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>>3595429

Information:

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

Votes:

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

(NEW) Dice Mechanic:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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>>3595429

[June 4th, 5:40 PM]

B-WORM has done everything at his disposal to stop the monster chasing him and his newfound friend George Adams. Frankly speaking, the mission has become impossible. He doesn’t want to be rude and call out anyone – but a severely injured George is doing more harm than good for their chances. He must’ve had it rough since his whole body is covered in bandages. The athletic guy can barely stand let alone run, so B-WORM has been lending his shoulder for both of them to escape. Thankfully, his previous knowledge of the medical facility has more than made up for his ally’s crippled state. They have traversed side rooms, corridors, and air ducts to buy time from their eventual demise. It also helps that George is able to see B-WORM’s partner Dagon and track the red light emanating from the masked beast, somehow.

It wasn’t enough. It was never going to be enough.

The Behemoth is relentless, an unstoppable force of nature. He won’t stop until he sees them dead. There is nowhere to run without putting innocent lives in danger, a thing both George and B-WORM have tried their best to prevent in their desperate escape.

The Behemoth catches up to them in the main lobby of the gigantic hospital, where it all began, where all the dried up husks still lie about. Among the carnage, the two of them stand across the room from the Behemoth. He is blocking the main entrance behind him, idly noting their sluggish movements with the occasional tilt of the head. All three of them understand the situation perfectly well: The hunter has cornered its prey, and there is nothing left to do but wait for the inevitable.

With heavy steps that pay no heed to the grisly massacre beneath them, the Behemoth begins to cross the room towards George and B-WORM.

There are no more tricks under George’s sleeves. The monster learned their strategies and there’s no way the same escape route would work twice. No more special air ducts to dive into, no more furniture to drop around or create distractions, no more alternatives. This is it. This is the end.

B-WORM sighs, defeated. “I guess this it, man.” Aside from exchanging names, this is the first time B-WORM said anything to his newfound friend. They’ve communicated with nothing but hand signals the entire time, to avoid giving anything away to the thing chasing them. A meaningless effort.
“Throw me at him. I’ll gain some time for you to escape.” A determined George is ready for his final stance. “Trust me.”
“Are you mad? He’s gonna drain you like those guys on the ground! I can’t let you do that!” B-WORM briefly glances at the bodies strewn around the lobby. “…We’ll fight. One last stand.”

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>>3595435

B-WORM summons Dagon! The odd-looking dragon fish creature is determined to fight as well. It’s only natural that the courage this badly crippled man has displayed inspires B-WORM to gather up his desire to fight to the end. It’s only been a short time, but this baptism by fire has made them friends closer than anything B-WORM has experienced before. At this point, there’s no way in hell he’s going to let his friend die alone.

“THEN LET’S FUCK HIM UP!!” George stops grabbing B-WORM’s shoulder and stands on his own! In one fast motion, he bends to the floor and grabs a jagged ceramic shard from a broken plant vase. B-WORM grabs one too, but for other motives…

As the fight is about to break out, three gunshots are heard from right outside the hospital! With unnatural dexterity, the Behemoth spins on his heel and raises his strange metal gauntlets to block the instant the sound rings out! Each audible chink of hot lead on metal is accompanied by a brief flash. As the assailing bullets harmlessly ricochet away and the Behemoth lowers his arms, B-WORM sees that the gauntlets haven’t been damaged at all.

“Tch… It’s the monster after all. Great.” Retired officer Roger Jackson doesn’t seem too surprised by the outcome. Slightly behind him, another officer is carrying a roughed-up Chief of Police Rob Banks. There’s several other officers fanned out to the sides around them. The officer, to his credit, only balks a little when the Behemoth turns to gaze at the intruders interfering with his hunt. “Boss, your doctor visit will have to wait. I don’t think this guy takes walk-ins…”

“I didn’t come out high to be lowballed now, Rog.” Rob Banks pushes the officer away and stands on his own… for a full five seconds before starting to collapse. Roger Jackson grabs him with his other hand. “Get the fuck outta my way! You guys have no business facing this shit for me…” The other officers begin to back away from the hospital, keeping a set distance. Roger just shakes his head and seems keen on helping his boss.

At the same time these two were having their conversation, the bullets that ricocheted away magically looped around in midair and tore through the backs of the Behemoth’s legs! The implacable monster drops to his knees!

B-WORM, confused by this, looks around for an explanation and recognizes a particular girl on the stairs – her name is Vivienne Neuville, and she’s holding a big mirror in her shaking hands! The surprisingly cute cultist has her hair in shambles and she’s wearing regular patient clothes instead of cultist ensemble. Her back is to the wall, and there’s a furious look in her eyes…

“…The crystal. It’s my chance for redemption. Out of my way.” B-WORM hears her mumble between her ragged breaths.

>>3595436

Suddenly, a black shadow stretches up from the floor and constricts the Behemoth’s arms! B-WORM knows this technique very well, since it belongs to his party member Strawberry! Looking around, he spots her entering from one of the broken windows. Judging by the bloodstained bandages on her, Strawberry must have been in a fight of her own…

“Yo B, how are you holdin’ up?!” The woman shouts and waves at him, walking up to stand nearby. He responds with a radiant smile and a thumbs up, no breath to spare. Finally, things are turning for the better…

“The cavalry has arrived!” Where there was once grim determination in George, now there is the glow of hope!

Out of nowhere, the dark veil rattles and quivers in place. As soon as they had surrounded him, the rubbery lengths were under attack from the Behemoth’s massive gauntlets… and now they shred apart with a noise like styrofoam! Everyone involved stops and stares at each other, silently making sure everyone is on the same page. Out of the corner of his eye, B-WORM sees Strawberry cringe and grit her teeth from her power’s rebound. She should be fine…

The beast stands up, despite being injured in a way that would cripple anybody else, and screams with a loud distorted noise overlapping three times on itself! The entire area vibrates with the sheer force of rising volume. It was everything those arrayed against the beast could do to keep standing, desperately covering their ears in a futile attempt to keep out the horrible sound.

In this small distraction, he takes out a Crystal Piece from his pocket… and before anyone could intervene, he swallows it whole like a piece of candy! Clutching his head with his gauntlets, the implacable man begins to radiate an aura of power strong enough to be felt through the air. His mask slowly sinks into his skull with a wet noise… The fingers of his gauntlets become serrated claws… The muscles in his body visibly ripple and bulge under his skin, making disgusting tearing noises… The bones in his body crack and split with the force of tree branches breaking, sliding through the flesh and fusing together, growing anew…

As the transformation ends, the thing slowly lowers his arms. It smiles. The solid metal of what was once a mask creaks into a twisted grin, the jagged maw opening and moving as the thing breathes. It flexes its metal fingers molded to slice and carve, moving them effortlessly. The eyes almost glow from within their recessed sockets.

This… this is the birth of a true demon.

It starts running towards B-WORM unimpeded by the blow to its legs, but suddenly trips on a random piece of rubble on the floor. No… That wasn’t there before. The piece was carefully placed there for him to fall!

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>>3595439

Next to the horrified police officers arrayed outside, a third man casually struts out into the open. A collected individual with messy hair wearing a suit slowly begins to approach the enemy, completely disregarding any threat or menace hanging in the air. The sheer bravado and arrogance the man gives off is a slap to the face.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Am I late?” The extremely smug young man brushes some nonexistent dust off his shoulder.

“First time I’m happy to see you, Richard.” Roger Jackson cracks a smile at the young man.
“Save your prattle for later, let’s burn this bitch down already!” Rob Banks turns and looks at everyone gathered there. “You hear me everyone?! Bastard’s no fucking joke! The longer he’s up the harder he’ll screw us, so don’t try anything funny! Focus him down with all you got!”

“I’ll rip his body apart and take the piece back.” Vivienne’s hands holding the mirror contort and spasm. “It’s ours. The trophy belongs to us…”
“I guess we don’t have any other option, huh boys?” Strawberry sighs loudly. B-WORM and George silently nod back.

B-WORM, George Adams, Strawberry, Rob Banks, Roger Jackson, Vivienne Neuville, Richard Wright vs. The Behemoth!!! Who will win?!

>>3595429
>>Write In.
Pull the gas line out first then
>Shove the motorcycle and run for your dear life while invisible! They won’t see it coming!
Try not to splash too much in the sewer water

>>3595429
This >>3595454
Also running while invisible fucks with people that see Johnny doing it, and I guess he can tank the backlash effects. He's already in a sewer.

>>3595429
>Shove the motorcycle and run for your dear life while invisible! They won’t see it coming!

Also, when possible we need to let the others know we say a judge ant the leader of the cult hanging out together, in the sewers, near HQ.

>>3595454
supporting

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Like one of the heroes you secretly admire, you decided to shove the motorcycle and run for your dear life while unseen! But first, you will pull the gas line out of the bike since it’s right in front of you. You saw a Youtube tutorial about it once – it’ll cause the fuel to leak and they won’t be able to chase you down with it! Sorry to the real owner, whoever they are. Leaking motor fuel in a sewer shouldn’t be that bad either. They have people maintaining this place, right? Nothing will go wrong!

In one swift move you yank the gas line out, move to the other side, and push it at Ammirati with all your might! Despite trying not to look too cautious, the cult leader is genuinely startled by a motorbike moving towards him! As he involuntarily throws himself away from you, something briefly appears and disappears next to him. You can’t make out what his partner is supposed to look like, but the silhouette absolutely dwarfed all three of you.

All you’re left with as you turn and run down the tunnel is a deep-seated feeling of apprehension…

While you swallow the nausea and other bad sensations from your power’s backlash, Philonune’s disappointment creeps in from your link. He probably wanted to fight him for no good reason, but you know taking that step would be too great a risk. If the self-proclaimed doomsday cult leader with a god of destruction for a partner didn’t curbstomp you right there, Amelia would have done it later instead!

With the sewer tunnel walls rushing past you, you inwardly note that your running speed now falls short compared to when you ran to buy those condoms that special night. It feels like eons ago even though you know it was sometime in the past month. Gosh darn it, you’re super-fast! Your level 4 Athletics is making this escape possible!

Echoing from behind you through the tunnel, you hear the cult leader chuckle and say that he will probably become paranoid now that he knows someone can turn invisible. Damn, looks like they know now. Whatever, you knew it had to happen sometime… but on the bright side, they aren’t pursuing you. Probably have better things to do than chasing fast ghosts in a spooky sewer…

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>>3595797

You pull out your phone and check your bearings as you run, seeing that you’re still on course to the apartment. You didn’t escape without a plan! At the rate you’re going, you’ll make it right about… now! One ladder climb later, you pop out of the sewers and onto the street right next to your place! You move the manhole cover back and slip into the old apartment complex unnoticed! It almost felt like the blink of an eye but it truly wasn’t. Taking a moment to recover from your exhaustion, you sit at the foot of the stairs on the first floor and take big gulps of cold fresh air to get the sewer miasma out of your lungs…

You can’t hold it in anymore, so you drop your invisibility and puke on the icy ground next to you. Ugh… Just great…

“…Hey man, you all right?” It’s… Jeff Jefferson? Why is he here? “Need some water?” He laconically tries to hand you his bottle.
“I’m… fine…” You mumble out between delicious breaths of clean summer-winter air. “What are you doing… here?”
“I live on the 2nd floor.” Well, that explains it. You never knew he lived right here with you, but then again you never really paid too much attention to everybody else living in this building over these two years. Jeff is wearing sportswear and has a tennis racket in his other hand. Who practices tennis in this cold with snow outside?! “You sure you’re okay…?”

That’s a tough question, isn’t it? While you give it some thought, you realize you still have the backpack full of medication still on you. Guess it turned invisible along with the rest of you…

Okay, you’re finally here at your apartment building. What now?

>”I’ll be fine, but uh… how long were you standing there?” Did he see?
>Go to your apartment first and change clothes before going to Ajna’s.
>Ask Double J if he could clean the puke for you. You’ll owe him one.
>Ask if he knows where Craig is at. You’re here for Ajna after all!
>Write In.

>>3595800
>>Write In.
Just cover the puke in snow, no one'll know it was us. Except for JJ Then apologize for disturbing him but we have urgent matters to attend, a friend is in distress.

>>3595800
This >>3595808

>>3595800
>>Ask if he knows where Craig is at. You’re here for Ajna after all!

>>3595800
>”I’ll be fine, but uh… how long were you standing there?” Did he see?

>>3595800
>”I’ll be fine, but uh… how long were you standing there?” Did he see?

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You expertly start covering the puke with the snow, pretending there’s nothing wrong. Double J watches you and shakes his head in mild disappointment.

“I’ll be fine. Sorry for bothering you…” You scratch the back of your head, a bit sheepish. “But uh… how long were you standing there?”
“I was playing tennis over there. I heard someone puking so I came over to check. That’s it.” He points to the other side of the building; the same place you and Ajna played in the snow. If the cleared snow is any hint, he probably got rid of some for the ball to bounce. He’s not talkative enough to determine if he saw you turn back visible or not, though you are slightly sure if he did see something weird, he wouldn’t be as friendly as he’s being now. Better to trust him here…

“Uh… you know where Craig is at?”
“Third floor.” Double J shrugs. Same floor as you and Ajna. It doesn’t take a genius to know where he is and why.

“Thanks.” You bow your head. “I have urgent business to handle. See ya.” It’s a bit formal even for you, but you’re not sure how to deal with someone as enigmatic as Double J.

“Hey.” He throws you something at you faster than you thought he could throw. You barely managed to catch it. Turning it over, you see that it’s some mint candy from a convenience store. “Your breath is bad.”
“T-Thank you.” Like you didn’t know… You appreciate it though.
He just shrugs in response and leaves back to the spot he was before. As you start going up the stairs you hear the tennis ball bouncing around. Might as well eat the candy before you forget; it could even help with the bitter taste still leftover. What a peculiar encounter that was! You don’t know what exactly to make out of Double J, but it could’ve been worse.

As you stand outside of Ajna’s apartment, you take a moment to remind yourself that the word good is completely banned inside. One knock is all it takes before a desperate Craig opens the door! His eyes are baggy, his face is worn out, he hasn’t shaved in a while… This whole situation has taken its toll on him.

“Yes! Finally!” Craig sighs and pumps his fists in sweet relief. It reminded you of when you came back to the clinic yesterday, but you aren’t here just to say hi. You need to help Ajna right now!

Craig gives you a short briefing of what happened since the phone call, and Ajna’s unusual hysteria attack. It’s not really unusual to you knowing the larger context, but he doesn’t know that does he? Sadly, there is no new information or good news about any progress. Shame… Basically the same as you heard last time. As the chat ends, he finally leads you to Ajna’s room. You know the place very well, but eh… better to let Craig do it for his own sake.

>>3596066

“Whatever you need me to do kid, I’m ready.” Craig looks hyped up like he’s entering a boxing match. You’re both standing outside of Ajna’s room. The tension is palpable…

You need to calm her down, give her space, and try not to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Give her food, her meds and… basically work a damn miracle. Maybe you need to lure her out to accomplish any of those, but how?

How will you go about doing this?

>Knock gently on the door and say that you’re here. If she doubts your identity, you can say something only you two know! It’ll work, right?
>Ask Ajna if she wants to play in the snow again! That worked before! It will surely work again without your stepfather there to fuck it up, right?
>Send Ajna a text message. She responds to texts better than she does to actual phone calls. This should work, right?
>INVOKE PHILONUNE AND TEAR THE DOOR DOWN! IT WORKED ONCE, IT WILL WORK AGAIN, RIGHT?!?!?!
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the day, we continue tomorrow! Sorry for the short session!)

>>3596073
>>Send Ajna a text message. She responds to texts better than she does to actual phone calls. This should work, right?

>>3596073
>Send Ajna a text message. She responds to texts better than she does to actual phone calls. This should work, right?

>>3596073
>>Knock gently on the door and say that you’re here. If she doubts your identity, you can say something only you two know! It’ll work, right?
Just talk through the door for now, let her know that we're alive and all

>>3596073
>Knock gently on the door and say that you’re here. If she doubts your identity, you can say something only you two know! It’ll work, right?
>Send Ajna a text message. She responds to texts better than she does to actual phone calls. This should work, right?
No reason why we can't do both. Instead of saying the key info out loud for Craig to hear, maybe Ajna in her paranoia will appreciate Johnny sending it through text.

>>3596073
>>Knock gently on the door and say that you’re here. If she doubts your identity, you can say something only you two know! It’ll work, right?


>>3595442
>B-WORM, George Adams, Strawberry, Rob Banks, Roger Jackson, Vivienne Neuville, Richard Wright vs. The Behemoth!!! Who will win?!
I assume the side with 7 people

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…You don’t know how, but not like that has ever stopped you! Again, they said to not force her to do anything she doesn’t want to. A calm approach is best here, so you knock on the door gently.

“AaAaaAAh…” Not even a word came out of her mouth, just a wounded whimper. This is going to be tough…
That caught you off-guard for a second. Pressing a big red button and everything falling apart kind of off-guard. Things haven’t reached that point, and you hope they don’t. “It’s me, Johnny. I’m here to help.”
“AaAAAAAAAH!” Ajna’s voice grows louder. Is she not able to understand you? Is she that far gone?

No choice; time for the second approach. You send her a text message repeating yourself and reassuring her it’s really you. The phone’s definitely vibrating inside… if she had completely shut herself off from everything, her phone would have run out of batteries. There’s still hope!

Sadly, all you hear right now is Ajna breathing heavily… So you turn to Craig.

“Right… Maybe she got a little worse than before?” Craig painfully admits. He looks so distraught about this. If you didn’t know any better, you would assume he’s her real father.
“It’s all right, Craig.” You shoot him a thumbs up, he needs it. Well, time to send another text.

She sends gibberish back… You’re working something out here! Nice!

You send her another message explaining yet again that you are you, you came here to help, and she needs to cooperate.

“AaaaAaAaah…” Ajna groans. You take it as a response for your message.
“Ajna, it’s Johnny again.” Easier to sound gentle out loud than on the phone.
“Aaah! (Demon!) AaaaaaaAaaah! (You won’t trick me again!)” You don’t know if you’re becoming delirious or maybe you have another special ability hidden this whole time, but you think you’re understanding what she’s trying to say…

“No, I’m not a demon. I’m your okay neighbor and friend, Johnny Ando.” Sounds awfully suspicious when you say it that way though…

Craig raises one eyebrow, probably thinking the same thing, but he rolls with it after a second. Maybe he believes you’re trying to guess what the girl is trying to say and responding accordingly? Not like he’s far off, but it’s not like that...

“Aaaah?! (You want to hurt me, huh?!) AAAAAH! (I don’t believe you, demon!) Aaaah! (Get lost!)” Ajna roars back. Girl is getting sassy! At least, you interpret that way…
“No, I don’t want to hurt you.” You emphatically deny! “And I’m not a demon! I’m Johnny and I’ll prove it to you!”

You need to say something only you two know! That way she will know it’s you! But what…?

>>3598116

What do you say?

>“I know your secrets! I know you love snow!” Yes, reveal that secret knowledge!
>“I know your secrets! I know you love horror movies!” As if her life isn’t enough of one.
>“…Just let me open the door right for good, RIGHT NOW!” TEAR THE DOOR DOWN!
>Nothing! Take a selfie and send it to her! Who can ever hope to impersonate you?
>Write In.

>>3598116
>Nothing! Take a selfie and send it to her! Who can ever hope to impersonate you?

>>3598116
>“I know your secrets! I know you love snow!” Yes, reveal that secret knowledge!

>>3598120
>“I know your secrets! I know you love snow!” Yes, reveal that secret knowledge!

>>3598120
>>“I know your secrets! I know you love snow!” Yes, reveal that secret knowledge!
Detail the day we played in the snow with her if she doesn't think that's enough

>>3598120
This >>3598132

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“I know your secrets! I know you love snow!” You reveal that secret knowledge! There is no other option but for Ajna to believe you now!
“AaaAaH?! (How did you know?!)” Ajna bellows back!
“Hmph…” You chuckle and adjust your glasses. “Because like I just explained, I’m your friend Johnny Ando!”
“Aaaah… (Your deceitfulness is formidable, demon. But I’m no longer a helpless foolish woman…)” This girl is sounding quite smug now underneath her moaning and screaming. “AaAaAAAh! (You’ll have to do better than that to trick me!)”

“Ha! You think that’s all I know?” You show some confidence! You are you after all! “Let me demonstrate wha—”

“Hey, Johnny, what is going on…?” Craig couldn’t keep quiet much longer. It must look like madness to him.
“Uhm… I think I’m getting through her.” You whisper back. “Just trust me on this one Craig.”

“AAAAAaaah! (I knew it! You ran out of your cunning schemes, demon!)” Ajna shouts.
“Crap, I’m losing her…” You whisper to yourself.
Craig hears you and turns to leave. “…I ruined it once, I’m not gonna ruin it again. I’m off for now. Call me when you need me!” Craig whispers back and runs away! At least it’s something.

“Aaaah…? (Is that all?)” Footsteps approach the door.
“Ehem, sorry about that. Ajna! Don’t worry! I’ll tell you what happened the day we played together in the snow as proof…!” Without hesitating, you give her every detail you remember from that day! Her cute cap, the snowball war, and your bastard of a stepfather holding her hostage! All of it! “…See? I’m me!” That’s never not going to sound stupid.

“…Johnny…” She finally says a real word! Bad news, she sounds like she’s crying…

That can’t be a good sign…

What do you do?

>“Ajna, please, just open the door…” Stop the charade. You need to sound serious.
>“W-What’s wrong?” Something is not right and you need to know!
>“Yes, that’s my name! Now please open the door and take your meds!” The end of this saga is upon us!
>Write In.

>>3598225
>“W-What’s wrong?” Something is not right and you need to know!

>>3598225
>“W-What’s wrong?” Something is not right and you need to know!

>>3598225
>>“W-What’s wrong?” Something is not right and you need to know!
We can only help her if she lets us

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>>3598225

“W-What’s wrong?” You blurt out. Something is not right and you need to know!
“Craig… Mom…” She mumbles a couple more names (including Nariko), then she starts repeating them over and over again. Every round a little faster, every round more unintelligible, more frantic.
“What’s wrong?!” You repeat more sternly this time. The name chanting stops abruptly.

A loud vibration startles you. Checking your phone, you see it’s a message from Ajna herself, it says: “I accept.” Whatever she meant by that is unknown to you.

The door unlocks in front of you, but you stay where you are. The clack noise sounds ten times louder in here…

Seconds later, you hear Ajna walking away from the door, then a loud thud on the floor inside. Did she trip or something? You hear no other sound. There is only complete silence. It’s eerie. Your heartbeats are the only sound you can perceive. What should you do?

Turning to look at Philonune, your partner turns to look back at you. He always speaks up every time he senses danger somehow, but all you feel is confusion from his end. Looks like both of you are thrown by this odd turn of events.

“Partner, I don’t feel any ominous presence. Far as I can tell, there’s only the three of us in here.” Philonune affirms. Your partner’s reassurance feels jinxed, like you’re tempting fate in this precarious situation… or maybe the atmosphere is getting to you and there’s nothing to worry about.

What do you do?

>Send a message back. Ask her what she meant! You are not entering just yet!
>Open the goddamn door and check on her before bad things possibly happen!
>Call Craig! Time to check on Ajna together and stop being experimental with this shit!
>Write In.

>>3598335
>Open the goddamn door and check on her before bad things possibly happen!

>>3598335
>>Open the goddamn door and check on her before bad things possibly happen!

>>3598335
>Open the goddamn door and check on her before bad things possibly happen!

>>3598335
>>Open the goddamn door and check on her before bad things possibly happen!
This time there's actually a good reason to rush in

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>>3598335

Without any hesitation remaining in your body, you rush inside the room! For some reason you expected the place to be dimly lit, same as the last few times, but the natural daylight from the opened curtains makes everything in the room stand out. And the disturbing sight in front of you is something you don’t think you’ll ever forget:

The blanket you’ve known Ajna for wearing is spread on the floor next to her bed. The owner in question is lying on top of it with all her arms and legs splayed out, eerily reminiscent of an occult ritual. Her eyes are glassy, her breathing is shallow, and her energy is even more depleted. She’s wearing girls’ winter pajamas, unintentionally showing a bit too much skin with how loose they are for her actual body type.

Until now you’ve never seen Ajna without her blanket on, just little glimpses here and there when she was barely moving around and not being too careful. Now it’s clear to you how unhealthy her state really is. Her ribs are showing, her arms are basically twigs, and her thighs! Oh god! It’s plain sad and unnerving to see. If she didn’t break a bone with the sound she made before, then that’s the real miracle right here. Wasn’t she extremely out of shape in the other direction before? Osgood mentioned how fat she became in his magical origin story, didn’t he?

Wait, why do you care right now?! She’s barely wearing anything to protect her from the chilly weather! You doubt she even ate anything decent in the past few days! Holding your distress and concern in, you approach the scarecrow-looking girl as slowly as you can. Without paying attention, you mumble something vague about how she’s feeling. Ajna finally lets a sound out that isn’t a scream or a cry.

“…Demon, I’ll follow your every command. This body belongs to you now.” Her eyes still stare blankly into the ceiling above her, barely any light in them. From the moment you stepped foot into her room, she never looked your way once. What the fuck is going on with her? “I told you it was weak and disgusting…” Shuddering hard with every rasping cough she hacks out, Ajna continues to lay there on the floor. “Just… leave the people I mentioned before out of this…”

“Ajna…” You could only muster her name. Words are failing you…
“P-Please…”

Part of you thinks that as long as she can talk and breathe, she’ll be okay. The problem is you don’t know how long she can keep doing this without all her strength giving out for good. How long has she been like this? Since the last time you saw her? Earlier than that? It doesn’t matter, there has to be something you can do to help here. You have your backpack full of medication with you, as well as some containers of food and bottled water from Craig outside. If it were anybody else you’d say this was more than enough, but…

>>3598527

…?!

>“Your demon lord orders you to devour everything he’s going to give you!” Starting with a little water! Then some food! Then her meds! Keep her illusions going until she recovers a little.
>Summon Philonune and tell him what to say through your link! Why command Ajna to drink water, eat food, and take her meds as her demon lord when you already have one of your own?!
>“Ajna, it’s Johnny. You’re safe. Drink this!” No demons, only Johnny! Philonune doesn’t count. He was technically never a demon to begin with, but that isn’t the point here!
>Move towards the door without any sudden moves and call Craig to come in here. This isn’t something you can handle alone no matter how much you want yourself to do it.
>Write In.

>>3598532
>“Ajna, it’s Johnny. You’re safe. Drink this!” No demons, only Johnny! Philonune doesn’t count. He was technically never a demon to begin with, but that isn’t the point here!

>>3598527
Jesus Christ, eat a burger or something

>>3598527
>>“Ajna, it’s Johnny. You’re safe. Drink this!” No demons, only Johnny! Philonune doesn’t count. He was technically never a demon to begin with, but that isn’t the point here!

>>3598532
>“Ajna, it’s Johnny. You’re safe. Drink this!” No demons, only Johnny! Philonune doesn’t count. He was technically never a demon to begin with, but that isn’t the point here!

>>3598532
>>“Ajna, it’s Johnny. You’re safe. Drink this!” No demons, only Johnny! Philonune doesn’t count. He was technically never a demon to begin with, but that isn’t the point here!
HMMM
An ambulance would be handy right about now.

>>3598555
You do realize they would just do the stuff we can already do here, right?

>>3598575
I doubt we can introduce fluids intravenously.
Cause if she can't drink by herself, us pouring fluids down her throat just might kill her.

>>3598581
Do you really think medics have never been in a situation where they can't get the patient to the hospital quickly? Of course not, that's why they have basic procedures that they do, one of which is sitting them up and providing water to them. An IV is ideal as it can do all of that automatically so somebody doesn't have to do it manually but it's far from necessary

>>3598594
Yeah, but they'd have the IV in the vehicle with them, as apposed to all the way over in a hospital.

>>3598602
I don't think you understood the point of my post

>>3598613
Probably

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There’s no time to waste! You go for a bottle of water and grab Ajna’s head to help her drink.

“Ajna, it’s Johnny. You’re safe. Drink this!” No demons, only Johnny! Philonune doesn’t count. He was technically never a demon to begin with, but that isn’t the point here! You try to help her drink some, but she shakes her head and makes you spill some on her neck!
“AaAaAaAAH…” If she had any energy left that would’ve been a scream. “Why are you tormenting me…? I did everything you wanted…” She closes her eyes and continues hyperventilating, moving this way and that.

“Ajna, please. It’s me. You need to drink something.” But it all falls on deaf ears anyway…

“…Why do you keep tormenting me? Why do you want to play pretend? Are you toying with me?” Ajna somehow musters the strength to move away and drag herself on her knees. Good news, she isn’t as tired as she pretends to be! Bad news, her illusions continue as her eyes keep staring into the empty space. “Is it because I denied you…? I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” The distraught girl crawls closer to your feet and tries to kiss them! You grabbed her arms before she could do something stupid. She’s staring at you right in your eyes, and at the same time it feels like she’s staring at nothing at all. “Stop…”

“Drink the water, Ajna. Please!” Now you’re the one begging…

“Stop using his face and voice to make me drink your foul poison… I’m already nothing… You don’t need to play with me… You all just play with me…” Her voice breaks. “M-Mom…?” Uh? Where did that come from? “I tried, mom… I’m sorry, I’m not pretty…” She’s shaking her head. You’re not ready to deal with this. You still have her by the shoulders but you cannot do anything but stare. “Stop ignoring me. I’m skinny again. Stop ignoring me. Stop looking at them. Stop ignoring me. Stop looking at everyone but me. Stop ignoring me. Why won’t you love me back? Stop ignoring me… Stop ignoring me…” She just incoherently continues her rambles.

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>>3598711

Before you could puzzle something together to face this, but now… now you are out of your depth. Unless you do something drastic, you don’t think anything will change…

What do you do?

>Shake her! Shake her like she was a smoothie!
>“You’re pretty! I’m not ignoring you! The demon lord is gone! Please Ajna, wake up!”
>“Just drink the fucking water, woman!” Shove it down her throat!
>“Okay, fuck it. Just drink the poison. Happy?”
>“Craig! I think I broke her…!” You need help. Ajna needs help.
Write In.

(I drew Amelia in a bear costume because posts have been far too gloomy. Also the last reply of the day. We continue tomorrow.)

>>3598719
>Hug her
Words aren't work at this point, just give the girl a hug and let her know it's all gonna be ok

>>3598719
>“Craig! I think I broke her…!” You need help. Ajna needs help.

>>3598719
>Write In.
"DRINK THE DAMN WATER WOMAN."

>>3598719
I'm tempted to just force the water down her throat at this point but Kata literally told us not to force her so I'll trust her enough to refrain from doing that

In which case I'll go with this >>3598729. If that last ramble was any indication this goes much deeper than just ghosts and demon lords. She obviously needs some love and affection right now

>>3598719
>“Craig! I think I broke her…!” You need help. Ajna needs help.

>>3598736
>>3598911
Uh, why do you guys wanna call Craig of all things? He's already tried to help and kind if made things worse so unless I'm missing something it seems pointless

>>3598729
Supporting, but gently cause she's super frail rn. After that, slowly take out the water and pour it into a cup (for portion control) and play the waiting game. While we could restrain her, I'm not confident that it would end up without her getting pretty hurt. We gotta get her to the clinic during the day or at some point since we lack the facilities to really help her in her apartment. Maybe for extra advice we could call the clinic.

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If there is something you’ve learned in the last two months is that hugs are completely overpowered. Also they feel nice. Putting the bottle away, you gently hug the frail Ajna taking care not to shatter her in your arms. The anxious girl doesn’t reciprocate and continues her rambling, fidgeting and twitching this way and that. Suddenly, she clutches at your clothes and holds them for dear life. Despite all that, you continue embracing her.

Ajna starts talking slower, her voice gets lower, then nothing but faint whispering is left. Her widened eyes still look on directionless and the rest of her body remains frozen.

The frantic breathing starts slowing in about a minute, her eyelids relax, and her fidgeting eases up. You wouldn’t consider this as her relaxing, but more her changing states. You try to talk to her again but she doesn’t even move or react in any capacity. All the response you get is slow breathing. Well as long as she’s calmed down, who are you to complain? Now you grab back the bottle without the cap and slowly move it to the girl’s face. At first you didn’t think she’s reacting to it, but you faintly see her move her face in its direction. You try to slowly help her drink it, but Ajna starts to choke on it. Shit…

Murmuring a hasty apology, you rub her on her back and hope she doesn’t get worse. Inwardly noting how fragile she feels, you’re glad you didn’t do anything hasty this whole time. After some mild coughing she thankfully returns to her previous state. There isn’t any change in her that you can tell from simply watching her breathe and move. Her reactions are still delayed and minimal, giving you the grim picture of someone whose soul has left but their body continues to survive…

…Okay, new plan! If she can’t take one regular gulp without having problems, then maybe multiple small shots can ease her into it. Reaching for the bottle cap with your free hand and pouring some water in, which wasn’t easy with her holding onto you, you move it close to Ajna. It’s really awkward to move locked in this position on the floor, but you try again to make her drink it the same way. No problems this time – you see the dose of water pass down her throat. Mission accomplished! She still needs more though…

You patiently helped her drink more and more, ignoring however long it takes. It definitely took a good while, but she drank more than half of the bottle. She’s acting more normal now! Her breathing is steady and constant, her fidgeting has stopped, and she’s not holding onto you anymore – but she’s almost motionless otherwise. No matter how much of an improvement it might be compared to before, it’s still not very good overall…

>>3600455


So what’s next?

>Try to give her her medicine. You’re not sure if she needs to take these on an empty stomach or what…
>Give her something to eat from one of the containers. Hopefully she can eat little by little without being sick.
>You think you have stabilized her enough for now. Craig can handle the rest himself. You’re tired…
>Write In.

>>3600455
>>Give her something to eat from one of the containers. Hopefully she can eat little by little without being sick.
It's generally better to eat something before you take medicine

>>3600457
>Give her something to eat from one of the containers. Hopefully she can eat little by little without being sick.
Better to get her state even more stable first before these medications might hit her hard.

>>3600457
>Give her something to eat from one of the containers. Hopefully she can eat little by little without being sick.

>>3600457
>Give her something to eat from one of the containers. Hopefully she can eat little by little without being sick.

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Step one has been a success! Now the problem is not doing Step 2 right now, but what Step 2 should entail. For starters an empty stomach is never good, and generally it’s better to eat something before you take medicine. Better get her even more stable! Gently getting up from the floor, you move to the food containers Craig left outside and grab one. This one has some sandwiches.

Mmm… You’re getting hungry yourself, but it’s not the time for that! You tear the sandwiches into small pieces and do more or less the same as you were doing with the water… It’s like feeding a bird. Wait, no, if it was like that wouldn’t it be on the ground? You’re free to think about dumb shit with how long this is taking; in any other situation you would be wondering what’s wrong with you.

…And you managed to succeed! You fed her an entire sandwich crumb by crumb! She even managed to drink more of the leftover water. Now that’s a proper meal!

…You just called a random sad sandwich and water a “proper meal.” Now you can really start to wonder what’s wrong with you!

…

Even so, you can’t take things easy just yet. Ajna is still in her strange entranced state. You’re not even sure how to make her take her meds with her like that. Do you ask her to swallow them? It’s not like she’s reacting to anything you’re saying. Tough decision… but you get a slight idea. Going for another bottle of water, you pretend to take a pill in front of Ajna to show her how it’s done! You tell her to do the same and to not forget to swallow. Ajna didn’t react at all, but you know she’s a good girl and this will be fine!

Leaving the open bottle next to Ajna and the pill in her hand, you wait for her to do something…

…

Nothing happens, so you take the pill from her hand and do the same as before. Ajna moves her head away from the pill as if she’s a dog refusing something it doesn’t like.

Is Ajna toying with you? Is she acting like this based on instinct? Why exactly like a dog? You have no answers to any of these…

Wait! That’s it! It’s perfect!

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>>3600681

Casually, without betraying any signs of what you’re really up to, you get back up to head for another sandwich. With your back to her you put the pill in the middle of the sandwich, and try to feed it to Ajna when you return! The foolish girl gets tricked and eats the meds sandwich! She fidgets for a second then stops moving again. You do this again to complete the dose Kata indicated. Nice!

Because you’re not a monster, you actually feed her the rest of the meal so she doesn’t believe sandwiches have pills inside them anymore. Watching her eating the small bites you hand her, you remind yourself you’re dealing with an adult woman and not a cute little animal that knows no better. Seeing Ajna unmoving for so long in that spot makes you unsure if it’s appropriate. Picking her up effortlessly, you carry her back to her bed and put her blanket over her body. She didn’t even move a muscle at all while this whole thing happened.

Ajna now closes her eyes, but aside from that detail nothing has changed…

Well, what’s next?

>Let her sleep. Tell Craig everything was a success and take your leave. He will surely call you if something is wrong.
>Stay here and watch over her until she wakes up. Watching a girl sleep is kind of weird, but the situation warrants it.
>Write In.

>>3600689
>Let her sleep. Tell Craig everything was a success and take your leave. He will surely call you if something is wrong.
We're done here, and watching a girl while invisible is too creepy for Johnny.

>>3600689
>>Stay here and watch over her until she wakes up. Watching a girl sleep is kind of weird, but the situation warrants it.
Make sure nothing bad happens and maybe after some sleep we can talk to her. Johnny's had a long couple of days so he could also use a moment of rest, maybe grab some food too

>>3600699
We're not invincible though, we dropped that back when we me JJ

>>3600689
>>Let her sleep. Tell Craig everything was a success and take your leave. He will surely call you if something is wrong.
>>Write In.
We need someone with more time on their hands to keep an eye on her, someone who will enter her room and MAKE sure she's okay.
Maybe we can get the Hobo Brigade to assist?

>>3600689
>>Stay here and watch over her until she wakes up. Watching a girl sleep is kind of weird, but the situation warrants it.

>>3600689
>Let her sleep. Tell Craig everything was a success and take your leave. He will surely call you if something is wrong.

>>3600689
>Stay and watch over her until she wakes up, but check your phone and make a few phone calls in other rooms so we don't wake her up. We have downtime right now, so we should use it to tell our team what we're up to, give Craig an update, tell the nurse what's going on with Ajna, and finish up the round of phone calls with anyone important that we missed. Check on Ajna between calls. Part of Doing Our Best is diligence! Especially here.

>>3600869
This is also a good idea

>>3600869
This is nice

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You’re not going to be sure if she’s alright or not until she wakes up. The most reasonable decision is to wait and see!

Uhh… You’re kinda hungry… A snack wouldn’t be the worst of ideas right about now. Would Craig let you prepare something in the kitchen?

Once you silently make your exit from Ajna’s room, you call him. No response. It’s not long before you find him sleeping on the couch in the living room, and pretty deep too juding by the snoring. Poor guy must’ve been exhausted! He looked pretty rough when you got here, so it doesn’t surprise you. You assume at some point he watched you do your magic with Ajna and decided to take a short nap without letting you on…

Finding a spare blanket isn’t too hard, being Ajna’s place and all. You grab one and put it over your sleeping landlord. It’s cold everywhere in the city, even in here...

Your stomach roars for nourishment now! There’s no stopping it! They will have to forgive you, because you’re going to use the kitchen whether they like it or not. Five minutes later, you’ve made a decent fish meal for yourself and went back to Ajna’s room. Seeing as there isn’t much else to do but wait, you sit and lean against the wall across from Ajna’s bed, finding an open spot where there isn’t any boxes. After you get comfy, you pull out your phone and bring up Youtube to watch some stuff…

One of your recommendations is from Chewirton’s channel. Makes you wonder how Yukika is handling things on her end…

…

You keep taking occasional bites of your fish while still lurking for a video that catches your attention. Nothing so far. Shame.

…

You selected a video about dolphins because it popped out to you and wondered why not? 10 seconds in, you realized you already ate all your food… You spent way too much searching for the video. Better to be productive and make a few calls than to stand here watching Ajna fidgeting in her sleep! Of course you’ll make sure to check on her between calls. Stepping out into the cold open hallway of this floor, you make a few calls you decide are too important to pass on…

First, you inform Kata on everything that happened and discuss the best course of action! She informs you there is nothing else you can do, and you will have to leave it to the professionals if the issues persist. In other words, you’ll have to bring Ajna to the clinic if things don’t turn out okay. In this weather too. Damn…

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>>3601031

Kata did acknowledge you did a good job though, so that’s worth something! She even offered you a ‘special reward’ if you want! You wonder if it’s candy, but you know enough about Nurse Kata by now to suspect… other things… Either way you’re starting to enjoy healthy food these days, so you declined just to be safe. She didn’t seem too bothered by it, as if expecting you to say no…

Uhh… Who did you forget to call before when you were mass reporting to people? Not an easy question to answer if your memory is bad. It isn’t, but you’ve been dealing with a lot lately and some things just got pushed to the side out of necessity. Uhh... Terry? Terry! He’s one of the only people not in this war you talk to! How has he been doing lately?

…No response. That’s bad. You’ll send him a text message by Chat-Now!

Now you try to call Trent. Last you’ve heard of him he pushed Howie’s shit in, but that was before the city’s Crimzone day.

…No response either. That’s bad too. You send him a text message by Chat-Now!

Who else can you call? If you try to call anyone else, you might be bothering people. This sucks…

Defeated, you continue watching over Ajna. Hey, she turned on her side! That means she’s sleeping and not frozen in place! Hooray! You dance alone in victory!

…

You’re so lonely.

…?

>Install the TV that’s in one of Ajna’s boxes that’s lying around here. Watch the news!
>Poke Ajna’s face! If she wakes up, blame a mosquito! They can survive snow and cold, right?
>Call someone! (Specify who!)
>Write In.

>>3601033
>>Write In.
Prepare something for anja when she wakes up. Something delicious and not stored in tupperware on the floor.

>>3601033
This >>3601038 but also
>Install the TV that’s in one of Ajna’s boxes that’s lying around here. Watch the news!
No reason why we can't watch the news while we cook up something. It's a few days after the Crimzone covering the city after all, and Jackson told us to watch the news again. The fuck is going on everywhere?

>>3601048
This

>>3601033
>>3601048
Supporting

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Not make a late lunch for anybody else after making some for yourself… there’s no way you’re that rude! Ajna definitely looks like she could eat a meal or two… or ten. That’s not considering how hungry Craig might get once he wakes up. Before you start working in the kitchen, you remembered Ajna’s old TV you used last time. You find the same box you left it in easily enough, and you rig it where you can see it from the kitchen. Finally some entertainment after all the gloom and suffering of the past few hours!

The news are never entertaining, but you need to watch them because Roger Jackson told you to do so. The last time he did, something important happened. Besides, who knows what’s going on out in the rest of the city after nearly everything went wrong?!

You turn on the TV and head in to cook some good stuff for those two and are immediately bombarded by the afternoon news. Unsurprisingly, a bunch of shit has been going on…

—This broadcast is in memory of Jeremy Ness, the crooked journalist and government shill that used to be the main news anchor for the channel. He tragically killed himself by jumping from his office in the TV station building in Central and fell 30 stories. They don’t mention any significant details. Something about this sounds wrong on so many levels…

—A big list is displayed next to the ongoing broadcast. It’s showing all the names of people who died during the massive happenings of the last few days. They also mentioned several buildings had collapsed a few nights ago and many people died in the process. You imagine a giant skeletal goddess crushing tenements like soda cans, and start to feel a little sick again…

—There is something happening you don’t quite understand. They are asking a big number of politicians their comments about Lloydington’s grand speech. What speech? They aren’t being specific here! Most of the politicians on camera are refusing to comment and look oddly apprehensive. You will supposedly have to wait for more information, but you doubt there will be any…

—It seems the curfew will end in a couple of hours! At 6:00 PM! This doesn’t mean the city’s free though; from tomorrow on, a new one will start. It says you cannot be out in the streets between 9:00 PM and 4:00 AM without disturbing the troops outside until the situation in the whole of Prancijan regulates.

—They are also mentioning this year’s election was rescheduled from the end of the year to next month! On the first week of July, the future of Prancijan will be decided!

—Now they are mentioning the N.U. (Nations United) is somehow involved in the elections to keep them transparent after a plea from Lloydington. N.U. troops were deployed to safeguard the peace within the nation and protect the government’s opposition, stationed at key buildings and facilities. From the info they dropped, the N.U. people had arrived just a few days ago…

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>>3601497

—There is an absurd amount of foreign troops on the ground in Prancijan right now, and they actually fought your country’s military out near the border! It seems a call for truce happened yesterday after President Don Gordon Jr. told his troops to cease fire, and he accepted the foreign entity’s terms. This means Prancijan’s military is now under the command of the N.U. until further notice! What, Gordon Jr. gave up just like that?! The fuck’s going on in this country?!

—A special ambassador from Orange Stars United (A massive country from across the sea that auto-proclaims to be the greatest nation in the world.) is in Prancijan and he’s going to oversee the N.U. efforts in the nation. He asked the populace for our cooperation to ensure our normal lives aren’t affected. That doesn’t sound hopeful, especially after how already affected everyone has been…

—Now they finally show a tidbit of Lloydington’s infamous speech. It’s all nonsense about ‘creating a free nation with the help of the world’ and the usual political bullshit. From what you suspect, they cut out all the parts where Lloydington showed all the government abuse during Judgment Day and other past instances. The whole thing was a big callout to Gordon’s regime and its negligence. The speech ended with:

“…Gordon, our people will taste what freedom is like again. And when that happens, you will listen to their roars… clamoring for your end!” Lloydington smirks at the camera and the feed cuts out.

—It seems the government tried to cover it all up as some terrorist bombings, but with Lloydington exposing it all, nobody believed it.

—As of yesterday, most governmental organizations will be run by the N.U. as well. Doesn’t mean much will change in this place, but basically President Lazarus Gordon Jr. is now president in name only…

—Now the news are repeating that even if you want to leave Pokyo Lokyo after what happened, it’s wiser to wait a day or two because the traffic is going to be awful! Plane tickets are sold out! Outgoing roads and highways are clogged! All transportation is throttled! You have to be patient!

…There are so many news! So many stories about what happened the last few days! So much chaos and speculation! Not only in Pokyo Lokyo, but nationwide too! Still, there is one thing that doesn’t make sense… What did everyone think happened during the Judgment Day to make the government create this shitty situation? You’ve been watching this whole time during your cooking efforts, but not even a hint of it has been mentioned so far. They are glossing over the most important detail here. All you hear is various misinformation and wild theories from both people living in Prancijan and people watching from overseas. Everybody from average people to government workers to news personnel themselves… they’re all at a loss. It’s… baffling.

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>>3601499

…The food is ready by the way. You cover it up and hope it doesn’t get cold soon, which might be a slim hope with how it’s winter in summer. Cleaning up after you’re done with the kitchen, you unplug the TV from the living room and install it back in Ajna’s room to keep watching the chaos. Ajna still looks fine, but you have to wait longer to make sure.

You have questions like everybody else. You’re worried. You’re wondering what to do. Is it safe to be here anymore? Can you go somewhere else? Is it even a good idea to be somewhere else in the middle of this war? Shouldn’t you wake up Craig and tell him what’s going on? Obviously this is going to affect your daily life, but to what degree? Is this fine? Will anything be fine anymore?

…

You kept watching and searched for information online for a couple of hours. Once you finished, you determined that no one anywhere knows what the fuck happened or what the fuck’s going on. But thankfully (?) one thing is clear to you: There is absolutely no mention about the flames and the war for the Crystals. This fight you’ve been thrown into for almost two months is under everyone’s noses.

During this time, you texted with the others mainly to inform them about your whereabouts. Your sister greatly appreciated you contacting her as nobody had told her anything! You can feel her fuming from here, and maybe a few bear snarls thrown in… Either way, everyone at the clinic is shocked after tuning into the news, and nobody knows what to make of it.

Oh, and Trent sent you a “?”. You sent him a “k” in response. It’s nice to know he’s doing okay and not shot up in a back-alley somewhere…

…

It’s 5:42 PM. This curfew ends soon…

Your increasing existential crisis comes to a screeching halt out of the blue, as you see the skinny woman next to you finally waking up!

What do you say to Sleeping Beauty here?

>“S’up?”
>”Are you feeling better now?”
>“Good evening. Do you want something to eat?”
>“Please say something. Anything.”
>Write In.

What do you plan to do later if Ajna is fine?

>Call someone! (Specify who!)
>Go back to your apartment and take a break to think things over and talk things over.
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the day, we end the thread tomorrow.)

>>3601501
>>“Please say something. Anything.”
I'm worried about her

2nd prompt is a bit of a weird one to answer cause there's different levels of "fine"

If she's completely ok emotionally (or at least as much as normal), is willing to eat and take her medicine and won't really benefit from us being here then
>Inform Craig that we've fixed things and head to the clinic before curfew ends
Also tell her we'll be back tomorrow

But if she's acting unstable and still might need us there for her:
>Sleepover at Ajna's
Obviously inform the others

>>3601501
>“Please say something. Anything.”
>Call Amelia

>>3601501
>Write In.
>"Hey, are you hungry? I made some food for everyone."
She probably won't talk if she's super far gone, but she might respond to conversation if we give some structure for her to respond to. Baby steps. If she eats something, that's good progress. If she doesn't eat, then that's not unexpected. Craig is probably hungry though, so maybe if she watches him eat she'll realize that the food isn't poisoned. That said, she might be too malnourished to be able to eat anything we make safely, so small portions are a necessity.

>Quickly head to the clinic before the next curfew, ask Craig if he can help get us there faster since the cold will probably wreck Ajna. If not, see if anyone can help. Call Amelia and the hobos, regardless.
We absolutely can not use Osgood's van (I forget if it's busted or not since it's been so long). Flame transportation is also not a great idea for a number of reasons, but may be preferable to the van.

>>3601501
This >>3601712 but before you go to the clinic
>Go back to your apartment and take a break to think things over and talk things over.
Maybe a brief moment to himself can help Johnny here.

>>3601501
>>Write In.
You hungry?

>>3601501
This >>3601806

When are going to see some merchandising for this quest chief? Lewd Figurines fucking when?

>>3602217
Never ever maybe

>>3601501
This one >>3601806

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In your mind, you’re begging for her to say something, anything at all that isn’t her screaming in pain. You should say something to her regardless, questions she can easily answer perhaps.

Ajna slowly blinks multiple times before opening her eyes completely, grabbing her throat with one hand and massaging a little. Oh yeah, she hadn’t eaten or drank anything for a while until you showed up. “Uhhhh…” In one motion, Ajna grabs the blanket on her and goes back to cocoon mode. She finally notices you sitting right next to her bed, blinks a few more times, and goes deer in headlights on you.
“Hey, are you hungry? I made some food for everyone.” Will this malnourished girl understand what you’re saying, or is she still lost?
She sits up on her bed and watches your every move after glancing around the place. It was foolish of you to expect her to respond immediately, but after a few awkward seconds it’s obvious she’s not going to respond at all. You repeat your question and hope it gets through to her…

Ajna looks at her phone that she dropped on the ground at the start of her chaotic episode. You get the hint and give to her. Snatching it from your hands, she types out a message for you and sends it through Chat-Now.

“Is this another dream? This feels too real again. :-(” It reads.
“Dream?” Is your reply. Is it appropriate to communicate like this? A dream would mean it wasn’t bad, right?
“Or were the red world and the demons the real fantasy?” Ajna doesn’t understand what’s happening. “I don’t know what’s real anymore. My head hurts.”

“I’m pretty sure this is all real.” You say aloud to her.

“…” Ajna just stares at you. Beginning to type out a response, she stops abruptly. Her phone drops out of her trembling hands. “Aaaah…” A moaning whimper comes out of her mouth. Oh no, she’s going to start screaming again…
“Ajna, relax. It’s me, Johnny!” You lean in closer to her and point at your face. Ajna’s hands dart out to grab your cheeks and, after a heavy few seconds of staring, starts caressing them. It’s… kinda nice,
“Johnny…” Okay good, her breathing is better and her hands have stopped shaking. Wait no, she just blushed and threw herself away from you towards the bed’s corner, making sure to be as far as possible. Ajna was so desperate to hide herself under her blanket to leave nothing exposed that she dropped her phone completely.

Out of the cocoon, her hand snakes out to try to find her phone. You grab it and put it in range of her hand. It quickly disappears inside her fortress of cotton. You don’t have to wait long before another message pops up…

“Leave!”

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>>3603235

“I’m not leaving until I’m 100% sure you’re fine!”
Ajna peeks out of her sheets and right into your stern look. She ducks her head back inside her covers and you get another message. “Just give me an hour! <-<”
“Promise me you'll eat something? I made you a pretty decent afternoon meal.” Did Kata give you a miracle drug or what? This is too sudden a change for someone with her situation!

She sends you a thumbs up emote. Well, it is what it is…

“Fine, you got half an hour. Craig is sleeping over on your couch. We’re going to visit the clinic to check what’s with you, like it or not.” Enough kid gloves! “If you’re aware enough to message with me and hide, you’re okay enough to get checked up. It’s not far from here, so don’t worry. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
She sends you another thumbs up. The sigh you let out as you leave the room is almost a groan of exasperation. This better turn out fine. You need to recharge your batteries as well, so a little break might help your peace of mind…

As you were leaving the box-filled scene, you found Craig waking up as well. You basically explained that your intervention was more or less a success. A grateful Craig bear-hugs you then jumps up and down in celebration. He probably doesn’t care about bothering the neighbors under this floor since he owns the whole building. You informed him you would be back in half an hour and that he should watch the news…

Craig probably didn’t hear a thing since he went to check on Ajna himself. Oh well. You will come back anyway and inform the others about your plan, so no rush for now.

Walking down the hall back to your apartment, you can’t help but muse about a few things. The great thing about being preoccupied is that you don’t have these crippling thoughts about what to do in the distant future. Even if you casually think about it, the news you just witnessed hit you hard – the future is uncertain. The landscape is changing, and it’s imperative for you to adapt — or at least to plan ahead…

You come up to your flat’s door, but you decide on a whim to keep walking past. Eventually, you stop at the railing near the stairs and look out at the snow-covered city you live in…

“Partner, I think so too. It’s time to solidify our plans before we take any initiative from here on out.”
“Uh, Philo… Half an hour is not a lot of time to think something this serious through.” The thoughts and realizations you had back when you spent that morning with Yukika flash through your head…

“…But it’s enough to make a decision.”

Sadly this is all we have for this thread! Thanks for playing! See you next thread!

>>3603241
Good thread as always. Looking forward to the next one!

>>3603241
Thanks for running

>>3603241
Nice, time for resolve next thread