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>>33882636

HOLLOW SUN: 8.2%

http://pastebin.com/JN4Xsuna

RESEARCH:

[X] FALSEHOOD ARRAY
[X] RESEARCH: ASSAULT HARDSHELL
[X] DIRAC TRANSMITTER I
[X] MASS DRIVER
[X] SCRANDER PROPULSION SYSTEM

VOID ANCHORS:

ORIGINAL HIVE
THE TRIBUNAL
NARAKA
THE VAULT

HOLDING: 1

FLARE ORIOLE: 1
IRON OGRE: 1

RED COMET GUIDE:

http://pastebin.com/LJAfQmXy

RESEARCH COMPLETE: TERMINUS SCANNER

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>>33882654

An advancement on Vitruvian Device technology, adapted from the self-assembling nanomachines of the Daegal armour, the Terminus Scanner is a comprehensive upgrade suite capable of embedding new functions into a designated Player.

Unlike the Vitruvian Device's pre-loaded upgrades - the Terminus Scanner actively analyses the targeted armour, and unlocks the potentials inherent in the Player's Frame. This activation has three levels, each more invasive than the last:

i) At 50% charge, the Hollow Sun isolates and unlocks areas of potential development, derived directly from Player subjected to the process.
ii) At 100% charge, the Terminus Scanner triggers the Player's accumulators, effectively 'forcing' the enhancement - While significantly more traumatic, the target subsequently unlocks the first stage of his new upgrades.
iii) At 150%, the process is less 'enhancement' than 'remodelling' - Drawing on the Player's own Essence to fuel the change. While this has the highest possibility of terminal failure, the designated Player emerges with the most immediate increase in power and functionality.

(tl;dr - The Terminus Scanner offers three scaling levels of upgrades.

At 50%, it unlocks new upgrade options which can be selected at a later level; At 100%, it unlocks new upgrade options, AND gives the Player a free level in one. At 150%, the Terminus Scanner attempts to give the Player a level in *each* one of his new upgrade paths.

The upgrades granted are specialized and 'tailored' to the subject in question. Not all Players have the same inherent potential - More, Players who have already reached the apex of their development can't utilize the Terminus Scanner. From the 100% charge option onwards, there's an escalating chance that the Player may suffer a catastrophic failure - Or in fact die - if the process fails.

The Scanner will only function for Players who are 'eligible' for the upgrade.)

Evening OP. Heard you caught the Japanese cold. Sure you're up to this?

>>33882756
Hahaha oh wow. I ask the inevitable question: "Is Red Joker at the apex of his development"?

>>33882756
>or in fact die

I snickered. No reward without some risk.

>>33882778
>"Is Red Joker at the apex of his development"
Do you mean his armory or his personality ?

>>33882778
Red Joker is at the apex of his development.

Deagle, however, is not.

>>33882756
Are we at the apex of our development?
We did reach the level cap, after all.

>>33882826
>Deagle
I don't want more pistols.

Anyway, I'd say that the first level is the smartest choice. The others cost too much and have too big of a possible drawback.

>>33882826
And if the Joker reaches his apex, can we give the Terminus to someone else, like Natsumi ?

>>33882844
Midas' Touched Deagles my friend! Gheed has nothing on this Eagles.

>>33882850
>can we give the Terminus to someone else
This thing is basically a Vitruvian device that sits in our shed and upgrades anyone we give access to.
Provided that we spend Hollow Sun charge.

I'd love to upgrade our faction. Especially Haze and Cypher.

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>>33882850
I'm curious if we can choose which upgrade path we can take.

Red or Gold?

>>33882844
>I don't want more pistols.
You can never have enough dakka.

>>33882778
Actually I also have a less obvious question: Does receiving a level up in this manner drain a Player's stored level-up Essence?

>>33882807
Armor, in reference to
>Players who have already reached the apex of their development can't utilize the Terminus Scanner.

>>33882826
I wonder about that. We know that the Red Joker is built of black boxes, and we saw new level up options long after we hit the essence/level cap. I always thought the Armor of Midas's development would be tied to Hollow Sun research; and as Hellion upgrades finished it would acquire more abilities. It's meant to be the epitome of the processes that made the Hellions, after all.

>>33882850
It's a scanning device. Plug a Player in and we can give them one of the options, with higher levels risking exploding them in the process.

This also means we're going to have to spread Void Anchors like candy if we want to use it more than once. On a side note, we have a reasonable excuse to try and reach the max charge on the Sun to see if it does anything.

>>33882925
>always thought the Armor of Midas's development would be tied to Hollow Sun research; and as Hellion upgrades finished it would acquire more abilities. It's meant to be the epitome of the processes that made the Hellions, after all.
My guess is that it unlocks on level-up and scales proportionally to our essence storage.

>>33882922
Hopefully the best of both. I don't want a fight breaking out because some prefer Gold and others Red

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STAGE: THE DIADEM

Panopticon. The core of the spire; The heart of the Diadem. A sphere in a sea of virtual light, impossibly suspended by some invisible, harnessed force. Beyond the walls of the grand walkway - The only path to the actuality sphere, the only link to the outer ring - the air *seethes*; A teeming blackness that fuzzes and resolves like a locust swarm, an airborne contagion, a rising damnation cloud.

Beyond the walls - Faded to transparency, the phototrophic alloy reacting to your presence - there is only oblivion. The scouring phage is a palpable, teeming darkness - The backdrop to the sea of data light that shimmers in the great dome of the chamber, that makes ladder-bars of light in the drifting haze.

It's unclear if the walls - Transparent, with the consistency of clear, dry ice - are metal or crystal; The difference, such as it is, seems to be academic.

Through the Argus System, the world around you is rendered into fuzzy, caustic shades of red and ochre. A web of light flickers into existence; Intangible strands, rows of sensor beams and harmonic tripwires, blossoming in mad profusion. Most project diagonally down, from concealed emitters - But others follow the ground, or run perpendicular to the walls, the beams active and live.

The Thief's eyes glow, more crimson than red, and you know he's seeing the same thing.

"Security web," he says, a warning note to his voice. "We shoul-"

He stops, noting your complete lack of surprise. His reluctant nod conveys a sense of grudging approval; A belated acknowledgement of your capabilities.

You can't help but feel that you've scored a point, somehow.

[ ] "...How do we get through *that*?"
[ ] "That's a lot of beams."
[ ] "What's in there?"
[ ] "-There's no way we're getting through that."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33882992
>[ ] "What's in there?"
>[ ] You're the Thief, so surely you have something to fix this problem, no ?

>>33882925
Wata, where the hell were you last thread? There was stuff to figure out.

>>33882992
>"What's in there?"
>"...How do we get through *that*?"

>>33882989
Personally, I'm hoping for the hidden black option if we're suicidal enough to expend 150 percent charge.

>>33882778
>>33882807

> "Is Red Joker at the apex of his development"?

(Yes, unfortunately. It doesn't work for you.)

>>33882850
>>33882871

(My apologies: To clarify, the Terminus Scanner is actually a chamber in the heart of the Hollow Sun - It is, in fact, the chamber where Daegal was previously stored. It's not a man-portable device.)

>>33882925

> Actually I also have a less obvious question: Does receiving a level up in this manner drain a Player's stored level-up Essence?

(No. But the peripheral Essence the Player is currently holding gives him a bonus. If he's going to fail the roll, it starts draining his stored Essence to give him positive modifiers; If that fails, he dies or suffers catastrophic consequences.)

>>33882992
"Time to fly?"

>>33883036
>(No. But the peripheral Essence the Player is currently holding gives him a bonus. If he's going to fail the roll, it starts draining his stored Essence to give him positive modifiers; If that fails, he dies or suffers catastrophic consequences.)
So basically we can utilize the higher levels in a sane fashion if we go out with our protegé and let him/her eat.

OP, can players delay a level-up in order to retain their stored essence?

>>33882992
"Don't suppose they have any conveniently placed, Player sized ventilation shafts we can use do they?"

Do we notice a pattern to the beams we can exploit Mission Impossible style?

>>33882984
That's what the description says. I admit I was surprised when I first saw it, didn't seem thematically appropriate.

>>33882992
>[X] "That's a lot of beams."
"Do you know what I love about this kind of security system? They're power intensive."

Activate the Void Anchor here. The drain shouldn't be enough to fully activate it, but it should knock out the consoles and the laser beams, if our experience at the refinery is telling.

>>33883025
...What?

>>33883036
>(Yes, unfortunately. It doesn't work for you.)
That seems off. IIRC you mentioned when you expanded the level up menu the first time that the large number of Force options was due to the selection of more force level ups than anything else.

Oh well.

>>33883119
>...What?
We had a thread on Friday.

>>33883155
I saw. I'm more concerned about why me not being around is at all important.

>>33883059

(You're not sure. You know, however, that you've never been able to.)

>>33883018
>>33883032
>>33883044

> "Time to fly?"
> Do we notice a pattern to the beams we can exploit Mission Impossible style?

The Thief gives a brief, irritated shake of his head - A pensiveness to his stance, contemplating the problem. The sensor web is an extensive one; Yet, you're almost certain that you could manuver through-

-Almost.

If you knew the pattern, perfectly. With no margin for error.

> [X] "What's in there?"

"Something we want," he rasps, and says nothing more. You can almost hear the gears of the Thief's mind turning; Considering the angles, the flaws, the possibilities...

> "Don't suppose they have any conveniently placed, Player sized ventilation shafts we can use do they?"

A deeper scan reveals tiny vents at the foot of the corridor, lining the very base of the walls; Almost imperceptible, beneath a casual notice. The defence mechanism seems simple enough - Triggering the alarm means flooding the corridor with the scouring phage.

> "...How do we get through *that*?"
> [X] You're the Thief, so surely you have something to fix this problem, no?

He turns. The glow in his skull-mask diminishes to something resembling normal intensity.

"-Yes." A hand withdraws from the folds of his coat - "There are always options."

(Continued)

>>33883314

The Thief reveals a slender lozenge of dull grey metal, circuit-pattern lines dispersing across the surface. "Refractor Field embed. Your Inertia Field can be modified, to bend light instead of space." He pauses, to let his words sink in. "-The alteration is permanent."

He makes the card vanish, like a magician's trick. When his hand returns, the bony fingers clamped a large, heavy object - Your sensors clouding faintly, as they try to focus. "EM Pulse grenade. Should disable the field long enough for us to pass...*And*-" There's a focus on the last word - "...Likely set off every alarm at once from the power drain."

The grenade vanishes. The Thief shoots a cursory nod over his shoulder. "-The security web is keyed to the teleporter matrix; An active system, not a passive one. If one of us leaves the area, the system can be tricked into a temporary shutdown - With this." He produces a device, the size of a lighter - It fits neatly into the palm of a gloved hand.

"-But that means only one can proceed, Joker."

He cants his head to the side, his voice perfectly level - As if the choice doesn't concern him at all.

"Your choice."

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33883335
"What about this."

Show him the VA as >>33883119 suggested.

>>33883335
So, we can either permanently get us a cloaking device that makes us weaker in combat or we choose the "let's fuck shit up" route or we try to go at it alone.

We always wanted a cloak, but would we give up the stasis field for it?

>>33883335
Grenade, Refractor Field's too useful to give up.

Hey, can the GARM's phase shield help us here?

>>33883335
What choice? Take the cloaking device.

I admit curiosity, how does the Thief know we have an inertia field? The Fatal Abyss attack?

>>33883361
There's three options. The field change (my preference), the grenade (bad idea), or one of us leaving to trick the active defense system.

That last option isn't a bad idea, but even if we point out that we have near-perfect access while he does not, he's unlikely to let the prize out of sight.

>>33883359

(My apologies; It runs the same risk as the EM Grenade. The power drain would be significant, and likely detectable.)

>>33883377

(Possibly, but you'd have to use the Teleport Homer to teleport the Garm in. Before, you've only used the integrated teleportation devices built into the Diadem.

Also, the corridor - While large - wasn't meant for something like the Garm. You could drive the Red Comet down the corridor, but you couldn't turn or manoeuvre it.)

>>33883359
Why use the VA?
We have EXEC_CONSUME, which does exactly the same thing.

>>33883395
Almost forgot: While we're talking, activate the basic version of Cybele's Emblem. She's still asleep, the Diadem is a Hyades blind spot, so as long as we're not using the version that draws power from her she shouldn't notice anything.

I'd really rather have some armor in place for what comes next.

>>33883414
Only superficially. We've never seen it drain power from an area.

>>33883335
>>33883395
Ehhhh, cloaking like that is diminished in usefulness even by something as simple as smoke or dust limning a silhouette. Let's try diplomacy first.

Do we have a visual feed from our interceptors?
They are smaller than us and could possibly scout for an interface terminal or something.

>>33883395
>one of us leaving to trick the active defense system.
This has my vote. Akira can go dump the rest of the Correctors in the Preserving station.

I wish the stealth upgrade could be switched back to stasis at the Hollow Sun.

Anyway, sending the thief away sounds like the most stable solution. However, it would remove an important source of knowledge.

>>33883436
Ah, but think of the synergy: Tyrant Burst 1+Shroud doppleganger+invisible Joker. Get the shroud upgrade that lets us load alterations manually and the clone explodes into knives when killed, and Joker's behind the enemy with two chainguns revving up.

>>33883438
No, that would be Argus bits.

>>33883335

Wow, none of the options are fun. Let's go with sending the Thief away for now.

Before we let the thief go:
Do we have a Joker icon on us?

We might find a terminal to deactivate the security system. With the icon we could then call the thief to us.

>>33883465
>Ah, but think of the synergy: Tyrant Burst 1+Shroud doppleganger+invisible Joker. Get the shroud upgrade that lets us load alterations manually and the clone explodes into knives when killed, and Joker's behind the enemy with two chainguns revving up.
I like your style of thinking.
But this will be very devisive. It does remove an important advantage for open combat, after all.

>>33883335

> "-But that means only one can proceed, Joker."

It's better that we get to proceed than he does. We're more likely to uncover something useful.

>>33883465
I'd just rather continue down the research paths of the current field generator. Maybe we could eventually get stasis grenades or ammunition, or extend the field's diameter for short bursts. Cool bullshit powers like that.

The memetic alloys of the GARM aren't marked in the Hollow Sun guide.

Since sending the Thief away is almost certainly going to win, can we send him to the simulation nexus? The Hyades are still not dead, and seizing the Diadem's core may or may not be the key to doing it. Hand him an Icon and send him to cover it and make the attempt there.

>>33883506
>>33883523
IIRC it only works on half of all attacks, and only on the half that Joker's never had problems with. The alteration dramatically expands our tactical options and gives us the ability to troll absolutely everyone.

>>33883542
Hey, you're right. Sotto Voca's still there as well.

>>33883335
Hey, uh guys? What are the odds that the field reactivates once we take the device? Best NOT to be alone and without options on the wrong side of a laser tripwire zone.

Send the Thief away and take the mod.

>>33883567
I'm changing vote to stealth.
You are right.

By the way, I just realized something:
Fully primed Arsenal Beacon + Midas gauntlet + Photon Lance
And suddenly we can mimic Archer.

>>33883567
>>33883596
>>33883598
Three votes for mod.

Who else is voting for mod?
And who wants the other options?

>>33883335
>Alteration

>>33883620

I don't want to compromise the field, so let's go with sending the thief away to the simulation nexus, like >>33883567 said.

OP, would the field mod make us immune to laser weaponry?

>>33883620
Send him away. I think showing him up at his own game is pretty funny.

>>33883598
>>33883620
I should make clear that I really don't have any problem with going solo; my preference is entirely based on my desire for the mod. He might be up to a trade later. Probably not, but you never know.

>>33883624
>>33883639
>>33883648
>>33883660
So we have three votes for mod and two votes for going solo.
As well as one guy who wants both.

Seems like the grenade is a no-go.

I'd wager that we'll give him a Joker icon either way.

>>33883674
So sue me, I'm greedy.

>>33883660
We could probably exchange codeburst data purloined from here for the mod, to be examined at our leisure later. Just need to find the appropriate console.

>>33883436
>>33883449
>>33883463
>>33883467
>>33883516
>>33883639

> [X] Let's go with sending the Thief away for now.

The Thief nods. He takes your decision without protest - Pacing over to the teleport nexus, sweeping his coat out of the way as he goes to one knee. A dull *clank* echoes as he deploys the device; A red indicator light beginning to wink on its surface, the setting dial clicking into place. The mag-clamps built into the base latch onto the ground, locking itself into position - Like a limpet mine, extruding thin filaments of it's own substance into the curving ring of the floor.

A low hum builds.

> Do we have a Joker icon on us?

"The activation should be almost immediate," The Thief says - In that precise, clinical voice of his. "Not sure how long the system will be disabled - Move quickly, once it's down."

He pauses in his work, as you produce the Joker icon; His skull-mask frozen in the constant scowl, but there's an air of grim amusement to the Thief as you lay it in his palm. His gaze goes from the icon, to you:

"-I don't see the resemblance." It's the closest he's come to a joke, but that never-changing voice makes it an uncertain prospect. All the same, the Thief secrets the icon away, within the folds of his coat - Rising to his feet, with a stiff grace.

>>33883567
>>33883639

"The Simulation Nexus?" There's a contemplative note to the Thief's voice, now - Clearly mulling over your words. He makes his decision a moment later, with a static-laden burst of sound that might almost be a chuckle; "-Fine."

It occurs to you that - One way or another - you'll likely be a distraction for him. Or perhaps the division of effort simply appeals to Akira; With him, it's hard to tell.

(Continued)

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>>33883647
Huh. Oh well, maybe some other time.

>>33883739
We should move with Carnifex assistance once the power is down.
Maybe even with periodic Cobalt boosts. (Not maximum Joker, though)

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>>33883647

(My apologies; It wouldn't make you immune, exactly, but it would provide a measure of defence against laser weaponry - More powerful laser weaponry could still punch through the field, of course.

In addition, the Refractor Field would make you harder to hit - Not to the same extent as the Inertia Field, however - because it'd be harder to pinpoint you. >>33883436 is right in that it's not true cloaking, as there'd be a visible disruption when you move.)

>>33883759

It occurs to you that - One way or another - you'll likely be a distraction for him. Or perhaps the division of effort simply appeals to Akira; With him, it's hard to tell.

Two long strides take him to the teleport nexus - The tiny holographic window shimmering into existence, ahead and to the side. The low hum of power gathers, a new note in the symphony; the almost-subliminal shrill of the nullification device subtly, faintly discordant.

He holds up a hand - His right hand, in something that might be a salute, or a wave. Virtual light shimmers, the Thief's silhouette becoming drawn and translucent-

"-Joker. Good l-"

The light flares, and is gone. Your sensors automatically cut-in, to prevent you from being blinded; But the Argus System picks out the chamber around you in millimetre-wave radar...

-As a sudden gloom descends.

It happens all at once. A dimming, a diminishing; As suddenly as it came, the inexplicable life of the Panopticon dies away - stations falling silent, their lights going out as the throb of power leaks away into the darkness. The underlights dim and die, the holograms extinguishing as the emitters fall dormant. The chirring of cogs and servoes, the great machines bleeding ribbons of light into the air...All ebb into stillness.

(Continued)

>>33883739
Once he's gone, dispell the shroud around the Midas. No idea if it will help, but it might.

>>33883759

The only sound that remains is the shrill, humming buzz of the phage beyond the transparent walls, swelling to fill the silence. It's like a wall of black static, a mindless insect surrusation, scrabbling to get in. It reminds you of-

...No time for that. Not now.

The dim, lurid glow of emergency lighting - Blood-red, sparse - lends the passage a new, foreboding aspect; Even as your Argus System confirms that the security web is falling silent, each section shutting itself off with the same immediacy as the flick of a guillotine switch.

You pad forward, through a black space starlight-dark and midnight-silent...Except for the eternal confusion of the phage-swarm outside, scrabbling against the impenetrable walls, forever seeking a way in...

>>33883843

The proud sweep of the Assault Shroud shifts, subtly - Falling to your knees, in a cascade of nanomaterial; A long duster that flutters in your wake, baring the Hand of Midas. Even in the gloom, it seems to shed an inner radiance of it's own, as if everything in it's reflection is purer, brighter somehow.

There's no dust here, no sign of entropy - A place that is perfectly preserved, all alloy and ceramite, that may have stood for a thousand years or a million.

>>33883759

The Carnifex locks into place, your limbs stinging with the cold strength of the Cobalt Booster; You move swiftly, but without haste, clearing the narrow distance of the corridor in long strides, the clank of your stalking footfalls all-too-audible to you.

-It's not far. It just *feels* like it is.

(Continued)

>>33883969

The curving wall of the actuality sphere has no obvious vent or egress; Exceedingly solid to the touch, with not hint of give. The security lattice behind you remains deactivated - But now that you stand before the Panopticon's core, your gaze falls upon a raised stand: Composed entirely of the same black composite material as the Presevatorium's consoles, almost like carbon fibre, crowned by a perfect rectangle of the same material with the polished, glossy gleam of glass.

To either side of the screen - If screen it is - are inset disks of what look like the same composite, nine of ten inches in diameter. You brush your fingers across one, and the screen lights up. Not much, just the faintest suggestion of a glimmer, red borders blurring into fractal lines of streaming code.

No power cords. Instead, a branching array of dark tubing extends from the base of the control surface - Something almost-but-not-quite random about their arrangement. It reminds you of-

...Veins. Arteries. Blood vessels.

The screen continues to blink, serenely, code filtering across it in uninterrupted chains.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33883976
>ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL

>>33883976
One hand on each panel. That's the activation space, isn't it?

>>33883976
Put hands on the disks, look at screen.

I just realized that we have two kinds of melee weapons that are perfectly suited for saturation bombing our enemies via Arsenal beacon.
And it's only made possible by the Midas gauntlet.

OP, how high is the rate of fire achievable by constantly summoning melee weapons from an arsenal beacon?
How much can we increase the rate of fire with multiple arsenal beacons and the Carnifex?

>>33884171
The Carnifex doesn't affect Hollow Sun gear. Plus the delay in priming a weapon still happens, even if we don't pay the cost.

>>33883976
Both hands, activate it.

>>33884193
>The Carnifex doesn't affect Hollow Sun gear.
I mean to make our hands quicker.

>>33883989
>>33883998
>>33884000

Your gauntlets settle in place - And lock. The lines of code resolve into simple shapes - Squares, circles, gradually gaining depth and solidity, the feedback circuits making your myomer muscles tense - A simple bell tone beginning in your auditory sensors, splitting into chiming melodies, melodies that expand into shimmering cords...

The Helix Gauntlet's shutters slide back, and the anti-light of the Nihl Sphere basks the immediate area in a violet glow. The lines of streaming code form complex, tesselating structures, like patches of orange light flickering across your forearms as the photic interface activates-

> INCOMING PROTOCOLS DETECTED
> PROCESSING SYSTEM ACCESS AUTHORITY...
> ...
> ..
> .
> CONNECTED
> COMPILING INTERFACE...
> ACCESS GRANTED

A line appears in the curving wall of the sphere - Thin, laser-straight, rising a meter, then two - before it makes a sharp, ninety-degree turn, carving out the angular shape of a doorway. The actuality sphere's entrance shimmers - And then vanishes. It doesn't retract into the walls, or unfold; Simply there, then gone.

The Nihl Sphere is locked in it's 'active' position, even as the contact elements of the control surface release you - The eerie light illuminating your way. Beyond, within the actuality sphere, is something that you can only describe as a 'control centre': Six concentric circles of intricate workstations arrayed around a central plinth, a grand throne that rears from the smooth, cold floor - Static bristling the atmosphere, a swirling portal dominating the vast space, engaging directly with the ground to form a solid, engraved structure.

(Continued)

>>33884204
Still wouldn't help your suggestion. We only have one hand, and there's the beacon's summoning delay and the weapon's priming delay. Think of DnD, it's like two swift actions. You can do one per turn with compromising efficiency, more than that and you've used your turn proper.

>>33884238

Within - Arranged along the surface of an invisible globe, like a planetarium - you see constellations; A cluster of blue stars, sapphire pinpricks connected by a network of dim, glowing filaments, rotating in midair. The lower half of the walls are entirely panelled with banks of alien machinery, codifiers and matriculators, the upper half...

-Screens. A countless array of them, in vast profusion; Multi-jointed arms raising and lowering from the walls, above the raised disc of black steel - High podium consoles facing inwards, with a constant background murmur of cursor chimes and machine language, hologrammic windows hovering serenely in the ovoid space, displaying flickering images of locations, of Players, of seemingly-random feeds.

The alien lines and curves of the controls are in every direction - The centipede spokes of lightless, dark carbon-fibre, a terminal strucutre of plates and spines and glowing orange slots; the machinery at central stage dominated by the gleaming, impervious alloy that plates the ever-shifting surfaces of Manifold Tower, now taking centre stage.

Every station is empty.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33884171

(My apologies, I'm not actually certain what you mean by that; While the Carnifex makes you faster, you're limited by your anatomy - You only have two hands, specifically, and there's a delay where you have to summon (And prime) weapons from the Arsenal Beacon one at a time.

When it comes to summoning, activating and throwing melee weapons at your opponent, each turn, there are multiple delays involved.)

>>33884282
Approach the central structure. You said it was a throne? Joker is no royalty, but he is supposed to steal the thorny crown.

But first, hold up the Midas Gauntlet and see what reacts.

If that provokes no reaction: "Hellebore. Where are you?"

>>33884282
Holy hell, what. What are we even seeing here?

>>33884328
This is no time for American Pie references.

>>33884282
Dick around with the controls, I guess.

>>33884282
Welp. Is it possible to see what players have activated this panel recently?

>>33884316
>When it comes to summoning, activating and throwing melee weapons at your opponent, each turn, there are multiple delays involved.
Thanks, that's what I was wondering about.

My idea was to utilize the fact that Photon Lances and Electromagnetic Gladii (?) have functions specifically for using them as thrown weapons. Because the arsenal beacon can summon an infinite amount and the midas gauntlet removes the priming cost.
So I guess we can't just spam weapons and immediatly throw them in massive numbers at the enemy.
We can lower the lag for the actual movement with the Carnifex, but there's still a delay for summoning and priming eah weapon.

But what if we summoned a bunch of weapons before an engagement? Can we prime all of them, to have them ready as throwable weapons once the enemy appears?
Or can only a limited amount of weapons be primed at the same time?
IMO this would be interesting for a point defense scenario. Especially if pre-primed weapons can be thrown by allies.

>>33884282
Check the stations and touch the throne with our golden pimphand.

>>33884381
>But what if we summoned a bunch of weapons before an engagement?
Hellion weapons that aren't in hand or in a weapon slot disintegrate. We have two slots for light weapons, one of which is holstering the Immolator.

I *think* that Hellion weapons have to be primed every time you take them in hand, since I recall asking about priming a bunch of weapons passing them out and not getting a clear answer. I think this means weapons you put away or set aside need priming again. Mass priming is what the Helios systems were for, anyway.

>>33884381

(That's actually quite an interesting idea. I'll have to state, however, that the delay on drawing items from the Arsenal Beacon is a deliberate design choice - Otherwise, there'd be no advantage to 'holstering' weapons on one or the other of your Light Weapon slots. If you're carrying a Photon Lance or a Gladius in either slot, you can draw/prime and throw in the same round - If you're drawing it from the Beacon, you need to wait until the next round before you can use it.

But yes, there's no reason why you can't have a bunch of weapons holstered before an engagement. I was considering the addition of a bandolier or a carrying device to allow for that.

However, they're meant to be primed in combat only, by the individual user - Shortly before you throw them. That's another deliberate design choice, to prevent the issue of 'buff stacking' - i.e. where the support classes apply all their buffs to the others in the party - before battle is joined.)

>>33884328
>>33884356
>>33884378
>>33884395

You stride forward, across the deck-

-And everything goes wrong. A shift in the lighting is your first - And only - warning; The archway sealing itself, becoming a blank wall once against - As your surroundings blur, becoming translucent, insubstantial and hollow as phantoms. The floor and curving walls follow - All displays fading out, becoming mist, the illusion of depth and alien technology mere images on a screen.

Around you - The walls *flow*, like clear water, the flash of reflected light from the Nihl Sphere the only evidence that there's anything real or solid about them. Seething darkness boils on all side, a perfect hemisphere; The all-consuming phage churning hungrily-

Then there's the *sound* - A sound like the angry fritiniency of chattering bugs, mandibles crisping and rubbing against each other, as the air grows thick and sour. Smoke, noxious smoke, unfurls towards you - Secret vents juddering as they try to cope with the stridulating black spores boiling through them...

And a shape, taking form before you. A shape made up of swirling phage - More than smoke, more than particles. A *collective*, a billion microscopic agents acting in unison, black angry thunderclouds in search of a parade to rain on, a howling flow converging within the chamber, billowing around you like some monster amoeba. Condensing, precipitating, falling *into* itself-

Eyes. Vast eyes, frothing with furious yellow light as they resolve; Fat squirming masses becoming huge, brambled claws, the living swarm combining, becoming something that combines the worst aspects of abyssal predator, of scorpion, of centipede - An impossible carnivore, a shuddering, snorting bulk suspended in the air, fuelled by the boiling air, gaining mass, gaining solidity by the minute-

And a name:

TISIPHONE

HP: 165.2%
COBALT BOOSTER: 150%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 45%
METER: 20%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33884638
We need the chain mines.
Let's build meter with boosted Vulcan and Immolator. Use the exploding alt fire.
The stuff seems organic.

And don't forget to move, in case it attacks.

>>33884682
This. Except with moving. Because it's going to attack anyway.

>>33884638
>TISIPHONE
One of the three furies. Stands for vengeful destruction.

The other two furies:
- Megaera (Grudging)
- Alector (Unceasing)

>>33884763
>Alector
*-r
It's a female, not a dude.

>>33884638
Burn it to death with the Immolator

>>33884682
>>33884760

The thing's sulfurous gaze locks on you, with bleak antipathy - Invader. Infection.

*There*.

But you're already moving. The servoes in your limbs whirr to life, the suddenly-warming, suddenly-active flex of the myomer muscles in your crimson armour's inner skin yielding full power, the reactor throbbing against the small of your back. You leap to the side, as the nightmare centipede drives down - Articulating on skittering blade-limbs, the monofilament lines of hissing antenna whipping towards you-

You leap back, as the massive weight comes down - An thundering impact that smashes itself onto the clear floor of the actuality sphere. It's a thunderclap - The thing's glossy black carapace, red-ribbed exoskeleton glowing with furnace heat - scraping against the ground with the sound of a million fingernails on a thousand chalkboards.

Your left arm comes up. The barrels of your Plasma Vulcan spin up, unleashing cohered bolts of searing plasma; Each shot pumping across the distance in a sun-flare corona, erupting against the creature's form in a brilliant flash - Smoke wisping away from the point of impact, the surface charred but not breached. A cone of searing flame erupts from your Immolator, a hot, sour torrent that engulfs Tisiphone in a scorching inferno; The searing, swirling heat casting a surreal hellfire glow on the half-dome of the chamber-

-It ploughs through. Without slowing, without stopping. The exoskeleton is almost utterly impervious to your shots, except for a charred stain where your Plasma Vulcans have chewed into it. The Sinistral flares to life as one blade-limb scythes across, a sickle fully as long as your arm - Your inertia field slowing the swing, until you can actually *see* it disappear, a smooth, fluid motion as it comes right towards you-

(Continued)

>>33884915

The energy field shrieks as it meets the nanite-forged edge. They buzz and chatter against each other, shrilling in the clash...And *then* the Sinistral shatters, bright shards of ghost steel scattering in the air - the concussive pulse blasting you back. Your fingers dig into the ground, the vanes of your Tempest Scrander articulating at your back - Clearing an abrupt space between you and the coiling mass.

You've stung the thing, but your weapons haven't done more than superficial damage-

As Tisiphone's twisting mass scuttles onwards, reorientating, the barb of the stinger tail whips at you. With your Sinistral still fighting to cohere, you wrench yourself to the side, too slow - It smashes into your shoulder with dazing force, punching a deep gouge through the solid plating as it slams you from your feet.

You flick the Immolator's selector switch. The huge, chromed handgun *clunks*, dribbling flame from the primary barrel - A sharp, plosive *bang* echoing hollowly in the air, as it spits high-calibre charged bolts from the muzzle. Your aim is good; Your shots punch into the join just above Tisiphone's stinger-tail, between the gaps of the carapace - They *bulge* outwards, a fierce orange glow issuing forth-

Before they detonate. The Corrector spasms, a clattering shriek, deafeningly loud, echoing in the air - The vile spike blasted free, the stabbing point skittering against the floor, failing to find purchase. You kick it aside, as you surge to your feet...

A black wind howls. Streamers of phage, churning and boiling, twist towards Tisiphone; Gathering, shaping themselves as it scissors razor-mandibles, that nightmare maw stretching wide as a lurid glow gathers within the thing's depths-

The tail that reforms is no longer a single barb, but bristling with flaring, sweeping blades; Vast, scything, trailing in the horror's wake.

HP: 151.7%
COBALT BOOSTER: 150%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 45%
METER: 24%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33885018
Use EXEC_SWARM to fuck with it's regeneration and keep up with the Immolator's alt fire.

>>33885018
So the Immolator works, but the Vulcan barely did any damage.

Summon a Maser into our Midas hand and continue firing with the Immolator in the other hand.
Use Cobalt Booster on the Immolator this time.

If it tries to sting us again, use Muleta to parry.

>>33885071
Do we pay from HP or from Shroud?

>>33885018

Hmm. Had hoped to maybe burn the phage right before it tries to join Tisiphone again, but i guess that won't work. I would like to unleash the Mauler on it, but we don't have it holstered right?

>>33885081
Fuck, sorry, getting kind of tired. We should use the Shroud, as little of it as there is.

>>33885089

(It's in your Heavy Weapon slot. That counts as holstered - You can switch to it at any time.)

>>33885089
>I would like to unleash the Mauler on it, but we don't have it holstered right?
Actually, we do.

But I was in favor of trying the Maser first, considering that the thing is organic.

>>33885100

Oh sweet.
>>33885111
That is true. i quickly checked, and saw that the Mauler had "massive armor penetration", so i thought we could use that to shred it, and whenever the phage wants to rejoin itself with Tisiphone, we burn it before it gets the chance.

> Use Cobalt Booster on the Immolator this time.

The actinic glow of your Cobalt Booster pulses down your arm - The Immolator's barrel warps, slightly; A thin wisp of brimstone smoke drifting upwards in a coiling strand as the magazine cycles, blue telltales winking to life on the inner ring-

And an arc of heat, raw heat, banked and stoked into a white-hot beam, blasts forth from Tisiphone's maw. The ray makes the air bleed, orange-red at the wavering edges, with a searing core; Brilliant sparks flare in the gloom, an arc-welder's flame that slashes towards you in a cohered stream. You hurl yourself flat, rolling aside - The death-blast caresses your right arm, the oriachulum glowing crimson with distress; It holds, but your crimson armour melts like wax, distorting and warping out of shape - Alerts flare on your HUD, as you toss the Immolator to your left fist-

This time, each overcharged shot is a plume of azure flame. Each AP round has enormous penetrative power - They punch neat holes into Tisiphone, holes that glow from within with brimming blue light-

This time, the blast that follows is a line of actinic radiance, a collar of miniature explosions. Tisiphone *shrills*, thrashing as it blows out from within - The maw-within-maw ratcheting shut as the heat-beam stutters off. It rears up, trunk flailing - Legs slashing the air to ribbons - and *slams* its misshapen head against the curving wall, hard enough to crush one burning eye into uselessness.

(Continued)

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>>33885262

Flames mantle Tisiphone's carapace, burning like napalm; The flickering flames lending a lurid unreality to the already-hellish scene. It can *sense* you, somehow; moving with an eerie swiftness, snaking and unfolding, surging down in a blur of motion-

>>33885129

The Mauler swings out on it's gyroscoping arm, and your fingers close around the firing grips. The Hand of Midas still glows red-hot; Translating through the metal, blistering and warping beneath your grip. The barrels spin up, as the air fills with the scraping, skittering noises of scuttling blades-

It's coming right at you. Directly.

You fire anyway. The Hellfire Chaingun thunders, muzzles crackling with fierce flash jags, barrels blurring into a constant plume of flame; Tracers rip across the narrow distance, hurling depleted uranium-analogue slugs directly into Tisiphone's face - Each rapid sound a blend of numbing boom and metallic ping. The thing is *fast* - It twitches to one side, then the other, with insect precision; But the hail of your shots stitch across it, into it, the creature's exoskeleton plating beginning to deform beneath the constant fire as the Mauler rips into it-

There's simply no arguing with firepower like that. The Mauler rips blade-limbs from the Corrector's sides, as you back away - The targeting cursor jumping and circling, across that surging length...

>>33885071
>>33885097

> Use EXEC_SWARM to fuck with it's regeneration and keep up with the Immolator's alt fire.

You snatch your left hand off the Mauler's grip - Snap-drawing the Immolator, blasting up at that thing; It rears away from the hail of shots, snaking across the walls, scuttling so far your Argus System can barely keep up. Armour shards rotate as they *ping* across the floor, scraps of the thing's substance chewed away a bite at a time...

-And then the black wind moans. The phage, the nanites, coiling upwards from the vents in twisting streamers of smoke...

(Continued)

>>33885393

-To be met by the boiling surge of EXEC_SWARM, locust-winged devourers surging outwards, stripping the already-denuded material of your Assault Shroud bare. There's no respite, as they chew into each other - The swarm hurling itself into the phage clouds, death-headed clades gnawing relentlessly, biting through before they themselves are consumed.

The Mauler's shots punch rounds through the fractured ruined of the creature's exoskeleton - A burst from the Immolator completes the destruction, a blue-flaming fireball spewing forth as half of the nightmare centipede is suddenly and violently sheared away, as Tisiphone launches itself from the wall, and flings itself at you.

Burdened by the Mauler, you're just not fast enough.

One moment, you're firing, blazing away - Then there's a shrill scraping chorus, a sound that heralds immense violence - and *then* you're toppling backwards, the Mauler tilting with you, the shots firing blindly into the domed ceiling, wild riochets glancing off. The cannon barrel hits the ground like a piece of lead piping, almost jarring itself from your grasp as you fight to push yourself to your feet...

Your right leg is gone. Just *gone*.

A tangle of sparking, sizzling wires protrude from beneath the knee, as a shadow looms over you; Tisiphone's bulk heaving itself upright, mandibles chattering, that one baleful eye all you can see as it prepares to lunge.

HP: 134.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 87%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 3%
METER: 37%

TIER 2 WEAPONRY UNLOCKED

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33885478
Cobalt boosted plasma shottie.

Let's also use some of our cobalt booster to regrow our leg. An arm we can survive without, but the mobility drop a missing leg will give us is unacceptable.

>>33885478
Impede it with the last glimpse of Fortress Mode.

Shoot cobalt boosted chain mines.
Fly away from the explosion via Scrander.
Then start shooting dual Tau from the air.

>>33885497
This

>>33885497
>An arm we can survive without, but the mobility drop a missing leg will give us is unacceptable
Dude, we have a jetpack.

>>33885478
Drop the Mauler, cobalt-boost the Scrander to slide across the floor away from it while simultaneously sending a boosted Phalanx Mine into it's face.

>>33885524
We can't use that and our heaviest weapons, since we won't be able to brace ourselves in midair.

>>33885538

Guess we should.
please don't eat the Mauler please.

>>33885393

Since when did the immolator kick so much ass? I didn't know that the secondary fire was so good.

>>33885570
I know I like the Mauler...

>>33885553
But we can fire tau guns from the air.
That's more than enough after a cobalt boosted chain mine.

>>33885580
It's super effective against organic stuff, I'm guessing.

>>33885631
Especially against enemies that are full of lots of holes.
Normally the explosions would be external. But the bolts can fly in between components of this thing and explode it from the inside.

>>33885580
We need to make an abridged version of Baby got Back that replaces Butt with Gun.

Sample:
I like big GUNS and I cannot lie.
You other brothers can't deny,
That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist
and that round thing in your face
you get sprung, wanna pull out your tough
cause you notice that gun with stuffed
deep in the jeans she's wearing.
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring.


>>33885629
That's a fair point...fine. But then let's not waste cobalt booster on scrander. And we should really be using Exec_Harrow to take care of the phage. Swarm is less cellular and more robotic.

>>33885656
>And we should really be using Exec_Harrow to take care of the phage
wat

How do you intend to pull that off?
Draw one fragment of the icon on one piece of the phage each?

Does Harrow even work when it's placed on parts of an enemy that re-assemble themselves into a different shape?

>>33885685
We don't HAVE to draw the icon.

What it does is create fire. We just make a wall instead of a joker symbol.

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>>33885497
>>33885518

You release the Mauler's grip - The gyroarm unlocking, releasing the heavy cannon. Smoke sobs from the barrel, as you wrench your right arm up; Schematics sketching themselves into existence, a blunt-nosed, wide-bore ingot of a weapon - The Plasma Caster's telltales winking to emerald life as Tisiphone's head swings down like the hammer of God-

The Plasma Caster's muzzle erupts in a massive, short-ranged blast; An expanding halo of cohered plasma, a supernova flash that spews forth in a point-blank explosion. While the ratcheting mechanisms of Tisiphone's form - Somehow, through some impossible alchemy - mimick the properties of musculature and carapace and living flesh, they are categorically not. The Plasma Caster's effect - Enough to shred apart a Corrector, to flash-burn organics into an expanding ball of liquified tissue - is muted, against something that is all phage-forged nanomaterial and wrath.

But it's pretty effective, all the same.

Tisiphone's already-malformed maw deforms further. The BRAKKK of the Plasma Caster's discharge is a blast of raw sound, vapor hissing from the gas vents to lessen the recoil; The smart-choke expanding, as the fusion cartridge cycles - Siphoning power from your reactor. The Corrector's head actually *snaps* to the side, like a boxer turned by a punch, like a train running full-tilt into a solid wall - The thing's mandibles sheared off by the point-blank shot, scraps of metal blasted free, pinging off the ground like hail.

It howls, a chittering insect screech. Flames boil forth from that maw, raw energy spilling through the great rents - The sound is catastrophic, full of rage, a blind titan laying waste to everything around it. This time, the chamber actually *rocks* beneath the thrashing impact; the roaring of phage unfettered, now, the vents flung open to let wave after wave of nanites boil into the air.

(Continued)

>>33885751
>>33885538

Cold blue light gathers, as your Scrander deploys - Red alarms scrolling over your sensors. The propulsion systems are damaged, control surfaces clogged with the slag of your own armour; Sparks flicker weakly, a whirring sound echoing in the chamber as you scramble away, keeping low, hand over hand - Above you, something lethal and catastrophic is happening, blades slash-stabbing down in every direction at once. One stabbing limb punches down, half a meter before you - so hard it *buckles*, then *snaps*, drawing a renewed howl from Tisiphone.

The Corrector is *rebuilding* itself. Phage spores, like black smoke, weigh your limbs down - Chewing into your armour, spilling across your cuirass, swamping your vision. They're everywhere, eroding and grinding, forcibly drawn away to the titanic Corrector...

>>33885538

The Plasma Caster shimmers into schematic lines, is gone. The Chain Mine's launcher takes it's place...

You have to get up - Have to *fly*-

Cybele's Emblem ignites, with emerald radiance - The light is a torch, a beacon. Your severed leg redraws itself in an architect's sketch of neon lines; The radiance disperses from your damaged limb, traceries skidding across the bleak floor like ripples across a pond. Tisiphone reels upright, now a nightmare thing bristling with blades - It's impossible not to see you, as your Emblem's illumination flares...

Everything.

Stops.

(Continued)

>>33885656
I like big guns and I can not lie
You other players can't deny
That when the scope zooms in, they about to get a taste
Of a round big as your face
You get sprung, wanna spend all your charge
'Cause you notice that gun was large
My 'Hollow Sun' is flaring
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring

This is all I can be bothered to do for now.

>>33885836
Did...did we do something wrong?

>>33885869
Shouldn't have used the Emblem.

>>33885869
Cybele might just want to know what the fuck we're doing in the Diadem

>>33885869
>>33885877
>>33885886
Welp, our paranoia might have been appropriate.
Or maybe it's just the setup for a nasty attack.

>>33885910
We could easily lie our way out of this by claiming we're going to take out the other Hyades, not her.

>>33885886
....okay, our cover story.

We went to go get a gallon of milk and got sidetracked by a giant monster fight. It happens alot.

>>33885886
Shouldn't she still be mostly unconscious?

>>33885923
>>33885930
Have you somehow missed that Cybele is ON STANDBY?

If someone reacts, it won't be Cybele.

>>33885930
"But you shouldn't even BE in the diadem!"

"Why, is it important?"

>>33885931
Well we just used her Emblem. Could have woken her up.

>>33885930
"Uh, do you know how to get to the bathroom?"

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>>33885931

The howl of the black wind dies out. A breeze enters the chamber - All those black specks, resurrected. Reversing direction, drawn from the actuality sphere with the low hiss of vents - Particles rising, in a dark blizzard, from Tisiphone's contorted form. So much mass, escaping; the very edges of the Corrector beginning to crumble, the thing's molecules flying apart as they ablate into mist.

It's a statue, flash-frozen in place. A statue falling apart in fast-forward; Fist-sized chunks of it's alloy substance bounding free, clattering to the ground, rolling away...Before the wave of serene disintegration catches up with them, too, and they disperse into twisting streamers of nanites that dissolve without a trace.

You rise. Your new leg takes your weight, just barely - It solidifies, a moment later, unscarred by the deep gouges that rack your armour, the gaping hole in your shoulder. The baleful light lingers, in Tisiphone's eyes - The head the very last thing to fall apart, mandibles clacking one final time before they, too, dissolve into smoke.

Light blossoms. It begins at your feet, expanding - The fitful glow of Cybele's Emblem fading, as soon as your armour's integrity is restored. It *twists*, coiling upon itself; Taking a new form, a form that seems almost familiar - A form you've glimpsed only once, with Megaera, with Mio.

Beneath your feet - Grass. Soft, green, waving in a quiet breeze. You can feel the gentle rays of the morning sun against your skin...

-Wait.

You can *feel*.

Your armour is *crumbling*. As you glance down at your hand, motes of crimson boil away, a swirling mist; The tatters of the Assault Shroud restored, becoming your coat, as the familiar sense of weight, of presence, of your HUD and targeting sensor, all recede. Instead, there's...

-There's an odd sense of unreality to this. As if you're slightly out-of-synch with the world around you; A world with the realer-than-realer sense of a...

A demense.

(Continued)

>>33885988
>A demense.
Joker the male Hyades.

Random question:
Can we summon meter weapons that aren't unlocked?
They obviously take meter to fire, but does the act of just summoning them also require the unlock threshold?

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>>33885988
Hellebore is in the house.

>>33886056
I wonder if we could fuck her, too

>>33886062
"You already have my daughter. No need to lay hands on me."

>>33886062
I'd prefer not to NTR our mentor.

>>33886091
It's not NTR if he's dead.

Guys, what if all the other champions entered the Hyades demenses in their human forms?
What if we are the only dude who's wearing his armor in the demense, because of whatever is up with our body?

>>33886122
Do you think they fucked them

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>>33885988

It's-

You're in a garden. A garden, with a winding path - A path bordered by exquisitely-manicured rosebushes, with brief alabaster steps leading up to a terrace; A terrace with a simple table of spotless white oak. The subtle fragrance of tea, of fresh-baked bread...

-There's a woman at the table. Large, limpid blue eyes framed by soft blonde hair, a few loose curls spilling free to hang loosely around her ears. A dress of layered cream fabric, lace and silk; Regal, somehow - utterly genuine, in a way you cannot quite describe. Slim fingers curl against the stem of her teacup, with a simple grace; a slender wrist, sheathed in lace, turned by the slight weight of the saucer.

"Joker." Her voice is soft and melodious; it feels as if light radiates from her dress. Her smile is gentle - achingly familiar, somehow - with the quiet intimacy of a shared secret, her gaze lingering on you as a light blush warms her cheeks.

"-I've missed you."

[ ] "...Who *are* you?"
[ ] "Where am I?"
[ ] "This place...What is it?"
[ ] "My armour - What happened to it?"

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33886174
>"My armour - What happened to it?"

>>33886174

Wow, she's hotter than MIO. I didn't think that was possible.

>>33886174

[x] "This place...What is it?"
[x] "My armour - What happened to it?"

>>33886174
"Are you Hellebore?"
"How the hell did I get here? And where is my armor?"
"What is your relation to Mio?"

>>33886174
>[ ] "Where am I?"
>[]"Aren't you referring to the previous Joker, former Chalice Queen?"

>>33886197
Kill yourself.

>>33886174
>[x] "What."
>[x] "My armour - What happened to it?"

>>33886224
Yeah. That's not even much of an achievement, since Mio doesn't even come close to Haze.

>>33886174
"Are you in charge of the Hyades system?"

>>33886174
"We've never met. I am fond of your daughter though."

>>33886453
You literally could not have chose a worse answer. Veto.

>>33886468
He could have mentioned us NTRing her with Cybele.

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>>33886205

> [X] "This place...What is it?"

"-A memory." Her voice is thoughtful, almost pensive; her teacup clinking lightly as she sets it down, rising to feet with the rustle of fabric, the crinkle of crinoline. She moves like a willow in the breeze, with an easy, unselfconscious grace - Her footfalls soundless, against the white stone.

"My memory, of the last day in my demense..." A soft sigh purrs from her lips, as she draws closer - The sweet, clean scent of her perfume hanging in the air. "-A perfect day." The faint glimmer to her eyes is an echo of the smile that shades across her features; her hands clasped behind her back, as she turns to take in the tableau.

"It's strange, how quickly you come to miss it."

> [X] "Are you Hellebore?"

She laughs, a soft, silvery sound - One eye briefly closing in a wink. There's a quiet confidence in the way she carries herself; perfectly at ease in her own body, a warm undercurrent of amusement shading her words.

"-Guilty as charged, Joker." Hellebore seems to consider this, for a moment - Her brow furrowing lightly, before adding; "...Part of her, really. A fragment; more than a recording, less than a whole person." There's something almost sad in her smile, now - A cloud passing across the sun.

"Still-" she draws a slow breath, and her mood lightens again. "-I'm all that remains of her. A ghost of a ghost."

> [X] "Aren't you referring to the previous Joker, former Chalice Queen?"

She leans forward, like a conspirator - Touching a cool finger to your lips.

"Hush," Hellebore says, and you can hear the sorrow in her voice.

> [x] "My armour - What happened to it?"

"-It's where it should be." Her touch descends, to your chest - Her fingers stroking you, lightly, the sensation making your skin tingle. "You're in a memory, Joker - All of this..." And she lays a slim finger on your forehead - "...is in your head."

(Continued)

>>33886468
I'm pretty sure it's rhe correct answer as it were, as it both informs her that the Joker's inheritance didn't work like everyone expected it to, and informs jer that we know more about her than she might expect.

>>33886504
Neither of those are confirmed, so don't push it.

>>33886488
I guess we had to defeat the three furies to meet her.
We've defeated Megaera and Alecto long ago and now the had the third one.

>>33886516
She stole our victory right from under our noses. i am somewhat miffed and disappointed.

>>33886514
No actually, we do know the first, we've had three different characters comment on it now.

Now, you can dislike the suggestion because you dislike mentioning Mio, but that has nothing to do with the correctness of the statement.

>>33886536
That wasn't an imminent victory, we got stupid lucky she interfered when she did.

>>33886564
Pretty sure we weren't far from victory, since we had a chain mine ready to be sent down the beast's throat and then a double Tau in case that wasn't enough.

>>33886488

"But - You can't afford to wake up, not yet." The sorrow returns, never far away. "-There are things you have to know."

> "Are you in charge of the Hyades system?"

She smiles. It's benevolent, yet reprimanding - A look that makes you feel like a naughty child.

"Not 'in charge', Joker. But-" Hellebore presses a gentle hand to her bosom. "-Like all the Hyades, I'm a product of the system." She looks away, her brow furrowing - "...Or rather, I *used* to be. I keep forgetting."

> "What is your relation to Mio?"

"Oh?" A slim eyebrow arches, amusement in her voice. "-I thought you'd have guessed, by now. After all-" And Hellebore glances aside, averting her gaze demurely; "...We're so much alike."

She pinches the hem of her flowing skirt, sketching a low curtesy ~ a grace borne of long practice, her voice growing soft, warm.

"-Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Joker," she says - And her words are almost a caress, a sweet blush to her cheeks. "Her life hasn't been easy, but...I'm glad she met you."

Perhaps it's something in your expression, but a soft giggle thrums from Hellebore's lips; "After all - Being a Player is hard. Problematic for yourself, and everyone around you; Who knows when or how things happen?"

"Even with Megaera, I've had to take so many precautions to protect her...For things to even get this far."

[ ] "Wait. What?"
[ ] "-What are you saying?"
[ ] "You've been...What *have* you been doing to Mio?"
[ ] "I don't understand."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33886590
It's made of dust and hate. The chain mine was going to hurt it bad but not permanently, and the tau would not had been very effective.

Remember how the dust outside cut up Joker pretty bad? Tisiphone is made of that dust and controlled it. That was our fight to lose.

>>33886628
Heh, knew it.

>>33886628

The Hyades just can't help but be manipulative, can they?

> [X] What about the field? The one that makes everyone hate her?

>>33886628
>[X] "Answers. Please."

>>33886628
"Thanks for not being cryptic. I've been waiting for such an opportunity for ages.

So Megaera really is Mio's watch dog?
What about her aura of hatred? Why does it happen?

Should I tell her that her mother is literally watching her from another world and being her guardian angel?

Am I correct in guessing that you won the Hyades games? What happened afterwards? Why are you here, while also knowing about the Real and having a real daughter?"

>>33886628
>[x] "I don't understand."
Three simple words. It sums up what we know about the Hyades, what we know about the Smiler's plans and how they're linked. It tells her what we know about her relationship to Mio, Mio's powers, the tournament and what happens at the endgame. It lets her know everything we know about what Kraken did to himself and why the Shroud is breaking down.

I don't understand.

>>33886628
"Where do Hyades come from? Are they former humans?
Why can Cybele remember fragments of the real world?"

>>33886628
"So was old Joker her father?

Are you okay with me telling her about the red world?"

>>33886684
>Why are you here, while also knowing about the Real and having a real daughter?
We already have a good guess of this one. All the Hyades were once normal humans that somehow lost their bodies and became part of the Hyades system. Hellebore got the Chalice Queen armor, gained a physical body and became Old Joker's lover. That much is obvious.

>>33886684
>Should I tell her that her mother is literally watching her from another world and being her guardian angel?
What do you think Mio will think if we say that, Anon?

>>33886744
She would never accept a rejection, I guess.

>>33886628
>[X] "You've been...What *have* you been doing to Mio?"

"Why make everyone hate her? She blames herself every time the people around her turn on her."

"Is there anything you'd like me to tell her?"

"Hellebore, what happened ten years ago? Why didn't you win? Why did it all start again? And why do my counterparts have the rest of you?"

>>33886628
Oh boy.
>[x] "What is this place? What is the Red? What did you do to Mio? Why does she have freaky light powers? Was the old Red Joker her father? What happened at the Endgame? What are the Hyades? What are all the experiments in the diadem? Why does the Black Joker Blood corrupt and reanimate people? You cool with me banging Mio? Do you know what the Smilers are planning? Why is the Shroud going down? Is this what happened last time? Can Argent be trusted? Did Black Cardinal betray you? Do you know any of his weaknesses? How can we remove the curse of the Fatal Abyss? Is it possible to heal someone corrupted with the Black Joker Blood? What the fuck am I supposed to do about the abomination crawling around in the real? Why am I the only person immune to it? Why doesn't the Hyades mindrape work on me? How can I fix the Hyades mindrape, I don't want to have to kill my friends. Where is Hecate? If you can answer any 5 of these, it'd be a great help."

>>33886772
I don't get what you're trying to say here.

>>33886854
We talked to her mother and her mother approves of us.
We are also the successor of her father.

>>33886628
Why has no one asked "What is the Diadem" yet?

>>33886872
I am having a hard time telling if you're dense or lack common sense.

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>>33886707

> "Where do Hyades come from?
> "Are they former humans?"

"-Yes." It's blunt, to the point. Perhaps it's something in your expression, but Hellebore laughs, delightedly - The husky, smoky laughter of a mature woman.

"*He* never guessed, you know," she says - Slim fingers pressed to her temples, bittersweet remembrance shading her words.

"-Not until I told him."

Hellebore's gaze goes distant, with the haze of memory. "It's not quite that simple, Joker - But yes, you *were* close." She favours you with a sidelong smile, secret and warm - "The very last part. The anima; the sense of self-awareness - the conscious sentience, the manifestation of the living spirit."

"-The soul, Joker."

Her gaze wanders the memory of her demense; lingering on the rich green of the grass, the crimson of the roses, the warm sun casting slanting, blurred shadows against the ground.

> Why can Cybele remember fragments of the real world?"

Hellebore's lips shape the word, 'Cybele', as if tasting it for the first time; A dark cloud passing across her face, gone as quickly as it comes.

"-All of us can," she says, softly. "Even those of us who would rather forget."

Her fingertips caress the varnished surface of the table.

"I remember the pain. The horror. I remember being taken into Hell. I have a vague recollection of my mind...fracturing."

She looks up. "And then - I remember waking up. And for the first time, being able to think - To really think, on a level I'd never known before."

Hellebore pauses, carefully considering her words.

"I was...very, very stupid in my first life, Joker. Most people are."

> "So was old Joker her father?"

She shakes her head, slowly. Her eyes close.

"No." A sad, slow smile. "-It would have made for a better story, don't you think? But...That's the one thing we can't do. Not even after the games have ended - Not even when we're free."

Hellebore laughs, softly, but there's sorrow in it.

"-Strange that I'd miss it."

(Continued)

>>33886628
"You've been through this all before...is there any way this ends without me offing myself from depression, loss, mental instability, and PTSD?"

>>33887003
>"No." A sad, slow smile. "-It would have made for a better story, don't you think? But...That's the one thing we can't do. Not even after the games have ended - Not even when we're free."
Does anyone else get the specific meaning?

>>33887081

The new bodies they get can't bear children. Mio was right in that she really was the daughter of someone's mistress, conceived while the Chalice Queen was alive.

>>33887093
But they are so similar. There must be a genetic connection.

>>33887120

Chalice is her mother, but Red Joker's not her father.

>>33887093
>>33887120
>>33887128
Eh, maybe. There's more than one way to read that line, all we can say for sure is that the story we got from Mio is missing something serious.

>>33887128
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdORqZNn-T8

>>33887093
>>33887128

(Yes, that's accurate.)

"As you know, there are different kinds of Player." Her voice is mellow, measured, warming to her subject. "Some exist between worlds, like you - Upon their first activation, their armour is drawn to them; their sword, and their shield."

A wan smile.

"-The lucky ones."

"But some enter the Red World without armour. No Frame can hold their Essence; perhaps they suffer from some incompatibility-" Hellebore's gaze turns inwards.

"...Or maybe," she says, low and contemplative, her fingers tracing her cheek - "-They just can't let go." A slight cough thrums from her lips, clearing her throat; "Essence alone forms their bodies - Bodies which can't hope to survive the Red."

A sidelong glance. "That's why they're called 'Moratorium', Joker. Because all they're waiting for..."

She gestures, taking in her verdant realm with a sweep of a pale, slender arm.

"-Is this."

> So Megaera really is Mio's watch dog?

"The Cryptid? Of course." Hellebore's eyes narrow, contemplating something in the distance. "-One to protect. One to harvest Essence. And one for..."

She shakes her head. "But we'll get to that. Soon."

> What about her aura of hatred? Why does it happen?

She smiles, slightly; the quiet satisfaction of a woman who's accomplished some great task.

"Not 'her aura'," she says. "-The Chalice Queen's aura. Hellebore's power; Ever-hungry, ever-consuming - Drawing upon the world around her. Taking Essence from everything in it."

Hellebore brushes a stray strand of hair, back from her blue eyes.

"When the time comes, she'll be primed for her first activation - To finish what I started." Her smile returns, luminous and somehow proud.

"The first *living* Hyades - Not a spirit, not a phantom - With the power to save the world."

(Continued)

>>33887309
Getting bad vibes now.

>>33887309
>"The first *living* Hyades - Not a spirit, not a phantom - With the power to save the world."
The Red world - Where absolutely everyone is a megalomanic R&D nutcase, no matter how good or evil.

>>33887309
"Save it from what?"

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>>33887309
>"The first *living* Hyades - Not a spirit, not a phantom - With the power to save the world."
So she's going to push a weak child into the very depths of hell to create a Messiah. Brilliant plan, if you ask me.

>>33887309
The people who were saying Mio wasn't special just got BTFO.

>>33887439
Has anyone actually ever said that?

>>33887452
Seen it a couple times.

>>33887452
Yeah, there were quite a few anons saying Mio lacked a connection to the Red that the more "important" girls had, with the exceptoon of Yui.

>>33887482
OP made it clear early on that every heroine is special in some way or another. Why do people keep forgetting this?

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> "Hellebore, what happened ten years ago? Why didn't you win? Why did it all start again? And why do my counterparts have the rest of you?"

"Ten years ago..."

She looks away. A soft sigh purrs from her lips.

"-Ten years ago, I met a very, very clever man. There was a kindness to him; A power, too." Hellebore's gaze turns inwards - Her expression troubled, as if remembering old hurts. "He didn't love me. Isn't that strange? But then again...How *could* he?"

"After all - There was only one thing that the very kind, very clever man wanted..."

Her gaze meets yours.

"...He wanted his daughter to be a Player."

A shadow creeps into her voice. "As I said, Joker - I was very, very stupid. And-" A ghost of a smile lingers. "...Very much in love. If it'd been anyone else, anyone at all..." Hellebore's voice trails off, and her slim shoulders lift in a shrug.

"-Well. Perhaps things would've been different."

She eases herself into her chair. It doesn't creak - Her chin resting on her pal, her expression pensive.

"He searched the Red World for the longest time. He was desperate, you see - And, more than anything, I wanted him to be *happy*." Hellebore laughs, but it's bitter, now - It spoils her prettiness, making her look mean and petty...Or mundane, like everyone else. Part of you is glad of that, and part of you is sad.

"In the end, he found what he was looking for. There are things in the Red World that defy human comprehension - Things not from this earth, but...From somewhere else. Somewhere - Other." Hellebore turns her palm upwards. Black motes swirl around her fingertips.

"-A catalyst. The black oil, from the bones of the earth. *Lachryma*."

"And after that-" She draws a deep breath. "-After that, I never saw the kind man again."

(Continued)

>>33887515
Because speed reading is my guess. You miss a lot when you just read the first and last paragraphs.

>>33887538
So the play IS the Cardinal's backstory. What we failed to realize is that it was also Joker's and Hellebore's.

How funny; Hellebore was the Black Cardinal's Hyades. And the Nihl Spheres belong to Hellebore.

>>33887538
You know, I want to know her original name.

>>33887600
>And the Nihl Spheres belong to Hellebore.
But then why are they Pazuzu's eyes?
Is he blind in his natural configuration or something?

>>33887538
So her plan is to transform Mio into an anti-Black Joker weapon?

>>33887629
He has a setting there, like we have the Helix Gauntlet, I presume.

>>33887538
>"In the end, he found what he was looking for. There are things in the Red World that defy human comprehension - Things not from this earth, but...From somewhere else. Somewhere - Other." Hellebore turns her palm upwards. Black motes swirl around her fingertips.
So not only are we fighting in a world that would be valid for Platinum Games, but half of the mysteries are based on ancient aliens.
I love the setting.

>>33887629
I always figured the spheres being his "eyes" is a figurative expression rather than a literal one.

>>33887600
Wait, so she wasn't Red Joker's partner?

>>33887693
He literally has an empty eye socket, with the other filled with a Nihl sphere.

>>33887689
Sounds less like aliens and more like Eldrich Abominations

>>33887696
Or at least, that story heavily implied that Pazuzu or whoever Black Cardinal was is the father.

>>33887538

"And so...I slept." Hellebore looks away. "I waited for him. For the longest time - Oh, the long days and the endless nights. But eventually...Eventually, I had to sleep." Her voice becomes a whisper.

"Imagine, Joker; the silence. The oblivion. The *loneliness* - the inability to escape from yourself. It's thinking; 'Will I ever wake up again? Or is this all there is, forever?'"

Hellebore shudders - A brief tremor, quickly mastered. "...And when I woke up," she says, in a voice tight with hurt - Tears glisten in her eyes. "-I couldn't even *see* him. He didn't *want* me to see him; He'd used me. He'd used my love, and when he was done, he..."

She goes quiet, her voice soft, steely. "-And so...I cut him out of me. I severed - Part of myself. And oh, it *hurt* - The pain, like nothing you could ever imagine."

Her gaze meets yours. "And then - I met you." At last, a wan smile touches her lips. "I didn't...*want* you, Joker. Not at first. I wanted..." A deep breath.

"Well. It doesn't matter what I wanted." This time, Hellebore's smile is almost shy. "-But it was almost time for the games, for Convergence...And, more than anything, I wanted to be free." A low chuckle, mocking somehow. "-Isn't that strange? To be a prisoner in Paradise...It's worse than being in Hell."

She looks up at the sky; It's a reflexive gesture, an instinctive one. You intuit, dimly, that she's trying to peer through the false heavens of her demense - Except Hellebore's no longer in it, and the realization brings the sad smile back to her lips.

"The Hyades exist for a reason, you know. Players with transcendent System Access...With enough power to free the Chalice Queen's armour - *One* of them - from the quantum vault. Safeguards upon safeguards, so that only the strongest will survive...And only when the Shroud is crumbling, of course. Only when the end approaches."

(Continued)

>>33887736
>Eldrich Abominations
I just got the insane image of the Jokers actually being avatars of different Great Old Ones. RJ being Cthugha, BJ being Cthulhu and WJ being Ithaqua.

>>33887696
Something like that. Then again, we only ever said that Mikogami was the Cardinal because he fit the priest theme, and we only thought Hellebore was Joker's partner because he called her name.

Could be we've had the identities wrong all along, and Mikogami was the Joker while the Cardinal was someone else.

>>33887836
Of course this implies he's alive still, and we know pretty well that Joker's dead. Not that it seems to be stopping anyone, really.

And hey neat, I was right about how the Hyades worked with the Chalice Queen.

>>33887836
>Only when the end approaches
So this either means that the thinning of the shroud is not as dangerous as thought or that the world needs periodical saving.

Also, looks like the game is rigged to have Mio become the Chalice Queen, while the others are intended to die.
I want to defy fate somehow.

>>33887926
Mio is set up to be a Player with Hellebore's old power, that's it.

The Chalice Queen thing was always set up highlander style, I don't see why you're surprised.

I'VE GOT 99 PROBLEMS AND WOMEN ARE ALL OF THEM-RJ

>Asuna's play was proved right
But her other story ended with the old red knight abandoning his duty. His duty was to guard a cave containing the most evil thing imaginable.

Shit.

(Gentlemen; My apologies if I failed to answer all the questions. There's been a LOT of input, and I'm hoping to avoid writing a post with no end in sight. I'll strive to address the rest in the next response.)

>>33887836

Hellebore clasps a hand to her bosom. "-The Red World exists to perpetuate itself. To be sustained by the Essence of humans, of every living thing that walks upon the Earth's surface...Gathering into cities, concentrating the output..."

A soft laugh. "All of human history. All our advancements. Nothing more than a planetary defense mechanism...To keep the gears turning, and the fires fuelled."

She looks away. "...But you knew that. You've always known that. What was it that you told me...?"" A slow breath: ""Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.'"

And then - "You always knew just what to say..."

"But-" You're not longer sure who she's talking to, now; Her gaze locking with yours, searching. "-You couldn't do it. Even when I was free, you didn't let me *take* them...All the simulation bodies, all their Essence...It was the one thing you couldn't do."

Hellebore's perfect teeth work against her lip - Hard enough to draw blood, if she had blood. "So...Why? If you were willing to throw away anything, why didn't you let me...?" She shakes her head - "...Didn't you *trust* me?"

Her voice trembles, teeters.

(Continued)

>>33888059

> What happened afterwards? Why are you here, while also knowing about the Real and having a real daughter?"

Frustration, pure and unalloyed, contorts her lovely features.

"-I don't *know*." It's a tortured whisper. "The...memory doesn't go that far. I must have died - I must have. And now-" Hellebore's gaze is pleading, somehow. "...The plan is all I have left. It's...all that's left to me."

She draws a deep, shuddering breath. Calm returns.

"I'm...a *fragment*, Joker. A recording, left behind by...by me. And there's so *little* left, it's frustrating. I waited for you - For so *long*. All this time, waiting and wondering..."

"Joker - This time, will you finally trust me?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33888059
>>33888077

Oh boy. You can almost smell the crazy bleeding through.

>>33888077

Should we say yes? i'm inclined to do so.

>>33888077
"A Joker is a wild card.
I have no reason to trust you. But if you tell me your plan, I could decide to support you."

(This is maybe too assholish)

>>33888077
She's asking to devour the schoolgirls? Yeah, nah. Call me crazy, but I don't think that can possibly end well. Stick to the Hyades.

>>33887926

Or the Hyades are created, exist and die without ever having a chance to be free. Think about that for a minute.

>>33888077
Oh fuck no, the moongirls are one thing, the others really are innocent.

>>33888077
"I can't, Hellebore. Not the last time, not this one."
>>33888114
I think she's telling us that she can turn Mio into the Chalice Queen by killing every simulation body-type Player.

>>33888077
Joker is a lot of things, but I don't think he'd stoop to sucking out the essence off a bunch of schoolgirls.

>>33888125
She definitely doesn't seem to be on the good-natured side, considering Mio's purpose and this new revelation.

But interesting to know that old Joker was even more pragmatic than we are.

>>33888125
>Stick to the Hyades
Not like they'll be sticking around for long if our plan succeeds.

>>33888160
And we owe it to him not to go back on his previous decision. If he couldn't go through with it, then there's a damn good reason why.

Are we still going to kill Cybele?

>>33888195
And if it's supposed to make Mio ascend, I'm pretty sure that Mio would be horrified.

Well, this explains what is eant by "essence gathering" for one of the three protectors.

>>33888210
Killing was never the plan. Only a possible result.
I do like her more than Hellebore, though.

>>33888151
Absolutely. We might just add Hellebore to the list after all.

>>33888225
Whoops, misquote, meant for >>33888210.

>>33888218
>And if it's supposed to make Mio ascend, I'm pretty sure that Mio would be horrified.
You mean mindbroken. Getting suddenly thrown into hell as her body is charged with the power of a Nuke is not good for the sanity.

"Hey, Mio, your mother told me that she wants all of your fellow students in order to make you an ascended being in a parallel universe where I came from.
You do hate the others, don't you?"

>>33888151
She's saying she can put herself back into play if she kills every simulation Player.

>>33888160
I wonder if she was talking to Joker at all.

>>33888151

Then i'm no longer inclined. Mio wouldn't be able to handle it, nor can i agree with killing those school girls. Hyades are one thing, "innocent" schoolgirls? Not so much.

>>33888077
>She wants to kill all of the simulation bodies to hyper-charge the Chalice Queen's armor...?
yooooo what the fuck
>Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
Man, Old Red Joker is just like us. We need to use that mantra next time we train plague boy.


But yeah, fuck this. Not gonna kill everyone for Hellebore.

>>33888077
"No. It's time for you to rest. You experienced enough already.
I will do it my way."

>>33888300
>Man, Old Red Joker is just like us. We need to use that mantra next time we train plague boy.
Just make vague notions about "playing to win". Which is the more modern take on that mantra.

>>33888293
Note that the Hyades are no confirmed as ex-Moratorium. Like Hecate.

>>33888125

Hellebore shakes her head, slowly - An artificial calm descending, as her distress is smoothed away. It's almost chilling, to watch it happen; Like the conversation choices in a game, a character going from sad to happy to animated with the press of a button.

"-You won't have to," she says, softly. "My daugh - *Mio* - is primed for the first activation. For six years, she's accumulated Essence...All for this moment. To become a single, radiant soul - A living Hyades, a true Player. One that doesn't blight the world with her very existence-"

A slow, sad smile.

"Like me. Like...'Cybele'."

Her slim fingers caress the surface of the table - An absent gesture, in time with her thoughts. "The dead - They can't generate Essence. Only humans can do that. Hyades...We take and *take*, just to exist. To be...the shining weapon of destiny. To finally, finally - To finally *destroy* everything he wanted-"

Hellebore stops, mid-sentence, as if she's revealed too much.

Then, she goes on - More quietly, now; "That's why you have to fight, Joker. Fight - And *win*, until Convergence comes. And when you reach the quantum vault, when the time comes to free the armour..."

A slow breath. "-Free *mine*."

"Every Hyades has an armour that awaits them - An armour only their champion can release, an armour to which the Emblem is the key. Free Hellebore, and-"

A pause.

"...Make Mio the Chalice Queen."

The pleading note returns, to Hellebore's voice. "-It's what you wanted, isn't it? The only way without death - The only thing that could make you happy." The smile that graces her lips is almost gentle. "...Joker. I'm sorry I couldn't see your perfect world. I think - It's a very kind place."

(Continued)

>>33888320
>>33888303
>>33888300
>>33888293
>>33888273
>>33888268
>>33888246
>>33888218

(Gentlemen; My apologies. I'm aware that this is an extremely complex concept, so I'll explain it in OOC terms, so that an informed decision can be made.

When Convergence concludes, the last champion is transported to the lunar quantum vault, where a number of high-priority armours - Meant for Hyades use - are stored. The Emblem you currently possess will unlock the one 'keyed' to Cybele, which will transfer her Essence from her demense to her new armour, which will be released upon the Red World.

Unfortunately, the Hyades - Being dead - are unable to replenish their Essence by the simple process of being alive. Upon release, they drain Essence from all simulation bodies in existence - Usually with lethal consequences - to replenish their store.

Hellebore is proposing an alternative; With your Emblem altered to her frequency, you could - Instead of releasing Cybele's armour - release Hellebore's instead, which will be drawn to Mio, making her a full Player. Mio, being alive and 'primed' with six years worth of accumulated Essence charge, won't have to drain the simulation bodies for sustenance, and will be able to function independently without the constant need to draw Essence from the world and the people living in it.)

>>33888324
>Her slim fingers caress the surface of the table - An absent gesture, in time with her thoughts. "The dead - They can't generate Essence. Only humans can do that. Hyades...We take and *take*, just to exist. To be...the shining weapon of destiny. To finally, finally - To finally *destroy* everything he wanted-"
It's getting more and more creepy.

>The only way without death
Wait, what?
I'm pretty sure that it will require dead Hyades and champions.

>>33888324
So she's using her daughter to kill Mikogami's hopes for his. That's extraordinarily cruel.

>>33888410
Yes, I understood that. What caused confusion was Hellebore's request to go after the simulation bodies anyway.

>>33888324
"You know, Mio wouldn't be the first living Hyades I've met...I also ran into another."

"I've been around the block a few times, Hellebore. You'll have to try harder than that to surprise me now....that I'm dating the old man's daughter is a bit of a bombshell, I'll grant. But the rest? Just confirming suspicions here."

>>33888410
Huh.
Well tough luck girls. Cybele you stayin' dead, Mio you gonna be the messiah and you gonna like it.

It's still better for us to kill all of the Hyades though. They're already dead and we're going to have to murder the players anyway. Considering how the tournament seemed to work before, killing all of the Hyades apart from Cybele should make it key us as the winner.

The most frustrating part is that it doesn't solve the problems we had before. Kraken is still missing and his bitch is probably up to something. At least now we actually know what will happen once we kill the rest of the Hyades.

>>33888453

> So she's using her daughter to kill Mikogami's hopes for his. That's extraordinarily cruel.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

So, if I understand correctly, a Moratorium exists to die.
Once she dies, she becomes a Hyades.

Does that mean Hecate is someone's champion? Has she been scheming in the background, with her newfound mental processing power?

>>33888509
Nah, she could interact with the real world.

Man, if I didn't know better, I would have thought Argent got his players to kill collectors to charge up false simulation-bodies so when the new queen emerges, nobody has to die. Shame that he probably hasn't done that.

>>33888413
The Hyades are technically already dead. Hellebore just confirmed that they can only exist in the Red, even if they "win".

>>33888509

You forgot one thing, Hecate didn't die. She never, ever had a chance to become a Hyades, because her body is still alive.

Is this where this is going? Do we have to kill Hecate so she becomes a Hyades? Because that is fucking dark.

>>33888526
Because she had a Nihl sphere and was still alive. That explains why she didn't instantly drain the Nihl charge whenever she met us IRL.

>>33888458
Hecate was a Moratorium.

And Mio is Hellebore's daughter alone. No father. I suppose that does make her a Christ figure.

>>33888410
Ah wait, are you saying it's time to decide between Mio and Cybele? I'm fine with changing emblems now.

>>33888499
In a word.

>>33888509
Hecate as such is gone. The memories that made her "her" no longer exist, though she is at the core the same person, potentially. If I had to guess? Cybele is what's left. Maybe.

>>33888509
I was under the impression that Hecate was clever or lucky enough to survive all this time.

And I just realized that Hecate might be a Hyades now.

>>33888573
>If I had to guess? Cybele is what's left. Maybe.
This would explain why Cybele is the youngest Hyades.

I finally understand now.

>>33888595
what if she's Kraken's?

>>33888552
She was killed, maybe...maybe now, she's asleep. Waiting for the next cycle...

We can find her. We have to find her champion.


So the choice is, we choose Mio, everything goes well, except Hecate be pissy. OR we choose Hecate, people die, Hellebore will be pissy.

>>33888604
And why she is so obssessed with us.

I wonder:
Can our killsat shoot Tachyon beams at demenses?

>>33888628
But what about her real name?
She told us her name and we know Hecate's name. Wouldn't someone have noticed if it was identical?

>>33888650
As Hellebore has demonstrated, Hyades have inconsistent memories.

>>33888604
>>33888628
We actually don't know that; it's implied that Hyades personalities run the entire spectrum. She could be the youngest or just act it.

>>33888615
If we found her she wouldn't be the same anymore. None of the Hyades remember their first life.

There's also, like you said, the whole vampire thing. Any Hyades but Mio only has as long as her initial (massive) Essence pool lasts before she dies again.

>>33888630
We could, but it would erase the essence/information inside. AEW is much better for it.

>>33888650
This... is a good point. Rescinding speculation.

>>33888615
Thief called Hecate the Chalice Queen even though she's a moratorium and is alive. Have to wonder if there's a way to give HER the Armor.

>>33888689
>She could be the youngest or just act it.
I was actually referring to some earlier tidbit.
I don't remember what it was, but Cybele apparently knows much less than the other Hyades and the other Hyades don't know her yet or something like that.
My memory is rather hazy, though.

>>33888725
She's no longer a moratorium or alive. Had she survived, we might have been able to give her the armor.

Oh wait, there's the reason Cybele can't be Hecate; Cybele watched us fight Pazuzu.

>>33888728
Yeah, we realized some time ago that the Hyades, for all their knowledge, really didn't know much about the Red World. It's not just Cybele (though her personality isn't helping).

>>33888725
Thief also thought he was the next Phantom Edge. Forgive me if I don't fully trust his judgment on this subject.

>>33888453

(My apologies, that wasn't my intention. To clarify, this method specifically means that Hellebore wouldn't have to drain the simulation bodies. The logical extension of this means that doing so would make the Hellebore armour *even more* powerful, since it would have at least twice the charge - The amount accumulated over six years, and the one drawn from the simulation bodies.

This plan, however, means that you'll have to win the 'tournament'. More, I'll point out that this alternative option means that Cybele will have to remain in her demense. Effectively, the prize will go to someone else - And she'll be stranded.

The alternative plan of deactivating the system - If it could be made to work - means that, effectively, there'd be no Chalice Queen. Which means that all the Hyades would be stranded - Until they fall into dormancy - or dead.)

>>33888573

(My apologies, but - As this is a fairly important plot point - it bears clarification. Cybele and Hecate are not the same person. As in, they're two different people.)

>>33886682

> [x] "I don't understand."

"The heir to the Red Joker, at the same school - in the same city. At the right place, at the right time..."

Hellebore smiles, fondly. "-You've always been an *improbably* dashing prince."

Perhaps she sees the question in your eyes, for her half-smile lingers. "No. She didn't choose it. But *choosing* to do it is besides the point; A whim, a daydream, a prayer...That's all it takes."

"And, Joker...You are a very lovely daydream."

The air blurs. A shape takes form - A spike, of some dull grey alloy, balanced impossibly on it's needle-point. The metal forms a crude hilt, capped with a ruby stone at the pommel - Everything about it speaks of a singular purpose, of lethality. Some about it looks...familiar, somehow.

Like the knife of the black sands. The end of the world, a lifetime ago - And the eternal mourning that followed.

In the end, he gave you everything.

(Continued)

>>33888784
>She's no longer a moratorium or alive. Had she survived, we might have been able to give her the armor.
Still unconfirmed. I'd like to explore this line of thought just so she can get closure and we can finally move one while knowing that all is lost/there is still hope.

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>>33888821

"-You'll have to break your contract," Hellebore says - Briskly, as if it's of no consequence, her blue eyes matter-of-fact. The grey alloy of the spike gleams in her unwavering gaze. "-After the Chalice Queen is free, of course."

[ ] "...What is that?"
[ ] "-It looks like, like..."
[ ] "-What do I do with this?"
[ ] "What will happen to Cybele?"
[ ] "And what if I don't?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>33888784
>Cybele watched us fight Pazuzu.
Unless it's another memory fuckup and her watching was a Hecate memory from Nara Dreamland.

I would be in favor of giving Mio the Chalice Queen armor, if we make an actual effort at doing something for the Cybele and Hecate situation.
To win the tournament, all the other Hyades would need to die. But Cybele would be the last one standing.
We have a giant R&D machine, a black box built from black boxes, the most powerful armor in the game and a tachyon generator. And a NIHL sphere.
If we recovered Hecate, she might help us with her deeper knowledge of the NIHL. It might be a viable way of saving Cybele.

But Ogre and Bishamon are still an issue.

>>33888821
So basically, going with Hellebore's plan pretty much no difference from shutting down the tournament as far as the Hyades are concerned.

Might as well get a Chalice Queen out of the deal.

>>33888881
"Is this the Misericode?"
[ ] "What will happen to Cybele?"
[ ] "And what if I don't?"

"I wish I could end this without killing the people important to me."

>>33888883
If we can find a way to assassinate or shut down their respective Hyades...

>>33888881
>[ ] "And what if I don't?"

>>33888881
"Important question:
What would happen if I killed a player's Hyades? Does the brainwashing go away or will they feel like I killed their loved one?"

>>33889001
Yes, this. It'll be the difference between the ultimate dream-team and getting bisected right before the final fight.

>>33888881
>[X] "-It looks like, like..."
"Hellebore, is Kotone responsible for Mikogami's sins? Hate the one who betrayed you. You're asking I do the same, after all."

>>33888883
There is only one way to save Cybele, and that is by making her the Chalice Queen, and killing nine in ten Seisin students.

Wait, so THAT'S why the Seisin girls have been so careful about what they say about the Hyades, they know the descent of one of the ladies will mean each and every one of their deaths. Jesus, no wonder Shino glued herself to Kazuya, she thinks she's going to die in two days.

>>33889001
Oh, yes, this is a very important question.

>>33888881
>[X] "-What do I do with this?"
Seeing as no one else is asking...

>>33889042
>they know the descent of one of the ladies will mean each and every one of their deaths. Jesus, no wonder Shino glued herself to Kazuya, she thinks she's going to die in two days.
That's FUCKED UP.

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> "Is this the Misericode?"

Her gaze is quizzical - Hellebore doesn't know the term, not as you say it.

But then comprehension flickers in her eyes, and she nods, slowly, thoughtfully.

"I call it - The Athame."

Her slim fingers trace the spike, stroking, caressing. "With this - You can sever a Hyades's contract. An Athame to the Player's heart, to break the bond..."

She meets your gaze. Holds it.

"-An Athame to the Hyades's heart, to force her into slumber...Or kill her." Hellebore cants her head to the side, in a gesture that's achingly familiar - "...The wielder's choice, for a blade that can be wielded once and only once."

> [X] "What will happen to Cybele?"

Quietly, levelly - "What do you *want* to happen?"

> [X] "And what if I don't?"

Her eyes close, for a moment. At last, Hellebore sighs, as if regretting every word.

"Then when she goes dormant for the last time - When she releases her life - you'll feel it. It's not pleasant, Joker - The Athame is to spare you the pain. And hers."

> "Important question: What would happen if I killed a player's Hyades? Does the brainwashing go away or will they feel like I killed their loved one?"

"'Kill' a Hyades?" Hellebore's voice is gently reprimanding. "-We can't die, you know. Not normally. The body is only a shell." And an aside, almost to herself - "...But we'll prefer to avoid the pain."

A finger caresses her chin, lightly:

"-When the Athame severs the bond, it also severs the compulsion. They'll remember their Hyades fondly - But without the unconditional love. Without the unquestioning affection." Softly - "...Scars are never as strong as whole flesh. But they heal."

(Continued)

>>33889208
>"-When the Athame severs the bond, it also severs the compulsion. They'll remember their Hyades fondly - But without the unconditional love. Without the unquestioning affection." Softly - "...Scars are never as strong as whole flesh. But they heal."
Holy shit.
We can break the system.

>>33889269
No. It works once. We can choose to free one of the other champions, or we can kill Cybele and free her from the cycle.

Rolled 3

1 for Joker
2 for Bishi
3 for Ogre

>>33889208
Wait, shit, Alura. The Smilers are planning to break the system as well, probably by grabbing Alura's armor and killing the schoolgirls.

How do we stop her?

>>33889362
Find smiler base (Ask Megumi...?)
Challenge the Smiler Leadership to a fight
Aim killsat at them
Begin speech
Wait for Killsat to fire
Moonwalk away

>>33889269
>>33889305

Hellebore's glance is swift, almost cutting - "You're not cheating them out of eternal life, Joker," she says, sharply. "-Don't make it more than it is. Eventually, every Hyades sleeps - And eventually, we fade."

A slight smile, her voice soft, considering.

"-*Is* there an afterlife, I wonder? Choirs of angels - Or a fiery pit? One unlearns these falsehoods over time, but...The child who learnt to fear hell is never really gone." Hellebore laughs, and her laugh is bitter.

"...To tell the truth, I think I've had quite enough of afterlives as it is. This one has been Purgatory enough." Then, in a whisper - "Ten years, Joker. Behind glass like a medical specimen - Trapped behind video screens. Afraid of sleeping, afraid of resting...Never ceasing to think about the world you no longer belong to."

"After this - I think oblivion will do nicely."

The Athame awaits. Like a die, it awaits an outcome.

You could use it on yourself.

Or Bishamon. Or Iron Ogre. Or Utopia Ruler.

Or Alura.

"Joker-" The Chalice Queen's voice is soft, almost intimate. "-It's your choice. Always remember that. From this point onwards - It all turns on you."

And beneath a blue sky, on a never-ending afternoon...It's unclear if her words are promise, or threat.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 101.5

TO BE CONTINUED

>>33889362
>How do we stop her?
It's simple.
We kill the Kraken.

>>33889342
I think we can deal with Cybele's death feedback as long as it isn't deadly.
But we will definitely spare Cybele from suffering.
Ogre will want a nice fight either way.
The question is who will be more receptive to "Before we fight, let me show you the truth. Then you decide if you really want to die for your girl".

>>33889362

(You could kill her with the Athame.)

>>33889388

(Gentlemen; I'd love to continue, but it's extremely late on my end - The session's gone on for longer than I expected, but we did cover a significant amount of ground.

At any rate, good night and god bless - I hope to see you all again, and soon.)

>>33889388
>Utopia Ruler
Well, he'd either become a valuable ally or flip us off if we did it for him.

Alura should be outright killed.

So, to clarify, can we use the weapon on only one person? We can't hit us *and* Cybele, for example?

>>33889414
Thanks for the thread.

>>33889396
Ogre will want a fight. Bishamon is so engrossed in the Red World that he'll need the Athame or he'll murder us.

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>>33889388

>You could use it on yourself.
>Or Bishamon. Or Iron Ogre. Or Utopia Ruler.
>Or Alura.

SON OF A BITCH

>>33889396
None. Ruler certainly doesn't care about the girls, and I can't imagine any other champion being willing to give up for petty morality when there's love on the line. Bishamon might be swayed momentarily.

>>33889414
Take care OP. Any chance you know when you might run again?