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Matteo hits the ground with a pained grunt, I guess he didn't land of his stump or he'd probably have been screaming instead. As he skids backwards towards the door and the... I don't even know what it is, with its dark blueish purplish armored body and glowing eyes behind a visor starts walking towards me, all I can think to do is hug the wall and pray that it's after Matteo instead of me.

"Cecile!?" Alerted by the sound, Charlotte runs out into the hallway where the rest of us are... and then she stops in her tracks when she sees the predicament that I'm in. "What in the..."


>shout for her to get matteo, I can take care of myself
>shout for her to do something about the scary armor thing
>[OTHER]

>>35120548
>shout for her to get matteo, I can take care of myself

Ask the armored guy what he wants, keep our distance from him, if things get iffy blind him, and keep a sun laser charged up and ready to go.

>>35120548
>>shout for her to get matteo, I can take care of myself

>>35120548
>>shout for her to get matteo, I can take care of myself

>>35120548
>shout for her to get matteo, I can take care of myself

One is a clear threat one is an unknown.

>>35120548
>shout for her to get matteo, I can take care of myself

We apparently went from a state of 'horrified of a man with a bunch of doritos' to 'this man absolutely needs to die'.

>>35120548
>shout for her to do something about the scary armor thing

>>35120548
>>shout for her to get matteo, I can take care of myself

>>35120878
It's a good thing.

>>35120878
I think we miiiight be going a bit nutso from seeing our girlfriend eat some guy alive with a swarm of rats.

>>35120878
we bawlin now

>writing

>>35120878
Given recent events, that's not too surprising of a change.

>>35120878
On the plus side, we make a good match with Charlotte. Both cute, both like fancy clothes, both totally willing to murder you in cold blood if you cross them.

>>35120878
I blame adrenaline and fear.

I just hope we can become bffles with Overshine.

>>35121406
Right conclusion, wrong reasoning: Charlotte is cold blooded, CC/REMOV is pretty much hot rage with no screaming or anything (from CC, that is).

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"I can take care of myself," I shout to Charlotte. "Don't let him get away!"
"Are you sure!?" Charlotte shouts back. "That thing behind you-"

Charlotte's choice is taken away from her as Matteo springs to his feet and staggers for a bit before dashing right towards her. He races by her left side where her arm's broken, but Charlotte spins around and grabs his neck before he can get past her.

"Nice try," Charlotte says as she stretches out her arm and picks him up by the throat.

>[1/?]

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>>35121513

"Fuck'n bitch-" Matteo struggles to pry free of Charlotte's grip with his remaining hand, but she's way too strong for him to manage to do so. Giving up on that, he draws his foot back...

CRACK

Like a bullet, Matteo's foot hits Charlotte right in her broken arm. She lets out a muffled scream as she doubles over in pain, but it's still not enough to get her to let go of him. And then he draws back for another kick.

SNAP

In an instant, Matteo's body goes limp as Charlotte's clawed fingers dig into his throat and crush it entirely. An image of one of Allison's exes doing the same with a beercan flashes in my mind, and suddenly I hate myself a little bit more.

>[2/?]

>>35121812
Christ, this quest is brutal as shit.

>>35121860
and we haven't even really done anything yet

>>35121812
RIP Matteo.

Reminder that Theresa wouldn't commit such heinous murders and therefore is best grill.

>>35121860
Nathan Explosion approves.

>>35121860
This is when archelon go and cranks up the DESPAIR and brutality to 11. There will likely be no happy endings here.

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>>35121884
>implying I'm not turned on by Charlotte's brutality

>>35121812
>[3/3]

"Gh..." Charlotte clenches her teeth in pain as she tosses Matteo's lifeless body aside and leans against a wall. "Damn damn damn damn damn damn..." she raises her head and takes a deep breath, I can tell that she's doing her best not to start crying from the pain.

And before I know it, I've already run to her side.

"Charlotte!" I call out as I try and prop her back up. "Your arm..."
"I'm fine," Charlotte replies, breathing heavily with her eyes closed. "I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine..." It seems like she's trying more to convince herself than me.
"C'mon, there's still that blue thing over-"

I turn back to point at it. And it's right behind me.


>attack
>scream
>run
>freeze
>[OTHER]

>>35121959
>>freeze
Guys. If we don't move he can't see us.

>>35121959
>attack

>>35121959
>freeze

>>35121959
>PANIC

Or scream. Whatever.

>>35121959
>freeze
deer in a highlight

>>35121884
that means she is worse grill

>>35121812

Loot his pendant.
Who knows what can open.

>>35121959
>Flash
See if we can stun it or something. Point is, take Char and get the fuck out of there.

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>>35121959
>>scream
>>run

>>35121959
>scream
Still betting this is Mina. Read the book so she could come save us. Might be getting controlled by the voice in her head right now

>>35121959
>freeze

>>35121959
>scream blind it and run.

>>35121959
>scream

>>35121959
>>freeze

>>35121959
>freeze

>run
I fucking doubt we can fight this thing.

>>35121959
>>scream
>[OTHER]
Blind it, and grab Char
>run

Why the fuck is anyone voting freeze?

>>35122059
I guess they want CC to die?

>>35122059
because __its_for_fun___________

>>35122059
Because there was no forecast of joyous events today.

>>35122091
Are you talking about fun in the dwarf fortress sense?

>>35121959
>>freeze

If it's hostile, we're boned anyway. Screaming doesn't help. And we're not abandoning Charlotte.

>>35121959
>ask it what it wants, tell it to leave us alone

>>35121959
>>attack
>attack

>>35121959
>freeze

>>35121959
>REMOVE

>writing

>>35121959
[x] Introduce self, chat about the weather.
[x] Kiss the pain away for Char.

>>35122109
I'm hoping the freeze thing works out... but why on earth would you say Oh I'm about to die *lie back and take it* instead of trying to burn it's throat out?

>>35122183
I'm guessing it is for one of two reasons. Either hoping that since it attacked Matteo means he isn't hostile to us or that is how Cecile would reasonably react to this situation.

>>35122183
it happens all the time people just freeze

>>35122219
Right... but you are literally in a position to negate that response.

>>35122183
Do we even know it's hostile?

>>35122183
It's not *with* Mateo, so it might not be completely hostile. If it's neutral and just here to wreck the mafia or something, we might be able to negotiate.

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My blood runs cold as I stare at the menacing figure that's practically on top of me. What the hell do I do, we're not outside and there isn't enough light in here for me to be able to charge up a laser quickly enough to be of any use... and I don't even know if it would work on this thing!

M- maybe it's like that movie? The one with the dinosaurs? Y... yeah, maybe it can't see me if I don't move. I hope.

Freezing in place, I hold onto Charlotte and stop breathing entirely as the horrifying armor thing leans closer to me.


>[1/?]

>>35122259
As long as Charlotte doesn't move he'll just go away.

>>35122259
It's Mina

>>35122311
A T-rex Valinor?

>>35122316
Mina is a dinosaur?

>>35122259

"That man," it points to Matteo's bloodied corpse. "Is he the last of them?"
"The... what?" I whimper.
"The Branch holders in this building. Is he the last of them, or are there more?"
"I- I think so?" I say, trying to back away while still holding onto Charlotte. "Two more are dead in the basement, that's where we came from..."
"There's still their boss, though," Charlotte says, grimacing from the pain. "He's not here, but there's no telling when he'll come back."
"Hm," the figure nods. "I guess I'll be able to get away without having to kill anyone after all..."

It said 'without killing anyone,' so I guess that means that it's not going to attack us?

"Who are you working for?" Charlotte asks. "Are you with another Family that's opposed to this one? Or are you with my father? My name is Charlotte, and I'm David Gauthier's-"

>[2/3]

>>35122371
Char just can't keep quiet can she.

>>35122383
She's kind of out of gas at this point.

>>35122389
I honestly don't blame her: with her adrenaline going away and the mental fatigue from controlling Luize and a bunch of rats I think she's really hurting.

>>35122389
Because we did not refuel it by giving her a long kiss.

>>35122383
HI IM A BRANCH USER YOU KILL THOSE RIGHT!

>>35122371
Oh hey Joshua

>>35122402
We need to start carrying around morphine and oxyneo pills for future battles.

>>35122426
I don't think those are the kinds of things we can just get our hands on. Charlotte probably could though.

>>35122426
And catnip for future post-battles.

>>35122371
>[3/3]

"I know who you are, Charlotte," the figure says as it reaches out to her. "It's me."
"Wha?"

The armor begins to crumble away into dust, starting with the outer pointy bits and working its way inwards. Slowly, the person inside's form is revealed, a female with dark skin... punkish clothing... I know exactly who this is.

"Mina!?"


>how do I react?

>>35122411
The guy just watched her kill Mateo by crushing his throat one handed. I'm pretty sure he already figured out that she's a branch user.

>>35122473
who called it?

>>35122486
I did, and that Mina would be a warrior.

>>35122473
What.

A sassy black lesbian girl who is also a T-rex Vhalinor.

>>35122473
>Why are you a power ranger?

>>35122473
Oh hey. It's Mina.

Didn't see that one coming.

>>35122473
HUGS!

>>35122486
Literally everyone.
Its a very very obvious twist.

>>35122371

"A little late for the party don't you think?"
>hug

>>35122473
Sure greet the Mina with hugs.

>>35122473
Threesome.

>>35122473
What if it is a trick? An enemy that takes on the form of whoever they want?

So they took on a Vhalinor form, then now the form of our friend, to lower our guard?

>>35122473
>>Why are you a power ranger?

>>35122473
hugs lots and lots of hugs

Also I guess the cat is out of the bag that she has the book.

>>35122530
In front of a very jealous girl friend who would not hesitate to call the rats to eat your flesh off your bone.

But I think Char would be Ok with CC being a bit close to her friends. It is just Theresa she is jealous of.

Um, guys, does Mina know that we're hiding the whole books thing from Char? Because that could be a problem if she doesn;t.

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Next time there's a drawthread, I'll have to request an image of Mina in a henshin pose.

>>35122473
>>Why are you a power ranger?
And here we were telling Theresa that her idea of being a kite was stupid. Now we have less to stand on, now that Mina's a power ranger.

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>>35122183
I bet you feel stupid right now.

>>35122545
Good thing Char can smell our lie anyways.

So she was guilt tripping us back then when she said the thing we could do to help her was to help her find the book.

I'm voting group session with Mina, Theresa, CC and Charlotte.

>>35122555
That comes later for now we hug then get the fuck outta here or lay an ambush for the boss guy.

>>35122557
I still want yandere face Charlotte.

>>35122564
Nope. Giant armored monster coming at me I'd still vote shoot it.

>>35122555
She did: CC let her and Theresa know that she was there to find the books.

>>35122557
I want to be sure.

Does Mina look like a power ranger/Theresa's wet dream or an armored behemoth of metal and JUSTICE?

>>35122586
> I know I was wrong but I will not admit it.

>>35122640
Not him, but I agree. Just because it wasn't dangerous *this time* doesn't mean the next time wont be.

>writing

>>35122640
You're not very bright are you? This is a serendipitous event. We're in a literal underground sex dungeon with a giant man approaching. Attacking him was an appropriately reasonable course of action.

>>35122756
Correction.

Attacking him when we have MP left is a good course of action. When we are short on both MP and HP it is better just to diplomance your way out of it.

Guys.

Guys.

We did not feel a headache.

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"W- why are you a Power Ranger!?" I blurt out.
"Dammit, Cecile..." Mina places a hand to her forehead and exhales. "At least call me a Rider."
"A what?"
"Never mind," she shakes her head.
"But, um... what's with the armor?" I ask.

the devil that guards the priceless treasure

"After you called me the night before you got kidnapped, I decided that I was sick of being stuck on the sidelines while people I care about are getting hurt because of this shit," Mina explains. "I know the risks, but I'm more scared of losing you guys than I am about losing myself."
"So you..." I gasp.
"Yeah, I did," she nods. "And when Charlotte's crow came to my bedroom window a few hours ago, I knew that I made the right decision."


>[1/?]

>>35122863
Char probably saw her transform.

Sly girl.

>>35122809
What if Mina was a branch all along?

>>35122863
Hugs for the Mina.

>>35122863
Mina=Tank
C.C.=DPS/off tank
Theresa=Rogue
Charlotte=Druid/feral build.

>>35122863
Mina
Hey Mina
Do the henshin
Mina

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>>35122863

"Thanks for coming," Charlotte says with a pained smile. "I'd hug you right now, but I'm not exactly in any condition to do so."
"But I am," I say as I reach out and pull Mina close to me. "I'm so sorry to get you caught up in all this..."
"No, it was my fault to begin with," Mina replies as she hugs me back. "I'm just glad that we got here before it was too late."
"We?"

ow ow ow ow

"We can chat later," a voice says from behind Mina. Scared that it's another Mafia type, I lean over to see who it is...
"Theresa!?" I exclaim. "You're here too!?"

She's wearing really weird clothing, I guess that's the costume that she's been working on? And I could barely recognize her at all with that wig and hospital mask on... at least I hope it's a wig.


>[2/?]

>>35122956
nigga CC is a glass cannon

>>35122971
Lesbo Team GO!

>>35122971
So why is Theresa not drooling over the henshin uniform yet? It is exactly like my Chinese animes for her!

>>35122971
Lesbian squad assemble!

Now might be a good time to talk about books.

>>35122956
>>35122999
This, CC doesn't seem to have any regen or protective abillities, she's pure mage.

>>35122971
Now all we need is a giant robot.

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>>35122971
>[3/3]

"This is the same hideout that I snuck into last week," Theresa explains. "I guess the restaurant that Andy worked at is connected to it too."
"I'm just glad that we came to the right place," Mina sighs.
"Thanks for coming too, Theresa," I say with a guilty smile. "I was worried that you hated me after, um..."
"Don't think that I'd turn on you just because you shut me down," Theresa says, turning around. "Now take my hand, I can't hide you guys too without physical contact."


>let's get charlotte to the hospital
>let's find somewhere secluded first and decide what to do first
>let's go somewhere else

>>35123087
>>let's get charlotte to the hospital

>>35123087
>>let's find somewhere secluded first and decide what to do first

>>35123087
>let's find somewhere secluded first and decide what to do first
Maybe get some painkillers for Charlotte

>>35123087
>>let's go somewhere else
Charlotte's place? If we know where we are anyway.

>>35123050
I was thinking of C.C. as a retrobution pally, bringing the light down on her foes and all. But Cecile could be a mage as well, She does have some sweet CC options after all.

>>35123087
>let's find somewhere secluded first and decide what to do first

>>35123087
Theresa is adorable in that costume!

[x] let's get charlotte to the hospital

What is our cover story? We were horsing around in bed and shit happens?

>>35123087
>let's find somewhere secluded first and decide what to do first

>>35123087
>>let's get charlotte to the hospital
Let's get our girl fixed up. We can talk to her boss/dad.

>>35123087
>let's get charlotte to the hospital
Stay in well-lit areas to avoid being Mafia'd.

Okay. So tonight's killfeed is:
PenDude - r3kt by Gay Antonio
Antonio (Oathkeeper) - r3kt by Char
Luiza (Werewolf) - r3kt by Char
Medic - r3kt by CC
Matteo (Rabbit) - r3kt by Char

Oh boy is Leo gonna be MAD at us.

>>35123125
>>35123118
>>35123111
>>35123110
>>35123101

Do you really want to keep Char is so much pain?

>>35123120
we were trying to make a youtube video

>>35123087
>let's find somewhere secluded first and decide what to do first

Charlotte has some form of regen doesn't she? Give her some time, food and drink, and she'll be fine.

>>35123087
>let's find somewhere secluded first and decide what to do first

>>35123132
Char has a KILL STREAK!

>>35123135
we need to take her to somewhere safe and the hospital is not safe

>>35123087
I don't care whether we decide what to do or go to the hospital, but we also need to
>let's go somewhere else
Get burgers. Burgers for everyone.

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>>35123153
DOMINATING

>>35123132
Did we actually finish the medic?

>>35123161
Make sure they aren't poisonburgers. Poisonburgers are no gud.
Also make sure they're not shitty food-poison-o-matic burgers.

>>35123172
Unstoppable!

>>35123233
Radiant's middle restaurant is under attack

>>35123196
>Did we actually finish the medic?
He's still alive, just in a lot of pain.
Poor schmuck didn't even see what hit him.

>writing

>>35123283
"Yo doc, I know your hurtin an all with that mysterious laser hole in your chest, but could you fix my friends broken arm? It's kinda urgent."

>>35123233
Monster Kill!

>>35123172
>>35123233
>>35123354
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4921972/Sound%20Clips/Unreal%20Tournament%203.zip

Here, have an announcer pack.

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>>35123354
Unbearable!

>>35123283

"Go clandestine they said..."

>>35123354
M-M-M-Monster Kill!

>>35123377
Thanks anon. A blast to the past.

>>35123464
UT3's a blast to the past now? Fuck, I feel old and I'm only 22.

>>35123537
You're younger than DOOM.
You're fine.

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"Y- yeah," I nod. "We should probably get out of here sooner rather than later."
"Okay then..." Mina says, turning to us. "Cecile, are you alright to help Charlotte along? Or should I?"
"I'm not hurt at all so you don't have to bother," I reply. "Are you able to walk, Charlotte?"
"It's just my arm that's broken, not my legs," Charlotte replies, forcing a smile. "I can walk just fine."
"So we're all good then?" Theresa asks. "Then take a hand and let's get the hell out of here."

With that, we all hold on to Theresa's hands (except Charlotte, who I have propped up on my shoulders), and we hurry out of this slaughterhouse.

Just thinking about the fact that I helped get three people killed... but now isn't the time for self-pity. My friends came to rescue us, so I'm gonna focus on that.


>[1/?]

>>35123561

"Let's head to someplace secluded first," I say. "Then we can figure out what to do from there."
"Sounds like an idea," Mina nods. "That fine with you, Theresa?"
"Yeah, sure," Theresa replies.

On the way out, I see lots of unconscious men slumped on the floor. Some look like they were beaten half to death, others look more or less untouched... I wonder what the hell happened here. Did Mina and Theresa do this?

"In case you're wondering, we took out everyone in here before reaching you guys," Theresa says, glancing at the unconscious mafia guys. "I got most of them with my stungun, but Mina beat the rest of them with her 'Armored Heart.'"
"So that's what your Branch is called?" I ask, turning to Mina.
"Dammit, I wanted to be the one to say its name." Mina grumbles.

It seems like a minor thing to complain about, but it wouldn't surprise me if tthey're just doing that to keep their minds off of everything that just happened.


>[2/?]

>>35123650
>[3/3]


Taking care not to run into anyone since there are four of us walking together and nobody can actually see us, we go for quite a ways until we end up in a kind of run-down part of town. From there, Theresa leads us to an overgrown field... I think this place used to be some kind of private park or something, but it's definitely not one anymore.


>talk about a thing/ask someone something/plan your next move

>>35123650
Armored heart?

Armors around her heart so she can defend against Theresa's incursion into it?

>>35123725
Administer first aid for Char.

Call Mr. G.

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>>35123727
Mina x Theressa isn't happening.

Mina kinda ruined that with her whole "How dare you have a hobby!" thing.

>>35123725
Check on Charlotte. This might be a good time to explain the books.

>>35123725
We should probably fess up about the books at this point or after Char gets patched up.

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>>35123781
>BY THE WAY I LIED ABOUT THE BOOKS THE ENTIRE TIME. THAT'S WHY MY FRIENDS HAVE BRANCHES TOO.

>>35123770
it could happen and theressa fucked it up in the first place by being a dick to her friends

>>35123808
Except it's been stated repeatedly by both characters that they have no desire to get back together.

Grow some reading comprehension.

>>35123807

She already knows we lied. She has known since the start.

>>35123824
that is why I used the word could and not will

>>35123807
I think she'll understand, since we had no idea who she was or why she was looking for the books at the time. And were protecting our friends who had the copies.

>>35123839
Because it implies there's a "could" and not a "it probably won't happen in their lifetimes"

>writing

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>>35123808
>Wanting to play a sport is being a dick.

>>35123087
I am going to wait for that costume to get better if I am going to carve it.

>>35123954
It's unfinished, Theresa wasn't exactly expecting to have to run out and save her crush's life.

>>35123982

How tall is Mina's "Armor"?

>>35123998
Its default is six feet tall.

>>35123931
>running

>a sport

>>35124039
Default?

This could get good. Real good.

>>35123982
That was my exact point, I'll just wait for her to finish it.

>tfw no Luiza/Mina fight

>>35124049
I know, how dare he insult running by comparing it to something as philistine as a sport.

My captcha was a street address that looks like it was just hastily painted on...

>...for you to stand on," I say as Charlotte takes a seat...

>>35124242

Should we take her to the veterinarian? We could always say she got attacked by a dog.

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Once we're sure that there's nobody else around, Theresa drops her invisibility and we all let go of her. Spotting a large tire that's embedded in the ground, I lead Charlotte over there so that she can finally sit down. Mina follows us, while Theresa stands off by herself and looks up at the sky.

"Sorry that there's nothing better for you to sit on," I say as Charlotte takes a seat on the tire.
"It's fine," Charlotte shakes her head. "I'm more than used to roughing it outside, this is nothing to me."
"Uh, what about you, Cecile?" Mina asks. "Are you really sure that you should be standing around like this? I mean, me and Theresa got to you without so much as a scratch, but you must've gone through some shit to get where we found you..."

Some horrible stuff, yeah. But I don't want Theresa to worry about us any more than she already is so I won't go into details.

"I can sit down after we see about Charlotte's arm," I say, pointing to my girlfriend. She really looks like she's in pain...

"I'm gonna undo the sling, okay?" I say to her.
"O... okay..." Charlotte nods.
"Mina, you hold her arm so it doesn't end up even worse, it was already broken pretty bad when I tied it up."
"Gotcha," Mina nods.


>[1/?]

>>35124279
It's a break, not a bite.

>>35124337

Okay, a *big* dog.

If Charlotte can absorb powers from any animal, she's gotta get some planarian worm in her. Adaptation to any environment or stressor.

>>35124362

I get the feeling it's more difficult for animals that have a widely different biology.

Otherwise she could just have the "proportional strength" of a spider, despite that not making much sense.

>>35124346
Size has nothing to do with the difference between a laceration wound and a broken bone...

>>35124287

With that, I walk behind and carefully untie the double knot that I fastened in the fabric that I tore off of this dress that I'm wearing, then gently lower it down so that Charlotte's arm doesn't end up dropping abruptly. But even though I did my best to avoid it, she lets out as muffled grunt of pain as it's removed from the sling.

"Alright, I got you," Mina says as she holds Charlotte's arm in place while I pull away the fabric of the sling.

What I see makes me want to scream.

"Holy shit!" Mina exclaims, grimacing as she sees just how much blood has soaked through her sleeve. "Umm, I think we're gonna have to cut your sleeve off if we're gonna get a decent look at your injury..."
"O- okay," Charlotte nods.
"I have a Swiss Army knife in my pocket, but I'll need to, uh..." she turns to me. "Cecile, could you back away a little bit?"
"Umm, okay?" I reply as I do as I'm asked.
"Armored Heart!" Mina calls out.

From nowhere, little segments of shiny bluish material start to float in the air next to Mina. As more of them appear, they begin to piece themselves together until the same armor that Mina was wearing when I ran into her in that hallway is standing right next to her.


>[2/?]

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>>35124431

"You don't have to be wearing it?" I ask, staring at the strange sight.
"Nope," Mina shakes her head. "Now just hold on a minute..."

Kneeling down, the armor reaches out and switches the job of supporting Charlotte's arm with Mina. Once both of her own hands are free, Mina reaches into her pocket, pulls out a Swiss Army knife and flips out the blade.

"Sorry if this hurts, Charlotte..." Mina says as she leans in with the knife and goers to work cutting the sleeve of Charlotte's dress just below her shoulder. Charlotte winces a few times because of how much her arm's being jostled around, but thankfully Mina's pretty good at this. Once the sleeve is removed from the dress, Mina moves down to Charlotte's wrist and makes a nice long cut through the entire length of fabric that's covering Charlotte's arm.

"Oh... oh my God..." I say, covering my mouth with my hands as tears start to stream down my face.
"H- holy shit, how are you even conscious right now?" Mina gasps as she stares at Charlotte's injury.

Several of the bones in Charlotte's arm are piercing right through her skin, her arm looks completely mangled.

>[3/?]

>>35124431
You know, have we actually come clean about how we got our powers?

Because if we havn't then how do we explain to Charlotte that Mina now has powers? Did we synapse off of her when we spotted her and Theresa?

>>35124579

It's pretty easy for her to figure it out.

And once we're safe we can discuss it anyway.

>>35124578
How, you ask? Because she's more brutal than a deathcore band of panzer tanks performing at the bottom of the MARIANAS TRENCH.

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>>35124578
>[4/4]

"Yeah, it actually really really really hurts," Charlotte says, smiling at us. "I've had broken limbs before, but this is the worst it's ever been."
"Yeah, I can imagine..." Mina replies.
"D... damn it..." Charlotte holds her good arm up to her eyes. "...I thought I could keep myself together, but this is just too much."

I can see her shoulders trembling as she talks...

"All I wanted was to take you to a nice dinner and then maybe hang out back at the hotel if you wanted to..." Charlotte says, her voice choking up. "but then I was careless and got both of us poisoned and captured by those awful people and I was scared that I'd never see Gabrielle or Da-... Mr. Gauthier ever again..."
"I- it's okay," I shake my head. "We're fine now, and-"
"No, it really isn't!" she cries. "You were a hair's breadth from having something horrible happen to you, and then I lost myself and killed all those people in front of you, Cecile! You're a nice girl, I didn't want you to have to deal with any of this... and now I've gotten your friends dragged into it as well."


>how do I respond?

>>35124700

Something something headpat/hug.

Do we really have to take her to the hospital? Her regeneration could be detected.

>>35124700
"Charlotte, you need to get a hold of yourself. You did what you needed to in order to survive. And you don't need to face things like this alone any more. Thank you for protecting me Charlotte. Lets get your arm fixed up, ok?"

Hospital time!

>>35124700
>Cry

>>35124700
I was in this when they decided to pick a fight with us on the street. This is not your fault. These people thought nothing of kidnapping and hurting. They were bad people.

>>35124700
This is our fault for being retarded and asking pinwheel guy about Andy.

>>35124700
Now might be a good time to come clean about the book. We got ourselves into it, she already knows we have a secret, and for better or worse we're on the same side.

>>35124739
We just need to get them to set the break. Then she just doesn't show for the checkups once her healing kicks in.

>>35124700
"No it's ok, really! If I've got magic powers I at least need to be able to deal with this much right? Just, no more rat swarms, ok?"

Then we need to get her to a doctor. Regen or no, the arm can't heal if the bone is in the wrong spot.

>writing

>>35124700
Tell her it'll be ok, and she didn't do anything wrong, maybe kiss her, tell her we all chose to get into this together except for CC's first reading of the book, and we'll stick together now and in the future. Stuff like that.

"And my arm hurts so much..." Charlotte cries. "It wasn't too bad originally, but when that man kicked it..."
"It's okay," I say, wrapping my arm around her as best I can without aggravating her injury any more than it has been. "And, um, don't think that I blame you for any of this, alright? If I hadn't asked that guy about Andy, they wouldn't have been able to find out your information."
"But still, we couldn't even have one stupid date before everything went to hell..." she says, resting her head on my shoulder.
"It's not like you can't go on other dates, you know," Mina says. "But first, let's get your arm back in a sling and take you to a hospital, okay?"
"Yeah," I nod. "That sounds good, doesn't it?"
"I guess so," Charlotte mumbles.

I never thought I'd see her break down like this.


>[1/?]

Guys, guys.

She got a bad open fracture.

If this gets infected she will lose her arm. She needs that irrigated by 2L of sterile water five minutes ago. We need to get her to a hospital. She will be in the OR as soon as they get the surgeon in.

We should ask Mina and Theresa if their first date was as bad as this.

>>35124902
>[2/2]

After Charlotte calms down and stops crying, she brings out her cellphone and calls up her boss... or rather, her -father- and tells him that she's okay and out of danger. In addition to his deep voice, I think I can hear a girl on the other side of the line too. Maybe that's Gabrielle?

While Charlotte talks with them, me and Mina go to work re-tying up her arm so that it's not flopping all over the place. I have to say, having Mina's armor thing act as an extra pair of hands was a pretty smart move on her part. After a little while, we finish up with that and Charlotte finishes up with her phonecall and I suddenly start to feel really guilty.

I never came clean to her about the book, and I'm sure that this seems extra suspicious now that both Theresa AND Mina are here with Branches of their own...

"Um, Charlotte?" I say, turning to her.
"What is it?" Charlotte asks.

Quit screwing around, me. Time to just spit it out.

"About the b-" before I can finish my sentence, Charlotte covers my mouth with her good hand.
"Someone's coming," Charlotte says in a hushed voice.


>what do I do!?

>>35125007
I'm gonna be honest with ya mate, the idea of a one armed waifu is hot as hell.

>>35125064
Despair

>>35125064

Freeze.

>>35125064
Make all of you invisible!
Or space lasers!

>>35125064
RE-INITIATE INVISIBILITY GROUP HUG MANEUVER

Please let there be a timeskip after this part so we can start getting /fit/ and competent.

I'm tired of being a bystanders. Seriously C.C you need to fucking resolve to be able to handle shit yourself.

>>35125064
>what do I do!?
Yell at arch for stopping that from finally happening.

>>35125089
I am for this.

But also, get to a hospital dammit.

I am serious. Char's arm will be in a very bad shape.

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>>35125064
Go invisible again!

Or stand behind each other so it looks like we have six arms, to intimidate the enemy.

One or the other.

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>>35125068
>Not wanting her to have a badass cyborg arm.

>>35125064
Invisibility orgy.

>>35125136
Oh, that sounds good too.
But we haven't seen anything that'd make mad scientists be a thing, so its unlikely.

>>35125068
Be that as it may, I'd prefer that Char retain all her bits if at all possible.

>>35125136

If anyone is gonna get cyb'ed it should be Mina.

She already has the armor.

>>35125170

Where do these things even come from?

>writing

"Quick!" I whisper-shout as I spring to my feet. "Everyone run over to Theresa before whatever the hell is coming can find us!"
"Theresa!" Mina calls out.
"I already know!" Theresa shouts back.

Thank God, she noticed it at the same time as Charlotte d-

OW!

Crap crap crap crap crap crap we need to hurry! Mina's already reached Theresa, but Charlotte's taking longer to get back on her feet!

"C'mon, Charlotte!" I call out as I reach for her hand.
"I'll be right there," Charlotte replies as she finally gets up from her seat on the tire. "I just need to-"

A black ring appears around Charlotte, just before my hand would reach hers. And suddenly, she's launched backwards and into the air.


>run after her
>run for theresa

>>35125147
With her kind of money we should have access to a fairly decent arm.

Nothing like some magnetic metal gear arm though.

THE RIDE NEVER ENDS

>>35125244

Pinwheel Guy.

>run after her

>>35125170
So, tsundere as superpower?

>>35125244
>run after her
And keep an eye out for whoever did that.

>>35125244
>run for theresa

>>35125244
>>run after her
Uh oh, he's gonna be extra super pissed for us gibbing his underlings.

>>35125261

It's Pinwheel Guy/Leo. The guy did the same dark matter thing or whatever last time we met him.

>>35125244
>>run for theresa

>>35125244
>>run after her

Again, really? After escaping with Theresa? Come on...

>>35125244
>run for theresa

>>35125244
>>run after her

Going to try and get past this part tonight...

>writing

>>35125244
>run after her
Mina and Theresa can set up for a sucker punch or something.

>>35125339

Three threads at most, arch.

Remember that.

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Screaming Charlotte's name as loud as I can, I run after her as fast as I can. But she's flying pretty fast, and I know I won't be able to reach her in time. And by the time I've run halfway across the park, she's already about to hit the ground...

...oh thank God, she managed to spin around and land on her feet.

This is just like what happened on that day that we first ran into that pinwheel guy after we fought Luiza! But where is-

The next thing I know, I'm being thrown through the air, and it's all I can do not to land on my neck. Ducking in, I manage to land on my back, rolling a few yards and ruining my dress even more than it already has been.

"Where the hell..." I look around. And then I see him, gently landing on the ground a few yards away from Charlotte like he was Superman or something.

Leo.


>[1/?]

>>35125390

Either some kind of gravity manipulation of telekinesis.

>>35125390
Oh he mad.

>>35125390
Time for MAXIMUM REMOVE.

>>35125421

From his point of view a routine interrogation ended with Antonio eaten alive by rats. Along with the murder of a fine piece of ass.

>>35125417
I was under the impression it was darkness powers.

>A black ring appears around Charlotte
It's had that kind of visual effect both times we've seen it in action.

>>35125390

Charlotte's already hurt really bad, I need to get to her before he can do anything more. I- I know that I'm not fast enough, but I still have to try...

remove

remove it

that which guides the way is far too dangerous

remove it before it removes the weed that you so desire

For once, I agree with you.

"You know..." Leo says, holding his hat down over his eyes as he walks towards Charlotte, "...I didn't give a shit about most of the guys you killed. Luiza has a fine ass, but she was also a complete moron, and her boyfriend would've been alright if not for the fact that she had him completely whipped. Those two, I could forgive you killing."
"Eheh..." Charlotte says, grinning defiantly even though I know she's hurting, "...thanks for the amnesty."


>[2/?]

>>35125438

Yeah, but it's too vague because "darkness" is the absence of something. So in practice it often translates to illusions, intangibility or gravity manipulation.

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>>35125434
Well in our defense he'd probably react similarly if we drugged him then dragged him to our rape dungeon.

Well maybe he wouldn't, I mean we do have a nice ass and he's already a professional female body inspector so he might not be too bothered.

Revised statement: He'd probably react the same if the group that drugged him then dragged him to their rape dungeon included one or more dudes.

>>35125449
"What, you're together with Gay Tony?"

>>35125449
Should we, uh, taunt him?

He seems like the type who operates best when he's running cool.

"Oh shit, we killed your boyfriend" would be an effective monologue interrupt I think.

>>35125449

"But those two weren't the only ones that you killed," Leo says as a fuzzy black ring forms around Charlotte and she starts floating into the air. She tries to struggle out of it, but she can't reach the ground so she has no traction. "I found the body of Antonio, my favorite cousin, halfeaten by rats."
"Well I'm sorry for your loss," Charlotte replies.
"Quit fucking around, you stupid cunt," he says as she suddenly slams into the ground before another ring picks her back up into the air. "I was there the day that kid was born. His parents didn't much care for him, but he was like a little brother to me. And then you kill him like he was just a fuckin' animal!"

The ring that was holding Charlotte in the air disappears and is immediately replaced by another one that flings her back almost as if she got hit by a car.


>[3/?]

>>35125496

We should say something about not involving your loved ones in risky activities like all this mafia stuff but that would be slightly hypocritical coming from us.

We need a boss battle theme this time but I don't know any fitting one.

>>35125520
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s20588opz4

>>35125520
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoBFhdeR9PE

>>35125540

We didn't level up enough for this fight.

Now we're gonna need an early save.

>>35125496

She flies for about thirty feet before landing on her back, then rolls a long ways before stopping. And she's not moving, the only reason I can even tell that she's alive is from the heaving of her chest.

"Charlotte!" I scream... but then my body goes cold and I slowly turn to Leo. "Y... you bastard..."
"Oh, I was wondering when the piece of ass would finally show up," Leo says, smirking at me. "What, you think you're gonna kill me for hurting your girlfriend?"
"Yes," I reply.

Pointing at him, I let loose all the sunlight that I'd been collecting up until now in a single blast. My aim ia true and the beam races right for Leo's stupid fucking face...

...but then a ring appears in front of him. Its edges are the same fuzzy blackness that his others were, but the center is shiny.

Like a mirror.


>[4/5]

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>>35125540
WATCH OUT CECILE, HE'S GOT A MIRROR

>>35125558
Now I'm thinking his power is like Magik.

>>35125558
>implying we can't gather the light from a laser

>>35125579
Deadly deadly laser tennis?

Sadly we haven't got all the way gud yet, or else we could just jink the laser around his defense. I mean we can manipulate light at a distance, and effectively bend it around corners, so in theory we could do that after weaponizing it for trick shots.

Maybe CC will even learn that from this fight.

This scene feels like BAD END

>>35125614
you say that like there could have been any other outcome

>>35125558
>[5/5]

I react almost by instinct as the beam of light shoots right back at me, bending its trajectory so that it bounces up into the sky before I'm killed by my own attack. I don't know how the hell I was even able to do that in time, but I'm grateful that I was.

"You think that I don't know how to deal with your Branch, Sunflower girl?" Leo laughs. "My Directional Gate can affect anything, even light itself."

And before I can even think of anything to say back to him, something races past my head.

"That could have gone right THROUGH your head if I really wanted it to," Leo taunts. "But you're not the one who I have the real beef with so I might be inclined to let you live if you give up now and work under me. With Luiza dead, I need some eye candy around."

Wha... what the HELL!?

"Mmm, that look on your face is all the answer I need," Leo sighs. "Oh well..." he says as he digs his foot into the ground and kicks up a rock. "With my Branch, these things work just as well as bullets."

On its descent, the rock passes through a black ring that holds it in place, then tosses it back up a few feet as Leo takes aim with his finger as if it was a gun.


>strike
>crash
>guard

Welcome to the first real fight scene of the main Quest. I've done this in the latest Joshua thread, but here's a repeat of the rules just in case someone out there isn't familiar with this system.


And now it is time the Quest's first proper battle scene that doesn't involve losing control and trying to murder everything.

Unlike Princess Guard, I am completely forgoing the use of dice in this quest because dice a shit and I really hate the idea of leaving character successes purely up to chance.

Instead, I'm going to try using GARdian's thing that he uses for DXQ.

Basically, it's a rock-paper-scissors thing. There are three types of attacks:

>Strike
>Strikes are fast, precision based attacks. Any attack which seems like it may rely on overwhelming speed or pinpoint accuracy is likely a Strike. As a general rule of thumb, most mundane small arms fire is considered a Strike. Strikes defeat Crashes, but are defeated by Guards.

>Crash
>A Crash is a highly telegraphed, but extremely powerful blow. Any attack which seems to rely mostly on the brute strength or overwhelming force is likely a Crash. As a general rule of thumb, most thrown objects, like trees or boulders, are considered Crashes. Crashes defeat Guards, but are defeated by Strikes.


>Guard
>A Guard is a defensive posture or evasive stance which is used to set up a counter-blow. Any attack which appears as if it could be a feint, focuses on counterattacks, or which seems to be a stalling tactic is likely to be a Guard. Guards defeat Strikes, but are defeated by Crashes.


Every time you get a hit in, you gain a point of Advantage. The first to get three points, be it you or the opponent, is the winner.

>>35125629
Too bad we didn't have a stealth option.

>guard

>>35125646
So this is fate/extra now?

>>35125635
>guard

INITIATE DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS

He's still stuck on "Sunflower", so we probably have one good use of optical illusion before he figures out we're capable of that.

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>>35125635
>guard

Don't worry lads. I'm a DXR vet. I've got ya'all covered.

>>35125635
>guard

>>35125646
>Strike

>>35125635
>guard
Bullet-type stuff is almost surely a Strike.

And remember, we've got invisible power armored backup lurking somewhere around here. Sooner or latter he's going to get a super punch to the gut out of fucking nowhere.

>strike
steal his fucking light, CC!

>>35125635
>>guard

I guess? How the hell did he get into the rape dungeon, see the situation, and find us this fast in a random park after we were covered by Theresa's power the entire way, when his Branch has nothing to do with tracking or fast transport? (unless he can throw himself, but that seems unlikely)

>>35125646
>Guard
We could fuck up his vision.
He seems to need to aim with his eyes.

>writing

>>35125646
bend dat light, alter dat tradjectory, kill dis busta

>>35125635
>guard

This seems like it's a fast strike, it's relying on speed, and guard would be something like refracting light to fuck his aim up and make him aim too far to the left.

>>35125693
seconding, but outright steal his vision

>>35125693
>make him aim too far to the left
>not making him aim to far to the right
why dont you leave the superpowers to the grownups kiddo :)

Before he can properly aim at me, I start running to the side as fast as I can while bending the light the same way that I did that one night at Charlotte's place and throw up a refraction field.

"And... Bang!" Leo says as a ring launches his rock right towards me.

...or rather, right towards where he think I am. Instead of hitting me in the head like he hoped, the rock is thrown several yards to my left. Stupid bastard.


>cecile's advantage: 1
>leo's advantage: 0

>>35125726

He gloats too much for his own good.

"Th... the fuck!?" Leo shouts, staring at me as if I've just done something impossible. "I -know- Sunflower, and that ain't something that that Branch can do!"
"I don't recall ever saying that that was my Branch," I reply as I gather up all the sunlight that I can.
"You little..." he grits his teeth as several rings form in front of him.

Without a word, he leaps into them and is sent flying through the air. I try to throw up another refraction field, but he's moving too fast for it to be of any use... and though he's not flying in a straight line towards me, I can tell that he's trying to hit me with some kind of high-speed super punch or something.


>strike
>guard
>crash

>>35125761
>strike

>strike

>>35125761
>strike

>>35125761
>>strike

See lads, this is what we in the business like to call a "crash." High velocity move that's been choreographed ahead of time with the intent of massive damage.

>>35125775
>he was actually just shitting us and stalling for time while he tried to think what the fuck our Branch was
>leo's advantage: 1

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>>35125798
Oh, wow. I didn't know that shoving your body through a series of velocity increasing portals towards the other chap was a viable way to quickly increase battlefield awareness and to gather opposing combatant capabilities. Don't I look like an absolute arse.

>writing

>>35125761
>strike

Split the laser into a couple smaller curving ones and laser his eyes out, it'll be hilarious.

>>35125819
It was a joke, dude.

But, to justify, shoving yourself though velocity increasing portals is admittedly a valid way of dodging enemy fire. If CC was reading him wrong, he could just be stalling while he runs through the presumable compendious Branch encyclopedia in his head, which, as you know, counts as a Guard.

But I'm sure arch wouldn't do that to us. Right?

With each ring that he flies through, he either changes direction or gains speed. I don't think he can place them too far from himself, which is why I guess he hasn't just chucked me around like he did to Charlotte... but he's getting closer and that's the last thing I want to happen.

Run backwards, away from the rings. He's going through that one...

...and that one... THERE. I just need to focus on the light right in front of the ring that he'll go through next, and time myself so that I can do this right.

Three.

Two.

One.

The second he flies through the ring that I targeted, I grab onto the light in front of his eyes before he can put up another one.

"FUCKING WHAT THE F-" Leo screams, clutching his face and flailing his arms -just- enough to alter his trajectory from his next ring...

...and into the ground.

He hits it hard, knocking off his stupid hat and sending him skidding a safe distance away from me.


>cecile's advantage: 2
>leo's advantage: 0

>>35125860
I got that you weren't serious. But being a smarmy git is one of the few pleasures that my late-night mind registers.

That said, ya'all better watch out. Last stage is when the other chap pulls out their ace in the hole. Read through the prompt multiple times and don't respond with your first impulse.

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>>35125874

If the first impulse doesn't count, doesn't that mean that the second impulse is actually the first impulse?

>>35125891
No.

It is the first impulse that counts though.

But this is the first fight of the main quest. Arch might not throw in specials just yet. I don't think there were any in the first Diablos fight, were there?

>>35125862
REMOVE!

REMOVE the one that would harm that which communes with the lesser!

>>35125891
Well, if you want to be technical...the first impulse is this case could truly only be a few things. In order of complexity: Neurological, Psychological, and Inferential. The Neurological impulse is just the cohesive response generated by the neurons in your grey parts and the registration of data. This technically counts as an "impulse," but only in the biological definition. Next is the Psychological impulse, which the reaction triggered in response to the Neurological impulse plus contextual conditioning. This would be the one you want to avoid, as oftentimes the context of "Ace in the holes" can be decieving. The last is the inferential, which itself is triggered by the first Neurological impulse and is a revision of sorts after the Psychological impulse, in which the conceptual elements of your surroundings are fully analyzed and you have both recieved and integrated the input of fellow participants.

>>35125862

Time for someone to praise the sun
>Crash

I think that I'm reaching the limit of what how much sunlight I'm able to gather at one time, but I'm still going to keep trying. While I really don't want to kill anyone, I want even less for this guy to kill me. Or Charlotte. Or Mina and Theresa.

"F... fuckin'..." Leo clenches his fists as he slowly rises to his feet. Locating his hat not too far away from him, he uses a ring to toss it to himself and adjusts it on his head with a single hand.

He's holding something in his other hand. I can tell-

POW

Clutching my face, I'm sent staggering back a few steps before I realize what just happened. And by "realize what just happened," I mean that my glasses snap in two and fall right off my face. And then the storm of pebbles starts flying at me.


>crash
>strike
>guard

>>35125862
drop the sun on this fucker, he cant deflect all of it.
>CRASH/REMOVE

>>35125906
>the one that would harm that which communes with the lesser

Referring to people using the Overshine naming scheme is going to get confusing fast, I can already tell.

>>35125930
>crash

>>35125924
>>35125937
What are you doing

>>35125930
>guard

>>35125930

I can't decide whether this a feint or a second Stroke.

>>35125930
>crash
Actually had to think about this one for a few seconds.

>>35125930
>Crash

>>35125944
This here is a defensive screen meant to inhibit our precision striking abilities. Thus we need to smush it like a pesky mossy.

>>35125930
crash

>>35125930
>guard
Gate of Pebbelon is an obvious Strike.

>>35125954
Looks like a feint and/or stalling tactic, an indiscriminate hail of pebbles is annoying and painful, but I don't see it being precise enough to be a Strike.

>>35125930
>CRASH/REMOVE
Praise The Sun.

>>35125930
>crash

Seems like textbook
>or which seems to be a stalling tactic is likely to be a Guard.
to me.

>>35125961
where is the speed and percuision in his attack? Its more like a just throw a wall of pebbles kind of guard

>>35125930
>>35125954

Oh, well...

>crash

>>35125959
Disagree. It is likely a Guard, but could be a Strike if we're misreading it. As such, we Guard to produce a cross-counter at worst.

>>35125961
Strikes are precise, this looks more of a stalling or screening maneuver.

>>35125959
Looks like a strike to me, but I guess ambiguity is what OP was aiming for.