Step 1: Make sure you're out of gum.
Step 2: Make sure you're NEVER out of love interests.
Step 3: Vent out all that psychological stress before you get to killing. Needs polish before you can get to catharsis.

Alright, let's get started GET IN DA SHIP ALREADY!!!

Apples 2016/07/10(Sun)20:02 No. 735078 ID: a4ec41
File 146820615571.png - (168.76KB , 800x800 , bcc21.png )

Wait for it.

Apples 2016/07/10(Sun)20:02 No. 735079 ID: a4ec41
File 146820615823.png - (199.03KB , 800x800 , bcc22.png )

There you are.

Apples 2016/07/10(Sun)20:02 No. 735080 ID: a4ec41
File 146820616499.png - (280.79KB , 800x800 , bcc23.png )

You are Khlar of Zarn. The last and greatest warrior of the Planet Zarn.
You are currently in the process of kicking ass.

Apples 2016/07/10(Sun)20:03 No. 735082 ID: a4ec41
File 146820623379.png - (192.12KB , 800x800 , bcc24.png )

Specifically this guy's ass. He is easily one of the most pathetic foes you've ever faced. Look at his stupid face! He's gasping and retching for air!
Ha, now it looks like he's trying to draw some kind of magical Sword of Destiny on you.

Sweet, stab that blue fuckface already and let's find someone interesting to fight.

Apples 2016/07/10(Sun)20:04 No. 735084 ID: a4ec41
File 146820624742.png - (218.84KB , 800x800 , bcc25.png )

This pathetic worm is in for it. How would you like to end his worthless life?

simple.
take his sword of destiny and decapitate him with it!

>>735084
Make him eat his magic sword.

Why are you even killing him, anyways? He can't be worth your time.

Punch him. Like, really hard.

>The last and greatest warrior of the Planet Zarn.
>This pathetic worm is in for it.
Was it you that offed the rest of them?

apply teeth to jugular

>>735074
>>735079
... Well. That was... literal.

>>735084
Make it quick, a cornered wimp will try to breathe his last and make it explode. That sword may not be capable of betraying him, his veins may course with poison.

So just shoot the @#$% with whatever you've got and get back to base. Just because you can survive in space doesn't mean it's healthy.

Swallow him into your vagina and crush him with your contractions.

>>735082
Takes sword of destiny and stab greenbo.

>>735106
christ
i hate that I'm seconding this but it'd by far be the most interesting way to kill him

>>735129
I'd consider this, but I don't think this is an NSFW Quest.

>>735084
You're probably in prime Sun-chucking distance, and you can even use the momentum to get back to the ship and launch in another direction. Bonus!

>>735129
This, I have trouble visualizing it, which means it is the most fun option

>>735080
Are you also the last of your kind?

Groin-kick him into a star.

>>735085
>take his sword of destiny and decapitate him with it!
Without removing the scabbard.

>>735106
I'm voting for this too, because I really want to see Apples try to draw it.

>>735106
That does assume the existence of a vagina, but given Apples' preference in protagonists it seems a safe bet. Yeah, this is the most interesting option so far, let's go with it.

Or let's have the green guy actually win and see if he's less overbearingly arrogant.

Cuddle them gently and talk about each other's feelings.

>>735084
He may become less wimpy if he manages to draw his sword so don't let him draw his sword. Also, squish his skull.

Apples 2016/07/12(Tue)20:09 No. 735456 ID: a4ec41
File 146837938619.png - (436.14KB , 800x800 , bcc26.png )

>>735099
>>735165
Why, yes to both as a matter of fact...

>>735456
And that accomplished what exactly?

Ah.
You're a violent, sociopathic, genocidal freak.
You may have wanted to keep that to yourself.
Because we WILL remember that fact.

Even if you are merciless and none of them can damage you, killing an entire planet with your fists takes a huge amount of effort on a logistical level (unless you can punch the atmosphere out of orbit or something). Why did you go through all the trouble?

Hilarious.

I get it: Ruthless Warrior species, constant gladiator challenges and backstabbing. This was the logical conclusion.

Now this galactic championship is the only realistic hope you have of securing your dynasty. Even if you can find cloning technology, the lack of a loyal R&D team means your descendants are SCREWED within about 3 generations.

Which brings us to the question, how dumb are you?

Okay. So.
What exactly is your plan besides "murder literally everyone?"
Because if that's your entire plan, then I'm afraid you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

>>735458
>>735461
>>735462
>>735469
>>735476
Guys, don't you realise? This is a good thing. Instead of having to deal with a bunch of genocide-happy warrior-culture berserkers with bullshit powers, there's only ONE of them now.

We should be thankful to Khlar for choosing to become a Destroyer of Worlds.

Heck, maybe she could become the Mandatory Psycho Companion.

Apples 2016/07/13(Wed)20:39 No. 735649 ID: a4ec41
File 146846757599.png - (264.98KB , 800x800 , bcc27a.png )

>>735458
>>735461
>>735462
>>735476
>>735512
>>735469

Woah woah woah, what's with all this self-recrimination all of a sudden?

It's not like you just killed all the other Zarn for...

Apples 2016/07/13(Wed)20:39 No. 735650 ID: a4ec41
File 146846757972.png - (257.10KB , 800x800 , bcc28.png )

~UNGH!~ fun, you know.

The Crucible wasn't your idea, you were just-

Apples 2016/07/13(Wed)20:39 No. 735651 ID: a4ec41
File 146846758949.png - (308.69KB , 800x800 , bcc29a.png )

GAH! What the Hell??

Apples 2016/07/13(Wed)20:39 No. 735652 ID: a4ec41
File 146846759872.png - (202.15KB , 800x800 , bcc210.png )

Woah, looks like the sword was magic after all!

Apples 2016/07/13(Wed)20:40 No. 735653 ID: a4ec41
File 146846762293.png - (196.56KB , 800x800 , bcc211.png )

And not just magic... Shit, this thing's got destiny threads out the wazoo! It really is the genuine article... And it's about to sever the bonds of fate that run through it!

Apples 2016/07/13(Wed)20:40 No. 735654 ID: a4ec41
File 146846764682.png - (246.34KB , 800x800 , bcc212.png )

Judging by how many threads are tied to that thing, it's carrying a few megatons of high-tension predestination at least. Probably enough to kill even you if released all at once.

You have seconds before the Sword of Destiny self-destructs, what do you do??

Kiss your fat, purple, evil ass goodbye.

Slap some sense into the sword. It's being a drama queen, you're its master now.

>>735654
"Welp."

>>735654
Hump the swordhilt.

Hey, if you're going out, you might as well get off too.

And/or you might actually throw the sword of it's game, or make it blow it's load too early, before it can built a full charge.

>defying the will of fate
Stop being a winy bitch. Fate means it's supposed to happen no matter what. If it didn't happen, either it wasn't fated, or your fate was weak. That you couldn't hack it.

>>735654
Die.

Become the new master of the sword, convince it that you aren't evil, just an antihero.

>>735656
>>735662

Some combination of these.

You already sealed your doom a long time ago

AND IT DIDN'T STOP YOU.

SWALLOW DESTINY WHOLE.

>>735654
FUCK. THE. SWORD!
FUCK. THE. SWORD!
FUCK. THE. SWORD!

>>735662
She literally murdered her entire species.

On a lark.

>>735669
I think she was about to say she was just following orders.

steal the threads

Throw it at something you don't like. Which seems to be more or less everything?

>The Crucible
Was that one of those things where everyone decides as a group to kill each other in a weird blood ritual?

>>735657
>>735661
>>735655
Y'know, if you have nothing helpful to suggest then you might as well not suggest anything at all.

>>735658
>>735667
I don't think this is that kind of quest.

>>735669
No she didn't, did you even read the update? She literally just said:
>It's not like you just killed all the other Zarn for...
>~UNGH!~ fun, you know.

>>735671
Maybe, but crucible makes me think magic ritual. In any case, I get the impression that she didn't really have much choice, not that she was exactly complaining, but whatever.

Contemplate the futility of your numerous atrocities, wonder what could have been if you had chosen a different path, regret the series of events that lead you to this moment, and ponder the possible existence of an afterlife.

YOU SHOULD HAVE CUNT CRUSHED HIM.

NOW YOU MUST CUNT CRUSH THE SWORD.

>>735681
>Y'know, if you have nothing helpful to suggest then you might as well not suggest anything at all.
I don't like the character and I'm suggesting we move on to a different one. Feel free to disagree, but don't think you have the right to dismiss it just because you disagree.

>>735662
Do something like this, and if not, just throw the dam thing and run!

>>735654
>>735656
>>735658
>>735662
>>735688
>>735696
Regret everything you've done, vow to take the swords masters place as penance for all the atrocities you've committed. Maybe throw a few tears in there.
And when The sword is distracted, throw it into a nearby sun!

Become the swords new master. Steal Destiny!

Punch the sword while spewing bullshit of your own. See how it likes its own medicine.

>>735669
So did Lobo of DC comics and he's considered an anti-hero. Even helped Justice League couple of times.

Well if you can see destiny maybe you should have taken a gander before? We don't know how this destiny junk works, we can't advise you on that. Anyway, just... kick him away, I guess. Tell the sword maybe it should have done its job and made sure its master was able to fight.

>>735654

Sensible approach:

You're in space. Momentum is a thing. A proper kick off should send you flying away, and the body/swordbomb of destiny flying away in the other direction. Maybe you can outrun the explosion enough that it'll fail killing ya.

Nonsensical approach:

You're a kitty-person, right? Play with the threads until they unravel in a wild tangled mess, not one outright blast. This is totally doable, probably, maybe.

Or, I guess, tie a knot on them before you chuck it away for a delayed blast.

Now what the hooey was the Crucible?

If he was truly embed by fate, then you must be stronger then fate itself! Do not back down to such strings, you've broken yourself from the strands!

You must get rid of the sword, it is worthless to you, into the nearest sun it should go.

If he's not dead, the sword don't explod...revive the sob, kiss of life or some shit

>>735654
OR...WEAVE THE THREADS OF FATE INTO LITERAL PLOT ARMOR

>>736268
Fuck yes! If you cant claim the sword then do this
Plot Armor of Destiny Bitches!

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:19 No. 738318 ID: a4ec41
File 146933755114.png - (412.62KB , 1066x800 , bcc213.png )

>>735724
Destiny is normally invisible to you, but intense concentrations under great stress can radiate in spectrums perceptible to Zarn. Much the same way heat, normally invisible to humans, can cause secondary effects that manifest in their visible spectrum.

>>735724
>>735738
As strong as you are, there's no way you'd be able to throw him far enough. The shockwave from a Destiny explosion travels at superluminal speeds and are often capable of affecting a temporary Layer Collapse that reaches clear up into hyperspace. There's no way you could enter a Warp Trance in time to flee at FTL, and performing a Karmic Dive would be useless as the explosion will be bubbling up from that direction.

>>735688
You don't have to ponder the existence of an afterlife. You've been there and back many times in a continual cycle of reincarnation. Zarn can, with relatively minimal training, recall past incarnations and learn from them. Unlike other species whose identities persist beyond physical death, Zarn do not seek an end to the cycle of death and rebirth through attainment of enlightenment or entry into paradise. Zarn heaven is the material plane, an endless buffet of glorious carnage and death, eternally killing and being killed, only to be reborn and begin the fight anew. A living Valhalla where all the lesser species exist to slaughter for your amusement.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:19 No. 738319 ID: a4ec41
File 146933756603.png - (257.36KB , 800x800 , bcc214.png )

But... you remind yourself, there aren't any more Zarn. You are the last of your kind.
If you die there is nowhere left for you to reincarnate.
The genetic and spiritual heritage of your entire race lies with you.
In your ovaries you carry the souls of every Zarn who ever lived or ever will live.
And if you die, then you really will have extinguished your entire species for now and in the hereafter...

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:19 No. 738320 ID: a4ec41
File 146933758709.png - (207.67KB , 800x800 , bcc215.png )

Thinking of this. Thinking of how you hold in your hands the fate of your entire race, how they are counting on you to survive and lead them to a glorious new stage of evolution it fills you with...
DETERMINATION.

You will do anything to protect them. Anything.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:20 No. 738322 ID: a4ec41
File 146933760241.png - (211.09KB , 800x800 , bcc215a.png )

>>735667
Which is good because unfortunately what you've got to do will actually involve fucking the sword a little...

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:21 No. 738323 ID: a4ec41
File 146933766036.png - (180.03KB , 800x800 , bcc216.png )

In order to absorb the Destiny Threads and fuse them to your own soul, you need to bring the sword's Core Crystal into contact with your Root Kandrithium.

The Kandrithium Portals being organs on the Zarns' subtle body roughly analogous to Human Chakras, but just different enough to not be bound by the same limitations and mythology.

The flow of mystic energies through the soul are controlled by these portals, and unfortunately the Root Kandrithium resides in the Yoni.

So you've gotta stick the sword in your puss.

It sucks because you were really hoping to keep the blood and brain matter of a gross frog lizard out of your gooch. Otherwise you would have just stuffed his head in there and crushed it like a Talcorian Brain Melon.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:21 No. 738325 ID: a4ec41
File 146933770667.png - (256.62KB , 800x800 , bcc217.png )

Gross gross gross gross...

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:33 No. 738329 ID: a4ec41
File 146933840916.png - (247.76KB , 800x800 , bcc218.png )

You don't have time to align your Kandrithiums properly to absorb all the Destiny Threads, but you can at least absorb enough of the big ones to delay the explosion and make it survivable.

Your body is wracked with spasms as you make contact with the sword's Core Crystal. The destiny of this... weird frog knight surges into you, interweaving your fate with his.

Your past and future collide in the center of your soulscape as you change the course of Destiny itself...

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:33 No. 738330 ID: a4ec41
File 146933841258.png - (349.84KB , 800x800 , bcc219.png )

YEARS AGO

Your people's bulgiest scientists discover that the Zarn have reached the peak of heir evolutionary potential and that within only a few generations, your mighty race will start to degenerate.

This is unacceptable.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:33 No. 738331 ID: a4ec41
File 146933843064.png - (408.20KB , 800x800 , bcc220.png )

Upon hearing this grave news, The Warlords of Zarn decreed that the time of The Crucible had come, and that, effective immediately, all Zarn were to pair off and fight each other to the death until only one remained.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:34 No. 738333 ID: a4ec41
File 146933846468.png - (321.69KB , 800x800 , bcc221.png )

The last surviving Zarn was to go out among the stars, seeking the mightiest warriors in the universe and challenge each of them in turn until they came upon a warrior strong enough to defeat them.

They were then to mate with this great warrior and bear his or her offspring, repopulating the Zarn race and infusing them with the DNA of the superior species, thus unleashing a new, even more powerful Zarn horde across the galaxy and ensuring the continued dominance of the Zarn race.

>>738333
So they didn't think of what happened if both mighty warriors were the same sex?

>>738335
>His or her offspring

Presumably, Ms. Psycho here has some way of producing viable offspring with women. Magic bullshit, presumably.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:41 No. 738338 ID: a4ec41
File 146933887127.png - (63.37KB , 800x800 , bcc222.png )

As the frog lizard knight's destiny interweaves with yours, you begin to see flashes of the life that was meant for him.

As you suspected, it's the usual "Chosen One" type drivel.

You are to help vanquish a terrible evil...

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:41 No. 738339 ID: a4ec41
File 146933887698.png - (58.89KB , 800x800 , bcc223.png )

Rescue a princess...

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:43 No. 738341 ID: a4ec41
File 146933901045.gif - (84.65KB , 800x800 , bcc224c.gif )

And find true love.

Blarf.

You pray the vision of your true love is just a holdover from the frog knight's destiny and that when your actual predestined True Love shows up they're not so dumpy and gross.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:47 No. 738342 ID: a4ec41
File 146933925493.png - (223.19KB , 800x800 , bcc225.png )

Okay that's enough, you got the broad strokes and there should be enough slack in the line now that the Sword's self-destruct won't kill you anymore.

Time to get rid of this thing before you end up getting saddled with some kind of heroic sacrifice or lesson about the true meaning of friendship.

>>738338
Announcer / Sponsors
>>738339
Nightheart (I've decided to insult the idiot overlord until he stops being idiotic)
>>738341
Photon (Who proceeds to murder@#$% Khlar to death after their first bebeh)

Sound like a plan? Khlar, can you hear us now?

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:48 No. 738345 ID: a4ec41
File 146933933652.png - (167.55KB , 800x800 , bcc226.png )

Adios, Dickshit!

That's what you should have said.

Fuck.

>>738336
I suspect they didn't know the sex of the winner. Although I'm not sure if it's more likely that they assumed it'd be a heterosexual pairing regardless of the winner or they can just impregnate/bear children by whatever.

Apples 2016/07/23(Sat)22:56 No. 738351 ID: a4ec41
File 146933979790.png - (144.51KB , 800x800 , bcc227.png )

The frog-knight's spaceship is vaporized in milliseconds. Any remaining crew on board are definitely dead and their ghosts have been blown halfway across the sector so you don't have to worry about them coming back to haunt you.

Which is a real thing you have to deal with enough of already.

You can momentarily make out the outline of a nearby ship, illuminated by the blinding flash of the explosion.

Which is weird because nothing else should be this close to you without you having sensed its approach from a long way away...

Don't destroy this next ship. Even if you decide to kill all crewmembers onboard later, that ship may be your only chance for survival.

Unless they're stupid enough to not include airlock chambers, in which case you should overload their engines and hope the blast force is enough to get you to safety somehow.

Force your way through the first airlock and threaten to tear through the ship with your dying moments unless the crew sets the FTL to "Ludicrous".

Huh.

Why didn't you make it, like, the last three to survive? The difference between the top three warriors of an entire species would be pretty negligible. Then you could each go find a different mighty warrior and create three different Zarn races who could then also have a war to see which of them was better.

I mean, not to be insulting or anything, but looking at the rest of your kind there, your gene pool seemed a little shallow anyway, so, you could do a bit more to avoid bottlenecking. I mean your kids are going to have to do the same thing anyway, go and find their own mighty warriors to be their babydadmommies, right?

And then also, bonus, one of the three could die without destroying your entire race.

Oh well hindsight is 20/20 and all that. Back to business. That ship that got illuminated looks like it's already damaged. Go ask them who did it, maybe it'll be someone decent. I guess maybe you might have to help them out a little to get them in a state to give answers, though. Oh well.

... Why were you killing that knight guy, again?

Man Apples you can color stuff so nice.

>>738351
If they're able to hide their presence, they must be powerful! Go seek them out.

>>738351
Cautiously inspect the anomaly. If you couldn't sense it, it is possible that people in it are so much more powerful by an order of magnitude you can't yet comprehend.

In other words, try sneaking up to the vessel.

Well, go investigate. You don't find powerful opponents by not poking your nose into mysterious things.

>seeking the mightiest warriors in the universe and challenge each of them in turn until they came upon a warrior strong enough to defeat them.
What if its some relatively weak person in really good power armor or something?

By the way, are those blue things on your necklace Locator Crystals? (Is that how you found lizard knight?)

>>738333
...what happens if the warrior strong enough to defeat you doesn't give you a chance to mate with them, and kills you for being a pathetic weakling before you have the chance to offer?

I mean, it's what you would do in their shoes, right? Utterly crush someone weaker who challenged you?

>>738338
>>738339
Are you actually destiny-bound to do those things now? I mean, suppose killing a great evil could be fun if it were strong, and a princess could theoretically be saved as an incidental consequence. You could even choose not to kill her if you had something better to do, or she was hot enough.

>>738351
Perhaps it uses a cloaking or propulsion technology not familiar to you? That might mean whoever produced it is strong. Or at least knowledgeable, but knowledge can be strength in certain circumstances.

Bears investigating.

>>738333
Um, wouldn't that result in either great amounts of inbreeding that would lead to a decline of Zarn quality as a race or watering the Zarn bloodline down to the point of being mere mongrels of once proud warrior species?

Your scientists and leaders were not the sharpest knives in the drawer, were they?

>>738351
Must be a crafty enemy if it could sneak up on you. PUNCH IT WITH YOUR HANDS!

Apples 2016/08/07(Sun)20:06 No. 741062 ID: a4ec41
File 147062558581.png - (234.18KB , 800x800 , bcc228.png )

>...what happens if the warrior strong enough to defeat you doesn't give you a chance to mate with them, and kills you for being a pathetic weakling before you have the chance to offer?

You are fully aware that there are plenty of forces out there that are far beyond the power of the Zarn. Pit yourself against a Sky Titan or a Monstrolith or a Roving Graveform or a Vanquisher Sentinel and yeah you're gonna get squashed like an insect.

That's why you've gotta work your way up the food chain to find the sweet spot, right between "strong enough to defeat you" and "strong enough to kill you."

As for what you'll end up doing if you end up getting defeated by someone of the same sex... let's just say, life ah... finds a way ;)

Apples 2016/08/07(Sun)20:06 No. 741063 ID: a4ec41
File 147062559195.png - (209.04KB , 800x800 , bcc229.png )

>By the way, are those blue things on your necklace Locator Crystals? (Is that how you found lizard knight?)

Indeed they are.

Funny story,

No sooner had you left the atmosphere of Zarn to set out on your quest to fight all the strongest warriors in the galaxy, when you bump into this weird octopus face guy!

He hands you a blue crystal and says "this is a map of all the strongest warriors in the galaxy!" then *poof* vanishes before you can even challenge him!

Crazy, huh?

Apples 2016/08/07(Sun)20:06 No. 741064 ID: a4ec41
File 147062560028.png - (271.99KB , 933x800 , bcc230.png )

Before that octopus face guy came along you were just planning on going door to door, but this way is much faster.

You see, the secret to killing these suckers is to catch them while they're transiting between challenges. If they're using a space ship, the chances are pretty good they can't breathe in space, and even if their bodies can take a super powered punch, the hulls of their ships probably can't. One well placed hole and *pop!* no more mister legendary warrior.

You've already found and killed three champions this way!

Well... four now, but with all this sword bullshit you completely forgot to grab frog knight's. The damn thing is probably sub atomic particles by now.

Speaking of ships, where'd that slippery devil get to?

>>741064
>You've already found and killed three champions this way!
So... being able to breathe in space is a requirement for being strong, in your opinion?

Probably cloaked or something by now. May have warped away. No way of telling.
Question: What will you do if you encounter an entire fleet? What if something far more powerful than yourself decides to target you? What if your mysterious benefactor has some sinister ulterior motive? Are you at all bothered by the fact that you carry the future of your entire species on your shoulders?

For all your strength, your stealth needs work.

Try using the locator crystals to tag the ship. They might be short range and might not have a champion, but anything's better than waiting for the explosion to end you.

Maybe if you overload one with your energy it'll be more specific?

hold one in each of your hands and feet and spread eagle to turn yourself into a sensor array and get a better scan.

Well shit if they can't even survive in space then they're not worth your time are they.

>>741071
It's a requirement to even be fought.

What is she going to do if the offspring picks the non-space-breathing trait from the mate that beats her? That would be a downgrade to Zarn race even if they get physically stronger.

>>741064
On the one hand, I want to criticism you for how that would seem to undercut the whole warrior race genetic fitness thing.

...but on the other hand, you quite thoroughly dodge the idiot warrior race trope, and it's a very effective way to shortcut the highly suspect cosmic champions setup.

So on the whole I'll give it to you. Good plan!

>>741064
Doesn't just popping their ship feel a little unfair?
What if you've already killed someone that could have defeated you if you hadn't sucker punched their ship?

>>741417
Then she has refrained from producing children that DIE WHEN YOU PUNCH THEIR SHIP OUT FROM UNDER THEM.

Do you have any idea how much space there is? Anything that can't survive space is a niche species in serious danger of having its habitat destroyed. Case in point: those other guys.

Apples 2016/08/28(Sun)19:23 No. 745028 ID: a4ec41
File 147243742154.gif - (554.43KB , 800x800 , bcc231.gif )

>>741078
The explosion is over. You're done with the explosion.

>>741105
The locator crystals don't actually locate things, from what you can tell, they're just receivers for a signal being transmitted through quantum entanglement, making it untraceable.

>Investigate the ship
You search for the ship, but in vain. Wherever it is, it's intangible as well as invisible. There's not a lot of ways to fool a Zarn so completely and none of them are reassuring. It's possible psychic tampering may be involved.

Apples 2016/08/28(Sun)19:24 No. 745029 ID: a4ec41
File 147243747856.png - (474.52KB , 800x800 , bcc232.png )

After a few moments of focus, you determine that all your psychic firewalls are still up, your mindscape labyrinth is undisturbed and your guardian tulpas are all peaceful.

Whoever this is, if they're using psychic powers to hide themselves from you then you're completely outclassed and if they wanted you dead they'd have killed you easily by now. It's more likely the ship has hidden itself through some other means. You might be able to find them by performing a Karmic Dive, though doing so would involve lowering your psychic firewalls...

Apples 2016/08/28(Sun)19:24 No. 745030 ID: a4ec41
File 147243749636.png - (325.80KB , 800x800 , bcc233.png )

>>741073
Roughly speaking, the average Zarn warrior boasts a combat power equivalent to a destroyer or cruiser class warship from the navy of a major spacefaring power, but of course concentrated into a single individual. Their disproportionate strength and speed allows Zarn to go toe to toe with creatures and ships many many times their size.

It usually takes the combined arms of a space battle group to bring a Zarn down through conventional means.

As a matter of fact, most of the galactic superpowers have special quick response task forces specifically trained and equipped to kill Zarn. They've gotten pretty good at it, and the Zarn have gradually been forced to raid planets further and further afield.

You laugh for a moment when you think about all the thousands of heavily armed soldiers and ships that are wasting their time scouring the galaxy for Zarn when there aren't any Zarn left to hunt...

Apples 2016/08/28(Sun)19:25 No. 745031 ID: a4ec41
File 147243750954.png - (215.63KB , 800x800 , bcc234.png )

...

Except you, of course...

Apples 2016/08/28(Sun)19:25 No. 745032 ID: a4ec41
File 147243752220.png - (153.88KB , 800x800 , bcc235.png )

You suddenly feel very isolated, alone and vulnerable.

You're not sure it's such a good idea to stay here anymore and you have a very bad feeling about that ship.

Do you stay and search for the ship by performing a Karmic Dive, which involves lowering your psychic defenses, or do you book it out of here as fast as you can?

>>745032
We need to kill that scout, more important than just running.

>>745032
Book it. If there's anything hunting you, you just blew up a spaceship and then an even bigger destiny sword thing. You gave away your position pretty damn effectively.

Pff. You're not going to book it. Reading is for schmucks!
Karmic Dive.

>>745032
Leg it.

>>745032
It's far too likely that the ship has already sent a message to its compatriots.
You are in imminent danger.
Lowering your defenses is a very bad idea. One well placed psychic attack could cripple you - possibly even kill you!
Flee the scene and go to ground. You can take no risks at this time.

Dive. You need a ship, and you need it now. Those warships only have ONE target, they will not need to stand their space and aim with the big guns, they just need to ram the ^&*( out of you with their advanced FTL drives. Your best bet of survival is to intimidate a space crew into launching somewhere random.

Also, I seriously think you should consider a few kids right NOW. Remember, your species has reincarnation immortality, so if your children manage to be weak-ass @#$%heads you can always murder and eat them alive in front of a live studio audience to make a point about weakness.

Hey, don't look at me, YOU'RE the ones who intentionally committed self-genocide including your babies.

(I just wanted to point out that my latest post for this quest is not an accurate description of my opinions or moral code, I just wanted to play the villain. Thank you.)

Follow your instincts, warrior. Your fear response is no coincidence. You are in danger. Flee.

Make like a blue clue and skidoo.

run

Fight to the finish! Die like a warrior!

Take the chance on a Karmic Dive. If they're going to attack, better that you see where the attack's coming from, and if they're not going to attack, you're fine.

You need to find a worthy mate ASAP, right? Running away from every spooky thing isn't gonna achieve that. Maybe they're on that ship, which is so stealthy that the Referee hasn't found them to deliver a locator crystal yet. Maybe they're more badass than you in every regard except personal FTL capability and willingness to apply lethal violence to complete strangers, so they just use ships to compensate for the first thing, with advanced confrontation-avoidance cloaking technology for the second. That'd probably still be a net gain genetically.

>>745156
This.

Apples 2016/09/10(Sat)21:27 No. 747392 ID: a4ec41
File 147356802631.png - (170.59KB , 800x800 , bcc236.png )

For the first time in several lifetimes, you choose Flight over Fight and depart the area at maximum acceleration.
You try to ignore the weight of your fear on your shoulders as you sprint away from the mysterious ship and the threat it poses.

Apples 2016/09/10(Sat)21:27 No. 747393 ID: a4ec41
File 147356803262.png - (243.30KB , 800x800 , bcc237.png )

You tell yourself that this is a tactical withdrawal... that you are not running away, but the shame of your actions burns hot in your throat.

No! You can't afford to take unnecessary risks. Not now when your entire species depends on you! Your actions weren't cowardly, they were prudent! The survival of the Master Race is more important than your individual pride.

Apples 2016/09/10(Sat)21:27 No. 747394 ID: a4ec41
File 147356804611.png - (256.80KB , 800x800 , bcc238.png )

It's time to resume your mission of finding a worthy mate.

You withdraw one of your several Locator Crystals from beneath your armor and consult its catalogue of worthy opponents. You need to find someone new to defeat. Preferably an opponent that's operating far beyond the influence of the local superpowers.

*********
Audience Participation Time!

Readers!
Who is Khlar's next challenge?
Now is your chance to see Khlar duke it out with the Champion you create!

Submit your proposed Champion to the Battle of the Cosmic Champions Discussion Thread: https://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/97089.html

Submissions should include:

- Champion Name

- A description of the Champion's powers and abilities

- A sketch of your Champion (this is not a talent competition, I will end up redrawing the character in BotCC style anyway)

Other information that may be included:

- Character backstory

- A description of your Champion's personality, attitude and quirks.

- A description of the Champion's race, home and society (in case more of their species is featured later)

I am not accepting submissions for Stonebearers at this time your champion can be powered by any number of natural, artificial or supernatural phenomena aside from one of the thirteen Power Stones.

I will choose three champions from those submitted (assuming there are at least three) and from those three the audience will be given the chance to vote on which one Khlar ultimately challenges.

Submissions will be open for one week

Oh, one more thing I forgot that you might want to include in your submission: where your champion is/would be at the time of their encounter with Khlar as well as their performance in the contest thus far.

I think it's time we fought Katicha champion of the Flying Shark-Mermaids and Lead guitarist of the intergalactic metal band Cosmic Impaler.

Like most Mer-people she can create and control water, however as Cosmic Champion, Katicha is capable of creating enough water to fill a freighter class ship.

This was how she defeated Romulus The Anti-Wolf, by drowning him in space.

So far, she's killed 13 cosmic champions.

Currently residing on her home planet (where she has the home advantage)

Apples 2016/09/18(Sun)08:53 No. 748408 ID: a4ec41
File 147421400597.png - (274.51KB , 800x800 , bcc239.png )

After a brief consultation, you select three opponents within your flight range that are still outside the territory of hostile superpowers.

The first is Krux the Fallen, a Rosechaletan. Some kind of scavenger by the look of things. Through past life recollections you recognize she seems to be wearing armor cobbled together from Oluranthi military gear. She also appears to wield Oluranthi cyber-telekinesis implants, technology forbidden to all non-Oluranthi.

Your most recent previous incarnation did a great deal of mercenary work quelling rebellions for the Oluranthi and you recall that it was highly enjoyable. The Oluranthi are a warlike, imperialist species with cunning to match their considerable physical strength (considerable by non-Zarn standards, that is). You fought and ate well with the Oluranthi and if this guttersnipe has been causing them trouble, they might be grateful if you took care of her for them.

It would be nice to eat something other than rations scavenged from the starships you've raided.

Apples 2016/09/18(Sun)08:54 No. 748409 ID: a4ec41
File 147421409842.png - (279.68KB , 800x800 , bcc240.png )

Now here's a blast from the past.

Manipulator Five
Even though the memory comes from one of your earliest incarnations, over two hundred lives ago, it still feels like only yesterday.

A few centuries after the First Zarn slew the Demon King and plunged the Dread Empire into chaos, one of the various warring splinter factions, you don't remember which, cooked up the Manipulator Series in a promising but ultimately futile attempt to reunite the Dread Empire under their banner.

Artificially engineered bioforms with embedded neurotech and extremely enhanced psychic abilities,
the Manipulators were extremely effective at taking over planets. Effective enough that their masters grew overconfident, and sent them to conquer the Zarn.

It was a terrible struggle. Thousands of Zarn were mind-controlled by the Manipulators and the resulting war raged for decades before the Zarn were finally able to breed a strain of warrior resistant to the Manipulators' mental powers. The counter attack was fierce and thorough. The Manipulators were wiped out.

Or so you thought. Manipulator Five must be the last of her kind. Fitting that she should meet her end at the hands of the last Zarn.

Though the thought of coupling with this creature fills you with disgust, of the three potential combatants, Manipulator Five has the highest genetic compatibility with the Zarn.

Apples 2016/09/18(Sun)08:56 No. 748410 ID: a4ec41
File 147421415899.png - (236.76KB , 800x800 , bcc241.png )

And finally there's Geoffrey.

Like all true-hearted warriors, you have a particularly large and throbbing hateboner for capitalist pigs. The degenerate, self-seeking cowardice of commercialism. The crass, empty pursuit of meaningless "wealth" in the form of worthless scraps of paper or coded bits. It fills you with disgust.

You especially hate self-styled "robber baron" types. Corporate suits who have the audacity to refer to their overgrown network of lemonade stands as "empires." Worms who pretend to live by the law of the jungle, but hide, mewling behind the veneer of "legality" whenever they themselves come under attack.

ZephyrCom also happens to be the largest manufacturer of Anti-Zarn technology in the sector. Cheap crap for the most part, nothing equal to what the big empires have, but they make a lot of money scamming fearful populations with the promise of affordable protection from Zarn raids. None of their products are a real threat to you, but they are definitely a nuisance.

On top of it all, he appears to be some kind of air Elemental. You hate Elementals because they don't have the decency to die when you rip off important bits. He's gonna be frustrating to kill, but oh so satisfying. Your mouth is watering at the thought of it.

Everything about this guy seems tailor made to enrage you.

The only thing that puzzles you is that there's no way the two of you could possibly mate. It seems strange that a list of all the potential mates in the galaxy would even include him. Whatever, obviously that octopus face guy doesn't know shit about Zarn physiology.

>>748408
Krux, most definitely!

Mani-5

Manipulator-5 obviously, if we are looking for something to breed with what better than something that actually managed to hurt the zarn?

Manipulator-5.

I vote for Manipulator-5 as well!

>>748414
>>748416
>>748417
>>748419
But the head is a triangle and she doesn't want to fuck it

>>748423

Well, then Khlar will just have to do her best to kill 5 instead!

>>748409
This raises a question. If the warrior that defeats you is female, how are you gonna breed with her?

>>748425
Or let it live as her Slave Pet.

2 of these peeps look like they can survive naturally in space, and Krux's armor probably does too. Not gonna be able to cheap kill these ones by popping their spaceships.

Geoffrey seems a bad choice for you. It's added risk for zero chance of restarting your race. Plus, a capitalist "empire" means if you kill him, all his chumps are gonna be shouting about it all over the place. Brings you attention you might not want, costs you the element of surprise.

Krux or M-5 seem appropriate opponents.

GEOFFREY
just imagine the lulz

Manipulator 5, seems like a nice way to close that particular chapter of history

>>748431
this has already been answered with 'life finds a way'

> Krux
Thanks for adding my character to the roster

BUT

The Oluranthi like adding specialist races to their military/engineering rosters, and Zarn is on their potential militia top 10 list. If you show up on one of their operations, revealing yourself as the last Zarn in the galaxy, they're going to have ideas. Mostly about shooting you with enough tranquilizer darts to play Santa Claus for an entire Oluranthi planet (and each battleship has more than enough), strapping you to a chair (after sawing your limbs off), and breeding you with inbred nobles, brainwashable Rosechaletans, and other choice picks until the voices in your children's heads stop making sense.

Basically, might be a bad idea to go near the Oluranthi Empire while you're still one girl. Maybe if Krux leaves Oluranthi space one day.

> Manipulator Five
There is a LOT of potential here. She's only one girl, and yet she's powerful enough to conquer a home planet for you. Regardless of grudges, you seek battle, and who better than a worthy foe? Plus, an opportunity to breed with the very species that nearly exterminated her species, in the hopes of creating a new hybrid that will surpass all previous limitations? You BOTH want this.

> Zepyrcom CEO
Bad idea. This guy likely collects Anti-Zarn defense systems for his living quarters. Not much, but enough to defeat you. Since most of his assets are tied to his wealth and not genetic augmentations (being an elemental and all), you wouldn't stand to gain much from killing him other than a massive bounty from a company that knows how to kill you.

So yeah, if there were more Zarn I might have chosen something different but due to circumstances I vote for Manipulator Five.

>>748451
I always appreciate your input, Kome, but I'd prefer to reveal the nature of the Oluranthi through the normal course of the story.

Consider: if we best and manage to impregnate/be impregnated by the cloud man, we will have limitless resources and likely nigh-immortal offspring.
I'm biased as his creator but I'm throwing in with cloudboy for the betterment of the species, just imagine a version of that guy but with rippling muscles.

I'll say Manipulator Five.

Go full riot-mode against Geoffrey.

Kill Geoffrey, steal wallet, get megabucks.

All three of those sound unworthy of your legacy. Kill all three of them in random order (because let's face it, you are totally gonna slaughter these losers), then resume your original plan: go to the nearest populated planet and beat it up until a mighty space hero shows up to intervene, then beat up the mighty space hero. Repeat until someone kicks your ass, then submit said ass to the kicker. You get to kill lots of people, you get to have lots of strong babies, it's the perfect plan.

Krux the Fallen. Reunite with old allies, get hot food, and maybe even find a worthy opponent.

manipulator-5

Manipulator-5. Gotta get on with the begats sooner rather than later, and we knew this job would involve disgusting crotch stuff somehow, even before that bit with the sword of destiny.

Also, to the extent it's allowed, I'm voting against Geoffrey as a target, at least until there are new Zarn babies. Tailor-made to piss you off, plus tedious to kill, plus massive supplies of anti-Zarn weaponry (most of it's crap, but surely he reserves the best stuff for defending himself?), equals obvious trap.

Krux!

Manipulator 5! Tear off their stupid psychic head and reproduce with the neck stump!

Or something, I dunno, just kill 'em dead.

Krux and make it brutal

Kill that cloudy, corporate fucker.

Geoffrey! It would be hilarious, and you deserve something relaxing after having to fuck the sword.

>>748436
I'll resolve my earlier waffle and say M-5.

Krux, she seems worthy.

At the moment, it seems as though Manipulator-5 has a major lead, while Krux and Geoffrey are tied for second.

Apples 2016/09/30(Fri)15:00 No. 750444 ID: a4ec41
File 147527284537.png - (282.23KB , 800x800 , bcc242.png )

While the chance to catch up with the Oluranthi and eat some real food is tempting, and it would definitely be fun to kick Geoffrey's rich ass, the idea that there is still a Manipulator out there is too much for you to stand.

It's time to settle the score.

It looks like she's on a starship in transit between worlds not too far from here, so you don't even have to change up your routine. Just zip over there, pop her ship and pat yourself on the back for driving yet another enemy of the Zarn extinct.

You enter the warp trance, expanding your consciousness to encompass local spacetime. Your instinctive sense of direction and location allows you to visualize your destination and transmit the coordinates to the integrated warp drive in your armor. You open your kandrithium portals and flood the armor's micro coils with energy, accelerating you to superluminal speed in seconds.

You take off in the direction of Manipulator 5.

Apples 2016/09/30(Fri)15:00 No. 750445 ID: a4ec41
File 147527285826.png - (109.00KB , 800x800 , bcc243.png )

You drop out of warp still a few thousand kilometers out from Manipulator 5's ship. You want to give yourself enough space to accelerate to a good ramming speed. Warp drive may allow you to travel faster than light but it does not actually impart momentum, and you want to have plenty built up when you splatter Manipulator 5's oversized brains all over the sector.

Dumb bitch won't know what hit her...

Apples 2016/09/30(Fri)15:01 No. 750446 ID: a4ec41
File 147527286234.png - (252.90KB , 800x800 , bcc244.png )

Oh shit-

Apples 2016/09/30(Fri)15:01 No. 750447 ID: a4ec41
File 147527286602.png - (171.09KB , 800x800 , bcc245.png )

That's a nuke.

RIP Khlar

She drove into traffic

DEFCON traffic

>>750444
Huh. Your ftl depends on your armor? So if you took enough of a pounding, you'd lose the ability for rapid space transit? (Unless you hijacked a lesser craft I guess).

>Dumb bitch won't know what hit her...
Why would you assume for a moment you'd catch her by surprise? Her entire thing is sensors and scanners and information and awareness! She's the one opponent you absolutely should have assumed would see you coming!

>>750447
>That's a nuke
Well, M-5 predicted exactly where you would emerge from hyperspace, and when. That means there's a good chance the nuke is on a timer to go off any second now. That, or it's got a hair trigger linked to sensors and is about to go off.

Either way, I assume that's a threat to you.

Blip backwards into hyperspace? Throw up as strong shields as you can? Perform a karmic dive to dodge this layer of reality and the blast? Hit it hard enough to throw it out of range? Use an extremely powerful energy beam sufficient to disintegrate the entire nuke before the fusion and/or fission process can begin?

Unfortunately, we don't know enough about your abilities or about how nuclear explosions interact with the cosmology you've introduced us to to reliably pick the best course of action.

>>750447
I assume you don't want to die messily and I doubt it'll let you chuck it somewhere else, so just run away as hard as you can.

>>750447

There's never just one nuke. They're like pringles! Once you pop, you just can't stop.

Anyway, GTFO warp speed, hop out in a random proximity to her ship. Rince and repeat until nukes stop appearing/she tries something new.

DOOOOOOOOOODGE!!!!

Are these the kind of nukes that don't explode properly if you punch them before they detonate? If yes, do that.

>Driving yet another enemy of the Zarn extinct.
So, does that mean that the Zarn consider themselves an enemy of the Zarn? Because a species that regularly drives itself to near extinction every time they get bored with their genetics is just plain lucky that they aren't actually extinct from trying that the first time around.

>Dumb bitch won't know what hit her...
>Oh shit-
>That's a nuke.
The thing that you're trying to kill just predicted where you were going to show up and timed firing a nuke to give you little to no chance to dodge it.

The only dumb bitch I see here is you. You should know better than to underestimate an opponent and overestimate your own abilities. Shame on you for doing that. Things like that will get you killed and cause your race to go extinct.

I would suggest that you both put your differences aside and work together and maybe mate with each other so that both of your almost dead species have a chance to survive. But, I know you won't listen to that, so just try not to die.

Dodge and warp. DODGE AND WARP!

Antimatter, fission, fusion, or some high-tech mass/energy converter?

It it's a simple fail-deadly antimatter charge, just set it off, then turn around and 'walk' away, ideally while putting on sunglasses. Your grafted heroic destiny will manipulate probability to control turbulent forces within the warhead in such a way as to keep you safe from anything more than superficial injuries.

If it's a fission charge powered by chemical explosives, or any sort of mass-energy conversion that depends on macroscopic physical structure, just smash it up before something can activate the elaborate detonation circuitry and it won't properly detonate at all.

If it's a fusion warhead, details depend on the triggering mechanism. Same basic procedure as with the fission, but focus on peeling off any shell of x-ray-reflective material and safely dispersing lighter elements such as hydrogen inside.

Don't try to dodge until you've neutralized the immediate threat. Somebody anticipated your approach vector, so they know Zarn hyperspace and realspace maneuverability specs, and can be presumed to have further ambushes ready along the obvious lines of retreat.

Also you can't catch other champions by surprise, or evade long-term, if they're paying attention to their own locator crystals.

Step slightly to the left. Problem solved.

Looks like someone knew you were coming. Just don't let the missile hit you, its easy.

>>750447
think you can grab this thing by it's rear-section and re-

>>750457
>There's never just one nuke.
-position yourself, maybe surf the thing briefly while you get your bearings

Why are you scared of a puny little nuke? Punt it into the sun and dodge the real attack that it was supposed to distract from.

>There's never just one nuke.
True, but they have to be staggered a little. If they're too close together, you get nuclear fratricide, where the detonation of the lead nuke destroys, damages, or knocks off course the nukes following behind it. Meaning you waste some nukes, and if you target is actually hardened enough to necessitate a pounding from chained nuclear detonations to bring it down, you're not getting the chain you wanted.

...of course if these nukes can hyperspace the way her armor can, the others could just be waiting a light second out or so, waiting to blip into range one after the other as they detonate. Allowing close pursuit / timed blasts without M-5 risking one missile killing all its siblings.

>>750447
FIGHT THE NUKE. IF IT BEATS YOU, FUCK IT AND HAVE ATOMIC ZARNBABIES

Punch da bombding

So the manipulators have a history of mind controlling the zarn.
Now what if, just what if, the nuke isn't real?
I vote punch it to prove you Mental Fortitude!

Maneuver so that the blast pushes you towards her, or smash it before it can go off. If a measly nuke is all it takes to kill you then you're kinda pointless, you might as well just use conventional weapons.

>>750453
Going into a karmic dive and lowering mental firewalls when being attacked by a literal psychic? Seems rather unintelligent.

>>750493
This guy has his head screwed on right. Except for the bit about grafted destiny, we've already proven that destiny is a shit defense. Destroy the triggering mechanisms/warhead before the fuses can register your presence.
If it's a fail-deadly system, like antimatter or something more exotic (pressurized plasma? Strangelet soup?) your best bet might be to do a crash Karmic dive and hope you can pop back up and re-erect your firewalls before she can start really digging into your brain.