well shit this looks bad first and foremost we probably need to gt that caller off

and you still have the book? that must mean something

Ask bones how the collar works.

Do you remember how you bound us? See if you can unleash us with a mental command and no magic.

First, ask about.. everything, I guess.

you need a weapon, look around your cell for anything heavy, also look at bones armor. see if it has any weak points. ideally you'll find a big rock or something and get bones focused on that, leaving him open for your stinger to pump him full of poison.

also if he answers questions ask him what happened to your traveling companion (don't give him her name, or let on that you lover her.) if he has her i doubt he's tried anything like what he's doing to you with her, rose is almost as dangerous unarmed as she is with a weapon.

>>396258

If it's made of human leather and bones it won't be all THAT strong. Ripping a femur from it should be possible. Maybe not easy, but possible. And femurs make fine clubs.

But FIRST she needs to slip her bonds. Can't do anything if she's all tied up.

oh missed that, look for anything sharp to cut the ropes with, failing that try gnawing on them.

>>396246
Yes.

Ask the man the voice on the intercom has warned is going to rape you.

He's sure to be helpful and tell us nothing but the truth.

>>396290

I'm sure this Bones figure is merely coming here to braid our hair.

I'm assuming you won't be able to do shit to escape with that camera looking at you. try to grab something sharp or otherwise weaponizable discreetly. hopefully killing Bones without the use of magic will amuse Noise enough to let you live.

The book is bound to you isn't it? Or is it bound to us? Or us to it? We are definitely bound to you in any case, so whatever.


Only thing I can think of is waiting for the dude to come close to you and then stabbing him in the throat with your horns.

All I can really think of, short term, is waiting for the guy to get close to you and then stabbing him in the throat with your horns.

For more of a mid-term plan, we might be able to call out for Harumda, like how he first made us aware of his presence. Doubt it would register to these guys as magic use. But maybe it would.

>>396290
Overconfidence could cause him to tell us. The hubris of the enemy has allowed many a hero to escape an inescapable trap.

We could try to take over Bones. We are still a demon and I've got the impression even when we weren't bound, we weren't quite physically present. It may be necessary to touch Bones with the Book.

There is It That Lurks, too. Didn't Rose say fair creatures can control electronic devices? Your collar's beeping indicates that one is an electronic device. Being around your neck it is in contact with you, which should put it in reach of It That Lurks, too. Even if It That Lurks cannot control that device, it will help if he can learn what triggers it. If it can't sense magic but works of the physical reaction the body experiences when touching taint, there might be a way around it.

Otherwise asking for more information might help, but it doesn't look like Bones can talk. Bones pressed a button to activate the intercom.
Why did he press a button to alert Noise to Sera's awakening? You know, the intercom might have played a recording and there is no one watching the camera at this exact moment.

If the possession tricks don't work, use the horns, they are a weapon, and your legs. You didn't say your legs are tied and didn't you learn a little combat from Rose's friends in James Town?

Don't you still have a tail barb armed with paralytic poison?

>>396368

good thinking!

>>396246
When I ask him a question, he just laughs, but... it's a laugh without any real sound, more like a wheeze.

>>396253
>Do you remember how you bound us? See if you can unleash us with a mental command and no magic.
I can't. I'm sorry...

>Only thing I can think of is waiting for the dude to come close to you and then stabbing him in the throat with your horns.
>use the horns


As the gate slides open, and scoot into the corner, using it to lean forward a bit and coil my legs to the ground, watching him raise a cleaver high. I watch him approach, then launch forward, horns in his neck. the cleaver, spattered with dry blood, clatters to the ground as he gurgles. I feel blood, warm and wet, roll down my face.

With a sharp snap of my neck and a motion of my shoulders, I throw him to the ground, where he wheezes until he chokes on his blood and dies. I pant, letting the adrenelin fade.

When reasoning returns, I free myself with the cleaver, rubbing my wrists.

"GREAT JOB, BITCH!" roars the intercom. "BEEN WANTING TO SEE THAT ASSHOLE KICK IT FOR YEARS. AND NOW HE'S BLEEDING OUT IN A JAIL CELL. KINDA POETIC!" A sharp, barking laugh transmits over the intercom. "NOW THEN, HERE'S THE REAL GAME. EVERY PERSON YOU KILL HERE, YOU GET A QUESTION ANSWERED. JUST LOOKIT THE CAMERA AN' SPEAK CLEARLY - BUT REMEMBER, WE'RE HUNTING YOU. AND WE'RE MUCH BETTER ARMED THAN BONES WAS. SO, IF YOU WANT, ASK YOUR QUESTION. BUT YOU'D BETTER SPEAK UP."

The room has one door that leads out into narrow halls. The camera sits above the doorway, a small mic mounted beneath it. Without magic, I can't use shadow-magic to hide, and I'm still as bad at stealth as ever.

I wonder where Rose is. I wonder if she's even okay? Oh god, what about Midtown? Harumda?! Scars?

For the first time since I left my Vault, I've not got anyone by my side, no one to take the blows or dish them out for me.

I'm... I'm so scared.

your not alone, you have us, and you are going to get through this. i'm not going to lie, your in a bad situation but it is far from hopeless, and farther still from the worst situation we have gotten a host out of. judging from his rant earlier i think midtown is ok, he was grumbling about how the raid was broken up by some monsters so that's one less thing to worry about. now for what you should use your question on, i can think of two questions you might want to ask.
1. "where is my traveling companion?" (if we are lucky rose is in hear with us so we can hook up)

2. "how do i deactivate this collar?" (your primarily a caster so being able to use magic would be nice, but letting you get your magic back might not be part of the "game" so he wouldn't give a useful anser)

keep in mind you are going to get more questions so asking something that is immediately useful would be a good idea.

Actually I think our first question should be how to get the collar off. Using magic, you should be able to kill someone else, and use your question to find Rose. After that, I imagine we'll find uses for other question...

Rose. ask for Rose.

The dude is a sadist, look at the setup he has.

He's just going to use the questions to taunt you. So turn that around on him.

Ask him what it felt like losing a leg.

>>396621
This guy has the right of it. In his exact words, he'll answer a question, he didn't say he'll answer it truthfully. He's probably just getting off on your psychological pain.

Asking about Rose would make it obvious you care about her, which they would almost certainly try to manipulate you with.

>>396641
This.

Do NOT ask about Rose.

No asking about Rose.

@@ Shot!H508X.HbJ6 2012/04/02(Mon)20:34 No. 398315 ID: 54103e
File 133342405943.jpg - (14.75KB , 439x210 , VisualizedMap.jpg )

>>396663
>>396664
>>396641
>>396626
>>396621
"How'd it feel to lose your leg?"

There's no pause - he just laughs, a bellowing roar of mirth.

"OH MAN, I SURE CAN PICK THEM. NEVER FELT BETTER, BITCH. NOW GET MOVING - I'M SURE SOMEONE HEARD YOU."

I peek out the door, and indeed, several people are approaching. They are armed, better than Bones. Projectile weapons, some body armor... I didn't get that good a look.

I could hide here, or I could move. It's risky either way, and I'm not even sure what most of this place looks like!

Let me see if I can't think up a map for you to better help me navigate...

Sera is the green dot. Cameras/intercoms/PA speaker clusters are brownish dots. Enemies are red dots.

>>398315
Aw fucksticks, they're right outside. Well, there's another door. Loop around and we may be able to keep out of sight.

If you can get one of those three guys alone you can ambush the loner. Throw a rock to one side of the corridor and scurry to the other side using the rooms. If one of them is still in the middle of the corridor, knife em and get his gun. If all of them investigate the sound, run to relative safety.

yeah, loop around that middle room.

First the enemies stand under one of those intercom/speaker/camera combos and the way to sneak around them is under cameras, too. Sera can only sneak around them if Noise allows that. Given how he wants to see the people in hell hurting and killing each other I don't think he will allow Sera to avoid a fight. And Sera is a very bad sneak anyway.
Second the enemies are here longer too and should know the layout.

Under those circumstances I think it is best to attack. Look around if there are some loose lengths of steel in or on the cages you could use as spear. Throw something into the hallway, then wait long enough for the enemies to relax after the initial reaction. Say five seconds. Then charge them and keep as much in the shadow as you can. The lighting in the hallway shouldn't be too good and you can use horrifying presence to get another second or two.
If you found a spear, run the closest one through and use the body as cover to close on the others.
If you don't your best bet is speed. Use the cleaver, your stinger, your horns and your wings to hit them while you run through them on the way to the other entry from the hallway to the cells. If you can grab the last one and head butt him with your horns, use him as cover. Otherwise don't stop before you are back in the cell block.

>>398440
I look around for something to toss... then pull a bone from Bones's armor, tossing it into the hall, before ducking into the bathroom. Holding my cleaver in a tight, white-knuckled hand, I listen as best I can. Slow, careful breathing as my body tenses.

"She started here, right?" A feminine voice, with an edge.

"Man, all the new ones start here." A more masculine, but younger one. Very young. "You know how Noise plays."

"Well, she's gotta be in here, somewhere..." An older voice, smooth, masculine.

Careful. I have to be careful. And then one of them steps into the room.

He's tall. Taller than me, with thick armor plates painted in black-red blood. Patterns that call to War, to Death, to demons. Sigils. They aren't magical, but they are what they are, unholy symbols.

It makes it easier to not hesitate. My blade comes down, lodging in his collar, between shoulder and neck. The wound is deep, but he still has time to roar in pain and whirl to face me. I push against the wall, my horn slamming into his eye and through it, impaling his head on my horn. When I kick him away, into tho hallway, I tear out the cleaver and step out behind him.

[Horrifying Prescense]

The lighting flickers as blood trails from my horn, the other already caked in blood, my cleaver dripping as I hunker down to charge. The lights flicker as the younger one, a boy of less than twelve years, lets out a cry as he fires with his pistol.

It wings off the bars of a nearby cell as he attempts to fire again - his gun jamming. His panic is wonderful - delicious - right - as I close in, my tail lancing out, peircing his blood-clotted clothing. He drops, but the woman, with a sword as long as her arm, parries my cleaver, sending a shock up my arm as I dance away.

We stand under the flickering fluorescent lights, my tail flicking ff blood to prevent the blood from clotting over the tip. The room smells of freshly spilled blood, dried gore, sweat, and fear.

The woman seems to feel assured, her weapon held at ready. Her mutations are minimal - her eyes catlike, teeth predatory. She has the beauty of an amoral predator, sleek, fit. Her clothing is tight, somewhat rubbery, covered in more gore.

My entire body tingles with anticipation.

What should I do?

Yay for killing children like it was nothing!

Also yay for the Fiends recruiting FUCKING CHILDREN! (So I guess I can't hold it against Sera. Child soldiers and all...)

Chop her in half!

You have more limbs then her.. batter her with your wings, your tail, distract her from realzing you've got a knife in her until its too late then use your tail to poison her.

Try and make it so any strikes she hits you with land on your scales.

if you can somehow get into a grapple with her, she's a dead woman. y'know, because of the tail.

that fucking tail... it's starting to really grow on me. figuratively.

afterwards, keep a look out for spots the cameras can't see. you'll need to tinker with your collar, because there's no way Noise will let you go. after all, you'll have to challenge him eventually.

>>399248
if i remember correctly isn't her poison paralytic? kid should be alive

>>399286
I get the impression that the tail hit him somewhere vital-heart, guts, etc.

shes better than you are in close combat in all likelihood, however you have about 4 weapons to strike her with. your knife, your tail, and both of your wings. i'd recommend trying to get her with your tail, prisoners might be useful. use your clever and your wings to distract her long enough to get her with your tail, keep in mind she is probably going to get a cut to your wings in during this, but hopefully nothing too deep.

>>399245
You no longer have the element of surprise, and this lady is extremely skilled.

I suggest a tactical retreat, then ask the shouty bumfucker in the speakers how to take off the collar without it exploding. We killed someone, he owes us one question answered.

>>399286
Oh, right.

@@ Shot!H508X.HbJ6 2012/04/13(Fri)20:20 No. 400975 ID: 2fe09b
File 133437361754.jpg - (19.21KB , 435x389 , VisualizedMap.jpg )

>Attempt to use extra limbs for leverage

I dart in close again, swinging my blade at her amatuerishly. Just as easily, I find it blocked, but my tail swings out - her hips slip out of the way, and as I attempt to slam her with my wings, she ducks - and lunges. It skitters off my arm scales, but slices in just past them, and I barely dance away.

The cut isn't that big, but without healing magic or bandages, in an environment like this... I need to be more careful. With another step and a flick, my weapon flies from my hand, slamming into Bone's chest. She holds the blade at level, but I leap away and flap my wings, soaring back into the hallway. I spin in midair and pump, once, shooting forth. I almost forgot about my wings! Er, well, I forgot what they were meant to do. It's cramped, but not so much I can't glide faster than I can run.

It looks like the building is symmetrical - and not very wide. To my left, I hear commotion - two voices. Ahead I see more of those multimedia arrangements. Landing, I call.

"Alright, how do I get this off?"

"ABOUT TIME YOU ASKED A 'GOOD' QUESTION. LISTEN CLOSE, NOW - THESE COLLARS WERE ONCE USED TO HOLD MAGIC-USING PRISONERS BEFORE THE CATACLYSM. GOT THAT? YOU'LL NEED TWO KEYS TO OPEN ONE. ONE IS A MASTER KEY THAT ALL OF THE COLLARS USE, THE OTHER IS GENERIC. SOMEONE ON YOUR FLOOR HAS THE FIRST, AND AS FOR THE SECOND, WELL... I HOPE YOU CAN FIND SOMEONE WHO KEPT THEIRS." he laughs again as I look around at the new options.

Behind me I hear the swordswoman closing.

>>400975
Well, you can't sneak and steal the keys, so you gotta kill for them. Eggs and omelettes, that sort of thing.

Back to the immediate problem, the swordswoman. She's skilled , no doubt. You gotta get close, real close to grapple, bite, scratch that sword out of her hands. You need a weapon, anything.

I've got a gambit that may involve you taking a hit. If you can find anything that you can throw to block her vision like a sack or clothing, you can sneak your tail to paralyzing shot her. You also could buffet her with you wings before doing that so she won't realise that your going with you tail.

go south down the hallway and turn to your left (i.e. east). you need to find a bigger room so you can benefit fully from your wings.

keep a look out for a weapon you can use from a distance, without getting close to her sword.

you'll have many waves of enemies coming after you, so you need to minimize your injuries at each encounter. so definitely stay out of her range as much as you can.

>>401034
This. We have armor and a tailstinger for a reason.

>>401034
>>408338

I move around the corner, and wait. The swordswoman takes the corner, and I leap at her - then feel an impact at the side of my head. My tail lashes out, and meets with air. A second impact.

"Damnit, just..." she growls, as I attempt to stab her with my tail a third time, this time finding purchase. We both fall, the pommel of her blade swinging around one last time.

It all goes dark.

[DISCONTINUITY]

"Yo, boss. I think she's awake."

Shuffling feet. My eyes open to an office. Noise sits at the desk, spinning a knife on his finger. It has a little hoop on the end. His foot rests on the wood, and he eyes me. His other foot, which is now a pegleg that is fused to the flesh of his leg, sits on the floor. When he notices my eyes are open, he slams the weapon into the desk hard enough to make me jump.

"I BET YOU'RE THINKING TO YOURSELF - WHY AM I STILL ALIVE?" he asks, rising. "WHY I SPARED YOU WHEN ANY OTHER FIEND WOULD KILL YOU, OR WORSE. I'VE SEEN WHAT YOU CAN DO, SERA. WHAT YOU'VE DONE. AND I'VE SEEN THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE WHEN YOU'VE MADE SOMEONE YOUR BITCH."

He laughs, leaning close.

"YOU LOVE THAT FEELING. YOU LOVE BEING ABOVE SOMEONE. OWNING THEM. ADMIT IT - YOU ENJOY SCARING PEOPLE." He finds my ashamed glance away hilarious. "THAT'S GOOD. THAT'S GOOD. BECAUSE I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU AN OFFER."

"'Join me or die?'" I ask, my voice still defiant.

"NO. THAT'S FUCKIN' STUPID. WHY WOULD I KILL YOU, WHEN WE'RE SO MUCH ALIKE? FUCK, THAT'D BE DAMN COUNTERPRODUCTIVE. I MEAN, SOONER OR LATER, WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO USE MAGIC."

The mental image of the monster on the train fills my head briefly. "I'M NOT ONE TO NIP BUDS BEFORE THEY GROW TO BE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS. SO HERE'S THE DEAL. YOU CAN JOIN ME, AND I LET YOU OUT OF THAT COLLAR. OR I CUT YOUR BINDS, AND MY BOYS AND GIRLS GET YOU OUT. YOU'RE FREE TO GO!"

"But with the collar on-"

"YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT? YOU'LL FIND A WAY OUT. I'M SURE YOU WILL. YOU HAVE... A LOT OF CONNECTIONS." he chuckles. "ANYWAY. IT'S UP TO YOU. I GAVE YOU A TEST RUN IN HELL TO SEE IF YOU COULD SURVIVE BEING A FIEND, AND YOU PASSED. NOW, IT'S YOUR CHOICE - BECOME A MONSTER NOW, OR SIT ON IT."

Do it now. Backstab at first opportunity.

>>408357
Being an inside man is tempting, but to pull it off we'd have to abandon our friends. We couldn't tell them what we were doing, either, so they might think we went rogue.

...wait, before we do anything, ask about Rose. Does she factor into the deal?

we need Rose with us dammit.

"Fine. But I want my pet back."

He seems more likely to indulge you if he thinks you've dominated Rose.

Are we really gonna trust this guy with Rose? We don't even know that she's here. We could be endangering her. And there's also the less pleasant prospect...

>>408359
I want to backstab him, I want him to suffer under my heel, I want him dead by treachery and deceit. But... but...

"Where is Rose?" I find myself asking. He looks at me for a while, then leans back, sitting in his chair again.

"HOW THE FUCK WOULD I KNOW? SHE'S PROBABLY DEAD. LEFT HER THERE IN THE SALTS. NO NEED TO KILL HER. THE MEGABEASTS WILL DO THAT FOR ME."

What? No. No, that isn't like her. She wouldn't just die!

"MY BOYS EVEN FOUND THIS, LATER." he says, holding something up, and throwing it onto the desk. Her coat. Armored, it lands heavily. "YOU CAN WEAR IT IF YOU'D LIKE. BUT I THINK IT'S TIME YOU LET THAT GO."

She's gone. She's gone!

[DISCONTINUITY]

You find yourself locked away from the rest of Sera's mind. Darkness sits in a cell beside you.

If she had been killed by a beast, her armor probably wouldn't be intact. So either they are lying, or she was able to move and had to abandon her armor due to injury. If she could move, she likely made it, as you had practically just left town when you ran into that guy.

'sup dude? how's it hangin'?

Huh. Well, hopefully she pulls whatever she did back in the vault and everyone in here is dead by the time she lets us out again.

Well SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT.

Hopefully her sanity is intact by the end of this. We don't want her to become a monster.

Sup, Darkness.

Wanna break out?

"Hello, Darkness." I say. "Want to break out?"

The creature of the void chuckles, shaking its head.
"This is less a cage, and more a seperation." he explains. "I disconnected you and our... emotional mistress."

"Why?"

"Because her sadness and her emotion may... Look, you are made of emotion, one might say. I was worried her initial outburst..."

"...I understand. Is there any point now?"

"No. But you will need to gather your thoughts. She is very troubled, I am sure you can sense. She is on the edge. We must tread lightly, lest we break her - and our chance at freedom - forever."

Darkness's phrasing troubles you slightly. "So tell me when you are prepared." he continues. "I will release us into her mind."

You recall that while this is your element, the mental landscape can be a confusing and strange place. Time is also distorted, as well.

Fucking creeper.

We're gonna need to watch him...

ok searia is in a very bad place emotionally right now, shes dealing with a couple of issues at once . the largest is that she thinks rose is dead, this is probably wrong since her coat was intact, Rose may have ditched it or the fiend is lying and they captured her too.

Sera is also always afraid that shes going to become/already is a monster. this has been made worse by how she seems to have been really enjoying scaring people lately. Darkness do you have anything to do with that, intentionally or otherwise?

she also is dealing with hating the skull masked guy more fully and deeply than she has hated anyone, I think shes a bit scared of her own desire to see him die. we can probably help her deal with her feeling like a monster by simply reminding her of what she has accomplished, of the people she saved, of how she has again and again thrown herself into battle to aid others, and yes she may truly hate the fiends, but so would any moral person who has seen what they have done.

>>409625
I agree.

Also we should start by telling her we have no proof she's dead. Did she even see any blood on the coat? Far more likely she ditched it while escaping. She's a strong woman, she wouldn't just die like that.

You look at your hands, twisting and writhing masses of eyes shaped vaguely like three-fingered appendages. Your master is in pain. She is hurting. And you know you can fix it!

>>409720
>>409625
Should we focus on Hope about Rose, Who she really is, or What she is becoming? The choices open before you, like a series of doors or an intersection of paths.

Hope is fleeting and has the potential to be crushed without our input. Fear about the future only leads to insanity. Focus on who you are, Sera, because that is what you and you alone control.

>>410574
Surety of self. That's the only thing that matters in this shithole.

we should lead with hope about rose, searia is not the sort to be self focused and won't be able to think of anything else while she thinks rose is dead.

>>410596
Um.. who's Searia? And hope is a weakness in here. Voting for surety of self.

>>410596
>>410601

I am not good with names. that should be Sera not searia

>>410596
Her inability to focus on herself is a problem, though. It's an admirable trait, for sure, but those who have no sense of self or love for themselves will eventually give until there's nothing left of themselves.

I mean, just look at that dog-girl, Alisa.

We need to put an end to that before she loses herself entirely to the demon that's growing in her.

Rose understands this. That's why she indulges in things. Sera isn't the type to indulge in material things or worldly pleasures to the same extent, but she needs to turn at least one eye inward.

Rose, for the power of LUUUURVEEEE.

Surety of Self, Sera is a master of mutation magic, and despite her love for Rose, she really needs some strong idea or foundation of who she is, or the taint's twisting influences will cause even greater damage to her mind.

Who Sera is, but keep in mind her love for Rose and Rose's love for her as herself constitute a major part of her. Use their love as a focusing point to get Sera to think about what she is and wants. Rose loves/loved about Sera the compassion and willingness to help, her inner strength of character. Sera's body helped, but the mutations quite surely show it was Sera's soul Rose is/was interested in. No matter if Rose is dead or alive, the way to honor Rose is to keep to the Sera Rose loved.

If Sera needs a goal, there is also Rose son to consider. She only knows he lives in some bunker, but Sera owes him to tell him about Rose as Sera expierenced her.

>>411185
Hm.

Admittedly there is some merit to this.

You step forth.

The world shifts around you, again. Cold steel and pipes, harsh coldness. You remember this - The room where you had met Sera. She stands in the center of a room, untouched by mutation. blood clots her hair, gore clothes her. She stands over Noise, smiling wide, a foot on his chest, his neck laid open and his vocal cords in one hand - a bloody scalpel in the other.

She looks happy, her eyes manic. Rose's coat flickers on her back, the room full of people cowering from her.

This is how she sees herself? This is what she's fallen into in such a short time? There must be something to do - call out to her, stop her, change something!

Is there something I should say? An aspect of the image I should change directly? Or perhaps something to manifest myself?

add Rose and give purpose to the violence.

Replace the crowd with the grateful children she and Rose rescued from the raiders.

Be careful. She's touched Angelic magic too. Trying to give "purpose" to the violence could make her fall the other way.

Replace Noise with the Noble commander from the siege on Jamestown.

Replace the screaming commoners with people she's helped.

Remind her she's always tried to help.

Remind her that people are depending on her.

Hell, remind her that she may well have even helped us, whatever the hell it was she did to us.

>>411776
this sounds like a plan. if we can say something as well as change the scene we should say

"ever since you climbed out of that vault you have done everything you could to help others, there has not been a single instance where you walked away from anyone who truly needed help. you walk the path of the hero, not the path of the monster weather you admit it to your self or not Sera.

[Demonic Suave]

"No, this is all wrong." you say, snapping your fingers. "This is all wrong, wrong, wrong." You shake your head as you step over the gore, reaching up to wipe her cheek. "Since you were little, you've needed me, haven't you? When the only thing you're doing wrong is seeing a monster where an angel stands."

"But... I..." she looks down at herself.

"You are doing what needs to be done." you continue, walking around her. "Certainly you intimidate others, and certainly you enjoy it." You lean close, eyes focusing on her. "But you are nothing like him." you point at Noise.

"But he does the same things!"

You lean back and laugh.
"You're nothing alike. Noise only thinks about himself. Only thing in here..." you lean down and knock on his helmet. "Is himself. I've been in heads like that. Big and empty, full of grandeur. But you... Look! Look at all these people. All these people, you care so much, you give them faces. You think he does that? Even when he dreams, the people he kills, he talks to, he fucks - blank. I've seen it." You grin.

"But you... Faces, voices, emotions, clothes, color, smells! You care. You construct them here, not to use them. But because they are here with you - they affect you. It's rare. It's very rare. Especially these days. So don't tell me, Sera, that you are a monster. Because I've lived with them. I've guided them. I've swam in their murky minds, directed the shambles of their intellect. I've watched them ruin others for chuckles." a black finger pokes into the center of her chest. "When the Vault that scorned you was dying, you could think of nothing but to save them, when all they did was ignore you. Now, Sera. Look at me. You need to wake up. There are people who need you. There is a mother out there, who wants to make this world a place where her son can live and be free. And she needs your help. Don't let her down."

You grasp her shoulders.

"Don't let me down."

You can feel the place shifting again. Rumbling. She's coming back. She's being lucid again.

You've only a few more moments before she is lucid again entirely. Is there anything else you'd like to do, or say?

I don't even know.

I'm enough of a maudlin, cliche'd dork to suggest saying "thank you."

Tell her that we're impressed with her work so far in here, too. For a mage without magic, she did quite well.

remember.

Yes. it is true. You know it yourself, too, deep down. And other's seen it, too. Us and Rose, for one. Even Alisa in the short time she knows you, or she wouldn't have given you Scars.

>>412601
Seconded.

@@ Shot!H508X.HbJ6 2012/05/16(Wed)17:02 No. 412754 ID: 8db51b
File 133721296771.jpg - (1.22MB , 2480x3507 , ZigZag.jpg )

"It is true. Everyone thinks so." you manage to say, before everything shifts back to normalcy.

[DICONTINUITY]
[PERSPECTIVE SWITCH]

My everything is sore.
"Haha, the new kid's up!" says a soft voice. "Wakeywakey, girl. We've place to be and people to kill. Don't leave auntie ZigZag waiting."

I blearily open my eyes. A woman stands beside the bed I lay on, hands on her hips, a dangerous grin on her lips. "Well? Can you get up?"

>>412754
Anyone else nearby? If not... tail. face. stab.

...did you really agree to become part of the Reapers? If so, then I suppose we have some backstabbing to do.

Let's play it cool for now. Figure out what their capabilities are, and what they expect us to do exactly. Try getting up, then ask where you are.

>>412776
Err, not Reapers. Whatsits. Fiends.

>>412791
Mother FUCK.

... She probably didn't agree consciously though. She seemed to be having a bit of a fit.

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, SCARY DEMON LADY.

you ok Sera? also, how long has it been since we last talked?

and guys, we are going undercover remember? we wait for a good opportunity to back-stab the bastards.

...

I turn, and my tail lashes out. She turns her head, grasping it, then steps, pulling - and throwing me into the wall opposite the bed.

"Who..."

"The name is Zigzag." she says harshly. "And Noise asked me to keep an eye on you." she cricks her neck as she stands up again. She's slender, and attractive, if it weren't for the massive hands. "Listen, there's a tribe of horse-folk not far off. We haven't hit them because we've not had enough folks, but Noise is pressing for more supplies. Me, you, and a few others are going to move ahead of the main force and cripple their defenses. Do well, and you'll be rewarded." she says, sauntering closer to touch my chin and lift it, looking into my eyes. "Do badly, and, well, the horses will kill you. Are you coming, or not?"

>you ok Sera? also, how long has it been since we last talked?

I'm fine. It's been maybe a week? I've gone out once or twice with raiders to hit other settlements. We don't wipe them, not yet. Noise says he's trying a new method, and he's still ironing it out - for now, we're only allowed to take half. It's weird. Fiends were never this... controlled.

right so, lets start planing the downfall of the fiends. if we are lucky they have an ammo dump that we can set off. hey is it possible to unbind demons? i'm assuming the fiends keep a few around so that would be another way to cause some hell. hmmmm, how many men and demons do they have? and how are they for ammo and food?

...hmm. Well, okay, sure. Let's go.

I'll tell you right now though it's gonna be hard for us to follow you on this nasty business.

>>412956
Oh man. Food.
If we can find their food stores (and make sure they aren't contaminated - you HAVE to know that Noise is expecting us to betray him), maybe we can supply some towns along the way.

Take from the ill-begotten goods of the wealthy, give to the less fortunate.

It's been a week, Sera? By some chance did Noise give you any weapons or armor? Check your inventory for us.

Is the collar off? If so, betray them at the raid.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I mutter, standing and cricking my back. Augh. She's strong - absurdly. I suspect demonic ancestry, since she claims not to use magic. "When do we leave?"

"In a few hours. Grab something to eat before you go." she says. "You can find your way there, I expect."

"Yes." I retrieve my things and get dressed. Zigzag doesn't seem to care or notice my nudity or appearance. Walking out, I head to the yard. Sal, the girl who I fought, nods to me as we pass. Seems she respects me, now. Which is good - her respect to me means that most people here regard me as higher than I am. The food isn't the best, but the cook is alright, if creepy.

...Hey. Another new person - a blonde girl. She seems out of place. Timid, small, slender, quiet. I can also talk to Sal or Zigzag, if I want.

Yay for creepy cooks? Yigh. Who is Sal? (Granted I'm curious about this timid blonde.)

Out of place, here? There's probably more to her than it seems. May as well go say hello, though. Just don't expect her to be a weakling.

aren't you slim and small and not exactly outgoing either? you guys might have stuff in common.

>>413896
>>413756
I wander over, sitting beside her.
"Hello."

My venture is rewarded with a small nod. There's an air of... peace? around her. I'm willing to bet it's a mutation of some sort. "I'm Sera. What's your name?"

"...Asila." she says quietly.

"How'd you end up here? You don't seem the type."

"I... I am a healer. They have many uses for me." she says, sullen.

>>415325

yeah, but what use does she have for them?

>>415384
"But why? What use do you have for them?"

She looks up at me with dull, hollow eyes.
"If I heal them, they leave me alone." she says sullenly. "You aren't leaving me alone. Do you need to be healed?"

I've seen eyes like that before, when I was a kid. Before I met you. In the mirror.

>>415617
Oh my God the way she said that.

The look in her eyes.

I can picture it VERY clearly.

We need to get her out of here when we leave.

>>415804
I sigh and finish my meal.
"No, I don't." I say, walking down the hallway. The place is huge, labrynthine. Sometimes I think it changes of its own accord, other times I think I'm imagining things. It feels... Wrong. Like... Like if there was a jail that was the most jaily of all jails? It's hard to describe, but the feeling grows as I wander near to Noise's office, and fades as I step away.

"[small]My lady?[small]"

I stop walking, staring at one of the high windows. A narrow face regards me.

"...Scars?"

The figure nods, then points at the ground beneath the window, then gestures to run.

What?

Move! I have a feeling theres going to an explosion soon.

you did lose the collar, right? if so, go run to the window.

>>422926
Somehow I get the feeling that's not the best thing to run towards.

Did his gesture seem to indicate more towards the window or away? I'm guessing away so do so quickly... maybe grab the girl too.

>>423071
He gestured towards the ground NEAR the Window, not the Window itself.

Then gestured for us to run.

My guess is explosives are involved.

Hence my suggestion to NOT approach the window.

>Run!

I dash back to the food hall and locate the blonde girl.
"Come with me."
"Why?"
"It's important."

She gets up again, without fighting. Some part of me wishes she would resist me more. Her compliance almost seems creepy, or... indicative of overall behavior.

It only reminds me how much I want everyone else here to die. She looks up at me as I take her into another room. It's dark. I hear her unzipping her clothing and stop her, shaking my head.

For a moment, she seems confused. But her eyes open wide, seconds before an explosion rocks the building.

A beastial roar thunders through the air as Harumda lets out the happiest cry I've heard in a long time, and a siren sounds through the facility. I peek through the door, and people are running towards the sound.

find your friends and move behind them because spellcasters generally attack from behind the ranks.

Let's see what the fuck is happening.

Make with the backstabbing. Start eliminating people at the rear. BE THE SPY.

"Stay here. I'll be back with friends. We're getting out of here."

I feel a strange shudder as I say that, but I don't say anything as I kick the door open. It swings, impacting someone, and as I step out, I touch the Taint and fire three Smites into the rushing crowd. Blood flies out as enemies are wounded and dropped, and I spend another three shots killing the four who fell.

They aren't . They aren't . They're monsters. No better than animals! My hackles rise as I move towards the disturbance. They don't even care as their allies fall - like a pack of beasts, they only care about blood and fury. Fury... A bubbling feeling in my belly, as I realize that what Bones did was common. Rape, murder, torture.

"Not..." I pull out the knife I've had since I was dropped here, and slam it between the disks of the man's spine in front of me. He falls, screaming - and is stampeded to death, judging by his cries. Nothing.

For the first time, killing something evokes nothing in me. But that doesn't matter. Scars cannot act on his own. That means someone had to send him. Only two people can.

Rose...

My anger boils harder, and six more white crosses fly from my fingers. They are noticing, now - they're starting to realize something is amiss. The monsters feel the gap in their ranks, and turn to the problem. But there's not enough room in these tight halls for them to get at me properly. Black holes fly from my hands to rip them apart, huge fist-sized holes simply appearing in them. My heart races. My body feels warm. Blood spatters my face, but I don't care.

And then I reach the hole in the wall - which isn't jagged or cracked, but smooth and round. Harumda roars as he cleaves through whole rows of enemies, blood flowing free and staining the hall in a growing puddle while Scars moves between targets, blowing them apart from simple attacks. Bullets take apart foes.

She's alive.

She's alive!

"ROSE!" I scream, leaping above my enemies, sailing to slam into her, face into chest, arms around her strong, warm figure.

She smiles and pets my hair a little, hallway and hole secured by Scars and Harumda.

I look at the hole, which is slowly, steadily, shrinking. Gaining speed. When I saw it initially, a few cars side-by-side might have fit, now only one with a lot of clearance.

"We should get going." Rose says quietly. "This place is weird."

...Should I go?

Fuck yes.

GTFO.

I never liked this place.

OH!

Grab that girl, first, though.

The depressing one that thought you wanted to rape her and was totally willing to just accept it.

She needs out of here.

>>425139
Don't forget the girl.

"There's someone here I have to save."

"You can't be serious - in this place?"

I nod.
"Please. I promised her..."

Rose palms her face and mutters something, but nods.

I turn to Scars. "Scars of Yesterday!"

He blocks a sword almost casually.
"My lady?"

"I need you to clear a path for me towards the eating hall... Can you do that?"

"This unit would be happy to."

"Don't think so!" croons a new voice, as Harumda is sent flying back, Scars barely dodging him. Zigzag stands in the hall, with Noise beside her.

"NO ONE LEAVES WITHOUT MY FUCKIN' PERMISSION, BITCHES." Noise screams, drawing a short blade and a large handgun, And Zigzag's eyes glow a bright red, a huge grin on her face as her teeth turn sharp. "SHOW THEM HOW YOU ZAG, ZIGGY."

"With pleasure." she says, launching forth - But Harumda is there, blocking her massive weapon with his own.

Use Bare on Noise to get rid of his handgun. Close the distance then use Darkness to make him unable to see your attack or attack you. Take him down!

Alternatively you could use Darkness first and give no fucks about his gun, but he might blindly shoot one of your allies. Your choice.