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>"B... but there's that serialkiller out," Mina starts to panic. "A- and Sun-Mi just left..."
>"But she went that way," Gabrielle points off to the side. "It's a different direction from the Synapse so it wouldn't be her. Probably."
>"But still, if someone's being attacked-"


"Let's go check it out," I say. "I wouldn't feel right just looking away while someone might be in trouble. Especially if it's that serialkiller about to strike again."
"...really, Cecile?" Mina turns to me with a hopeful expression. "You're not scared?"
"I'm scared," I reply. "Really scared. But that doesn't really matter right now, does it?"

you fear to act when it is for your own sake

but you do not hesitate to act for the sake of another

respectable

but still foolish

"And there's you, me, Charlotte..." I point to her.
"And me," Gabrielle says, pouting.
"...and Gabrielle," I sigh.
"You'd better not run off on your own and do something stupid," Charlotte says, scolding her in advance of any potential recklessness.
"I won't," Gabrielle replies, rolling her eyes. "Now let's go before they get away!"


>yeah, let's go
>wait, we should _____ first

>>36905496
>yeah, let's go
Make sure it isn't Theresa though, could get awkward.

>>36905464
>Over Shine calling someone the devil
Well this is definitely a good omen.

>>36905496
>yeah, let's go

Overshine's being nice, well nice for overshine anyway.

>>36905496
>yea, let's go

>>36905674
Over-chan would be a lot happier if we traded with Theresa.

They both have a thing for vigilantism, apparently.

>>36905496
>yeah, let's go
Remember to pre charge the laser.

>>36905496
>yeah, let's go

>>36905674
I told you we were just making bad decisions.

>>36905496
>>yeah, let's go

>>36905496
>>yeah, let's go
Mostly just voting so arch doesn't feel alone.

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>writing

>>36906097
Carina?

>>36906097
That picture can only be a good thing.

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"Yeah," I nod, "let's go."

With Rhaccy scouting overhead, Charlotte takes the lead as the three of us follow after her. Sadly, she's a lot faster than the rest of us so we end up trailing behind for a little ways...

...and then she suddenly skids to a halt.

"Charlotte?" Gabrielle whispers as we catch up.

But she simply holds out her arm and shakes her head, then points around the corner of this building into an alley where I'm assuming that the Branch holder in question is.

>[1/?]

>>36906313
>[2/2]

And from around that corner, I can hear people arguing...

"I said, leave me the hell alone!" a girl shouts.
"And -I- said that we can't do that until you answer a few questions for us," a man replies. "There's been some suspicious activity going down lately and my employer is very insistent on finding out what the hell's going on, you see. And since you appear to be a Branch holder, that makes you a prime suspect, and-"
"I swear to God, if you don't back the hell off right now..." she growls.

Looks like things are getting bad... and Charlotte's about to run in.


>follow charlotte
>rush in myself
>tell her to wait it out
>[OTHER]

>>36906562
>follow charlotte

>>36906562
>follow charlotte

>>36906562
Do we know any of these people?

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>>36906562
>follow charlotte

>>36906621
None of the voices sound familiar.

>>36906562
>>follow charlotte

>>36906636
Then

>Observe while moving in closer.

>>36906562
>follow charlotte
>make sure everyone else is following her lead.

The last thing we need is Mina to call out Armored Heart when were going for surprise.

>>36906562
>follow charlotte
I'm tempted to vote rush in because we're the MC dammit but we're the glass cannon of our little group.

>>36906676
This is good.

>>36906562
>follow charlotte

It's 4am and must sleep, don't get Cc killed while I'm gone.

>>36906636
Your a cool guy for answering.

>>36906702
Get Charlotte killed, you got it, anon.

>writing

>>36906763
That would be great, this quest needs more MC angst.

>>36906763
Would be interesting.

sounds like someone caught on to Teresa's game

>>36906763
I'd rather get C.C. killed. Watching everyone else react to that would be much more interesting.

>>36907270
And then Alison flips out and becomes the new MC.

>>36907327
Theresa blames Charlotte. Mina.. Depends...

Alison run around without branch abilities to find out where Cecil is and why no one has told her anything. She stumbles across the book.

>>36907363
How long would the girls be able to keep her away from the books once she knows of their existence?

I'd say maybe fifteen minutes.

>>36907363
wonder what branch she would get.

After making sure that I have my flashlight at the ready, I follow behind Charlotte as she heads for the corner.

"Now, now..." the man says, "I really hate to resort to violence..."
"Let's just quit screwing around and grab the bitch already," another man says.

Wait, there's more than just the one guy!?


>[1/?]

>>36907443
Oh.. that's simple.

Overslut

>>36907443
Probably something that would turn her into an equivalent of a succubus. Or a vampire. The powers that matter are pretty much the same on both.

>>36907474

Sounds like its time for a laser.
More than one guy?
Make them go bye bye then you can talk to the last one.

Overshine knows what I'm sayin

Twist: the girl they are accosting really is the killer, and we're about to help her escape.

>>36907539
Given Pizzabutt and Co.s track record I would not be surprised.

>>36907539
Overshine ignores all previous statements and continues to bitch at c.c. for her stupidity.

>>36907539
Where's the twist?

>>36907500
>>36907486
Definitely not. That would be depressingly obvious what with all the jokes.

>>36907585
Theresa is the killer. She can reach into people and rip out parts while unnoticeable... the effects are interesting.

>>36907474
Branch holders find strength in numbers, seems obvious enough.

>>36907500
I think arch would go for something less obvious. I'm betting on some hax ability like mind reading or superspeed, crippled by gigantic limitations.

>>36907612
That doesn't explain the nature of the kills, though.

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>>36907474

My fears are confirmed as I turn the corner, at which time I spot three men in black suits and sunglasses. We still have the numbers advantage, but I feel a LOT less secure about our chances. And standing in front of them is a girl with pink hair and a scarf... I guess she's the one who they're trying to accost.

If I didn't know that Branch stuff was involved here, I'd definitely suspect that something a lot worse was going on right now.

"I know that she's pretty and all," Charlotte says, raising her voice as she casually struts towards the group of people, "but you guys really should take 'no' for an answer."
"Who the fuck are you!?" one of the men shouts.


>[2/?]

>>36907757
So what are these, the MIB?

>>36907757
This looks like a trustworthy fellow.

>>36907817
Nice tie.

>>36907800
It's a guy. Says so in the picture.

>>36907863
His name is Guy, to go along with the other French names.

>>36907902
Or maybe he is Guy Fawkes. Branch power is to blow up things.

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>>36907902

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>>36907757

"Just someone who happened to be passing by," Charlotte replies. "Now if you gentlemen could maybe leave this poor girl alone, I'd be willing to go back on my merry way."
"Hey!" Gabrielle yells. "Those're the guys who were messing with me last night!"

A sudden chill goes down my spine as Charlotte runs right towards the men. Before I'm even able to stop her, she grabs one of them by the throat and lifts him up into the air.


>[3/4]

>>36907966
But Fawkes didn't blow anything up? Does it make people think you blew things up?

>>36907982
Don't panic Cecile just laser. Turn one of them into a candle.

>>36907966
Or perhaps G.U.Y. is the name of the organisation he belongs to.

>>36907982
They already ded.

>>36907986
Because sounds better than "branch power: getting hanged."

>>36908019
>G.U.Y.
Gay Ugly Yanks?

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>>36907982
Bloodbath: imminent.

>>36908051
Nah, that's our group.

>>36907982
GG random mooks, we hardly knew you

>>36908051
Americans would never call themselves yanks.

>>36907327
>Implying we would play as a not-lesbian.

>>36908108
Oh right, this quest was happening in the US of A?

>>36908109
Lots of quests have non-lesbian MCs.

>>36907486
She isn't a slut based on what info we have, she seems to be loyal to Kevin.

>>36908152
Midwest, to be precise.

>>36908152
No idea. But if they were Americans.. even in a foreign nation. It wouldn't matter. They wouldn't refer to themselves as yanks.


>>36908109
She'd never have a choice. The weight of the /u/boat vote would drive her into the arms of Charlotte. They would be the only ones able to console one another.

>>36908197
>implying we wouldn't flock to Mina to make up for how CC friendzoned her

>>36908193
>Midwest
>precise

>>36908240
Nope. I'd vote for Charlotte again to watch Theresa fags suffer twice.

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>>36907982
>[4/4]

"Run," Charlotte glances at the girl. "NOW."

The former victim does just that, turning around and racing past me as fast as her legs can take her.

"Wwwwwwhat the fuck!?" one of the men shouts. "How's she able to-"
"Clearly," another guy who I recognize by his voice as the one who was just threatening that girl, "she's a Branch user."
"That's right," Charlotte replies as her claws dig into this third guy's throat, "and now you're going to tell me exactly who the fuck you are and who you work for or I'm going to crush this man's throat and then move on to the rest of you."


>how do I react to this?

>>36908287
Stand back and gather light for now.

>>36908287

Join in the threats and bluff

Say stuff like, hey Charlotte, if you crush his throat first he won't be able to say anything, start with his bones or something.

>>36908287
Prep lazer. Anyone makes a move towards Charlotte.. lazer them hard.

>>36908287
>"Wwwwwwhat the fuck!?" one of the men shouts. "How's she able to-"
>"Clearly," another guy who I recognize by his voice as the one who was just threatening that girl, "she's a Branch user."
They're pretty new at this, aren't they?

>>36908323
This.

>>36908287
>>how do I react to this?
By staying the hell out of the way. Char seems to be in a state of mind where she won't be taking a no for an answer.

>>36908287
Blind the others.

>>36908287
Charlotte, don't do anything too rash, ripping a limb off should be enough. Of course if you gentlemen try anything, all that'll be elft of you is ash.

>>36908287

We should probably do something to make sure the other guy can't escape. Twist his perception so that trying to run ends up with the guy tripping over his own feet or something.

Or we can just catch the su-- flashlight and put a hole in his Achilles Heel or something. But that might still be a bit too brutal for CC, so the perception trick might be better.

>>36908287
We should carry around some popcorn for moments like this.

>>36908350
You know, that's a pretty good idea, just to be sure. Maybe their own Branches are vision-based.

>>36908323
That's so un-Cecile it's painful.

>>36908287
Stop all light. Now. Then, when everyone settles down, calmly say, "Charlotte, we aren't killing anyone."

>>36908287
Get a laser charged and ready, make it invisible (infrared/ultraviolet) if we can, keep our eyes on the goon squad and be ready to fry someone's eyeballs, or just completely blind them, if they try anything.

Scan the area around us without moving our head, make sure they don't have backup.

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>>36908287
>>36908361

>>36908287

Take the light from the remaining guy's eyes, make sure he can't see. His imagination and the sounds of Charlotte doing her work will fill in the blanks better than reality ever could and it's not like he can run while blind.

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>>36908361
I always have mine ready.

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>>36908287
>>36908402
>>36908442
Man, good thing I got the large size tonight.

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>>36908402
>>36908442
>>36908496
Can I join?

Is Mina okay with this?

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>>36908287
Take their light.

Then bluff about how we just permanently blinded them so they won't be hurting anyone anymore.

See if they lose their shit.

>>36908383
Well yeah, that's just an example.
She can bluff, it's just that she is bad at it.
My example isn't phrased like she would say anything.
If she thinks Charlotte is bluffing she would join in, but poorly.
But Charlotte ain't bluffing.
Charlotte is going to kill some bitches.

I think Cecile should be more freaked out about the impending violence, would bring up nasty memories of the last time.

>tabulating stuffs

>>36908542
"Charlotte you really shouldn't beat up blind men, that isn't nice."

>>36908524
She can regret ever ordering that damned book later.

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>>36908496
Popcorn time?

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>>36908585
A bit of variety.

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>>36908585
>>36908522
Indeed.

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>>36908579

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>>36908579
Is beating one-eyed fellows alright then?

>>36908673
Yes, statistically men with only one eye are twice as dangerous as normal men and will probably kick your shit, so if you pick that fight it's ok.

Alright, looks like there are two leading courses of action.

>blind the other men
>gather light to fire a laser


>>36908387
>Get a laser charged and ready, make it invisible (infrared/ultraviolet) if we can
Light that's being gathered is invisible by default. Cecile can feel its presence but it can't be seen.

>>36908795
Blind them.

>>36908795
>Blind them

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>>36908673
>>36908711

>>36908795
>blind the other men


>Wizard casts Blind
>Wizard wins!
>Wizard demands a rest to replenish spell list.

>>36908795
>blind the other men

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>>36908795

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>>36908795
>blind the other men

Hopefully we'll have enough juice.

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>>36908795
Flashbang them.

>>36908795
>blind

>writing

>>36908795

Does this need to be an either or? We are gathering light to fire a laser, then we just start with the light from their eyes and go from there.

why are we blinding them before they do anything? it reveals that we have a branch and part of our power when we don't have to

>>36909042
Not quite how it works, we don't just "take" the light from in front of their eyes and call it a day, we have to persistently make sure that light isn't reaching their eyes. That's a significantly more in-depth operation than just gathering up some ambient light from the environment.

>>36909124
This

You guys constantly make the worst decisions possible. I wish you would just spend five minutes to think about the consequences of your actions before you did them.

There, I said it.

>>36909159
I think making terrible decisions is perfectly in character when it comes to a teenager in a superpower fight.

>>36909124
It's called a preemptive strike. Char is already on the verge of murder mode, this encounter isn't going to end with tea and crumpets so we may as well fucking blind them and get it over with before they get any funny ideas about making a fight of it.

It's not like the knowledge that we have light powers will benefit them when they've got the much more pressing issue of the angry berserker druid.

>>36909175
I respect your noble goal of making awful decisions because C.C. is a proven moron.

I just don't agree with it.

>>36909124
>>36909159
They're obviously going to attack us anyway. We're just trying to make them less dangerous.

Also if everything goes well they'll know a bit about our Branch but won't have another chance to take a good look at us.

>>36909199
Hey, don't turn this one me, I'm not even voting.

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I have to back Charlotte up. Maybe if I took the light and... yeah. I haven't done it from this far away before, but if I extend my "reach" then I should be able to.

"Speak," Charlotte growls. "Unless you want me to choke the life out of your little friend right in front of you."
"Now, now..." the blue-haired sunglass guys places a hand on the arm that Charlotte's choking out his friend with. "...I don't think you'll be doing any of that."

THUD


>[1/?]

>>36909321
Well that can't be good.....

>>36909321
See, blinding them was a good idea, now we are ahead of the game.

>>36909321
Well snap! No need to hold back now is there.

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>>36909385
That, or Char just dropped a bitch.

>>36909451
Not angering yanderes is like anime setting survival 101, for some reason yanderes are always proficient killers.

>>36909321
>[2/2]

Without any kind of warning, Charlotte lets go of the man who she'd just been strangling. As he collapses into a heap on the ground and begins coughing his lungs out, Charlotte leaps backwards.

"W..." Charlotte looks at her arm that's now hanging limp at her si-

Wait, what the hell!?

"What did you do to me!?" she growls as she holds her upper shoulder.
"Well that's just a little taste of my -own- Branch, you see," the blue-haired guy replies. "Just a little bit of skin-to-skin contact, a-AAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!"

Screaming, both the blue-haired guy and the other untouched thug throw off his sunglasses in an attempt to regain their sight. Of course, it's not like that has any effect, seeing as how I'm blocking any and all light from reaching their eyes.

good

remove them


>release my hold on their eyes' light and rush in to help charlotte
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me
>[OTHER]

>>36909552
>>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me

>>36909552
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me
>Other
Turn on the flashlight to gather more power.

>>36909552
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me

>>36909552

>Reverse the light

Well, absence of light blinds you, but so does an overdose.

It's just that when you reverse the streams, it might also permanently blind them and cause horrible crippling pain instead of just surprise.

Whoops.

>>36909552
>>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me
Crowd control wins fights.

>>36909552
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me

Channel the spell CC, channel the spell!

>>36909552
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me

>>36909552
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me
Why remove them like a base weapon when I can make them defenseless and infirm? I thought you were smarter than that overshine.

>>36909552
>>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me
CC Support!

>>36909552
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte

Mina's armor seems like a good counter to blue hair.

>>36909552
>keep on blinding them, I have two friends who can help charlotte instead of me

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>>36909603
That's evil. How long does it take the human eye to become fully dilated in complete darkness?

>writing

>>36909741
That doesn't really matter if you blind someone.

>>36909552
Strobe them with intense light and complete absence of light.

Fear CC, harbinger of epileptic seizures.

>>36909741

Rapidly alternate just to mess with them

>>36909807
It matters for maximizing the damage from a sudden flash of light. The more dilated the eye is the less it will take to royally fuck it up.

>>36909810
>*OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ*

You know I just realized I've been behind most of the major decisions in this quest.

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>>36909850

>>36909871
Well, then we should probably give it 30 minutes or so before letting them see again.
But that seems kind of pointless when we could just create a sudden flash of light if we wanted to.

>>36909871
That doesn't matter again, since CC has many orders of magnitude more than enough power for that.

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As I watch Charlotte clutch her shoulder and slowly ease away from the screaming men, a horrible, ugly feeling wells up from within me. If the sun was out right now, I'd gather all its light and erase the piece of shit who hurt her from th-

No. None of that. I'm not that kind of girl. I've committed more than enough murder for one lifetime.

Instead, I continue to maintain my hold on the light that's trying to interact with the eyes of the two men who I'd targeted before. While I'm not about to murder them, I'm more than willing to make them suffer...

"Charlotte!" Mina calls out as she runs towards her. "That's the arm that was broken before, are you..."
"I can't feel it," Charlotte replies through gritted teeth. "It won't move at all."
"Are you able to walk?" she asks. "Because if skin-to-skin contact's what this guy needs for his power to work, then I don't have to worry about any-"

With pure hatred in her eyes, Gabrielle walks right past both Mina and Charlotte.

"Gabrielle?" Mina calls out.
"You," Gabrielle points at the blue-haired man who's finally stopped screaming. "You hurt my sister."

>[1/?]

>>36909926
At that point you're just talking about shooting a laser at their eyeballs, which doesn't require blinding them with a lack of light first. In fact the lack-of-light step is completely superfluous in that case.

>>36909987
oh shit

>>36909987
>pointing at a blind man
That's just rude, Gabrielle.

>>36909999
We are blinding them with a lack of light because we aren't psychopaths. The lack of light itself is not a component of the permanent blinding plan.

>>36909987


"D..." the blue-haired man takes a deep breath, "...didn't hurt anyone. Just paralyzed her. A-and if you turn off this blindness shit, I'll put it b-"
"Shut up," Gabrielle retorts.

A shrill scream cuts through the air as one of the men- not the one who Charlotte choked or the one who ruined her arm, but the other guy, finds himself slammed into one of the walls of the alley.

"...the hell?" Mina gasps at the sight of a fountain of blood gushing from his upper arm. It's not until I see a lavender tendril pull back that I even realize what the hell's going on.

>[2/?]

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>>36910158
Little girl with tentacles that can fuck up anything and everything?
YAY

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>>36910226
Oh dear God, no. Please don't.

>>36910259

Don't burn their eyes out with a reverse flow of light, you said.
That's just overkill, you said.
It'll be evil, you said.

LOOK AT THE ALTERNATIVE. LOOK AT THE FUTURE YOU HAVE CHOSEN.

>>36910226
Nope.jpg

Horrible show excessive gore. Anything like that starts up im crawling back to princess guard with my tail between my legs

I warned you about the soul rapist.

>>36910296
This would have happened anyway, regardless of their eyes.

The only thing that may have changed the course of events if enough people voted to help out Charlotte instead of keep blinding the guys. Which was retarded, and it would probably have made the situation even worse.

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>>36910309
Excessive gore?
What are you talking about?
Its all happy fun times here.

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>>36910217
ROLL FOR SAN LOSS

>>36910309
Pussy.

>>36910309
>excessive gore
Not to drive you away but we did kinda get a werewolf to pull out her own heart and another guy got eaten alive by rats .

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>>36910309

>>36910379
>we
That was that psychopath Charlotte, not us.
We're a good girl.

>>36910379
I fell asleep durring the kidnapping. Disnt go bavk to read. Glad I didn't.

>>36910404
> fell asleep durring the kidnapping.
It's okay so did Cecile.

>>36910390
We scorched a guy to death with our laser and burnt another person's face off.

>>36910217
Fuck's sake can we NOT kill anyone?

We want answers too about all this fucking whatever the fuck is going on.

>>36910404
>Horrible texting, passed out at citical moment.

Cecile get back in the quest. No more 4th wall for you. Also Mina was the best thing that ever happened to you.

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>>36910217
>[3/3]

I watch on in horror as the tendril retracts back into... Shary. And once it's all the way back in, Gabrielle places it on the ground.

And it starts walking.

Dragging its arms along the ground, they leave two deep trails as it steadily approaches the three men, growing in size all the while. It's almost like it's inflating as its legs stretch out and its arms lengthen, splitting into three knife-like claws at the end of their "hands."

And its head... that face and those floppy ears used to be kind of cute, but now they're downright nightmarish at this size. The eyes especially, it's looking into an endless void of nothingness.

"Give them their sight back," Gabrielle says to me.


>do it
>don't do it

>>36910528

>do it

Let's warn her not to kill them too hard, not before he either reverts the issue with Charlotte or tells us how/when it's fixed.

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>>36910528
>don't do it

>>36910528
>do it

>>36910528
Give it back, but make everything red.

>>36910528
>do it

>>36910528
>do it

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>>36910528

>>36910528
>>do it
and proceed to cover our eyes and turn around.

>writing

>>36910528
>>do it
Fear is the best tacit.

Ave Nox.

>>36910528
What them suffer from necrosis.

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Unsure as to what the hell else I even CAN do in a situation like this, I slowly nod to Gabrielle and drop my hold on the light surrounding their eyes. Though the one guy is in too much pain from having been stabbed to do much of anything, I see the blue-haired man let out a slight sigh of relief upon getting his sight back.

And then he screams.

"Whwhwhwhwhat the fuck is that!?" he shouts, pointing at the... thing that Gabrielle just turned Shary into as it looms over him.
"Ankerashariva," it replies in a deep, monstrous voice.


>[1/?]

>>36910817
So now I feel I can ask was Shary's full name a combination of 2 words from Sanskrit meaning combined/united harvester? Which I'm guessing would translate to a reaper possesing something.

>>36910905
Who the fuck knows Sanskrit?
What is this? 1000BC?

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>>36910817

"Whwhwhwhwhat the fuck is that!?" he shouts, pointing at the... thing that Gabrielle just turned Shary into as it looms over him.
"Ankerashariva," it replies in a deep, monstrous voice.

"You..." it growls, "...you tried this same thing last night. Why."
"Quit asking them questions and just kill them already," Gabrielle scoffs. "They hurt Charlotte!"
"I know that," it replies, "but we should know what is going on before deciding what to do with them."
"It..." the blue-haired man points at... Shary. At Ankerashariva. "...it's talking..."
"Yes," it leans in, inches away from his face, "I am."

I think he just wet himself.

>[2/?]

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>>36911019

>>36910981
You don't know Sanskrit?

>>36911102
I do not know Sanskrit.
I thought it was dead, is it making a comeback? Like Pez dispensers?

>>36911019
Fuck me. Looks like the only reliable way to fight Gabrielle is to oneshot her before she can summon her Win Bear.

I strongly suggest interrogating the MiBs about "what the hell bro?" and "Fuck son you crazy, this shit dangerous yo". WE'D like to find the identity of the killer too. But if everyone acts like a paranoid lunatic then this entire city will end up like a round of Space Station 13 with no admins (i.e. nonstop slaughter).

>>36911019

I guess the release of the contents of his bladder suddenly gave him some courage, as the next thing that the blue-haired guy does is slap Sh- Ankerashariva with his bare hand. I guess he's trying to use his Branch on it.

"That is not going to work," Ankerashariva says as the man's hand sinks into its face. Frantic, he tries desperately to pull his hand away...

...and then he screams bloody murder.

"There, you can have it back," it says, leaning back as the man's hand slides out of its face. And it's covered in blood. "I just ate the skin on the hand that you tried to paralyze with. Be grateful that I didn't decide to take the entire thing."


>[3/?]

>>36911167
Gabrielle, is Shary committing the murders?

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>>36911167
This is really getting out of hand.

>>36911167
DAMNNNNN!

>>36911122
Just had a look at the names again and that might not be the right origin but the meaning is still the same.

>>36911140
>Looks like the only reliable way to fight Gabrielle is to oneshot her before she can summon her Win Bear.
So, really easy? A bullet to the head from someone without a branch, basically.

>>36911240
>That which is never alone.

Sure.

>>36911240
guns don't exist in this setting

>>36911385
The doll doesn't do anything if she's dead.

>>36911420
I was implying it would block the bullet.

>>36911167

"Now I suggest that you talk," Ankerashariva says. "Gabrielle -really- wants me to kill the both of you and I can't say that I'm opposed to doing so."
"Then just do it already!" Gabrielle says, stomping her foot on the ground. "You keep screwing around and the cops are gonna show up or something!"

...damn, she's right!

"Hm," it turns back to Gabrielle.

Seeing an opening, the man that it stabbed tries to make a break for it.

BAM

Ankerashariva whips out its arm and hits the man square in the stomach, launching him through the other end of the alley and across the adjacent street until he finally slams into a dumpster and slumps to the ground.

"That took no effort for me," Ankerashariva says. "Now will you talk, or should I simply dispose of you?"
"F- fine!" the blue-haired man says, clutching his hand in pain. "Y- you heard about that video that someone took of Jared Schmidt, right!? The big CEO type!?"
"Yes, we've seen that video," it replies.
"Well he's PISSED and he knows that it was taken by some kind of Branch person so he hired some folks to find out who did it!" he shouts. "That's all!"
"We had nothing to do with that," Gabrielle says, glaring at him.


>[4/5]

>>36911428
It doesn't seem to have super speed. It has basically the opposite in this context, a transformation sequence that ties it up for a while.

For it to be able to block the bullet it would need to be prescient. In which case the opening statement in >>36911140 is wrong from the other angle: There is no way to attack Gabrielle before she summons the doll thing.

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So our party is a druid, summoner, elemental savant and now a blackguard.

>>36911444
Daddy didn't tell her about his branch abuse?

>>36911461
>There is no way to attack Gabrielle before she summons the doll thing.
No, because she's always carrying it around with her.

>>36911478
There's a difference between it being in doll form and in combat form. Are you saying it can swap instantly?

>>36911444
>[5/5]

"Oh no..." Charlotte growls.
"What's wrong, you know this guy?" Mina asks.
"That's not it," she shakes her head. "I hear sirens coming from down the street."


>leave them and let's get the hell out of here
>interrogate them some more
>[OTHER]

>>36911509
Drag them with us?

I wonder who called the cops. It's not like there was a big commotion or anything, one guy just screamed a bit.

>>36911461
The "summoning" was almost certainly for dramatic effect, it clearly acted before it did it's big transformation thing, as evidenced by murder tentacle out of fucking nowhere.

>>36911509
>>interrogate them some more
Why did CEO dude think this city was responsible? He can't be sending them everywhere.

>>36911509
>interrogate them some more
Hi guys! Welcome to the masquerade.

>>36911428
What makes you think it can block bullets?

>>36911530
>Why did CEO dude think this city was responsible?
???

>>36911509
>leave them and let's get the hell out of here
It's the fuzz, cheese it.

>>36911518
seconding

>>36911509
>>leave them and let's get the hell out of here
I'd like to ask more but not getting arrested should be our top priority.

>>36911530
>>36911539
It happened in this city, the video has some local buildings in the background.

>>36911509
>leave them and let's get the hell out of here

>>36911561
As if they can arrest us. Or even see our faces.

>>36911571
Oh, why does he think someone in this city is responsible.

Yeah, because he was in this city when the video was shot?

Maybe we can ask them this question to further cement CC being an idiot.

>>36911576
That any we have one of the best Mr.Johnsons covering us, it would be an inconvenience at best.

>>36911588
>>36911571
>>36911530
I vote for this.

>>36911588
>CC is an idiot.

Not the fucks who can't recall something from just a few threads ago or thought Theresa was being a tsundere when we ratted her out, are the idiots.

You guys are so bad at social situations I'd say your were autistic if it wasn't for the fact that I know autistic people more socially adapt then you guys.

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>>36911618
>Literally quotes someone explaining the answer that we know even in character.
>Hey guys lets ask them about that thing we know.

>>36911648
>the explanation for why is also literally in one of the quotes

You're dumb.

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>>36911630
Well we are on /tg/.

>>36911675
Nah, I am high on a combination of pain killers, anti-depressants and some weird Buddhist breath exercise, so my sentence structure may be off.

I still stand by my point.

>>36911509
>>leave them and let's get the hell out of here

>>36911715
A also stand by my point. The fact that the question is stupid is the reason I'm voting for it.

>writing

>>36911734
See>>36911630 CC isn't the idiot, you are. I'll repeat this part, CC knows the answer to that question already.

>>36911761
Anyone with a brain already knows the answer.

I mean, how could the CEO somehow not know where he was filmed.

The only reason someone would ask this question in this thread is if they have no idea what's going on, hence they need to grow a brain.

The reason why CC might ask this in her real life is because she's adorable and stressed out as fuck right now.

>>36911779
>The reason why CC might ask this in her real life is because an anon is metagaming to make her stupid.

Fixed it.

"Gabrielle!" I shout. "Leave them, let's get out of here before the cops come!"
"But they-" Gabrielle looks back at me. "don't you care that they hurt Charlotte!?"
"I do and I know exactly how you feel, but I REALLY don't want to explain three dead bodies if we let you just kill them!"
"Gabrielle, she's right," Charlotte says. "I'll be fine so let's just go."

Gabrielle turns back to that blue-haired guy and raises her hand as if she's about to instruct Ankerashariva to do something, but then lets out a long sigh and walks back towards the rest of us.

"C'mon, Shary," she mumbles. "We can kill those guys later."
"Attagirl," Ankerashariva replies, gently patting her on the head while she pouts.


>[1/?]

>>36911813
It's already established both in the story and out that she is a bit... naive. And leaps to strange conclusions.

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>>36911832
It is also established that in the exact scenario, she knows the answer to that exact question.

>>36911853
So what? You've never seen someone ask a stupid question where they already know the answer? It happens all the time, especially to people like CC. On top of that, she isn't shitposting at home where she has all the time in the world to think it through, she's facing down violent thugs with a split second time limit because of incoming cops.

>>36911825
>[2/2]

"Do not cross us again, fool," Ankerashariva says, turning its head 180 degrees to face Charlotte's attacker. "Should you try anything a second time, there won't even be a body left for them to bury."
"Yyyyyessir!" the blue-haired man stammers.

While that stupid asshole grabs his injured friend and hightails it out of here, me, Mina and Charlotte hurry out the other end of the alley and back onto the sidewalk.

"Gabrielle?" Charlotte calls out.
"I know," Gabrielle sighs. "Come back, Shary."

With each step that Ankerashariva takes back to its master, pieces of it crumble off into dust. Gradually, it gets smaller and smaller until it's back to its usual size. Once Gabrielle picks him back up, she follows after the rest of us.


>head back to my house
>head back to the hotel
>head back to mina's house
>head to the park

>>36911904
>>head to the park

>>36911883
I've been in high stress life or death situations thanks to the second amendment letting people with apparent anger issues own guns., you don't forget that 2=2=4.

>>36911916
*2+2=4

>>36911916
Sure you do. You can forget things like your birthday, for example. 2+2=4 might be tough because it's pretty much a mnemonic and maybe even an idiom, but I can see someone being confused even over something like that as well.

>>36911904
>head to the park

>>36911904
>>head to the park
Time for a relaxing stroll.

>>36911942
Are you literally retarded, or are you just taking second hand accounts of things you never experienced yourself?

P.S. CC was facing an inconvenience at worst.

>>36911904
>>head to the park
Time to continue the tour!

>writing

>>36911989
Fine, if you want to be that way.

Are you literally retarded, or are you equating a basic fact like "2+2=4" that someone knows their entire life with some random piece of trivia they heard on the news yesterday?

Also
>life and death situation
>girlfriend disabled by enemy psychic powers
>cute toy just turned into freakish monster for the first time before her eyes
>blood spraying everywhere
>cops that would arrest them all almost there

>inconvenience

>>36911825
>"Attagirl," Ankerashariva replies, gently patting her on the head while she pouts.
CUTE. Terrifying, but CUTE.

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After walking at a brisk pace for a few blocks, the four of us go back to a more "normal" walking speed just in time to see a ton of cop cars come zooming by.

Well, that was... horrifying. Gabrielle just made her stuffed animal grow into a monster and it almost killed two men (the third weas almost killed by -Charlotte- so I can't blame him for that) and I-

"Charlotte!" I dart my head towards her.
"Hm?" she glances at me. "What's wrong?"
"Your arm," I say, reaching out to her still-lifeless limb. "And you just got that cast off it too..."
"Shit, that's right," Mina says, slapping her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Charlotte."
"I'll be fine," she says, shaking her head. "don't worry, I'm sure it's just temporary."
"Better be or I'mma hunt that dickhead down myself and kill him," Gabrielle growls.
"And in the event that it doesn't," Charlotte says, shrugging with her remaining usable shoulder, "I'll just cut it off and wait for a new one to grow back!"
"Y... you can do that!?" I gasp.
"Just in case, yeah," she nods.

But how the hell is ahe able to say that so casually!?


>[1/?]

>>36912098
>But how the hell is ahe able to say that so casually!?
I fucking love Charlotte. Best family.

>>36912098
But we like your arm!
We haven't even had a chance to use it yet.

>>36912110
Well, if you have quick and complete regeneration and good enough pain killers, it basically becomes the equivalent of a hair cut.

>>36912115
>not wanting to play with a newer, better arm

>>36912098
I'd chop my own arms off if It meant getting better ones.

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>>36912098
>[2/2]

"So where to now?" Mina asks. "You can come hang out at my place if you want..."
"I'd rather not have to explain Charlotte's arm situation," I reply. "Again."

Her parents freaked out pretty badly after that kidnapping thing, I don't even want to think about how they'd react upon seeing that Charlotte's gone and gotten herself injured in a new and unexplainable way...

"Let's just go to the park," I sigh. "That's where I'd planned on going before everything went nuts, anyways..."
"Alright," Charlotte nods.


>ask the gabrielle a thing as you walk
>I'm not in the mood to talk about much of anything.

>>36912151
>>ask the gabrielle a thing as you walk
So shary protects you all the time? Even if someone sneaks up on you?

>>36912151
>>ask the gabrielle a thing as you walk
Is Shary, like, sleeping now or something? Can he hear us and stuff?

*wave at Shary*

>>36912151
>is shady your branch power then? Or something else entirely. I'm having trouble drawing a connection between him and your power to see through walls.

>>36912290
Shary* fucking autocorrect

>writing

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I try to keep from bugging Gabrielle along the way to the park, but there's just way too much that's bugging me now. My curiosity must be sated.

"Gabrielle?" I call out.
"What?" Gabrielle replies, not taking her eyes off the sidewalk.
"About Shary... so he protects you all the time?" I ask. "Even if someone sneaks up on you?"
"Uh-huh," she nods. "Shary sees what I see. And since I can see all around me, he can too. That's why people can't sneak up on me."
"Oh," I nod. "I guess that makes sense..."

A little bit, anyways.

"So is he like, sleeping right now?" I ask. "Can he hear us talking and stuff when he's small like that?"
"Yeah," she sighs. "He's awake when I am. And sometimes when I'm not," she says, looking down at her stuffed cat. "He's the one who gave you the bed last night and ate up all the pizza."


>[1/?]

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>>36912388
>"He's the one who gave you the bed last night and ate up all the pizza."
I hope he intends to replace the Pizza then.

>>36912388

Shary confirmed for most terrifying bro ever

>>36912388
>"He's the one who gave you the bed last night ."

I'm hoping this gets atleast a eyebrow raise from Mina

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>>36912510
Your joking right?

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>>36912388

"So why doesn't he talk and move around and stuff now?" I ask.
"He doesn't like to do that unless something bad's happening," Gabrielle replies.
"...wait," Mina holds up her hand. "So Gabrielle's monster doll thing is the same as the alternate personality things? Like when Cecile goes all evil and stuff?"
"Yes," Charlotte nods, "Shary is the alternate personality that came with her Branch. She just happened to get extremely lucky with what she got."
"That's right," Gabrielle says as she hugs her stuffed cat, "Shary's been my best friend since I was really little and we're gonna keep on being best friends forever."

I want to hug her so much right now.


>[2/?]

>>36912535
Don't be a weirdo Cecile.

>>36912535
>[3/3]

After a bit more walking, we make it to the park. While I wanted to show Gabrielle the flower garden when the sun was still up, I guess this place is still pretty at night...

"God damn it..." Charlotte growls.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Another Synapse," Gabrielle says. "Dunno where from, though..."


>stay here, if they're looking for us they'll probably find us anyways
>let's get the hell out of here
>[OTHER]

>>36912597
>stay here, if they're looking for us they'll probably find us anyways

>>36912597
>>stay here, if they're looking for us they'll probably find us anyways

>>36912597
>>stay here, if they're looking for us they'll probably find us anyways
Like it matters anymore. We are a horrible tourguide.

>>36912634
You what. We're an excellent tour guide. Look at all the branch holders and other adventures we've found.

>>36912597
>>stay here, if they're looking for us they'll probably find us anyways

>writing

Something came up and Idon't know if I'll be back before the end of this, but thanks arch, its been fun.

"Cecile?" Charlotte turns to me. "I know that you've already been through a lot today so if you just want to run while we-"
"No," I shake my head. "I'm not going to leave you alone, especially with your arm like that. And besides, if whoever's out there is looking for us, they'll probably find us anyways."
"I guess it's to much to hope that it's just Sun-Mi, huh," Mina sighs.

While we wait for... whoever is coming, I grab my flashlight keychain once again and get ready just in case. Mina looks to be even more prepared for something awful to happen than I am, and Gabrielle's already itching for a fight after what just happened. The only one out of our little group who's really uneasy is Charlotte.

Not that I can blame her.


>[1/?]

>>36912732
>[2/2]


Ow.

I guess that's the sign that they're getting really close...

"Oh no," Charlotte growls just as I hear something rustling in the grass...
"Stop right there!" a man shouts. "I expect you to comply with-"

He stops midsentence and reflexively takes a few steps back.

"YOU!" both Mina and Archibald shout at the same time.


>how do I react?

>>36912772
Get ready to blind him but let him speak first.

>>36912772
point dramatically at him
"Doritos Man, what is your purpose here!?"
get ready to blind him, maybe set up an illusion in case he tries something

>>36912772
Seconding
>>36912790

Let's find out what he wants.

>>36912772
Shift our location.

Slaanesh intensifies.

>>36912772

"Master of Doritos! State thy purpose!"
Try some of this ham and intimidation shtick for ourselves (and probably just look ridiculous because Cecile has trouble pulling off anything other than cute fluffy murderlaserhobo)

>>36912772
>>36912807
I'd say this but more Cecile like.

>writing

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"Doritos guy!" I shout. "What are YOU ding here!?"
"Dorito..." Archibald squints at me. "What the hell...?"
"If you're here to try and kill us again," Mina growls, "then let me tell you that it's not going to-"
"Charlotte, who -is- this guy?" Gabrielle asks.
"Just some asshole," she says, glaring at him. "And Cecile already beat him soundly the last time that he attacked them..."

Though he ran away like a little bitch last time, it doesn't look like Archibald's all that intimidated by us this time around.

"Grr..." he glares at me, "...of course YOU'D be here," he sighs. "But I have more important things to take care of right now and you're clearly not the one who's responsible for it so get lost."

What?


>[1/?]

>>36912896
See if we can work killing pinwheel guy into some sentence.

>>36912902
Let's not, in fact let's not confess murder to anyone.

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>>36912896
>[2/2]

"Dammit, Archibald!" a voice calls out. "I keep telling you not to run out on your own, especially when there's an unknown serial-"

Irene skids to a halt when she sees that her partner's standing ten feet away from us.

"Archibald, you're not trying to-" Irene growls.
"No, I know that it's not HER," Archibald scoffs. "Though I'd love to skewer that blue-haired bitch right where she stands, anyways..."
"Cut it out," she says, smacking him in the back of the head.


>ask her what's going on
>tell them to leave us alone

>>36912934
>ask her what's going on

>>36912934
"Skewer?" "You're the one that got bbqed last time"

>>36912934
>>ask her what's going on

This reminds me when you either met Iroveth or Roach based on which one you didn't side with in the second chapter of the witcher 2.

>>36912934
>ask her what's going on

And get that laser charging. Turn the flashlight on behind our back or something. If he starts shit, we end it.

>>36912934
>"Dammit, Archibald!" a voice calls out. "I keep telling you not to run out on your own, especially when there's an unknown serial-"
He is lucky he isn't in the military, I've seen people lose rank, pay and get mandatory extra work for less.

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Yeah let's see you try and skewer me, you stupid bastard. Last time we met, I had no idea what I was doing and I still ended up barbecuing your ass.

"Hey, Irene," I say, ignoring a certain someone. "What's going on?"
"Oh," Irene sighs. "It's pretty bad... though I'm glad that you and your friends don't seem to have gotten involved in it."
"Involved in what?" Mina asks.
"I was actually just about to text Cecile about it..." she sighs, "but I guess there's no point in doing that now that you're right here and all."

Don't tell me...

"Irene, you've actually been in CONTACT with this little shit this entire time!?" Archibald shouts. "I can't believe that you'd actually-"
"Would you just shut up already," Irene says ,shooting a deathglare at her subordinate. "Anyways," she turns back to me, "that serialkiller just struck again," she says.
"Third night in a row..." Gabrielle says to herself.


>ask if there's anything that we can do to help
>wish them luck with the hunt
>ask them something else
>[OTHER]

>>36913045
>ask if there's anything that we can do to help

>>36913045
>>ask if there's anything that we can do to help

>>36913045
>wish them luck with the hunt
"This was fun let's never do it again."

>>36913045
>ask if there's anything that we can do to help
>Tell her about Sun-mi and the three assholes.

Might as well share some information with the Branch-cops.

>>36913045
>>ask if there's anything NOT SUPER DANGEROUS THAT'LL GET US KILLED, that we can do to help

>>36913045
>>ask if there's anything that we can do to help

>>36913074
>>Tell her about Sun-mi and the three assholes.

"No"

>>36913045
>ask if there's anything that we can do to help

>writing

>>36913045
>>ask if there's anything that we can do to help
Perhaps we can unset that deathflag.

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"Umm, is there anything that we could do to help catch them?" I ask. "...if you guys don't mind, I mean," I say, turning back to them.
"That's what I've been wanting to do in the first place," Mina replies.
"Er..." Charlotte looks at her arm. "I don't know if I'm really in any condition to be actively helping, but I guess I'd be willing to help in some other way if possible."
"Might be fun," Gabrielle mumbles.

Irene seems kind of surprised to see Charlotte and Gabrielle giving their support as well, but quickly shakes that off.

>[1/?]