbloom.

Thoughts?
(OP no spoilers, just wanting to theorycraft)

Also David has been very quiet recently.

>>3432872
If you think about it, her and Rose2 are living the life that Cerise and Alabaster were ripped away from and desperately want to get back.

How come we didn't tell rose2 we loved her? I'm sad now.

>>3432872
You want some extreme speculah?

If sand reckoner can alter reality, then Camelia-blue actually does exist in reality.

Rose2 might not have really existed before season 3.

also, Camelia chose to resurrect Alabaster's mom, not her own. likely Alabaster was supposed to revive as her brother after the servers got blown up. Galatea too.

It would have been Amber, Anna, and Alabaster as happy fucking siblings.

bonus points for healing Anna's psychological damage.

so i was there for the inital run of S2, but uni got in the way around the time alabaster and whitney went dumpster diving.
started digitizing my record collection and did some catching up the past week, which turned out to be an amazing idea, thank you OP Studios (and all the anons that were there) for providing such a fantastic piece of entertainment.
it feels good to be back, just in time to fall into the dark abyss of chaos OP surely has ready for us.

Is it tonight yet?

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>>3433838
If you walk east it'll be evening sooner.

I can't believe that Fuck Quest was supposed to be over forever a week from now.