1/2 Magus 2015/03/29(Sun)04:09 No. 631547 ID: 9f5a86
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"This is it," I say to my allies who have given me their undivided attention. I could see the determination in their eyes. They were prepared to give their lives in this struggle. "We can no longer sit around and observe. Caelus has been taken and the final link is about to begin. My friends, everything you have witnessed and studied matters today. Please, share with me your ideas and observations." We do not have much time, but we must prepare in any way we can.

2/2 Magus 2015/03/29(Sun)04:09 No. 631548 ID: 9f5a86
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My allies continue to talk among themselves. One of them quickly draws a map on the ground, a diagram that shows the guardtower positions relative to Yahl's cage. He suggests that we should forcibly release Yahl, as his powers could surely be helpful. Another one of my friends reminds us that while they took Caelus in, they stored his items in a secured container someplace, but that they might have moved it. Somebody else hotly suggests we should all storm the group outright, and that Caelus' safety and the failure of the ritual is top priority.

I ponder on these suggestions and think about what task we should carry out with. Depending on how long the task takes us and how risky it is, we may not be able to do everything. There are six warriors that are with me in this.

>>631548
Getting Yahl out should be a last resort. They'll focus too hard on him once he escapes and try to kill him and that will all be effort for nothing if they succeed quickly enough.

Ruin the ritual somehow. Whatever the ritual entails, delay it as long as possible by sabotaging ingredients, killing or capturing people important to the ritual, and steal important items like a ceremonial knife or whatever. Whatever isn't easily replaceable, get to it.

Much of Caelus's items are useless to him. The armor does nothing since it won't fit Caelus anymore and the strongest one, Yuseta, will easily terminate and recapture Caelus and kill anyone using his guns, because you can't USE guns against Yuseta.

Weaken Yuseta. Do whatever you CAN against her. You probably won't be able to kill her until Caelus supercharges his powers or something and he destroys her and it's important to make that as easy as possible. Poison her food and drink or something, I don't know. Do you know any possible way to weaken her powers, a suppressing or draining field? Another ritual to weaken her powers? Is she emotionally attached to any object? What ARE her weaknesses? Discover them.

Magus 2015/03/30(Mon)13:25 No. 631784 ID: 9f5a86
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> Getting Yahl out should be a last resort. They'll focus too hard on him once he escapes and try to kill him and that will all be effort for nothing if they succeed quickly enough.

"They would focus too much on Yahl if we were to release him. They could kill him and our efforts would go to waste," I speak up. Everyone nods, seeming like they mostly agree with me.

> Yuseta

"Has anybody seen Yuseta recently?" I ask. Juka, the feline with the stick, decides to speak.

"I saw her leave a few hours ago. She is about to set her plans in motion in the Upper City."

"Then this won't be as difficult as it could be, although still...very much difficult, make no mistake." When Caelus came into my tent looking for clothes, I knew I should have talked to him some more, give him more information, but at the time I did not know who was watching and whether or not the Hyuro was present. It was very risky, but it seems he has at least spoken to his father. At least we know for the most part that Yuseta is not present, so we won't have to worry about her for now. "She would have given authority to the Planeseer."

"Magus," Juka starts with a little hesitation, "if we won't get Yahl, then I really think we should go with Seeko's idea. Just think, if Caelus had firearms, that would be great to be able to get our hands on!"

The canine next to Juka, Kruun, scoffs and says, "You don't think they were smart enough to unload them? They would have the sense to use the guns too, you know."

"There are few here who have ever even seen a gun," Juka explains. "I think it's worth a shot."

"Yuseta might not be phased by firearms, but everyone else..." I think aloud. Should we still find Caelus' things to utilize them ourselves?

>>631784
How many arms and guns could a single captured man have?
If you want to arm yourselves, you find the STOCKPILE of where all the captured cop's stuff is, not just Caelus's.

A lot of cops were turned and kidnapped right? You find the freaking stockpile. Ammo, everything. If you're going in for treasure, you get the hoard.

Thing is, what are we gonna do WITH the guns? Kill the planeseer? Cause anarchy down here?

Magus 2015/03/31(Tue)13:31 No. 632002 ID: 9f5a86
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> If you want to arm yourselves, you find the STOCKPILE of where all the captured cop's stuff is, not just Caelus's.

We've never seen cops taken down here, but it is entirely possible that Luken have been arranging transfers of such supplies between the Middle City and here. There could definitely be more around.

> Thing is, what are we gonna do WITH the guns? Kill the planeseer? Cause anarchy down here?

Killing the Planeseer would be high priority. He is not nearly as powerful as Yuseta, but is still someone to be worried about. If we can take him down, we can probably instill fear in the rest of the group, especially with a weapon as fearsome as a gun.

"Let's prepare ourselves. Juka, take us to the last place you have seen this storage." With that, we head out. It is difficult not to look inconspicuous now. There are undoubtedly specific gatherings scattered across the place now that the ritual is being initiated. We would stick out easily. Keeping this in mind, we take cover and move very carefully, but as swiftly as possible.

Juka stops us at a clearing and we take cover behind a bed of metal sheets risen from the ground. I silently command my group to line up behind me.

We are quite bare at the moment, only wielding our blades and greatly lacking miscellaneous supplies. I take a peek out the side of our cover and scan the area ahead. A network of raised wooden bridges are laid out before me, and I can only see three Luken patrolling the area. There is no doubt something important in this spot. My eyes are on the shack in the middle of the scene. The Luken on the bridge is patrolling back and forth, while another is behind the entire shack, looking out ahead of him, nearly still. It was almost as if he was in a daze. He appears to have a firearm, which confirms my suspicions. Could there be more of those around? There is one more Luken to the left of the shack. He seems to turn around whenever the Luken on the bridge walks past him to the left side.

I paint an image of the scene in my head and wonder how we should proceed.

***

Feel free to take the map and edit it if you want to be specific in actions to take.

>>632002
How good are you at stealth? The one with the gun is the most vulnerable when the patrolling Lukan is making his move away from him. You should be able to move without making to much noise and slice his throat.

You have more than three men. We need four active. Three of you should be close together until you're almost to the armed Luken. Have one stay behind and pay attention to your actions, once the first kill is made, this forth person needs to throw a rock father along the path of the patrol once he turns around, but make sure the rock is thrown to an area outside his patrol route. That will leave the Luken behind the shack vulnerable and you can then make the second kill, we need to already have someone else be making the motions towards kill number two right after the first kill, but much more slowly.

Third guy should be shadowing the patroler underneath the bridge, soon after the second kill is made, then stab his foot through the cracks, make him fall, and gouge his throat.

Regardless of what happens, if anyone's been spotted, ALL ENGAGE. But get that damned gunner first before he can fire a single shot off. At least make it to that step before shit gets real messy.

And, before we actually go through with that plan, we need to know if any of these Luken may transform upon death.

1/4 Magus 2015/04/02(Thu)13:46 No. 632635 ID: 9f5a86
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> How good are you at stealth? The one with the gun is the most vulnerable when the patrolling Lukan is making his move away from him. You should be able to move without making to much noise and slice his throat.

These creaky joints aren't quite as flexible as they used to be, but I should be able to make the trip.

> And, before we actually go through with that plan, we need to know if any of these Luken may transform upon death.

That is hard to say. Not many received the concoction down here. They focused those efforts more towards victims in the Middle City, the last I heard. I will guess higher ranks might have received it already though.

I indulge my allies on the plan and we prepare to make our move. I tell Seeko, Ulrich, and Muuns to stay behind while we go forward. Seeko will toss the rock and the other two will take out the third one, providing backup to each other in case things get messy. Once the Luken on the bridge walks by the house and has his back towards us, Juka, Kruun, and I shuffle through the mud as quietly but as quickly as we are able. It seems we are quiet enough as we approach the Luken with the firearm without alerting him or even causing his ear to flick. I waste no time cutting his throat. I take his firearm while he falls.

2/4 Magus 2015/04/02(Thu)13:46 No. 632636 ID: 9f5a86
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While I do this dirty work, Kruun creeps his way toward the second Luken to our left slowly and Seeko tosses the rock, causing the Luken to turn away. Closer inspection reveals this one has a pistol in his grip. I grit my teeth as Kruun inches closer. I keep the firearm close to my throbbing chest, hoping I won't have to use it. Success! Kruun makes quick work of the Luken, but then a voice rings out from the distance, causing my body to grow cold.

3/4 Magus 2015/04/02(Thu)13:47 No. 632637 ID: 9f5a86
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We run to Kruun to give backup as the third Luken jumps down from the bridge. Thankfully, Ulrich's reflexes prove useful in this instance, and the Luken is taken out, having little chance against our organization. With careful planning, we just made it through this encounter with no lives lost, which will surely be great for us when the big encounter inevitably takes place. The shack consists of a couple smaller compartments on either side of it as well as, of course, the main building in the middle.

4/4 Magus 2015/04/02(Thu)13:47 No. 632638 ID: 9f5a86
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We waste no time and start scavenging. The container is inside the shack, but its contents have been removed and scattered all across the interior. We have two firearms now. They must've been the set of weapons Caelus carried. We find some more useful things and take them all. I can hear distant voices. Angry voices. It may be backup. Damn! Should we stay and fight or try to make a run for it?

>>632638
I'm suggesting run for it, but that's because I know so little about who's coming and what they have on them. If they have guns, yeah, bolt while somebody provides covering fire. Just one. Whoever thinks they have the best shooting capabilities should handle the guns.

I can't really read our ammo readout that well with the fractional display. Do we have a quarter magazine of standard pistol ammo, for example? What about the weapons you looted from your kills?

You might be able to stand your ground against enemies with only melee weapons, but the more bodies you drop the more likely one of them will transform upon death. I don't see a tactical purpose to killing all approaching Lukens if we have what we came for.

>>632642
Sorry for the confusion. The number on the left is a mag in reserve while the one on the right is the max one can carry. I guess that doesn't make sense in this instance, but just assume there's one mag for each gun right now.

Run, try to disappear into the shadows. If they've got ranged weapons, you're going to have to do some sort of fighting retreat to keep the enemy shooter's head down. You guys seem like capable fighters and runners, though, so if they have no ranged weapons, run and try to disappear.

Magus 2015/04/03(Fri)13:58 No. 632792 ID: 9f5a86
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> I'm suggesting run for it, but that's because I know so little about who's coming and what they have on them. If they have guns, yeah, bolt while somebody provides covering fire. Just one. Whoever thinks they have the best shooting capabilities should handle the guns.

> Run, try to disappear into the shadows. If they've got ranged weapons, you're going to have to do some sort of fighting retreat to keep the enemy shooter's head down.

"Everyone! Gather around!" I shout. My allies assemble. "We must retreat quickly. We cannot go into a full scale battle. We have what we need, now let us head to the Advocate." As I turn around, somebody grabs my arm. It's Juka.

"We can't just let them tail us to the ritual grounds, Magus. We need people to stay back. Perhaps Kruun and I will continue to fight here," he says hastily. Kruun does have the pistol, but Juka only has his longsword. What if even more come? Kruun has two magazines, but how long will that last him?

I don't see why you can't slip into the shadows, lose your tails, then regroup and head to your actual destination. It shouldn't be difficult.

Everyone should split up, I agree.
Now the degree we split up will be weird. Maybe a group of two each. They can't follow you all. Whatever group gets followed, do not go to the ritual grounds until you lose your tail. I believe you all can do it. We all have the ability to blend in and it will get easier in smaller groups.

1/3 Magus 2015/04/06(Mon)13:53 No. 633165 ID: 9f5a86
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> I don't see why you can't slip into the shadows, lose your tails, then regroup and head to your actual destination. It shouldn't be difficult.

> Everyone should split up, I agree. Now the degree we split up will be weird. Maybe a group of two each. They can't follow you all. Whatever group gets followed, do not go to the ritual grounds until you lose your tail. I believe you all can do it. We all have the ability to blend in and it will get easier in smaller groups.

"That's a good idea, Juka. Take Seeko with you and I will take the rest with me. When you lose them, meet us at the grounds. Good luck." We try not to keep this conversation going on any longer. I take Ulrich, Muuns, and Lynus with me as the others bolt in the opposite direction. We come across another network of metal sheet houses, a great place to confuse our pursuers and get them off our tails.

2/3 Magus 2015/04/06(Mon)13:54 No. 633166 ID: 9f5a86
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We go into the depths of the maze and slip under the wooden bridges, concealing ourselves in darkness. We keep ourselves as still as possible as the wood creaks above us under the weight of the Luken attackers. They stick around the area for a bit, questioning each other angrily on our whereabouts. Eventually they leave and we continue to silently sneak away and out of the network of houses.

3/3 Magus 2015/04/06(Mon)13:54 No. 633167 ID: 9f5a86
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Out onto the field again, we set our sight towards the direction where the Advocate lies, using the misty light above and the stray monuments across the landscape as guides. We make it to the ritual grounds. The Advocate is a mysterious, looming mass, a source of incredible mystic powers. Few Luken know of its properties, specifically those under the Hyuro bloodline. It is encased in very durable steel, remnants of a failed Anthro Militia battle drone prototype. How the scraps ended up here is a mystery to me. It is surely a valuable material that could have been used again. The imprinted word "ADVOCATE" is how the mass got its name in the first place down here. It's funny now that I think about it.

Looking more closely, I notice Caelus is already at the top of the shell, most likely already under the trance. Damn! I can see the Planeseer as well, standing right in front of the Advocate at the lower level.

Should we wait for the others or try looking for them? Or perhaps we can confront the group without them? Although Caelus is soon to enter, they look like they are making further preparations. Most of the crowd below also look like they are fixated on the sight before them.

>>633167
Well that just straight up sounds like you Luken have taken some old Anthro technology and just started worshiping it for some reason. The Advocate sounds like some awful experiment the Anthro's would make. It can't be mystical in nature. I would love to figure out HOW these rituals were figured out if they aren't just magician tricks to distract from the real cause and effect.

If they're making preparations, you have time to make preparations. I need to see who's armed, who's keeping lookout. I need to to know the crowd. There may be other dissenters, other skeptics.
Have you ever seen the planeseer get injured before? At least THIS planeseer. I want to know if you were to shoot this motherfucker right now, could he stop the bullet...

I'm almost tempted for you to try and kill Caelus. Or shoot him and get him to fly right off the platform. He's way more vulnerable than the Planeseer with whatever crazy powers he might have. If we HAD explosives, we could take out that whole platform they're on.

We do have that flashbang.
Okay, I want you to look at the grounds and find out where to optimally throw that flash bang for maximum effect. Then we're going to shoot the planeseer. Don't activate the plan JUST yet, it's a prototype plan. I need someone so start practicing aiming down the sights of that rifle without shooting the damn thing. Give it to the guy with the steadiest hands. We'll only have three shots tops before that planeseer might be able to pull something defensive.

Magus 2015/04/07(Tue)13:44 No. 633266 ID: 9f5a86
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> Well that just straight up sounds like you Luken have taken some old Anthro technology and just started worshiping it for some reason. The Advocate sounds like some awful experiment the Anthro's would make. It can't be mystical in nature. I would love to figure out HOW these rituals were figured out if they aren't just magician tricks to distract from the real cause and effect.

There is nothing technological here. It's just the skin of whatever sort of machine they were building up there, but the material is very tough. Before they built this shell, the Advocate was shrouded in huge layers of cloth. The whole area was and is still guarded diligently so that most of us don't lay eyes on whatever is beneath it. It drives the imagination wild, certainly, and it helped keep others away out of fear of the unknown alone. Anyone was able to feel the sheer power emanating from the thing as well.

> Have you ever seen the planeseer get injured before?

Not this one, no. The one I saw when I was a lot younger, Jai, suffered a lot from his conversion and training. He was clearly unfit for the entire process, but he still made it in the end, surprisingly. I still can't believe he went through all that work just to leave with Caelus. Can a Planeseer perhaps stop bullets? I doubt it. These "firearms" or "guns" are very fearsome weapons.

> I'm almost tempted for you to try and kill Caelus. Or shoot him and get him to fly right off the platform.

If possible, I'd like for this not to ever happen. I promised Yahl I would do everything in my power to keep him safe. I will die trying to save him if I must, however, letting me handle this gun right now may not be the best option. I need someone with steadier hands. I bring my allies together and ask, "Who would be able to better handle this weapon for me? We must take down the Planeseer, but we cannot afford to waste any shots." Almost immediately Ulrich buries his blade into the dirt and reaches out. I slowly give it to him, nodding to show my trust and confidence in him. Ulrich looks down the aiming glass set on the top of the firearm, getting a feel for the weapon. I can tell by his intense focus that he may very well be the right choice for this one. I fumble around for the cylindrical object, labeled as a "flashbang." I do know it serves the purpose of stunning a person, but I'm not entirely sure how. Guessing by the name, it would produce a flash and probably a loud noise as well.

Ulrich tries to be discreet as he pokes his head over the metal sheet, lifting the gun over it after. My heart starts to pound. This is it. From this point on, it could be nothing but horrible bloodshed. I hear Ulrich grunt in surprise as he looks to the right. I follow suit and get close to him.

"What is it?" I ask impatiently, but seconds after I see what he sees. Oh no. I did not expect this at all. How could they have been captured? One of the captors has Kruun's pistol as well. This could be bad...

>>633266
Sad, but you were all willing to die when you attacked earlier. Maybe it won't have to be this way soon. The current Planeseer is still the primary target.

If he cannot stop bullets, we can save the flash bang for killing your friend's captors.

Okay, we need to pull this all off at once. Have Ulrich shoot the planeseer just as you throw the flashbang towards your friends and their captors, then BOLT and kill those mothers with your pistol. Do not look directly in the flashbang, and cover your ears. Your captured friends are going to have a HUGE headache, but you're going to have to pick them up and get them to follow you as soon as possible.

Most importantly, Ulrich HAS to shoot before the flashbang goes off, the sound will fuck up his aim even if he isn't looking towards the flash. Tell him to shoot at least twice.

If the planeseer falls, if Ulrich can make it, I need for him to bolt for the planeseer's body with his sword. Hopefully it will fall off the platform and onto your level. You NEED to hack his head off because he's most certainly taken the concoction that will transform him. I don't know for sure that will STOP the transformation, but the creature it spawns will at least be missing a brain, eyeballs, and ears.

By the way, to use the flashbang, pull the ring off and then throw it. It will explode with, well, a flash and a bang.

>>633269
The pistol that appeared in your inventory was there because Kruun was still with the team. He's the one who had the pistol but it is now being held by his captor.

>>633291
Nobody picked up the pistol from this guy?
>>632636
I thought we had a bolt action rifle or what ever the first gunner had and a pistol from that guy in addition to Aiden's pistol and rifle.

Well, I mean, I think we can free our friends with melee weapons. I would have liked having those other weapons. Our main character here even said they had the firearm from the first gunner held tightly to his chest when he got nerves going on.

Well, I think my plan's still good without those weapons and just our melee weapons as long as we have that flashbang.

>>633296
Oh my god I'm sorry for my confusion, those two guards already HAD Aiden's weapons on them.
Well, I guess we do melee.

1/3 Magus 2015/04/09(Thu)16:18 No. 633635 ID: 9f5a86
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> Okay, we need to pull this all off at once. Have Ulrich shoot the planeseer just as you throw the flashbang towards your friends and their captors, then BOLT and kill those mothers with your pistol. Do not look directly in the flashbang, and cover your ears. Your captured friends are going to have a HUGE headache, but you're going to have to pick them up and get them to follow you as soon as possible.

"We must focus on the Planeseer. Ulrich, shoot him now!" I order, but Ulrich is hesitant. I understand how he feels. Kruun has been friends with him since childhood. Eventually, though, he turns back towards the Planeseer and takes aim. He fires in a burst.

2/3 Magus 2015/04/09(Thu)16:20 No. 633637 ID: 9f5a86
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As he fires, I pull the pin and throw my flashbang in between the crowd and the incoming captors. It lets off a brilliant flash of light and a startlingly loud sound that seemed like it could be loud enough to make someone deaf or at least temporarily so. The thing successfully stuns everyone around it, but I hear a gunshot immediately after, and off the corner of my eye, I see Kruun fall lifelessly.

3/3 Magus 2015/04/09(Thu)16:20 No. 633639 ID: 9f5a86
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Ulrich shouts out his friend's name in despair and vaults over our cover, followed by the rest of my allies. The fray begins now. I stay behind and make my way to the fight, but notice the Planeseer is still alive and trying to recover, leaning against the Advocate's shell and looking like he is in serious pain. Should I join my friends in the battle or try to see if I can finish the Planeseer off?

Planeseer.
Those fuckers are stunned man, in pain, and so are you friends, just tell your comrades to kill the man with the gun first and shoot the two others.

Magus 2015/04/10(Fri)16:16 No. 633774 ID: 9f5a86
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> Planeseer. Those fuckers are stunned man, in pain, and so are you friends, just tell your comrades to kill the man with the gun first and shoot the two others.

I emerge from cover and shout to my allies, "The gun! Get the gun!" I turn my focus towards the Planeseer and start to approach him, hoping that, in the midst of the chaos, I will blend in with everyone else in the crowd. I even try to look like I'm in pain as I stumble around and pretend to rub my eyes. For most of the way it seems to work, but then someone charges at me from behind and knocks me to the ground.

He looms over me and picks up a piece of scrap metal to the side. Telling from the tears streaming down his cheeks, it appears he was badly affected by the flashbang. He lifts up the scrap metal, ready to impale me.

Trip him.
Try to avoid that metal object if you can.
And grab his arm as soon as possible and get on top of him. Don't let him fall on you. To your side so you can get on top and reverse the situation.
Oh, and punch him in the throat with your free hand when you have a shot.

1/3 Magus 2015/04/14(Tue)15:55 No. 634441 ID: 9f5a86
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> Trip him.

He's already hunched over me. It will be difficult to pull that off. I can tell from here his aim is going to be off. I swerve my head to the side as he digs the piece of metal into the ground.

> punch him in the throat with your free hand when you have a shot.

I throw a fist at his throat hard, immobilizing him for a few precious seconds for me to grab the fur on the back of his neck.

2/3 Magus 2015/04/14(Tue)15:55 No. 634442 ID: 9f5a86
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I forcefully shove his head to the ground, his neck going through the piece of metal jutting from the dirt. The Luken gasps and gurgles for a few seconds, and then he is still.

3/3 Magus 2015/04/14(Tue)15:56 No. 634443 ID: 9f5a86
File 142905216811.png - (163.47KB , 800x600 , 04-020.png )

I take the bloody piece of metal and continue to approach the Planeseer. He sees me coming and gazes at me with hateful eyes. He looks up at Caelus and the Luken next to him. The Planeseer shouts up to him, his speech initially hard to understand thanks to the blood clogging his nose and mouth. "Push him in, now!"

The feline next to Caelus looks shocked and is hesitant. "B-but, Planeseer...the preparations! They aren't - "

"Do it now!" the Planeseer commands again. The feline is still reluctant. I climb up onto the wooden platform and find myself only steps away from him now, the piece of metal grasped firmly in my hand. It may not be wise to face him upfront like this, but he still appears to be winded by the gunshot. I think about the situation a little more.

>>634443
Don't even bother killing him, just jam that thing into him and move on. All that matters right now is that you save Caelus.

>>634443
Yell that it will do nothing.
At this point it's just a petty waste of life to toss him in.

Uuhhhhh, actually, you know what, fuck it, kill the planeseer.
I didn't even KNOW there was another guy up there, I thought it was just the Planeseer and Caelus. Would have said to shoot the other guy too.

>>634548
addendum, just slice the planeseer's throat.

Saving Caelus is top priority. If you can kill the planeseer, do it. Definitely charge him, get him to back off, stab him once or twice.

1/2 Magus 2015/04/16(Thu)17:41 No. 634860 ID: 9f5a86
File 142923127738.png - (252.11KB , 800x600 , 04-021.png )

> Uuhhhhh, actually, you know what, fuck it, kill the planeseer.

> Saving Caelus is top priority. If you can kill the planeseer, do it. Definitely charge him, get him to back off, stab him once or twice.

I charge at the Planeseer, getting ready for the attack. I thrust my weapon at him, but suddenly my arm is forced to the side, as if I had hit a rounded, slippery surface. The piece of metal is quickly wrested from my hand and cuts it open, a horrible surge of pain coursing down my arm.

The Planeseer snarls and pounces at me. He grasps my head and I can start to feel an overwhelming pressure inside of my skull, followed by a growing heat. My muscles start to become weak, and I can feel my legs beginning to give in. My vision is becoming blurry.

2/2 Magus 2015/04/16(Thu)17:43 No. 634861 ID: 9f5a86
File 142923140515.png - (170.91KB , 800x600 , 04-022.png )

Suddenly the pain gets less intense and I am let go. I fall to the floor in a heap, struggling to get my sense back together. Something has caught the Planeseer's attention.

"That aura," I hear him slur as he slowly turns around. I look to the distance as well and I think I can make out what's going on. Even my hearing was affected by the Planeseer's power, but I can still hear the muffled gunshots in the distance. There's another Luken, slightly obscured by the crowd. Luken all around him or her are falling, blood spraying wildly in different directions. Flashes of bright lights come from the approaching one. I blink several times and shake my head, trying to get a clearer look. He has blood speckled all over him and is massacring every single Luken near him. The crowd begins to disperse as everyone scatters and runs away from the rifle-wielding Luken.

I can feel what the Planeseer is feeling as well; there is a heavy and powerful aura emanating from the approaching Luken. I can make out a ruffled, thin bed of hair on his scalp. No...this is someone who turned. His eyes are wide and shining, and I can see he has his sights set for either one of us.

Should I hide? Keep trying to save Caelus? Take out the Planeseer while he is distracted?

He has a rifle, I would think that's Ulrich, but I don't think grief would make him that mad to kill all these noncombatants.

He's slightly on your side, I think.

Stab planeseer in the balls.

Magus, also you should probably make sure you're you and NOT seeing through someone else's eyes. I don't know if you have powers to the extent of others, and this looks like your probable point of view, still, it would be better to know you're actually hurting the planeseer and NOT yourself.

1/5 Magus 2015/04/20(Mon)19:24 No. 635555 ID: 9f5a86
File 142958305267.png - (166.80KB , 800x600 , 04-023.png )

> Magus, also you should probably make sure you're you and NOT seeing through someone else's eyes. I don't know if you have powers to the extent of others, and this looks like your probable point of view, still, it would be better to know you're actually hurting the planeseer and NOT yourself.

W-What? What am I thinking?

> He has a rifle, I would think that's Ulrich, but I don't think grief would make him that mad to kill all these noncombatants.

No. It isn't Ulrich. With my vision still clearing up, I can now tell he's a feline. This isn't someone I know.

> Stab planeseer in the balls.

I've lost my weapon and I don't see anything nearby. With the little energy I have, I launch myself at the Planeseer and sink my teeth into his neck.

3/5 Caelus 2015/04/20(Mon)19:24 No. 635558 ID: 9f5a86
File 142958308276.png - (130.54KB , 800x600 , 04-025.png )

I'm very light-headed. What I saw back there is now a swirling image in my head, but what I heard is still clear to me. I'm starting to realize what is happening. All those hundreds of voices... It's the Advocate. It needs energy, but it also needs the essence I and others hold in order to acquire a higher level of power. I now realize what that aura was that I sensed back at the warehouse. I'm no longer special. The feranthros just couldn't find anyone else with the restrictions the Anthros placed on them. It doesn't have to be just me any longer.

5/5 Caelus 2015/04/20(Mon)19:25 No. 635560 ID: 9f5a86
File 142958310416.png - (187.45KB , 800x600 , 04-027.png )

Weathers. Somehow he managed to sense me all the way down here. Wait, there is something different about his aura. This isn't the sort of power I've felt from the Advocate. There's someone else in you, isn't there, kid? It's attracted to the waves this monstrosity is giving off.

He could've shot me down right then and there, but all of a sudden, his attention is caught by something else. He drops his gun and continues to ascend, looking up at me with his insane eyes. That's it! He yearns to merge with it, and he will stop at nothing to get to his goal. I wasn't the one he was really after.

Now that he's found what he was looking for, there isn't much I can do to stop him. Or is there? Continue the ritual. Become the sacrifice. If I offer myself up, the Advocate may stop giving off such waves. The kid could be freed from the power drawing him in. My body will crumble and dissolve, but my consciousness will live on. That's what I got from the voices calling out to me. Until now, every sacrifice has been a feranthro, brainwashed into believing this was their true destiny. While inside, I could still be able to communicate outwards...and perhaps more, but what would Weathers do? I have to make a decision quickly.

Foot, apply directly to the forehead.
Then time to be big hero man and jump in.

The Advocate's power is too dangerous to leave alone. Jump the fuck in and attempt to seize control of it.

>>635560
Oh fuck it. Jump. They probably didn't want you to fall in without being in a trance so you couldn't figure yourself out from the others. And I don't know what life you might lead from here on out after this, so maybe becoming a weird god-like thing will be better.

So they have a hive mind psychic monstrosity in there eh?

Where is a pile of high explosives when you need them.

Well as much as the throw yourself in there idea sucks you do not have a ton of options right now. The problem with "sacrificing" yourself is you might not be able to stop the thing that quickly and Weather could just jump in after you.

But if you are the first consciousness that goes in more awake than asleep you might just be able to control it. That being said what are you going to do with it if you can take over?

Well its either jump in or try to destroy it and I don't think you can get the tools to take it out before someone stops you.

So I guess go for it if you really think you can keep yourself together in there. Make sure you have something to focus on as you go in though. Maybe that medical brace on your chin. Its going to get really confusing quickly and you need to hold onto your sense of self above all else.

>>635560
good point on trying to stay who you are.

Aiden, think about Mel when you jump
Just keep thinking about Mel. He's probably the person you care about most in life, and the only person that can anchor your identity.
Plus, you know, maybe your standard issue weapon. You never did name her though.

1/4 Caelus 2015/04/23(Thu)17:58 No. 636093 ID: 9f5a86
File 142983710987.png - (141.57KB , 800x600 , 04-028.png )

> Foot, apply directly to the forehead.

As Weathers climbs further up, I bring my foot back and then launch it right at his forehead, sending him sprawling off

the shell. He lands hard on the wooden platform below, slowly writhing in pain.

2/4 Caelus 2015/04/23(Thu)17:59 No. 636094 ID: 9f5a86
File 142983714344.png - (114.29KB , 800x600 , 04-029.png )

> Then time to be big hero man and jump in.

> The Advocate's power is too dangerous to leave alone. Jump the fuck in and attempt to seize control of it.

> So I guess go for it if you really think you can keep yourself together in there. Make sure you have something to focus on as you go in though. Maybe that medical brace on your chin. Its going to get really confusing quickly and you need to hold onto your sense of self above all else.

> Oh fuck it. Jump. They probably didn't want you to fall in without being in a trance so you couldn't figure yourself out from the others.

I make my way backwards until I am standing over the edge of the shell opening. I try not to look back and into the disturbing, rippling maw below and prepare to take the free fall into oblivion. I take in a few big breaths of air, seeing as how this is most likely the last time I will enjoy anything from this body. It is time to complete this. That trance I was in was probably a way to keep me "sedated" in a sense - to stop me from clinging on to my consciousness while in there. Now that I will hopefully remain aware, my imagination goes crazy with thoughts of the possibilities of being within close reach of such intense psychic power.

I lean back and hold my breath.

3/4 Caelus 2015/04/23(Thu)17:59 No. 636095 ID: 9f5a86
File 142983715830.png - (96.21KB , 800x600 , 04-030.png )

I suddenly feel like I'm floating. The air is tighter, and then I get the sense that I am submerged in some sort of liquid. I keep my eyes shut, not wanting to see what is to become of my body. What an absolutely surreal scenario. Did I ever imagine it would come to this? Was this all really necessary? I cannot help but feel a strong pang of sadness. All the things I've held on to, my memories and beliefs...were they going to fade away too? I try to focus on them as much as I can. I focus on Mel and the good times we've had. I try to think positive while I feel a very strange sensation across my entire body. There is no pain. I become morbidly curious, but keep my eyes closed.

It is getting harder and harder to hold on to my senses. My mind is swirling, and although there is no pain, I can start to feel parts of me...spreading out. It's the weirdest feeling I think I have ever perceived in my entire life. I start to imagine horrible things - my fur detaching from my flesh, and then my flesh from bone. My self is crumbling away, no doubt about it. My own shell is being peeled so that it can reach my essence. If my flesh is to be completely dissolved, what form would I take up?

4/4 Caelus 2015/04/23(Thu)17:59 No. 636096 ID: 9f5a86
File 142983717116.png - (88.24KB , 800x600 , 04-031.png )

The strange pulling sensation across my entire body is suddenly gone. Despite that, I am still able to think. I can still beckon memories I thought would be lost. I could almost shout out in relief, but there is nothing to shout out with. My vision involuntarily begins to restore itself, and I find myself floating. Tiny white dots drift all around me in a dark void. It is a frightening thing being in here. How am I able to still feel fear? Is my body...

Yes, it's gone for sure. I'm surprised that I have retained some sort of a form. I was never a spiritual person, but I imagined I'd just be invisible...like a ghost maybe. I cannot really tell what I am now. I do not have a head and neck to turn, and yet I do. I am now comprised of an amorphous vapor, glowing faintly in the blackness around me. I turn my gaseous form around and try to find anything else in this void, but I cannot. I get the feeling that I am being watched down here. I must definitely be one with the Advocate now, which means there could be hundreds of others like me. Were they resting right now? Were they embracing their new forms and indulging in ignorance?

I bring up my hands and...wait, hands? As I think of my old body, I start to feel those parts on me. The glowing mist all around me sprouts two long tendrils. My bottom extends downwards, growing fatter, and then two more tendrils sprout from below. While all this is happening, I am remembering the feeling of having the feranthro body. The vapor is beginning to take shape. It's not completely accurate, but I can identify everything...I can FEEL everything. This is amazing. This is my essence. I can change my form at will and still be capable of remembering who I am and my memories.

> But if you are the first consciousness that goes in more awake than asleep you might just be able to control it. That being said what are you going to do with it if you can take over?

> attempt to seize control of it.

My thoughts go back to this. So I can change my form, there's that. How would I even go about doing anything to this thing I'm now a part of? I suppose it would be a good time as any to start experimenting, but what should I try to do with this "essence"?

Spend some time getting used to your new form. Need to flex your new muscles as it were. To take control of this thing you might need to slap it around a bit so best to figure out now what you can do. Just remember that you are creating a form that's familiar to you. But you do not actually have arms and legs here.

Once you get your bearings go looking for the other minds in here. You might be the only one truly awake so they might not look like you.

Try throwing a few punches then some stretches. Then jack off. Then try using your powers, see if you can connect with anyone inside and out the shell.

>>636096
Think of some music.
Maybe we'll hear it?

1/2 Caelus 2015/04/25(Sat)04:55 No. 636306 ID: 9f5a86
File 142996290838.png - (65.88KB , 800x600 , 04-032.png )

> Think of some music.

I try to think of some music, but it only seems to play in my head.

> Spend some time getting used to your new form. Need to flex your new muscles as it were.

I decide to start moving around in this new form to get a feel of how it's like. I float around in the void for a while, propelling myself with nothing but thoughts of moving forward. It seems simple enough, but I can't help but wonder how all this works. I don't have nerves to acquire feeling or muscles to send signals to...and as far as I know it's impossible to create matter.

> Try throwing a few punches then some stretches.

Next, I start to familiarize myself with the motions of a swift jab. I think hard about it - move the shoulder back, clench my fist, feel the tension in my wrists, forearm back. Swing! That was a pretty normal outcome, I'd say, but then I get an idea. While I was thinking of the motions, I was also thinking of the limitations I had in my original body. This time I swing again, trying to abandon all thoughts of these "limits." My arm stretches out a further distance. I swing again...it goes even further!

Suddenly very interested in this new discovery, I think hard about the feeling of stretching all of my limbs, kinda like what I did waking up in the morning. All of my limbs expand to ridiculous lengths. Incredible.

2/2 Caelus 2015/04/25(Sat)04:57 No. 636308 ID: 9f5a86
File 142996302355.png - (79.26KB , 800x600 , 04-033.png )

> Then try using your powers, see if you can connect with anyone inside and out the shell.

I carry on and float around the void some more, seeing if I can find any trace of another soul in here. As I glide by the white dots, I notice something very strange. When I phase in very closely to one of them, I feel a strange warmth that seems to be emanating from it. I look around the void, almost finding it hard to believe the theory already forming in my head. Could all of these dots be the people sacrificed to this thing? Is this the form you take up when you are dormant? Should I try doing something with this thing? Could I possibly awaken it? Or should I leave it alone?

If you wake up this guy, you're going to have a roommate that might be a crazy cultist.
But it's the only lead on how to get back to the real world right now if you just sensed it with your powers.

Did you try the point of view displacement thing? First actually try to use someone else's point of view, like Weathers, he's probably still out there. Or your Dad, maybe. He's farther, but I imagine you just got a huge power boost and you can't get a migraine from it since you have no sinuses.

If you can't focus on a material person anymore, then go ahead, get a new roomie because it's the only thing we can do right now.
Try to speak to it first. I want to know what speaking's like in here.
If you can't get it to wake up, use it? Read it? Absorb it?

Caelus 2015/04/28(Tue)17:17 No. 636831 ID: 9f5a86
File 143026667749.png - (299.70KB , 800x600 , 04-034.png )

> Did you try the point of view displacement thing? First actually try to use someone else's point of view, like Weathers, he's probably still out there. Or your Dad, maybe. He's farther, but I imagine you just got a huge power boost and you can't get a migraine from it since you have no sinuses.

I concentrate my power into jacking somebody's vision and scan the entire area around me. The first person I manage to connect to is pointing a gun at Weathers. I think he might actually be back to normal for real this time. I cannot sense the strange aura coming from him and he no longer has that menacing glint in his eyes. That gun also looks very familiar. When I jack in, I also seem to have done it while a conversation is underway.

" - with Caelus. I see you back in warehouse. Where is he? What you done with him?" The voice and accent is also familiar. Low, gruff, and angry. I'm not sure what potentials I've unlocked with my powers by taking up this form, but maybe I can do something to stop him from doing anything brash. I don't want the kid to die for nothing.

Talk to him with your mind.

Remember how you tried to speak with Massey and Mel?
Do that, but with this guy.
Don't fry his brain!

Caelus 2015/04/29(Wed)17:23 No. 636992 ID: 9f5a86
File 143035343523.png - (269.52KB , 800x600 , 04-035.png )

> Talk to him with your mind.

I'm not sure what to say at first. Seeing as how I don't have a mouth, I simply think of shouting "Stop!" The vision suddenly jumps and the person looks around in confusion. I think that worked!

"Who is? Caelus?" I hear him say in awe. He looks more to the left and I can now see... Dad! He's okay! The elation I feel is powerful, more powerful than normal I think. That actually makes me curious. I can extend this "body" and overdrive emotions? If that is so, I should probably be careful about my feelings and practice some self-control for certain situations.

My Dad is looking around in bewilderment along with the person whose sight I am seeing through. I should probably say something else. My Dad says, "Caelus. Is that really you? Where are you?" I figure he'd be able to guess, but how do I explain this without making him faint?

THERE IS NO CAELUS, ONLY THE ADVOCATE. But also tell him that we still have our personality with us. We had ascended beyond what is norm.

>>636992
Okay, Aiden, maybe act as silly as you can to soften the blow. I'm serious.

I jumped inside of the liquid psychic goo.
Since I was lucid when I went in, I thought, maybe I could get a handle on using it?
I mean, hey, I can see you now through your buddy's eyes and speak loudly, so it was a good idea. And, well, I might be able to turn this thing against Yuseta and her cult.

Everyone that was sacrificed to it must have been put into a trance so they couldn't control it. By the way, not sacrificed here, just... I'm sentient goo now. Might be able to shape it's form later back into my old body, if I don't start waking up the others in here, then it might get confusing. They're just dots for now. At least that's how I perceive them.

We're fine. Just let us figure out how to pilot this thing. Can you give us psychic Luken advice? Might help here with getting back to normal. Probably going to have to tear apart the Adovocate shell stuff off otherwise we'll be stuck in the middle of a giant dome.

Might be able to turn all this metal into a giant robot, now that I think of it.

1/2 Caelus 2015/04/30(Thu)17:47 No. 637142 ID: 9f5a86
File 143044125769.png - (267.60KB , 800x600 , 04-036.png )

> Okay, Aiden, maybe act as silly as you can to soften the blow. I'm serious.

I try not to make things out to be too grim. I'm not sure how well my Dad will take this.

"I've, uh, jumped in. I'm in the Advocate. I'm surrounded by some kind of crazy psychic goo." Okay, maybe that didn't come out as good as I had hoped. I can see a look of terror forming on my Dad's face. "But it's okay! I'm lucid, and I do all sorts of awesome things! I thought...maybe I could turn the Advocate's power from Yuseta. I'm learning more and more about this new form that I have. Hey, I can see you right now too!" Dad looks over at the person I'm sightjacking, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Caelus," I hear him breathe out. "You're...inside? You're not gone?"

"This is trick. Hyuro wants to steer us away," the person whose eyes I'm looking through says bitterly.

"No, Dad. This isn't some trick," I try to assure him the best I can.

"I was...I was told you become completely absorbed," Dad says.

"Well, my body's gone, but I am free to move around. In fact, I haven't felt this good in a while." I keep attempting to be positive about the whole thing, but my Dad still has that mortified look. It distresses me to see him like this. He looks over to the Advocate's shell.

"What are you going to do?" he asks.

"I don't - " Before I can continue, everyone seems to be groaning and grasping their heads in pain. I recoil immediately and get out of there.

2/2 Caelus 2015/04/30(Thu)17:48 No. 637143 ID: 9f5a86
File 143044129555.png - (48.55KB , 800x600 , 04-037.png )

I don't feel any pain myself. Perhaps this is no longer about me being too weak to handle it - it's about me being too powerful. If I do something like that for too long, it will hurt the person I'm using and everyone around them.

A sudden wind-like sound startles me, considering I have heard almost nothing inside of this liquid. I whirl around and see two foggy figures floating around, as if searching for something. How did I not see them before? Or are they other spirits who have just awoken? Either way, I can't tell what the hell their figures are meant to resemble. How do I approach them, if I want to approach them at all?

Sure, yeah, go talk to them.
I mean, where are you going to hide?

Grab one of the dots first, for insurance.

It might be two people who just woke up but I am guessing its someone from outside looking for you.

They did have some powerful psychics around and you just screwed up there plans badly. So if they are from outside they are here to try and stop you.

So go check them out but be ready to attack quickly and lethally if they are threats.

Also if they did just wake up they might not be on your side either. Maybe we can work with the slumbering minds in here but most of them will be very confused possible fanatics.

Long story short be careful and be ready for a fight. If they are not dangerous you can explain things and see what happens.

1/2 Caelus 2015/05/01(Fri)20:05 No. 637353 ID: 9f5a86
File 143053594385.png - (101.77KB , 800x600 , 04-038.png )

I plan to very cautiously approach these two figures...but first...

> Grab one of the dots first, for insurance.

I cup both of my misty hands around a dot floating near me and keep it in my grasp for several seconds. Suddenly, I feel a strange throbbing sensation going up my arms and then into my main body. I sense a swelling in my breast, and then it's gone. I separate my hands and see that the dot has disappeared. What..did I just do? Did I absorb it? I don't really feel any different other than the swelling sensation I just had.

> So go check them out but be ready to attack quickly and lethally if they are threats.

> go talk to them. I mean, where are you going to hide?

I slowly float on over to the two figures and they almost immediately notice my presence. I stop myself as they begin to approach me. I still can't really tell what form they're meant to represent; it is very surreal. They speak, and their voices are like loud whispers. "This is not how it is meant to be." "You cannot have this form."

2/2 Caelus 2015/05/01(Fri)20:05 No. 637354 ID: 9f5a86
File 143053595378.png - (62.33KB , 800x600 , 04-039.png )

A horrible rumbling sound reverberates across the void and then two near-invisible, black tendrils wrap around me. Despite my gaseous form, the tendrils bind me tightly and I cannot escape their grip. I can then feel my power being drained from me slowly. I start to become...more tired.

>>637354
You can change your form. Slip out of the tentacles by elongating, compressing your form or otherwise sneaking out of their grip, then fight back. Turn your arms into blades and see if you can use them to injure the other figures.

If things aren't going well just start grabbing more of the dots. Something should happen, surely? Or you can try focusing on one and trying to get it to wake up.

Stretch!
Stretch like you never stretched before.
You have no form.
You have no limits.
These tendrils take advantage of your perceived limits.
Do not hold back.
If these fools can tendril you, you can tendril them. Probably. But let's focus on abandoning what you know as your form first.

Either that, or see if you can fade into a mist and slip between the tendrils. Then counter-attack these guys, try to disperse their forms.

1/4 Caelus 2015/05/05(Tue)18:15 No. 638351 ID: 9f5a86
File 143087493004.png - (76.39KB , 800x600 , 04-040.png )

> You can change your form. Slip out of the tentacles by elongating, compressing your form or otherwise sneaking out of their grip, then fight back.

I can hardly do anything where the black tendrils are gripping me.

> You have no limits. These tendrils take advantage of your perceived limits.

I start to think very hard and can feel every single part of me begin to vibrate and melt away, but it all seems to be coming back to composure and I cannot let myself loose of this grip, which is only getting tighter. I stretch out my limbs once again, going as far as I possibly can, wherever the boundaries of this void lie. The vastness scares me, and I don't know if I can go all the way. No! Stop thinking that way! In here, things are different. I have to keep going.

Even when I stretch myself farther and farther, the black tendrils do the same and coil around my elongated limbs. I summon the energy to continue to stretch myself until finally I feel something "different" with my hands. The liquid here is thicker and...warmer. All of a sudden, my vision flashes and a blinding light fills my mind's eye. I can barely see an odd figure in front of me for just a few seconds before the whiteness is swallowed by darkness. I feel myself being compressed, and a black cocoon begins to form around my misty body. There is nothing I can do now except relay one last message: the white vision that I have just seen.

2/4 Stan Weathers 2015/05/05(Tue)18:16 No. 638352 ID: 9f5a86
File 143087497810.png - (134.18KB , 800x600 , 04-041.png )

All that pain and suffering I've caused. I almost can't believe the whole thing wasn't some horrible nightmare. All this blood has been spilled by my own hand, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Hazy memories are starting to come back to me, but my mind is constantly set on all of the murders. What came over me? I was being controlled, I had to be. I never wanted any of this.

I get a vision in my mind that isn't entirely clear. It's a blinding light, followed by a very familiar form. I've seen this before. Sergeant... did you..? What can I do now?

3/4 Stan Weathers 2015/05/05(Tue)18:16 No. 638353 ID: 9f5a86
File 143087500075.png - (132.91KB , 800x600 , 04-042.png )

Before I can reflect on this any longer, I notice a scene to my right. It's the old feranthro I shot along with the tattooed one. Another old feranthro is over him, speaking hushed words. I look away quickly and up into the misty sky above. I just don't want to look at any of the carnage I've created, but it's always there, all around me. Sergeant Schar just dropped into that thing, giving his own body so that I could be freed. I feel I can come to this conclusion considering I felt like my normal self again once he entered. But how did this happen? How did the thing lose grip of me?

Whatever took control of me...whatever made me kill all those people...it's going to pay, one way or another.

4/4 Stan Weathers 2015/05/05(Tue)18:17 No. 638354 ID: 9f5a86
File 143087503388.png - (201.27KB , 800x600 , 04-043.png )

Suddenly there is a hard tug on my back and then my arms are pinned behind me.

"Hey!" I shout out as I feel some sort of fabric being wrapped around my wrists. I turn around and it's the weird guy who was just pointing his gun at my face not too long ago. He does not look happy, and while I don't blame him, I wish I could explain myself for this mess.

"You dangerous. Caelus you know? You his friend? Why you did all this?" he bombards me with endless questions and I'm not sure where to start. Maybe he's right, though. Maybe I am too dangerous, but do I want to be defenseless?

>>638351
Aw, fuck. :/

"I was being controlled. I'm free now. Caelus sacrificed himself to free me."

That thing over there was controlling me so that it could eat me. Caelus stopped me and threw himself in instead.

We have to make sure he is ok! I know I have done some horrible things but it was all that damn monster and its attendants controlling me. They keep feeding it mind controlled people so they cant fight back.

Stan Weathers 2015/05/06(Wed)18:22 No. 638747 ID: 9f5a86
File 143096172021.png - (276.71KB , 800x600 , 04-044.png )

> That thing over there was controlling me so that it could eat me.

No, no, it wasn't all from that horrible thing. This is something else completely that has been controlling me...I just know it. I can still feel it...its presence gnawing at the back of my skull, but for some reason it has let me go in favor of something else. Still, I attempt to reason with the guy.

"I know I've done terrible things to so many people, but please, you have to hear me out. I didn't want any of this. Something was controlling me...something that I can still sense." I hop down onto the ground and look up, trying to lock myself on to wherever the source of the thing was. "It's...like a stream...coming from someplace up there. I need to find it."

The gunman approachs me and then gives me a hard shove, nearly causing me to fall face-first into the ground. I whirl back at him in confusion.

"Then you go! Go find what it is. My brother know you, but you kill many. I stay and help my father." I'm sure they have a lot to help with down here after the carnage, and they could maybe even get another signal from Sergeant Schar. I understand completely that he does not want to come with me, but I feel he is very capable and could be great to have by my side. Should I really head up by myself or should I try to persuade him to join me?

>>638747
Ask them to let you help.
Schar jumped in a freed you, you owe him a great deal for this break of lucidity.
His brother wouldn't have done it if he didn't think it was the best idea he had at the time. Please, let's use the resource that we've bought.
That thing that was controlling me is probably the best lead we have right now to doing anything productive in this situation. What else is there to do while Aiden does... whatever he's doing?

Does he have an idea himself? We're fucking game.
We want redemption. Christ, we're just a kid. We gotta make this up.
We gotta make this up!

1/3 Stan Weathers 2015/05/08(Fri)18:17 No. 639123 ID: 9f5a86
File 143113423047.png - (161.70KB , 800x600 , 04-045.png )

> Ask them to let you help.

I'm not worried about what they want to do down here. My goal is now set to wherever the origin of this thing is, and what I can possibly try to do to stop it altogether. I don't really have any other direction in my life now, so I'd might as well try to fix this the best that I can.

I try to convince him. "I can't just head out there on my own. Please, help me out here. I want to fix all of this, I really do, but I need someone to watch my back." The gunman remains indifferent. "What if this thing is more dangerous than anything we've seen so far? It controlled me and made me kill all these people. It even made me invincible..."

"Yes, I know," the gunman responds, finally. "I do not know what do this, but you chase leaf in the wind. I must stay and - " I see the old feranthro approaching him from behind and then putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Jai, go," he says with a gentle tone. "You do not have to remain here. My fellow Luken need much help at the moment, but I can manage."

"Father?" the gunman says, looking unsure. The old feranthro gazes at me curiously.

"I have always had a hunch there was some other source out there. I have heard many tales amongst my people about this, but you could very well have confirmed these are more than just stories. Do you want to make up for what you have done here?"

I nod and respond eagerly, "Not just here. I've caused a lot of pain elsewhere. I know it wasn't really me...but I want to end this. I want to make them pay for using me like a puppet." The old feranthro nods back slowly and then looks back at the gunman, who is named Jai apparently.

"Accompany him, my son. Make sure he goes through with this. Find out everything you can." Jai is hesitant, but then huffs in acknowledgement, walking towards me.

2/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/08(Fri)18:17 No. 639125 ID: 9f5a86
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My feet are starting to ache horribly. I haven't stopped making my way to the Upper City ever since going past that checkpoint. Along the way, I managed to find a nice bag that can conceal my blade. It would be a lot more inconspicuous than toting it around with my hilt poking out of my collar, that's for sure.

The city is as busy as I remember it back then. It doesn't look like much has changed. I can remember where the police station is from this point and I set my sight to that direction. Upon arriving there, I look around for a cafe. There are not too many of those around this sector, so it should stick out like a sore thumb. Sure enough, I find one nestled between two larger department buildings and I enter it.

3/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/08(Fri)18:17 No. 639126 ID: 9f5a86
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I look around the interior, which is packed. I can see someone who easily stands out from everybody else, a scrawny fox with a silly bandana and comically large glasses. I continue to stare at him until he notices me. We look at each other for several seconds until he sends a nod my way. I nod back and then walk over to his table. I have a seat and we remain quiet for a little longer, looking around the place and probably appearing very suspicious. I sigh deeply and get down to it.

"You're Mel?" I ask. It takes him a few seconds to confirm.

"Yeah."

I stick out an open hand and say, "Inspector Chrisa Massey." I try to introduce myself and sound as genuine as possible. The fox reluctantly shakes my hand.

"I guess this isn't a joke then," he says with what seems like a mix between a sigh and a groan.

"No, it isn't. You are connected to Aiden in some way?"

"We're brothers. We were adopted together. I suppose that's really the only connection we have. Look, can we talk about this Astoga thing?" he nervously adjusts his goofy glasses. "I mean, what the heck were you talking about? They're poisoning the Astoga supply? I mean, do you realize how well-secured the manufacturing facility is?"

"Yes, I am aware of the security. The thing is, there have always been sympathizers in our midst, and now it seems they are formulating intricate schemes to make their plans work out. I would even go as far as to say they even have sympathizers in the Militia." Mel groans again and brings his elbows onto the table, cupping his cheeks with his hands. "You must have received the same visions as I did. Aiden probably developed his powers beyond that of - "

"Powers?! What are you talking about now?" It's clear that Mel does not fully grasp what has been going on, but I suppose I cannot blame him for that. I almost still can't believe all this shit myself, but I took hold of these powers once, so that helped quite a bit.

How should I convince Mel further to trust in me?

Mel, things in the Melhave gotten intense. We've had reports of very weird things happening around feranthros, stuff that a man of science like yourself, and a woman or reason like myself, would call bullshit on unless we saw it with our own eyes. And that bullshit has been following Officer Schar around like flies to actual bullshit.

Has he talked to you through your vending machines or by phone, lately? Told you about any of this before he contacted us through... however he contacted us?

Your brother is officially missing, Mel. He was last reported on the site of an explosion in a warehouse district of the Middle. If that wasn't him sending that message, he is more than likely dead. I need your help. To be honest, I need another brain to actually discuss what must be done and all the police are actually held up by the militia, so I need a third party to collaborate, and you're my best bet to forming a plan to stop the sabotage. If we can arrest the few anthro sympathizer that are at the top of the food chain here, we have some actual means to finding your brother. The Feranthro's have practically nothing to lose in an interrogation, but those white collared spies? They have EVERYTHING.

Not only that, but these Astoga scientists probably have something to help with the transformations happening in the Middle. Odds are that your brother is also a Feranthro now, though he is in control of his actions. If you can help me get the evidence I need to blow this out of the water, to make a case, we have a chance to help your brother out. It's your brother's ONLY chance to getting his old life back, and we can prevent a major disaster in the meantime.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/11(Mon)18:34 No. 639772 ID: 9f5a86
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> Mel, things in the Melhave gotten intense...

"The situation in the Middle City has gotten out of control, and I'm afraid that Sergeant Schar has been caught dead in the middle of it," I start to explain. Already the fox is looking distraught. I'm used to being a downer, but I begin to think that maybe being this honest with him and avoiding all the sugarcoating might impact his mental energy, but perhaps it could also motivate him if I give him a glimmer of hope.

I carry on, "The feranthros have their hands on something big. It has been evident by what we've seen in the past few weeks. The militia may be doing their best to cover up the crazy things going on, but since it's your brother we're talking about, I thought you should know. I also need your help." I pause so that it can sink into the kid's head. He remains silent. "The aforementioned powers are really nothing compared to their heinous transformations."

"Transformations?" He is in awe.

"Among other things almost impossible to believe. Has Sergeant Schar called you lately?"

"The last time I talked to him... It was at one of my Vendors. He requested a receiver that could pick up stray signals. I didn't really understand what exactly he needed it for, but it honestly worried me."

"Well, look, if there's one thing I'm sure about, it's that he is now missing."

"Oh my God," he drawls, looking like he's about to break down.

"There was an explosion in a warehouse district in the Middle. He was investigating this area before the explosion happened. Unfortunately we couldn't grasp much of a trace of him." He's starting to choke up. I should probably move on to something else. "But look, that vision we both saw should confirm the high possibility that he is still alive someplace. He brought us together thinking we could have synergy in this."

"What is 'this'?" he asks incredulously.

"I've made it my mission to stop this sabotage. You have the skills it takes to help me get this done."

"This is insane," Mel says, "I don't know if I should get involved in this."

"If we can stop their plans first, we could possibly capture some key figures, acquire some evidence...anything to make a case and get more people on our side in this."

"What are you planning to do, raid the Astoga Company? I don't know if I want to get involved in that."

"Mel, look at it this way. We would not only be preventing a potentially huge disaster, but we would be helping your brother. I could help him get his life back. You have to do this for Aiden, do you understand me?" I feel I'm being a little curt, but I can't spend too much time trying to ease him into this. It is vital we start this as soon as possible.

Suddenly a loud beep comes from the nearby television. It's an official emergency broadcast from the Premier. We haven't had one of those since the exercise ten years ago.

A male voice rings, "Attention! The Premier has enacted a Class A lockdown in response to a real and nation-wide threat." Everyone is beginning to chatter nervously. I can see militia APCs rolling by outside. "Instead of returning to your homes, please find your way to the Underground by way of the three main tunnel entrances across the city. Militia will be present to aid you in your travels. This is not an exercise. Please ensure full compliance with Militia forces for your personal safety. Thank you!" This is a very sudden event, so much that the following panic is not surprising. People are rising from their seats, starting to scramble for the exit, Militia waiting outside and lining the streets.

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/11(Mon)18:35 No. 639773 ID: 9f5a86
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We wait for the crowd to die down a bit before exiting with the remaining. Mel looks greatly troubled, but I try to keep my cool. We follow the crowd down the street, which is now packed with people. The whole thing is more organized than I thought it would turn out, but the loud cacophony of voices, feet against asphalt, and running Militia machines gives off a very chaotic atmosphere.

"W-Wait!" Mel shouts above the noise, "Are we really doing this? If we go to the Underground, we might not be able to leave. I mean, I could probably mess with some security systems, but..."

What should we do? Should we disperse from the crowd as discreetly as possible or continue to follow them into the Underground?

>>639773
Make sure you have Mel in on this before even making the choice to disperse from the crowd. Without his help, we have no choice but to go into the Underground while he processes this, which will waste precious time, but we still NEED him.

Something bad is going to happen in that Underground though. If we go, we will need him to get us out, or we'll risk death or worse. This has a distinct feeling of leading pets down the aisle of the pound, unknowingly walking happily to their deaths. Or where their nuts are going to get cut off.

So, yeah, really we need to disperse. I can't state that enough.

Odds are there's going to be like a triage tent down there dispersing tainted Astoga, after revealing some sort of thing to initiate a panic FOR Astoga at those triage tents. We may already be too late to stop the sabotage.

Mel, no matter what we choose, we're going to have to find some way to hack into the news and potentially stop broadcasts of anything that might cause a panic. Or broadcast something ourselves WITH the tainted astoga affecting a subject (a criminal in this case, maybe one of the higher ups in the company that will have sabotaged the stuff).

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/14(Thu)03:14 No. 640312 ID: 9f5a86
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> So, yeah, really we need to disperse.

> Make sure you have Mel in on this before even making the choice to disperse from the crowd.

"There. That alleyway to our left," I point him to the direction I'm looking towards with a flick of my muzzle. He sees the alley himself and turns back to me.

"Okay. Okay, we're just gonna walk out then?"

"Nice and discreet," I say as I slowly start to inch over to the alley, continuing to follow the herd at the same time. Both of us reach the sidewalk and then sidestep out of there. The alley is narrow and provides enough shade so that we don't stand out too much, although once we left the crowd, I noticed a few weird looks from some people.

We make our way down the network of alleys and luckily don't come across much resistance at all. The Astoga Company building is not far from here, and we eventually come to a large clearing. I get a close look at the scene ahead and it appears they are mobilizing quite a bit here. The presence of all the cargo trucks plenty more off-screen gives me the impression they are only now starting to load up and prepare for transfer.

"Lot of activity here," I think out loud. "I wonder how much they've shipped to the Underground so far."

"Oh God, they're going to poison everyone."

"Don't think the majority of them really know what's about to happen. We're going to have to do something to stop them," I say.

"Are we actually going to infiltrate that facility?"

"We might have to, but first let me think about what we have to do about that cargo." I gaze around some more and notice there's really no one patrolling the perimeter. Everyone appears to be giving a hand in the works. We could possibly create a distraction and render the cargo trucks unserviceable or just jump right to getting our asses inside that building.

I'm carrying:
- Heated Blade
- Rollbot
- Flashbangs (x2)

Mel doesn't appear to have anything useful on him aside from his brain.

Mel, you're a mechanic or engineer right? You know how to disable these things quickly and effectively with what we got?

Otherwise, we're just going to have to simply slash the tires, but that may create a commotion.

Can Mel do any modifications on the rollbot to help us accomplish this task with minimal risk?

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/14(Thu)17:43 No. 640444 ID: 9f5a86
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> Mel, you're a mechanic or engineer right? You know how to disable these things quickly and effectively with what we got?

"Aren't you a mechanic or engineer?" I ask.

"Well, kind of a mix. I can consider myself an electrician as well, but yeah, mostly an engineer at heart."

"I see. Any ideas to efficiently disable those vehicles? You have any tools?"

"I always bring some tools with me," he says, patting his cargo pockets. "But from here...no, I don't see any way to sabotage those trucks without getting noticed."

> Can Mel do any modifications on the rollbot to help us accomplish this task with minimal risk?

I pull out my Rollbot and Mel gasps.

"That's a Rollbot X72-M! I made the blueprints and first prototype of that! Good to see it's getting some good use. I never heard of it again since I sold the plans and prototype to the Community of Engineers, but that's really neat to see!"

"Can you make any modifications to it to help us in this task?" I ask.

"Hmm, well, from first glance I don't think we really need to. It should provide for us very well if we're careful. Oh...wait." He scratches his chin as he thinks for several seconds. "Do you have any means of video output?" Shit. I knew I forgot something. At least I have a means of controlling the Rollbot.

"No, unfortunately," I answer. Mel responds with a sigh.

"That will make this a lot harder then. You know we can't just risk going around to each vehicle to be able to see the Rollbot do its work. If we can just find a nice hidey-hole and see through the gadget's eye, we could definitely cause some internal problems with the vehicles."

"Follow me," I order. It's simple now. We have to get inside the facility and find a monitor. We circle around the surrounding buildings and alleys until we get to the left side of the Astoga Company facility. We take cover behind some bushes. It looks like there are three soldiers on this side of the structure. The one on the left is pacing back and forth but keeping near an entrance door. The door looks like it has a small terminal next to it, mostly likely used for controlling the locking mechanisms. The other soldier is moving back and forth between a cargo truck, loading a pallet jack with boxes of Astoga. The third soldier is minding his own business in the driver's seat of the truck.

The Rollbot is very mobile and agile and can serve as a good distraction, but how I should go about carrying out those distractions and who to distract might take some thought.

Dirtbag 2015/05/14(Thu)19:15 No. 640474 ID: bb78f2

>>640444
Can't you just find one of Mel's Vender's and use the monitor on that? There's a whole computer in there, with debug features he actually understands. The rollbot probably runs on an OS he understands since he worked on the Rollbot, there's probably SOME compatibility there with the Vendors.

I don't see any particular weaknesses to distraction within this entrance, and I'm not clear on the Rollbot's full functions and offenses. If it can carry a rock or small grenade, generate some sort of noise distraction, or zap a taser... Can it make one of the tires flat? Do you think you can do that without getting the bot noticed? I don't want to lose it outright.

You know, thinking back, we could have used the rollbot on that forcefield without suffering any damage or loss of equipment. Oh well.

Suppose what we roll a flashbang down that alley and then when they are distracted by that position in the rollbot among the crates for the next move. If they see the rollbot come out they will want to check where it came from.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/15(Fri)18:07 No. 640713 ID: 9f5a86
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> Suppose what we roll a flashbang down that alley and then when they are distracted by that position in the rollbot among the crates for the next move. If they see the rollbot come out they will want to check where it came from.

We're a good distance away from the alleys now. I don't want to risk going back and getting spotted.

> Can't you just find one of Mel's Vender's and use the monitor on that? There's a whole computer in there, with debug features he actually understands. The rollbot probably runs on an OS he understands since he worked on the Rollbot, there's probably SOME compatibility there with the Vendors.

"Hm, on second thought, are any of those Vendors of yours around?" I ask Mel. He thinks for a moment and looks around.

"In this area? Um, honestly I don't know. I don't actually choose where to put the things. Logistics handles that for me. The monitors on those would definitely be useful though." Well, that's that. We could even use the terminal next to the door, but I'm actually not keen on sticking around outside to mess with the Rollbot. It'd be more preferable to be huddled up inside the facility so we can better handle sticky situations, what with the smaller space. We eventually have to search for any suspicious figures actively messing with the Astoga as well, and that would most likely be inside the facility.

> I'm not clear on the Rollbot's full functions and offenses

The Rollbot is equipped with sharp claws and smaller, serrated ones to give it the ability to climb. As its name would indicate, it can roll around at high speeds to get where it needs to be fast. Its most useful feature, of course, is its mobility and being able to see through its eyes to scan unreachable areas or analyzing areas to make sure they are safe.

> Can it make one of the tires flat? Do you think you can do that without getting the bot noticed? I don't want to lose it outright.

This was my plan from the start, but like I've said, I don't want to stick around outside to do this, and we need a monitor to wirelessly connect the Rollbot to.

"Get down," I order Mel. I pull up a sleeve to reveal a small panel for controlling the Rollbot. I set it loose and activate the Rolling phase. When the door guard is facing away, I have the Rollbot slide underneath the truck. It's hard to see it from here, but I get a glimpse of its chrome surface. I face it towards a right tire and carefully puncture it. The tire lets out a hiss and then the truck lurches slightly downward, causing the driver to become startled.

"What the hell was that?" I hear him say. He gets out from the truck.

"What's what?" The soldier piling the boxes replies.

"I felt the whole vehicle just...drop all of a sudden."

"It does look a bit lopsided."

The commotion attracts the attention of the door guard and he goes over to investigate. Having the taser right now would have been nice, but now they're all gathered behind the truck, so they won't see us as we make our way inside.

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/15(Fri)18:08 No. 640714 ID: 9f5a86
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Mel and I go over to the terminal as I have the Rollbot make its way back over to me. We inspect the door and there's no handle on it. It appears to be completely controlled by the terminal.

"Of course," I sigh. Mel takes a closer look at the terminal and inspects its bottom. He pulls out a screwdriver from his cargo pocket and gets to work taking off the cover. I look back at the truck and see the soldiers still occupied by the flattened tire. I don't think it's going to hold their attention for much longer. Is there anything more I should do to keep them away from us?

Have the rollbot claw its way into the truck cab and lay on the horn.

1/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/19(Tue)17:29 No. 641571 ID: 9f5a86
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> Have the rollbot claw its way into the truck cab and lay on the horn.

Clawing its way in won't be necessary. Luckily the driver's window is down. I send the Rollbot inside. At first I think a little bit about the consequences of doing this. The chances of one of the soldiers circling around the entire vehicle should be rather slim. They should be close enough to the doors that they would just walk up that way and away from us.

I have it press the horn and it lets off a startling beep.

"Hurry it up with that," I tell Mel. I squat and look under the truck and it appears the soldiers won't be moving to the other side. I command the Rollbot to jump out of there and then come back to me. I think about sending it up to the roof, but of course that can't happen seeing as how we need to link it to a monitor. Thankfully, Mel seems to have done something helpful. He lets out a sigh of relief as the screen indicates the door is unlocked.

2/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/19(Tue)17:29 No. 641572 ID: 9f5a86
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We both enter the facility and close the door behind us.

3/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/19(Tue)17:29 No. 641573 ID: 9f5a86
File 143208179146.png - (109.18KB , 800x600 , 04-056.png )

I take a look into a glass pane on the right of the first door that catches my eye. There are plenty of monitors inside but there are a couple scientists as well. Should we look for a different room or try our hand at convincing these two guys?

Convince these two guys.
With what, I dunno.
Mel, go in there and say your from one of the offices down the hall and your monitor broke. Can we use one of the terminals here for a quick bit, than haul it back to his desk?

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/20(Wed)17:40 No. 641750 ID: 9f5a86
File 143216884861.png - (312.35KB , 800x600 , 04-057.png )

> Convince these two guys.

> Mel, go in there and say your from one of the offices down the hall and your monitor broke. Can we use one of the terminals here for a quick bit, than haul it back to his desk?

I let Mel know what I want him to say when the time is right. We invite ourselves into the room and try to look as casual as possible despite our rather...outlandish looks. The two Anthros whirl at us and look like they've been caught in headlights, getting up out of their seats.

"Excuse me! Are you a part of this organization?" the female asks.

"Yes. We've just come to use one of the terminals in this room," I reply bluntly. As much as I wanted to sound incredibly snarky, now is not really the best time for it. The female just shoots me a slight glare and I gently nudge Mel.

"Right! We're from down the hall and a monitor just stopped working. We won't be long!" he says.

"Not so fast!" the male speaks up. "Do you even realize what condition we're currently in? Almost everyone is being told to go into the Underground. You guys don't even look like you work here. I want to see your IDs."

How should I approach this? I feel I might have to get ugly. Or perhaps they might know something considering they are still here?

>>641750
Be abrasive as possible. Intimidate the shit out of her. No niceties here will get you anywhere. Maybe Mel will hold you back, play good cop errr fellow office worker?

"Fuck you. I don't report to you. We've got a deadline to meet, and fuck the order to go Underground. We're just going to get behind in work over some damn scare someone mailed to the right people. So please, excuse us, and go fuck off back to your job, or to the Underground. We've got jobs to keep. Or do you want me to report YOU for having us fall behind when we all have to come back to our jobs after everyone comes back. I've got weekend plans to maintain, I'll be damned if I'm here on a Saturday."

Intimitation +1

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/22(Fri)17:39 No. 642200 ID: 9f5a86
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> Be abrasive as possible. Intimidate the shit out of her.

I start to lose my patience quickly, but I try to keep my guise.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Listen, I don't report to you, and every minute you keep us idling with your bullshit is more time wasted when we should be meeting deadlines. Henry, get on that terminal and do your thing." Mel looks at me funny, but then understands what I'm doing. Mel goes over to the terminal but the female strafes over to block his path. I snap, pull out my sword and point it at her throat, causing her to freeze and stiffen in absolute fear, the male gasping in shock. I gently tap the blade against her soft neck, ordering her to move aside. She does so. I've probably ruined the guise by now.

I hand Mel the Rollbot and he gets on the terminal, looking back at the scene worriedly. "You're not going to hurt her are you?" he asks with a whole lot of concern.

"If these fine, special selectees of ours behave," I respond, not taking my eyes off the female, who looks like she's on the verge of tears.

"Hang on, it isn't like we want to be here," the cat in the backdrop speaks up. "We got orders from the Premier to remain in our workplaces. If we could go to the Underground we would. Everything just seems really suspicious."

"Okay, this should work," Mel says, fiddling with the insides of the Rollbot. "I can also mess around with one of the modules and allow an electrical surge to course through the thing's claws so it can act like a taser of sorts!" I sigh in relief. That'll be very helpful, perhaps even in this situation.

"Could you please get this weapon away from me?" the female says shakily, trying to sound firm.

"Not yet. And don't you dare fucking call anyone, you hear?" I call out to the male. Perhaps while Mel is working on the Rollbot I can get some information from these two. Should I pry?

>>642200
Besides us, have you seen any suspicious activity lately? The higher ups acting weirder? Cagier?

Say that you're on their side and you are going to bring down the corruption. Everyone agrees that there is corruption.

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/26(Tue)17:44 No. 643384 ID: 9f5a86
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> Besides us, have you seen any suspicious activity lately? The higher ups acting weirder? Cagier?

"Have you seen any suspicious activity around here lately?" I ask.

They keep their mouths shut for a bit, but the female speaks up, "This whole thing is suspicious, like Rick just said."

Rick nods and says, "I'm sure you've seen all the militia drones out there. I know you weren't working here from the start."

"What do you think is really going on?" I ask impatiently.

"Really going on?" he says emphatically. "Well, with everyone being moved to the Underground and all the soldiers' cargo trucks being pulled in, I'd say they've made it a strictly military operation, which is strange. The Logistics Branch are usually in charge of sending Astoga across Primordia."

"Looks like they're just gathering everyone in one place and are giving them the impression they might be in there for a while, which is why this massive Astoga move is happening." I'd might as well reveal it to them, whether they'll believe it or not. "Listen, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm on your side. Sympathizers are in both the police force and militia, and they are trying to poison the Astoga supply."

"What the hell?" the female blurts out. "Where do you get that idea?"

"That's actually not surprising, Flora," Rick says. "I somewhat expected something like that...I just didn't want to say anything that could get me in trouble."

"Do you actually believe that?!" Flora snaps. "That's asinine, at least for the militia. Do you know what kind of tests they put you through before you officially become enlisted?"

"Seems the tests might not be good enough, but yes, I can believe what she says with this strange operation going on. Ma'am, what can we do?" Rick says. I lower my weapon and Flora steps back, rubbing her neck.

"All I need to know is if there has been suspicious activity inside. We are handling the logistics bit already," I flick my muzzle to Mel's direction. "We want to see if the asshole responsible is still lurking about."

"Handling the Astoga supply is a very important job, I'm sure you can guess. They probably put them through a large amount of tests as well. I just don't see someone in that position being a sympathizer," Flora says.

"Maybe it's not a civilian looking over that now," Rick says.

"What?!" Flora shouts.

"Keep it down, woman! Anyway, what I mean is these grunts are everywhere. Logistics itself is very important, of course...so what if they are crawling around in here too?" Rick turns to me. "Ma'am, I'd suggest you check out the production plant where the Astoga is actually made so that you can stop the flow, but as you would imagine, you need a very high security clearance level."

"I'm sure we can manage," I say, gazing at Mel. He's looking at me already and I notice the Rollbot's vision is displayed on the screen. I put my sword back in my bag. "Good work."

"Thanks," he replies timidly. "I guess I'll have to go with you."

"Actually," I start, "you may be better off going yourself. If we can manage our time better, we can stop this sooner. I can handle the Rollbot from here while you put an end to the Astoga's production."

"Umm...are you sure?" he questions. Should we separate to possibly save time, or should we stick together, be safer, and go through the motions step by step, starting with making the cargo trucks unserviceable?

Separate, as you can still be in communication.

>>643384
Make it clear that just because he is currently cooperating doesn't mean he isn't above suspicion. He could be the poisoner for all we know. Or Miss Flora. There could be multiple.
Also tell them you understand that, if they are innocent, from their perspective WE could be the ones trying to poison the supply, though that's impractical since I'm almost certain the poisoned supply is already ON the trucks or is getting loaded as we speak.

It's actually much more crucial to quarantine ALL Astoga heading out. Unfortunantly, we have no actual experts on the subject we can trust. Rick, buddy, thanks for the offer to help man, but I'm scared shitless of you for being so eager to help. Don't split up. And frisk Rick and Flora.

Be polite when you tell him of your suspicions. It's only natural.

>>643440
Oh, you were talking to Mel at the end...
Hmm, I still don't think we should split up to save time. Mel doesn't have combat experience, and he isn't the most stealthiest of guys, disregarding his orphan background that adds +1 to his stealth rolls.

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/05/28(Thu)17:39 No. 643768 ID: 9f5a86
File 143285998699.png - (298.31KB , 800x600 , 04-060.png )

> Separate, as you can still be in communication.

Actually, I don't think we can. The only thing I can do from a distance is jack his vision, and I'm not sure Mel can even do such a thing. Thinking about this causes me to prefer sticking together.

"Well, perhaps you're better off with me. I don't think you have any combat experience."

"I play shooters. Does that count?" he asks jokingly, making a nervous chuckle. I don't reply and turn back to Flora and Rick.

> just because he is currently cooperating doesn't mean he isn't above suspicion.

"As for you two," I turn back to Flora and Rick. "I understand this is a very confusing situation. I'm not sure if either one of you are one of the sympathizers or if there are even multiple ones in this facility to begin with. We're going to work some magic, so I need you to stay within view until we're done. Mel, let me handle the Rollbot. You just keep watch."

"Um, okay," he replies, getting off his chair and giving me the Rollbot. I set it on the ground and sit in front of the monitor, pulling back my left sleeve to access the control panel. What follows is a slow, complex process of tazing soldiers for distraction and the arduous process of flattening the tires of every single cargo truck in the vicinity. Every minute that passes I feel unsure and believe we could be doing more with the time we have, but at least this should stop the transportation of the boxes altogether, buying us more time to find the source of the poisoning. The tazing is absolutely necessary, and I can sense that a higher level of alert is being relayed through dispatch. We have to be really careful not to be seen ourselves by these guys. I wouldn't be surprised this mission they have going on is so vital that they will shoot anyone without hesitation who does not turn out to be a worker here.

Using landmarks, I conclude that all the trucks have been made unserviceable. They are highly unstable without the tires and won't be moving, but just the lack of discreetness that comes from this will definitely raise the alert level even higher, so we must be quick and find the source. I have the Rollbot climb to the roof and sit in standby.

"Okay, it's time to head out," I say.

"Where?" Mel asks.

"Were you not paying attention? We have to find the production plant."

"But where is that?" he brings up a very good question. I turn to Flora and Rick. It might be a stretch, but should we bring them along and force them to vouch for us or just leave them here?

>>643768
Flora, Rick, if neither of you are sympathizers, please help us. If one of you are... well, you're not getting away with it anyway, even if you try and trick us in the end, so if you do help us, I can forget whatever part you may have done to start this. There will be an aftermath to this, no matter what side wins. If there is a betrayal, so help me if we suffer in the aftermath, they will suffer alongside us.

1/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/01(Mon)17:31 No. 644556 ID: 9f5a86
File 143320506811.png - (183.42KB , 800x600 , 04-061.png )

> Flora, Rick, if neither of you are sympathizers, please help us.

"Would you mind accompanying us to the production plant?" I ask as politely as possible.

"Are you crazy? We can't leave our post, they'll kill us!" Flora exclaims.

"What are you talking about? You are workers here."

"Well," Rick starts, "just a...minor detail I forgot to mention. We've been ordered to stay in specific areas until told to do otherwise. We haven't heard anything so far. I'm not sure if they'll just outright kill us if we go out there, but the way to the vault isn't very far. There's a staircase nearby that requires clearance of my level."

"Then let's get this on. I highly recommend you come with us," I say towards Flora. She huffs indignantly.

"You're going to get us killed," she says bluntly. I just shrug and start walking away, Mel and Rick following close by. "Rick, don't do this!" she calls out.

"Flora," he says, turning to her. "They trust us to come with them. I think we should trust them as well. Who knows what could be going on down there? If it's for the sake of everyone on this island, we have to see what's going on and put a stop to it if possible!"

"But!" she sighs and shakes her head, walking towards us hesitantly. "Fine. Fine, let's go."

"Glad you could see it our way," I remark snidely.

Rick wasn't lying when he said it wouldn't be much of a trip. We arrive at a door and he swipes his card through a nearby card slot. No sign of soldiers so far. We go down a long, winding stairwell and then emerge into a large chamber, the defining feature a massive vault door at the other end and pipes running up into a void in the ceiling. The chamber smells off-puttingly musky and the air is thick. Above the massive door are three lights, all red. They might be lock indicators.

On a railing up ahead there is a larger terminal. Mel goes to it like a moth to light and starts to mess around with it.

"Can that boy really get through?" Rick asks me quietly. I just nod and go over to the railing with him. While Mel is doing his thing, I close my eyes and see if I can jack anybody's sight. It would be good to see if we'll be engaging any hostilities. I notice with every passing second we're down here, I can pick up some kind of an aura that is getting stronger. It sends chills down my spine and I'm not sure what it's coming from.

2/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/01(Mon)17:31 No. 644557 ID: 9f5a86
File 143320508578.png - (295.44KB , 800x600 , 04-062.png )

Someone's really engaged with their terminal screen. I'm pretty sure this isn't Mel. They're typing really fast and I can't make out what's on the screen.

3/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/01(Mon)17:31 No. 644558 ID: 9f5a86
File 143320509994.png - (664.06KB , 800x600 , 04-063.png )

What the hell? I can't jack this one. I get a split second of a vision and then I'm cut out. All I get from this is that through the large door there seem to only be two people.

4/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/01(Mon)17:31 No. 644559 ID: 9f5a86
File 143320511433.png - (279.03KB , 800x600 , 04-064.png )

Someone's inside of a dimly lit room, slumped on the ground. It seems like there's some kind of an overlay, as if they're wearing a helmet. This one's far to the left, probably through the left door that I saw in the chamber.

5/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/01(Mon)17:32 No. 644560 ID: 9f5a86
File 143320512885.png - (269.06KB , 800x600 , 04-065.png )

To the far right, someone is faced very close and personal with a wall. They rear back a bit, then headbutts the wall. It's a very metallic sound, as if they're also wearing a helmet. I also hear some scratching.

"What was that?!" Flora says, snapping me out of my jacking session.

"What?" I respond.

"There was this loud thump to the right. That right door I think?" Sure enough, the metallic thump comes again and Flora shouts in surprise. It seems this girl is very easily intimidated.

"Wow, this is weird," Mel speaks up. I go over to him.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"You see those red lights above that huge door? Those indicate whether a lock is opened. I can open the middle one, but we have to go through the two doors to our left and right and manually activate a switch in order to open the other locks. There's some kind of panel down the corridors," he explains. I ponder on this for a bit. Which door should we go through first? And is it safe enough to bring everybody?

Keep an eye on Rick, and it's okay to bring everybody. I seriously don't trust him. But don't reveal that, beyond what we told them earlier, because he did the whole "They trust us" thing.

Odds that the headbutting man is a Militia man attacked by psy waves or whatever. Very dangerous, possibly irrational at this point. Go left, we'll find an injured body and assure Flora that some shit is going down. If we go right immediately and the headbutting man attacks us, Flora will freak out, lose all morale, and possibly compromise the operation.

I mean, she's going to lose morale if we go left too, but it will reveal to her that someone besides us is hurting the militia here and that we were telling the truth.

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/02(Tue)18:02 No. 644827 ID: 9f5a86
File 143329335789.png - (153.97KB , 800x600 , 04-066.png )

> Keep an eye on Rick, and it's okay to bring everybody. I seriously don't trust him. But don't reveal that, beyond what we told them earlier, because he did the whole "They trust us" thing.

I don't necessarily hold distrust in him for anything he's said in the past, but I've already made it my intention not to really trust anyone one-hundred percent at this point, not even Mel.

"We'll go through the left door first," I say to Mel. He nods and makes some inputs to the terminal. The door opens with a smooth hiss. "Everyone, stay together, but keep behind me," I command. They huddle together and we make our way into the corridor ahead. It's not a very long one and we eventually wind up in a small room with various machinery and pipes.

My main focus is a locked metal panel on the wall to my left. I turn my attention to a downed soldier to the right. A key lies next to his left hand and it appears the soldier is still breathing. I feel like his eyes are on me despite the visor covering his entire face. I look back and see everyone huddled up in the corridor still, tensely eyeing what I do as well as the incapacitated soldier.

Unmask him, be friendly.
Ask him where he's hurt.
Be prepared, he may attack.

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/03(Wed)18:00 No. 645107 ID: 9f5a86
File 143337960720.png - (207.06KB , 800x600 , 04-067.png )

> Unmask him, be friendly.

As I approach him, I start to feel funny. A strange tingling sensation is going down my spine and coursing through my brain like the blood in my veins. I begin to feel light-headed, but shake it off. I press a small button under the soldier's mask, which opens up the visor... Oh my God.

Well FUCK that let's do what we need to do here and go to the right door.

Back away and draw your weapon. If he can still speak ask him when he last took Astoga, he may have used some of the tainted drug.

Oh my god, I think that's what the poisoned Astoga does.
Shit, show everybody and say that, even if it's untrue it should scare them all into taking this seriously. Hell, if you can take a picture of this to your phone and send it to a journalist contact or something.

You have a journalist contact right? I figure that would be part of an Inquistor's repertoire.

Could just post it on the internet anonymously. I know that'll create a mass panic, but it WILL stop future Astoga use for now and stop the sympathizer's plans. Unless that's the purpose of poisoning the Asotoga in the first place SHIT.

Well, whatever, if we fake do that we can test Rick and Flora's loyalty. They should react appropriately if they're part of the plot. I don't know how, but you need to read them completely when they see this and how they react to your plan to post this online with your phone. If you have a smartphone. You DO have a smartphone right?

OH! A THING HAS OCCURRED

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/05(Fri)18:40 No. 646481 ID: 9f5a86
File 143355481172.png - (183.12KB , 800x600 , 04-068.png )

> You DO have a smartphone right?

I don't, but Mel, Flora, or Rick surely might.

> Back away and draw your weapon. If he can still speak ask him when he last took Astoga, he may have used some of the tainted drug.

I take out my Heated Blade and take a step back. Before I can ask him anything, he leans forward a bit and stretches his arm out toward me. Just as he does this, the disgusting tentacles rocket out of his mouth, a couple wrapping around my neck. The strangest thing is that I can't really "feel" them, yet I respond violently to them still. My vision is getting blurry and I almost can't even think straight. The image of the room around me almost seems to be rippling. What the hell is going on..?

The body has psychic feranthro stuff going on too. You may have to dig deep into your mind and resist. Flex the mind muscle.That thing's body is trying to communicate to you, like how you jack a mind or how Aiden called you and Mel earlier. If the mind is a radio, than we bounce back frequencies attacking you to at least weaken them. You must attempt to reverse the psychic wavelength attacking your mind. Respond to him with as close to an opposite vibration as you can muster to cancel all the communication! Don't respond with the same wavelength, you'll double the amplitude and you'll fry all the minds in the vicinity!

It must be like sound!

As for a practical suggestion you can do with your physical body. Cut that strand attacking your neck and, if you can, try and press the mask button with your sword to stop that assault. Honestly, it may be to awkward for you to slice that strand right now, or that's what he expects your first move to be, so maybe press the mask button with your sword first before attempting to cut the tentacle.

Sever that shit. Then sever his head from his body.

>>646485
Then his neck will attack us. I don't think beheading this thing will kill it, just make it harder to disable.

We need to BURN it.

Massey, another idea to attack this thing, if you can retreat after closing the mask or whatever, use the tasing function on the rollbot to fry the body. Kill EVERY CELL in that corpse.

Slice the tentacle.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/06(Sat)19:51 No. 646764 ID: 9f5a86
File 143364549293.png - (292.71KB , 800x600 , 04-069.png )

> Cut that strand attacking your neck

> Sever that shit.

> Slice the tentacle.

I take my blade and attempt to cut through the tentacle. It phases right through. My world begins to blur and a different image forms in front of me. The stuffiness I'm feeling in my head is easing out, and things are becoming clear again.

"Don't. I'm unarmed. Please..." My God, I almost killed the fucker. I walk back until I touch the wall behind me and take deep breaths, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Is someone playing with my head? With this revelation, I now have to be extremely careful of what is going on around me. It was bad enough that I can't trust anybody...now I can't even trust my own eyes.

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/06(Sat)19:51 No. 646765 ID: 9f5a86
File 143364550215.png - (189.89KB , 800x600 , 04-070.png )

"What the hell was that?!" Flora exclaims from the corridor. "Did you see that? She wanted to kill that guy!"

"Flora, settle down! We don't know the whole story here," Rick snaps back.

"Seriously? She was swinging that blade around like she was going to - " Flora yells in frustration. "Screw this! I'm sorry, Rick, but I'm not hanging around with this crazy bitch!" she starts to walk away. Should I let her go?

Stop her. Say there's a feranthro nearby. It was attacking your mind and making you hallucinate.

Flora, look at the soldier. He's hurt, something's going on here. We're not crazy.

Also tell them the hallucinations might only be visual, and you can disperse them. You'll be careful.

you didn't want to kill him, you wanted to kill what you saw, some kind of monster.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/09(Tue)17:30 No. 647446 ID: 9f5a86
File 143389625915.png - (172.50KB , 800x600 , 04-071.png )

> you didn't want to kill him, you wanted to kill what you saw, some kind of monster.

I don't necessarily want to word it in this fashion. She would think I'm absolutely insane.

> Stop her. Say there's a feranthro nearby. It was attacking your mind and making you hallucinate.

> Also tell them the hallucinations might only be visual, and you can disperse them. You'll be careful.

"Stop!" I shout out to her. This manages to work for the time being as I continue to try to catch my breath. "It's a feranthro."

"What?" Flora says. "Is this woman serious? A feranthro in the Upper City?"

"They can do things to you. This one, wherever it is, just caused me to hallucinate, but don't worry, I can disperse them. It takes a lot of mental energy. I'll be careful," I try to assure her.

"Listen to her, Rick! A feranthro in the Upper!"

"Flora, it's more likely than you think," Rick replies. Flora grunts and turns to walk away again, but Mel goes after her and gently grabs her arm.

"Miss, please don't go. It's dangerous out there, you said it yourself. Inspector Massey came all the way from the Middle to stop this. Please just stay with us longer. Everything she says is true, you'll see!" She now hesitates and then sighs. Good kid, although I feel he's putting a little too must trust in me, despite the fact that he should. What if he starts to go through the influence the feranthros can cause?

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/09(Tue)17:31 No. 647447 ID: 9f5a86
File 143389627170.png - (181.42KB , 800x600 , 04-072.png )

I squat down to talk to the soldier. I have my eyes on the key.

"Who did this to you?" I ask.

"Feranthro," the soldier simply replies. Through my periperhals I can see Rick giving Flora a gesture, to which Flora just groans loudly. "He broke both my legs. Took our weapons and locked us up."

"Us?"

"He locked Marcus up in the other room, then threw me in here. Dunno where he went after that," he groans in pain, struggling to sit more upright. I extend an arm, telling him to try to keep still.

"We're here to stop the feranthro menace. We won't hurt you," I explain.

"I have to get backup. I can't stay down here any longer. I have a radio, but it hasn't been working."

"We'll help you get reinforcements, but I would like to use that key."

"No," he says, putting his hand over it and dragging it towards him. "Get me my backup. Then I'll give you the key. I want my backup." He's really in no position to be negotiating right now. He doesn't even seem like he's 'all there' at the moment either.

I'm sorry, officer, but the militia and the Premier have been compromised by Feranthro mental attacks and sympathizers. Your men are likely currently loading poisoned Astoga to distribute to the civilians being sent Underground. Where they will all likely die, mutate into a fernanthro, or one of those abominations you've probably read about in reports from the middle, if you educated yourself recently with the opposition we've been facing.

We cannot comprimise our objective by revealing our location to the Militia. I almost killed you from a hallucination just now, and I have actual experience fighting the hallucinations. Your friends will likely see what I was able to, and might just kill us all. If one of the militia boys came around instead of us, you'd have a bullet in your skull. Do you WANT your brother's in arms killing you?

Wait, he said "locked us up?". That means more than one person.
Are you talking about the man in the other room pounding his head into the wall? Another example of how the Feranthros have compromised the militia. If you'd like, we can show you your friend, though he may try to attack us.

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/11(Thu)18:03 No. 647894 ID: 9f5a86
File 143407103252.png - (158.33KB , 800x600 , 04-073.png )

> I'm sorry, officer, but the militia and the Premier have been compromised by Feranthro mental attacks and sympathizers.

I still can't be certain on whether the entire Militia or the Premier are being mind-controlled.

> Your men are likely currently loading poisoned Astoga to distribute to the civilians being sent Underground. Where they will all likely die, mutate into a fernanthro, or one of those abominations you've probably read about in reports from the middle, if you educated yourself recently with the opposition we've been facing.

"Listen to me," I say, inching closer. "The feranthro are here for a reason, yes? Well, I know what's going on. The bastards are trying to poison the Astoga supply."

"What? That's crazy. We're already sending them out!" the soldier says with concern.

"Have you read any of the news going on in the Middle? People are mutating. Some are turning into feranthro. I don't know exactly what sort of properties are in this concoction, but we have to stop it, and the only way I can is if you give me that key."

"That's worse than I ever imagined. Look, we REALLY have to call for backup! We have to at least tell the others to stop sending the Astoga out."

"Don't bother for now," I say, once again gesturing with a stretched arm. "I was close to killing you. The feranthro was causing me to see hallucinations. He or she made me see you as a monster. Who's to say they won't do it to your backup?"

"Are you saying feranthros can do psychic shit?" the soldier says with a weak scoff.

"Something like that. You don't want to be killed by your brothers in arms, do you?"

"Well," he coughs loudly, "what do you think we should do?"

"I'm going to kill the feranthro skulking around in here. Now may I have that key?"

"Wait...Marcus. I need to know if he's okay. Could you free him too? That shouldn't be a difficult task, right? I mean, he's in the other room...or he should be."

"It shouldn't be. Wait here." Oh yeah, it shouldn't be, but it most likely will be. Telling from when I sightjacked him, I could tell there is something wrong with him. I have to watch my ass.

I head over to the other door, beckoning Mel by my side. I instruct him to go up to the raised platform and open the door. I equip my blade, preparing for whatever craziness I'm about to face. Are there any more preparations I should consider? Should I face this alone or have Rick or Flora help out in some way?

>>647894
You have your rollbot taser, right? Might just be best to use that than actually risk yourself. Your rollbot won't hallucinate either. You'll be seeing pure pixels on a monitor. Even if the ferantrho tried to make you think Marcus is something he's not, doing that with a constantly updating 2d image would probably be significantly harder than messing with your direct perception.

Plus, Mel would be screen sharing with you, so you can always reconfirm with him.

But if you WANT to do this Templar style, honestly I would just use whatever hand-to-hand combat training you have over that sword. Flora and Rick can't handle combat, you're just going to freak them out. Tell Mel to keep an eye on them if you're going in there.

Try and attract Marcus with noise rather than surprise him, lure him. He's probably too brain drained to use his weapon, if he even has it in his hands (another good reason to scout with the rollbot).

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/12(Fri)17:00 No. 648075 ID: 9f5a86
File 143415364531.png - (158.33KB , 800x600 , 04-074.png )

> You have your rollbot taser, right?

It would be useful to have it right now, but silly ol' me left it on the roof out of view of everybody on ground level. It's also still connected to the computer on the main floor of the building. Should I risk going back up to get it back? No doubt there are a lot more soldiers up there now.

No, okay, let's do this.
Just make some noise to distract the guy if he's not banging his head on the wall anymore, then disable him and take his weapon from him. Don't use the blade, we'll lose trust from the guard with the key. Not like we can't just incapacitate him and steal it from him in the worst case scenario.

He should still be banging his head on the wall, so it should be easy to sneak up behind him and ensure he can't hurt you with any of his equipment. Highly suggest hand-to-hand engagement.

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/15(Mon)22:46 No. 648740 ID: 9f5a86
File 143443357350.png - (189.94KB , 800x600 , 04-075.png )

> Just make some noise to distract the guy if he's not banging his head on the wall anymore, then disable him and take his weapon from him. Don't use the blade, we'll lose trust from the guard with the key. Not like we can't just incapacitate him and steal it from him in the worst case scenario.

Alright. I put the sword down and consider taking the non-lethal approach if possible. I'm just hoping this guy doesn't have a gun on hand.

"Open it," I order Mel. He nods and starts to do his work on the terminal. The metal doors hiss as they open and the soldier comes through almost immediately. His front falls forward heavily and he stumbles, as if he had missed a headbutt. He looks absolutely deranged.

"Get it out of my head. Get it out!" Veins stick out of the sides of his head, almost looking like horrible burn scars. His eyes are bloodshot and spittle is running down his lips and chin. He also has various small cut marks across his face. He gazes at me with a menacing glare, as if considering attacking me.

Pin him on the ground.
We don't have tranquilizers,so we can't help him there. Ask Flora or Rick if there's a infirmary at this facility, we can help Marcus if we can find some tranquilizers. Tell Marcus to calm down. When he's asleep, it can't bug him anymore. We're here to help, so please forgive being pinned.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/17(Wed)19:42 No. 649141 ID: 9f5a86
File 143459532085.png - (304.55KB , 800x600 , 04-076.png )

> Pin him on the ground.

As I move in to pin him, he suddenly lunges back at me. His bulk slams into me like a truck and I am sent flying into the railing behind me, hitting the back of my head. I turn dizzy and try to get back up, but the soldier is already on me, lifting me up by the neck. Mel rushes down to help me, but the soldiers sees him coming, pushing him into the wall and knocking the wind out of him.

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/17(Wed)19:42 No. 649142 ID: 9f5a86
File 143459533283.png - (193.52KB , 800x600 , 04-077.png )

I see Rick sprinting towards us. He actually musters the strength to get the soldier off of me by throwing his arms around his waist and throwing him to the ground. Rick gets on top of him and pulls off his helmet, swerving back and side-to-side to avoid the soldier's flailing arms. He doesn't seem to have the heart to do anything else.

Say "Okay, Marcus, stop."
Bad move trying to pin him, just say the whole pinning thing was reactionary to the violent burst out of the room. We know Feranthro's are fucking with his head, settle the fuck down, you need to know anything you're seeing is fake, and that he needs to stop trying to hurt himself.
Fucking breathe Marcus. You friend's in the other room, you might see his face is weird, but he's normal and that's a hallucination. He wants to talk to you. You need to calm down to fight this. You can't do it by caving your head in or by punching people.

If calming down and meditiating or whatever, say we'll find him some tranquilizers where ever the closest medkit is, and he can sleep off the mental attack. Just like you do with a migraine, you'll to sleep it off, Marcus.

If he tries to get up violently, knee or kick him in the chest. Should knock the air out of his lungs long enough to listen.

Also holy shit nice job Rick, what the fuck.

Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/18(Thu)18:36 No. 649291 ID: 9f5a86
File 143467777715.png - (198.09KB , 800x600 , 04-078.png )

> Bad move trying to pin him, just say the whole pinning thing was reactionary to the violent burst out of the room. We know Feranthro's are fucking with his head, settle the fuck down, you need to know anything you're seeing is fake, and that he needs to stop trying to hurt himself.

I go over to Rick to help out, although I'm still a little dizzy from the blow to the head. I pin down Marcus's shoulders and try to settle him down. "Marcus, right?" He continues to struggle and I give him a shake. "Listen! You need to calm the fuck down right now. This is all because of the feranthros. They're messing with your head. Don't let it get to you and don't injure yourself over this!" At first it seems like he is calming down, but then he starts to struggle again. I respond with another hard shake. "Stop! Settle down! We've got your partner over there. Your both safe for the time being." He begins to calm down again. I look up at Rick. "Can you handle him?" Rick nods.

"Hey! What's going on over there? Is he okay?!" the soldier calls out from the room to the left. I can see him peeking out.

"Do you see him? He's fine, just being mindfucked by the feranthro like I was. He should get over it," I explain. "Look, your friend just attacked me and could have given me a horrible head injury. Do you think I can have that key now?" He senses my passive-aggressiveness.

"Yeah, yeah, okay! I just wanted to see if he was fine." With that, I go over to him and take the key from him. I open the panel and see a whole bunch of switches. This catches me off guard. The only hints I get to what they do are shown from little pictures to the right of each row.

Okay, I'm guessing a forgetful worker put those notes in. The numbers seem to correspond to the things that are supposed to be up.

Switch all four on the bottom to the up position to unlock the doors. Seems to be the gist of it.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/19(Fri)17:33 No. 649495 ID: 9f5a86
File 143476043461.png - (194.40KB , 800x600 , 04-079.png )

> The numbers seem to correspond to the things that are supposed to be up.

> Switch all four on the bottom to the up position to unlock the doors. Seems to be the gist of it.

Okay. That seems to make sense. I flip all four of the bottom switches up and I head back out to see that the left light is now shining a bright green. I also find that Rick is having a little fun with Marcus's helmet. He looks ridiculous.

"What are you doing?" I ask him. Rick responds with a nervous chuckle.

"I've just always wanted to try wearing one of these. I don't think he really minds at the moment," he looks away, appearing embarrassed. Marcus does look a little more tranquil now, thankfully.

As if reading my mind, Flora states off to the side with a laugh, "You look absolutely moronic right now, Rick."

"Never really had the gall to join the Militia in the first place," he says quietly. I honestly don't care what he does with it, but I notice something shiny sitting in his left palm. He eyes it as well. "Oh right, and I did find this key on him. Maybe it's for the other panel?"

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/19(Fri)17:34 No. 649496 ID: 9f5a86
File 143476045095.png - (97.09KB , 800x600 , 04-080.png )

"Maybe," I say as I most graciously take it from his hand. I make my way to the other room, which looks pretty identical to the other one. I find the panel itself is also very similar to the other one once I unlock it and open it up. I flip the four bottom switches up as well and exit the corridor to find the light to the right is now a brilliant green as well. This was a lot more straightforward than I expected, but there's no point in reflecting on something as trivial as that right now. I call over to Mel, who is back at the terminal and looking a little woozy. "I think you may be able to open up the doors now. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," he says, giving me a weak thumb-up gesture. "Hit the wall kinda hard is all." He stands upright and takes a deep breath. "Okay, so do you want us to go with you? I mean, I guess you want someone to stay back and watch the guy on the ground, right?"

His friend can watch him. We need all three of these people going forward.

Or we could just bring THEM with us instead. Ask if they want a little revenge against the feranthro. We'd just have to warn them to be wary if any of them happen to turn into monsters and other tricks, and to resist mental attacks. In the end, I don't trust leaving any of these men behind.

And tell rick to get rid of that helmet. Those helmet's are probably designed by some sympathizer engineer to make the militia more susceptible to attacks. Even being near it instead of wearing it is enough to spread the range of mental attacks. Ferantho's may be able to send mental messages from all the way in the Lower City, but a hallucination like that needs some sort of a boost. The feranthro can't be that close to us if it has a mission.

I refuse to believe that all of the militia are just dumb thugs with no mental willpower. There has to be something to give the feranthro advantage over them in particular.
Might be worth asking them, actually. About this equipment. Anything they've thought odd, lately? Especially within their ranks? We can ask these questions on the move, we don't have time to afford waiting around too long.

>>649516
The soldier in the small room has both of his legs broken and Marcus is still somewhat out of it.

>>649527
Okay, then Rick, stay behind.
Just stay away from those helmets. Get them as far from you as possible.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/23(Tue)18:14 No. 650374 ID: 9f5a86
File 143510848644.png - (119.91KB , 800x600 , 04-081.png )

> Okay, then Rick, stay behind. Just stay away from those helmets. Get them as far from you as possible.

I look towards Rick.

"I need you to stay behind, Rick. Watch over this guy as we head in. We shouldn't be too far, hopefully."

"Okay," he replies in understanding.

"Also, you have to take that off," I suggest.

"Yeah, it does look silly, doesn't it?" he says as he begins to remove the helmet with a bit of difficulty.

"It's not just that," I start, "That helmet and others might have been engineered by sympathizers to make the wearers more suspectible to their mind games." Rick just stares at me, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Don't you think that's a little far?" he asks.

"I agree," Flora pipes up. "You're more paranoid than me, and that's saying something." I brush off her snide remark.

"I'm sure our troops don't all lack mental willpower. I'm not sure what the extent of the feranthro's influence is, but it's that uncertainty that obligates us to be careful in every scenario. Remember that." I gaze over at Mel. "Go ahead and open the door. Then you and Flora will come with me into the plant." Mel nods in response and starts to work his fingers on the terminal surface.

The bulkhead groans as metal slides against metal, unveiling bright lights from behind. My eyes take a bit to adjust, and then I see the huge chamber in front of me. This is it. This is where the Astoga is produced. I didn't think I'd ever be in the place like this. Up ahead I can see an anthro and a huge, burly feranthro standing next to him.

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/23(Tue)18:14 No. 650375 ID: 9f5a86
File 143510849913.png - (162.07KB , 800x600 , 04-082.png )

"Go back to your work," the feranthro commands with a predictably deep voice. I would say he looks slightly intimidating, but I'm just too peeved at the fact that there is a feranthro in a place like this. He lumbers a couple paces towards me. "I knew it was true. An anthro blessed with the powers of Hyuro, but you were not born amongst us, were you?"

"Don't start getting cryptic on me. I order you to stop this nonsense at once. I know what you're doing with our Astoga."

"You know, do you? What am I doing with your Astoga?" he says in a conniving tone.

"You're poisoning it. You're going to distribute it to everyone who is Underground."

"Poison? Hmm. I wonder who might have told you that. Surely you must have been in that Middle City. It appears our experimentation has already been revealed."

"You're damn right it was. Your schemes end here, fleabag."

He laughs softly and says, "The word 'poisoning' is too harsh. You obviously don't know all the details. We have a glorious plan for you all. We want to make you one of us. We want you all to feel the Advocate's warmth, embrace a sample of its wonderful power." He gazes back at the vats of Astoga in front of him. "The task is already complete. Your Astoga now contains the purest essence we could create. After so many experiments, it has come to this."

I'm tired of hearing this lughead drone on. If whatever substance he is talking about is sitting in all of our Astoga right now, there might not be any other option but to destroy the supply. There is no way to reverse this, to my full knowledge.

Punch him suddenly.

Use a flashbang then kill him with your sword. He's too strong, both physically and mentally, to fight normally.

Okay, Flora, NOW do you believe this shit?

The way to reverse this is to reveal the truth and cause a panic. Not revealing this information properly will basically mean checks for corrupted Astoga aren't put in place if we succeed. If there's a mass panic, it WILL require the government to take that action, otherwise, the shadier elements will probably blockade the bureaucracy necessary to make those QA checks looking for this stuff required by law.

If anyone IS behind you and going to fuck you up and/or an ally is about to betray you, the surprise flashbang should keep you secure.

Maybe try to drop a bomb on him that Caelus has contacted you and has destroyed the supporting platform on which the Advocate stands, so you can surprise him first before you surprise him with a flashbang. That lie should confuse him a little bit or he'll laugh and try another monologue. This guy likes to talk.

1/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/27(Sat)08:21 No. 651096 ID: 9f5a86
File 143541847988.png - (253.96KB , 800x600 , 04-083.png )

> Punch him suddenly.

I think about this for a second but then brush it off. It's clear this feranthro is powerful and greatly surpasses my own physique. Besides, I'm not even close to him, so he would see it coming from here.

> Okay, Flora, NOW do you believe this shit?

Without turning away from the two bastards, I say to Flora, "You believe it now?"

"This can't be happening," she says. I don't even have to turn around to know she's mind-fucked at the moment.

> Use a flashbang then kill him with your sword.

> Maybe try to drop a bomb on him that Caelus has contacted you and has destroyed the supporting platform on which the Advocate stands, so you can surprise him first before you surprise him with a flashbang. That lie should confuse him a little bit or he'll laugh and try another monologue. This guy likes to talk.

"How long have you been up here?" I start with a very snide tone. "'Cause you seem to have a little problem down under. Caelus himself spoke to me not long ago through mental powers. Your plans with that Advocate or whatever have been shot down."

He looks thoughtful for a moment and says, "Yes, it does appear plans have not completely gone the way they should." My chest gets tight with this unexpected response. So that wasn't even a lie? Goddamnit. "According to Yuseta, he is conscious in the Advocate, but there's no need to fret. He is being contained. It would be a great tragedy if he were to try and control it."

Now's my chance while he drones on. I take out a flashbang, activate it, and roll it towards him. He looks down at it and laughs.

"Predictable. You want to keep your distance." He stretches his arm out and directs his open palm towards the flashbang as if getting ready to use some kind of telekinetic power.

"No, wait, Gartus! That's - !" the anthro next to him shouts, jumping off his seat. It goes off with a piercing bang, a brilliant flash of light accompanying it. Several moans and shouts echo across the chamber, as it appears only I and the sympathizer anthro have not been affected badly by the burst.

2/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/27(Sat)08:21 No. 651097 ID: 9f5a86
File 143541849381.png - (239.79KB , 800x600 , 04-084.png )

I take out my sword and charge it as I rush towards the feranthro, bloodlust raging within me. I lift the sword and prepare to unleash a hefty, downward slice.

3/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/27(Sat)08:21 No. 651098 ID: 9f5a86
File 143541850434.png - (290.69KB , 800x600 , 04-085.png )

"Look out!" Something unexpected once again occurs. The anthro pushes the feranthro out of the way just as I am bringing the sword down. The blade cuts through the anthro's right shoulder, getting stuck around the bottom of his ribcage. The scream he lets out is one of horrifying agony as blood begins to gush out of him in places that haven't been cauterized. I don't believe I would ever see the day an anthro gives his own life for a filthy feranthro, let alone me even causing such grievous harm to a fellow anthro.

I can see him pulling something out of his left pocket with the strength he has left, a skinny, cylindrical, familiar object.

Kick civilian your sword and his feet. Kill feranthro.

Don't fuckin' stop, don't give the psychic son of a bitch an opening to attack. KILL KILL KILL. Mutilate the SHIT out of that body so it can't turn into a monster. All limbs must be separate.

Weird that the civilian knows the difference between a flash grenade and a regular frag. Must play a lot of video games. I don't care what he has in his hands, because I can't remember what that thing is. Some mutation concoction or something. Whatever. I guess you can grab it while kicking him off.

>>651102
that was meant to say kick the civilian off your sword.

You can try to kick him off your sword but that might take a moment you don't have.

You could just shove him into the feral with the sword still stuck in him. Keep a good grip on the sword and just push him forward.

>>651098
If that's tainted Astoga, then you need to abandon your sword for now and keep him from injecting it. You've seen the aftermath of what the abominations it creates can do.

1/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/30(Tue)16:17 No. 652024 ID: 9f5a86
File 143570625426.png - (255.25KB , 800x600 , 04-086.png )

> Kick civilian your sword and his feet.

> You can try to kick him off your sword but that might take a moment you don't have.

Tugging the sword doesn't do much good. I give him a hefty kick, and as I do so, he takes a swipe at me with an Astoga syringe, thankfully missing. The blow I give him sends him forward and separates him from my sword with a disgusting squelch.

2/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/30(Tue)16:17 No. 652025 ID: 9f5a86
File 143570626897.png - (251.94KB , 800x600 , 04-087.png )

> I guess you can grab it while kicking him off.

> If that's tainted Astoga, then you need to abandon your sword for now and keep him from injecting it.

Good point. I hurry and bend down to pick up the syringe, which he has dropped during his fall. Just as I do so, I see that the burly feranthro is already recovering. I hardly have time to react as he swings his fist into my cheek, the force so powerful it actually knocks me off my feet.

3/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/30(Tue)16:18 No. 652026 ID: 9f5a86
File 143570628098.png - (207.05KB , 800x600 , 04-088.png )

"That's a neat little trick," he says, his voice almost booming. "Perhaps now it's my turn." He extends an arm towards me and opens his palm wide. My head starts to feel heavy, as if I'm hanging upside down. I can see his figure begin to ripple and warp. Something hideous is phasing out of him, obscuring his image more and more.

4/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/30(Tue)16:18 No. 652027 ID: 9f5a86
File 143570629665.png - (317.88KB , 800x600 , 04-089.png )

Before I know it, a massive, roaring monster emanates from the feranthro's body, a thick black miasma pouring out of a void under its upper jaw that I guess is its horrible maw. Large tentacles and masses of flesh spew from both sides of the colossal head, coming towards me. I brace for impact, my heart feeling like it's going to burst out of my chest.

5/5 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/06/30(Tue)16:18 No. 652028 ID: 9f5a86
File 143570631396.png - (301.55KB , 800x600 , 04-090.png )

Instead of colliding with me, the flesh mass wraps around me. I'm completely surrounded. The miasma comes next, clouding my vision. I'm up against an abominable creature I know absolutely nothing about, something that could probably squish me like an ant. I'm not sure what to do from here, but I feel immobilized from fear.

Guessing this is all a illusion. He has clouded your mind and is just standing there laughing at you cowering up against the wall.

So get up and attack. Go for a wide horizontal slash with your sword aiming for the skull thing. His real body should be in that direction.

And if it is real then doing exactly that is probably also the best idea. Better than sitting here and waiting for the tentacle rape.

>>652028
Probably an illusion. The heat sword dispelled it earlier, but that was at a distance. Closer to the caster, the illusion is more dangerous. You might not be able to dispel it.

Either way, note that it did not strike you. That implies it's just for intimidation, to make you helpless so that the feranthro can deal with you without a fight. Also, you dropped the syringe...

Try to dispel the illusion. You have to be SURE that you're attacking the right target. You have allies here that you have to worry about.

I've seen enough hentai to know where THIS is going

Jack someone's sight. This is all false.

Do literally anything except being immobilized by fear.

>>652028
If the creature was real, it would have collided with you and attacked you with it's clearly toothy maw. It is no more real than the illusion you saw earlier, but it can still obscure your vision.
If you can still see the rest of the room, head for the Astoga tanks. Those are what the Feranthro wishes to protect, and it will force him into revealing himself.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/07/01(Wed)17:43 No. 652345 ID: 9f5a86
File 143579783294.png - (417.83KB , 800x600 , 04-091.png )

> Also, you dropped the syringe...

I've stored the syringe away.

> Guessing this is all a illusion. He has clouded your mind and is just standing there laughing at you cowering up against the wall.

> Probably an illusion.

Yes. Yes, this has to be fake. This bastard has done this to me before...but it seems so much more real this time. The miasma around me is thick and the fleshy mass surrounding me has a distinct texture and presence that makes me struggle to see through it all. But it can't be real.

> So get up and attack. Go for a wide horizontal slash with your sword aiming for the skull thing. His real body should be in that direction.

> Try to dispel the illusion. You have to be SURE that you're attacking the right target.

> Do literally anything except being immobilized by fear.

I fight through the fear welling up inside of me and get onto my feet. I set my sight on the hideous head sitting a good several paces away from me. I brandish my sword and then lunge forward, making a hefty slash with my blade. The monster's head reacts swiftly, moving back in a very odd way where only the head is careening back while the tentacles almost seem like they are stretching to compensate.

The head should have been where the feranthro was, but I feel a sharp pain on my back and I hear the sound of my clothes tearing. I whirl around and try to find the source, being careful not to let my rage get the best of me and cause me to swing my weapon around recklessly. The swipes come again, the pain stinging and forcing me to growl in anger. I lash out with my fist in all directions, trying to stop the unknown force.

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/07/01(Wed)17:44 No. 652348 ID: 9f5a86
File 143579789517.png - (231.55KB , 800x600 , 04-092.png )

> Jack someone's sight. This is all false.

I prepare to start jacking despite the fear of being swiped at again, but then I hear shouts and screams above me. I look up to see Mel and Flora wrapped in tentacles, the life being squeezed out of them.

"Help!" Mel cries out.

"Urgh! He's killing me!" Flora shouts, her voice sounding choked up. I am horribly confused. I was just having the notion that all this was an illusion, and now Mel and Flora MAY be in trouble! What the hell? Is this really not happening?

Jack someone's sight and confirm. Try and get the feranthro's sight or the one you impaled, because he's PROBABLY not fucking with his own.
A majority of this scenario HAS to be fake.

The energy required to do ALL this and make it real is insane and would make this fucker so absurdly powerful, he'd be leading the resistence instead of Yuseta, and there wouldn't even be a NEED for the Advocate bullshit outside of religious significance.

I agree with jacking the Feranthro's sight, if you can manage it.

1/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/07/02(Thu)17:23 No. 652679 ID: 9f5a86
File 143588300227.png - (323.45KB , 800x600 , 04-093.png )

> Jack someone's sight and confirm.

> I agree with jacking the Feranthro's sight, if you can manage it.

I take deep breaths, close my eyes, and attempt to sightjack the closest body to me.

2/2 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/07/02(Thu)17:23 No. 652680 ID: 9f5a86
File 143588301363.png - (277.05KB , 800x600 , 04-094.png )

The figure behind me is tall and his fur shaggy. It has to be the feranthro. I swing my sword behind me with great strength, aiming a little upward so that I may catch his neck. The blade buries a few inches into the side of his neck but does not go further. The masses of flesh all around me begin to melt into the air and fade away, the image of the chamber becoming clear again. The feranthro is holding onto the blade, blood pouring from his hand and fresh neck wound. I can feel him trying to push it away...then I hear a sharp, metallic groan from the blade.

I think he's going to blow it up.
Punch him in the throat.

activate it's power field, full power overload.

1/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/07/07(Tue)10:11 No. 653716 ID: 9f5a86
File 143628911737.png - (294.84KB , 800x600 , 04-095.png )

> Punch him in the throat.

> activate it's power field, full power overload.

Punching may not be very effective here...but activating the heating elements...That should get his dirty paws off of my blade. I turn on the switch and the blade becomes enveloped in an orange-yellow hue, the growing heat distorting the image of the blade. There is a sizzling sound as the intense heat burns away the fur and flesh on the feranthro's hand. He reacts predictably, letting go of my sword. I force the blade through his muscley neck, a strange combination of a chuckle and gurgle coming from his mouth before I slice through his throat and vertebra. I retract the blade and give one final, mighty swing, lopping the rest of his head off.

His lifeless body falls to the ground in a heap, but I keep my eyes on him in case he actually changes into some horrible monstrosity. The gruesome sight of his decapitated corpse is almost hypnotizing. Through my peripherals, I can see Flora vomiting off to the side while Mel just stares in horror.

2/3 Insp. Chrisa Massey 2015/07/07(Tue)10:12 No. 653717 ID: 9f5a86
File 143628913781.png - (237.43KB , 800x600 , 04-096.png )

"D-Did we do it?" he asks shakily. I can't respond, as I can feel my entire body begin to shut down. Dizziness takes over as a terrible fever begins to well up in my head. I can feel something warm coming out of my eyes, nose, and mouth. I can taste it's more blood, but my senses are beginning to give way too. What the hell is happening to me? Did I exert myself, or did all the mind shit take a huge toll on my body? I wasn't even used to this 'mental warfare' shit, so that's a high possibility. Either way, my body was failing fast. If I'm to die now, I'm just glad I could do something about this madness.

3/3 Mel Schar 2015/07/07(Tue)10:12 No. 653718 ID: 9f5a86
File 143628915068.png - (287.27KB , 800x600 , 04-097.png )

Inspector Massey is in trouble! Suddenly, she just stumbled to the floor, looking very weak. I sprint over to her, trying not to look directly at the horribly disfigured bodies near her. I'm slightly squeamish, but of course I've never seen anything this violent in real life.

I try shaking her gently, calling out, "Massey! Inspector Massey! Can you hear me?" I'm not a doctor or paramedic, but I try to look for signs of life. I put my ear close to her mouth and can hear breaths, which is very relieving. I put a finger on her jugular. Her pulse is scarily low. Damnit, I have no idea what to do now! How bad is her condition and what exactly caused this? Was she really that exhausted? She appeared so energetic not long before she laid waste to the two guys. What do I do from here?!

Poisoned claws, probably. Clean out the wounds on her back and administer anything that would counter the symptoms of the poison.

Ask Flora for a med kit, and where to find the infirmary.

Who knows what that thing managed to do to her. Could be psychic backlash or just plain old poisoning. What did you see during all of that?

Check to make sure she is not bleeding to badly and see if there is anything odd about the wounds on her back. Then see if you can find a medic or some medical supplies. But do not go to far. Who knows if there are any more people working with them.

1/3 Mel Schar 2015/07/09(Thu)10:06 No. 654277 ID: 9f5a86
File 143646158075.png - (271.37KB , 800x600 , 04-098.png )

> What did you see during all of that?

Well, Inspector Massey was fighting the two. She sliced open the Anthro and had a struggle with the feranthro. It looked like he was doing something to her. He had his arm stretched out toward her and Massey was going frantic. Maybe it was the whole hallucination thing again. The feranthro took some swipes at her, but then Massey sliced his head right off.

> Clean out the wounds on her back and administer anything that would counter the symptoms of the poison.

I don't have anything to help with that!

> Ask Flora for a med kit, and where to find the infirmary.

"Flora, help me out here!" she hesitates, but eventually comes over, looking sick. "Do you know where there's a medkit? An infirmary maybe?"

"Yeah," she coughs a bit, "yeah, there's one on the main floor. What happened to her?"

"I don't know," I say as I try to turn her onto her stomach, first noticing bulging veins on her forehead and temples. There are several deep scratches across her back and some on her arms. Again, I'm no medic, but the wounds don't look peculiar in any way. I really hope she wasn't poisoned somehow. Either way, she was bleeding quite a bit and we had to get some help.

I ask Flora to help me move her and we put our backs into it. In my haste, I almost didn't hear the commotion going on behind me. Right as we get close to the massive doors, someone shouts at us.

"Freeze! Put your hands up in the air, fingers apart!" Immediately, I do just that.

2/3 Mel Schar 2015/07/09(Thu)10:06 No. 654278 ID: 9f5a86
File 143646160184.png - (191.74KB , 800x600 , 04-099.png )

"Hey! Put your weapon down!" someone else shouts. I look over my shoulder to see the soldier with broken legs leaned up against the side of the platform. Rick is on the floor, pinned, and there are a couple more soldiers now.

"But, Sir, these guys may have - "

"I said put your weapon down!" the crippled soldier commands again. The soldier apprehending us swears and lowers his gun. Was this guy a high ranking individual? "These people just saved our asses. They also saved the entire populace."

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard and seen more than enough. There was a feranthro trying to contaminate our Astoga supply. In fact, the supply is already compromised. I already told Klosson to stop the vehicles and stop distribution."

"The trucks were already tampered with, Sir," the apprehensive soldier says. "All of them had flat tires."

"Well, consider it a stroke of luck. We could have caused great harm to the people."

I speak up, "Um, Sir?"

"Just call me Williamson, kid."

"R-Right. We have someone who's injured here. She's hurt very badly and needs medical attention."

Williamson radios in. He was probably given one just recently. "Hornet two, this is Williamson. We need a medic down here immediately. Civilian injured. Do you read me?" He gets confirmation and I breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps Inspector Massey will be fine after all. I check on her again and she is still very much alive. "Did you get anything else from that feranthro?"

I shake my head and say, "We only know what you've heard, although the feranthro was talking about some cryptic stuff too. Something about a plan to make us one of them...Advocate's power...crazy things."

"Seeing another feranthro in here tampering with our Astoga already has me on edge. Wait," his eyes grow wide in realization, "This whole arrangement...Damn! I knew this Project Gabriel was - "

"Sir!" the apprehensive soldier pipes up again. "You can't mention that in front of civilians!" Now my interest is greatly piqued.

"These civilians saved us all!" Williamson barks back. "I think they deserve to know what the hell is going on."

"Do you really feel comfortable sharing secret information with us?" I ask in wonderment.

"Project Gabriel is something that's been going on for a long time. Now we ourselves don't have much information on it, since it's actually at a level of secrecy not even we can pry into, but we have been supporting operations in fulfilling the Project. There have been a lot of rumors going on about what's actually happening in the Crystarium." The Crystarium would be where the Premier resides...the most mysterious building in all of Primordia. I've only been there once, but that's because I'm collaborating with the Premier on my teleportation devices. "I'll share something I've been hearing. Apparently, not too long ago we've deployed a squadron down to the Middle after a distress call from the police. Someone down there started a massacre...someone very important. So important that the Premier himself ordered the deployment. He must have some kind of connection."

"Sir, I don't want to interrupt," the other soldier says, "but if the feranthro are tainting our supply. Do you really think we should let that one feranthro meet the Premier?"

"What? We don't have enough of a grip on that operation. Trust me, I'd stop it in the blink of an eye, but we can't do anything. We don't even know where they'll be."

3/3 Stan Weathers 2015/07/09(Thu)10:06 No. 654279 ID: 9f5a86
File 143646161518.png - (182.42KB , 800x600 , 04-100.png )

We're nearly at the pathway to the Upper City, I recall this gate now. But it looks like there are some soldiers in the area. They appear to be messing around with the forcefield devices. There are two Militia vehicles on the other side, but I'm not sure if there are soldiers inside.

"What you suggest we do?" Jai asks, his dialect rough. "You still have power. You know what you can do? You remember?" I try to think about something I can do about the situation. "You are feranthro now. Do not hold back against them. Do what you can."

>>654279
Well, I think we can do a lot of things here if we're using our powers.
We could probably even just make them hallucinate that we're not here if we're in the league of Yuseta.
Or we could probably incapacitate them with a mental screech, that's probably easier for the more common feranthros with powers.
Or we could just blow up their heads, but that's overkill and you'll probably enter a mental breakdown.

Try the hallucination, practice making a feranthro flee past them or into an ally somewhere. If you can do that, you should be able to make yourself invisible to all the guards here. If you can't, just do a mental screech thing. I know you can pull that off.

Stan Weathers 2015/07/13(Mon)09:22 No. 655672 ID: 9f5a86
File 143680454037.png - (209.15KB , 800x600 , 04-101.png )

> We could probably even just make them hallucinate that we're not here if we're in the league of Yuseta.

Hallucinations? I have no idea how I'd be able to pull that off.

> Or we could probably incapacitate them with a mental screech

Some kind of loud noise or disturbance I can cause inside of their head? I don't really have a clue how I can manage that.

> Or we could just blow up their heads, but that's overkill and you'll probably enter a mental breakdown.

Explode their heads?! If I can't figure out how to mess with their minds, I'm not sure how I can even do something that extreme! Regardless if I can't really think of anything to do or what sort of powers I'm really capable of, I should try to at least do something. I lean over to the right of our cover and stretch my arm out, aiming for the soldiers. I give them a hard stare and try to keep focus, but nothing seems to be happening. I realize I'm holding my breath and let it go, lowering my arm. I feel stupid. How am I supposed to do this?

>>655672
I guess you could practice your eyejack ability and see if you can branch out from there. It was Aiden's first ability, after all.

If nothing, okay fuck it then Feranthro powered parkour up a wall. Then get in position to jump 'em from the rooftops.
They're not looking this way you could totally do something conspicuous like that.
You COULD rush them, but they'll probably immediately sense you running at them so a divebomb approach is probably best.

I mean, you HAVE no real inventory right now. It limits our options to straight up melee. Maybe once you're on the rooftops have your ally lure them into an allyway by calling for help, then you can jump 'em. He looks like an Anthro, they should just believe him outright.

1/5 Stan Weathers 2015/07/18(Sat)16:28 No. 656774 ID: 9f5a86
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> I guess you could practice your eyejack ability and see if you can branch out from there. It was Aiden's first ability, after all.

Sight powers still working, but I can't do much else while jacking.

> If nothing, okay fuck it then Feranthro powered parkour up a wall. Then get in position to jump 'em from the rooftops.

I point out some shacks and small shops that are lined up against the cliff face to the soldiers' right. If they aren't too close to the cliff, that could serve as an alley of some sort. We quickly but quietly go over and circle around the shacks. We pick a spot close to the gate and I inspect the roof of one of the shacks. All the roofs look pretty flimsy, and I can only hope that they'll be able to hold me well enough. Jumping off the cliff itself wouldn't be an option...it's just too high and I'd like to try and avoid breaking my legs.

I give Jai a quick lowdown of the plan. As I explain it, he just stares at me coldly. I can tell he's still upset at me for what I've done, but he is trying to hold back his rage, probably knowing that it wasn't truly me. I can only hope he understands what I'm going through. I'll do whatever I can to redeem myself, I promise.

"Does the plan sound good?" I ask him for acknowledgement, since I can't tell if he disagrees.

"Simple. Will work. Maybe," he replies bluntly. He goes underneath the shack roof and I try to lift myself onto the roof with the help of a nearby box. I get down on my belly and lay as low as possible. I give the roof a couple knocks to let him know I'm ready. Whatever happens will happen, but we absolutely must get to the Upper fast. I can sense the strange signal in the air getting stronger the closer we get.

Jai shouts out, and as I predicted, it gets the soldiers' attention. They angrily prattle with each other for a bit before they decide to investigate together.

2/5 Stan Weathers 2015/07/18(Sat)16:28 No. 656775 ID: 9f5a86
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I leap onto the soldier pacing behind his partner. His head hits the ground hard, but with his helmet I doubt he's knocked out. I pin him down with all of my strength.

3/5 Stan Weathers 2015/07/18(Sat)16:29 No. 656776 ID: 9f5a86
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The front soldier's reflexes are startling. He turns around and shoots at me before Jai even has a chance to react. I feel the impact of the bullets, but none of them go into my body. I... remember that now... that instant. I've already taken several bullets before, but something held them back before they could pierce my flesh. This is one of my powers. Was it some kind of super-powerful forcefield?

The soldier is clearly surprised at what just happened. I can see Jai coming around the corner and aiming his gun at the soldier's neck.

4/5 Stan Weathers 2015/07/18(Sat)16:29 No. 656777 ID: 9f5a86
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"Stop!" I shout, extending my arm toward him. I'm not sure what caused me to lash out. Like Jai said, I'm a feranthro now and should not hold back on these guys... but I don't know. Even if that's true, I don't really feel up to murdering a bunch of people... although, if that's what I have to do to get to my goal, I may have to get over myself.

Jai doesn't look like he'll hesitate in killing the soldier, but then suddenly the gun is whisked out of his hand. At the same time I can feel some kind of a force jetting out of my outstretched arm, and the gun starts to fly towards me.

5/5 Stan Weathers 2015/07/18(Sat)16:29 No. 656778 ID: 9f5a86
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I catch it with ease, but I continue to stare at it in a trance. What sort of things am I really capable of here? Did I just have to get closer to do anything to these guys? The soldier is frantic and whirls around at Jai, rifle at the ready. I have to do something now!

Pull his gun to you and scowl at him. Will need to find some rope or maybe a metal item you can bend around them to keep them out of the way.

Yes, do the same thing with the guys gun...
Or use Jai's gun to shoot the guard in the leg, I doubt Jai will get hurt then.

Menace him with feranthro teeth.

1/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/21(Tue)10:06 No. 657353 ID: 9f5a86
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> Pull his gun to you and scowl at him.

> Yes, do the same thing with the guys gun...

I aim my palms at the soldier's gun and wrest it from his grasp. He stumbles backward as if my aim was off a little and I attracted all the metal covering his body.

> use Jai's gun to shoot the guard in the leg

Once the rifle is in my hands, I take aim and shoot him in the leg, being careful not to hit Jai. He cries out in pain and falls onto his knees.

2/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/21(Tue)10:07 No. 657354 ID: 9f5a86
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> find some rope or maybe a metal item you can bend around them to keep them out of the way

I can see a few metal barrels lying around here. I focus my energy on one of them and lift it with my power. I see the soldier getting up again, limping. This guy's a hell of a fighter, but this should stop him. I put the barrel over his body, which turns out a bit large. I do some quick thinking and gesture my hands, slowly motioning them close to each other. Suddenly I feel an intense energy inside of my arms, coursing into my hands. They start to tremble and it scares the hell out of me. I look back at the soldier who is struggling to free himself from the barrel, but the barrel is beginning to crumble and cave in, tightening around him. He falls down, wriggling like a worm. When I think it's tight enough, I lower my hands, sensing the energy dissipating.

3/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/21(Tue)10:07 No. 657355 ID: 9f5a86
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I breathe deeply, feeling a little worn out. I gaze up at Jai and he nods to me in approval. I just notice the soldier beneath me still struggling. I'm surprised he hasn't managed to shove me off already. With Jai helping to keep a firm grip on the canid soldier so he can't do anything, I put a barrel over him as well and shrink it.

4/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/21(Tue)10:08 No. 657356 ID: 9f5a86
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In the distance I can hear motors starting and growing louder. The sound of something sliding along dirt ground also gets closer. I turn toward the gate and one of the military vehicles launches through the opening, a soldier arming the machine gun on top. They must've been alarmed from the gunfire. The machine gunner turns on a swivel in a full circle...then stops at our direction.

Bend the tube of the machinegun.
Bend the metal around the opening of the turret placement into pointy triangles aimed at the guys head and tell him to stand down. He's not your enemy or your target, and you're an anthro sympathizer, the opposite of a feranthro sympathizer. It's just, you know, the anthro's are a physical threat to you and won't believe a word you can say, so you're not bothering much beyond this explanation and just trying to incapacitate any threats that come across.

Order them to dispel any coming back up or you'll just continue to humilate them further with your awesome powers. Seriously, you guys are under equipped, don't fuck with me. I'm going to do what I need to in order to help you guys NOT get fucked hard by other feranthro's like us. Then leave. There's something worse than us here, and we gotta stop it. Just let us do our thing and don't get in our way. Report whatever you guys want later, no one will care.

I wonder if you could send that message in an instant through the mind instead of having to say it all. Try it, you just unlocked metal powers, comm powers have to be easier in comparison.

If you bend the machinegun it might backfire and cause death anyway. Why not sever the ammo belt.

1/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/24(Fri)10:46 No. 657836 ID: 9f5a86
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> Why not sever the ammo belt.

I don't think I can actually sever something. I'd need practice, but that's out of the question right now.

> Bend the tube of the machinegun.

I once again extend my arm out, aiming at the machine gun. The metal of the machine gun's muzzle groans as it starts to bend and twist upward. The soldier flinches and moves back from the gun, letting it go.

He shouts to the inside of the vehicle, "I can't shoot him! The muzzle's bent! No, I don't know how it happened!"

> I wonder if you could send that message in an instant through the mind instead of having to say it all. Try it, you just unlocked metal powers, comm powers have to be easier in comparison.

While he's occupied, I try to communicate with him mentally. I start by saying that I am not in any way trying to harm any Anthros, but that I am actually an anthro sympathizer. It's better terminology than just trying to say I'm helping them. I don't think anyone would believe that either way I say it. The soldier seems to respond to my attempts at telepathy and looks around wildly.

"Who said that?" he shouts. "What is going on?" I continue to communicate, this time focusing on something a little more intimidating.

"If you don't want to believe me, that's fine, but you can't stop me and I won't let you stop me. Order your men to hold back. There is a feranthro threat far worse than me in the Upper and I will confront them. I am trying to save you all! Don't stop me."

The soldier is even more frantic, but then turns back to me, giving the impression he might understand what I'm going on about. He shouts to the inside of the vehicle again, "Is that the feranthro the Premier was talking about? You know the one! Then what the hell are we doing down here? You really think that's him?" While they argue on, Jai and I sneak on by and hurry down the road. They've more than likely noticed us, but thankfully they aren't following us.

2/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/24(Fri)10:46 No. 657837 ID: 9f5a86
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The rest of the trip is a long walk upward with little opposition. When we finally make it to the Upper City, we still don't notice any guards or Militia at all. I can see a couple helicopters flying around, but that's it. They must be on the other side of the city. While we continue to walk down the trail to wherever the source of this signal is, I decide to bother Jai a bit.

"So you're Sgt. Schar's brother?" I ask. Jai just looks straight ahead, unflinching. He doesn't say anything for a bit.

"Yes. Caelus brother," he responds.

"I think I remember you. You were that masked man, weren't you? You shot me right here," I say, pointing at my forehead. Jai does not seem to like what I said, giving me a scowl.

"You were mad. You were killing many people," he retorts hotly. "And Yuseta want you for something."

"She made me kill all those people. I couldn't control myself!"

"You believe this? You kill Luken. Many Luken. She would not kill Luken," he states firmly, looking back forward with a huff. He actually has a point, but I don't know who to blame this on. This signal that I am trying to sense...the familiar feeling I get from it might give me a connection to whatever it was. "I should be in Lower...with father," he says.

"I know, I know," I try to sound like I have some empathy for him. "But you've already helped me a lot back there."

"You do not need my help," he says coldly.

"I do, Jai. You have powers too, don't you? We have a better chance!" he just scoffs softly and looks away. With how far we've gone, I don't think he has much of a choice anyway.

Suddenly, I pick another signal. The sensation of two at once is a very bothering feeling and I become anxious. I stop in my tracks and Jai turns toward me, looking puzzled. I move my head around, trying to get a better feedback. A building that we've just now come across, the Primordia Finance building, is where it's coming from. I walk up to the big glass doors in front and look around. The huge chamber inside doesn't look like it's occupied.

"In here?" Jai asks. I nod in response, still pretty confused myself. This isn't really my destination, but the signal is so powerful that I have to find out what it is. We enter the building and our feet echo across the large, dark, and empty foyer. There's an elevator planted in the middle of the room. It should be able to take us right to the top.

3/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/24(Fri)10:47 No. 657838 ID: 9f5a86
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We get inside the elevator and make our ascent to the roof stairwell. Before we go out the door, I try to sightjack whoever is behind it. I see an image for a split second before it's blotted out again. Damn! Did I just get kicked out of it? If there was some effort in doing that, they must notice I'm here by now. I turn to Jai.

"I don't know what is through this door, but they might be very dangerous. Are you ready for this?" Jai just flicks his muzzle to the door, gesturing that I should go first. I sigh deeply, hold my breath, then open the door.

4/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/24(Fri)10:47 No. 657839 ID: 9f5a86
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I let my eyes adjust, then I see her. Yuseta. It doesn't look like anyone is with her, but she is standing in front of a helicopter. I seems more and more likely that the source of the original signal is coming from the far edge of the city where the Crystarium lies. It is almost impossible to get there from ground level unless you are Militia. Is she planning on using the helicopter.

"So we meet again," she says, slowly turning to face me. "You are quite the elusive one, you know?"

You could wreck the helicopter but would be handy to use ourselves if you can deal with her.

I think your battle plan is going to rely on you fighting her with your powers so that Jai has a chance to sneak around and stab her in the neck during the fight.

Hello.
I'm tired.
Your plan is dumb, it relies on a thing you barely understand. Even if you know way more than me, or us, I know you still don't completely understand its magnitude. You got its name from the graffti on it's side, for pete's sake. That's just stupid and foolhardy. That thing looks like some weapon the Anthro's would produce, but I guess its from Precursors or some shit. Don't you listen to tales about hubris and the unknown? I mean, like, come on Yuseta, you're smarter than that.
Unless you're secretly a traitor to whatever cause this thing with the advocate is about. Then I guess good job on being smart and self-aware then.
That's just all I have to say on the matter.

Maybe you can cajole her into "showing" you the weapon and taking you there herself, if you stroke her ego a bit.

If that fails, Just Cause 2 teaches us that you can hijack a helicopter with 3 QTEs.

1/2 Stan Weathers 2015/07/27(Mon)18:12 No. 658652 ID: 9f5a86
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> I think your battle plan is going to rely on you fighting her with your powers so that Jai has a chance to sneak around and stab her in the neck during the fight.

I'm not sure it's going to be that easy. Both times I've encountered her, including now, I sense a very powerful aura. I don't even know if I can compete with her, and even if I were to try, what exactly should I attempt to do? As much as I'd like to strangle the life out of her for what she did to me, I'm not sure I can even touch her.

"And Jai," she continues with a soft laugh, "What an interesting duo. I've already known of your developing powers." She looks back at me. "With it, you must have sensed me. So now you are here."

"What were you doing down in the Lower city?" I ask bitterly. "And what are you doing in our city?"

"It isn't your city anymore," she states coldly. "And I figured you'd know by now. The only reason you would be up here is to find me, yes?"

"That wasn't originally my intention. I'm trying to find something else. It may have been what controlled me down there."

"I see," she looks thoughtful. "I may know what you speak of. I'm heading in the very direction you're going." She gives me a wily smirk. I'm taken aback by this. Why is she going to the Crystarium? "Perhaps you'd like to come with me. There's plenty of room in the helicopter."

2/2 Stan Weathers 2015/07/27(Mon)18:12 No. 658653 ID: 9f5a86
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"No!" Jai shouts, pointing his pistol at her. "We will not come with you."

"You don't have to, traitor," she hisses. "But the feline can. I don't see the hurt in letting him witness this."

"He will not come with, either," Jai takes a step forward. "You help me. We fight. Keep her away. We go without Yuseta," he says to me. Should I stay and fight with him, or should I convince Jai to come with us and possibly avoid any trouble?

I don't think you can fight her yet even with the two of you working together. Maybe after you got a better handle on your powers but you have only been able to control them for less then a day. Even if you did take her out it would probably result in most this building going down and everyone sustaining lethal injuries.

As long as she does not try any mind control bullshit I say try and calm down Jai and go with her. Tell him that we have to wait until the perfect moment to strike or fighting her will be futile.

>>658653
Tell Jai this is Aiden's fight when he can control the Advocate and I guess come back in his physical form. We should just head to the crystarium ourselves on foot.

Even we can't take her right now. we can't figure out her defense. We'll die if we try. Let Aiden do it after he masters the Advocate. Which he will. He HAS to, or we're all fucked anyway. Do you really not want to see her face when she sees him again, Advocate powers in tow? Jai, do you not understand how precious that look will be?

Don't let her get ahead of you though. Fuck up the helicopter with your powers, but when her guard is down and she doesn't thing you're going to fight her. Whatever's at the crystarium, we don't want her getting there first. It might be the key to helping Aiden out with the Advocate. Tell her to take a cab, it's humbling. She could use some humility.

Hey Weathers? See the centre hub of the Helicopter's main robot? That's a big complicated lump of gearing that the entire helicopter relies upon to fly. If you crush, bend, or stretch even a part of that, the helicopter isn't going anywhere. And even if Yuseta shares your power, it's pretty unlikely she knows enough about swash plate design for her to fix it.

1/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/30(Thu)18:57 No. 659452 ID: 9f5a86
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> As long as she does not try any mind control bullshit I say try and calm down Jai and go with her.

> We should just head to the crystarium ourselves on foot.

> Fuck up the helicopter with your powers

> That's a big complicated lump of gearing that the entire helicopter relies upon to fly. If you crush, bend, or stretch even a part of that, the helicopter isn't going anywhere.

I'm not leaning towards going with her. It seems she would definitely try something sinister if we were to tag along with her on the helicopter...and I think I may have just thought of a good idea, but I have to make one thing clear to her first.

"I'm not going with you," I say firmly. "And I'm not fighting you." She could wish to fight or even kill us right here and now, but I can tell she doesn't really want to waste her energy on us.

She chuckles in response to my statement and says, "I figured you wanted to confront me while you still had the chance, but I will say that is a wise choice." She takes a seat on the edge of the helicopter opening, letting her legs sway back and forth playfully. "Don't you think you should leave then?"

I extend my arms and face my palms toward the rotor machinery sitting on the top of the helicopter. I bring my palms in and then face them toward each other. As I close them in, the metal starts to bend and collapse, trinkets and pieces coming out of the metal encasing, kinda like I'm squishing a jelly doughnut. Yuseta just gazes up at the scene, looking intrigued. After I finish, I give her a glare and a huff, but she remains stoic. She says, "Well, if you wish to prolong the inevitable, so be it." I grind my teeth in irritation at her unchanging attitude, but I don't want to make this any worse than it has to be. I turn and take my leave, Jai following behind. As I go, I can hear someone shouting profanities behind us.

2/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/30(Thu)18:58 No. 659453 ID: 9f5a86
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It's strange that Yuseta just let us leave like that. It's almost insulting, as if we're really nothing to her. When we come to the streets again, I think about what we should do. It's going to be incredibly difficult getting into the Crystarium. God knows how many checkpoints and other obstacles will be in the path.

At a nearby intersection, I see a convoy rolling by and I suddenly think about good times back then...when I was first deployed to the Middle. Well, it wasn't really that long ago, but I remember it fondly, when I was sitting in there all nervous and seeing Sgt. Schar for the first time. I hope he's still okay. I have no idea what is going on inside of that dreadful Advocate, but I have a bad feeling all over when it comes to the thought of it. I also come to realize that the street the convoy is going down is very familiar. I look down it and notice some buildings I've been seeing a lot back when I lived here. It hits me: This is the same street where the police station is! I heard that there's a whiz kid that works in the police station. I never got to see him myself, but maybe now is my chance. I signal to Jai and we go down the street.

3/4 Mel Schar 2015/07/30(Thu)18:58 No. 659454 ID: 9f5a86
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It was nice of the Militia to take us back here! I can't believe how fortunate we are to be here right now. Things are really starting to come together. Inspector Massey looks to be recovering pretty well, although still feverish and a little delirious. I gave my farewells to Rick and Flora, who have decided to stay behind and help clean up the mess at the Astoga Company building.

So many things are buzzing in my head right now. Almost everything is in place here. We have what we need to get ourselves into the Crystarium: the teleporter that I've been working on! It's not really one-hundred percent complete, but it's the only chance we have to get into the Crystarium quick and easy with little obstacles. There's another problem...I've never put a person into this thing yet, but I've done so many extensive tests that it just has to work, and the risks of bodily harm aren't...too bad. Okay, I need to calm down. I need to explain this whole process to Inspector Massey as simply as I can, but I don't know if she's even in the best condition to be using this. I try to explain it all to her without letting the words pour out of my mouth too quickly.

"So there you have it! With all the modules set up and the coordinate inputs specified, it should be as easy as sitting on this chair and letting it do the rest. As long as the other teleporter and receivers at the Crystarium are working in top-condition, we'll encounter no troubles! Well, that's what I'm hoping for anyway. How does that sound?" Inspector Massey looks indifferent, almost as if not paying me any attention. She's massaging her forehead - I can see some veins bulging and it's kinda disturbing. I really hope I didn't overwhelm her, but she probably needs more time to recover.

"What else do we possibly have to fucking do?" she asks, frustrated. Crap, I didn't even tell her what's going on.

"A feranthro...a leader figure I think, is going to meet the Premier. There's arrangements and everything."

"Okay," she says curtly, "so then why do we have to intervene?"

"Don't you want to stop him?"

"If he's put so much trust in this feranthro to go into his own sanctum," she sighs deeply, "then why should we bother?"

"I...don't know. Personally, I think there may be ulterior motives here. I mean, why do you think everyone was moved to the Underground? What if there's a full-scale war that's about to break out?"

"Hmph," she continues to rub her forehead, looking pensive. "I suppose you have a point there. You can hardly tell what those fuckers have up their sleeves. You would figure the Premier would have all precautions set into place, though."

"Well, do you think we should go then?"

She scoffs, "And do what when we get there? Get apprehended by the elites? Get beaten half to death? We won't get within one-hundred feet of the Premier."

"I've seen him a couple times," I state, "for, uh, commendation purposes. If he notices me, perhaps he'll hear what we have to say!"

4/4 Stan Weathers 2015/07/30(Thu)18:58 No. 659455 ID: 9f5a86
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I knock a couple times on the kid's door, hoping that he's in. I hear some footsteps and the door creaks open just slightly so that I can see a pair of goofy-looking glasses and a wide set of horrified eyes looking right at me. The kid screams in fright and flees. I open the door and shout, "Wait!"

He begins to rummage in a metal locker and then pulls out a massive gun, the likes of which I've never seen. Does that thing even shoot bullets? He brandishes the muzzle at us, looking like he's struggling to keep it lifted, which isn't a surprise considering his frame.

"Stay back! Stay back or y-you're gonna get fried!" he threatens.

>>659455
Put down Jai's gun. Tell him to calm down, that's Aiden's other brother, wanna piss of your brother when he gets out of the gel thing with godlike powers?
Yo, smart guy, Aiden's ex-partner and birth brother here.
We want to reach the Crystarium to stop a feranthro or another vague threat, can you help us?

Calmly take a step back and slowly push Jai's weapon down. Then explain who you are and whats been going on.

If he panics and tries to shoot you try to pull his gun out of his hands but don't crush it. Who knows that that thing might do if damaged.

Stan Weathers 2015/08/04(Tue)15:17 No. 660305 ID: 9f5a86
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> Put down Jai's gun. Tell him to calm down

> Calmly take a step back and slowly push Jai's weapon down. Then explain who you are and whats been going on.

I take a step back and gently lower Jai's gun, trying not to make any sudden moves.

"Hey, hey, hold on. Let me explain who I am," I say calmly. It might be hard to remain calm when you see a naked, bloodied feranthro in the Upper city, but I have to try my best here. "I'm Stan Weathers. I was an officer here once and I was stationed in the Middle with a Sgt. Aiden Schar. Do you know either of us?" Once I mention Schar's name, the kid looks bewildered. He even lowers his cannon a little. I gently exhale in relief and gesture over to Jai. "This here is Jai. He's Sgt Schar's blood brother. We're here for a very important reason."

Off to the side, I see someone very familiar nodding to Jai. She says, "Wrinkle-face," to him as if she knows him. He nods back and grunts.

"H-How are you so eloquent?" Mel asks in awe. "And...Aiden. How do you know him? Wait, were you turned into one of them? I've been hearing about Anthros changing down in the Middle."

"Yeah, I was one of them. I got to see their city down below as well. They're cooking up something really nasty and they're even carrying out plans up here. We have to stop them." Mel lowers his cannon and puts a hand on his forehead, gazing off in disbelief.

"This is crazy. This can't just be some coincidence," he says.

"What?"

"We're trying to stop them too. They want to see the Premier for something, and I just know it's going to be bad," Mel explains. "We were just about to use this teleporter. It connects directly to the Crystarium. I'm just hoping that the proper modules are activated so that I can maintain a link to the other teleporter." He suddenly appears very worried and then looks back at me. "You said you were stationed with Aiden? What happened to him? Is he okay?! Did he go Underground like everyone else?!"