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File: CLEANER.jpg (77 KB, 762x762)
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Alas, you are still Nicole Smith, a mentally ill mess of a woman with anomalous abilities. You are a Cleaner, a deniable asset used by massive megacorporations called the Alphabet Companies and anyone else willing to pay you. Such as your Handler, a member of a powerful family who hands you most of your jobs. Mostly so you can clean up messes for him.

The last week has been rough to your psyche and sense of wellbeing. During your tour of an X-Corp military base, you managed to awaken a deep and primordial part of your psyche in the form of antlers growing out of your fucking head. Luckily, you managed to finish the mission by solidifying a deal between E, Q, and X-Corp.

After hanging out with some allies, restocking your supplies, and connecting with corporate representatives, you then spent a solid week at sea. With what? To assist the Captain on it with any and all tasks during the voyage. This so happened to include hunting down an X5 anomaly, one of the most dangerous types of anomalies, called the Admiral's Game.

You managed to hunt down the Admiral's ship and bested him in a game of chess, earning his respect before he passed away. You think. You can't really tell with anomalies this powerful but you swear he's dead. You then managed to reconnect with two of your allies, Maruyama and Kiara, and hung out with them to decompress after your last mission. You noticed that Maruyama had a spark of potential that might blossom into something powerful if you nurtured it.

Your latest mission, which you have just currently started, is hunting down a member of a powerful corporate family by the name of Valentina Vanni. You were tasked with heading down to Abgrund, a small mining town in a section of W-Corp's district, to find out what happened to her. You caught a glimpse of three powerful Alphabet Company administrators on your way in who are also hunting down for her. Things might get hectic if you're not careful.

Though, that's how it is in the City. The only place you've ever truly known. Such a vast and endless stretch of streets, buildings, districts and companies, there's apparently a doppelganger of you out there as well. What her plan is, you don't know.

Your plan? You just want to survive. For you and your allies to be safe. No matter how much blood it takes.

ARCHIVE: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Cleaner
PASTEBINS:
MAIN CHARACTER SHEET (has your stats + perks + abilities): https://pastebin.com/3y638TfK
ALLIES (contains their stats, abilities, recruitment costs, and RAPPORT): https://pastebin.com/8gdVZBPe
MECHANICS (contains the explanation of stats, how stat checks work, and some other minor rules): https://pastebin.com/A9nLYWP6
INVENTORY (contains your items, consumables, weapons, etc.): https://pastebin.com/n0MH6M17
CITY INFO (General information about the Alphabet Companies and other notable entities): https://pastebin.com/ZP2JN7mT
>>
File: DEVINSHOP.jpg (293 KB, 1920x1080)
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"Max, Alexis. Go check the Mayor's Building-" You take a moment to glance back at the super shoddy mobile-home sized building. You're not actually sure if it's the Mayor's Building but hey, gotta start somewhere! "I think that's what it is. Me, Casey, and Benjamin will check out the general store to see what's going on there."

"Aw." Max huffs with a pout, crossing her arms like a spoiled brat. "Splitting me away from him? Trying to take him away from me, harpie-" She immediately loses the resolve to continue to act as she breaks character, giggling to herself. "Sure, sure. We'll be right back."
<"I never liked Krakatoas. This one is only justifying my past experiences."> "Sure." Alexis curtly nods before grabbing Max by the arm. "Let's go."

"HEY, WAIT-" And she's promptly dragged away by Alexis. You, Benjamin, and Casey watch on as Alexis drags Max away. Soon, all you can see is the faint impression of Max's blueish-grey hair and Alexis' bright white business suit.
>MAX and ALEXIS have temporarily left the party. They will make their own decisions while they're not in your party.

The three of you stand there in awkward silence before Casey breaks the silence by pointing towards the nearby General Store with a giddy, childlike smirk. "Shall we engage in the time honored activity that all humans enjoy participating in?"

[PERSON OF INTEREST] She could've said that in any other way. Is she messing with us?
[UNSTABLE] I GAVE YOU ANTLERS FOR A REASON. GUT HER.

[DELUSIONAL] "CAPTIALISM, HOY!" Benjamin doesn't wait for you two as he immediately begins rushing over to the general store. Fuck, he could've at least TRIED to draw less attention here.

You and Casey chase after him to make sure he doesn't make a fool of himself at the shop. The three of you stumble right into the General Store and, in all of the commotion, you damn near trip over each other trying to fit through the small door all at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCe5Mvho55c - ANCIENT GENERAL STORE

Your first impression when you entered the shop is that you barely even call it one. The shelves are barely stocked and what few supplies are stocked seem to have been sitting there for ages. The rusted sheet metal that makes up the walls and floors is threatening to crack and burst at any second now. There's about one ancient freezer that seems like it was dredged up from the 1960s sitting in the corner, coughing and wheezing for dear life.

You walk over to see if there's even anything inside. Shockingly, there's actually still some frozen goods inside. Mostly discount C-Company ice cream and discount V-Corp sodas. You close the freezer before turning your attention to the back of the shop.

A queer looking man sits at the checkout counter. He's a tall, slim man with pale skin and long, ratty brown-blonde hair with black lipstick smeared all over his lips. A loose and ratty jacket covered in various colorful patches is draped over him.
>>
"Hehehe! Welcome, welcome." The man at the counter gestures at you three to approach. "Welcome to my shop! Call me Devin Woo! Man of the hour himself, hehehe!" A toothy smile stretches across his mouth from ear to ear. "I won't bite, no no, that's what my wife does. Nasty little wolf she is."

[MERCURICAL] Casey immediately frowns when she sees who the shop keeper is. "How disappointing. That's not how a proper businessman should look. That outfit is last century, surely a proper business owner would know better."
[GULLIBLE] "I guess he's just an employee then?" Benjamin shrugs. "If he's not the shop owner. Can't judge him that much."

Devin's smile fades ever so slightly. "I'm the shopkeeper. Only one in this damn town. Could at least give me some respect." His smile bounces back almost immediately. "Oh well! At least you're not like those high and mighty rich types that came into town a week ago- Ah, shouldn't gossip."

"Then why did you say that at all?" You try to hide how insulted you are by the blatant teasing of information.

"For my own safety. Who knows when they'll return? Or if you're one of them too? I can't quite trust you with such information. Especially that Z-Corp fella. Very fancy jacket, yes yes." Devin glances around, as if he just heard someone whispering to him. "Yes, yes, Amber. Soon enough." <[UNSTABLE] That girl in the middle seems familiar. Smells familiar. Kill her, boss?>

[UNSTABLE] Hm.

"So! What would you like to buy, madams and sir? Heh."

DEVIN WOO'S MONSTEROUS EMPERIOUM. SELECT AS MUCH AS YOU'RE WILLING TO BUY.
MONEY: $1863
BARTER SUPPLIES: 6 A-ENERGY ($350 EACH), 2 HIGH CLASS JEWELRY ($200 EACH), 7 HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY ($75 EACH), 3 C-EXTRACT ($625 EACH), 3 C-EXTRACT? ($666 EACH), FISH (MUNDANE) x6 ($25 EACH), FISH (COMMON) x9 ($125 EACH), FISH (RARE) x6 (Equal to 1 A-ENERGY), FISH PILE (VERY RARE) x2 (Equal to 3 A-ENERGY), FISH (SPECIAL) x2 (Equal to 1 C-EXTRACT)

X-CORP MEDAL DISCOUNT ACTIVATED! -10% TO ALL PRICES!

>GAS MASK AND FILTER. "We sell these for those going in the mines! Toxic fumes in there, real bad for the health." ($45 per gasmask, $18 per three filters. Each mask comes with three filters. Protects you from viruses and toxic gases.)
>MINING BUNDLE. "Comes with all the basic mining supplies!" ($225 per bundle. Contains various useful tools for mining and other cave-based exploration, such as nightvision googles, pickaxes, and other such goodies. Enough to equip one ally per bundle.
>DYNAMITE BUNDLE. "I see that H-Corp ID card. Here, have this! From Mr. Pete himself." ($157 per bundle. A highly potent explosive that can be used to quickly cave in passages, blow open barricades, or to heavily damage the structural integrity of a building.)
>POLISHED MOONSTONE CHUNK. "One of the few I have left over before the caves closed." (1 A-Energy or $450 per chunk. Has 5 in stock. Boosts the potential of the next anomalous ability you use. When used on an ally, boosts their max RESTRAINT by 1.)
>>
>POLISHED SUNSTONE CHUNK. "Super rare. I need something REAL valuable." (1 C EXTRACT + $450 per chunk, max of 3. When consumed by you or an ally, permanently boosts max FLESH by 1 and temporarily increases all stats by 2.)
>MAP FRAGMENT. "Due to recent protests, we lost most of our maps. This is all I can offer." ($63 per fragment. Offers a random segment of the caves, offering useful if somewhat questionable advice. Lowers the DC of using WHISPERS OF THE CITY when exploring the cave by 1 per fragment.)
>RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR. "Be careful. Even the best gas mask can only protect against their fumes for so long. ($499. Has three charges that slowly regenerates over time. Warns you of potential gas leaks for your own safety and to help find RAW MOONSTONE CHUNKS.)
>POWER DRILL. "Rips through everything with ease." (1 drill per $540, 1 Tank for $45. Comes with three fuel tanks. Can spend 1 tank to precisely rip through a large section of stone or to make a ATTACK ROLL of 2d8+TALENT+VIOLENCE)
>COLD TREATS. "Old classics!" (3 treats per $22. Makes your allies happier and less prone to freak out but offers no other bonuses.)
>ACTIVATED CHARCOAL. "Just in case. Shit's dangerous down there." (1 chunk per $76. Purges all non-CRIPPLING INJURY status effects, good or bad.)

What do you want to ask him about? Pick up to three.
>Ask him some questions. Anything that comes to mind, really. (Write in up to three questions to ask him about himself, the town and mines, or anything else that catches your attention.)
>[UNSTABLE] HE'S ONE OF US. TRY TO GET HIM TO 'UNDERSTAND' WE'RE JUST LIKE HIM. (WILLPOWER DC: 18, rolling 6d6 by yourself. Getting him to understand that you're on the same wavelength as him might get him to offer some valuable assistance down the line.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] He's clearly being vague and coy about the involvement of the corporate families here. Convince him you're not secret family agents and that he's safe to speak his mind. (CHARM DC: 27 (-2 from CASEY), rolling 8d6+2d3 with help of your allies. You'll likely to get some useful information about Valentina and the other corporate family members if you succeed. You may spend 1 A-Energy or a FISH PILE (RARE) to immediately succeed this check.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Good sir o' Devin, how is this town still in operation if the mines are closed? When WERE the mines closed? Oddly suspicious timing considering some rumors we heard." (CONNECTIONS DC: 30 (-2 from Casey), roll 8d6+2d3 with the help of your allies. He might slip up and say something incriminating or very, very questionable on a success.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "Buddy, our companies make the same kind of products. Why would they send a Z-Corp dude to mess with you? You got some bad blood with them?" Let Benjamin pry into him about his past with Z-Corp. Is there a reason he's so suspicious about that company involving themselves in this town? (No skill check needed, thanks to the labcoat.)
(1/2)
>>
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "So, your job is to mine Moonstones, right? Has any company shown interest in using them? We're trying to figure out a situation involving them." You still don't have a solid motive for Vanni even being here. Something's wrong with this situation, you just know it.
>[FISH O' PLENTLY] "I got some 'surplus' that your shop might be interested in. Perhaps you'd be willing to humor us?" (Write in how many RARE, VERY RARE, or SPECIAL bundles you give him. For each bundle you give, he'll offer some secrets about the Mine, W-Company, and the people in the town. May prove VERY useful down the line. You may write in a specific kind of secret you want to know.)
>Write in.

Do you sell any of your barter supplies to him? Or use them in exchange of cash?
>YES (Write in which ones to use/sell.)
>NO.

Welcome back to the hellhole. Meant to upload this yesterday but shit sorta got in the way. Oh well, it is what it is. I feel recharged after my small break so hopefully we can keep the momentum up.
>>
>>5982956
>>RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR. "Be careful. Even the best gas mask can only protect against their fumes for so long. ($499. Has three charges that slowly regenerates over time. Warns you of potential gas leaks for your own safety and to help find RAW MOONSTONE CHUNKS.)
>POWER DRILL. "Rips through everything with ease." (1 drill per $540, 1 Tank for $45. Comes with three fuel tanks. Can spend 1 tank to precisely rip through a large section of stone or to make a ATTACK ROLL of 2d8+TALENT+VIOLENCE)
Just one and the three tanks it comes with
>GAS MASK AND FILTER. "We sell these for those going in the mines! Toxic fumes in there, real bad for the health." ($45 per gasmask, $18 per three filters. Each mask comes with three filters. Protects you from viruses and toxic gases.)
Maybe enough for the whole team? I'm not crunching numbers right now
>MINING BUNDLE. "Comes with all the basic mining supplies!" ($225 per bundle. Contains various useful tools for mining and other cave-based exploration, such as nightvision googles, pickaxes, and other such goodies. Enough to equip one ally per bundle.
Just one, we'll have the drill.
>COLD TREATS. "Old classics!" (3 treats per $22. Makes your allies happier and less prone to freak out but offers no other bonuses.)
>ACTIVATED CHARCOAL. "Just in case. Shit's dangerous down there." (1 chunk per $76. Purges all non-CRIPPLING INJURY status effects, good or bad.)
1 set of three treats, and a dose of charcoal

>[UNSTABLE] HE'S ONE OF US. TRY TO GET HIM TO 'UNDERSTAND' WE'RE JUST LIKE HIM. (WILLPOWER DC: 18, rolling 6d6 by yourself. Getting him to understand that you're on the same wavelength as him might get him to offer some valuable assistance down the line.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "Buddy, our companies make the same kind of products. Why would they send a Z-Corp dude to mess with you? You got some bad blood with them?" Let Benjamin pry into him about his past with Z-Corp. Is there a reason he's so suspicious about that company involving themselves in this town? (No skill check needed, thanks to the labcoat.)
>[FISH O' PLENTLY] "I got some 'surplus' that your shop might be interested in. Perhaps you'd be willing to humor us?" (Write in how many RARE, VERY RARE, or SPECIAL bundles you give him. For each bundle you give, he'll offer some secrets about the Mine, W-Company, and the people in the town. May prove VERY useful down the line. You may write in a specific kind of secret you want to know.)
Lets give him like, 2 rare fish

Do you sell any of your barter supplies to him? Or use them in exchange of cash?
>YES (Write in which ones to use/sell.)
Lets sell all the mundane and common fish
>>
Welcome back OP

>>5982953
>past experiences
Which one triggered you this bad, Alexis?
>all humans
Yes, because Casey is totally one too
>ANTLERS FOR A REASON
Not as handlebars when finally finding that special someone?
>trip over each other
I missed this comedy

>>5982955
>that's what my wife does
What a lucky man
>those high and mighty rich types that came into town a week ago
But this is happening right now? Is this about Valentina arriving? Rich types plural... so Vanni wasn't alone?
>seems familiar. Smells familiar
That fucking doppleganger? Here?
>>
Voting

>>5982955
>>5982956
>GAS MASK AND FILTER
We already have 4 sets of these, check the inventory >>5982973. Might as well grab 1 extra for a total of 5 sets because there's 5 of us here
>DYNAMITE BUNDLE
Useful if we raid a glowie base, don't have to use it here
>POLISHED MOONSTONE CHUNK
Get 2, pay with 2 A. I don't know if that's +1 max RESTRAINT permanently, but I'm willing to get this even if it isn't
>POLISHED SUNSTONE CHUNK
Get 1, pay in 1 C that isn't from the ones Admiral gave us. This is TOO GOOD to pass up one
>RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR.
No way I'm passing this up with this mission. We can always trade this back in on our way out if we won't have to use it after this mission
>POWER DRILL
What >>5982973 said
>COLD TREATS
>ACTIVATED CHARCOAL
What >>5982973 said

>>5982956
>>5982957
>[UNSTABLE]
Clown to clown!!!
>[BENJAMIN ALLY]
No check needed? Count me in
>[FISH O' PLENTY]
2 rare, what >>5982973 said
Mine and W Corp, please.

Every option here is good, but we can still get info from the mine guards with the bribe money
>>
>>5983045
+1
I like this with what the other guy said.

Anyway, nice start and welcome back Handler. Looking forward to continuing the quest. Missed it while it was on break, hope you had time to rest.
>>
Checking the inventory for things we could use eventually
>ANTIQUE CELLPHONE
>OLD CHARGER
We could have nfo to use to deal with Roland, Max's dad, if we had used this earlier. We simply had no time, but that's OK
>RED CLOTH FRAGMENT
We got this from Gregory's chair in his camera room in the movie mission. We don't have enough for an Ensemble nor a person to use this with, but this is still important for armor
>FANCY PIRATE HAT
Not the same as the ACTING CAPTAIN HAT, which is permanently for Adam to keep. This one just says "One of your allies may like it?" which we still don't know who.
>PULSATING GEAR
Very intriguing description. I have no idea what this could be meant for
>SILVER WALKIE TALKIE
We never used this once since we got it. We went through all the trouble for it, so why not use it at some point? Problem here is on this mission only Benjamin knows about the glowies (or Max too if he told her offscreen), and we have 3 corp admins roaming around. Pretty high risk, and it doesn't seem like the silver agents have any presence here on this mining mission. Might not be worth it this time
>MEAT BAIT
We still have some from the fishing we did. If there's a creature lurking in the mines, we can put this to great effect.
>BARRICADE GRENADE x2
This might be a great substitute to game overing ourselves by blowing up the mines with us inside it. "Can block most narrow passageways" it says.
>METAL DETECTOR
Could also be useful to detect Valentina if she's trapped behind a wall or inaccessible? Combined with Max's implant radar, we can be more sure if what we found really is Valentina... or something else.
>INFLATABLE LIFEBOAT x3
Better off selling these, honestly. Will we ever need to inflate 3 whole lifeboats just to block a hallway?
>P-CORP ENERGY COUNTER
Now THIS is valuable. There's bound to be some weird shit in these mines or in the surrounding area. This along with the other detector items we have will give us an edge
>S-CORP LEDGER
We could pass it to Alexis or Max to check over, while we're together on this job
>Q-CORP DRONE PHERMONES
We never did go on that Q Corp mission. We could really put "spend a charge to make the next person you encounter completely forget you were ever there" to good use. I doubt it'll be here though, with how there's guards PLURAL at the mine exit.
>SALTRIL BRANDED ANTI PSYCHOTICS x2
Will we ever use these again, now that we have UNSTABLE RESOLVE from showing compassion to UNSTABLE in the mind vision? Might as well give them to Benedict next time
>CYANIDE PILL x1
We still have one left after Admiral?
>OIL BLACK BLOOD VIAL
"+3d6 to all checks relating to locating a human, drone, or anomaly" says we should keep this in mind down in the mine
>LALILU BRANDED PILL
OP we have 2 of them, not 1. Handler gave us 2, and we gave 1 to allies. That got used up to depanic Benedict, so we are at 2.
>E-CLASS RATIONS x4
"Useful during exploration" it says. And the mine's right over there.

That's all I got right now
>>
>>5983091
Whoops, I meant Handler gave us THREE (3) LALILU pills. ONE (1) got used on Benedict. We are left with TWO (2)
>-2 RUSTED SILVER BERRIES
>+SOMTOIN ZETA x2 (A potent psychoactive that reformats your soul. +3 CHARM, +1 WILLPOWER, +1 TALENT and CONNECTIONS temporarily on use. Radically alters how the voices in your head act while active, altering future voting options for better and worse.)
Update inventory with this next time, please.

>>5983086
I missed it too. Once we get out of the shopping and start really operating this mission, we'll be in the swing of things again.
>>
>>5983045
+1
>>
>>5982955
>GAS MASK AND FILTER. "We sell these for those going in the mines! Toxic fumes in there, real bad for the health." ($45 per gasmask, $18 per three filters. Each mask comes with three filters. Protects you from viruses and toxic gases.)
Enough for everyone
>MINING BUNDLE. "Comes with all the basic mining supplies!" ($225 per bundle. Contains various useful tools for mining and other cave-based exploration, such as nightvision googles, pickaxes, and other such goodies. Enough to equip one ally per bundle.
>POLISHED SUNSTONE CHUNK. "Super rare. I need something REAL valuable." (1 C EXTRACT + $450 per chunk, max of 3. When consumed by you or an ally, permanently boosts max FLESH by 1 and temporarily increases all stats by 2.)
>MAP FRAGMENT. "Due to recent protests, we lost most of our maps. This is all I can offer." ($63 per fragment. Offers a random segment of the caves, offering useful if somewhat questionable advice. Lowers the DC of using WHISPERS OF THE CITY when exploring the cave by 1 per fragment.)
>RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR. "Be careful. Even the best gas mask can only protect against their fumes for so long. ($499. Has three charges that slowly regenerates over time. Warns you of potential gas leaks for your own safety and to help find RAW MOONSTONE CHUNKS.)
>ACTIVATED CHARCOAL. "Just in case. Shit's dangerous down there." (1 chunk per $76. Purges all non-CRIPPLING INJURY status effects, good or bad.)
2

>[UNSTABLE] HE'S ONE OF US. TRY TO GET HIM TO 'UNDERSTAND' WE'RE JUST LIKE HIM. (WILLPOWER DC: 18, rolling 6d6 by yourself. Getting him to understand that you're on the same wavelength as him might get him to offer some valuable assistance down the line.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] He's clearly being vague and coy about the involvement of the corporate families here. Convince him you're not secret family agents and that he's safe to speak his mind. (CHARM DC: 27 (-2 from CASEY), rolling 8d6+2d3 with help of your allies. You'll likely to get some useful information about Valentina and the other corporate family members if you succeed. You may spend 1 A-Energy or a FISH PILE (RARE) to immediately succeed this check.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Good sir o' Devin, how is this town still in operation if the mines are closed? When WERE the mines closed? Oddly suspicious timing considering some rumors we heard." (CONNECTIONS DC: 30 (-2 from Casey), roll 8d6+2d3 with the help of your allies. He might slip up and say something incriminating or very, very questionable on a success.)
>>
>>5982956
>GAS MASK AND FILTER. "We sell these for those going in the mines! Toxic fumes in there, real bad for the health." ($45 per gasmask, $18 per three filters. Each mask comes with three filters. Protects you from viruses and toxic gases.)
>MINING BUNDLE. "Comes with all the basic mining supplies!" ($225 per bundle. Contains various useful tools for mining and other cave-based exploration, such as nightvision googles, pickaxes, and other such goodies. Enough to equip one ally per bundle.
>DYNAMITE BUNDLE. "I see that H-Corp ID card. Here, have this! From Mr. Pete himself." ($157 per bundle. A highly potent explosive that can be used to quickly cave in passages, blow open barricades, or to heavily damage the structural integrity of a building.)
>POLISHED MOONSTONE CHUNK. "One of the few I have left over before the caves closed." (1 A-Energy or $450 per chunk. Has 5 in stock. Boosts the potential of the next anomalous ability you use. When used on an ally, boosts their max RESTRAINT by 1.)
>RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR. "Be careful. Even the best gas mask can only protect against their fumes for so long. ($499. Has three charges that slowly regenerates over time. Warns you of potential gas leaks for your own safety and to help find RAW MOONSTONE CHUNKS.)
>ACTIVATED CHARCOAL. "Just in case. Shit's dangerous down there." (1 chunk per $76. Purges all non-CRIPPLING INJURY status effects, good or bad.)

>[UNSTABLE] HE'S ONE OF US. TRY TO GET HIM TO 'UNDERSTAND' WE'RE JUST LIKE HIM. (WILLPOWER DC: 18, rolling 6d6 by yourself. Getting him to understand that you're on the same wavelength as him might get him to offer some valuable assistance down the line.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Good sir o' Devin, how is this town still in operation if the mines are closed? When WERE the mines closed? Oddly suspicious timing considering some rumors we heard." (CONNECTIONS DC: 30 (-2 from Casey), roll 8d6+2d3 with the help of your allies. He might slip up and say something incriminating or very, very questionable on a success.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "Buddy, our companies make the same kind of products. Why would they send a Z-Corp dude to mess with you? You got some bad blood with them?" Let Benjamin pry into him about his past with Z-Corp. Is there a reason he's so suspicious about that company involving themselves in this town? (No skill check needed, thanks to the labcoat.)

Welcome back QM
>>
WHAT TO BUY
RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR: rOJ, Buw, W2U, H86, Edb
POWER DRILL: rOJ, Buw, W2U, H86 (Majority picked to buy the drill without any other tanks)
GAS MASK: ALL (Buying one, since you have four already.)
MINING BUNDLE: rOJ, e3B, Edb
COLD TREATS: rOJ, Buw, W2U, H86 (Buying one bundle of three)
ACTIVATED CHARCOAL: rOJ, Buw, W2U, H86, Edb (Majority of one dose)
POLISED MOONSTONE: Buw, W2U, H86, Edb (Majority who picked this is buying two with 2 A)
POLISHED SUNSTONE: Buw, W2U, H86, e3b (Majority who picked this is buying one with 1 regular C-Extract)
DYNAMITE BUNDLE: Buw, W2U, H86, Edb
MAP FRAGMENT: e3b

UNSTABLE: EVERYONE
BENJAMIN ALLY: rOJ, Buw, W2U, H86, Edb
FISH O' PLENTLY rOJ, Buw, W2U, H86 (paying with 2 Rare Fish)
CASEY: e3b, Edb
PERSON OF INTEREST: e3b

SELL ANYTHING
ALL MUNDANE AND COMMON: rOJ
NO COMMENT: Everyone else

So, overall, the list of stuff is RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR, POWER DRILL, GAS MASK x1, MINING BUNDLE, COLD TREATS, ACTIVATED CHARCOAL, POLISHED MOONSTONE x2, POLISHED SUNSTONE x1, and DYNAMITE BUNDLE, leaving you with $299. You also spend 2 A-Energy, 1 C-Extract, and 2 Rare Fish.

Wanna see your MUNDANE and COMMON fish to recoup some of your losses?
>YES (-COMMON and MUNDANE FISH, +$1275, leaving you at $1574)
>YES AND THE LIFEBOATS (-COMMON, MUNDANE, and LIFEBOATS. You imagine you could get $200 out of the lifeboats from him thanks to the raw material they could use for other products here, so +$1475, leaving you at $1774)
>NYO, but sell the useless INFLATABLE LIFEBOATS. (-3 LIFEBOATS, +$200, leaving you at $499)
>NO. DON'T SELL ANYTHING. HOLD.

And since a majority only picked UNSTABLE as the thing to roll, I need three anons to roll 2d6.

>>5983045
To clarify, it does boost max RESTRAINT permanently. I'll leave that to a future vote to decide who gets it.
>>5983091
>OP we have 2 of them, not 1. Handler gave us 3, and we gave 1 to allies. That got used up to depanic Benedict, so we are at 2.
Ah, fair, will rectify that soon, alongside the Zeta thing, with the FAT PURCHASES you got.
>>
Rolled 1, 3 = 4 (2d6)

>>5983886
>YES AND THE LIFEBOATS (-COMMON, MUNDANE, and LIFEBOATS. You imagine you could get $200 out of the lifeboats from him thanks to the raw material they could use for other products here, so +$1475, leaving you at $1774)
>>
>>5983894
FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK
>>
Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d6)

>>5983886
>>
>>5983886
>YES AND THE LIFEBOATS (-COMMON, MUNDANE, and LIFEBOATS. You imagine you could get $200 out of the lifeboats from him thanks to the raw material they could use for other products here, so +$1475, leaving you at $1774)
>>
Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)

>>5983886
>those rolls
Oh no... we failed...
ANYWAY
>YES AND THE LIFEBOATS (-COMMON, MUNDANE, and LIFEBOATS. You imagine you could get $200 out of the lifeboats from him thanks to the raw material they could use for other products here, so +$1475, leaving you at $1774)
Back to the brink of BROKE and back up again
>>
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>>5983894
>>5983899
>>5983916
>4
>6
>7
>=
>17
>WILLPOWER DC: 18
>OFF BY ONE
With an outcome like this, we might as well have not even fucking bothered.
>>
>17

Well, good thing you got some resources to consoom. Pick one.
>1 CHARGE OFF YOUR ECLIPSE TALISMAN (Due to the sheer statistical improbability of rolling another two 1s, this counts as a success)
>1 PEP PILL+ (adds up to 21, another success.)
>[UNSTABLE] ACTUALLY, MAYBE FAILING MIGHT BE GOOD IN THIS SITUATION. FUCK IT, WE BALL. (Who knows what might happen?)
>>
>>5983926
>1 CHARGE OFF YOUR ECLIPSE TALISMAN (Due to the sheer statistical improbability of rolling another two 1s, this counts as a success)
>>
>>5983926
>1 CHARGE OFF YOUR ECLIPSE TALISMAN (Due to the sheer statistical improbability of rolling another two 1s, this counts as a success)
Guys, we're in a mining zone for W Corp where they have Moonstones and Sunstones. And Nicole has an Eclipse Talisman. Hmmm...
>>
>>5983886
>NYO, but sell the useless INFLATABLE LIFEBOATS. (-3 LIFEBOATS, +$200, leaving you at $499)

>>5983926
>1 CHARGE OFF YOUR ECLIPSE TALISMAN (Due to the sheer statistical improbability of rolling another two 1s, this counts as a success)
>>
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Closing it now. Three for selling Fish + Lifeboats, one for only lifeboats. Three for consuming Talisman charge. I keep these votes short so we don't drag out things 6ever.
Small error, I forgot to account for the $450 that the Sunstone asks, so you are left with $1324 instead of $1774. However, that's still a lot of money left after buying a lot of useful items, so hopefully this isn't too much of a deal.

Writing. Fifty threads of Nicole's adventures 4evermore.
>>
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>-COMMON + MUNDANE FISH, -2 RARE FISH, -2 A ENERGY, -1 C-EXCTRACT, -LIFEBOATS
>$1324 LEFT

After he slices through the inflatable lifeboats to get sheets of the material they're made out of, you place down all of your bundles of COMMON and MUNDANE FISH, two bundles of RARE FISH, 2 A-Energy and the C-Extract, and some cash as payment (and bribery)

"Hot damn, haven't gotten fish here in YEARS!" Devin flips through the bundles of fish you manage to transport over. "Wish it could've been fresh but hey! The transportations costs from T and Y-Corp ain't worth paying for fish these days." He picks them up and heads through a door behind him, likely to store them in some freezer for later.

You, Casey, and Benjamin split up to grab some various supplies from the store you bought. Why else would you give him all of that fish if it wasn't for the purpose of CAPTIALISM, after all?

Most of the items around the shop are pretty self explanatory. The power drill is a huge, bulky drill that you can barely carry, the gas mask is a gas mask, etc etc. The items that do catch your interest are the Moonstone + Sunstone chunks and the Moonstone Gas Detector.

The polished moonstone chunks, which are a dark and cloudy royal purple compared to the brighter purple of fully refined Moonstones, are about the size of a tennis ball each. Inside of the gemstone is a swirling, dark purple gas that's oddly hypnotizing to watch. Swirling, swirling, swirling.
The Sunstone Chunk you picked out is a blindingly bright orange gemstone fragment carved in the shape of a star. It BURNS to hold in your hands. You immediately have to wrap it around some spare fabric strips you had to prevent any serious damage. A bright orange glow pours out of the stone, visible even underneath the fabric covering.

Casey and Benjamin finish carrying over the MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR over to the checkout counter. It's a big, bulky aluminium box that on first blush looks more akin to a vintage air conditioning unit than a piece of mining equipment. Three screens with bright green text on a black background are plastered on the front and sides the box.

"ECLIPSE SILK CONCENTRATION: MEDIUM"
"MOONLIGHT GAS CONCENTRATION: LOW."
"DAWNLIGHT GAS CONCENTRATION: LOW."

"Probably just because of the gemstones in the shop." Benjamin mutters as he scans through the walls of incomprehensible technical jargon that fills most of the detector's screens. "Methane, Carbon Monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, Carbon Dioxide...detects those too..."

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Eclipse? Like our talisman? You absolutely don't recall W-Company advertising that they make Talismans. It's not an official product from them.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Maybe they just harvest the material if one of their leftover pieces of mining equipment can detect it. Though you don't find silk in mines, right?

>+ACTIVATED CHARCOAL, GAS MASK, MOONSTONE CHUNK x2, SUNSTONE CHUNK, RAW MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR, POWER DRILL, COLD TREATS, DYANMITE BUNDLE, MINING BUNDLE
>>
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"So! I saw you gave me some little treats like this, mmmh?" He gestures towards the fish you gave him. "Well, well, I'm not one to smack a gift like that away. What secrets do you wish to know?"

"How about about the Mines and W-Corp?"

One of his eyes twitches. "Oh, mines, mines, MINES. Nothing good down there, no no, nothing worth the infinite risk down there anymore, no. So many untapped moon, sun, dwarfstones, and eclipse silk but no no. The fumes there, the gas infinitely leaking from those things, we dug too deep, yes yes." Oh god, it's like you triggered some sort of psychoactive break in him.

"Equivalent exchange you see. The moons require you to shatter into glass, glass. Fragments. One mind is not good enough, no no, not for W-Company. Shatter, shatter, five isn't good enough. Pull the glass OUTSIDE of your head and STUFF it into another, patches up one mirror but you see, the other mirror is broken. Can't see a reflection anymore. The you there doesn't exist. That's why we had to close the mines, yes."

"Wait." You try your best to get some clarification. "Are you saying that going in there...breaks your mind? The fumes in there? How deep do you have to go for it to happen?"

Devin leans over the counter, his hands gripping tightly on the rusted metal checkout counter. "Below a thousand feet, nothing but the Lack. Pure oblivion. Oh, but they don't mind that. They don't mind when you can't even see your own reflection. Shatter, shatter, shatter. That's what they want. There's nothing of value in you for them unless you saw the Lack. Total oblivion. See, that's why we're good, Nicole-" Wait, how does he know your name?

[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You assume the 'Lack" is metaphorical. Probably just when the concentration of gas is lethal.

"2+2 doesn't equal 4 anymore. We can see the logical gaps that the others can't. That's why W-Company likes us, yes, yes. When the stones of doubt holding you back are shattered like the mirror, yes, that's when you're free. I know some people who wanted to go back to the mine. To huff in those sweet, delicious fumes. So much, much. I want to go back too. To see the Lack. They had to close it, close it, otherwise we would wander back there."

"Been like that for two weeks now. Levels too high. Too unsafe. Feh."

A weird look crosses Benjamin's face as he processes Devin's ramblings. <"...That doesn't sound half bad. To not have to worry about 'you'...">

[PERSON OF INTEREST] The only reason someone would go down there is if they were trying to hide from something or someone.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] If she had any interest in this place, she had to know about the properties of the gasses down there beforehand...
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] The complete oblivion of the soul. Obliteration of the self. Ultimate freedom from the world around you.
[UNSTABLE] Valentina disappeared a week ago, right? Maybe she wants to obliterate herself? Or to become like us?

This complicates things severely.
>>
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If the person you're trying to recuse is intentionally trying to obliterate her brain from the gasses deep inside the cave, then you're on a time limit. Could it some sort of sick self experimentation? Or maybe she somehow didn't know and she's risking permanent brain damage by fucking around down there?

[PERSON OF INTEREST] There's no way the guards would've let her in willing, would they? Did she bribe them? Did she sneak in? Why would they let her in at all, though?
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The way he phrased that seemed to imply that W-Company wasn't the reason it's closed if they actually ENJOY people shattering their minds. So who closed it? What's the actual reason?

After riling himself up, Devin slumps behind the counter with an exhausted, hazy frown. His calm, reasonable mask is GONE now.

"Wait." Benjamin snaps out of his funk. "Buddy, our companies make the same kind of products. Why would they send a Z-Corp dude to mess with you? You got some bad blood with them?" He pulls at the front of his labcoat, showing off the symbol of Z-Company stitched onto it. "I mean. I wasn't even informed of anything happening here. I fucking work with them, man."

Devin deflates a bit, sinking even further behind the counter. "Used to be someone before shattering. Wanted to be artist. Then coder. No no. Z-Company next option. Alas, no luck there. Bad relationship. Ran here."

"Again, if it was something important enough for Z-Company to hunt you down over, I would know." Benjamin adjusts his glasses, trying his best to process Devin's schizo speech (throwing stones in glass houses here, Nicky.) "Please. I'm not going to rat you out. Hell, Z-Company isn't even hunting you, man."

"...Came down here two months back. Wanted to get shipment of Eclipse Silk. Went down to get some for boss. Became this. Left when they saw me. Been shopkeep since."
"What a poor waste of human resources!" Casey coos out, leaning over the counter- wait is she squishing her chest against the counter like that on purpose. "Poor, poor bee! Perhaps we can offer some assistances if you tell us more?"

"Mmh." Devin doesn't seem to notice the stunt Casey is pulling but her honeyed voice seems to be enough to get something out of him. "Don't know much. Been staying in here. Quiet thoughts, time with my wife, outside is worrying. What I know is that Z-Company is trying to push in. To access mines for resources. May be asking other parties to access them too. Warned guards to keep an eye out just in case."

So, the families might not be here just for Valentina's sake but they might be on behalf of Z-Company? Seems like it was a good decision to bring Benjamin down here.

You stare at Devin. He stares back with a confused, dazed look. He glances up at the Antlers you have before staring back at you. A weird cyan swirl is inside his eyes. Spiraling in and in.

His eyes widen for the briefest of seconds as he stares into your eyes. You find yourself smiling despite not really wanting to.
>>
"Can you hear him too?" Devin whimpers like a kicked puppy.

"Her, in my case. Yes, yes I can." You nod with a smirk completely discordant with your pitying tone of voice. "Heard him scream. Something about me being familiar? Did you see me before?"

"No. Just smelled like my kind. Didn't know for sure." <[UNSTABLE]She's been shattered far longer, boss. Trust her.> "What to do if they glow?" Okay, so no doppelgangers...

[UNSTABLE] "Run them over like the niggers they are."

"Good, good. It's not bad having a friend in yourself. Is it?"

[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] "Who else can you trust? They're just as much as you as you are them."

Benjamin and Casey, reasonably, have no idea how to react to you two blabbering nonsense at each other

An ear to ear smile crosses Devin's face. "I need some time to readjust myself. I'll remember you, Nicole." Despite the limited amount of words shared between you two, you felt like he owes you a favor somehow. "Now. I need a moment."

it's probably wise to let this man rest. You gather your stuff and promptly exit the store with your allies. You're not sure how long you have until something in this town begins to boil over or something bad happens to Valentina's mental state, if what Devin said could be taken at face value.

Where to head to next?
>You see three familiar corpos approaching the saloon. Perhaps it would be wise to observe them. Without Max and Alexis, they might not notice you.
>You should probably regroup with Max and Alexis at the Mayor's office. See what they found out from the mayor, tell them what your group found, etc.
>Something seriously foul is happening in those mines and the guards probably know a lot about what's going on. Time to harass-, uh, interview them.
>The crowd of miners arguing with the corpos are still wandering around the town's entrance. Weird. Check up on them.
>Head to the apartments. Perhaps you can gleam more about the living conditions here. Maybe even some clues as to why this town in specific is so interesting to corporate entities.

What do you want to do on your way over? Pick two.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Tune into the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Maybe some useful information about your mission is inside?
>Take a moment to talk to Casey and Benjamin. Ask for their thoughts on what you've seen so far in town. (You may write in some questions to ask them or specific topics you want to hear their thoughts on.)
>[CHARGED ANTIQUE PHONE] Check through the Antique Cellphone. You imagine there has to be some useful information about the corporate families roaming around here.
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "Hey, got any idea how the fuck this works?" Hold up the PULSATING GEAR to him. He might be able to figure out how it works.
>[CASEY ALLY] Her eyes seem to be staring at the FANCY PIRATE HAT? Fuck it, time to humor her. (+RAPPORT with Casey and a glimpse into why she is the way she is.)
>Write in.

Due to some complications, had to rewrite a section. Sorry for delay.
>>
>>5984072
>The crowd of miners arguing with the corpos are still wandering around the town's entrance. Weird. Check up on them.
Befriending the miners to help solve town problems. We can get great rewards if we help the townspeople. They can give and send us daily stuff from the mine and other stuff if we solve the town problem.

>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "Hey, got any idea how the fuck this works?" Hold up the PULSATING GEAR to him. He might be able to figure out how it works.
>[CASEY ALLY] Her eyes seem to be staring at the FANCY PIRATE HAT? Fuck it, time to humor her. (+RAPPORT with Casey and a glimpse into why she is the way she is.)
>>
>>5984067
>gas infinitely leaking
>Inside of the gemstone is a swirling, dark purple gas that's oddly hypnotizing
>Boosts the potential of the next anomalous ability. When used on an ally, boosts their max RESTRAINT by 1.
>Warns you of potential gas leaks for your own safety and to help find RAW MOONSTONE CHUNKS.
So the stones are only functioning if they have this gas in them? I wonder if artificial moonstones are produced by W Corp, where they simply gather the gas to contain it to a degree that it has similar properties as the real stones but without as much potency?
>Equivalent exchange
Oh no
>shatter into glass
Like the rep Wendy. Like Nicole. Like this guy.
>Pull the glass OUTSIDE of your head and STUFF it into another, patches up one mirror but you see, the other mirror is broken. Can't see a reflection anymore. The you there doesn't exist.
>you can't even see your own reflection
Any smarter anon want to decipher this ramble? I can't make sense of it
>nothing but the Lack. Pure oblivion
Wait is this a Slay the Princess thing? Is there a bird bro down there trapped without his wife? The black canary in the moon mindbreak mine?
>W-Company likes us
Putting mental illness and mindbreak to good use? Weaponizing "fictional" style multiple personality disorder to make people more competent and creative assets? W Corp has a very cool thing going if true. But why do they hate anomalies so much then? Do they see being "shattered" like Nicole is as a good thing, but where being turned into an anomaly makes you less human?
>two weeks now
So the mines have been closed this recently? Something's still off with the time discrepancy...
>weird look crosses Benjamin's face
You're still you even if you make yourself a Disco Elysium protagonist, Ben. Distorting yourself changes nothing. You have to stand on your own to feet to be able to live.
>Valentina disappeared a week ago
>intentionally trying to obliterate her brain
Bitch really wanted to mindbreak herself into nothingness. And she had a whole week to do it

>>5984068
>W-Company wasn't the reason it's closed
But this is THEIR mine. Who else has authority?
>throwing stones in glass houses here, Nicky
:^)
>squishing her chest against the counter
It's hip to-
>good decision to bring Benjamin
We still have a Z Corp Favor from way back when we saved Benjamin at the start of the quest
>weird cyan swirl is inside his eyes. Spiraling in and in
Sounds about right. I don't think we got how Wendy's eyes looked. Nicole's aren't like this, not the same

>>5984072
>shattered far longer
Since birth? UNSTABLE alluded to that before, but still unclear
>no doppelgangers
The 521 assassin guys aren't here. Small mercy
>ear to ear smile
Poor guy. He didn't mean to get mindbroken but he's been like this 1 week already.

Clearly we have a serious time limit mission on our hands
>>
>>5984127
>he's been like this 1 week already.
I am dumb, he said 2 months and I didn't read

Mine was closed down 2 weeks ago, according to Devin.
Full radio silence from Valentina for a week and a half, according to the Handler.
Valentina disappeared a week ago, according to UNSTABLE.
And just now the 3 corpo guys and Nicole's group show up. Very strange timeline
>>
>>5984072
>>5984080
Do we still have the earpiece from back when we did the Benedict and Adam fast food mission? We had Ben and Alexis with us back then too. If Alexis has the other earpiece, maybe we can still use it to contact them here? Dunno if that would be a free action
>>
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HE'S BACK.
>You should probably regroup with Max and Alexis at the Mayor's office. See what they found out from the mayor, tell them what your group found, etc.

>[CASEY ALLY] PIRATE HAT
>TALK TO BEN AND CASEY. Ask Ben if he has really really really strong painkillers or another strong downer/hallucinogen (can't suffer existential damage if you're on vacation on the dark side of the moon). Ask Casey for advice on talking down suicides and really fucking bad ideas (Valentina showdown prep (if there's anything left of her down there)).

>>5984129
>>5984127
Maybe the Lack is like antimatter coming into contact with regular matter; even time breaks down as the interaction explodes and all the anomalous energies are released.

>GLASS
Bros, I think Unstable is SOMEONE ELSE'S IDEA forcibly put into Nicole's head. She was broken one way or another (patching one mirror implies it being broken) then the fragment of another person was taken (pulling out glass) and implanted (STUFFED LIKE AN OREO).

>mfw the doppleganger is the real Nicole looking for revenge
>>
>>5984080
+1
This looks good. Getting the gear working and starting the rapport train with Casey seems smart.

On what the schizo was saying, I think part of making the Moonstones might be the fragmentation of the self.
Interesting update for sure though, we should probably find time to listen in on the silver radio soon. I have no doubt the Glowies are somehow involved here, especially with their interest in Nicole.
>>
>>5984072
>Head to the apartments. Perhaps you can gleam more about the living conditions here. Maybe even some clues as to why this town in specific is so interesting to corporate entities.

>[CASEY ALLY] Her eyes seem to be staring at the FANCY PIRATE HAT? Fuck it, time to humor her. (+RAPPORT with Casey and a glimpse into why she is the way she is.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Tune into the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Maybe some useful information about your mission is inside?
>>
>>5984149
The Ben suggestion is a good idea. We still have the SINNLOSCHEN "party favors" from the casino job
>SINNLÖSCHEN x2 (+2 WILLPOWER, you roll d8s when making WILLPOWER checks and -1 FLESH DAMAGE taken while active. Constantly drains your RESTRAINT while active.)
And we have the new SOMTOIN ZETA we had Ben make with those berries
>SOMTOIN ZETA x2 (A potent psychoactive that reformats your soul. +3 CHARM, +1 WILLPOWER, +1 TALENT and CONNECTIONS temporarily on use. Radically alters how the voices in your head act while active, altering future voting options for better and worse.)
"Reformats your soul" sounds fucking sick too. Let's assume we have to use all of these to survive some serious horror down there in the mines. We have 4 mind altering drugs in total. We have 5 people in the party. One person will have to face the mystery horror sober in that case.
Also interesting idea to get help from Casey. She's not a human, but that doesn't mean she hasn't had bad days. I half expect her to ramble about productivity and quotas and working happily in this case. Might not be worth it?
>antimatter
Interesting take anon
>spoiler
You're throwing out some serious ideas there. But no way Nicole would give up UNSTABLE

>>5984161
>part of making the Moonstones might be the fragmentation of the self
He literally said as much, c'mon
>I have no doubt the Glowies are somehow involved here
I disagree. I think it's just us, the corpo trio, and the mines. After so much subterfuge and multi-faction muddiness, I like a mission like this where it's clearer-cut and bare in third party involvement. Sure there's insanity and conspiracy everywhere, but the rest of the way there doesn't have to be as loaded. It reminds me of the first mission with Benjamin and the one with the Ace Strikers gang. I wonder if we'll get something similar if we go to the jew tunnels? We might decide we have had enough of spelunking for a while after these mines, and pass on it.

>>5984072
Fuck it, voting
>You see three familiar corpos approaching the saloon. Perhaps it would be wise to observe them. Without Max and Alexis, they might not notice you.
Why yes I am deliberately causing a 4 way tie for the hell of it
>[CASEY ALLY] Her eyes seem to be staring at the FANCY PIRATE HAT? Fuck it, time to humor her. (+RAPPORT with Casey and a glimpse into why she is the way she is.)
We are at 0 RAPPORT, let's get that going
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Tune into the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Maybe some useful information about your mission is inside?
I think even though we are far from the glowies here, it's safe enough for a first attempt at listening in
>>
>>5984080
Change/edit
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "Hey, got any idea how the fuck this works?" Hold up the PULSATING GEAR to him. He might be able to figure out how it works.
Switch to
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Tune into the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Maybe some useful information about your mission is inside?
>>
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There's a lot of things to do and not a lot of time. Though time seems to be...weird here, given all of the inconsistent timelines given. To be fair, Devin might not be totally accurate with how long he's been here. He was rambling a lot of incoherent nonsense

[PERSON OF INTEREST] The thing that doesn't make sense is that he was apparently here two months ago. Yet the levels were already that lethal? Yet Valentina was gone for a week and a half, as confirmed by our Handler. Yet our groups are only coming here now? That doesn't make any sense.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Time dilation is an issue in T-Company's district but that's three whole districts away and the Handler said there was no anomalous tomfuckery happening around here, right?
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] I don't really sense anything myself.
[UNSTABLE] YOU KNOW HOW SOMETIMES, YOU BLACK OUT, NICOLE? BECAUSE OF ME? AND YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN?
[UNSTABLE] NOW, IF SOMEONE WHO ONLY WENT DOWN THERE ONCE ENDED UP HAVING A PIECE LIKE ME, IMAGINE HOW BADLY THE MINERS HERE WERE AFFECTED. OR HELL, PROLONGED EXPOSURE HERE.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Fuck, is everyone here brain damaged by the fumes from the mines? Are we going to get any valuable information out of anyone here? Is this mission already a bust if SHE'S been down there for god knows how long.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Not necessarily. They only said there was no COMMUNICATIONS for a week and a half and this was the last place they saw her at. If the mines were already closed, she could've spent time trying to negotiate a way in-

"Nicole?" Benjamin shakes you by the shoulder. You're immediately snapped out of your dazed internal monologue. "You, uh, you were mumbling to yourself. What's on your mind?"

"Timeline shit. Doesn't make sense. Corpos not being here until WE arrived, the mines being closed right around the time she disappeared..."

"If they felt like it was important enough to come down here, maybe they tried sending others down here but got stonewalled? The miners were REALLY ornery about them being here." Benjamin half heartedly shrugs.
"Week and a half ago?" Casey hums. "Closed for two weeks. Could be lie. Could be closed when she went down there."

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Wait. Could she be stuck there because they're keeping her there for whatever reason? Maybe Devin was wrong about when it closed, he wasn't in the right state of mind.

Fuck, something about this is really starting to skeeze you out. You need more information but the four implications of what happened here are NOT good. A murder, a suicide, a dumbass rich girl accidentally brain melting herself, maybe even a kidnapping.

Something clicks in your head though. Huh, you still have that old earpiece and so does Benjamin. You pull it out of your INVENTORY. Benjamin quickly does the same. Might as well do a quick check in on Max and Alexis-

"Listen." Max's voice whispers over the earpiece. "Mayor's been acting weird. Won't give a straight answer."
>>
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"We'll try to make him crack soon. We'll meet up with you soon." And that's all you get from her. Benjamin can't help but to look worried at the cryptic response but, given he can't do anything, he just looks back at you. You nod and gesture at them to follow you.

Casey keeps staring at you with those beady, yellow eyes. An intense, VIOLENT rush of disgust and anger courses through you but you bite your tongue and restraint yourself. "What?" She seems to be staring at something you're carrying.

The fancy pirate hat? Well, you don't have a use for it. You promptly place it on her eye and by god, her eyes are sparkling like stars now. "Woaw....!" Casey giggles to herself as she adjusts the hat to properly fit on her head. "How exotic! A curiosity like this would sell for a LOT back home. Oh well!"

"Back home?" Benjamin picks up on the weird phrasing on that REAL quick. "Like, what district? Pirate hats haven't really been in style for a while."

"Mmh, you know, can't really remember, haha! Everything's been a buzz lately! I mean, blur, yes, yes." Casey stops mid step. Something about Benjamin's question is really getting under her skin by the looks of it. Nervous sweat trickles out of her like she's an ice cube in the Wastes. "I. It's better not to think too hard about these things! That's what my sisters told me?"

"Sisters? What was your family like?" Benjamin innocently asks.

"Oh, just like any other family!" Casey chirps out, seemingly glad at being given an out with explaining where she came from. "Smiles and smiles! We mostly just followed the instructions on the PDA, though."

"Wait, what? Instructions? PDA?" You start fiddling with the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE as you three chat with each other.

"Mmh hmm! Follow the orders from it and everything's A-Okay! PDA says move the bodies, don't use the bathroom during work hours, clean the workplace, report suspicious gatherings, and so on! We did that and it's all okay!"

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Sounds similar to a Drone's mindset but she has a face and, well, the only Drone with a face you've seen was half melted.

"Did it, uh, suck to move the bodies? Did you see anything that could've...messed with you?" You try to pry into her past a bit more.

"Sometimes I saw my sisters in the body bags themselves. I got sad whenever that happened!" She chirps out with way too much cheer. There's no light behind her eyes as she recounts all of this. "Oh well. The Administration told us that's what had to happen sometimes! It gets fuzzy beyond that!"

Benjamin clicks his tongue with an uncomfortable look quickly spreading across his face. "You didn't ever question what you were doing on the job? I mean, I like my bosses but seeing my own family dying in front of me..."

"Oh, sometimes things just have to happen for progress! The Administration has its reasons. I'm sure of it!" Despite the smile on her face, her words ring hollow. "After all! Not like their bodies went to waste!"
>>
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"What?" You can't help but to let out a nervous chuckle. "What do you mean?"

"It's a relief and a comfort in knowing that death brings joy through affordable commercial products!" It's not like a person is saying these words. More like the canned sounds of a prerecorded advertisement. Fucking hell, what kind of company did she work for if she's memory holing the details this much?

[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] "Do you actually feel that way, Casey, or are you lying to yourself?"

The forced smile fades completely. Her expression is stone-faced now. "I don't know. I don't like thinking about these things. It's easier to not question it."

[BLIND OPTIMISM] "That's not healthy." Benjamin chides at her. "I get that it's easier to just push past it but that can't be healthy. Hell, I bet the only reason Nicole was asking was because she's worried."
[BLIND OPTIMISM] "I don't really fully get what happened but that sucks. You don't deserve that. No one does. If I saw people I cared about in bodybags where I worked...I don't think I could stomach it."

Well you wouldn't say that but you go along with what he's saying with a nod. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. We're here for you, though.

Casey turns her gaze away from the two of you but you can make out the faintest bit of a smile blossoming on her face.
>+1 RAPPORT WITH CASEY!
>CASEY NOW HAS FANCY PIRATE HAT EQUIPPED (+???. Benefits of it will be revealed later.)

Your little chat is interrupted by your walkie talkie crackling to life. You quickly hold it up to your ear. Casey tilts her head with a confused smile while Benjamin flinches, as if he recognizes the walkie talkie. <"Where did she get that? Isn't that from one of those glowing types?">

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HM8uXVXeHk - SILVER INFO

Your ear is immediately insulted by a mess of static and garbage noise, so at least you know this thing is working. You really have to strain your ears to make out anything coming from it. As if whatever communication is happening on it is encrypted somehow. You manage to pick out a few snippets of usable information.

"...GAVE UP SEARCHING FOR VALENTINA...LOST HER ON RADAR...UNUSUAL. SHOULD'VE LEFT...W-CORP...WEEK AGO..."
"...NICOLE SMITH...ASTER KOIZUMI...VINCENT CRUZ...BENJAMIN AARON...ASHTON MILLER..."MAX". MEMBERS OF 521 ASSOCATION. TWO NICOLES...BAD SIGN."
"...ROBBERT HUXLEY...POWER PLAY WITH Z-COMPANY...ATTEMPTING TO FIND LEVERAGE...UPWARD MOMENTUM...SEARCHING FOR 'LIVING BARGAINING CHIP.'
"...ROSALIE VANNI...VAIN, WORTHLESS, REFUSES TO WORK WITH OTHERS...YET BARGAINING WITH HUXLEY...KRAKATOA? UNUSUAL. MAY THROW OTHERS UNDER...FOR RIGHT PRICE."

Then, it fades into pure static. Well, it seems like even the Silver Agents don't know where she is, so you can cross them off as being the ones to blackbag her. And if Mr. Bunny Mask is Robbert Huxley? Not a good sign, considering he's searching for Vanni.
>>
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You pocket the walkie talkie right as your group approaches the group of miners.

There's a crowd of about eight people mindlessly wandering around the edge of town, right around the sign 'welcoming' you into ABGRUND. Most of them are middle aged men in dust and dirt encrusted overalls, carrying pickaxes, with the only difference being how dark their skin is or what hair color they have. About six of them are pacing around the edge of town in circles, as if they literally have nothing else to do.

Two of the more cognizant miners approach your group. A short, bulky woman with a set of glowing violet tattoos etched all over her body and an incredibly tall, incredibly thin man with tiny beady eyes.

"Nefer seen you zree before. Vhen did you lads kome on ofer?" The woman speaks in an incredibly thick accent you can't make any sense of. Clearly born from some deep part of W-Corp. "You don't seem like ze r-r-rich type. Good. Vould'fe klubbed you ozzerwise."
"Evair since they tuld us zat minéng was a non go, zum of ur friends 'ave been loseng eet, you see." The man blabbers in an equally thick accent.

"Oh, we just came here to, uh, look for someone?"

"Zo long since ai 'ave 'aird a sane woman's voicé!" The tall man blabbers. You now notice that both of them have weird spirals in their eyes. Purple for the woman's, yellow in the man's. Weird.

Well, you might as well try talking to them. Pick three.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] "We saw the argument your group had with those rich fucks. What's going on? Did they have some involvement with this town beforehand?" Try to see if there might be any 'motivation' to make Valentina disappear.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Something about the spirals in their eyes are worrying you, especially since most of the crowd seems to be mindlessly wandering around. MINDREAD the crowd to see how mentally fucked up they are.
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "We've heard some quite worrying rumors about the health of the miners here. Do you know of anyone severely injured by working down there?" It might be wise to find someone heavily exposed to the gasses down there. Might prove useful if you have to patch Valentina up.
>[CASEY ALLY + W-CORP FAVOR] "We're actually here on behalf of W-Company! The mines were shut down? How interesting! I wonder, who authorized that? We sure didn't!" With Casey's help, try to pry out WHO could've done it.
>"Got any problems you want us to solve?" Try to earn the trust of the miners (You'll get some optional objectives to complete. Completing them will earn the fresh and favor of the town, rewarding you handsomely down the line.)
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Given the shoddy state of this place, you wonder why this place is still operational. Try to pry into the history of this town and how it ended up like this.
>Offer the two some gifts for their 'assistance'. (Pick a BARTER SUPPLY to give them. Depending on its value, they'll offer you varying amounts of assistance or info.)
>You got something else in mind...(Write in)
>>
>>5984787
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "We've heard some quite worrying rumors about the health of the miners here. Do you know of anyone severely injured by working down there?" It might be wise to find someone heavily exposed to the gasses down there. Might prove useful if you have to patch Valentina up.
Plays into the Z Corp angle, plus info on if we need to do anything to recover Valentina. Good conversation opener
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Something about the spirals in their eyes are worrying you, especially since most of the crowd seems to be mindlessly wandering around. MINDREAD the crowd to see how mentally fucked up they are.
Get a read on the mental situation. Doing this after asking about any mining injuries might yield more context. If Valentina is like this by now, it'd be prudent to know what the situation is on the inside of their head
>"Got any problems you want us to solve?" Try to earn the trust of the miners (You'll get some optional objectives to complete. Completing them will earn the fresh and favor of the town, rewarding you handsomely down the line.)
Never dismiss side hustles especially if you can do them alongside your main job without much issue

POI option we can find out from Roland directly if we gain him as an ally, or from Rosalie if her mom's old ID is enough to shake her through her vanity. I doubt Robbert Huxley will talk much even if we get through to him and put Nicole's fist through him.
CASEY+W FAVOR option is also interesting, but we have 2 W CORP FAVOR banked already. As much as I wanna spend the resources, I get the sinking feeling we're in some shit when (not if) that W Corp rep Wendy finds out Nicole's antlers aren't augs, but her becoming anomalous. I want to clutch that W Corp Favor so Nicole isn't on the receiving end of a schizo beatdown from a mindbroken sister
SEEKER option is nice worldbuilding, but we're on a time limit. Could also get this info straight from W Corp via Wendy later, if we work with her properly
No on the barter this time
>>
>>5984791
+1
>>
>>5984783
>timeline talk
I love this bit here. Working with allies and the mind shards to solve this mystery. Thanks for incorporating that as a free action OP. This is already an interesting mission and we haven't even got to the mines yet
>that old earpiece
And thank you for incorporating this too

>>5984784
>intense, VIOLENT rush of disgust and anger
Isn't this the 2nd time Casey has had a low-level reaction from Nicole like this?
>sparkling like stars
But what are her shoes like?
>picks up on the weird phrasing on that REAL quick
Ben my boy, he's come so far
>no light behind her eyes
A consistent description we're given of Casey
>You didn't ever question what you were doing on the job?
Holy shit what a massive character development Benjamin has had since his debut in thread 1. The guy who made drugs for a gang without question or awareness, and now he's become like this.

>>5984785
>uncomfortable look
>nervous chuckle
Reminds me a lot of how things went with Quentin. I want to get Casey and Quentin on a mission together now, maybe with Kiara too. Human, Android, Drone, and "Drone" all in the same party on the same mission. Imagine the character dynamics. It'd be glorious
>faintest bit of a smile blossoming
CUTE
>Where did she get that?
Oh right, he doesn't know yet. Alexis knows about the silver agents from the Z Corp mission, so she can help us explain things to Max and Casey and Ben when the time comes. When we do the UNSTABLE reveal, she can also help out like Kiara did for Maruyama earlier.

>MEMBERS OF 521
HOLD THE FUCK UP!!!
WE WARNED OUR PARTY ABOUT THE NICILE DOPPEL BEFORE WE GOT ON THE TRAIN, AND CASEY FUCKING SAID THIS
>a boy who looks like him-" She points at Benjamin
AND RIGHT THERE THE GLOWIE SAID BEN'S NAME, AND A "MAX"
Is that it? Is somebody making copies of our characters in this assassination group? Also a reminder the glowie Nicole killed did not mention Aster Koizumi in his watchlist, and thought she'd get too dangerous knowong about Vincent Cruz. Both are the last protag choices from thread 1 that we have not seen yet.

>LIVING BARGAINING CHIP
This fucker's going to beeline for Ben on sight, calling it. Maybe taking the Z Corp coat off can help "disguise" him?
>BARGAINING
We have an easy in with Roland, since Max is right here and we have his dad Gregory on speed dial. Robbert is harder, but maybe easier to win over if we had Frank with us. I really want to get Frank on our next mission, since we never worked with him yet
>Silver Agents don't know
I called it. This is completely unrelated to them
>>
>>5984796
Anon, you and other guys here. What do you think about this mission so far, even though we still haven't reached the mines?
>>
>>5984787
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] "We saw the argument your group had with those rich fucks. What's going on? Did they have some involvement with this town beforehand?" Try to see if there might be any 'motivation' to make Valentina disappear.
>[CASEY ALLY + W-CORP FAVOR] "We're actually here on behalf of W-Company! The mines were shut down? How interesting! I wonder, who authorized that? We sure didn't!" With Casey's help, try to pry out WHO could've done it.
>"Got any problems you want us to solve?" Try to earn the trust of the miners (You'll get some optional objectives to complete. Completing them will earn the fresh and favor of the town, rewarding you handsomely down the line.)
>>
>>5984791
+1
>>
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Those spirals really are rubbing you the wrong way. Can't be an UNSTABLE thing, your eyes are just bright pink. No spirals. You don't recall Wendy having any either...hm. You'll worry about it later.

"Well, as you can see, we're on behalf of Z-Company. Benjamin was sent here on their behalf and I, one of their associates, followed him here."

[DELUSIONAL] "Wait we were?" Benjamin questions with an insulting honesty. "I didn't know that."

The two cognizant miners and even Casey give him some nasty side eye given...he's literally wearing one of their jackets.

"Oh!" Benjamin gets the hint, though. "Yes, yes, sorry! My mind evades me sometimes."

"Are you lyéng to us, madémoiselle?" The tall miner is getting a bit too close to your group for comfort, especially with the pickaxe in his hand.
"Vhat a schtrange man. Imposter, like zose Fanni obsessed fools?" The short miner hisses through clenched teeth.

"Oh, no no, sir and miss!" Casey immediately jumps in to reschedule the improv trepanation. "See, our friend here is what you would call 'mentally damaged'. 'Autistic', perhaps. 'Retarded', if you wish to be medical! 'Special', in other words! He is being completely honest with his intentions but please be patient with him!"

"The fuck?"
"What did you call me?"
"Wie?"
"Quoi?"

You and the others stand around in awkward silence before the short, boxy miner lets out a deeply amused, husky laugh. "Fery funny. Okay. Speak, zen." Well! It seems like Casey's impromptu 'defense' of Benjamin was enough to get you an in with them.

Benjamin can't quite decide whether he should be laughing, crying, or seething with rage. He emotionally defaults to what you can only guess is his version of a 'professional' persona. "Thank you, miss Casey. We've heard some quite worrying rumors about the health of the miners here. Your friends over there-" He gestures towards the group of miners seemingly wandering around in circles. "-are a bit, uh, unusual."

"Consider it a charity case, due to the rather poor conditions of this town. Do you know of anyone severely injured by working down there? We've heard about the mines being closed, after all." It's shocking how quickly he got his act together. The normally bird brained pharmacist speaks with a calm, rational tone that's completely discordant to how he normally is

"Many, oui. We used to 'ave fairtay, aftair all." Forty? It said 23 on the sign, so that's a difference of 17. The implication there is...

"Don't tell our boss but a few uff our men got approfal from ze guarts zree days ago to keep miningkt. Somezzingkt about 'one in, might as vell let ozzers in'. Ve lost some to a kafe in." Three days ago? If she's implying what you think she's implying, that narrows down the timeline a bit. The cave in might've been what informed the other parties that they should move in personally?

"Someone's been messingkt around down zere lookingkt fur somezzingkt ent, vell, poof. Huge khunks uff schtone kame krumblingkt down."
>>
"Two died. Sefen transferred elsefere. R-r-rest vere hurt. Gas fumes, schtones, name it. Can't vork, nicht allowed to be labeled as population. Mayor's decree." So, eight injured? If you're doing the math correctly.

"Vairy sad dai." The tall man nods. "Pardon ur mannairs. I'm Piairré méursault. Shairt un eez roxanne, non last namé." Pierre and Roxanne? Noted. You're wondering if the beyond thick accents are a side effect...maybe? Maybe not.

"Would you happen to know where the injured are, Roxy?" Casey buzzes out with an award winning smile. "Back home, I had to know a thing or two on which bodies were ripe and which ones weren't!"

Roxanne chortles, amused by Casey's energy. "Fery funny voman you haf zere. Kome." She gesture at the three of you to follow. Before you do so, you decide it would be wise to take a quick glimpse at everyone's minds nearby.

Casey is still blank, as always.
Benjamin is crystal clear. <"Hope Max is doing okay. I don't want her getting into trouble.">
Roxanne and Pierre? You can't really make out much of anything from either of them. <"...weird lad..."> <"...coat famil...">
And the other miners who weren't even looking in your direction? Completely fucking vacant. You're going to need to check up on the others to see if they're the same as well. You note that, while the others you've seen had different colors to their spirals, all of THESE miners have the same color: Violet.

It doesn't take long for the five of you to end up at a small shack that was hidden behind two other buildings. On first glance, you can see why you didn't recognize it as anything important. It's a loosely cobbled together hut made out of scrap metal that's barely big enough to house anyone, let alone eight injured miners.

It takes a moment to duck underneath the doorway, on account of your antlers, but once you're inside you see...well. Something that you wish you could completely forget about.

The inside of the hut is incredibly cramped and dark The only source of light is a shoddy window at the back of the hut that's probably barely big enough to fit your head in through. On the floor, tightly clumped together, is the bodies of six random miners. Their only protection from the floor is some old, barely held together wool blankets and a pillow barely thicker than a seat of paper.

Benjamin's face scrunches up upon seeing this. "This can't be right. You don't even have cots for them?"

"Afraid not!" A voice calls out from the darkness. "One of my own, huh?" You narrow your eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the hut. At the far back of the hut, kneeling on front of one of the injured, is a skeletally thin man with paper thin pale skin in a doctor's labcoat.

Benjamin seems to immediately recognize him. "Kori? The hell are you doing here?"

Kori turns around to stare down at Benjamin and the posse he brought in. "Orders from my boss. Rose something. I could ask you the same."
>>
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You clear your throat. "We're here for the, uh, injured. How are they?"

"Not good. See for yourself." Kori pulls out a small white pen and clicks a button on its side. Immediately, a bright light pours out of its tip. He points it towards the various miners on the ground.

The one unifying injury amongst all of them are splotchy, dark violet bruises all over their faces and hands. While most of them are asleep or in some sort of comatose state, the ones who are awake have deep violet spirals in the pupils of their eyes, though they seem completely unresponsive towards the bright light being shined at them.

And just like last time, their minds are completely dead to you.

Benjamin and Casey kneel down in front of some of the more injured miners. With disturbing efficacy, they begin to scan over all of the possible injuries the miners have. You're not exactly skilled in the field of medicine so you'll leave them to it.

Roxanne and Pierre quickly become uncomfortable, as if staying in this hut is too much for them. Before they leave, you decide to ask them something.

"Got any problems you want us to solve?" No harm in having an optional goal. Something to strive for. After all, you want to have a perfect record as a Cleaner. "We're going to be here for a bit, after all."

"Un of ur friends went misseng three dais ago. Find zém if you can. Mail, blonde 'air, blue éyes, should respond to 'Luther'." Pierre chirps out.
"Zee mayor has peen ein real bain in zee ass und zome of us vant to leaffe. Try to get him to let us ko. Ve're, vell, pound here until zen. Contractual reazons." Roxanne blabbers out. Before you can ask why the fuck those two speak like that, they step outside of the hut. Hm. Well, you got the rough gist of what they meant.

>OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES ACQUIRED:
>FIND 'LUTHER', DEAD OR ALIVE. REWARD: $350, +FAVOR (WORKING CLASS) x2.
>NEGOTIATE A BETTER DEAL FOR THE MINERS WITH THE MAYOR. REWARD: +FAVOR (WORKING CLASS) x3, $500, a dripfeed of various goodies from the mining town.

As soon as they're gone, you hear your earpiece crackling to life. "Hey. We're done over here. Where are you three at?" Max whispers through the borrowed earpiece. You whisper where your location is at into your earpiece.

"Gotcha. Be there soon." You assume Benjamin heard her too, given how he's working a lot faster. After about two minutes, he gestures at you to come over to where he's kneeling at. You do so, kneeling down next to him. He holds up the arm of one of the miners he was checking up on.

On the left side of the miner is a nasty looking gash with dark violet splotches all around it. "See, I think their mental state is being heavily affected by..." He reaches a leather gloved hand into the wound and pulls out a small violet shard. "this. Watch." Almost immediately, the violet splotches begin to clear up around the wound.

"Wait, it's that simple?"

Benjamin shakes his head. He lifts up the blanket to reveal a damn gnarly sight.
>>
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A fist sized Moonstone crystal is impaled right into the miner's stomach. Despite the fact a god damn rock is stuck inside them, there's no blood leaking out of the wound. "Educated guess but you know that exchange nonsense Devin was on about?"

"What, like the stones are keeping them alive?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Moonstones are just...weird, from my knowledge. Only W-Company knows how they work and, well, mhgh." Benjamin shrugs.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Not like it's the first time humanity has dealt with dangerous rocks before. Radium, Uranium, you name it.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Actually, wait. Moonstones protect the mind, correct? It could be as simple as that their minds literally CAN'T be read. Though, in exchange of receiving severe brain damage, given the schizophrenic breakdowns and thick accents.

"Got any idea how we could possibly remove them? In case Valentina is injured like this?"

"Best guess? We could try chiseling chunks out while removing the smaller shards stuck in here." Hm. You could probably use your MIND READ as a defacto status scanner on her, then. Noted.
>You'll consume less resources and you'll have an easier time patching up those injured by the Mine's gas fumes or by Moonstone Contamination!

Before you can think on it more, you notice two figures standing outside the hut. Greyish blue hair, a bright white suit...ah. Max and Alexis. Both of them look bone tired, as if their talk with the mayor sapped out every bit of energy they had. Benjamin, like a dog excited to see his owner return, excitedly waves at Max. She can only offer a half hearted wave back.

>MAX AND ALEXIS HAVE REJOINED THE PARTY! BOTH HAVE TAKEN 1 RESTRAINT DAMAGE!

Alexis snorts a bit upon seeing the dog-like glee on Benjamin's eyes.
>ALEXIS REGAINS 1 RESTRAINT!
>RESTRAINT TOTAL: 2/2. MAX RESTRAINT: 2/3.

"Oh! I see you have friends. Go on then, no need to bother me." Kori gestures at you five to leave. You're about to complain otherwise but before you have a chance to, your allies head outside of the hut. Hm. You decide to follow after them for now.

Once outside of the tent, Max lets out a sigh. "So, good and bad news. Good news is that he told us some pretty information information with some 'payment'." Max winks.
>-1 BRIBE MONEY CHARGE

"Apparently, this Valentina girl arrived here last week in search of some sort of inspiration and wanted to be let into the mines, something about Moonstones and their innate potential?" Max shrugs with an obvious disinterest. "Apparently, he refused her entrance because he declared that he wouldn't let anyone into the mines unless they were from W-Company themselves."

"So, he's the one who closed the mine. Right around the time she arrived, though? That's pretty damn convenient timing. Too convenient. We heard that he closed it two weeks ago."

"Just saying what I got out of him." Max chirps out. "He said that he couldn't let anyone else down there. Something about a 'golden ticket'"
>>
Hm. Is he trying to hog something down there?

"She absolutely refused to budge, according to his word, until she eventually offered him 'something he couldn't refuse." Max continues. "What that is, we couldn't get out of him, but it was apparently valuable enough for him not to squeal to us."

"Bad news," Alexis butts into the conversation. "is that he recognized the whole greyish blue hair thing that Max had and started probing about her association with the Krakatoas. He locked up pretty quickly after we refused to answer. If I had to guess, he might've thought we were sent by the other corpos."

"We had to leave shortly after." So, Valentina offered him something he couldn't refused and he locked down the mine for his own personal reason

Hm. Well, you found some information, now all that's left is to think of where to go from here. Where to go from here?
>It might be wise to talk to the corpos themselves. Head over to the Saloon, tell Benjamin to hide his coat for now, and start a discussion with them. Maybe you share a common goal ultimately.
>Something about all of this is off. The mine was closed by the mayor, yet the miners were let in three days ago? Was the cave in even an accident? Try to interview the mine guards.
>You got some dirt on the mayor and the shady shit he's been doing. Go over there and try putting the squeeze on him yourself. For your own benefit and for the miners.
>Turn your attention back to Kori for a moment. "Look, let's cut to the chase. Why did they actually send you here? Are you going to squeal to your bosses about us?" One of the corpos sent him here. Why? (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 19 (-2 from CASEY, -2 from BENJAMIN), rolling 6d6+1d3 with Benjamin's help. If you succeed, you might get some helpful insight when dealing with the corpos later down the line.)
>Maybe it would be wise to just spend some time discussing with your allies. Share all of the information you found, try to connect the dots, then go from there. (You'll get some time to earn RAPPORT with Casey and Max, though the discussion might eat up a lot of your time, as helpful as it might be.)
>If whatever is down there is so important, the Mayor wants it locked up, maybe you should just...go down there already before anyone else can. Head over to the MINES and try to gain access to them.
>Write in. (Share supplies with your allies? Try to ask your allies some questions? Something else?)

Now that your party is back, do you wish to give any of them some MOONSTONE CHUNKS to permanently boost their max RESTRAINT?
>YES (If so, to who? And how many? You currently have TWO chunks.)
>NO.

Sorry for the delay. Had to deal with a bunch of vet visits with my dogs. Also to clarify, unless I state otherwise, you don't lose any FAVOR by picking a corporate favor option. You still have the Z-Company favor.
>>
>>5985856
>Wait we were?
And there's the Ben we know and love. I like how he fluctuates from being very perceptive and on-point to confused and gullible.
>Casey's impromptu 'defense'
Max would probably be nodding here
>'professional' persona
It's OK Ben, we're all retarded here
>calm, rational tone
I am starting to think it's Z Corp's training of him kicking in at times like these
>cave in
>three days ago
That's rough on these people.
>lookingkt fur somezzingkt
This is AFTER Valentina went in a week ago. Could it have been caused by her?

>>5985857
>bodies were ripe
There's no Manager to Help us here. We're on our own
>all of THESE miners have the same color: Violet
But then earlier
>weird spirals in their eyes. Purple for the woman's
We can mindread Pierre and Roxanne, but not these others. Devin in the store could also be mindread, and his spirals were cyan. Weird pattern here
>bodies of six random miners
40 originally
23 remain
17 gone
Of the 17 gone:
2 died
7 transferred out
8 injured and not counted
But right here there are 6 injured... there's 2 unaccounted for.
>Kori
Someone new?
>Rose something
It can't be Rosalie Vanni, right? They have ties to Z Corp to bring this guy here? That Robbert Huxley doesn't know?

>>5985859
>deep violet spirals
>minds are completely dead
Same as the other ones
>perfect record
Not a new record, but a "perfect" one
>FIND 'LUTHER'
That leaves 1 more miner unaccounted for... unless that's Devin because he's the shopkeep, and he also got into trouble in the mines?
>NEGOTIATE
Can we even do that now, without having gone into the mines yet? We did the training courses in X Corp before we negotiated at the end, so do we do that again here?

>>5985860
>Moonstones
That doesn't explain Devin's condition being similar to Nicole's as well as these miners.
>-1 BRIBE
Good. We got 2 more to use on those mine guards
>last week
Kinda lines up with the rest
>inspiration
Oh no she's one of THOSE
>closed the mine
That fucking Mayor
>golden ticket
Is it the thing Devin described?

>>5985865
>sent by the other corpos
Just great, now we gotta convince him... or do we?
>>
>>5985865
>Turn your attention back to Kori for a moment. "Look, let's cut to the chase. Why did they actually send you here? Are you going to squeal to your bosses about us?" One of the corpos sent him here. Why? (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 19 (-2 from CASEY, -2 from BENJAMIN), rolling 6d6+1d3 with Benjamin's help. If you succeed, you might get some helpful insight when dealing with the corpos later down the line.)
Free action, corpo insight, maybe connecting Z Corp to these events? Warning this Kori about Robbert Huxley and his Z Corp bargaining chip motivation here might be wise, and get Kori to trust us further.
>Something about all of this is off. The mine was closed by the mayor, yet the miners were let in three days ago? Was the cave in even an accident? Try to interview the mine guards.
Get info from them, then bribe money on them and go straight into the mines.
>YES
1 to Alexis, hold off on the other one.
Though I get the feeling the moonstones are a trap once we get in the mines, a PERMANENT max restraint increase is too fucking good. All this talk of gas and contamination and now with the comatose miner injuries, I am still very hesitant... We have ways to break panic like LALILU and BLESSED CHAINS, but not much. Alexis RESTRAINT being 2 max is very very troubling to me. That makes her the weakest link to SP damage, alongside Max with her 3 max RESTRAINT.

I bet this Luther guy is down there somewhere just like Valentina is. Firsthand experience with the mines alongside any evidence we find on the way there and back will help us negotiate with the Mayor when we come out, putting that fucker in his place. I hope we'll be able to remain sane enough to negotiate with him at all, but I get the impression we will be if we did so after the HELL COURSE in the X Corp military base mission. Once we get into the mines but before we go in too deep, we can take a moment to give our allies the rundown from what we know so far. Beating the corpos to the mine will be huge. The mining gear and the drill will be immense in getting past that cave-in and to where Devin and the other missing/dead must be.
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>>5985888
+1
>>
>>5985888
+1
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>>5985899
>>5986003
What do you guys think about this mission so far? All I'm doing is autistically point details out and explain the logic behind my choices when I vote.
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>>5986015
This mission is intriguing. Thank you for your analysis. Your posts are always useful and helpful. :D
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>>5986015
Should we somehow get a favor and a reward from three Corpo individuals while we are here?
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>>5986175
Thanks.

>>5986181
I doubt we can do that, not without losing out on other benefits or items or opportunities as a tradeoff. The easiest one we can get one from is Roland, and that's only because how involved we are with his family. We did help his father Gregory reach closure with his past fuckup and saved his life from his critical wounds. We did help rescue his daughter's boyfriend too. If he finds out all this AND gets personal confirmation from Gregory (whose phone number we still have) and Max (right here with us on this mission), there's no fucking way the Krakatoa family patriarch will not respect us. The Vannis we really don't have any in with, except the old ID card from Gregory's mission. The ID card which I explicitly wanted to hold onto just for this sort of mission and character moment, suspecting the owner was still alive after so long. Now we have no experience with any Huxley's, and the closest we have to them is Frank, but we never talked with or did anything with Frank outside of the time when we obtained him as a contact. Maybe namedropping him might do some good if we end up confronting Robbert here on this mission, but not by much.

With all that said, if trying to get favors or rewards from them means losing credit for rescuing Valentina and solving this mine mystery, then I'm against it. I'm with the Handler on this one
>"I don't know what those FUCKING COCKSUCKERS will try doing to you if they see you. Like how they fucking treated ME when I asked for ONE GOD DAMN FUCKING DINNER WITH THEIR FAMILIES!
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Considering that there's been no real votes for a while and the only votes in question all agree on the same thing, I'll just close this vote and start writing the next update. No point sitting around for 10 hours for one more +1.

Two anons, roll 3d6. Another one, roll a 1d3.
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Rolled 1, 3, 4 = 8 (3d6)

>>5986412
>>
Rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10 (3d6)

>>5986412
>>
Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>5986412
>>
>>5986413
>>5986414
>>5986422
21. Success. Writing.
>>
Before you really have time to think about what you're doing, you immediately rush back into the hut. Your allies follow after you since at this point, anyone who's worked with you for more than one mission just knows to go along with you.

Your sudden reentrance shocks Kori, who was busy...carving a chunk of Moonstone out of one of the six miners. "Some privacy, please? The fumes that these stones make are, well, quite intoxicating." He immediately turns his attention back to carefully chiseling the hunk of stone out of the miner's chest.

"Look, let's cut to the chase. Why did they actually send you here?" You're going to cut right through this bullshit. Every person you met here has been deranged or sketchy and this man isn't any different.

"Now, why would I tell you th-" His gaze slowly tracks over to Alexis and Max and he immediately stops speaking. <"Oh fuck."> "Hm. Again, why should I talk with a Krakatoa nearby?"

[OPTIMISTIC SPIRIT] "Because you're a good person who likes doing good things?" Casey chirps out with a cheerful, ear to ear smile. "At least I hope so!
[BLIND OPTIMISM] "Kori, man, we're both here to do a job. We're not here to fight each other. Hell, we're probably on the same page. You can trust them, you know?"

"Let's not lie, though. Are you going to squeal to your bosses about us?" You take another step towards Kori. "Look. I want to be like the others here but I can't leave in good faith until I know you're not going to backstab me."

>21! SUCCESS!

"Fuck, no, you think I actually want to be here?" Forced laughter oozes out of Kori. There's no joy to it, it's the kind of laughter a man under a LOT of pressure would let out when confronted by his boss. "No, I won't squeal. I'm only really here for the stones produced here. This place used to have, I dunno, hundreds of people working here for...something. And my boss wanted me to get some raw Moonstone samples. That's it."

"This place is a fucking lightning rod for people, huh?" Alexis mutters to herself. "Feels like every single person here is obsessed with those god damn mines."
"Tell me about it." Max fiddles with her shades to steady her nerves. "You, uh, recognized me, huh? Did, uh, dad...?"

"Fuuucck, yeah, yeah. Roland, huh?" More forced laughter fills the air. "Look. My boss has been trying to find something for the last god knows how long and I've been dragged around. Z-Company would've been pissed if I rejected a job from a Vanni so, you know, that's that. This is this."

"Surely there's another place to find Moonstones at though, right? I talked to a W-Corp employee once and she shoved one into my hand without question."

"It was a refined one probably." Kori holds up the chunk of stone he harvested from the miner. It's rough, course, and covered in cracks. A dark violet mist is seeping out of it, sinking onto the floor below. "The raw ones are pretty damn hard to get. That's what my task is. I couldn't get into the mine so..."
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"If I had to guess, she's more interested in the gas flowing out of them." He drops the chunk into a ziplock plastic bag and seals it tight. "Probably real valuable if she's working with Roland and, uh...hm. She talked about another one but I don't recall his name."

"Robert Huxley. Apparently he's also working with Z-Company?" You feel like he should probably know. "He might be looking for, well, what was the word? A 'living bargaining chip'."

[CORPORATE INSIDER] "That doesn't make any sense. Huxleys mostly work for H and W-Corp, they don't usually involve themselves in other companies." Alexis can't help to be confused at the information you found out.

[CORPORATE V.I.P.] "Wait, Z-Company? That might make a bit of sense, actually. Could be that he's trying to use this 'recovery' mission as pretense for getting some Moonstone gas?" Max offers what little information she has on hand. "He's probably working with my dad and the other Vanni solely because they'll help him get inside."

Kori's eyes could be mistaken as plates with how wide they are now. Fear is oozing out of every pore of him. "Nope, nope, I signed up for a lot of things but I didn't hear about no Huxley. Look, you want some advice? You're probably looking for that Valentina girl too, right? My boss said she plans on 'disciplining' her for disappearing."

Oh? You gesture at him to continue. "I don't know a lot of details but she left with something that they want to recover at any costs. Probably why I was sent here."

Kori quickly heads towards the exit. "Those three are going to do something REAL nasty to each other if they manage to get down there. I'll try to buy you some time. For my sake and your sake." And then, he leaves.

[CORPORATE ELITE] Alexis' walkie talkie crackles to life. Alexis picks up and messes with a few of the dials on it to tune the frequency into a noise all of you can understand. "Warning: We detected some minor seismic tremors throughout the area you're in, White Suit."

That's not good. You and your allies decide it's probably time to get a move on. Time to head to the mines. With you leading the way, the five of you make a beeline towards the mines. The few people (well, two to three to be exact) roaming around in the abandoned streets watch on with mild confusion at why the five of you are heading over THERE of all places. You don't really have time to worry about that, though.

In the rush, you toss over a Moonstone Chunk to Alexis. As if on instinct, she takes a deep huff of the gas pouring out of it before throwing the now useless rock away.
>-1 MOONSTONE CHUNK! +1 MAX RESTRAINT TO ALEXIS PERMANENTLY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIQ6hUsMRaw - MINING ENTRANCE

It takes a while to get over there given how the town was seemingly built to be a solid mile away from their god damn mines. Perhaps there used to be other buildings here but given the decay and rust everywhere else in the town? Doubtful.
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About a solid fifty feet away is a ramshackle wooden structure built right over a massive, gaping hole in the ground. Now that you're close enough to see what it is, it seems like it's mostly just a big fuckoff platform with a lift installed in it that can go up and down. Several rusted over boxes are left laying around on the platform, presumably meant to help in harvesting.

Not like that matters right now given how it's fenced away with a long chain length fence that completely surrounds the perimeter of both the platform and the mine itself. Three armed men in the exact same outfit stand around the locked gate.

Each of them is wearing a bulky dark brown rubber protective suit that covers their whole body. The best comparison you can think of a fireman's suit if it was designed to be airtight. Gas masks connected to heavy oxygen tanks cover their faces, hiding their expressions from you. Another tank on their backs fuels their weapon of choice.

Fucking flamethrowers.

[SEEKER + CORPORATE INSIDER] Both you and Alexis immediately notice something off about them. They look less like guards for a mine and more like armed corporate soldiers. From H-Corp, to be specific. They stand out like a sore thumb, especially since well.

Using FLAMETHROWERS near a GAS FILLED MINE is retarded...unless there's a reason why they still have them?

They immediately spot you and one of them points the nozzle of their flamethrower at your group. "WE ARE ALLOWED TO USE LETHAL FORCE."

Casey blinks a few times at the sight of the flamethrowers. "Waow! Reminds me of what I had to use back home! Fire is always the most efficient way to deal with multiple bodies!"

The guard lowers their flamethrower. <"Huh. Someone who understands."> Well, seems like that's enough to get the guards to calm down for a moment.

What do you want to ask them about? Pick two.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] "We already know you let the miners in despite the conditions down there. Why? What's so fucking valuable down there?" Try to get a FUCKING STRAIGHT ANSWER as to why everyone's so interested here. (Due to Alexis and Max interviewing the Mayor, you don't need to make a skill check with this one.)
>[MAX ALLY] "Look, we're looking for a friend. A very important friend. A friend who, if we don't find, my family will raise hell. What did she tell your boss?" (-1 charge for Max's CORPORATE V.I.P boon. They'll tell you everything they know about Valentina and the actual reason she came here, including a personal item that Casey's gunthing can track.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Flamethrowers are quite an interesting weapon! Very interesting, given that they are a poor choice for a gas-filled mine! What could possibly warrant those?" Casey begins to blabber on. Let her. (CHARM DC: 27, with Casey being assisted by Alexis and Max. Succeed and you'll get some valuable information on what sort of threats are down there and what you should look out for while exploring.)
(1/2)
>>
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "I doubt you're paid enough for this but why aren't the miners being supplied with the proper equipment? Everyone here is brain damaged, brain dead, or acting all sorts of weird." You doubt it's just simple mismanagement, right?
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Alexis narrows her eyes at the guards. "Wait, flamethrowers, those masks and outfits...you're from H-Corp. Who hired you?" (Due to Alexis' OVERWHELMING CONNECTIONS, she autopasses this check. You'll get some very interesting information about the person who hired the guards.)
>Write in.

And how do you want to bribe them so you can get in later?
>"Here." Max holds up a briefcase filled with money. "From me, to you." (-2 BRIBE MONEY charge. No other benefits, they'll just be willing to let you in.)
>[LICENSED PHARAMICST] "Friends, friends! How long has it been since you've been able to have some fun?" Drugs! (-1 CHARGE, leaving Benjamin with two. The drugged out guards may prove to be a great distraction and source of confusion for anyone else trying to get in.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Sometimes, the bluntest option is the best option. MIND PUPPETEER them. (-2 RESTRAINT, write in whether to spend another 1 RESTRAINT or lose 1 FLESH. Thanks to your mind tricks, the guards will try their best to slow down or hinder anyone who might be following after you.)
>Hold up a normal C-Extract. "Here. Let us in and you can keep this." (-1 C-EXTRACT. The guards will be willing to give you some valuable information about the mine's layout and some extra equipment for the rare P-Company product.)

I'll update the pastebins with Casey's RAPPORT boost + Alexis' RESTRAINT boost tomorrow.
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>>5986491
>go along with you
The Jamrock Shuffle...
>carving a chunk
Everybody wants these damn rocks
>stones make
The stones produce them on their own? Why hasn't anybody made a farm of it then? Grow the rocks like crystals or something? Or maybe the gas comes from a deeper source, and the rocks absorb it on the way up to become special?
>hundreds
But there's only like 20 people left. What the fuck happened? Is this even a recent occurrence? W Corp must have been bleeding people stationed here for years, if all this disrepair is real
>rejected
So he is a Z Corp affiliate, but he's hired by a Vanni to collect the rocks here? I doubt it was Valentina who hired him, but it could be any of them. Does he know Rosalie Vanni is one of the corpo admins on-site right now?
>that's that. This is this
The man himself isn't here yet
>dark violet mist
Same as the comatose swirly-eyed miners
>sinking onto the floor
Heavier than air, whatever it is. Valuable info
>hard to get
How, if the mine is supposedly full of the damn things? Do they need to grow on contaminated people for proper rawness? Then why even have a mine like this? Why not gas contaminate random nobodies or grown human flesh, and farm the raw moonstone from them? This whole scenario we're in is crazy already. So many questions

>>5986493
>interested in the gas
The "inspiration" Valentina was searching for?
>Huxleys mostly work for H and W-Corp, they don't usually involve themselves in other companies
What?
>pretense for getting some Moonstone gas
What??
>ROBERT HUXLEY...POWER PLAY WITH Z-COMPANY...ATTEMPTING TO FIND LEVERAGE...UPWARD MOMENTUM...SEARCHING FOR 'LIVING BARGAINING CHIP'
What??? I don't fucking get any of this!
>My boss said she
"She" means it's Rosalie or her older relative Lilith Vanni, whose ID card we have. Or a different Vanni
>'disciplining' her for disappearing
Not a good sign
>left with something that they want to recover at any cost
What would it even be if Valentina reportedly "arrived here last week in search of some sort of inspiration and wanted to be let into the mines, something about Moonstones and their innate potential"? What would she bring, if she was bent on deliberately mindbreaking herself here and might not return intact?
>something REAL nasty to each other
We need to also protect Roland at all costs, or Max and Gregory will hold infinite grudge towards Nicole for it
>minor seismic tremors
After the "French" miners mentioned that cave-in, I'm very spooked. Rocks fall everyone dies is a very real event in real life
>deep huff
I will be floored if this bites us in the ass later, but come on. Bitch you only have TWO max restraint; you CANNOT be around Nicole staying like that!

>>5986500
>H-Corp
And right after the Huxley info
>Someone who understands.
Off to a good start

This mission is already a massive clusterfuck mystery.
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>>5986500
>>5986504
All of these options are too good. I cannot decide. I'd rather other people vote first and talk things over before I +1 somebody or write up a vote
>>
What in hell is going on here? Non-anomalies monster in the mines or something infectious in the mines, is that why guards are carrying flamethrowers? Rock moonstone monster or esque the things monster from the movie?
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>>5986539
I don't know, ESL anon. This is a very confusing mission, which I assume is the intended response. We won't know shit until we step into the mines and get exploring
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>>5986504
>[MAX ALLY] "Look, we're looking for a friend. A very important friend. A friend who, if we don't find, my family will raise hell. What did she tell your boss?" (-1 charge for Max's CORPORATE V.I.P boon. They'll tell you everything they know about Valentina and the actual reason she came here, including a personal item that Casey's gunthing can track.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Flamethrowers are quite an interesting weapon! Very interesting, given that they are a poor choice for a gas-filled mine! What could possibly warrant those?" Casey begins to blabber on. Let her. (CHARM DC: 27, with Casey being assisted by Alexis and Max. Succeed and you'll get some valuable information on what sort of threats are down there and what you should look out for while exploring.)

>Hold up a normal C-Extract. "Here. Let us in and you can keep this." (-1 C-EXTRACT. The guards will be willing to give you some valuable information about the mine's layout and some extra equipment for the rare P-Company product.)
>>
>>5986525
>>hard to get
>How, if the mine is supposedly full of the damn things? Do they need to grow on contaminated people for proper rawness? Then why even have a mine like this? Why not gas contaminate random nobodies or grown human flesh, and farm the raw moonstone from them?

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] What you think he meant to say is that getting the actual raw material OUTSIDE of a mining town like this is hard. The MOONSTONE you got from Wendy was a refined product meant for commercial use. It was bright purple, not violet, and it had no gas leaking out of it.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Whatever weird effect the raw product has is what everyone is interested in. The corpos working with Z-Corp want it for something, Valentina apparently came here for inspiration from the mind altering gas...
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] That's as far as you can get. For some reason, W-Company doesn't export the raw product and people WANT it for some reason. Even if there's no justifiable explanation given how vague everyone here is about it.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] ...You're on the right track about the 'growing off people' thing, you know that much.
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>>5986547
You sure you want to give up a C-Extract when we have 2 BRIBE MONEY left?

>>5986554
Thank you for the info post. An unknown yet useful substance that is only obtained in one way or via select sources, that everybody values and wants without explanation... a chilling similarity to C-Extract itself. This is absolutely a sort of Singularity. Could it be directly related to W Corp's, as Wendy hinted at? But then why is W Corp not extremely heavy in presence and control here? The plot thickens...
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>>5986557
I want valuable information and extra equipment from the guards. I want to be prepared.
You want me to switch C-extract to Bribe Money?
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>>5986564
Maybe. It does say equipment. Maybe if we go the C-Extract option, they can throw in extra if Nicole shows the business card? In fact, FUCK IT

>>5986547
+1
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>>5986504
In addition to >>5986547 flash that business card
>H-COMPANY BUSINESS CARD (A sign of corporate approval. Can be used to access exclusive H-Company products from shops around the City.)
And maybe the lighter too so they know we're good company
>H-CORP BRANDED LIGHTER. Insanely powerful for a simple zippo lighter. (Comes with two vials. You can spend a vial to instantly ignite a flammable object or to warp something metallic. Pairs nicely with your power.)
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>>5986504
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] "We already know you let the miners in despite the conditions down there. Why? What's so fucking valuable down there?" Try to get a FUCKING STRAIGHT ANSWER as to why everyone's so interested here. (Due to Alexis and Max interviewing the Mayor, you don't need to make a skill check with this one.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Alexis narrows her eyes at the guards. "Wait, flamethrowers, those masks and outfits...you're from H-Corp. Who hired you?" (Due to Alexis' OVERWHELMING CONNECTIONS, she autopasses this check. You'll get some very interesting information about the person who hired the guards.)
>"Here." Max holds up a briefcase filled with money. "From me, to you." (-2 BRIBE MONEY charge. No other benefits, they'll just be willing to let you in.)
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>>5986500
>[MAX ALLY] "Look, we're looking for a friend. A very important friend. A friend who, if we don't find, my family will raise hell. What did she tell your boss?" (-1 charge for Max's CORPORATE V.I.P boon. They'll tell you everything they know about Valentina and the actual reason she came here, including a personal item that Casey's gunthing can track.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Alexis narrows her eyes at the guards. "Wait, flamethrowers, those masks and outfits...you're from H-Corp. Who hired you?" (Due to Alexis' OVERWHELMING CONNECTIONS, she autopasses this check. You'll get some very interesting information about the person who hired the guards.)

>>5986504
>"Here." Max holds up a briefcase filled with money. "From me, to you." (-2 BRIBE MONEY charge. No other benefits, they'll just be willing to let you in.)
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>>5986751
+1
>>
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You immediately hold up your H-Company Business Card towards the guards. While it's hard to make out how they're feeling thanks to the masks, you do hear them clicking and hissing to each other in some sort of incoherent language.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Your knowledge on it is sketchy but it's a language a lot of these 'Cleansers' (you think that's the right term) soldiers use. Pressurized clicks and gas hissing in specific, distinct patterns.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You have no idea how to translate it. You think one of them said 'cool horns;, at least.

"SPEAK."

Alexis puts down her briefcase and pulls at one of her many corporate pins: A gear spinning through a roaring fire. "You're from H-Corp. I recognize the outfits, the weapons, the masks. Why are you here? Who hired you?"

Upon seeing the pin, the tallest one's knees bend and shake but they manage to keep upright. "OUR BOSS SENT US HERE. TO STAND GUARD. WE DEALT WITH OTHERS WHO APPROACHED. WE'RE STANDING ON THEM." The Cleanser stares at the dusty ground everyone is standing on.
"Okay wow they just admitted to murder that's totally not worrisome." Benjamin tries his best to hold back a nervous laugh. Max slowly rubs Benjamin's back to hopefully soothe the bird brain's growing nerves.

"Huxley, correct?" While her other hand is rubbing Ben's back, she removes her shades to expose her grey-blue eyes. "We already know. No need to hide it, right? And you wouldn't dare try attacking ME, right?"

One of the shorter Cleansers flinches upon seeing Max's piercing grey-blue eyes. "THAT'S A KRAKATOA, BOSS! TOO RISKY, TOO RISKY, BOSS!" Huh. Is that just a genetic thing they all have?

"SILENCE." The tall Cleanser lowers their flamethrower and gestures at their other goons to do the same. "YOU ARE CORRECT. SIMPLY PUT, HE DOESN'T WANT ANYONE IN OR OUT OF HERE. WE ARE TASKED TO STOP ANYONE ENTERING OR LEAVING WITHOUT EXPRESS APPROVAL."

"But why?" You try your best to not sound too needy but you just want a straight answer "Why did he hire you? When? For what purpose? Just fucking spit something out holy shit the last hour has been nothing but vague, confusing schizophRENIC NONSENSE-" You feel your brain beginning to SEETHE. Sparks of energy begin to build up inside you. Max and Casey slowly back away from you.

[UNSTABLE] "AND I WILL FUCKING RIP SOMEONE TO SHREDS IF I HEAR ANY MORE VAGUE BULLSHIT. I WILL FUCKING EAT YOU-"

Casey interrupts you with a pat on the back and Benjamin loudly clears his throat. While Alexis treats your outburst with a professional, calm disnterest, your other allies are clearly worried about you. Your face goes flush, you did NOT expect to act out like that.

>-1 RESTRAINT TO ALL BUT ALEXIS

[OPTIMISTIC SPIRIT + BLIND OPTIMISM] "So, did you know that queen bees lay 2000 eggs per day?" "Oh! And that honey has been commonly used to treat infections!" Casey and Benjamin begin to blabber about completely random fun facts to distract everyone
>>
It proves effective, given how everyone begins to relax, including you.
>+1 RESTRAINT HEALED TO PARTY! +1 EXTRA RESTRAINT TO MAX THANKS TO BENJAMIN!

The three Cleansers have raised their flamethrowers up but after seeing that you're not going to fry them, they lower their flamethrowers.

"LOOK. WE DON'T KNOW A LOT. WE WERE HIRED TO GUARD THE MINES AND NOTHING ELSE BUT HOLY FUCK, WE GET IT. WE'LL SQUEAL." The short one nervously hisses.
"HE TOLD US TO COME HERE BEFORE HE ARRIVED SO WE COULD SCOUT OUT THE PLACE. WE EXPLORED DOWN THERE TO TRY FINDING A LARGE VEIN OF RAW MOONSTONE. WE FAILED, SO HE TOLD US TO WAIT UNTIL HE COULD ARRIVE TO FOLLOW AFTER HIM." The average sized one continues the explanation.
"HE WAS IN A PRETTY BIG HURRY FOR US TO COME DOWN HERE AND FIND IT. APPARENTLY, HE'S BEEN TRYING TO GET WITH Z-COMPANY SINCE HIS...UNCONTROLLABLE NATURE HAS BEEN STRAINING HIS FAVORS WITH W AND H-CORP." The tall one takes in a deep, painful breath. "BECAUSE HE JUST CAN'T FUCKING STOP HIMSELF FROM INTERFERRING AND FUCKING OVER THEIR OPERATIONS SO HE'S JUMPING SHIP TO ANOTHER COMPANY."

"Oh." Max can't help but laugh at that. "Oh, so that's why. He's working with Z-Company since he fucked up. Okay, wow, that's a shockingly coherent answer. I know Huxleys are violent but how bad is he?"

"BAD. THAT HORNED GIRL'S OUTBURST? IMAGINE THAT. BUT WORSE. EVERY DAY." The short one hisses with a level of exhaustion and dread that hurts to listen to.
"WE TOLD HIM HE SHOULD GET SOME GOD DAMN MEDS BUT APPARENTLY NOTHING WORKS FOR HIM ANYMORE. DRUG TOLERANCE." The middle one fiddles with a nozzle on their back. "SIDE EFFECT OF BEING AN ANTISEPTIC VET. YES. HE KEEPS RAMBLING ABOUT THIS TO US. HE'S FUCKING ANNOYING, REALLY."
"APPARENTLY HE HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT THE GAS HERE APPARENTLY HAVING POWERFUL PSYCHOACTIVE EFFECTS? SO HE'S TRYING TO GET SOME OF IT SO Z-CORP CAN...MAKE SOMETHING TO HELP HIM." Well, it doesn't take a genius to realize the man in a bunny mask has mental issues but that actually helps to piece some things together.

If he's in bad favor with W-Corp, the only other corp who makes antipsychotics and other mental issue related drugs, this is probably his best shot given that Z-Company seems interested in accessing the mines too.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Wait, he's looking for a bargaining chip for these meds he really needs, yeah? If he can't find one in the shape of Benjamin and Kori, what about Valentina? The Cleansers probably squealed to him if they let her in, yeah?

"Wait, you went down there? With those flamethrowers? Huh?" While it's not your prime focus, you're still wondering why the fuck they even have them. The three look confused at your reaction, as if they don't understand why fire doesn't solve anything. "Isn't the gas there flammable?"

"MOONSTONE GAS ISN'T. ACTUALLY SUPPRESSES FLAMES TO AN EXTENT. WE WERE JUST IN A RUSH AND COULDN'T GET OUR OTHER EQUIPMENT."
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"Well, that's cool and all." Max interrupts the ongoing conversation with a firm cough. "But we're here to look for someone." She tosses over a small parcel over to the Cleansers. The tall one catches it and opens it to see...well. A fuck ton of bribe money. "A very important friend. A friend who, if we don't find, my family will raise hell. Why did you let her in?"

The Cleansers chitter and chatter amongst each other, holding what you think is about $6000 worth of bribe money. The tall one breaks their gaze from the pile with a shrug.

"VALENTINA, YEAH? SHE KEPT BLABBERING HER FUCKING NAME TO EVERYONE IN EARSHOT. SHE CAME HERE LAST WEEK AND BADGERED US TO LET HER IN. SHE DID THIS WHOLE SOB STORY ABOUT HER FAMILY SUCKING AND SHIT LIKE THAT."
The short one takes a moment to remember something before joining the conversation. "SHE SAID SHE HEARD A RUMOR ABOUT THE GAS THE RAW STUFF PRODUCES AND SHE WANTED TO COLLECT A SAMPLE FOR HERSELF. A BIG ONE. BIG ENOUGH SO SHE COULD GROW MORE OF IT."
The average sized one is still transfixed by the money but with a shove from the tall one, they speak up as well. "WE LET HER IN BECAUSE TO BE HONEST? SHE WAS SOME DUMB TEENAGER WHO WANTED TO GET HIGH FOR CHEAP SO SHE COULD MAKE SOME DUMB ART. WE TOLD OUR BOSS ABOUT IT AND HE DIDN'T CARE, SO WE LET HER IN. SHE HAD SOME DUMBASS MINER BOYTOY COME AFTER HER AND SOME BULKY ROBOT FRIEND, SHE WOULD'VE BEEN FINE."

"Until she didn't return." You mutter to yourself. Fuck, yeah, that's not good. You can NOT let Robbert find her. Having a hostage of a powerful family member's daughter would be BAD.

"Wait, what?" Benjamin snaps out of his bee trivia induced trance. "S-sixteen? Nicole, did you know about that? We're hunting a teenager?"

...Wait, yeah, the Handler only said her name and where she was at. Nothing else. Holy shit, no wonder why everyone's charging in and why she seemingly had an actual motive to come here beyond 'the arts, bro'. Her god damn brain wasn't fully developed and now, she's probably melting her brain down there.

"Do you have anything of hers? We're here to find her." You're immediately tossed over a long, flowing scarf made of a dark blue Nouveau Fabric. "YEAH. SHE SAID TO KEEP THIS. SOME SORT OF HIGH CLASS STUFF. DIDN'T WANT IT DIRTY. WELL, OUR JOBS ARE DONE HERE AND WE TOTALLY DIDN'T SEE YOU SO..." The Cleansers take a moment to open up the gate before gesturing at you to go inside.

You and your allies decide it's probably best to rush down there before the others-

[???] "GOOD FRIENDS!" Devin yells out towards a group of three corporate executives, rushing right over to them to get in their way. "WOULD YOU LIKE A POPSICLE?"
[???] The bunny masked man huffs with obvious annoyance. "No. Move."
[???] "AH BUT YOU SEE! I THINK YOU SHOULD REALLY COME OVER HERE FOR ONE!" Devin gestures towards his shop. "I WON'T LEAVE UNTIL YOU DO!" Another man in a labcoat exits the store, approaching the corpos as well.
>>
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You snap out of that weird vision not long after. Huh, seems like your two associates are buying some time. You won't question HOW you had that vision, your brain just does funny things sometimes.

Your group steps past the now open gate to approach the wooden platform built right above the mines. The lift is right in the middle of the platform and, wow, it does not look stable at all. It's a shoddy, rusted over lift with barely held together gates to make sure you don't just get send flying to your death if you backed up too far.

Before you go down there, you pull out your five gas masks and hand four of them to your allies.
>+GAS MASK TO ALL ALLIES!

Alexis, Casey, and Benjamin manage to put on their masks with practiced and skilled motions, as if this isn't the first time any of them has worn one before.

[SHELTERED] Max, meanwhile, is struggling for her damn life to actually put it on properly. She managed to figure out that she had to remove her shades but that's about it.

"Shit, uh, haha. Yeah I can do this." She fiddles around with the straps, trying desperately to put it on while the others (including you) stare at her pitiful attempts. Benjamin eventually steps in and adjusts the straps for her so she can actually wear it. "hahathankshoneyitotallywasgonnadoitanywaysonmyownyeah."

"Of course!" Benjamin flashes a thumbs up. "But we're on a time limit, so I wanted to help!" Well, with that handled, your group steps onto the shaky lift. The mechanism to start the lift is just a simple button panel. Casey slaps the button and immediately, the gates to the lift shut. Your group begins your descent down into the mines...

Darker yet darker. Delving into the bowels of the earth with nothing else moving you forward but the promise of a payday and the hope that, ultimately, this mission will be worth it. Five minutes pass. Then ten. Then fifteen. Then who knows how long. All your allies can do is to chatter about whatever random thoughts come to mind to entertain themselves on the long, long trip down.

https://youtu.be/-2LOaw8fiEo - DARK AND QUIET

After god knows how long, the lift finally reaches the bottom. Your group steps out of the lift and, thankfully, the lift doesn't immediately start launching back to the surface. You got some time to burn down here. You take a look at your surroundings to see what you have to work with.

You're in an entrance tunnel that's clearly made to be some sort of resting area or resupply station for the miners. The stone floors and walls have been chiseled and carved into mostly flat and smooth surfaces. Aside from the path leading down, down, down into the mine, there's two sections of stone wall that have been carved out.

One section is a small resting area filled with cheap and shoddy furniture a few ancient computers on some cheap desks, and a few old TVs that are playing nothing but static. You're shocked they even get a connection down here.
>>
A musty carpet lays on the floor, clearly some failed attempt at making this place not so god damn depressing to look at. The other section has a massive clusterfuck of computers and complex machinery with wires going all over the damn place. Sitting right at the edge of the other section is several rusted over lockers, probably for resupply. The machinery grinds, churns, and beeps with a pattern you can't quite decipher.

There doesn't seem to be any visible gas here so you assume that you have to go deeper to see anything of actual value or note. What do you want to do from here, Nicole? You got some time thanks to the favor of Dori and Kevin- Pft, Devin and Kori.

Pick four actions.
>Our only goal is to find Valentina. Head down deeper, deeper, and deeper. (Consumes two actions. You'll save a lot of time by picking this, putting more distance between you and the corpos. Might also help your odds at finding Valentina in a better state.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Alexis is busy checking the computers over at the rest section. Head over to help her comb through whatever information might be on there.
>[MAX ALLY + ANTIQUE PHONE] "So, Max. I found this a while ago. Mind helping me search through it?" Take some time to analyze the data in the ANTIQUE PHONE. Max might be able to fill in whatever blanks are inside.
>[PULSATING GEAR] Complex machinery, huh? Maybe that old trinket you have could be useful here. If nothing else, you'll get some time to figure out what kind of machinery it is and what its function is.
>[CASEY ALLY] "Hey, use your weird gun thing to track this." Hand her the scarf they handed you. Might as well get her 'gun' familiarized with it before you go down there.
>It wouldn't hurt to investigate the 'rest' section. Maybe you can find some more personal belongings if Valentina was willing to toss away an expensive scarf to some random Cleansers.
>[UNSTABLE] YEAH, UH, SORRY. EVERYTHING IN THIS MISSION HAS BEEN CONFUSING AND MINDMELTING AND SHIT AND I LET MYSELF GO FOR A MOMENT. CAN I APOLOGIZE TO THEM? PLEASE?
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "Hey, Benny boy. You know what time it is, right?" "Yes, Nicole..." Drug time! (-1 CHARGE on LICENSED PHARAMCIST. Write in what kind of drug or chemical you want him to make. You may spend -2 CHARGES to ask him to make an explosive of some kind.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Use WHISPERS OF THE CITY to take a quick mental map of the MINES. (-1 RESTRAINT, should help you with your explorations down the line.)
>Take some time to talk and hang out with your allies. You have a feeling once you start delving, you won't have time for casual chitchat. (+1 RAPPORT with two allies of your choice. Write in which ones you want to hang out with.)
>Write in. (Give an ally a MINING BUNDLE? Ask your allies something? Try to ask SEEKER something about the Alphabet Companies? Something else completely?)

Sorry for the delay.
>>
>>5987261
>Cleansers
Interesting insight into H Corp people
>A gear spinning through a roaring fire
Not like our PULSATING GEAR, surely
>dusty ground
Rip to those poor mining town folks
>rubs Benjamin's back
They're so cute together
>a genetic thing
Wonder if that started with Gregory, or even before him?
>you did NOT expect to act out like that
Is Nicole's RESTRAINT not above half? Guess all these runarounds got to her too

>>5987265
>completely random fun facts
>+1 EXTRA RESTRAINT TO MAX
Wow, both of them are synergizing well
>SCOUT OUT
That explains why Huxley wasn't so bothered or in a rush. He knows his goons are here on-site too
>CAN'T FUCKING STOP HIMSELF
The downside of being a Madness Combat man that they don't want you to know!!!
>exhaustion and dread
These 3 are lucky to be alive with a boss like that
>DRUG TOLERANCE
Offering him our 2 SALTRIL pills might be a good move if we meet, since we're not using those after embracing UNSTABLE. The nice gesture from another fellow violent and deranged maniac could get through to him. It'd also be a good way to ditch the pills we're not using ever again.
>ANTISEPTIC VET
Shit, we could have related to him better in a confrontation if we got more of that background info from Naomi. At least we still have some knowledge from Admiral and a bit from Naomi too, in case we do face him.
>bargaining chip
That's his plan? Use Valentina as living leverage against the Vannis and benefit from Z Corp?
>SUPPRESSES FLAMES TO AN EXTENT
Good to know

>>5987268
>$6000
A good use of the remaining BRIBE MONEY
>HER FAMILY SUCKING
Unsurprising
>GROW MORE OF IT
So I was right earlier
>DUMB ART
Curious...
>DUMBASS MINER BOYTOY
That's gotta be the "Luther" we need to find
>BULKY ROBOT FRIEND
That's new. If they were alive surely they would have tried to seek help for Valentina or leave for some? Unless they couldn't...
>NOT let Robbert find her
So we have to smuggle her out? Or fight Robbert. Or trick him. Or convince him. Or get around him.
>a powerful family member's daughter
Like the one we're with? Right now?
>S-sixteen
Dumbass underage rich girl in way over her head.
>dark blue Nouveau Fabric
Pairs well with the red one from Gregory.

>>5987269
>buying some time
We did good going for the store and the miners.
>isn't the first time
Surprising that Casey's done this before
>SHELTERED
Was wondering when this would trigger
>Darker yet darker
This isn't a good place for a secret lab
>long, long trip down
It'll buy us time and distance from the corpos on the way in, and later on the way out if we juke them

>>5987279
>lockers
FREE LOOT???????
>Dori and Kevin- Pft
:^)
>>
I see we have 2 ways to go about this. We either
>???
>CASEY ALLY
>GO DEEPER
>GO DEEPER
aka the mission speedrun route. Or we do
>rest section
>ALEXIS ALLY
>MAX ALLY + PHONE
>???
To make the most of combing this lobby area of MAX LOOT AND INFO before the corpo admins get here to do it. There might be something to use against the Mayor in negotiating for the miners for the side mission. PULSATING GEAR option is coming up a second time, so maybe it can do us good here? I had the idea come to me just now to do BENJAMIN ALLY and make explosives to use as a threat or dead man's switch, to force the corpos to let us go if they try and stop us from leaving. Or we use those island ingredients with the SALTRIL, to maybe make a good enough antipsychotic that it actually affects Robbert Huxley through his drug resistance?

What do you guys think? We've been having so many good options and choices lately it hurts with how pressed for time we are against Valentina's state and the corpo trio at our heels.
>>
>>5987279
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Alexis is busy checking the computers over at the rest section. Head over to help her comb through whatever information might be on there.
>[CASEY ALLY] "Hey, use your weird gun thing to track this." Hand her the scarf they handed you. Might as well get her 'gun' familiarized with it before you go down there.
>It wouldn't hurt to investigate the 'rest' section. Maybe you can find some more personal belongings if Valentina was willing to toss away an expensive scarf to some random Cleansers.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Use WHISPERS OF THE CITY to take a quick mental map of the MINES. (-1 RESTRAINT, should help you with your explorations down the line.)
>>
>>5987324
+1
I’m curious if we can recruit Valentina Vanni after rescuing her. Also, I think Miner Boytoy (Luther) might potentially be in love with Valentina.
>>
>>5987332
>Max and Ben
>Valentina and Luther
>rich girl and scatterbrained guy
Heh
>>
>>5987342
Is Nicole's love some scatterbrained corpo heir then
>>
>>5987346
We have not come across any guy that Nicole could feasibly get with. Benjamin has Max. Lex is going to have Ashley eventually. Quentin is a bodypuppeting centipede. Maruyama is still suffering from his ex-wife who cucked him. Adam isn't that close with Nicole at all, and he has Benedict. Benedict is a brain-damaged part-anomaly, and he has Adam. Clover definitely has somebody from his circle of friends. Frank we have not worked with or heard from once since we got his info.
>>
>>5987358
>Adam isn't that close with Nicole at all,
He did see us naked though
>>
>>5987324
Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
+1 this just to speed things up
>>
>>5987279
>Our only goal is to find Valentina. Head down deeper, deeper, and deeper. (Consumes two actions. You'll save a lot of time by picking this, putting more distance between you and the corpos. Might also help your odds at finding Valentina in a better state.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Hey, use your weird gun thing to track this." Hand her the scarf they handed you. Might as well get her 'gun' familiarized with it before you go down there.
>It wouldn't hurt to investigate the 'rest' section. Maybe you can find some more personal belongings if Valentina was willing to toss away an expensive scarf to some random Cleansers.
>>
>>5987324
+1
>>
>>5987279
>ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Use WHISPERS OF THE CITY to take a quick mental map of the MINES. (-1 RESTRAINT, should help you with your explorations down the line.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Hey, use your weird gun thing to track this." Hand her the scarf they handed you. Might as well get her 'gun' familiarized with it before you go down there.
>Our only goal is to find Valentina. Head down deeper, deeper, and deeper. (Consumes two actions. You'll save a lot of time by picking this, putting more distance between you and the corpos. Might also help your odds at finding Valentina in a better state.)
>>
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Your first and immediate instinct is to sit down on the floor. You're not sure why, some sort of impulse to ground yourself when trying out this power? You close your eyes and with a shaky breath, you let your mind blossom and fracture. It's how it must be done. How it must always be done.
>-1 RESTRAINT! 9/10 LEFT!

Almost immediately, your mind is flooded with fragmentary, sparse visions of what lies below. Pipes stretching on for miles into a seemingly endless cavern. A tunnel that spirals deeper and deeper. A metallic fist desperately trying to punch through a jammed metal door. A chunk of bright violet crystals growing over a young woman's face. You take a moment to focus on actual LAYOUTS.

Here's what you got. You're currently at the entrance and the path forward is a deep, spiraling tunnel that eventually breaks off into four different tunnels. Two of them are caved in and the other has SOMETHING waiting down there. Some sort of cave dwelling animal. Best not to bother. Seems like it's going to take some time to travel down.

After you go through the only cleared one, you can make out the rough impression of a catwalk built over a looming pit that is at least a solid mile deep. You'll get a better idea when you go down there, at least.

You open up your eyes. Your allies have been rummaging around the two rooms at the entrance of the mine, trying to burn time or to find things of value. While you know there's no secret paths here thanks to your power, you do smell the delicious scent of HIDDEN LOOT somewhere in the Rest Room-

"Boo." JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WAIT WHO'S JESUS HUH WHAT WHO'S BEHIND YOU "Woah! Woah, calm down Nicky." Your gaze snaps immediately to the person standing behind you. It's...just Max. Her hands are raised up in mock surrender. "I was just wondering what you were doing."

"Psychic power stuff." You immediately calm down as if you weren't freaking out moments ago. "Getting a rough layout of the place." You hold out Valentina's Scarf in the rough direction of where you thought you saw Casey. Like the busy bee she is, she rushes over to grab it before returning to her own activities.

[SHELTERED] "Oh. Haha. Yeah. People have those." Max tries her best to hide her unease but it's blatant to anyone who isn't supremely autistic. "Isn't that scary? To have them? I mean, I know implants can do a lot but actual 'magic' stuff is something else."

Oh, right, you don't recall using any of your powers in front of her before. The casino mission was pretty under the radar. "Well, it's not magic-" You immediately interrupt yourself. "Well, I've had them for as long as I can bother to remember."

As you begin walking over to the REST ROOM, Max follows after you. "Wait, hold on though, why are we waiting around if you've had them this whole time?" She badgers you with a sparkling, child-like curiosity. "Can't you blow a passage to where Val is? Teleport us there? Talk to her with your mind??? C'mon, this can be a cakewalk!"
>>
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Your antlers buzz subtly as your feet brush up against a specific part of the carpet. Ripping it off the chunk with your telekinesis, you find a small safe embedded in the floor underneath. Interesting. Some subconscious part of you tells you that the code's on the computer somehow.

"One, I can't blow shit up OR teleport. Two, most of my powers mess with my brain if I use them too much so even I could do those things, it's safer for everyone involved if I used them sparingly."

Max slumps over, crossing her arms with obvious disappointment. "Is there even a point on having them if you can't use them whenever you want to? I mean, Benjamin keeps telling me about how cool your powers are and how amazing it must be to have them."

...You should probably nip that in the bud after this mission is done. Especially since you DO have a way on giving him powers. "It's not as fun as you think it is. I only do what I need to do to survive. I don't think you understand that."

[SHELTERED] Max tries to refute your point but she really can't find the words to.. <"What IS that like? I. I don't really get it. Can't pretend to."> "Sorry." She grumbles under her breath with obvious annoyance. It's clear whatever's annoying her isn't really because of you.

"Hey, don't be." You would offer a smile but, well, mask. "Just trying to explain myself."

You turn your attention over to Alexis and Benjamin, who have been fiddling around with the various computers sprawled throughout the breakroom. It's clear that most of the stuff being displayed on the screens is garbage noise. They're desperately trying to skim whatever information they can out of it. You gesture at Max to explore the REST ROOM on your behalf while you help the others.

She, alongside Casey, start to explore the room on your behalf. No need to let your allies sit around. A captain must order her crew, after all- Okay weird impulse there.

You join up with Alexis and Benjamin after shaking your head of the Admiral's residual influence. Your eyes begin to scan through all of the lines, trying to figure out some sort of method in the mess of binary and garbage noise text.

"This beaut has seen better days." Benjamin admits with a longing tone. "Hardware damage. Half the time, the screen turns into-" A multicolored haze best described as 'clown vomit' flickers on the screen for twenty solid seconds, interrupting your ability to make out anything.
"Most of the coherent stuff is just random numbers. One of them was 42-0-69, for instance." Ah! Your brain instinctually processes that as the safe code. You also fucking hate whoever picked it!

"Lemme help..." You grab onto one of the few chairs and begin the process of skimming through the piles of corrupted data to see if there's anything remotely worth keeping. About twenty minutes pass...

"I think that's about all we can get." Alexis finishes scribbling down the last bit of usable data she could find onto a sheet of loose paper.
>>
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CAVE IN REPORT - "Someone's been digging here and I know it isn't anyone on our staff. Writing this in a rush, sorry if it's fucked up. Lost some lads in a cave in today. We were in Layer 4 when we heard a massive explosion going off, gas leak maybe? Only thing I know is that it came from a deeper layer and it's someone trying to dig UPWARDS."
SAFEHOUSE CONSTRUCTION - "With everything going on, we had to make several safehouses throughout Layer 3 to 7, the bottom. We had to hide them just in case anyone invades but you can tell where one is by the color of the stone around them. Check for lighter sections of the cave walls. There should be enough supplies in there to hold someone for a week and a half. Do note that the electronic doors have a few kinks and may jam from time to time."
W-CORP MEMO - "To all Mining Towns in PHI-5, due to limited natural resources projected to still be accessible within the next five years, we are ceasing all current supply shipments. You may be provided an exception if you can triple your production by the end of the year. Do try finding a way to 'create' more MOONSTONE. You know how."
MINERAL DISCOVERY - "We found it. The motherload. Eclipse Silk, Moonstone, Sunstone, even a Voidstone vein. It's all down here. Issue is, with the supply shortages, I doubt many of us are going to make it. Joel is going to tell us to keep working until we get all of it out for the sake of that damn quota. Maybe we should try getting one of the families involved. A Vanni, maybe?"

...You don't like the implications put force by the Memo and Mineral Discovery logs. Benjamin and Alexis, while they don't have anything to say, are clearly uncomfortable by what they read as well-

[CORPORATE ELITE] Alexis' radio crackles to life. "Eye in the sky. We found another exit to your mine. You might be able to sneak through it. Whenever you find a door labeled "X-ALPHA", you're on the right track. Other exit has been abandoned due to INTENSE contamination, go STRAIGHT ahead if you pick this path." It then turns off. Hm, another thing to look out for.

You make a rush over to the safe to input the code you got from the computer. Time to see what you got...

SAFE LOOT!
>$150
>JOYVEL PILL x2 (Heals 1 RESTRAINT when used. What else can you say?)
>SUNSTONE (A refined SUNSTONE, made by W-Corp. Has three charges. You may spend a charge to add +2d8 to any dice roll you make.)

Casey and Max approach you with some various items they managed to recover from the lockers...

LOCKER LOOT!
>FUEL TANK x2 (Used by the POWER DRILL.)
>OIL LANTERN x5 (Has enough fuel for four charges. Passively lights up the environment around you. When thrown at an enemy, deal scaling fire damage equal to the amount of charges left.)
>DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR x3 (Has a 50% chance to heal 1 RESTRAINT and boost CHARM by 1 when used, 25% to do nothing, and 25% chance to deal 1 FLESH damage. Useful as a projectile weapon, at least.)
>DYNAMITE BUNDLE x2 (WAOW! EXPLOSIVE!)
>>
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"Now! Show me the way! My ferocious hound-" Casey holds up her snubnosed revolver. BORK! You swear your mind is playing tricks on it, did it just bark? "will make sure we do not stray! It has already sniffed the fear from the scarf and these!" She holds up two small trinkets. A pastel pink wallet and an equally pastel pink glove. Must've been Valentina's.

No time to waste. After making sure everyone has an oil lantern, your group starts the long, LONG journey into the depths of the mines. The tunnel forward begins to spiral in on itself almost immediately and any space that the tunnels once had is immediately snuffed. Your group barely fits, even after adopting a single file line.

The only thing lighting your way forward is the oil lamps (well, you have nightvision, but you plan on saving that for when you get DEEP deep). No one really feels like talking during the journey down. In the corner of your eye, you swear you saw Benjamin and Max holding each other's hands in a vague attempt to steel their nerves.

"We'll see four tunnels. I know which one to follow." You mutter out as your group keeps spiraling deeper and deeper. It feels like at least ten minutes were spent just walking in a god damn spiraling loop. Your group manages to reach the four-way split that you saw in your vision. One to the left, one to the right, one center-right, one center-left.

If you recall correct, the center-right one is the 'correct' one.

BORK!

Casey's gun begins to snarl and bark with a ferocity that almost makes everyone forget that a normal(ish) looking gun should NOT be making those noises. The barrel of the gun is pointing towards the center-left one. Casey's bug-like eyes stare right down the tunnel. "Valentina went that way." She points towards the right-most path.

"That's caved in. Already checked with my mind." Hm. Seems like you have to do a detour. With a wave of your hand, your group proceeds down the center-right tunnel before anything could possibly attack you. Another spiral, spiral, spiral, spiral, spiral, spiral, spiral-

After what feels like an eternity of walking around in a spiral, Benjamin's voice calls out to you, getting your attention. "Nicole? We're here, I think." Ah, time to investigate where you arrived at now.

https://youtu.be/grYpmDjeh5k - CATWALK LAYER

You only now realize that aside from a fifty foot long patch of mostly blank stone flooring and a ceiling that stretches up for god knows how long, there's only one thing of note in this layer. A giant, seemingly endless pit that goes down forever. You kick a loose stone down over the edge.

It takes two minutes before you hear anything hitting the bottom.

The only path forward across the pit is a large but very clunky set of rusted catwalks built right over the deep, deep pit. Taking a look around, there's no obvious way forward beyond this, so with some prodding, you and your allies carry across the very unstable looking catwalk.
>>
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Your progress is slow from hereon out. Not because of anything inherently slowing you down but because of the sheer nature of a massive fucking pit hanging right below you. With the only thing preventing your group from being paste being the rusted catwalks you're walking over. Oh well, not much you can do, best to be safe than sorry.

Your group eventually ends up at a crosswalks of sorts. In the middle of the catwalk maze is a hub circle that's wide enough and clearly durable enough to hold a handful of crates filled to the brim with something heavy. Aside from the path you just walked across, there's a fuck ton of other paths to go from here. Two west, Two east, one north, two northwest, two northeast.

You can already cross out the WEST one thanks to WHISPER OF THE CITY, you know for certain that's a dead end. Looking over at Casey, she holds her gun up. It sniffs in the air before pointing north. Alright, that narrows it down to five.

Which path do you wish to take from here, Nicole?
>Straight ahead. You can faintly make out a bright light source and some sort of machinery still churning at the other edge. You're shocked it's still working, maybe there's something valuable there.
>Northwest #1. There's something standing in the middle of that walkway. They're not looking at you but it's clear they're a miner due to their outfit.. What are they doing down here?
>Northwest #2. Your MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR is going apeshit as you approach this path. If Valentina was chasing after some moonstones, she might've gone down there.
>Northeast #1. WHISPERS OF THE CITY keeps saying that something valuable is down here but you can't really see anything down there. Just a single catwalk stretching on into the dark.
>Northeast #2. There's a lot of dust in this pathway. Dust and the lingering smell of smog and smoke. You swear you hear someone talking down there as well.
>Split your group. Explore two paths at once, regroup back here. (Your group will be split into one group of 3 and one group of 2. Assign which allies will be in quick groups and where they're being sent to.)
>>
>>5988463
>ground yourself
Same thing in real life
>let your mind blossom and fracture
W Corp has a lot to answer for
>metallic fist
That's Valentina's android companion
>jammed metal door
That's a clue
>bright violet crystals growing over a young woman's face
Not good NOT GOOD
>cave dwelling animal
Let's leave them be. We could use meat bait to get them as a distraction if corpos do show up, but I really don't want to hunt them needlessly when we're so pressed for time
>no secret paths here
Thanks for picking ANOMALOUS, anons
>busy bee she is
:^)
>don't recall using any of your powers in front of her
She doesn't know about the glowies
She doesn't know about our other missions
I think sitting down to talk about all this with the group is wise, but AFTER the mission. And NO spilling Mind Read to any of them, not yet. Best if only Ashley knows for the time being

>>5988465
>antlers buzz subtly
Horns are just a bony type of antennae
>nip that in the bud after
Exactly
>obvious annoyance
I think it's good we're getting Max on missions too, because she will become less sheltered as she experiences real life in the City, on the level Nicole and everybody else lives. Benjamin being with us every time is also good, because he can help ground Max and stop her from losing it as she learns more and more
>captain must order her crew
Admiral you're supposed to be dead, stop trying to live on through your boon
>clown vomit
It's a funny phrase huh QM?
>42-0-69
Funny
>About twenty minutes
We're still ahead. The corpo trio are still far behind us...

>>5988467
>CAVE IN
That's what the french miner duo told us
>dig UPWARDS
Foreboding
>SAFEHOUSE
We could seriously use these, if we come across any
>electronic doors jam
That can have offensive use if we bait somebody in then trap them, but risky
>ceasing all current supply shipments
Shit, W Corp themselves say the amount being low is why they cut the mining towns off. How are we supposed to negotiate for better conditions for the Mayor if W Corp themselves aren't giving any?
>triple your production
>'create' more MOONSTONE. You know how
Those bastards fucking KNOW. Are the miners just sacrificial now for more Moonstone farming?
>Voidstone
Now this is getting spicy
>getting one of the families involved
>Vanni
It's a fucking conspiracy? How is Valentina being trapped here or being mindbroken or dead supposed to benefit them? The Vannis will rain hell on them if they know, and they WILL. They would too if we didn't take this mission

1/2
>>
>>5988467
>INTENSE contamination
But Huxley or any pursuers won't necessarily know this. We can use that against them in our escape, if shit hits the fan HARD
>JOYVEL PILL x2
Not bad
>SUNSTONE
Great if we're desperate, otherwise nice to clutch
>FUEL TANK x2
Let's make good use of this power drill, shall we?
>OIL LANTERN x5
We have sources of night vision, but not enough to cover all 5 of us. That's where this is needed
>DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR x3
Throw this then into H CORP LIGHTER + TELEKINESIS
>DYNAMITE BUNDLE x2
I want to hold onto these to give the silver agents a real good base collapse later...

>>5988468
>pastel pink wallet/glove
Not the COOL pink Nicole has
>Your group barely fits
How did they get all those rocks out of this place at all?
>saving that for when you get DEEP deep
Thanks QM
>holding each other's hands
As good a place as any for that
>at least ten minutes
Half an hour in these mines already. Those corpos better be delayed well. I hope Devin and Kori are OK and Robbert didn't start some shit
>two minutes
That's not quite an abyss, but it is from up here
>>
>>5988473
>Split your group. Explore two paths at once, regroup back here. (Your group will be split into one group of 3 and one group of 2. Assign which allies will be in quick groups and where they're being sent to.)
Nicole + Max + Benjamin -> Northeast #1
Alexis + Casey -> Northwest #1
I think we have time to do this much before we head Straight Ahead north to where Valentina's scent is located
>>
>>5988473
>Northwest #1. There's something standing in the middle of that walkway. They're not looking at you but it's clear they're a miner due to their outfit.. What are they doing down here?
>>
>>5988473
>>Straight ahead. You can faintly make out a bright light source and some sort of machinery still churning at the other edge. You're shocked it's still working, maybe there's something valuable there.
>>
>>5988548
+1
>>
I will be abstaining as I find these tunnels 3spooky5me
>>
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"Alexis, Casey, check out that miner guy. We're going to investigate that mystery tunnel."

Alexis stares in your direction for an uncomfortably long amount of time, judging every atom of your god damn being for your suggestion. "Spilling up. In THIS place?" She holds her oil lantern right over the edge of the catwalk. Aside from your five lights, the only thing keeping this place remotely illuminated is some long-since antique light fixtures attached at the top of the cave.

To be frank, it gives the same amount of light as a dim moon during a pitch black night in the middle of winter. Hm. Maybe that's intentional? Moonstones and all.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] From your knowledge, it's mostly a clever marketing thing with W-Company. What with the bright colors of the stones. Something about them 'shining like stars in the night sky'?

"Fine. I trust you but she WILL shoot to kill if shit goes wrong." She places a hand on Casey. "Isn't that right, Casey?"
"Yes, madam, yes! I have fifty confirmed kills with my friend!" You feel like that's a lie given her poor stats but you won't question it.
"Excellent. You three, uh, go do that." She waves a hand in the direction of the path you plan on heading down.

Your group proceeds to split up, with your group heading down the darkest tunnel while Casey and Alexis deal with the mystery man. It doesn't take long for Casey and Alexis to disappear from your sight.
>CASEY and ALEXIS have temporarily left the party!

Well, that's misleading. It's not that THEY disappeared from your sight. It's that even walking a few feet into the path you set out for yourself is drenching everything around you in an almost physical, thick layer of darkness. It only takes ten feet before the only thing preventing your group from stumbling blind is the oil lantern you have.

"What's going on?" Max can't even attempt to hide the fear in her voice as she tries her best to follow after you. "This. This feels wrong. I. Look, maybe we should go back, why are we heading down here?"
"She has to have a reason, right?" Benjamin offers you the benefit of the doubt here. "Weird how the machine isn't going off. Thought this might've been that 'voidstone' stuff mentioned. Doesn't feel anomalous either..."

"I guess it's fine then." Max chuckles like she's trying her best to laugh at a really, REALLY unfunny joke. "Yeah. Must be fine."

[BLIND OPTIMISM] "It's probably just poor lighting. We're in a massive mine hundreds on hundreds of feet below the surface. It'd be MORE shocking if it was pitch dark..."
[DELUSIONAL] "That and I can't feel the darkness staring back at me! Such a disappointment, really! I really want to grab what's in the dark by the neck and strangle it for everyone to see!"

Max makes a strangled, confused noise in the back of her throat. After her brain resets, she can't help but to laugh at the whiplash she experienced. "I think I'd have a better chance of strangling something down here. Let's not kid ourselves here."
>>
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"Get a fucking room-"

[STEADY HANDS] Your body kicks into action. Your free hand immediately reaches out and with a telekinetic pull, you pull your allies to the right side of the catwalk. Your body manages to move just enough to avoid your heart getting pierced.

Your brain manages to process why. A thin, long rusted metal spike, connected or held by some unseen figure, has been impaled into your side. If you didn't move your group in time, someone probably would've had their throats impaled by it.

[STEADY HANDS] With surgical precision, you managed to chunk of metal without causing too much damage to yourself, freeing yourself in case you have to run or fight. Your quick reaction made it so that only the tip (heh) managed to pierce you.

>-1 FLESH (ONE BLOCKED FROM COMBAT PROSTHETIC BODYSUIT)! 4/5 LEFT!

"SORRY! BUT WE CAN NOT ALLOW ANYONE DOWN THIS PATH! PLEASE TURN AROUND!" A robotic yet chipper voice blares from the darkness. You immediately hold your lantern in the direction of the voice while Max is whimpering incoherently to herself. Not like Benjamin is doing any better, thanks to his heavy breathing.
>-1 RESTRAINT TO BENJAMIN AND MAX! MAX: 2/3, BENJAMIN: 4/5

A thin puppet-like humanoid stands before you, only six feet away from your group. You thought it was an android at first but no, it's too crude. Too simple. Its body is made out of cheap, shoddy metal pipes twisted and welded together into the rough approximation of a human form. Its hands, also made out of old pipes, are just bent and twisted enough to be able to hold simple objects. Like the long metal rod it's holding.

Two beady white eyes stare back at you. "PLEASE TURN AROUND! NO ONE ASIDE FROM THOSE APPROVED BY: JOEL THE GREAT, JOEL THE WISE, JOEL THE ULTIMATE GOD SAVIOR OF THIS TOWN" The simple machine spits out. "MAY BE ALLOWED TO ENTER! PLEASE LEAVE! THE LAST APPROVED PERSON WAS: VALENTINA VANNI, WHO PASSED BY LONG BEFORE YOU DID. YOU ARE NOT. ON THE LIST."

"Did you have to FUCKING STAB ME? Was THAT your version of a warning?" You keep pressure on the bleeding wound. Your anomalously fucked up body will probably stem the bleeding soon enough but god, does it still hurt. "And, wait, Joel? Who's that? The mayor?"

"WHO ELSE?" The figure beeps out. "AND YES. YOU HAVE WEIRD HORNS. YOU WERE AN ANOMALY. EVEN THOUGH ANOMALIES HAVE NOT BEEN FOUND IN A W-CORP MINE SINCE 2211. VERY STRANGE. LEAVE? YOU'RE NOT ON THE LIST?"

"I'm not sure how sentient that thing is." Benjamin steels his nerves enough to talk. "Might be one of the earliest E-Corp models. Barely more powerful than old world computers. I say we kill it."

"KILL? HOW CAN YOU KILL WHICH HAS NO LIFE?" The robot raises its arm up. "DIE-DIE-DIE." It begins to step forward...

"Uh, uh, Beta-Zeta-Kalpa!" Max mutters. The figure locks up for a moment before gesturing at you to continue speaking. You and Benjamin offer weird looks in Max's direction. She offers a confused shrug. "I heard the mayor say it!"
>>
WHISPERS OF THE CITY flashes another vision before you. You know that there's a metal door and, behind it, is a passage that will certainly lead you down Valentina's path. The only issue is how to actually get past this robot. It's slow, clunky, and not that intimidating but it is standing in the way. You rather not fight it if you have to...

How do you want to handle the figure?
>[MAX ALLY] "We're actually on behalf of the mayor! See, we're here to actually help this mining town out!" Let Max take the wheel for now. (CHARM DC: 33, rolling 9d6. Succeed and the robot will be convinced, joining the group as a temporary ally to assist you in exploring the mine.)
>[STEADY HAND + UNSTABLE] Pull out your revolver and shoot it. Your shot will be absolutely perfect, you know that. (-1 REVOLVER BULLET, +1 RESTRAINT TO EVERYONE FOR THE COOL SHOT. You'll save a lot of time but you'll likely alert anyone down here, for good or ill.)
>[HAS MET W-CORP BEFORE] "I'm here on behalf of Wendy, from W-Company. If she knew that you harmed a W-Company representative, you're fucked." Bluff your way forward. (CONNECTIONS DC: 25, rolling 7d6+2d3 with the help of your allies. Succeed and the robot will let you pass without any issue and will absolutely try to bribe you with information and goodies to keep you from ratting it out.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] ...Pick it up with telekinesis and just throw it down the pit. Problem solved. (-1 RESTRAINT, you might get Max and Benjamin a bit too interested in anomalous abilities, which might bite you in the ass later. However, it's easy and very time saving.)
>"We're actually here to submit some mining samples and contraband, mister! Sorry about the confusion!" Hand over some. (-POLISHED MOONSTONE CHUNK, -DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUIOR, -1 VICTORY GIN, -2 HIGH QUAILTY WHISKEY. The robot will trust you immensely now and will try its best to assist you, which includes slowing down the corpos even more once they get down here.)
>This isn't worth it. Turn back around and reconnect with Casey and Alexis.
>Write in (Ask it some questions? Try another power to get it to fuck off? Something else?)
>>
>>5989521
>shining like stars in the night sky
Muh stars of the city
>places a hand on Casey
Really acting like a big sister there, Morozov
>given her poor stats
She'll get better. Bugs evolve fast and look cool
>physical, thick layer of darkness
Voidstone road?
>that 'voidstone' stuff
>poor lighting
Nice thinking Ben
>strangling something
Not the right kind of darkness for trying things with Benjamin, Max

>>5989524
>[STEADY HANDS]
>throats impaled
Whoever voted to go with Adam's NEW YOU in mission prep, thanks a lot
>only six feet away
!!!
>THE ULTIMATE GOD SAVIOR OF THIS TOWN
We're gonna have a talk with this Mayor later
>SINCE 2211
Interesting

>>5989535
>metal door
It's this fucker
>passage that will certainly lead you down Valentina's path
So of the 5 possible "north" paths Valentina could have taken, this one's the correct one? She just decided on the one with advanced darkness? Great going, idiot
>>
This robot might know what happened to Luther, plus why they split off from Valentina. The door from the vision he was bashing his fist into was jammed, which means safehouse based on the miners' computer notes, which means LOOT. SEEKER was on the money about valuables down this way. Plus this is Valentina's route? Jackpot. The mayor might be inclined to reward us if we somehow bring this rustbucket ALL the way out back to him.
We could just turn around and take another route to Valentina without wasting too much time, but this robot isn't much for a roadblock to some brick shithouse like Robbert Huxley not to mention whatever gear and augs the other two have. We'll miss out on the safehouse too, but this isn't the only one in this mine. I doubt the VOIDSTONE and the cooler loot are up this early in the mine layers, so we're better off making progress FAST

>>5989535
Ask it about what happened to Luther
Ask it about what happened to Valentina
>[MAX ALLY] "We're actually on behalf of the mayor! See, we're here to actually help this mining town out!" Let Max take the wheel for now. (CHARM DC: 33, rolling 9d6. Succeed and the robot will be convinced, joining the group as a temporary ally to assist you in exploring the mine.)
Exploration help matters more right now. The quicker and safer we can reach Valentina and the lower layers, the better our loot and chances of making it without the corpo trio finding us. It'll be amazing if we handle this entire mine like spooks without the trio even knowing we were here
>>
>>5989535
>>[HAS MET W-CORP BEFORE] "I'm here on behalf of Wendy, from W-Company. If she knew that you harmed a W-Company representative, you're fucked." Bluff your way forward. (CONNECTIONS DC: 25, rolling 7d6+2d3 with the help of your allies. Succeed and the robot will let you pass without any issue and will absolutely try to bribe you with information and goodies to keep you from ratting it out.)
>>
>>5989555
+1
>>
>>5989535
>[HAS MET W-CORP BEFORE] "I'm here on behalf of Wendy, from W-Company. If she knew that you harmed a W-Company representative, you're fucked." Bluff your way forward. (CONNECTIONS DC: 25, rolling 7d6+2d3 with the help of your allies. Succeed and the robot will let you pass without any issue and will absolutely try to bribe you with information and goodies to keep you from ratting it out.)
>>
>>5989535
>[HAS MET W-CORP BEFORE]
>>
Thank you, voter who broke the tie.
I need three anons to roll for the following
>4d6 (half of 7d6)
>3d6 (second half of 7d6)
>2d3 (CAPTAIN'S COMMAND boon)
>>
Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d3)

>>5990291
I'm rolling the 2d3 because I don't trust myself with the 4d6, not after the bad rolls earlier
>>
Rolled 6, 1, 1, 3 = 11 (4d6)

>>5990291
>>
Rolled 2, 6, 4 = 12 (3d6)

>>5990291
Second Half
>>
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Father Above, the pain in your side is intensifying by the second. At least when you pull your hand away, barely any blood is trickling out and what does come out is thick and coagulated. Probably not healthy but at least you won't bleed out. Now, how to deal with this robot freak...

[UNSTABLE] WENDY. THAT OBNOXIOUS PIECE OF SHIT. I KNEW SHE COULD COME IN USEFUL.
[UNSTABLE] THROW YOUR WEIGHT AROUND. INSTILL NOTHING BUT FEAR INTO THIS BARELY SENTIENT HUSK-
[STEADY HANDS] Nicole. Focus. Steady your hands. Go for the kill.

"I'm here on behalf of Wendy, from W-Company." You clench your teeth as another surge of pain courses through your body. "I am a W-Company representative. I'm not sure Joel would like it if he realized what you did."

The mass of pipes standing before you lowers the sharp spike it's holding. "WHAT. THAT DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE. W-CORP REPRENSENTATIVES DO NOT VISIT THIS TOWN, AS DEEMED BY MY CREATOR." It clumsily steps forward, gears and pistons grinding together with every small movement it makes. "THAT DOES NOT. MAKE LOGICAL SENSE. ERROR LOG. ERROR-"

"She's not lying!" Max, still recovering from her shock, tries her damn best to assist you. "In fact, she's not the only corporate powerhouse here! My hus-" She pauses for a moment. <"wait what if my dad finds this thing and talks to it nope nope">

"My associate here is from Z-Corp!" She pulls at the front of Benjamin's jacket with one hand while shining her lantern on it with the other. "I'm a Krakatoa! Check my eyes!" She adjusts her lantern to show off her face.

"She's not wrong, actually! If you've been updated recently enough to know about Valentina, you must know about a rising Aaron in Z-Company's databanks, right?" Benjamin rummages through his pocket for a moment before pulling out an ID card. "Officially from Z-Corp herself."

>25! PASS!

"I. I. NEW DATA ANALYZED." The robot steps back. "W-CORP REP: INJURED. RISK TOWARDS MAYOR: HIGH, HIGH, HIGH."

"Yeah, pretty damn high." You stride over to the robot with a confident smirk. "If she knew that you harmed a W-Company representative, you're fucked. Sooo?"

"I WILL. YES. FORGET ABOUT THIS FORGET ABOUT THIS FORGET ABOUT-" Smoke begins to leak out of a gap in the robot's neck. Its speech begins to distort and crackle under the strain it's experiencing. "PLEASE DON'T INFORM YOUR COMPANY I WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW PLEASE ENJOY COMPLENTARY SAMPLE!"

A panel in its chest opens up with an audible CLUNK. A robotic hand shoots out from it with a burlap sack in its palm. Dollar bills are visibly poking out of it.

"Isn't this just bribery?" Max immediately grabs the bag from the robot's hand and starts sifting through its contents. "I'm pretty sure this is."

"IS THAT A BAD THING?"

Max stops sifting through the bag for a moment. "Not really. It's just a smart business move. Hell, I do it."
"wait what-" Benjamin is interrupted by Max before he can question what he heard.

"Anyways, Nicky, here."
>>
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Max tosses the burlap sack over to you before she leans against one of the catwalk's railings. "Tell us EVERYTHING you know about the two people you let through previously."

"I. LUTHER. VERY EFFICENT WORKER, NOT WELL LIKED BY JOEL. DEEMED AS A RISK TO OUR ABILITY TO EXTRACT MINERALS. MINERALS THAT WE NEED TO NOT UPSET YOU, W-CORP."

Benjamin can't help but to scoff at the absurdity of the robot's statement. "Wait, huh? That doesn't make a lick of sense. How can he be efficient YET a risk to your ability to produce stuff? That's like a circular triangle."

"MOST OF THE GEMS WE CREATE NEED TIME TO GESTATE. GROW. THE NATURALLY CREATED GEMS ARE MOSTLY AT THE BOTTOM. HE WAS TOO EFFICIENT AT HARVESTING AT THE BOTTOM. DEPLETING BACKUP SURPLUS. RESULTING IN MORE GESTATING REQUIRED." That doesn't really sound like an issue one worker can cause on their own? "WITHOUT GEMSTONES TO USE IN GESTATION, SUPPLIES WILL RUN OUT."

"So why did you let him through then, if you're so worried about that?" Max prods at the robot with questions. "There's something you're not telling us. What is it?"

"TWO OUTCOMES. ONE, HE BECOMES NEW SEEDBED, MORE CRYSTALS CAN BE GENERATED. TWO, HE'S ABLE TO GET MORE RAW MATERIAL, WHICH WILL BE USEFUL TO SHOW OFF TO W-COMPANY. THAT AND HE WAS ESCORTING OUR TRUE PRIZE FURTHER DOWN. NO REASON TO STOP HIM." You can't help but to feel disgusted at where this is going, given the talk of seedbeds. You can hear Max gagging behind you. The implication on where this is going isn't pleasant.

"I." Benjamin is the only one brave, or foolish, enough to ask the next question openly. "Was Valentina allowed down here because she was...prime material? As a crystal 'seedbed'? God, that's gross to say..."

"TWO OUTCOMES. ONE, SHE BECOMES PRIME SEEDBED. HER PHYSICAL MAKEUP, AS ANALYZED BY ME, WAS DEEMED HIGHLY ACCEPTABLE. TWO, SHE LEAVES AND SPREADS GOOD NEWS ON OUR TOWN, REOPENING NEW NEGOTIATIONS WITH W-CORP. NO LOSING OPTION, SO I WISHED TO ASSIST HER. SHE CLAIMED THAT SHE WISHED TO REACH THE BOTTOM. I TOLD HER WHERE."

"FROM HERE, HEAD DOWN THE LEFTMOST HALLWAY AND TAKE THE FIRST ELEVATOR. SHOULD LEAD TO LAYER 6. LUTHER FOLLOWED AFTER HER, SO THE SAME PATH SHOULD BE TAKEN. THAT IS ALL."

"You obviously know that letting a Vanni die here would cause someone to search for her, right?" Max points out the blatantly obvious. "You can't exactly expect powers WORKING WITH ALPHABET COMPANIES to just...not notice a family member disappearing."

"THAT IS NOT SOMETHING I WAS PROGRAMMED TO WORRY ABOUT. PLEASE CONTACT THE MAYOR FOR ANY FURTHER ISSUES." Yeah, this thing is a brick wall now, you got everything you got out of it. At least you got a straight shot to where she was at instead of trying to explore blindly. You got lucky.

BORK! BORK! BORK! BORK!

In the direction of where you last saw Casey and Alexis, you hear a rapid series of high pitched yelps. Immediately after, two pairs of footsteps rapidly approaching you.
>>
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Casey and Alexis are rushing over to you with fear oozing from their faces. A thick, drool-like liquid is oozing out of the barrel of Casey's gun.

"HIS FACE WAS JUST FUCKING ROCKS. GO GO GO GO GO" Alexis is clearly not built to be running as fast as she is given how much she's panting.

You and your other allies take the hint and begin to fucking book it. You gallop right past the robot blocking the way and within mere moments, you're standing right in front of a bulky metal door that's been rusted over with age. You violently yank on it with your telekinesis and with ease, it pops open, revealing a staircase that heads down for god knows how long.

You wave your allies over to head down the door. All four rush through the door remarkably quickly, leaving you as the last one. You turn to head down the door and, in the corner of your eyes, you see him. A man in a miner's uniform slowly trails down the catwalk. His face and arms have been completely caked over with bright violet and bright red gemstones.

Four bullet wounds are in his chest but it hardly seems to be slowing him down. He's not even bleeding. You head right through the metal door and slam it behind you, rushing down the staircase to meet up with your allies. You check through the bag the robot gave you to see what's inside...

BRIBERY OBTAINED!
>$150
>MOONSTONE FRAGMENT x3 (A fragment of a Moonstone. It crackles soothingly. Allows you or an ally to reroll three RESTRAINT or WILLPOWER dice when consumed.)
>SUNSTONE FRAGMENT x2 (A fragment of a Sunstone. It crackles like a roaring fire. Allows you or an ally to reroll three VIOLENCE or TALENT dice when consumed.)
>VOIDSTONE FRAGMENT (A vantablack fragment of a stone. It crackles with seething intensity. Allows you or an ally to reroll all dice rolled when consumed.)
>ECLIPSE SILK STRAND x3 (Thick, yellow strands similar to woven spider's silk. Useless on their own but when you return home, your ECLIPSE TALISMAN will be permanently upgraded.)

Neat! You pocket the goodies right as you reach the bottom of the staircase. The place you're at now is remsnicnet of a hospital or some sort of lab. The walls and floor are covered in stark white, ceramic tiles and the whole place is lit with bright white lights that buzz with that oh-so-familiar obnoxious fluorescent buzz.

Yet more hallways branch off from the long, linear hallway you're already in but you already know where to go. You gesture at your allies to follow you as you rush down the left side of the hallway you're in. Lo and behold, the leftmost hallway is in front of you. Your group charges down it but it doesn't take long at all to arrive at the elevator.

You push the button on the panel to call the elevator door. Five minutes pass and it eventually reaches your floor and opens up. Your group heads inside, hits the button for the sixth layer, and your ride down awaits. Your group is too busy panting and recovering from the running to do much...
>>
So you decide to break out the COLD TREATS.. A soda to Casey and Benjamin, some popsicles to Alexis and Max, and an ice cream sandwich for you. Yum!
>-COLD TREATS.

After enjoying your sweet treats, you prepare for the long, long ride down. In the corner of your mind, you see a vision of three people pushing past men in gas masks so they can approach a lift. Not a comforting vision as you spend the next god knows how long in the elevator.

...

https://youtu.be/mSzF3etnKoQ?si=tYiAzl6ApLS4w3K8 - LAYER 6

You're glad you had the gas masks on because once the elevator opens, a torrent of bright violet gas floods the inside of your elevator. Whatever the properties of the gas is, it doesn't seem corrosive at least since your skin barely seems affected by it.

You're now in a long, long tunnel system filled to the brim with bright purple, reddish-yellow, and vantablack crystals and gemstones. Your MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR is going off the fucking charts so you know you're getting close to wherever the 'LACK' that Devin was on about is at. Your group steps out of the elevator and, well, there's only one direction to go.

Soon, your group arrives at an impasse after only two or three minutes of walking. A massive pile of rock has blocked the way obvious way forward but to your left is a rusted metal staircase that seems to go even further down.

You imagine whatever path the rubble is blocking was regularly used by the miners, given...the arm poking out from the rubble blocking the way. Might be a more direct way to the bottom. Though the staircase might've been the easier, but way slower path that Valentina picked.

"Smell is mostly there." Casey points to a mass of pink crystals on the wall. "And through there." She points at the rubble blocking the way.

How do you proceed further?
>[WHISPER OF THE CITY + SAFEHOUSE KNOWLEDGE] A pink mass of crystals growing on the wall? Must be the location of a safehouse, investigate it.
>[POWER DRILL + MAX'S PICKAXE] Break through the rubble with your power drill. You have tanks for it, after all. (-1 FUEL TANK and Max will likely need some time to rest but you'll break through the cave in, getting you a direct path below.)
>[DYNAMITE BUNDLE] Just blow the fucking mass of rocks. Dumbass. (-1 DYNAMITE BUNDLE. Saves a lot of time and allows you to proceed deeper really quickly but it's certainly not a subtle way forward.)
>Safe is the best here. Head down the staircase, see where it takes you.
>Take some time to recover. Ask Alexis and Casey what happened, mine some stones around you, all that. (FREE ACTION, you'll give the corpos more time to catch up but you'll get some more information from your allies and a chance to get some useful gemstones.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Take a moment to use WHISPERS OF THE CITY to get a better map of this layer and the next one.(FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. May unlock choices down the line or improve your chances in future skill checks.)
>Write in.
>>
>>5988463
A metallic fist desperately trying to punch through a jammed metal door.
Luther? Maybe he has a cybernetic hand or arm? He is in a safe house?
>>5988467
SAFEHOUSE CONSTRUCTION - "With everything going on, we had to make several safehouses throughout Layer 3 to 7, the bottom. We had to hide them just in case anyone invades but you can tell where one is by the color of the stone around them. Check for lighter sections of the cave walls. There should be enough supplies in there to hold someone for a week and a half. Do note that the electronic doors have a few kinks and may jam from time to time."
> Do note that the electronic doors have a few kinks and may jam from time to time."
>>5985859
>FIND 'LUTHER', DEAD OR ALIVE. REWARD: $350, +FAVOR (WORKING CLASS) x2.
>>5990499
>[WHISPER OF THE CITY + SAFEHOUSE KNOWLEDGE] A pink mass of crystals growing on the wall? Must be the location of a safehouse, investigate it.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Take a moment to use WHISPERS OF THE CITY to get a better map of this layer and the next one.(FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. May unlock choices down the line or improve your chances in future skill checks.)
>>
>>5990499
>[WHISPER OF THE CITY + SAFEHOUSE KNOWLEDGE] A pink mass of crystals growing on the wall? Must be the location of a safehouse, investigate it.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Take a moment to use WHISPERS OF THE CITY to get a better map of this layer and the next one.(FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. May unlock choices down the line or improve your chances in future skill checks.)
What >>5990513 said
Also adding onto that
>Briefly tell your allies about your visions of the corpos on their way. They got to the lift past the H Corp goons. You're still way ahead of them, but they aren't going to be stalled for long. (FREE ACTION)
>Pass a Joyvel to Alexis and/or Casey if either of them is down a RESTRAINT point. Don't let too much gas in past the mask. (FREE ACTION)
Might as well do these while we're at it. As much as I wanna pick the "get recap from Alexis and Casey and get cool rocks" choice, the free option is a "free" option with how we're spending time for the corpos to catch up. Besides, I'd rather take that robot fucker's advice and go for rock loot once we hit Layer 7 at the bottom, and not here at Layer 6. I hope we get the chance to use this super cool power drill and fuel we spent all that money on. We WILL get to use them, right bros?
>>
>>5990499
>[WHISPER OF THE CITY + SAFEHOUSE KNOWLEDGE] A pink mass of crystals growing on the wall? Must be the location of a safehouse, investigate it.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Take a moment to use WHISPERS OF THE CITY to get a better map of this layer and the next one.(FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. May unlock choices down the line or improve your chances in future skill checks.)
>>
I gotta sleep because it's getting late and I'm too tired to analysis post. What I will say is all this talk of "crystal seedbeds" is some seriously dark doujin-style horror. You'd think they'd try expendable animals or drones for crystal farming, since a drone centipede can just eject out of their body most likely. Or maybe Quentin is special that way, gone rogue. I suppose it is because humans themselves are expendable animals in this setting. Can't have SHIT in this City, I swear...
>>
>>5990524
+1
>>
>>5990628
To the additional actions that is
>>
>>5990513
Goot catch, anon. I'll support this.
>>
>>5990513
Add
>Briefly tell your allies about your visions of the corpos on their way. They got to the lift past the H Corp goons. You're still way ahead of them, but they aren't going to be stalled for long. (FREE ACTION)
>Pass a Joyvel to Alexis and/or Casey if either of them is down a RESTRAINT point. Don't let too much gas in past the mask. (FREE ACTION)
Will Max get panicked?
>>
>>5990495
>DEEMED BY MY CREATOR
What if we bring the wrath of- no, W Corp insinuated they should do the human crystal harvesting plan in the first place with that memo. This has to be on purpose. I don't know if using W Corp to intimidate the Mayor into helping his miners is viable, given Nicole isn't really in with W Corp much yet outside of knowing Wendy.
>My hus-
They're not even married yet and she's this down bad for Ben. I hope they make it alive and together through the events of this quest
>what if my dad finds this thing
1 out of 5 paths, 7 if you count the two west ones that were dead ends from the platform. The corpos might not go the advanced darkness path. If they bother to talk to the bot on finding him, and the bot spills Wendy's name, things might get dicey.
>Check my eyes
We should ask Max about the eyes later
>rising Aaron in Z-Company
My boy's MAKING IT
>wait what
Ben did we not just use her BRIBE MONEY to get past the H Corp trio? And the Mayor? Hello?

>>5990496
>EFFICENT
The danger of being TOO GOOD at your job
>SEEDBED
I've seen enough doujins and h-material to know this is NEVER a good word to see in your fiction
>The implication
No surprise the two girls hearing this will react so viscerally, given the subject
>PHYSICAL MAKEUP
>HIGHLY ACCEPTABLE
These bastards are real sick, but so is W Corp for insinuating "hey we're going to give you guys ZERO SUPPLIES from now on, unless... you get us triple the crystals. You know how..." in that memo. I'm wondering how we can even help the miners out here, if their roles in the Mayor's eyes have changed from "hardworking townsfolk getting the cool rocks out for us" to "walking meat fodder for crystal farming so we aren't cut off by W Corp". But then why would the Mayor deliberately seal the mines off? Is he banking it all on Valentina being GEM'D down here and sustaining this entire operation on her? He didn't panic or realize it's falling apart when THREE whole corporate admins showed up here to personally find the rich girl? Or does he not know? Honestly at this point, Z Corp might be a better group in charge of this whole area. W Corp clearly give no shits, and Z Corp might figure out a better way to grow crystals without this insanity.
>SPREADS GOOD NEWS ON OUR TOWN
Somehow I don't think the Vanni family will see one of their young girls on the receiving end of the "mindbreak", "drugs", "crystal impregnation", and "ryona" tags (just to name a few) as anything close to good news. Especially if the corpo admin Vanni on-site personally sees what her younger relative was going through.
>You got lucky
Trusting SEEKER works out

>>5990497
>fear
A real !! TERRIFIED !! moment
>not built to be running as fast
We had no time to send her to the obstacle course back in the military base. Oh well
>bright violet and bright red gemstones
Violet is implied to be the worst, but red is interesting
>Four bullet wounds
Crystal zombies, got it. Casey's infinite ammo dog gun does no good

1/2
>>
>>5990497
>FRAGMENTS
Rerolls are worth going mining for
>ECLIPSE SILK
I called it before. I hope we can mine some more loot before we have to scramble out
>more hallways branch off
The other non-dead end catwalks at the platform must all lead here somehow, or not.

>>5990499
>COLD TREATS
I'm glad we bought these. Sharing ice cream in a mindbreak crystal gas mine elevator is a nice moment
>approach a lift
Sounds like they didn't even bother talking to the H Corp firebugs. I wonder if any of the corpos will stop to check the lobby area and find the memos on the computer, or the very recently exposed and emptied safe in the floor. I hope the tunnel beast ganks them at the 4-way intersection
>torrent of bright violet gas
It was a good idea to get enough masks for all 5 of us
>doesn't seem corrosive
Not flammable either. It's an inhalant and mental hazard more than any physical one
>the 'LACK'
I wonder if Nicole can resist it with her already being fragmented?
>the arm poking out
This is where that cave-in happened

>>5990663
I only suggested Joyvel for them in case they lost a RESTRAINT at the zombie miner. We can pass 1 to Max if Alexis and Casey are OK. Ben's fine at 4/5
>>
Question Anon: If we have the choice to upgrade, what should Casey specialize in?
I think it will be funny if we only pick the VIOLENCE upgrade option to slowly turn Casey into a bloodthirsty slaughter machine as we slowly VIOLENCE upgrade her in the future.
>>
>>5990888
Nice get.

That would be hilarious, and she does seem to be like a psychopath. Getting her to the point she makes Lex nervous would be cool. Wonder what would happen if we gave her the shit that induces abnormal powers.
>>
>>5990892
YES :D
a cute, adorable psychotic bloodthirsty killer with terrifying anomalies power who horrifically tears people apart while smiling happy. Maybe turn her into a cannibal too?
>>
>>5990892
>>5990911
Please don't. Her mind is broken as it is.
>>
>>5990934
Though I agree, I should note we're lacking on sheer violence allies. We can make that up with gear and specialization, but there's only so much we can do to bridge any gap between us and some bad motherfucker
>>
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[UNSTABLE] HEY HOW COOL WOULD IT BE IF WE TURNED CASEY INTO A MURDEROUS CANNIBAL WHEN WE GET CHUMMY WITH HER AND SHE GETS MORE POWERFUL AND SHIT!
[UNSTABLE] HELL! MAYBE EVEN GIVE HER SOME ICP SYRINGE SHIT! TURN HER INTO A GOD KILLER!
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Give the glowies even more fuel and motivation to hunt us down? That sounds GREAT. Let's not, she's already weird.

You notice Casey poking at the arm pinned under the pile of rubble with her gun like a curious child. It's a very common sight to see kids doing that when they see their first body but an adult doing it is disconcerting. Doesn't help that Benjamin is cheering her on with "woos!" and "keep poking it!"

Which only causes her to poke it more violently with her gun. Something's just not right with those two.

[STEADY HANDS] Like you're any better. How do you think I felt when I first entered your head?
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Some deep, primal part of you tells you that whatever power she might get from the ICP Energy would 'create' and 'consume' something. While you 'manipulate' and 'perceive' things.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Each person's unique psychological makeup will manifest different abilities. A manifestation of their soul, their PARA-

"Nicole?" Max calls out. Ah, right, you have things to do. No need to dwell on it right now, you can worry about it once you're out of here. Ideally in one piece. Alexis and Max are waiting by the staircase, ready to head down it.

You notice that Alexis is shaking a bit while Casey seems to have already completely recovered from what happened with the mineral zombie miner thing.
>ALEXIS RESTRAINT: 2/3

You toss her over a Joyvel. Alexis lifts up her mask and quickly throws the pill into her mouth before putting her mask back on.
>+1 RESTRAINT TO ALEXIS, 3/3! -1 JOYVEL! 1 LEFT!

"Right." You clap your hands to get Casey and Benjamin's attention. "We're going to check out...there!" You point towards the mass of pink crystals that stands out REALLY hard against the violets, vantablacks, and reds around you. "Casey said something was there. I feel like something important is here. So, help me dig. We got some time before they find us."

"Wait, they?" It's obvious that Max already knows who you're talking about but she's been trying to ignore it up until right now. "Like, THEM they? The three...?"

"Yep! They got past the guards. They're going to take a while to get down here with the rat mazes above and the lift. Don't got the best guess on their arrival but the faster we move, the better." You step over to the bright pink crystal wall and begin to bash away at it with one of your regular knives to see what's hidden behind it.

"Плoхoe чyвcтвo." Alexis mutters to herself as she moves to assist you.
"מיד!" Benjamin shouts out, joining you as well. Casey trails behind him with a silent salute.
Max is standing by the pink crystal wall with slouched shoulders and a twitchy, unstable posture. "Let's hope we can get out soon."
>>
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She takes a deep, muffled breath through her gas mask before moving to assist you as well with her pickaxe. With five people all working on tearing through the pink crystals, you rip through it in record time. Your hands feel sticky as you push through the last bits of crystals, like touching sugary candy that's soaked in water.

You are so tempted to lick them but alas, gas mask. Behind the thin layer of crystals is a door that reminds you moreso of a containment cell airlock than anything else. A bulky iron door with a rusted iron hatch wheel attached to it in front of you, with a keycard panel right next to it. Though oddly enough, the panel seems to be deactivated. Power shortage, maybe?

Written underneath the iron wheel is "USE IN CASE OF EMERGENCY'. Guess that's what you have to use to open up this door. Everyone moves in to grab onto separate parts of the hatch wheel and with your command, your party begins to turn it. It takes a LOT of force and the only one here who's decently athletic and strong is you. The airlock hatch is slowly, painfully unlocked and pulled open.

Your group immediately steps aside, keeping the hatch half-open to try limiting how many gas comes in while also making sure you don't get trapped here. Time to see what's inside the saferoom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o6EDhL1W8I - SAFEROOM

There's barely enough space for the five of you to wander around in comfortably inside of the saferoom. The walls and floors are barren, stainless steel with only the most basic of amenities for prolonged survival inside: A shelf with canned goods and can openers, a water purifier with a tank of two gallons of water attached to it, and a bed at the corner of the room with...something underneath the covers. Lined all along the top of the ceiling are vents that seem to be pumping fresh, non-contaminated air into the room.

The only other major thing of note is an opened hatch in the middle of the room, leading down somewhere. You'll probably check that out after investigating whoever is on the bed.

Seems like it's even preventing any gas from leaking into the safe room despite the door being opened. With some hesitation, you pull off your gas mask. Your allies do the same, taking a moment to enjoy what's probably the last bit of fresh air for a while. Your group takes this time to put on some fresh filters on your gas masks.
>-1 FILTER ON ALL GAS MASKS! 2 FILTERS LEFT!

Your group approaches the bed and immediately regretting that decision. Max covers her mouth and begins to dryheave while the others stare on with equal parts fear, curiosity, and pity. Laying before you is who you assume to be Luther. Or what's left.

A bulky figure with bright, blonde hair and a robot arm prosthetic replacing their left arm lays on the bed. Still draped over him is a dull brown pair of overalls and a formerly white shirt (long stained with colorful dust). That's about the only identifiable about this figure.
>>
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The right side of his body has been completely crystallized by a multicolored array of crystals and gemstones. Violets, blacks, reds and yellows, blues, you name it. Some of it has even started to meld into the bed when he lays still too long at one spot. The figure slowly forces itself out of the bed and onto its two feet. Chunks of gemstone falls off of his body and onto the ground, shattering to pieces.

He stares at you with his remaining good eye which is now a multi-colored swirl of nonsense. Despite this...he's not attacking you?

"Help. Finally came? Heh." Luther(?) bitterly laughs at a joke that only he seems to know about. "Door was locked. On other side. Tried to open. Good luck on you. Heh." He runs his robotic arm through his hair to dislodge some crystals growing out of his scalp. "She's below."

You immediately check to see if this figure is lying to you or not with a quick use of WHISPERS OF THE CITY. A quick mental map of the area flushes throughout your mind and you can make out the following details about the area around you:

-The hatch goes down for a WHILE. Leads directly to another saferoom that leads into a wide, open cave. There's a lot of interference down there, prime load of Moonstone at least. You sense some movement down there as well. Most direct path forward.
-The staircase you saw earlier leads to a partially caved in supply depot with various inactive machines meant for collecting, refining, and transporting the various stones this mine houses. The path down takes a bit longer but there's a lot of potential for supplies down there.
-The cave in you saw earlier leads directly to a mining elevator that takes you down to the bottom. Saves a LOT of time. Nothing much else to say.

"Now." Luther(?) wheezes. Every breath he lets out shoots out small, sandy crystal fragments onto the floor. He's clearly trying his best to not wheeze on you. You and your allies put your gas masks back on to avoid any contamination. "I have. Request. Once you're done here. Kill me. This. This really fucking. Hurts. Can't do it. Myself. Too much of. Coward."

"I know he's not lying about what's down there. What do you guys think? I mean, I was told to find Luther as well...dead or alive."

[LIQUDATION] "We don't have time to waste. He's a lost cause and this is frankly a mercy. Blow his brains out."
[SHELTERED] "T-there has to be a better way, right?" Max tries her damn best to not sound disgusted to be around this man. "I mean. He didn't do anything wrong. Maybe we can harvest them off him? Make things easier for him?"
[LICENSED PHARAMIST] "I could spend some time trying to find a method to reduce the contamination somewhat but it'll take some time. Time we may not have." Benjamin offers his second opinion (heh). "Might only buy him time."
[CORPORATE DOUBLESPEAK] "Let's invest into this man! We need more muscle, he's all muscle, and he's already wishing for death! No point wasting resources!" Casey cheerfully chirps out!
>>
How do you want to handle Luther?
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] Tell Benjamin to try finding a way to revert it somewhat. Ask him to become an ally after treating him. (-2 LICENSED PHARAMIST CHARGES, LEAVING YOU WITH 1. Due to overwhelming CHARM in your group and you treating him, he'll become a temporary ally.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Convince him that if he's going to die, he might as well help you! (CHARM DC: 27, rolling 8d6+2d3 with the help of Max and Casey. Succeed and he'll join as a temporary ally with far better stats than if you were to treat him, though at the cost of his condition.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Liquidate. He's too far gone. Tell Casey to do the deed. Shot to the head. (+1 RESTRAINT to PARTY for putting him out of his misery.)
>[MAX ALLY] You have some excess medicine to put him to sleep and to soothe his mind. Offer them to him before taking some time to harvest the materials from him. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT to Max for the rest of the mission, -TRANQUILIZER SYRINGE + 2 DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR + 1 PAINKILLER BOTTLE. You'll keep him numbed and soothed enough to harvest some useful materials from him and to buy some time. Maybe you can save him later. Not now.)
>Take some time to ask him some questions before you do anything. (FREE ACTION. Write in up to three questions to ask him.)
>WRITE IN.

Which path do you want to use, now that you have a better sense of their benefits?
>DOWN THE HATCH. It's a direct path to another saferoom to find supplies in and a direct way towards Valentina. Might as well use it.
>THROUGH THE CAVE IN. Saves more time since the hatch takes some time to travel down. (Write in whether to use DYNAMITE or POWER DRILL + MAX PICKAXE to get through it)
>STAIRCASE. The supplies you detected down there are a lot more plentiful and useful than the saferoom supplies.

[UNSTABLE] Do you want to offer Casey the option to become a GOD?
>YES. WE MAY NEED IT DOWN THE LINE. (-1 ICP SYRINGE, roll 6d100 to determine what fucked up bullshit happens to her.)
>ASK HER FOR HER OPINION. GO FROM THERE.
>ABSOLUTELY NOT. NOT DURING A MISSION. TOO RISKY.

And since you're in a safe room, do you want to give the MINING BUNDLE you've been carrying this whole mission? You'll roll 4d100 to determine what supplies the person you pick gets after a target is voted on.
>CASEY
>MAX
>BENJAMIN
>ALEXIS
>UNLOAD IT FOR YOURSELF.
>YOU WANT TO GIVE YOUR ALLIES SOME OTHER SUPPLIES. (WRITE IN. MAY BE PICKED ALONGSIDE GIVING SOMEONE A BUNDLE)

Any other actions you wish to do while you're in the saferoom?
>WRITE IN
>>
>>5991138
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] Tell Benjamin to try finding a way to revert it somewhat. Ask him to become an ally after treating him. (-2 LICENSED PHARAMIST CHARGES, LEAVING YOU WITH 1. Due to overwhelming CHARM in your group and you treating him, he'll become a temporary ally.)
>THROUGH THE CAVE IN. Saves more time since the hatch takes some time to travel down. (Write in whether to use DYNAMITE or POWER DRILL + MAX PICKAXE to get through it)
POWER DRILL + MAX PICKAXE

>ASK HER FOR HER OPINION. GO FROM THERE.
Casey will become death, the destroyer of worlds.
>UNLOAD IT FOR YOURSELF.
>>
>>5991138
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] Tell Benjamin to try finding a way to revert it somewhat. Ask him to become an ally after treating him. (-2 LICENSED PHARAMIST CHARGES, LEAVING YOU WITH 1. Due to overwhelming CHARM in your group and you treating him, he'll become a temporary ally.)
Namedrop Roxanne and Pierre as the ones who asked us to find him. That'll get him motivated to live.
No chance we're using Licensed Pharmacist again this mission, other than burning the last charge to help Valentina or a real critical moment that requires it. Might as well. We can try harvesting him once we're topside, where that and fresh air will help him recover. I'm not killing him without giving a try at his state. If we all make it out alive and he sees his miner buddies that asked us to find him, maybe he'll change his mind. If he still wants to be mercy killed, then as a fellow bee of Casey's once said:
"The best thing you can do now is look at the great blue sky you'll never get to see again."
>Take some time to ask him some questions before you do anything. (FREE ACTION. Write in up to three questions to ask him.)
What happened with Valentina? Why did you split up with her?
What happened with that pipe robot? He's still back there; almost gutted us until we got past him.
Your buddies asked us to try convincing the Mayor to let them go, or at least better conditions. How are we supposed to do that if W Corp is putting pressure on him, to get people infected by the crystals to farm them?
Maybe he can give us some insight as the BEST miner they have.
>THROUGH THE CAVE IN. Saves more time since the hatch takes some time to travel down. (Write in whether to use DYNAMITE or POWER DRILL + MAX PICKAXE to get through it)
POWER DRILL + MAX PICKAXE
Fuck all the supplies and loot on the way. We're hauling ass until we secure Valentina, THEN we're grabbing those dank gems at the bottom.
>ABSOLUTELY NOT. NOT DURING A MISSION. TOO RISKY.
I disagree with >>5991228. I want to get RAPPORT up first before we bring up the subject to Casey. The bee will need to take time to sweeten that honey, understand?
>UNLOAD IT FOR YOURSELF
Everybody else has 2 FLESH 2 VIOLENCE. Ben has 3 VIOLENCE. Our party is not built for heavy mining labor. We didn't expect this when we chose this mission. It was supposed to be a simple search-and-rescue with some corpo connection dealings. Not a time limit race to secure the VIP, a crystal conspiracy, and mindfuck gas everywhere! Anyway, the POWER DRILL can be used by any allies especially if they work together to hold it or something. That could be independent of stats, so Nicole needs to use her new strength here separately.

Maybe a quick check of the P CORP ENERGY COUNTER just to be sure.
Do you guys think using 1-2 BARRICADE GRENADES here to fuck with the corpos on the way is worth spending? Or will they tell it was super recently done, know somebody else is down here ahead of them, and end up hauling ass where they might not be so hurried otherwise?
>>
>>5991228
Change
>>5991239
+1
>>
>>5991239
It just hit me. Could we use a BARRICADE GRENADE somewhere where we know the path leads to a dead end or something bad? The corpos will see the barricade and assume we went past it, so they'll break through and go on that path. They won't know it's a fucking decoy and the real path we took is a completely different one. Thoughts?
>>
>>5991239
If we get something Nicole can use to dig with, then we have a combo of
>Nicole = ??? Digging Tool from mining bundle
>Max = her own pickaxe, duh
>Alexis/Benjamin/Casey = POWER DRILL plus if we get any extra digging tool from the bundle
This way we can bust the cave in wall FASTER and haul ass faster
>>
>>5991138
>>[BENJAMIN ALLY] Tell Benjamin to try finding a way to revert it somewhat. Ask him to become an ally after treating him. (-2 LICENSED PHARAMIST CHARGES, LEAVING YOU WITH 1. Due to overwhelming CHARM in your group and you treating him, he'll become a temporary ally.)

>THROUGH THE CAVE IN. Saves more time since the hatch takes some time to travel down. (Write in whether to use DYNAMITE or POWER DRILL + MAX PICKAXE to get through it)

Power drill.

>ASK HER FOR HER OPINION. GO FROM THERE.

>BENJAMIN

>>5991244
That is clever if we can try it.
>>
>>5990997
Lex, Ashley, Wendy, Frank, Benedict, possibly the cowboy guy.
In fact, I propose next time we take the crush dummy mission with full combat roster and revel in violence a bit.
>>
>>5991239
Let's go with this. And if Luther becomes an ally, we can give the pickaxe to him.

>>5991244
This is a clever idea, but what if the corpos have some means of knowing where we went, like we do?
I think a better idea is to use the grenade to lock the elevator in the bottom position. The corpos can't destroy the barricade if they can't get to it.
>>
>>5991424
>Ben + Max
It's HIS revenge. I dunno if we should take Max along though. Maybe?
>Wendy
Miss "I HATE ANOMALIES" schizo, though there's a real risk of Wendy catching onto Nicole being anomalous and trying to kill her mid-mission.
>Frank
The hardass ETF guy. He might like us having come across Robbert and lived, though he might not like the truth being that we hauled ass and finished the job right under his nose.
If we're going to go 5 people against APEX PREDATOR and without Max there, it might be Lex. Lex and Frank have musclehead synergy, Nicole and Wendy have schizo chick synergy, and Ben's there because it's personal
>>
>>5991427
>give the pickaxe to him
Good call, he's the pro miner here. With his help and the POWER DRILL that wall will be gone in mere minutes. Putting him to the task when he's been GEM'D and can barely function and is begging for death isn't good, but he could be good enough to do it after Ben does his thing and we take some gems off of him to relieve his burden.
>some means of knowing where we went
If they do we won't know until we find out. We need to act carefully, but without being paralyzed by what ifs and shadowrunning. Do what comes naturally, and the quest will work itself out
>lock the elevator in the bottom position
Very interesting idea. I don't know if that'll work or if it can fuck up the elevator, but it might be worth asking when we get to Layer 7.
>>
>>5991429
Nah, no Ben. Lex, Frank, Wendy, Kiara, Ashley.
>>
>>5991441
That's way too many people. Remember what we were told. The more people on a mission with Nicole the more the glowies will take notice and watchlist allies more intently. I think the safest amount we can have with us is at most 4 allies plus Nicole for a group of 5. I like having 2-3 allies though. On top of that, I like the subtle autism we have going where Nicole almost never takes the same people with her on consecutive missions. Giving those allies a break for a day or two.
>no Ben
I want him to get his revenge. His encounter with Apex Predator is one of the first things he told us at length.
>>
>>5991138
>[CASEY ALLY] Convince him that if he's going to die, he might as well help you! (CHARM DC: 27, rolling 8d6+2d3 with the help of Max and Casey. Succeed and he'll join as a temporary ally with far better stats than if you were to treat him, though at the cost of his condition.)

>THROUGH THE CAVE IN. Saves more time since the hatch takes some time to travel down. (Write in whether to use DYNAMITE or POWER DRILL + MAX PICKAXE to get through it)
Power drill.

>ABSOLUTELY NOT. NOT DURING A MISSION. TOO RISKY.

>UNLOAD IT FOR YOURSELF
>>
>>5991429
Benny boy can also provide explosives now so that might be useful in a max violence mission. We would want to gear up if we do that one with some better arms, probably.

I also think at some point soon, Quinton needs some love. I like the little brain centipede, and he can be a meat shield if nothing else. Wonder what would happen if we gave him the ICP juice? Would it even work on him?
>>
Question Anon: If we inject Casey all of our ICP instead of just one, what do you think will happen to Casey?
>>
>>5991569
I thought going jew tunnels with Quinton, Clover, and somebody else would be interesting. We never took a mission with Frank yet either. But do we really want to go in a tunnel mission underground right after this mining race mission????? Time is running out to the big meeting of all the City's corps, which might be the best time to strike the silver agent base. Planning for that is a whole task, because I bet certain allies like Alexis will not miss it for the world. Telling out current party about the silvers, especially getting Handler to confirm it for Alexis, might be wise. If we tell Alexis about the Old B Corp link from the Admiral, it could get interesting. We didn't do it earlier this mission on the way to the mining town, and now is not the time when we need to secure Valentina
>>
>>5991138
>[BENJAMIN ALLY]
>THROUGH
The only way forward is...
>YES, GODHOOD NOW
>UNLOAD FOR YOURSELF
>>
>>5991239
+1
>>
>>5991606
Maybe on the post mission hang out we can reveal what we know about the glow niggers. We should probably bring our former silver old lady when we hit the base since she has inside info. Might want to toss a few consumables her way to boost her rapport with us before, just in case. Save as much dynamite as we can to turn the place into a crater and be ready to go to ground right after since it will be defcon 1 for them after one of their POIs bombs an office of theirs.

Could we use a non mission slot to meet up with Benny and stock up on meds or bombs for a price? Hmmm.
>>
>>5991808
Nicole has not skipped a single mission day yet. I think talking over the base hit with Handler is a must.
>>
>>5991812
We have earned his respect to a degree so I doubt he will rat out one of his better assets, so maybe just ask him to look the other way for an evening and try to bring some info back for him that could help him get a leg up on the competition?

He did help us dispose of a glowie before.
>>
RESULTS
TREAT HIM VIA BENJAMIN
GO THROUGH CAVE IN
ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR GRANTING CASEY GODHOOD (Somehow you feel that Casey is disappointed by this. Better safe than sorry.)
UNLOAD SELF FOR BUNDLE

I need two anons to roll 2d100. Here's your table of MINING BUNDLE LOOT.
1-16: POWER DRILL UPGRADE (If you roll one of these, you save some additional time when breaking through the cave in. Two, your drill will gain +1d8 when attacking from now on and will have a 25% chance to not consume a FUEL TANK on use. Three or more, you'll gain an extra use of the drill per fuel tank per POWER DRILL UPGRADE roll.)
17-37: NIGHTVISION GOOGLE UPGRADE (Your nightvision googles no longer consume an accessory slot and will automatically activate when you enter dark places. In addition, they assist you in detecting things otherwise invisible to normal human sight. If you roll this more than once, you get an additional pair of improved nightvision googles to give an ally.)
38-55: HEFTY PICKAXE (A very useful melee weapon that breaks through stone and bones with remarkable ease.)
56-74: IMPROVED GAS MASK (In addition to protecting you from toxic gases and other airborne hazards, it'll pump in low levels of adrenaline inducing fumes into your systems. +1 VIOLENCE while equipped.)
75-87: STARDUST ACCULMATOR (Passively collects MOONSTONE, VOIDSTONE, SUNSTONE, ECLIPSE SILK, STARDUST, and other cosmo-related consumables. Can be used anywhere but VASTLY improved while in W-Corp's mines.)
88-99: GRAPPLING HOOK (It's a fucking grappling hook. Comes with three air canisters. Allows you to reach areas otherwise impossible to access normally. Restores RESTRAINT on use.)
100: MYSTERY (???)

Sorry for the delayed closing of the vote. Frankly, I passed out and didn't wake up until now.
>>
Rolled 72, 99 = 171 (2d100)

>>5992054
Rolling
>>
Rolled 65, 72 = 137 (2d100)

>>5992054
>>
Rolled 10, 6 = 16 (2d100)

>>5992054
>>
RESULTS
GRAPPLING HOOK
THREE IMPROVED GAS MASKS (The two spare ones will be picked by your allies, so don't worry about who gets those)
WRITING.
>>
>>5992072
Meh
>>
>>5992081
Bro we got a Batman style grappling hook. It is so cool to use it restores restraint. Pretty nifty. The night vision upgrade would have been kino but we did pretty good. Plus the violence boost will be useful since this isn't a super combat orient group.

I kinda wonder if we should by another bundle to gamble on the night vision when we leave.
>>
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Time to open up your MINING BUNDLE-

Huh. Only three gas masks and a grappling hook. Devin fucking scammed you. Eh, that's the price you pay for trusting a schizo besides yourself. The weird thing about the gas masks is that on each side, there's a small capsule stitched into the rubber-like material that makes up the masks.

You quickly replace your current one with this new one. Suddenly, a sickly sweet smell that you can't quite put your hand on rushes through the mask. You can't help but to grin. Some primordial part of your brain is being fired up just by wearing this damn thing.

Casey and Alexis immediately rush to grab them to replace their own masks. Immediately, you can see a change in their postures and demeanors. Casey is glancing around and shaking as if she's ready to kill someone. You swear she's literally making a buzzing sound too. Alexis simply cracks her shoulders while clenching her fists.
>+1 VIOLENCE to CASEY, ALEXIS, and YOU WHILE WEARING THE GAS MASK!

You were tempted on taking this moment to inject Casey with some ICP, maybe even go all in and jab all three needles into her, but...no. Not now. Too risky. She barely knows you. Might give Benjamin the wrong idea too. You put the idea aside as you nod at Benjamin. "I think I like your idea. Go ahead and try making something. I doubt we'll get another chance to use your supplies like this."

"Fair!" Benjamin finds a corner to sit down before pulling out his lab equipment to start tinkering up some chemicals or drugs to hopefully treat Luther's affliction. The gem-encrusted man stares at Benjamin's labkit with a confused, lost expression plastered on his face. <...why me...>

Max seems to pick up on what Luther is thinking and promptly steps over to him, though she still keeps her distance for obvious reasons. "I won't pretend I understand what happened to you, how life was in this town, or even how much pain you must be in. I can't. What I do understand is that you don't think you deserve this, do you?" <"I mean, look at me. I could buy every single person in this room if I wanted to. What did I do to earn that kind of power?">

Luther stares down at the beanpole rich girl for a moment before silently nodding. Every movement he makes is followed by the cracking, shattering, and grinding of crystals rubbing against each other.

"Well, from what I see, you did nothing wrong. You were lured down here on false pretense to help out a girl who didn't know what she was doing. You don't deserve to rot away and die because of that. Maybe if there wasn't another option but we have the time! We have the resources! Just...let us do this, please?" Max clasps her hands together as she pleads with him.

[MERUCIAL] Casey suddenly snaps her attention over to Luther. Her next words are monotone and stilted. "The best thing you can do now is look at the great blue sky before you die. There is no sky here. The air is stifling. The false stars are disgusting."
>>
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Whatever positive atmosphere Max was trying to drum up was hampered then and there but Alexis eventually relents from her original proposal with a sigh. "You know, they're not wrong. The lovey dovey and sentimental stuff doesn't sit well with me but having another person around WOULD help. Hell, if you're going to die, at least die helping us."

Luther doesn't respond at first and merely stands there as if the words you're saying are bouncing off him. Benjamin approaches him with a large vial filled with a colorless liquid and immediately splashes it onto one of the bigger crystal growths on his face.

Immediately, the crystals melt away like they were nothing more than clumps of sugar stuck to his face. "There we go! Might burn your skin a bit but we don't exactly have time to be delicate here!" Soon, Luther's face is fully visible now. His left eye takes a while to open back up but now, he can actually see out of both eyes.

Benjamin pours the rest of the vial onto Luther's shoulder and knee to loosen up the gem-encrusted joints. He then proceeds to toss two small vials over to you. "These are too small to do anything worthwhile to his body but it might be useful later." You take a look at what he handed you.
>STONE DISSOLVER x2 (A highly potent acid that only reacts to certain kinds of stones, metals, and crystals. May prove useful in treating Valentina or to destroy weapons, locks, or anything else made of metal/stone/crystals.)

"So be it." Luther's voice is a bit less distant now. He rips away at the STONE DISSOLVER clinging to his mouth. "Let's move."
>LUTHER HAS JOINED THE PARTY! STATS BELOW!

LUTHER [TEMP]
FLESH: 10
RESTRAINT: 6
VIOLENCE: 6
TALENT: 1
WILLPOWER: 6
CHARM: 1
CONNECTIONS: 0
COGNIZANCE: 2

BOON:
[STONE-ENCRUSTED] Stone over flesh. Stone over mind. Luther takes -2 FLESH damage from all sources and rolls d10 in VIOLENCE or WILLPOWER checks.

BANE:
[REFRACTED SOUL] He's not really who he used to be. Other BOONS are disabled. Most of this character's stats are reduced.

No point staying around here. You toss over one of the spare normal gas masks you have so he doesn't immediately reinfect himself. Now that his face isn't partially covered in crystals, he can actually wear the damn thing. Your group immediately rushes outside of the saferoom on your command.

Another vision flashes through your mind. A man with grey blue eyes heads down a path of smoke. A woman with a purple ponytail heads down a path filled with Moonstones. A man in a bunny mask notices a robot and a crystalized miner down one path and immediately rushes down it. You imagine he'll call for the others once he's done.

[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND + STEADY HANDS] "LET'S GET MOVING! GRAB THE HEAVIEST THING YOU CAN AND START BREAKING THROUGH THIS CAVE IN!" You pull out your power drill and immediately begin ripping into the blockage. Your grip is stabilized and steady, making sure you're drilling exactly where you need to be. You're already making quick work.
>>
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Max immediately rushes in with her pickaxe to start hammering away at the cave in. Luther is using the massive hunk of crystal growing off his arm as a makeshift bludgeon. Your other allies have to resort to smashing it in with the heaviest rocks they can find. Casey and Alexis are actually doing shockingly decent work with their method due to the improved gas masks they're wearing. Chunks of stone are crumbling away by the second.

Benjamin pulls out one spare vial of STONE DISSOLVER and throws it right towards the weakened blockage. Seems like that was the last bit needed since in only five minutes flat, your crew manages to completely drill through the cave in. You're saving a lot of time.

Past the now dissolved and crumbled cave in is an elevator leading down right ahead of you while the tunnel seems to continue on deeper and deeper north. Casey's gun borks in the direction of the elevator and WHISPERS OF THE CITY is screaming in your head to go down there so there's no time to waste.

Your group crams into the elevator and proceeds down into the final, final layer. The next few minutes are going to be fucking agony but it'll be worth it once you're out of here. Down, down, down. Where the false stars shine.

Your head feels fuzzy. Your gas mask is working, so why are you...?

Once you eventually reach the bottom, your group spills out of the elevator so they can be freed of the can of sardines situation they were in moments ago. The place you're in is, to put it bluntly, awe-inspiring. You're in a massive cavern with a ceiling stretching on for a mile straight up. All along the walls of the cavern are massive, sheer cliffs of crystals and valuable minerals.

Right in front of your elevator is an abyss that goes far, far deeper than anyone could survive falling. Testing again by kicking a stone overboard...you don't hear anything hitting the ground.

The only way to cross the abyss is yet another massive series of catwalks that have been installed down here. In the center of the abyss is a circular platform that has eight catwalks, including the one that leads to your elevator, that are pointed in the four cardinal directions and the intercardinal between.

Working with this, you are at the south end of this makeshift compass. Only the west, north, and south one lead anywhere, the others were seemingly only built so the miners could mine away at the crystals growing. WHISPERS OF THE CITY tells you that the exit Alexis was talking about is at the northmost end and that there might be another path out of here in the westmost path and through one of the cliffsides you can now access with your GRAPPLING HOOK.

From what you can make out through WHISPERS, the west path leads back to the second layer's catwalk where you found the crystal miner and the robot while the cliffside one leads directly to the surface...but you imagine it would take a lot of time to transport everyone over there.
>>
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You could block anyone following you down this elevator. Do you?
>YES.
>YES, AND ONE OTHER PATH (West or north?)
>NO, BUT THROW ONE DOWN ANOTHER PATH. (West or north?)
>NO TO EITHER.

That's not what interests you. What interests you is two things. One, the gas here is THICK and filled with way more colors and shades than the one on Layer 6. Violets, vantablacks, browns, greens, yellows, it's vomitworthy to look at.

Which is why Max, without you saying anything, pulls out a gas neutralizing grenade and throws it towards the center of the catwalk. It explodes immediately, sweeping the place in its own white mist. After about a minute of spouting out its own white gas, it stops. The air around the center is now completely pure and clean, allowing you to see what's in the center.
>-1 GAS NEUTRALIZING GRENADE!

It's hard to make out with only your lantern. Aside from the faint glow of the crystals around you, the only thing you can see is the bright mist. So you risk it. You lift up your mask with your breath held, quickly equip your nightvision googles, before putting your mask back on. Let's see what we have here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkuX7ybgFpI [Embed] - VALENTINA

Directly in the middle of the abyss, at the circular center of the catwalk system, is a young woman sitting on a makeshift chair that you immediately notice is made out of the parts of an android. Guess whoever that person was is long gone. Everything below the neck has been completely crystalized over with bright violet crystal, with a hypnotic spiral of bright yellow crystals right on her chest. The crystals seem to meld well with her body given how you can still make out the rough outline of her figure.

The only identifying features left is her face and general bodytype. She's a short, stocky girl with bright pink hair and soft, chubby facial features. Clearly more fitting of someone who stays in fancy high end Nests instead of the normal Districts. She stares in your group's direction with a smug smirk that seems to fade as soon as the gas is cleared from the area around here.

"Where did...that wonderful voice go?" Her voice echoes throughout the cavern, equally from the wide-open caverns and due to some innate quality of her voice now. "My inspiration is being hampered but...wait. Where am I? I was supposed to be back at the Gala by now, right?"

"Gala?" Max and Alexis whisper to each other. They nod with a mutual understanding. The others, sans Benjamin, give the two some pretty confused looks
"Family event." Max whispers. "A lot of important corporate families come to it. Happened a few weeks ago."
"I was invited there while you were on your ship trip, actually. Most of the families were fine but the Krak- Feh, not important." Alexis interrupts herself. You have to agree, there's more pressing issues.

There's a clearly dazed and confused Valentina who's not in the right state of mind to deal with now.
>>
Given that her whole body (sans her face, oddly enough) has been crystalized over. You gotta give props to Max for clearing her head with the gas grenade but you still have to figure out how to fully snap her out.

How do you want to approach Valentina?
>[LUTHER ALLY] "Grab her. We need to go." There's no time to waste here and you know Valentina will trust him. Grab and run to an exit. (Saves a lot of time and no skill checks will be required. Pick which exit [NORTH, ELEVATOR, WEST, CLIFFSIDE] to go through.)
>[MAX ALLY] It might be wise to calm her down and to try grounding her before you try leaving. Send Max over, she'll know how to handle a high class teen, right? (CHARM DC: 18 (-2 from CASEY), rolling only Max's 5d6. Max has two full dice REROLLS left. Max's experience with the various corporate families should allow her to earn Valentina's trust very easily, earning you valuable VANNI favors down the line.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "She's clearly in a critical state of contamination. We have to treat her before we do anything." He's not wrong. Spend some time patching her up. (FREE ACTION, -LAST CHARGE ON BENJAMIN'S BOON. Valentina will be partially patched up, allowing her to assist you down the line. It will take some time to do so, however.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE-" Casey is about to burst at the seams. Tell Max to toss her pickaxe to Casey and let her go to town. (FREE ACTION. Casey will quickly tire out and will have a small stat penalty for the rest of the mission but you'll get a LOT of valuables from mining down here.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Maybe it's crazy but I think we shouldn't leave yet. We should address the corpos and tell them why she was here. We need to get them on our side." ...Maybe that would be wise. Wait around for the corpos to catch up. (You'll get a chance to negotiate with the corpos and to try getting them on your side to deal with the mayor.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Something about everything this mission has been rubbing you the wrong way. How no one noticed until now. How the Mayor closed the mine despite everything going on. You want to interrogate her. Get the final pieces of what's been going on here.
>[UNSTABLE] ...FUCK IT. YOU'RE CURIOUS IF THIS 'LACK' AND 'INSPIRATION' SHIT IS ACTUALLY WORTHWHILE. LIFT UP YOUR MASK AND TAKE A DEEP, DEEP BREATH. (FREE ACTION. -2 CHARGES OFF DRIFTWOOD IDOL, -1 RESTRAINT, -1 FLESH, leaving you at 3/5 FLESH and 7/10 RESTRAINT. You might get some wonderful insight into why W-Corp is the way it is through this. You might also just take a CRIPPLING INJURY for no good reason.)
>Write in (Use an item? Ask Valentina something? Do something else?)
>>
>>5992143
>Block elevator
>Treat Valentina
>Let Casey mine
>Interrogate Valwntina during treatment
>Go north
>>
>>5992081
>>5992112
I'm just sad I rolled 99 last night and not 100 in >>5992057
On the plus side it's free +1 VIOLENCE. I can be content with that. Stardust Accumulator would be godlike, but what we got has practical use. And now we have a total of 8 gas masks for big operations... like the attack on the silver agent base

I forgot to comment on it but in >>5991133 Benjamin knows how to speak Hebrew. He might be an interesting pick for the jew tunnels mission
>>
>>5992180
Why do you believe there are Jews in the tunnel?
>>
>>5992131
>literally making a buzzing sound
Alertness pheromone
>why me
;_;
>What did I do to earn that kind of power?
When the rich person is also an actual person with actual problems behind all the money
>MERCURIAL
Thanks for incorporating the Queen Bee line

>>5992132
>sentimental stuff
Where's your two brothers and your one sister?
>STONE DISSOLVER x2
Interesting chem item
>reinfect himself
That would be hilarious if it happened, but I'm glad we have the foresight to avoid it
>immediately rushes
Fuck, Huxley is catching up to us!
>CAPTAIN'S COMMAND + STEADY HANDS
I'm glad we got the captain hat for Adam

>>5992135
>shockingly decent work
We can't swap masks now to get Ben to VIOLENCE 4, but I get the feeling we won't need to
>five minutes flat
We delayed a bunch with looting the lobby, but we're still ahead
>awe-inspiring
This cave sounds cool
>circular platform
This scene sounds exactly like a boss arena in some platformer or other game
>another path out
>access with your GRAPPLING HOOK
Already an opportunity
>take a lot of time
Nevermind

>>5992140
>gas neutralizing grenade
I forgot Max had those. She has 3 left. We'll need them for the straight path to the surface, if we'll use that one
>bright yellow crystals
That Pierre guy had yellow eye spirals before
>Valentina
Quite the description
>wonderful voice
FUCK OFF CARMEN
>innate quality
It took having 90% of her entire body becoming rocks to give her a cool echoey voice. Weak
>but the Krak-
Something to talk about later
>>
>>5992182
That mission is clearly based on the secret underground jew tunnels they found in New York City last month or so. Though you're right and that could be only part of the mission. The truth might be stranger than we think
>>
>>5992140
>YES

>>5992143
>[LUTHER ALLY] "Grab her. We need to go." There's no time to waste here and you know Valentina will trust him. Grab and run to an exit. (Saves a lot of time and no skill checks will be required. Pick which exit [NORTH, ELEVATOR, WEST, CLIFFSIDE] to go through.)
WEST
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "She's clearly in a critical state of contamination. We have to treat her before we do anything." He's not wrong. Spend some time patching her up. (FREE ACTION, -LAST CHARGE ON BENJAMIN'S BOON. Valentina will be partially patched up, allowing her to assist you down the line. It will take some time to do so, however.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE-" Casey is about to burst at the seams. Tell Max to toss her pickaxe to Casey and let her go to town. (FREE ACTION. Casey will quickly tire out and will have a small stat penalty for the rest of the mission but you'll get a LOT of valuables from mining down here.)
>>
>>5992140
>>5992143
>YES, AND ONE OTHER PATH (West or north?)
West. Bait the corpos into going that way and looping themselves to that layer while we take Alexis' exit out. We have those last 3 gas neutralizing grenades on Max in case of emergency
>BENJAMIN ALLY
First fucking thing we do is stabilize Valentina's condition. Plus free action
>CASEY ALLY
LOOT TIME LOOT TIME LOOT TIME LOOT TIME
https://youtube.com/watch?v=p-3e0EkvIEM
>PERSON OF INTEREST
I want to get to the bottom of this mystery so we have as much shit to hit the Mayor with after we're out
>UNSTABLE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Bu1DdChfVak
I cannot resist. This shit takes 2 DRIFTWOOD IDOL charges but I don't think we'll be hurt enough for the remainder that we'll need to spend the last one for this mission. Combined with what Wendy slipped, plus what we found out from Devin in the shop, this might push Nicole to finally piecing together W Corp's whole gimmick. Maybe even insight into why they hate anomalies. I assume Nicole's voice characters (especially UNSTABLE RESOLVE) will help ground her during this

And then for the way out
>EXIT NORTH
We have anti-gas grenades. We have enough gas masks. We have the POWER DRILL. We can take the straight shot outta here
>Whenever you find a door labeled "X-ALPHA", you're on the right track. Other exit has been abandoned due to INTENSE contamination, go STRAIGHT ahead if you pick this path.
>>
>>5992195
+1
>>
>>5985859
>NEGOTIATE A BETTER DEAL FOR THE MINERS WITH THE MAYOR. REWARD: +FAVOR (WORKING CLASS) x3, $500, a dripfeed of various goodies from the mining town.
>>5992154
>>5992192
We need to interrogate Valentina Vanni in order to get blackmail stuff or something on the mayor to make him give a better deal to miners so we can get those nice bonus rewards.
>>
>>5992180
Oh fuck, Benny is a jew. Might be a double agent for the glow niggers! Panic time.
>>
>>5992232
If he has anything to him like a different Benjamin I know, he's a good guy
>>
>>5992290
Is that a reference to something?
>>
>>5992388
Hokma in Lobotomy Corp
>>
Seems like the general idea is to block the elevator, treat her, let Casey mine, then go north. I'll ask for one little clear up vote.

Do you want to experience the 'Lack'?
>YES.
>NO.

Do you also want to block the west path?
>YES
>NO.

>>5992186
>>5992182
>>5992232
While the inspiration is there, I'll flatly state there are not, in fact, secret jews hiding in this tunnel. Mostly just found the idea of "tunnels mysterious appearing" to be a cool mission idea.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] That and most old world religions, to your knowledge, has fallen out of fashion. Such as Judaism, Christianity, and Communism.
>>
>>5992924
>YES.

>YES
>>
>>5992924
>NO
>YES
>>
>>5992971
>TRAUMA KIT. Oddly user friendly. Bought mostly by P-Company facilities. (Has 1 charges. Heals 1 FLESH with 1 charge. Heals a crippling injury with 2 charges. Can heal near lethal damage with 3 charges.)
>PAINKILLER BOTTLE x2 (Comes with three doses each. Grants a +2d6 bonus to any FLESH check when consumed.)
>"UVX MODEL #221" (An experimental X-Corp ointment, meant for topical application. Induces FLESH regeneration when applied. May have side effects when used.)

We have medical supplies, we will be fine when we experience the LACK. We are in a good position to experience LACK.
>>
>>5993004
Even if we get knocked out, we have our allies with us. Luther can effortlessly carry us to safety, and the BARRICADE GRENADE we deploy to slow down corpo will buy us a lot of time for our allies carrying us to surface.
>>
>>5992924
I hope we interrogate Valentina too. The truth is so close at hand
>YES
Breathing in the chemicals
Breaking in the consciousness
>YES
We can buy more BARRICADE GRENADES later if we want to for the silver agent base assault

>there are not, in fact, secret jews hiding in this tunnel
I'm ok with this. I'll tone the memeing down about it with that in mind
>"tunnels mysterious appearing"
I also agree it is a very cool mission idea
>Judaism, Christianity, and Communism
Islam and Buddhism and whatever else too, I assume. Guess we won't know more until Nicole ever goes to District 14
>>
>>5992924
>Yes to both
>>
Coolio. Time to overdose on gas fumes. Don't worry, you'll get to interview Valentina too. It's not like Benjamin can manifest drugs in five seconds, that shit takes time.

Anywho, writing.

>>5993011
>I'll tone the memeing down about it with that in mind
I didn't particularly mind it but I rather just nip it in the bud before you start making plans for something that I frankly never planned on writing.
Besides. If I wanted secret shadow people involved in a mission, you already have Glowing Individuals Of A Silver Nature Who Are Best Dealt With Automobiles.
>>
>>5993045
Wait a sec... Automobiles... and Nicole currently lives in G District... where G Corp is responsible for transportation... so they make and have cars...
>>
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>>5993048
Sooooo, make some dough or get a favor or two from them and get her a G Wagon get it so she can run down shiny feds? One with a cattle guard added on, of course.
>>
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You pull out your two inflatable barricade grenades. Both are two small plastic balls that will quickly expand into barricades once you pull their pins. You pull them with your mind and with your STEADY HANDS, you toss them down the WEST path and into the ELEVATOR behind you.

[STEADY HANDS] Your throwing skills were boosted HEAVILY by the PARADIGM underneath your uniform. Both grenades are sent flying and land right where you want them to, blocking the paths perfectly. Two bulky, thick barricades made out of a stab and bullet-resistant material flood both of those paths. You'll delay them a bit longer than normal.
>-BARRICADE GRENADES.

You kneel down in front of Casey. "You know what? You can mine. Go ahead." You nod in Max's direction. She gets the hint and hands her pickaxe over to Casey; Both you and Max suddenly realize this is a bad idea almost immediately, like giving a young kid an energy drink with 300 mg of caffeine.

She makes a beeline RIGHT towards the end of the eastmost catwalk and begins to rip into the wall with the pickaxe she was provided. The sheer blazing speed she's mining away at can only be comparable to a god damn strip mining machine. Everyone, even Valentina, takes a moment to marvel at the sheer efficiency she's mining with.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] She's absolutely going to break her body after this.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Why do you feel like that isn't an issue for her?

Your group decides to take this moment of distraction to approach Valentina. You glance over at Alexis. "So. What was that about not liking sentimental stuff, Ms. "I have three siblings"?"
Alexis cracks her shoulders almost instinctually before side eyeing you through her gas mask. "Ceмья – этo дpyгoe. Luther is a stranger. Still is. Hopefully we didn't make a mistake."
Luther doesn't respond to this. He's completely focused on Valentina.
Max seems to faintly understand what Alexis tried to say and sighs. "I get that family is different but I dunno, I just wanted to help. I didn't want someone to die down here for no good reason."

The five of you approach Valentina. She turns her attention back to you, still on her throne made out of android parts. She crosses her legs with shocking ease given the fact that, well, they're fucking crystalized. It's almost like the crystals are a part of her instead of an abhorrent mutation or growth. Maybe that's what the robot up there talked about?

A vision flashes. A puddle of blood, crushed dust, and smoldering metal lays at a heavy metal door. A man in a plastic bunny mask yells for his comrades. He begins to rush down the stairs with a violent, single minded obsession. His fists are crackling with dazzling white fire. A powerful augment way outside of your price range.

"Who are you people? Where am I?" Valentina is glancing around the giant abyss your group is standing over. She seems more confused than scared, since she doesn't do anything as your group surrounds her.
>>
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Max immediately springs in to lie right through her teeth. "Our group is associated with your family. We've been trying to find you, and now that we have, we're getting you out of here." Well, it's a half lie if anything else. Valentina is unconvinced by this but she doesn't struggle for now. The air around the center of the platform is still clean enough to keep her somewhat grounded for a while.

"You're clearly in a critical state of contamination. We have to treat you, miss, before we do anything." Benjamin pulls out his chemistry kit, waiting for your approval. You nod towards Benjamin. He immediately goes to work on making more of that STONE DISSOLVER solvent.

"Huh. Why? I've only been here for two days. Or was it less than zero?" Valentina talks to nobody in particular. Weird, everyone in this fucking town has a beyond warped sense of time. Guess that's what happens when your brain is replaced with crystals.

"Try asking her questions, Max. Alexis. Luther, even, if you can." You pull off your gas mask and NIGHTVISION GOOGLES and start to trek over to the thick cloud of colorful gas that was only halted by Max's gas clearing grenades. Max immediately rushes over to stop you but Benjamin and Alexis grab her by the shoulder.

"She has to be doing it for a reason." Alexis hesitantly tries to calm down Max.
"She IS doing it for a reason. We'll be here to save here if need be." Benjamin gently rubs Max's shoulder. "She's not going to die. Okay?"

"I-What the actual fuck, Nicole, you know what that's going to do to you, right?" Max whines like a kicked puppy. "I don't- Benjamin would- Please, I don't want you to do this. Don't hurt yourself." <"I don't want to see someone suffer. I know my family does bad things and I want to do SOMETHING to lessen it but-">

[UNSTABLE] "Yes. But I have to know. See you in a moment. I'll be fine." Without further ado, you step past the threshold, drenching your world view in a colorful kaleidoscope of every color humanity has ever known.

https://youtu.be/X9H41sI96hU - LACK

You are not Nicole.
You are not Adam.
You are not UNSTABLE.
You are not Nicole.
You are not the Admiral.
You are not Valentina.
You are not Luther.
You are not Devin.
You are not-

You are choking on your own blood. Your lungs are seizing with a pain you can not even begin to describe. Your skull feels like it's cracking underneath the strain of your own existence. Existing hurts now on a fundamental level. It's incredibly hard to describe but it's like the gas around you is trying to suffocate more than just your lungs. It's suffocating your thoughts. Your brain. Your emotions.

Yet, somehow, you're not dissolving away. No matter how much gas pours into your body, you keep thinking. You keep existing. Black tar begins pouring out of your mouth as you keep standing in the gas pocket. It hurts. It hurts. God, it hurts. Why are you doing this? It hurts. FuckfuckwhereareyouHello?
>>
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ITHURTSTARKEEPSOOZINGOUTOFYOU.
ITCRYSTALIZESINTOHARDVANTLABLACKCRYSTALSWHENITTOUCHESYOURSKINYOUCANTBREATHYETYOUCANITHURTSITHURTS.
THEMETALONYOURANTLERSBENDSANDSNAPS.
>-1 FLESH! -1 RESTRAINT! -1 ANTLER GUARD CHARGES!

[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] Yet you do not dissolve underneath the suffocating, seemingly endless gas. You are still Nicole.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You will always exist. You can not be anything BUT Nicole. You simply refuse to be anyone else on a fundamental level. Nicole as an idea MUST exist.

Thousdans on thousands on thousands of voices begin to whisper and hiss in your ears. Men, women, old, young, everything in between. Whispering incoherent, nonsensical yet forbidden knowledge into your very being. You can't see them physically but in your mind, you can make them out.

A ball of voices constantly screaming over each other. Yelling over each other, trying to dominate the other voices. It shines so, so bright. Like a yearning star, leading you forward. Or leading you astray, maybe. So, so many faces stare down at you, begging for you to join them. To lose yourself.

Crystalized perspectives. Crystalized humanity. Crystalized memories. Crystalized thoughts. Everything that makes up a human's soul, boiled down into a gestalt consciousness. Melded together and mixed until you can't tell who is who anymore.

Perfected humanity. Something that knows all. A fragment of the universe, made manifested. Something to take the burden of human logic and thought away and to take that strain in its stead. The faces keep staring at you, begging to join it. To lose yourself. To finally rest. To know all. To be everyone. To be nobody.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You think you get it now. You think you get why anomalies are hated by them. Anomalies are concepts but they are wholly individual concepts. They're only what they are meant to represent.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] You can't break them down. You can't meld them together. Their perspectives are limited.
[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] Can't fit a round peg in a square hole. Only way to do so is to destroy the hole or peg.

A glimpse of their singularity lays before you. A mass of discordant thoughts, used as a conduit for equivalent exchanges and to contain knowledge. In return, gifts from the comsos are granted. Human thoughts, human being, are Warped underneath this process. A perfect source of inspiration.

>W-CORP SINGULARITY KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED. (You have a far better time understanding how W-Corp products work and how to best utilize them. You'll unlock certain dialogue choices when interacting with W-Corp officials)

You can't help but to smile. The moonstones aren't their true singularity after all. They're simply a medium. Heh. No wonder why W-Corp didn't mind people disappearing here. More fuel to burn.

You stumble out of the fog with your outfit completely drenched in your own blood and vomit. You haphazardly put your gas mask back on. Someone thin and tall rushes over to check up on you.
>>
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Your cheek suddenly stings. You suddenly become cognizant of the world around you. Max and Benjamin. Benjamin just looks disappointed at you while Max is-

Is she crying? She grabs you by the collar and shakes you with all of her strength. Given her lack of muscle, she doesn't do much to you.

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU. YOU WERE GOING FOR LIKE FORTY MINUTES WE TRIED TO SNAP YOU OUT BUT YOU WEREN'T RESPONDING HOLY FUCK WHY DID YOU DO THAT-" Her face is flushed red with rage and stress-induced worry. "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN HOLY SHIT."

"Fuck." Benjamin bitterly laughs to himself. "Fuck, what can I even say? I can respect the pursuit of knowledge but you really worried us. You worried me. I-" He tries to collect his own scattered thoughts. "I trusted you enough to let you do this. You've done a lot for me so I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Why wouldn't I?"

"I trust you. I trust Max. I want to trust everyone I meet but..." He rubs the back of his neck, trying his best to put his next statement in a way that matters.

"When you were out there, zoning out, refusing to budge no matter how hard we pulled on you? I thought you were fucking dead. And I didn't quite know what to do with that. You saved me and the fact that I couldn't return the favor? Fuck. Felt kinda worthless there."

"...sorry." That's all you can say. There's nothing else you can really say that would mean anything. You glance over at Max and simply pat her on the head. She stops shaking you for a moment and immediately goes in to hug you. Followed immediately by Benjamin. None of you want to say anything.

"don't do that again." That's all Max can choke out.
"...I trust you still. I can't help but to trust people." Benjamin laughs to himself. "Please, though. Don't worry us like that.

"I'll try not to." You feel incredibly drained after all that. "I just had to know. I really did. I'll at least warn you next time." You turn your gaze over to where Valentina is while the others keep clinging onto you. You're still on the clock and as much as you want to hug them back, you can do that after you're safe.

Casey and Alexis are doing the final touches on Valentina. Her chest and waist are still crystalized, seemingly kept there for her modesty (since you doubt her outfit survived the near full crystallization) but the rest of her body is cleansed. She has a gas mask on, ready to leave at your command.

Another vision, which you realize is your SIGHTJACKING and WHISPER OF THE CITY power working in tandem, flashes through you. An elevator filled with half melted plastic sticking to everything, making it completely useless for travel. Three figures heading down the long way to the abyss. The leader, a man in a bunny mask, is getting close to the bottom.

A barricade is barely visible at the bottom. At least another hundred feet away.

"We have to leave. They're making a beeline down here. Fucking jet it." Everyone gets the hint and prepares to move on your command.
>>
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Luther quickly picks up the still dazed Valentina. You and your other allies join up with you. Casey's gun, which she's barely holding onto thanks to her exhausted state, points forward. North time it is.
>-1 COGNIZANCE, TALENT, CHARM to CASEY for rest of the mission

You'll talk to Valentina while you start running. In your cue, your group books it down the northmost walkway. It doesn't take long to see it splitting into three paths hidden behind iron doors, each labeled with a code. You already know which one leads to the exit. X-ALPHA. You force it open with your mind and begin to head into the gas flooded exit.

Your MOONSTONE GAS DETECTOR machine is going fucking apeshit as you rush down the straight and narrow hallway. Checking it, the level of gas down here is enough to kill a regular man two times over. Though you doubt Robbert is a regular man. There's nothing around but carved stone and a straight line forward.

Your skin begins to itch and it's hard to breath in here, even through the gas mask. Your group seems to be experiencing the same symptoms. Seems like the levels are getting high enough where it actually starts fucking up with your body. Max quickly gets the hit and opens up one of her GAS NEUTRALIZING GRENADES, holding it above her. As your group runs down the hallway, the white gas purifies the air you run into, giving you a moment to breath.
>2 GAS NEUTRALIZING GRENADES LEFT!

"Valentina." You huff and wheeze as your group makes a mad dash down the hallway. "Why did you come here?" You need to know. A solid answer to shape everything together.

"Heard." Valentina tries her best to string words together. "Stuff about mining towns in W-Corp. From my family talking with W Reps. Heard a lot were being shut down or centralized. Wanted to come down and check it out. Maybe write a good review. Maybe get some inspiration. Mayor here contacted me, telling me to come down. Said that there was some inspiration in his mines."

Wait. The Mayor called HER down here? Wait, wait, wait, you have to check something.

"Wait, weren't the mines closed when you came down here?"

"Not when I came here." Valentina answers. <"Thought there were a lot of miners wandering around on top...?"> "Why do you. Ask?

Wait. It was closed two weeks ago, before she even arrived. Then it was open. Then it closed again the moment she went down there and went missing. The mayor said something about a golden ticket. The robot the mayor programmed said she was prime material...

This was a fucking set up.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Robbert's guards were here when she went missing. He would know about her being down here too. He was looking for a bargaining chip, right?
[PERSON OF INTEREST] If the Mayor was willing to have the guards around, he must've had contact with them. Was he trying to play Robbert as well? To offer him a way back in W-Corp's favor?

You gotta get out of here. You have a god damn mayor on your shitlist.
>>
>OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE CHANGED: KILL THE MAYOR OR EXPOSE HIS SECRETS TO THE CORPOS. LET THE TOWN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED HERE. DO WHAT COMES NATURAL FROM THERE. REWARD: +FAVOR (WORKING CLASS) x3, +1 EXTRA FAVOR FROM THE THREE FAMILIES, $600, a dripfeed of various goodies from the mining town.

As soon as you think of that, you can faintly hear three people yelling at each other in the room far, far behind you. Glancing back towards the path your party is running down, you can see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. You've been running for a while and you know your group has the distance advantage. You'll get out of here before the corpos can even dare to catch up with you.

But...after piecing together everything, there's another path to head down. Another choice that you can make. How do you want to handle your escape out of here?
>KEEP GOING. LEAVE THE CORPOS BEHIND. LEAVE THE TOWN BEHIND. GET VALENTINA OUT. THAT'S YOUR ONLY GOAL. YOU ARE DONE WITH THIS TOWN.
>GET OUT, MAKE A BEELINE TOWARDS THE MAYOR. YOU GOT A MAYOR TO PUBLICLY SHAME.
>GET OUT, MAKE A BEELINE TOWARDS THE MAYOR. YOU GOT A MAYOR TO PUBLICLY EXECUTE.
>TELL LUTHER AND VALENTINA TO GET OUSIDE OF HERE, LEAVE TOWN, AND HIDE. GET YOUR GROUP TO HEAD BACK TO THE CORPOS.
>GET OUTSIDE BUT WAIT FOR THE CORPOS TO LEAVE THE MINES TOO. TRY TO STRIKE UP A DISCUSSION THEN.
>WRITE IN. (Split your group up to do multiple paths at once? Suggest another plan?)

I didn't forget about the minerals Casey mined. You'll see what she got next update but she got a LOT. Just hard to fit that in alongside everything else.
Next update should hopefully not take over a day to make. Sleeping schedule has been fucked.
>>
>>5993227
>>GET OUT, MAKE A BEELINE TOWARDS THE MAYOR. YOU GOT A MAYOR TO PUBLICLY SHAME.
We even have the crystallized proof with us.
>>
>>5993228
Should we wait for the corpos to get out first? We beat them to the punch speedrunning this mission like pros, but the mission has changed. Imagine if we let all the news loose with everybody in town and the 3 corpos all there? Either way the time for speed and stealth is OVER. I'm inclined to finally face the corpos on our own terms. Valentina on our hands gives Nicole's group the upper hand in negotiation, on top of the corpos realizing how cleanly they were gotten past and the mine handled ahead of them. Knowing what we do about Robbert Huxley and his motivations, we can play him against the Mayor. Roland will be inclined to work with us because we have his daughter and his daughter's future husband as friends. Rosalie will be willing to work with us after we helped Valentina recover, as well as have her relative's ancient ID card from Gregory. Waiting for the corpos to come out also gives Nicole's group some time to rest and chat. Maybe telling them about the LACK visions and realization, as well as other stuff from this mission, will be a nice way to relax before what we're about to do
>>
>>5993227
>GET OUTSIDE BUT WAIT FOR THE CORPOS TO LEAVE THE MINES TOO. TRY TO STRIKE UP A DISCUSSION THEN.
>>
>>5993227
>GET OUT, MAKE A BEELINE TOWARDS THE MAYOR. YOU GOT A MAYOR TO PUBLICLY SHAME.
>>
>>5993228
>>5993261
Our cards are stacked in our favor, we have negotiation power here, we can negotiate the three corpos to help the town.
>>
>>5993221
>boosted HEAVILY
Thanks Adam. I think we should take NEW YOU off completely after Nicole is home. This much prolonged PARADIGM use is worrying even if this is innocuous
>stab and bullet-resistant
Great investments for the future
>bad idea
BEST IDEA
>makes a beeline
:^)
>three siblings
Thanks for incorporating this
>cracks her shoulders
Must be that enhanced gasmask thing. Second time she's done this
>part of her
Congrats?
>puddle of blood
Whose? The crystal zombie miner?
>down the stairs
Completely ignoring the cave in path, lucky us
>powerful augment
Guy's got his own fancy light source. Pricey

>>5993222
>associated with your family
She doesn't know!
>warped sense of time
Consistent for every contaminated, even the most lucid
>immediately rushes over
She's a real one
>has to be
>hesitantly
>IS
This is a great moment. Alexis and Ben have been there since the first mission in thread 1. They KNOW Nicole by now. It also shows how the two differ in their belief in her
>do SOMETHING
Max is shooting up there in the character tiers

>>5993223
>Black tar
Oh no it's that shit again
>HARDVANTLABLACKCRYSTALS
That's not VOIDSTONE. This is different.
>-1 ANTLER GUARD CHARGES!
Reminder anons we literally got them at the start of this mission thanks to Alexis
>fragment of the universe
:^)
>this entire LACK sequence
Kino but very hard to understand. Now Nicole knows the truth. W Corp Singularity is a crystallized and blended humanity Legion. "We are Legion for we are many." That's why the "personality shards" like UNSTABLE exist and can be "removed" and "implanted" like what Devin said. That's why both Nicole and Devin have their own different UNSTABLE which behave foreign while simultaneously being parts of themselves, but naturally both Nicole and Kiara have their own different SEEKER OF THE CITY via their own personal knowledge and experiences, but Kiara's isn't a third-party behaving extension of herself like Nicole's is. Nicole's UNSTABLE is both part of herself as an individual, yet at the same time not because of humanity's connection to the collective being or something. An anomaly would be like if Nicole's UNSTABLE burst out of her and became its own anomaly. It ceases to be a mere shard or offshoot, and becomes something completely external and individual and unable to be reintegrated.
I have no idea if I'm understanding it correctly though.
>>
>>5993224
>FORTY MINUTES
Worth it
>this entire Ben and Max scene
Nicole's outfit is completely fucked by vomit and all this dirt and dust and stone and whatever, but she has to return that fucking hug soon. Goddamn this scene is GOOD
>chest and waist
Crystalesque women's fashion the NEWEST CRAZE HITTING THE CITY by the Vannis?! Tune in next time!!!
>in tandem
Sightjacking putting it work
>melted plastic
I pity the miners having to clean that gunk off
>the long way
I KNEW IT
I KNEW I WAS RIGHT SUGGESTING BLOCKING THE WEST EXIT
IT WASN'T A DECOY BUT A GALAXY BRAINED DOUBLE-BLOCK
10/10

>>5993226
>Casey debuff
Worth it
>GAS NEUTRALIZING GRENADES
I am glad we picked CORPORATE ELITE for Alexis to unlock this path, and Max came with 4 of these on her own
>my family talking with W Reps
Rosalie?
>set up
I knew there had to be something fishy
>Robbert's guards
I never stopped to question them being there and connected to H Corp and Robbert. I thought Robbert sent them in to secure the site for him in advance. Not all THIS
>play Robbert
Big fucking mistake

>>5993227
>rewards
About damn time. And this isn't even the base mission reward from Handler. He's gonna LOVE hearing all this later
>yelling at each other
Get Yakety Saxed
>she got a LOT.
Quite the busy bee huh QM?
>Sleeping schedule
Get some rest
>>
>>5993227
>GET OUTSIDE BUT WAIT FOR THE CORPOS TO LEAVE THE MINES TOO. TRY TO STRIKE UP A DISCUSSION THEN
It's time to make a play that benefits everybody and makes the Mayor regret existing for the past month or so
>>
>>5993227
>>GET OUTSIDE BUT WAIT FOR THE CORPOS TO LEAVE THE MINES TOO. TRY TO STRIKE UP A DISCUSSION THEN.

If this goes bad, it wont be a fun fight with the group we have. Lets hope the power of drugs and being more pissed at the mayor than us can pull us through.
>>
>>5993402
There's no way in hell Roland fucking Krakatoa will let his daughter fight two other fellow corpos. Nicole pulls out her phone and gives Gregory a call, and him vouching for her is all she needs to get Max's dad to understand
>>
>>5993227
>>GET OUT, MAKE A BEELINE TOWARDS THE MAYOR. YOU GOT A MAYOR TO PUBLICLY EXECUTE.
>>
So what do you guys think about this mission so far?
>>
>>5993444
Nice change up from the extended Admiral mission. Finding horror in the bowels of the earth is always fun and Max being so concerned about Nicole was sweet.
>>
>>5993227
>GET OUTSIDE BUT WAIT FOR THE CORPOS TO LEAVE THE MINES TOO. TRY TO STRIKE UP A DISCUSSION THEN.
>>
>>5993629
Admiral mission was on rails there and back with the exception of the side activities. That's because we were on a ship. But right here on this job from the moment we got off that train and saw the corpos there, we intuitively decided to go for the stealth rush to Valentina. Sure we delayed here and there like splitting up at the town or casing most of the lobby, but almost every single update has served to shove us further and further into the deep. That was all by our own will and votes as the players. We chose to haul ass and almost never stop till we got to the bottom. If we had decided to work with the corpos or take it slower, there's a chance Valentina could have become unrecoverable or beyond saving. There might have been many other problems with the corpos or the Mayor interfering or not being able to get in the mine through the main way.

If we hadn't picked SIGHTJACKING as a powerup back at the military base, Nicole would not have been able to use it alongside SEEKER to get mental maps of the place and track the corpos approaching. If we hadn't picked CORPORATE ELITE for Alexis' rapport upgrade to specialize her in CONNECTIONS, we wouldn't have got the tip from her contacts about the straight exit out in the contaminated tunnel, leading us to have to go westward back to a previous layer and risk running into the corpos. if we didn't get the side task of finding Luther, we would have been more incentivized to put him out of his misery in his safehouse closet.

God I fucking love quests man. Choose your own adventure books were incredible when I was growing up.
>>
>>5993194
Is it even a good idea to own a car? How much do we have to pay to keep the car maintained? Do the cars have built-in tracking and surveillance devices that the silver agent can potentially use it to monitoring and track us by influencing G-Corp to give them access? Do you think that owning a car is too high-profile?
>>
>>5993837
It was really just a joke but yeah, in the alternate timeline far future, cars are bugged to hell and back. Even IRL they are getting there. Every new car made after 2030 has to have a remote kill switch useable by the gov't, for example and the built in GPS/OnStar has been used to track people already.

Stealing a glow nigger's SUV temporarily to plow through a crowd of them then setting it on fire is still on the table.
>>
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You want to leave. You want to gallop away, to get out of danger, to survive. To leave this god damn town behind. Yet a part of you wants to put this whole thing to rest. So something like this won't happen again. You're not quite sure why. Pity towards the town folks? Hatred towards the mayor and W-Corp for egging him on? A chance to get with the social elite?

[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] All three, really. This whole situation fucking sucks. Might as well do SOMETHING good while we're here.
[STEADY HANDS] Slice away the evil. Leave behind only what is needed.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] She was also being observed by them. Perhaps you feel like you should help her after everything she's been through.

It takes a while to get back to the surface given that you were seven layers underneath the earth and there's not much to describe during it, it's a literal straight line with nothing but lethal amounts of toxic fumes and stone walls. You begin to zone out...

You don't really know how long it took but by the time your whole group stumbles out onto the surface, it's already pretty late in the afternoon. Probably early evening if you had to be more exact. The sun has already mostly set. The sky and everything underneath it is blanketed in a blend of dark blue and orange. If you squint your eyes, you can just make out the dozens on dozens on dozens of stars that make up the night sky

You've seen stars before, you've been around in basically every District in the City (though the specifics of most of them are VERY foggy until you resist them for a mission), but something about staring up at them after everything you've been through is comforting. In the corner of your eyes, you can see everyone else staring up at the star-kissed sky. Especially Valentina and Luther.

"Thought. Never see it. 'gain." Luther pulls off his gas mask and tosses it back to you. He takes a long, deep breath to taste the fresh air above. "Fresh. Oxygen. Blue. Sky. Beautiful. As I re-remembered." His knees begin to shake and bend underneath the sheer pressure of realizing one simple truth: He's not going to die down there.

Max and Benjamin place their hands on Luther's shoulders.
"Welcome back." Benjamin gently pats his shoulder. "This is why you should never give up. So you can see this beautiful sky."
"I knew you were going to make it back home." Max flashes a toothy smile. You swear her canines are sharper than usual. Guess you never paid attention until now.

The area around this back entrance is pretty barren and plain. Aside from a few old trucks and carts that have long since rusted away beyond any semblance of usability, there's only dusty sand and the evening sky above. If you squint hard enough, you can make out the edge of the town you were just in. It's going to take a while to get back-

"Здecь!" Alexis calls out to the group in that thick District 9 dialect she keeps speaking in. She's been using it a lot, maybe the gas mask fumes are messing with her?
>>
Your group snaps its attention over to her. She's standing by one of the rusted over trucks you skimmed over. "This one still works!" She proves this by turning it on. The engine violently chokes to life while making a sound that you know a truck shouldn't be making. "Enough room if some ride on back." She jabs at the truck bed. Welp! Beats walking after everything.

You peel your gas mask off and so does everyone else, now that you have fresh air to breath. Casey and Alexis keep their VIOLENCE boosting masks while your other allies keep the spare ones you gave them. So all in all...
>Casey and Alexis have IMPROVED GAS MASK!
>Max and Benjamin have REGULAR GAS MASKS!
>You have IMPROVED GAS MASK and REGULAR GAS MASK x4!

Neat. You climb onto the back of the truck alongside Luther, Benjamin, and Max. Alexis, Casey, and Valentina take the front seats of the truck. After Casey tosses over the bag of gemstones she mined out, everyone takes a moment to make sure they're seated before Alexis starts driving the truck back to town.

Time to see what Casey got you. Max and Benjamin also lean in to see what the fuck you got and, well, you see no harm in doing so.
CASEY MINING LOOT! CASEY IS GOOD EMPLOYEE!
>RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK x3 (A bright red gemstone that burns your hand if you hold it for too long. Blocks up to 2 FLESH damage before shattering.)
>RAW MOONSTONE CHUNK x3 (A dark royal purple gemstone with a potent gas swirling inside of it. When used on you, allows you to use a FOCUSED ability for free. When used on an ally, they add +3d8 to their next RESTRAINT or WILLPOWER check.)
>RAW VOIDSTONE CHUNK x3 (A vantablank gemstone that seems to absorb all the light around it. When consumed, temporarily boosts all stats by 1 and heals 1 RESTRAINT + FLESH. VERY valuable when sold.)
>RAW NOVASTONE CHUNK x3 (A bright white gemstone that is waiting to blossom into a bright new star. Very Volatile. When used, it explodes with a bright white flash, adding +6d4 to your next attack and reducing the dice of all enemies by 2.)

Fucking hell, Casey really didn't want to disappoint, huh? Benjamin picks up one of the VOIDSTONE chunks with a sparkle in his eyes. He adjusts his glasses before letting out a low, clearly pleased whistle.

"Oh, so you find a gem better to look at than me, huh?" The snark coming from Max's voice is laid on a bit too thick for your liking.
"Hey, no, I just thought it looked neat!" Benjamin quickly tosses the stone back at you, clearly flustered.
"Pft. Just make sure you get me that on a ring later-"

Everyone on the back of the truck stares at Max. She realized what she said and immediately sinks to the bottom of the truck bed. "Anyways. What's the plan now?!" She desperately tries to swerve the topic to something else. Riight, you should probably tell them.

"We're going to talk to the corpos. I want to start a discussion with them. To get an arrangement that benefits all of us."

"ohfuckme." Max clenches her teeth. "ohthisisgoingtosuck."
>>
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"Hey, the idea itself isn't bad." Benjamin helps his poor wet cat of a girlfriend back into a proper sitting position. "We already have an in with two of them, right? The Vanni one, well, obvious. And we got YOU here. He has to listen to you."

"I mean- Yeah, yeah, I know, and part of it is just me not wanting him to see me out here like this but what about that Robbert guy? What if he goes fucking ballistic and tries hurting you guys?" Max reaches into her pocket to put her shades back on now that she's not wearing a gas mask.

"I fought an X5 anomaly, some random dipshit in a bunnymask is easy pickings to me!" You boast with way too much confidence given, well, you only beat him because he wanted to play a game of chess instead of nuking the ship you were on.

"wait you did fucking what." Benjamin can't even attempt to hide how shocked yet impressed he is by your statement.
"YOU FUCKING DID WHAT?!" Max, however, is way more indignant about what you said. "ARE YOU A MASOCHIST? HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? AAAA-" She nearly reaches over to grab you by the shoulders but Alexis parks the truck right outside the entrance of the mine your group went down into, so she falls face first into your stained jacket.

"ew." Max squeaks out. You can't help but to laugh at how shy and high pitched that once compared to the slightly deep tone of voice she normally speaks with. "clean up later please."

The three Cleansers are nowhere in sight. Seems like Robbert called them off once he saw no need for them. Maybe you'll meet them later. Probably not. Now all you have to is to wait. Considering they don't know you went through the back entrance and all the other quick and easy paths back to the surface were blocked, yeaahhh.

Luther lays down on the now flat truckbed so he can stare at the sky.
Benjamin and Max chatter to each other about inane stuff to burn time.
Alexis chatters to someone over her radio about a 'successful mission' and something about a 'ETF Zeta'.
Casey and Valentina aren't making much noise. Both of them are probably asleep by now. You can't blame them, really, you're tired too.

Two hours pass, if you trust what your phone is saying. That and the sky turning into a dark, dark blue now. The moon shines overhead. Everything is barely visible with only the dim moonlight preventing the place from being pitch black.

Your crew's attention is immediately snapped over to the mine's entrance when you hear the lift slowly crawling back to the surface. You hop right out of the truck while your allies decide to stay behind for now. You don't blame them, who knows how the corpos are going to react at first?

https://youtu.be/Ru-L_cmO5Xg - CORPORATE POWER

"WE SPENT ALL THAT TIME DOWN THERE AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN FIND HER, ROBBERT?!" A high pitch, shrill voice cries out into the night sky. Narrowing your eyes, you see a woman in a long, flowing purple ponytail grabbing onto the shoulders of a man with a plastic bunny mask.
>>
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Oh god, oh fuck, they're finally here.

The three corporate reps step out of the lift and wander right outside of the mine entrance, only twenty or so feet away from your truck. You make sure that everyone is how you remembered them.

Rosaline Vanni. Short, well groomed woman. Dark violet purple uniform with pink accented lines and flowers draping over a yellow, high collared coat. Violet ponytail. Violet eyes. Check.
Roland Krakatoa. Average height, Remarkably pale skin. Grey blue eyes and hair. Loosely-buttoned grey-blue dress shirt, striped jacket, slacks and dress shoes. Check.
Robbert Huxley. Wide-shouldered, tall man with long blonde hair. Bulky brown overcoat with shoddy metal plating attached, Drab brown pants tucked into his jet black combat boots, thick leather gloves, bunny mask. Check.

All three of them quickly notice the truck patched outside of the mining entrance and more specifically, you. Robbert raises up his fists and without even saying a single word, he begins to charge right at you. His fists are crackling with a bright white fire that illuminates a solid 10 foot radius around him. Your MIND READ's stat checking ability automatically activates...

ROBBERT HUXLEY
FLESH: 32/35
VIOLENCE: 15
TALENT: 15
You don't need to read the rest of his stats to know that if he hits you, you're fucking dead. Your DRIFTWOOD IDOL would block one attack and then the next one would certainly kill y-

[CORPORATE INSIDER + CORPORATE V.I.P] "CEASE!" "STOP!" Alexis and Max hop out of the truck and make a mad dash over to you. As soon as the other corporate elites spot them, they yell nearly incoherent barks at him too.

"..." He grinds to a halt right as he was about to pulverize your face in with a blazing white punch. He cracks his shoulders almost instinctually before lowering his fist with a swift, jerky movement. It's clear he's only doing this because the others called him off and not because he wants to spare you.

Your other allies, including an exhausted Casey, quickly join you. Valentina is currently being carried by Luther's arm. She's out like a light and isn't even stirring despite the chaos going on. She's still breathing so you know she's alive at least.

"What?" Roland's eyes widen upon seeing Valentina being carried by Luther. "How the. How the fuck do you have her? We had solid, reliable intel that she was down there." He turns his gaze over to Max for a brief moment. <"I'll talk to you LATER about why you were HERE of all places, Elizabeth.">
"Give her up. Now." Rosaline clenches her fists and begins to grind her teeth. "Or else I will make sure your bloodline is purged from the City itself."
Robbert stares right at you and for a moment, you think he realizes something. "What do you want? I know you're too much of a bitch to hold her hostage." His voice is muffled by the weird mask he's wearing. <"They somehow got down there before us. How did they know? Did that god damn Mayor rat me out?">
>>
You got some ideas on how to best appease them but the question is, what direction do you want to steer this conversation in?

Pick as many options as you feel comfortable making.
>[MAX ALLY] "Dad, look. You can trust her. You can trust all these weirdos. Please." Let Max talk to her old man. (CHARM DC: 16 (-2 from CASEY), with Max rolling 5d6 by herself. Succeed and Roland will reluctantly listen to his daughter, offering to assist you in dealing with the mayor.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Ooo!" Casey begins to buzz around Rosaline. "Nice outfit! Actually, I know a lot of people back at C-Corp! Very, very good people. See-" Let Casey ramble Rosaline's ear off. Appease her by buttering up her fashion. (CHARM DC: 10, rolling only Casey's 3d6. Pass and the flattery will be enough to earn to calm her down enough to shower your party with powerful armor and equipment from C-Corp.)
>[LUTHER ALLY + FOUND OUT MAYOR'S SECRET] You have living proof of the Mayor's bullshittery and logs from the computers down there. Try to get them all three of them to agree to get this town out of its sorry and misery state. (CONNECTIONS DC: 57 (-4 from CASEY and MAX's presence), rolling 14d6+4d3. Succeed and the corpos will be beyond enraged at what happened here and will do their best to help out the town. You're very likely to receive way more resources from this town after the mission ends.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Rosaline Vanni. We're not here to hurt your daughter. Hell, we were sent to save her despite all of the obstacles in our way. Don't you understand we're on the same side?" Let her talk to Rosaline. (Due to Alexis' OVERWHELMING CONNECTIONS and you saving Valentina, she autopasses. Rosaline will back down and will offer her assistance without question. You imagine Alexis will also get unique items from the Vannis in the future.)
>[KRAKATOA FAVOR] Dial Gregory's number and hand your phone to Roland. (-1 KRAKATOA FAVOR. Gregory's good word will be more than enough to win Roland over. If you pick this with MAX ALLY, you imagine he'll support his daughter in the future, vastly improving the gear she comes equipped with in the future.
>[UNSTABLE] VIOLENCE MEETS VIOLENCE. ENDS BEGINS END BEGINS END BEGINS END BEGINS. PUNCH HIM. (-1 RESTRAINT, -1 FLESH, VIOLENCE DC: 24, rolling 7d6 by yourself thanks to your gas mask. Succeed and your sheer autistic display of bloodlust will impress Huxley enough to offer his assistance and a H-Corp favor.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "I heard something about you needing drugs, right? I can help, man! Just help us first." Try to appeal to Huxley through the main reason he even did all of this: Drugs. (COGNIZANCE DC: 20, rolling only Benjamin's 6d6. Pass and in addition to appeasing Huxley, you imagine Benjamin will earn some major connections with Z and H-Corp down the line, permanently upgrading his abilities and what he can produce.)
>Write in (Use a consumable for a skill check? Try to negotiate them another way? Offer them something to win them over?)
>>
I am too brainfried to analysis post, but I will say this is the first time they are meeting Nicole. She is a nobody to them in this bizzare situation. I think the ideal is to win all 3 over enough, but not TOO much, then closing with the Mayor reveal. I had the thought we should have taken a photo of the shit state Valentina was in, so Rosalie could see how much we did to help treat Valentina. It'd have built a stronger case, but too late now. If Alexis explains it, maybe it'd be close enough. I want to give Rosalie the old ID card before she leaves though, but that would be after the Mayor is handled. Perhaps as a parting gift? The "call Gregory" option is a solid way to spend 1 FAVOR and has been what I was saying from the start. 5d6 DC16 for Max might be tough, but we have reroll items don't we? Huxley will be a bit different. Maybe the Admiral photos plus the H Corp Business Card can help prove Nicole's competence? I dunno if we should do the drugs help motivation or something else with him. I wonder if telling the corpos how we got to Valentina before them and we've already exfil'd the mine past them 2 hours ago might impress Huxley a little? Stealth and speed isn't quite his taste, but surely Mr. Fucksley here can appreciate a little objective yoink, a little flawless smooth operating without ANY OF THEM knowing?
Anyway, lastly I wanna say we should check our items for rerolls and benefits our allies could use, and check the rolls and DCs for these options
>>
>>5994443
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Rosaline Vanni. We're not here to hurt your daughter. Hell, we were sent to save her despite all of the obstacles in our way. Don't you understand we're on the same side?" Let her talk to Rosaline
No reason not to pick this
>[MAX ALLY] "Dad, look. You can trust her. You can trust all these weirdos. Please." Let Max talk to her old man.
>[KRAKATOA FAVOR] Dial Gregory's number and hand your phone to Roland. (-1 KRAKATOA FAVOR. Gregory's good word will be more than enough to win Roland over. If you pick this with MAX ALLY, you imagine he'll support his daughter in the future, vastly improving the gear she comes equipped with in the future.
Invest in Max
>[LUTHER ALLY + FOUND OUT MAYOR'S SECRET] You have living proof of the Mayor's bullshittery and logs from the computers down there. Try to get them all three of them to agree to get this town out of its sorry and misery state.
Go big or go home
We have teeth idol and voidstone chunk to reroll a whole check, Sunstone for +2d8 and Somthoin Zeta to boost Charm and Connections (though Max would have to take it). Hopefully getting Rosalin and Roland on our side will get us bonuses for the final check too.
>>
>>5994487
We also have the fake ID for Connections, but it might not work in this particular case
>>
>>5994487
>Max would have to take it
I don't want Max to take the "reformats your soul" level of mindfucking drug, after we had a whole mission in the mindfuck mines and she saw Nicole get mindfuck gassed for 40 minutes straight, right in front of her own dad. That would be beyond retarded
>Rosalin and Roland on our side
What's your take on Robbert Huxley, after everything we got told about the Huxleys as a family and all the info we got about Robbert himself?

>>5994488
>use the fake ID on the corpo higher-ups and rich powerful family members right in front of us
Same thing as the Max drug option. Beyond retarded
>>
>>5994495
We still can take Somtoin for the Connections roll since it's collective.
>What's your take on Robbert Huxley
I think we can't get him on our side, and the best we can do is have the other two pressure him.
>Beyond retarded
I think so too.
>>
>>5994509
>we can't get him on our side
Or maybe doing so will have drawbacks. Remember what HIS OWN FUCKING GOONS said about him
>"BECAUSE HE JUST CAN'T FUCKING STOP HIMSELF FROM INTERFERING AND FUCKING OVER THEIR OPERATIONS SO HE'S JUMPING SHIP TO ANOTHER COMPANY."
>"WE TOLD HIM HE SHOULD GET SOME GOD DAMN MEDS BUT APPARENTLY NOTHING WORKS FOR HIM ANYMORE. DRUG TOLERANCE." The middle one fiddles with a nozzle on their back. "SIDE EFFECT OF BEING AN ANTISEPTIC VET. YES. HE KEEPS RAMBLING ABOUT THIS TO US. HE'S FUCKING ANNOYING, REALLY."
I think giving him both remaining SALTRIL ANTIPSYCHOTIC is a good gesture, even if it fails to help him.
>"APPARENTLY HE HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT THE GAS HERE APPARENTLY HAVING POWERFUL PSYCHOACTIVE EFFECTS? SO HE'S TRYING TO GET SOME OF IT SO Z-CORP CAN...MAKE SOMETHING TO HELP HIM."
Do you think the LACK can end up helping him in any way?
>ROSALIE VANNI...VAIN, WORTHLESS, REFUSES TO WORK WITH OTHERS
That's what the glowies said on the radio. But if we actively helped Valentina, got to her way before any of them could without any of them knowing, maybe that can be enough to pierce through Rosalie's vanity and get her listening to Nicole?
>You're probably looking for that Valentina girl too, right? My boss said she plans on 'disciplining' her for disappearing
>she left with something that they want to recover at any costs.
We have no idea what that is, nor do we even have it. I don't think we even found any mystery object with Valentina down there. Could Rosalie have found it where Nicole and party did not and recovered it offscreen? I assume once Rosalie searches Valentina and somehow finds it on her or INSIDE her, Rosalie will be calmer from here.
>>
>>5994443
Voting
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Rosaline Vanni. We're not here to hurt your daughter. Hell, we were sent to save her despite all of the obstacles in our way. Don't you understand we're on the same side?" Let her talk to Rosaline.
Is it "Rosaline" or "Rosalie"? Whatever. We HAVE to open with this. The Vanni is the most distraught and tensed up of the trio. Once she calms down, the situation will improve
>[KRAKATOA FAVOR] Dial Gregory's number and hand your phone to Roland.
>[MAX ALLY] "Dad, look. You can trust her. You can trust all these weirdos. Please." Let Max talk to her old man.
Get those reroll items ready just in case Max fails. I don't trust 5d6 with our bad luck with 1s, and that DC 16 scares me. I don't know if calling Gregory will cut that DC down or give more dice, so I'm unsure if we should do the Greg call first or second. Either way works if both orders amount to the same result; I have no complaints there
>WRITE IN:
>Offer Robbert Huxley both of your SALTRIL meds. You don't really need or want them anymore after UNSTABLE RESOLVE. (-2 SALTRIL BRANDED ANTI PSYCHOTICS. There's no guarantee they will work on him with his drug tolerance, but the gesture counts even if they fail, right?)
I want to do this. A gift from Deer to Rabbit.
>WRITE IN
>Show off an ADMIRAL SHIP PHOTOGRAPH and ADMIRAL CORPSE PHOTO to Robbert Huxley.
If there's enough of a case to not do this, I will withdraw this write-in
>[LUTHER ALLY + FOUND OUT MAYOR'S SECRET] You have living proof of the Mayor's bullshittery and logs from the computers down there. Try to get them all three of them to agree to get this town out of its sorry and misery state.
This is the clincher, the closer, the piece de resistance, the coup de grace, the cherry on top. How much impact will the previous actions have on the DC or rolls? inb4 autosuccess surprise

And that's all I got. I'm clutching that Lilith Vanni ID card all the way until the end right before Rosalie or whatshername is about to leave. Checking the inventory and past threads, we did not give up the PHILLIP ID CARD or REGRETFUL NECKLACE. If we ever meet with Lilith Vanni personally, maybe we can finally pull those out.
>>
I might as well do my analysis autism now that I feel better

>>5994399
>gallop away
Oh deer
>All three
Because the City is humanity's bad, it is also humanity's good.
>VERY foggy until you resist them
Don't worry QM there's still more worldbuilding FUN (AUTISM) to come!
>Luther scene
Very touching. Fate of bee explosion is averted for good.
>canines are sharper
Ben is a lucky guy
>District 9 dialect
I Corp is Russian then. Good to know
>gas mask fumes
The VIOLENCE warms the blood like a good evening around the heater in the commieblock

>>5994403
>Casey and Alexis keep their VIOLENCE boosting masks
They don't really need it with how they're specialized, but I kinda like the way these things actually alter the characters' characters :^) so I'm OK with this
>other allies keep the spare ones
Good future investment, plus it can help them offscreen
>CASEY MINING LOOT
WOW!!! COOL!!! I bet Wendy can help us get these refined to be even COOLER!!! when we meet her again
>laid on a bit too thick
Is that a Krakatoa thing?
>on a ring later
I really really want to give one of the VOIDSTONE CHUNK to her or Ben at the end of the mission and have Nicole smile in a very cheeky knowing way, or similar

>>5994409
>YOU FUCKING DID WHAT
After the mission ends, I want Nicole to show all 4 of them the photos
>outside the entrance of the mine
Wait but "Alexis starts driving the truck back to town". I guess the back exit just took us way farther than we thought, and the mine entrance is the same direction as the town
>slightly deep tone of voice
Ben is a lucky guy
>'ETF Zeta'
Could it be the same one Nicole spoke to? Kiara's contact against the silvers? No relation to our boy Admin?

>>5994412
>MIND READ's stat checking ability
Glad you're justifying quest mechanics in-universe like ProjectMoon does, QM
>FLESH: 32/35
>VIOLENCE: 15
>TALENT: 15
Way to make us aware of where Nicole really stands in stats compared to the real higher ups controlling the City, QM. Robbert's CHARM, CONNECTIONS, and RESTRAINT must be real low in comparison. Or maybe "real low in comparison" is 8-10 which is higher than anything Nicole has barring RESTRAINT and in some cases TALENT. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck
>CORPORATE INSIDER + CORPORATE V.I.P
I am fucking glad we got that upgrade for Alexis back at the X Corp mission start. I am fucking glad we decided to bring Max along to this mission.
>Elizabeth
So her full name is Elizabeth "Max" Krakatoa. Decent name
>bloodline is purged from the City
Oh right they can do that. Didn't we get a lore tidbit in one of these threads talking about it? I forgot
>too much of a bitch to hold her hostage
Implying we even need to, or that we are
>somehow got down there before us. How did they know?
Do we tell them? Do we show off? Do we flex? Do we do it on the way to the Mayor or after he's dealt with?
>Mayor rat me out
Robbert's going to be PISSED when we tell him how everybody here was set up
>>
>>5994577
I FUCKING DELETED THIS POST YOU STUPID WEBSITE
>>
>>5994443
>[MAX ALLY] "Dad, look. You can trust her. You can trust all these weirdos. Please." Let Max talk to her old man. (CHARM DC: 16 (-2 from CASEY), with Max rolling 5d6 by herself. Succeed and Roland will reluctantly listen to his daughter, offering to assist you in dealing with the mayor.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Ooo!" Casey begins to buzz around Rosaline. "Nice outfit! Actually, I know a lot of people back at C-Corp! Very, very good people. See-" Let Casey ramble Rosaline's ear off. Appease her by buttering up her fashion. (CHARM DC: 10, rolling only Casey's 3d6. Pass and the flattery will be enough to earn to calm her down enough to shower your party with powerful armor and equipment from C-Corp.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Rosaline Vanni. We're not here to hurt your daughter. Hell, we were sent to save her despite all of the obstacles in our way. Don't you understand we're on the same side?" Let her talk to Rosaline. (Due to Alexis' OVERWHELMING CONNECTIONS and you saving Valentina, she autopasses. Rosaline will back down and will offer her assistance without question. You imagine Alexis will also get unique items from the Vannis in the future.)
>[KRAKATOA FAVOR] Dial Gregory's number and hand your phone to Roland. (-1 KRAKATOA FAVOR. Gregory's good word will be more than enough to win Roland over. If you pick this with MAX ALLY, you imagine he'll support his daughter in the future, vastly improving the gear she comes equipped with in the future
>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "I heard something about you needing drugs, right? I can help, man! Just help us first." Try to appeal to Huxley through the main reason he even did all of this: Drugs. (COGNIZANCE DC: 20, rolling only Benjamin's 6d6. Pass and in addition to appeasing Huxley, you imagine Benjamin will earn some major connections with Z and H-Corp down the line, permanently upgrading his abilities and what he can produce.)
Go big or go home
>>
>>5994443
>>[MAX ALLY] "Dad, look. You can trust her. You can trust all these weirdos. Please." Let Max talk to her old man. (CHARM DC: 16 (-2 from CASEY), with Max rolling 5d6 by herself. Succeed and Roland will reluctantly listen to his daughter, offering to assist you in dealing with the mayor.)
>>[CASEY ALLY] "Ooo!" Casey begins to buzz around Rosaline. "Nice outfit! Actually, I know a lot of people back at C-Corp! Very, very good people. See-" Let Casey ramble Rosaline's ear off. Appease her by buttering up her fashion. (CHARM DC: 10, rolling only Casey's 3d6. Pass and the flattery will be enough to earn to calm her down enough to shower your party with powerful armor and equipment from C-Corp.)
>>[LUTHER ALLY + FOUND OUT MAYOR'S SECRET] You have living proof of the Mayor's bullshittery and logs from the computers down there. Try to get them all three of them to agree to get this town out of its sorry and misery state. (CONNECTIONS DC: 57 (-4 from CASEY and MAX's presence), rolling 14d6+4d3. Succeed and the corpos will be beyond enraged at what happened here and will do their best to help out the town. You're very likely to receive way more resources from this town after the mission ends.)
>>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Rosaline Vanni. We're not here to hurt your daughter. Hell, we were sent to save her despite all of the obstacles in our way. Don't you understand we're on the same side?" Let her talk to Rosaline. (Due to Alexis' OVERWHELMING CONNECTIONS and you saving Valentina, she autopasses. Rosaline will back down and will offer her assistance without question. You imagine Alexis will also get unique items from the Vannis in the future.)
>>[KRAKATOA FAVOR] Dial Gregory's number and hand your phone to Roland. (-1 KRAKATOA FAVOR. Gregory's good word will be more than enough to win Roland over. If you pick this with MAX ALLY, you imagine he'll support his daughter in the future, vastly improving the gear she comes equipped with in the future.
>>[UNSTABLE] VIOLENCE MEETS VIOLENCE. ENDS BEGINS END BEGINS END BEGINS END BEGINS. PUNCH HIM. (-1 RESTRAINT, -1 FLESH, VIOLENCE DC: 24, rolling 7d6 by yourself thanks to your gas mask. Succeed and your sheer autistic display of bloodlust will impress Huxley enough to offer his assistance and a H-Corp favor.)
>>[BENJAMIN ALLY] "I heard something about you needing drugs, right? I can help, man! Just help us first." Try to appeal to Huxley through the main reason he even did all of this: Drugs. (COGNIZANCE DC: 20, rolling only Benjamin's 6d6. Pass and in addition to appeasing Huxley, you imagine Benjamin will earn some major connections with Z and H-Corp down the line, permanently upgrading his abilities and what he can produce.)

Every fucking thing.

>Pop a novastone chunk before punching Huxley. Hand out as many drugs as we need to our allies to boost relevant checks. The resource expendature will be neglible in exchange for a clean sweep.

>Use the pocketwatch to hand out shit during timestop
>>
>>5994906
+1
>>
>>5994955
>>5994906
>>5994707
we really going all in?
>>
>>5995146
Yes :D Totally will not backfire.
>>
>>5994955
Add
>Offer Robbert Huxley both of your SALTRIL meds. You don't really need or want them anymore after UNSTABLE RESOLVE. (-2 SALTRIL BRANDED ANTI PSYCHOTICS. There's no guarantee they will work on him with his drug tolerance, but the gesture counts even if they fail, right?)
>>
>>5994640 #
>They don't really need it with how they're specialized, but I kinda like the way these things actually alter the characters' characters :^) so I'm OK with this

Casey will kill
Casey will rip and tear
Casey will feast
Casey will smile
Casey will be a good Bees
Casey will become GOD
Casey will bring SALVATION
CASEY WILL MAKE EVERYONE PRODUCTIVE GOOD BEES
>>
>>5995166
Not sure if the world can handle Ascended Casey but fuck if it wouldn't be funny.
>>
>[UNSTABLE] VIOLENCE MEETS VIOLENCE. ENDS BEGINS END BEGINS END BEGINS END BEGINS. PUNCH HIM. (-1 RESTRAINT, -1 FLESH, VIOLENCE DC: 24, rolling 7d6 by yourself thanks to your gas mask. Succeed and your sheer autistic display of bloodlust will impress Huxley enough to offer his assistance and a H-Corp favor.)

>TRAUMA KIT. Oddly user friendly. Bought mostly by P-Company facilities. (Has 1 charges. Heals 1 FLESH with 1 charge. Heals a crippling injury with 2 charges. Can heal near lethal damage with 3 charges.)
>PAINKILLER BOTTLE x2 (Comes with three doses each. Grants a +2d6 bonus to any FLESH check when consumed.)
>"UVX MODEL #221" (An experimental X-Corp ointment, meant for topical application. Induces FLESH regeneration when applied. May have side effects when used.)
>GAUZE ROLLS x4 (Consumed on use. Can heal one FLESH, temporarily negate a crippling injury, or to heal a CRIPPLING INJURY if used with UVX.)
>"UVX MODEL #222" x2 (A experimental X-Corp ointment altered due to recent training data from a 'N.S.', meant for topical application. Applies FLESH regeneration and boosts max FLESH by 1 while active. Still has side effects when used.)
>AUTOSTIMPAK x2 (Automatically consumes when you take a CRIPPLING INJURY or fall below half FLESH. Negates a CRIPPLING INJURY or heals FLESH until you're at half FLESH.)

We have medical supplies, we will be fine when we punch him.
>>
>>5994443
FUCK IT
CHANGING MY VOTE FROM >>5994590
TO BACKING >>5994906
WITH THE "GIVE HUXLEY BOTH THE SALTRIL" WRITE-IN TOO
FUCK IT WE BALL
>>
aight let's see, closing.
ALEXIS: ALL
MAX: ALL
CASEY: Jd3, W5K, H25, Buw
KRAKATOA FAVOR: ALL
LUTHER + MAYOR SECRET: ALL
UNSTABLE: W5K, H25, Buw
BENJAMIN ALLY: JD3, W5K, H25, Buw

Welp. With that last minute switch vote and my motto of "if over half the players voted for it and I didn't place a limit, fuck it. We ball.", we're doing everything.

Four anons, roll the following. We'll save the final one depending on how your other options play out.
>6d6 (Ben's COGZNIANCE roll.)
>5d6 (Max's CHARM roll.)
>3d6 (Casey's CHARM roll.)
>7d6 (FUCK IT WE BALL VIOLENCE ROLL)

REROLLS AND ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR THESE ROLLS
Max has two charges of her boon left, which she can use to reroll all of her dice, to add 3d6 to Casey, or to be saved for the final check.
You have two pep pills+ for the COGNIZANCE roll. Per pill consumed, add 4 to the final tally.
You have a LUCK INVERTER, which can flip all dice to their opposite number (1 <--> 6, 2 <--> 5, 3 <--> 4)
Alexis has two TEMPORAL REWINDERS, which lets her reroll all 1s and 2s an ally rolls.
You have two SUNSTONE FRAGMENTS, which lets you reroll three violence dice per use.
You have an ADRENALINE IMPLANT, which lets you add 2d8 to it per charge you have left. You have two charges left and you regain one per mission.
You have a SUNSTONE, which lets you add 2d8 to any of these rolls. It has three charges.

>>5994640
>Wait but "Alexis starts driving the truck back to town". I guess the back exit just took us way farther than we thought, and the mine entrance is the same direction as the town
You had to drive back to the entrance to wait for them to come out anyways since they're not psychic. They had no reason to delve through the path only YOU knew about. From their point of view, Valentina was fucking gone and they had to cut their losses.
>Is it Rosaline or Rosalie?
Rosaline. The Silver Agents, and by proxy me, misspoke.
>Way to make us aware of where Nicole really stands in stats compared to the real higher ups controlling the City, QM.
I'll remind you and the others this since it's been a moment. These aren't even the top of the top. Still five ranks below actual corporate CEOs.
>>
>>5995306
messed up, meant to say "add 2d8 to your violence check".
>>5995166
You guys, uh, really like the idea of turning Casey into a godbug, huh? I wonder how Casey would feel if she could see this.
>>
Rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16 (3d6)

>>5995306
I'm rolling the 3d6 because I don't trust the rolls and this is the most innocuous option. Just need a 10+
>>
>>5995323
>almost max value
WOW!!! CASEY DID IT!!!!!!!

>>5995306
>drive back to the entrance to wait for them to come out anyways
Understandable
>Rosaline
OK thanks for clarifying
>These aren't even the top of the top. Still five ranks below actual corporate CEOs.
It's so fucking over
>FIVE RANKS BELOW ACTUAL CORPORATE CEOS
It had never even begun
There had never been a "back" to return to
>>
>>5995306
>>
Rolled 3, 5, 5, 1, 5, 3 = 22 (6d6)

>>5995306
>>
Rolled 1, 4, 2, 6, 1 = 14 (5d6)

>>5995306
>>
Rolled 3, 1, 4, 3, 3 = 14 (5d6)

>>5995359
Use Max's boon to reroll
>>
>>5995360
What the fuck. Someone else please reroll, I don't trust myself anymore
>>
>>5995362
Also I'm an idiot, should've used the temporal rewinder on tbe first roll...
>>
>>5995362
>>5995364
Actually, you can use a LUCK INVERTER to save your roll. 3 + 1 + 4 + 3 + 3 --> 4 + 6 + 3 + 4 + 4.
Which, since there's no reason not to, I'll count that as the option that bails you out there. -1 REROLL, -1 LUCK INVERTER. Which only leaves one anon rolling for V I O L E N C E.
>>
Rolled 3, 1, 1, 4, 6, 3, 1 = 19 (7d6)

>>5995387
>>5995306
FUCK IT! WE BALL!
>>
Rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5 (3d6)

>>5995387
I thought only Nicole could use it
>>5995390
Rewinding this shit
>>
Rolled 8, 7 = 15 (2d8)

>>5995395
Adrenaline implant go!
>>
>>5995390
>>5995395
>>5995398
36 total
>>
>>5995395
Eh, there's no reason why you can't use it since a majority of people (thanks to Buw's last second backing of the FUCK IT WE ALL vote) wanted to use the timestop watch as well. You have the spare time.

Anywho, all in all, you have spent a LUCK INVERTER, a TEMPORAL REWINDER, and an ADRENALINE IMPLANT charge to succeed all of the checks. Due to all of your successes and one of the write ins W5K successed...

The final CONNECTIONS DC has been reduced to 50. I need three anons to roll the following

>7d6 (first half)
>7d6 (second half)
>4d3 (extra dice)
>>
Rolled 6, 2, 5, 1, 4, 1, 2 = 21 (7d6)

>>5995402
>>
Rolled 1, 6, 1, 3, 4, 3, 2 = 20 (7d6)

>>5995402
>>
Rolled 1, 3, 2, 3 = 9 (4d3)

>>5995402
>>
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>>5995403
>>5995405
>>5995411
>EXACTLY
>50
>AN EXACT SUCCESS
WELL THEN.

WRITING.
>>
>>5995403
>>5995405
>>5995411

Sometimes you throw shit to the wall to see what sticks. In our case every fucking thing, and we now have a shit mona lisa
>>
>>5995536
I just got back. So we succeeded EVERYTHING?

>>5995402
Alexis consumed a Temporal Rewinder (1 of 2) which we can still deal with
Nicole consumed Adrenaline Implant charge, which regens so it's all good
Nicole consumed the Luck Inverter, which is gone for good, but it was worth it
>>
>>5995577
Fucking clean sweep. Corpo's and Mayor's in shambles.
>>
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You pull your WATERLOGGED POCKETWATCH out of your pocket and before anyone realizes what you're doing, you press your thumb down HARD on the crown at the top of the pocketwatch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8WBV2klOIw - TEN SECONDS

The clattering sound of gears grinding to a halt blares through the air before the world is washed over in a monochromatic filter. With everyone now frozen in time, it's like you're surrounded by almost a dozen highly realistic statues. Though something is off about this compared to the last time you frozen time.

Two people are looking right at you. They are seemingly still aware of what's going on, if only on a subconscious level. Benjamin and Roland. Benjamin's eyes are wide open with shock and awe while Roland's eyes narrow into cat-like slits. Neither of them seem to be conscious since your MIND READ ability detects nothing from either of them yet their eyes follow wherever you move.

Hm.

8 SECONDS.

Best to get moving. You pull out your LUCK INVERTER and immediately activate it. You'd imagine the time desync between regular time and the stopped time you're in will make it kick in right when you need it to. Then, you rush over to Alexis to pull out her TEMPORARL REWINDER from her pocket to activate that as well.

5 SECONDS.

Okay. All of the items you needed to activate are now activated. Now, you have five seconds to burn. Might as well fuck with Robbert's head. You walk right up to him and with a subconscious thought, your implant immediately pumps your body full of yummy yummy adrenaline. You slide your gas mask back on before reeling back your fist and smashing it RIGHT against his jaw.

You feel something crack on impact and you know it's not coming from him.
You throw another punch. And another. And another.
[UNSTABLE] AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER.
[UNSTABLE] FIST. SHATTERING. BONE. CRACKING. BLOOD. SPILLING. AGAIN. BEGINS. ENDS. BEGINS. ENDS. BEGINS. ENDS!!

>-1 ADRENALINE IMPLANT CHARGE
>-1 FLESH AND RESTRAINT! 2/5 FLESH LEFT! 6/10 RESTRAINT LEFT!

1 SECOND!

Right as time is about to start up again, you throw one last punch with your mangled hand. Time starts up right as your hand impacts Robbert's face (which is completely soaked in your own blood.)

TICK TOCK! Time reverts back to normal. Robbert immediately throws a wild haymaker in your direction out of pure guttural instinct from all of the timestopped punches he just felt.

[STEADY HANDS] You expected this. Your body moves just in time for it to mostly be absorbed by the bodysuit underneath your bright pink jacket and jeans. A normally lethal punch is cushioned. For now.
>2 FLESH DAMAGE BLOCKED BY COMBAT PROSTHETIC BODYSUIT! OUT OF CHARGES FOR REST OF MISSION.

Everyone immediately turns their gazes over to you and Robbert. From everyone else's perspective, Robbert's mask got completely soaked in blood and your hand got mangled to oblivion in the blink of an eye.
>>
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Robbert's mask has been partially removed by your flurry of punches, exposing a short and scraggly blonde beard caked in war-time scars and burns. He quickly readjusts his mask to fully cover his face. "Wow. Didn't expect someone to be that fast." It's clear your attacks barely put a dent in his augment infested body and by the sounds of Max's implant detector going a mile a minute, all three of the corpos are caked in them.

Guess you didn't need it when you managed to outpace them THAT badly.

"You're funny, weird deer girl thing. I like that. Got past my men, found my golden ticket before me, even managed to punch me without dying. I like the cut of your jib." He holds his hand out to you. Without any hesitation, you give him a handshake. His grip damn near shatters your hand even more but once he pulls away, he notices the anti-psychotics you gave him.

Benjamin finally snaps out of his confused daze to use this as a segway in with Mr. Huxley. "I heard something about you needing drugs, right? I can help, man! Just help us first! Look-" He pulls at the Z-CORP ELITE LABCOAT he's wearing. "I know my stuff! I'm Hepatocyte-Class! I'm able to make some of the most powerful stuff legally allowed in the City." He quickly scrounges through his pockets before pulling out a bright pink pill and tosses it towards Huxley.

Robbert stares at the three pills in his hands and immediately dry swallows them.
>-SALTRIL BRANDED ANTI PSYCHOTICS, -MYSTERY PILL FROM BENJAMIN.

For a moment, his postures relaxes and his breathing steadies. Only for a moment. That seems to be enough to impress him however. He curtly nods towards Benjamin. "What's your name, boy? Don't lie to me."

"Uh, Benjamin Aaron, siirrr..." Benjamin glances at Roland from the corner of his eye. He should be thankful that Roland is too busy being fucking bewildered by everything that happened in the last few minutes to process his name.

"I'll remember that."
>+1 GEARS OF PROGRESS (H-CORP) FAVOR.

"Now, what were we talking about again? Mind escaped me there-"

"GETTING VALENTINA BACK YOU BRAIN DEAD RETARD!!!" Rosaline screeches at the top of her lungs, now fully regaining her senses from the rampant bloodlust. "WHY DO YOU HAVE HER? WHAT'S YOUR GOAL? YOU'RE NOT GETTING A SINGLE CENT! I'LL GET K-CORP TO ERASE YOUR GOD DAMN BLOODLINE!" You can't really blame her for freaking the fuck out given the situation.

"Madam Vanni." Alexis steps forward with crossed arms and a stern look on her face. "We're not here to ransom anything out of here. We're not here to hurt her. Hell, we were sent to save her despite all of the obstacles in our way."

"BULLSHIT! I KNOW YOU WERE PLANNING ON LEAVING WITH HER WITH THAT TRUCK OF YOURS-"

"Miss." Alexis clicks her tongue with obvious annoyance. "Listen. The reason why Luther, our friend there, is carrying her? She was in such a poor state, she would've DIED if we didn't drag her out of there immediately. We even waited for you so we can talk to you three."
>>
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Rosaline, still clearly livid at what's going on, manages to calm her nerves enough to keep listening to Alexis. "Why?"

"We're on the same page. And to be fair, we did not know if we could trust the Krakatoa or Huxley, given what I and my employeer-" She nods in your direction. "-know about them. Now that we recovered the asset, we wish for a simple deal. Nothing involving Valentina. In fact, as a sign of good faith...Luther? Hand her over."

Luther does so with little complaint, handing over the unconscious Valentina over to the corpos. Rosaline quickly moves to carry the young girl in her arms and that was seemingly enough to calm down the enraged Vanni. "...I. Sorry, sorry. The last two weeks has been a lot for me." She fiddles with something on Valentina's neck before a panel opens. Even she had an augment. She pops out a small SD card before closing it up. "Good, good. What's your name?"

"Alexis Morozov."

"I'll remember that. You...did a good thing today-"

"Ooo!" Casey begins to buzz around Rosaline. "Nice outfit! Actually, I know a lot of people back at C-Corp! Very, very good people. See-" She begins to swirl around Rosaline, blabbering her ear off about the most inane bullshit possible. Robbert and Rosaline are both too busy dealing with her to say anything, leaving one last target to convince.

Roland.

He's been staring at your group, especially Max, with a cold and deeply frustrated frown and furrowed eyebrows. The prospect that a bunch of outsiders and his own daughter managed to beat him by such a wide margin has clearly stung his pride.

"This is a sick joke. All of that time having to fucking stomach those two. Having to stomach being here. And I got beaten by a girl with antlers and her god damn lackeys- And you, Elizabeth, what the HELL are you doing here?"

Max grinds her teeth at what you assume is her real name being said outloud. "It's Max. Max is a better name than Elizabeth, Dad. I'm an adult now. You can at least respect that much, no?"

"You think you can act a bit snippy to your old man over what? Having a bunch of nobodies worshipping the ground you step on? Look at them. They're pathetic. I know you can afford better than that, princess." Despite the cruel and harsh words coming out of his mouth, it's hard to really assign malice or hatred towards you and your other allies to any of them. It's nothing personal.

It's clearly moreso the fact you're hanging around Max than anything.

For a moment, you see Max ready to open her mouth to start screaming at him but then, time rewinds for a moment. Seems like your TEMPORAL REWINDER and LUCK INVERTER are kicking in now. With a moment to collect her thoughts, she begins to speak.
>-1 TEMPORAL REWINDER! -LUCK INVERTER!

"Dad, look. You can trust her. You can trust all these weirdos. I know they're not a lot to look at but isn't the fact that we managed to sneak past you and do all of this without you noticing a single thing, I dunno. Doesn't it mean something?"
>>
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"We've done so much and hell, we managed to beat you and the others! Is that not a sign that they're good enough? That I'm good enough? Good enough to know potential when I see it? That you can work with us?"

[DELUSIONAL] Benjamin is clearly trying his best to hide behind Luther as this conversation continues on. He's about ready to do something REAL bad if this conversation doesn't swerve soon.
Alexis is busy muttering to herself about 'not nobody' and 'worshipping her? feh'. You're mostly just along for the ride at this point.

"And so what? You managed to find some copper in some horseshit? You got off lucky. You have to do better than-"

"Oh, better? Better? Why would I need better when YOU. LOST." She immediately steps up to her old man and jabs her index finger right into his chest. "TO. THEM. Maybe instead of seeing them like trash, you can see them like how I see them. Useful assets. Useful people. You don't need a networth of 579.2 million like you do does to MEAN something."

[UNSTABLE] Wait he is worth how much fucking money? Why the fuck are we paying her then?
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Most of the money that corporate families own is in non-liquid assets. Real estate, equipment, non-publicly traded stocks. It's hard to directly convert that into cash on a whim.

"Feh. Fine. You got me there. I'll humor you and your little ragtag band of misfits for now-"

"Ragtag?" You can't help but to snort at that. You dial up Gregory's number and hand your phone over to Roland. Roland acts like you handed him a live grenade but when he hears a familiar voice over the line, he immediately perks up.

"Oh, hey, dad. How the fuck did this random girl have your number? Uh, pink eyes, reddish-orange-pinkish hair, looks like a schizo?" He walks away from your group just in time for Rosaline to slowly walk over to your group with Casey and Robbert in tow. Well, it's moreso that Robbert is holding Casey up like a wet cat.

"Your little yellow haired friend is quite amusing." Rosaline has an ear to ear smile across her face. "She knew so much about my outfit. The exact shade of purple it was, the specific C-Corp subdistrict I got the fabric from...it's been so long since anyone has ever noticed."

"A good outfit makes a good employee! A good employee makes a good product! A good product makes a good company! Yes, miss, yes!" Casey buzzes with what little energy she has left.

"Indeed, little bee. Your outfit isn't bad either." She looks at the honeycomb patterned tie that Casey is wearing. "So. I overheard most of your names. I'll be sure to ship some of my prime products over to you. Robbert, be a dear." Robbert proceeds to drop Casey, who flops face first onto the ground. Ouch.
>You and all of your allies on this mission will get occasional shipment drops from Rosaline! Expect a package tomorrow.

Roland soon comes back to the group with a bewildered, shell-shocked glaze in his eyes. He tosses the phone over to you, which you easily catch.
>>
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"What the actual fuck. YOU. You're the one who did THAT for my father? You? I-" He runs a hand through his grey-blue hair. "Wow. Okay, yeah. If you did THAT much for my family, I guess I can trust you with her."
>-1 KRAKATOA FAVOR! 2 LEFT!
>MAX will get far better and far more exclusive items when she joins your party!

Max flashes an ear to ear smile when she realized you managed to earn her father's approval that easily. <"I knew hanging out with you would be worth it. Benny really does have a good read on people, huh?">
>+1 RAPPORT WITH MAX! 3/8! SHE'LL GET AN UPGRADE NEXT TIME YOU HIRE HER!

"So! Lemme explain why we did all of this. You see that girl you have in your hand? This was all a fucking set up."

Everyone goes dead quiet as you begin to explain everything that's been going on. "Look. So we did some investigations around this town and we realized something. There were a lot of weird inconsistencies. Like how the mining town suddenly had its mine cloned WEEKS in advance despite this being the last place Valentina was at."

"And we even tried talking to the mayor!" Max chirps out. "But he was real cagey and started freaking out when he recognized my hair and eye color."
"Real fucking cagey. So we investigated the mines and we found out that W-Corp stopped supporting town unless they could find a way to increase how much material they could produce." Alexis adds on. She even hands over a sheet of paper towards the corpos. "Printed this out before I followed them."
"Oh! In fact, your guards were oddly allowed to work here with no complaint, Mr. Huxley!" Casey buzzes out. "So the mayor clearly knew the risks of her going down there but was willing to one: let her down there and two: let your guards stay here to begin with!"

"And...well." Benjamin pokes his head from behind Luther, who's been staring up at the sky this whole time. "This man helped escort your daughter and was left to die once the mine caved in. Supposedly he got the mayor's wrath so he wanted to take two birds out with one stone."

"...Joel. Is not a good. Man. This was. A set up. I am. Proof of that. She is. Proof of that. She. Told us that he. Called us here." Luther grinds his teeth. Every single word he speaks comes out stilted and forced. "We would've died. If not for them. Your daughter was planend. On becoming a seedbed. For this town."

"Please. Deal with the mayor. And make sure nothing like this. Happens. Again."

>50!

The corporate elites stand there in stunned silence, scanning over the papers that Alexis handed them and processing all of the obvious proof of how shady everything that's been going on in this town has been. The first one to snap is Robbert. He begins running over to the town at a breakneck pace.

Roland and Rosaline are beyond disgusted at what they've read in the papers and heard from your group. Given all of the bootlicking and people pleasing work you did, it's clear that they're actually listening to what you said.
>>
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"I'm going to rip every single fucking limb off of that mayor. Get in the truck. Now." Rosaline nods towards the big mining truck you have. There's probably barely enough room for everyone if you squeezed most of them on the back but you doubt the corpos care. Alexis, Casey, Valentina, and Rosaline squeeze into the front.

The rest of you squeeze in the back. Once you manage to arrive back at town, you see a pretty gnarly sight that you can't even begin to process.

A short, rotund man with slick greasy black hair and a patchwork jacket is currently being strangled in the middle of the town by Robbert. The rest of the town is watching with equal measures of shock, confusion, fear and...relief at the sight they're seeing

Your group and the other corpos stumble out of the truck. The rotund man soon snaps his eyes over to Valentina and his eyes widen even more.

"WAIT- ACK- I CAN EXPLAIN!" Joel Myers, the mayor of this town, desperately clings to life. "I HAD TO SAVE THE TOWN! AT ANY COST-"

A rock is soon thrown at his head by a very familiar man. Devin Blood begins to gush from the mayor's head. "YEAH RIGHT! RIGHT! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WERE FUCKING DOING! WE HEARD IT ALL!"
Kori, who is standing right beside him, simply shakes his head in disgust.

"THIS TOWN USED TO MEAN SOMETHING! AND YOU FUCKING SULLIED IT!
"WE DID EVERYTHING YOU ASKED FOR AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAID US?!"
"RIP HIS LIMBS OFF! DRINK HIS BLOOD! FUEL THE EARTH WITH HIS BLOOD!"

Every single resident still left in this town has surrounded the titan of flesh and muscle that's currently strangling Joel. Makeshift torches and rusted over pickaxes are raised in the air as they watch this drawn out execution play out.

The other corpos watch on with amused smirks. Your allies can't do anything but to watch with sheer morbid delight at seeing him pay for everything that's happened.

Expect for Max and Benjamin. They just seems disappointed. <"Must it always end like this?">

Your mission is basically done, you don't have to do anything. The town will be saved by the corpos. Yet is he the only one to be blamed here? W-Corp was a real bastard for even suggesting that he should do this.

Should you let the execution go through?
>YES. IN FACT, ENCOURAGE HUXLEY! BLOOD TIME. (+1 HUXLEY FAVOR)
>YES, BUT TELL ROBBERT TO LET THE MINERS DO IT. THEY DESERVE IT. (+1 WORKING CLASS FAVOR.)
>NO. YOU GOT A MORE EVIL SUGGESTION IN MIND. "Hey. Let's take him back to the mines, huh? Let's see how he feels." Poetic irony. (+1 VANNI FAVOR.)
>"Robbert. Let the man down. Let's leave him in this god forsaken town. By himself." Let him wallow in his mistakes. Alone. Forgotten. W-Corp can deal with him. (+1 W-CORP FAVOR.)
>NO. You see how uncomfortable Max and Benjamin are, well, you feel a smidge of pity for him. A smidge. "Roland. Get him a job. The worst one you can get but there's no point letting a worker go to waste." (+1 KRAKATOA FAVOR, +0.5 MAX AND BENJAMIN RAPPORT.)
>Write in.
>>
>>5995630
I'm leaning to either "let the miners do it" or "mindbreak gas him at the very bottom".
>>
>>5995612
>Benjamin
How many times can you fingerbang Max in the stopped time, Ben? Do you want to find out? :^)
>and Roland
Must be some implant he has that Rosaline and Robbert do not. Something very offbeat and rare, potentially custom
>their eyes follow
Or maybe they can awaken to... something special that allows this?
>BEGINS. ENDS
No regrets here

>>5995615
>outpace them
We just decided at the start of the mission to go full corpo avoid and rush Valentina, and we made play by play to make it real
>handshake
I'm glad he acknowledges the shit we pulled to get ahead of them
>Hepatocyte-Class
Ben is no longer chopped liver
>enough to impress
Even a little effect on the drug resistant man means it got through
>K-CORP TO ERASE
Oh right it was them, they have the Erasure singularity
>PLANNING ON LEAVING
>waited for you
I'm really glad we decided to stay and confront the corpos

>>5995616
>small SD card
What photos were hidden inside?
>Max is a better name than Elizabeth
I think both are good...

>>5995619
>non-liquid assets
After all the shit in the past, there's still value in real goods and items
>live grenade
Oh right he's probably had to deal with phone bombs
>Oh, hey, dad
He got real nonchalant real quick
>ear to ear smile
Woman needed that after TWO WEEKS of her daughter missing
>Your outfit isn't bad either.
High fucking praise from a Vanni

>>5995625
>did THAT
Greg just told him everything about the movie mission, didn't he? Probably also told him not to hold a grudge for his injuries and the rest of the stuff
>stunned silence
Quite the memorable mission for them too
>breakneck pace
Haha
>beyond disgusted
Thanks for actually going with the FUCK IT WE BALL DO EVERYTHING choice, guys. I'm glad I changed my vote for backing it because we SCORED this mission

>>5995630
>The rest of you squeeze in the back.
I like this mental image, it's real funny
>Devin
He had a good UNSTABLE moment
>Kori
Oh he's still here too
>Except for Max and Benjamin
Damn...

>Yet is he the only one to be blamed here? W-Corp was a real bastard for even suggesting that he should do this.
Can we even punish W Corp for that? It was the Mayor's own decision to cling to their insinuation and do all this.
>>
>>5995630
>>NO. YOU GOT A MORE EVIL SUGGESTION IN MIND. "Hey. Let's take him back to the mines, huh? Let's see how he feels." Poetic irony. (+1 VANNI FAVOR.)
>>
>>5995630
>YES, BUT TELL ROBBERT TO LET THE MINERS DO IT. THEY DESERVE IT. (+1 WORKING CLASS FAVOR.)
>>
>>5995630
>NO. You see how uncomfortable Max and Benjamin are, well, you feel a smidge of pity for him. A smidge. "Roland. Get him a job. The worst one you can get but there's no point letting a worker go to waste." (+1 KRAKATOA FAVOR, +0.5 MAX AND BENJAMIN RAPPORT.)
>>
>>5995630
>NO. YOU GOT A MORE EVIL SUGGESTION IN MIND. "Hey. Let's take him back to the mines, huh? Let's see how he feels." Poetic irony. (+1 VANNI FAVOR.)
>>
>>5995630
Might as well...
>NO. YOU GOT A MORE EVIL SUGGESTION IN MIND. "Hey. Let's take him back to the mines, huh? Let's see how he feels." Poetic irony. (+1 VANNI FAVOR.)
Sorry Ben, Max. But he chose this. There was no guarantee it would work either
>>
>>5995630
>YES, BUT TELL ROBBERT TO LET THE MINERS DO IT. THEY DESERVE IT. (+1 WORKING CLASS FAVOR.)
>>
>>5995630
Let the miners do it. The working class!!!
>>
>>5995882
Change
>>5995630
>NO. YOU GOT A MORE EVIL SUGGESTION IN MIND. "Hey. Let's take him back to the mines, huh? Let's see how he feels." Poetic irony. (+1 VANNI FAVOR.)
I want VANNI FAVOR
>>
>>5995310
Nothing will totally go wrong with turning Casey into an eldritch god. :D
>>
>>5995630
>NO. YOU GOT A MORE EVIL SUGGESTION IN MIND. "Hey. Let's take him back to the mines, huh? Let's see how he feels." Poetic irony. (+1 VANNI FAVOR.)

>Give hime the barest means possible to possibly, maybe make it out before he is destroyed worse than death ever could. Be cause you are fair. Not because knowing he is going to struggle then instead of just laying back and accepting it makes it better.

Can we do an insane cackle while we suggest this? Also might want to fix our hand up a bit. Since we just punched a T-1000 a dozen times in the face.
>>
>>5995630
>>NO. You see how uncomfortable Max and Benjamin are, well, you feel a smidge of pity for him. A smidge. "Roland. Get him a job. The worst one you can get but there's no point letting a worker go to waste." (+1 KRAKATOA FAVOR, +0.5 MAX AND BENJAMIN RAPPORT.)
>>
>>5996180
Max and Ben will not like this. Just throw him in the mine's and be done with it.
>>
>>5996164
As fucked as our world is, maybe godbug Casey would be a bit better?

>>5996248
I am kinda thinking just getting him a job shoveling shit or what ever might be better. Part of that is for the bonus' and then thinking it might be more appropriate for him. IDK might change my vote.

Also a bit surprised Nicole didn't get entered into the King and Queen tourney. Might make sense, I am sure the glowies are keeping an eye on that...
>>
>>5996312
I personally think with how big the fucker's ego was, based on Max and Alexis' reports when they split up to talk to him at the start of the mission, in addition to his pet robot's own admissions and statements, that this fatass Mayor deserves no mercy. That's why I refuse to budge my vote in >>5995959. That slimeball knew they would send people to find Valentina, but he went along with the plan to lure her there anyway. He could have figured out some other way, or accepted that W Corp is cutting them off of supplies and scrambled to do something to help his town - but he didn't. He let the contaminated crystal zombie miners roam the town out in the open too, showing zero consideration. And now he is trying to save his own skin instead. Fuck this guy
>>
TRAP HIM IN THE MINES: IAh, 0P/, Buw, W5K
LET THE MINERS DO IT: Jd3, TjJ, zsr, mL/
NO. SPARE HIM: fUK

Seems like a tie between TRAP HIM IN THE MINES or LET THE MINERS DO IT. (also, a lot more voters than I expected.). I'll leave the vote open for another four hours and a tie breaker doesn't happen, I'll go with a compromise of the two votes.

>>5996312
>spoiler
A character from a previous quest I ran already won the Husbando Tourney so I felt like it would be double dipping.

While we wait, have this small snippet.

----

As you're thinking about how to do with the Mayor, you notice Casey suddenly snaps her attention up into the starry night sky. You raise an eyebrow at this considering she was obsessed with the dehumanizing amount of violence that's about to occur.

"If there's a god, do you think we would be able to sell him?" She chirps out. "Take his essence and mass market it towards the world? I think that would be a very efficient use of such a powerful resource. Imagine the profit margins of selling divinity in such a small, tiny package. I think that would be very neat!"

Before you can even respond to that cryptic statement, she snaps her gaze back to the mayor. Something just ain't right with her and that's coming from you.
>>
>>5996460
Well, that seems ethical, if a bit too much so. I do not recall reading anything you have written before, unless it was under a different name or my memory is getting worse than I thought.

And while having a crazy femMC is always good, having someone even nuttier is cool. Make us appreciate Nicole not wondering about sticking god on the assembly line to cut out all the good parts and sell.
>>
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>>5996510
Help Wanted, by OverseerQM, was the last quest I wrote. This quest is sorta a prequel to that but you don't have to read the previous quest at all to understand what happens here. Completely different quest, completely different cast, only really related by me writing both of them.
All that they share is the same games as inspiration, a similar setting and like one ally you met (Benedict Baker) was in the previous quest.
The MC of that quest was the dude who won the Husbando Tourney, the Administrator. So I didn't feel like doubling down since having two MCs from two quests in a very similar setting would be kinda cheap.

--------------------

Anywho, I'm not going to diddle my thumbs with this for any longer. Here's what's going to happen. You'll let the miners vent their frustrations out on the mayor but you'll interrupt them before they kill him. You'll then suggest to let him die down in the mines.

This will result in a VANNI favor and some minor boosts to the passive rewards you'll get from the miners thanks to getting the corpos to save their asses. Sounds fair? Well, hopefully it does. It's not really an important thing in the grand scheme. Locking in the vote, writing.
>>
>>5996591
Ah, I recognize the name. Will probably check it out since I have some time. Thanks. If it is like this at all, I am sure I will enjoy.
>>
>>5996591
Sounds good. Ben and Max really need to cope after how good we've had it this mission. A clean sweep and speedrun start to finish. That could have been YOU down there in the crystal impregnation mindbreak pit if Valentina wasn't lured first, Max. We have evidence from him and his robot and from the miners and from Luther and from the computer notes about how scummy this fucker is. Stop feeling sorry for him. The fuck you two mean "Must it always end like this?" when multiple times we've had the "enemy/boss" in our mission be spared?
>>
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okay wow you only now notice how much your hand hurts. you quickly wrap your mangled hand up with the last charge of your nearly empty trauma kit, no point keeping it around. Max notices you struggling to patch yourself up and immediately jabs your arm with a bulky syringe filled with a bright blue liquid: A stimpak. One of Z-Corp's most expensive healing products.

Your hand and the stab wound in your side begin to patch themselves up almost immediately. You still have to keep your wrapped up hand closed into a balled fist for now but hey, small price to pay.
>-NEARLY EMPTY TRAUMA KIT, -STIMPAK. FLESH FULLY HEALED!

You whistle towards Robbert after your quick patch job. Both him and Joel snap their heads over to you. Waiting for your judgement. Seems like your ass kissing session earlier has earnt you the defacto role of commanding these corpos for today. You imagine whatever power you have will disappear the moment your two groups head their separate ways.

"Put him down. Let the miners beat the shit out of him for me, Robbert."

"WAIT YOU CAN'T DO THIS-" Before the slimeball mayor can say anything more, he is immediately thrown onto the ground like Robbert is trying to score a perfect touchdown. The crowd of twenty something miners and other workers promptly surround him. Bloodlust and fury has seeped into their gazes and drool begins to dribble out of their mouths. Like a pack of starved pitbulls given free access to a toddler.

The next few minutes are a massacre. Pitchforks are stabbed into his side, searing his flesh like a prime porkcut. The blunt ends of their pickaxes are used to smash his teeth and head in; It's clear they only do so to prolong his suffering. Leather boots and stone-stained fists ran down on his body like balls of hail falling down from the sky.

The corpos watch the display of violence with mild amusement, as if they've seen this way too many times for it to be exciting.
Casey and Alexis are cheering on the miners with gusto and, hell, Casey is even ordering them to do specific moves like this is a fucking game of football or something. "HIT HIM IN THE SOLAR PLEXUS! THAT'LL HURT MORE!"
[SHELTERED + DELUSIONAL] Max and Benjamin just turn their backs to this, not wanting to sully their vision with this. Benjamin covers Max's ears so she doesn't have to hear the mayor's screams.

You then snap your fingers. "STOP."

The miners turn their gazes over to you. Joel is now laying in a pool of his own blood. Twitching and seizing with untold agony. Most of his teeth are gone now, replaced with bleeding gums and tooth fragments. His face is coated in black and purple bruises.

<"T-this is just an example, right? I-I can replace this! T-this is just a minor hiccup in my plans! I'll be a W-Corp Refiner any day now!">

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Replacement teeth, replacement limbs, all can be purchased for cold hard USD. A fresh set of organic pearly whites from C-Company costs only three monthly payments of $775.
>>
"Take him back to the mines. Get whatever protection you can for yourselves so you don't get infected. Take him to the bottom and leave him there."

Whatever hope was left in Joel's soul vanishes when he hears your words. The miners, while disappointed they can't just beat him to death the old fashioned way, are more than willing to do this. His limp and broken body is picked back up by five of the town's burliest miners. All he can do is fruitlessly kick and scream as he is escorted, slowly, over to the town mines.

By the time you get back home, he'll be dead or crystalized. You know that. Rosaline's smile is wide enough to put the Cheshire Cat to shame. "Well, well! I didn't take you for the poetic type. Cruel, cruel, cruel...I like it." She would be rushing over to give you a handshake or a hug if it wasn't for Valentina being held in her arms.

The townfolks that remain, Devin, and Kori bow towards you and the corporates before heading their separate ways. The only people now standing in the town square is you, your allies, and the corpos. Luther steps over to you with a curt yet polite smile and places a hand on his shoulder.

"This. Is my town. I shall not. Come with you. Thank you for everything. Nicole."

After recovering from the muffled screams she heard from Joel, Max turns her attention over to Luther. "It was the right choice. We did what we had to."

"It's no problem. Max is right, couldn't let you die when I knew people still cared for you. See you on the other side."

Luther curtly nods before turning away from your group and leaving. Who knows if you'll see him again. Perhaps you will. Perhaps not. All that's left is the realization that you WON.

>MISSION COMPLETE!
>REWARDS OBTAINED
>FAVORS: +2 VIOLENCE (HUXLEY), +2 INFLUENCE (KRAKATOA), +3 FASHIONETTE (VANNI), AND +5 COMRADE (WORKING CLASS) FAVORS!
>MONEY: $1810! YOU NOW HAVE $3434!
>PASSIVE REWARDS: You'll be given a steady stream of useful gemstones and other mined goodies from this town + supply shipments from Rosaline at the start of each day!
>STAT BOOSTS: All allies gain +1 CONNECTIONS! Max now has 6, Benjamin has 4, Alexis has 10, Casey has 5, and you have 5

"Welp. I'm fucking bored." Robbert claps his hands, ready to get out of this bumfuck town. "I got what I wanted out of this place. I expect a shipment of those Voidstones when we get this place working again, chumpasses."

"Fuck you too, Robbert." Roland hisses through clenched teeth.

"I ain't a faggot, Loland. Maybe convince a tranny to blow you later."

As the two corpos begin to bicker, all you're left with is your allies and Rosaline. "So, it's been a long day. Shall we take your group back home? Roland has some connections with T-Corp, we could get you on an express trip home."

Max immediately grimaces upon hearing 'T-Corp' and 'Express Trip' mentioned in the same breath. "I rather take the long way back home, thanks."
Your other allies are chatting to each other, waiting to see where you go from here.
>>
Pick four actions to use during your FREE TIME
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban subdistrict under W-Corp's domain and get drunk. (You'll gain +0.5 RAPPORT with all allies. You'll also get a chance to talk to them and learn more about them.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Once you arrive somewhere more urban, take a walk around District 23 with your allies to decompress after everything. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT. You're likely to stumble into an old cache, a new store, or some other interesting place to return to later on your walk.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Alexis, dear, mind explaining some of this ledger nonsense to me?" Show her your S-CORP LEDGER to Alexis. See what she should piece together from it. (Due to her AMAZING CONNECTIONS, she'll give you a lot of valuable info on S, L, P, and R-Corp.)
>[WON OVER THE CORPOS] "Hey, look, I don't want to be imposing or anything but...know any good restaurants you can bring us too?" Hey. You deserve THIS much for helping them out. (You'll get a chance to intermingle with corporate reps from most, if not all, companies and a chance to get some connections with a variety of corporate families. That and a chance to learn more about the corpos themselves.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey is staring up at the sky. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?" Take a moment to talk and try to understand why Casey is as weird as she is. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey, you'll get some valuable insight into where she actually came from, what she is, and some secrets about the City itself.)
>[MAX ALLY] "Hey, Nicole. Mind if we just walk and talk for a while? I just need some time to really GET you." Agree to Max's proposal and wander through the mining town with her. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Max. You'll get a chance to pick her RAPPORT upgrade right now and some valuable time to learn more about Max. You might be able to lead her in a better direction in the future.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY + ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] "Nicole." Benjamin is staring right at you with a knowing, almost pleading look. "I know you have a way to give me powers. Please, talk to me about it." You glance at the ICP Syringe in your hand. You SHOULD probably take some time to discuss this with him and Max. (Depending on how this discussion goes, Benjamin may develop powers akin to you. Or something greater, perhaps?)
>[UNSTABLE] You notice a very, very familiar face in the pool of blood. A certain man in a sky blue suit. TV MAN!!! Walk over and LISTEN to him. (As per usual, he'll give you cryptic but very useful advice for the future.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Break away from everyone and listen to your SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. (You'll get some valuable insight into what the Silver Agents are doing right now.)
>Write in.

>>5996741
Just a heads up: Help Wanted was my first quest and it was a lot sloppier and slapped together than this quest.
>>
>>5996754
First
>[MAX ALLY] "Hey, Nicole. Mind if we just walk and talk for a while? I just need some time to really GET you." Agree to Max's proposal and wander through the mining town with her. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Max. You'll get a chance to pick her RAPPORT upgrade right now and some valuable time to learn more about Max. You might be able to lead her in a better direction in the future.)
You're not UNSTABLE, Max. You have a chance to be balanced and sane without losing yourself or being soulless or anything. Make the most of that. She can still be a corpo while retaining herself, hopefully. Or maybe do something else better with that. There's still a long way to go.
Then
>[BENJAMIN ALLY + ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] "Nicole." Benjamin is staring right at you with a knowing, almost pleading look. "I know you have a way to give me powers. Please, talk to me about it." You glance at the ICP Syringe in your hand. You SHOULD probably take some time to discuss this with him and Max. (Depending on how this discussion goes, Benjamin may develop powers akin to you. Or something greater, perhaps?)
They have to know about the silver agents too. The whole party does, but especially these two.
And with the BEN+ANOMALOUS option
>[UNSTABLE] SAME THING AS WITH THE OTHERS, BUT I WANT TO GIVE MY SECOND OPINION ABOUT THIS TOO.
>[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] "Our powers were the main reason he decided to tag along from the first mission where we met him. He needs to know the truth, before he decides on becoming anything like us."
The informed part of making an informed decision.
And lastly...
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban subdistrict under W-Corp's domain and get drunk. (You'll gain +0.5 RAPPORT with all allies. You'll also get a chance to talk to them and learn more about them.)
Because it's a way to relieve the weight of all these emotional heart-to-hearts with the friends

I kinda feel bad about not taking as many SCHOLAR options about wandering the City as we did before. We just have a lot of important shit to do instead, what can I say?
Alexis ally is tempting, but we can get her to look at the ledger from Admiral some other time.
No way I want to do anything more with the corpos right now. We've done our part, and anything further will be too pushy. Let's let the good taste remain with them as they go on a high note
Casey ally is EXTREMELY tempting. The moment is a poignant one, with the Stars of the City and the regular stars of the world around us. In-character too, Casey is an enigma Nicole really wants to understand.
TV MAN I would rather put off to after 1 more mission. Then it might be prudent to consult him again being closer to the Head meeting
The SILVER WALKIE TALKIE option is also a strong one. They know by now the corpos are here and the mission is over. Hmmm...

Going the full silver reveal and Old B-Corp with Alexis + Silver Walkie Talkie can also be a powerful series of options to do here. Choices choices...
>>
>>5996754
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban subdistrict under W-Corp's domain and get drunk. (You'll gain +0.5 RAPPORT with all allies. You'll also get a chance to talk to them and learn more about them.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Alexis, dear, mind explaining some of this ledger nonsense to me?" Show her your S-CORP LEDGER to Alexis. See what she should piece together from it. (Due to her AMAZING CONNECTIONS, she'll give you a lot of valuable info on S, L, P, and R-Corp.)
>[WON OVER THE CORPOS] "Hey, look, I don't want to be imposing or anything but...know any good restaurants you can bring us too?" Hey. You deserve THIS much for helping them out. (You'll get a chance to intermingle with corporate reps from most, if not all, companies and a chance to get some connections with a variety of corporate families. That and a chance to learn more about the corpos themselves.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey is staring up at the sky. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?" Take a moment to talk and try to understand why Casey is as weird as she is. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey, you'll get some valuable insight into where she actually came from, what she is, and some secrets about the City itself.)
>>
>>5996754
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Once you arrive somewhere more urban, take a walk around District 23 with your allies to decompress after everything. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT. You're likely to stumble into an old cache, a new store, or some other interesting place to return to later on your walk.)
>[WON OVER THE CORPOS] "Hey, look, I don't want to be imposing or anything but...know any good restaurants you can bring us too?" Hey. You deserve THIS much for helping them out. (You'll get a chance to intermingle with corporate reps from most, if not all, companies and a chance to get some connections with a variety of corporate families. That and a chance to learn more about the corpos themselves.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey is staring up at the sky. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?" Take a moment to talk and try to understand why Casey is as weird as she is. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey, you'll get some valuable insight into where she actually came from, what she is, and some secrets about the City itself.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY + ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] "Nicole." Benjamin is staring right at you with a knowing, almost pleading look. "I know you have a way to give me powers. Please, talk to me about it." You glance at the ICP Syringe in your hand. You SHOULD probably take some time to discuss this with him and Max. (Depending on how this discussion goes, Benjamin may develop powers akin to you. Or something greater, perhaps?)
>>
>>5996754
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Once you arrive somewhere more urban, take a walk around District 23 with your allies to decompress after everything. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT. You're likely to stumble into an old cache, a new store, or some other interesting place to return to later on your walk.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] "Alexis, dear, mind explaining some of this ledger nonsense to me?" Show her your S-CORP LEDGER to Alexis. See what she should piece together from it. (Due to her AMAZING CONNECTIONS, she'll give you a lot of valuable info on S, L, P, and R-Corp.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey is staring up at the sky. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?" Take a moment to talk and try to understand why Casey is as weird as she is. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey, you'll get some valuable insight into where she actually came from, what she is, and some secrets about the City itself.)
>[MAX ALLY] "Hey, Nicole. Mind if we just walk and talk for a while? I just need some time to really GET you." Agree to Max's proposal and wander through the mining town with her. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Max. You'll get a chance to pick her RAPPORT upgrade right now and some valuable time to learn more about Max. You might be able to lead her in a better direction in the future.)
>>
>>5996754
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban subdistrict under W-Corp's domain and get drunk. (You'll gain +0.5 RAPPORT with all allies. You'll also get a chance to talk to them and learn more about them.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Once you arrive somewhere more urban, take a walk around District 23 with your allies to decompress after everything. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT. You're likely to stumble into an old cache, a new store, or some other interesting place to return to later on your walk.)
>[WON OVER THE CORPOS] "Hey, look, I don't want to be imposing or anything but...know any good restaurants you can bring us too?" Hey. You deserve THIS much for helping them out. (You'll get a chance to intermingle with corporate reps from most, if not all, companies and a chance to get some connections with a variety of corporate families. That and a chance to learn more about the corpos themselves.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey is staring up at the sky. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?" Take a moment to talk and try to understand why Casey is as weird as she is. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey, you'll get some valuable insight into where she actually came from, what she is, and some secrets about the City itself.)
>>
>>5996754
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban subdistrict under W-Corp's domain and get drunk. (You'll gain +0.5 RAPPORT with all allies. You'll also get a chance to talk to them and learn more about them.)
>[WON OVER THE CORPOS] "Hey, look, I don't want to be imposing or anything but...know any good restaurants you can bring us too?" Hey. You deserve THIS much for helping them out. (You'll get a chance to intermingle with corporate reps from most, if not all, companies and a chance to get some connections with a variety of corporate families. That and a chance to learn more about the corpos themselves.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey is staring up at the sky. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?" Take a moment to talk and try to understand why Casey is as weird as she is. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey, you'll get some valuable insight into where she actually came from, what she is, and some secrets about the City itself.)
>[BENJAMIN ALLY + ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] "Nicole." Benjamin is staring right at you with a knowing, almost pleading look. "I know you have a way to give me powers. Please, talk to me about it." You glance at the ICP Syringe in your hand. You SHOULD probably take some time to discuss this with him and Max. (Depending on how this discussion goes, Benjamin may develop powers akin to you. Or something greater, perhaps?)
>>
>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1333. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM
Team setup idea: Casey, Clover, Kiara, Quentin

Do you anon want to do the tunnel mission after this?
>>
>>5996959
I guess? I don't like yet another underground mission nor taking Casey again so soon, but the tunnel mystery has grown too big and I want to see Quentin and Clover again. Plus we still have the POWER DRILL and experience from the mines. Casey will get rested by then
>>
>"I-Company has been struggling to find resources to operate their Singularity. No, I don't know what it is, but they've been badgering me to help out or they'll cut me off. I know of a part of their District that might still have some resources. Explore and recover any and all resources you can find." REWARD: $950, +FAVOR WITH I-COMPANY, I-Company will provide you with a free apartment in their District if you ever need a place to hide out at. RISK LEVE: MEDIUM.
Team setup idea: Kiara, Quentin, Benedict, Clover,

Reason: Kiara will assist us in exploring the I-district, and she has a strong resistance to cold since she is an Android. Quentin, because he might be resistant to cold too since he is bug piloted a dead corpse, and it has been a while since we saw him. Benedict is super strong, will help carry a lot of stuff, fight off any hostile individuals, and might be resistant to cold since he is a part machine. Clover will be our guard and scare off any hostile individuals.
Also, we are really good at handling the cold weather since we are half deer and we have six FUR LINED UNIFORMS in our inventory.
Clover is the only one who is not resistant to cold.

Is this a good team setup?
>>
>>5997023
Replace Benedict with Frank? The one guy we have had no interactions with outside first meeting. Getting one over on Robbert Huxley will grab his attention immediately, and we can go from there
>>
>>5997023
In addition to >>5997026 I will say I love the idea of Casey, Quentin, and Kiara all on the same mission. I simply need to overcome the autism that dictates no repeating allies on consecutive missions.
>>
>>5997026
This is a potential medium-risk mission about exploring and searching resources for I-Corp, not a high-risk combat mission. I am against bringing Frank on this mission.
>>
>>5997027
I agree
>>
>>5996959
I want to kill the crash dummy
>>
>>5997046
And I agree with you. We just need to figure things out. So assuming we maintain no consecutive allies, we are left with
>Lex
>Ashley
>Quentin
>Kiara
>Maruyama
>Adam
>Benedict
>Naomi
>Frank
>Clover
And cannot take these without breaking self-imposed restriction
>Alexis
>Max
>Benjamin
>Casey
Though in thread 1 we didn't have many allies so we had to take Alexis and Benjamin with us 2 missions in a row. We started cycling around the third mission

Speaking of thread 1 and 2, I've been scouting past unpicked missions out and spotted a few interesting ones. You might spot better or different ones if you go check yourself
>"We've received reports of an Anomaly in your District. Locate and capture A DEATH IN SPACE for transport to the nearest P-Company containment site." RISK LEVEL: High. REWARDS: $1250, improved CONNECTIONS with P-Company.
>"No one wants to go into the spooky abandoned section in District 8. It would be hilarious if a woman had more balls than them. Scout it out and report anything of interest." RISK: Medium-High REWARDS: $750 and dibs on any loot you find.
>"A few Drones went AWOL yesterday and we haven't been able to get them back. It would be cheaper to replace them but their owner is a sentimental bitch. Please handle this. My answering machine has 500 voice mails at this point." REWARD: $525, improved relationship with Q-Company, and access to some biological upgrades. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM.
>"Q-Company is having a bit of an issue. Apparently a highly valued Manager of theirs has gone missing a week ago and now all of my Drone associates are having a fucking panic attack! I need you to go investigate the office he used to manage, interrogate the people there, and find that motherfucker." REWARD: $650, improved favor with Q-Company, you'll gain access to a Q-Company corporate catalog to purchase corporate supplies from. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM.
>"We tried to send some poor bastards to scout out an R-Corp building that went radio silent. None of them have returned. Go in there and try to recover them if you can. See what happened to them and the former operators of the building" REWARD: $550, 'finder keeps on any loot you find', eight revolver bullets 'to recoup costs'. RISK: MEDIUM
>[BONUS MISSION] "This is a bit of a snorefest for everyone involved but I have a gut feeling that a rival office that works for L-Corp has been doing some incredibly shady shit with their paperwork. Get evidence of their wrong doings and file them to L-Corp." REWARD: $545, improved favor with L-Corp, L-Corp will reward you with a small residue drip feed of resources for the next three missions. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM.
Thoughts?
There's a good amount of low risk low pay ones too. Maybe we can take one to ease up on the strain? Maruyama + Adam + Benedict and chill out on an easy money task for a day, then do the Quentin + Kiara + Casey + ???? tunnel job. Or Lex + Wendy + Frank + Ben and get revenge on APEX PREDATOR.
>>
Just for fun, I'm going back to trace our mission progress. Removing the REWARDS bits to save space

Thread 1
>"We need you to track down a pharmacist by the name of Benjamin Aaron. Z-Company keeps seething on my answering machine about wanting to pick his brains, so go ahead and do something about it." RISK: Medium-Low.
>"One of my favorite food joints has been suffering in quality lately. Mind checking it out to see what the hubba is?" RISK: Low.
Thread 1-2
>"Let's cut to the point. There's a gang of checkered jacket fucks who got REAL riled up for some reason and they vented their rage by vandalizing one of my many houses. Kill them. Make it HURT. MAKE IT HURT!" RISK: MEDIUM-HIGH.
Thread 2
>"We need someone to scout out an old section of District 1 for us. A film director friend of mine wants to know how useful it might be for a new movie he's shooting. Scout and clear it out, report your findings to us." RISK LEVEL: LOW.
Thread 3
>"An old casino I'm partnered with has been showing me some REAL shady paperwork. Rumors say that they're not properly paying my commission fee. Whether that's true or not, get us our money back from those fucking parasites." RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-LOW
Thread 3-4
>[BONUS MISSION] "Thanks to your friendly advice, I've been trying to get into X-Corp's good graces. They said that they need a more 'feminine' point of view for how their company operates. Just make it through the day in one piece." RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH.
Thread 4
>"You better not get sea-sick easily, we got a crew over at District 19 who needs someone to assist them during their fishing trip. Help them harvest, protect them from any thieves, and try bringing back something special." RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH
Thread 4-5
>"This normally isn't something I'd hire a Cleaner to do but hey, you do what you gotta do. A highly respected member of the Vanni family has disappeared and no one knows where the FUCK she went. Last we know, she was exploring an abandoned subsection in District 23. Find out what happened to her." RISK LEVEL: MODERATE
>>
>>5997061
>>5997048
In hindsight, we aren't getting the same low risk low pay ones because of high Handler rapport where he's trying to get us the GOOD ones now. Either way nothing's stopping us from checking the missions he gives us and discussing which one to go with, or pull one from a previous thread as a write-in. Nothing's stopping us.
>>
>>5997061 #
[BLOODLUST] Keeping him from not starting shit is going to be hard. He will try getting into fights whenever the chance shows itself unless it's suicidal. Successful CHARM checks can help curb this.
Why pick Lex to join the APEX PREDATOR mission? He is too bloodthirsty and will make a reckless decision, which will cost him and our team dearly. Won’t it be better if we pick Naomi to join the APEX PREDATOR mission since she is an antiseptic war vet and his Boons are great for the team?
>>
>>5996754
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban subdistrict under W-Corp's domain and get drunk. (You'll gain +0.5 RAPPORT with all allies. You'll also get a chance to talk to them and learn more about them.)

>[CASEY ALLY] Casey is staring up at the sky. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?" Take a moment to talk and try to understand why Casey is as weird as she is. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey, you'll get some valuable insight into where she actually came from, what she is, and some secrets about the City itself.)

>[BENJAMIN ALLY + ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] "Nicole." Benjamin is staring right at you with a knowing, almost pleading look. "I know you have a way to give me powers. Please, talk to me about it." You glance at the ICP Syringe in your hand. You SHOULD probably take some time to discuss this with him and Max. (Depending on how this discussion goes, Benjamin may develop powers akin to you. Or something greater, perhaps?)

>[MAX ALLY] "Hey, Nicole. Mind if we just walk and talk for a while? I just need some time to really GET you." Agree to Max's proposal and wander through the mining town with her. (+0.5 RAPPORT with Max. You'll get a chance to pick her RAPPORT upgrade right now and some valuable time to learn more about Max. You might be able to lead her in a better direction in the future.)
>>
And just going to say, I like how Casey seems to be starting to be a fan favorite, to a degree, given like every choice has her. Turns out men do like mentally unstable women more.

And Robbert is fucking funny. I like this fucker. I only hope Nicole can be as cool as him one day.

Nicole's Za Warudo power might be kinda OP. Stop time boost every violence thing we have, and put a slug point-blank into both hips, the heart, and the brain and that should take down most things that still have organs or bones.
>>
>>5997082
Apex Predator is all about fighting, Bloodthirsty is the least detrimental there.
>>
>>5997132
>Casey
Even here after MANAGER, HELP! and HELP WANTED!, the allure of a bright amd disturbing worker bee in human girl form is a strong one.
>men do like mentally unstable women more
I prefer Ashley
>Robbert
He's a lot better than I expected he'd be. In fact all three of these corpos are.
>Za Warudo
It's a reward from the drowned bodies anomaly, which we lucked out on encountering in the middle of the fucking ocean and lucked out on satisfying with offerings. I doubt we could get anything this strong anywhere else
>kinda OP
Do you think none of the corpos and higher ups have anything similar? Did you not read what little we picked up of Robbert's stats? Did you not see the QM say flat out that Robbert and people on the same level as him, are 5 whole ranks below the actual company CEOs which are part of the Head? You bet every last one of them has ways to be as OP as a 10 second timestop that's only good once per mission. DIO always had The World with him able to be used; the moment something takes the stopwatch away or destroys it for good, that shit's GONE. Don't for a second assume Nicole and her allies are "strong enough" or "safe". Not when we had two people able to notice Nicole stopped time in that scene, and one of them was one of the corpo trio to boot.

>>5997134
Think an EMP nade will work on him, anomaly or not? He's a stealth robot anomaly that ganks people super fast. Now that I think of it, Benedict could try to match him. Having Bene and Wendy on the same team is not an option with how Wendy is so anti-anomaly like the rest of W Corp.
>>
>>5997134
I don’t want a blunt-force way of dealing with this because it's too risky. Also, we NEVER straight-up fight anomalies entity in this quest. Like literally every anomalies entity confrontation ends in an outsmart the anomalies entity or peacefully solving the issue with the anomalies entity instead of a straight-up fight with the anomalies entity.
>>
>>5997167
That's exactly why I want a straight fight with an anomaly. I crave violence.
>>
>>5997167
>Benedict/Art of Flesh
We talked him down and tranquilized him so he got stuck partially transformed
>Philip/Last Witness
We threw a vending machine at him didn't we? And Gregory was the one who fought him to death because it was Greg's mission too
>Heart on my Sleeve
Talked down because no need to fight there
>Eyeball confessional thing + Final Flash of Existence
That was a test of Nicole and she got through pacifying it
>Admiral
Chess was the way we fought him, then we stopped him from tooting the pale damage horn
>A Pile of Forlorn Faces
We can't exactly fight a floating pile of dead bodies bigger than the ship we were on, and the moment wasn't good for it either

I think that's all the anomalies we ever came across so far?

>>5997190
Based VIOLENCE chad. I agree with going after APEX PREDATOR, but there's still other anomalies to beat up out there
>>
>>5997194
>We threw a vending machine at him didn't we? And Gregory was the one who fought him to death because it was Greg's mission too.
We immediately ran away after throwing the vending machine at Philip. We did not go into full brawl fighting with Philip, and we didn’t fight Philip, Gregory did the "fighting". Gregory doesn’t have to roll the dice.
>>
Did we have a full-fighting brawl with the anomalies entity? like literally a face-to-face straight-up long brawl fight with an anomaly entity? No running away or tricking the anomaly entity to hold back its power. Literally, death matches fight with anomalies with absolutely no rules. Dice battle. If Admiral didn't play chess with us and he decided to straight up go full brawl and fight us, he would definitely, without a doubt, absolutely annihilate us, the team, and the ship crew.
>>
Well, speaking about her burdening Benjamin with anomalies, you might as well keep talking about them. "So, Adam, you said something about them being locked into a mindset? Mind clarifying?"

Adam waits for a waitress to refill his glass and to take another sip before responding. "Yeah. Take my advice with a grain of salt but those things aren't 'sentient' as we understand it. They have a very limited world view that only makes sense to them. You have to play along with it in order to get it to do what you want."

"Like the anomaly before cared about its appearance and blending in with others. That's all it could really think or talk about. If you refuted what it stands for, like saying that none of its outfits would appease anyone, it wouldn't know what to do and would mentally shut down." You do remember how the last anomaly you dealt with freaked out when you gave it mementos of the past. So, refuting what it stands for can be used to catch an anomaly off guard, huh?

No. 5916615
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5893937/

I think the maybe best way to fight the APEX PREDATOR is to make it play some kind games with us like we did with the Admirals Chess games. We might potentially get a nice reward from the APEX PREDATOR if we win the game and get it to go into containment. Did any of you have any idea what type of games we want to play with the APEX PREDATOR, or literally ask the APEX PREDATOR what it wants?
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>>5997251
We could play laser tag? Or shit, I doubt it would be the same as the Admiral but a war game. Or just go full pacifist and not even engage it when it attempts to attack. Be full deer mode. Need more info.

>>5997159

Oh no, I have no illusions about us being like god mode due to that one thing. I am sure some corpos have stuff to neutralize anomalous stuff around them. They have pipe hitters that can shrug off multiple 12 gauge slugs in vital areas. These are high ranking execs of the families but aside from Robbert, none are spec'd towards super violence, and I am sure he pales in comparison to an Adam Smasher equivalent I am positive they all save for a rainy day.

OP for some of our current mission level might have been better to say. An indication of us reaching another higher level of dangerous.

But if we want to make Ashley sad, it would be a pretty good trump card against someone like Ashton, if he tries to kill us again.
>>
>>5997251
Anon no, I want to use our combat buffs, we have so many gathering dust
>>
>>5997301
>none are spec'd towards super violence
They don't need to look like it to be it. Their way of violence spec must be different from Robbert's. Don't let looks fool you
>an Adam Smasher equivalent
Who's to say he doesn't have his own Adam Smasher? Or that he himself isn't one to somebody greater?
>current mission level
We progressed fast because we play well on missions and high-rapport Handler wants us to succeed as much as he does for himself. We went from flat broke to 3.4K bucks. Handler knows as well as we do that we could simply ask him to give us something easier or simpler to take it easy for a day. Check the missions we took >>5997070, they're mostly MEDIUM-HIGHs. In fact all the example interesting missions I listed in >>5997061 are all mediums except hunting A DEATH IN SPACE. I would be up for discussing past thread mission choices if you are, anon. Quality discourse and planning is always nice to have in a quest. Part of the reason I want an "easier" mission is also so that we have a mission that doesn't last an entire thread and then some, for the QM's own sake. He might hate that, but what do I know? I'm just a player enjoying this content and having fun being engaged.
>Ashton
What, we time stop him and do something to spook him away? Other than that, we still have not seen other assassin members of his 521 Association or whatever they called it. There's the 2 other protag choices, Nicole doppelganger, Benjamin doppelganger, the android Zane that he was with at the apartment ambush, and maybe one or two other people we still haven't seen or heard of. It's like Ashton has his own group of allies like Nicole does.

>>5997326
I feel the same way. I want Nicole to go out and kick some ass
>>
>>5997350
>Ashton

No more like if we meet him in the street and he tries to kill Nikky, time stop and blow his knees off and run. But that might make Ashley sad so hopefully we don't have to. Shit, if we run into him and his posse, with good enough charm rolls we might be able to recruit him and his group. Though, the doppelgängers will need to get different shcticks.

And I would need to reread some prior threads to have an in-depth conversation. I was reading them but only started to participate in the last couple of threads. It was before I realized how much fun this thing really was and was afraid it would just die, since I didn'recognize the QM.
>>
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BAR TIME: Buw, 5Xy, Jd3, TjJ, W5K
MAX ALLY: Buw, 0P/, W5K
CORPOS: IAh, Jd3, TjJ, 5Xy
ALEXIS: 0P/, 5Xy
CASEY: 5Xy, IAh, 0P/, JD3, tjJ, W5K
SEEKER (NOT SCHOLAR, FUCKED UP): IAh, 0P/, Jd3
BENJAMIN ALLY: Buw, IAh, TjJ, W5K

So, it seems like the majority agrees on BAR TIME, CASEY, BENJAMIN ALLY, and CORPOS. No Alexis, Max, or SEEKER times. Oh well. (Though you'll still get a chance to interact with Max and Alexis, of course, they'll be a valuable asset in dealing with the HIGH CLASS TOMFUCKERY you're about to endure.)

Entering my writing cage now. Fifty thousand threads of Nicole's tomfuckery. What could happen next? Will Nicole be cursed into becoming a fully anthropomorphic deer girl? Will Maruyama uncuck himself? Will the Handler ever stop being a cunt? Will Robbert reveal that he's secretly (YOU)? Will Casey finally realize that, sadly, she's a bee in a cage?

Will you realize that you're not alone?

Who knows.

>>5997350
Lemme clarify that spoiler real quick. Difficulty and the mission's actual length aren't really tied. The ship mission was a massive outlier and I intend for most threads to have two missions, maybe three if one is particularly short.
So, don't pick missions based off them being easier difficulty solely because you think it might be easier for me to write. Pick the one you actually find interesting.
>>
>>5997561
>don't pick missions based off them being easier difficulty solely because you think it might be easier for me to write. Pick the one you actually find interesting
well excuse me for the most interesting missions taking an entire thread for us to get through and for you to write out
I can't help the good shit being the good shit, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan
>ship mission was a massive outlier
I for one don't mind because we got a lot of amazing moments in the ship mission. It felt worth our time despite how long it took and how much it took out of Nicole and friends too.
>>
>>5997561
>Will Maruyama uncuck himself?

He could always put 100lbs on, lose some hair. Go full ugly bastard mode. Then he would be doing the cucking! Hahaha!

>>5997577
I did like the ship. That was when I started engaging instead of just lurking. Going maximum violence on the pirates was great, for one thing.
>>
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You got a lot of things on your mind right now but first things first, you need an in with the corpos before they leave. The moment they leave this town? Well they might as well be fucking ghosts with how hard it'll be to contact them in person.

"Stop talking about sucking cocks or whatever, Robbert. You're the only one who brought it up. Fag."

Robbert immediately snaps his head in your direction. The bloodstained mask he's wearing is making the normally quite silly looking bunny mask fucking horrifying to look at. "Say that again and I'll rip you limb from limb."

[UNSTABLE] "Try it, nigger. You don't got the balls. I'll rip your nuts off with my antlers. Try me."

Robbert is dead quiet now. Roland and Max are trying their best to hold back the gutbusting laughter in them while Rosaline, Benjamin, and Alexis watch on in horror. Casey is too busy staring up at the sky to comment on what's happening.

Robbert breaks the silence by easily laughing off the banter you threw his way. "Funny girl you got there under your payroll, Roland and tiny Roland." He nods his head towards Max and Roland, who can only offer confused 'huhs' in response. "What do you want?"

"huh what it's the other way- Okay, yeah, whatever. Know any good restaurants you can bring us to? Not to be imposing or anything but I feel like we deserve it after, well. Everything my group did." You gesture towards your various allies. "Alexis with the equipment we used, Casey and Max with negotiations and information collection, and Benjamin with patching up Valentina to begin with."

Max blushes and makes a weird squeaking noise. Huh, was simple praise like that good enough for her? That's slightly concerning. Your other allies nod and mutter in agreement.

"Mmh. Roland?" Robbert turns his gaze to the others since it's clear that he's probably not the one who would know a great high class place to eat at.
"My daughter is with them and that weird deer antler having girl helped my father out. I see no reason why not?" Roland half heartedly shrugs at the idea. "I did have a meeting with a B-Company exec later tonight but I can always reschedule.
Rosaline nods with an uncomfortable amount of enthusiasm. "Absolutely! Nothing but the best for you and your little posse! We'll be waiting by our private train at the station. Just come over when you're ready."

And without further ado, the three corpos and Valentina exit the town. Leaving you to deal with your allies and their tomfuckery before you do anything else tonight. Max and Benjamin are giving you a look that tells you that they KNOW what you know: You have a way to give Benjamin powers. The main reason he even joined. You simply point towards Casey to gesture that you want to deal with her first.

They relent for now but you can tell they're going to want a conversation with you before you go onto that train. Fair's fair. You make your way over to Casey as your other allies burn time by talking to each other. Let's see...
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Casey is staring up at the night sky with a completely blank look on her face. The pirate hat she's put on now kinda ruins the serious atmosphere that's being cultivated by her silence, though. You step over to be right beside her before you try your best to get her attention. You do this by nudging her with your antlers. You don't know why, some weird instinct.

"Hello." She acknowledges you with a simple hum but she keeps her gaze up to the stars. "You know. Do you ever wish you could...reach up there?" Casey reaches up towards the sky with her left hand. "Don't you ever wish you could return to the stars?"

"The stars?" You look up to see what she's staring up. It is a bright, starry night tonight. The lack of light population in this one specific town in this one specific subsection of W-Corp's district actually allows you to make out the various constellations in the night sky. It's awe inspiring to be sure but you don't get why she's so enthralled by them. "What about them? They're pretty but that's it."

"You don't understand." Casey's solemn tone is very off-putting considering the normally plastic, corporate cheer she speaks with. "It's not what they look like that draws me to them. It's that freedom. That allure. That prestige. Everyone looks up to the stars. Everyone knows their names. What they look like. Who they are."

She glances back at you. Tears are rolling down her face but despite that, her face is plastic. Frozen. A smile is forced across her face but there's not even a lack of light behind her eyes. It's like staring into a void.

[UNSTABLE] Nothing is behind those eyes. Just an abstraction of a person. An idea of an ideal worker.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] She's not an anomaly. The opposite of one, actually. An anomaly needs a perspective. A drive. A purpose to exist.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Living in the City without some sort of goal, some sort of purpose, a thin veneer to justify your existence? It obliterates the psyche. Your soul.

"A place where everyone knows your name. A place where people know YOU for you. I. I don't know." She places both of her hands on the side of her head. "It's hard to think. About this. I wasn't taught to think these things. I'm not supposed to think like this." That phrasing again...

She's not a robot, she's not an anomaly, maybe a drone? But she has a face. She speaks normally. Is she just a misguided human? Then why can't you mindread her? You need an answer.

"I don't know." You admit truthfully. "I really don't. For all I know, you just popped into existence one day. One of my powers doesn't work on you," You don't delve too much into the specifics of which one, of course. "You act super weird and cryptic about your past. Fuck, you're a walking enigma. I just don't get you."

"Maybe that's it." She wipes away at the tears rolling down her face. "Maybe what you see is all I am. This." She points at her outfit, her plastic smile, her yellow hair. Perfectly presentable: Made for a corporate ad.
>>
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"That's not okay. I'm not sure if I'm myself anymore. sometimes I just close my eyes and then find myself at an unfamiliar place several hours later. That's how I even arrived in this City. This is not my home."

"...Where did you come from, then? This is the only City I know of. Everything else was wiped away and replaced by this. There's only the INFINITE SEA, the WASTES, and here."

"Another time. Another place. I'm Drone 19344. That's what I remember. I'll probably forget this soon, like I always do. Silly ol' Casey, right?" She cryptically states. "Does it matter? No matter which City you go to, everyone speaks in empty words and template phrases. No one finds comfort in each other's words. No one knows what to do."

"Are you fine with it being that way, Casey? Do you like feeling like that? Being seen as nothing but a number from some old system that isn't even ran anymore?"

"No, it's...Fine? Pitiful? Awful?...None of these seem to fit." Casey sits down on the ground with an annoyed huff.

You sit down on the ground next to her with a worried frown. She's really been holding back all of this stress for god knows how long, huh? "Isn't it normal? To want something you can call your own? I get why you want to reach towards the stars but if it's hurting you this badly to even think about it, well, why worry about what you can't change?"

"Maybe." That's all she can offer as a response. You can't say you would have a better response in her shoes. "I just wish I could be like you. To actually be able to think these thoughts. I know I'll go back to who I was. Back to Casey. Back to who I'm meant to be."

"You're saying that, what, you're programmed to be like this?"

"It's easier. To slip on that comfortable mask. To hide these cold thoughts and shake your hand. To let you feel my flesh gripping yours. Who knows!" She bitterly chuckles to nobody in particular. "Maybe even trick someone into thinking our lifestyles are probably comparable. That's what humans are."

"We're flawed. We're born to make errors. We hurt each other because we are essentially egotistic. That's why I can act like how I'm meant to be. Casey Smith."

"...What are you, then?" You address the elephant in the room. "I really, really need to know. Human? Drone? Anomaly? What are you?"

"A bee. Ready to leave this husk. To reach the unreachable star." You have a feeling she's not being metaphorical here. Much like how Quentin was a centipede, perhaps there really isn't anything behind that flesh but another insect. A lost bee with no queen. No hive. Completely alone. "I'm fine with that. Being Casey is fun! People like Casey!"

[UNSTABLE] Does it have to be that way?

"But do you want people to know you as that? Is it worth reaching for the stars if you aren't even who you want to be?" You lay your back on the dust-coated ground of this dead quiet mining town. "Is it?"

"Does it matter? I have no place to belong to anymore. If I didn't have my role as Casey Smith, what's left?"
>>
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"Well. You have us. You have me, Max, Alexis, Benjamin. You have Clover. You have all of my other friends. Maybe there doesn't need to be a grander purpose behind your existence. Maybe there doesn't need to be some one size fits all explanation for the world but..."

[PERSON OF INTEREST] "Maybe being a rising star that everyone sees isn't a good thing. Maybe it's fine to enjoy the simple things. To just exist in the world without worrying about who's watching."
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "The City might seem bland and boring and suffocating but I know there's so much untapped potential in it. So many secrets. So many sights and sounds beyond the narrow point of view of what corporate likes."
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] "The stars aren't the only thing that hold importance. You don't need to reach the tiptop of corporate power or public awareness to be something important. Just by existing, you are you."
[UNSTABLE] "You can't change that, Casey. I'm Nicole. You're Casey. No matter what we are, what we do, we have that. You can't fix that. But you can't break it either."

"Sometimes, that simple fact is all I need to carry on. To continue existing."

Casey doesn't respond for the longest time. The two of you simply stare at the sky. The shifting, star-lit sky. But eventually, Casey just laughs to herself. A genuine laugh. A laugh a human would make. Not just a bee, or a drone, pretending to be one.

"Maybe you're right. I'm just Casey. Maybe that is enough."
>+0.5 RAPPORT WITH CASEY!

She slowly gets off the ground. You quickly hop off the ground alongside her. "I don't know why I was thinking those thoughts anyways. This place is REALLY weird, heh~!" She's already gone back to her usual carefree, corporate persona but you can tell there's a shift in her perspective now. A subtle, minor shift but a shift nevertheless.

"Well~! I suppose you deserve a reward for listening to lil' ol me being a doom and gloomer~!" She sticks her tongue out while tapping her head with a balled up fist. "Bleh~!"

"Wow, you really bounced back from that existential talk. Sure, hit me, what's my reward?" You cross your arms with a smirk. It's glad to see her being, well, Casey again. Even if it's really offputting given the tone of the previous conversation.

"Those stars aren't just regular stars~! I heard rumors about if you become a God of the City, you could live up there~! It would be nice to be one of those, you know~?" She coos out with an unnerving amount of lust? Adoration? Obsession? "I heard some rumors that most of the CEOs in this City are striving to become one! Which I don't blame them at all for!"

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You faintly recall what a God of the City is. It's a term for very powerful, primordial anomalous phenomena that alters how the world works on a fundamental level. An example is the sheer fact that Anomalies exist. Or the fact that Singularities break the laws of the world as you know it. Simple, undeniable aspects of reality.
>>
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[SEEKER OF THE CITY] To become a God of the City? Shit, no one knows how to do that. Not even the CEOs of this world or the Head would know.

"How the fuck would the CEOs even attempt to do that? Yeah, becoming a godhead, sounds perfectly fucking achievable!"

"Dunno~! But if I had to guess? A lot of the companies might be trying some powerplays to completely solidify their stake in the City's marketshare~! Don't be too shocked if you get dragged into all of that~! Try killing a CEO when you can, take their divine essence! That's your best chance of surviving!" Casey proceeds to completely drop this fucking bombshell with a wink and a smile. "So! What now?"

"I. I'm going to talk to Benjamin and Max, thank you."

"Okay! You have fun!" Casey begins to head over to the train that the corpos are waiting at. "And one more thing!" Casey turns her gaze back to you. "Don't sleep with your mouth open!" She waves goodbye before wandering in the direction of the train station. "I love you."

You suppress a shudder as the sound of footsteps dies away. That girl ain't right. You feel like talking to her has left you with as many questions as were answered by her. Oh well, not something you can solve in a single day.

Best to address the other elephant in the room. Max and Benjamin are waiting by the entrance of the closed SALOON, clearly waiting for you to finish up with Casey to deal with them. Ah shit, time to bite a bullet. You quickly gall- RUN. YOU HAVE TWO FUCKING LEGS YOU RUN. God.

You quickly run over to the saloon. You peel off your pink jacket since frankly, this sweat/vomit/blood/cave dust encrusted thing is starting to stink, leaving your torso covered by a bright red collared shirt that clings a bit too tightly to you (and the combat bodysuit underneath but semantics.)

Max raises an eyebrow at this before realizing oh yeah, your jacket fucking reeks. She takes it from your hand and tosses it into the ground below. "I'll buy you a replacement for that. That thing is unsalvageable. Nice red shirt, though. What brand is it?"

"Yeah, fair. And, uh, weird anomalous clothing from that one anomaly we met back at the casino? Look, that's not important."

"Yeah." Max sighs. "Yeah. I was just trying to lighten things up before we got to the elephant in the room. Why were you holding out?"

"Do you fucking understand what it's like to be me, Max? Do you? Do you think having anomalous powers is all it's cracked up to be?" You levitate the discarded pink jacket with your mind. "Wow. I can do that. I can also do this." You reach your hand out and launch out translucent purple strings to attach to Max's body.

She tries to move but, of course, she can't. You quickly lose concertation and only use said powers for, like, five seconds at most so you didn't really burn any RESTRAINT. "Super cool, yeah? Well big fucking news flash. Do you know what's it like having four voices screaming in my damn head every day?"
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"Do you think I like being hunted down by glowniggers? Do you think I like having people like YOU and BENJAMIN on their GOD DAMN SHITLIST because you dared associating with me? Now imagine what happens if your boytoy gains the ability to-"

[DELUSIONAL] "I get it." Benjamin interrupts you. He pulls off his glasses and folds them up before handing them to Max, who promptly puts them in her pocket. "I do. It's a lot of responsibility to have powers-"

"No, you don't get it, that's the thing! Thousands on thousands of agents watch me every day because I can do silly shit like that! When I know for a fact that corporate CEOs and, fuck, even some shitty corporate administrators can do far worse!"

[UNSTABLE] "My mind fucking seethes at itself every day, I constantly have to struggle paycheck to paycheck, I get hunted down by glowniggers who hunt down everyone who threatens them or even associates with those who threaten them-" You feel your blood pressure rising by the second.

[UNSTABLE] "FUCK, Max, they tried killing your grandpa if it wasn't for me. Don't you get it? This isn't fucking child's play! This isn't playing superhero, this is a life altering decision! You don't fucking get it!"

[SHELTERED] Max tries to refute you but she can't even look you in the eye. Is- Is she crying? She removes her shades and covers her eyes, trying her best to control herself. Fuck, you probably shouldn't have been that harsh.

Benjamin is glaring at you now. Ah, shit, uh-

"No, no. I get it. Benjamin, don't get mad at her, she's right." She wipes her eyes before putting her shades on. "I can't even pretend to understand what you go through on a daily basis. "Sorry, sorry, just. Getting yelled at does that to me. Pav something."

"Palvov." Benjamin sighs. "Yeah, uh, look. Nicole. I know that, if I do this, I probably won't be the same person. I do. But I'm not stupid. I know that I'm not really much of an asset otherwise."

"What?" You're confused. Even Max is confused at the sudden self doubt that Benjamin is expressing right now.

"Look at me. I'm scrawny. I can produce a handful of chems at most. I can't fight. I can't take a hit. At most, I can hack some computers or figure out a riddle. My mind's strong. That's my best asset. Otherwise? Look at me." He points at himself. You can't say he's lying.

He's a nerdy man with a bird's nest hairdo and wears super dorky looking clothing. Grey waistcoat, red bowtie, forest green jeans, thick boots, and leather gloves. More befitting of a lab than anything else.

[BLIND OPTIMISM] "I know that this is risky. I know that it'll change me. I don't care. You know the real reason why I want these powers? It's to protect the people I care about. To show the world that I can fend for myself. That I don't need people to coddle and babysit me."

[BLIND OPTIMISM] "The main reason I even joined Z-Company is that I wanted to help people, Nicole. You don't think I know about the consequences of helping out an Alphabet Company?"
>>
"I do it anyways because it was the only option I had to help those around me. To provide for others. Whatever happens to me, whatever consequences are thrown my way, I'm ready for them." He holds his wrist out.

"...Look, Nicole." Max sheepishly rubs her shoulder. "I know I'm not very helpful either. But I'm too much of a coward to accept something like this. I doubt you'd even want to use it on me. And I'll admit, it probably feels like I'm only here because of some boytoy I'm into from your point of view."

"But take what I say very seriously: I want to help. I trust you, I understand the consequences of what will happen to him, but we've already made up our minds. We want to show the world that you can be someone without a million bucks to yourself. Without a massive corporate family backing you. Without an alphabet company providing for you."

"I envy you." Benjamin flatly admits. "I really do. That's another reason why."

"...and I envy the fact that you have the power you do without the baggage of a family name dragging every decision you make." Max bitterly laughs to herself. "I want to tell the world that I'll stick with you. With him. Through thick and thin."

[UNSTABLE] ...YOU DON'T THINK THEY'LL CHANGE THEIR MINDS. THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, NICOLE. BENJAMIN MAY NOT BECOME UNSTABLE. PERHAPS HE WILL MAKE IT UNSCATCHED.
[UNSTABLE] IT'S ULTIMATELY YOUR DECISION. THEY ALREADY GAVE EXPRESS APPROVAL.

You stare at the needle in your hand. They know what they're getting into. Yet you have a decision to make. You always do.

How do you proceed from here?
>Inject the contents of the ICP Energy syringe into him. He asked for it. (-1 ICP SYRINGE, Benjamin will develop an anomalous power immediately and may even unlock a latent spark like Maruyama. You imagine his delusions will get worse, though.)
>Inject only half of the syringe into him. (-ICP SYRINGE, +HALF FULL ICP SYRINGE. Benjamin will develop a latent spark but no direct abilities for the time being. You imagine his mental state will be relatively unaffected.)
>...Inject TWO syringes into him. (-2 ICP SYRINGES. You might awaken something far more powerful than an anomalous ability out of him. Who knows what the consequences of a double dose are, though?)
>Inject a dose into him and offer one to Max. She might be a coward but you still want to give her the option. (You're not sure what choice Max will pick if you offer her this. Couldn't hurt to try, though.)
>You can't do it. You just can't. Put the syringe up and apologize.
>Write in.

yeah this update was WAY longer than I expected. Oh well, enjoy funny characters screaming into the void, I'm passing out now. aie aie aie.
Will update pastebins next update.
>>
>>5997852
>Inject the contents of the ICP Energy syringe into him. He asked for it. (-1 ICP SYRINGE, Benjamin will develop an anomalous power immediately and may even unlock a latent spark like Maruyama. You imagine his delusions will get worse, though.)
>>
>>5997852
>>Inject a dose into him and offer one to Max. She might be a coward but you still want to give her the option. (You're not sure what choice Max will pick if you offer her this. Couldn't hurt to try, though.)

Fuck it. They can be delusion psychic nutjobs together.

God I love Robbert and Nicky. Calling a dude who could pulp you a nigger to his face and threatening to rip his nuts off was great. Also Casey keeps being a best. Gonna protect that smile, even if it is plastic.
>>
>>5997852
>>Inject only half of the syringe into him. (-ICP SYRINGE, +HALF FULL ICP SYRINGE. Benjamin will develop a latent spark but no direct abilities for the time being. You imagine his mental state will be relatively unaffected.)
>>
>>5991133
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Some deep, primal part of you tells you that whatever power she might get from the ICP Energy would 'create' and 'consume' something. While you 'manipulate' and 'perceive' things.

I want to reserve the two ICPs for Casey. I get an idea of what type of anomalies ability Casey will get. I think her power is going to be capable of creating an army insect, and Casey can cannibalize any anomaly entity, human, drone, harvester, or maybe android, to get the enemy ability, and the ability enemies that get consumed by Casey will be able to give to his insect army. In short, Casey is going to be the Swarm Queen. Least what I think?

I am wondering if Casey will be able to create army insects similar to terminids or Zerg.
>>
>>5997848
Hello?
>>
>>5997852
>Inject the contents of the ICP Energy syringe into him. He asked for it. (-1 ICP SYRINGE, Benjamin will develop an anomalous power immediately and may even unlock a latent spark like Maruyama. You imagine his delusions will get worse, though.)
"Delusions get worse" doesn't mean "stay worse". Is that cope? It doesn't feel like it to me. Whatever, he asked for it and he wants this and even though we love both of these retards they are both still bent on it. Max don't hold a grudge please, your fucking husband explicitly wanted the cool superpowers
>>
>>5998050
I want to go half inject, but then he and Max might start to resent Nicole for it last minute. I refuse to let that happen, so I'm going full inject
>>
>>5997840
>Nicole and Robbert
(Rein)Deer and Rabbit. Where's the Rhino or Raven?
>simple praise
Well we know one way to keep her going at least, but that's not good

>>5997842
>nudging her with your antlers
Antennae to antennae communication
>A place where everyone knows your name
I'll drink to that
https://youtube.com/watch?v=h-mi0r0LpXo
>popped into existence one day
That's exactly what happened to her

>>5997845
>A lost bee with no queen. No hive. Completely alone
What being completely cut off from your purpose of existence does to a hiveminded being. All the humanoid bee has is what's left of her role on the outside, where the inside part is gone gone gone. It's an abstract kind of fucking despair.
>No matter which City you go to, everyone speaks in empty words and template phrases. No one finds comfort in each other's words. No one knows what to do.
As much as this sort of setting and premise is ripe for interesting scenarios and fiction, cyberpunk is a dystopia for a reason. South Korea sucks for several underlying reasons, leading to ProjectMoon's setting and story existing. Disregarding that, do you think we as people would have cyberpunk or similar fantastic or escapist fiction like this if the world we lived in was equally as interesting or not static? If the society and world we lived in and were born into was in fact straight out of some crazy storybook plot, would works of fiction like this quest and its inspirations and THEIR inspirations and so on down the chain links, even exist? Or would stories and premises and fictional tales still exist but wholly different from what we would imagine and create, being from here and not somewhere there? Perhaps we as "intelligent" beings with drives to create and imagine are hardwired to dream like this irregardless of place and setting. Even if all of humanity lived in a derivative cyberpunk hellscape like this, with the values and cultures and ideas of such a setting to be born into, they would still craft fictional stories of different and interesting times and places not like where they live in. Because humans are humans and people are people.

>>5997847
>this entire Casey talk
I'm glad enough people voted for it to go through. This was a great scene start to finish

>>5997848
>God of the City
Is that who the Head answers to?
>sheer fact that Anomalies exist
Carmen?

>>5997848
>Try killing a CEO
Sounds like a plan
>"I love you."
Goodbye
>gall- RUN
Deer brain
>clings a bit too tightly
That's kinda hot

>>5997850
>Nicole rant
Girl needed to let that out after everybody else is unburdening their issues
>glasses
They're basically married without the officiality by now
>they tried killing your grandpa
Oh shit we didn't tell her about the Gregory mission
Oh shit we didn't look at or show her Gregory's old phone
Did Gregory infodump Roland on that whole mission offscreen then? Does he know?
>Getting yelled at
Roland's not a very good dad, is he
>>
>>5997852
>BLIND OPTIMISM speech
I think Ben's too based to die or distort, not without something seriously undermining him
>feels like I'm only here because of some boytoy I'm into
Uh, well...
>envy
>envy
These two are made for each other so much it's unreal
>the baggage of a family name dragging every decision you make
I hope when Max eventually loses SHELTERED, she becomes a better person for it

A lot of amazing moments this update
>>
>>5997852
>>Inject only half of the syringe into him. (-ICP SYRINGE, +HALF FULL ICP SYRINGE. Benjamin will develop a latent spark but no direct abilities for the time being. You imagine his mental state will be relatively unaffected.)
He's already on the edge, lets not push him too far.
>>
>>5998350
>>5998003
>>5997877
>>5997999
What if we inject half into Ben and half into Max?
>>
>>5997852
Changing my vote from >>5998050 to
>Inject only half of the syringe into him. (-ICP SYRINGE, +HALF FULL ICP SYRINGE. Benjamin will develop a latent spark but no direct abilities for the time being. You imagine his mental state will be relatively unaffected.)
>>
>>5997877
Change
>>5997852
>Inject only half of the syringe into him. (-ICP SYRINGE, +HALF FULL ICP SYRINGE. Benjamin will develop a latent spark but no direct abilities for the time being. You imagine his mental state will be relatively unaffected.)
>>
FULL CONTENTS: W5K
HALF CONTENTS: TjJ, IAh, fUK, Buw

Seems definite enough, no need to sit around. Writing. They'll be a small follow up vote to this due to what you picked but it'll just be wrapped into the main update.

>>5998046
Administrator? Administrator! Administrator?
Hello?
>>
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Well, you can't just chicken out now. You got the needle out. He gave you that speech. Max gave you her own speech. It would be wrong to not give him something.

You grab onto his wrist and, with his guidance, you find the right vein to stick the syringe into. It slides in way too easily as if the syringe itself WANTS to be injected into someone. Given the act it's a very potent and rare anomalous liquid, it might as well have a will of its own.

You push down on the plunger. His veins greedily drink up the royal purple fluid flowing into his body with a yearning, begging need. You can even see it glowing in his veins as you push down a little bit harder on the plunger. A wide, ecstatic smile forces itself across Benjamin's face like a stone cracking underneath intense pressure.

...

You can't do it. Once the syringe is half empty, you pull it out with a bit too much force. Blood begins to freely dribble out of the small hole in Benjamin's forearm and for a moment, neither Max or Benjamin know how to react to you chickening out at the last moment.

You realize that the blood trickling out of his wound is a caramel brown. A mutation, if only cosmetic considering he's not immediately dead, appearing THAT quickly? It slowly turns back to red over a few seconds but yeesh, you expected it to be more subtle with a half injection.

[HIGH RAPPORT] Benjamin doesn't even seem particularly upset at this half assed injection. He simply closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath in and out. He then immediately puts on a cheery smile. "Ah well. Can't really blame you. That kind of stuff must be rare. Maybe my body isn't ready for the full injection and you hesitated. Who knows."

He pulls out a small kid-sized bandaid that's only usable for tiny wounds from his pocket and plasters it over the injection site. "We'll see what happens from here, I suppose! Max, glasses, please?"

Max hesitantly gives him his glasses, which he promptly puts on. "Well, let's get going, huh?" Wow, he's really taking this in stride, huh? Guess he and Casey share the same attitude when it comes to problems or tough situations: Just carry on with your life.

For a moment, you swear you seem something superimposed over him. A glimpse of a spark, of his perspective, manifested.

Dull brown feathers crawling all over his arms that are stained a deep, dark crimson. Small, stunted owl-like wings growing out of his back. A tattered, heavily burnt lab coat loosely draped over his shoulders. Dark crimson flecks of blood clinging to his messy brown hair. His glasses are shattered and coated in soot and ash. Yet despite this, he's smiling without a care in the world..

As quickly as it appears, it vanishes, leaving only normal old Benjamin. You'd say that you only managed to see it for a few seconds at most but the fact it was as detailed as it was shocked you. Maruyama only had a single object in his hand and his psyche couldn't even properly imagine what it was.
>>
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[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Yet the fact Maruyama managed to harbor a spark within himself all by himself, with no outside influence helping to kickstart it? That says a lot.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] One has the resolve but lacks a proper goal. One had a goal but needed a push to properly start his development. Both are commendable.

>Benjamin gains CRIMSON SPARK! (+???. Takes time to develop, much like Maruyama.)
>You now have HALF EMPTY ICP SYRINGE! (Can be used to give +1 to all stats temporarily, temporarily overcharge a power you have, or to awaken a SPARK in someone.)

You then notice something. Max's eyes are wide open and her mouth is agape. You don't understand why at first, she's just staring at normal old Benjamin, right? "Did you see that too?"

Wait what? She saw that too? You're about to ask how but eh, not the right time. You simply nod your head. As the two of you begin to follow after him, Max keeps her head low to the ground. Her arms are crossed and it's clear she's trying very hard to muster up the resolve to say what she's about to say.

"Give me the other half of the syringe. I don't want to be a coward anymore. I don't want you to think I'm only joining your missions because of my own selfish needs. I want to show the true me to the world. To you. To Benjamin. To everyone."

Do you?
>"Go ahead. More power to you." Give it to her. You don't have much use for a half empty one.
>"I'm sorry." Don't give it to her.

Before you can really decide on a decision, you two catch up with Benjamin and the others. The three corpos are standing around in a train that's WAY more high class than any of the shit your group. It's a long, sleek train that reminds you of the bullet trains you faintly recall seeing in a visit to T-Corp two years ago. Though instead of being bright white or metallic grey, this bullet train is coated in a dark blue varnish with trails of bright pink across the sides of it.

You glance at Max. "Lemme guess. Your dad owns this train. And Vanni bullied him into doing that."

Max shakes herself out of her sour mood with a coy, smug smirk. "Wow. What clued you to it? The fact it's blue and pink? The fact they said-"

You grab her cheek like a stern grandma and firmly pinch it. "Oi. I didn't pay you $80 for nothin'. Chill it with the brat attitude." Max tries her best to squirm out of your grasp but that week on the ship and that hardcore military exercise is putting some actual muscles on your body.

Not like Lex or Benedict levels of muscles or strength but your body has been getting thicker with muscle recently.

"aw okay." Max whimpers out before immediately bouncing back with a confident smirk. "Seriously, though, yeah. Let's enjoy that dinner you bullied them into giving us." You let go of her cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just messing with ya. Let's enjoy some dinner-"

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT WE'VE BEEN WAITING WAY TOO LONG GET YOUR DYKE ASS OVER HERE, DEER GIRL."
"FUCK YOU ROBBY. I LIKE MEN, JUST LIKE YOU."
"FUCK YOU!!"
>>
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You quickly join up with your allies and the corpos and step onboard their train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOoaplaAW-Y - TRAIN TRAIN

The first thing you notice is that the inside of the train is way too furnished and high class for your own comfort. The seats are thickly padded like a couch, the ceiling is adorned with unnecessarily fancy and tacky mood lights, high energy jazz music is playing in the background...and you only now notice that there's no windows in this train. Completely blocked out from the world for better and worse.

And there's several boxy robots with a single eye in the middle of their boxy rolling up and down the compartment you're in. One holds up a glass of high class wine up to you like it's a god damn bag of free peanuts. With some obvious hesitance, you take it before sitting down.

Max, Benjamin, and Alexis sit down next to you on the same section of highly padded seating. Casey is busy buzzing around and annoying/entertaining the corpos with her busy bee nonsense. Honestly? Good for her. She needs it after hearing her abstract despair filled rant.

"So. Nicky. I have to warn you about the kind of places my family likes going to. Alexis can fill you in on the stuff I don't know." Max's eyes are sparkling with delight. It's clear this is something she knows a lot about. "We're...creatives, for a lack of a better word. I actually wanted to do band stuff but, well, you know. Obligations."

Makes some sense, given you heard something about a Leo Krakatoa involving himself in M-Company and Gregory's whole deal. Maybe bringing her on a mission with Ashley will help get her out of her shell. Or hell, maybe do some music stuff with her and the others. "Continue?"

"A lot of their establishments are filled with psychopathic art critics that are beyond annoying." Alexis spits out like she was forcefed a rotten lemon. "That's the difference between them and the Vannis. Vannis are vain but they know what they are. High fashion, high aesthetic, fancy appearances. Krakatoas try to pretend they're more important than they are."

"wow that's kinda rude but i can't deny it." Max shrugs. "Yeah, uh, try to avoid anyone who looks like they blow smoke up their ass. They'll drag you into a fifty hour rant over why the curtains CAN'T just be blue."

"...Considering I saw Gregory's film and it was arthouse slop, yeah." You glance at Benjamin. He's mostly just been staring into thin air, completely disinterested in this conversation. Can't blame him, hearing about your future inlaws must be insufferable.

"Hey! That's my grand- yeah I can't even pretend to disagree. That whole thing was a passion project. And, uh, what did you mean about him dying if it wasn't because of you?"

"Uh. Long story short-" You take this time to explain the rough details of the movie theater mission to your three allies in hushed whispers.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK." Yeah you can't blame Max's reaction to this information.
>>
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Alexis and Benjamin share a look of mutual horror at what you just described while Max processes everything you just told her. You felt like she had to know at least.

"I'm filling that away in the same area I put all of my traumatic memories, thank you." Yeah, you don't mind letting her take some time in processing that. "Well, you at least had some personal experience with one! Just...keep away from anyone who looks high and might and get right to the point. A lot of high class people are VERY picky with their time."

"Also, you stick out like a sore thumb. You need one of us to vouch for you. You decide which one-"

"OKAY RETARDS WE'RE HERE." Robbert yells from the other end of the train.
"please stop yelling like that you'll wake her up." Rosaline chides him with a hiss and a firm slap on the wrist. Valentina, now covered by a thick wool blanket, is still sleeping away on one of the cushioned seats.
"Let's get going, Elizabeth. Bring your friends along." Roland is the first one to step off the train, clearly ready to get this over with.

Max huffs but she puts on a brave face for now. Your group promptly steps out of the train as you down the glass of wine you were given in one gulp. Tastes exactly like the shit you could buy at a shady G-Corp bar. Lame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ZVkRtHM78 - HIGH CLASS

Your train is parked right outside a tall, stark white building that stretches up so far into the sky, you can't even see the top. Right in front of the entrance hangs a sign that reads "Délicieux". Well, you don't need to know District 3's dialect to know what that means but it seems weird to 1: Have such a simple name and 2: to see it in W-Company's district.

A solid glass wall surrounds the perimeter of the building and looking through it, you can faintly see that a lot of the other buildings here are pale, stark white. It's very reminiscent of L-Corp's district but you KNOW you're in W-Corp's district. Weird.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] W-Corp's dialect is more guttural and angry sounding. "Ich hasse dich verdammt noch mal", for instance.

Max notices your confusion and rushes in to explain. "Ah, yeah, L and W-Corp have been working together. This is actually a neutral ground between them and a lot of the other companies. Even during dinner-"

Roland butts into the conversation. "It's never too late or early for business discussions. After all, the early bird gets the worm."
Robbert shakes his head. "Roland I don't think your kid has even seen those two animals before. Let alone you. Shut the fuck up.
"Don't we have animals right there?" She gestures towards you, Max, Casey, and Benjamin. "A deer, a cat, a bird, and a bee."

You narrow your eyes at her. "The only one of us who even remotely resembles an animal is me and look, I liked the augment. Bite me."

"Can't blame you, honestly." Roland shrugs. "It's a good way to express yourself. Not my cup of tea but my father or uncle would massively appreciate it."
>>
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"Now, Elizabeth, remember your French?" Huh, his family still remembers the old world term for it.

"Little bit." Max offers a half hearted response. "Let's just get going." Welp, your group enters the high class restaurant with no further complaint. Let's hope this is all worth it. It probably won't be.

You immediately feel out of place from just how god damn opulent this whole place is. That Sugar Mountain place was one thing but this place is in a league of its own. While the waiting room is about on par with most other sit down restaurants, one glance to the main space of the restaurant tells you you absolutely should not be here.

The main space is a wide open, opera-house style auditorium with at least five distinct floors that are filled to the brim with decorations and dinner tables with very, VERY important looking people eating a variety of food you could never hope to afford. In the center of this auditorium is a stage that currently has dozens on dozens of orchestra members meddling with their instruments.

A young, redheaded lady with tiny two inch antler nubs growing out of her head approach your group. She's in a simple white dress with a nametag reading "SUZY" attached to the front. She glances at you and nods in approval. It's clear that HER antlers are just cosmetic augments since you detect nothing anomalous from her. "Table for eight? Or are the four extra guests your assistants?"

"Fucking rude." Alexis hisses under her breath.
"Oh, oh, I would like to assist!" Casey chirps out!
"...C'mon. Am I still seen as chopped liver to your family, Max?" Benjamin overdramatically sighs.
Max can only shrug. "Sorry. Rather deal with THAT later." You assume she means their relationship. Can't blame her.

"They're guests. They did us a solid." Roland turns his gaze over to the auditorium. "Fifth floor, please."

"Excellent. Now, Mr. Huxley, I'm sure you remember our rules about bloodstained clothing-"
"Bite my ass. This is fresh deer blood."
"Duly noted, Huxley. Now, please follow me." The young lady gestures at your group to follow her.

Your group does so, heading right up a long, winding staircase that leads all of the way to the fifth floor of the auditorium. Your group is promptly seated at a large, spacious table that's lit by dozens of brightly colored L-Corp candles that already has a dozen small appetizers (freshly baked bread, fancy cheeses, etc.)

You and your four allies sits next to each other on the west side of the table while the three corpos sit at the east side of the table. Well, you got some time until dinner and the show arrives, so you can talk to your allies and intermingle with the corpos and the Alphabet Company reps.

Might be wise to talk to the Alphabet Reps to get some more staying power in the corporate sphere before talking to your allies and, well, going home. It's been a long, long day today and you're just ready to go home after all of this. Now, time to decide who's interesting enough to talk to.
>>
Pick up to four corporate officials to talk to. You'll learn more about their group, how to interact with them, and maybe even get a corporate favor or gift.
>A man very similar looking to Maruyama keeps glancing at his watch. He impatiently taps his foot, clearly waiting for someone. (T-CORP. A time-based company associated with trains and futuristic, bleeding edge tech.)
>There's a man with a moth's head sitting at a table all by himself. He's polishing an old, bulky pistol that looks like it could kill a god. He doesn't belong here. (MAUS. From your limited knowledge, a bioengineering family highly associated with high class augments and tailormade chemical enhancers.)
>A woman coated head to toe in soot is being wiped down vigorously by several waitresses. She seems far more preoccupied by the pile of scrap metal in front of her. (H-CORP. The City's main source of raw industrial output and a major player in handling the economy. If H-Corp falls, who knows what happens to the City?)
>A generic man in a generic suit sits at a table with equally generic men in generic suits. Creepy. (V-CORP. You have no idea what this company is. Might be your first chance to learn about them.)
>A woman in a musty, grimy trucker's outfit has her feet propped up on her table. She looks like she has had just as long as a day as you had. (G-CORP. Your home Company. A travel and exploration based company that explores the City, the Wastes, whatever lies beyond, and everything in between.)
>There's just a big, spiky centipede crawling around on a table. What the fuck. (Q-CORP. A company that produces cheap labor and cheap resources to benefit the other companies. Mostly ran by literal bug men.)
>A lady very similar in appearance to Alexis is chattering with various men in gas masks. All of them are incredibly wasted. (I-CORP. A cryogenic-based company that focuses mainly on preservation efforts and assisting companies in storing very important materials.)
>A man in a bright white suit with a simple red wax seal pinned to his chest waits at his table, seemingly welcoming anyone to approach him. (L-CORP. A spiritualistic company that has a very low tolerance for anyone who slights them. Very invested in abstract concepts such as emotions, luck, and the soul.)
>A ebony-skinned man in a military uniform is clearly stressing out over something at his table. He keeps glancing around as if he expects to find someone. (ANJARO. A highly militaristic and paranoid Corporate Family that believes that 'someone' is out for them.)
>You spot someone else. (Write in a ALPHABET COMPANY [A-Z] or a type of Corporate Family (write in a KEYWORD) to find.)

Who do you wish to bring along to help you with the corpos?
>ALEXIS. She's clearly more experienced than Max and experience is what you need.
>MAX. You want to talk to her a bit more and get her to show off her skills without relying on anyone else.
>CASEY. Casey.
>TWO OF THE ABOVE (Write in who.)
>ALL THREE.
>NO ONE.
>>
>>5999146
>"Go ahead. More power to you." Give it to her. You don't have much use for a half empty one.
>>5999155
>There's a man with a moth's head sitting at a table all by himself. He's polishing an old, bulky pistol that looks like it could kill a god. He doesn't belong here. (MAUS. From your limited knowledge, a bioengineering family highly associated with high class augments and tailormade chemical enhancers.)
It definitely LEAD Maus, and he is on the target or watch list of the silver agent.
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5893937/
No.5920878
http://www.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5776609/
Moth Agent Quest. Main Character is LEAD.
>A lady very similar in appearance to Alexis is chattering with various men in gas masks. All of them are incredibly wasted. (I-CORP. A cryogenic-based company that focuses mainly on preservation efforts and assisting companies in storing very important materials.)
>A man in a bright white suit with a simple red wax seal pinned to his chest waits at his table, seemingly welcoming anyone to approach him. (L-CORP. A spiritualistic company that has a very low tolerance for anyone who slights them. Very invested in abstract concepts such as emotions, luck, and the soul.)
>A ebony-skinned man in a military uniform is clearly stressing out over something at his table. He keeps glancing around as if he expects to find someone. (ANJARO. A highly militaristic and paranoid Corporate Family that believes that 'someone' is out for them.)
'Someone' = Silver agent?
>Ashley and Benjamin scoff but decide it's not worth it to argue over this point, given how Casey instantly lightens back up. "Oh! In that case, we have four associates! A Mr. Foxtort, a Mr. Sukane, a Ms. Wiltshire, and a Ms. Anjaro!" You recognize none of those names but you see Max's expression sour almost immediately.
><"Fuck, an Anjaro? Hopefully I don't have to see one of those cunts any time soon."> No.5903168
Max see to have a bad experience with Anjaro. Let’s not pick Max to vouch for us.
>And as for Ms. Anjaro, those fellas know a bit too much about the Wastes outside the City." No.5911584
>Before you plan on sending your consciousness into oblivion, you look back over at Max. "Say. I could tell you had a hissy fit over the Anjaros when they were mentioned. What the hell is their deal?"
>Max narrows her glazed eyes when she hears that name. "those bitches don't respect ya lest you're an anjaro or you got ties with r, x, or j-corp. most of them are stick-in-the-ass military types and you know how hungry for respect and obedience those types are." Duly noted. That's good to keep in mind. No.5916619
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5893937/
>TWO OF THE ABOVE (Write in who.)
Alexis and Casey
>>
>>5999155
>There's a man with a moth's head sitting at a table all by himself. He's polishing an old, bulky pistol that looks like it could kill a god. He doesn't belong here. (MAUS. From your limited knowledge, a bioengineering family highly associated with high class augments and tailormade chemical enhancers.)
>A woman coated head to toe in soot is being wiped down vigorously by several waitresses. She seems far more preoccupied by the pile of scrap metal in front of her. (H-CORP. The City's main source of raw industrial output and a major player in handling the economy. If H-Corp falls, who knows what happens to the City?)
>A generic man in a generic suit sits at a table with equally generic men in generic suits. Creepy. (V-CORP. You have no idea what this company is. Might be your first chance to learn about them.)
>A woman in a musty, grimy trucker's outfit has her feet propped up on her table. She looks like she has had just as long as a day as you had. (G-CORP. Your home Company. A travel and exploration based company that explores the City, the Wastes, whatever lies beyond, and everything in between.)

>TWO OF THE ABOVE (Write in who.)
Alexis and Max
>>
>>5999155
>There's a man with a moth's head sitting at a table all by himself. He's polishing an old, bulky pistol that looks like it could kill a god. He doesn't belong here. (MAUS. From your limited knowledge, a bioengineering family highly associated with high class augments and tailormade chemical enhancers.)
>A generic man in a generic suit sits at a table with equally generic men in generic suits. Creepy. (V-CORP. You have no idea what this company is. Might be your first chance to learn about them.)
>There's just a big, spiky centipede crawling around on a table. What the fuck. (Q-CORP. A company that produces cheap labor and cheap resources to benefit the other companies. Mostly ran by literal bug men.)
>A woman in a musty, grimy trucker's outfit has her feet propped up on her table. She looks like she has had just as long as a day as you had. (G-CORP. Your home Company. A travel and exploration based company that explores the City, the Wastes, whatever lies beyond, and everything in between.)
>>
>>5999204
>Alexis and Casey
Casey specifically for Q-Corp
>>
>>5999178
if Anjaros are hostile to the Silver Agent organization. We should make alliances with Anjaros. Anjaros can help us with their military expertise to help assault the Silver Agent base in G-corp if we can persuade them to assist us.
>>
>>5999155
>There's a man with a moth's head sitting at a table all by himself. He's polishing an old, bulky pistol that looks like it could kill a god. He doesn't belong here. (MAUS. From your limited knowledge, a bioengineering family highly associated with high class augments and tailormade chemical enhancers.)
I miss MOTH AGENT. Also Nicole will be VERY interested if she hears his name, because of the glowie's watchlist
>A ebony-skinned man in a military uniform is clearly stressing out over something at his table. He keeps glancing around as if he expects to find someone. (ANJARO. A highly militaristic and paranoid Corporate Family that believes that 'someone' is out for them.)
Remember the silver agent watchlist? Remember the tidbits on the Gregory mission? We have Alex in X Corp who can vouch for Nicole if needed
>A generic man in a generic suit sits at a table with equally generic men in generic suits. Creepy. (V-CORP. You have no idea what this company is. Might be your first chance to learn about them.)
New people, new faces. Why does the Handler hate them so much? We can bust out VICTORY GIN to them and it might go over well
>A woman in a musty, grimy trucker's outfit has her feet propped up on her table. She looks like she has had just as long as a day as you had. (G-CORP. Your home Company. A travel and exploration based company that explores the City, the Wastes, whatever lies beyond, and everything in between.)
If we're going to assault a base on G Corp area, it might be prudent to establish relations
>TWO OF THE ABOVE (Write in who.)
Alexis to Anjaro
Casey to LEAD

>>5999146
>"Go ahead. More power to you." Give it to her. You don't have much use for a half empty one.
They're going together in this

>>5999190
>>5999204
>>5999205
You missed the subvote in >>5999146 lads
>>
>>5999178
Change
>>5999251
+1
>>
>>5999146
> Dope up Max too
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>>5999267
I'm personally hoping the VICTORY GIN offering helps account for nobody else being with Nicole there. That drink kinda sucks too with a 50% chance of 1 random stat drop. Good way to be rid of it here. As for the G Corp lady, I assume having an equally long day plus Nicole being from G District (presumably?) will help be a little less awkward. I wanted Alexis with the Anjaros because
>was there on the X Corp mission
>witnessed the silver agent
But Nicole can still pull out the X CORP MEDAL for real evidence.
As for LEAD, the reason is Casey is a bee and LEAD is a moth. And both come from the same quest setting, so it might help make Casey feel better and put LEAD in a good mood
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>>5999146
>"HOLY FUCKING SHIT WE'VE BEEN WAITING WAY TOO LONG GET YOUR DYKE ASS OVER HERE, DEER GIRL."
>"FUCK YOU ROBBY. I LIKE MEN, JUST LIKE YOU."
>"FUCK YOU!!"
What an exchange. Imagine him, Lex, Nicole, Frank, and Ashton all in the same room. Hilarity ensues
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>>5999363
No, not doing full analysis autism right now, maybe later.
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>>5999146
>"Go ahead. More power to you." Give it to her. You don't have much use for a half empty one.

>>5999155
>There's a man with a moth's head sitting at a table all by himself. He's polishing an old, bulky pistol that looks like it could kill a god. He doesn't belong here. (MAUS. From your limited knowledge, a bioengineering family highly associated with high class augments and tailormade chemical enhancers.)
>A generic man in a generic suit sits at a table with equally generic men in generic suits. Creepy. (V-CORP. You have no idea what this company is. Might be your first chance to learn about them.)
>A woman in a musty, grimy trucker's outfit has her feet propped up on her table. She looks like she has had just as long as a day as you had. (G-CORP. Your home Company. A travel and exploration based company that explores the City, the Wastes, whatever lies beyond, and everything in between.)
>A ebony-skinned man in a military uniform is clearly stressing out over something at his table. He keeps glancing around as if he expects to find someone. (ANJARO. A highly militaristic and paranoid Corporate Family that believes that 'someone' is out for them.)

>TWO OF THE ABOVE (Write in who.)
Alexis and Casey
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>>5999251
Oh wait this is for ALL THE CORPOS not just one for each. Yeah then I'm still sticking to Alexis and Casey for all 4 of the corpos here.
Amazing how we're leaving Ben and Max right there, in front of Max's dad, who will mortify both of them the moment he speaks "So Elizabeth... who's he?" Double if Rosaline Vanni butts in to tease them while Robbert is busy eating or wanders around. Maybe that H Corp lady is a contact of his.
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>>5999144
>WANTS to be injected
it says a lot about anomalous things like this
>mutation
Whatever is with him the ICP probably resonated extremely well with Ben
>HIGH RAPPORT
I imagine at lower rapport he would be pissed we backed out halfway, or betrayed. Then again, we never really got to this point where the subject of why he got into all this with us came to the forefront. We have been busy with too much shit happening, and so has he. It would have most likely always worked out like this, with or without Max here.
>Who knows
The moment he sees us inject Max with the other half, any thoughts of Nicole betraying him or having negative reasons for hesitating on the full dose to him will go flying out the fucking window
>he and Casey
It made for a nice mission of interactions with the two of them here. Alexis and Max didn't have much going on because both are in the corpo world and Alexis doesn't like Max's family much for valid reasons Max herself agrees with. Alexis and Benjamin didn't interact that much either, but that's because they were both with Nicole since mission 1 and they have previous stuff established. Alexis and Casey have been unexpectedly nice together
>manifested
That's a wicked image, I can't believe his is so detailed already

>>5999146
>wide open
Welcome to the anomalous, Max
>I want to show the true me to the world.
>To everyone.
FUCK OFF CARMEN
It would be a horrid tragedy if Max becomes an anomaly while Ben manifests PARADIGM
>Vanni bullied him
Very funny image
>grab her cheek
I love how Nicole has been evolving from paranoid schizo to competent schizo over the course of the quest. That could also be the high RESTRAINT at work, a necessary investment to cope with anomalous powers
>thicker with muscle
And yet still no bf... No one man Nicole will score with... Even Admin is going to get laid, and he's a tar-leaking coffee-addict shell of his former self in his fucking 40s

>>5999147
>no windows
MURDERS could happen on trains like these
>boxy robots
Some outdated full-body replacements these poor servants have
>busy bee
I still want to know how she'll react to and interact with Kiara and Quentin. Drones back in MANAGER, HELP! also hated androids and robots, I think? Her and Quentin are two different species of insect that don't really interact much in nature by default, so anything between them is a mystery. And we know how Kiara and Quentin will be initially after what Nicole found out at the military base from the company reps
>Leo Krakatoa
Ashley and Max huh
>completely disinterested
Being the Krakatoa girl's future husband won't be enough to protect him if he fucks up with her family. Maybe he'll find out from Max later anyway
>movie theater mission
We told them how Gregory fought his old movie tech turned anomaly and almost died. We told them the anomalous magic circle. We told them Gregory was the one who started that fire. We told them his involvement with the old Vanni back then. And then some?
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>>5999148
>mutual horror
Yeah you two know about that freezer and Benedict from before, but come on!
>traumatic memories
Ben better help her with those
>stick out
Let's not forget Nicole only has her NEW YOU ADAM jacket and combat bodysuit on
>sleeping away
I hope Val will recover
>guttural and angry
W Corp is German, but those two miners were French.
>L and W-Corp
That explains some things
>deer, a cat, a bird, and a bee
We're really collecting an animal Ensemble?
>massively appreciate
I wonder when we'll see old man Greg again?
On second thought, the Krakatoas might GRUDGELORD against Nicole if they find out the silver agents have Max targeted on their watchlist by association to Nicole, and especially after Nicole ICP'd Max to get her anomalous sparked too. They might stop or reconsider if/when they find out the silvers would have assassinated Gregory after his climactic gunfight, if Nicole hadn't patched him up from the brink. They probably wouldn't hold Nicole in contempt when they find out Max willingly wanted to be powered up after Benjamin did, and we just went along with it because she's Nicole's friend just like Ben.

>>5999149
>old world term
Interesting detail there
>orchestra
Imagine throwing somebody off 5 stories right into them...
>nods in approval
From one deer to another
>fresh deer blood
I like the deer running gags with Nicole. They aren't prevalent enough to overstay welcome or get grating. They're tasteful as is
>go home
No need for a bar this time when we're doing all THIS luxury with the corpos. There'll always be time for a bar option next mission end
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>>5999251
+1
>>
MOTH: ALL
ANJARO: Buw, TjJ, 5Xy, IAh
G-CORP:ALL
Q-CORP: 0P/
V-CORP: ALL
H-CORP: Jd3
WHO TO BRING
ALEXIS AND CASEY seems to be the winning move here for helping you out.
And people mostly seem to agree to drug Max up. No point waiting any more, locking in.

I need four anons to roll the following to see how your first impressions go. Why leave it up to a roll? Because these people are very important and very busy, you don't have time to sit down and have long and prolonged chats with them. Due to Alexis and Casey being nearby, you can't TOTALLY fuck it up for most of these.

>MOTH: 1d100-10 (-27 from PREDATORY INSTINCTS, +12 from UNSTABLE RESOLVE, +5 from Casey's presence. Going to be an uphill battle.)
>G-CORP: 1d100+15 (+5 from being born there, +10 from Alexis and Casey. A good, solid foundation. Should be hard to fuck up.)
>V-CORP: 1d100+10 (+10 from Casey and Alexis. Should be solid enough.)
>ANJARO: 1d100+7 (-20 from PARANOIA, +5 from Alexis and Casey's presences, +10 from X-CORP FAVOR, +12 from X-CORP MEDAL. If it wasn't for X-Corp, this would be real challenging.)

RESULTS (All slightly nudged thanks to Alexis' boons and Casey's presence)
BELOW 0 WITH MOTH: UH OH. (UH OH.)
1-17: BARELY SUCCESSFUL. You'll get your foot in the door but you doubt you'll get anything more than some info about what work they do and where to contact them later.
18-38: OKAY SUCCESS. You'll likely be able to get a random corporate item/family trinket from them, a pleasant conversation, but that's it.
39-70: DECENT SUCCESS. You'll get an corporate/family trinket, a corporate favor, and a small bonus to interacting with their company or family.
71-85: MAJOR SUCCESS. You'll get a catalog to buy items from them, a favor and an easier time handling their corp/family in the future, and your Handler might be able to provide you with supplies from that corp/family on occasion
86-100: INSANE SUCCESS. All of the boons of the previous successes combined alongside learning something about their singularity or a family secret of theirs, which will offer insight into their true business model and clue you into what dark secrets they have.
100+: ?????? SUCCESS. You'll see what happens if you get this.
>>
Rolled 95 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>6000057
>>
Rolled 76 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>6000057
>>
Rolled 10 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>6000057
I'll take the Moth roll, since that 95+10 should just get used for V-Corp
>>
Rolled 74 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>6000063
>>6000071
To roll a minus roll, since I assume is what you guys tried to do, you have to do "1d100+-10" It's weird how that's not written anywhere, though, but it's a weird quirk of dice rolling.
I'll allow a reroll in this case.
>>
Rolled 47 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>6000057
>>
>>6000076
...I'd prefer if other people had a chance to roll instead of just one anon. I dunno, call it superstition but I feel it's somehow more 'fair' that way?
But since MOTH'S roll has been a clusterfuck and my other move would've been to average yours and fUK's rolls anyways, that's fine. Just please let someone else roll.
>>
Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>6000057
>>6000079
I'm going in
>>
So which rolls go to which person? I'm kinda lost
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Rolled 13 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>6000057
Anjaro is the only one left isn't he?
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Felt like this would've been a lot easier if people just said what person they were rolling for but eh, fuck it, let's just carry on. Here's the rolls.

V-CORP: 105 (???)
G-CORP: 69 (DECENT)
MOTH: 37 (OKAY)
ANJARO: 20 (OKAY)

It's not important enough to get into the muck over. I'll probably make it a rule that you have to specify who you're rolling for in the future. Writing.

>>6000083
I mean, I normally go off the modifier since all of them were unique but things got fucky wucky with that.
>>
>>6000093
So the VICTORY GIN scored big with V Corp guys, G Corp lady talk went fine but no favor gained, LEAD saw Casey and was OK with all this, and Anjaro is way too paranoid to make much headway with on the first go. Makes sense
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You quickly get up from your suit. "Casey. Alexis. Come with me. Benjamin and Max, stay behind with them." You slip Max the half empty syringe, which she grabs onto with such deftness and speed you don't think anyone even noticed. Not even the corpos. You lead them

Roland narrows his eyes at the two left at the table. "So?" That's all he says and you're pretty sure that's all he needs to say. Max tries to hide her face with the tablecloth while Benjamin's mind is a panicked mess of screams. <"I KNOW I HAVE SOME SORT OF SPARK PLEASE MANIFEST PLEASE MANIFEST I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE.">

Rosaline, with a pout, nudges Roland with her shoulder. "There's way worse things than her dating someone like him, you know." This only causes the two to panic even more as they try to figure out an explanation with their two braincells.
Robbert is busy stuffing his face with garlic bread and booze but he flashes a thumbs up towards the two. "Go get em, uh, tiny Roland and..." He immediately snaps his attention back to the bread. He does not fucking care what's going on here.

You and your two allies promptly leave this awkward scene. You trust those two to handle it by themselves. First things first, the Anjaro.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] He's being watched by THEM too, you know it. You two share a common goal. Get to the point.

He's sitting all by himself at a small one person table. His outfit is that of a X-Corp soldier: Dark grey jumpsuit, ammo vest, black shoulder and kneepads. He's a tall, burly ebony-skinned man with nary a hint of a hair on his head. Scars are caked all over his body from either the old X-Corp training regimes or from the various corporate wars, either or. His bright green eyes stare down at your group as they approach.

"I don't got nothing for your type. I ain't got nothing." He spits it out with such speed, you swear he's trained himself to respond to anyone approaching like this. "Ain't got nothing, ain't know nobody, uh nuh."

Alexis tries her best to bridge the gap with a professional smile and a faux-happy speaking tone. "Mister Anjaro. I get that you don't wish to-"

"I AIN"T GOT-"

"Mister Anjaro!" Casey butts in with all of the subtlety of a child with ADHD. "I am so sorry but we aren't trying to sell you anything! In fact, I believe our friend here wants to BUY something from you! Your approval, your knowledge, your LOVE!"

"what. Love?" Alexis glances between you and the Anjaro. "I'm sorry but what made you think this has to do with anything with love?" Casey does not respond to Alexis' prodding but the Anjaro is shocked for just long enough so you can try talking to him. You guess you can thank Casey here? Yay?

You walk around the table until you're right next to the stunlocked Anjaro so you can lean in and whisper to him. "Look. They glow. I know they glow. I know you want to run them over." You dig into your pocket to flash your X-Corp medal. "From Alex Miller himself. You can ask him for a N.S."
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He squints upon seeing the medal and offers a curt, short nod. "Look. I can't talk long. Not here. Not in public. You know why."

"Of course, of course. Number? Radio frequency? Found a walkie talkie."

Mr. Anjaro pulls out a ballpoint pen and begins to scribble something down. He hands over his contact information: "142.15." Upon hearing that you have a similar goal to him, he seems to have loosened up considerably. Your other allies move in to talk to him as well.

"Listen. I killed one. I know I killed one. They were hunting us down, see, not a lot of us left. Had to hide my daughter and son, yes yes." Mr. Anjaro chitters to himself. "I know how to kill them real good. See, they like sneaking around. Sneak around good. Almost got me and a friend of mine, Greg Krak. They hide in the trees. Act like you don't know they there. They got a sign, you see?"

Alexis and Casey nod, taking in this information. One of them KNOWS they exist and the other is Casey, so she just accepts anything.

"They glow, yes yes, but they also make this buzz. You gotta tune your ear in REAL good but you can hear it. Try it." You, of course, humor him since if he's even remotely onto something, it might be valuable information.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] An intense buzzing rings throughout your ears. Almost like you're connecting into a radio frequency. Two signals, on the bottom floor. One west, one south. Not aware of you. For now.

What the fuck? Even Casey and Alexis seem to be hearing the buzz given the weird squints on their face. "how the-?" "whuh?"

"Their implants. Their implants make that buzz. Target the buzz if you see them."

Mr. Anjaro promptly shoves something into your hand before gesturing at your group to leave. Well, probably a good thing to do so. The three of you promptly decide it's probably best to talk to someone LESS paranoid. You won't get anything of real value out of him, it seems.

>+SILVER AGENT PSYCHOLOGY TRICK LEARNT! You, Casey, and Alexis add +2d8 to any roll involving attacking or incapacitating a spook. You may teach this to other allies but it takes time to properly explain.
>SILVER AMMO x3 (Can be used in any gun. When fired, heals 1 FLESH or RESTRAINT, whichever is lowest) and ANJARO CONTACT INFO ACQUIRED! (Contact info! What else can be said?)

The next table up is the really weird table filled to the brim with seven copies of the same people. All of them have an average height and build and all of them are wearing the exact same clothes: A black suit and black tie with a pin of a hand making a peace sign slapped on. All of them immediately snap their gazes over to you. As one solid unit.

Casey seems to recognize something about them and drops her normally cheerful smile for a moment. "My, my! Such a boring business strategy. Can't even attempt a marketable appearance when dealing with outsiders? I'm frankly disappointed."
Alexis slowly begins to rub the bridge of her nose. "This is going to suck, Nicole. Just trust me on this."
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"My." "My." "My." "Didn't." "Expect to see." "A fragment like you." "So small." The seven V-Corp employees chatter at the same exact time. You're now starting to notice how their skin is wet and moist. As if they were freshly born.

Your group sits right across from the V-Corpers. You pull out your VICTORY GIN and slide it over to them. Immediately, several greedy hands reach out to steal the oily liquor. By the time you even realize what happened, the bottles are gone.
>-VICTORY GIN!

"Delicious." All of them say in unison. Casey and Alexis share a look of mutual disgust. "Let's talk now." "Very interesting tastes you have." You think you can already get a glimpse of what their singularity might be but you absolutely need some clarification.

"Which one is the real one? Or, well, main one? If your main way of scaring other corpos is by LITERALLY looking bigger than you are, it's not going to work on us."

Almost immediately, six out of the seven V-Corpers pass out, smashing their heads onto the table with no care about their physical state. The one in the center seat props his shoulders onto the table with a snide smirk.

"Cool tech, huh? I feel what they feel. I smell what they smell. That little stunt I did?" He cracks his shoulders. "I'm fine with that pain. It's the feeling of VICTORY. You can't kill V-Corp, after all." You are starting to realize why the Handler fucking hates these guys. They're fucking full of themselves.

"So what?" Casey puts on her plastic smile. "Just more limbs to pluck from your abdomen. What a pathetic way to produce workers. Q-Company has more merit in being a corporate powerhouse than you. You're nothing but a knockoff."

"Does it matter if we're a knockoff? I'm talking to two right now." He points towards you and Casey. "Only one of us who is real is that Alexis chick."
Alexis narrows her eyes. "I never said my name."
"V-Corp knows a lot. So, what do you three want?" Mr. V, as you'll refer to him, raises an eyebrow. "Let's cut to brass tacks."

"Simple. I want an in with your company. I want to know what actually makes your company tick. You're a complete fucking blindspot to me."

"Mmh! Considering you bought our products, why not?" Mr. V laughs off your request as if it's trivial to him. "We create, Ms. Smith. We create. That's all we care about. We see the world around us as something to produce. To regurgitate. Doesn't matter, people will buy it anyways. That's how the world works. Produce more slop, get money, repeat."

"There's three types of people-" "Consumers, consumed, and workers." Casey finishes Mr. V's sentence.

"Exactly! Good girl. Have a drop." Mr. V flicks a piece of hard candy right into Casey's forehead. It sticks on like a piece of scotch tape. "We sell what we need to sell. We create what we need to create. We are a company working at maximum efficacy. These husks? Well, our singularity helps to make it happen. All you need is a frame of reference."

A way to copy anything, even the mind
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The fact he's willing to speak about it so candidly is offputting. Most companies tend to be secretive about their singularity but you can't deny that by the sounds of it, it's a very practical one at least.
>+V-COMPANY SINGULARITY KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED! (A perfect copy of a human, huh? Your doppelganger comes to mind...)

"What's the catch? Why are you telling us this?" Alexis points out the obviously suspicious behavior of his candid info dump.

"Who cares? You're not an Alphabet Company rep and you have no actual power in stopping us. You might have, what, five or six higher ups who like you? This information in of itself doesn't threaten us if we tell you it." Mr. V leans even further onto the table. "Yet you keep struggling. Yearning to learn more. I heard stories about you, Niocle. That you and anyone who works for you always WINS. No matter the struggle."

"I like that. I like to see people struggle." He slides over a catalog and a handful of items across the table. "I've been watching you. Hearing about your stories. You're interesting. I wanna see you succeed. Consider this an official sponsorship from V-Corp itself."

>+3 V-CORP (VICTORY) FAVORS
>-3 DC TO ALL CHECKS INVOLVING INTERACTING WITH V-COMPANY IN THE FUTURE
>+V-CORP CATALOG (Sells a lot of low quality ammo, healing items, and consumables at rock bottom prices. With V-Company interested in your recent victories, they're willing to sell items at a profit loss for them.)
>+V-COMPANY CIGARETTE x3 (Heals 5 RESTRAINT at the cost of 2 FLESH damage and a Crippling Injury.)

"Win for us."

You, Casey, and Alexis promptly fucking jet from his table. You rather not stare around him any longer than you have to, fuck that noise.

The next table is the trucker lady. She immediately seems to recognizes you and immediately reaches her hand out for a handshake. Huh? You have never seen this girl in your god damn life. She's wearing a bulky plaid vest, thick leather pants, grimy work boots, and a quaint little trucker's hat. Her short red hair and freckles doesn't seem familiar at all to you.

"Hey! I recognize that weird stare and that outfit style-" She gestures at the jeans, boots, and gloves you brought for the W-Corp mission. "G-Corp girl too, huh? Nice. Didn't expect to see one here. Not exactly a, uh, populated district."

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] G-Corp is a very new Company in the grand scheme. You doubt they've existed longer than 30ish years and given the City has existed for 250 years? That's peanuts.

"Y-yeah?" It's weird how she had that quick of a read on you. You grab her hand and shake it, which causes the G-Corp rep to flash a beaming smile.

"Well then!" Casey claps her hands with a bright, beaming smile. "If that's the case, surely you would be willing to help us out as well! We're working for her to bolster the spirit of G-Corp, one person at a time!"

"She's not wrong, Ms...?"
"Sammy."
"Of course. See, my investment in this weird little creature has offered quite a useful RoI."
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"So, considering I have ties to all of these companies-" She shows off the dozens of corporate pins stuck to her torso. "Perhaps if you give our friend here something, I'll say something good about your corporation."

"please holy shit i am fucking begging you." Sammy immediately hops out of her table and falls to her knees in front of Alexis. You and Alexis back away out of shock while Casey watches on with the same pity as a father trying to explain to his wheelchair bound daughter that she can't become a dancer. "do you know how much it took for me to get here please i fucking beg you."

"I." You kneel down in front of Sammy with a worried smile. "Look, you're an Alphabet Rep, right? You shouldn't be begging US to help you, right?"

"look you don't understand." Sammy lets out a nervous chuckle. "I'm not even a Rep. The actual rep that was supposed to be here was dragged out of here by some other reps. That's how little the others value us. We need every little bit of power we can. Even if it's from some random I-Corp girl."

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Fuck. You knew that G-Corp was weak but to hear that one of their reps was forced out of here without complaint is worrisome to say the very least.

"you know how hard it is to sell exploration and travelling as your company when Y-Company exists? Fucking teleportation singularity..." Sammy mutters to herself. Alexis and Casey force Sammy to stand back up on her two teeth.

"Listen. I get that the corporate world is tough but you have to dim your heart. Bite back at the world. Fucking fight, damnit." Alexis hisses to the scared trucker.
"There's no point being such a scaredy cat! I'm sure that you can push through if you specialize enough! C'mon, we'll put a good word in!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. The last few days have been rough. Maybe we can sell your story, uh, weird pink haired girl." Sammy places her hands on your shoulders. "A G-Corp citizen rising through the stars of the corporate world! Imagine that! That's a good pitch. We REALLY need a story to sell to the world."

"Well, hey, I'd be willing to do that." This is a lot more pitiful than you expected from any Alphabet Company. Yeesh. "Just promise me that my company will help me in the future and we'll be all good."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely-" And the trucker is gone. All that's left is a small device in your hand and a note saying "IOU FAVOR".
>+1 G-CORP (GLOBETROBBER) FAVOR!
>-3 DC TO ALL CHECKS INVOLVING INTERACTING WITH G-COMPANY IN THE FUTURE
>+AUTOMATIC GPS TRACKER (Automatically activates at the start of the mission. Points towards the most direct route to your MISSION GOAL.)

That's when you feel it. The cold barrel of a gun pressed firmly against your head. The room has gone deathly quiet now and you know that everyone is watching what's happening next. Using SIGHTJACKING, you can tell that Benjamin, Max, and the corpos have stopped their conversation to see what's going on. Ready to move if they need to.
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Alexis and Casey are standing behind the man who's pointing the gun at your head, not sure on what to do.

You slowly turn around to face the man. The barrel of his gun is now firmly pointed at your forehead. The Big Iron weighs heavy against your forehead, ready and steadfast as a faithful hound at his side. Unequal in power and tremendous in recoil.

The moth standing before you towers over you by a solid three feet.

A big, bulky police coat made out of the finest silk tightly clings around his body. A simple cap made out of black leather is carefully placed on his head. His face is that of a moth's. A mass of steel grey fuzz with two big, beady moth eyes staring down at you and a pair of spindly antennae flicking in the air.

His mouth is non existent from what it looks like. Only a tiny slit with something curled up inside is at the area where a human's mouth would be. It's clear he's waiting to see how you react. This is a game to him. He doesn't remotely seem to care about the fact he completely disrupted the atmosphere of this fancy, high class restaurant.

Maybe analyzing what he looks like is helping to keep you calm since otherwise you'd be fucking panicking.

"LEAD Maus, huh? Quite an introduction." Alexis tries to break the awkward silence. "I would recommend putting that gun away from my investment."

"Investment? Worthless chatter" He presses his gun against your head in the same way a kid pokes a body with a dead stick. "Interesting. Interesting, interesting." He chirps with some obvious aggravation. "Show me a wonder. Fair price, no?" Right to the point, huh? He clearly sensed something was unnatural about you.

So be it. You yank the gun out of his hand with your mind and immediately toss it over to a nearby table. LEAD's eyes flicker and shift upon seeing this sight and for a moment, you swear he was smiling. If he could even smile, that is.

[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] "Sorry to say but I don't take kindly to stunts like this. Do that again and I'll make sure you won't live to see another day."

"If an Agent wanted you dead-" A thin, spindly arm immediately grabs onto the tossed away gun. "Would've fired it already. I recognize your scent from the field. Sickly sweet. Sickly, sickly. Like a rotten flower."

"I wouldn't say that." Casey chirps out. "She's not a rotten flower. Perhaps you need to get your scent receptors checked. You clearly haven't been taking care of yourself."

LEAD turns his gaze over to Casey and for a moment, his postures softens. "Familiar. I recognize that smell. From home."
Casey nods. "Perhaps. But home no longer exists. We're just here now and you have to accept the new rules. Management has changed."

LEAD glances down at his gun and with a nod, he puts it away. He tosses over a small trinket from you before putting what you could consider his hands into his pockets. "Alright. Doesn't really matter. My goal is still the same. I got what I needed here."
>>
And then, he's gone. None of the other corpos are willing to follow after him. All that's left is the faintly spicy scent of a moth's pheromones.

You'll see him again. You know that for certain.

>+GOUGED OUT ROBOT SENSOR (From a robot in a City not of your own. The sheer brutality of how it was destroyed floods you with VIOLENCE. Twice per mission, you may reroll all VIOLENCE dice you roll.)

You, Casey, and Alexis head right back to the table where your other allies and the corpos are sitting at. All of them, except for Robbert of course, are pretty confused and unnerved by the scene that just unfolded. Your fellow antlered waitress quickly rushes over to the table with platters of high class fancy food and wines before disappearing again.

The atmosphere around the restaurant quickly bounces back from that bizarre incident. As if they rather just forget that ever happened. You see something flicker over Max's body for a moment. You'll see a glimpse of per spark after these talks.

What do you want to talk to your allies and corpos about while you enjoy dinner? Pick one for each.

ALEXIS
>"Say, why are you trying to get into contact with B-Corp anyways?" She said something about it over the phone when you hired her today. Maybe tell her about the B-Corp agent you found at sea too.
>"What's your end goal anyways? What will you do when you reach the top?" Alexis' goal seems to be reaching the top of the corporate ladder but does she even have anything going for her once she reaches there?
>"Who's the man on the radio?" He was very helpful but something about the ETF Zeta name and the fact Alexis randomly found it makes you a bit wary on her new contact.
>WRITE IN

MAX
>"Okay, this has been nagging me. Why did you pity the Mayor back there? He was a scumbag." Something about that just doesn't make any sense to you. Why? She could've easily been in Valentina's shoes
>"Sorry, all offense meant, you don't seem like the band type. Do you still wanna do music?" Might do good for her soul if she found a creativity outlet aside from clinging to Benjamin.
>"What DO you get out of these missions? You're a rich nepo baby and I doubt Benjamin is the only reason why." Try to pry into what makes Max actually tick.
>WRITE IN

BENJAMIN
>"Are you satisfied?" You know you chickened out with the injection but you wonder how he feels now that he's on the way to achieving his goal.
>"So, how's your work at Z-Corp been?" Wouldn't be amiss to check up on how his corporate job has been.
>"Did he give you too much of a hard time?" Gesture towards Roland. See how he's been handling the staredown from the corpos and the relentless bullying that came after.
>WRITE IN

CASEY
>"You knew him?" Try to pry into Casey's history with LEAD. Might be helpful in the future.
>Eh, fuck it, curveball question time. "Casey. How do you feel about having anomalous powers?" Max and Benjamin have sparks now but maybe you can test the waters of full powers with Casey later.
(1/2)
>>
>"You doing okay?" You want to check up on her after that abstract despair rant she had earlier.
>WRITE IN

ROLAND
>"Your family is filled with creatives but, all offense meant, you seem like a bore. What's up with that?" Pry into Roland's past. Might offer some insight into Max as well.
>"Did you see me?" You want to know how he managed to perceive you in stopped time. Only him and Benjamin managed and Benjamin made a bit of sense but him? You gotta know what defenses other corpos have.
>"So. How is your dad anyways?" It's been ages since you talked to Gregory. You're curious about how he's handling himself.
>WRITE IN

ROSALINE
>"So, if you don't mind me prying, the hell was so important on that little chip you found on her neck?" That loose end is nagging the hell out of you.
>"What's your plan now that Valentina has returned?" You want to know a bit more about what kind of stuff she does when her family isn't on the line. Talk shop, basically.
>"So, how did you three actually meet? You don't really seem to mesh together all that well?" Try to pry into some of the corporate policies she gets into with the other families. Might make for some amusing stories, at least.
>WRITE IN

ROBBERT
>"You know that guy? Seems like the type of psycho you'd work with." Pry into what kind of people Robbert associates with. You know about H and W-Corp but who else?
>"So. Antiseptic War, huh? The hell was it like?" You really need some context for it considering the sparse fragments you've heard about it.
>"What's with the mask?" It seems a bit more than a weird fashion statement considering he hasn't removed it this whole time.
>WRITE IN

yeah wow I'm not sure why I wrote such a big update but I promise this should be the last one for a bit.
For my own sake and for yours as well.
>>
>>6000238
>"Say, why are you trying to get into contact with B-Corp anyways?" She said something about it over the phone when you hired her today. Maybe tell her about the B-Corp agent you found at sea too.
>"What DO you get out of these missions? You're a rich nepo baby and I doubt Benjamin is the only reason why." Try to pry into what makes Max actually tick.
>"Did he give you too much of a hard time?" Gesture towards Roland. See how he's been handling the staredown from the corpos and the relentless bullying that came after.
>"You doing okay?" You want to check up on her after that abstract despair rant she had earlier.
>"So. How is your dad anyways?" It's been ages since you talked to Gregory. You're curious about how he's handling himself.
>"So, if you don't mind me prying, the hell was so important on that little chip you found on her neck?" That loose end is nagging the hell out of you.
>"What's with the mask?" It seems a bit more than a weird fashion statement considering he hasn't removed it this whole time.
>>
>>6000227
>SILVER AMMO
So doed it heal the shooter or the target?
1>>6000236
>"Who's the man on the radio?" He was very helpful but something about the ETF Zeta name and the fact Alexis randomly found it makes you a bit wary on her new contact
>"Sorry, all offense meant, you don't seem like the band type. Do you still wanna do music?" Might do good for her soul if she found a creativity outlet aside from clinging to Benjamin.
>"Did he give you too much of a hard time?" Gesture towards Roland. See how he's been handling the staredown from the corpos and the relentless bullying that came after
>"You knew him?" Try to pry into Casey's history with LEAD. Might be helpful in the future.
>"Your family is filled with creatives but, all offense meant, you seem like a bore. What's up with that?" Pry into Roland's past. Might offer some insight into Max as well.
>"So, if you don't mind me prying, the hell was so important on that little chip you found on her neck?" That loose end is nagging the hell out of you.
>"What's with the mask?" It seems a bit more than a weird fashion statement considering he hasn't removed it this whole time. How is it knowing the rabbit doesn't even have an associated vocalization?
>>
>>6000236
Voting
>"Say, why are you trying to get into contact with B-Corp anyways?" She said something about it over the phone when you hired her today. Maybe tell her about the B-Corp agent you found at sea too.
All these are good, but I choose this. The B Corp agent one is interesting because it was a random chance we got it, and it primes her for the silvers and Old B Corp info later.
>"What DO you get out of these missions? You're a rich nepo baby and I doubt Benjamin is the only reason why." Try to pry into what makes Max actually tick.
She's so insecure we're bringing her along just because she's a package deal with Ben and because of her family? Give us more reasons then. Thinks she's a coward? Why, because SHELTERED? It's normal to be afraid, but you temper that with experience. Never all the way, but that alone can be enough when you need it
>"Did he give you too much of a hard time?" Gesture towards Roland. See how he's been handling the staredown from the corpos and the relentless bullying that came after.
Ben needs to endure and befriend the father in law, somehow
>"You doing okay?" You want to check up on her after that abstract despair rant she had earlier
We'll be seeing LEAD again. But that's then, and this is now. Casey matters more than that old coot

>>6000238
>"Your family is filled with creatives but, all offense meant, you seem like a bore. What's up with that?" Pry into Roland's past. Might offer some insight into Max as well.
I'm very curious about him not because of Ben or Max, but because of Gregory. I still want Nicole to ask him to say hi to the old man for her. His movie SUCKED but he was a solid and reasonable guy, funny here and there. Greg didn't GRUDGELORD Maruyama either, partially because we asked him not to and partially because Greg probably has had his own girl troubles at some point.
>"So, if you don't mind me prying, the hell was so important on that little chip you found on her neck?" That loose end is nagging the hell out of you.
Follows up the hint we got from Kori about the "something precious" that the Vannis wanted to recover. Valentina's mom is definitely going to punish her for this shitshow, but I would rather not poke my nose in that
>"What's with the mask?" It seems a bit more than a weird fashion statement considering he hasn't removed it this whole time.
Antiseptic War is still a lingering thread since Naomi and Admiral, but I get the feeling we'll have more chances later
>>
>>6000274
>"So. How is your dad anyways?" It's been ages since you talked to Gregory. You're curious about how he's handling himself.
Switch to
>"Your family is filled with creatives but, all offense meant, you seem like a bore. What's up with that?" Pry into Roland's past. Might offer some insight into Max as well.
>>
>>6000226
>deftness and speed
Practiced against her dad
>PLEASE MANIFEST
EGO/PARADIGM can't save you from the in-laws
>garlic bread and booze
I'd be doing exactly like Robbert if I was in a rich joint like this. Haven't had garlic bread in a long time
>tiny Roland
I love this quirk of his
>X-Corp medal
And this is why we didn't give it to the Admiral or anybody else. The medal shows Nicole is legit

>>6000227
>not a lot of us left
Anjaro? Or people aligned against the silvers?
>daughter and son
Monifa? And...?
>Greg Krak
Fuck. The movie theater wasn't the first time they tried to kill him. This has been ongoing. And Roland and Max don't fucking know. Does Greg himself know? Did this Anjaro not tell him? Either way when he finds out Nicole saved Gregory's life AND that the silvers were in the burned movie area for ambush, he'll be all for supporting Nicole. If or when Roland ever hears the full truth from Nicole as well as this Anjaro, and if Greg confirms provided he also knows, then the Krakatoa GRUDGELORD trait will mean Roland will also support Nicole.
>PSYCHOLOGY TRICK
>teach this to other allies
They CANNOT know we know this. If we teach allies, they need to be fully aware of the full plot from Nicole before they learn it. If we use a real glowie for it like the one Nicole shotgunned, the glowie DIES before he can relay any data out.
>SILVER AMMO
This on top of their blue blood the Handler commented on, means these guys are roaches. They'll recover and live to spread info to their allies, and keep at it to outlast their victims. Their stealth specializations and Old B Corp singularity makes them frustrating to go up against. Nicole still has her work cut out for her, corpo support or no
>copies
V Corp use dupes?

>>6000228
>"A fragment like you." "So small."
Wait a sec is this about W Corp? The fragment thing again. Nicole's personality voice shards?
>same exact time
They're the Victorious Corpos from Down the City, I see
>oily liquor
Finally rid of that junk
>can't kill V-Corp
We are legion
>pathetic
I did not expect this much disdain from Casey of all people. V Corp aren't quite a hivemind like bees are.
>I'm talking to two right now." He points towards you and Casey
DON'T FUCKING IMPLY THE DOPPEL WITH ASHTON IS THE REAL NICOLE, FAGGOT
>bought our products
He doesn't know we looted the gin out in the ocean. So much for "V-Corp knows a lot", you faggot
>>
>>6000230
>candidly
Smug motherfucker has been one of the most direct people I've seen this entire quest. He reminds me a lot of the Handler. Almost refreshing in how his slime is shining so honestly at the same time
>V-COMPANY SINGULARITY
As long as the copies' flaws can be tolerated or endured, it's a good way to retain qualities for a long time but at a lesser degree
>five or six higher ups
Handler Otto Foxtrot
Alex at X Corp
Greg Krak
Roland Krak
Rosaline Vanni
Robbert Huxley
>WINS
8 missions in and not a single failure. That's mainly because we pick our battles wisely as players
>sell items at a profit loss
Are you guys aware of how big a deal this is? This screams loudly about how much V Corp loves Nicole. Handler's gonna FREAK(shit) when he finds out
>Heals 5 RESTRAINT
We have like 1 charge left on the ANTLER GUARDS and 2 AUTOSTIMPAK to cure CRIPPLING INJURY. That's it. These cigs are a huge risk emergency item, and we have 3 now
>handshake
Has this been the nicest any corpo has been to Nicole in first moments? Other than Wendy?
>G-Corp 30ish years
>the City has existed for 250 years
Interesting

>>6000231
>knees
Alexis GIRLBOSS
>Y-Company
Surely it has limits where regular transport methods still matter
>dim your heart
Alexis will NEVER manifest
>pitiful
This entire experience has been eye-opening. If they're this weak we cannot wholly rely on them for backup against the silver base
>GPS
What's the space situation even like? Satellites? Corpo space warfare? Lunar ops? Who knows?
>deathly quiet
The entire 5th floor is dead silent and all 4 other floors know something's up

>>6000233
>Big Iron
Not on his hip
>three feet
Was he that big even in MOTH AGENT?
>this entire description
Powerful
>chirps
There's still something so adorable about him he cannot escape. I bet he's secretly great with kids and loves them if they aren't bug-torturing psycho-brats
>the field
?
>Sickly sweet
Oswald?
>Management has changed
Meet the new QM. Same as the old QM

>>6000236
>GOUGED OUT ROBOT SENSOR
FULL VIOLENCE REROLL

A very fruitful corpo dinner update
>>
>>6000309
It heals the shooter. That's huge. As long as an agent is firing these they won't die easy. Puppeteer to disarm and disable a silver agent is necessary to kill secure them if we don't corner one at gunpoint like Nicole did. At the time she was running away from Ashton, or looked a lot like it, and the silver agent let his guard down and didn't expect the swerve to his ass. I think it's an occupational hazard for them. They are so used to being unrecognizable and blended in with their augs and singularity, that their brains habitually relax their guards in response to not being threatened or sensed. There's only so much they can do to stop themselves from it without suffering other downsides. That's another big flaw to all of the agents by human nature.
>>
>>6000437
>They're the Victorious Corpos from Down the City, I see
Elaborate please?
>>6000452
>Oswald?
Who?
>>6000233
>I recognize your scent from the field. Sickly sweet. Sickly, sickly. Like a rotten flower."
Flower anomaly?

"What? What are ya talking about?" Clover tries to regain his grip on his revolver. <"I recognized that look. That damn flower anomaly...>
No.5910111
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5893937/
>>
>>6000236
>"What's your end goal anyways? What will you do when you reach the top?" Alexis' goal seems to be reaching the top of the corporate ladder but does she even have anything going for her once she reaches there?

>"Sorry, all offense meant, you don't seem like the band type. Do you still wanna do music?" Might do good for her soul if she found a creativity outlet aside from clinging to Benjamin.

>"So, how's your work at Z-Corp been?" Wouldn't be amiss to check up on how his corporate job has been.

>>6000238
>"You doing okay?" You want to check up on her after that abstract despair rant she had earlier.

>"Did you see me?" You want to know how he managed to perceive you in stopped time. Only him and Benjamin managed and Benjamin made a bit of sense but him? You gotta know what defenses other corpos have.

>"So, if you don't mind me prying, the hell was so important on that little chip you found on her neck?" That loose end is nagging the hell out of you.

>"What's with the mask?" It seems a bit more than a weird fashion statement considering he hasn't removed it this whole time.
>>
>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1222. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM

I have odd feelings that we are going to meet MOTH again in the tunnel mission, and we definitely need to bring Clover and Casey on this mission. We are potentially going to meet the flower anomaly in the tunnel.

I think the tunnel mission is going to have an element inspired by the Undertale Yellow game. least I think?

Creation Clover and his friends are directly inspired by the Undertale Yellow story.
>>
>>6000470
>Elaborate please?
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSEods_VwMdMsAjpUHQE3ywz0C_ACul8B
These brats from Codename K.N.D.
>Who?
Oswald from Library of Ruina, who is a spoiler character. What I can tell you is this clown can "smell" if somebody is anomalous in some way, and in which direction.
>Flower anomaly?
UNDERTALE reference to Flowey, and by extension Undertale Yellow with Clover and friends

>>6000487
So team of
>Clover
>Casey
>Quentin
>Kiara
Sounds good? Though we could completely throw that out for going after APEX PREDATOR. Or some other mission entirely
>>
>>6000537
The team setup is good. I want to do the tunnel mission.
>>
>>6000559
I agree. Man at this rate we'll NEVER have any mission with Frank in it to get to know him.
>>
>>6000582
Vote for the Apex Predator mission then. Take your fate into your hands.
>>
>>6000631
>Lex
>Frank
>Wendy
>Ben for revenge? Naomi for buffs and strategy? Ashley for Lex and VIOLENCE?
>>
>>6000659
Lex, Frank, Ashley for violence
Wendy, Kiara because anomaly
Naomi as tactician
>>
>>6000662
That's too many people you retard. Nicole + 4 allies at most
>>
>>6000671
Oh really? There was no such limit in the mission selection. What's your source?
>>
>>6000683
You're that guy who wanted half our allies on missions before, aren't you? You did that back during the casino one, I remember.
>source
Here, you snide fuck

Thread 3
>"However! I do have some fresh advice from a Barry Z. Vis and his encounters with men like them in my city!" The way he says 'my city' is rubbing you the wrong way. "They like to stay in the shadows, to not be seen-" ZZT. "-ut you. The more friends nearby, the less likely they are to mess with you. And vice versa."
>"Mind you, the more allies you have, the more people associated with you? The more they focus on them."
>>
>>6000696
>the more allies you have, the more people associated with you
That's about our total ally count, not the ones brought on missions.
>>
>>6000703
Why do you want so many people along every time?
>>
>>6000706
I don't remember wanting many people in the casino mission. For Apex Predator I just want as many combat dice as possible.
>>
>>6000709
I can't blame you for it. APEX sounds like a real nuisance. I'm willing to go along with it except I don't want Kiara there, provided we do the tunnel job after it. I've thought about it more, and concluded having Naomi there would also give credence to Nicole and keep Frank in line. So I agree with you on all that except Kiara. Sorry about the harshness
>>
>>6000711
Kiara will hate us if we don't take her along on an anomaly mission. I don't believe we necessarily have to give her a rest between missions.
>>
>>6000713
Tunnel mission is tagged Anomalous, isn't it? And we took her along to X Corp even though we told her no anomalies involved, and she was OK with it. She's fine on any mission but discounts us for bringing her to anomalous ones.
>>
>>6000714
We can take her on both missions.
>>
>>6000718
You want to do that back to back? If she is injured physically or mentally on the first one, we can't take her on the second because she'll still be injured. Allies recover offscreen. Honestly I could swallow my autism back and go vote for the tunnel mission next, even though we're taking Casey twice in a row, because Casey is not injured in any way from this mine mission. But then we put off APEX and Frank yet again, like we have been for so long. I'm completely on board with
>APEX MISSION
>Lex
>Ashley
>Frank
>Naomi
>Wendy
then
>TUNNEL MISSION
>Clover
>Casey
>Kiara
>Quentin
>>
>>6000730
I agree to doing the tunnel mission first and try to keep Kiara unharmed to take her to Apex Predator
>>
>>6000732
And I say we shouldn't take her to Apex Predator at all.
>>
>>6000734
Why?
>>
>>6000737
She isn't a combat powerhouse like Lex Frank and Ashley, isn't anti-anomalous like Wendy, and isn't a veteran like Naomi.
>>
>>6000742
She's there for general utility. We can't spec only into combat, or we'll have blind spots. And since she's free for anomaly missions, I see no downside to bringing her.
>>
>>6000744
Fine I'll relent just so I don't have to keep dealing with this
>>
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Vote's still open, don't worry about that, I feel like I should clarify some things before we go any further
1.) The ally thing is less of a hard rule and moreso a general rule of thumb. You can bring as many or as little allies as you want. Please don't get stuck in the mindset of "FOUR ALLIES IS THE LIMIT IF WE DO THAT THE GLOWNIGGERS WILL END THIS QUEST"
2.) Don't hyperfixate too much on specific missions or specific mission orders. While there will be some constants, I try to cycle through the missions offered depending on the missions you've already done and whatever entertains me that day.
3.) Please don't start getting snide at each other over a game. I write this shit for you guys to enjoy it, not for you to argue about which scrimblo bimbos visit the C-Corp Cock Obliteration Mines.
>>
>>6000756
>1
Thank you for the confirm. And with that I relent >>6000744
>2
OK cool, thank you. I wonder if we'll come across some other weird mission where we'll decide "yeah APEX PREDATOR can go eat shit by somebody else, Ben doesn't really need his revenge that much against the stealth kill dummy" or "yeah those weird tunnels can stay weird and unexplored, we have something more important to take on"? Well in any case, I don't have to stress much about that anymore
>3
Yeah, apologies. That one's on me. Sorry QM
>>
>>6000756
I would love to visit the C-Corp Cock Obliteration Mines.
>>
>>6001151
I bet one of the members of the Head goes there in secret, but nobody knows who...
>>
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You look down at the meal provided for you. You're just glad they didn't assume anything and actually gave you some MEAT. A big juicy steak that's drenched in thick butter and chives plus a big class of dark red wine sits in front of you. You turn your attention to the others and- Max is just eating a hunk of steak with her gloved hands, okay.

The others are eating their various meals normally but she's just going feral on that piece of meat. "Does she normally-"
"Yes." Benjamin and Roland mutter in unison. "Sharp teeth." They mutter in unison again. Somehow you're not shocked that a rich person has weird eating habits- wait.

[UNSTABLE] "Oh god I feel so bad for you, Ben."

Benjamin blinks a few times in an attempt to process what you're saying. Once he realizes, he smashes his head into the table in sheer fucking embarrassment. "shut up holy shit not in front of him."

"Sorry, sorry! Impulse!" You offer Benjamin a pat on the back. "So, you two doing okay? They didn't rip you to shreds over, uh, the kinda very obvious elephant in the room?"

Roland is staring at both you and Benjamin with a forced smile that can best be described as begrudgingly supportive. It doesn't take being a mind reader to know what's going on his mind. "At least he works for Z-Corp. A-Corp, B-Corp, and H-Corp would've been PREFERRED but Z-Corp has some prestige. Preferably to Y, G, or D-Corp at least."

"T-thanks?" Benjamin half-laughs, half sighs. "Guess I should be glad you don't want to kill me."

"Oh, trust me sweetheart. It's going to be rough." Rosaline coos out before she drinks half of her glass of white wine in one gulp. "I've heard rumors of what associating with Krakatoas entail."

"what my father did back in Avalon is none of your business, Rosa." Roland grinds his teeth while trying to keep on his forced smile. "W-welcome. To the. Famil-Family." God, Roland is on the verge of ripping someone into shreds if the topic doesn't change.

Alexis perks up from the pile of dumplings covered in sour cream she's been picking away at. "B-Corp, huh? You guys work for them? Maybe your family isn't so bad after all. Maybe I should work with that beanpole more often."

"The hell is up with you trying to contact them? Aren't they part of the Head?" You mutter as you begin to cut away at your steak. "I respect the grind but I'm not sure I can trust you signing up with the fuckin' gov. You gonna become a spook and hunt me down too?" That's a half joke considering the Silver Agent's association with an old version of B-Corp...

"Simple. One of the most powerful companies, one of the most prestigious positions you can get? As much as I like you, Nicole, reaching the top of the top is still my goal. To reach that god damn unreachable star." Alexis chuckles to herself. "Ah. Maybe that's a bit too blunt."

"I can respect it." Roland offers an actual smile towards Alexis. "I suppose without that little...creature over there, you wouldn't have even gotten a chance to meet us."
>>
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"who you calling a-" Alexis covers your mouth with your hand. "It's been a pleasure, sir." That's all she ever seems to think about. Corporate power. Opportunities for more prestige. Recognition. Hell, she called YOU an investment.

Max seems to be picking up on this too since she puts her half eaten steak down. "You do realize you don't just win life after you reach the top, yeah?" Max's grey-blue eyes are oddly more vibrant now, almost glowing even. "I can't say I know a lot about the world. Hell, why do you think I go with her? It's not just because she works with Benjamin but because I want to see the world as it actually exists. The people. The sights and sounds."

"I just want to actually understand what the world is like outside of this." She gestures towards the fancy restaurant your group is eating at. "I want to BE someone other than my name."

"Elizabeth, without our family name we wouldn't be anything." In an odd display of affection, Roland tries to reach his hand out to his daughter. "Do you want to be like them? Struggling every day just to survive?"

Max shakes her head, trying her best not to look at him. "At least that's better than being a coward living in a bubble. At least it's better than acting like you're better than everyone."

"Shit doesn't just change like that even if you get to the top of corporate power. They'll be another Alexis climbing to the top to overthrow you. Or someone from another alphabet company who tries putting a hole in your head. Don't you have anything else?"

Alexis stares at the bratty nepo baby with a snide smirk. "Oh, like you have room to talk. You were born into this and what, just because you're dating some lower class dude suddenly gives you the right to judge me like that? Right-"

Max slams her hands on the table, causing silverware to clatter to the ground. Rosaline and Roland flinch a bit while Robbert is watching the argument unfold with rapturous glee. "At least I pretend to care about anything other than myself. At least I don't constantly ramble about business investments and sucking corporate COCK because I have NOTHING ELSE to look forward to."

"At least I don't pity grimy sleezeballs who kidnap fucking teenagers, Max. What, was it because he was poor? Do you pity the poor, Max? Did you pity fu-"

Before the argument can go anywhere, Benjamin smashes his fist onto the table. For a split moment, you thought you saw sparks erupting from his hand. "Both of you. We're supposed to be enjoying dinner. Not spitting at each other because you remind yourselves of the other a bit too much. Please, stop with this highschool level catfight bullshit."

The whole table is silent after Benjamin's interruption. Alexis sinks back into her chair with a huff while Max's face is now neon red from sheer embarrassment. She offers a meek apology before going back to eating her steak.

"Christ." Robbert lets out a low whistle. "Those two are firecrackers, huh?"
"I guess she's not wrong." Alexis mutters.
>>
"I don't got a plan after this. I can only hope that B-Company accepts me so I can try living like these three." She gestures towards the three corpos. "I can admit that I'm jealous of them."

"And I wouldn't blame you, sweetheart." Rosaline coos out with a bit too much sweetness in her tone.
"It's not as pleasant as you think it is." Roland cryptically responds. <"Not if his schizophrenic ramblings about 'glowies' are correct. Considering his missing eye..."> Shit, Gregory told him about them? He KNOWS about them?

"Bite me. What else do you want me to do? This is the only path forward to me." Alexis admits with a pitiful amount of honesty in her voice. Guess Max wasn't wrong about her having nothing else to look forward to.

"Hey, I'll bite if you pay me." Robbert chortles at his poor attempt at a joke. The table offers a pity laugh but the atmosphere begins to lighten up now.

The next twenty minutes are spent trying to let tensions cool. You glance over at Casey. Her meal is just a glass of sugar water and a few thin wafers made out of crystalized honey. You're not even going to question it, at this point she's being on the nose about it.

Casey halfheartedly shrugs. "As okay as I can be. Ready to go home so I can walk some television. The all time classic American staple!" She puts on a fake, plastic smile. It deflates almost immediately. "Not really hungry, if you can tell." She crunches at one of the waffers.

"Don't blame you. I would probably feel like shit if I was in your shoes." You take a sip of your red wine and offer it to her. Casey immediately grabs it and chugs it down in one gulp before handing you the now empty glass. Good thing you got free refills.

"Yeppo. Thank you for checking up, at least!" Casey's smile is a bit less fake now. "Most people wouldn't. After all, a smile is a nice thing to wear no matter the situation!"

"Mmh. Just take it easy, Casey. Our lovable mascot can't stay in the dumps forever." You look up at thin air towards absolutely nobody in particular. "Seriously, though. Glad you're feeling a bit better."

Casey nods before returning to her meal. Seems like your little talk with her has improved her mood at least.
>+0.5 extra RAPPORT earnt with Casey!

"Say, Robbert. What's up with the mask, by the way? And Rosaline, uh, if you don't mind me prying...what was up that chip?" You point at your own neck. "That you got out of, uh, Valentina."

"Ah. We keep a lot of confidential information hidden in little slots on our neck." Rosaline proves this by pressing on the side of her neck. A panel opens up, showing a SD card inside a small slot in her neck. "They're linked to our biometrics. If they're too far away from us for too long, scanned by an unapproved device or if we die? They wipe themselves cleaned."

"Like new fashion lines for C-Corp or, say, new kinds of specialty luck-infused candles for L-Corp. The kind of stuff that could earn you millions if it falls in the wrong hands."
>>
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"Why the hell did she still have it if she was going to go somewhere all by herself? Even the smallest chance of it leaking could've spelt disaster."

"...Nicole Smith, she's 16. Teenagers are retards." Rosaline smirks like the answer was obvious. "Daisy is going to have a hissy fit over this, though. At least you recovered her daughter in time."

[PERSON OF INTEREST] It's a smart way to ensure data doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Though it's not wise for her to spill a secret like that.

Robbert shrugs at the question thrown his way. "Hides my scars. Protects my soul. I like wearing it. Makes it easier." You raise an eyebrow at his vague question. Easier what? "To do what I have to do. Easier if they don't have to see my face."

[UNSTABLE] It's easier to hurt others if see yourself as an animal than a human. To let your urges free.
[UNSTABLE] You would know. You're becoming more of an animal every day in order to survive.

"I get that. Whenever I fight someone, I just let my mind blank out for a moment during it. Though I didn't fight in any major wars like you did so I can't even pretend to understand it fully."

"That's a good thing, kid. Being an animal ain't what it's cracked up to be. That tiny Roland over there? She should be glad she doesn't see the world as it is."
Roland and Max both sneer at Robbert's statement but they wisely hold their tongues for now.

While your other allies keep drinking and enjoying their meals, you decide to ask your final question of the night towards the two Krakatoas. "Rolando. All offense meant but you're a fucking bore. There's a man with a bunny mask and some weird fashionista yet YOUR family is the one filled with arthouse creatives? How the hell does that work?"

"don't. don't call me that. you did a lot for my family but please don't fucking call me that." Roland shivers like you casted a hex on him. <"I left highschool 15 years ago but that name still haunts me..."> "Look, 'Max' isn't wrong about our family name. We don't have the best reputation in higher society." A faint smile crosses Max's face upon hearing her preferred name.

"My father is a crazy arthouse film maker. My uncle spends all day writing really shoddy literature on the internet. My sister throws her own blood at canvases to make 'art'. My brother? Christ, it's best if I don't describe it. At least I try to provide for my family instead of running around, doing inane bullshit because I thought it was funny that day."

"Doesn't that make life boring, though, if you don't express yourself in any way? Though I guess I don't got much room to talk since I mostly work all day."

"Maybe." Roland rubs the back of his neck with an awkward look on his face. "Look. My dad wasn't the best with money. He would run around to spend all of his money on wacky arthouse products while encouraging my siblings to do the same thing. I respect the creative pursuits but I just...wanted a more grounded life for my family."
>>
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"I want to make sure that if I die, my family is provided for. I think it's better to live a boring but secure life than a life where you have to struggle every day or blowing smoke up your ass because of some shitty arthouse project."

"What if your kids want to be creatives anyways? I mean, shit, Max said she wanted to do music if it wasn't for her obligations."

"She's a kid." "Dad, I'm 21-" "I'm not stopping her from expressing herself from now."

"I just want to make sure that this family won't crumble over delusionals thinking they're better than everyone else because what? You made some arthouse films that get praised by M-Corp druggies? You live in a world I will never understand and I'm glad for that. I thank you for everything you've done for my family but...can you see why I'm hesitant about these kinds of things?"

You shrug. You can't fully relate to him and he can't fully relate to you. Both of you are on fundamentally different worlds and nothing will change that. Though, you have Max at least. After all of this talk, she seems to have been humbled somewhat. She glances up at you with a small smile before returning to her meal.

Soon, everyone finishes their meal. Roland digs something out of his pocket and activates it. Before you know it, three small portals appear right behind your group's side of the table. "Saves you some time getting back home. Consider it a favor for doing everything for us this mission."

Your allies stare at the Y-Company portals with bewilderment but soon, they simply shrug and head their separate ways after finishing their meals. Good thing about eating with corpos: You don't got to pay for a single damn thing! Casey, Alexis, and Benjamin disappear through the portals...leaving you and Max.

"Hey. Sorry about everything. Sorry about, uh, being kinda a brat today." She nervously laughs at herself, clearly trying to seem more humble about it. "But. I think this mission taught me something. Thanks for bringing me along. I'll...try better. For your sake. For my sake."

For a moment, you see her spark manifested. A metal mask covered in scorched marks covers her face, hiding herself away from the world. Her tuxedo is dripping with paints of every color on the rainbow, staining her purple tuxedo and red bowtie. Then, as soon as it appears, it disappears. Not nearly as detailed as Benjamin's but she's getting there. One day, it might manifest for real.
>Max has gained CHAOTIC SPARK (+???. May take some time to fully develop.)

"Don't push yourself too hard. People care about you."
"I know that."

"this shit is sappy" Robbert mutters to himself. Roland and Rosaline give him judgmental looks, which causes him to shut up for now. You decide to take the hint and leave through one of the portals.

You immediately fall face first onto your bed. At least your fall was cushioned. You peel off your PARADIGM and as soon as the waves of exhaustion take over you, you pass right the fuck out.
>>
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>+0.5 RAPPORT WITH ALL ALLIES!
>RESTRAINT: 7/9 NOW. INDULGENCE HAS WORN OFF
>-1 TALENT! STEADY HANDS REMOVED! TALENT IS NOW 6!
>ALLY RAPPORT LISTED BELOW:
>BENJAMIN: 5.5/8. MAX: 3.5/8. ALEXIS: 4.5/7. CASEY: 2.5/7.

When you next wake up, you glance around in your apartment. It's the same old shitty apartment you've been living in these last few weeks. Your bedroom only has a bed that's hard enough to belong to a prison cell, a table with a barely functional TV, and a closet. Your fridge is still chugging along for dear life and your bathroom door is still able to fall apart any day now.

You notice a package at your door, must be from Rosaline and the miners. You'll open that later. Looking at the window next to your bed, you can tell it's pretty late in the evening. You got some time to burn until the Handler asks you to do another inane mission.

What do you want to do with your free time? Pick four free time actions.
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You need to clear your head. Take a long, long walk around the District. (You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (You'll roll 3d100 to see what loot you acquired. You may write in a general category of supply to search for to increase the odds of getting it.)
>Time to start shopping time! (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS, WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE, LILY'S BONES AND BLADES, W, J, or V-CORP's CATALOGS. NEAL has general supplies, ANOMALOUS has rare and specialized items, BONES AND BLADES has unique consumables and ways to improve your passive healing, and the corpo catalogs offer exclusive corporate items You may spend multiple actions to visit/use multiple of these.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Take some time to fiddle around with your PARADIGMS and other anomalous trinkets. (You'll get some nice insight into how all of your PARADIGMs and ANOMALOUS ARTIFACTS tick and you'll get to improve your usage with all of them.)
>[UNMARKED VIAL] Welp! Time to develop new anomalies abilities. Ingest some A-Energy and meditate! (-1 UNMARKED VIAL, WILLPOWER DC: 19. You'll get some progress to unlocking a new ability regardless of success or failure but on success, you'll be able to gain a new ability.)
>Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT and +1 RESTRAINT for the mission.)
>[UNSTABLE] The TV flickers with an unnatural hue. The TV MAN is always there to help you. To show you what the world truly means. Talk to him.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Fiddle around with the two sources of prime information you have: The ANTIQUE PHONE and the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Knowledge is power. (You have time to look through both but pick which one you want to focus on. ANTIQUE PHONE offers more corporate family knowledge, SILVER WALKIE TALKIE offers you more knowledge on the spooks.)
(1/2)
>>
>[UNSTABLE] The TV flickers with an unnatural hue. The TV MAN is always there to help you. To show you what the world truly means. Talk to him.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Fiddle around with the two sources of prime information you have: The ANTIQUE PHONE and the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Knowledge is power. (You have time to look through both but pick which one you want to focus on. ANTIQUE PHONE offers more corporate family knowledge, SILVER WALKIE TALKIE offers you more knowledge on the spooks.)
>Take some time to exercise. A weak body is a liable in the field. (Pick a PHYSICAL STAT to train, FLESH/VIOLENCE/TALENT. You'll get +1 to that stat during the rest of the mission.)
>Call up an ally and talk to them. No harm in doing that, right? They're your friends, after all. (Write in up to two ALLIES to contact. You'll get a chance to check up on them and earn +0.5 RAPPORT with them.)
>Call a contact you have. (FREE ACTION. Write in. Ms. Anjaro to learn about the Wastes? Ms. Wiltshire about the History of the City? The D, W, J, G, or V-Corp Rep? Alex to cache in some favors? Check up on Mr. Anjaro or Gregory? Someone else?)
>Call Sukane to get some more SET UP TIME actions with his T-Corp connections. (FREE ACTION, -$450 per extra action. Write in how many actions to buy, if any.)
>Write in.

Sorry for delay. Computer crashed. Lost some of the update. Had to rewrite some chunks.
>>
>>6001392
QM machine broke ;_;
I bet the Head did this!
>>
>>6001389
>Time to start shopping time!
All of the catalogs. Look for buffs to stats we don't have a lot of buffs for, like Charm
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Fiddle around with the two sources of prime information you have: The ANTIQUE PHONE and the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Knowledge is power.
Focus on ancient phone
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You need to clear your head. Take a long, long walk around the District.
Mystery
>[UNSTABLE] The TV flickers with an unnatural hue. The TV MAN is always there to help you. To show you what the world truly means. Talk to him.
>>
>>6001389
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You need to clear your head. Take a long, long walk around the District. (You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
SECRETS

>Time to start shopping time! (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS, WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE, LILY'S BONES AND BLADES, W, J, or V-CORP's CATALOGS. NEAL has general supplies, ANOMALOUS has rare and specialized items, BONES AND BLADES has unique consumables and ways to improve your passive healing, and the corpo catalogs offer exclusive corporate items You may spend multiple actions to visit/use multiple of these.)
Catalogs

>[UNMARKED VIAL] Welp! Time to develop new anomalies abilities. Ingest some A-Energy and meditate! (-1 UNMARKED VIAL, WILLPOWER DC: 19. You'll get some progress to unlocking a new ability regardless of success or failure but on success, you'll be able to gain a new ability.)

>Call Sukane to get some more SET UP TIME actions with his T-Corp connections. (FREE ACTION, -$450 per extra action. Write in how many actions to buy, if any.)
1
>>
>>6001410
One more thing
>[UNSTABLE] The TV flickers with an unnatural hue. The TV MAN is always there to help you. To show you what the world truly means. Talk to him
>>
>>6001392
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You need to clear your head. Take a long, long walk around the District. (You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
MYSTERY
>Time to start shopping time! (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS, WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE, LILY'S BONES AND BLADES, W, J, or V-CORP's CATALOGS. NEAL has general supplies, ANOMALOUS has rare and specialized items, BONES AND BLADES has unique consumables and ways to improve your passive healing, and the corpo catalogs offer exclusive corporate items You may spend multiple actions to visit/use multiple of these.)
W-catalog
We need to buy anti-anomaly stuff since we are going to choose the tunnel mission.
>[UNMARKED VIAL] Welp! Time to develop new anomalies abilities. Ingest some A-Energy and meditate! (-1 UNMARKED VIAL, WILLPOWER DC: 19. You'll get some progress to unlocking a new ability regardless of success or failure but on success, you'll be able to gain a new ability.)
>[UNSTABLE] The TV flickers with an unnatural hue. The TV MAN is always there to help you. To show you what the world truly means. Talk to him.
>Call a contact you have. (FREE ACTION. Write in. Ms. Anjaro to learn about the Wastes? Ms. Wiltshire about the History of the City? The D, W, J, G, or V-Corp Rep? Alex to cache in some favors? Check up on Mr. Anjaro or Gregory? Someone else?)
Contact Ms. Wiltshire to get information and a map about the tunnel mission.
>>
Too brainmelted from the beach but I will point this out
><"I left highschool 15 years ago but that name still haunts me...">
>"Dad, I'm 21-"
Assuming "left" means graduated, and if the numbers are right, Roland knocked up Max's mom when he was in like 6th or 7th grade.
>>
>>6001389
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You need to clear your head. Take a long, long walk around the District. (You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
rolling dice for it
1 is SECRETS
2 is MYSTERY
>Time to start shopping time! (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS, WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE, LILY'S BONES AND BLADES, W, J, or V-CORP's CATALOGS. NEAL has general supplies, ANOMALOUS has rare and specialized items, BONES AND BLADES has unique consumables and ways to improve your passive healing, and the corpo catalogs offer exclusive corporate items You may spend multiple actions to visit/use multiple of these.)
W Corp Catalog, because we're in for anomalousness whether tunnels or APEX
>[UNMARKED VIAL] Welp! Time to develop new anomalies abilities. Ingest some A-Energy and meditate! (-1 UNMARKED VIAL, WILLPOWER DC: 19. You'll get some progress to unlocking a new ability regardless of success or failure but on success, you'll be able to gain a new ability.)
A new power to spice things up, and so we use this UNMARKED VIAL already
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Fiddle around with the two sources of prime information you have: The ANTIQUE PHONE and the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Knowledge is power. (You have time to look through both but pick which one you want to focus on. ANTIQUE PHONE offers more corporate family knowledge, SILVER WALKIE TALKIE offers you more knowledge on the spooks.)
Antique Phone, because we passed on it a lot and I finally want to see Gregory's stuff on it

That's 4, but
>Call Sukane to get some more SET UP TIME actions with his T-Corp connections. (FREE ACTION, -$450 per extra action. Write in how many actions to buy, if any.)
Buy 1
Then
>[UNSTABLE] The TV flickers with an unnatural hue. The TV MAN is always there to help you. To show you what the world truly means. Talk to him.

And for the FREE ACTION,
>Call a contact you have. (FREE ACTION. Write in. Ms. Anjaro to learn about the Wastes? Ms. Wiltshire about the History of the City? The D, W, J, G, or V-Corp Rep? Alex to cache in some favors? Check up on Mr. Anjaro or Gregory? Someone else?)
Ms. Wiltshire about the weird Tunnels in District 10, and Alex about how that tip went earlier

Reminder
>Ms. Wiltshire is associated with O-Corp, call her if you need information from WAY before the City was created.
We got that contact from Clover as one of his sponsors of the Casino. SPEAKING OF WHICH!
>And as for Ms. Anjaro, those fellas know a bit too much about the Wastes outside the City.
I don't wanna do it now, but calling her about her relative we met in the corpo restaurant might be useful later
>>
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>>6001491
I'll just clarify he meant 'high school job'.
I never intended to imply he fucked someone as a kid. That would be disgusting of me. Sorry for miswording it.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>6001506
Forgot my roll

>>6001527
Ok thanks for clarifying QM
>>
>>6001458
Change
>>6001506
+1
>>
>>6001506
+1 but explore for Secrets
>>
>>6001933
Change/edit
MYSTERY
Switch to
SECRETS
>>
>>6002188
>>6002192
Do you guys think we should do more UNSTABLE reveals like we did at the X Corp mission and with Maruyama? Getting our allies up to speed might be good leading up to the silver agent base assault. We should also sit and give them the full silver agent rundown when we can. Handler being there to back her up might lend credence to Nicole. We're collecting a lot of powerful allies in high and low places, but the silver agents are a City-wide organization
>>
Apologies for delay. Mother's Day happened, family dragged me out to something very unprompted, didn't have time to write nor even close this vote.

SHOPPING: ALL, with most picking just W-Catalog.
UNSTABLE: ALL but IAh
SEEKER: All, with more edging towards MYSTERY by my count (IAh and 5XY = Secrets, rQd, GBI, and 0P/ = Mystery)
UNMARKED VIAL: All.
PERSON OF INTEREST: rQd, GBI, 5Xy, 0P/
SUKANE, HELP, I NEED MORE ACTIONS: All but IAh
HEY CALL WILTSHIRE: rQd, GBI, 5XY, no reason not to.

Okay, so first, three anons roll 1d100 for the following SEEKER table. If none of them roll for MYSTERY, the lowest number will be converted into MYSTERY.
1-9: The sea of people passing by you makes you wonder how their lives are... (You'll learn more about the people living in the district. May be useful down the line.)
10-20: Oh, that's an interesting looking building! (You'll gain a new place to visit during your SETUP and FREE TIME phases.)
25-29: "Hey, miss! Come over here!" (You encounter a potential ALLY.)
30-39: A crowd of Cleaners pass by you, muttering and yelling about something. You keep an open ear. (You'll learn some advice that'll be useful for later missions.)
40-55: There's something weird about the alleyway you walked past. You decide to take another check. (You'll learn a useful secret about the City.)
56-93: Something just doesn't seem right. The details don't fit together. That store wasn't there yesterday. That man was supposed to be dead. What's going on? (You uncover a MYSTERY. Once you manage to solve whatever's going on, you'll gain a stat boost and a glimpse into the wider machinations of the CITY.)
94-99: The air grows thick and heavy. Your legs move on their own. You can sense something ANOMALOUS nearby. (ANOMALY ENCOUNTER)
100: The air grows thick and heavy. You swear the streets were crowded moments before. What's going on? (???)
>>
Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>6002706
Just a straight 1d100? I'll just take the MYSTERY vote.
>>
Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>6002706
>>
Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>6002706
>>
>>6002710
I mean, it's how I've done this for the last couple of threads when people picked this option? And you ARE getting a mystery no matter what, It's just deciding what you get ALONGSIDE the mystery or if you encounter multiple. You know, wandering around, seeing where you end up at.
Also, made a fucky wucky, meant to say "all but 0P/" for the unmarked vial. Didn't really matter given that 4/5 people voted for it but I felt I should clarify.

Anywho, you got a MYSTERY (converted the 10 to a MYSTERY), ADVICE, and COOL PLACE TO VISIT. Neato.

Now I just need two anons to roll 3d6, two halves of the WILLPOWER CHECK. If the two rolls added together equals a 19, wahoo, you get new power.
You can reroll 2d6 for free.
>>
Rolled 4, 2, 5 = 11 (3d6)

>>6002721
Sorry, just wanted to confirm there were no modifiers since it wasn't specified. Also goddamn we got some rough rolls on this set.
>>
Rolled 2, 1, 4 = 7 (3d6)

>>6002721
>>
Rolled 3, 2, 1 = 6 (3d6)

>>6002721
>>
Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d6)

>>6002721
Too late, huh. Then I'll reroll the 1 and 2 here >>6002728
>>
>>6002732
Boxcars babyyyyyyyyy!
>>
Considering you had a 2d6 reroll, I'll just treat the first two dice that 0P rolled as rerolling the 2 and 1 of 2iE's vote....
4, 2, 5 = 11
2, 3, 4 = 9
20. Just barely passes.
BUT
It's funnier to go with the Boxcars And even with my impromptu 'treat the first two dice 0P/ as the reroll', you would've eeked out a success either way. So you get a 27.

Writing.

>>6002722
No problem, man. Just wanted to clarify so you didn't think I cheated you out of anything. It's mostly just a way to add some FLAIR to things.
>>
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You pull out the UNMARKED VIAL. It's filled to the brim with a thick, chunky yellow-greenish fluid that reminds you of vomit moreso than A-Energy. Probably because it hasn't been properly stored in an A-ENERGY BOX. Oh well. You don't feel like spending another syringe of ICP on yourself so down it goes.

You have to hold your nose shut while chugging down the foul mixture and even with that, it tastes horrible and it burns going all the way down. Once every bit of the vial is emptied into your gullet, you throw the god damn vial against a wall. You immediately rush to the bathroom to wash it down with tap water. God, it's probably laced with lead but you don't care at this point.

The taste of battery acid and warm, spoiled milk clings to your tongue no matter how much you drink. Feh. You hate this.
>-1 UNMARKED VIAL!

You stumble back to your bedroom before the vial fully hits. You sit down on the floor and crisscross your legs before closing your eyes. You have to focus now. Even as time passes, your body begins to burn up. Starting at your toes and going all the way up to your antlers, the worst burning and itching sensation you have ever felt in your life floods every inch of your existence.

Even your vision isn't spared. Swirls of greyish blues, dark browns, pale violets, forest greens, bright oranges, vivid whites, and a number of other colors assaults you even with your closed eyes. Yet you focus on one specific color. Bright pink. Your color. Your existence. Your mind begins to fracture...

>27! PASS!

Only to start blooming into a brand new flower. You begin to relax, letting all of the unpleasant sensations flowing through your body fade away. Your vision is quickly flooded with a bright pink hue as suddenly, it all clicks for you. For the briefest of moments, you don't have to think. You don't have to worry. Your mind washes away into a primordial soup.

It's short lived however. The moment you open your eyes, it all washes away. You're still Nicole Smith. You're still in a shitty low income apartment. You still have a job to do. It would've been nice if you could just let yourself be awashed into the primordial soup but eh.

You can't wash your ego away that quickly. You just won't let it happen. Not yet.

As you get up, you notice that your body feels weird. You can't quite see what changed about you yet given you're still wearing your jeans and COMBAT BODYSUIT from yesterday. You'll deal with whatever weird mutation you got later.
>NEW POWER UNLOCKED! YOU'LL GET TO CHOOSE WHICH ONE LATER!

You pull out your cellphone and dial a very familiar number. The moment the call connects, you mutter out your order. "Sukane. You know what I want, take the $450 retroactively or whatever weird shit T-Corp does."

"Ah. Finally getting to the point." Mr. Sukane sounds oddly happy as you feel time begins to twist in on itself. For anyone else, this might be a seamless process but you're getting more and more attuned to this procedure.
>>
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Maybe it's the pocketwatch you have offering you some mild immunity? "That's an extra two hours for you. Enjoy it. Thank you for purchasing from Golden Hour Office, partner of Starlight Office."

"Wait, huh, that's Maruyama's office-" And you get hung up on. Welp, good for Maru! You put up your phone and check your wallet to see your money vanishing as expected.
>YOU NOW HAVE $2984!

Splendid.

[UNSTABLE] You snap your attention to the TV buzzing away on that shitty coffee table you're resting it on. It's connecting itself to HEAVEN AGAIN, NICOLE. USE YOUR TIME WISELY LISTEN TO IT!!!

With a telekinetic flick of the mind, you turn the television on. Almost immediately, the TV MAN makes himself known. A pale man in a bright blue newscaster suit is now on your television screen. He's staring RIGHT at you. Then he's not. He's busy with a set of papers he has in his hands.

"...As a reminder, the meeting between the 26 Alphabet Companies and the Head is four days away and K + J-Corp's districts, 10 and 11, are still risky to visit due to corporate tensions for another three days."

"Though, depending on what a certain schizophrenic does, that might be nudged back or forward. But we don't care about that boring news. Here's THREE IMPORTANT PIECES OF INFORMATION, NICOLE SMITH. LISTEN TO ME OR YOU WILL BE RIPPED LIMB FROM LIMB."

He holds up his left hand with his thumb, index, and middle finger raised up. He then lowers his middle finger. "ONE. One P-Company sponsored facility each in F, G, and Y-Corp's districts have had multi-system failures that resulted in over forty anomalies breaching." For a moment, an alarm blares over your TV's speakers. "Bad news for everyone involved!"

"Some anomalies that might've been dealt by other Cleaners might appear again as missions for you to deal with or as roaming threats. Good thing you have that A-Energy detector! But yeah, your missions have gotten a passive RISK bump. Sorry."

Oh. Oh that's not good. "Did they figure out what caused the system failures?"

"Sabotage. You can figure out who sabotaged it very easily. I trust you're smart, after all. Here's a hint. Who makes a buzz and glows in the dark?" The TV MAN'S smirk widens WAY too wide for your comfort.

"TWO." He lowers his index finger. "W-Company has recently gotten into hot water due to an incident at a small mining town due to a certain corporate family member kidnaping. Local W-Corp representative, Wendy Walker, has been trying her best to calm down the Head's Investors but to be quite honest? She's doing a BAD job."

Shit, it didn't take too long for that story to be spread around. You can only assume one of the three corpos made a big stink about it after you left.

"While this incident is minor, this has incentivized W-Company to partner more with L and S-Company. Rumors of a certain woman killing an X5 has spread across several districts of S-Corp, which L and W-Corp has picked up on. We all know who that is, right?"
>>
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"Good on you. He was stuck in the past. Refused to enter the new age of humanity. Needlessly to say, expect any mission involving S, L, or W-Corp's districts to be easier for you for the foreseeable future and for them to offer better rewards. And, well, Wendy to be far more willing to work for you."

>WENDY's hiring cost has been discounted!

"Well, some good news is nice, at least." You sigh. "Thank you."

"NO PROBLEM. THIRD AND LAST!" He lowers his thumb. "Rumors have been spreading about a new kind of Cleaner has been spreading around. While most anomalies naturally produce PARADIGMS and other anomalous trinkets, a few humans have been reported manifesting such powers on their own. We shall call them SHIFTers for the time being."

"Wait huh how do people know about-"
"It's not about Max and Benjamin, silly willy! Or Maruyama, even! Though they would be classified as such! And maybe even you but you're a weird edge case!"

You furrow your eyebrows but you wait for him to finish.

"Needlessly to say, we don't know the specifics on how normies becomes one but most of them are VERY ambitious and will try their best to muddle in the business of Cleaners like YOU. Some may even say that a certain pair of glowies have forcefully created some as powerful executors. To hunt YOU now. Expect for a lot of foreign parties to start middling in your missions. You can tell if someone is a SHIFTer by one simple detail."

"They can't hide it well. Their eyes ALWAYS look fucked up. If you see someone wearing shades constantly or their eyes are WAY too colorful, BEWARE. Kill them before they can kill you."

After that, the TV turns off. Not a lot of good news but that information will be useful down the line. You find a spare pink winter coat to put on. Once it's all nice and snug, you exit your apartment and head down the stairs of your apartment building to reach the streets below.

It's about as snowy as it normally is in this part of your subdistrict. In other words: YOU CAN'T SEE SHIT. Your nose scrunches up and your eyes damn near shut close from how much snow is being blown in your face from the winter storm going on right now. Though as soon as the storm damn near knocks you to your ass, it disappears. You're used to the weather being fickle in this part of the City.

The X-Corp soldiers standing guard by your apartment have fucking set up tents around your apartment. Wow. Thanks. Very conspicuous- Is that cartoon opening theme songs blaring from their tents? Huh?

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Let your legs move on their own. Let ME whisper to you, Nicole. The City loves you. Let it take you where it needs to go.

Your body begins to move automatically. You know when your instincts tell you to do something, letting your thoughts fade and just letting your mind and body move by themselves leads you in the right direction. The ice-slick streets and snow-coated streets oddly warms your chest.
>>
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You suddenly stop in the middle of the sidewalk you're walking on. You quickly put on your nightvision googles to make sure what you're seeing is correct. Nope, you're not hallucinating. Yet.

A massive satellite has crashed right in the middle of the road, blocking any traffic passing through the street your apartment building is located at. It's a damn big satellite as well, probably around the size of a small school bus if it wasn't half crumpled due to the impact it had with the ground.

There's no way you can move this thing without some FOCUSED Telekinesis but frankly, the hell would you do with tons of metal and weird electronics? No, the thing that's confusing you about this satellite is the fact it's still broadcasting something. There's a faint, almost imperceptible chattering coming out of the satellite that's thickly laced in static.

You kneel down in front of it to try figuring out what the fuck it's saying.
"...SIGNAL 4 TO SIGNAL 5...RECENT PROJECT FAILED...SHOT DOWN BY..."
"...YEAR OF FIRST OPERATION: 1957...SHOULD'VE BEEN UNDETECTABLE BY...HEAD'S SYSTEMS...TOO OLD FOR...THEM"
"...PROJECT: THORN NEEDS MORE TIME TO DEVELOP...REROUTING LOST SIGNAL 3 FROM THIS SATELLITE TO ANOTHER...SATELLITE"
"...DAMN SPOOKS..."

It then starts repeating those same messages again. 1957? That's nearly 300 years ago. How the fuck is a piece of tech that old still working? Who the hell could've been operating it? It doesn't take a genius to realize that something named 'Thorn' is probably a weapon of some kind but who could even be operating something like this?

Surely, it has to be an alphabet company, right? But none of them should've existed that long ago...It doesn't make any sense. There's not much you can do here aside from grabbing onto some scattered electronic chips and metal tiling from the satellite.

>MYSTERY: Space Age Satellite. (Who owns it? What purpose is it for? Why was it only shot down now? Why do they know about the spooks? REWARD FOR COMPLETING: +1 COGNIZANCE, +1 RESTRAINT)
>+3 SPACE AGE COMPUTER CHIPS (A tech savvy ally like Benjamin, Adam, Maruyama, or Kiara might be able to figure out more about them. Though some part of you tells you Alexis knows as well?), +3 SPACE AGE SATELLITE TILES (Very sturdy. Can be sold for a massive profit, though it might be wise to keep them?)

You whistle over at the X-Corp guards by your apartment to secure it for you. Maybe they can figure out something about it you can't, after all, if it is a weapon...the military Alphabet Company should know more about it. Right?

While they're busy taking that to somewhere more secure, you keep walking.

You find yourself standing by a really sketchy looking alleyway that any normal person would have no reason to go down but something about it calls to you. You know something has to be here and, well, you can defend yourself from some thugs.

What catches your eye is a neon sign hanging by a doorway, luring you closer.
>>
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Taking some steps over to the doorway the neon sign is hanging over, you skim over what it says...

"FLOWERS AND TEARS OFFICE. INFORMATION FOR A PRICE. OPEN 24/7, 365/YEAR. CUSTOMER CONFIDENTALITY 100% CONFIRMED."

Hm? Interesting, you know about Offices (Groups of Cleaners who work together on very risky missions in exchange for incredibly high pay) but you never really visited one yourself. You guess you technically run an unofficial one given the contacts you have? You'll call Wiltshire after you're done investigating here. You step through the neon-lit doorway.

https://youtu.be/q0I42R0pcoI - FLOWERS AND TEARS

It's small inside. Real small. Probably only double the size of your own small, dingy apartment. A thick cloud of smoke hangs over the tightly packed office you find yourself in. Most of the floor space has been taken up by office cubicles and chairs, leaving only one small table in the corner for someone to sit down at and a check in counter with an incredibly bored android sitting at it.

There's only five other people, besides the android, in this whole office. A sloshed H-Corp Cleanser, two chattering Drones who are holding each other's hands, and three regular humans who are busy trying to smoke their lungs out to avoid thinking about what's going on.

"If you wanna buy info, wait a moment, we're busy recovering from fuckin'..." One of the humans, a pale man with bright cyan eyes, snaps his fingers. "a failed mission involving some P-Corp facility."

You raise an eyebrow but you nod, heading over to the one unoccupied table. You open up your W-CORP CATALOG, ready to skim through it for shit to buy, when you take a moment to listen to what the Cleaners are chattering about.

"I told you that we shouldn't have followed that Aster guy's advice. Him and that faggot sister of his. Amber something. Krakatoas are untrustworthy motherfuckers. 521 Association assholes...heard some nasty rumors about them. That some are SHIFTers or somethin'?"

The Cleanser suddenly snaps out of his drunken stupor. "DO YOU TRUST THOSE NONSENSICAL RUMORS? NO ONE MANIFESTS PARADIGMS ON THEIR OWN. IT'S SIMPLY NOT SOMETHING CITYSLICKERS DO. BESIDES, DOESN'T EXCUSE THE FACT THE P-CORP REFINEMENT MACHINES ARE TO BLAME FOR LAST MISSION'S FAILURE. ONLY STRONG MINDS CAN HANDLE IT AND FEH! LOOK AT THE PEOPLE AROUND THE CITY!"

"At least it's fucking better than that APEX PREDATOR shit! No one has been able to fight that god damn thing! Hell, I heard rumors that the damn thing is actually immortal. Even if you 'kill it', you only have so long until it gets back up." A woman with only her jacket and bra on rambles outloud.

"Frankly, I think we should start working with those N-Corp guys again. Apparently their holy artifacts are actually given power by a God of the City. That and, well, apparently they're not that bad to work with? They're pretty good in terms of alphabet companies."
>>
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Interesting, interesting. You crack open your catalog...

W-CORP CATALOG. SELECT AS MUCH AS YOU'RE WILLING TO BUY.
MONEY: $2984
BARTER SUPPLIES: 4 A-ENERGY ($350 EACH), 2 HIGH CLASS JEWELRY ($200 EACH), 7 HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY ($75 EACH), 2 C-EXTRACT ($625 EACH), 3 C-EXTRACT? ($666 EACH), FISH (RARE) x4 (Equal to 1 A-ENERGY), FISH PILE (VERY RARE) x2 (Equal to 3 A-ENERGY), FISH (SPECIAL) x2 (Equal to 1 C-EXTRACT)

>ANTI-ANOMALY ROUNDS (3 per $150 or 6 per A-ENERGY. Can be used as PISTOL or REVOLVER ammo. When hitting an anomaly or a person with anomalous abilities with one, the target takes 2 extra FLESH and RESTRAINT damage.
>NOLNOL PILLS (2 per $99. Produced by a B.A. and sponsored by M.K. When consumed, offers mild RESTRAINT regeneration and your powers take 1 less RESTRAINT to use. If used on an ally, they take 1 less RESTRAINT until it wears off.)
>POLISHED VOIDSTONE (1 per $750 or 1 C-Extract + $150. Boosts all stats by 3 on consumption for a short duration and once it wears off, boosts one stat of the user's choice permanently by 1.)
>CHAINSAW OF ULTRAVIOLENCE (1 C-Extract or 2 A-Energy + $135. ATTACK ROLL: VIOLENCE*2. WHEN SOMEONE IS KILLED WITH THIS WEAPON, HEAL 1 FLESH AND RESTRAINT. MASSIVELY OVERWHELMS THE USER WITH BLOODLUST OVER TIME.)
>A-ENERGY SIPHON (1 per $75. While active, all nearby anomalies, anomalous humans, and PARADIGMs aside from your own will have their abilities hampered when they enter this device's area of effect.)
>POLISHED NOVASTONE (1 per $345. When used, reduces all dice on nearby enemies by 1 for the rest of combat and sets most enemies ablaze, dealing fire damage to them over time.)
>MOONSTONE (1 per $350. Blocks up to 3 RESTRAINT damage before shattering. No bells, no whistles, you get what you get. Also blocks any damage you take when using an ability.)
>ECLIPSE SILK BOMB. (2 per $250. When used, it creates a thick web made out of sticky silk in a small area around where you threw it, blocking approaching enemies and creating cover in the middle of battle.)
>LUCK INVERTER (1 per $111. Sponsored by L-Corp. inverts all of the dice a target of your choice rolled. i.e if someone rolls d6s, 1 <--> 6, 2 <--> 5, 3 <--> 4)
>AXAXAX PILLS (3 per $200. Made by a B.A., approved for sell by W-Corp and Z-Corp. When consumed, adds +3d8 to your next CHARM roll.)
>XISXIS PILLS (4 per $111. Made by a B.A., approved for sell by W-Corp and Z-Corp. When consumed, adds +3d4 to your next CONNECTIONS or COGNIZANCE roll.)
>SEYSEY PILLS (2 per $75. Made by a B.A., approved for sell by W-Corp and Z-Corp. When consumed, boosts CHARM and CONNECTIONS by 2 for a mission at the cost of reducing two random stats by 1 for the rest of the mission.)
>DAMDAM PILL (3 per $111. You're starting to notice a pattern with these pill names. When consumed, adds a temporary 6d6 surplus to the user. The user automatically removes 2d6 from the surplus to add 2d6 to any TALENT, COGNIZANCE, or CHARM roll they make.)
>>
>LEYLEY PILLS (2 per $120. Made by a B.A., again, and approved by W and Z-Corp. This all but confirms who's making these. When consumed, adds a temporary 2 point shield to your FLESH and RESTRAINT. When you take FLESH/RESTRAINT damage, you lose one point instead.)
>SELL AN ITEM (Select which one(s). You may also sell non-barter items from your INVENTORY for a random amount of cash.)

What anomalous power do you want to pick for yourself, Nicole? Choose one.
>Perhaps if you let the cold seep in, you won't feel any pain. (Gain CRYOKINESIS. For 1 RESTRAINT, you can rapidly freeze an object or create a small construct made out of ice. For 2 RESTRAINT, you can attempt to rapidly lower the temperature in a small area around you to slow down enemies or to help you escape.)
>An electric crackling is felt throughout the tips of your fingers and toes. Perhaps if you can just...fire it out? (Gain ELECTRIC SPARK. As a passive ability, all electronics you use have a 50% chance of not consuming a charge on use and they start with 1 extra charge. For 1 RESTRAINT, you may fire sparks of electricity out of your body to stun your enemies or to power up machinery around you.)
>Let your mind shatter completely. (Gain DISASSOCIATION. For 2 RESTRAINT, you may temporarily manifest one of your voices into reality as a specter. While they can't influence things physically, they can meddle with the minds of allies and enemies alike, granting buffs and debuffs in the progress.)
>Your mind and your body are one in the same. There's power in the blood you spill. (Gain POWER IN BLOOD. You may sacrifice 1 FLESH to gain 2 RESTRAINT or temporarily boost WILLPOWER by 2. You may also spend 1 FLESH to inflict a CRIPPLING INJURY to an enemy, hampering their ability to fight.)
>For now, nothing comes out. Was it a dud? Something else? Who knows. (Gain ??? SPARK. You don't gain any powers right now but you might unlock something better in the future.)
>Force reality to listen to you. (Gain MENTAL CONSTRUCT. You can spend 1 RESTRAINT to temporarily make small invisible walls to act as cover or to hamper progress. You can spend 2 RESTRAINT to create invisible, dangerous traps to mess with your enemies or to create a temporary, weak version of an item of your choosing.)

And finally, do you wish to buy any information from this office? Pick as many as you wish.
>ASK THEM ABOUT AN ALPHABET COMPANY (-$300. Write which one you want to know more about, they'll give as much information as they can.)
>ASK THEM ABOUT THE SATELLITE. (-$100. They'll offer what little they know about it, pointing you in the right direction.)
>ASK THEM FOR SOME GENERAL ADVICE. (-$150. They'll offer you a variety of useful tidbits for the future.)
>ASK THEM ABOUT THE SPOOKS. (You don't know what happens if you ask them this.)
>ASK THEM ABOUT SHIFTERS (-$200. They'll offer as much as they know about them, which might help you when dealing with your own spark-powered allies.)
>Don't ask them anything, you're fine.
>>
I swear I wrote an analysis for the previous post updates before. What? It never got posted? Fuck. Uhhhh yeah it's too late so I'm going to sleep. I'll do it tomorrow alongside my vote, and alongside analysis for this update too. I hope my autism at least helps other anons figure shit out or come up with things
>>
I will refrain from voting until this anon post the analysis post. other Anon, I strongly advise you not to vote yet until this anon comes back with a analysis post.
>>
I will wait for the analysis post, but I want to say we NEED those A-syphons and Luck Inverters.
>>
>>6003128
>>6003276
yeah yeah thanks fags
>>
>>6003089
>ANTI-ANOMALY ROUNDS (3 per $150 or 6 per A-ENERGY. Can be used as PISTOL or REVOLVER ammo. When hitting an anomaly or a person with anomalous abilities with one, the target takes 2 extra FLESH and RESTRAINT damage.
Buy 9

>NOLNOL PILLS (2 per $99. Produced by a B.A. and sponsored by M.K. When consumed, offers mild RESTRAINT regeneration and your powers take 1 less RESTRAINT to use. If used on an ally, they take 1 less RESTRAINT until it wears off.)
Buy 4

>POLISHED VOIDSTONE (1 per $750 or 1 C-Extract + $150. Boosts all stats by 3 on consumption for a short duration and once it wears off, boosts one stat of the user's choice permanently by 1.)
Buy 1

>LUCK INVERTER (1 per $111. Sponsored by L-Corp. inverts all of the dice a target of your choice rolled. i.e if someone rolls d6s, 1 <--> 6, 2 <--> 5, 3 <--> 4)
Buy 2

>AXAXAX PILLS (3 per $200. Made by a B.A., approved for sell by W-Corp and Z-Corp. When consumed, adds +3d8 to your next CHARM roll.)
Buy 3

>XISXIS PILLS (4 per $111. Made by a B.A., approved for sell by W-Corp and Z-Corp. When consumed, adds +3d4 to your next CONNECTIONS or COGNIZANCE roll.)
Buy 4

>DAMDAM PILL (3 per $111. You're starting to notice a pattern with these pill names. When consumed, adds a temporary 6d6 surplus to the user. The user automatically removes 2d6 from the surplus to add 2d6 to any TALENT, COGNIZANCE, or CHARM roll they make.)
Buy 3

>>6003090
>Your mind and your body are one in the same. There's power in the blood you spill. (Gain POWER IN BLOOD. You may sacrifice 1 FLESH to gain 2 RESTRAINT or temporarily boost WILLPOWER by 2. You may also spend 1 FLESH to inflict a CRIPPLING INJURY to an enemy, hampering their ability to fight.)

>ASK THEM ABOUT THE SATELLITE. (-$100. They'll offer what little they know about it, pointing you in the right direction.)
>>
>>6003059
>shitty low income apartment
I didn't do the last update, so I'll say it here. Nicole's been at this place the past few weeks and had little to her name in objects outside of the clothes on her back before the quest began. But she is from G District, allegedly? And she did have a childhood where she was still UNSTABLE since birth if UNSTABLE is to be believed. Where is our girl Nicole really from in this District? Where is the home she used to have? And why is she such a lost doe now?
>wash your ego away
All this primordial soup talk and these descriptions sound a lot like what we learned from The Lack at the bottom of the mines, and what it all means for W Corp. What past background does our Nicole have with them, if she was like this since birth or a very very early age?
>oddly happy
Probably pleased Nicole is learning while also remaining a good customer. Too bad he doesn't know about the glowies watching him

>>6003060
>mild immunity
We are NEVER losing that pocketwatch
>partner
We never told Maruyama we know Sukane from Clover, right? And Sukane doesn't know Nicole's friends with Maruyama. That might be a pleasant reveal later
>four days
That's 3 missions away, assuming we hit the glowies on the fourth day. We NEED to touch base with Wendy and Frank on a mission asap. We need to do the Nicole UNSTABLE reveal more too, before it is too late. Same with the glowie talk.
>K + J-Corp's districts, 10 and 11, are still risky to visit
>nudged back or forward
Checking the X Corp guards' report from last thread, District 10 should be safe from the 521s
>F, G, and Y-Corp's districts have had multi-system failures that resulted in over forty anomalies breaching
>Sabotage
That lines up with what the guards said in their report, which we read before the mines mission and after we got back from the ship mission
>A LARGE INCREASE OF ANOMALY REPORTS HAS BEEN NOTED. NORMALLY, ONLY 20 OR SO CONFIRMED ANOMALY CAPTURES HAPPEN IN EACH DISTRICT PER MONTH. NOW, IT IS 75.
The glowies are releasing anomalies en masse. That there's breaches in G District is not good since Nicole lives here. We have no place for Nicole to move to yet with us passing up the I-Corp apartment reward from that one mission
>A-Energy detector
Never losing this
>>
>>6003062
>S, L, or W-Corp
Lines up with the X Corp guard report
>W-COMPANY HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE SUPPOSED KILLER OF AN ENTITY BY THE NAME OF 'THE ADMIRAL'S GAME' TO OFFER THEM A JOB. I DOUBT IT'S A CORPORATE POSITION. LIKELY TRYING TO USE YOU TO KILL ANOTHER ENTITY THEY HAD PROBLEMS WITH
But W Corp might hate Nicole once they learn Nicole is anomalous AND knows about their singularity from the mines. Risky
>discounted
We're hiring her next. She might hate us for the mine news spreading, but love us for killing Admiral, but hate us for being anomalous, but love us for...
Yeah that's quite the relationship there waiting to happen
>SHIFTers
Virtue's Last Reward?
>certain pair of glowies
Specifically a pair...?
>VERY ambitious
Not necessarily bad. I think we can win them over if we try and they aren't the "murder Nicole" type
>eyes
They'll figure out the same for Nicole. Ben might need prescription shades too for his own sake
>tents
Valued X Corp asset much?
>cartoon opening theme songs
It makes me wonder which ones?

>>6003064
>satellite
Thanks for addressing my questioning about space setting, QM
>1957
Holy fuck
>ANOTHER...SATELLITE
Somebody's working to overthrow the Head? There's more up there
>SPOOKS
Could the Anjaros be behind this?
>alphabet company
Oh shit
>"ANY? REMNANTS? OF THE OLD WORLD? IN NEW ONE?" Benedict chatters out.
>"Y-Company. Used to be a transport company back in 1921. Still is, just with a different way of transporting it."
Y Corp might be a surprise ally against the silver agents if this thread from Admiral is correct
>+3 SPACE AGE COMPUTER CHIPS
These and the PULSATING GEAR are some enigma items we still know nothing about
>Alexis knows
I-Corp is Russian. Space Race.
>+3 SPACE AGE SATELLITE TILES
Y Corp might want these back?
>secure it
If Y Corp wants to overthrow the Head with retro tech and it's found out, X Corp will wage war on them as the main protector of the City from the outside. Not a good prospect
>>
>>6003066
>FLOWERS AND TEARS
Flower and Rain, but where's the Sun?
>holding each other's hands
Is that appropriate in a workplace setting? That's way too lewd!
>pale man with bright cyan eyes
Question him NOW
>failed mission involving some P-Corp facility
I pity the poor fucks who took that "help part time at a P Corp facility" mission from the Handler

>Him and that faggot sister of his. Amber something. Krakatoas
OH SHIT THAT'S WHAT THEIR K LAST INITIAL IS FOR
>My sister throws her own blood at canvases to make 'art'. My brother? Christ, it's best if I don't describe it. At least I try to provide for my family instead of running around, doing inane bullshit because I thought it was funny that day.
>A cybernetically engineered husk of flesh and metal, more meat and machine than man. You're Aster K, former bodyguard. Augmented physique enhances intimidation. Sensitive to the unnatural and slower to heal.
><"She doesn't need to know about Vincent Cruz or Amber Krakatoa. It's better if she doesn't, she might get too powerful if she does.">
We need Max's help to reach out to them, and Ashley's help to keep Ashton from murdering Nicole.
>521 Association
>some are SHIFTers
Ok what do we know so far? Assassination office. Glowies hired Ashton to kill Nicole. Their members are
>Ashton Miller
>Vincent Cruz
>Amber Krakatoa
>Aster Krakatoa
>Zane ?????
>Nicole doppel
>Benjamin doppel
A confrontation with them sounds inevitable. I fear the glowies might use them to guard their base or something on the day of the Head meeting

>P-CORP REFINEMENT MACHINES
From that S Corp Ledger
>TO P-CORP, FROM L-CORP: We know what your fucking Singularity is, you son of a bitch. We're going to fucking kill you. We're going to rip your REFINEMENT machines out for everyone to see. We're going to break into your facility and fucking kill you. See you in three days, bud!
On top of that
>NOTICE FROM S-CORP: Due to recent interference from an unknown organization, we are hampered in our ability to construct new L, R, and P-Corp's containment facilities. Please wait patently as we try to deal with the unknown third party. We will try to hire Cleaners to resolve it.
Silvers are sabotaging P Corp for their own ends. Handler looked into them because we said silvers might be working WITH P Corp, but now it turns out we were wrong. This is huge. Everything new we're finding out feels fucking huge
>if you 'kill it', you only have so long until it gets back up
Admiral was like that too, wasn't he? It was implied his death is temporary. We still have the P Corp containment cell in case we have to use it to defeat him
>God of the City
If the Father is one such God, then why are there anomalies based on him and his religion?
>pretty good
Perhaps another potential ally against the glowie menace? But they might be neutral or ambivalent on the subject. We have no favor or contacts with them, so it'll be a tough sell
>>
Rolled 2 (1d4)

>>6003089
>>6003090
SHOP TIME
>ANTI-ANOMALY ROUNDS
BUY 12
-2 A
>NOLNOL PILLS
BUY 4
-$198
>POLISHED VOIDSTONE
BUY 1
-$750 but pay in this -> -2 FISH (rare) + -$50
>CHAINSAW OF ULTRAVIOLENCE
-2 FISH (rare), -$135
>A-ENERGY SIPHON
BUY 2
-$150
>ECLIPSE SILK BOMB
BUY 1
-125
>LUCK INVERTER
BUY 2
-$222
>AXAXAX PILLS
BUY 3
-$200
>DAMDAM PILL
BUY 3
-$111
>(THE COFFIN OF ANDY AND) LEYLEY PILLS
BUY 2
-$120

>ASK THEM ABOUT THE SATELLITE. (-$100. They'll offer what little they know about it, pointing you in the right direction.)
>ASK THEM ABOUT SHIFTERS (-$200. They'll offer as much as they know about them, which might help you when dealing with your own spark-powered allies.)

Total spent:
$1611
2 A
2 FISH (rare)

>Powers.
Rolling dice for it.
1 = Electric Spark = MIND WHIP (baby form)
2 = Dissassociation = Disco Disarray
3 = ??? Spark = Delay for stronger
4 = Mental Construct = Mime Deer
>>
>>6003393
That's 4 FISH (rare), apologies
We better joke that we're paying in this office's dinner with the 4 fish we're giving them. They better enjoy it.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it, >>6003128 and >>6003276. Thanks for the support but I don't want to hold up votes with my autism posting. You shouldn't feel like holding back to wait for me, especially since you have all the right to change your votes or rewrite them with new info or with me pointing stuff out, or even some other guy making a case for a different approach better than I ever could. It doesn't sit right with me in retrospect, that's all.

But enough soppy shit. What do you two (and >>6003338) think about the latest info we got? I can feel the buildup towards the Head meeting. That feels like it'll be the climax of this "arc".
>>
>>6003393
+1
>>6003394
We're doing quite well for ourselves. I definitely want to hit the silver agent base in the G-Corp when the head meeting begins.
>>
>>6003062
>"They can't hide it well. Their eyes ALWAYS look fucked up. If you see someone wearing shades constantly or their eyes are WAY too colorful, BEWARE. Kill them before they can kill you."

No.5798285
>"...Recent reports have shown a massive amount of defects in the latest Drone production line. Due to this, many businesses are struggling to get the manpower needed to operate their stores."

>"If you notice a Drone from the G-01 series, please report it to your local Q-Corp representative. It's best to crush an annoying bug before it causes problems."
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5796950/
Do you trust all the TV Man advice, Anon? He has been wrong in the past when he told us to crush or report any defect drones we saw, but Quentin has been friendly and helpful so far to us.
>>
>>6003393
>>6003394
Add to this, please!
>XISXIS PILLS
BUY 4
-$111

Total spent becomes:
$1722

>>6003409
If you check the inventory, we got a solid stock of supplies and gear. Excess weapons we can give away to our allies too, like the melees we don't really use or the harpoon guns or whatever ranged we don't need. Could do with lightening the load, especially when the time comes to hit the silver base. Passing the excess gasmasks to allies is a must, and maybe swapping the VIOLENCE ones around so people like Lex have those and Alexis and Casey have regular ones, but that's for when the time comes. We still have shit for a serious moment, like
>ECM JAMMER
Bust it in the silver agent base to fuck their tech up? Prevent calling for their backup? This is a very powerful item but most situations never need it
>METAL DETECTOR
No need in W Corp mines because we got the colored wall tip for safehouses, but we could have used it with knowing the doors were metal to find them easier if we never got the colored wall info. Definitely worth using in the District 10 tunnels if we go there
>DAMAGED MAP
From the glowie we killed when Ashton went for Nicole. No time to go to District 21 (U Corp?) for the silver agent outpost before the Head meeting happens. But what if we go there immediately after the G Corp base hit? Two assaults back to back provided we're running on minimal casualties after the G District base is wrecked?
>BUSTED Y-CORP TRANSPORTER x2
Do we upgrade Benedict or Kiara?
>Y-CORP HANDHELD TELEPORTER
Only one use, but is it only one person? Could Nicole and everybody hold hands and teleport out together to a safe place post-base-raid? Or would it cause a horrid meat merge monstrosity?

>>6003417
>>6003422
I will note we have no clue which drone series Quentin is from. He might be a different sort of "defective" series entirely, and the G-01s in question are ones we missed encountering along the way. We passed up like a couple different Q Corp or drone-adjacent missions, plus didn't talk to the Q Corp rep centipede at the French luxury food place. It would be nice to reconnect with that corp, especially after Nicole was responsible for the E+X+Q Corp joint cooperation to happen in the first place. And in addition
>Q-CORP DRONE PHERMONES (3 charges). A foul smelling purple liquid that messes with the heads of those nearby. You may spend a charge to make the next person you encounter completely forget you were ever there. Useful for stealth missions.
We've had these since thread 1 I think? When we meet with Quentin again, bringing these up plus the G-01 bit from thread 1 could be interesting.
>>
>>6003430
>From the glowie we killed when Ashton went for Nicole. No time to go to District 21 (U Corp?) for the silver agent outpost before the Head meeting happens. But what if we go there immediately after the G Corp base hit? Two assaults back to back provided we're running on minimal casualties after the G District base is wrecked?
It is too risky because the silver agent organization is going to send in QRF on us after we destroy the silver agent base in the G-Corp.
>Do we upgrade Benedict or Kiara?
Upgrade Kiara because Benedict is already super strong.
>>
>>6003090
>ANTI-ANOMALY ROUNDS 2 packs ($300)
>A-ENERGY SIPHON x4 ($300)
>LUCK INVERTER x3 ($333)
>AXAXAX PILLS 1 pack ($200)
>XISXIS PILLS 1 pack ($111)

>An electric crackling is felt throughout the tips of your fingers and toes. Perhaps if you can just...fire it out? (Gain ELECTRIC SPARK. As a passive ability, all electronics you use have a 50% chance of not consuming a charge on use and they start with 1 extra charge. For 1 RESTRAINT, you may fire sparks of electricity out of your body to stun your enemies or to power up machinery around you.)
This is huge. Every electronical buff item basically doubles in supply.

>ASK THEM ABOUT THE SATELLITE. (-$100. They'll offer what little they know about it, pointing you in the right direction.)
>ASK THEM ABOUT SHIFTERS (-$200. They'll offer as much as they know about them, which might help you when dealing with your own spark-powered allies.)
$1440 left.
>>
>>6003442
>QRF
What's that mean?
>upgrade Kiara
Robot bestie gitting gud
>Every electronical buff item basically doubles in supply.
We'll need to use them more often to benefit the most. There's some we still haven't used yet
>>
>>6003488
>QRF
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_reaction_force
>>
>>6003492
I see. Never heard of it till now. I dread the state things will be in when Nicole comes to her apartment after the base hit, and it's been tactically nuked offscreen by the silver agents as a fuck you. Who will take in our stray deer main character then? Will Ashley let Nicole crash on her couch, and then Ashton walks in and sees this? Will Kiara? Or Casey? No fucking way Alexis and Ben+Max will say yes. But I suppose the real danger of "suddenly homeless due to invisible federal agents blowing up your apartment behind your back" is something to worry about later
>>
Should we give Casey the CHAINSAW OF ULTRAVIOLENCE?
>>
>>6003549
Lex. Though I wonder how unlikely people would be with using it, like Quentin
>>
>>6003814
Yeah. As funny as it would be for a cute murdersaw lady, DOUBLING UP ON VIOLENCE is badass and effective.
>>
>>6003825
I'm a little worried he'll get a teeny bit massively out of control if we give him that. He's already got some bloodlust. Will still be cool as hell to watch him RIP AND TEAR! though.
>>
>>6003835
We can simply point him at the glowies and yell THE SILVER ONES THAT GLOW! GO GET EM! and let him do the work
>>
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As you're scribbling down your shopping list, you feel a sudden stinging sensation flooding your head. That and a pressure building, building, building in your head. You begin to scratch at the base of your antlers, that's where most of the stinging is coming from-

Something cracks. The pressure is released almost immediately. A pinkish gas begins to leak out of a crack in your head. It blends perfectly with the smoke that has already flooded this Office so no one really notices that's going on. Soon, a face manifests from the fog leaking out of your head. A very familiar face.

You see this wretch every time you look in the mirror. It's you. Well, a different you, this one looks a lot more skittish and paranoid. She keeps glancing around the room, as if expecting something to come out of the woodwork to attack her. She narrows her eyes at you.

"Put me back in. The glowies can't see this." Poi hisses out. Before any more of the figure manifests, it rushes right back into your head. The crack in your head seals up immediately.

DISSOCATION GAINED! POWER DESCRIPTION:
-You may now summon Poi, Ker, Sable, Cap, or Anon, physical manifestations of your BOONS and BANES. They are bound to you by a crack that forms on your body and can only travel a short distance (10-15 feet) before demanifesting.
-Only one can be active at a time and they only last for a short duration. You'll be warned when they're going to demanifest.
-If used to haunt someone, they demanifest immediately.
-However, if you spend 1 extra FLESH/RESTRAINT to FOCUS, the distance limit is removed and their duration is heavily extended
-The buffs and debuffs of each voice is listed as such. Everyone but you (unless stated) gains the stat buff when the specter is active.
>Poi: +1 COGZNIANCE + TALENT, Limited resistance to perception altering effects. If sent to haunt someone, paranoid delusions will cause them to betray their allies, temporarily joining you as an ally.
>Ker: +1 CHARM + CONNECTIONS, whispers useful knowledge to party. If sent to haunt someone, she'll distract them for a prolonged period of time, easing up on most stealth checks or speech checks.
>Sable: +2 VIOLENCE and -1 MAX RESTRAINT. If sent to haunt someone, they lose all control over their actions and will begin attacking everything nearby.
>Cap: You and all allies gain the ability to reroll two dice you roll for every skill check. Can not haunt someone.
>Anom: +2 WILLPOWER, Allies with SPARK passively gain progress to awakening their spark. If sent to haunt someone, they passively lose RESTRAINT over time.

You scribble down the list of items you want as well.
>-$1422, -4 RARE FISH, -2 A-ENERGY
>+NOLNOL PILL x4, POLISHED VOIDSTONE, CHAINSAW OF ULTRAVIOLENCE, A-ENERGY SIPHON x2, ECLIPSE SILKBOMB, LUCK INVERTER x2, AXAXAX PILL x3, DAMDAM PILL x3, LEYLEY PILL x2, XISXIS PILL x4

You close your CATALOG. You pull out a wad of cash on your way over to the chattering Cleaners and slap it right down on their table.
>-$300
>>
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All five of them stare at the wad of cash in abject confusion. They seem confused on whether they should be insulted or not by the cash offered. Mr. Cyan glances up at you with a half-smirk. "Shit, that's basically half of a mission payout from the boss. What you want?"

"Two things. One: I overheard that shit about SHIFTers-" You stare Mr. Cyan right in the eyes with your own bright pink eyes. He narrows his own eyes upon seeing it. <"Just my luck. Let's see how much she knows."> "-and considering some of the rumors I heard, some of my friends might be them as well. What do you know?"

"Second-" You place down one of the SPACE AGE CHIPS and SATELLITE TILES each onto the table. "What do you know about the satellite that fell outside, like, probably not even a quarter of a mile away? You probably saw it."

The Cleanser scrunches his gas-mask covered face like a god damn muppet upon hearing more SHIFTer talk but he relaxes a bit upon seeing the space age tech. "QUAINT. HAVEN'T SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN A WHILE." He pokes and prods at the ancient technology with the help of the two drones while Mr. Cyan and Ms. Jacket (the third one seems to be asleep now) turn their attention to the SHIFTer question.

"Frankly? We don't know much." Ms. Jacket half heartedly shrugs. "We do know this: One, it's a very recent development. While one off rumors of people like them have been around for 15 years now, confirmed manifestations of anomalous abilities in humans is like...only a thing that's happened within the last three months? There's a lot of rumors about it originating from P, L, and/or U-Corp's singularities."

"Two." Mr. Cyan pulls out a small notepad and begins to flip through it. "Each of them has three specific psychological quirks. They need something they strongly believe in, they need to have the motivation to want to achieve said belief, and they need to undergo high stress and very traumatic experiences in order to fully awaken it."

"Three." Ms. Jacket grabs the notepad and scribbles a few lines out before handing it back to him. "We know of people who have the potential to awaken it but for one reason or another, they've failed to. The most common reason that SHIFTers fail to manifest is typically a lack of human interaction or social bonding."

"For whatever reason, every SHIFTer we know gravities hard towards making allies with as many people as possible. That or just trying to be friends with as many people as they can find. It's quite surreal to see in person."

"The social element is very bizarre given how, well, that's just not really something that's wise to do in our industry. To be quite honest, these four jackasses-" Mr. Cyan gestures towards his group of Cleaners. "-are probably the allies I've been with the longest. They're god damn anomalies with their survival rate."

Those last few words out of Mr. Cyan are laced with an oddly thick layer of shame and bitterness.
>>
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"We had way more workers here." Ms. Jacket laughs like she said the funniest joke in the world. Or you think it's a laugh, anyways. "But the last few missions were a bust. Six allies down the shitter. Good thing I didn't know their names."

Mr. Cyan narrows his eyes. "...They were kids, man. Barely 20 years old each. You could've bothered remembering that." <"I have to. Who else will in this world?"> "But yeah. Only other thing is that most of their powers are fickle and easily disrupted by anything that breaks their focus. Intense visual and auditory sensations should be enough to hamper them."

"So, flashbang them?"

"It might take more than a simple flashbang but yeah, mess with their focus hard enough and they'll demanifest their PARADIGM." Mr. Cyan smirks.

"Or just mess with them emotionally. Riling them up will probably make their PARADIGMs stronger but far, far more unstable. More liable to bite them in the ass than actually help them."

So, traumatic experiences, social bonding, and the motivation to continue. By the sounds of it, it sounds like bringing SPARK allies on high risk missions or earning RAPPORT with them will speed up the rate their SPARKs develop. Duly noted, that's actually useful to know.

You glance over at the two Drones- well, you mean, the two centipede crawling all over the tile and computer chip you gave them. They quickly skitter once they notice you saw them. You simply laugh it off and offer an OK sign. "I already knew. Anywho, what did you find?"

The Drone in Pink scratches her chin. "not produced by any active company. material of space tile is similar to that produced by e, g, h, and y-corp. computer chip most similar to e-corp but very primtive."
The Drone in Blue nods along to his drone companion's comment. "THE WEIRD THING IS THAT MOST SPACE FARING TECH LIKE THIS HAS BEEN CONSIDERED OUTDATED FOR A WHILE. WHILE G-CORP HAS BEEN PUSHING THE IDEA OF GOING TO SPACE, NO PROFITABLE USE CASE FOR SPACE TRAVEL HAS BEEN DEVELOPED."
The Cleanser clicks in a series of rhythmic chirps. "WOULD COST A LOT TO PUT A SATELLITE INTO SPACE THESE DAYS. TOO MUCH FOR A COMPANY DUE TO LITTLE OR NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT. SEEMS LIKE A PET PROJECT A CORPORATE EXEC WOULD DO OR A CORPORATE FAMILY WOULD DO. HUXLEYS WOULDN'T CARE FOR THIS, NEITHER WOULD KRAKATOAS. MAYBE ASK A VANNI, MAUS, OR AN ANJARO?"

So that narrows it down some. You highly doubt a Maus would care given the one you met so far wanted to blow your brains out for smelling weird. Maybe it'll be wise to get into contact with the Anjaro contacts you have or to bother Rosaline later.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Though, Y-Company might still be a lead. If you could find a corporate family tied to them, that might lead you in the right path.

You grab your space tech with a bright smile. "Thank you. And, Mr. Cyan? Don't know your name, don't care to. One last thing." You squint at him. "Why are your eyes like that?"
>>
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Mr. Cyan grimaces at you but he manages to keep his cool for now. "I could ask you the same thing, Ms. Pink. Let's just say that some of us need something to keep us moving forward. What keeps YOU moving forward?"

[???] Family. To be safe. To have everyone you love protected. To be free.

"I suppose a day where I can quit this job and not go insane." You lie. "Good day." You doubt you'll get a moment to question the man about his obvious anomalous quirk this time around but you can visit here again later.
>FLOWERS AND TEARS OFFICE added as a location to visit. They'll offer you valuable information and a guiding hand for a price.

You exit the office and you promptly make a beeline back to your apartment. You quickly dial up Ms. Whitshire's number so you can chat with her on your way back home. It should be a quick conversation, you only got one thing in mind with her.

"Hello?" An old, gentle voice croaks out over the line. "Who's this?" It doesn't remotely sound like a person of high corporate authority but looks, or sounds in this case, can be deceiving.

"Hello, miss. I'm Nicole Smith. An associate by the name of Clover gave me your number. Mind if I ask you something?"

"Oh, certainly, sweetheart. What is it?" You hear her shifting through the pages of a book. Pretty thick one giving how much shuffling you hear over the line.
"Anything about the tunnels in District 10?" The moment you say that, she stops shifting through the pages with a small hum.

"Mr. Foxtrot has been complaining about them and how a lot of conspiracy theorists believe that 'glowing n-corp residents built it' or some hogwash. That's in J-Corp's district and to be quite honest, I'd imagine a lot of those tunnels are connected to old military bunkers from around the Antiseptic War. Most of them were filled up or sealed off over the years but..."

"They've been reappearing?" Okay, that's a bit more context on what could be down there but given the 'ANOMALOUS' tag, you suddenly feel a cold pit forming in your stomach. "No one has seen who's been digging them or unearthing them?"

"No, miss, I don't believe so. I'm sorry, that seems like something that you must find on your own." Ms. Wiltshire flips through another page. "Though I can inform you of some passcodes that were widely used. 2-40-18 for Barracks, 4-20-281 for Armories, and 4-12-409 for Research Stations. In addition, they may still be active turrets and alarms down there. They sense heat through special chemicals in the air. If the air smells funny, don't go down that hallway.

"Thank you for the info."
"No problem! See you later, Ms. Smith. Goodbye." The call ends there. She was shockingly pleasant to talk to.

As you stand by your apartment building's door, you call up Alex. The only thing you hear over the line at first is heavy, labored breathing and the sound of a man cackling while gurgling on his own blood. "Yes? I'm busy with. A hostage." Seems like the tip worked out well.
>>
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"Tip worked out well, huh?"

"Yep. Motherfuckers are like cockroaches. Been beating this one up for a few hours now and he just. Won't. Fucking. DIE."
"IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN THAT. YOU'RE CUTTING OFF A HAIR, OLD M-"

BANG!

The sound of a revolver being fired rings over the line. The only sound the Silver Agent makes now is thick, heavy gurgling. "So. Just beating them up doesn't do much. You gotta fire at major arteries or vital organs like the heart. They just patch up otherwise. Dismembering them works. Need a chainsaw, though."

"Check their bodies for implants. Study them."

"Ah. Already found some. After you're done with your next mission, I'll tell our associate to transport you over to my safehouse. So you can interview some of these fucks we got. See ya." Click.

Seems like Alex is really trying his best to curve the Silver Agent situation down in the subsection of X-Corp's district he's in. You enter your apartment now and right as you're about to shower to get all of the gunk off of your body...a certain number calls you.

You pick it up.

"NICOLE SMITH. IT IS TIME TO DO MISSIONS. YOU KNOW THE DRILL." Before you can even dare ask your Handler about anything, he begins spewing out mission slop into your eardrum. Welp. Might as well deal with this, then.

CHOOSE YOUR MISSION!
>[ANOMALOUS] "You remember that P-Company facility I mentioned before? They're STILL whining about not having enough employees. They're desperate, all you gotta do is work a few hours with them and you'll make BANK!" REWARD: $1999, improved relations with P-Company, the experience will upgrade all of yours and your ally's stats and boons permanently. RISK: VERY HIGH
>[ANOMALOUS] "We got reports of a certain anomaly that's been terrorizing District 14. Some sort of big crash test dummy thing called APEX PREDATOR? Whatever it is, it's been killing a lot of people. Recontain or weaken it enough for the ETF to get." REWARD: $1452, improved favor with P-Corp, 6 A-Energy packets for recovering a high valued anomaly for P-Corp. RISK LEVEL: HIGH. Regardless of who you pick, Benjamin and Max will offer you intel to help you on this mission.
>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1399. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH
>"I-Company has been struggling to find resources to operate their Singularity. No, I don't know what it is, but they've been badgering me to help out or they'll cut me off. I know of a part of their District that might still have some resources. Explore and recover any and all resources you can find." REWARD: $950, +FAVOR WITH I-COMPANY, I-Company will provide you with a free apartment in their District if you ever need a place to hide out at. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH
>>
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>"Want to commit incredible levels of hyperviolence? I know you do, you sick bitch! You sick fucking bastard! I got a corporate elite I want you to hunt down and do unspeakable things to! DO WHAT COMES NATURAL!!!" REWARD: $2750, improved relationship with your Handler and the Huxleys, +1 max VIOLENCE and TALENT to all allies who go on this mission. RISK LEVEL: VERY HIGH.
>"Things have been hectic and it's been hard to get a calm mission but you might need it. Might not pay well but look, man, shit's been rough. C-Company needs a guard for one of their establishments. Keep an eye on everything, it'll be fine. May or may not be haunted!" REWARD: $600, improved relationships with C-Company, +1 MAX RESTRAINT to you and all allies who join you this mission. RISK LEVEL: LOW-MEDIUM
>[WARNING] "V-Company called. I'm not sure how or WHY you managed to impress them but they want to drag your ass out to do a favor for them. Something about an old building that was ran by the Company that came before the Company that V-Corp took over. Explore it, grab what you can find, and escape. Alive." REWARD: $4250, vastly improved relationship with V-Corp, V-Corp will personally offer you a role in their company in the future, you'll learn more about the world before the City. RISK LEVEL: Good luck. :)
>"Q-Company is having an issue with producing the latest lines of Drones. While E, X, and H-Corp have been helping as much as they can, perhaps a more feminine touch could help? I dunno, just figure out why the drones aren't coming out right and fix it." REWARD: $1000, improved relationship with Q-Corp, you'll get a chance to upgrade yourself or your allies with biological upgrades from Q-Corp. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM
>[BONUS MISSION] [ANOMALOUS?] "Listen, I trust you. I need YOU to join ME, personally, on a visit to U-Corp's District, District 21. There's a briefcase with VERY sensitive contents about U-Corp and myself in it. We need to get it, recover it, and return it to U-Corp." REWARD: $850, +FAVOR WITH U-COMPANY, improved relationship with the Handler, U-Company will offer you and the Handler some unique and rare anomalous PARADIGMs for use in future missions RISK LEVEL: HIGH.

WHO TO HIRE? CHOOSE AS MANY AS YOU WANT AND CAN AFFORD. CURRENT MONEY: $1262
>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased anomalously empowered muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($90)
>ALEXIS. A supplier of equipment and connections. Somewhat flaky and liable to draw attention. (Will ask for a 13% cut of the reward money.)
>[UPG] QUENTIN. Incredibly loyal ally who has a hard time staying dead. Poor stats and tends to freak others out. (Free if brought alone. Naomi, Frank, Clover, Casey and Wendy will cost $35 more to hire.)
>BENJAMIN. Fully licensed as a pharmacist and is Open Minded to the supernatural. Has a crimson spark that needs a push to ignite. Delusional, credulous, and naive. ($42)
>>
>MARUYAMA. Resilient mindset and has a way with negotiations and blending in with crowds. Has a latent spark waiting to bloom. Emotionally and physically spent. ($85 to hire.)
>KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City with a vast amount of knowledge. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Can mimic other people. Prone to making rash decisions. (Free if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $90 otherwise.)
>ADAM. A long career of working as a chef has instilled amazing levels of accuracy and technical precision. Practicing surgeon. Hard worker. Tends to overcorrect when situations get dicey. ($85 to hire.)
>[UPG] MAX, an Aristocrat. High in demand with the Companies and has extensive access to corporate assets. Held in contempt by other Cleaners, very sheltered. Has a chaotic spark that wishes to see the world. ($80. That's it.)
>[UPG] ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($82)
>NAOMI. Well versed in all military matters and a great commander. Has old glowie habits she's trying to break out of. Has a knack for analyzing the quirks and potential of people around her. Old age and scars have ruined her body. ($180)
>FRANK. His main job as an ETF agent grants incredible combat and non-combat experience and far higher base stats. Has access to resources you could never hope to get by yourself. Incredibly blunt and crass, liable to piss other people off (including you). ($270)
>CLOVER. A casino manager who larps as a cowboy, has the sharpshooting skills to back it up. Unshakeable morale and has a resolute will that's hard to break, which helps inspire your other allies. VERY stubborn. ($200)
>[UPG] CASEY. Optimistic spirit lightens the mood of everyone she interacts with, very experienced at convincing people. Emotional. ($75)
>[UPG] BENEDICT. A chef that's partially transformed into an anomaly. Unique half-machine, half human anatomy grants immense strength and physical resistances, has anomalous powers and abilities. Fractured mind that requires careful observation, UNSTABLE. (+$444 if you hire him. You get more money hiring him as you raise Adam and his own RAPPORT.)
>WENDY. A W-Company rep who seems to share the same wavelength as you, will mesh well with you and will follow your commands for the most part. Feared in the corporate world. Fucking LOATHES anomalies and will take any chance she can to rip them to shreds. UNSTABLE? ($199 or +$366 if you spend a W-CORP favor while hiring her.)

God is a cruel hag and knocked out my internet for god knows how long. Hell, it's been fucking with me the whole time I've been writing this update, which made uploading REALLY not fun. Storm's picking back up as I'm writing this.
Also, just to clarify, UPG means a character has an upgrade ready and you'll get to pick it once you hire them.
>>
>>6004390
>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1399. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

>[UPG] QUENTIN
>KIARA
>CLOVER
>[UPG] CASEY.
>>
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Fiddle around with the two sources of prime information you have: The ANTIQUE PHONE and the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE. Knowledge is power. (You have time to look through both but pick which one you want to focus on. ANTIQUE PHONE offers more corporate family knowledge, SILVER WALKIE TALKIE offers you more knowledge on the spooks.)
Have we checked the ANTIQUE PHONE?
>>
>>6004397
Should we bring Wendy along? She could use the help
>>
>>6004408
Hmmmm, okay, let’s bring Wendy.
>>6004397
Add
>WENDY
>>
>>6004377
>DISSOCATION
SCHIZO POWERS ARE GO
REPEAT, SCHIZO POWERS ARE GO
>all those effects
Extremely useful when needed, and I get the feeling they'll be VERY needed

>>6004379
>stare at the wad
OI YOU!
SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND LOOK AT MY WAD!
L O D S O F E M O N E !
>half of a mission payout
They are underpaid as hell, what is this? This is beginner numbers. This is thread 1 mission options numbers. You 5 can do better than that
>narrows his own eyes
Gotcha
>around for 15 years
The stuff with Philip on the movie mission, the HER he was rambling about... was that 15 years ago? It was a long time for the Carmen expy to be active
>originating from P, L, and/or U-Corp's singularities
Of course glowie talk would be dismissed
>three specific psychological quirks
High stress and trauma is par for the course as a Cleaner, but I imagine this goes deeper
Strong belief in something and motivation to achieve it huh
>One has the resolve but lacks a proper goal. One had a goal but needed a push to properly start his development.
That lines up with Maruyama and Benjamin respectively.
I wonder what Nicole went through to be anomalous, a SHIFTer from the start?
>lack of human interaction or social bonding
And the Cleaner business forces you to interact with people to survive and get work done. But again, this is a deeper version than the norm
>gravities hard towards making allies
Explains how Maruyama's taken initiative to get his office to work with others like Sukane's Golden Hour Office, or Benjamin's drive in Z Corp. Wonder how Max will change from this?
>very bizarre
Fixer offices can betray each other whenever, but survival comes first in the City. This is a promising development
>god damn anomalies
>shame and bitterness
He can tell, can't he? He's caught on in his own way

>>6004380
>Six allies down
>Barely 20 years
Real pre-Urban Plague Ruina vibes here. I still remember Finn
>breaks their focus
We have more ways of doing that now
>Riling them up
See above
>bringing SPARK allies on high risk missions
Apex Predator mission
Ben
Max
Wendy
Lex
Frank
Naomi
There we go, that's for next time
>laugh it off
I imagine this alone would stress relieve Drones outright. Somebody who knows and is OK with them like that is a godsend
>produced by e, g, h, and y-corp
Y Corp is the lead then
>NO PROFITABLE USE
>LITTLE OR NO RETURN
Interesting way the City has developed off the back of late 1900s Earth, going from THE space race to "no money in it" as a corporate turn-off
>VANNI, MAUS, OR AN ANJARO
Gotta be Anjaro
>corporate family tied to them
None so far. Might have to stay a plot thread for later in the quest if we don't pursue it soon, no real rush
>>
>>6004382
>[???] Family
A deer that wants a herd of her own. Commendable
>certainly, sweetheart
What a nice old lady. I bet when somebody underestimates her, she's as feisty as Naomi used to be
>glowing n-corp residents
Glowing maybe, but N Corp? That's odd
>J-Corp's district
We have some favor with J Corp, but it'll be tense if K Corp's down there
>Antiseptic War
Naomi could also be an option
>passcodes
Precious info
>sense heat
>special chemicals
Might be a way to exploit that when we get there

>>6004385
>major arteries or vital organs
High TALENT
>Need a chainsaw
BOY AM I GLAD I VOTED TO GET THAT THEN HUH?
>interview
Should we have the party with us during this? It's the fastest way to get allies up to speed on the silvers. Telling Alex about the Anjaro anti-silvers and Gregory Krak would be good. Telling him the info warfare tips TV MAN said about photos and evidence can be good too. Dunno if bringing up Old B Corp to him is wise
>trying his best
Nicole must be glad she knows somebody powerful who hates them as much as she does
>>
>>6004403
Oh right, this. It might be after we pick the mission and Nicole hits the shower

>>6004397
>>6004412
I want to go over missions too before I vote. Tell me anything you think or that sticks out to you. Wendy Frank and Casey are the lowest RAPPORT allies we have. If we spend today on Tunnels and next day on APEX, that leaves 2 days more to figure out. Touching base with Handler is vital at some point

>P-Company facility
They are still at it even with mass breaches and releases from sabotage. I feel bad for them especially after the shit we had to deal with in HELP WANTED!
>APEX PREDATOR
>District 14
We can do this next after Tunnels, but the Head meeting is 4 days away. I still dread fighting this thing, but Ben survived it even with him being a weak nerd before the quest started. Maybe there's hope? Also this is where N Corp is. We can follow up those leads if/when we take this on
>tunnels
>District 10
This is the one. Clutch that J Corp Favor
>I-Company
>Explore and recover
That's District 9. The free apartment is HUGE. It's gonna be a fucking commieblock because Russian, but at least Alexis also lives in the District
>hyperviolence
>corporate elite hunt down
Huxley relationship up and combat stat upgrades sounds great, and this might be a follow up to Casey suggesting Nicole kill a CEO to gain City power. But that's RED TEXT difficulty and location not given
>C-Company
>haunted
Five Nights at Freddy's? We have no connection to C Corp, and I cannot recall when it ever got brought up. I love how the Handler even comments on shit being hectic and easy/calm missions being rarer (thanks as always QM). But this does get me thinking that things won't settle down anytime soon. Nothing's as calm as they were like 2-3 weeks ago in-story, around thread 1-2 days before the ship mission
>V-Company
Holy shit
>[WARNING]
>$4250
>personal role in the company
>world before the City
>THAT THREAT LEVEL
I am spooked by this one. I think taking this is suicidal in the leadup to the base assault and Head meeting, but it can also affect the Head meeting directly with how big it is hinted to be for V Corp. This is a greater-scope mission for sure, one that could affect the balance of power between the Wings themselves. It sounds like a "bring EVERYONE, you'll need them" job
>Q-Company
Now that line there grabs my attention. "E, X, and H-Corp have been helping as much as they can." When did H Corp get in on the E+X+Q partnership? Those bio augs sound very appealing and neglecting our drones makes me sad- but we are short on time and long on options the next 4 days and then some
>[BONUS MISSION]
If this is still up next time, I want this. This lets us get more on U Corp, and THE FUCKING DAMAGED MAP LOOTED FROM THE SILVER AGENT WE SHOWED THE HANDLER HAS THE LOCATION OF A GLOWIE OUTPOST IN THE DISTRICT WHERE THIS MISSION TAKES PLACE. That's too massive. I'd take this over APEX in a heartbeat
>>
>>6004385
>>6004387
>>6004390
>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1399. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH
Been wanting it for the past couple threads, and here it is. The cash reward makes up what we spent on the W Corp catalog and at the Flowers & Tears office, plus the ally hires. I want to loot the shit out of those bunkers and armories too. We need all the supplies we can get

>[UPG] QUENTIN
Free always
>KIARA
Free because Anomalous tag
>CLOVER
200+35
>[UPG] CASEY
75+35
>WENDY
199+35
>NAOMI
180+35

Total:
-$794
Remain:
$468

>>6004412
I added Naomi because Antiseptic War shit, and we've passed on those topic links long enough. I'm breaking the previous autism I had of needlessly imiting the people we have on missions. I hate how we're taking 4 of the 5 people that want extra for Quentin there and that's costing us an extra $140, but it's a small price to pay for rapport and teamwork and survival. We need to watch what we spend on shops too because allies cost money to hire. We are dangerously close to flat broke again with this on top of the W Corp catalog spending
>>
>>6004397
Change
>>6004464
+1
>>
>>6004385
>>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1399. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

>>6004390
>[UPG] QUENTIN. Incredibly loyal ally who has a hard time staying dead. Poor stats and tends to freak others out. (Free if brought alone. Naomi, Frank, Clover, Casey and Wendy will cost $35 more to hire.)
>KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City with a vast amount of knowledge. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Can mimic other people. Prone to making rash decisions. (Free if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $90 otherwise.)
>ADAM. A long career of working as a chef has instilled amazing levels of accuracy and technical precision. Practicing surgeon. Hard worker. Tends to overcorrect when situations get dicey. ($85 to hire.)
>CLOVER. A casino manager who larps as a cowboy, has the sharpshooting skills to back it up. Unshakeable morale and has a resolute will that's hard to break, which helps inspire your other allies. VERY stubborn. ($200)
>WENDY. A W-Company rep who seems to share the same wavelength as you, will mesh well with you and will follow your commands for the most part. Feared in the corporate world. Fucking LOATHES anomalies and will take any chance she can to rip them to shreds. UNSTABLE? ($199 or +$366 if you spend a W-CORP favor while hiring her.)
No Favor
>>
>>6004527
Why Adam? I'm interested in why you want him along
>>
>>6004385
>>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1399. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

>KIARA
>CLOVER
>CASEY
>WENDY

I just realized that the Apex Predator mission is for P-Corp, which might not mesh well with Wendy, so I want to get some feelers in first.
>>
>>6004581
>Add Naomi too
>>
>>6004456
>P-Company Mission, V-Company Mission, Hunting Corporate Elite Mission,
I do not feel confident enough to take on this mission, including the V-Company and Hunting Corporate Elite missions too. Only APEX Mission feels confident enough that we can do it successfully and complete the potentially bonus objective in APEX Mission.
>V-Company
Can we trust V-Company? I definitely do not trust them at all.
>I-Company
We definitely need to get that free apartment because our apartment will get raided by a silver agent when we destroy the silver agent base in G-Corp.
>C-Company Mission
This is my team setup idea if we want to do this mission in the near future: Casey, Quentin, Maruyama, Ashley, Benjamin, Max,
Reason: to upgrade our allies restraint and raise rapport since it is a potentially relaxing mission. Ashley helped teach Max to do music. Bring Maruyama on a mission to make him relax from all the stressful work at his job and raise rapport. Get Benjamin to make drugs for us and to raise rapport. Bring Quentin to get to know him more and raise rapport. Bring Casey to upgrade her restraint in preparation for her INEVITABLE NEAR-FUTURE ASCENT TO GODHOOD and most importantly, to raise rapport.
Should we bring Alexis too?
>Q-Company Mission
I definitely want to do this mission, but unfortunately, there is not enough for us to do it.
>[BONUS MISSION]
I fully support taking this mission over the APEX mission when we are done with the tunnel mission.
>>
Should we give Casey the MOONSTONE CHUNK and SUNSTONE CHUNK to upgrade her RESTRAINT and FLESH to prepare her ascent to GODHOOD?
>>
>>6004593
>ASHTON MILLER HAS GIVEN UP HUNTING YOU AFTER YOU DISAPPEARED FOR A WEEK AND SEEING US GUARDING YOUR APARTMENT. WHILE HE MAY STILL ATTACK YOU IF YOU ENCOUNTER HIM, WE HAVE TRACKED DOWN THE DISTRICTS HE ROAMS IN: 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 22, 26.
That's A, C, E, I, K, M, N, V, Z. I-Corp job for the apartment reward, the C-Corp mission in a certain cheesy establishment, the V-Corp ancient company building, and APEX PREDATOR takedown are all in the districts Ashton can be in. No guarantees he'll be there when Nicole is, but it's a chance. Also bothers me when we do get the free apartment if we clear that I-Corp mission, will Ashton show up to her door at any point? Alexis alone can't help even if she's in the same District because the Districts are HUGE. I think we have no choice but to address the greaser monster problem because we can't operate in fear of him forever. And we need to do it without killing him or alienating Ashley

If we're doing APEX or a high-combat mission I don't want it right before the silver agent base assault and risk some allies going into the base injured.
>V-Company
As long as we keep winning, I imagine they'll be fine. The mission they offered is not a winnable mission without casualties. It has so many warning signs for good reason
>potentially relaxing mission
I don't think being mass jumpscared is relaxing. We can beat up an animatronic or two, right? A team of 7 experienced people can easily dogpile and suppress a Freddy
>Q Company
Unfortunate, yeah
>BONUS
But who do we bring along with us and the Handler?

>>6004609
I want to see our allies and handle their stats and upgrades pre-mission first, before I consider using anything on anybody. I remember Casey's stats were all low overall except for a few
>>
>>6004618
>But who do we bring along with us and the Handler?
Team setup idea: Adam, Benedict, Frank, Naomi, Kiara, Alexis,
Reason: Benedict will be our hammer and shield. Kiara will be our scout. Adam and Frank will be our combat grunts. Alexis provides equipment and support from his radio operator (Boons: CORPORATE ELITE). Naomi will be our commander.
we will get $444 if we bring Benedict on this mission.
Cost: -$845.5
Gain if we don't get or complete any bonus rewards from the U-Corp mission: +$218.5 and unique PARADIGMs for us and handlers
Hopefully, there are bonus objectives in the U-Corp mission for us to complete to get more money.
>>
>>6004387
>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1399. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased anomalously empowered muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($90)
>[UPG] QUENTIN. Incredibly loyal ally who has a hard time staying dead. Poor stats and tends to freak others out. (Free if brought alone. Naomi, Frank, Clover, Casey and Wendy will cost $35 more to hire.)
>KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City with a vast amount of knowledge. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Can mimic other people. Prone to making rash decisions. (Free if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $90 otherwise.)
>CLOVER. A casino manager who larps as a cowboy, has the sharpshooting skills to back it up. Unshakeable morale and has a resolute will that's hard to break, which helps inspire your other allies. VERY stubborn. ($200)
>WENDY. A W-Company rep who seems to share the same wavelength as you, will mesh well with you and will follow your commands for the most part. Feared in the corporate world. Fucking LOATHES anomalies and will take any chance she can to rip them to shreds. UNSTABLE? ($199 or +$366 if you spend a W-CORP favor while hiring her.)
>>
>>6004671
Sounds interesting. Kiara and Alexis and Naomi can all help the UNSTABLE reveal to go over okay too. They'll all find out about spooks from Nicole and Handler, with Naomi and Alexis backing them up, and Kiara pulling the photos from X Corp and Nicole the one she killed. This way Adam, Benedict, and Frank become in the know, but Frank has low rapport because we never worked with him yet
>>
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TUNNELS: literally all

ALLIES
QUENTIN: +vm, kaX, Jd3, 5Xy
KIARA: +vm, kaX, Jd3, 0P/, 5Xy
CLOVER: +vm, kaX, Jd3, 0P/, 5Xy
CASEY: +vm, kaX, 0P/
WENDY: +vm, kaX, Jd3, 0P/, 5Xy
NAOMI: +vm, kaX, 0P/
ADAM: Jd3
LEX: 5Xy

Seems like it's pretty unanimous in what mission you're picking and who's coming with. I go with "if over half the players voted for it, it goes through" so QUENTIN/CLOVER/KIARA/CASEY/WENDY/NAOMI is your party.
Writing. I'll post the stats of QUENTIN, KIARA, CASEY, and NAOMI here just so you have a frame of reference later when we're dealing with ally upgrade slop. You'll see Clover's and Wendy's later this update.

>>6004403
Nope, but I will show it off in the upcoming update. I just didn't find the right place to put it in the last few updates without making it TOO big for its own good.

ALLY SHEETS BELOW
https://pastebin.com/8gdVZBPe for more details about what they have and what they don't have.
------------
KIARA KELLER
FLESH: 4
RESTRAINT: 5 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
VIOLENCE: 4 (+1 from NAOMI's BOON)
TALENT: 6 (+1 from NAOMI"S BOON)
WILLPOWER: 6 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
CHARM: 4
COGNIZANCE: 6
CONNECTIONS: 3
If we just account for total stats, Kiara is probably your most well rounded ally, even without Naomi's boost. Armed to the teeth and is great at exploring

QUENTIN
STATS:
FLESH: ??? (You're not sure on the state of his body. Will be revealed later.)
RESTRAINT: 3 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
VIOLENCE: 3 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
TALENT: 3 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
WILLPOWER: 3 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
CHARM: 2
CONNECTIONS: 2
COGNIZANCE: 2
He's free, super hard to keep down, and will never complain about any orders you give so his stats blow ass.

NAOMI
FLESH: 3 (+1 from MEDIUM QUALITY BODYARMOR.)
RESTRAINT: 5
WILLPOWER: 5
VIOLENCE: 2
TALENT: 1
CHARM: 4
COGNIZANCE: 5
CONNECTIONS: 4
Will bump up the stats of your other allies and will help you analyze the stats and abilities of others, might be useful if the maze is a military bunker system.

CASEY
FLESH: 2
RESTRAINT: 4 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON, her RESTRAINT was upgraded to 3 thanks to your pirate hat gift + the talks)
VIOLENCE: 3 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
TALENT: 5 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
WILLPOWER: 5 (+1 from NAOMI'S BOON)
CHARM: 4
CONNECTIONS: 5
COGNIZANCE: 2
She's mostly a good source of morale boosting and to counteract Quentin being a weird bugman in the eyes of your other allies. Might be able to pacify whatever's down there with her presence. Also funny.
>>
>>6005272
Thanks for the stat recap QM
>Kiara
I want to give her COGNIZANCE boosts and have her specialize in that. And now that she's with us again we can throw her the BUSTED Y-CORP TRANSPORTER x2 for muh upgrades. I also want to show the whole party the photos we took like CORPSE FLOATSAM, ADMIRAL SHIP, ADMIRAL CORPSE... and Kiara showing the photo she took of the captive glowie in the X Corp base
She still has her share of the stuff from the X Corp mission, though if she used any of that offscreen I wouldn't be miffed at all. That FRAG GRENADE can be a big help in those cramped tunnels if the enemy is bunched up.
>Quentin
Which of his stats would be most inherent to him independent of whatever body he takes? I imagine giving him upgrades for that would be better. In fact I have no idea how Quentin's upgrades will even be like. How exciting
>Naomi
All we need to do is increase her max FLESH and give her the defensive gear, and she'll be a big help just by existing. So what if her VIOLENCE and TALENT are rock bottom from age? Doesn't matter if she'll never be fighting outside of utility gear use
>Casey
We need to boost her max FLESH because 2 is not enough at the point we've reached in Cleaner work. Dunno bout COGNIZANCE or VIOLENCE though. Casey isn't much of a fighting drone.
>>
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[SEEKER OF THE CITY] We're going in the tunnel no matter what.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Wait, what about we-
[UNSTABLE] I WOULD LIKE A SAY-
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] No discussion. Fuck off. Tunnel or no mission at all.

"What's that about the tunnel again? The other missions are cool or whatever but I want to go into the tunnels." Your voices begin to argue and scream at each other over what missions to take in the future and who to bring along. You try your best to tune them out as the Handler begins his own explanation.

"So, over the last few weeks, there's just been fucking tunnels appearing all over the place in District 10. Under people's houses, under major commercial buildings, under subways, you name it. Tunnels everywhere. Now, we thought it might've been some sort of gang of...tunnel fetishists." You want to strangle this man over the phone with your mind holy shit. "But that doesn't explain why they keep appearing. Regardless, having tunnels spouting everywhere is a BAD thing, Nicole."

"Our best guess is that someone or some group is trying to find whatever is inside those tunnels. Given how Ms. Wiltshire said those things were sealed back in 2199, right after the Antiseptic War ended. I know those things were sealed for a damn good reason, Noelle. If I had to guess? There's probably some old, OLD containment and research facilities down there as well."

"So what's my actual goal?"

"Simple. Find whoever's been unsealing them, why, and deal with them. While you're down there, try to recover any old documents, artifacts, or even an Anomaly if you're feeling lucky."

"Do you have any idea who MIGHT be doing this? A lead?"

The Handler clicks his tongue and hums, trying his best to think of what else to tell you. "Best guess I have, personally, is either some really desperate ETF agents OR a Syndicate trying to find something to rise them up into becoming Colors. Lot of weird shit can be found underground these days. That's all I have on my end."

>MISSION OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE THE TUNNELS AND FIND WHOEVER'S BEEN UNSEALING THEM. STOP THEM.
>OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: RECOVER CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, ARTIFACTS, OR AN ANOMALY (VARIABLE DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH OR WHAT YOU RECOVER.)

Well, that's about as good as you're going to get. "Thank you. I'll get to it. Send me an address if you don't mind?"

"Sure, sure, Nelly. J-PHI-5, your starting point will be a frozen desserts warehouse named 'FROSTPUNK' that has recently had a tunnel appear in it. It should have a giant sign of a bright blue popsicle next to it. Go from there." He sends you an address over the phone before you're promptly hung up on.

You're not even going to question what was up with the names he was calling you. Best to get yourself ready for the mission. You head over to your bathroom and peel off your clothes to get ready for a shower. Checking yourself in the mirror to see what's...going..

Why are you growing fur now? Splotchy patches of orange and pink fur, to be specific.
>>
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The patches are thin, wispy, and are mostly sprouting across your stomach and chest, so they're easy enough to hide for now. You're still not used to your body mutating more and more over time. Feh. Whatever it takes to survive.

The fur doesn't really hamper your shower in any meaningful way. Most of your time spent was just washing off the caked on grime, vomit, and blood from the last mission off of your body and trying your best not to freeze to death because of the cold water.

You hop out not long after and after drying off, you quickly throw on a uniform for the latest mission: A bulky pink coat with a thick hood (antler holes included), bulky winter pants, fur-lined boots, and some leather gloves, with your bodysuit underneath.

You don't really feel like putting NEW YOU on for this mission. Keeps your head clearer.
>NEW YOU is disabled for this mission.

You grab your phone and quickly dial some basic texts describing your mission to your allies. You don't really have time to individually call and chat with each one but you'll catch up on them once they arrive at the train station. Though you do realize Kiara is sending you WAY too many texts WAY too quickly. Your phone's vibrating fast enough to be used as a god damn back massager at this point.

Fuck, that girl REALLY gets excited over anomaly stuff, huh? Hey, more power to her, you know?
>-$794! $468 LEFT!

You make sure everything in your apartment is as it should be before grabbing the package at your door on your way out. You head down the stairs to reach the streets below. Nothing's really changed since you last came out aside from a different cartoon show opening playing in one of the tents.

"デリシャスキャンディ魔法少女R!"

You have no idea what that meant. T-Corp's dialect, maybe, but it's a complete- oh god they're watching anime. Your scrunch your nose up upon realizing this. You can only hope they have GOOD TASTES in whatever they're watching. They seem to be enjoying their impromptu snow camping session given that the half dozen or so tents laying around on the sidewalks have at least two soldiers each.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] No one really questions what other people do as long as they aren't bothering them. Better to live and let live instead of risking a knife to the neck.

Feh. So be it. You make a beeline right towards the train station and for once, the storms that normally ravage this part of your district are gone for now. The sun slowly rising above the horizon seems to be keeping the cold storms away for the briefest of moments. For a moment, you imagine seeing someone flying across the horizon. Free and unburdened from the life in the City.

Your whole life is basically work now. When will you grow your wings? When will you make a meaningful impact? Perhaps you will soon, even if it's only through pulling on the threads that make up the City itself. To become a true SEEKER.

To become its guardian a-

You shake your head. No time for this.
>>
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You arrive at the train station to see that it's oddly packed in comparison to how it was yesterday. Swarms of Drones, Androids, Cleansers, Harvesters, humans, and everything in between are flying in and out of the station.

It takes a while to even find a damn seat in here. The hell has gotten everyone so interested in this part of G-Corp's district?

You pull out your ANTIQUE PHONE and SILVER WALKIE TALKIE to burn some time while you wait for your allies to arrive. You skim through the broadcasts on the WALKIE TALKIE to get a rough idea what's going on.
"MAJOR BASE IN X-CORP KNOWS ABOUT US. ENTER STANDBY MODE, REORGANIZE EFFORTS. TARGET NORTHERN SUBDISTRICTS OF X-CORP FOR NOW, SOUTH NO GO."
"TUNNELS REPORTED IN J-CORP. SEND OUT SQUADS TO INVESTIGATE ASAP. SEND IN A SHIFTER IF YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES ASAP. RECOVER ANY AND ALL VALUABLES FROM TUNNELS."
"ESTABLISHING CONTACTS WITH G-CORP. WE KNOW THEY'RE DESPERATE. LET'S USE THIS TO OUR ADVANTAGE."

You turn off the walkie talkie soon after. Shit, that's not good. Not good at all. You begin to scan through the ANTIQUE PHONE to see what information you can gleam about the Krakatoas from it. A lot of the stuff on it is ancient apps from 2175, which makes you wonder how SHIFTERs are only a recent development if anomalies have been around for a while.

"Father has finally contacted the Anjaros over a new contract involving a 'mutual enemy'. He refused to explain who or why. Sometimes I wonder what the point of all of this is. Paperwork, contracts, meddling with other families over bumps in the night. I can only hope that when I have children, they are free from this."
"I still have some time before I start my film in Avalon. I contacted a fellow in Y-Corp's district by the name of Catherine Vue. She told me that, one day, she wished to reach the stars. I asked her why. She said that 'that's the only part that hasn't been corrupted'. I don't understand her. I hope I never do."
"Recovered this phone. Anomaly manifested. Tried to kill it. Failed. I don't get it. Why me? I was born to a good family. I was a good person. Sure, I slept around with a few girls, but who didn't? What did I do to deserve this?"
"Still using this phone. Don't know why. Feels like the right thing to do. Just finished my tour in the Antiseptic War. Lot of families are being purged. Kilims, Boeks, Armstrongs, even the Yues. Most are in shambles or have been merged in other families. I will do whatever to make sure my family survives. Hopefully the Yues do well with their project still."
"Tried to contact other families. Most have been lost or merged with others. Boeks with Kilims, Armstrongs with the Yados, and Yues have just subsumed with Y-Corp completely. Feels weird seeing so many bloodlines twisting and blurring in on themselves. Boeks work with Z-Corp now, creating highly valued medicine. Yados are with P-Company, trying their best to study anomalies. Yues? No idea."
>>
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"My son was born today. 2203. It's a cold winter night. I want to make sure he's happy. I don't know if he'll ever realize that all of my projects are meant to earn my family prestige. Recognition. So that no matter what he does, he'll succeed. I don't care if I'm seen as a clown. Or a failed artist. I just want my family happy."
"Reorganizing with Yados and Kilims. One day, we plan on making an alphabet company of our own. All we need is someone to put our plans into motion. Someone with the perfect spark. Someone who can do things we can not."
"I think I may have found that spark today, if Otto Foxtort is correct. He said he found an interesting girl. We'll see. She's supposed to work with me today."

You close the ANTIQUE PHONE. There's more on it but you don't think you have enough time to read further. You need time to stew on that.
>KRAKATOA KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED! You'll unlock special interactions with Roland, Max, Gregory, and the corporate elites of the world.

The reason you stop is because you see your six allies pushing through the crowds on crowds of people that fucking manifested out of thin air. You can already hear Kiara screeching out your name while Naomi, Clover, and Wendy are arguing with each other over what you can assume is how long it took to arrive at this god damn station.

"HELLO." "Hi!!!" JESUS FUCK WHAT- Oh. It's them.

Quentin stands before you like the meat puppet piloting centipede he is. His current body is that of a large, rotund man with greasy black hair and ebony skin. His outfit consists of a very fancy looking business suit that has various pieces of scrap metal and other junk attached to it in an attempt to ramshackle some armor, mostly on his knees + shoulders. His eyes are completely glossed over. "I BELIEVE THIS BODY IS SUITABLE?"
>QUENTIN'S CURRENT FLESH: 4/4 (+2 from CHUNKY BODY).

Casey is basically the exact same as last time. Yellow dress shirt (with a loosely tied black and yellow tie), brown slacks and shoes, and beeswax off-yellow hair tied into a simple ponytail. There's more light in her eyes now, though, and her smile is a bit more genuine.

"Yeah, uh, that's fine. How are you two?"

Quentin and Casey glance at each other. They begin to sniff at each other for a few moments before turning their attention back to you. What the hell was that for?

"SERVICABLE. IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU ARE ALIVE." Quentin nods his head.
"Very happy to be working again, yes yes!" Casey offers her marketable smile. "Working is fun!"
"WORKING IS WHAT WE WERE MADE FOR, OF COURSE."

"...How did you get that body?"

"FOUND HIM IN STREETS."
"See! He's very efficient with his resources."
"INDEED I AM-"

"Oi! Ya chatting with that weird Quinny fella, Casey? I told ya he's no good, ya know! He smells funny!" A man with a thick southern drawl yells out over the crowd. Your four other allies finally approach you after pushing through crowds on crowds of people.

Let's see how they've been.
>>
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Wendy's dull brown dress and her brown short, pragmatic pixie cut are both completely drenched in nervous sweats. Her bright yellow eyes stare down at you with a feral smirk. "Hello! Long time no see? How have you been?! Me? Good, good! Very good! NICE TO MEET YOU!!!"
Naomi, aside from most of her face (sans her her left eye and mouth) being wrapped in bandage wrap, is currently wearing a simple black leather jacket with a dull grey military-style jumpsuit and combat boots underneath. She simply nods at you without saying a word.
Kiara looks the same as when you last saw her. Bright orange bomber jacket, black turtleneck sweater, alongside the cheap rings and fresh latex faux-skin that covers her arms + legs + face. She waves at you with a giddy smile. "Hi! Let's explore some weird tunnels!"
Clover is clearly the tallest out of everyone, standing at an impressive 6'6". His bulky brown poncho and checkered black and yellow scarf covers most of his body aside from his head. His bright yellow eyes pierce down at you, seemingly judging you. He simply nods as well.

>CLOVER AND WENDY'S STAT SHEETS ARE REVEALED BELOW! THESE ARE WRITTEN WITHOUT NAOMI'S STAT BOOSTS BUT SHE STILL APPLIES HER BOOST TO THEM

CLOVER GUAN [SPECIAL]
RAPPORT: 1/10 (You have earnt his respect for helping him but he's still hesitant on fully trusting you.)
FLESH: 4
RESTRAINT: 4
VIOLENCE: 4
TALENT: 6
WILLPOWER: 4
CHARM: 4
CONNECTIONS: 4
COGNIZANCE: 2

BOONS
[DEADEYE SHOT] He doesn't miss. Clover's skill with his handgun allows him to use various gun tricks to unlock doors quicker or to disarm enemies. In addition, whenever Clover rolls a natural 6 on a Firearm or TALENT roll, he may roll an additional dice (which can trigger the BOON again.)

[SEEKER OF JUSTICE] Clover refuses to back down. the job is finished, he must protect those around him. Twice per mission, Clover may fully heal his RESTRAINT and gain +1 max RESTRAINT until mission end. He may also heal 1 RESTRAINT to all allies twice per mission.

BANES
[DOGMATIC MINDSET] Clover has a very simple view of the world, in no small part that he wants his simple worldview to become reality. While this is admirable in some situations, Clover is VERY stubborn and will be VERY vocal when any moral questions pop up.

INVENTORY
-Wild Revolver (You're pretty sure that's a modified kid's toy. ATTACK ROLL: TALENT*2. Only usable by Clover.)
-REVOLVER ROUNDS x6
-THICK PONCHO (Has a small chance of blocking melee attacks and a high chance of blocking ranged attacks.)
-CHECKERED SCARF (Has a small chance of reducing RESTRAINT damage taken by 1.)

WENDY WALKER [???]
RAPPORT: 0.5/8 (She likes the cut of your jib but she still needs to see you in action to trust you.)
FLESH: 2
RESTRAINT: 4
VIOLENCE: 4
TALENT: 4
WILLPOWER: 4
CHARM: 2
CONNECTIONS: 6
COGNIZANCE: 4
>>
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BOONS
[CORPORATE NIGHTMARE] People don't fuck with her. Simple as is. When interacting with those of a lower social standing (i.e not a Company CEO), she may add her VIOLENCE to her CHARM or CONNECTION rolls for free. She also passively reduces the DC of most intimidation and CONNECTIONS checks on her own.

[SYNCHONIZED MINDSETS] Both of you think in the same way and often have the same thoughts, whether you like it or not. Wendy will immediately act in your best interest without you having to say anything and you can trust her into obeying most orders you give her.

NEUTRAL TRAIT
[HUNTER OF THE CITY] She fucking hates Anomalies and will do anything in her power to kill them. Wendy gains +2 to all stats but CHARM and CONNECTIONS when interacting with anything anomalous but the moment she senses someone or something anomalous, she'll try to break it ASAP. Useful if you want something dead but may make certain negotiations far harder.

BANE
[UNSTABLE] She is just like you. A broken mind ready to act out. As her RESTRAINT lowers, she will begin to act out more and more, harming herself and the people around her. Good luck handling her.

INVENTORY
-A-Energy Siphon x3
-Anti-Anomaly Rounds x6
-Moonstone x2
-Raw Novastone Chunk x3
-HANDCANNON (A W-Corp staple. ATTACK ROLL: VIOLENCE+TALENT+4, bypasses most forms of physical protection and deals CRIPPLING INJURIES. However, each attack made with it will add increasing stat penalties to WENDY due to the sheer recoil.)

As your allies begin to chatter with each other, you notice some small changes with Casey and Quentin. Best to address that...

CHOOSE ONE UPGRADE FOR EACH!

CASEY
>A dangerously sweet smell fills the air. Casey offers you a smug smirk when she realizes you notice it. "Like it?" (CALMING PHEROMONES. +1 RESTRAINT, CHARM, CONNECTIONS, WILLPOWER. Casey's partywide RESTRAINT regeneration triggers more often and people you interact with will be more helpful and willing to talk to your group. May also help UNSTABLE allies.)
>Something in the air seems to riling up your other allies. Casey keeps on her happy smile despite the fact your allies are getting antsy. (ALERTING PHEROMONES. +1 FLESH, VIOLENCE, TALENT. All allies passively regenerate FLESH if they're below half FLESH and will ignore one CRIPPLING INJURY while Casey is in the party.)
>"I still remember seeing the stars and I've been thinking. Thinking a lot, actually. Perhaps we can reach that star together." (QUEEN BEE MINDSET. +1 TO ALL STATS. No other immediate bonuses, though it may unlock future BOONs.)

QUENTIN
>"NICOLE. DO YOU EVER WISH YOU COULD FLY?" You can see something squirming underneath his back. "I HAVE. ACHIEVED THAT." [TO THE SKY. +2 TALENT, +2 COGNIZANCE. Quentin unlocks the ability to fly, granting him the ability to quickly scout out areas or to reach areas other allies can not. Quentin also has a small chance of automatically dodging most attacks thrown his way.]
>>
>"SUDDENLY. MY BODY HAD CHANGED..." His arms are bulging, squirming, as if the skin around them are ready to burst into seams. [AWEINSPIRING MUTATION. +2 FLESH, +2 VIOLENCE. Quentin's improved strength now allows him to break through weak walls, doors, and barricades with ease, unlocking new paths forward. Quentin may also fully heal his FLESH or heal an ally for 1 FLESH twice per mission.)
>"ALONE, WE ARE WEAK. MANY, WE ARE STRONG." He holds out his hand towards you. [PARTNER IN CRIME. +1 CHARM, CONNECTIONS, RESTRAINT, and WILLPOWER. Quentin unlocks the ability to occupy the body of you or an ally, allowing for multiple attacks with the same body or to autopilot someone's body if they're panicking or otherwise incapacitated.]

You have a MOONSTONE and SUNSTONE CHUNK. MOONSTONE boosts max RESTRAINT by 1, SUNSTONE boosts max FLESH by 1. Do you wish to give them to someone? If so, who?
>YES (Write in which ally for which rock)
>NO.

You have some excess items. Write in as many categories of items you want to give away to your allies.
>GET RID OF EXCESS WEAPONS
>GET RID OF EXCESS ARMOR
>GET RID OF EXCESS EQUIPMENT
>GET RID OF EXCESS CONSUMABLES.
>GET RID OF EXCESS HEALING ITEMS
>GET RID OF EXCESS AMMO.
>GIVE AN ALLY SOMETHING IN SPECIFIC (WRITE IN)

And finally, who do you want to check up and talk to while you wait for the train to come over? Pick three. You'll get some time to learn more about them and some time to earn RAPPORT with them.
>NAOMI
>CASEY
>CLOVER
>WENDY
>KIARA
>QUENTIN

Anything else you wish to do while waiting? Anything else you want to tell, show, or say to your allies?
>Write in.

I'll finally show what you got from the MINES and Rosaline's shipment next update, alongside upgrading your eclipse talisman.
>>
Should we give Naomi SERVICE PISTOL? Because she is unarmed.
>>
>>6005590
>1 TALENT
>2 VIOLENCE
I don't think it'd be too good except as deterrence or be another gun on our side in a fight? It still has 2 rerolls on it and every dice number helps. I'd say yes
>>
>>6005556
>Seeker
We've wanted the tunnels since we saw them in the list the first time, glad that's shining through
>voices begin to argue and scream
That's us!
>tunnel fetishists
It's time
https://youtu.be/S0ximxe4XtU
>desperate ETF agents OR a Syndicate
We never had to deal with either so far outside of Frank for ETFs. Something new for us

>>6005557
>growing fur
Please go monstergirl. Please don't go furry.
>NEW YOU is disabled
I actually want this to reset effects
>デリシャスキャンディ魔法少女R!
But where is Queen of Hatred?
>soldiers
No wonder Ashton gave up with 12 X Corp guards here 24/7
>live and let live
Are we like that in real life society, or not there yet?
>become its guardian a-
FUCK OFF CARMEN

>>6005558
>NORTHERN SUBDISTRICTS
It might be suspicious if we feed that to Alex so soon
>SQUADS
We have Kiara and Naomi to back us on the glowie subject. A field confrontation is the best way to get the other 4 up to speed
>G-CORP
What if the silvers manipulate G Corp and that makes our base assault here harder? Can we call the rep and tell her not to take any deal, to support us instead?
>2175
>how SHIFTERs are only a recent development if anomalies have been around for a while
This is a big question
>Father
This dates back to Greg's dad? How long has Old B Corp been doing this shit?
>free from this
Sorry Greg but I've got bad news for you...
>only part that hasn't been corrupted
By what, the City?
>Recovered this phone. Anomaly manifested.
???
>Boeks with Kilims
Very Korean names
>Armstrongs with the Yados
It truly is a joyless time
>Yues
>Y-Corp
The lead is stronger
>Z-Corp
>P-Corp
Interesting. Leads for another time
>>
>>6005559
>want my family happy
It'd be nice if Roland and Max both see these, especially Roland
>alphabet company of our own
With blackjack and hookers? Joke aside, that means a Z+P+KRAK merger doesn't it?
>perfect spark
Nicole's no Divine Master Spark or whatever, but maybe...
>Foxtort
Heheh
>stew on that
Family, huh... Nicole and the old man are more alike than she thought. Or maybe it's only natural humanity, independent of the City's will
>Kiara screeching
OMG NICOLE HIIIIII!!!!! :D
>current body
Fat armored black guy, cool. I missed my boy Quint we haven't seen him in so long
>sniff
Bug to bug communication
>Working
Bug to bug conversation

>>6005565
>Wendy
Why is she so fucking hot?
>Naomi
Still has that body armor, good
>Kiara
Explorer bestie is here
>6'6"
How much of that is his hat?
>Clover
Both him and Wendy have yellow eyes, very interesting
>1/10
Very telling his max is 10 from the start
>trigger the BOON again
I remember Ranger Zero did the same
>JUSTICE
Godlike boon
>DOGMATIC
Better keep an eye on this
>modified kid's toy
His own game is basically a modded kid's game too
>FLESH 2
Wendy you can't stay like this
>CHARM 2
Big thread 1 Nicole energy

>>6005576
>CORPO NIGHTMARE
We might need intimidation against any Syndicate down there
>HUNTER OF THE CITY
Please don't harass Clover or us, thanks Wendy
>UNSTABLE
Wonder how she'll take to Nicole's DISSOCIATION power
>Inventory
I'm glad we picked Wendy for this, we'll need those rounds and siphons if shit goes bad
>>
>>6005576
>>6005583
Posting part of my update, leaving upgrades to later due to how too good they all are. I'm being careful with gear dividing because I want some for future missions and for other allies that can better use them when the time comes like in the base assault climax

>YES (Write in which ally for which rock)
Sunstone to Naomi, that body armor isn't forever
Moonstone to Quentin, you need to not have 2 base RESTRAINT bro

Let's see here
>GET RID OF EXCESS WEAPONS
>GET RID OF EXCESS AMMO
>Casey
Pocket Knife, she lacks melee and needs a stinger
Flare Gun because we have 3 and I want somebody quicker to have one in case, and it kinda fits her
>Quentin
Bat for melee rerolls
Flintlock Pistol + 5 LEAD AMMO because he might as well dualwield if his bodies are meant to be used up
>Kiara
3 AP PISTOL AMMO in case we run into armored foes. She already has HANDMAN GUN to use these with
>Naomi
Service Pistol + 6 PISTOL AMMO so she can still provide shots in a fight, plus rerolls help
Pocket Knife because no melee
>Clover
Pocket Knife because no melee and you know why :)
6 ANTI ANOMALY ROUNDS because he has a revolver already
>Wendy
Pipe because stuns are good

>GET RID OF EXCESS ARMOR
>GET RID OF EXCESS EQUIPMENT
UV Flashlight to Kiara, she has COGNI 6 and benefits the most plus fellow SEEKER
Improved Gas Mask off of Casey and onto Wendy; Casey doesn't need that VIOLENCE much
Regular Gas Mask to Casey, Clover, Naomi, Quentin. Kiara doesn't need one because android. Now everybody can be safe in case of gases
Holy Candle to Casey, she's our adorable star in the darkness
BUSTED Y CORP TRANSPORTER X 2 to Kiara, of course
Metal Detector to Naomi, she's experienced enough with traps from the war

RAPPORT
>Quentin
>Wendy
>Clover
Catch up with the bug bro and the two new allies

Upgrades? I don't fucking know, anybody have any ideas for Quint and Casey?
Consumables? Healing items? We have so many but they're all so vital... Will we ever need to use them? Probably. Is it better to pass some to allies right now so they have them in a pinch? Probably. I might have to look real close at these and ask myself "what are we most likely to use with Nicole?" and if that fails "what will our allies need the most to pass certain checks on their own?"
>>
>>6005583
Oh right, add to my vote in >>6005704
>Polished Sunstone Naomi
Give it to her BUT hold off on using it because
>temporarily increases all stats by 2.
I want to bust this out in a crucial moment. Now is NOT the prudent time for this powerup

>Anything else you wish to do while waiting? Anything else you want to tell, show, or say to your allies?
Show off the CORPSE FLOATSAM photos. Some sad anomaly you came across and paid respects to out in the ocean.
Show off the ADMIRAL SHIP and ADMIRAL CORPSE photos. Show off the ADMIRAL OVERCOAT STRIP too. You and your friends KILLED that bastard with your own power, and won!
Work with Kiara and Naomi to explain and show the others the SILVER AGENT PHOTOS that Kiara took back in X Corp, as well as the SILVER AGENT PHOTOS (that the QM forgot to put on the pastebin) you took of the one you ENDED. They NEED to know the TRUE ENEMY, and it matters because they might be in the tunnels! Take time to teach them the audio buzz trick too, if we can do it here before we head out.

Anybody else have better ideas? I assume we'll be telling Wendy about the mine town stuff in the rapport talk, and maybe Quentin about the Q+X+E cooperation help
>>
>>6005704
>>6005709
+1
>>6005576
Add
>"I still remember seeing the stars and I've been thinking. Thinking a lot, actually. Perhaps we can reach that star together." (QUEEN BEE MINDSET. +1 TO ALL STATS. No other immediate bonuses, though it may unlock future BOONs.)
I’m dead set on turning Casey into a cannibal murder machine god. No matter what,.
>"NICOLE. DO YOU EVER WISH YOU COULD FLY?" You can see something squirming underneath his back. "I HAVE. ACHIEVED THAT." [TO THE SKY. +2 TALENT, +2 COGNIZANCE. Quentin unlocks the ability to fly, granting him the ability to quickly scout out areas or to reach areas other allies cannot. Quentin also has a small chance of automatically dodging most attacks thrown his way.]
We don’t have any associates or friends that can fly. We don’t need another muscle grunt because we have Lex and Benedict.

>Give one GAUZE ROLL to Wendy and Casey.
>Give one AUTOSTIMPAK to Quentin because he is going to be our meatshield.
>Give one AUTOSTIMPAK to Wendy just in case she decides to do something reckless.
is this good?
>>
>>6005711
>QUEEN BEE
>TO THE SKY
Yeah sure I can go with these

>Consumables
Autostimpak is too valuable. Consider Icy Blood Vial to help Quentin's body instead? It might help him survive better. Or just Raspberry Sinsu for 1 less FLESH damage.
I got time to go through literally all our healing consumables if you want me to, but I post enough on this quest honestly
>>
>>6005565
>>6005576
Adding to my votes in >>6005704 >>6005709
>QUEEN BEE
>TO THE SKY
>>
>>6005734
Okay
>>6005711
Change/edit
>Give one AUTOSTIMPAK to Quentin because he is going to be our meatshield.
>Give one AUTOSTIMPAK to Wendy just in case she decides to do something reckless.
Switch to
>Give Raspberry Sinsu to Quentin
We do have a raw stone chunk that can block up 2 FLESH damage before shattering, but I prefer we don’t use it because I want our raw stone to be refined if, of course, we find a refining shop in the future.
>>
>>6005747
I looked through and saw these
>LEYLEY PILLS x2 (Made by a B.A., again, and approved by W and Z-Corp. This all but confirms who's making these. When consumed, adds a temporary 2 point shield to your FLESH and RESTRAINT. When you take FLESH/RESTRAINT damage, you lose one point instead.)
>RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK x3 (A bright red gemstone that burns your hand if you hold it for too long. Blocks up to 2 FLESH damage before shattering.)
These could also work for him. And you are very dead set on the autostimpaks of all things. You know Quentin hitting 0 FLESH isn't that bad since he can ditch the body for a new one, right? Those autostimpaks don't fucking come cheap with how powerful they are
>want our raw stone to be refined
Now that I like, but then the chunk becomes
>SUNSTONE (A refined SUNSTONE, made by W-Corp. Has three charges. You may spend a charge to add +2d8 to any dice roll you make.)
So it would lose the FLESH shielding power. It's a tradeoff

I'm game to keep discussing consumables with you if you want. It adds to our capability and gets us figuring out what's really important to keep on Nicole
>>
>>6005768
>Give Two GAUZE ROLL to Casey.
>Give Raspberry Sinsu to Quentin.
>Give one RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK to Clover
>Give one RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK to Wendy
Is this fine now? I think this is enough for our allies for now.
>>
>>6005768
> You know Quentin hitting 0 FLESH isn't that bad since he can ditch the body for a new one, right?
I highly doubt there are going to be any flesh corpses in the tunnel. All the corpses are skeletons by now. I doubt we are going to meet the Silver Agent team that soon.
>>
>>6004382
>In addition, they may still be active turrets and alarms down there. They sense heat through special chemicals in the air. If the air smells funny, don't go down that hallway.
Hmmm, I'm wondering if there is a control center in the bunker where we can get in to hack or control the security system. If we do find a control center and control it, it will be a great tool to use against the silver team, hostile enemies, and spying on other potential unknown amounts of people and entities in the bunker.
>>
>>6005791
We could do more and better, but it's fine for now. I don't want to prolong this further. We can always swap items around again no problem, like we could get the sunstones back if the mission ends before they ever see use.

>>6005811
Yeah fair enough. Won't be flesh corpses unless we kill syndicate members or gangsters if we find any
>the Silver Agent team
Dude imagine Quentin hijacking one of them, then we totally gotta give him all the ice vials to help him maintain it until the base assault.

>>6005818
Great idea
>>
>>6005825
>We could do more and better, but it's fine for now. I don't want to prolong this further. We can always swap items around again no problem, like we could get the sunstones back if the mission ends before they ever see use.
Agree
>Dude imagine Quentin hijacking one of them, then we totally gotta give him all the ice vials to help him maintain it until the base assault
I'm on board with this, but I’m worried there's a potentially tracking device and kill switch in the Silver Agent body or head. Maybe X-Corp will help remove the tracking drive and kill switch.
>>
>>6005556
>fur
Dammit, we're ruined for marriage now

>>6005557
The moonrunes read "Delicious Candy Magical Girl R!"

>>6005565
>"I still remember seeing the stars and I've been thinking. Thinking a lot, actually. Perhaps we can reach that star together." (QUEEN BEE MINDSET. +1 TO ALL STATS. No other immediate bonuses, though it may unlock future BOONs.)
Reach Heaven through wageslavery.
>"SUDDENLY. MY BODY HAD CHANGED..." His arms are bulging, squirming, as if the skin around them are ready to burst into seams. [AWEINSPIRING MUTATION. +2 FLESH, +2 VIOLENCE. Quentin's improved strength now allows him to break through weak walls, doors, and barricades with ease, unlocking new paths forward. Quentin may also fully heal his FLESH or heal an ally for 1 FLESH twice per mission.)

>Give Sunstone to Casey

>GET RID OF EXCESS ARMOR
>GET RID OF EXCESS HEALING ITEMS
>Give Naomi the service pistol and some ammo

>WENDY
Brag about the Admiral.
>>
>>6005836
>Agree
I mean I would love to actually get a grip on the healing supplies we have, but I talk and post enough here every update. It kinda sucks and I'd like more people to post and lurk less. Anyway I'm just glad you gave up on the autostimpacks because that felt like needless overkill to me. That's the kind of thing we need to consider for the base assault, not here. Expecting Wendy to be reckless enough on her own to get herself that injured is too much to believe
>tracking device and kill switch
I didn't even consider that. Good call. We know they're loaded on implants
>X-Corp will help remove the tracking drive and kill switch
If the body can last that long to begin with. Sounds impractical and too lengthy to do, not to mention Quentin always decays his bodies over time. It'd be super cool, but he can't keep a silver agent corpse forever.
>>
>>6005850
Hmmm, why don’t your support this plan? >>6005704 this plan look great.
>>
>>6005876
Sorry, I like mine
>>
>>6005879
Powerful answer
>>
>>6005879
We have a lot of excessive weapons, excessive items, and ammunition we don’t need right now that can be better used by our allies. Least give Clover a 6 anti-anomaly ammo because his boons [DEADEYE SHOT] are great.
>>
>>6005891
I can agree to that
>>
>>6005576
>A dangerously sweet smell fills the air. Casey offers you a smug smirk when she realizes you notice it. "Like it?" (CALMING PHEROMONES. +1 RESTRAINT, CHARM, CONNECTIONS, WILLPOWER. Casey's partywide RESTRAINT regeneration triggers more often and people you interact with will be more helpful and willing to talk to your group. May also help UNSTABLE allies.)
>"NICOLE. DO YOU EVER WISH YOU COULD FLY?" You can see something squirming underneath his back. "I HAVE. ACHIEVED THAT." [TO THE SKY. +2 TALENT, +2 COGNIZANCE. Quentin unlocks the ability to fly, granting him the ability to quickly scout out areas or to reach areas other allies can not. Quentin also has a small chance of automatically dodging most attacks thrown his way.]

>>6005583
>YES (Write in which ally for which rock)
Moonstone -> Quentin

>NAOMI
>CLOVER
>WENDY
>>
>>6005704
>>6005576
+1 to all this, for upgrades I feel like Pheromones are great for us and also any will help with any [UNSTABLE] NPCs we deal with, which we do often enough.
>A dangerously sweet smell fills the air. Casey offers you a smug smirk when she realizes you notice it. "Like it?" (CALMING PHEROMONES. +1 RESTRAINT, CHARM, CONNECTIONS, WILLPOWER. Casey's partywide RESTRAINT regeneration triggers more often and people you interact with will be more helpful and willing to talk to your group. May also help UNSTABLE allies.)
And for Quentin
>"ALONE, WE ARE WEAK. MANY, WE ARE STRONG." He holds out his hand towards you. [PARTNER IN CRIME. +1 CHARM, CONNECTIONS, RESTRAINT, and WILLPOWER. Quentin unlocks the ability to occupy the body of you or an ally, allowing for multiple attacks with the same body or to autopilot someone's body if they're panicking or otherwise incapacitated.]
This is a great "If Shit Hits The Fan" button for us, we know we can go wild with our powers if we really need too, but having this means we could use him as a way to keep our actual body out of harms way when we might be trying to actively hurt ourselves and our allies if we go all out.
>>
>>6005576
>A dangerously sweet smell fills the air. Casey offers you a smug smirk when she realizes you notice it. "Like it?" (CALMING PHEROMONES. +1 RESTRAINT, CHARM, CONNECTIONS, WILLPOWER. Casey's partywide RESTRAINT regeneration triggers more often and people you interact with will be more helpful and willing to talk to your group. May also help UNSTABLE allies.)

>"SUDDENLY. MY BODY HAD CHANGED..." His arms are bulging, squirming, as if the skin around them are ready to burst into seams. [AWEINSPIRING MUTATION. +2 FLESH, +2 VIOLENCE. Quentin's improved strength now allows him to break through weak walls, doors, and barricades with ease, unlocking new paths forward. Quentin may also fully heal his FLESH or heal an ally for 1 FLESH twice per mission.)

>>6005704
+1 to the rest
>>
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UPGRADES
QUEEN BEE MINDSET: vL9, kaX, ddn
CALMING PHEROMONES: fUK, Jd3, 5Xy

TO THE SKY: vL9, kaX, 5XY
AWEINSPIRING MUTATION: ddn, Jd3
PARTNER IN CRIME: fUK

RAPPORT
WENDY: vL9, fUK, Jd3, kaX, ddn, 5Xy
QUENTIN: vL9, fUK, Jd3, kaX, 5Xy
CLOVER: vL9, fUK, Jd3, kaX, 5Xy
NAOMI: 5Xy

ITEMS:
KIARA GETS: UV FLASHLIGHT, 3 AP AMMO, BUSTED Y-CORP TRANSPORTERS
CASEY GETS: FLARE GUN, POCKET KNIFE, HOLY CANDLE, REGULAR GAS MASK. SHE LOSES IMPROVED GAS MASK, GAUZE ROLLS x2
NAOMI GETS: SERVICE PISTOL + 6 PISTOL AMMO, POCKET KNIFE, METAL DETECTOR
QUENTIN GETS: GAS MASK, BAT, FLINTLOCK PISTOL + 5 LEAD AMMO, RASPBERRY SINSU
WENDY GETS: PIPE, IMPROVED GAS MASK, RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK
CLOVER GETS: RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK, POCKET KNIFE, 6 ANTI-ANOMALY ROUNDS

WHO GETS SUNSTONE?
NAOMI: vL9, kaX, fUK, Jd3 (She'll consume it the moment the stat buff matters.)
CASEY: ddn

WHO GETS MOONSTONE?
QUENTIN: ALL

I think that's fair enough for the items (and to be honest, no need to argue over minute consumables and equipment for too long, it's not like you're splitting up immediately. Best for your allies to use it instead of it rotting away.)

Only issue here is that Casey has a perfect tie between QUEEN BEE MINDSET and CALMING PHEROMONES.
I'll leave a tiebreaker vote up for 3.5 hours for anyone who hasn't voted yet (mostly due to how much there was to vote. If anyone's been lurking, here's your time to shine.)

Pick one. If no one breaks the tie by then, I'll just d2 it so we're not locked in a stand still 5ever.
>CALMING PHEROMONES
>QUEEN BEE MINDSET
>>
>>6006628
>QUEEN BEE MINDSET
>>
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>>6006633
Coolio, thanks random anon, QUEEN BEE MINDSET wins out. Entering my writing cage.
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>>6006628
>no need to argue over minute consumables and equipment
But as the saying goes "you retards will argue over anything"
>for too long
>Best for your allies to use it instead of it rotting away
I completely agree
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[PERSON OF INTEREST] God, I fucking hate this fur. It itches, it makes us more of a freak, and if we ever want to settle down-
[UNSTABLE] FUCK YOU I THINK IT MAKES US LOOK CUTE! NOT LIKE IT'S THE WORST BODYMOD PEOPLE HAVE SEEN.
[UNSTABLE] THAT ONE LADY WITH A LITERAL FOX'S HEAD? NOW THAT'S MARRIAGE RUINING. KANA SOMETHING. CLOVER'S HUSSY.

You shake your head. No time to worry about that. You unravel your overstuffed inventory and begin to dig through the piles on piles of garbage you keep on you at all times. Weapons, consumables, equipment and everything in between is quickly snapped by the greedy hands of your allies.

>+UV FLASHLIGHT, 3 AP AMMO, BUSTED Y-CORP TRANSPORTERS TO KIARA
>+FLARE GUN, POCKET KNIFE, HOLY CANDLE, GAUZE ROLLS x2 TO CASEY, -IMPROVED GAS MASK
>+SERVICE PISTOL + 6 PISTOL AMMO, POCKET KNIFE, METAL DETECTOR AND POLISHED SUNSTONE CHUNK TO NAOMI
>+GAS MASK, BAT, FLINTLOCK PISTOL + 5 LEAD AMMO, RASPBERRY SINSU TO QUENTIN
>+PIPE, IMPROVED GAS MASK, RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK TO WENDY
>+RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK, POCKET KNIFE, 6 ANTI-ANOMALY ROUNDS TO CLOVER
>+GAS MASK TO ALLIES WITHOUT GAS MASKS
>-ALL THAT FROM YOUR INVENTORY

While most of your allies chit-chat with each other over what equipment you got, you take a moment to look over Quentin and Casey.

Two bulging masses are sprouting on Quentin's back. It's hard to notice if you're not specifically looking for it but it's clear that they're attached to him. With every small movements, the masses shift. "THANK YOU." Quentin takes a deep huff of the POLISHED MOONSTONE CHUNK'S gas before throwing it onto the ground. "CLEAR HEAD. CLEAR BODY. EASES UP MY MUSCLES FOR. LATER."
>+TO THE SKY! +1 RESTRAINT, +2 TALENT AND +2 COGNIZANCE TO QUENTIN!

There's a glaze, a spark, something you can't quite describe in Casey's eyes now. A greedy, hungry stare that's befitting of a wild beast than a human or even an animal. It doesn't remotely match her genuine smile and the relaxed, more natural posture she's taken up. "I've been thinking a lot lately. I feel...different. Hehe. The highest priority of us is the safety of our queen, right?" She tilts her head at you. "Let's reach that star together."
>+QUEEN BEE MINDSET. +1 TO ALL OF CASEY'S STATS!

"I-" Before you can ask her, she's already chattering with Kiara and Naomi. Right, she's never seen those two before. Best to let her be while you chat with some pals you haven't talked to in ages.

"Sehr interessant." Wendy sneers at the various allies you brought along with thinly veiled disgust. "A bug. A robot. A granny. A man playing dress up. AND whatever yellow lady is. Your taste in assistance is quite unique." She moves her neck to look in Clover's direction so fast, you swear you heard a crack. "I will not deny that you picked a good looking man. Perhaps that's why?"

Clover's eyes narrow into tiny slits upon hearing her comment. "I don't swing that way with her yet, miss. We're just friends. That and I bet she already has someone in her life."
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That's sweet of him but your dating pool is basically non-existent. Lex seems to be into Ashley, Benjamin is taken, Maruyama is still recovering from his marriage issues, etc. That and he probably already has someone too. Kana? Marla? Casey maybe?

Eh, not that important either way. You simply shrug. "I haven't taken him on a mission yet and I wanted to see how good he is on one. No need to assume, Ms. 'My Company's been in hot water recently'. Isn't your stuff on the news?"

Wendy's face erupts into a bright shade of red. "Things have been. Rough. Admittedly." Every word she says is wooden and stilted. "We have had worse. That piece of shit mayor could've at least been more subtle about it but hey! We did not. Endorse him!" You know that's a croak of shit but with a quick MIND SCAN, it's clear that SHE didn't personally approve it. "look i came here to get my mind off this work has been a lot please."

Clover is about ready to reach for his gun but stops at the last moment. "Oh! You didn't endorse him. That's good! Would've been real bad news otherwise!"

Quentin kneels down in front of the blabbering mess formerly named Wendy. "I BELIEVE YOU. SOMETIMES, WORKERS DO THINGS THAT MIGHT SEEM TO SUPPORT THE CORPORATIONS BUT IN ACTUALITY-"
His mouth is immediately covered by Wendy's hand. "SHUT."

"Actually, Quentin, what have you been doing? It's been weeks since I last talked to you. After that whole Ace Strikers incident and all of that." You try to change the subject before any more tomfuckery happens.

"IT'S BEEN. A ROUGH FEW WEEKS." For a moment, you swear you could detect an emotion out of Quentin's voice. "IT IS HARD TO KEEP FINDING NEW. SHELLS. DO YOU KNOW HOW. COLD IT IS WITHOUT ONE? I DON'T LIKE IT." He wraps his arms around himself in an attempt to comfort himself. "HOPEFULLY WE FIND FRESH. SHELLS ON THIS MISSION. MORE SHELLS IS ALWAYS. GOOD."

Clover takes a moment to collect his thoughts upon hearing Quentin's ramblings. "Why the hell don't ya just get something better then? If these 'shells' you keep talking about are so important, surely you can buy one?" Wait, yeah, why is he scavenging dead bodies for shells to live in?

Quentin blinks a few times with his glazed over corpse eyes to make sure they don't dry out yet. "CAN'T. NOT UNTIL I PROVE MYSELF."

"Prove yourself?"

"PROVE THAT. I'M NOT INFERIOR. TO THE OTHERS. THAT I CAN BE LIKE YOU AND HER AND HIM AND HER AND HER." You faintly recall him wanting to 'understand humanity' during your last mission with him. You reach over to pat him on his cold, lifeless shoulder.

"Hey. I'm sure you'll do a good job. I'm just glad you're still kicking."

"I AM GLAD TOO. I WISH TO. WORK WITH YOU MORE. I FEEL LIKE YOU WANT A HUMAN SHELL TOO." His glazed eyes stare up at your antlers. You furrow your brow upon realizing what he's talking about

"Oh, yeah, the hell are up with those things?" Clover points at your antlers. "Reminds me of the bodymods that Maria and Kana keep getting."
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Riiight, him and Quentin are the only ones who haven't seen them. Given that Wendy is standing right there, staring down at your group like a riled up meth addict, best to keep with your previous cover story. "I killed an anomaly. These sprouted. Like, I dunno, some vile gift from it?" You shrug.

Wendy flashes a wild thumbs up.
Clover and Quentin glance at each other before shrugging in unison. One doesn't really have any room to talk with weird mutations and the other just seems used to being friends with weird animal people. "That tracks." "NOT MY CUP OF TEA. INVEST IN SOME WINGS."

"hey look if you want to huff casey's pheromones that's your prerogative but don't drag me into this."

Quentin blinks a few times and for a split moment, the corpse he's piloting sprouts a light blush. "WAIT NO-" Before he has any time to say anything more, your train finally arrives. Clover grabs you by the antlers and drags you over to the train in a hurry before you have any time to react. Your other allies quickly rush over to catch up with you and soon enough, the six of you board the train.

The train's fucking crowded. Your party is barely able to get enough seating for the six of you to squeeze together at. You're currently sandwiched right between Kiara and Clover now. Kiara is waving her hand at you like a flailing arm tube man from a G-Corp Dealership. Clover glances down at you with thinly veiled shame. "Sorry. Just didn't want you to miss the train."

"Hey, hey, it's fine. Just please don't grab them if you can avoid it that felt weird." Your antlers are still tingling and not in a good way. Bad, bad memories from when the Admiral grabbed them. "Anyways! How's it been at your casino? It's been a week and some change now since I've checked up." You begin to fiddle with the ECLIPSE TALISMAN and the ECLIPSE SILK you found...
>-ECLIPSE SILK
>ECLIPSE TALISMAN UPGRADED! IT NOW GIVES +1 WILLPOWER AND ALLOWS YOU TO REROLL 3 WILLPOWER OR RESTRAINT DICE TWICE PER MISSION.

"Sorry, sorry, first thing I saw. Whoever you're dating must be luck-"
"ANSWER THE QUESTION HOLY SHIT."

"Sorry!" Clover raises his hands up in mock surrender. "It's been going good, actually! It's been rough trying to adopt the new ideas into how I normally ran things but profits have been increasing without anyone being harmed!" He flashes a thumbs up and a giddy, child-like smile. "Hell! Had enough money to take all of my pals out! Marla, Star, Casey, Kana, Clyde, Cera, everyone!"

Huh, two of those names don't ring a bell. Must've been friends outside of the casino business. "Oh, really? Good!" You can't help to smile at how giddy he is. "I was kinda worried that even without my efforts, you wouldn't be able to bounce back. Glad you're still kicking."

"Yep. Though, this kind of exploring stuff is more up my alley anyways. It's fun playing a character in front of some rich folks but to actually show off my skills in the field?" Clover lets out a low whistle. "That'll be real nice."
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"Your text said something about Syndies being down there, right?" "It's just a theory from my boss-"

"Can't wait to blow a hole through them! 'I'm a kind man, pow pow!', like in those old westerns from the 1960s! That old world stuff was NICE!" Of course he would be the kind of person to watch those ancient things.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Most original copies have been lost to time but a few ancient VHS tapes have been preserved by A, O, and R-Corp.

"Thank you for bringing me along. Your friends are a bit weird but I'm sure we'll all work together."
>+0.5 RAPPORT WITH WENDY, QUENTIN, and CLOVER!

All that's left is to look outside of the train window. The one benefit of living in G-Corp's district is that their trains are REAL fucking fast. Something about a partnership with the company who produces trains, T-Corp, and them having similar interests in transportation. It doesn't take long for you to get anywhere.

Everything is a blur of colors and shapes but soon, you begin to make out a few things as your train blitz through the edges of several districts. The neon-lit streets of A-Corp, the dark gloomy grey streets of D-Corp's, and the mostly deserted blue streets of B-Corp. What would normally take days if not weeks to travel through is easily passed over by the train you're riding on.

Soon, you enter J-Corp's district. The first thing that immediately throws you off is the fact that there's a roaring, wuthering storm blowing above the tightly packed together building below. Every building you see is super blocky and cramped together, like boxes in a shipping crate. Clearly done to save as much space as possible given how swarms of people are moving around the streets.

There has to be at least thousands of people moving below and by god, the traffic is awful. Tightly packed together cars and buses stretch on for miles down each side of the road and even from up here, you can hear the blaring of car alarms and the screeching of irate drivers. There's clearly too many people living here by the looks of it. Complete no go for a district to live in if shit goes down.

Massive grey clouds blanket the sky, casting a massive shadow over the crowded streets and roads. A violent crack of thunder rumbles from the sky above, causing everyone but you and Quentin to flinch. Yeesh. You're glad you're going to be underground for this mission.

While you wait for your train to arrive, you open up the box shipped to you by Rosaline and the Miners...
LOOT OBTAINED!
>NOUVEAU SCARF x2 (Takes up an accessory slot. Has a moderate chance of blocking low caliber bullets and a small chance to negate a CRIPPLING INJURY.)
>RAW NOVASTONE CHUNK
>RAW DWARFSTONE CHUNK x2 (A dead star in rock form. Temporarily gives +1 COGNIZANCE and nightvision to whoever consumes it.)
>MAKESHIFT POCKETWATCH (Runs off a mixture of VOID, DWARF, and MOONSTONE. Can be used to detect shifts in time, space, and reality that would otherwise be impossible to notice. Very fragile.)
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>RAW GALAXYSTONE CHUNK x2 (Ready to dazzle the world! When consumed, the next time you roll a CHARM or CONNECTION check, add 5 to the final tally.)
>SELF CARE KIT (Sponsored by Lilith Vanni! When used on you or an ally. it permanently boosts their CHARM by 1.)
>"WE MAKE BETTER GAS FUCK YOU K-CORP' GAS CANISTER (Filled to the brim with toxic gasses produced by a variety of W-Corp gemstones. Completely nukes the RESTRAINT of anyone exposed to the fumes.)
>VANNI-BRAND CIGARETTES (Makes you look COOL when you smoke it. Has three charges. Boosts MAX RESTRAINT by 1 temporarily when you consume a charge.)

Hot damn. Seems like it wasn't a bad thing to get buddy buddy with the Vannis and the miners, huh? Before you have time to ponder on what to do with this new supply of slop, your train arrives at the station. Glancing out of the train window, it's even more packed than the streets below were.

Everything in the station is covered in a thin layer of grime, grease, and smoke residue. Hordes of J-Corp cops, you can tell by their bright orange police uniform and the pins of a hand crushing something on their breastpockets, are trying their best to keep the crowds of people at the station in some semblance of order. It's not working given how rowdy the crowd is becoming.

Clover and Naomi stick their noses up at this display.

"Pathetic." Naomi croaks out. "They're greenhorns. Barely know what they're doing."
"Indeed. Shameful display from J-Corp. They're supposed to be the good guys. The police officers are always right." Clover nods along.

Wendy scrunches her nose up at the two while Kiara is trying her best to not go on an anti-cop rant given how violently she's vibrating. Considering she's a journo, you can't really blame her. Quentin and Casey glance at each other before shrugging, waiting for your group to move already.

"look let's not dwell on whether cops are good or not let's just move already." You take the bold first move by actually stepping off this god damn train. Your allies relent and follow after you. You don't even have to stop to get your tickets checked or your identity verified because of how god damn crowded it is here. Prime space for someone to hide in plain sight.

It takes ages for your group to pass through but eventually, you spill out onto the streets...which is also crowded. Moving through this place is like sliding through god damn molasses and you're half tempted to gore someone or to toss them with your telekinesis...

[WENDY UNSTABLE] But Wendy is already doing that for you. Whenever the crowd would slow down for too long or something was distracted on their phone, she would bark and screech at them, quickly causing them to scatter. Naomi and Kiara offer her looks of pity while Clover, Quentin, and Casey watch on with worry.

Soon, you manage to arrive at the warehouse you were told about. The bad thing is that you weren't the first one here. Shit. This is going to complicate things.
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The warehouse is just like how the Handler described it. Giant sign of a bright blue popsicle, 'FROSTPUNK' title. Looks pretty abandoned given how shoddy its condition is. Standing right in front of the warehouse is a group of two men and a woman in tactical combat gear.

One man is tall, bulky, and has a scraggly blonde beard growing on his face. He keeps glancing around like he expects someone to come out of the woodworks and ambush him. He adjusts the nightvision googles on his face with one hand while holding a...sword in his other hand? Not a knife, a sword.
The other man is comically short and pudgy, like some sort of weird fucked up dwarf from a tabletop game. His tactical gear is far thicker and bulkier as a result. His long red beard touches the ground and drags along it whenever he moves. A fuckoff big shotgun rests comfortably in his hand.
The woman is thin and lanky, similar to Max's body type. Her tactical gear is lighter weight and thinner comapred to the others. Her face is hidden away behind a gas mask so you can't make out much more of what she looks like.

The three seem to be distracted by a conversation they're having. Hm. You could just sneak into the warehouse while they're busy dicking around. While it's unlikely your group will be unnoticed for long, getting a heads start couldn't hurt.

How do you want to deal with the ETF agents?
>Walk past them. They're not worthy of your time and they might see six people approaching them as a threat. (Saves time, resources, and keeps everyone together.)
>[NAOMI ALLY] Naomi clicks her tongue to get your attention. "I recognize them. Old squad I used to work with. Go ahead, I'll talk to them." Let her do so. (Naomi will get some intel from them and will distract them long enough to buy you some time, but she will leave the party for a short duration.)
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Why don't we try being buddy buddy with them? We're on the same page, no? Lemme talk to them." Try to get on the ETF Agent's good side. Couldn't hurt. (CHARM DC: 11 (-2 from CASEY), rolling Clover's 4d6. If the cowboy succeeds, you might be able to get some temporary allies to passively help you.)
>[CASEY + QUENTIN ALLY] "SOMETHING SMELLS OFF ABOUT THEM." "The masked one, specifically." Try to help them figure out what's wrong. (WILLPOWER DC: 25, rolling 8d6 by yourself. You'll figure out what's bothering them and how you should handle the ETF agents in the future.)
>[WENDY ALLY] Wendy cracks her shoulders a few times before glancing at you. "They're threats. Treat them as such. Lemme handle them." (VIOLENCE DC: 12 (-4 from CASEY and her BOON), rolling Wendy's 5d6. If the schizo succeeds, the ETF will probably hesitate to follow you into the tunnels, removing a possible threat down in the tunnels in the future.)
>[KIARA ALLY] "Hey, let's talk to them! We're in no rush. Not like the tunnels are going to implode, yeah?" Talk to them. (You'll get a chance to learn some information if you play your cards right.)
>Write in.
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>>6006855
>[NAOMI ALLY] Naomi clicks her tongue to get your attention. "I recognize them. Old squad I used to work with. Go ahead, I'll talk to them." Let her do so. (Naomi will get some intel from them and will distract them long enough to buy you some time, but she will leave the party for a short duration.)
Might be potential temporary allies later. Our goals could align enough there's no reason for any trouble or fear. If we had Frank with us he could have smooth-talked his fellow ETFs here. Ah well. The CASEY+QUENTIN option sounds promising too, but I get the feeling Naomi will be fine catching up to us and we're better off with the ETF knowing we're on a mission in the area. This isn't a speedrun like the mine rush to the bottom
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>>6006855
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Why don't we try being buddy buddy with them? We're on the same page, no? Lemme talk to them." Try to get on the ETF Agent's good side. Couldn't hurt. (CHARM DC: 11 (-2 from CASEY), rolling Clover's 4d6. If the cowboy succeeds, you might be able to get some temporary allies to passively help you.)
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>>6006858
+1
>>6006850
>MAKESHIFT POCKETWATCH (Runs off a mixture of VOID, DWARF, and MOONSTONE. Can be used to detect shifts in time, space, and reality that would otherwise be impossible to notice. Very fragile.)
Potential non-Euclidean and extra-dimensional anomalies fuckery in the tunnel and banker?
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>>6006855
>>[NAOMI ALLY] Naomi clicks her tongue to get your attention. "I recognize them. Old squad I used to work with. Go ahead, I'll talk to them." Let her do so. (Naomi will get some intel from them and will distract them long enough to buy you some time, but she will leave the party for a short duration.)
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>>6006846
>fur
I agree with UNSTABLE, it's ok as it is. Now if it gets past monstergirl territory we might have problems
>overstuffed inventory
It's saved us plenty of times
>never seen those two
I get the feeling Kiara will like her. Naomi appreciates the spirit at least
>thinly veiled disgust
Not like you and Nicole are any better
>good looking
Clover has that magnetism

>>6006847
>dating pool
There'll be a guy one day. Right now we gotta stay alive and keep going
>subtle
Mayor's ego was too big to let himself do that. He paid the price for it
>reach for his gun
I did not expect Clover to try something so soon
>this entire Quentin talk
He's one of my favorite characters; he's the coolest
>HUMAN SHELL
Nicole doesn't want to become an anomaly, duh

>>6006849
>Wendy
She'll know the truth one day, but right now RELAX bitch
>light blush
I'm sure centipedes and bees cannot have offspring, but they're still cool together
>G-Corp Dealership
Somewhere... BIG BILL HELL'S awaits dumbfucks who want used cars
>bad memories
Small trauma button sucks, but I imagine Clover's too used to this out of habit
>Whoever you're dating must be luck-
This cheeky larper is speaking from experience, I guarantee it
>smile
He's got that infectious cheer when he gets going

>>6006850
>A, O, and R-Corp
Interesting synthesis, but expected
>mostly deserted
B Corp, the Eye... I assume the people going out are too used to constant surveillance to care much
>J-Corp's district
This place sucks. It's all the bad of someplace like New York City but expanded and contracted at the same time. It is THE concrete jungle and asphalt earth
>underground
Might be a couple flooded sections if this rain holds up
>NOUVEAU SCARF
This goes on the people we need alive most, like Naomi or similar. Or it goes on the most bullet-prone fighters
>RAW DWARFSTONE CHUNK
Nightvision is the big selling point
>MAKESHIFT POCKETWATCH
Very interesting item

>>6006852
>RAW GALAXYSTONE CHUNK
We have some good CHARM modifier items saved up now
>SELF CARE KIT
Use this on Nicole at home?
>W CORP GAS CANISTER
We save this for the silver agent base or outpost. We'll make the ACE STRIKERS incident look like a fucking joke
>VANNI-BRAND CIGARETTES
When we need the RESTRAINT up. Passing these out to allies is better than for Nicole
>buddy buddy
Hope the miners are doing better now
>bright orange
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Hunters in the woods during hunting season. They are the watchers of this concrete jungle, Nicole.
>journo
A REAL journo, not whatever we now have irl
>hide in plain sight
Silver agents could be here...
>looks of pity
They know about Nicole's UNSTABLE, so they understand Wendy's

>>6006855
>blonde beard
Surely not a Huxley?
>dwarf
He feels familiar somehow
>woman
Could be anyone
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>>6006874
I think there might be. These tunnels are "appearing", right? So either somebody's making them or they already existed in a sealed hidden state. The former implies multiple people cooperating to create access points undetected; the latter implies somebody has access to a control hub or command center and they're using it to unseal the passages from deep inside. But I could be wrong
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>>6006867
>>6006874
>>6006876
What do you guys think about our allies right now? What should we specialize them in further? Did we set them up well? And what are your thoughts on them as people?
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>>6006855
>>[CASEY + QUENTIN ALLY] "SOMETHING SMELLS OFF ABOUT THEM." "The masked one, specifically." Try to help them figure out what's wrong. (WILLPOWER DC: 25, rolling 8d6 by yourself. You'll figure out what's bothering them and how you should handle the ETF agents in the future.)

If our bug buddies think something is off with these guys... that is disconcerting.

Like Casey's boss bug bitch upgrade and Quentin starting to get emotions/empathy.

Casey is best girl.
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>>6006855
Fuck it, changing my vote from >>6006858 to
>[CASEY + QUENTIN ALLY] "SOMETHING SMELLS OFF ABOUT THEM." "The masked one, specifically." Try to help them figure out what's wrong. (WILLPOWER DC: 25, rolling 8d6 by yourself. You'll figure out what's bothering them and how you should handle the ETF agents in the future.)
>>
>>6006874
Change
>>6006855
>[CASEY + QUENTIN ALLY] "SOMETHING SMELLS OFF ABOUT THEM." "The masked one, specifically." Try to help them figure out what's wrong. (WILLPOWER DC: 25, rolling 8d6 by yourself. You'll figure out what's bothering them and how you should handle the ETF agents in the future.)
>>
Closing vote, seems like Casey + Quentin is winning here.
Two anons, roll 4d6.
You may reroll one batch of 3d6 thanks to your talisman this check.
>>
Rolled 2, 4 = 6 (2d4)

>>6007825
I'll roll
>>
Rolled 2, 4 = 6 (2d6)

>>6007825
Whoops you said 4d6 not 2. My bad
Adding these 2 rolls to >>6007829
>>
Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d6)

>>6007829
This was a d4 not d6. I should not be this illiterate in the morning. Rolling the 2d6 properly
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>>6007829
>>6007831
>>6007832
In the end the dice gods really wanted that 12
>>
Rolled 5, 3, 2, 4 = 14 (4d6)

>>6007825
>>
Rolled 6, 5, 2, 3 = 16 (4d6)

>>6007825
Damn, I got in late to rolling due to internet issues, but I'm gonna roll anyways to see what I would've gotten if I wasn't stonewalled.
>>
>>6007841
Qm check your math. :)
>>
...Seems like I'm a total retard too. Middle of the morning for me.
12 + 14 = 26, you don't need to use a reroll to pass. Brain fart.
Writing. Nothing really changes aside from you saving a reroll.
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Before anyone can propose any plans for moving, Casey and Quentin immediately make their hesitation known to the group. The wings hidden underneath Quentin's bulky business suit are twitching and squirming anxiously while Casey's smile begins to lose more and more of its joy and whimsy.

"I don't like them." "THEY SMELL OFF. THE MASKED ONE. I DON'T LIKE HER SPECIFICALLY."

"Huh?" You don't really detect anything off about them at the moment and your other allies seem confused by the warning the two are giving. While it is weird seeing ETF agents out in public, you were warned about them beforehand. The hell are they worrying about?

[AN ARBITER] Naomi's expression quickly turns grim as she listens to the two bugs chitter. "No, no. They're right. That group feels...different. Their aura didn't feel like this last time I saw them. The other two aren't in on whatever the girl's up to, I know that."

"Aura? This ain't no T-Corp mango." Clover scoffs. "I guess if they are weird, we should walk past them, no? Seems like the easiest solution."
"Or kill them. What if they're traitors, spies? Thieves? The ones who skitter in the FUCKING WALLS?" Wendy glances around as if she expects someone to appear out of thin air.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] They're already here. You just don't know where or how many.

"Well, Nicole? I imagine you have a way of figuring out what's wrong." You swear that if Kiara had eyebrows, she would be wiggling them. You did use your MIND READ power back at the base so it couldn't hurt. You weren't really hiding it that well with her during the training course.

...

Huh. You can read the other two just fine but the girl is a complete blank spot for you. It's not that she's like Casey where her mind is fucking hollow 90% of the time. It takes physical effort to even TRY mindreading her. As if she has something blocking your power.

Your face quickly scrunches up upon hitting this barrier. You grab onto the ECLIPSE TALISMAN hanging around your neck before taking another crack at it. You're not stopping until you get something out of this fucking ETF agent. Even if it's like trying to wring blood out of a stone-

>26!

<"Good. Good, good. It's hard to turn off the censor sometimes so I'm glad the mask is enough for now.">
<"Easy enough plan. Go down there, let them scout out for me, leave them behind. Reconvene with the others. Whatever happens to them is not my problem.">
<"Hm? That girl with antlers over there looks familiar. Couldn't be, right?">

[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got to fucking move. Now. If you linger here any longer, something BAD is going to happen.

Naomi narrows her visible eye. Seems like she's figured out what you noticed. "Ah. Pals? Let's move before I have to...deal with an old friend of mine." She caustically spits out. <"I told her not to join them, damnit.">

Your allies got the hint since they're ready to move NOW.
>>
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There's a door right in the side of the warehouse that you can easily open. The two ETFs and the Spook in Hiding are far enough way where as long as you don't draw any attention, they won't pay much mind to you.

The fact her mind was hard to read is worrying you. It didn't seem to be because they know about your MIND READ ability. Could it be that they were doing it out of precaution out of whatever's down there? Whatever, less thinking, more moving. Your group skitters over to the door and enters into the warehouse before the Spook starts screeching.

The inside of the warehouse is really nothing to note. It's big, spacious, and ice fucking cold but otherwise empty aside from a few shelves. Why? Well, that might be because of the giant fucking pit in the middle of the room that's heading right into the earth in a steep angle. A decent chunk of the shelves in the warehouse are leaning precariously over the pit or have fallen in completely, laying against the sides of the tunnel.

Kiara and Wendy kneel down in front of the tunnel to take a closer look at it.

"Manmade. Artificial. Not dug manually." Wendy chitters out. "Had to be excavated." Huh, you would be shocked as to why she knows this if it wasn't for last mission.

"That doesn't make sense. Too deep of an angle." Kiara points into the pit. Your crew surrounds it and, well, she's right. It's a very steep angle that's just barely shallow enough for your crew to walk down without climbing gear. "I don't think a machine could reasonably travel down this without getting stuck."

"Hm. Might be that it was punched out from underground?" Wendy scratches her chin. "Weird, though, why an empty warehouse like this? Either it's random chance or they picked here because it's isolated from-"

Your group hears the front shutters of the warehouse beginning to open up. No time to question about how a super deep tunnel appeared out of thin air. Your group slides into the pit to try getting some distance from the spook. You need some time to think on a plan on how to handle her while not throwing the other ETF Agents under the rug.

That or informing the other spooks you're already here. This is already going to be a messy mission and you just know it. Probably a good thing you brought a lot of assistance. The tunnel is pretty deep so your group spends a few minutes sliding and sprint-walking down it but eventually, you reach the bottom.

https://youtu.be/O80ampKn3dE - ?-CORP FACILITY

You were expecting to find yourself in a cramped army bunk room with a really cramped ceiling but the space you find yourself in is far more spacious than that. Your group is now in a breakroom of sorts that's been completely trashed. Half shattered and mostly rotted away tables and chairs are thrown all over the place.

A few vending machines are scattered throughout the breakroom but in closer examination, all of them are empty. Their screens have been shattered and their contents are fully looted.
>>
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The only light keeping this room from being completely pitch black is various dim red lightbulbs loosely hanging from the ceiling: Emergency lighting. Looking down at the ground, you can see dried dark stains all over the floor and the faint impressions of boot prints scattered all throughout the room. You clearly weren't the first ones to uncover this place.

The walls and floor are made out of dull beige and stained white tiles and you just know this place would've been lit with bright white fluorescent lighting if they weren't shattered ages ago. The only other thing of note is various weird posters around the wall and a door leading outside of the breakroom.

That and the faint sound of a siren blaring deeper in the facility.

All of your allies are immediately tense upon taking a look around at the breakroom alongside you.

"Manager?" Casey croaks out. "Manager? Where are you?" Her eyes are glazed over, clearly lost in the past. "Foster Work on Pearls for Swine...doing..."
Quentin can only try his best to comfort Casey by rubbing her shoulders with his dead, cold hands. "NO BODIES HERE. THAT IS UNUSUAL. IT IS CLEAR SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED HERE." Yeah, he's right, you don't see any bones. Only stains splotching the place.
"Shit. I recognize this place. I worked in a place like this before." Clover rubs his shoulder. "P-Corp. You can find their symbol here. I know it."
Wendy narrows her eyes into slits. She sniffs the air for a moment. "Sickly sweet. Energy still being produced."
Naomi and Kiara glance around the room again before shaking their head in unison. "The layout's a bit off. Not how I remembered P-Corp facilities looking like." "Take a closer look at the furniture. This is what the world was like back in my day."

You do so. That's when it clicks, most of the chairs and tables scattered around the place are made out of real and honest to god wood. That's a rarity in this City, you only tend to see actual trees in O-Corp's district, if even that.

The posters are from various corporations that you don't recognize the names of whatsoever. "Grand Motors: Your one stop shop to travel goodness!", "Novels and Narratives: Listen to the stories of the world", "Smith's Sharpshooters: Hire us so we don't have to hire Grave-Corp!"

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Must be older versions of the alphabet companies you once knew.

Clover lifts up one of the posters to reveal a very familiar but slightly different symbol: P-Corp's. A fully intact lightbulb shining for the world to see. That's weird, P-Corp's is normally shattered. You don't really recall any symbol changes in recent memory so it might be another old change.

Quentin and Casey skitter around the breakroom in search of something before returning to you like a pair of loyal lapdogs (lapbugs?). A tattered piece of paper that simply reads "FACILITY 5 OF 7: F1." You take a moment to scan through the map that they manage to find so you have an idea where to head from here.
>>
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You're currently on Floor 1's Breakroom which is at the top west most corner of the map. Exiting it leads you to two hallways, one south and one east, which reconnect at a central hub area towards the southern-east corner of the room that has an elevator leading further down. A simple square box layout.

The second floor has a similar structure but instead of a Breakroom in the northwest most corner, there's a 'ARMORY' and that there's a 'ARTIFACT RESEARCH STATION' at the northeast most corner. Same simple box layout as the last one.

The third and final floor...is basically incoherent scribbling. "MANAGER MANAGER WHERE ARE YOU MANAGER". Anything that could've possibly have been made out has been scribbled over in what you can only hope is red pen. The most interesting thing about the map is several boxes along each of the hallways that are labeled with one simple phrase.

"CONTAINMENT CELL". The two floors you can make out have four containment cells each, two down each hallway. A-D for Floor 1, E-H for Floor 2. Each of them has a name and a code assigned.

"A: A THOUSAND LONELY. C1, MENTAL, COGNITOHAZARD. DON'T TALK TO IT. PLEASE. JUST CLEAN THE MESS IT MAKES."
"B: PEARLS FOR SWINE. B3, MENTAL, COGNITOHAZARD. DON'T TAKE IT TOO PERSONALLY, IT TRIES TO FUCK WITH YOU."
"C: COLD BLOODED INFORMANT. B3, MIXED, CAN BE REASONED WITH. LOVES TO BARTER."
"D: TOADHOLE. A5. MIXED/ESOTERIC. COGNITOHAZARD. MANAGER WON'T LISTEN TO US ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS IT IS. CAN'T SEE IT LIKE HOW WE SEE IT."
"E: MUSHROOM DREAMS. B0. NOTHING TO NOTE, APPROVED FOR ALL EMPLOYEES TO INTERACT WITH. LOW ENERGY EITHER WAY. USE WHEN YOU NEED A BREAK."
"F: DELICIOUS GIRL R! ??. NEW ANOMALY. NEED TIME TO INVESTIGATE. SENTIENT?"
"G: DOG. X0. ESOTERIC. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog. Dog."
"H: KNIGHT OF PEN AND PAPER. C4. VERY AGGRESSIVE. BUG-LIKE. PLEASE, DON'T BOTHER HIM TOO MUCH."

Kiara is staring over the map you have with giddy, child-like glee in her eyes while Wendy is drooling, ready for something to fight. Naomi and Clover scan over the paper while Quentin and Casey bum around by the broken vending machines.

"Okay, so facilities like this have four damage types. Physical and Mental, simple enough. Mixed is when the bastard does both and Esoteric is the shit that hurts what makes you YOU." Clover explains what he knows about the mostly abstract series of numbers and symbols.

"A-X is how hard it is to contain." Naomi fills in her own gaps. "A is that it never breaches or it refuses to for whatever reason., B is that it may breach sometimes but is otherwise cooperative. C is that it's hard to contain and X means it's basically impossible to. 0-5 is just scaling how much damage it can do."

"Guess that's what ETFs use to classify them?"

Clover and Naomi nod in unison. "Though it would be wise not to interact with them if we can." "The goal is to find the bastards trying to dig these places up."

"Not even the B0? The super friendly one?" Kiara whimpers.
>>
Hm. There's still issue with the ETFs and the spook. It might be prudent to nip that in the bud.

How do you want to deal with the agents?
>Wait in the breakroom. Confront the spook and deal with her before she can bite you in the ass. Physically if need be. (Skip the EXPLORATION VOTE if you pick this.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey seemed to have recognized the name of one of the abnos here. Maybe she knows how to talk to the ETFs on their level? Tell her to go ahead and talk to the ETF real quick. (VIOLENCE DC: 14 (-4 from FACILITY KNOWLEDGE and WENDY), rolling only Casey's 4d6. If Casey succeeds, they'll certainly offer as much information about the facility to her as she can.)
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Enemy of my enemy is our friend. Let's 'play along' with them for now." Try to convince the ETFs to help you explore this facility. (CHARM DC: 9 (-4 from CASEY AND FACILITY KNOWELDGE), rolling Clover's 4d6. Same results as last vote.)
>Just keep exploring ahead of them. Too dangerous to engage in the spook right now and maybe the ETFs can deal with whatever may be out of containment while they explore.
>Write in.

It's going to take some time to find out everything that there is to this facility and if the map is correct, this is only one out of seven.

Where do you want to start exploring first? Pick one main action. Due to the potential risks of wandering around the facility, you won't split the group.
>Head straight to the mystery third floor. Mystery time.
>[KIARA ALLY] She's clearly been waiting to see an anomaly and you can't deny her. If nothing else, checking out the cells to see what's in and what's out would be prudent. (Pick FLOOR 1 or FLOOR 2's cells to investigate.)
>[WENDY ALLY] "Armory. Head down to the armory. We need to check its status." You can't really refute her since the status of the armory could tell you how badly shit went on down there. Check it out.
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Artifacts, huh? Like those weird PARA whatevers? Maybe we can recover something valuable down there?" He's not wrong. Check out to see what anomalous goodies they have down there.
>[NAOMI ALLY] "Let's just do some preliminary scouting. See what threats or who else is here with us. We'll go from there." Let Naomi take the lead. She's probably the most experienced here.
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "I BELIEVE IT MAY BE PRUDENT TO PIECE TOGETHER WHAT HAPPENED HERE." You have to agree. Take a moment to scout out the breakroom to piece together what exactly happened and how the tunnel even appeared to begin with. (COGNIZANCE DC: ??, with every ally rolling their own dice. The higher your group rolls, the more clues you get as to what tomfuckery is going on with the tunnels.)
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Take a moment to focus and activate WHISPERS OF THE CITY. (FREE ACTION, write in whether to spend 1 or 2 RESTRAINT. If 1, you'll figure out if there's anything hidden on the first floor that's not on the map. If 2, you get a rough layout on what's hidden on all three floors.)
>Write in.
>>
>>6008043
>[CASEY ALLY] Casey seemed to have recognized the name of one of the abnos here. Maybe she knows how to talk to the ETFs on their level? Tell her to go ahead and talk to the ETF real quick. (VIOLENCE DC: 14 (-4 from FACILITY KNOWLEDGE and WENDY), rolling only Casey's 4d6. If Casey succeeds, they'll certainly offer as much information about the facility to her as she can.)
But give Casey some sort of a Violence booster. Right now her chances are 50/50

>[NAOMI ALLY] "Let's just do some preliminary scouting. See what threats or who else is here with us. We'll go from there." Let Naomi take the lead. She's probably the most experienced here.
I wanted to go see Delicious Girl R!, but then I remembered Wendy will just aggro on any anomaly.
>>
>>6008047
The spook is an enemy and she WILL report we are on-site to the others if we confront them. However the ETFs are a strong asset and they'll aggro us if we kill the spook lady with them. Clover's option is lower DC than Casey's, but the flavor is different enough it'll dictate interactions going forward.
As for exploration, I want to finally use that Harvesting Kit we got to get some anomalous materials for good gear later. Wendy needs to calm down to let us do this at least once before we mission clear. I don't really want to start spending RESTRAINT so soon with Seeker when we're surface level. The Quentin option is way too early too since we just got here. The scouting option is safer and it'll help us get grips on how to proceed later in the mission too.

Why do you want Casey option over Clover? And why not explore ahead? That spook lady plans to ditch the ETFs here to rejoin the other spooks lurking after they scout enough. Do we go along with the trio until the spook tries ditching, then kill her?
>>
>>6008043
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Enemy of my enemy is our friend. Let's 'play along' with them for now." Try to convince the ETFs to help you explore this facility. (CHARM DC: 9 (-4 from CASEY AND FACILITY KNOWELDGE), rolling Clover's 4d6. Same results as last vote.)

>[WENDY ALLY] "Armory. Head down to the armory. We need to check its status." You can't really refute her since the status of the armory could tell you how badly shit went on down there. Check it out.
>>
>>6008056
If we choose Clover we get stuck with the spook.
>>
>>6008123
Ok you convinced me

>>6008047
+1
>>
>>6003090
>An electric crackling is felt throughout the tips of your fingers and toes. Perhaps if you can just...fire it out? (Gain ELECTRIC SPARK. As a passive ability, all electronics you use have a 50% chance of not consuming a charge on use and they start with 1 extra charge. For 1 RESTRAINT, you may fire sparks of electricity out of your body to stun your enemies or to power up machinery around you.)

Remotely powering machinery sounds pretty useful!

Two whole weeks of catching up, now I finally get to vote!
This is a good quest QM.
>>
>>6008178
Welcome aboard anon. Every vote is appreciated
>>
>Poi: +1 COGZNIANCE + TALENT, Limited resistance to perception altering effects. If sent to haunt someone, paranoid delusions will cause them to betray their allies, temporarily joining you as an ally.
Oh shit can we use this when the spook lady tries to betray the ETFs and run, only for us to convince her to turn on the other spooks because she'll be made out to be a liability and executed?
>>
>>6008047
+1
>>6000233
>"If an Agent wanted you dead-" A thin, spindly arm immediately grabs onto the tossed away gun. "Would've fired it already. I recognize your scent from the field. Sickly sweet. Sickly, sickly. Like a rotten flower."
>>6008025
>Wendy narrows her eyes into slits. She sniffs the air for a moment. "Sickly sweet. Energy still being produced."
Flower anomaly is here?

>"What? What are ya talking about?" Clover tries to regain his grip on his revolver. <"I recognized that look. That damn flower anomaly...>
No.5910111
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5893937/
>>
>>6008178
Hello Anon. :D
>>
>>6008199
I think if Flowey is here, he's deeper in the tunnels. If there's any other abnos still trapped in containment units, they might be generating A-Energy passively. Or other released and roaming ones are emitting it, and the unmaintained old collectors are absorbing it too little to matter.
>>
>>6008221
I wonderingly Is the LEAD Maus potentially here too?
>>
>>6008231
I doubt it, but we won't know until we continue this mission ESL anon
>>
>>6008184
Yeah, except my phone updated the second I posted this and the thread doubled in length.

Thanks for nothing you silicon jackass.
>>
>>6008043
>Poi: +1 COGZNIANCE + TALENT, Limited resistance to perception altering effects. If sent to haunt someone, paranoid delusions will cause them to betray their allies, temporarily joining you as an ally.
Use this on the Glowie. Make her paranoid that she’s been caught by her two comrades and force her to out herself to them.

>[QUENTIN ALLY] "I BELIEVE IT MAY BE PRUDENT TO PIECE TOGETHER WHAT HAPPENED HERE." You have to agree. Take a moment to scout out the breakroom to piece together what exactly happened and how the tunnel even appeared to begin with. (COGNIZANCE DC: ??, with every ally rolling their own dice. The higher your group rolls, the more clues you get as to what tomfuckery is going on with the tunnels.)
Forewarned is forearmed. We should know what we’re up against.
>>
Fuck it doing my analysis before I forget

>>6008020
>other two aren't in
We can win them over
>FUCKING WALLS
Despite being so fiercely anti-anomaly, Wendy might be our fiercest anti-silver ally too once we give her the full rundown on what the fuck is really going on
>how many
Silver walkie talkie said "squads" plural
>the censor
Is that their singularity? The information distortion of Old B Corp?
>the mask is enough
We have a weakness. TELEKINESIS to tear it off could be worth it, or subtly weakening it so it slips off by accident when she least expects it?
>told her not to join them
Sorry Naomi, but the dumb bitch made her choice. There's no guarantee we can turn her against the other silver agents, and she'll have to die otherwise

>>6008022
>out of precaution
What's down there that they need such measures in advance? I thought they were as in the dark about these tunnels as we are?
>punched out
They dug up and out... but where are the "they" that made this since?
>steep angle
That it's a big pit in the fucking room and not some small hole large enough for people to reasonably exit through, is telling. If the unknowns were trying to escape, they only needed to dig big enough to fit themselves, no? Why excavate such a large area upwards? And where's the method used for this, if there isn't a similarly-sized hole in the warehouse wall? Something portable? A singularity? They wanted the warehouse to not fall inward, presumably
>good thing you brought a lot of assistance
I fucking kneel, other anon who wanted to bring lots of allies along. We'll need to watch our wallet if we want to keep this up all the way to the base assault. We need enough money saved up to hire all the allies for the base assault too. Calculate a minimum to not fall under, then go from there?

>>6008025
>dim red lightbulbs
HELP WANTED!
>You clearly weren't the first
They're probably left through the warehouse topside
>siren blaring
Old systems still active. Could be promising if we go towards the sound source
>Foster Work
Visions of a different facility...
>NO BODIES
Did K Corp guys come through here and erase the corpses? In J Corp's own District? If the "this tunnel was excavated outward" is true, maybe K Corp erased their way out. Meaning they came in from another path somewhere else
>Energy
Collectors are everywhere, but less outside cells
>real wood
This entire zone is fucking ancient
>Grand Motors
Y Corp?
>Novels and Narratives
???
>Smith's Sharpshooters
R Corp?
>Grave-Corp
???
>fully intact lightbulb
Before something BROKE them hard enough to change their logo
>lapbugs?
Nicole could totally pose in a chair with Casey in her lap and Quentin coiled around her arm or upper body. Real villain posing
>FACILITY 5 OF 7: F1
Do we have 7 whole facility dungeons to navigate through? Sounds like a long mission
>>
>>6008030
>Breakroom
I didn't say it earlier but the description of this place is great
>ARMORY
>RESEARCH STATION
Remember:
>OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: RECOVER CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, ARTIFACTS, OR AN ANOMALY
Once we scout enough, we need to go for the loot as much as we can, but bear in mind the silver agents and whoever else is down here is also trying to loot things and make it to places
>WHERE ARE YOU MANAGER
HIS QUEST IS DEAD
THE OTHER GUY'S QUEST IS ALSO DEAD
THE OTHER OTHER GUY'S QUEST IS ALSO DEAD
LOBCORP QUESTS JUST TAKE TOO MUCH FOR A NON-VIDYA MEDIUM TO PROPERLY CARRY OUT
YOU NEED TO ACCEPT THAT FACT
STOP PANICKING OVER IT YOU FUCKING CLERK, IT'S BEEN LIKE 2-3 YEARS NOW
F.E.E.D HAPPENED 5 YEARS AGO, YOU NEED TO OPEN YOUR EYES
>THOUSAND LONELY
I don't want to lose RESTRAINT this early
>PEARLS FOR SWINE
I don't want to lose RESTRAINT this early
>INFORMANT
This one might be interesting
>TOADHOLE
Miss me with that severe pale damage bullshit
>MUSHROOM DREAMS
We don't need a break right now, but we might as well check it out
>DELICIOUS GIRL R!
If only Maruyama was here...
>DOG
We could just pet it and move on
>KNIGHT
He got exported from his dead quest. Quentin and Casey might bug to bug contact him and win him over?
>The goal is to find the bastards trying to dig these places up
But the optional objective is optional in name only. All objectives are always mandatory... until they aren't

Now my question to you guys
>>6008047
>>6008086
>>6008123
>>6008178
>>6008199
>>6008442
Which anomaly would you want to go check out, or extract materials from?
>>
>>6008680
Informant for the potential HOT HOT DEALS if he's still down here. Dog for Dog for Dog for Dog.
>>
>>6008680
>Which anomaly would you want to go check out, or extract materials from?
Whichever we choose, Wendy will try to kill it, so don't choose any you want to interact with in any aother way than fighting.
>>
>>6008680
Informant. We need information.
>>
>>6008680
>or extract materials from?
MUSHROOM DREAMS Because its potential may have a RESTRAINT regenerate ability.
>>
CASEY ALLY: ddn, Of0, kAX
SUMMON Poi: Fx4
CLOVER ALLY: IAh

NAOMI ALLY: ddn, Of0, kAX
QUENTIN ALLY: Fx4
WENDY ALLY: IAh

Since the Casey Ally one went "give her a VIOLENCE CONSUMABLE", you'll consume a Sunstone Fragment, giving you the ability to reroll 3 of her dice.

I need two anons to roll 2d6 for her. If she fucks up, another anon can reroll three of her dice.

>>6008178
>>6008437
Welcome to hell, sunshine. Glad to have you onboard.
>>
Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d6)

>>6008924
>>
Rolled 4, 1 = 5 (2d6)

>>6008924
>>
Rolled 5, 2, 4 = 11 (3d6)

>>6008924
With a mere fragment of the unmatched power of the sun, I activate my ultimate move, MENTALLY ILL BUG GIRL OFFICE WORKER.
>>
ORIGINAL ROLL: 1, 4, 1, 4. 10.
MODIFIED ROLL: 5, 2, 4, 4. 15.
RESULT: SLIGHT SUCCESS. FUNNY CASEY SUCCEEDS.
Writing.
>>
>>6008047
If you didn't want the violence booster or reroller, Casey would have failed. I fucking kneel anon
>>
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There's just too much uncertainty to really go buckwild with your opening move. It's probably best to focus on getting as much information out of the ETFs and spook as you can before doing your own preliminary scouting. You toss a SUNSTONE FRAGMENT over to Casey before pointing at the tunnel your group came in from.

"Go talk to the ETFs. You somehow knew about an anomaly's name before we even saw the map so, I dunno, use that to your advantage?" You shrug. She's a strange little creature so you're mostly just winging it with how who approaches her.

"Remember, funny yellow girl. Fear is the mind killer when it comes to them. Hit hard. Hit fast. Rip them to shreds and rip them asunder." Wendy blabbers out basically incoherent advice.

She violently nods her head with the same intensity of a bobblehead in the middle of an earthquake before she skitters up the tunnel with impressive speeds. You and your other allies watch in stunned silence as she disappears up the tunnel at record speeds.

"Was this always like this-" "Yep." "Okay yeah." That was an enlightening conversation you had with Clover. You're not going to leave her behind so you might as well-

>15! SUCCESS
>-1 SUNSTONE FRAGMENT

She's already skittering back down to the breakroom your group is waiting at after only a few minutes. In her hands is a loose sheet of paper but that's not what catches your attention. A faint trickle of blood is oozing from her cracked upper lip, dribbling onto the floor below. Other than that, she seems unharmed, but what the hell happened to her?

"Casey, what the-" "NO WHAT." Clover and Quentin immediately rushes over to check up on Casey. She's remarkably unfazed by the blood oozing out of her. You don't think she lost any FLESH so you're going to stay calm. No need to panic.

"Had to talk to them on their level! It was very, very fun to talk to them like that! They weren't too eager to talk at first..." Casey's smile droops before immediately picking back up. "All I had to do was throw a punch and they were more than willing to listen! Very efficient if I do say so myself!" Casey what the FUCK that's not what you wanted-

"They gave me this handy dandy intel paper! I think they're too busy trying to plan a way to proceed from here to follow us from now!" Well, that's good at least. More time to think on how to handle the spook.

"Wait. So you tried talking to them," Kiara tries her best to process what she heard. "Then you ripped into them when they didn't?" She pauses for a moment before flashing a smile. "Hot damn. Already getting into the journo mindset." Is everyone here brain damaged-

Wendy and Naomi share a look with each other before flashing thumbs at Casey's bold tactic. Okay yeah somehow you're the only sane one here. "Excellent." "I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU, WEIRD YELLOW GIRL." Well, for Naomi, you imagine it's probably for a more personal reason than anything.

Naomi snaps her fingers to get your crew's attention. "Now, listen."
>>
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"We'll read the intel paper on our scouting run throughout the first floor. I need you five to get into formation."

"Casey, Wendy, you'll be at the back. Watch out for anyone trying to ambush us and warn us. Quentin, Clover, and I will be on the front line. Nicole and Kiara will be in the middle. You two will scan around for anything we can't notice while you're protected from both sides."

Huh. Not a bad plan, actually. You'd argue Kiara is better as a frontline due to her durability as a robot but otherwise it's not bad enough to nitpick over. You nod in agreement before realizing you have those two scarves in your inventory. For now, you hand them over to Naomi and Casey due to their squishy natures.
>-2 NOUVEAU SCARVES TEMPORARILY!
>NAOMI AND CASEY ARE A BIT MORE PROTECTED!

Your group falls into position as per Naomi's command before exiting the breakroom to do some basic scouting around the facility you're in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz0HvEVCziY [Embed] - ANCIENT BREACH

The first thing that hits you is the scent of rot and decay flooding. The second thing that hits you is despite this smell, there's no corpses anywhere within your party's line of sight. A few of your party members seem to notice this real quick.

[MILITARY EXPERIENCE] "Rot takes days or weeks to fully disappear even after a clean up crew arrives. Back in X-Corp, we would clean out places beforehand so there's no biohazard risks." Naomi pulls out her SERVICE PISTOL, keeping her finger away from the trigger guard. She's keeping her gun pointed at the ground. "But for a smell this strong? Had to be fresh corpses."

[CORPORATE NIGHTMARE] "Reeks of K-Corp. Too clean. Too fucking clean. Think they can get away with it because they're underground." Wendy tightens the grip on the rusted metal pipe in her hand. "Might be here to recover any anomalies left down here. To extract any resources from them. Maybe the anomalies were too powerful if they didn't clean up."

[ANALYZER MODEL] Kiara's LEDs eyes shift in the dim light. "I detect small traces of Perfecta Amotio on the walls and floors. Too low concentration for a body clean up. If they were dissolving bodies, it wasn't on this floor." So that implies either they moved the bodies manually or that were removed some other way.

You're standing in a crossroad between two hallways just like it showed on the map. The steel floors and walls are coated in thick layers of orange and blue paint that was clearly painted on many years ago to try offering some comfort to the people working here: After all, better than staring at featureless grey steel walls all day.

Just like in the breakroom, everything is drenched in a bright red haze from the emergency red lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. Though this time, most of them have been shattered outright, leaving massive patches of darkness in between what few light bulbs remain. Good thing you and Kiara have nightvision. Time to put on your googles.
>>
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There we go, you can actually see shit. Basically more of the same as described before but as your group heads south, you can make out the CONTAINMENT CELLS along the walls of the hallway.

Each CONTAINMENT CELL has the same basic construction: A heavily reinforced stainless steel airlock blocking any entrance in or out and a keypad next to it. Each door has a letter carved onto the front of the door. The south hallway has CELL A and D and from the looks of it, both of the cells are in remarkably healthy condition containment wise. Aside from a few bumps and minor cracks, they're airtight.

In other words? Those two are contained for now.

These airlock has a peephole with a metal cover over them. You glance over at Clover. "Do, uh, airlocks normally have peepholes with covers on them?"

"There's usually a viewing port to make sure the thing is actually inside. Some anomalies can teleport or place tricks with ya or plan an ambush. Marla actually got hit by an ambush back when our crew worked with P-Corp. But covers...? Probably because those two are Congo whatevers. Probably activates when you see 'em." Clover keeps a firm grip on the WILD REVOLVER in his hands. You're 100% certain that's just a cap gun he heavily modified with real gun parts.

Hm. That's useful knowledge for when you find a cell without any information about it. Soon, your group finds itself at a small boxy hub area that's completely fucking trashed. Wooden chairs, tables, and torn up documents are thrown all over the place as if someone was in a mad dash to find something down here. Given how most of the documents have been torn to shreds, they don't seem interested in information. Half empty snack bags and hunks of weirdly carved meat are thrown all over the hub room. Was someone eating here?

Quentin sniffs at the discarded food for a few moments before turning his gaze towards the group. "FRESH MEAT. HARVESTED FROM SOMETHING. MAYBE AN ANOMALY? SOMEONE'S BEEN LIVING DOWN HERE. SURVIVING OFF WHAT THEY CAN LOOT. LIKE A COCKROACH."
"Wait, that doesn't make any sense, this place was sealed back when the Antiseptic War ended." Naomi narrows her one visible eye. "That's 56 years ago. There's no way."

"Hey! Don't dismiss the willpower of mankind, Nao whoever!" Clover clicks his tongue. "If I was trapped in some god awful facility, I would kick and scream until Death Herself came to rip me limb from limb. I gotta respect this son of a gun."
"Maybe whoever's down here isn't a human. Eating the flesh of those horrid creatures..." Wendy's whole body shudders.

[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If the flesh of an anomaly has A-Energy, then it would be possible that whoever lived here has been impacted by it. You grew antlers and fur only after a few vials of it.

Casey breaks formation for a moment to let her weird dog gun thing sniff at the piles of meat too. It then immediately snaps its direction over to the elevator at the far corner of the hub room.
>>
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Whoever left those behind is not on this floor. Noted.

The only other thing of note here is the other hallway with CELL B and C, which then leads back to the breakroom. A loop, basically. With no real threat so far, your group continues to scout out the first floor to make sure nothing's waiting to ambush you.

The hallway is the same as the last one you were in aside from the different cell letters. CELL B's airlock has been completely obliterated. Whatever was inside it punched the airlock clean off because there's just a solid hunk of thick metal embedded in the wall right in front of the cell. Quentin pokes his head around and seeing that he wasn't attacked, he gestures at you to check.

There's nothing inside aside from the faint smell of trash, discarded pieces of litter, and a thick grime covering every inch of the cell. Nothing else to see here.

CELL C? It's cracked open, as if waiting for someone to come in. Dozens of small centipede like legs grip at the edges of the open airlock. You can't quite see anything else of the anomaly from here but you swear you heard some kind of music playing from its cell as your group cautiously approaches you. Low, sharp chords from a stringed instrument intermixed with deep, booming drums and ominous whistling from some ancient flute.

It's clearly trying to intimidate you but for what reason? It doesn't seem to be attacking despite the fact it seems to know you're there.

Wendy's whole body tenses up. "We are NOT approaching that beast without further intel. Back up." Your allies keep their firearms trained at the containment cell, slowly backing away from it in a group. Once you're back at the hub room, you finally take the time to scan over the intel sheet that Casey got now that you know that the only possible threat on this floor is COLD BLOODED INFORMANT.

"PRELIMENARY SCOUTING OF P-CORP FACILITY J-PHI-1-7."
"BACK IN THE ANTISEPTIC WARS, P-CORP FACILITIES WERE BUILT UNDERGROUND THROUGHOUT THE CITY. HOWEVER, MOST WERE DESTROYED DURING THE WAR OR REPURPOSED AS MILITARY BASES, LEAVING ONLY A FEW INTACT TO KEEP PRODUCING ENERGY."
"WHEN THE TUNNELS STARTED APPEARING, WE NOTICED A PATTERN. MOST, IF NOT ALL, DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO A MILITARY BUNKER OR P-CORP FACILITY THAT WAS SEALED AFTER THE WAR."
"J-PHI-1 THROUGH 7 WERE VASTLY SMALLER FACILITIES CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER THROUGH A SYSTEM OF ELEVATORS. THIS ALLOWED FOR FACILITIES THAT HAD SEVERE CONTAINMENT BREACHES TO EASILY BE SEALED OFF."
"THE AMOUNT OF ANOMALIES KEPT THROUGHOUT THE FACILITES, PER OLD DOCUMENTS, VARIES. 1-3 HAD 4, 4 AND 6 HAD 6, 7 HAD 3, AND 5 HAD 12. THE DEEPER INTO THE EARTH (i.e LOWER THE FLOOR), THE MORE DANGEROUS THE ANOMALIES ARE."
"MANAGER'S OFFICE IS NORMALLY ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF A FACILITY. MOST OF THE KEYCODES TO TRAVEL TO OTHER FACILITIES ARE KEPT THERE."
"ONCE THE TUNNELS WERE DISCOVERED, J-CORP DETECTED A SIZABLE ANOMALY IN THE ENERGY PRODUCED IN THE GRID OF MANY OF THEIR SUBDISTRICTS."
>>
"AS IF FACILITIES WERE TURNED BACK ON AND SHIPPING OUT A-ENERGY. 'REFINEMENT MACHINES', THE MAIN EXPORTER OF ENERGY, ARE KEPT ON THE THIRD FLOORS AS WELL. INVESTIGATE?"
"K-CORP HAS BEEN MOVING IN. WE HAVE TO MOVE QUICKLY TOO SO, SORRY CASEY, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE A MOVE SOON. BETTER HURRY."
"SECURITY SYSTEM SHOULD BE IN THE ARMORY OF THE SECOND FLOOR OF EACH FACILITY. THE FACT THEY'RE STILL ACTIVE IS INTERESTING. INVESTIGATE?"

Hm. How do you want to proceed from here? You have a basic idea on how to proceed from here and you do have a few points of interest.
>[KIARA ALLY] "I bet that centipede fuck is all show and no bite." "HEY!" "Sorry, Quentin. Let's all try to barter with him." You gotta agree. If it's still staying in its cell despite it being free, it must have a reason to. Talk to the informant.
>[CASEY ALLY] "I say we should follow the scent of whoever's been living here. If they've been living here, they must know a lot, right???" The logic is sound and you're deathly curious who could still be alive down here.
>[CLOVER ALLY] "The boss' office is the most important one. We need the codes so we can keep exploring. Maybe there's even a better map in there." If nothing else, you might be able to catch anyone else who's exploring here with you in there.
>[WENDY ALLY] "56 years and only a few anomalies have breached? That can't be right. We need to check the status of the other facilities." It wouldn't be a bad idea to check on the status of the other facilities. Head to the ARMORY to do so.
>[NAOMI ALLY] "This place is relatively safe for now. We're not in a race. Wait for the ETFs to arrive so we can 'negotiate' with them further.' Slow and steady wins this race. Follow with Naomi's plan.
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "WE HAVE TO CHECK THE THIRD FLOOR. IF K-CORP IS SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING, IT IS ENERGY. IF ENERGY IS KEPT ANYWHERE, IT IS THERE." The facility has to be powered somehow. Head to the third floor to find the 'REFINEMENT MACHINE'.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] This place is all kinds of shady and you need to know who's here. Activate your MIND RADAR. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. WILLPOWER DC: 20, rolling 8d6. You'll get a solid idea on how many people are nearby, if any, and where to track them from there.)
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You have a better idea of the layout of the third floor with the intel you were given. Activate WHISPERS OF THE CITY with this knowledge to get a good layout of the third floor. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. You'll get a picture perfect layout of the third floor, including any secret layouts.. This will be a LOT for CLOVER or QUENTIN's paths.)
>Write in.
>>
>>6009187
>COLD BLOODED INFORMANT
Sebastian from roblox pressure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hneb4rxJj54
>>
>>6009207 #
>[KIARA ALLY] "I bet that centipede fuck is all show and no bite." "HEY!" "Sorry, Quentin. Let's all try to barter with him." You gotta agree. If it's still staying in its cell despite it being free, it must have a reason to. Talk to the informant.
information is key.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] This place is all kinds of shady and you need to know who's here. Activate your MIND RADAR. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. WILLPOWER DC: 20, rolling 8d6. You'll get a solid idea on how many people are nearby, if any, and where to track them from there.)
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You have a better idea of the layout of the third floor with the intel you were given. Activate WHISPERS OF THE CITY with this knowledge to get a good layout of the third floor. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. You'll get a picture perfect layout of the third floor, including any secret layouts.. This will be a LOT for CLOVER or QUENTIN's paths.)
Use one NOLNOL PILLS

>"That's 56 years ago. There's no way."
Did we accidentally enter temporal anomalies or alternate reality?
>>
>>6009247
+1 I like this plan. We got 4 NOLNOL and we're in a safe situation. If we can regenerate the RESTRAINT as we go that's big value.
>accidentally enter temporal anomalies or alternate reality?
No we didn't. Here's how I know
>MAKESHIFT POCKETWATCH (Runs off a mixture of VOID, DWARF, and MOONSTONE. Can be used to detect shifts in time, space, and reality that would otherwise be impossible to notice. Very fragile.)
This did not react, which means we're still in the same spacetime and reality.

>>6009240
You really think that's him? I'm not so sure
>>
>>6009207
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] This place is all kinds of shady and you need to know who's here. Activate your MIND RADAR. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. WILLPOWER DC: 20, rolling 8d6. You'll get a solid idea on how many people are nearby, if any, and where to track them from there.)
[CASEY ALLY] "I say we should follow the scent of whoever's been living here. If they've been living here, they must know a lot, right???" The logic is sound and you're deathly curious who could still be alive down here.
It's probably the inhabitant of cell B
>>
>>6009250
>You really think that's him? I'm not so sure
No, I think Creation the COLD BLOODED INFORMANT is inspired by Sebastian
>>
>>6009247
+1
CENTIPEDE
CENTIPEDE
CENTIPEDE
>>6009240
>>6009257
Clearly, this man is a bug and not a fish. I have to admit that Roblox is a great inspiration for anomalies.
>>
>>6009207
>>[WENDY ALLY] "56 years and only a few anomalies have breached? That can't be right. We need to check the status of the other facilities." It wouldn't be a bad idea to check on the status of the other facilities. Head to the ARMORY to do so.

>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] This place is all kinds of shady and you need to know who's here. Activate your MIND RADAR. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. WILLPOWER DC: 20, rolling 8d6. You'll get a solid idea on how many people are nearby, if any, and where to track them from there.)
>>
>>6009247
+1
Works for me. It’ll be easy to sniff out our mystery resident if we get the lay of the land.
>>
>>6009173
>knew about an anomaly's name
Cross-quest meta-transfer of abnormality works
>Fear is the mind killer
We passed up the Wastes desert mission and we already had a desert at X Corp
>only sane one
This was a nice moment between the team. Funny bits all around, not much else to say

>>6009178
>formation
We're in a D&D party line, we're totally crawling this multifloor dungeon
>-2 NOUVEAU SCARVES TEMPORARILY
Yeah the scarves have to be taken back at the end due to how good they are, but they can keep all that other shit we gave them in >>6006628
>finger away from the trigger guard
>pointed at the ground
Bacon hot old hag with the trigger discipline... Yes...
>K-Corp
Called it
>extract any resources
Well we have a harvesting kit. We could use that to get them anomaly material so they don't kill us
>too powerful if they didn't clean
Mountain of Smiling Bodies in here is BAD
>Perfecta Amotio
Is that a fancy term for A-Energy?
>moved the bodies
>removed some other way
This might be key to parts of the mystery
>you and Kiara have nightvision
I'm glad we picked ANALYZER MODEL for her
>pulls out her SERVICE PISTOL
>Wendy tightens the grip on the rusted metal pipe
I want to say I LOVE the occasional bits of allies using their weapons or preparing objects like this. It adds to the scene and the gameplay/story ludo-kino

>>6009184
>Those two are contained
No thousand lonelies to mindfuck us
No visual sabotage pale damage frog
GOOD
>viewing port
Interesting custom feature
>Congo whatevers
I also like Clover butchering some words or terms like he did with "mango" before
>just a cap gun
It got him out of the shit he was in back in Yellow. The old faithful
>weirdly carved
Interesting evidence
>LIKE A COCKROACH
There's no Beetleburger store down here, Quint...
>willpower of mankind
That's exactly what anomalies are about
>Eating the flesh
So a human who became anomalous by eating an anomaly's meat to survive for 56 years, or an anomaly itself roaming around doing the same
>the elevator
Whoever it is can use elevators just fine

>>6009187
>CELL B's airlock
The piggy broke free. He'll fly next
>centipede like legs
Will INFORMANT like Quentin then?
>some kind of music
They gave the guy his own jukebox? How is it still working after 56 years?
>intimidate you
That must be the COLD BLOODED part
>waiting for someone to come in
And that's the INFORMANT part. He needs people to deal with and give info to, as his role
>ONLY A FEW INTACT
Not many seeds left in this forest
>SYSTEM OF ELEVATORS
Every floor is a "facility", okay
>AMOUNT OF ANOMALIES
I don't think the QM has 39 possible abnos planned out. I could be wrong for all I know
>DISCOVERED
The mere act of the tunnels being found altered something deeper in here, somehow. I think that's important to note

>>6009207
>REFINEMENT
Let's not go in there?
>SORRY CASEY
Nice of them to put this
>THEY'RE STILL ACTIVE
Somebody turned them on beforehand? Or automated?
>>
>>6009207
>[WENDY ALLY] "56 years and only a few anomalies have breached? That can't be right. We need to check the status of the other facilities." It wouldn't be a bad idea to check on the status of the other facilities. Head to the ARMORY to do so.

>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] This place is all kinds of shady and you need to know who's here. Activate your MIND RADAR. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. WILLPOWER DC: 20, rolling 8d6. You'll get a solid idea on how many people are nearby, if any, and where to track them from there.)
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You have a better idea of the layout of the third floor with the intel you were given. Activate WHISPERS OF THE CITY with this knowledge to get a good layout of the third floor. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT. You'll get a picture perfect layout of the third floor, including any secret layouts.. This will be a LOT for CLOVER or QUENTIN's paths.)
>>
KIARA ALLY: xl8, Buw, 2iE, iOM
CASEY ALLY: LBk
WENDY ALLY: W5K, 5Xy
ANOMALOUS ABILITIES: ALL
SEEKER: xl8, Buw, 2iE, iOM, 5Xy

Due to you taking a Nolnol pill, you only spend 1 RESTRAINT this turn and you'll gain some RESTRAINT regeneration. So here's what I need. I need two anons to roll 4d6 for the WILLPOWER check. if you don't get a 20, you can spend a Talisman Charge to reroll 3d6.

I then want another anon to roll 1d2 to see if you regenerate RESTRAINT this turn. 1 = NO, 2 = YES. You'll still have the regeneration until it wears off, it's just whether it activates now or not.

>>6009240
>>6009257
I have never seen this character in my life. I am very on the nose with my inspirations but yeah, never seen it before.
>>
Rolled 4, 1, 5, 2 = 12 (4d6)

>>6009927
>>
Rolled 6, 6, 2, 3 = 17 (4d6)

>>6009927
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>6009927
>>
>>6009938
>>6009941
>>6009950
WHISPERS: SUCCESS
REGENERATION THIS TURN: NO
RESTRAINT TOTAL: 6/10
WRITING.
>>
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You immediately sit down on the floor and cross your legs in order to ground yourself. If the MINES were anything to say, it's just easier to use it while you're grounded. You tightly grab onto your ECLIPSE TALISMAN before dry swallowing a NOLNOL PILL. Two more anchors to keep you grounded.

Naomi, Kiara, Quentin, and Casey nod to themselves when they notice what you're doing. Clover and Wendy are watching on in abject confusion.

"Uh. Can you explain what she's doing?" Clover asks the others who are watching you.
"She has antlers and she has a weird talisman on, what do you think?" Kiara chortles at Clover's question.
"Mmh. Fighting fire with fire. Interesting." You can feel Wendy's glare piercing through you. "Erträglich genug."
"But humans don't- Whatever." Clover mutters to himself.

>-1 NOLNOL PILL. -1 RESTRAINT, 1 RESTRAINT DAMAGE NEGATED!
>RESTRAINT REGENERATION IS NOW ACTIVE! YOU WILL HEAL 2 RESTRAINT OVER TIME. YOU'LL BE INFORMED WHEN YOU HEAL RESTRAINT.
>YOUR NEXT THREE POWER USES COST 1 LESS RESTRAINT!
>POWER CHECK: SUCCESS!

A buncha dots immediately appear on your mental radar. Not counting yourself, there's seven on the floor you're on and four above ground. Wait, weren't there only two ETFs and a spook above ground before?

Well, this confirms you can detect anomalies nearby at least...except for whatever's in TOADHOLE's cell. Perhaps it's more like an anomalous object? Who knows. You're not pushing your luck with it right now. That's not the important part.

It takes some time to strain your your MENTAL RADAR to the floors below but you manage to get some dots on the floors below. Six dots on the second floor and way too many to count on the third floor. If you had to make a rough estimation, at least 50? Two dots on the second floor are stationary (contained?) while the other four are moving around at a slow pace.

The third floor is too chaotic to keep up aside from none of them being stationary. Nothing is contained there. That's not good. Not good at all. You take another deep breath before trying to focus on the layout of the third floor. It doesn't take long for a mental image to appear in your head and you're a bit shocked at how different the layout down there is.

It's in the shape of a five-point star. The elevator would arrive at the dead middle of the star and from there, you would find the MANAGER'S OFFICE at the northmost point of the star. Four containment cells are at the ends of the other points. The main places of note is a hatch at the westmost point that leads to a large, expansive cavern that makes your brain SEETHES when you try reading it. REFINEMENT MACHINE, maybe?

The main point of interest is that there's three other hatches hidden throughout the third floor. One at the southwest point and two at the southeast point. The southwest one seemingly stretches back up to the surface with how far it goes straight up: An escape hatch, maybe? Or a secondary entrance?
>>
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The southeast one goes DOWN DOWN DOWN, connecting to another facility deeper underground. Which one? You have no clue, you only get physical layouts. You might be able to reverse engineer which facility that hatch leads to and what's in it with more intel.

You slowly stand back up with shaky legs. Woo. Using your powers always strains you, even with drugs. Quentin and Clover rush over to help you regain your balance while the others wait to hear what you found. You quickly give them a rundown of what you found down there to see what their insight is.

[MILITARY EXPERIENCE] "Fifty? There should only be four anomalies down there at most. There's probably several squads squirming around down there. Probably all converged down there while exploring other sections. With the amount of anomalies here specifically, we're likely in the central facility connecting all the other facilities."

[KIARA SEEKER] "That would make some sense but why wouldn't it be DEEPER underground then? We're still close to the surface, isn't it too risky from a containment standpoint? It only took a few minutes of climbing down to reach here."

[QUENTIN ALLY] "I BELIEVE THAT WAS INTENTIONAL. THIS FACILITY WAS OPERERATIONAL DURING A WAR. THE QUICKER THEY COULD REACH THE SURFACE, THE BETTER. MORE ANOMALIES, MORE PEOPLE TO GUARD AND WORK, MORE SOLDIERS ON STANDBY. COULD BE WHY THE SECURITY SYSTEM IS GOING OFF AS IS: A VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE HERE ARE NOT AUTHORIZED."

[CORPORATE NIGHTMARE] "REFINEMENT. Yes, yes, I know, yes." Wendy glances around to make sure no one is listening. "Protected from all information gathering methods. To protect company knowledge. Perfect spot to hide as long as the machine isn't active. Perhaps our mystery survivor is hiding inside."

[CLOVER ALLY] "The thing bothering me is that 'fourth person' ya mentioned. We haven't even been here that long but they already called for backup? Is that masked lady getting wise? I feel like if they were just doing a scouting run before leaving, three lightly armed folks would be enough...why would backup be needed?"

Casey doesn't really have much to say. She's staring into blank space.

"Hm. Maybe we can ask that informant some questions? We don't have to befriend it or anything but we can strike a bargain with it. Get in, get out, we'll check the armory and security system next. We'll go from there."

Casey and Quentin's eyes light up (well, as much as Quentin's eyes CAN light up) upon hearing the magical word. "bargain bargain bargain-" "BARGAIN BARGAIN BARGAIN!"
Wendy grits her teeth but the prospect of business seems to be enough to restraint her bloodlust for now.
Your other three allies simply nod along with no real opposition.

It's agreed then. With your group falling into your previous position, you slowly begin to approach CONTAINMENT CELL C. The spindly centipede legs gripping onto the containment cell are squirming now. That droning music begins to stare up again as well.
>>
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Quentin loads a single round into his flintlock pistol just in case he needs it before he steps in front of the open containment cell door. "WE ARE HERE TO BARTER, ANOMALY. YOU KNOW MANY THINGS, NO? ME AND MY SIX COLLEGUES WISH TO...REWARD YOU FOR YOUR SERVICES."

The droning, ominous music rapidly builds up in pace and volume...before it immediately stops mid-note. The arms gripping at the doorway immediately pull away. Seems like you're being given approval to enter. With Quentin and Clover in the front to hopefully deal with it in case it's a trap, you group enters.

https://youtu.be/CeK97iKL0t0 - INFORMANT

The first thing that hits you is just how fucking packed the containment cell is. The walls are lined with mementos from all manner of time periods and regions. Bright neon signs from A-Corp, flags of old world countries (you recognized a red/blue/white stripped flag with stars on it and a white flag with a red dot in the center), street signs, all sorts of neat little knickknacks. Makeshift shelves line what space on the walls is left, stocked to the brim with ammo boxes and other helpful supplies.

Separating you from the anomaly is a massive wooden counter that splits the room in half. Behind the counter is a three tiny safes stacked on top of each other, an old jukebox, and a mini fridge still chugging along on the floor. Piles of loose tobacco are left on top of the topmost safe.

Hanging above the ceiling is a heat lamp that is remarkably powerful for how small it is. The whole room feels like you're back in the X-Corp military base in the desert. The only other thing of note is a small television screen embedded onto one of the walls. It's currently tuned to a news station.

You check your MAKESHIFT POCKETWATCH. It's ticking at a slower rate than before with the words "REALITY DISTORTION" on it. You doubt a lot of the stuff around you is 'real'. Probably made out of A-Energy or the anomaly has made this cell its domain.

The anomaly itself is not what you expected. A fatty mass of of royal blue chitin and squirming legs about the size of three large men combined is curled up behind the counter. A bright white jacket, a long smoking pipe, and an odd looking mask of a fatty man with a smirk is draped over the curled up centipede.

Before you have time to say anything, the anomaly shifts itself into an upright position. The bright white jacket that oddly reminds you of what a crime boss would wear hangs loosely over its body. It quickly shifts the human mask onto its head. It quickly grabs some tobacco from the safe with its many arms and pours it into the pipe before putting it into its mouth underneath the mask.

"Rounddd eyeee." It points dozens of its many tiny arms at you. "Light meee up. I'm here tū disscusss businesss with thhee menn." It has a weird accent to its words that you can't quite describe. Words are dragged out as if it's struggling to speak your language.
>>
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COLD BLOODED INFORMANT can't help but to laugh at your comment. "So it's come to thissss. Sendinngg women for thisss kind of job? Hilariousss." It shakes its head with a low, slimy chuckle. "Don't wasttee my timeee. Leavvee, pleas-"

[DOGMATIC + RASH] Clover and Kiara immediately raise their guns up towards the anomaly. "We're not taking no-" "For an answer, ya slimy son of a bitch."

"Listen. I ain't gonna say it again. We're here to barter-" "Not to be some servants clinging up after you. When's the last time you had someone buying your services, after all?"

COLD BLOODED INFORMANT stares down at the guns before waving the two away with flippant disregard. "Playinggg cop? Fuckingggg amateursssss." Though despite this disregard, it's clear that it's amused by them lashing out at it. It probably hasn't been able to interact with outsiders for a while.

[HUNTER OF THE CITY] Wendy seems to pick up on this and immediately smashes her pipe down onto the wooden counter. "Cops? Oh no, we're much worse than that, you foul fucking demon. The cops always bail your types out, huh, huh?" Drool begins to dribble out of Wendy's mouth. "We're not here to fuck around."

COLD BLOODED INFORMANT lifts up its mask for a moment, allowing you to glimpse at an oddly human face underneath despite the rest of its body being a centipede's. It's smiling? "Fehhh. Don't breakkk what you're not willinggg to buyyy." It puts the mask back down before glancing at Casey and Quentin. "...Hmmm."

Quentin and Casey stare back at up with beady little eyes. "Your decorations are quite admirable! So many bizarre flags and mementos!" "YES. INDEED. I WOULD EVEN DARE SAY YOU'RE A RESPECTABLE CITIZEN, JUST LIKE YOU AND ME."

"And a respectable citizen would help out those willing to help it out. Mutual exploitation." Naomi crosses her arms. "Our boss is more than willing to pay for your services. Do you really wish to squander a chance for someone to buy your services over what? Only two men being here?"

"..." COLD BLOODED INFORMANT shrinks a bit behind the counter before letting out another guffaw. "Hehehhhh. Finneee. It's beeennn long sinceee I've talked to anyoneeee besides that dameeee in a dresssss on the floorrrr below or a boorish military typeeee." It flicks its pipe, letting ash flutter down onto the table.

"I offer suppliesss and information. For a priceeee. I smell you're light on cashhhh so...blood, mind, or any interesting mementos will be enough. If I can add it to my wallll, I will pay for it. Sounds gooodd?"

"One rule. If you try backstabbing us, I'll make sure you get a god-dang hole blown in that stupid mask. We ain't here to waste time, aight?"
"IF I MAY ADD ONTO CLOVER'S STATEMENT, WE WILL INFORM YOU FOR FREE THAT SEVERAL ETF AGENTS WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY. IT WOULD BE WISE TO PLAY NICE WITH US AND MAYBE WE'LL VOUCH FOR YOU."
>>
"Funnyyyy buggg you arreeee." COLD BLOODED INFORMANT reaches out a dozen centipede legs to gently tap and flick at Quentin's face. "Finneee. Nowwww, are you willinggg to buy or nottt?"

MONEY: $468
BRIBERY ITEMS: HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY x4, VANNI-BRAND CIGARETTES (3 charges), V-CORP CIGARETTES x3, DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR x3, Q-CORP DRONE PHERMONES (3 charges), HIGH QUALITY SEAFOOD BOXES x3

What information do you wish to buy from it? Pick as much as you're willing to pay the price for. If an option has multiple price options, select which one to pay.
>"We know someone's been living here. Who is it? How many survivors are down here?" (-$150 or 1 RESTRAINT from two random allies.)
>"Why is the security system still on? When did it turn on? Do you know who could've turned it on?" (-1 V-CORP CIGARETTE or DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUIOR x3.)
>"A dame in a dress?" The only one who should fit that description is DELICIOUS GIRL R. "How do we handle her? Got any advice?" (4 random points of FLESH and RESTRAINT randomly dispersed throughout your party or HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY x2)
>"Boorish military types? So you've seen others passing by. How many and how recently? Which companies? Which groups?" (-$75 or 1 FLESH from a random ally.)
>"Tunnels have been appearing lately. Do you know what or who could've been making them?" (-1 CHARGES OFF VANNI CIGARETTES + $30.)
>"What anomalies are on the third floor of the facility and what are their properties?" (-$88 + HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY x2 or 2 RESTRAINT damage to you.)
>"From my own sources, the third floor is PACKED. Got any idea who is there and why? And how we should handle them?" (-1 V-CORP CIGARETTE + 1 HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY.)
>"Do you have any maps or layouts of the other facilities and what anomalies are there?" (-1 HIGH QUALITY SEAFOOD BOX + $150 or all charges of Q-COMPANY PHERMONES + $35)
>You glance at the supplies at the walls. You might as well buy something. (-$25 for 1 PISTOL ROUND, $35 for a GAUZE ROLL, $50 for a STAT BOOSTING DRUG, -1 FLESH or RESTRAINT for a RANDOM HIGH QUALITY ITEM. Write in what you want.)
>"Just tell me something important." Hand him some items from your inventory and see what he squeals out on his own. (Write in what you give him. Depending on how high quality they are, the better the info.)
>Write in. (Depending on what you ask, he might ask for more.)

You can also ask it some unrelated questions, ones that it won't charge for. Pick up to four.
>"What's up with the old world flags?" You faintly recognize them but you're curious why the anomaly cares about them.
>[WENDY ALLY] "Why the hell is your cell so well furnished?" Wendy spits out with thinly veiled disgust. "How did you bribe them?" It is odd how well decorated this containment cell is.
>[NAOMI ALLY] "What's your issue with military types?" Naomi raises her eyebrow. "I do recall this place was built during a war. Do you have any insight of that time period?"
(1/2)
>>
>>6010203
>[CLOVER ALLY] Clover glances at the jukebox before looking at the anomaly. "Mind if you play some cool music while we talk? Get us in the vibe?" Try to bond with the anomaly. A friend, even if it's a weird bug, couldn't hurt.
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "WHY DO YOU HIDE YOURSELF WITH SUCH SHODDY DISGUISES? WE CAN TELL WHAT YOU ARE." You feel like this is Quentin saying this to himself as him asking the informant. Let him speak his mind.
>[CASEY ALLY] "Perhaps we could offer you a far more profitable business venture outside of this facility? We would be willing to do whatever it takes!" You were told to 'capture' an anomaly. Perhaps if you were to humor whatever this creature wants, you'll get a free payday. (Adds an OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE to earn the anomaly's favor.
>[KIARA ALLY] "Huh." Kiara leans over to see the TV screen. "You're getting signal? How? Aren't we underground? Actually, what DO you even watch?" It is odd how he's getting the news down here.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] "What do you know about THEM? The ones who skitter in the walls? You probably know, right? They're coming here. Looking for me and you." He's an informant. Who's in more danger when dealing with spooks than someone with info.
>Write in.

My internet was fucking strangling itself when I was writing this. Sorry for delay.
>>
>>6010203
>"A dame in a dress?" The only one who should fit that description is DELICIOUS GIRL R. "How do we handle her? Got any advice?" (4 random points of FLESH and RESTRAINT randomly dispersed throughout your party or HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY x2)
Whiskey
>"Boorish military types? So you've seen others passing by. How many and how recently? Which companies? Which groups?" (-$75 or 1 FLESH from a random ally.)
Money
>"From my own sources, the third floor is PACKED. Got any idea who is there and why? And how we should handle them?" (-1 V-CORP CIGARETTE + 1 HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY.)
>"Tunnels have been appearing lately. Do you know what or who could've been making them?" (-1 CHARGES OFF VANNI CIGARETTES + $30.)

>[NAOMI ALLY] "What's your issue with military types?" Naomi raises her eyebrow. "I do recall this place was built during a war. Do you have any insight of that time period?"
>[CASEY ALLY] "Perhaps we could offer you a far more profitable business venture outside of this facility? We would be willing to do whatever it takes!" You were told to 'capture' an anomaly. Perhaps if you were to humor whatever this creature wants, you'll get a free payday. (Adds an OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE to earn the anomaly's favor.
>[KIARA ALLY] "Huh." Kiara leans over to see the TV screen. "You're getting signal? How? Aren't we underground? Actually, what DO you even watch?" It is odd how he's getting the news down here.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] "What do you know about THEM? The ones who skitter in the walls? You probably know, right? They're coming here. Looking for me and you." He's an informant. Who's in more danger when dealing with spooks than someone with info.
>>
>>6010167
>seven
Our party is 6 people, there's INFORMANT, THOUSAND LONELY, and that's it. Is something off?
>TOADHOLE
Severe pale damage tool anomaly, I bet
>Six dots on the second floor
The 4 anomalies potentially, and 2 unknowns
>stationary (contained?)
>other four are moving around
Could be any combination
>none of them being stationary
7 versus 50 is no good
>expansive cavern
The REFINEMENT area is not a small room with something like the size of a server tower. It's much bigger. How do they get the REFINEMENT MACHINE all the way into a facility without insanity on everyone? Singularity-aided?
>southwest one
Not one we could use to escape if there's like 50 mobile unknowns on that floor

>>6010180
>southeast one
We could use it to bypass the elevator to go deeper, especially on our way outta here
>several squads
Like 46 individual glowies? or K Corp grunts?
>spot to hide
I am NOT going into the REFINEMENT room. You don't think any of the 50 unknowns on floor 3 bothered to ever check inside in the past 59 years?
>'fourth person'
One more spook to kill

>>6010183
>cell
This guy's got one hell of a room
>flags
Some serious pre-City relics here
>heat lamp
Cold-blooded
>REALITY DISTORTION
He's giving time for people to check his wares and get what they need from him, how nice
>description
This guy's too big for us to reasonably take on in a fight with our current gear

>>6010188
>sending women
Well excuse me for our girls being competent
>oddly human face
I think it might be symbolic of what he represents
>light on cash
We spent all that money on W Corp items and hiring allies on this job
>flick at Quentin's face
Centi to centi conversation
>>
>>6010203
>>6010208
Backing all 4 paid info questions in >>6010224

As for the free questions
>[NAOMI ALLY] "What's your issue with military types?" Naomi raises her eyebrow. "I do recall this place was built during a war. Do you have any insight of that time period?"
Antiseptic War info and how it affected this facility in the past 6 decades of confinement
>[CASEY ALLY] "Perhaps we could offer you a far more profitable business venture outside of this facility? We would be willing to do whatever it takes!" You were told to 'capture' an anomaly. Perhaps if you were to humor whatever this creature wants, you'll get a free payday. (Adds an OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE to earn the anomaly's favor.
He's cool. I bet J Corp cops would love this dude
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "WHY DO YOU HIDE YOURSELF WITH SUCH SHODDY DISGUISES? WE CAN TELL WHAT YOU ARE." You feel like this is Quentin saying this to himself as him asking the informant. Let him speak his mind.
Quentin unburdening a little is good for his state
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] "What do you know about THEM? The ones who skitter in the walls? You probably know, right? They're coming here. Looking for me and you." He's an informant. Who's in more danger when dealing with spooks than someone with info.
Get Naomi and Kiara's attention first, and elbow nudge Wendy too. Wendy doesn't know how deeply involved Nicole and friends are. Wendy will know eventually that she is surrounded by good company against those bastards
>>
>>6010224
Do you think we should do this one too?
>"Do you have any maps or layouts of the other facilities and what anomalies are there?" (-1 HIGH QUALITY SEAFOOD BOX + $150 or all charges of Q-COMPANY PHERMONES + $35)
We have 3 seafood boxes, which do count as CORPORATE FAVOR in deals or +1 RAPPORT for an ally. We have those drone pheromones we've been clutching since thread 1 too; do you think we'll ever use those?
>A foul smelling purple liquid that messes with the heads of those nearby. You may spend a charge to make the next person you encounter completely forget you were ever there. Useful for stealth missions.
We could use this to trick our way past an anomaly in our path, for example
>>
>>6010239
A memory eraser is invaluable when dealing with spooks, don't trade it away.
>>
>>6010233
+1
>>
Closing, writing. Basically unanimous on what to do.

>Our party is 6 people, there's INFORMANT, THOUSAND LONELY, and that's it. Is something off?
yeah again my computer was fucking choking on fumes and I was tired when I was writing this update. Meant to write eight.
Also only now noticed I failed to include the section where Nicole said "wait huh" to COLD BLOODED'S COMMENT. Was in a rush trying to upload so I must've deleted that small section somewhere. Next update should be a bit more coherent.
>>
>>6010974
Thanks QM. I suggest investing in a better rig
>>
>>6010267
That sounds like a great thing to use when we raid the glowie base.

Just Nicole and two trusted allies sneak in and cause as much damage as possible, then any survivors won’t remember who it was.

It’s the perfect crime.
>>
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You place down your payment onto the counter between you and the INFORMANT. "Listen. We need information before we continue. Would this be serviceable for a piece of your time?"
>-$105, -1 V-CORP CIGARETTE, -1 CHARGE OFF VANNI CIGARETTES, -2 HIGH CLASS WHISKEY

It quickly snaps up the goods with its greedy hands. It pulls the pipe out of its mouth and replaces it with three VANNI CIGARETTES. It flicks dozens on dozens of its fingers at the same time and just like that, the cigarettes are lit up. It takes a deep inhale of them, burning through them in mere moments. It flicks the now spent filters onto the counter.

"Hmmmm. SSsservicable. Tttell meeee what you wisshh to know, round eyeee." Why is it saying that? Whatever, anomalies are weird, it's a giant bug with a man's face and a jacket on. You're not going to nitpick over minor things like this. "Annd I don't nittpiccckk about your antlerssss, Nicole Smith. Asskkk your questions."

"Excuse me?" "HUH." "Interesting." "What in tarnation" You and your party can't help but to be confused at what it just said. Your allies wonder how it knew your name and you? Well, that fucker clearly just read-

The INFORMANT interrupts your thought with a deep, bassy chortle. "How elseee do I get my infooormation?" It lights up one of the V-CORP CIGARETTE and takes a deep puff from it. "Sooo, let's talk truth, yessss?"

"First and foremost? From my own sources, the third floor is PACKED. Got any idea who is there and why? And how we should handle them?"

"Ssssimmple. It won't be packed for much longeeer. A long time fffriend of mine is 'dealing' with themmmm." Once it's done with the V-CORP CIGARETTE, it starts taking sips of the WHISKY. "A lot of humans are downnnn there. Alongside my old friennnddd. He's one of you round eeeyyeees, to clarify."

Clover, Naomi, and Wendy immediately pick up on what he means by this. "Oh god, it's-" "A full rout? A massacre even." "Against corporate soldiers? I doubt it's some weak fleshbags."

You check your MIND RADAR and- Oh. Oh wow there's only thirty six dots down there now. Most of the dots, 35 of them, are retreating far away from one dot in the middle. The lone dot is quickly skittering somewhere else but you lose track of it pretty soon after.

"How in the?" You look back up at the INFORMANT. It lets out another bassy chuckle before leaning in real close to you.

"I'd recommend not botheringgg any super old humans you seeeee down here. He's about that hagggg's age." He gestures a dozen tiny fingers at Naomi. "Maybe a bit older. He's a funnyyyy friend."

"15 in only a few minutes of talking..." You mutter. You can only hope that this funny centipede is buying you time while you ask it questions. "Alright. Next. You said boorish military types. So you've seen others passing by. How many and how recently? Which companies? Which groups?"

"Mmmhh. K-Corp, ETF Squaaddd 'Nightmare Enders' and 'Molemen', and two local Ssssyndies are herreee."
>>
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"Club Dealersss and Spade Seeekeers, I think?" Huh. Club and Spade. Sounds vaguely familiar. Hm. "Total amount still surviving? 15 K-Corps, 4 each of Club and Spade, 4 each of Molemen and Nightmare, and 6 of an associative group I can not name. Ones on surface are not included."

Thirty five outsiders down on the third floor, confirmed two humans on the second floor, so that means all four anomalies are still on the second floor.

[SEEKER OF JUSTICE] "Ah, god damnit, not those two." Clover bitterly laughs at the namedrop of the syndies. "Yeah, fuck. Supposedly some dipshit gas bombed the Ace Strikers and a power schism happened. Now two more syndies came out of the woodwork to take over their operations across the City."

You and Quentin share nervous looks with each other. The two of you whistle to try distracting yourself. Woo.

"Molemen and Nightmare, huh? Those two are simple enough to explain." Naomi leans against the counter. "Molemen deal with underground exploration, Nightmare deals exclusively with anomaly extermination."
Wendy lets out a low, satisfied whistle upon hearing about the second squad.
"Shouldn't shoot on sight, hopefully." So ETFs should be safe to interact with for the most part? Good.

"Third. Tunnels have been appearing lately. Do you know what or who could've been making them?"

"Mmh." The INFORMANT drums its many hands on the counter. Seems like this question is stumping him compared to the others. "No outsiders were doing it. That tunnel yoooouuu came innnn from was made by another grouuuppp exiting in a rush. Original tunnneellls were dug by the systems in Facility 7. The lowest one in this facility web."

"As for who? Only a few ssssurvivors remain here. Bartering from meeee or harvesting from my friennnddss. One is in eacchhh facility." So, seven total. "All seven should still be herreeee. One of them must've done it? Good luck finding them, they're like me. Skittish." The INFORMANT laughs at itself.

"So a P-Corp employee was doing this? Wait, imagine the information we can get from the survivors here. That alone would be enough to shoot them through the corporate ladders..." Kiara begins to drool at the thought of questioning whoever's left of the original staff. "Or us, even! That kind of knowledge is rare to find-"

"Feh." Wendy's mouth twists into a disappointed frown. "They're probably nothing more than wild animals now. Living in their own filth, stuck with nothing but these foul creatures for socialization. I applaud them for not killing themselves by now-"

"Mosssttt did when the facility was sseeeallled. Quite amusing, it was." The INFORMANT takes a deep swig from one of the whiskey bottles. "Let's just say I wasn't too pleased myself either." Wendy furrows her brows, clearly losing her patience with having to deal with this anomaly.

Best to hurry up. "And lastly, you said something about a dame? I assume you mean...ugh. 'DELICIOUS GIRL R.'"
>>
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Even saying the name makes you fucking retch. "How do we deal with her?"

"Ssssimple! Sssshe's all about JUSTICE and FWIENDSHIP and LOVE and goobly goook like that. Your cowboy friend sssshould be the one to talk to herrr. Just don't mention or do anything too adult or not-family frrriendly."

"Oh! Sounds like a perfectly marketable magical girl! You know, I once saw a TV playing one about-" Casey begins to blabber about some random cartoon she watched. It's too incoherent to really make out any useful statements.
Clover has an alarmingly giddy smile on his face. "Oh? Sounds like my kind of gal. Aight, we'll take that into account."

Well that's about it for information you have to pay it for but you imagine that you could easily worm out some more information out of it. You lean across the counter with a smirk. "Sooo. Let's not beat around the bush, we still got some more questions to ask. Questions, not information. Very different."

The INFORMANT lifts up its mask for a moment to show a snarling set of teeth. "Don't act coooyyy. Your bribery is sufficient for what you asked and nothing moorreee-"

[HUNTER OF THE CITY] WENDY immediately rams the tip of her metal pipe into the INFORMANT's exposed underside. A satisfying CRUNCH fills the air. The anomaly stumbles back by a few inches before curling up on the ground. "We're not taking no for an answer. Talk now. Or I'll blow your head off, you hear me???"

Your allies quickly move to disarm and disable her. Turns out having five people grabbing you by the arms and pulling you back stops you from doing anything more. As Wendy screeches at the top of her lungs, you notice how the anomaly isn't fighting back. It simply chortles with that same bassy tone before leaning back over the counter. As if the attack did nothing.

"I likeeee your bark. Fine. Four questions for freeeee. Then leaveeee meeee be.."

Your allies promptly let go of Wendy, who moves to retrieve her metal pipe. Naomi is the first to move up towards the anomaly. "What's your issue with military types?" Naomi raises her eyebrow. "I do recall this place was built during a war. Do you have any insight of that time period? It's rare to talk to someone who experienced those times who is...cognizant."

"Feh. Just like my old country. Worthless bugs squirming around, fighting over inaneee things like 'honor' and 'glory' and 'legacy'. Believing some fuckin' suitsss would bother entertaining them. Not to mention THEM. Fuckin' Admiral. Fuckin' Red Blooded American." The INFORMANT lifts up its mask again to quickly chug down the bottles of whiskey you gave it.

"It was hell. A fun hell, though. This place was a hub of degeneracy." Its accent has disappeared completely now as it begins to remember. "People would kneel before me. Asking me for every bit of intel, every bit of knowledge, so they would push a border line a few inches forward or back. No one even know who started the war!"
>>
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"Wait, no-" While your other allies are simply listening on with rapt expressions, Naomi is simply confused. "They told me. When I worked with X-Company. It was Z-Corp who started it, that's why we even call it-"

"No. It wasn't X-Corp either. Or A-Corp. Or the Head. It all started with one simple thing: A CEO wanted out. Doesn't matter who, they're long dead. They wanted to leave their company behind. Grave-Corp. G-Corp. Before another company took over that name." The INFORMANT removes its mask to show a chubby, narrow eyed human face with pale skin underneath. "Something about still having to listen to shard holders and the government. No matter how hard they climbed, it's never enough."

"So they wanted to quit. But that's not allowed. So they tried to fight their way out. Then they died. Then it all kicked off because the shareholders fought over control over the company."

"A billion people and twelve Alphabet Companies died over that. Imagine that! After spending so much time trying to 'reach the top', you aren't even free to shit where you want to. I don't envy you round eyes. All of that worthless violence and those boorish, short-sighted goals of glory and legacy? Feh. Worthless." COLD BLOODED INFORMANT puts his mask on and curls up into a small pile again.

"That's whyyyy I don't care about yourrr types. It's worthless. When you should be like me. Skittering around. Surviving. The people down below are just repeating it. You're repeating it. Pathetic bugs skittering around."

The containment cell is deathly quiet now. Wendy, Clover, Kiara, and Casey are a complete loss of words. Naomi is trying her best not to smirk at what she was just told, as if she already knew that. Perhaps it was simply easier for her not to acknowledge it.

Quentin? Quentin is fucking PISSED. His mouth is twisted in a feral snarl that shows off all of the rotting teeth that belong to the corpse he's piloting. His hands are gripping onto the FLINTLOCK PISTOL and POCKET KNIFE with such rage and flagrant disregard to his own shell, his palms are ripping to shreds.

"YOU'RE FUCKING FULL OF YOURSELF."

"Hmmm?" COLD BLOODED INFORMANT coos out in an abrasively high tone. "You of all people would know. You're in a shell."

"THEN WHY DO YOU HIDE YOURSELF WITH SUCH SHODDY DISGUISES? WE CAN TELL WHAT YOU ARE. THERE'S NOT EVEN A METAPHOR LIKE HUMANS LIKE TO USE. YOU ARE A BUG. THESE ARE HUMANS. ROBOTS. FLESH AND CIRCUITS. YET YOU HIDE WITH A MASK? YOU WEAR A JACKET? YOU SMOKE? PICK A LANE."

"Aree you mad? Whyyy?" COLD BLOODED INFORMANT shifts in the pile it has comfortably found itself in. "They askeeedd and paid. I answereeed and tookkk. Does it matterrr beyond thattt? I do this to be more appealing to you round eeeeyes." You can physically hear the smirk the INFORMANT made with that last line. "Are you mad that I'm succeedingg?"

"WHAT. NO, I LOOK LIKE A HUMAN! I TALK LIKE ONE! I'M FREE TO WALK AROUND AND NOT BE TRAPPED IN A FACILITY FOR SIXTY YEARS!"

"Feh. Are you?"
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"WHAT-"

"Arreeee youuu? Or arreee youuu doing this rant to seem more human? Waste of time. We're mirrors reflecting another mirror. We're both bugs pretending to be what we're not." The INFORMANT curls up even more into a tiny, tiny ball. "Feh. Waste not my time over this meaninglllessss dribble. I acknowledge who I am."

"Maybe you should too."

The room is silent again. Not for long. Quentin loosens his grip on his weapons before shaking his head. "NOT YET. I DON'T DESERVE IT."

"Feh. I know youuu have three years left to live. Bugs don't live long. Is this worth-"

"YES."

"So be it. It's youurrr life to waste." The conversation ends there. Quentin's snarl disappears immediately and now all that's left is a look of regret? Confusion? Pondering? It's clear this did not help comfort any doubts he had about himself.
>-2 RESTRAINT TO QUENTIN. 2/4 LEFT.
>But in the pain, something has been unlocked. You'll need time to see what develops of this.

Quentin proceeds to exit the room. Best to hurry up so he's not left alone out there for too long.
"Fuck." Kiara lets out a forced laugh. "That could've gone better."

You sigh. Fuck it, lightning round. You snap your gaze over to your other allies before slamming your fist onto the counter. All of them are now paying attention to you. "What do you know about THEM? The ones who skitter in the walls? You probably know, right? They're coming here. Looking for me and you."

"Feh. Silvers?" Naomi flinches upon hearing that name being said so flippantly while Kiara and Wendy are intently listening. Clover is just standing there confused. "They're worthless bugs toooo. Squirming in their own shitttt. They're already here. Six of them below surface, two above surface."

"Yes, I know that much but what do you KNOW about them? Go on, we're both pests being hunted by the same pests, no?"

"The REFINEMENT MACHINEs are their goaaallll. Abandoned facility, no one will stop them. They need timmeee. To swarm in like pests. To extract it. I'm safe. I know that. I'll curl into a tiny ball and be safe. You humans? You worry about that. Look for the ETFs who wear masks. Kill them. Kill them before they swarm in." The INFORMANT lets out a deep, tired yawn. "That's all."

"I. Huh." Clover is trying his best to process what he overheard. Casey is simply nodding along, scribbling it down on the back of the map you stole.

"WAIT THE ONES WHO SKITTER IN THE WALLS ARE FUCKING REAL?" Wendy glances around wildly between you, Naomi, and Kiara.
[SILVER INSTINCTS] Naomi is desperately trying her best to not burst out into laughter. Drool oozes out of the corners of her mouth.
"Naomi will, uh, explain more on the way down." Kiara places a hand on Wendy's shoulder. The brown-haired schizo flinches for a moment but she luckily doesn't enter a rage fueled fit.

As your group is ready to meet up with Quentin so you can head down to the second floor, Casey turns her gaze back towards the INFORMANT.
>>
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"Perhaps we could offer you a far more profitable business venture outside of this facility? We would be willing to do whatever it takes!"

COLD BLOODED INFORMANT lifts its head up for a moment. "Hmmm. Bring meeee. The heads. Of four of the glowing ones. And bring me. The head of the Manager who sealed me down here. I know he's still here. Then I'll come."
>OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE OBTAINED: KILL FOUR SILVERS AND THE MANAGER. REWARD: +COLD BLOODED INFORMANT (CONTAINED. WORTH $1000 and a J-CORP FAVOR.)

With that, your group leaves behind the COLD BLOODED INFORMANT. It'll be fine by itself, it has survived with several breached anomalies and crazed employees for god knows how long. Quentin is waiting by the entrance with a tense, clearly uncomfortable posture. He's not even looking at your group. <"Not worthy. Should've controlled myself.">

Casey simply puts a hand on his shoulder with a warm smile. "C'mon! You don't need to mop around! You didn't do anything wrong."
"Yeah. Look, I won't pretend to understand a lot of what's going on but you stood up for yourself. That's a mighty respectable thing to do."

Quentin relaxes his posture and with a curt nod, it's clear he's ready to follow. The seven of you make a beeline right over to the elevator. Once all of you are crammed in, you begin your descent to the second floor.

You can overheard Kiara and Naomi giving a basic summary of what they know about the Silvers to clarify what the INFORMANT meant to Wendy and Clover. Quentin and Casey simply chat to each other, clearly enjoying each other's company.
>+1 RESTRAINT TO QUENTIN FROM CASEY'S BOON! 3/4 RESTRAINT FOR QUENTIN!

You take a moment to focus. The drug pumping through your brain soothes your nerves.
>+1 RESTRAINT TO YOU! 7/10 LEFT!

This sense of relief is almost immediately removed when you arrive at the second floor. The hub area where your elevator landed at has the same basic structural layout and thrown around furniture as the last one, alongside two hallways, but that's not what's catching your attention here. Three things catch your attention.

One. Five human bodies are littered around the floor. Most of them have had huge chunks of their bodes blown clean off. Given the cauterization, the attack clearly had a lot of energy and heat to it.
Two. Two ETFs, one wearing a mask and one without, are trying their best to back away from something. Their hands are raised in mock surrender.
Three...

https://youtu.be/Evw5CsURXjM - DELICIOUS GIRL R!

"EVILDOERS! I WON'T LET YOU RUIN THE NAME OF THIS FACILITY WITH YOUR EVIL INTENTIONS AND YOUR VILE WORDS! SURRENDER NOW AND I WILL ONLY USE MY SUGAR BEAM BLAST ALPHA!!!!" A high pitch voice that sounds more like a dog toy being crushed erupts out of a diminutive girl that the ETFs are backing away from.

She's a very young looking girl, can't be older than fourteen, with bright (almost neon) orange hair that's so long it almost touches the floor.
>>
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She's wearing a large, poofy orange skirt with white highlights running through the lace at the edges of the skirt alongside bright white tights with swirls of orange throughout them. Her bright orange shirt with light orange sleeves has a pin of an orange creamsicle latched right on her breast. She taps her bright orange heels while pointing a gloved finger towards the ETF agents.

Her bright orange eyes are way too wide to be human and her smile is way too cheerful to be real. There's almost a visible fuzziness to the edges of her body as if she came right out of a cartoon. She immediately snaps her gaze over to your group. "Oh ho! Did you try hiring more goons for me to fight? No need to fear! DELICIOUS GIRL R shall be your shining light against the evil Alphabet Goons!!!!"

[SEEKER OF JUSTICE] "Wait, wait. It wants to fight for justice, yeah? It shouldn't be too hard to make it fight for us. Even for a bit."
[SILVER INSTINCTS] "If it's convinced that easily, who's to say it wouldn't be tricked into fighting against us?"

How do you approach this?
>[WENDY ALLY] "Kill it. Please." Help out the ETFs! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against DELICIOUS GIRL R! You'll massively earn the favor of the real ETF and +1.5 RAPPORT with Wendy. The fake ETF will be too hesitant to break cover to attack you after your assistance, removing a SILVER threat.)
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, I say we tell them that masked one is an imposter and fight them. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" Fight the fake ETF! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against the SILVER IMPOSTER. +1 RAPPORT with Clover and your sheer display of JUSTICE should win over the anomaly. You're not sure how easy or hard this will be.)
>[NAOMI ALLY] "DELICIOUS GIRL R! THESE TWO ARE NOT THE ENEMY! IN FACT, THE EVIL VEGETABLE WARRIORS ARE ON THE THIRD FLOOR RIGHT NOW! MOVE!" Let Naomi bluff her way out of this. (CHARM DC: 20 (-4 from CASEY and INFORMANT'S TIPS), rolling 6d6 with Naomi being assisted by Casey. Succeed and the anomaly will head to the third floor tl clear out what's left, severely reducing the threat level of going there."
>[CASEY ALLY] "MAGICAL GIRL MAGICAL GIRL EEEEEEE-" Casey is about ready to burst at the seams. "HEY WE'RE JUSTICE HEROES TOO!!!" (COMBAT ENCOUNTER with the ETFs! Showing the anomaly that you are a REAL HERO OF JUSTICE will earn its favor, earning the powerful assistance of an anomaly.)
>[QUENTIN ALLY + INFORMANT TIPS] "WAIT. LET ME BE 'KILLED' BY HER. A EVIL BUG IS A DECENT VILLAIN." (-1 RESTRAINT to all allies. Satisfying the anomaly's justicelust will cause it to go dormant, allowing you to talk to the ETFs and explore the floor in peace with no fighting needed.)
>[KIARA ALLY] "Hey! An enemy corpse is moving still!!" Make a fucking break for the armory while everyone is distracted. (Both ETF agents will be able to escape and the anomaly, while still active, will be too confused to stop them. +0.5 CLOVER RAPPORT from saving them, +0.5 WENDY RAPPORT for amusing her.)
>Write in.
>>
>>6011307
I was inspired to generate an illustration that doesn't trigger my PTSD.
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, I say we tell them that masked one is an imposter and fight them. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" Fight the fake ETF! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against the SILVER IMPOSTER. +1 RAPPORT with Clover and your sheer display of JUSTICE should win over the anomaly. You're not sure how easy or hard this will be.)
>>
>>6011307
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, I say we tell them that masked one is an imposter and fight them. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" Fight the fake ETF! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against the SILVER IMPOSTER. +1 RAPPORT with Clover and your sheer display of JUSTICE should win over the anomaly. You're not sure how easy or hard this will be.)
END THE GLOWIES!!!
>>
>>6011331
YES I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RED TEXT, WE NEED TO KILL HIM NOW
TELL THE UNMASKED ETF WE HAVE TRUSTED INTEL, HOPE WE CAN GET HIM TO NOT PROTECT THE SILVER FUCk
>>
>>6011307
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, I say we tell them that masked one is an imposter and fight them. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" Fight the fake ETF! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against the SILVER IMPOSTER. +1 RAPPORT with Clover and your sheer display of JUSTICE should win over the anomaly. You're not sure how easy or hard this will be.)

They wear the masks because they glow in the dark.
>>
>>6011307
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, I say we tell them that masked one is an imposter and fight them. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" Fight the fake ETF! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against the SILVER IMPOSTER. +1 RAPPORT with Clover and your sheer display of JUSTICE should win over the anomaly. You're not sure how easy or hard this will be.)
>>
>>6011307
>[UNSTABLE] KILL THEM ALL AND LET GOD SORT THEM OUT.
>>
>>6011609
I love this write-in, but now is not the time
>>
>>6011307
>>[WENDY ALLY] "Kill it. Please." Help out the ETFs! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against DELICIOUS GIRL R! You'll massively earn the favor of the real ETF and +1.5 RAPPORT with Wendy. The fake ETF will be too hesitant to break cover to attack you after your assistance, removing a SILVER threat.)
KILL MAGICAL GIRLS
>>
>>6011307
>[WENDY ALLY] "Kill it. Please." Help out the ETFs! (COMBAT ENCOUNTER against DELICIOUS GIRL R! You'll massively earn the favor of the real ETF and +1.5 RAPPORT with Wendy. The fake ETF will be too hesitant to break cover to attack you after your assistance, removing a SILVER threat.)
>>
>>6011276
>knew your name
He's not listed as cognitohazard thankfully
>full rout
The mystery anomalous guy killed 15 K Corp goons in minutes. We cannot take him, but he can be valuable ally if we tell him we're on the job to get INFORMANT outta here. He might tag along outside

>>6011277
>15 K-Corps
So third floor isn't all K Corp? Who are those 30-something "humans" then?
>Club Dealers
>Spade Seekers
If the next one isn't named Heart Breakers, their leader needs to kill himself immediately
>second floor
2 stationary, 4 mobile
2 humans, 4 anomalies
But we can't guarantee it's that way
>some dipshit
Our job was to kill them Clover, jeez
>Molemen
Sounds right up Kiara and Nicole's alley, and now Casey's too after the mine mission. Wendy included most likely
>Nightmare
OK we'll kick anomaly ass later Wendy
>stumping him
You love to see even anomalies failing
>exiting in a rush
My money's on a K Corp squad erasing their way out. The main K Corp knows about this place by now
>Facility 7
That sounds like our mission end goal
>seven
It took 6 decades for one anomalous survivor in here to get fed up and trigger the tunnels? Suspicious
>socialization
SIXTY YEARS of anomaly works by survivors is a great reason for so much accumulated A-Energy in this zone
>wasn't too pleased
Course the reasoning and thinking anomaly will be the one most bothered by being sealed off from information and other customers - people he knew way back then - committing suicide en masse

>>6011280
>too adult
Yes she tastes like orange when you kiss her or eat her out too. Let's get that out of the way shall we?
>TV
X Corp guards preview
>screeches
We never let thread 1 Nicole get this bad
>Admiral
DAMNIT WE COULD HAVE GIVEN HIM SPARE PHOTOS OF ADMIRAL AND THAT OTHER SALTY MEATBALL!!! WE HAVE LIKE 6 OF EACH!!!
We should totally do that later if we can. Otherwise not that big a deal. I get the feeling we'll see him again one day
>Red Blooded American
I miss this big Hellboy nigger like you wouldn't believe ;_;7
>accent
"Person drops accent from emotion or memories" is a great trope
>>
>>6011280
>cognizant
Or alive, Naomi, but that goes without saying

>>6011282
>Grave-Corp. G-Corp
I fucking KNEW IT. I felt the connection but didn't point it out earlier. FUCK
>never enough
God of the City isn't the end either. Probably something higher?
>not allowed
What will happen to Nicole? Will she ever get to that point of safety and not having to be a Cleaner and can start a family?
>reach the top
Alexis would seethe or break down if she were here to hear this
>Pathetic bugs skittering around
Some insight into what got him to become INFORMANT?

>>6011283
>three years left
That's still a certainty longer than what everybody else has
>unlocked
Fuck Q Corp labelling him defective. Quentin's gonna be a god centipede one day. Will he be king to Casey's queen? Who knows
>Six
We have a new goal: KILL THEM ALL
>two above surface
The 4th dot on surface is glowie backup confirmed
>REFINEMENT MACHINEs
We need to secure the one on Floor 3 after the Armory
>back of the map
Also evidence we can show Handler later
>burst out into laughter
She deserves it. Old hag needs her +1 RESTRAINT
>flinches
I like this small moment between Wendy and Kiara. Wendy's got hard Thread 1 Nicole everything, and it constantly shows

>>6011287
>Manager
He's alive after 60 years? I wonder if we could recover him alive and give INFORMANT one of each of the photos as a substitute for the Manager? The bug won't say no to considering a bargain, especially if it's on the way out and he ends up as pressed for time as we will be
>Quentin
He's got something there. It's not nothing, nor will it ever be
>basic summary
Ok now Clover and Wendy know. Good. Less allies to recap it for the base assault
>second floor scene
That's 3 of the 6 dots accounted for
>Five human bodies
Can't tell which faction. Probably doesn't matter now

>>6011307
>DELICIOUS GIRL R!
She's delicious allright... :^)
>can't be older than fourteen
Yeah nevermind
>RUIN THE NAME OF THIS FACILITY
I wonder if we can use that?
>>
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[UNSTABLE] LOOK WE SHOULD KILL THEM ALL AND GET IT OVER WITH.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] I would agree but for now, let's focus on the masked one.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] We should be careful about using our guns against the spook. Aren't they normally censored in cartoons?
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] We need to clarify that as clearly to the anomaly as possible. I don't think she's that bright.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Ruins the element of surprise. But it's better than an anomaly blasting us with a laser beam.

You glance at your allies, hoping they are smart enough to realize what you're doing, before pulling out your FED KILLING SHOTGUN. Seems like a proper time to use it and what better way to justify your use of hyperviolence than to be cowboys?

"Nooowww...we, the Cleaner Rangers, are here to exterminate evil filth with our magical blasters." You say in the flattest tone humanly possible. "I am Ranger Pink. Here to reveal the evildoers hiding in plain sight." You can't really think of anything more fitting to say. You kinda put yourself on the spot.

Quentin immediately jumps in front of you with a flintlock pistol in hand. "I AM. RANGER GREY." His translucent, wasp-like wings suddenly bursts out of the back of his suit, now free to flutter. "HERE TO SOAR MY TEAM TO VICTORY."
Clover spins around his WILD REVOLVER in his hand before tossing it in the air and catching it. "I AM RANGER YELLOW! HERE TO BLAST ANY BAD GUY WITH MY JUSTICE BLASTERS!"
Casey strikes a pose completely unprompted with a spark in her eyes. "I AM RANGER GOLD! HERE TO SWEETEN THIS WORLD WITH MY SMILE!"
Naomi chuckles at the nonsense going on and plays along for now. "I am Ranger Platinum. Here to defeat a poor son of a b- gun who picked the wrong side."
Kiara is vibrating with such intensity, you swear she's about to explode. Seems like being able to interact with anomalies is doing that. "I AM RANGER STEEL! NO ONE CAN PIERCE THROUGH MY METAL SHELL!"

Everyone snaps their gaze over to Wendy, hoping that she can hold back her loathing for the anomaly for just long enough to deal with the threat in the room. The brown haired schizo is snarling like a feral pitbull who just saw an unoccupied toddler. She is fucking hating this and you know that.

"I." Her eye is twitching. "am Ranger Brown. Here to k-k-k-ki-" She takes a deep, pained breath to regain her composure. "Wipe away. Evil. One villain. At a. Time." Her performance is even more stilted than yours. You felt like that took ALL of her RESTRAINT to achieve.
>-1 RESTRAINT TO WENDY! 4/5 LEFT!

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU GUYS ON ABOUT???" The real ETF is completely dumbfounded by what is occurring and damn near gets a beam shot at his head if he didn't dodge in time.

"Hey, no swearing!!!" DELICIOUS GIRL R wags her index finger at him. "Woaw! Heroes in the flesh??? I had to wipe away so many villains by myself...!" Her eyes briefly wander over to the corpses she blasted holes through. "I never thought help would arrive!"
>>
YOU: 14d6+2d8 WILLPOWER+VIOLENCE, FLESH 5/5, RESTRAINT 7/10. WEAPON: FED KILLING SHOTGUN. (-2d6 from DISTORTED PERCEPTION. Your attack does equal FLESH and RESTRAINT damage. +2d8 from SILVER AGENT PSYCHOLOGY. You know how they tick.)
WENDY: 6d6 VIOLENCE, FLESH: 2/2. RESTRAINT: 4/5. (+1 from METAL PIPE. Has a small chance to stun the Silver Elite. "I want to make him hurt bad. Saving my gun for later.")
CLOVER: 8d6 TALENT, FLESH 4/4, RESTRAINT 5/5. WEAPON: WILD REVOLVER. (-2d6 from DISTORTED PERCEPTION. Whenever Clover rolls a natural 6 on his attack rolls, he may roll an additional dice.)
KIARA: 6d6 TALENT, FLESH 4/4, RESTRAINT 5/5. WEAPON: HANDMADE GUN. (-2d6 from DISTORTED PERCEPTION.)
NAOMI: 3d6+2d8 VIOLENCE, FLESH 3/3, RESTRAINT 5/5. WEAPON: POCKET KNIFE. (+2d8 from SILVER INSTINCTS. "I want to see him FUCKING BLEED.")
CASEY: 6d6 TALENT, FLESH 3/3, RESTRAINT 4/4. WEAPON: MBF MODEL 129 (-2d6 from DISTORTED PERCEPTION.)
QUENTIN: 7d6 TALENT+VIOLENCE, FLESH 4/4, RESTRAINT 3/4. WEAPON: FLINTLOCK PISTOL + POCKET KNIFE. (-2d6 from DISTORTED PERCEPTION. Has a small chance to dodge incoming attacks.)

To clarify, don't roll these yet.

Despite you outnumbering him 7 to 1, you somehow feel like this is going to be an uphill battle. How do you want to even the odds? Pick one.)
>[WATERLOGGED POCKETWATCH] Stop time, rush in, blow as many fucking slugs into him as possible. Clean up from there. (-3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, WATERLOGGED POCKETWATCH DISABLED FOR REST OF MISSION. The Silver Agent will be heavily damaged but still kicking, converting his roll to 6d8+8d6+2d4. Two random CRIPPLING INJURIES are inflicted on him.)
>[EMP GRENADE] His implant is severely hampering your ability to fight him. EMP time. (-1 EMP GRENADE. Kiara will be disabled this turn and will take 1 FLESH and RESTRAINT damage but DISTORTED PERCEPTION's effect severely reduced, giving him only +1d6 on attack and only reducing ally attacks by -1d6.)
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "Block incoming attacks, Quentin!" He's your meat shield, after all. (FREE ACTION. Quentin has a 80% chance to take 3 FLESH damage, 20% chance to take none. The Silver Agent's attack will be reduced by 2d8+ 2d6.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Summon Poi. (-2 RESTRAINT, all allies are immune to the negative effects of DISTORTED PERCEPTION and gain +1 TALENT this turn, adding a total of +3d6 to their rolls. This DOES reveal your ability to the spook, however.)
>[UNSTABLE] WE DON'T NEED ANYTHING OTHER THAN HYPERVIOLENCE. TAKE YOUR LAST BROWN VIAL, INJECT BOTH IMPLANTS AT ONCE, GO TO TOWN!!! (-BROWN VIAL, -1 CHARGE ON IMPLANTS, +1 RESTRAINT. You roll d8s on your attack this turn and the spook loses 3d8 thanks to his implant.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "Hey, madam!!! HELP US!!!" Get Casey to convince the anomaly to help you. (CHARM DC: 23 (-4 from CASEY and INFORMANT TIPS), rolling 7d6 with the help of Clover. Succeed and the anomaly will actually intervene, adding a very powerful ally for the rest of the fight.)
>Write in (Use a power? Try another tactic?)
>>
>>6012500
>>[EMP GRENADE] His implant is severely hampering your ability to fight him. EMP time. (-1 EMP GRENADE. Kiara will be disabled this turn and will take 1 FLESH and RESTRAINT damage but DISTORTED PERCEPTION's effect severely reduced, giving him only +1d6 on attack and only reducing ally attacks by -1d6.)
I wanna take out some of his bonuses
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "Block incoming attacks, Quentin!" He's your meat shield, after all. (FREE ACTION. Quentin has a 80% chance to take 3 FLESH damage, 20% chance to take none. The Silver Agent's attack will be reduced by 2d8+ 2d6.)
We could potentially use his body as a new shell for Quentin
>>
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The spook is baffled at what's going on. He keeps glancing between his 'partner', the anomaly, the corpses, before he lands his gaze onto you. It's clear he recognizes you since he immediately lowers his hands and peels away his mask, revealing nothing underneath but a blur of static and garbage noise.

"P-Phil, what hap-"
"He's dead." The spook says with complete apathy in his voice. He's not even bothering to pretend anymore. The real ETF quickly shifts his gaze between the spook and the piles of dead bodies on the floor. He's completely stunlocked, you doubt he'll be useful in this fight.

"So be it." Your MAKESHIFT POCKETWATCH is ticking like fucking crazy. You can't look down to check on it but the noise is enough to warn your allies to prepare for whatever's happening. "Let's make this quick." There's an oddly chemical smell in the air now. Like freshly poured bleach.

[MILITARY EXPERIENCE + SILVER INSTINCT] Naomi immediately seems to realize what's happening. "That smell. That smell. An elite unit. You're too young to be one. I know that, I KNOW that." Her mouth is twisted into a nearly feral snarl. Way too much drool is pouring out of her mouth now. "Keep your eyes on him. No matter what you see or hear."

The SILVER AGENT pulls out his SERVICE PISTOL. "We ripped those things out of you, Sage. You're nothing more than an echo." The area around him begins to blur and distort. It's only now that you realize you only killed a Spook by ambushing him while he wasn't expecting to fight.

You never fought one who actually prepared to fight.

"An echo? I don't know what you're on about but you're a sick son of a gun!" Clover keeps his revolver leveled at the agent. "Prepare for justice, freak!"
Wendy is biting her lip so hard, blood is being drawn from it. "Hehe. Time for some stress relief."
Naomi and Kiara are silent, keeping their guns trained on the spook. Drool keeps oozing out of Naomi's mouth and Kiara's eyes narrow into tiny slits.
Quentin immediately flies up into the air while Casey hides behind Kiara, using the robot as makeshift cover.

"Let's dance."

DELICIOUS GIRL R is watching on the sidelines with sparkles of light in her eyes. She's not going in to help? She could clearly just blast a hole in his head.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] She won't act. She's not the 'protagonist' of this encounter. She'll only intervene to 'save the day'.

COMBAT ENCOUNTER START!
COMBAT CONDITIONS: DISTORTED PERCEPTION (All ranged attacks against the spook roll -2d6. All ranged attacks rolled by the spook roll 6d6 more.)

SILVER ELITE: 10/10 FLESH, 8/8 RESTRAINT, 12d8+10d6 TALENT. (+3 from SERVICE PISTOL, +6d6 from DISTORTION IMPLANT, +4d6 from ELITE TRAINING. SILVER ELITE regenerates 2 FLESH + 1 RESTRAINT per turn while his implant is active. Heals 1 FLESH or RESTRAINT for every 4 6s or 2 8s rolled. May reroll two dice each turn.)

Somehow this got super delayed and deleted somehow? Reposting.
>>
>>6012500
>[CASEY ALLY] "Hey, madam!!! HELP US!!!" Get Casey to convince the anomaly to help you. (CHARM DC: 23 (-4 from CASEY and INFORMANT TIPS), rolling 7d6 with the help of Clover. Succeed and the anomaly will actually intervene, adding a very powerful ally for the rest of the fight.)

>Toss her drugs to help the check with TK
>>
I will also say I follow this quest for a handful of reasons but a decent part of it is because of it is because our protag hates the gov't enough, she basically turned a shotgun which was otherwise normal into something tailored to killing Feds with her mind and seething hatered of them. Need to hang out with Wendy more, honestly. Second place quest girl of my heart.

>>6012502

>Big Q

They should probably have some kind of thing with all the other implants and crap to prevent that? Plus this guy is gonna need to be ultra dead.
>>
>>6012524
What do we have that can enable Casey to get past this CHARM check?
>AXAXAX PILLS x3 (Made by a B.A., approved for sell by W-Corp and Z-Corp. When consumed, adds +3d8 to your next CHARM roll.)
>DAMDAM PILL x3 (You're starting to notice a pattern with these pill names. When consumed, adds a temporary 6d6 surplus to the user. The user automatically removes 2d6 from the surplus to add 2d6 to any TALENT, COGNIZANCE, or CHARM roll they make.)
>FAKE ID. "Shhh. We don't make this, Miss 'Orange Rango', did we?" A fraudulent ID associated with a person of far higher status than you. (Spend to gain a +2d6 bonus to a CHARM or CONNECTIONS check. You may also spend to access certain places only available to the upper class.)
That's literally all we have for CHARM

This is excluding the following
>DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR x3 (Has a 50% chance to heal 1 RESTRAINT and boost CHARM by 1 when used, 25% to do nothing, and 25% chance to deal 1 FLESH damage. Useful as a projectile weapon, at least.)
Not guaranteed, plus it's for lighting people on fire come on
>SOMTOIN ZETA x2 (A potent psychoactive that reformats your soul. +3 CHARM, +1 WILLPOWER, +1 TALENT and CONNECTIONS temporarily on use. Radically alters how the voices in your head act while active, altering future voting options for better and worse.)
This is for Nicole and Wendy, most of all

>>6012502
Will the EMP grenade also disable his healing? The description of that option doesn't imply that it does. It only severely reduces DISTORTED PERCEPTION's effect.
>SILVER ELITE regenerates 2 FLESH + 1 RESTRAINT per turn while his implant is active.
We need this one STOPPED or we'll be using up so much resources just to kill him
>>
>>6012589
To clarify, his healing WILL be impacted by the EMP. It'll be reduced to 1 FLESH only. He still gets the healing from rolling super high but that's not something you can disable with an EMP.
also you act like +3d8 isn't a lot for a charm boost?
>>
>>6012496
>WE SHOULD KILL THEM ALL
UNSTABLE is always helpful
>censored in cartoons?\
There's cartoons out there with uncensored guns, I think. I don't use >>>/co/ enough to tell you for certain
>FED KILLING SHOTGUN
The fedkiller is OUT
>Ranger Pink
Nicole has not been to any good party recently. She also doesn't have overbearing parents she hates. She's also not 40 years old. She has also never taken Joy. And Nicole is Nicole, and not a Richard. Whatever, man...
>immediately jumps
I fucking love our bro Quint, he's so on-point with this shit I swear. Cleaner Employee of the Month material
>tossing it in the air and catching it
Does Clover also do that in Undertale Yellow?
>strikes a pose completely unprompted
I love Casey too. I bet she did a Don Quixote style one there
>Platinum
Older and wiser than silver
>vibrating with such intensity
That's fucking hot, man
>Wendy
Don't worry we'll find you an anomaly to beat up as the mission continues
>dumbfounded
I love how there's this NPC fucker right here reacting to all this insanity. Not enough "normal City folk" get to witness Nicole and co.'s shenanigans

>>6012506
>peels away his mask
Doesn't Agent Smith do something like this in one of the Matrix movies?
>stunlocked
Okay nevermind, your loss sucks you poor ETF rando
>elite
If we all survive killing him, that's going to be an amazing achievement. I bet silver elites don't come cheap nor come in large numbers
>inb4 HE DOESN'T KNOW
>too young
Recent promotion? Or is Naomi's info actually beginning to be outdated?
>drool
I know she's like in her 60s or way older, but that's still kinda hot if she's anything like ProjectMoon hags
>SERVICE PISTOL
We can loot that too after we kill him. Naomi keeps the one we gave her, but wondering who will get this guy's is too early right now
>Sage
goes in all fields
>biting her lip so hard, blood is being drawn
That's so fucking hot, man
>stress relief
The lewd innuendo joke aside, I think it's nice that the first silver spook that Wendy ever gets to fight is an honest elite unit. If she's been tormented like Nicole and the Anjaros have been implied to be going through, she deserves this payback
>not the 'protagonist'
I wonder if the magical girl can sense Nicole's role in this story? It would be an expected funny if she could
>DISTORTED PERCEPTION
That 6d6 more on his attacks is horrifying
>10 FLESH
>8 RESTRAINT
We are all small fry compared to this guy, shit
>12d8+10d6 TALENT
If he full maxrolls everything possible, which is impossibly slim and would have to be ordained by actual irl supernatural forces to actually happen, that's 96+60
>SILVER ELITE regenerates 2 FLESH + 1 RESTRAINT per turn
How much damage can we even deal to him each round?
>Heals 1 FLESH or RESTRAINT for every 4 6s or 2 8s rolled. May reroll two dice each turn
Fucking shiny metallic cockroaches
>>
>>6012608
>his healing WILL be impacted by the EMP
Thank you for clarifying
>1 FLESH only
Then we can get through via his RESTRAINT
>not something you can disable with an EMP
It's something we can disable by disarming him completely, correct? Because he's getting that from him firing his special silver bullets, and he can't use them if he has no gun or hands to fire with
>+3d8 isn't a lot for a charm boost?
I'm a bit paranoid about this encounter, okay? I'll take your word for it being a lot
>>
>>6012500
backing >>6012502
I assume the EMP will also disable Nicole's implants temporarily, but that's a small price to pay for stopping this fucker's regen. Kiara's repair kit will help her passively recover her FLESH after the battle, and the mere victory over a real silver agent AND an anomaly of JUSTICE approving of her and finding her cool will heal Kiara's RESTRAINT back to full. We're losing her 6d6 this turn, but we should still have enough to deal a heavy blow to him for the time being.
>>
>>6012502
+1
>>
>>6012500
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "Block incoming attacks, Quentin!" He's your meat shield, after all. (FREE ACTION. Quentin has a 80% chance to take 3 FLESH damage, 20% chance to take none. The Silver Agent's attack will be reduced by 2d8+ 2d6.)
>[UNSTABLE] WE DON'T NEED ANYTHING OTHER THAN HYPERVIOLENCE. TAKE YOUR LAST BROWN VIAL, INJECT BOTH IMPLANTS AT ONCE, GO TO TOWN!!! (-BROWN VIAL, -1 CHARGE ON IMPLANTS, +1 RESTRAINT. You roll d8s on your attack this turn and the spook loses 3d8 thanks to his implant.)
>>
>>6012500
Everybody picking two even though it clearly says "pick one"
>[CASEY ALLY] "Hey, madam!!! HELP US!!!" Get Casey to convince the anomaly to help you. (CHARM DC: 23 (-4 from CASEY and INFORMANT TIPS), rolling 7d6 with the help of Clover. Succeed and the anomaly will actually intervene, adding a very powerful ally for the rest of the fight.)
Need to give Casey an Axaxax pill.
>>
>>6012916
Quentin is a free action, we get one of those in addition to our regular action.
>>
>>6012500
>[EMP GRENADE] His implant is severely hampering your ability to fight him. EMP time. (-1 EMP GRENADE. Kiara will be disabled this turn and will take 1 FLESH and RESTRAINT damage but DISTORTED PERCEPTION's effect severely reduced, giving him only +1d6 on attack and only reducing ally attacks by -1d6.)
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "Block incoming attacks, Quentin!" He's your meat shield, after all. (FREE ACTION. Quentin has a 80% chance to take 3 FLESH damage, 20% chance to take none. The Silver Agent's attack will be reduced by 2d8+ 2d6.)
>>
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Rolled 2, 2, 8, 2, 4, 6, 5, 7, 2, 3 = 41 (10d8)

EMP: 5Xy, KpQ, Buw, fUK
UNSTABLE: LRx
CASEY: XjD, W5K
QUENTIN (FREE ACTION): fuK, Buw, KpQ, LRx, 5Xy

Doubt three anons are going to pop out of the woodwork to vote for Casey and I don't want combat to take 5 IRL days to finish so we're cutting it off here. EMP wins. First off, let's see how the spook fares. With Quentin blocking and the EMP going off, he only rolls 10d8+3d6.
LET'S SEE HOW THE DICE JUDGES US. (Shame that iirc, you can only roll one category of dice at a time, otherwise this would be quicker.)

SUCCESS TABLE (The goal of combat is to get more SUCCESSES than the other side.)
1-2 = NOTHING
3-4 = 0.5 SUCCESSES
5-6 = 1 SUCCESS
7-8 = 2 SUCCESSES
>>
Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d8)

>>6013078
Rerolling two twos (say that five times fast.)
>>
Rolled 1, 2, 6 = 9 (3d6)

>>6013081
Annnd now, the 3d6s.
>>
>>6012524
>>6012534
>>6012502
>>6012791
>>6012872
>>6012916
>>6012937
>>6012968
So guys what do you think we can do here to make killing this bastard doable?
>REFINED ZANAL x2 (When consumed, +1 to all stats and you roll d8s for the next two rolls you make. Wears off after your second roll. No downside.)
Could be good if we really need to overpower something
>RAW NOVASTONE CHUNK x3 (A bright white gemstone that is waiting to blossom into a bright new star. Very Volatile. When used, it explodes with a bright white flash, adding +6d4 to your next attack and reducing the dice of all enemies by 2.)
Now this dice reduction could seriously gimp that glowie with how much dice he has
>RAW MOONSTONE CHUNK x3 (A dark royal purple gemstone with a potent gas swirling inside of it. When used on you, allows you to use a FOCUSED ability for free. When used on an ally, they add +3d8 to their next RESTRAINT or WILLPOWER check.)
This into Focused Puppeteer? It'll still be gimped until we get rid of his distorted perception
>SUNSTONE FRAGMENT x1 (A fragment of a Sunstone. It crackles like a roaring fire. Allows you or an ally to reroll three VIOLENCE or TALENT dice when consumed.)
Last one but might be worth it
>DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR x3 (Has a 50% chance to heal 1 RESTRAINT and boost CHARM by 1 when used, 25% to do nothing, and 25% chance to deal 1 FLESH damage. Useful as a projectile weapon, at least.)
This + TK with H Corp lighter to burn him?
>HOLY OIL x3 (A bright white fluid blessed by five N-Corp Cardinals. When applied to a weapon or piece of ammo, the next attack made inflicts ESOTERIC DAMAGE. ESOTERIC DAMAGE bypasses most forms of protection and deals hard to heal STAT damage to a target.)
Pale/Esoteric damage is rare and for good reason. I don't know if the elite glownig here warrants it however

We can't AP or Anti-Anomaly ammo him either because he's unarmored and non-anomalous. I don't know if he's squishy with the regen to make up for it, or if he's a real cockroach like I fear he might be

>>6013078
>>6013081
>>6013083
Final tally
>6!, 6!, 8, 2, 4, 6, 5, 7, 2, 3 + 1, 2, 6
10 successes. Honestly I expected way worse for the opening salvo. Still too many 6-8s for my liking.
>Heals 1 FLESH or RESTRAINT for every 4 6s or 2 8s rolled.
And he gets the heal, but it's no guarantee which one it is, right? That's what the "OR" is for. He could heal RESTRAINT but it does nothing for him if he's already full RESTRAINT.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d5)

RESULTS
1, 2, 2, 2 = NO SUCCESS
3, 4 = ONE SUCCESSES
5, 6, 6, 6, 6 = FIVE SUCCESSES
7, 8 = FOUR SUCCESSES
TOTAL AMOUNT: 10 SUCCESSES.
AMOUNT OF FLESH + RESTRAINT REGENERATED AFTER COMBAT: 1 FLESH, 1 RESTRAINT (You ARE shooting him with a gun that does RESTRAINT and FLESH)

Now, here's what you fellas roll. Due to Kiara being knocked out, here's what you roll. Quentin's roll depends on what my 1d5 rolls. 5 = He avoids it, 1-4 = he eats it. To speed things up, you may roll for two characters. Oh, and as a small little bonus, a BOON you picked ages ago is kicking in...

[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] "WE DO NOT FEAR THE ONES WHO GLOW IN THE DARK!"
[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] "STAND TALL! GIVE THEM A TOOTHY GRIN AND A WILD GUFFAW"
[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] "THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CREWMEMBER OF NICOLE SMITH'S CREW!"
[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] "ALL HANDS, HEED MY COMMAND! THIS TIME IS UPON US --- OUR FINEST HOUR!!!"
[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] "TONIGHT, WE HUNT...YOU!!!"

All allies gain 2d8 to their attack roll!!!

Please say who you are rolling for, just to make things easier to keep track of.

>YOU: 15d6+2d8
>WENDY: 6d6+2d8
>CLOVER: 9d6+2d8 (For every natural 6 he rolls, you may roll another dice)
>NAOMI: 3d6+4d8
>CASEY: 7d6+2d8
>QUENTIN: IF 1-4, 3d6+2d8 (he has a dozen holes in him). IF 5, 8d6+2d8.
>>
Rolled 4, 1, 4, 6, 4, 3, 3, 2, 6, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2, 4 = 52 (15d6)

>>6013092
Don't forget the Damdam pills, many of our allies attack off Talent.

>>6013094
Quentin clutches, my homie!
>Rolling for Nicole
>>
Rolled 5, 1 = 6 (2d8)

>>6013095
And the d8s
>>
>>6013095
>>6013097
This should amount to:
1 1 1 2 2 - no successes
3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 - 4 successes
5 5 6 6 - 4 successes
8 total
>>
Rolled 6, 4, 2, 4, 6, 5 = 27 (6d6)

>>6013094
>Quentin's roll depends on what my 1d5 rolls. 5 = He avoids it
>Rolled 5 (1d5)
His wings saved him. I'm suddenly glad we picked that upgrade for him. Truly the IDEAL(Yi Sang) outcome
>[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND]
The sudden shift to captain larp to help our friends is quite the genre swerve from magical girls of justice. But thanks Admiral. Guess part of him is a permanent part of Nicole now.

ROLLING 6d6 FOR WENDY

>>6013095
Oh right we have those. Better thank Benjamin his pills are so useful AND so affordable
>>
Rolled 1, 8, 5, 2 = 16 (4d8)

>>6013094
>>6013104
Now for Wendy's 2d8 and the captain boost 2d8
>>
>>6013105
>Wendy's 2d8 and the captain boost 2d8
Aren't those the same 2d8?
>>
>>6013100
Oh no Nicole jobbed

>>6013105
SHIT I AM DUMB SHE HAS THE 2D8 ALREADY
So 2 of these dice are gone, but which ones? Or do I redo as 2d8?

>>6013108
Yes, I did not read, sorry
>>
>>6013109
>So 2 of these dice are gone, but which ones?
Take the first two and use the second pair for Clover?
>>
>>6013105
>>6013109
As per my norm, if someone rolls multiple dice on accident, let's say 3d6 but someone rolls 6d6?
I only count the first three numbers rolled, no matter what. So you keep the 1 and 8.
>>
>>6013110
>>6013111
Ok so

>>6013104
>>6013105
Wendy has
>6, 4, 2, 4, 6, 5 + 1, 8
So that's 6 successes total, with the 8 counting as 2 of those per the dice rules.
>>
Rolled 4, 2, 5 = 11 (3d6)

>>6013094
>To speed things up, you may roll for two character
I will roll for my second character now.

ROLLING 3d6 FOR NAOMI
>>
Rolled 2, 3, 1, 4 = 10 (4d8)

>>6013114
>>6013094
Rolling Naomi's 4d8
>>
>>6013114
>>6013115
Damn, you could have scored big with those d8s. But you jobbed. Better luck next round, because we still have a next round even though we already have more than the agent's 10 successes. We still need more to really put him low

>>6013095
>>6013097
>>6013100
You can roll for a second character as the QM said. We still have Clover, Casey, and Quentin unrolled for
>>
Rolled 5, 5, 2, 2, 6, 6, 1, 4, 3 = 34 (9d6)

>>6013094
Right, let's roll for Clover
>>
Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d6)

>>6013119
EXPLOSION!
>>
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Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>6013121
EXPLOSION SQUARED!
>>
Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d8)

>>6013122
Now the d8s
>>
>>6013119
>>6013121
>>6013122
>>6013124
Total of 8.5 successes
>>
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Keeping track:
NICOLE: 8 TOTAL (Shotgun goes brrr)
WENDY: 6 TOTAL (Schizo rage.)
NAOMI: 2.5 TOTAL (She's a hag, what do you expect? She helps you by giving everyone +1d6 to their attack rolls and +1 extra restraint [well, 2d6 for you since her boon boosts your WILLPOWER and VIOLENCE] in combat unconditionally)
CLOVER: 8.5 SUCCESSES (POWER OF EXPLODING DICE AND COWBOY AUTISM)
TOTAL SO FAR: 25
DICE LEFT UNROLLED: QUENTIN, CASEY.

>>6013119
>>6013121
>>6013122
Yeehaw.
>>
>>6013129
>She's a hag, what do you expect?
She's also trying to knife the guy, knowing full well how the distortion field works
>2d6 for you since her boon boosts your WILLPOWER and VIOLENCE] in combat unconditionally
That's because Nicole's got the Fedkiller on, which scales off both those stats. I assume that also applies to Quentin here because the flintlock and knife are TALENT and VIOLENCE respectively?
>EXPLODING DICE AND COWBOY AUTISM
The moment the distortion field goes down, Clover shows why he's the deadeye shot
>>
Rolled 2, 5, 2, 7 = 16 (4d8)

To speed things up, I'll roll Quentin and Casey's. First, the two d8s in one roll. First two = Quentin. Second two = Casey
>>
Rolled 6, 3, 6, 3, 1, 2, 6, 2, 6, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, 4 = 50 (15d6)

And then 15d6. First seven dice = Casey, other 8 = Quentin.
>>
CASEY: 6, 3, 6, 3, 1, 2, 6, 7. SUCCESSES: 6.
QUENTIN: 2, 6, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, 4, 5. SUCCESSES: 4.
TOTAL SUCCESS AMOUNT: 35 vs 10. OVERWHELMING SUCCESS. But you have a feeling this isn't enough to put him down for good.
Still, one against six. The odds were stacked against him.

Let's see what happens. Writing.
>>
>>6013163
Everybody JOBBING their 2d8s

>>6013165
Casey did not job much
Quentin jobbed, but he spent all his focus dodging so it makes sense

>>6013171
>this isn't enough to put him down for good.
As long as his non-bullet regen is still disabled along with his distorted visuals, it's all good. Otherwise he'll outroll and outheal us. We only have 1 other EMP and I do not want to keep hurting Kiara in the process
>>
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https://youtu.be/q-XRfTHmJYg - SPOOK FIGHT

"SORRY KIARA!" You pull out an EMP GRENADE from your inventory and immediately throw it towards the spook. He dodges out of the way with ease and kicks it as far away as humanly possible. For a moment, you thought he was smirking. The ETF quickly rushes to hide behind a nearby corner so he's not in the line of fire.

Can't blame him.

Then it goes off. The lights around the hub room you're in immediately fail, pitching the whole area in pure darkness. Kiara's eyes begin to fizzle and spark as her systems fail. "RE...BOOTING." Kiara's body goes limp and lifeless. Turns out EMPs have an INCREDIBLE range.

You even feel an odd burning in your whole body as the grenade goes off...
>-1 FLESH and RESTRAINT TO KIARA! KIARA DOESN'T ACT THIS TURN!
>-2 CHARGES ON IMPLANTS! THEY FULLY RECHARGE AFTER BATTLE ENDS!

The lights soon turn back on. Seems like whatever power source they're working on isn't that affected by the EMP. The SPOOK's implant has clearly been weakened since before, you could barely make out anything around a solid five foot radius around him. Now? Only his body and a small four inch radius around him is blurred out. It's still hard to make out his movements but that's all his implant does now.

"Feh." His body flickers and for a split moment, you see the barrel of his gun pointed at you. "Worthless." It's too fast for you to get out of the way off. You're going to take a h-

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Quentin blitz over to the SPOOK with the same speed as an aggravated wasp despite being in a full grown human shell. With his impressive speed, he aims to swing his dangling legs into the SPOOK at full force. The SPOOK dodges out of the way and tries his best to fill Quentin full of lead but with bug-like reflexes, Quentin dodges out of the way completely.

"I WILL HAVE. YOUR HUMAN SHELL. YOU WORTHLESS BUG."

While the SPOOK is distracted, you raise your shotgun up and pull the trigger. Hard to make out what you're aiming at but you'll try.
>-2 SHOTGUN SLUGS! 4 LEFT!

Two fist sized holes erupt in what turns out to his left arm. Sparks of bright pink erupts are around the edges of the holes. His arms begin to shake profusely as if he's having a fucking seizure. Heh. Seems like his mind is frazzled.

Your momentary dopamine rush of hearing a satisfying shotgun blast washes away when you already see his body patching up from the strike. It's clearly slower than what it would've been but he's already raising his other arm. He aims and fires faster than anyone can react.

Yet his aim was shaky and rushed. Combined with your bodysuit, you barely felt a thing.
>-1 CHARGE OFF COMBAT PROSTHETIC BODYSUIT! NO FLESH DAMAGE TAKEN.

Wendy and Naomi charge in before he can try pulling the trigger again. Wendy closes the distance first and she begins to swing at him without any care if she's attacked or whether she's leaving herself open or not.
>>
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All she cares about is VIOLENCE.

The ELITE SPOOK manages to dodge his way around some of the wilder swings but luck is on Wendy's side when one of her swings manages to crack him right across the skull. The solid hit nearly sends the SPOOK to the floor from the sheer impact. Blue, bioluminescent blood splatters across the floor and Wendy's metal pipe. While dazed, he's not fully stunned, and he slams his leg into her stomach. She stumbles back but seems unharmed by it.
>-1 CHARGE OFF WENDY'S SUNSTONE CHUNK! 1 LEFT!

Before he can catch his breath, Naomi finally catches up with Wendy and she sends her full body weight into the spook. Both of them are sent flying to the floor; The SPOOK'S SERVICE PISTOL clatters to the floor. Naomi is the first to get up and moves to damn near straddle on top of the spook's chest with her knife in hand.

Clover, Casey, and Quentin wait to see what happens. None of them want to accidently shoot her.

[SILVER INSTINCTS] Drool keeps pouring out of Naomi's mouth and onto the SPOOK's face as she swings the knife down at the spook's neck. Right where his carotid artery is. "I know all of your weaknesses. It's in your neck. You don't think I know where my OLD IMPLANTS WERE?"

The SPOOK immediately shoots up to grab her wrist, trying his best to not get stabbed there. The two of them begin to struggle like two feral dogs, with Naomi pressing all of her weight into the strike while the SPOOK is flailing in an attempt to get the hag off.

The knife keeps moving lower and lower until it begins to slice into the SPOOK's neck. Droplets of red and blue blood trickle out and for a moment, you see a glint of something metallic in his throat. Naomi keeps trying to push more and more of her bodyweight into her attack but-

The SPOOK stops trying to push the knife away and instead goes for her throat. Naomi tries her best to keep stabbing into his neck but the SPOOK quickly overpowers her, getting right back onto his feet. He reels the arm he's holding her whole body with and sends her fucking flying at the comatose Kiara.

Slamming into a hunk of metal knocks the wind out of Naomi's sails and you're pretty sure the arm joint in Kiara's left arm should NOT be bending like that. Both fall to the ground, with Naomi struggling to breath and Kiara still rebooting.
>-1 FLESH (REDUCED FROM 2) on KIARA! NAOMI HAS ONE MORE CHARGE ON HER MEDIUM QUALITY BODYARMOR.

The SPOOK grabs his gun and puts his other hand on his bleeding neck, trying his best to hide his implant. The distortion around him begins to flicker and weaken but it's still active for now. He begins to aim towards the incapicated Naomi and Kiara...

But the field weakens just long enough to let his eyes be visible. Clover immediately draws his gun.

https://youtu.be/_vNZuM9vSR8 [Embed] - DEADEYE SHOT

The SPOOK's left eye explodes. Blue blood and ocular fluid splatters all across the spook's face and suit and the fucker is sent reeling back in pain. Bullseye.
>>
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He blindfires his gun in the direction of Casey and Clover. The two dive out of the way with ease.

"WOO! DESTROY THAT EVIL VILLAIN AND SHOW HIM WHAT JUSTICE TRULY MEANS!!!" DELICIOUS GIRL R cheers from the sidelines. It would be cute if you weren't trying to kill someone.

Quentin's wings buzz as he does a divebomb towards the blinded spook. He fires his singleshot flintlock, putting a shallow hole into the SPOOK's chest, before charging at him with his knife in hand. Casey, using Kiara as cover, offers some supporting fire with her gun.

The SPOOK decides that to tank Casey's shots and stands still, aiming right at Quentin's chest. Bone fragments fired from Casey's gun scratch and tear the SPOOK's back to shreds but he refuses to let his aim falter. Quentin, being in a human shell, doesn't really care if he gets shot and charges in anyways.

He manages to land a solid beat on Quentin's chest right as Quentin slashes across the SPOOK's face with his knife. The impact is enough to send Quentin back a couple of feet from the sheer force of the bullet. Thick, clotted blood from the dead corpse he's piloting oozes freely from the impact sight.
>-1 FLESH ON QUENTIN!
>+1 RESTRAINT TO THE AGENT!

Everyone is trying to reload, stabilize, or get back up before the other side can. Including you. As for the spook?

The holes in his left arm, the dent in his head, and his left eye are still leaking out that bioluminescent blood. The metallic glint of the neck implant is still visible. His back and the scratch Quentin landed are still fresh but every single second that passes, another inch of flesh is patched up somewhere on his body. It's starting with the hole in his arm and eye.

It's impressive he's still alive. Most people would be dead by now. Naomi tries to yell something out but it's too late. That's when you hear it. A crack, followed by something hard being chewed. The SPOOK is chewing on something and you can't quite tell what before he spits out hunks of tooth. An emergency pill. Shit.

"Good job. Too bad it's not enough" The SPOOK cracks his neck. "Let's try that again."

"OH NO! THE EVIL VILLAIN IS DOING HIS SUPER DUPER POWERED UP FORME: EVIL SERUM X!!! WATCH OUT!!!" DELICIOUS GIRL R yells from the backlines again. Is. is she just going to commentate on what happens in your fight? Whatever.

Kiara's eyes flicker back on. She forces herself back on her feet but it's clear the EMP is still rattling her head. Her face and body begins to change, copying every single person she sees nearby due to her faulty MIMICRY MODULE. This might actually help...
>Kiara has a decent chance of taking an attack that a squishier character would've taken!

ELITE SPOOK: 5/10 FLESH, 6/8 RESTRAINT, 19d8+5d6 TALENT. (+3 from SERVICE PISTOL, +1d6 from WEAKENED DISTORTION, +4d6 from ELITE TRAINING, +7 FROM EMERGENCY PILL. Regenerates 1 FLESH per turn. Heals 1 FLESH or RESTRAINT for every 4 6s or 2 8s rolled. May reroll three dice each turn.)
>>
YOU: 15d6+2d8 WILLPOWER+VIOLENCE, FLESH 5/5, RESTRAINT 7/10. WEAPON: FED KILLING SHOTGUN. (-1d6 from WEAKENED DISTORTION. Your attack does equal FLESH and RESTRAINT damage. +2d8 from SILVER AGENT PSYCHOLOGY.)
WENDY: 6d6+2d8 VIOLENCE, FLESH: 2/2. RESTRAINT: 4/5. (+1 from METAL PIPE. Has a small chance to stun the Silver Elite.)
CLOVER: 9d6+2d8 TALENT, FLESH 4/4, RESTRAINT 5/5. WEAPON: WILD REVOLVER. (-1d6 from WEAKENED DISTORTION. Whenever Clover rolls a natural 6 on his attack rolls, he may roll an additional dice.)
KIARA: 3d6+2d8 TALENT, FLESH 2/4, RESTRAINT 4/5. WEAPON: HANDMADE GUN. (-1d6 from WEAKENED DISTORTION, -2d6 from REBOOTING.)
NAOMI: 4d6+4d8 TALENT, FLESH 3/3, RESTRAINT 5/5. WEAPON: SERVICE PISTOL. (+2d8 from SILVER INSTINCTS. Knows where to aim now to ignore the DISTORTED PERCEPTION. Can reroll two dice per turn.)
CASEY: 7d6+2d8 TALENT, FLESH 3/3, RESTRAINT 4/4. WEAPON: MBF MODEL 129 (-1d6 from DISTORTED PERCEPTION.)
QUENTIN: 8d6+2d8 TALENT+VIOLENCE, FLESH 3/4, RESTRAINT 3/4. WEAPON: FLINTLOCK PISTOL + POCKET KNIFE. (-1d6 from DISTORTED PERCEPTION. Has a small chance to dodge incoming attacks.)

How do you proceed from here? Choose one main action and as many free actions you're willing to pay for.
>[UNSTABLE] LIGHT UP A DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR WITH YOUR H-CORP LIGHTER, USE YOUR TELEKINESIS TO THROW IT!!! FIRE TIME!!! (-1 H-CORP LIGHTER VIAL, -1 DUST CONTAIMATED LIQUOR, -1 RESTRAINT. You'll add another 3d8 to your attack and you negate his passive regeneration completely. In fact, he'll take damage over time. Killing him will be a lot easier.)
>[SYNCHRONIZED MINDSETS] Take a deep, deep huff of a RAW MOONSTONE CHUNK and FOCUS PUPPETEER WENDY. Let your minds meld as one. (FREE ACTION, -1 RAW MOONSTONE CHUNK. Wendy gains +4d6 VIOLENCE to her next attack.)
>[KIARA ALLY] "BLOW HIS ASS UP!" Get her to throw her frag grenade at him. (-1 FRAG GRENADE, she adds +3d6 to her next attack and she deals an extra 1 FLESH damage to him. If she passes a DC 20 TALENT check with her 6d6, she adds another 4d8 instead and deals 2 extra FLESH damage.)
>[CASEY ALLY] "CASEY! TRY TO CONVINCE HER!" (CHARM DC: 22, same as >>6012500 (You). You imagine an anomaly would be the final nail in the coffin.)
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "KEEP BLOCKING!" (FREE ACTION. Quentin has a 40% chance to dodge, 20% chance to take 1 FLESH, 40% chance to get hit for 2 FLESH damage. The spook loses the same dice as last time.)
>[ANATOMY REVEALED] Take a moment to focus on the exposed implant and try your best to yank it out with your mind. That's your golden ticket. (WILLPOWER DC: 28, rolling your 8d6. Succeed and you'll steal the implant, unlocking a powerful regeneration option for you and your allies. Oh and ripping out a hole in his throat, dealing 2 FLESH DAMAGE instantly, reducing his roll by 3d8+1d6.)
>GIVE YOUR ALLIES SOME DRUGS. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT TO TOSS THEM OUT. WRITE IN WHAT CATEGORY (PROTECTIVE, OFFENSIVE, HEALING, ETC ETC) TO GIVE THEM, OR A SPECIFIC ITEM.)
>Write in.
>>
>>6013263
>[SYNCHRONIZED MINDSETS] Take a deep, deep huff of a RAW MOONSTONE CHUNK and FOCUS PUPPETEER WENDY. Let your minds meld as one. (FREE ACTION, -1 RAW MOONSTONE CHUNK. Wendy gains +4d6 VIOLENCE to her next attack.)
>[ANATOMY REVEALED] Take a moment to focus on the exposed implant and try your best to yank it out with your mind. That's your golden ticket. (WILLPOWER DC: 28, rolling your 8d6. Succeed and you'll steal the implant, unlocking a powerful regeneration option for you and your allies. Oh and ripping out a hole in his throat, dealing 2 FLESH DAMAGE instantly, reducing his roll by 3d8+1d6.)
But we'll need some kind of boost, our raw chances are just 54%
>GIVE YOUR ALLIES SOME DRUGS. (FREE ACTION, -1 RESTRAINT TO TOSS THEM OUT. WRITE IN WHAT CATEGORY (PROTECTIVE, OFFENSIVE, HEALING, ETC ETC) TO GIVE THEM, OR A SPECIFIC ITEM.)
Feed Clover some Damdam and eat a pep pill ourselves.
>>
>>6013263
>[ANATOMY REVEALED] Take a moment to focus on the exposed implant and try your best to yank it out with your mind. That's your golden ticket. (WILLPOWER DC: 28, rolling your 8d6. Succeed and you'll steal the implant, unlocking a powerful regeneration option for you and your allies. Oh and ripping out a hole in his throat, dealing 2 FLESH DAMAGE instantly, reducing his roll by 3d8+1d6.)
This also kills his regen completely. It'll be a pain, but Quentin should be able to hijack his corpse even with the throat hole in it. Quint might be able to harness the remaining bits of implant-enabled blood to patch the body up to be servicable if he acts quickly immediately after the agent is confirmed dead. I bet the silvers have no countermeasure against Quentin with how unique he is. His body will alert the spooks on sight since they'll be aware one of their own is walking with us, unless they assume the "agent" is deceiving us as an "ally". They'll never know
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "KEEP BLOCKING!" (FREE ACTION. Quentin has a 40% chance to dodge, 20% chance to take 1 FLESH, 40% chance to get hit for 2 FLESH damage. The spook loses the same dice as last time.)
He has 3/4 FLESH, and I like that 40% dodge chance and the dice weaken. Let's do it AGAIN

I don't think passing items with TK is worth the -1 RESTRAINT right now. Quentin and the implant tear combined is a 5d8+3d6 debuff on the agent. That puts him at 14d8+2d6. That's 4d8 more than he had before, but 1d6 less too.
We have these to help with the WILLPOWER check if we need them
>MOONSTONE FRAGMENT x3 (A fragment of a Moonstone. It crackles soothingly. Allows you or an ally to reroll three RESTRAINT or WILLPOWER dice when consumed.)
>PEP PILL+ x2 (When rolling a COGNIZANCE, RESTRAINT, or WILLPOWER check, you may add 4 to the final tally.)

>>6013291
You sure you wanna spend a raw moonstone chunk on the Wendy sync? I think we can kill this fucker without it
>54%
Are they? How'd you get that number?
>Clover DAMDAM
He uses 2 of the 6d6 at a time, and it's temporary. I do want to give him one after the battle ends just so he has it in a pinch.
>>
>>6013299
+1
>>
Fuck it I'm bored so I'm going through some items

>NOLNOL PILLS x3
Better for Nicole due to power use on her RESTRAINT. Allies like Benedict also benefit more from these. Not worth using or handing out unless we're dealing with a lot of white/mental damage from an anomaly or place
>XISXIS PILL x4
These aren't very helpful for allies unless we absolutely need Kiara or someone to COGNIZANCEmax very badly
>LEYLEY PILLS x2
Our most frail allies need these. Naomi absolutely, but someone like Quentin who is liable to take damage can also use them. Then again, he exists to meatshield and replace his shells, so someone already damage-enduring like Kiara is another case. We need to buy more of these next time; they sound very underrated
>DAMDAM PILL x3
Anybody in our immediate party but Naomi and Quentin and arguably Wendy will make the best use of these. Clover needs more opportunities to go for 6s, so >>6013291 is right on that
>REFINED ZANAL x2
Literally anybody can use these for anything, but they wear off fast
>RAW VOIDSTONE CHUNK x3
Literally anybody can use these, but ideally somebody already hurt on both ends for max value. If we need an injured ally to try a statcheck, that would be an interesting opportunity for this
>RAW NOVASTONE CHUNK x3
This is if we're outnumbered or with more than one threat. It's a free +6d4 to attack otherwise. Somebody like Clover can't use it because he needs 6s, otherwise it has a situation for it
>DUST CONTAINMATED LIQUOR x3
It's molotov bait. Forget actually drinking it. Casey does have one of our flare guns...
>SOMTOIN ZETA x2
I want to give one to Wendy after this, just in case. She's the only other character Nicole knows that has voice shards of her own
>ICY BLOOD VIAL x3
This goes to Quentin if we can get him the glowie elite body. We haven't come across any cold-vulnerable foes to use this on yet
>EXPIRED SINSUL ALPHA x3
Now these are great for fights. Good to save for base assault and passing them to our heaviest hitters
>TRANQUIZLER SYRINGE x2
TK to surprise inject this into someone unaware. The use to take 1 less FLESH and RESTRAINT damage is a desperation use, but it's still something
>SINNLÖSCHEN x2
That RESTRAINT drain means whoever takes this for a heavy WILLPOWER boost will go insane. BUT what if we have Ben make some with the SINFUL ROSES which give RESTRAINT regen? That could balance it out
>ARCADY DUST
With Nicole's RESTAINT being so high, investing in more of this can be good to use more powers

We are running low on SHOTGUN SLUGS. Going to the shops to buy more is a must to keep using FEDKILLER or the regular shottie like we did on the boat mission
>>
>>6013263
>[ANATOMY REVEALED] Take a moment to focus on the exposed implant and try your best to yank it out with your mind. That's your golden ticket. (WILLPOWER DC: 28, rolling your 8d6. Succeed and you'll steal the implant, unlocking a powerful regeneration option for you and your allies. Oh and ripping out a hole in his throat, dealing 2 FLESH DAMAGE instantly, reducing his roll by 3d8+1d6.)
Nicole takes a:
>PEP PILL+ x2 (When rolling a COGNIZANCE, RESTRAINT, or WILLPOWER check, you may add 4 to the final tally.)

>[QUENTIN ALLY] "KEEP BLOCKING!" (FREE ACTION. Quentin has a 40% chance to dodge, 20% chance to take 1 FLESH, 40% chance to get hit for 2 FLESH damage. The spook loses the same dice as last time.)


[UNSTABLE] RIP HIS GLOWING THROAT OUT. NOW NOW NOW NOW
>>
>>6013263
Add to my vote in >>6013299 for Nicole to PEP PILL+ for that WILLPOWER check, as >>6013327 said
>>
>>6013299
>Are they? How'd you get that number?
anydice.com
>>
>>6013331
Is that with the implant rip plus Quentin?
>>
>>6013329
+1
>>
>>6013337
For the implant rip. Quentin doesn't modify our roll for that.
>>
>>6013344
I thought you meant the agent roll, my bad. So how much of a benefit does PEP PILL+ have with that +4 on the WILLPOWER check? Same result as DC 24 instead of 28? And on another note, what do you think about this mission so far? Where do you think we should go after the Armory security system on floor 2?
>>
>>6013359
Pep pill raises our chances to 82% IIRC, not counting the talisman rerolls. As for the mission, I think we should go to the Refinement room and take a look at what the glowies want there, and after that go through the connected facilities and talk with the survivors, since the Informant said one of them is making the tunnels.
Also I think it might be better not to complete the Informant's side-mission and instead talk Delicious Girl R into containement.
>>
>>6013364
>82% IIRC, not counting the talisman rerolls
Holy shit, that's good
>Refinement room
Being in there when it activates can be a death sentence. I think Nicole can take it in that sort of bad scenario, but it depends on what we find in the security center
>glowies
Do we really have anything imposing a time limit on us other than "glowies will swarm the place eventually"? Will they do that even if we kill all 7 remaining ones in the facility and on that topside team? And you bet the moment any disguised one sees us stained with the bright blue blood they will drop the act and go hostile.
Do you think we should take time to teach the party the audio buzz trick? It can be easier with Naomi helping out. That SILVER AGENT PSYCHOLOGY is a free 2d8 against them, and I get the feeling we will all need it with the rest in here and the base assault looming
>one of them is making the tunnels.
Handler made the goal clear. Other than exploring the tunnels, which ended up with us exploring this entire place, the main mission objective is
>FIND WHOEVER'S BEEN UNSEALING THEM. STOP THEM.
We don't know how the security system fits into this, or that living Manager. Those secret shafts on floor 3 are also worth checking out if they're possible exits for us.
>talk Delicious Girl R into containement
Interesting. Why do you say not to take Informant? And the containment cube expands to full size to contain anomalies, so securing one should be done last on the way out, I think
>>
>>6013394
>Why do you say not to take Informant?
Because we'd have to kill that survivor manager.
>>
>>6013400
Could we do something else instead of kill the Manager for him? Recover that "friend" of his alive? Admiral photos?
>>
>>6013412
He wanted the manager's head.
>>
>>6013435
And he's open to bargains
>>
>>6013094
Quentin once more being a best bug. Casey is still the bug-human-person of my heart, but I did suggest at one point getting our centipede boy in on another mission, and he is proving very cool.

>>6013299
Sure, I will support it. Resource drain and shit, but all glow niggers must die. I will say if we get his implant, it should probably go to Naomi. Nicky probably would not want glow-shit in her, and it would help Naomi with her low flesh; she might even be able to use it better since she had one before.

>>6013326
I think I recommended we stock up on guns/ammo for a mission in which ultra violence might be required, but hopefully it will be okay for now. We stumble on ammo pretty often and worst case we can work from the back line for a bit of this mission, rely on powers if we pop some restraint boosters.

I do wonder why we haven't found any kind of long gun so far. Are they just high tier? Don't get me wrong, a shot gun slug at close range is probably going to deal more damage but finding an AR-15 would let us put more rounds out at a time. Depending on the realism factor, also easier to use for a normal-sized girl like Nicole; 3 or 3.5 inch slugs kick like a bitch IRL.
>>
>>6013263
>>6013299

Sorry, yes, voting to support this, I got distracted.
>>
>>6013489
>find an AR-15

So I just caught up with this quest about a week ago, right after the tunnel quest started.

Not once in my reading did I ever see a mention of anyone using a military rifle. Only pistols, shotguns and hunting rifles (which I assume means wooden stock bolt rifles). Not even X Corp or ETF agents.

I have no idea if that’s intentional, an oversight or me being a dipshit. Just one more weird thing about the City I suppose.
>>
>>6013679
>>6013489
I think part of it might stem from ProjectMoon setting, where in that City the Head taxes the fuck out of all ammo and has extremely anal rules about specifications of all firearms. Infamously, any and all forms of silencers are ILLEGAL. All this is implied to be deliberate because they want murders to be personal and for victims to have a fighting chance, but it's also to generate more suffering and emotion throughout the entire City for unknown reasons.

Basically intentional, though who knows what the exact reasons are in this quest? The fucking QM does that's who
>>
Meant to close earlier but I fell asleep, everyone agrees to do Anatomy Revealed so we're going with that. One anon, roll 8d6. Your DC is now 24 since you took a pep pill.

>>6013489
>>6013679
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Simply put, it's not really that feasible for an average person to get anything more powerful than a handgun.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Most shops civilians have access to don't sell them and the few guns you found that weren't handguns, ala your shotguns, you STOLE from criminals.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] That and ammo is expensive. When you have something single shot or lever action or break action, it's easier to manage it.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] X-Corp and ETFs probably DO have the resources to use them but they use them sparingly. For the ETFs here, they know anomalies are here, so they'll bring anti-anomaly rounds.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Regular ammo is already pretty pricey from most sources. You saw a shop charge $40 per bullet for a shitty bolt action pistol.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Imagine trying to buy enough anti-anomaly rounds for even a mag or two for a military rifle when 3 bullets for a good quality handgun or a revolver costs $150. 3. While not comparable, the price gap is just so big, it's financial suicide.
>>
Rolled 3, 1, 1, 5, 1, 1, 3, 2 = 17 (8d6)

>>6013913
>>
>>6013916
FUCKING
>>
>>6013916
Ouch.
You still have your talisman so you can reroll three of those. Let's see how that does.
>>
Rolled 6, 4, 2 = 12 (3d6)

>>6013919
>>
Rolled 4, 3, 7, 3, 7, 8, 8, 8, 5, 1, 8, 6, 8, 6 = 82 (14d8)

>>6013916
>>6013920
3, 5, 3, 2, 6, 4, 2, 1.
Just BARELY passes with the pep pill. Now, since a majority of people voted for Quentin to block as well, let's roll for the spook. His roll is now 14d8+2d6. First, the d8s.
>>
Rolled 3, 6 = 9 (2d6)

>>6013921
Then, the d6s
>>
Rolled 8, 8, 8 = 24 (3d8)

>>6013921
Then, rerolling a 1, 3, and 3.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d5)

>>6013921
>>6013922
>>6013924
Uh.

4: 0.5 SUCCESSES
5, 6, 6: 3 SUCCESSES
7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8: 20 SUCCESSES.
TOTAL TO BEAT: 23.5 SUCCESSES.
AMOUNT HEALED: 1 FLESH TOTAL (3 FLESH HEALED, 2 NEGATED BY THROAT RIP, 1 TOTAL), 1 RESTRAINT HEALED. No additional regeneration.

WELL THEN.

Here's your table of allies to roll. To speed things up, and since there's a lot to roll, you may roll for three characters at a time. Please clarify who you're rolling for.
Rolling 1d5 to see how Quentin dodges. 1-2 = 2 FLESH, 3 = 1 FLESH, 4-5 = DODGE.

>YOU: 15d6+2d8
>WENDY: 6d6+2d8
>CLOVER: 9d6+2d8 (For every natural 6 he rolls, you may roll another dice)
>KIARA: 3d6+2d8
>NAOMI: 4d6+4d8 (May reroll 3 dice she rolled per turn. I'd recommend rerolling the d8s if you pick her.)
>CASEY: 7d6+2d8
>QUENTIN: If 1 or 2, 3d6+2d8. If 3-5, 8d6+2d8.
>>
>>6013926
Actually, lemme clarify. Quentin would roll 4d6+2d8 instead of 3d6+2d8. Forgot about the bump you got from weakening his field. And I almost missed the 3 and 6, so your total to beat is actually a flat 25.

Every dice matters so I didn't want to scam you out of a failure or success.
>>
Rolled 1, 6, 2, 2, 4, 5, 2, 3, 5, 6, 2, 5, 6, 1, 3 = 53 (15d6)

>>6013926
Nicole
>>
Rolled 7, 3 = 10 (2d8)

>>6013926
>>
Rolled 4, 3, 1, 3, 5, 2 = 18 (6d6)

>>6013926
Wendy
>>
Rolled 1, 1 = 2 (2d8)

>>6013926
Wendy
>>
Rolled 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, 5, 5, 2, 5 = 34 (9d6)

>>6013926
Clover
>>
Rolled 5, 2 = 7 (2d8)

>>6013926
Clover
>>
Rolled 4, 1, 2 = 7 (3d6)

>>6013926
Kiara
>>
Rolled 7, 8 = 15 (2d8)

>>6013926
Kiara 2
>>
Rolled 3, 4, 2, 5 = 14 (4d6)

>>6013926
Naomi
>>
Rolled 5, 7, 2, 3 = 17 (4d8)

>>6013926
Naomi
>>
Rolled 2, 2, 3 = 7 (3d8)

>>6013956
Rerolling 3 of Naomi's lowest
>>
Rolled 4, 2, 6, 2, 1, 5, 2 = 22 (7d6)

>>6013958
Lol

>>6013926
Casey
>>
Rolled 2, 3, 3 = 8 (3d6)

>>6013926
Quentin
>>
Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d8)

>>6013926
Casey. I will leave Quentin for another brave anon.
>>
Rolled 4, 2 = 6 (2d8)

>>6013926
Quentin 2

>>6013963
I'm not even counting. How bad is it?
>>
>>6013964
I'm too afraid to count but Glowy man has us beat I think
>>
NICOLE:
1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2: NOTHING
3, 3, 3, 4: 2 SUCCESSES
5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6: 6 SUCCESSES
7: 2 SUCCESSES
NICOLE: 10

WENDY:
1, 1, 1, 2: NOTHING
3, 3, 4: 1.5 SUCCESSES
5: 1 SUCCESSES
WENDY: 2.5 SUCCESSES

CLOVER:
2,2 : NOTHING
3, 3, 3, 3: 2 SUCCESSES
5, 5, 5, 5, 5: 5 SUCCESSES
CLOVER: 7 SUCCESSES

KIARA:
1, 2: NOTHING
4: 0.5 SUCCESSES
7, 8: 4 SUCCESSES
KIARA: 4.5 SUCCESSES

NAOMI:
2, 2, 3, 3: NOTHING
3, 4: 1 SUCCESSES
5, 5: 2 SUCCESSES
7: 2 SUCCESSES
NAOMI: 5 SUCCESSES

CASEY:
1, 2, 2, 2: NOTHING
4: 0.5 SUCCESSES
5, 5, 6, 6: 4 SUCCESSES
CASEY: 4.5 SUCCESSES

QUENTIN:
2, 2: NOTHING
3, 3, 4: 1.5 SUCCESSES
QUENTIN: 1.5 SUCCESSES

TOTAL: 25 (SPOOK) VS 35 (PARTY). Turns out, even when you roll super high, you really can't beat a 1 to 7 disadvantage. Doesn't mean he went down like a bitch.
RESULT: MODERATE SUCCESS. Writing.
>>
>>6013967
>>6013968
>literally everybody jobbed
>not a single 6 anywhere
>only 1s to 3s
>dice deliberately gave elite glownig ALL THOSE SUCCESSES just to fuck with us
>8 8s on him
>blasts Quentin up too
>only loses because we have 7 people total
Ok I think I need to seriously look at our items more. We didn't even use anything but PEP PILL+ and an ECLIPSE TALISMAN charge
God I hate these 1s we always get. It makes me want to pour hundreds of dollars into more LUCK INVERTERS and give them to everybody we know
>>
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>>6013973
I'll just tell you the probability of what you got through ANYDICE, which is what I use to check for statisticals.
Him rolling a 82 or higher on 14d8 was a 0.92% chance.
Him rerolling all 8s on a a 3d8? 0.20%.
You got incredibly fucking unlucky but you still won. And hey, you got items for later and you got a very rare reward (you'll know why later). Don't sweat the details too much.
>>
>>6013981
That emergency pill was the only in-story reason I can imagine that he did not job completely like he did the first round. I fucking kneel to those anons who wanted more people on our missions. Numbers were the only reason we survived this
>>
>>6013250
>INCREDIBLE range
Let's remember that for the glowie base
>impressive speed
Fat black man with bug wings about to run the glowie over like a flying car
>Sparks of bright pink
Fedkiller becoming Nicole's signature black damage weapon just by perception alone

>>6013254
>struggle
Naomi you have 2 VIOLENCE and you're like 70. This is metal as fuck but you're not gonna make it
>sends her fucking flying
That's a one-armed bodily fling. This guy's strong

>>6013256
>impressive he's still alive
We did like 5 FLESH to him
>commentate on what happens
I like this
>faulty MIMICRY MODULE
Interesting but rather risky here

Yeah that's all I got
>>
Question Anon. Do you think it's a good time here to inject Casey with our 2 ICP SYRINGES and maybe even 3 C-EXTRACT?
>>
>>6014004
I disagree. This is too early for it. Let's get to know her a bit further before we commit.
>>
>>5991133
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Some deep, primal part of you tells you that whatever power she might get from the ICP Energy would 'create' and 'consume' something. While you 'manipulate' and 'perceive' things.
>'consume'
>We are currently in a facility with lots of anomalies.
>>6014038
I think we definitely need to inject Casey with ICP and maybe even natural C-EXTRACT now. Because she may get an anomaly ability to consume non-anomalies and anomalies stuff to gain a new ability. I wonder if there is a dead corpse anomalies entity laying around in the facility somewhere for Casey to consume.
>>
>>6014048
What if she eats the silver agents in the base assault?
>>
>>6014052
Why not do it here now? There is definitely an anomalies entity corpse storage room in the facility somewhere for Casey to consume all dead anomalies corpses. Casey can potentially consume a lot of anomaly material in the facility if we inject her now.
>>
>>6014056
>Why not do it here now?
Low RAPPORT
Not at a storage room yet
Also you type like you're indian KEK
>>
>>6014057
>Low RAPPORT
What? Do you think Casey is going to betray us or something after we inject her?
>>
>>6014064
It might cause instability, yeah. Remember it took a HIGH RAPPORT check for Benjamin to get over us injecting him halfway
>>
>>6014064
>>6014067
I will clarify the HIGH RAPPORT check was because the whole reason you hired him was for a way to get ANOMALOUS POWERS, way back when the first thread was around.
With CASEY, the issue you'd probably have to worry about her is her psyche handling a full dose if you want to go down that path.
>>
>>6014077
Thanks for clarifying. Then I'm still for not injecting her yet
>>
>>6014107
Why the hell is everyone so jumpy on turning Casey into a Lovecraftian demigod? We know literally nothing about her and she’s vaguely creepy.

Let’s hold off on this for now.
>>
>>6014139
>everyone
It's one ESL guy.
>>
>>6014139
Well, because it will be fun and funny to see Casey turn into a Lovecraftian demigod.
>>
>>6013913
Huh, interesting. And I’m guessing X-Corp breaking out the automatics would probably just give away what their singularity is, so they don’t want to do it until absolutely necessary.

QM, I started on this quest because my initial impression was that it’s bat shit insane. But this quest is a genuinely impressive feat of world building. Somehow this makes bug men, sentient concepts and Feds in silver suits into a coherent whole and I have no idea how you pulled it off.
>>
>>6014149
I highly recommend going and playing Lobotomy Corporation. Pirate it first, then buy it once you like it and transfer your save. Well worth your time
>>
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You thought your eyes were playing tricks on you but you swear that his body is starting to vibrate now. Every single muscle in his body is twitching at a rate that clearly isn't helpful. It's like his whole body is being played on 2x playback speed. You know that this man's body is going into overclock and if you don't do something about it, no amount of firepower will put him down.

[SILVER INSTINCTS + MILITARY EXPERIENCE] "He'll overdose in three minutes flat! Just outlast him! He took too much REFINED ZANAL-"

"SILENCE." In the blink of the eye, the ELITE SPOOK clears the twenty five foot gap between him and Naomi. It's like time stopped in between him being at the other side of the room and where Naomi is at. He reels back a jerky punch...

But Quentin immediately divebombs the fucker, full force, without any regard for his own well being. The ELITE SPOOK is sent stumbling back from the impact but he immediately grabs onto Quentin's throat. Quentin tries his best to stab at the SPOOK but before he can, the ELITE SPOOK magdumps his SERVICE PISTOL into Quentin's stomach.

Once he lets go, Quentin falls to the ground. Limp and lifeless. That shell is no more. The spook fucked up, though, he left himself distracted and unarmed for just long enough for you to pull this trick off. You swallow a PEP PILL and grab onto your ECLIPSE TALISMAN, focusing all of your effort on that little glimpse of metal in his throat.

>24!

The ELITE SPOOK seems to notice what you're doing and he's resisting against your telekinetic pull with all of his might. The two of you enter a brief tug of war, distracting him enough for Wendy to start sneaking up on him. Your antlers sparkle and hiss with seething pink light. God, it's like trying to rip a tooth out of a drugged up tiger.

You win the fight with one solid telekinetic tug. A hunk of metal and circuity the size of your pinky finger is violently ripped out of his throat, spraying blue and red blood across his suit. The ELITE SPOOK struggles to breath thanks to the sudden hole in his throat and before he can recover, Wendy smashes her pipe against him.

Her swing was sloppy and rushed. She managed to leave a nasty bruise across the back of his head but it wasn't enough to make him drop his gun. Her attack immediately gets repaid but a roundhouse kick to the stomach. She's promptly sent to the floor in a pained, wheezing hump of meat on the floor.
>-RAW SUNSTONE CHUNK ON WENDY! -1 FLESH! 1/2 LEFT ON WENDY!

Before he has time to finish her off, Kiara and Casey scare him away from her with suppressing fire from their guns. Their shots missed but it's enough to cause him to back away for now.

The ELITE SPOOK's movements are starting to slow down now as the remaining drops of fluid from his implant begin to leak out of the hole in his neck. His body is vibrating a little less intensely and all of the bloodloss + brain damage he's experiencing is slowing him down JUST enough to give Clover a clear shot.
>>
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He closes his left eye to focus his aim. His open eye begins to glow a bright, vibrant yellow. An implant or something else, perhaps? Doesn't matter right now. All he does is FIRE.

BANG!

A hole erupts in the ELITE SPOOK's kneecap. The ELITE SPOOK screams in agony as shattered bone and blood erupt from the wound. The ELITE SPOOK nearly falls to the ground from the pain but the drug pumping through his system for him is still pushing him to keep moving.

His next blitz rush is over towards Naomi...but the pain and the fact he's missing an eye makes him confuse Kiara with Naomi. He slams his fist into Kiara's stomach and that might've done some horrible damage to Naomi but for Kiara, she's just sent stumbling a few inches back.
>FLESH DAMAGE NEGATED!

The spook looks up in confusion, not even noticing his mangled hand, when he realizes that the Naomi he just punched has latex for skin on her face. "FUCK."

Naomi returns the favor by aiming her own SERVICE PISTOL at the SPOOK. She can't hold back her toothless smile as she stares down the spook. The SPOOK sneers at the EX SILVER, disgusted at the idea of being bested by her. She pulls the trigger. Center mass, only a few inches away from his heart.

"Bullseye."
"Sloppy. Work."
"Yet you're still losing."

The ELITE SPOOK stumbles back for a moment but Naomi, Kiara, and Casey don't let up. Naomi and Kiara pull their triggers again, blasting two more holes into the SPOOK's torso, causing him to stumble back again. Before they can fire again, Casey aims his own gun towards the SPOOK and begins to unload every single round she has in it at the SPOOK.

Fragments of bloody bone pelt at the ELITE SPOOK'S face, chest, and arms, slicing them into bloody little ribbons. Casey doesn't say a single word as she continues to squeeze the trigger over and over and over again.

It's STILL not enough to put the SPOOK down but it's clear his body can't handle this for much longer, especially with his implant removed. He reels his leg back again to slam into Casey...

[SEEKER OF JUSTICE] But Clover throws his whole body at the SPOOK, taking the hit that would've done a number to Casey. The force of the spook's kick is enough to send Clover flying back towards the back of the elevator.

"CLOVER!" Casey screams out. "YOU- YOU-!!!"
"I'M FINE! F-FINISH HIM!" Clover wheezes out, clearly out of breath.
>-2 FLESH TO CLOVER! 2/4 LEFT!

The SPOOK is caked in wounds and scars. His left eye is missing. Bullet wounds and scratches pepper his torso, legs, face, and back. His throat is leaking out a foul mixture of blue and red blood mixed with some clear, pus-like fluid. His hands are mangled and his left knee is shaking, barely able to put any weight on it because it's shattered.

Yet he's still standing.

He smiles a toothless grin. "You can't kill us. We won't stop until you're dead. Until your bloodlines are nothing more than a footnote in our new history. Do you underst-"
>>
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"WHAT'S THIS~?" DELICIOUS GIRL R coos out from the other side of the room. "IT SEEMS LIKE OUR MAGICAL DEER GIRL IS USING HER SPECIAL ATTACK: MAGIC BULLET FIRE! TURNS OUT EVIL ALWAYS LOSES~!"

"Feh. Nonsen-" He glances over at you for just long enough to see it. Your shotgun raised right at his torso. Whether it's from your own anomalous abilities or if DELICIOUS GIRL R is giving you a push, you notice something forming around the muzzle of your shotgun. Two three foot wide magenta circles surrounding one larger, six foot wide neon pink ring.

[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You must not place your faith in human rationality when dealing with a threat like them.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Not even your own. These are not humans. These are not anomalies. They are nothing but glowies. Bugs to be squashed.
[UNSTABLE] THIS SHOT WILL PENETRATE THROUGH THE TARGET. WHEREVER, WHICHEVER, OR WHOEVER IT IS.

He tries to move out of the way and he might've, even with his injuries and the drugs coursing through his system, but that's when you see it. A ebony and pale hand grabs onto his legs. Quentin and Wendy, despite barely being able to move from their injuries, are clinging onto him.

"GAME."
"OVER!" The two cry out in unison.

The ELITE SPOOK tries his best to struggle out but it's too late. You can't hold back your own smile. "Goodbye." You pull the trigger and the moment you do, you're sent flying back from the recoil. The two slugs shot out of your gun are vibrating and glowing with an intense magenta light.

They pierce right through his upper torso without any resistance. Like a knife through butter. Sparks of violet and magenta light quickly burn the flesh around where you shot him, revealing part of his now shattered ribcage and punctured lungs to the open air. The slugs embed themselves into the wall behind, digging through the reinforced steel like it was nothing. They only stop after eating through six inches of reinforced steel.

>-2 SHOTGUN SLUGS! -1 RESTRAINT FROM TELEKINESIS! 2 SLUGS LEFT AND 6/10 RESTRAINT LEFT!

The censor around his face disappears completely, revealing what his face looks like underneath. A man with bright red hair that can't be any older than 27. You don't recognize this man at all but just seeing his face, even for the brief moment, makes you pity him.

He tries to croak something out but it's clear his brain has been fried by your attack. "y-Y-Y-oU-Ouo-Ou-ouo-You-Y-YouB-You." Complete obliteration of the psyche. His RESTRAINT is GONE. Quentin and Wendy use the last of their strength to shove his legs.

He promptly collapse to the floor in a bloody heap. He's still breathing for a few seconds after but soon, his vitals fail completely.

>YOU WON!
>TOTAL AMMO SPENT BY ALLIES: 2 REVOLVER ROUNDS FOR CLOVER, 2 PISTOL AMMO FOR NAOMI, 3 PISTOL AMMO FROM KIARA, 1 FLINTLOCK AMMO FOR QUENTIN, 4 SHOTGUN SLUGS FROM YOU.

"That villain was SO hard to kill! Wowwie!!!" DELICIOUS GIRL R claps her hands upon seeing your victory.
>>
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"Such a despicable villain you took out! Thank goodness that Ranger Captain Pink used her MAGIC BULLET FIRE to obliterate him!" You glance down at your shotgun. You're pretty sure while a small fraction of power manifesting that circle was your own power, a vast majority was absolutely from another anomalous source. "I must bow at your excellent fighting prowess, Ranger Heroes!!!"

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] She must've thought it was a 'climatic final attack'. You're pretty sure you won't be able to replicate that exact feat again.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] This gun is a good gun. You can feel an odd tingle in your antlers and brain after everything you did with the FEDKILLER.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] This gun demands FEDS to kill. It is your trusty weapon against them. It is the only thing that bypasses their healing. They can't heal their body and mind at the same time.
[UNSTABLE] DELICIOUS.

>FED KILLING SHOTGUN HAS BEEN UPGRADED! (Your only true weapon against the feds. Attacks made with it roll WILLPOWER+VIOLENCE+2 and deal equal parts FLESH and RESTRAINT damage to enemies. Attacks made by it deal lingering MIXED damage to enemies over time. Only usable by you.)

"I. Okay, yeah." After putting your FED KILLING SHOTGUN away, you turn your gaze over to your allies.

Kiara is laying her back against the wall right next to the elevator, tinkering with her damaged arm and the dents on her metal chassis with the REPAIR KIT and the BUSTED Y-CORP TRANSPORTER.
Clover is being helped by Casey, who's patching up his wounds with some GAUZE ROLLS from her inventory.
Naomi helps Wendy back up to her feet and gestures her to check up on the dead spook. They're whispering to each other about something you can't make out from here.
Quentin is squirming out of his ruined shell and over to the SPOOK. Naomi and Wendy seems to notice the centipede and, instead of being shocked, they both shrug with indifference. The three of them surround the dead spook before Naomi calls out to you.

"Hand me the implant you took. It has way too many killswitches to install right now, I need to tinker with it. Same with the body."

You shrug, tossing the implant over to Naomi. Naomi, Wendy, and Quentin begin to mess around with the corpse in order to remove whatever fucked up killswitches or traps or tricks are on it.

Seems like your allies are too busy handling their own things to talk to right now. You turn your attention back towards the magical girl. "Follow me."

"OKAY!" DELICIOUS GIRL R's beaming smile could blind you if you weren't looking away. You might as well check the armory with her while your allies patch up. The two of you begin to head down towards the armory which, with the help of your mental and physical maps, you find easily.

You pass by CONTAINMENT CELL E and F on your way over. Both were pried open by someone. CELL F mostly just looks like a standard containment cell with some basic amenities (bed, desk with piles of paper and crayons at, TV, and a minifridge.)
>>
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CELL E is completely filled to the brim with fungus and mushrooms of every color under the rainbow. A sickly sweet smell tempts you to step past the threshold of the pried open airlock. You're not in the mood for spores in your lungs so you proceed on.

The ARMORY's thick iron door is sealed away with several padlocks and a keycard reader that seems a lot more advanced than the containment cell ones. However, this is promptly ignored by DECLIOUS GIRL R, who fires a orange beam out of her finger right at the door's handle.

It melts through the padlocks and handle with ease. You're glad you didn't fight this anomaly. She promptly shoves it open, letting you see the insides of the ARMORY for yourself.

https://youtu.be/W93o3AZRA2o - ARMORY

The armory is a very small and narrow room in the grand scheme, probably no bigger than your apartment bedroom. The walls are lined with dozens on dozens of shelves that would normally hold all kinds of firearms. Steel boxes take up most of the walking space you have left, making it a very tight squeeze for anyone to move around in. At the very back of the ARMORY is a mess of panels and buttons. A SECURITY SYSTEM, you assume.

The first thing that catches your attention is that the place has been completely ransacked. Most of the shelves are empty and the boxes barely have any ammo left inside of them. You can only guess what this meant for whatever employees were down here when it was sealed. Yet your eyes manage to spot one of the few firearms remaining here. You never thought you would see one.

An honest to god assault rifle. You immediately reach to grab it, damn the consequences.
>ASSAULT RIFLE OBTAINED! (A X-Corp exclusive. ATTACK ROLL: TALENT+4. Consumes 3 RIFLE AMMO per shot. Deals FLESH damage to multiple enemies at once when used, good for crowd clearing. Magazine has 15 RIFLE AMMO left inside.)

"Sorry that there's not much here! The heroes of this facility took a lot of them when dealing with the nasty evildoers above!" DELICIOUS GIRL R chirps out. "There should still be some stuff here for you, my hero!" She bows towards you again. The cognitive dissonance of seeing a girl in a magical girl uniform bowing to you is hard to put into words.

The chemicals in your brain tingle again.
>NOLNOL WEARS OFF. 2 RESTRAINT HEALED! 8/10 RESTRAINT LEFT!

You glance around the armory before you notice that there's four odd boxes made out of an incredibly thick, tough metal are stacked at the end of the room. Heading over to them with the magical girl, you see that all of them share a small digital screen that reads the same thing.

"WARNING: AUTHORIZATION FAILURE IN SYSTEM DETECTED. UNTIL ADMINISTRATOR CAN CONFIRM, CONNECTED CONTAINERS WILL SEAL SHUT AFTER TWO CONTAINERS ARE OPENED UNTIL ADMINISTRATOR CONFIRMS."

"Oh! Yeah! Even my beam can't mess with them! An old friend of mine told me to but it bounced off!" Huh. Weird. Time to scan over the contents of the boxes...
>>
Choose two containers to open.
>"AMMO SURPLUS". (Contains 15 RIFLE AMMO, 3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, 6 PISTOL AMMO, 3 REVOLVER AMMO, and random 5d100 selection of specialty ammo types.)
>"MEDICAL SUPPLIES" (What it says on the tin. Contains 2 TRAUMA KITS, 4 GAUZE ROLLS, and a random 5d100 roll of stat boosting drugs or healing supplies.)
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)
>"TOO RISKY FOR RESEARCH." (Contains a variety of weird, anomalous shit that was deemed too risky for normal people to use. May contain WEAPONS, ARMOR, DRUGS, AMMO, or anything in between. Random 6d100 to see what you get.)

While you'll check on the SECURITY SYSTEM, you might as well talk to the magical girl. What do you ask her? Pick four. Due to you beating the spook, you don't need to roll for anything.
>"So. I know you helped me with that magical blast thing. Mind teaching me a trick or two?" Might as well try to get some tips from an anomaly itself. Especially one who does MAGICK.
>"Apparently there's some old human friends of yours down here? What do they look like? Anything I should know about them?" If you're dealing with insane humans who probably have anomaly PARADIGMs equipped, knowing how they tick would be nice.
>"I met a friend of yours upstairs. An INFORMANT of sorts. Know any sort of secrets of his? I want to make a better deal with him." Having options when dealing with what anomalies to bring back home would be nice.
>"This place was unsealed pretty recently. Did any of your friends do it? Why did it take so long?" She seems like she's sociable enough to talk to her employees. A lead would be useful.
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "Alphabet Goons, huh? You fought against a lot of them, huh? What do you know about them?" Try to see what she's willing to spill about the Companies.
>[CLOVER ALLY] Whistle Clover over once he's done being patched up. Have him talk the Magical Girl's ear off. See what happens with the two. (+0.5 RAPPORT with CLOVER. Clover may gain something more than a pleasant time from this chat.)
>"Why the hell were you attacking people over swearing? I don't think those guys deserved it for something like that..." Try to pry into why she attacked the ETFs and other humans.
>[CASEY ALLY] Whistle Casey over once she's done patching up Clover. Let her chat with her cartoon hero.(+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey. She might gain something more than a pleasant chat out of this.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
>[UNSTABLE RESOLVE] Just talk to her like a person. No need to push her too hard. She's sentient, right? Treat her as such. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT.)
>You have something else on your mind...(Write in what you want to ask her or bargain with her for.)
>>
Oh no all these options are great again. Thank you QM for making everything so appealing
>>
>>6014200
>"MEDICAL SUPPLIES" (What it says on the tin. Contains 2 TRAUMA KITS, 4 GAUZE ROLLS, and a random 5d100 roll of stat boosting drugs or healing supplies.)
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)

>"So. I know you helped me with that magical blast thing. Mind teaching me a trick or two?" Might as well try to get some tips from an anomaly itself. Especially one who does MAGICK.
>"This place was unsealed pretty recently. Did any of your friends do it? Why did it take so long?" She seems like she's sociable enough to talk to her employees. A lead would be useful.
>[CLOVER ALLY] Whistle Clover over once he's done being patched up. Have him talk the Magical Girl's ear off. See what happens with the two. (+0.5 RAPPORT with CLOVER. Clover may gain something more than a pleasant time from this chat.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
>>
>>6014181
>"AMMO SURPLUS". (Contains 15 RIFLE AMMO, 3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, 6 PISTOL AMMO, 3 REVOLVER AMMO, and random 5d100 selection of specialty ammo types.)
We're almost out of ammo for the Fedkiller
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)
Too many of our allies are squishy.

>"Apparently there's some old human friends of yours down here? What do they look like? Anything I should know about them?" If you're dealing with insane humans who probably have anomaly PARADIGMs equipped, knowing how they tick would be nice.
>[CASEY ALLY] Whistle Casey over once she's done patching up Clover. Let her chat with her cartoon hero.(+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey. She might gain something more than a pleasant chat out of this.)
>"This place was unsealed pretty recently. Did any of your friends do it? Why did it take so long?" She seems like she's sociable enough to talk to her employees. A lead would be useful.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
>>
>>6014200
>"AMMO SURPLUS". (Contains 15 RIFLE AMMO, 3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, 6 PISTOL AMMO, 3 REVOLVER AMMO, and random 5d100 selection of specialty ammo types.)
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)

>"So. I know you helped me with that magical blast thing. Mind teaching me a trick or two?" Might as well try to get some tips from an anomaly itself. Especially one who does MAGICK.
>"This place was unsealed pretty recently. Did any of your friends do it? Why did it take so long?" She seems like she's sociable enough to talk to her employees. A lead would be useful.
>[CASEY ALLY] Whistle Casey over once she's done patching up Clover. Let her chat with her cartoon hero.(+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey. She might gain something more than a pleasant chat out of this.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
>>
>>6014200
>"AMMO SURPLUS". (Contains 15 RIFLE AMMO, 3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, 6 PISTOL AMMO, 3 REVOLVER AMMO, and random 5d100 selection of specialty ammo types.)
This way we get a total of 30 rifle ammo, and this ass rifle is RARE
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)
We can invest money into medical supplies later no issue. Though anomalous or high risk loot is always nice, we will run into more later. We're low on medical supplies yeah, but we're even lower on protection. After the glowie did all that to us, we need this badly.

As for the talk
>"Apparently there's some old human friends of yours down here? What do they look like? Anything I should know about them?" If you're dealing with insane humans who probably have anomaly PARADIGMs equipped, knowing how they tick would be nice.
We need more info so we could maybe talk our way out of more fights before we encounter any. That elite agent took a lot to overcome, and I do not want a round 2 with similar strength PARADIGM-wielding anomalous crazies.
>[CLOVER ALLY] Whistle Clover over once he's done being patched up. Have him talk the Magical Girl's ear off. See what happens with the two. (+0.5 RAPPORT with CLOVER. Clover may gain something more than a pleasant time from this chat.)
>[CASEY ALLY] Whistle Casey over once she's done patching up Clover. Let her chat with her cartoon hero.(+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey. She might gain something more than a pleasant chat out of this.)
Rapport + potential upgrade for both is too good
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
A powerful ally against the glowie menace. I hope this won't come back to bite us

Learning a magic spell or similar from the magical girl, while cool, isn't really that important since Nicole has her own anomalous powers.
Informant feels straightforward. If we recover his "friend" alive he'll want to come with us anyway. Throw in one of each of the cool photos we have like 6 of each, and he'll want in even if we leave the Manager alive. He hated Admiral so much, he'll love having the photos on his minifridge
We'll find out who unsealed the place and why it took so long as we go. No need to waste an opportunity asking the magical girl here
The 2 RESTRAINT heal is nice, but we can handle being 8/10 for now. Thanks for that NOLNOL, Benjamin
>>
>>6014213
Change
>>6014220
+1
>>
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>>6014181
>>6014220

Sure I will support this.

We need to be fed killing, taking down Glowies. You must Glowie death max, Nicole. You must Gov't cocksucker death max. Your shotgun demands it, it shall become a weapon that can kill god. You must be schizo maxing. You were right about all this shit, were you not?
>>
>>6014334
The glowies are anti-government.
>>
>>6014344
The feds aren't actually feds in this. The silver agents are Old B Corp until shit happened. The don't like how the Head does things. That's pretty funny
>>
>>6014200
>"AMMO SURPLUS". (Contains 15 RIFLE AMMO, 3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, 6 PISTOL AMMO, 3 REVOLVER AMMO, and random 5d100 selection of specialty ammo types.)
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)

>"Apparently there's some old human friends of yours down here? What do they look like? Anything I should know about them?" If you're dealing with insane humans who probably have anomaly PARADIGMs equipped, knowing how they tick would be nice.
>"This place was unsealed pretty recently. Did any of your friends do it? Why did it take so long?" She seems like she's sociable enough to talk to her employees. A lead would be useful.
>[CASEY ALLY] Whistle Casey over once she's done patching up Clover. Let her chat with her cartoon hero.(+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey. She might gain something more than a pleasant chat out of this.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
>>
>>6014200
>"AMMO SURPLUS". (Contains 15 RIFLE AMMO, 3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, 6 PISTOL AMMO, 3 REVOLVER AMMO, and random 5d100 selection of specialty ammo types.)
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)

Lol, lmao. Speak of the devil and he hands you an M4.

>"So. I know you helped me with that magical blast thing. Mind teaching me a trick or two?" Might as well try to get some tips from an anomaly itself. Especially one who does MAGICK.
>[CASEY ALLY] Whistle Casey over once she's done patching up Clover. Let her chat with her cartoon hero.(+0.5 RAPPORT with Casey. She might gain something more than a pleasant chat out of this.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
>>
>>6014564
You're missing one option, anon. You gotta pick 4
>>
>>6014564
>[CLOVER ALLY] Whistle Clover over once he's done being patched up. Have him talk the Magical Girl's ear off. See what happens with the two. (+0.5 RAPPORT with CLOVER. Clover may gain something more than a pleasant time from this chat.)

The fourth option I forgot.
>>
>>6014344
>>6014350

So you are saying... we need to side with them? End game Nicole is an independent Silver, maybe suped up but working on her own to take down the powers that be. Give humanity a world like TV Man has, not a dystopian shithole? Or as not dystopian at least, heh.
>>
>>6014886
Where are you getting all this? Nicole has no desire to overthrow the Head, nor did she ever have any. Her goal is getting to a point where she can "safely" have a "family", plus TOTAL GLOWIE DEATH
>>
>>6014886
I absolutely not saying that and the Silvers aren't revolutionaries anyway.
>>
>>6014200
>"AMMO SURPLUS". (Contains 15 RIFLE AMMO, 3 SHOTGUN SLUGS, 6 PISTOL AMMO, 3 REVOLVER AMMO, and random 5d100 selection of specialty ammo types.)
>"PROTECT YOUR BODY" (Contains a variety of lightweight vests, helmets, and other protective equipment. Enough to armor up all of your allies. Has a random 3d100 roll of specialty armor.)

>"So. I know you helped me with that magical blast thing. Mind teaching me a trick or two?" Might as well try to get some tips from an anomaly itself. Especially one who does MAGICK.
>"Apparently there's some old human friends of yours down here? What do they look like? Anything I should know about them?" If you're dealing with insane humans who probably have anomaly PARADIGMs equipped, knowing how they tick would be nice.
>[CLOVER ALLY] Whistle Clover over once he's done being patched up. Have him talk the Magical Girl's ear off. See what happens with the two. (+0.5 RAPPORT with CLOVER. Clover may gain something more than a pleasant time from this chat.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] You got a devious idea. "If you ever see someone with a weird mask on their face and weird static on it, blast them. They're evil." Convince her that attacking THOSE guys is a good idea.
>>
Seems like the winning options are PROTECT MY BODY + AMMO SURPLUS for the boxes, CASEY + CLOVER ALLY, PERSON OF INTEREST, and HOW TO DEAL WITH PSYCHO HUMANS

I need two anons to roll the following. Here's the tables for the items you picked

AMMO SURPLUS, roll 5d100. You'll get some for all of the gun types you have (HANDGUN, REVOLVER, SHOTGUN, RIFLE) but the higher quality ammo will naturally give less.
1-15: ARMOR PIERCING AMMO (+3d6 against armored targets or machinery.)
16-37: INCENDIARY AMMO (Deals lingering FLESH damage and negates/hampers regeneration. Deals +3d8 against PLANT or other incredibly flammable enemies.)
38-69: HOLLOWPOINT AMMO (Allows the user to reroll four of their dice when fired.)
70-88: CRYO AMMO (Permanently reduces the enemy's highest dice by 2 and, if the enemy fails a FLESH check, their max FLESH is reduced as well.)
89-95: EXPLOSIVE AMMO (When attacking, you roll an additional +2d10 (9-10 = 3 successes) and you deal extra splash damage to two random enemies.)
96-99: PROTOTYPE ANTI-ABNO ROUNDS (When attacking an anomaly or anomalous humans, deal 3 extra FLESH and RESTRAINT damage. Inflicts lingering ESOTERIC damage, reducing their max stats.)
100: ??? (MYSTERY BOX!)

ARMOR, roll 3d100.
1-20: BULLETPROOF HELMET (Negates all FLESH damage from a ranged attack once per battle.)
21-40: REINFORCED SHOULDER GUARDS (Once per mission, negates a CRIPPLING INJURY. Has a small chance of negating 1 FLESH damage.)
41-60: BARBED CUFFS (While equipped, has a high chance of dealing FLESH damage to the enemy when you're hit.)
61-80: HIGH QUALITY BODY ARMOR (+2 MAX FLESH, +1 VIOLENCE.)
81-95: CRITICAL STATE NEGATOR (A simple drug delivering mechanism worn under the sleeve. Once per mission, when an ally would reach CRITICAL STATE, heal them to full and boost MAX FLESH by 1 for the rest of mission.)
96-99: COMBAT BODYSUIT MARK ZETA (A very form fitting bodysuit that slides easily underneath clothing. +1 MAX FLESH and VIOLENCE, has a high chance of blocking attacks and reduces FLESH damage taken by 1.)
100: ??? (MYSTERY BOX!)
>>
Rolled 87, 99, 74 = 260 (3d100)

>>6015266
Rolling armor
>>
Rolled 99, 47, 94, 50, 5 = 295 (5d100)

>>6015266
Rolling Ammo
>>
>>6015271
>>6015281
RESULT:

ARMOR: CRITICAL STATE NEGATOR, COMBAT BODYSUIT MARK ZETA, HIGH QUALITY BODY ARMOR
AMMO: PROTOTYPE ANTI-ABNO ROUNDS, EXPLOSIVE AMMO, HOLLOWPOINT AMMO x2, ARMOR PIERCING AMMO.

WRITING. (Funny how you were one off from 100 in both rolling batches. At least you got some high quality stuff nonetheless.)
>>
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Welp. While more anomalous junk and healing supplies would be nice, you don't particularly need them. Making sure your allies aren't going to explode and ammo for your fedkiller? Yeah. Sounds up your ally. You pop open the two containers with your mind and the moment you do so, the other ones seal shut. Guess you're not getting those.

AMMO OBTAINED!
>RIFLE AMMO x15, SHOTGUN SLUG x3, PISTOL AMMO x6, REVOLVER BULLET x3
>ARMOR PIERCING RIFLE AMMO x9, ARMOR PIERCING SHOTGUN SLUG x4, ARMOR PIERCING PISTOL ROUNDS x6, ARMOR PIERCING REVOLVER BULLET x3.
>HOLLOWPOINT RIFLE AMMO x9, HOLLOWPOINT SHOTGUN SLUG x6, HOLLOWPOINT PISTOL AMMO x9, HOLLOWPOINT REVOLVER BULLET x6
>EXPLOSIVE RIFLE AMMO x3, EXPLOSIVE SHOTGUN SLUG x2, EXPLOSIVE PISTOL AMMO x3, EXPLOSIVE REVOLVER BULLET x2
>PROTOTYPE ANTI-ABNO RIFLE AMMO x3, PROTOTYPE ANTI-ABNO SHOTGUN SLUG x2, PROTOTYPE ANTI-ABNO PISTOL AMMO x3, PROTOTYPE ANTI-ABNO REVOLVER BULLET x2

ARMOR OBTAINED!
>LIGHTWEIGHT VEST x7 (Weakens the first CRIPPLING INJURY received per mission. Has a small chance to reduce FLESH damage from a melee attack by 1.)
>LIGHTWEIGHT HELMET + SHOULDERPADS x7 (Once per mission, blocks 1 FLESH damage from a ranged attack. Doesn't take up a slot.)
>RIOT SHIELD x3 (+2d6 to melee attack rolls. Can be used with one handed guns or light melee weapons. Blocks weak melee attacks outright. Blocks up to three FLESH damage from melee attacks before needing repairs.)
>BALLISTIC SHIELD x4 (Same as above, minus a melee attack roll boost, but for ranged attacks.)
>CRITICAL STATE NEGATOR
>COMBAT BODYSUIT MARK ZETA
>HIGH QUALITY BODY ARMOR

Hot damn. P-Company facilities could afford a lot of stuff, huh? You're probably not getting more rifle ammo unless you cash in your X-Corp favors.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Benefit of being the most profitable power producing company for over 70 years. Milking energy out of anomalies, while risky, is VERY profitable.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You recall hearing that 55% of ALL power produced in the City is from A-Energy derived sources.

You hold up one of the helmets towards DELICIOUS GIRL R. She seems to get the hint and blasts two holes in it so you can put it on with your stupid antlers on. You promptly do so. It's a snug fit but it'll do. You approach the SECURITY PANEL to see if you can access it or not. Seems like it needs a code...

[CONTACTED WILTSHIRE] But you already know it. You input 4-20-281 and lo and behold, it unlocks immediately.

Seems like decades of little to no maintenance has done a number on the systems since most of the screen is filled with brightly colored static. It's blaring a noise that sounds like a motor engine being violently assaulted by an enraged monkey. DELICIOUS GIRL R's face scrunches up like she ate a rotten lemon. Best to do something before she had a tard fit and blows a hole in you.

[UNSTABLE] You violently smack it with the blunt end of your rifle.

The buzzing stops and the static clears up. That worked?
>>
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You're left with a very damaged but functional UI system to look through. "ACTIVATION LOGS", "A-ENERGY QUOTA", "CONTAINMENT CELL STATUS", and "COMMUNICATION LOGS'.

Hm. You click the QUOTA...
"SHIFT 100/???: 252875/1000 A-ENERGY PRODUCED. PLEASE REFINE."

Assuming a shift is one day, that's 100 days before shit hit the fan. 252k A-ENERGY, huh? You suppose with thirty some anomalies in the facilities down here, producing energy for 60 plus years, that's to be expected. COMMUNICATION LOGs, then.

[2 WEEKS AGO]
THEMANAGR: SCK OF BREATHING THIS FOUL, CONTIMATEDMT ALRIR.
THEMANAGR: I WNAT OUT I WNAT OUT I DONTCARE ABOTU THE WAR ANYMORE I WANI OUT.
HEADOFSEC: TOO DANGEROUS TOO DANGEROUS WE NEED MORE SUPPLIES TO FIGHT G AND M AND R AND Z AND L-CORP CANT LEAVE
HEADOFWELFAR: WE NEED EMPLOYES TO WURK ON ANOMLIES WE NEEED EMPLOYES CANT LEAVE
HEADOFRESERCH: WE NEED TO STUDY WE CAN BREAK THE CODE OF WHAT THEY REPRESENT WE CAN REACT ENLIGHTMENT CANT LEAVE
THEMANAGR: OVERRULEOVERRULEOVERRULEOVERULEOVERRULEOVERRULE
HEADOTRAINIG: KILL YOU KILL YOU KILL YOU KILL YOU!!!!! NO LEAVE
HAEDOFACCOUNTI: MONEY WE NEED MONEY REFINE REFINE NEED EMPLOYEE WHERE EMPLYEE REFINE REFINE. NO LEAVE
HEADOFEXTRACTION: We're not leaving, Manager. Not now. Not ever.
THeMAAGR:OVERRLULERURULELELELE

The quality of what's saved and the actual typing of the people communicating in the chat log quickly degrades from there but from what little you can gleam, it's...pitiful, to say the very least. Squirming around in their own filth like that despite the war being over for over half a century now.

"Uh, magical girl...look, I'll call you Kitsu or something."
"That's actually the name they called me here! How did you know?"
"Huh?" Weird. Guess you subconsciously knew it somehow.

"Apparently there's some old human friends of yours down here? What do they look like? Anything I should know about them? They don't seem particularly, uh, there anymore."

"Hm? They seem perfectly fine to me! Though I really only see one of this side of the facility! A lot of my other friends vanished so, so long ago...and the ones who were left got really old looking and stopped moving eventually~! I dunno why, it's only been a few years~?" Kitsu tilts her head.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You doubt she even understand a lot of what's going on. Read between the lines.

"Well, there's Mr. Angry. He has a lot of blasters like your group had! He wears this paper-like armor that apparently makes him really fast and stuff! Super cool! He's super paranoid and talks about the surface a lot! I think he needs someone who fought like him!" Security Head, you assume. Naomi's the best one there.

"There's Ms. Smart! She liked talking to me a LOT and she keeps coming over here to talk to all of my friends! I wish she would clean herself, though! All she wears is a really dirty labcoat on! Indecent, I say! She keeps blabbering about learning knowledge and junk. I wish I was smart enough to help her!"
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"Mr. Safety doesn't like talking to people. He has this thick, buggy armor on with a lot of gross arms on it. Keeps talking about how he's nothing but a worthless bug? But he's a human. It doesn't make sense." INFORMANT's PARADIGM, maybe? Maybe Quentin can relate with the Welfare Head.

"Ms. Teacher...I don't like Ms. Teacher. She keep screaming at us and saying how much we hurt people. How she hates us. How she only uses this big, BIG wand I gave her to protect herself. I don't remember hurting anyone! Lest you count evil super villains~!" Seems like Wendy has a friend when it comes to her worldview. You can probably win her easily with some old Admiral pictures.

"Mr. Money...Mr. Money only liked to talk to my bug friend upstairs. He only cared about 'money' and 'prestige' and junk. Feh! How selfish!!!" Welp! Bribery! Simple enough.

"Ms. Extract? She stays in her own room down, down, down at the bottom! Where all the really nasty villains are at. I don't think she likes leaving her room too much. Something about 'not wanting to bother anymore'?" Might be the easiest to deal with and win over considering how cognizant she is. The issue is getting down there.

"Mr. Manager? He stayed locked up in his room all day! I don't really know much about him besides he wants to 'leave'? I'm not sure how, though!" Seems like you got a solid idea of who's been opening the tunnels. Yet is he even aware of how risky it is to unseal a facility filled to the brim with anomalies? "That's all!"

[PERSON OF INTEREST] "Thank you, Kitsu. If you see anyone like that man in a silver suit with a blurry face, blast him with your sugar beam or whatever. They're evildoers who eat children, stomp on puppets, and charge people taxes. Which is stealing."

DELICIOUS GIRL R's eyes sparkle so god damn bright, you're pretty sure orange light is pouring out of them. She's nodding her head up and down like a bobblehead. That was easy. You scan through more of the SECURITY SYSTEM panel...

"UNSEALING PRODECURE: 2 WEEKS AGO. WARNING: OVERLOAD OF A-ENERGY HAS HAMPERED UNSEALING PROCESS. FULL UNSEAL WILL OCCUR IN 16 HOURS. DUE TO OVERLOAD AND FORCED OVERWRITING OF SYSTEM SECURITY, ALL SYSTEMS WILL SHUT DOWN UPON UNSEALING, INCLUDING CONTAINMENT CELLS."
"UNSEALING PRODECURE FORCED BY: THEMANAGR. CAN ONLY BE STOPPED BY VETO OF 3/6 HEADS THROUGH FACILITY SEVEN COMPUTER."

You blink your eyes a few times upon reading that. A full breach of 39 anomalies. Holy hell, does the Manager even realize what he's doing or has his brain been so blasted, he's willing to throw nearly 40 fucking anomalies onto the surface just to get out? Checking the cell statuses...

"FACILITY 3 CELLS: I, J, K, L. I AND J BREACHED, K BEING RECONTAINED, L IN CONTAINMENT."
"FACILITY 4 CELLS: M, N, O, P, Q, R. M AND N ARE BREACHED. REST ARE CONTAINED."
"FACILITY 5 CELLS: S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, GG, BB, LL, PP. ALL BREACHED."
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"FACILITY 6 CELLS: ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, DELTA, EPSILON, ZETA. ALL CONTAINED."
"FACILITY 7: KETER, WAW, OMEGA. OMEGA BREACHED, WAW CONTAINTED, KETER ???."

Any other function of this panel is too corrupted for you to make use of. At least you know to avoid Floor/Facility 5. You whistle over Clover and Casey while you exit the armory to check up your other allies.

Clover hobbles down the hallway with the help of Casey. You can briefly glimpse the thick layer of gauze on his chest underneath his poncho. Weird, should've been blocked by the Sunstone. Guess it doesn't work if you actively throw yourself into eating an attack for someone?

"Hey. Sorry for being a jackass with that stunt. Wanted to be cool, ya know, for the ladies and uh...to prove that guy wrong, yeah?" Clover nervously chuckles when he spots you. "Casey couldn't take that hit. I knew it. Had to do something."
Casey huffs but doesn't bother commenting on what he said.

"...You matter too." That's all you say before you leave the two to have fun with the magical girl. Time to see how your other four allies are doing. Hm. Seems like the ETF must've left in the chaos since you don't seen him anywhere. Oh well.

Kiara, Wendy, and Naomi are all standing around a fourth figure. They're trying their best to patch up the figure with bits of fragment from the various corpses scattered around the floor and from Quentin's old husk. They notice you approaching and decide to drop the bit, letting you see the new shell Quentin has acquired.

It's not pretty. Not at all. Ignoring the damage you already did to it, you notice massive openings all across his body that were quickly stitched together from what you can only presume is them removing all of the killswitches. The left side of the spook's skull and his neck are wrapped up in makeshift bandaging from pieces of random cloth. A really shitty stitch job to the ETF uniform the spook was wearing was made try hiding away the face his lungs and ribs are exposed.

Another makeshift bandage is wrapped around his knee and his mangled hands. There's no easy way to say it, this thing blatantly should not be moving like it is. Yet it waves at you.

"HEyY. Sorry if it's not TOO convincing." Quentin rubs at the torn throat of his shell. "We did a number TO IT. HAD TO REMOVE a LOT of plastic junk in it." Huh. His voice sounds more natural. Maybe it's due to the freshness of the shell? "How do I look, though?"

[SYNCHRONIZED MINDSETS] "Like dogshit, Quentin. Like dogshit." You and Wendy mutter at the same time. She holds her hand out and you quickly toss her a ICY BLOOD VIAL. She quickly moves to apply it to Quentin's new shell.
>-1 ICY BLOOD VIAL! Quentin's shell will take way longer to decay!

"Fair." Quentin's one visible eye is already starting to gloss over but right as the vial is injected into him, it clears up a bit. "FEELS GOOD. THANK you." You take a moment to scan over how well the shell is boosting his stats...
>>
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>QUENTIN has ELITE SPOOK SHELL! (+2 FLESH, +1 to ALL OTHER STATS. Once per mission, may use leftover fluids in body to add +3d8 to an attack roll or skill check.)

Kiara seems to catch on to how stunned you are at the power boost the shell is giving Quentin. She crosses her arm with a smirk. "We had to tinker with a LOT of the broken implants in there but it's enough to give this filt- this ally of ours a power boost."

"I HEARD THat YOU KNOW." "Sorry. Bad habit."

"It's like a god damn maze of metal and circuity in there. Could've fooled me it was one of those android types instead." Wendy moves over to Quentin's old shell and casually stares to beat on it with her metal pipe while she still talks to you. "Lotta cybernetics from E-Corp and blood replacements from Z-Corp. All of the stuff in there costs 100k by itself. Must've been a really important guy. Shame he's nothing but a meat lump now."

[SILVER INSTINCTS] "A lot of it was old tech that I still recognized. I don't think it's because of budgetary reasons. They're getting sloppy. Cocky. We managed to kill them despite the fact only four or five of us could be remotely considered skilled combatants."
[SILVER INSTINCTS] "Back in my day? I could've killed everyone in this room five times over with this equipment." Naomi says with way too much nostalgia in her words. "Ah. Good old days."

"Oh, yeah! That weird chip you got out of his neck? We reprogrammed it. EMP fried it and the telekinesis and bullets and lack of fluid doesn't help but it should be enough to be useful!" She holds up the implant. "You managed to get it mostly intact so...up to you who gets it."

>REPROGRAMMED EVIGT IMPLANT OBTAINED! (Each turn in combat, heals 1 FLESH or RESTRAINT, whichever is lowest. Occasionally regenerates CRIPPLING INJURIES outside of combat.)

"We also found some junk on his corpse. Quentin, show her the goods." Kiara nods towards your bug friend.

SILVER LOOT OBTAINED!
>SERVICE PISTOL (Can't be an agent without it. ATTACK ROLL: TALENT+3. You may reroll two dice every time you fire this weapon. Has no ammo left in its mag.)
>SILVER AMMO x4 (Usable on any gun. Heals 1 FLESH or RESTRAINT when fired, whichever is lowest.)
>'HÄLSA' BLOOD REPLACEMENT VIAL x3. (A bright blue vial that glows in the dark. Enables powerful but short-lived FLESH + RESTRAINT regeneration. When used on a EVIGT IMPLANT user, the duration is extended greatly.)
>'속도' BLOOD REPLACEMENT VIAL x3 (A bright blue vial that glows in the dark. Temporarily boosts all stats by 2 on use. When used on a EVIGT IMPLANT user, the duration is extended greatly.)
>ELITE SILVER WALKIE TALKIE (Crackles with voices you can't quite recognize and some that you do. Same as your normal walkie talkie but has access to some secret channels.)
>CYANIDE PILL x2 (Deals massive FLESH damage and nukes various stats when consumed.)
>SPOOK SHADES (+1 COGNIZANCE AND TALENT. Twice per mission, when making a STEALTH or COGNIZANCE check, you may reroll all dice.)
>>
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Before you can give your command on what to do with the implant, you spot Casey and Clover (with the magical girl trailing behind) approaching your group with wild sparkles in their eyes. They're vibrating with such intensity, you fear they could rip space itself apart if they go any faster.

"THEN SHE SAID THAT SHE ONCE BLASTED A BAD GUY WITH NOTHING BUT HER FINGER AND I WAS LIKE WOWWIE HOW DID YA MANAGE THAT-"
"I KNOW RIGHT AND THEN THAT'S WHEN SHE USED HER SUPER DUPER SUGAR BEAM ZETA TO OBLITERATE VEGATOID MAN-"
"I NORMALLY DON'T HATE THEM GREEN THINGS BUT WOW. LASSIE HAS A WAY WITH WORDS-"
"I KNOW RIGHT AND THEN THAT'S WHEN SHE FOUND YUMMY WOMAN Z, THE MOST POWERFUL SWEET GIRL IN THIS MULTIMEDIA FRANCHISE-"
"SHE WAS A BIT OLD FOR MY TASTES BUT YA KNOW, AGING IS HOW WE GOT GOOD WHISKEY, MISSY-"

"are those two okay." Naomi croaks out like the confused grandma she is.
"I regret telling them to do this." "Haha. No." "NO." "Hell fucking no." The rest of your group, including you, can only watch on with pity and worry.

"Wowwie! I didn't know you liked my stories that much! What's a media franchise?" DELICIOUS GIRL R looks over at your group with a cheerful yet blank smile. "Well! I'm tired! You seven have fun! I give these two my blessings!" She bonks them on the head with her fist before she heads back to her containment cell.

"HEY NICOLE THANKS FOR LETTING ME TALK TO HER."
"YEAH THAT LASS WASN'T HALF BAD I UNDERSTAND WHY CASEY LIKES HER MANGOS OR ANIMUS OR WHATEVER." The two blabber on like sugar high children.

>+0.5 RAPPORT with CASEY and CLOVER!
>+SUGAR RUSH to both of them! (+???. You'll need some time to see what develops of this.)

You'll give your allies some ammo, armor, and supplies later once you decide how to proceed from here. No need to slow down and mull over every single choice on who gets what, after all. You do a quick scan of your allies' conditions, though.

>CLOVER: 3/4 FLESH, RESTRAINT THE SAME. CONSUMED ONE GAUZE ROLL FROM CASEY.
>KIARA: 4/5 FLESH, 5/5 RESTRAINT. CONSUMED A BUSTED Y-CORP TELEPORTER TO GAIN +1 MAX FLESH AND HEAL RESTRAINT.
>WENDY: 2/2 FLESH, 5/5 RESTRAINT THANKS TO FULFILLING HER BLOODLUST. CONSUMED ONE GAUZE ROLL FROM CASEY.
>QUENTIN: 4/4 FLESH, 4/5 RESTRAINT DUE TO NEW SHELL.
>ALL OTHER STATS HAVEN'T BEEN AFFECTED.

Now. Who do you want to give the implant to? Kiara isn't an option because she's a robot. It's a biological implant.
>YOURSELF, of course. To fight the spook, you must use their own weapons.
>NAOMI. Let her have a taste of her former glory. (+1 RAPPORT with NAOMI.)
>CLOVER. He's your closest thing to a frontline fighter, he'll be getting hit a lot. He'll need it the most.
>CASEY. It's just funny to imagine her having it.
>QUENTIN. Might actually extend the lifespan of his new shell and sells his spook illusion a bit more.
>WENDY. If Wendy is going to be throwing herself into melee brawls, it's best that she can heal it off.
>Keep it for later. Who says you need to install it right now?
>>
And how do you wish to proceed from here?
>You need to confront the MANAGER. Head to the third floor and make a beeline towards his office.
>You want to go to the third floor but mostly to check up on the status of everything. Maybe you can find some survivors to try to team up with?
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] The REFINEMENT MACHINE is the reason the spooks are even here, yeah? Check up on it. See what the hubba is. Kill a spook if you're lucky.
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You know that there's a hatch leading further down into the facilities below on the third floor. You need to get to Facility 7 ASAP. That and it gives you an excuse to EXPLORE MORE.
>16 hours? You have enough time to take a detour through that secondary entrance or backup tunnel you saw on WHISPERS OF THE CITY. Maybe even catch a spook trying to sneak through it off guard.
>It might be wise to try tracking down one of the HEADs. Start scouting throughout the three floors you have access to try finding one.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If nothing else, check up on the RESEARCH STATION on the floor you're on before leaving. Who knows. Maybe that crazy half-naked HEAD RESEARCHER is hiding there.
>Write in.

Sorry for delay. Had to write a lot. Will update pastebins later once I automatically assign some junk to your allies next update since let's be honest, it's easier for everyone involved.
Only made an exception for the implant since it's very unlikely you'll get another one. So that vote is actually important.
>>
>>6015589
>YOURSELF, of course. To fight the spook, you must use their own weapons.
This guarantees it will help us every mission.

>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If nothing else, check up on the RESEARCH STATION on the floor you're on before leaving. Who knows. Maybe that crazy half-naked HEAD RESEARCHER is hiding threre.
>>
>>6015591
>YOURSELF, of course. To fight the spook, you must use their own weapons.
To the victor goes the spoils!

>You need to confront the MANAGER. Head to the third floor and make a beeline towards his office.
We gotta figure out what the hell is going on here. We still know next to nothing about what’s happening around us.
>>
>>6015591
>>6015581
>YOURSELF, of course. To fight the spook, you must use their own weapons.
1 RESTRAINT heal per turn? That cancels out the 1 RESTRAINT cost of powers.
We can do more.
[UNSTABLE] WE CAN *BE* MORE.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If nothing else, check up on the RESEARCH STATION on the floor you're on before leaving. Who knows. Maybe that crazy half-naked HEAD RESEARCHER is hiding there.
It's literally right here and I don't want to come back up to this floor or facility again

What abnos are even on this floor?
>MUSHROOM DREAMS. B0.
"Use when you need to take a break." But we're still early in the mission. No need to rush right now, but no need to waste time either. Pass.
>DELICIOUS GIRL R! ??.
Already done talking with her, plus she's tired. Pass.
>DOG. X0. ESOTERIC.
I don't want to WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? on this place, nor get anywhere near Esoteric damage. Hard pass.
>KNIGHT OF PEN AND PAPER. C4.
The facility map we got says "PLEASE, DON'T BOTHER HIM TOO MUCH." He might like Casey because both come from the same other QM's quest setting, but nah. He's contained and relaxing. I want to leave him be. Pass.

Let's just check the research station then plan our next move
>>
>>6015589
>>NAOMI. Let her have a taste of her former glory. (+1 RAPPORT with NAOMI.)
Thats an entire +1 rapport, on an ally we use fairly often and would benefit from it.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If nothing else, check up on the RESEARCH STATION on the floor you're on before leaving. Who knows. Maybe that crazy half-naked HEAD RESEARCHER is hiding there.
Like other anon said, lets just hit the place up while we are here.
>>
>>6015708
>[LINGERING SCARS] The scars covering her body and her old age impacts her ability to recover. Naomi heals 1 less FLESH from all methods of healing and has a higher chance of receiving CRIPPLING INJURIES (which require specialized healing items).
Does that include the implant? If it does, fuck that.

Also, 2 things occurred to me:
One. Where is that ETF that was here with the disguised elite? Where'd he go?
Two. We need to decapitate the agent so we can pass the head to INFORMER. Should be quick enough to be FREE ACTION if floor 1 is still safe
>>
>>6015715
>the ETF must've left in the chaos
NEVERMIND I DID NOT READ
>>
>>6015715
Dude, Quentin is using the agent’s body right now.

We can scoop his brains out later, once our big boy is done with him.
>>
>>6015771
>Quentin is using the agent’s body right now
You are right, I am retarded. I'm not sorry for it
>later
Yeah. I want him to experience the power high of the elite agent body for as long as he safely can
>>
>>6015589
>YOURSELF, of course. To fight the spook, you must use their own weapons.

>>6015591
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If nothing else, check up on the RESEARCH STATION on the floor you're on before leaving. Who knows. Maybe that crazy half-naked HEAD RESEARCHER is hiding there.
>>
>>6015591
>YOURSELF, of course. To fight the spook, you must use their own weapons.

>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If nothing else, check up on the RESEARCH STATION on the floor you're on before leaving. Who knows. Maybe that crazy half-naked HEAD RESEARCHER is hiding there.
>>
>>6015589
>YOURSELF, of course. To fight the spook, you must use their own weapons.

>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] If nothing else, check up on the RESEARCH STATION on the floor you're on before leaving. Who knows. Maybe that crazy half-naked HEAD RESEARCHER is hiding there
>>
>>6015576
>seal shut
If Manager is alive and he can "confirm", then these can be opened again. Foor for thought later
>ammo
WEW
It'll help to know in our current party, the only revolver users (Is Wendy's HANDCANNON one? Unclear!) are Nicole and Clover. The only pistol users are Nicole, Naomi, and Kiara - and whoever gets the dead elite's gun. Casey needs none because her dog gun is infinite ammo. Quentin?
>armor
HQ body armor goes to whoever needs the +2 FLESH and +1 VIOLENCE. Naomi still has her medium quality body armor with 1 charge left, so not really a need to swap it yet. I'd say Wendy
Crit state negator is much more valuable, so I say we save handing it out unless we're right before a massive threat. Maybe keep for base assault?
Zeta bodysuit for Nicole? The prosthetic one she has on has a +2d8 but ONLY for melee/unarmed. Who do we have that uses melee/unarmed the most? We still have the mental damage PARADIGM knife for if we need RESTRAINT damage with Nicole without shottie ammo spent.
Any thoughts guys?
>not getting more rifle ammo
Saving this beauty for a rainy day with lots of grouped bastards
>over 70 years
>55% of ALL power
I wonder if they'll have a bigger incentive to hate the glowies? Especially if they are the ones who sabotaged P Corp lately. We never took the facility guest mission once
>stupid antlers
I disagree. Also headwear will be a worse pain once her antlers grow more
>4-20-281
I fucking kneel >>6001458
>a noise
Very nice descriptions as always QM

>>6015577
>252875
How much C Extract is that? If that all does get refined then this place is a GOLDMINE. We can't let the glowies have this!
>Kitsu
Cute
>Angry
He doesn't know Antiseptic War is long over. He has the KNIGHT OF PEN AND PAPER armor on
>Smart
She'll love Nicole being almost an anomaly then. No PARADIGM on?
>keeps coming over here
The research station next door?
>>
>>6015578
>Safety
He's INFORMANT's buddy, armor and all. We need him alive to help bargain with INFORMANT
>Teacher
Sounds like a bitch. Has DELICIOUS GIRL weapon
>Money
Or is this INFORMANT's buddy?
>Extract
The only sane person left
>man in a silver suit
I hope she gets to kill at least one of the 6 down here, or the 2 on the surface if they wander in
>2 WEEKS AGO
WE HAD THE BOAT THEN OTHER MISSIONS AFTER
WE WERE TOO BUSY TO TAKE THE TUNNELS ON, FAGGOT
>16 HOURS
We have plenty of time to go for the Heads and Manager
>ALL SYSTEMS WILL SHUT DOWN
If the unseal happens, all the 60 years of A-Energy will VANISH. That's BAD FOR EVERYONE
>VETO OF 3/6 HEADS THROUGH FACILITY SEVEN
We need at least 2 Heads with us and then win over Extraction lady, then rush the computer to veto on same floor. That's one crucial wincon. We also need to stop glowies from getting to the REFINEMENT machine, as well as secure at least one anomaly on our way out. This is such a clusterfuck I wonder if calling the Handler in might be worth it later?

Wait a sec, 16 hours. So we'll lose a bit morr than a day down here, and that's one mission less before the Head meeting. We have only 4 RATIONS to eat by the time we're out of here, and only 7 people. One is a robot and one is a centipede, so they're out leaving 5 people. Does Quentin need to eat? We might need a way to get edibles in this place. They have to have some way to live for 60 years sealed up. If we have to we can simply get anomaly meat and start a fire and have a barbeque right here in the sealed monster building. Easy +1 RAPPORT to everyone, right?

>>6015580
>I AND J BREACHED, K BEING RECONTAINED
We need to go there anyway because Floor 3 has the secret passages and Manager office
>M AND N ARE BREACHED.
Floor 4 seems OK. Just go in and locate the Head there, maybe beat up an anomaly to sate Wendy's bloodlust
>ALL BREACHED
Floor 5 is hard pass, sorry Wendy. Maybe if we STEALTHMAX our way through 12 anomalies?

>>6015580
>ALL CONTAINED
Floor 6 is also free. Go in, get the Head, get out
>OMEGA BREACHED
>KETER ???
One of them is our final boss between us and the unseal veto computer
>blocked by the Sunstone
A nice in-character way for you to account for having forgot he had that
>stunt
He's right, it was a cool moment
>ETF must've left
I wonder what he'll do now that he knows glowies kill/replaced other ETFs here? I hope he can return as a surprise guest ally
>stitch job
Wonder who did that?
>new shell
What a trophy
>>
>>6015581
>power boost
He's at 6 TALENT with Naomi boon and that shell. If we give him the SERVICE PISTOL for the time being, it'd be insane if the muscle memory is retained for it. A real smart power move combined with his flight. He can't dualwield ranged, so the FLINTLOCK isn't needed for now
Speaking of the SERVICE PISTOL, Kiara is way better at using it than Naomi is- but there's no fucking way I want to minmax that with how Naomi deserves the glowie gun
>beat on it
Sorry we passed TWO anomalies without you beating any up
>100k
So much for all that investment
>sloppy. Cocky
Prime for rug-pulling
>too much nostalgia
Remember why you left. Remember why they're your enemy now.
>EVIGT
Danish for FOREVER. Fitting

Hey QM does this implant healing bypass Naomi's LINGERING SCARS?

>SERVICE PISTOL
Give it to Quentin plus some pistol ammos
>SILVER AMMO x4
Should we give one of each to our allies with guns (except Casey)? We have 7 total now
>HÄLSA
Health in Swedish
>속도
Speed in KR
>ELITE SILVER WALKIE TALKIE
This might be too much for Naomi. Maybe keep it and pass the normal one to Handler? Or save both for base assault? It'd be incredible for team coordination and intel during the raid, combined with the EARPIECES Ben and Alexis still have
>CYANIDE
Do we have 2 or 3 total QM? We spend all 3 we had from the first agent on Admiral, right?
>SPOOK SHADES
I have no idea who should even get these. Any ideas guys?
>>
>>6015589
>confused grandma
Awww
>bonks
If Final Flash of Existence is in a containment cell, does that count as him being in horny jail?
>THEM GREEN THINGS
One of the previous SOULs was a chef
>OLD FOR MY TASTES
Even in his game he's no MILF hunter

>What's a media franchise?
It's when you make your latest canon game a gacha because you need money and fame, but it causes people to not play your first game about facility management

Oh I'm sorry...

It's when you start running a cool quest about a girl being a not!Fixer in a derivative setting...
Because you burned out on your previous quest...
Because you couldn't handle the reality of extreme micromanagement and plate-spinning of facility management, outside of a video game and real life, when applied to running it as a text-based multiplayer CYOA game on a far east organ grinder registry...
Because that other guy you know also burned out on his own facility management quest and subsequently could not get any quest past a first thread to save his fucking life (until MOTH AGENT 2 proved that wrong)...
Because that one guy before that other guy ran a facility management quest 5 years ago that died 2 threads in...
Because all this began with one Korean autist in college getting too inspired by the shitty country he lives in and online spooky shit...
Because SCP Foundation was started by random retards over on >>>/x/ so long ago.
And it all comes full fucking circle in the end...
Wait what?

>+SUGAR RUSH
Clover had too many sweets
Casey on honey overdose
>conditions
Pretty good outcome nonetheless. We should keep an eye on Clover and Wendy's FLESH. Kiara will repair herself gradually as we go. Quentins A-OK. Naomi and Casey are unscathed.
>>
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>>6016490
>>6016492
>Hey QM does this implant healing bypass Naomi's LINGERING SCARS?
It would. It is a high quality implant. But there's such a vast majority that picked NICOLE, and I doubt anyone's going to change their vote last minute with this info, so we'll stick to the funny deer getting jabbed with it. Lest you want to hunt down another spooky scary federal agent.
Don't worry too much about it. She had time to find some scraps.
>How many CYANIDE?
You got 3 off the first spook, 3 off the boatboys, slipped 5 into the Admiral's drink drink, then got another two here. So in total, three.

Anywho, for what to do...

IMPLANT WHO?
ME ME: WdP, Bo6, Buw, IAh, Jp3, Jd3
NAOMI: fUK

WHERE TO?
LAB: WdP, fUK, Buw, IAh, Jp3, Jd3
MANAJUH: Bo6

Seems pretty set where we're going and what we're doing with that hunk of plastic metal. Should be an easy update to write once the existential dread necessary to write kicks in. also I just realized this thread somehow hit 800+ posts. huh. guess this is what posting consistently on a chinese soup rating forum does for a man.

Writing.
>>
>>6016502
>It would
Got it. Next glowie we kill, their implant goes to Naomi. I would have voted Naomi if I knew it did bypass her bane, but that's no problem. As long as she does still get +1 RAPPORT if we do that next time, I will be content
>hunt down another
Why bother? There's 6 of them further in this place
>3 off the boatboys
OHHHHHHHHHH I FORGOT ABOUT THOSE ONES
No wonder the counts felt off to me all the time. Nevermind my issues then, it's all good
>800+ posts
You have made it as a QM

Also, can you address the question of Wendy's HANDCANNON? As well as this one
>If Final Flash of Existence is in a containment cell, does that count as him being in horny jail?
And would the tunnels mission still have had this sort of 16 hour time limit had we taken it earlier, as the narration seems to imply? Or is that just a writing QM fiat? I'm fine either way, and I love the idea of untaken mission options resolving themselves offscreen by other people somehow.
>>
>>6016542
>HANDCANNON
Revolver. Like one of those guns that use comically overkill .500 S&W in real life. She hasn't used it yet because for now, a metal pipe to the dome is good enough
>TIME LIMIT QUESTION?
Probably wouldn't even have a time limit worth caring about if you took it way earlier.
>HORNY JAIL
No comment.
>>
>>6016551
>Revolver
OK cool so we have 3 revolver users total
>no time limit
FUCK
I miss when we had zero time limit for once, like on the movie district mission with Gregory. Maybe we can get one again eventually, before or after the glowie base assault happens. Either way this one right now is still set up to be quite intense. Let's see how things work out
>No comment
:^)
>>
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"I want to use it on mysel-"

A sharp, stinging pain erupts across your throat the moment you said that. Your hand instinctually covers the gaping gash across your neck now. You're already starting to black out. W-what the? Your eyes shift over to your attacker, Naomi. Blood dribbles off of the tip of her pocket knife.

Your other allies have all raised their guns at her but she simply raises her hand dismissively and grabs onto your implant. She lowers your hand away from your neck and shoves the implant directly into the gaping gash. Almost immediately...

The gash across your neck closes shut. What the fuck? You quickly pat at the now healed over flesh on your throat. There's not even a scar there.
>EVIGT IMPLANT INSTALLED IN YOU!
>ALL CHARGES ON IMPLANTS RECHARGED!

[SILVER INSTINCTS] "Quickest way to get it in there. Proper surgery would take too long. I don't know if we're on a time limit but the less downtime we have, the better." Naomi flicks reddish-pink blood off her knife as if what she did was completely normal. "Besides. It has a tiny surplus of fluid to heal surgical incisions."

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT ABOUT???" Kiara holsters her gun up. "You could've warned us or, hell, TELL HER YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT???"

"Again, it was-"

"Miss, I know that worked out and all that, but ya can't just do that. Especially after we fought one of ya former associates or whatever!" Clover stomps right up to Naomi and jabs a finger right into Naomi's chest. "I ain't smart. I had to get business advice from her." Wow, fucking thanks. "But even I would realize 'hey maybe I shouldn't cut people up out of the blue after a tense shootdown'."

Naomi narrows her one visible eye before letting out a short, frustrated sigh. "I apologize. I suppose it's a bad habit from my old days when I had to install these into hesitant recruits. I promise not to do it again. Or at the very least, I'll ask you beforehand."

"It was kinda hot, actually." Wendy shrugs. "I see no issue in it."
"...As worriSOME as IT WAS, I underSTAND her reasonING." Quentin rubs at the massively sore spot on his shell's neck. "HOWEVER. Please DO NOT make others think you are going to KILL my friend. Please."

"It's. It's fine, guys." You hack and wheeze, still trying to process how your throat healed like that. "I've had worse shit happen on missions. It fixed itself. Let's just forget about it."

Your allies are clearly hesitant to let this go but most of them bend to your will, letting the issue go for now. Ultimately, nothing really bad happened. While absolutely a bad move from Naomi, you weren't really hurt at all. So. That's that, this is this?

You decide to change the subject by figuring out how to deal with loot. You start by handing out the armor first by giving everyone the lightweight shoulder pads and helmets, followed with Wendy getting a RIOT SHIELD (since she fights with a pipe) while Naomi, Casey, and Clover get BALLISTIC SHIELDS.
>>
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You keep the other shields for later. Quentin doesn't NEED too much armor and Kiara is already bulky as is. As for the HQ Body Armor? Wendy gets it. You toss it over to her and she promptly puts it on. You also toss a LIGHTWEIGHT VEST over to Casey since she's now the only one without armor or any other special protective quality.

You're not bold enough to strip down naked to put on the ZETA BODYSUIT since it's a bodysuit, you wear it underneath your clothes and you gotta remove your other bodysuit to equip it.

[UNSTABLE] I MEAN. I WOULDN'T MIND-
[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] Pitiful. I'm normally content to stay silent but please, control yourself.

What the hell? That voice is new.

You'll upgrade later, then, or whenever you have privacy. Maybe give the old one to Benedict, Adam, Ashley, Lex, or Maruyama? They use melee and they'll benefit from it the most.

You toss over some ammo for all of your allies. Mainly enough to rearm them after the fight, alongside one SILVER AMMO for your group and two hollowpoint revolver rounds for Clover. He's the best user for them.

>-4 REVOLVER BULLETS, -2 HOLLOWPOINT REVOLVER BULLETS, -11 PISTOL AMMO, -5 SILVER AMMO.
>7 NORMAL AND 4 HOLLOWPOINT REVOLVER BULLETS, 6 PISTOL ROUNDS, AND TWO SILVER AMMO LEFT!
>+2 REVOLVER BULLETS TO CLOVER AND WENDY, +2 HOLLOWPOINT REVOLVER BULLETS TO CLOVER, +6 PISTOL AMMO TO QUENTIN, +3 PISTOL AMMO TO KIARA, +2 PISTOL AMMO TO NAOMI, +1 SILVER AMMO TO ALL ALLIES.
>-6 LIGHTWEIGHT SHOULDERPADS + HELMETS, -HIGH QUALITY BODYARMOR, -3 BALLISTIC SHIELDS, -1 RIOT SHIELD, -1 LIGHTWEIGHT VEST
>LIGHTWEIGHT SHOULDERPAD + HELMET EQUIPPED TO SELF!

"Quentin, keep the service pistol. Naomi, despite you doing that stunt, you deserve this." You quickly flick over the SPOOK SHADES over to her as you collect the ELITE RADIO, the blood vials from the spook, and pills from the spook. She still uses a gun and they help to boost her TALENT. Besides, they look cool on her. Naomi looks down at the shades with a glint of nostalgia in her visible eye.

<"I may not be one anymore. But damnit, I'm not letting my skills go to waste yet. Not yet."> She quickly puts the shades on with a small smirk.
>+0.5 RAPPORT to NAOMI! +SPOOK SHADES to her!

Quentin glances down at the faint silver paint on his SERVICE PISTOL and, with some efforts, smirks with his new shell. "GroOVy."
>+SERVICE PISTOL to QUENTIN!

That should be enough for now. You'll trickle out more supplies over time. "Alright. So, all that aside, let's go check out the research lab whatever here. One of the HEADs we need to find is probably in there and fuck it! We're leaving here anyways."

"Ooo! Maybe I can see a PARADIGM up close and personal. There was that weird one you used to wear but new subjects to prod at? Very interesting...hehehe. Oh, if only I could drool." Kiara begins to giggle a bit too much for comfort.
Quentin and Casey shrug in unison. They don't care.
"Wise move. Leave no corner unturned." Naomi nods approvingly.
>>
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"Eugh. I'm already not a big fan of this anomaly stuff but I don't get the kind of eggheads who willingly experiment on it." Clover shivers as if he's remembering a bad personal experience. "Feels like you might turn into sludge or something."

"Feh." Wendy shrugs. She's been entertained enough by the bloodbath that just happened to not care. "It would be interesting to see how P-Corp filth experiments on the extracts here."

Onwards! You head down the other hallway, the one with cell G and H. It looks completely identical to every other fucking hallway you've been heading down, you can only describe the same scenery so much before you use the FEDKILLER on yourself.

You pass by CELL G. The cell is completely unlocked and you see only one thing sitting inside it. A small brown dog. A brown dog is a dog is a dog is a dog is a dog is a dog is a dog. Dog is dog is dog is dog is dog bark woof bark woof-

You shake your head and carry on. Seems easy enough to ignore. Your other allies let their gazes drift on the dog, even Wendy, for a bit too long for comfort but you quickly tug at their clothes with your telekinesis and that's enough to make them move forward.

CELL F's airlock is unsealed but the actual doorway has been sealed over by what appears to be loose sheet paper. As a quick test, Quentin does a quick stab towards the paper with his knife but it bounces off completely. Since you're not really in a rush to bother the anomaly, you consider this to be a passive warning and to let it be-

"THIZZZ IZZZZ OCCUPIED, OUTZZZIDERZZZZ."

OKAY YEAH LET'S NOT BOTHER THAT ONE AGAIN.

Soon, the seven of you arrive in front of the ARTIFACT RESEARCH STATION's door. It's a heavily reinforced metal airlock, much like a containment cell's door, that's clearly thick enough to block most explosives you can think of. There's a somewhat fried keypad next to it...

[CONTACTED WILTSHIRE] And you dial in the passcode. 4-12-409. Naomi pulls your group over to the side as the airlock starts its unsealing process. It takes a few minutes but soon enough, you're allowed entry. There's an odd smell in the air. A smell that someone warned you about.

Luckily, your group isn't right in front of the doorway, so it didn't trigger yet.

"Wendy, got that empty icy vial? Toss it in."

Wendy quickly does so and the moment she does, it's immediately shot down by a barrage of turret fire. The wall in front of the opened airlock is peppered with way too many bullets. Clearly meant to kill or weaken an anomaly, not a human.

"KEHEHEHEKEHEHEHEHE!!! GOT YOU GOT YOU GOT YOU GOT YOU!!!!" The raspy cackling of a woman gone made echoes throughout the abandoned hallways of the facility. The cackling immediately stops when she realizes that her trap didn't work. "FUCK! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK! FUCK, MUST'VE BEEN THAT DOG. YES, YES, THE DOG! THE DOG!!! DOG IS DOG- FUCK, NO, HEHE, DON'T THINK THAT!!!"

"she is completely out of her fucking mind." You hiss under your breath.
>>
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"maybe we can try to calm her down?" Kiara shoots her shot. "maybe if we told her that we're not anomalies, she would-"

"I CAN HEARRRRR YOU~! EH~! DON'T RECOGNIZE YOU. MUST MEAN YOU'RE NOT ANOMALIES AND SMART ENOUGH TO NOT DIE! COME IN!" The weird smell coming from the opened airlock disappears immediately.

[MILITARY EXPERIENCE] "It's not a trap. I don't sense anything else there and even if she's armed, we outnumber her seven to one and we WON'T let her pull any tricks. I say we enter."

You have to deal with her anyways. Quentin enters first while your other allies trail behind him. Let's see what you have gotten yourself into.

https://youtu.be/GqM4bvtzkow - RESEARCH LAB

What might've been a highly advanced and well taken care of lab decades ago is nothing more but a den of filth and decay now. The only parts of the lab that haven't been destroyed and hampered with in some way are the counters scattered throughout and the bright blue lights hanging ahead. Everything else is fucking destroyed. Lab equipment lays on the floor in mangled, rusted heaps. Glass shards cover every inch of the floor from what you can assume was broken beakers and other vials.

The walls and floors, which you assume were meant to be white before, are stained brown, black, and red now from all sorts of foul fluids and dried chemicals. The stench in here can only be described as fetid, moist, and musty. The smell of a room that hasn't been aired out in weeks and hasn't been cleaned for much, much longer than that. Even just breathing in the air burns your lungs from how foul and putrid the air is.

Most of the counters and shelves inside this small lab are empty aside from some leftover vials of yellowish green and cherry red fluids (A-Energy and C-Extract?) alongside various random trinkets that might be PARADIGMs: A razor sharp knife made out of bone, a salt encrusted flashlight, a gas mask that constantly leaks weird red fumes, and a jagged hunk of wood constantly leaking blood.

A few more seem to be locked behind a glass shelf with mostly misted over glass but those aren't your focus right now.

A few feet in front of you is a tall, gangly woman that somehow looks equally young and ancient at the same time. Her arms and legs are wrinkled, mangled hunks of flesh that make Naomi's burn scar encrusted body look young. Yet her face and her chest are soft, smooth, and young.

How can you tell? Aside from a labcoat encrusted in blood and chemicals, she is not wearing anything else. Luckily everything is covered up by her labcoat but you can still see glimpses of her body underneath. Her stained purple hair is a mangled mess of hair knots and her face, while young looking, has clearly seen better days with the amount of gunk stuck to it.

The odd thing about her is the glasses she wears. They swirl and sparkle with various colors that should not be possible. Pinks, blues, yellows, and other colors you can't even process in your mind.
>>
[KIARA SEEKER + ANALYSIS MODEL] "PARADIGM. Accessory type. Vastly improves cognitive function and work results with anomalies. Extracted from low risk level anomaly." Kiara chirps out automatically.

"EXCELLENT! SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS ME!!! YES, YES, YES, YES!!!" She's...clearly not all there. It's best to be careful how you interact with her. You know how much your brain began to fry from wearing a simple accessory PARADIGM for a week. Let alone months, years, or decades.

"YES! YES! WHAT DO YOU SEVEN WONDEROUS PEOPLE WANT? HUH? HUH?"

How do you approach this insane mess of a RESEARCH HEAD?
>[UNSTABLE + WENDY ALLY] FUCK IT. LET'S TALK ON HER LEVEL. HUMAN RATIONALITY NO LONGER MAKES SENSE. FUCK IT. WE BALL. (-2 RESTRAINT, -1 RESTRAINT from WENDY, moderate chance for allies to take RESTRAINT damage. You're VERY likely to get an in with her with this option and she might even reward you handsomely. Might unlock more options.)
>[KIARA ALLY] "Heeyyy, uh, nice lab! Mind showing us around? Seeing how an anomalous researcher works is a dream of mine!" No need to rush things. Try to find out how she ticks and what her motivations are. (Might unlock more options with dealing with her.)
>[QUENTIN ALLY] "WE need your KEYCARD, miSS. For you SEE, your bOSS is ruining your RESEARCH PROSPECTS." Cut to the point. No need to sugarcoat why you're here. (CHARM DC: 21 (-2 from CASEY), with Quentin rolling 7d6 with Naomi and Casey's help. Succeed and she'll give you the card, simple as.)
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Madam, listen. We're not here to impose nothin' but some strangers outsider are threatening your research prospects here and now with their meddling. Mind being a friend and helping us out?" (CHARM DC: 24 (-4 from CASEY and SUGAR RUSH), with Clover rolling 6d6 with Casey's help. Succeed and she'll join as a temporary ally, assisting you with the other HEADs.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] "I believe you want an interesting test subject, huh?" Show off your ANOMALOUS MIGHT towards her. (Choose what power(s) to show off: TELEKINESIS, PUPPETEER, MIND READ, DISASSOCIATION, WHISPERS OF THE CITY, SIGHTJACK, or FUCK IT DO SOMETHING AT RANDOM. The more you use, the more likely you are to impress her and get rewarded for it.)
>"Hey, want to see some cool shit?" Hold out some anomalous trinkets to her. See how she reacts to them. (FREE ACTION. She'll offer insight into all of them and might be able to tell you how to use them properly. Though you're not sure how nice she'll play to seeing new toys...)
>[NAOMI ALLY] "Hm. Give us a moment, please." Investigate the lab with Naomi. Try to see what you can gleam about the facility, the heads, and any other valuable information. (COGNIZANCE DC: ???, with Naomi and Kiara's help. The higher you roll, the more you learn. May unlock more options and you might find some unique LOOT.)
>Write in (Give an ally a stat boost? Show her something else? Ask her something? Try another path? Tell an ally to do something?)
>>
>>6016768
Not voting yet, but let's see...
>UNSTABLE+WENDY
We're doing pretty good on RESTRAINT with everyone. I like the sound of "unlock more options" too
>KIARA
Also more options unlock. We get an insight into her, but do we really care if we just need her alive to help us unseal veto and then get extracted with us? "No need to rush things" would have been correct if we had taken this mission on before now. That 16 hours will pass by very quickly, especially if everybody starts getting sleepy. Too early for shuteye and we basically just started the mission properly. Pass.
>QUENTIN
We get the keycard to unseal veto ourselves, plus access elsewhere... but this doesn't let us have her along to give insight on the facility or other anomalies or Heads. Pass.
>CLOVER
I like this one because temporary ally, but that 6d6 DC 24 bothers me. It's great if we can quickly pass Clover something to help with a CHARM check, which we do have.
>ANOMALOUS
This is also very appealing at the cost of us spending RESTRAINT, which we have ways to heal back. But do we want the insane Head of Research to learn what Nicole can do if she ever gets captured by the Silver Agents? Or blabs something out during a tense battle and the enemy hears it? We know there's no silvers on this floor now, and this way our allies can get safely briefed on Nicole's capability and not be surprised in a fight.
>TRINKETS
I want to pass her the PULSATING GEAR just to see what she makes of it. We passed up letting Benjamin check it out twice on the mine mission because we had other shit to do. Now that it's a free action, I want to make use of that
>NAOMI
Unique loot is NICE. It's a COGNIZANCE check, which we don't come by that often. We have a few things for it, plus we gave Kiara the UV FLASHLIGHT and Naomi the METAL DETECTOR before. Might be cool?
>>
>>6016768
>[UNSTABLE + WENDY ALLY] FUCK IT. LET'S TALK ON HER LEVEL. HUMAN RATIONALITY NO LONGER MAKES SENSE. FUCK IT. WE BALL. (-2 RESTRAINT, -1 RESTRAINT from WENDY, moderate chance for allies to take RESTRAINT damage. You're VERY likely to get an in with her with this option and she might even reward you handsomely. Might unlock more options.)
>>
>>6016766
>>[UNSTABLE + WENDY ALLY] FUCK IT. LET'S TALK ON HER LEVEL. HUMAN RATIONALITY NO LONGER MAKES SENSE. FUCK IT. WE BALL. (-2 RESTRAINT, -1 RESTRAINT from WENDY, moderate chance for allies to take RESTRAINT. You're VERY likely to get an in with her with this option and she might even reward you handsomely. Might unlock more options.)
Fuck it, we ball. We've been pretty good on restraint so far this mission, and I feel like this can have some useful information and resources for us.
>>
>>6015589
>>NAOMI. Let her have a taste of her former glory. (+1 RAPPORT with NAOMI.)

Not even a question. Toss her the blood replacement. If we keep killing more silvers we might get her the same kind of body she used to have, to a degree. We saw what one Silver could do, an "elite" one by current standards. Having a real elite on your side? One who hates them almost as much as Nicole does. Sounds good too me.

>You need to confront the MANAGER. Head to the third floor and make a beeline towards his office.
>>
>>6016931
Anon, I...

>>6016768
Fuck it
>[UNSTABLE + WENDY ALLY] FUCK IT. LET'S TALK ON HER LEVEL. HUMAN RATIONALITY NO LONGER MAKES SENSE. FUCK IT. WE BALL. (-2 RESTRAINT, -1 RESTRAINT from WENDY, moderate chance for allies to take RESTRAINT damage. You're VERY likely to get an in with her with this option and she might even reward you handsomely. Might unlock more options.)
We ball
>>
>>6016768
>[UNSTABLE] WE
>[WENDY ALLY] BALL
>>
>>6016768
>[NAOMI ALLY] "Hm. Give us a moment, please." Investigate the lab with Naomi. Try to see what you can gleam about the facility, the heads, and any other valuable information. (COGNIZANCE DC: ???, with Naomi and Kiara's help. The higher you roll, the more you learn. May unlock more options and you might find some unique LOOT.)
>>
>>6016768
I changed my mind
Changing my vote from >>6017161 to
>[NAOMI ALLY] "Hm. Give us a moment, please." Investigate the lab with Naomi. Try to see what you can gleam about the facility, the heads, and any other valuable information. (COGNIZANCE DC: ???, with Naomi and Kiara's help. The higher you roll, the more you learn. May unlock more options and you might find some unique LOOT.)
>>
>>6016768
>[UNSTABLE + WENDY ALLY] FUCK IT. LET'S TALK ON HER LEVEL. HUMAN RATIONALITY NO LONGER MAKES SENSE. FUCK IT. WE BALL. (-2 RESTRAINT, -1 RESTRAINT from WENDY, moderate chance for allies to take RESTRAINT damage. You're VERY likely to get an in with her with this option and she might even reward you handsomely. Might unlock more options.)
>>
>>6016768
>[NAOMI ALLY] "Hm. Give us a moment, please." Investigate the lab with Naomi. Try to see what you can gleam about the facility, the heads, and any other valuable information. (COGNIZANCE DC: ???, with Naomi and Kiara's help. The higher you roll, the more you learn. May unlock more options and you might find some unique LOOT.)
>>
>>6017367
Change
>>6016768
>[NAOMI ALLY] "Hm. Give us a moment, please." Investigate the lab with Naomi. Try to see what you can gleam about the facility, the heads, and any other valuable information. (COGNIZANCE DC: ???, with Naomi and Kiara's help. The higher you roll, the more you learn. May unlock more options and you might find some unique LOOT.)
>>
>>6016737
>time limit
Oh right we should tell them
>bad habit
The Arbiter's cruelty developed from years of dirty work. It's still disturbing how anybody can do that to Nicole on the spot if they ever turn traitor. Surprise attacks are a bitch
>kinda hot
I agree with Wendy
>had worse shit happen
Like what? The Admiral duel?
>clearly hesitant
I love how everybody reacted to that. Nicole has good friends. She's come so far since thread 1. A meteoric rise over like 3 weeks
>That's that, this is this?
Does J District have good sandwich shops?

>>6016741
>Casey
She's going to make the most of INFINITE AMMO
>strip down naked
Yeah no, this is not during this mission or any other time than at home
>[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND]
About time the old man spoke up. As long as he doesn't try to hijack Nicole or manifest through her or do other insidious shit, he's OK
>ammo
Honestly by this point Nicole doesn't even need the pistol outside of a spare
>those gear passes
Pretty good. Thanks QM. No need to hand out the specialized ammo yet
>SPOOK SHADES over to her
Her TALENT sucks. This is for FLAVOR and COOL and to cheer her up
>GroOVy
You won't need it once you're done with that shell, but muscle memory is underrated while you're still in there
>weird one you used to wear
Just not as often anymore
>drool
Kiara is up there on best girl rankings

>>6016743
>bad personal experience
No Flowey here
>describe the same scenery so much
Writer woes, QM
>dog
Not good that it's unlocked, but nothing we can do to stop him
>OCCUPIED
You guard that acid ink, Knight
>4-12-409
We should thank Clover for the Wiltshire contact. We would not have been able to get loot or open this without her and him by extension
>odd smell
The security thing, right?
>empty icy vial
I love this bit
>out of her fucking mind
Who isn't?
>>
>>6016748
>Glass shards
The shiny LEGOs on the floor
>salt encrusted flashlight
Is Mr. Salt stuck in here?
>Head of Research
Literally made for bending over and fucking on a counter here. Except this entire place is too horrible to bother with

>>6016768
>from low risk level anomaly
Mushroom Dreams
>ANALYSIS MODEL
Good we got this upgrade

Yeah not much else to say
>>
>>6016768
>[UNSTABLE + WENDY ALLY] FUCK IT. LET'S TALK ON HER LEVEL. HUMAN RATIONALITY NO LONGER MAKES SENSE. FUCK IT. WE BALL. (-2 RESTRAINT, -1 RESTRAINT from WENDY, moderate chance for allies to take RESTRAINT damage. You're VERY likely to get an in with her with this option and she might even reward you handsomely. Might unlock more options.)

THE POWER OF SCHIZO COMPELS YOU

No free action. We don’t want this weird lady stealing our preciouses.
>>
SCHIZO GIRLS HAVING A GIRL NIGHT: WdP, fUK, 2iE, 0mX
NAOMI ALLY: 8O1, Jd3, BuW, IAh

Hm. I'll leave the vote open for three hours and if no one breaks the vote, I'll go with a compromise between the two.
>>
>>6016768
>>[NAOMI ALLY] "Hm. Give us a moment, please." Investigate the lab with Naomi. Try to see what you can gleam about the facility, the heads, and any other valuable information. (COGNIZANCE DC: ???, with Naomi and Kiara's help. The higher you roll, the more you learn. May unlock more options and you might find some unique LOOT.)
Take the appropriate drugs to boost our rolls
>>
Naomi-sama it is. Aight. We'll consume Kiara's UV FLASHLIGHT (since let's be honest that item has been begging for death since Thread 1) and a XISXIS Pill. So in total, you roll 13d6+2d3+3d4

Here's what you get. When dealing with ??? checks, we'll deal with Thresholds to make the result clear instead of going "well we rolled a buncha dice. we have no context if it's good or not.

For every 10 points you roll, you get a valuable piece of information for the mission; Whether it be for dealing with the HEADs, the Facility, or information about the ANOMALIES here.
For every 15 points, you find a piece of loot.
For every 25 points, one of the loot pieces or bits of information you found is replaced with a unique item/more revealing piece of info. Unique loot is picked first, then unique information.

So let's say you roll a 40. You get four pieces of information, a normal item and a unique item. You roll a 50? three pieces of normal information, one piece of normal loot, one piece of special loot, and one piece of special info.

There's no real 'failure' since even the worst roll humanly possible will give you a piece of info and loot. You'll find SOMETHING.

tl:dr: higher roll, more stuff. get really high roll, get unique shit instead. This is mostly here so you don't go "well what the fuck did we even roll for???". While fun, rolling random dice for the sake of it doesn't have any inherent meaning.

So. I need three anons to roll the following
>13d6 (The main bulk of the investigation)
>2d3 (CAPTAIN'S COMMAND's boost.)
>3d4 (XISXIS pill.)
>>
>>6017718

Felling good about this one.
>>
Rolled 1, 2, 2 = 5 (3d4)

>>6017718
>>
Rolled 6, 4, 4, 1, 2, 6, 5, 1, 3, 1, 6, 5, 2 = 46 (13d6)

>>6017718
>>
Rolled 2, 1 = 3 (2d3)

>>6017718
>>
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RESULT: 54
OUTCOME: NORMAL INFORMATION x4 (one replaced with SPECIAL INFO), LOOT x2 (one replaced by SPECIAL LOOT), SPECIAL LOOT x1, SPECIAL INFO x1.
Overall, not a bad haul.
Writing.
>>
>>6017718
We got decent use out of the UV flashlight. No need to keep it for charging anymore. It'd be worth keeping if we got the electric spark upgrade on Nicole, but we got Dissociation instead. I'm sure there'll be crucial uses of that eventually. We have 3 XISXIS left after this one, so no need to sweat it
>>
>>6017737
The highest possible is 96 on those. Above average is perfectly acceptable
>>
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"Hm. Give us a moment, please. We would like to explore your lab by ourselves, please."

"Oh yeah sure go ahead- WAIT HOLD ON WHO GAVE YOU PREMISSION TO DO THAT??? NOT ME!!!"

[CORPORATE DOUBLESPEAK AND NIGHTMARE] Wendy and Casey slide right up to the mentally unstable Research Head. "Well if you're willing to listen to this five page document I wrote up just for you-" "Now I may think your job is a pathetic, hateful display against nature itself, I must say-" The two begin to blabber on and on towards the RESEARCH HEAD. She's quickly distracted by their intentionally vapid statements.

"OOO? SO YOU'RE THE ONES WHO MAKE THE ROCKS? SHINY ONES? YES, YES, I REMEMBER."
"Indeed I am."

You, Naomi, and Kiara quickly take this chance to sneak past the RESEARCH HEAD- Huh. Clover is following alongside too. Seems like he trusts Quentin enough to be a bodyguard in case shit hits the fan. Kiara is the first one to realize something's off with Clover of all people following your group.

"Uh, no offense but shouldn't you be over there? Watching the others?" Kiara's voice box crackles with equal measures of confusion and amusement.

"Protection. Don't take it the wrong way but this place-" Clover keeps his head on a swivel as he follows after the three of you. "-is giving me the creeps. Who knows what kind of weird stuff that doctor lady has in here." <"And to keep an eye on Ms. 'I like to cut people up' over here.">

[AN ARBITER] For a moment, Naomi lowers her shades to glare at Clover before putting them back on with a smirk. "Fair enough. Let him come with." <"Do you think I would do anything when I made myself so suspicious, cowboy?">

Clover squints at Naomi but doesn't feel like questioning her about that glare. You decide it's best to get your two fellow investigators to focus on the actual job instead of petty squabbling. Guess you should start expecting squabbles between allies.

No matter how far you push forward into the lab, you can't escape the fact this place is fucking rancid in every sense of the word. Hunks of soggy, torn up paper are splattered against the walls and floor like massive spitballs. More glass and half broken lab equipment lay on the floor. Hell, there's even a thin layer of muddy liquid on the floor that you do NOT want to question where it came from. It reeks like sulfur, ash, and rotten fruit.

Wait. Is the liquid rising? That shouldn't be possible-

[SEEKERS + ANALYSIS MODEL] Both you and Kiara immediately spot something very concerning that, for anyone else, they might've just skimmed over. There's a very, very odd amount of moisture around the edges of many of the lab's countertops. Especially the ones near the walls. Moisture doesn't just magically appear like that...

"Clover, help." Your group moves in to partially shove one of the counters out of the way and as soon as you move it a few inches...

Water begins to pour into the lab at an alarming rate.
>>
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Your group immediately pushes the counter back into place before the lab floods. Okay. That's VERY fucking concerning. The only possible source of-

"Rain." Clover's yellow eyes widen upon realizing what's going on. "That's rain water. Must've been mixing with all them chemicals here."

"Wait. The unsealing process is what's been digging the tunnels, yeah? If it's just haphazardly digging them everywhere, it's not too unlikely for a lot of it to end up down here. Water always flows down..." Kiara glances back down at the slowly rising water level in the lab.

"Enlighten me, when did it start raining? I don't keep up much with J-Corp's weather channel." Naomi can't hide her own worry. "It was pretty bad when we first arrived here."

[ANALYSIS MODEL] "...Two days ago. First was light. Today was bad." Okay, so it's not adding too much extra pressure, then. But this is damn solid evidence. They're going to drown here even if the anomalies don't kill them if the facility fully unseals.
>FLOOD INFO GATHERED! Might motivate some of the more self serving HEADS.

Your group presses on, trying their best to ignore the water slowly rising up past your ankles. It's a good thing you brought thick boots for this mission.

Your group passes by another wad of wet, moist and half chewed paper stuck to the ceiling. It would be way too hard to grab normally but Clover reaches into his pocket to grab his pocket knife.

[DEADEYE SHOT] He might be better with guns but he's not a bad knife thrower either. The glob of paper hits the floor and he retrieves his knife, satisfied at a clean toss.

"Wait, hold on. Something's weird about this one." Naomi and Kiara both kneel down to examine the glob of paper mass. The two dig through it with some obvious hesitation. While a lot of it has been ruined beyond repair, the two managed to pull out two pieces of paper that are shockingly intact. As if someone was trying to hide them?

"SEALING PRODECURE - ONLY ACTIVATE IF TWO OUT OF THREE OF THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES ARE TRUE. ALL OUTSIDE COMMUNICATION OUTSIDE OF APPROVED P-CORP CHANNELS WILL BE INTERRUPTED ONCE SEALING IS COMPLETE."
"1.) MORE THAN HALF OF ALL ABNOS IN THE FACILITY HAVE BREACHED."
"2.) 75% OF EMPLOYEES HAVE DIED AND/OR THE HEADS HAVE BEEN INCAPICATED."
"3.) A REFINEMENT MACHINE WOULD FALL INTO THE HANDS OF AN OUTSIDE FORCE. WE CAN NOT LET ANY TRACE OF OUR SINGULARITY BE REVERSE ENGINEERED."
"IF CONDITION 1 OR 2 ARE TRUE, SEAL AND WAIT FOR TWO WEEKS UNTIL P-CORP EXTRACTS YOU AND THE HEADS."
"IF CONDITION 3 IS TRUE, SEAL AND WAIT FOR TWO HOURS UNTIL P-CORP'S PARADIGM PATROL CAN ENTER AND ELIMINATE ALL EMPLOYEES. WE WILL ONLY EXTRACT YOU, MANAGER."
"IF P-COMPANY DOES NOT RESPOND AFTER TWO WEEKS FOR 1+2 OR TWO HOURS FOR 3, ASSUME WE LOST THE WAR AND DO NOT UNSEAL AT ANY COST UNTIL NEW P-CORP ANSWERS. KILL ANY OUTSIDERS YOU SEE."

"Fuck." Naomi shakes her head after she skims through the document. "I think I get what happened here."
>>
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"I remember an ancient history book that my...former bosses showed me. About a soldier who was stuck on an old island long after a war in 1945 ended. Killing anyone who could've informed him otherwise."

"With the haze of A-Energy and being stuck here for so long, they probably think there's nothing up there. A zeitgeist of fear, paranoia, and survival for the sake of it." Kiara stares up at the ceiling of the lab. "That kind of perspective...I'm not sure how most anomalies come into existence but the conditions seem just right to create one."

"Wait. Ya saying they could've manifested some fuckin' paranoid schizo anomaly because they think they lost the war?"
"It's just a theory."

[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] Lass ain't wrong. I can smell it at the very bottom of the facility.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] When a sealed bottle is filled with gas, pressure builds. What happens if you don't release the pressure somehow?
>+MISCOMMUNICATION INFO obtained! (You have undeniable proof the surface isn't ruined in the forms of pictures. That might snap them out of it.)

[SPECIAL INFO] The other document is shorter and to the point. Though what it says is very interesting.
"TO HEADS AND MANAGER IN CASE FACILITY SEAL HAS OCCURED."
"IF UNSEALING IS DONE WITHOUT EXPRESS APPROVAL AND IN STAGES, RISK OF A-ENERGY CONTAMINATION IN NEARBY AREAS IS VERY HIGH. SIDE EFFECTS COULD INCLUDE INCREASED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENON AND 'CORROSION' OF HUMAN PERSPECTIVE, RESULTING IN COGNITVE SHIFTS AND MUTATIONS."
"WHILE THIS IS VERY MUCH AN INTEREST OF OURS, WE PREFER TO DO SO IN CONTROLLED MEASURES. LEST WE END UP WITH ROGUE 'SHIFT'ERS. CODE NAME PENDING."

Your three allies look over at you and it's very obvious why. You never really think about how you got your anomalous powers but you know you had them for a while. Way before this facility was unsealing, at least. But could this facility's unsealing be the cause of SPARKs suddenly becoming a thing?

Incredibly high levels of A-Energy being trickled into the atmosphere over weeks...hm. You might be able to use this to your advantage.
>SHIFTER ORIGIN INFO OBTAINED! (If P-Corp likes people like you, perhaps showing off your anomalous powers is an easy way in with all of the HEADs? You are what P-Corp wants, after all.)

Nothing else is in this ball of mass so your group continues further into the lab, trying to find anything else of value. The lights back here are starting to fail completely so Kiara have to turn on her UV Flashlight just so Naomi and Clover can see. You take this time to take a XISXIS pill and to put your NIGHTVISION GOOGLES on.

It's oddly more preserved back here but only in the sense that a bookshelf left to rot lasts longer than a bookshelf thrown into a wood chipper. The counters are well stocked with rusted over lab equipment and intact beakers filled with bizarre liquids. The shelves are lined with degrading plastic gloves, masks, and oxidized equipment.
>>
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The walls and floor only have mildew and water damage compared to the mess up front. Overall, while eerie, it's mostly intact. The worst part about it is that the water is ice cold back here. It's still only up to your ankles but god, it's still awful to wade through.

Doesn't help when you reach the very back of the lab to find an honest to god skeleton laying against a computer terminal. Nothing is left on the figure but an old labcoat stained with rotten flesh...with a mostly rusted away dagger in their hand. Yeesh. Guess they went out on their own terms.

Naomi steps up to the terminal and begins to shift through all of the garbage noise on it. It's mostly a bunch of nonsensical symbols but she seems to find some sort of pattern in the madness since she's reading them? She clicks her tongue before turning back to your group.

[SILVER INSTINCTS] "Simple cipher. Not even anything complex. They shifted all the letters one step. A to B, B to C, etc. Someone WANTED this to be read."

"It's short so I'll summarize it." Naomi narrows her one visible eye to read what's on it better. "Floor 7, Anomaly OMEGA. A4 class entity. Can only be harmed by those without rationality. Those with too much rationality will be hunted down. Told them to exterminate it. I know it wants my head. If someone finds my corpse and read this: Please, kill it. Kill it to free all of us. We'll pay you later."

"That's all she wrote. How the hell can you pay someone if you're dead?"
>FLOOR 7 ANOMALY INFORMATION OBTAINED! (Too much rationality? So those with some sort of mental issue can deal with it? SABLE might help your allies if you have to fight it. Useful when you have to go to floor 7.)

"Yeesh. This place gets weirder by the second. Say, uh, what's that?" Clover points his finger towards an odd glowing patch in the water. The moment he points this out, Kiara's flashlight burns out. She tosses it into the floor, seeing no use for it anymore, before nodding to you three to check it out.

Clover kneels down and quickly digs through the muddy water. He grabs onto something and yanks it out, revealing an odd metal box with a passcode lock with three slots on it. Naomi grabs onto the box and decides to try something: 7A4.

Lo and behold, it works. Whoever locked this was not a very creative person.

LOOT OBTAINED!
>P-CORP AGENT BATON (An old tool meant for dealing with abnormalities. ATTACK ROLL: FLESH+VIOLENCE. When attacking an anomaly, roll +2d10 extra. Has a small chance to debuff an enemy's dice by 1 for the rest of combat.)
>[UNIQUE] 'OATH TO CONTAIN' (A shield made out of sheet paper. Has an odd aura to it you can't put your finger on. Thrice per mission, you may add +1d12 to a RESTRAINT, VIOLENCE, or TALENT roll or to add 1 temporary FLESH and RESTRAINT to an ally as a barrier.)

Neato. Can't stick your nose up at a PARADIGM. Seems like that's all you're going to find back here so you start heading back towards the front of the lab with the rest of your allies.
>>
On your way over, Naomi's METAL DETECTOR goes off. She immediately digs through the water flooded floors to pull out a small metal box that was hidden under the dirty water. Odd, you somehow missed this earlier. Opening up, she finds a keycard and two other small trinkets.

LOOT #2 FOUND
>UVX #58 x2 (Most of it has expired but there may still be some potential in it. Heals 3 FLESH and heals a CRIPPLING INJURY on use at the cost of RESTRAINT drain while active.)
>UNKNOWN IMPLANT (Will take some time to find out what it does. Can be installed now for a random positive effect.)
>AGENT 'PRESTON SMITH' KEYCARD. (Something is scribbled all over it and the box you found it in. Keycard is shot, no real use for it.)

'All it took was a few nudges from that Security Head and they started going stir crazy. Heard they were going to seal shit soon. The war's almost over, what the hell are they so worried about? P-Company isn't going to lose, I know that. If I didn't know any better, he wants it sealed..? I gotta get outta here."

>SEEPING PARANOIA INFO found! (What the hell could the SECURITY HEAD be so worried about? Could it be that he caused it for some selfish personal interest or did he snap? Unlocks a DIALOGUE OPTION with him.)

After that, it doesn't take too long, it's not like the lab is too big, before your group rejoins the three allies you left behind.

"-and that's why cardboard manufacturing is actually quite interesting. Oh, hey, Clover!" Casey wildly waves her hand at your group. The RESEARCH HEAD snaps her head towards your group.
"casey you could've waited until we were back into posit- Heyyyy!" Clover forces a wave back.

"WHERE WERE YOU FOUR? DID YOU SNEAK AROUND THERE? FINDING MY DIRTY SECRETS? OH, DIRTY GIRL! I'LL-"

"Wait, wait, lemme explain."

"Okay!" The RESEARCH HEAD flashes a thumbs up. Time to use your knowledge to deal with her. How do you want to approach her this time?
>[FLOOD INFO + CLOVER ALLY] "Miss, I don't mean to alarm you but it's not safe for you down here. Ya can research somewhere safer: with us." (CHARM DC: 19 (-9 from various modifiers), with Clover rolling 6d6 with Casey's help. On top of joining your party, the RESEARCH HEAD will regain some of her sanity, unlocking more of her kit and generally improving how useful she is.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES + SHIFTER INFO] "Madam. The surface is far, far more interesting than you might think." Show off your anomalous powers to her. "Due to a cockup your manager made, I was created. Tell me everything" It's a lie but... (-3 RESTRAINT from POWER USAGE. The RESEARCH HEAD will be so impressed by your existence, she'll reward your group handsomely with items and she'll rush to inform the other HEADs, making it far easier to deal with them in the future.)
(1/2)
>>
>[NAOMI ALLY + MISCOMMUNICATION INFO] "Miss. The surface is fine. The war is over. There are MANY companies above the surface willing to hire someone as experienced as you." Show her some pictures. Tell her the truth flatout. (The RESEARCH HEAD will ask you to escort her out. This costs time but you'll gain +1 RAPPORT with CLOVER and +0.5 with Naomi. In addition, she'll explain as much about the facility as she can before giving you her keycard.)
>[WENDY ALLY + FLOOR 7 ANOMALY INFO] "Have you ever seen an anomaly die? We can do that, you know. All we need is your help." (AUTOPASS due to OVERWHELMING VIOLENCE, +1 WENDY RAPPORT. The RESEARCH HEAD will join your group and will offer valuable information about how to deal with the anomalies down here but you are locked into 'killing' an anomaly this mission.)
>[SEEPING PARANOIA INFO + UNSTABLE] "Do you even know why you were locked down here, miss? Did your friend tell you? The war's over but your friend didn't even tell you? Could they be hiding something from you?" Try to get her to distrust her own associates. Make her PARANOID. (VIOLENCE DC: 33, rolling 10d6 with the help of WENDY. Succeed and the RESEARCH HEAD will crack under the pressure, telling you every dark secret about the HEADs and Manager she knows about)
>"Hey, want to see some cool shit?" Hold out some anomalous trinkets to her. See how she reacts to them. (FREE ACTION. She'll offer insight into all of them and might be able to tell you how to use them properly. You have a slightly better idea on how to show them without her freaking out too much.)
>Write in.

Sorry for delay.
>>
>>6018038
>>6018039
>Flood + Clover
Very appealing, but giving her more sanity might be a negative if we have to fight that OMEGA that requires low rationality to be harmed
>Anomalous + Shifter
Rewards good, but rushing to tell other Heads is BAD if this lady has to go through Floor 5 or the other dangerous places herself... though she's lived here for 60 years, so she'll probably be fine? We can deal with the RESTRAINT loss easily
>Naomi + Miscommunication
Rapport + Info + Keycard is all good, plus we might get paid way more if we recover people and assets alive and intact. The "costs time" is what makes this tough to pick
>Wendy + Floor 7
She joins us plus anti-anomaly info is good, plus we need more RAPPORT with Wendy. But this means an anomaly MUST die on this job. It'd be pretty fucking epic (yes, really) if we do end up killing that OMEGA
>Paranoia + Unstable
Dark secrets are GOOD for ammo against them in the future confrontations. It'll come back to bite us hard with inter-group conflicts if/when we have to extract her out along with the other Heads in tow
>Trinkets
Yeah no, I am starting to agree with >>6017523. I don't wanna give our cool shit to this crazy lady
>>
>>6018039
>[NAOMI ALLY + MISCOMMUNICATION INFO] "Miss. The surface is fine. The war is over. There are MANY companies above the surface willing to hire someone as experienced as you." Show her some pictures. Tell her the truth flatout. (The RESEARCH HEAD will ask you to escort her out. This costs time but you'll gain +1 RAPPORT with CLOVER and +0.5 with Naomi. In addition, she'll explain as much about the facility as she can before giving you her keycard.)

Wasn’t our objective just to figure out what was happening and report on it?

We don’t need to risk our necks any more. And we already have a fuck ton of loot so I don’t know what else we need from here.

I’d prefer to live long enough for us to use our highly illegal firearm.
>>
>>6018039 #
>[NAOMI ALLY + MISCOMMUNICATION INFO] "Miss. The surface is fine. The war is over. There are MANY companies above the surface willing to hire someone as experienced as you." Show her some pictures. Tell her the truth flatout. (The RESEARCH HEAD will ask you to escort her out. This costs time but you'll gain +1 RAPPORT with CLOVER and +0.5 with Naomi. In addition, she'll explain as much about the facility as she can before giving you her keycard.)

>>6018191 #
I want to do all the side objectives, kill or capture the omega and silver agents, start the sealing process, and rescue all the survivors. WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY SINGLE-SIDE OBJECTIVE LEFT UNCOMPLETE. WE WILL GET THAT S+-GRADE MISSION COMPLETION.
>>
>>6018039
>>[WENDY ALLY + FLOOR 7 ANOMALY INFO] "Have you ever seen an anomaly die? We can do that, you know. All we need is your help." (AUTOPASS due to OVERWHELMING VIOLENCE, +1 WENDY RAPPORT. The RESEARCH HEAD will join your group and will offer valuable information about how to deal with the anomalies down here but you are locked into 'killing' an anomaly this mission.)
>>
>[WENDY ALLY + FLOOR 7 ANOMALY INFO]
Question HandlerQM: Will we have to literally kill any anomalies that come in our path, regardless of whether the anomalies entity are hostile or not? If we choose this option.
>>
>>6018039
>[NAOMI ALLY + MISCOMMUNICATION INFO] "Miss. The surface is fine. The war is over. There are MANY companies above the surface willing to hire someone as experienced as you." Show her some pictures. Tell her the truth flatout.
>>
>>6018039
>[NAOMI ALLY + MISCOMMUNICATION INFO] "Miss. The surface is fine. The war is over. There are MANY companies above the surface willing to hire someone as experienced as you." Show her some pictures. Tell her the truth flatout.
We aren't locked into killing anomalies with this, but that doesn't mean we can't or won't have to kill any regardless. Keeps our options open
>>
>>6018001
>CORPORATE DOUBLESPEAK AND NIGHTMARE
I love seeing ally traits synergize
>ROCKS? SHINY
W Corp 60 years ago huh
>trusts Quentin
That's faster than I expected Clover to warm up to Quentin
>squabbles between allies
Oh boy. We haven't had a Quentin/Kiara one happen yet, but they did behave civilly and Kiara apologized for the insult. Guess being aware of her hardcoded anti-drone sentiment after the X Corp mission helped her. I wonder when Kiara/Wendy will get into an argument over anomalous things? There has been the least friction with Casey because she's Casey.
>fucking rancid
I can just picture this place in my head. Everybody needs a good shower after we're out of here

>>6018004
>FLOOD INFO
Yet another factor that wouldn't exist if we took this earlier. If the full unseal is aborted, will the previous tunnels reseal again? If not, then they're still on a time limit before everything drowns
>thick boots
Perks of living in District 7 with high snow
>knife thrower
Good we handed the knives out
>HANDS OF AN OUTSIDE FORCE
Would calling in P Corp to fight off the glowies and secure the REFINEMENT machine be worthwhile later? We'd need to call Handler for it or pull favors, but it's an option. There's all this precious A-Energy waiting to be refined... and it'll all go to nothingness if nobody does anything
>UNTIL NEW P-CORP ANSWERS
But they never did because they never knew this place still existed

>>6018005
>smell it at the very bottom
We can resolve it. We have the proofs. Free PARADIGM lads
>CORROSION
Wearing PARADIGMS too long or wearing too many also does that. Our boy Admin fucked around and found out the latter
>'SHIFT'ERS. CODE NAME PENDING
So these existed even 60 years ago? Numbers must be way less then compared to now
>SHIFTER ORIGIN INFO
Problem is if P Corp likes more SHIFTERs being made, so they want to be allies with Silver Agents instead. That'll also make them enemies of W Corp, most likely

>>6018007
>those without rationality
Nicole, Wendy, Casey, maybe the Head of Research. Everybody else will need to be support
>too much rationality
>hunted down
Implying having a balance of both will make you not a target, but not able to hurt it much either. A sweet spot we could plan to exploit
>SABLE
SOMTOIN ZETA and SINNLOSCHEN coming in clutch too?
>burns out
Had a good run
>not a very creative person
Wrong. They WANTED people to have these
>P-CORP AGENT BATON
Wendy surpasses Nicole with HUNTER OF THE CITY. Wendy gets this ASAP
>[UNIQUE] 'OATH TO CONTAIN'
Anybody can use this. Any ideas who to lend it to?

>>6018038
>METAL DETECTOR
FINALLY SEEING USE SINCE WE GOT IT
>UVX #58 x2
If only we gave the implant to Naomi. This would be great for Nicole. Emergency heal
>UNKNOWN IMPLANT
Nah, not now
>AGENT 'PRESTON SMITH' KEYCARD
I forgot about this guy. Still don't recall him
>SEEPING PARANOIA
HoS being a faggot started all this, confirmed
>cardboard manufacturing
I'll look it up later, thanks
>thumbs up
I like this lady
>>
>>6018460
>Anybody can use this. Any ideas who to lend it to?
Kiara or Casey?
>>
>>6018367
You only have to kill one. Not five. Not fifty. Not two. It's essentially "hey I sorta said outloud that we're going to kill an anomaly and Wendy would probably maul me if I backed out."
>>
>>6018039
>[WENDY ALLY + FLOOR 7 ANOMALY INFO] "Have you ever seen an anomaly die? We can do that, you know. All we need is your help." (AUTOPASS due to OVERWHELMING VIOLENCE, +1 WENDY RAPPORT. The RESEARCH HEAD will join your group and will offer valuable information about how to deal with the anomalies down here but you are locked into 'killing' an anomaly this mission.)
>>
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[PERSON OF INTEREST] We should cut our losses. Get her out then leave. This is too much for us.
[CAPTAIN'S COMMAND] That 'Handler' lad told you to stop the tunnels being made when he hired you. Remember?

You really do wish you could just leave now with all of this loot but you sorta need all of this money he's paying you. $1399 for the mission itself and maybe some extra thousands for all of the trinkets you found and bringing back an anomaly. And to be quite honest, it's also an excuse to explore. It's not like you got that many chances to see your sib- to directly interact with anomalies.

Though you absolutely will back out if shit goes too far.

Now for the actual matter at hand? It's best to try snapping this weird lady out of whatever trance she's in. You don't want her to die or drown here, even if you only knew her for what. Fifteen minutes tops?

"Miss. The surface is fine. The war is over. You don't have to be here."

The RESEARCH HEAD blinks a few times like she's trying to get sand out of her eyes. "Gwuh? No, no, that can't be right. Why else would we still be down here? The manager is a retard, we would've been given orders from P-Corp if-"

Naomi immediately cuts her off with a sharp click of her tongue. "P-Corp doesn't even know anyone is still here. It's been sixty years. Things have changed."

You and Kiara immediately dig into your pockets to pull out various pictures you took. You show her pictures of your trip throughout the Infinite Sea and the God Damn Admiral while Kiara shows a few pictures of the surface above she must've taken during her spare time.

"I took these a week, maybe a week and a half, ago. Why would I be randomly exploring the sea during the middle of a WAR?" You try your best to hold back your annoyance at the sheer undeniable reality of what you're explaining to her. "Do I even look like a soldier? Half of the weapons and armor we had, we STOLE from the armory next door."

"Why would THIS man, who I KNOW fought in it, even be willing to be photographed by her? Why would the streets above-" Kiara flips through some pictures of the busy, crowded streets of J-Corp. "have all of these civilians milling around?"

"Miss. I hate to INFORM You OF This BUT I Was BORN tWO Years AGO. THE ONLY 'WAR' I WAS Involved With WAS fighting FOR SCRAPS of food wiTH MY SIBLINGS."

[UNNERVING] Quentin shifts the uniform he's wearing just enough to let his wasp-like wings sprout out of his back. Your other allies back away from the disgusting display and for a moment, you swear Wendy and Kiara are about to puke (if Kiara had the function to, at least.)
>-1 RESTRAINT TO WENDY AND KIARA!

[OPTIMISTIC SPIRIT] Casey puts her arms around whispering what you can only assume is corporate fun facts and various other vapid nonsense to them to keep them distracted.
>+1 RESTRAINT to WENDY and KIARA! DAMAGE NEGATED!

The RESEARCH HEAD stares at the evidence shown in absolute bewilderment. "How?"
>>
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"I see no evidence of the usual Drone Soldier augments on you. And I see no evidence of this pictures being faked." The manic, crazed look she had moments ago and her posture has immediately shifted into something more sober? Maybe solemn even. "Same with the android. You shouldn't even be here. It should be a warzone up there."

"The last time I fought in any battle officially regarded as part of the Antiseptic War was March 18th, 2199. Five weeks before the war ended. It's 2255. P-Corp didn't lose. They simply forgot you were ever here." Naomi clasps her hands together before lowering her head, as if she doesn't want to say this next statement. "You were left to die here, I'm afraid."

The RESEARCH HEAD's gaze scans across her ruined and filth-soaked lab. She finally removes her glasses to reveal her neon purple eyes with thick, heavy bags underneath. "What of my research, then? I was doing a whole study down here about how we could harness these..." Her gaze shifts to the glasses in her hands. "...and create our own perspectives. Without relying on them."

"Wait, were ya the one who wrote that 'SHIFTER'-" Clover's questioning gets promptly cut off.

"I wore every PARADIGM I could down here! Trying to understand their secrets! To let the voices flood in! So I could understand how to make my own; YET YOU TELL ME ALL OF THAT WAS FOR NOTHING?!" Her glasses begin to shatter and chip in her hands from how much effort she was putting on them. "It was going to be my breakthrough! My killer app."

"What was the point then?" Her voice sounds so distant now. Quiet, meek. Like a little girl's.

"Perhaps there ain't one anymore. I can't blame ya for losing ya mind down here." Clover tries his best to break the tension with a laugh and a smile but it's obvious he doesn't have the heart for it. "I would too. There's nothing of value left here. All you can do is move on."

"Move on? I. My whole life was here."

"Perhaps." Naomi nods. "Perhaps. Yet do you wish to waste what little time you have left down here?"
"Maybe you have five years left. Maybe ten. It may not seem like much time-" Casey's gaze shifts to Quentin, clearly waiting for him to finish.
"BuT GOD, it is a lifetime for me." Quentin chokes out from his shell's ruined throat. "Savor what you HAVE, human."

The RESEARCH HEAD is now staring down at the floor. Whatever madness, whatever false perspective she's been coasting off of has collapsed in on itself. "What now?" The energy's gone at this point. You doubt she can even walk on her own.

"We'll get you out of here. Out of this den of filth." Wendy hisses through clenched teeth. "...and maybe I can find a job opportunity for you."
"Let's get moving. We need you out of here as soon as possible. Clover?" Kiara nods her head over towards the cowboy. He gets the hint and moves in to pick up the RESEARCH HEAD.

He lifts her up with way too much ease. "Wow, uh. When did you last eat?" Silence is her answer. Clover squawks out a nervous half-chuckle.
>>
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The eight of you quickly fall into formation as you make your trek back to the surface. With most of the anomalies being either contained or completely disinterested in harassing you, progress back to the surface is pretty quick in the grand scheme.

Well, you can only go so fast when your only way up and down is through a shitty elevator that you're shocked still works but that's besides the point. Soon, you're scrambling back up the tunnel you came from and lo and behold, you're back on the surface. The warehouse you are in has the front shutter open and fuck. It's gotten worse since you last saw it up here.

You check your POCKETWATCH and no, there's no temporal distortions, you've only been down there for an hour tops. Maybe two. Yet it is pitch black outside. It's only when the darkness is broken by the loud crackle of thunder that you realize what's going on. The storm has gotten significantly worse. A constant, relentless torrent of rain pours from the sky with such seething intensity you would think that it was being produced by a pressure washer.

The sky has been completely smothered in thick, dark clouds. The only source of light is the occasional strike of lightning that briefly illuminates the sky before it goes back to being pitch dark. Kiara seems to notice something is off about this but her suspicions are confirmed when you check your POCKETWATCH again.

"UNNATURALLY HIGH LEVELS OF A-ENERGY IN STORM WATER. WEATHER BEING ARTIFICALLY INDUCED. IT SHOULD NOT BE RAINING."

And yet it is. Fitting. The storm that threatens to drown them was caused by the facility being unsealed.

Given how fucking awful the storm is outside, the warehouse is probably the safest place for her to be at. Seems like whatever was keeping it ice cold before has been shot because it's room temperature in here now. Your group heads to the back of the warehouse. Clover slowly lowers the RESEARCH HEAD onto the ground. She curls up into a small ball on the floor, using her labcoat as a makeshift blanket.

She tosses her ID card to the floor.
>+RESEARCH HEAD ID! (One out of three cards to stop the tunnels being produced. Unlocks certain pathways otherwise inaccessible. Belongs to a 'Judy')

"Facility 1 had no Head. 2 was Research. 3 is Security. 4 was Welfare. 5 was Training. 6 was Accounting. 7 was Extraction." The Research Head begins to blabber. Some general locations on where the other Heads are? Good, good. "Bigger number, lower in ground."

Your group kneels down around her, ready to listen to what else she has to say.

"Security's halls is a deadzone. Traps everywhere. Mr. Redd likes to keep them up to date. Please be careful when exploring there. Stole my turret from there." Judy's teeth chatter with every word she says; Every word she speaks takes more and more energy from her. "Welfare? Welfare was always the safest. All of the low risk anomalies were kept there. Might be able to find a friend there."
>>
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"Mr. Linton hasn't talked to me in a while. Never been the same since we were sealed. Steal his card, he won't need it. Or notice." Okay, so if you can find a way down there, he'll be an easy second card to grab. Maybe his floor should be the next you visit.

"Ms. Smith went crazy, crazy. Constantly wanted more anomalies to fight. To beat them. To consume them. To become them. I don't think she'll listen to anyone normal. No, no, she needs someone like my papers suggested might exist one day. A SHIFTer." If she's constantly fighting the anomalies down there and she hasn't died...hm. That's worrisome to think about.

"Mr. Benowitz has all of our excess supplies hidden away in his floor. He keeps an eye on it all the time. He'll know if you arrive there. Do not hide your intentions. He's...strange." Not much to say, seems simple enough.

"Ms. Wischard-" Wait, what? You faintly recall that being Naomi's family name. Naomi flinches when she hears that name. "-has given up. Reach her and she'll do what you want. Extraction was always the least maintained. Code for Floor 6 is 10-56-4048." Did she mean the floor or the person working there?

That's the last thing she wrote. Or, well, spoke. She's now staring into the raging storm outside. That's about all you're going to get out of her now. Her eyes have glazed over and her shallow, wispy breathing tells you all you need to know.

Clover gently runs his fingers through Judy's hair in an attempt to comfort her before he turns his attention back to your group. "Well. At least we managed to save someone. She probably needs a moment to adjust after everything we told her."
"Indeed." Naomi glances at you in the corner of your eye before staring back at the shellshocked Judy. A tiny hint of a smirk crosses her face. "If nothing else. We did that."
>+1 RAPPORT WITH CLOVER! +0.5 RAPPORT WITH NAOMI!

"If we're going to stop it, we need to move. Now." Kiara is already heading back down through the tunnel in the warehouse. Your other allies quickly follow after her and soon enough, you do as well. You can't really escort any further without wasting an insane amount of time. You can only hope she stays safe up there.

The next few minutes are a mad dash through the first and second floor in order to start your trip down to the third floor. While you have the code to the sixth floor now, you still don't have access to the fourth, five, or seventh one. Maybe that secret tunnel you found leads to one of them? Who knows. You're slowly beginning to dread the time limits on all of your missions but a part of you is secretly glad you have one pushing you forward.

The rush of adrenaline as you push towards a goal. The sweet promise of loot, victory, and glory in a job well down. Fuck, what else can a girl want in her job as a Cleaner? Maybe you could've eeked out a small and pitiful living as a cashier but this?

[UNSTABLE] WELL. YOU HAVE TO BE MAD TO DO THIS. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!
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As the elevator chugs down to the third floor, the last floor this elevator seems to have access to, you prepare for whatever's on the other side.

https://youtu.be/X5sbYq3A7t4 - SECURITY

The elevator opens up on the third floor and the only word you can use to describe what you see is 'a complete massacre'. You try to process everything a bit at a time with reminding yourself of the layout of the floor.

You're in the middle of a star-shaped hub with the direction of the elevator pointed south. So you see two southern hallways, one west (where the escape hatch is) and one east (where the hidden paths deeper into the other facilities). Directly north of here is where the Manager's Office will be. To your left and right are where the containment cells are.

That's about all you can distract yourself with before the smell of blood hits your nose and the sound of the groaning, wailing moans of half dead ETFs, K-Corp units, and gang members ringing through your ears hits you.

You can't even see what the floor through the thick pool of blood that has started to congealed and clot into an almost jelly-like substance that squirms with every movement that the heavily injured survivors make. Their bodies have injuries that you can't even begin to process what could've caused them.

A woman in a dark leather jacket with a white spade stamped on the back of it has her arms twisted backwards at a sharp 45 degree angle and her legs aren't much better. She's barely able to move on the ground she's on.
A man in a bright white jacket with a black club stamped on the back has half of his head completely pulverized. There's not even a hint on where the left side of his face went, it's like it was erased from existence.
A figure in a safety orange and yellow colored hazmat suit (K-Corp, you presume) clearly doesn't have any limbs anymore given how limp and hollow the suit's arm and leg sleeves are. Yet there's no cut on their suit anywhere.

The rest of the bodies aren't much better. Limbs are broken or removed outright, some of them don't even have faces anymore to recognize...fuck. There's only about half a dozen out of the fifty something you last mindread here that could be argued to be 'not in crippling agony or flat out dead."

Casey immediately retches onto the floor without any hesitation. Clover and Quentin immediately rush over to pat her on the back, trying to offer comfort to her. Wendy and Kiara, while not enjoying it, are numbed enough to the bloodshed to not panic.
>-1 RESTRAINT TO CASEY! 3/4 LEFT!

[SILVER INSTINCT] Naomi has to keep her gaze away from it but you can absolutely tell it's not from discomfort. With how her mouth is curling up into a hesitant smile, it's clear what old habit is flaring up in her.

[HIGH FLESH] You manage to avoid retching like Casey did. If there's one thing that all of your missions have done, it's given you an iron stomach. You won't be taking any RESTRAINT damage today.

"H...ello?"
>>
A voice croaks out from the pile. An ETF agent is half propped against the corpse of another person who was slaughtered here. You don't recognize her. She's a very stout woman with a thick, bulky frame and an even thicker layer of armor on her. A rod of jagged metal pierced right into her stomach but given how she's not dead, it didn't hit anything vital.

Her facemask and nightvision googles covers most of her face but she quickly lowers it, revealing that she's not a spook. "Hostile target, humanoid, left this area a few minutes ago. I would rush to your next location VERY soon if I was you. Last saw him there-" She points to the hallway directly east from here. She takes another deep, shaky breath. "I'll play dead. Go."

Best to take her advice then. Where do you rush to?
>MANAGER'S OFFICE. You need to confront this bastard on why he only unsealed now. Why he even unsealed to begin with.
>SECURITY HEAD. You need a keycard and you feel like this fella is going to be a pain in the ass in the future. Best to deal with him now.
>REFINEMENT ROOM. You need to secure it and to make sure no one has compromised it.
>BACK TO ELEVATOR. HEAD TO FACILITY SIX! INPUT THE CODE!. FUCK THIS NOISE!!!!
>SECRET HATCH #1. One of the two hatches at the southeast branch. Your WHISPERS OF THE CITY smells an odd sense of ennui down this one. Welfare?
>SECRET HATCH #2. One of the two hatches at the southeast branch. Your WHISPERS OF THE CITY smells an odd sense of seething hatred down there. Training?
>WESTERN CONTAINMENT CELLS. Perhaps you can push your luck with finding an anomaly who can assist you or, at the very least, deal with the SECURITY HEAD.
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, she can be saved. Give her some supplies." Can't hurt to try, right? (FREE ACTION. Choose two to give her: TRANQUILZER SYRINGE, PAINKILLER BOTTLE, LEYLEY PILL, and/or EXPIRED SINSUL ALPHA. She'll recover enough to offer assistance down the line once she had time to recover.)

Funny thing is that when I was writing this update, a massive storm was raging overhead again. Seems like every time I describe a storm, it happens.
>>
>>6019269
>SECURITY HEAD. You need a keycard and you feel like this fella is going to be a pain in the ass in the future. Best to deal with him now.

>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, she can be saved. Give her some supplies." Can't hurt to try, right? (FREE ACTION. Choose two to give her: TRANQUILZER SYRINGE, PAINKILLER BOTTLE, LEYLEY PILL, and/or EXPIRED SINSUL ALPHA. She'll recover enough to offer assistance down the line once she had time to recover.)
Leyley and Expired Sinsul
>>
>>6019269
>SECRET HATCH #1. One of the two hatches at the southeast branch. Your WHISPERS OF THE CITY smells an odd sense of ennui down this one. Welfare?
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, she can be saved. Give her some supplies." Can't hurt to try, right? (FREE ACTION. Choose two to give her: TRANQUILZER SYRINGE, PAINKILLER BOTTLE, LEYLEY PILL, and/or EXPIRED SINSUL ALPHA. She'll recover enough to offer assistance down the line once she had time to recover.)
Leyley and Expired Sinsul
>>
>>6019269
>SECURITY HEAD. You need a keycard and you feel like this fella is going to be a pain in the ass in the future. Best to deal with him now.
He is one of the direct reasons for this facility being sealed, and we have the evidence to prove it. He is on as much of a time limit as everybody else. All this plus X CORP MEDAL plus other pieces of evidence will overpower him enough to relent
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, she can be saved. Give her some supplies." Can't hurt to try, right? (FREE ACTION. Choose two to give her: TRANQUILZER SYRINGE, PAINKILLER BOTTLE, LEYLEY PILL, and/or EXPIRED SINSUL ALPHA. She'll recover enough to offer assistance down the line once she had time to recover.)
LEYLEY PILL
PAINKILLER BOTTLE
Leyley pills are pretty handy and we only have two, but it'll help her endure for longer. And she (as well as other survivors hiding) won't have to play dead for long if we handle the HoS first. Painkillers help more here because her injury is nonlethal, and her state sounds like FLESH checks to me. I do NOT want to spend a SINSUL ALPHA on her since they're +1 to FLESH, VIOLENCE, and TALENT while active, and those are great for fighting. No tranquilizer, she needs to be awake and NOT asleep
>>
>>6019252
>too much
We handled Admiral through to the end, come on now. I know PoI's instinct is flight and self-preservation, but still
>stop the tunnels
If we don't stop the unseal, that's mission FAILURE
>money
Side objectives are the money source
>sib-
Anomalies are NOT YOUR FAMILY Nicole!
>back out
We never have yet, but there's a first for everything
>streets of J-Corp
Kiara passively taking photos offscreen is very in-character
>BORN tWO Years AGO
Centipedes irl have a 5-6 year lifespan on average, sometimes more depending on larger species. INFORMANT telling Quentin he has 3 years left is accurate
>[UNNERVING]
I can't believe we finally see this proc. It almost never did, except that one time
>[OPTIMISTIC SPIRIT]
They work so well together

>>6019253
>March 18th, 2199
Good thing she missed what happened on the 27th...
>create our own perspectives
People manifesting on their own. SHIFTERs?
>this entire convo
Sobering is right. Waking up from the dream, coming down from the high... there always has to be an end to the madness. That law cannot be changed.

>>6019254
>quick
Minimal time lost, excellent
>hour tops. Maybe two
We are making great time, and that's with investigating two whole floors AND fighting the silver elite and recovering afterward. We have a 16 hour time limit, but remember that it STARTED when we read the Armory computer and found out, after all the previous events. We must have spent way less than an hour dealing with the Research Head, given the lab being right next door to the Armory and how well we rolled on the COGNIZANCE investigation check. If we spend roughly less than an hour quickly handling each Head + Manager and without pesky time acceleration bullshit, then we'll be at the unseal console on Floor 7 in the next 5 hours at most. That gives us time in-between to rest if we need to, and share the party all the evidence we got from the Armory and the Research Lab
This time limit is much much easier to work with for us than that mine mission ever was. Let's keep it that way.
>ARTIFICALLY INDUCED
The unseal itself is causing the rain? If this is the result of current A-Energy release, then this entire zone will drown on full unseal. Catastrophe
>Traps
The METAL DETECTOR's time to shine
>Welfare
Low risk anomalies? Maybe we could use the EXTRACTION KIT on one for anomalous materials? Or save it for one we fight and beat?
>>
>>6019269
>SECRET HATCH #2. One of the two hatches at the southeast branch. Your WHISPERS OF THE CITY smells an odd sense of seething hatred down there. Training?
>[CLOVER ALLY] "Look, she can be saved. Give her some supplies." Can't hurt to try, right? (FREE ACTION. Choose two to give her: TRANQUILZER SYRINGE, PAINKILLER BOTTLE, LEYLEY PILL, and/or EXPIRED SINSUL ALPHA. She'll recover enough to offer assistance down the line once she had time to recover.)
Painkiller and Leyley
>>
>>6019428
+1
>>
>>6019256
>crazy, crazy
Recruit her against the OMEGA?
>papers suggested might exist
It might cheer her up knowing Nicole is one, or it might crush her further. She'll find out anyway eventually, now that she's finally out
>know if you arrive
We spoke with INFORMANT, so he'll be easier to win over
>Ms. Wischard
Is that Naomi's mom or grandma? An even older basement hag?!
>Code for Floor 6
You mean Floor 7, right?
>raging storm
No love out there. This is one of harm.
>glances at you
?
>stays safe
Glownigs please leave the broken old research lady alone
>code to the sixth floor
Ok it wasn't a typo
>next few minutes
Good good
>dread the time limits
We would not have had one here if we took this job earlier, but it can't be helped. I'm just thankful now ours is more generous. We can work better with this
>secretly glad
Deadlines help progress, or so they say. It also helps this job from taking so long for the QM, like the movie one did with us being VERY thorough exploring and looting, even though we still didn't go all the way with one or two places missed.
>what else can a girl want
Muh family and security
>small and pitiful
Aren't we forgetting how things were before, Nicole?
>cashier
Oh right "regular" jobs still exist in the City. Life goes on and finds a way

>>6019260
>half dead ETFs
Do you think at least one or two disguised glowies got murdered offscreen here? We should loot their heads if so
>erased
K Corp and the two syndies fought each other
>no cut
Did the K Corp guys delimb each other for aid like amputation? Or were they infighting for some reason? Were a couple disguised silver agents?
>half a dozen out of the fifty something
I'm glad we're late to the party
>hesitant smile
I'm glad she's self-aware enough
>[HIGH FLESH]
Our girl's come a long way, so proud of her

>>6019269
>ETF
Nightmare Enders or Molemen. Could be either.

Fucked up the spoiler tags, whoops
>>
>>6019296
>>6019347
>>6019447
>>6019451
What do you guys think so far about
>this mission overall
>our time spent within the limit given
>how to proceed from here
Should we get 1 more keycard and/or Head ally, then rush Floor 7 and win over Naomi's relative as the 3rd we need, then haul ass to the console to abort the unseal? Or continue progressing the floors at normal order? Do you think if we abort the unseal, the silver agents will rush the REFINEMENT machine with our back turned? Should we call Handler and get his help to have P Corp descend on this place?
>>
>>6019474
Hmmmm, I think we should get the security head to join us and go secure the REFINEMENT machine (maybe convince head security to guard REFINEMENT ROOM). After we are done with the secure REFINEMENT machine, proceed to each floor to convince all heads to join us. Call the handler to send information to P-Corp about REFINEMENT machine and ask them to secure it.
>>
>>6019428
+1
>>
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SECURITY HEAD: IAh, RpQ, aJu, KAY
SECRET HATCH #1: 1Ct
SECRET HATCH #2: Jd3

DRUGS
LEYLEY: ALL
SINSUL: IAh, 1Ct
PAINKILLER: RpQ, Jd3, aJu, KAY

Seems obvious what we're going to do but I'll cut off the thread here. We have, what, two or three days top left in here? That and I have some important events coming up so I'm going to be taking a week's break.

See you guys on June 6th. I'll spend some time over the upcoming week to update the pastebins with all of the junk and stat changes that have happened (especially the sorta outdated LORE one.)
Here's the archive of this thread: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5982952/

Thank you to every reader and voter in this quest.
>>
>>6020127
Thanks for running!
>>
>>6020127
Thanks for running, you're cool
>>
>>6020127
thank you :D
>>
>>6020127
Great Quest, QM. :)
>>
The is for running qm. Good luck with your stuff.
>>
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>>6020127
Good work QM. Keep on keeping on!



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