File: 1350537896507.jpg-(51 KB, 800x600, moonlight.jpg)

It's dark, in Natsumi's flat. Late afternoon has long since given way to evening, and it's coming to true night. Outside, the luminous glow of the corridor's lights cast a steady, unfaltering illumination; Brighter without than within.

A pencil scritches on paper, as you scribble down the reference number on a convenient notepad, folding it away into a pocket of your coat.

Bardiel, you think, and the thought makes your jaw clench. It has to be him - It *has* to be. At last, you know *where* he is...Maybe even who he is. All you need to do is...

Nearby, in the other room, there's the soft creak of bedsprings, the softer rustle of blankets as Natsumi stirs from her exhausted sleep.

"Anon-kun?"

Her voice is weak, thready - Muzzy with sleep, as a night-light flickers to life, throwing wavering shadows in all directions. You didn't think she'd wake up *quite* so soon, but...

"Anon-kun...are you there?"

-As far as you can remember, Natsumi has always been happy, laughing. You're not sure when she began to smile less and frown more...Or how long she's been keeping her secret from you.

(Natsumi is Chrome Cypher. You're still not sure how you feel about that.)

But you've never - *never* - heard that cracked, shaky note to her voice before; Never heard her sound quite *this* vulnerable before. It's...not a comforting sound.

[ ] Leave quietly.
[ ] Say goodbye to Natsumi.
[ ] Check on Natsumi.
[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21174551
Check on Natsumi
The Nara massacre is important but we can't neglect Natsumi, she is one of our oldest friends and still alive where chasing down Bardiel won't bring Hecate back

[x] Check on Natsumi.

Bardiel's not going to fly the coop so soon.

>>21174570

What? No, this might be our only chance!

GO. AFTER. BARDIEL.

Find him and kill his ass.

>>21174551

>>21174570
This. Bardiel can and will wait. Roasting his hand like that is going to mean an overnight job for the medics. He'll keep, Natsumi needs moral support.

Hey OP, how's your half of the world? Could do with less politics where I am; seriously considering disconnecting my phone until after the election.

>>21174624
>He'll keep,
Actually wait, there's a way to guarantee it. Call that number back, tell the guy on the other end of the line that you're collecting Chrome Cypher and to find a reason to keep Bardiel overnight.

>>21174649
That could work (though with the burns he should have he'll probably be an overnight case anyways) but Natsumi isn't in any condition to be fighting right now.

>>21174551

Check on Natsumi.

File: 1350539190155.jpg-(104 KB, 737x516, natsumiface.jpg)

You key the number, calling back...

-The phone rings, and rings. There's no response, on the other side; Eventually, you hang up. A curious thing - It was a private number, someone's personal handphone...On the hospital's behalf, but not *from* the hospital itself. One of Argent Prominence's Players, perhaps? How far does his reach extend, really?

You push the thought to the back of your mind, padding back to Natsumi's room: Your footfalls make no sound on the thick carpet underfoot, the soft drone of the heater - Natsumi gets cold easily - like a subliminal fuzz of white noise.

Half-cocooned underneath her winter quilt, Natsumi is sitting up, slowly; The covers drawn to her chest, bundled up around her protectively. Natsumi's eyes are still red-rimmed, but she manages a weak smile as her gaze goes to you...One that slides off her face as quickly as it comes.

"...So it *wasn't* a dream," she says, softly...One hand pulling her quilt a little closer, not looking away from you. Her lower lip trembles, slightly, as if she's about to sob - But then she looks away, an unknowable expression on her features.

"-I thought...I thought you'd be gone by now."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

I say we point our the food we made for her and apologize but tell her we have to go avenge Hecates death and possibly prevent Argent from being assassinated.

>>21174624

(Getting better, fortunately. The weather's almost hospitable, now.)

>>21174817
I wanted to be sure you'd be okay before I left. I made some food, if you're interested.

>>21174817
No, I wasn't going to just leave you here
I have to go for a while though, there is a lead on one of the guys who caused the disaster at Nara to happen and he might be trying to kill Argent Prominence

I will come back when I am done so don't worry, just rest

>>21174817

Wow. Natsumi is really beautiful. I'm just saying.

We're going to have to be careful here.

>>21174817
"I might have, if you hadn't woken up when you did. I got a call from the hospital--Bardiel's getting treatment. I'm going to have a talk with him after you've eaten."

>>21174864
Of course she's hot.

>>21174864
All of the girls we know are beautiful. I think winning all those games is what let's MC be the pseudo-player he is.

>>21174864
Tony goddamn Taka. The man is an amazing artist. Saw one of his art books at a local comic shop, would have bought it if I hadn't spent my discretionary cash on food. For pure art he's up there with Raita, and his girls don't look anorexic to boot.

>>21174919
Pseudo player? lol MC's the worst kind of player, he isn't making booty calls, he's making girls loves him. And there'll be broken hearts because of it.

>>21174859
>>21174855
>>21174865

She nods, slowly - a fractional inclination of her head, as she draws her knees to her chest. There's an odd, unspoken tension that lingers in the air; A premonition of things not said, questions that have yet to be asked. It's a gulf, in more ways than one...And it widens by the moment.

You wait for a moment, but Natsumi doesn't seem about to say anything. But when you're *just* turning away, on the verge of stepping aside, you feel the slightest tug - soft as a feather - on your arm..A small hand pulling at your shirt sleeve, slim fingers holding on for the merest instant.

"-Don't."

It's a whisper, barely audible.

"Please don't...be like that. I don't want - I don't want you t, to..."

She slumps forward, slightly - Her grip tightening, the rest of her words lost in a mumble. "-Don't go," Natsumi says again, her voice low, almost despairing - "The Anon-kun I know...He's not a person like that..."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21174990
Well, the last girl we loved kinda died. So I'm pretty reluctant to get deeply emotionally involved with a different girl. We still have to kill Bardiel, Rust Kaiser, and Black Cardinal before I can think of moving on.

>>21175013
Stay with her. She's a wreck and needs any kind of support she can.
Reliable, constant support.

>>21175013

"Natsumi, I HAVE to. I can't let him get away."

>>21175016
I don't particularly trust Argent Prominence either. Like, really, what other point could that casket relic he made have had?

>>21175036

Oh, damn. I'm torn. I want to finish things with that asshole, but we can't leave her like this. What's the right thing to do?

>>21175013
"This is who I am though."

>>21175013
Ok, I won't go

We can be sure that the info will get to Argent anyway and he will have someone handle it

>>21175013
"The Anon-kun you know is an exceptional liar. I haven't been that person for a long time. I've been the Red Joker for a fair while and somehow you never suspected me.

I still like to think of myself as a half-way decent person at the end of the day but the truth is that the Red Joker's armor for all we know could have been white long long ago and been stained red by the blood on its hands.

I can't stay, I wish I could, but I can't let him get away, I can't let that monster who wears the wings of an angel live another day."

>>21175080
>>21175042
>>21175068

That's kind of harsh. Time IS a factor, but I feel we should take care of her...But that might mean Bardiel gets away. Aaaarrgghhh, what now?

>>21175013
Someone has to break up Pazuzu's gang, Natsumi. It's only a matter of time before they organize attack like the one at Nara.

>>21175036
>>21175078
Oh, fuck no. We are not letting Bardiel go. Especially now that we know he can somehow trace where Hecate has been.

>>21175099
If we put fighting people over our friends then we have become no better than these people we are fighting

We might say we have different reasons but in truth we would be no better

>>21175116
Darn, supposed to read "It's only a matter of time before they organize [another] attack like the one at Nara

>>21175013
>mfw OP delivers me the perfect place to write the speech I've been thinking up all week
"He killed Hecate. I don't know if I can tell you what that means, but you have to understand--she was the first person to see the Red Joker as anything other than someone to be killed. She was the first person to know me as both Anon and as the Red Joker, to ACCEPT me as both Anon and the Red Joker. She helped me when I was at my weakest, she could have ended me whenever she felt like and I wouldn't have been able to stop her and she chose to help me. She was the first person I could confide in about the game, about the Red World, about the killing. And Bardiel killed her. Except... there's a chance that she survived, maybe. I don't know, I saw her drop, I saw him do her in, but I don't KNOW. And I owe her, don't you see? For what she meant... no, for what she could have been.

"But, Natsumi... if you really, really need me to, I can stay. Not for long, because I HAVE to finish my business with bardiel, however that ends. You mean as much to me as her."

When in doubt as to how to proceed, turn it over to the GM. I hate it when my players do it to me, but I'll be damned if it's not effective.

>>21175136

Yeah, but while we're trying to salve her hurt feelings, more people may be dying.

>>21175136
No, we'd still be better. We stick to the rules of the game: 1 on 1 challenges, no correctors.

>>21175154
I love your talented writing so much Wata.

>>21175154
>You mean as much to me as her."

Holy mixed signals Batman!

So revenge is more important than helping a friend here.
We can destroy Pazuzu and his gang when our friend who has literally saved us many times isn't mentally crumbling.

>>21175165
No, we don't. We just fought in a twenty on two match.

>>21175162
And if we ignore Natsumi now it could lead to more trouble down the line if she starts doubting us

>>21175165
That's exactly it though, we are placing fighting over the people we care about we might be saying we are better because we follow rules that we decided on but it really doesn't make us any better than them because our focus is on the fights all the time

If we do go and fight Bardiel now we show that we aren't any different to the however many players out there that start fights for no reason at all and most likely will lose Natsumi's trust which given her position within Argents organization could become a very big problem

>>21175154
tl;dr, makes my head spin.
And I'm just staying up late.
I'd feel sorry for Natsumi if she had that dumped on her.

>>21175212
I only recall 1 actual rescue.

Anyway, it's too much of a risk to leave Bardiel alive. If he can track Hecate he could probably track us. Which could mean he can now find Natsumi's place, since we have recently been there.

>>21175165
Fuck the rules. Our opponents are breaking them left, right, and center. We want to be better than them than we just be better than them, but we're fighting for our life, we're fighting to kill these monsters and that means we hold nothing back.

>>21175229
That's only because of the Smilers changing the rules. We wouldn't have challenger 20 rookies at once. Actually I don't think we challenge rookies at all, they choose to challenge us due to overconfidence.

>>21175267
I just want to say I think the tracking is probably Pazuzu using his Nihl sphere to track Hecates/our Nihl sphere.

>>21175154
>>21175116
>>21175080
>>21175068

It's something in your voice - Or maybe it's something she sees on your face, in your eyes. Natsumi's fingers draw tight, gripping convulsively...Before her hand slides away, going limp. She leans forward, slightly - hiding her face in her hands, her crimson hair framing her features...As if she can't bear to look at you for a moment more.

In a way, it's a small mercy - This way, you can't see her as she begins to weep. It's an exhausted sound, clenched and hurting; "I *know*," she manages, between sobs. "I know, but, *but*...!"

The quilt is wonderfully absorbent, but Natsumi's shoulders tremble as she folds in on herself, until she can choke back the tears. "-It can't be like this..." she whispers, like a prayer. "...It can't..."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21175304

She's really broken down completely. We have to GO, or we'll be here the entire night.

>>21175245
No. We have a very good reason to go after the Smilers, they attacked us first en masse. And we aren't focusing on the fights to the exclusion of anything else because mos of the time it's other Players seeking us out while we're just hanging with friends.

>>21175285
I'd be really careful about saying things like that Nietzsche had a saying about fighting monsters, and the abyss.

The fact is, our last fight with them proved something: we're stronger than them. Massively so; even without Argent's intervention we'd probably win, if we'd been fully equipped we'd have swept them. The fact that we're so much stronger than them means we can act as we like with regards to them. We can choose to take the high road, even if it makes things more difficult. We can choose to be the white knight, a HERO like the old Joker was, if we're willing to take the chance. I think it's worth it, if only for the chance to kill Pazuzu and know we're nothing like him.

>>21175304
Ah well, was worth a shot. Time for option C then. Squeeze her shoulders. "Eat something. Shower up. You're coming with me. If you don't want me to kill, you'd better be willing to help me make it unnecessary."

>>21175304
"I wish it wasn't, I wish with every single fucking fiber of my being that it didn't work out this way.

All I can do is keep on fighting and maybe after I've walked through the darkness and the rivers of blood the sun will rise again.

Don't end up like me. Please, don't follow me, it is not a path I would wish upon my worst enemy. I have to go now. There's a man who needs to die.

Try to eat something and get some sleep."

>>21175365
Oh for the love of God, I just cannot into punctuation tonight. Imagine a semi-colon in between "that" and "Nietzsche" if you please.

>>21175365
Why are we bringing her with us?

>>21175304
I want to console her, but there's nothing I can say to make things better. I've decided on the course I think is best.

[X] Free.
KUCHIKI METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL awaits. As does BARDIEL.

Bus, cab, whatever gets us there faster.

>>21175365
I like plan C, since your all dead set on murderating Bardiel.
Let's go with plan C.

>>21175365

Don't bring her with us.

Like, really don't. that's a fuckign bad idea amid an entire storm of bad ideas.

>>21175365
>>21175400
I don't really want to bring her with. Her mental state is nowhere near what it has to be for her to fight well. She's exhausted in every way even after her rest. And we intend to kill Bardiel, this is not us fighting in self defense when we're attacked, this is tracking him down and killing him. It's completely justified but I don't think we should make her a party to that.

>>21175400

No way, we shouldn't. That is a recipe for disaster. Natsumi really shouldn't be fighting in her condition, because that would get her good and dead. Besides, it's better that she doesn't see what we're going to do to him.

>>21175365
What? No. Wata I know you have a bunch of good ideas here and there (minus the Joker speech against the assholes ganging up on us (way too fucking wordy)) but bringing along Natsumi is the absolute worst possible thing to do. She's in no condition to do much in the physical world, and I will bet you a hundred units of the Janitor from Scrubs' fake currency that Natsumi is hella not in any condition to do any kind of fighting, much less against flyboy asshole Bardiel.

>>21175365
>>21175419
>>21175428
>>21175437
Maybe we should call Kazuya to take care of her?

I think going to murder Bardiel is a very bad idea full stop

Killing people who attack us is ok but tracking someone down to kill them? That's when we start becoming the monster

Even just going to confront him seems a bad idea since it will end in a fight

>>21175474

We already did.

God DAMN it, people.
Can none of you trust any of our contacts or at least the probability Bardiel will be stuck in the hospital til late tomorrow?
Do we REALLY need to destroy one friend to get minor revenge for a dead one?

>>21175474
That seems like a good plan.

>>21175476
Bardiel's working with Pazuzu though, and he's got to be a power player with what he's packing. Taking him out will weaken the smilers.

>>21175481
No, we texted him and told him we'd found Natsumi (will he be confused? People didn't really think she was missing) and we'd see him at school tomorrow. I'm talking about actually having him come over.

Keep Natsumi here. Do NOT take her with us.

>>21175494
It doesn't change the fact that chasing him down makes us set foot on the path that leads to damnation and like >>21175490 said we are ignoring a friend who needs us right here and now for one who is already dead

>>21175476
Do you remember the bit where he killed Hecate, at least we're pretty sure he did. Where he tried to kill us at the Papillion?

He is our only lead to finding if Hecate is alive or dead, he's going to try to kill us again if we don't do this now, his death weaken's Pazzy's power structure. He needs to die.

>>21175490
I don't want to leave this to chance. He's a Player and he knows people will be after him. He knows that Argent has a wide reach, he used to work with Argent, so he's going to skedaddle as soon as possible.

>>21175393
>>21175462
I'm not bringing her along to fight, that's pants on head stupid. I'm suggesting bringing her along as an artificial conscience. We need Bardiel's information and we want justice for Hecate; but I've never believed in an eye for an eye. Break his confidence and take his wings; Argent told us he had issues about them.

Second, Natsumi needs a checkup. We cleaned her up but who knows what she did to herself in the days she was fighting.

And lastly, she's SAFER BY FAR around other members of Argent's organization than she is alone. I'm not going to lie, I find the mysterious unreturnable phone call suspicious as hell. What would be the best way to fuck Anon over? Tell him Bardiel's been spotted and take Natsumi while his back's turned. It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

>>21175490
I wish we'd checked to see what hospital Argent Prominence is in. The way the source spoke of AP makes me think he and Bardiel might be in the same hospital. And if the two of them are in the same one that just screams assassination attempt.

>>21175340
>>21175378
>>21175399
>>21175428
>>21175437

It takes moments - Long, painful moments - for you to tear yourself away. It's almost a relief to be out, despite the chill bite of the night air - The door swinging shut behind you with a low, reveberating boom, like a coffin lid slamming shut.

It's cold, you think. When did it get this cold?

It may be best if you left Natsumi alone, for now; At least she's in no danger, someplace *safe*...You hope. If Kazuya got your message, he'll be along to take care of her - You know he'd be.

...Or at least, you hope so.

The streets are oddly quiet, after dark; You're not sure why, but it seems - To you, at least - that the city is emptying out by the day...But there's a taxi idling by the side of the road, one that's willing to take you where you need to go.

Mercifully, the ride is a silent one. The driver communicates solely in grunts and wordless gestures, once you tell him your destination - In no time at all, the whitewashed steel-and-glass facade of the Kuchiki Metropolitan Hospital looms before you, the great crimson cadecus of the logo glowing with neon light.

There's...always a smell to hospitals, you've come to realize. Bitter, antiseptic - And always, always faintly rank, enough to turn the nose. The glass doors slide away, as you enter the main lobby, making the brief trek to arrivals an easy one.

*Is* Argent Prominence here, too? The newspaper didn't say, and he - obviously - hasn't got back to you, yet.

(Continued.)

>>21175537
What, exactly, convinces him to tell the man who hospitalized him anything in this scenario?

>>21175537
>Break his confidence and take his wings

Kay, I'm gonna disagree here. If we don't kill him and take part of what puts him at our level then chances are one of the other smilers will kill him since he's not useful anymore, meaning a Smiler gets a power up that could have been ours. Don't like that idea. Will be voting to kill unless there's extenuating circumstances.

>>21175537
We bring her along and she's going to get pulled in too, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

>>21175577
Lost trip?

>>21175537

you definitely have a point. But still, taking her with us is also dangerous. We'd have to prioritize her safety over killing bardiel then. I dont want her to interrupt a possible fight and sacrificing herself trying to safe us.

>>21175537
Those wings aren't going to come off unless we drop him dude. They're nanobots or something.

Like all state-of-the-art faculties - Appropriate for one of the largest, most well-funded hospitals in the city - almost everything here is computerized; Down to the temporary tag you receive, on the way in.

As you make your way to the registration counter, a crisp-looking receptionist favors you with a polite, plastic smile. "Can I help you, Sir?" she asks, turning her attention away from the bank of screens set discreetly to the side.

[ ] "I'm visiting a friend."
[ ] "Yes, I'm looking to follow up on a query..."
[ ] "I have a reference number, here."
[ ] "I was just wondering: Is Mr. Fumito warded here?"
[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21175580
Information is worth far more than any personal satisfaction murdering him would get us. Unless you mean on his part? Any number of things. I doubt he wants to die, so offering him protection could work. Not killing him then and there would probably do it to be honest.

>>21175607
If you think she's not involved you weren't paying attention back when we were working out the inheritances. She's like as to inherit Argent's place in the deck.

>>21175619
What do you trust more, Anon's ability to keep her safe or the smiling asshats choosing not to get back at Joker after he killed a half dozen of them? Besides, in a one on one duel other Players are relegated to a viewing room unless they enter the Red World with the intention to intervene.

Moot point now I suppose.

>>21175630
True, but he did say that every time he flew he had to believe in them for them to work, or something like that.

So we start off with some prebattle mockery, asking him if he really thinks they'll work this time, if he thinks he can fly with his arm the way it is, ask if he's ever heard of Icarus and his wings burning as he fell to his death.

We shake his confidence he might just go splat.

This whole series of events sucks. I wish it was possible to just do fun slice of life school activities interspersed with the occasional alternate reality power armor fight, but we just can't with things in this condition.

>>21175682

Yeah, things have gotten dark.

>>21175682
We could have sidestepped it entirely but people wanted to go full retard instead

>>21175658
[X] "I have a reference number, here."

Pleasant, professional, completely forgettable.

>>21175658
"Would it mean anything to you if I said I knew Argent Prominence? No? Okay, I'm looking for a man with a severely burned hand who checked in maybe about an hour ago. I have a number if it helps."

>>21175682
I'd be a lot happier if people actually thought about things rather than reacting as if this were the latest grimderp anime. CGR2 and Guilty Crown were infuriating for all sorts of reasons relating to how everyone needed to act like they were anime characters rather than people with rational thinking abilities. Is Hecate our Shirley? Probably, so let's not be Lelouch.

>>21175658

> [ ] "I have a reference number, here."

And:

> [ ] "I was just wondering: Is Mr. Fumito warded here?"

>>21175701
What? When did we get a reference number?
[X] "Yes, I'm looking to follow up on a query..."

also

[X] "I was just wondering: Is Mr. Fumito warded here?"

>>21175719
>>21175722
No, seriously. When did we get a number? I'm looking at the last thread and there's no number.

Oh, also, if you're paranoid about the source you probably shouldn't use the mystery number he gave you.

>>21175757

It's in the opening of the first post.

>>21175757
Phone call guy gave it to us. You'll note Anon was writing it down at the start of the thread.

I really don't have a choice about the number. "Take care of Natsumi" was voted down twice, so the only option available to me as a dissenter is to move this along ASAP.

>>21175786
We could at least be smart about how we go about this. Should do the "follow up on a query option". I have this odd imagining about Bardiel calling the cops and saying we set him on fire while being backed by other smilers and we'll get to a room and get jumped by SWAT.

>>21175757

(My apologies: I intended to include it in the closing of the last thread, but it seems I forgot to include it. It's referenced at the start of this one, though.)

> [X] "I was just wondering: Is Mr. Fumito warded here?"

"Apologies, sir - We don't give out personal information."

>>21175719
> [X] "I have a reference number, here."

The receptionist looks faintly puzzled, for a moment, but nods as you slide the number over: "One moment, please."

Tak-tak-tak goes the keyboard. There's a faint whirr, then a hiss of electronic noise. "...Mr. Hiroshi Shindo, is it? Yes, he's just been warded on Floor Seven, the Burns unit - You'll be his first visitor."

Your pass is inserted into the machine, and laser light plays across the surface before it's handed back. "He's in room 7-9 - This should give you access to the seventh floor. Will you be needing a guide?"

...Right, you remember from last time. As part of the modern security measures, access is limited; Every floor has an electronic lock, with the appropriate clearance needed to pass it. You're not sure *why*, but they seem to take this *very* seriously...Probably goes hand-in-hand with all the funding they've received, though.

[ ] "Yes, please."
[ ] "No, it shouldn't be necessary."
[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21175899
[X] "No, it shouldn't be necessary."

A guide, when we're planning on killing him. Yeah, that's a good idea.

>>21175899
Yes thankyou
We need someone else there to stop him from doing something stupid

>>21175833
If they're at the point that a phone call can get SWAT teams or the Japanese equivalent sent to smash a teenager in a public hospital we're already dead.

>>21175899
Odd place to give a choice. Can't imagine why.

[x] "Yes, please."

>>21175913
No, we're not. Anon is not anyone's murderer. We're going to talk to him, and if he attacks first what happens, happens.

>>21175899

> [X] No need.

It'd be a trial, but I think we can manage without one. [/sarcasm]

>>21175899
[X] "Yes, please."

Should transform when we get to his room, before we go in.

>>21175913
We're not going to kill him with our bare hands. It'll probably look like he died from his wounds or an infection unless we use the Nihl Sphere to set him on fire again.

>>21175899
>>21175934

[X] No, we'll be fine.

We can do this alone. We won't want anyone in the way, would we?

It's like no one in here's played Persona 4. Mysterious person calls you up, "Hey that guy you blame for everything is alone in the hospital! Better kill him while you have the chance!" And that leads to the bad ending. Take the high road, Anons.

>>21175984

The thing about it is, I don't think he'll bring anyone outside into it. Any form of explanation would be utterly and completely insane. We'll handle this our way, for now.

>>21175899
Now I'm curious about who's funding the hospital.

>>21175984
No it is just people being idiots
On that note I am out, have fun being as regarded as humanly possible since that seems to be the aim of everyone but you that's in this thread

>>21176004
*retarded not regarded

>>21176004
Apart from abandoning a friend in need, I fail to see what's retarded about this.

Still feels like a trap now. I wonder what the chances are Pazuzu could have his own company and be the backer o this hospital?

>>21176021
Abandoning a friend in need, opening her up to an attack when she is vulnerable, walking into what is almost certainly a trap, asking about a very powerful person when we have no known public link to him, planning to murder someone in a hospital

I could go on

>>21176078
Pretty good as to the first, less good as to the second. Remember his hideout is a series of arcades owned by a conman who made millions and got away.

>>21176096
We're not killing him. There are just enough voices here opposed to that option to stop the Anons in favor. Again, if he attacks us I say respond, but Anon isn't going to sink to his level ever.

(It seems that the vote is for 'No', by one point.)

> [X] "No, it shouldn't be necessary."

"All right. The lift to the ward is that way, Sir."

The advice is helpful. This place is *big*, to say the least; It reminds you, vaguely, of a layered cake - Buttressed with a bewildering maze of criss-crossing walkways and monochrome buildings. The elevator chimes, softly, as it makes the slow ascent...You're reminded of the time you fought Abyss, and the sense-memory makes your palms itch...

-But nothing untoward happens, when you reach level seven. The wide corridor, again, is empty; The doors closed and secured by the same electronic locks, the shutters drawn down on each one. Your shoes tap against the polished floors, as you make your way down the rows...Counting against the brass plaques set at discreet intervals.

As it turns out, you needn't have bothered - 7-9 is the second room from the end. You feel the slow trickle of adrenaline spiking your pulse up, as you scan the card and push the door open...

-The room beyond is an expensive, single-patient ward; Climate-controlled, with crisp white sheets, a cupboard, a personal bathroom...One of the few that don't have to be shared. It's mostly dominated by a hospital bed, inclined to a sitting position - The blankets are rumpled, pushed back, leaving a furrow on the sheets.

Nearby, an IV-stand - The drip unplugged, saline fluid puddling slowly on the ground below - is canted at an odd angle, the bitter smell of burning making your nostrils twist. It's a distinctly unpleasant stench, stains on the covers telling you that someone *was* here...

-But the room is empty.

There's a loop of stained dressing on the couch, empty plastic pill cases scattered - Like trash - on the carpeted floor.

...There's no-one here. Not right now.

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21176109
maybe not got away, pretty sure he was the original Black Cardinal. I wonder if Pazuzu is related to him?

Also, not killing him in the real world maybe. I still see no benefit to letting him live.

>>21176136
...Interesting. Press the security call, call the mysterious number again and hope that whoever it is answers this time. Call Natsumi, tell her to get to our place. Check the Red World only AFTER all that is done.

>>21176136

Fuck, we just missed him!

Search the room. Toss it thoroughly.

>>21176136
Could he be behind the door? Take a step back and look through the hinge seam.

>>21176171
Also, we should probably tell a doctor, so it doesn't look suspicious.

Maybe we're in the web of an unrelated Player? Some rich jerk who funds a hospital and then uses an all access key to prey on Players when they've been hurt?

>>21176181
Ah, don't trash the room, that's way too suspicious.

>>21176136
Motherfucker. We can't let him get away, quickly search the room for clues. See if there's any sort of trail in terms of blood, or anything like that.

If we don't find anything we might have to check the Red World.

>>21176136
See, this is where taking a guide would have been very helpful.

>>21176226
Interesting question: if Bardiel flies in the Red and thus makes excellent time, what's his body doing in the Real?

>>21176253
No-clipping through buildings most likely.

Completely forgot about this. Was playing Sim City...

>>21176136

Listen. *really* listen. For heavy breathing and such. Look on the tile for a blood trail as well.

He's either booked it (in which he will not of went far without outside assistance) ior hiding in a closet waiting for our back to be turned to put a scalpel in our back or a tube around our neck.

Be paranoid.

File: 1350546795063.jpg-(99 KB, 768x576, oxycontin01.jpg)

You press the security call, then punch in the number on your phone. You're lifting it to your ear when you hear-

RING RINGGGGGGGGG

...It's *in this room*.

Your eyes dart around the ward for a moment, before - There, movement! - you home in on the sound. There's a handphone - A cheap, disposable model - under the bed, barely concealed by the covers; With it, a scatter of yellow pills, marked with OC on side, and 40 on the other.

...And there's something else, too. Small, black flakes, littering the floor, like tiny dark spots. Is that...flesh?

There's only one number on the other phone:

Yours.

Nothing else in the caller history.

You pause, frowning - Before a low, moaning gust of wind makes you shiver. It's cold in here, strangely so - Especially given the heater her-

...The window. The window is open.

You push the curtains to the sides, and look out; Outside, along the narrow ledge, you see that another window has been opened - *Forced* open, more like, given that they're not meant to be pushed outwards. Judging from your position, it's...

-The stairwell?

You look down, and shudder - It's a straight drop seven storeys down. Also, why would someone *do* this? Even your card has access to the winding staircase...It's just not *necessary* to do something like that.

...Did he just climb along the narrow, rain-slick ledge - with an injured arm - for no reason?

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21176309

> oxycontin

He must be as high as a fucking KITE.

>>21176309

HE KNOWS! CHASE HIM DOWN JOKER! LET HIS LAST MOMENTS BE OF CHEER AND MERRIMENT THE LIKES HE MADE AT NARA DREAM-LAND!

>>21176339
You know, as much as I hate going full sociopath on this shit, I do support chasing him down.
But seriously. Tell a damn doctor first.

>>21176309

Crazy bastard.

Is there a conveniently placed drain pipe leading up to the roof or down to the ground next to that window that's been jimmied?

If not, grab the disposable, double-back out to the hall and head to the room with the jimmied window.

If the door is open, don't open it and wait and listen outside before barging in like a retard.

The guy is HIGH AS A FUCKING KITE and thus will probably think he's invincible.

>>21176309
Not no reason, he's sneaking out of the hospital and didn't want anyone to know. Either we've been set up or our source was got at.

>>21176362
It's not a room it's a stair way. Since he was on a rain-slick ledge he should be leaving wet footprints behind, so we'll know if he went up or down.

>>21176309
>...Did he just climb along the narrow, rain-slick ledge - with an injured arm - for no reason?
See:
>>21176327
> He must be as high as a fucking KITE.
Actually, more to the point, he just activated his trap card. Walk to the stairs, nothing to be gained by running except sneak attacked. Call Natsumi, and suggest that she evacuate her place and get to ours.

>>21176339
[sarcasm]Oh yes, that's sure to work. It's not at all like he wants us to fuck up and kill ourselves, or do walk blindly into a trap! Let's go right no--[/sarcasm] NO. Think, retard.

>>21176364
He made the call. He was the source. He wants us here for whatever reason. It's even more important now that we find out what's going on.

>>21176362

*if the door is closed

I can't into grammar.

>>21176309
I guess it could be an elaborate setup to get us to go on a wild goose chase.

The phone being here and the fact that when we called back we got no answer, he must have left right after making the call? Maybe we should go back to Natsumi?

>>21176372

He climbed out his room's window and into the stairwells window along the ledge.

How I read it.

Yeah, don't follow him. Get Natsumi and go home.

Yeah, this smells of a setup.

Crank that paranoia up to Shadowrun.

The speakerphone crackles to electronic life, startling you:

> "Sir, is everything all right? Is everything-"

You keep looking: There *are* footprints, stains on the grey ledge. He did. It's crazy, but he *did* go that way.

You back out of the room, closing the door behind you - The electronic lock to the stairwell beeps, once, as you swipe your card, pushing it open...

-Inside, as you've seen before, are a long series of flat-cut steps. With the connecting elevators, this isn't used much - It's a sop to safety, in case of a fire...As if the patients and staff would be able to make the descent amid a tide of unhinged panic.

Sound travels oddly, here - Bouncing off the thick concrete walls of the close confines, broken only by the windows at each landing...All firmly shut, barring one.

And above...

-You heard harsh, heated gasps...The skitter of plastic, as a hunched figure fumbles with something that glitters. As you edge - so very cautiously - into the stairwell, there's a *tak* as a blank card drops to the ground...Then a muffled curse, as clumsy fingers reach for another.

At this distance, you can't see his face, but...

-It's him.

(continued.)

Actually, now that I think about it, AP could still be in this hospital. How possible is it that Bardiel wants to assassinate AP while he's week and drugged and then take us out with the power he gains from the resulting level/s?

>>21176439
Call out, "You know, I'm pretty sure that hospitals frown on leaving before you've been cleared. Or is there a problem with your health card? Either way, security will be right there, so stay put."

Call security, get them to do the work for us.

Hiroshi Shindo, if that's really his name.

Or, as you know him: Bardiel.

You've seen him once before, at the Papillion: Grey-eyed, at ease, with a jacket that lent him a faintly predatory air. He's on one knee, cursing under his breath as he kneels at a door; Trying one keycard after another, growing increasingly frantic as they fail to work.

The serene *beeps* of rejection are oddly soothing, as he discards the failures - You can almost hear his teeth grinding, working with one hand.

His arm - The one you burned - is...

-It's a horror of charred, rumpled flesh and criss-crossing dressings, stained black; The gauze mark with unpleasant secretions, skin crackling as he moves. There's an unsteady tremble to his motions, as he keeps at his task...

Until he hears you, somehow.

"Kaiser, is that-" he begins, voice taut with frustration, turning to look...

-He sees you. You see him, in the exact same moment; The bloodshot eyes, the focus warring with the pain, the way his mouth is chewed at the edges.

And in that moment, you -

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21176439
Wait man I just wanna help you, you know not be in pain any more!

Slow down it'll make this take longer and i have so many questions!

>>21176495
See >>21176473
Also, "You really shouldn't have killed her, Bardiel. I'm sure the police will love having you as evidence when they go after the rest of your gang."

>>21176495

do >>21176497

also offer that if he gives us what we want we will let him live

with the first thing being location and names of the assholes
reason for Nara dreamland
and Hecate's ultimate fate.(if shes dead we'll still leave him alive)

>>21176495
"How's the arm doing fucker? Looks like it hurts an awful lot. This pleases me greatly.

You're not going to get far on that many drugs and with your arm like that. So I'd suggest you stay still and start talking so I don't have to clip your metaphorical and literal wings.

Tell me about Rust Kaiser, tell me about the smiley fuckers and Pazuzu. Tell me what happened to Hecate."

If he looks like he's going to bolt draw our knife. We might have to hamstring another fucker.

>>21176495
Rust Kaiser's here? shit

Talk

"You look like shit. But to be fair, I did tell you I was going to make you scream."

>>21176495

"Like my memento? It would be such a shame if I would haft to do the same to the other arm."

"And maybe the legs as well."

I want answers and you are going to give them to me. You may still live to see the next day."

"Or not."

>>21176524
Fuck, did we even remember to bring the knife? Seems like we haven't been bringing it with us lately.

>>21176527
Actually, I think Rust Kaiser offered us Bardiel as bait. We should taunt him with this.

"Kaiser's not here right now. He did leave a message, though I don't think you'll like the tone."

And no knife, we called security, the last thing we need is anyone seeing us threatening the escaping patient with a knife. Haven't you ever heard of security cameras?

>>21176543
I hope we did. I like having a sharp bladed object on us. If we won't have one we can just punch him in his scorched arm, or grab it and squeeze, the pain ought to fuck him up enough that he isn't going anywhere.

>>21176497
>>21176505
>>21176524
>>21176527

His face contorts - The lines drawing *tight*, all at once, into a animal snarl of fury and hate and shock, slicing through the pain-numbed haze, and...

-He runs away.

His footsteps pound on the steps, his harsh, hitching breath becoming all the more labored, as he *runs*. Cards scatter in his wake - All plastic, all blank except for a single black number stamped on them, and they skitter against the concrete steps like a crazed game of 52-card pickup.

He has a head start, that's true: He's about two, three flights up from you. But *you're* in the way - And he's not coming towards you. Instead, he runs *up*, as fast as his legs can carry him...Powered by the fear that gives men wings.

-There's nowhere he can go except the roof. He has no way *down*, not that you know of - But he runs anyway.

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21176561

Actually, there's hardly any pain at all after the first day or two. Most of the nerve endings are dulled. Pop one of the blisters though....

>>21176561
I just don't like the idea of doing this stuff in the Real. Explanations are hard, you know?

>>21176527
Been going through that thread an addendum to this: "Like I said before, I want the real names of Pazuzu and Rust Kaiser. I'm going to hurt you until you tell me what I want to know. Or you die. Feel like talking yet?"

>>21176580
Let him run. We're not in any hurry. He obviously wants to do something dramatic and stupid on the roof, so I say let him be bagged by the nice security men with their tranquilizers. I don't feel like standing on the roof making like anime characters in the rain with a psychopath. Mundane police can deal with that clown. Much more comedy to be had there, and we are the Joker after all...

>>21176580
Chase him, or Transform and chase him?

>>21176593
Too late again, crap.

>>21176580

If he's hurting this much in real space, we can beat him into submission in the red world with zero effort.

He's panicked, high on pain killers, and in some serious pain.

>>21176580
Chase him up, we don't want him to get away. We have questions that need answers.

"Do you still think you can fly? That your wings will work for you after what I did to you. They're going to betray you Bardiel, you will come crashing to the ground alongside your broken wings. And I will laugh, laugh as you're forced down to everyone else's level."

>>21176611

He can fly.

He might actually have a plan to get out.

>>21176611
But how and when do we get what we need from him? The fact that this was some kind of setup means we can't just beat the hell out of him and leave him with AP's guys.

>>21176629

I think Rust kaiser set him up. I don't know why, but he judas'd this guy out to us.

>>21176580
Have to be careful, Rust Kaiser's around here somewhere. He blindsided us last time, I'd rather not have a repeat.

>>21176624
He can fly in the Red World, which doesn't give people any of their powers in the real. Even if he flew elsewhere he's still bound to local geography, so his physical body would have to do the walking for him.

>>21176629
AP's guys weren't here to begin with. Someone connected to Bardiel (probably Rust Kaiser) made the call to get us to kill him. Or to get a shot at Natsumi. Either way, we're not getting anything out of him at this point in time.

>>21176611

We should probably go after him, because we're going to look like the bad guy otherwise. And let's not risk this dude getting away.

"Rust hung you out to dry *Shindo.*"

"I'm coming for those answers."

Rolled 27

(One moment.)

>>21176657

Huh. 4chanx's auto-updater shit itself.

Didn't see >>21176642

Glad we had the same thought though.

>>21176672
Bugger. Things are never good for us when OP rolls in thread.

>>21176649
>Or to get a shot at Natsumi

That just raises so many more questions. Like, how'd they know about Natsumi in the first place? No, I'm betting on bait. RK and possibly others are wait for the opportune moment to strike.

>>21176672

>27 on a d100

hue hue hue hue

File: 1350550184673.jpg-(52 KB, 570x377, 3512353241235235.jpg)

>>21176672

>Dat roll

>>21176672
GODDAMN TG DICE.

>>21176672
Aw man, blindsided again?

>>21176695

Yup. Prepare your gaping anus.

Should have transformed.

>>21176672
Wah, what are wee gonna do on the roof?

SPLAT~

(Don't worry, that was his attack roll.)

>>21176621
>>21176657

"Get *fucked*!" you hear him snarl - You've hit a nerve.

Then both of you are running too hard to talk any more.

The hospital has - Through accident or deliberate design - thirteen floors...There's nowhere he can go, nowhere he can *run*. You pound after him, gaining on him; You hear a CLANG, then the heavy distortion that comes with something hurtling through the air-

...You duck, just in time, as a fire extinguisher tumbles right past your head, bouncing and clattering down the steps. It hits the far wall hard enough to dent it, before it keeps rolling - It make an awful clamor as you make the next landing, his lead shrinking to a single floor...

-And then you hear the dull THUD as Shindo's weight slams into the door to the roof. There's a growl of pain, and a *beep* - Before it swings open, to the roar of the cold night wind outside.

The roof is...Startlingly, for a place so concerned with security...an amazingly unsafe place. The rooftop is littered with heat exchangers and ventilation shafts, as well as a solitary watertank; There's a low railing that borders the wide surface, a flat bumpy plane broken up by angular shapes.

End of the line.

As you emerge from the stairwell, you see that Shindo has finally stopped running. He's standing at the very edge of the rooftop, turned to face you as his jacket flaps in the wind; There's a faint violet gleam, from something he's grasping in his hand - It looks like...A chunk of crystal?

...*Violet* crystal, as smoky and swirling as the depths of your Nihl Sphere.

"You're always in my way," he grits out, his voice clenched with hate - His eyes fever-bright, a slouch to his stance as he leans against the railing. "Fucking *Joker*...They should have put you out of your misery, like a *sick dog*..."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21176728
So, low rolls are good in this quest?

"Like I said before, I want the real names of Pazuzu and Rust Kaiser and their locations. I'm going to hurt you until you tell me what I want to know, or you die. Feel like talking yet?"

>>21176728
Oh, that's good. We just have a learned reaction of pure terror when you roll in front of us.

"Before I kill you I have a few questions. If you answer them I'll even make your death relatively painless. If you don't talk that arm of yours is just the start. Just imagine the fun I could have with a broken bird like yourself.

Tell me everything you know about Rust Kaiser and Pazuzu. Tell me what happened with Hecate."

>>21176728
We gotta touch that thing with the Nihl Sphere, we gotta.

>>21176728
Always? What does he mean by always?
Do we know this douche from before he killed our girlfriend?

>>21176728

"Big talk for a man about to die"

"For all you've done, i'll make sure your death will be long and painful"

basically, intimidate him. if he's scared enough he'll blurt any information we want

>>21176728
"They tried. It didn't take. So they sent me your address. Since we both know how our last match ended I can only suppose that they want me to kill you. And I want to kill you, but I've always been a curious sort, and currently the questions I want answered outweigh my incredible desire to kill you. There's only three that matter. Answer them and we go our separate ways. First: What happened to Hecate? Second, where can I find Pazuzu? And third, who's bright idea was it to make an enemy of me?"

>>21176757
*whose. Fucking hell I even scream at people about the difference when they get it wrong.

>>21176728

"A pathetic amalgamation if who you once were, eh Shindo? Does it hurt? I hope it does. I've been looking for you, Shindo ever since you killed a certain someone very close to me."

>pause for dramatic affect

"Where is your companions, Shindo? Your misfit band of meat that I so easily slaughtered just to get to *you.* Where is your chum, Rust? I don't see him around to pull you out of the fire this time, eh?"

>glance at crystal

"Your toy isn't going to stop me from getting the answers I want."

>>21176728
"I'm not the hawk with a broken wing, Bardiel."

>>21176743
>>21176746
>>21176778
>>21176778

You hear a low, actinic hiss of breath saw from his throat. He's gripping the shard in his good hand - So hard it's cutting into his palms, as he stares right back at you, glassy-eyed. His cracked lips peel back from white teeth, clenched so tight it's almost as if they're on the verge of cracking.

"They'll *find* you first," he spits out - You hear the faint creak, as he presses against the metal behind him. "I've *dreamed*," he says, his voice becoming thick and wet, "-of meeting you again. Of paying you *back* for this."

He shapes a fist with his charred left hand, the skin like pork crackling. Blood splits and runs over his knuckles.

...Something's wrong.

He's not *scared*. Why isn't he scared?

>>21176795

"No, you're a dog without your bitch." His words are low, mocking. You can see something else in his eyes, now: The frenzy.

He's gone blood simple.

> "Tell me everything you know about Rust Kaiser and Pazuzu. Tell me what happened with Hecate."

Shindo's grey eyes darken dangerously, but his voice comes out light. "Was that her name? She died before she could tell me. Her last words were - 'Please, please, fuck me like an animal.'"

He laughs in your face. "-You're such a baby, Joker. It's a shame I can *only kill you once*."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21176831

....fuck.

Whatever he's about to do, the Nihl Sphere *hungers*. Put it between us and the magic-y shit he's doing.

>>21176831
Oh wow he's nuts. "Get in line. Better people than you tried and lost. What are you waiting for anyway? Normally you're halfway dead before we banter so much. Rust Kaiser isn't here to save you, so do the smart thing and surrender." Then call Natsumi and tell her you'll be done soon.

Chance of him actually doing so zero to nil. Ah well was interesting while it lasted.

>>21176831

This guy is *vile*.
It's time to kick his ass.

>>21176864

I actually thought he was going to commit sudoku taking us with him.

>>21176831
Well, he just fucked up. He insulted Hecate.

"Very well, the Red Joker, consummate showman, invites you to a stellar performance. Watching a vulture who thinks himself an angel try to fly with broken wings. You're going to die, and it will hurt."

Get the Nihl sphere, make sure it's ready to eat any magic bullshit he pulls, and transform.

>>21176831
Wait a second guys is AP at the hospita and Rust kaiser is supposely here so should honestly be messing around right now?

>>21176831
Since the Nihl Sphere can exist in both worlds, and transport things between them.... Can we bring the red joker armor into this world? Even an arm will do, just for the satisfaction of burning off his other arm with our vulcans.

>>21176831
"I said I'd make you scream last time, and you were so loud I could hear you from a soundproofed back room, but you're still not taking me *seriously*. You still act like this is a game *you* could win. Alright, let's play."

[X] Free.

Let him Transform first and raw us in. That shard could be some kind of trap.

>>21176895
*messing around with him right now

>>21176895

Prominence probably has his own Doc Wagon contract. He's likely doped up in his own house with a doctor on call.

>>21176910
*draw

>>21176921
Mr. Johnson knows better than to get anywhere near the A.O. This Anon's a right bright chummer here.

>>21176895
We don't actually know that, he could be somewhere else. That said this whole thing stinks. Could be they gave him a powerup and are waiting for him to either kill us or wear us down so they can kill us.

>>21176831
>"Tell me everything you know about Rust Kaiser and Pazuzu. Tell me what happened with Hecate."
>Shindo's grey eyes darken dangerously

Why did he have a reaction to that and not the other stuff?

>>21176831
I'm sure he didn't kill hecate but he's still an asshole.

File: 1350552953453.jpg-(164 KB, 255x600, jokerslasher.jpg)

You feel the Nihl Sphere *throb*, against the inner lining of your coat: As Shindo raises the crystal in his good hand, and hurls it down...

Everything

Goes

To

Pieces

There's a vicious un-light that comes from everywhere and nowhere at once. The night sky shatters, and rains down in dissolving fragments - Tumbling away to reveal the ruddy crimson of the world beyond. You actually *see* the distortion sweep out in all directions, like the ripple of a stone being hurled into a tranquil pond...

You smell molten iron, burning sand.

You stand atop an obsidian tower, taller than you could imagine - So high the world beneath shrinks away to nothing, the city's skyline replaced by the bizarre alien architecture of the red.

"...You want to know what we are?"

Bardiel's voice booms out from his speakers, as he stands before you, armored in chrome - His bladed wings sweeping out behind him in great, resplendent crescents, tall and cruel and spiked. A steel halo ratchets out from around him, expanding like the petals of a flower; You see weapons of unnatural and hideous make fastened to them by magnetic clamps.

"We're no-one."

You realize, with a jolt, that you're *seeing* him with your fleshy eyes.

"We're everyone."

You're not in your armor.

"We are a choice."

His arms cross over his chest, spindly metal filaments telescoping outwards - Snub-nosed weapons ratcheting into his grasp. The barrel of each one is as thick - across - as your arm.

"We are explorers on the human adventure," Bardiel growls, awful blue light flickering behind his mask. "...And you can't come along."

[ ] Free.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21177021
What an asshole

>>21177021

...And a total fuckhead, to boot.

>>21177021
>You're not in your armor.
The fuck you say?

And to think, all I wanted was to reconnect with Natsumi. It's almost like I was right that this was a terrible idea! But no, Watashiwa can't be right, who listens to him?

*sigh*

Go for the Nihl Sphere. Either its bullshit can get us out or it can get the armor out. Any cover to hide behind? Unless he stays on the ground we can't introduce him to the Sphere at point blank range, and unless there's cover he's going to get into the air. Can we get into the tower? Is the door still behind us?

Rolled 11

>>21177021

Nihl Sphere! I choose you!

A broken trump card is still a trump card.

>>21177021

TRANSFORM, and shoot him.

Shoot the fuck out of him.

>>21177021
Well we probably won't be transform this time but we still have the nihl sphere so we might have a chance.

>>21177021
Oh god
What the fucking fuck
Jesus Christ
What the fuck

Try to transform, if that fails, look for a route of escape. If that fails, hold the Nihil Sphere and ready our knife if we have it. We're going down fighting anyway.

>>21177021
This is all my fault. I said we should let him go first, but really we should have made the first move.

Run somewhere while we figure this out?

>>21177021
Transform. Like, now. Hold the Nihl sphere and will it to do this if needed.

"The task of the jester is to expose through jokes the nature of those he mocks. Your death will be the joke and you and your ilk shall be shown as cowards, weaklings and scum."

>>21177092
*be able

File: 1350553835753.png-(132 KB, 520x293, joker.png)

>>21177021

The wave of disorientation that sweeps over you - It's quickly dispelled by the more obvious threat. As Bardiel's fingers tighten on the trigger, as his wings arch with cutting blades, you shape the right thought...

-And transform.

He fires. Smoke blossoms at the barrels, and rockets arch out towards you, across the distance - Single-use launchers, each one hurled aside as soon as they're fired. The air fills with single-edged steel feathers, like a hail of impaling shards...

Time seems to slow.

The helmet comes first, closing around your skull - Replacing your vision with the green light of mono-optic sensors. The Adjudicator comes next, as you sweep the shield across your chest - And bat the first missile away, deflecting it high and into the sky. A blade slices your cheek; The rest spark and shatter against crimson plate that sketches itself into place around your body...

-And your right arm Vulcan comes up, and you begin to fire.

(Continued.)

>>21177109
Boy we got no time regrets right now we'll plenty of time after thr battle for that.

Your Plasma Vulcans spit scorching green bolts of actinic flame, as the second missile falls short, exploding right in front on you - Obsidian fragments whine and *ping* fitfully off your greaves, in time to the thunder of gunfire.

You're *here*.

You're *really* here, in the flesh. You can feel it, in every fibre of your being; It's like a realer-than-real dream, painfully lucid. Your first shots explode against Bardiel's left arm, as he reaches for another weapon - The burst staggers him, and he sweeps his wings around himself, forming a momentary shield as plasma bolts scorch against the impossibly dense metal.

"So, *Joker*," you hear him murmur, with dark, humid glee, sheltering from your shots; "-I heard that you can't *fly*, now..."

> HP: 122%
> METER: 11%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 100%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>21177163
"Planning on running away again?"

We never Boosted the Plasma Vulcans last time, maybe we should try that.

>>21177163
"And I heard from a mutual friend that you can't fly so well, either."

If I remember correctly, RG mentioned to us that Bardiel's flight really depends on his state of mind. If we can shake his faith in it we might be able to disable him.

Oh yeah, and shoot him.

>>21177163
"Won't need to."
Aim for the shoulders and head with the plasma vulcans be prepared to sidestep his next attack.

>>21177178
Add: "But to be honest I wasn't surprised. You kept slamming into things at the slightest distraction. Like you had no experience at all. A novice who hadn't even read the manual."

I recommend waiting until we have at least 30% meter before we use the interceptors.

>>21177214
>>21177178
I like your style

>>21177163
I'd like to know what's behind us. Do we hav the option of going back into the Red equivalent of the hospital?

>>21177220
I think we should get them up right the fuck now.

He's relying on a lot of ranged weaponry currently, having something that blows his missiles out of the sky the moment they leave the barrel and otherwise destroys or prevents other projectiles from hurting us is needed in this fight.

>>21177163
Set out 3 rifle interceptors. Give them a priority of tasks, #1, prevent harm to us by intercepting any projectiles, missiles, and so on. As well as taking shots at him to throw off his aim if it is doable, #2 prevent harm to yourself by taking out any projectiles aimed at you or moving out of the way, #3 deal damage to Bardiel with a focus on aiming in tandem at weak points.

>>21177177
>>21177178
>>21177214
>>21177233

You're fighting on the top of the wide roof, with uncertain cover from the obstacles that used to be heating vents and air-conditioning blocks...Now turned into stranger things by the involuntary shift to the red world.

There doesn't seem to be a way down, not directly - The stairs you descended lost amid the transition. But it's been replaced by a jigsaw mosaic of smaller platforms, by the clustered spires beneath you - Each within a *leap* of the other, descending at uneven intervals beneath you.


His furled wings stiffen in an angular shape, bristling as the 'feathers' extend like spines; You step up the attack, the Cobalt Booster funneling azure light to your Plasma Vulcans...The scorching *snap-hiss* of energy bolts replaced by the high-pitched shriek of booster munitions.

*That* has an effect. You hear Bardiel yelp, his temporary shield retracting; One great *leap* propelling him up and to the side, in a strangely awkward hop. Smoke trails from tiny marks on his shining plate, where your blasts have hit him...

-But he doesn't take to the air, not *truly*. He hovers for a moment, clearly favoring his right arm; Now clutching a large-bore handgun of some kind-

He fires, and there's a FOOM as it discharges - And the railing to your right explodes, as if struck by an invisible, fast-moving meteor; The blast knocks you forward and to the side, into the obsidian shadow of a raised plinth.

"Shut the hell up!" Bardiel roars, and fires again - Missing wildly, this time. "-You're going to *die*, Joker; And I'll shit on your *fucking corpse*!"

> HP: 117%
> METER: 18%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 90%

TIER ONE WEAPONRY UNLOCKED.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21177249

(Apologies, I missed that one; I'll keep it in mind for the very next post.)

>>21177264
"Your such a bad joke but I'll laugh anyway." begin laughing at while doing this >>21177249 and firing off two cobalt boosted missiles.

>>21177249
The drain will be too much. We should wait and use all 5 in a surprise move to hit him from all angles (like Freedom vs Providence in Gundam Seed) and distract him so we can hit him with a more powerful weapon.

Man screw all of you who didn't vote Meter last time.

>>21177267
It's cool.
>>21177264
So get some interceptors out. Keep on moving between cover, keep on firing our Vulcans at him, prioritize hitting his injured arm as it'll hurt him more. Don't spend any more meter, I kinda want to build up for a Railgun shot or a Annihilator shot as he ought to be very scared of fire by now.

"You can barely even fly any more. What's the matter? Do you know they'll drop you this time? That the wings you stole have never liked you and were just waiting for a chance to betray you. You can't even take to the skies any more. You're too afraid, you know what'll happen, you'll try to fly and part way up they'll just turn off."

>>21177330
Please try not to be that asshole who complains all the time.

>>21177332
Cobalt boosted missiles will set him on fire.

>>21177264
"That arm's too much for you, huh? Well like I just said, the slightest distraction and you'd go spiraling out of control. You know, your problem is you have no talent. Such and amazing Relic is wasted on a hack like you."

>>21177377
You make a good point. I'm not the sort of guy to complain about setting people on fire.

We should have the interceptors intercept any attempts he makes to intercept our missiles.

>>21177391
Good point bro lets do that too

>>21177386
>>21177316
>>21177332

Your missile racks snap open, a pair of missiles spiralling up and into the air - They arch towards Bardiel on columns of blue fire, coming right towards him. He sees them coming - One concussive blast sends the first rocket spinning away, thrust firing dizzily as it tumbles away from the platform...

-But the other one explodes before him, in an expanding cloud of fuming azure death. "What th-" he begins; But then there's napalm *everywhere* and he doesn't land, he *crashes* - A tumbling dive that ends in a violent parabolic arch as he ploughs across the roof, the razor edges of his wings sparking against obsidian stone, contrails of flame licking at him.

He's momentarily out of visual range, but that doesn't stop you from launching your Rifle Bits; The Interceptors decouple from your left shoulder and back, kicking themselves skywards.

"Is that you, Joker? IS THAT YOU?" Bardiel howls - He sounds like he's baying at the moon, utterly thrashed on painkillers and adrenaline and hate. He switches round, and *fires*; Catching your first tumbling Rifle Bit as it zips around to shoot at him.

There's *two* more, however, and he's facing the wrong way. Particle beams slash-stab against his armor, and as you duck out of cover, you see Bardiel turning this way and that, rays riocheting wildly off his shielding wings, as if from a swarm of stinging insects.

(Continued.)

He's burning, horrid chemical fires scorching his wings, licking at his limbs as you unload on him; Firing a sustained burst, ripping the darkness to pieces with green flares of light. Your aiming graphics jump and flicker, plasma shots chopping and tearing into him - Gouging his plate, leaving craters and gashes of bared metal.

"FUCKING *DIE*-" Bardiel roars; The ground trembles, the air distorts, and you feel a invisible surge through the air - Buffeting your Interceptors aside, momentarily, as the gravimetric repulsors in his wings blast out in all directions, enough to part the flames surrounding him.

He's not dead.

He's not even close to dead.

You get another satisfying volley that explodes against his side, throwing a stagger into his step...But then he hurls his left hand out, and red pain flares in your right arm. There's a cable - Biting, slicing - as it locks tight around your limb, secured by the hooked barbs of a grapple...And your crimson armor is beginning to glow *redder* still, a vile heat slagging the plate. The endosteel is holding up...But how *how long*?

> HP: 111%
> METER: 7%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 90%
> INTERCEPTORS: 4/5 (2 ATTACKING.)

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

>>21177445
Can't we cut that with the Adjudicator?

>>21177445
Cut the cable with our shield blade and continue firing once we get our arm free. And continue to taunt him some more.

"I thought you made a big deal about being able to fly. And here you are on the ground slugging it out with me like every other chump I slagged. To think I actually thought you were a THREAT once."

>>21177456

Let's do that, then.

A heat rod, eh? Haven't seen a weapon like that before.

>>21177445
Cut it with the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator is on our left arm and this is on our right, it'll be easy.

Continue to fire on him with the Vulcans and interceptors. Save up some meter. Keep our distance, use cover.

"You can barely even fly. Pathetic. Look at yourself, you can hardly look at a candle without flinching and your precious wings won't even obey you."

>>21177445
Cut the cable with our sword, plasma vulcan at his shoulders until they break(so he can't use his arms), and be sure to keep laughing at him

>>21177445
We'll have to recall the interceptors soon so as to actually be able to build some meter again. While we still have them out though I'd like to start targeting any extraneous weaponry he isn't shielding. No sense in giving him a chance to use it on us.

>>21177478
Add: "Hurry up and Fly Bardiel. Fly so I can shoot you down again."

Your words are cutting into him, harder than the superheated cable is cutting into *you* - You bring the Adjudicator up, engaging the phase blades as your right-arm Vulcan begins to warp and distort beneath the slicing pressure. When you *hack* into the cable, the field seethes and sparks, eating through the length - Whatever it's made of, it's *incredibly* resilient.

You're still sawing at it, when Bardiel hurls himself from the roof. The particle beams of your Interceptors have scorched his armor, until deep, cutting furrows mar the perfect finish - They streak after him, faithful to their orders...

-And you follow.

You don't see it coming. It's a sudden, lightning-quick surge of motion, and the line snaps taut; You narrowly miss slicing off your own arm with the Adjudicator, as you're *dragged* forward, like a fish on a hook-

And then you're wrenched over the edge, and you're falling.

The air whips and shrieks around you, as both of you plummet down, down, *down*, though a greater height than you've thought possible - The overhangs and edges of the tower screaming past. Bardiel is falling faster than you, directly beneath - His wings spreading, to control his descent, though the cable mercifully goes slack.

He screams something at you - Something you *can't hear*, over the howl of the wind, as you begin to tumble, dragged onward by the cord looped around your arm, over your Vulcan cannon.

YOU HAVE CONTROL.

> HP: 104%
> METER: 13%
> COBALT BOOSTER: 90%
> INTERCEPTORS: 4/5 (2 ATTACKING.)

Guys.
I don't think he's buying the "You can't fly" Thing.
Can we please stop taunting the horrid monstrosity of hate and painkillers who keeps shrugging off our attacks?

>>21177546

It's working. He didn't take to the air when we were shooting him, and was forced to the ground in the initial exchange. We did a lot more damage to him than we would have, otherwise.

>>21177541
... I want a refund on that shield. We probably shoulda boosted the cutting field.

Right, finish cutting the cable, it should be easier now that it isn't taut, correct our tumble, spread ourself out so we aren't spinning about, once we're facing right we might want to Tyrant Burst the fucker.

"This isn't flying, this is just falling. You're going to go splat."

>>21177541
Can we get a lock? If yes: "time to crash Bardiel!" Cobalt boost our free vulcan and shoot him in the back. The Boost the Adjudicator and cut that line.

>>21177541
Wait a second why would he try so hard just to fly?

>>21177571
>"This isn't flying, this is just falling*. You're going to go splat."

Add: "without style" where the * is?

Don't suppose there's enough slack for us to hook one of the platforms with the line?

>>21177541

Use the cable to pull ourselves to him, and use him to cushion our fall

can we do that ?

>>21177591
He has an inferiority complex about his skill with his wings, which aren't really wings they're repulsors and very hard to use. All our Trash talk is having an effect.

>>21177599
We need to deaccelerate that means using the bunker pile against the building.

> "This isn't flying, this is just falling. You're going to go splat."
> "Time to crash Bardiel!"

Falling, not flying.

You don't know how right you are. You're both plummeting to certain doom, and he's *still* not engaging his wings. Instead, he's...

-You can see his form shift, *reconfigure*, expanding impossibly - The pinions of his wings fanning out in all directions, schematics sketching themselves into existence. You've seen him do this once before...

He's transforming.

The Cobalt Booster *flares*, and your remaining Vulcan spins up - Vomiting forth a literal hail of death, azure bolts spitting down at Bardiel's warping shape. Explosions blossom - He's not *quite* as well-protected while shifting - and the part-man, part-craft he's becoming judders in mid-fall, as if in the throes of a convulsion.

The green blades of the Adjudicator go blue-hot and furious; It takes you two more forceful swings, but the cord snaps free, sheared through. The wind plucks you away from him, and you reel away..

(Continued.)

>>21177596
If we could hook a platform and jerk him to a sudden stop and then cut the line so he goes out of control right after that would be good.

-The recoil slams you into the wall of the tower. You glance off it, sparks skidding from your armor - But then the Adjudicator bites into it, the blades cutting into the obsidian, braking your headlong plummet. It's a thumping, bruising, grinding impact, and you feel as if your arm is about to be wrenched out of your socket...And then a platform slams into your descending shape, with a bone-rattling impact.

The collision is so total, so all-consuming, that you're momentarily stunned...As if at the heart of a great, soundless concussion that blasts all thought from your mind. It's only for an instant - A moment as static flickers across your visor, as your optic sensors whirr and reconfigure.

You've hit so hard that the stone has dimpled out around you; You feel as if you've nearly broken in half, but your armor is still reading green on the gauges...

-Where's Bardiel?

(Continued.)

File: 1350559555162.jpg-(53 KB, 640x360, jokergnbattleship.jpg)

You get one knee beneath you. You sway to your feet - As orange rays stabs upwards, past the mouth of the drop, a fusillade of beam cannons spitting hateful illumination skywards, the place where you *would* have been.

There's a roaring sound, and the ground begins to tremble as the air seethes with fuming distortion. Something is *rising* up before you, recovering from the lethal fall.

Not Bardiel, but the thing he has *become*.

The shape is massive, powerful, predatory; It's about five times as large as you are, from barbed nose to raked stern. Hard, powerful light spotlights you, lighting up the crimson night - Bank of floodlights under the beak nose bathing you in illumination.

He rises on the blue-hot downwash of angled jets and a personal gravity field, landing gear still lowered like spider-legs.

"AND *NOW* YOU'RE DEAD," he snarls, his voice booming from the hull tannoy of the hovering gunship. The backwash plucks at you, pushing you back; The brutal turrets set in each blunt wingtips whirring, as they orientate unerringly on your form.

Then thunder splits the crimson world once more, as muzzleflash spews forth - The ripping, roaring hammer of gunfire echoing hollowly through the endless night.

Tracers whip and chop, lines of solid-round munitions slashing across the ground as they streak towards you-

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 24

TO BE CONTINUED.

>>21177720

(Gentlemen, I hate to leave things like this; However, it's very, very late for me, and this seems like a good break-point for the end of the first phase. It'd be my pleasure to continue soon; As always, you've been a wonderful audience.

Once again, good night and God bless.)

File: 1350559637200.gif-(403 KB, 300x168, zetsubou.gif)

>hovering gunship

>>21177720
On the bright side he's harder to miss now.

On the down side, he turned into a jet and is going to drop massive amounts of death on us.

I'm hoping the damage we caused carries over.

>>21177720

It's his final form!

>>21177747
I'm hoping he can't use his wings to shield himself anymore.

>>21177720
And the level boss reveals his true form.

Guys how about we talk strategy?

Ok, strategy for next session: Evade the firestorm heading towards us (I'd like to jump onto the landing gear and hack his hull with a booster adjudicator but I think we'd get blasted out of the air) once evasion is accomplished launch the other bits, then Boost all 4 bits and have them disable the turrets in his wings.