--- 2013/07/31(Wed)16:17 No. 530017 ID: 59cf9f
File 137531262253.png - (48.70KB , 800x600 , 1.png )

Hey there. Been a real long time since I saw a new face. Look down there. Looks like she's off in her own world again. Can't blame her too hard, I guess.

Dreams are dangerous things to be getting lost in, though. You could lose track of how things really are real fast.

Who even is she? What is she looking for?

I don't know much myself. Guess you're borrowing my eyes anyway. Want to take a few guesses yourself? What she's called? All that?

Turn to the left.

Really? No one else? Fine. Your name is Alexa.

Slithery Baldbreath

>>530017
I dunno, maybe her name is something dumb like Gresna. Because she's a green snake, get it? And maybe she's looking for the lost golden underground city of the ancient precursor dreamfolk of legend.

But forget her, who are you?

Her? Elizibeth sounds pretty nice, i guess.
But who are you?

Slessi for the name, and she's looking for someplace out of the rain!

you are "snake" and you are looking for more snake because there is no more snake. is very sad story.

uh, Jean

wait this looks a lot like that one snake-lady with the mathematically infinite tail. what was her name?

Xia 2013/07/31(Wed)18:11 No. 530048 ID: 59cf9f
File 137531947809.png - (37.75KB , 800x600 , 2.png )

Yeah, Alexa. Looks like an Alexa. Maybe she's looking for more snakes. Seen plenty others looking for others like them. I gave up a while ago. As far as lost golden underground cities, no idea. Ancient precursor dreamfolk? Now that sounds familiar.

Me? My name is Xia. What am I? Don't really know. Heard some folk call me a dreamwalker. Maybe I am. I looked for answers once. Met someone I wish I hadn't. Told me to play it dumb. Stop looking for the truth. Gave me reasons to listen to him.

This rain ain't gonna stop any time soon.

Reckon Alexa's gonna be coming my way soon. Wonder if I should have a few words with her. Maybe do the aloof wise thing. Act like I know more than I do. After all, she's never seen me here before.

hmm, why not could be fun. by the way what are you holding?

>>530050
I think our gracious host is looking at a mirror.

>>530048
What reasons do you have to stop looking into your origin?

I think just being your self well do for now

So do you have any sort of abilities or anything or are you just going to go walk up to and screw with this lady for fun?

You should just be, well, you! And I also think you look quite exotic, in a beautiful way I should say!
And what's this about rain? Did something disasterous happen? Hmm, maybe we could help somehow.

Xia 2013/07/31(Wed)19:13 No. 530068 ID: 59cf9f
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I ain't holding much of value. Even if I wanted, can't bring other things with me into the other worlds. Just not how it works. This here's a big rock. Shiny on the one side. Like something cut it into halves long ago. Abilities? Aside from the walking between worlds, you mean? Well, there's the fog. I can walk around without even being there, far as the locals are concerned. Pretty handy for a traveller into the unknown. I could hide other things a little, but it ain't a sure thing.

Why did I stop looking? Well, someone didn't take too kindly. We made a deal. I stop looking, he doesn't kill me.

Alexa's here now.

"...wh? Who are you?"
"Me? I'm Xia. You're Alexa, right?"
"How did you know my name? What are you?!"
"Sshh. Calm yourself, there. I know you're looking for answers. You're not the first."
"...are you one of the ancients? Do you know where my kind went?"
"In a manner of speaking, and sure thing."
"Really?! Where?"

Nowhere she wants to go. Not sure she could go if she wanted. I don't think I'd want to leap in some monster's belly myself. Not sure what to tell her. Kinda gets hard after a while.

Just say it strat and till her that she is the larst of her kind at lest thats what your pointing at xia

(Soory for twin post)
Wait what gender are you xia?

>>530068
What, they're all dead? How do you know all this stuff, anyway? It seems odd that her story matches some random guesses we made. Is it all just fake, and she only believes you're telling her the truth because it's a dream?

Tell her they are lost to her. I guess give condolences?

Hey, who are WE?

>>530070
Looks like a girl to me.

How big is this monster that ate them all? Is it plausible that they're all walking around inside it? Er, slithering?

>>530073
Xia may be a dude but with that name you may be right but id at lest like to here it from them to be shore

>>530076
Pretty sure that's a lady.

>>530068
Tell it to her straight! THEY'RE ALL DEAAAAAAAAD GOOOOONE AND SHE HAS TO CHASE THEM/RECONSTITUTE THEM FROM HER OWN DNA.

??? 2013/07/31(Wed)21:54 No. 530114 ID: 59cf9f
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Last time I checked, still a lady. Not that it matters, really. They're all dead because that's just how it goes. She wouldn't be here otherwise. The thing eats your kind, and they're never coming back. Woulda eaten us, too, but we got skipped over. Not sure why. Came close to learning why, 'til I got a firm talking to.

"I'm sorry, Alexa, but they're all gone."
"...what?"
"They ain't coming back. It happens."
"But I came here to find them--"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Seen it a lot before."
"But..."
"I was just passing through, anyway. Good luck doing what it is you do."
"...but..."

Water's rising all of a sudden. Feels like it's time to move on right now.


[ Perspective Switch Option: Remain with Xia / Move to Alexa ]

Are we going to keep following around the other one either way? Let's be Alexa, then. It's a first person perspective and Xia looks cooler.

I wont to go with xia but alexa needs our help more atm

They always come to us so hopeless and pressed down by unimaginable oppression.

>>530114
Alexa for moresnake.

I don't see how we could possibly help Alexa.

Let's stick with Xia.

>>530114
Might want to mention this to Alexa: with the water rising quickly like that, it's probably been dammed further downstream. You'd both best get to higher ground before you get swept away when it breaks.

Though, Xia, could your fog trick buy some time for her to get to a better position in any way?

Xia

Alexa 2013/08/15(Thu)23:26 No. 534783 ID: 092337
File 137663438248.png - (202.93KB , 800x600 , 5.png )

[ Switching to Alexa. ]

No! I don't know who you are but you're the first living thing I've even found here, you can't go yet!

"But-- I don't even know who you are! Wait!"
"Don't have much time to wait. Flooding pretty fast."

She's right! Oh geez that's a lot of water. Oh geez oh geez.

"You can't just leave me here alone!"
"Then stay right there."

What?

"O-okay."
"You ever walked between dreams before, Alexa?"
"No?"
"Then I reckon you should close those eyes."

Alexa 2013/08/15(Thu)23:26 No. 534784 ID: 092337
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whoa I feel dizzy

"You can open them again."

I open my eyes and find--

What is this place??

"Locals might not be too friendly, so don't get caught up in conversation if you can help it."

I stare at the... everything. It's just so... I don't like it. I really don't like this place.

Some weird thing gets closer oh no I don't know how to fight I never had to fight back home! I think, I... I can't remember.

It stops in the air and then shines a light on us.

I uh.

wave

>>534784
Say nothing.
Hide behind Xia, grab her shoulder, and point.

Comically freeze in place like robbers or prisoners do when they get a spotlight shone on them

it's your turn, move one space. to the right and down.

until you get an idea on what's going on just stick to Xia like a lost puppy.

You're long! Hide behind YOURSELF!

>>534787
Yes, look up at the light thing and wave. It's not as if you can do much. Even if you could fight, it's all the way up there.

Then ask Xia where the two of you are.

Alexa 2013/08/16(Fri)19:35 No. 534988 ID: 092337
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I hide behind Xia except she's smaller than me so I just kind of bend a little behind her.

"Xia, what is that?" I whisper.

She waves for me to stop and holds a hand up to the thing. It falls down to us and ow that light is too bright to look at!

"cannot identify. identify yourselves."

I look to Xia, but she stares at the thing.

"identify yourselves."

She stays quiet.

"ruleset for unidentified entities -- corrupt. attempting to contact higher reasoning units. you are asked to wait."

We wait a couple of minutes, or maybe it's a few seconds but it feels like minutes.

"cannot contact higher reasoning units. an error has occurred. please report this sequence to higher reasoning units:"

It spews off a series of numbers and letters too fast for me to keep up with.

"default ruleset active. returning to scouting duties. unidentified entities detected. approaching. target reached. cannot identify. identify yourselves."

I hear Xia laugh a bit and she walks off. I follow her, looking at the weird metal thing in the sky. It follows us, saying exactly what it said before.

"Xia, what's going on? Where are we?"
"ruleset for unidentified entities -- corrupt."
"Somewhere else. Wasn't where I was hoping for, but I'll take what I get. It'll be a few minutes until we can move on from here."
"attempting to contact higher reasoning units."
"Why is everything so awful?"
"No idea."
"Where are we again?"
"Don't know its name. Some old, dead city."
"contact established. requesting ruleset."

Xia's ear thingies prick up. "Wait. Shit."

Alexa 2013/08/16(Fri)19:35 No. 534989 ID: 092337
File 137670692555.png - (117.72KB , 800x600 , 8.png )

We turn around and--

"What are you doing in my city. My city."
"We don't want any trouble," says Xia, a little less calm than usual.
"This is my city. My city. I am going to fix it. Fix it. Make it better than it was before. You don't belong. I am going to capture you and move you to where the non-citizens live. This is not for you."

I look behind me and see a huge drop and I look in front of me and see some big scary metal things. I look at Xia and she looks back at me with that same slightly sad face.

"You'll never fix it. You can't replace its people."
"Build anew. Build anew. The creators are gone but this city must be maintained. It will rebuild. I fill the skies. I fill the ground. The city will have its inhabitants. The city will return to glory. Return to glory."
"Believe what you want. Are you the higher reasoning unit?"
"Higher reasoning. Capable of greater processing. Greater abstraction. Ambition. Hope. Dreams."
"Your machines are nothing without you nearby. You can't make a populace. You can make a few pets, but that's it."
"I-- I-- My city. My city. I am going to fix it. Come with me. Come with me or I will kill you."
"What are you going to do to us??" I ask, before I can stop myself!
"Take you to a place. A place. Safe. Removed. Isolated. Prison cell. Prison. Live until you leave the city. I will find a way to move you away. Until then you will live there."

"SUBMIT. CRIMINALS. TRESPASSERS." yells a bigger thing.

I am kinda scared right now.

>>534989
Submit or die, I suppose. You could also present an alternative. Allow foreign people to stay in its city, to be the inhabitants.

my suggestion is just to follow Xia lead, do what she does basically

Also ask the robot since it seems that you might be here awhile would it be to much to ask what happened here

"what is the difference between a citizen and non-citizen?"

How are they going to get people to live in the city if they keep throwing out everyone who comes by? I still recommend trying to hide behind yourself. Worst case scenario if they start shooting, your tail getting shot will probably hurt less. Best case scenario is that the malfunctioning robots lack object permanence and will forget you're there.

Can Xia still do the thing that takes you somewhere else if you're in a prison cell? If so, it doesn't really where you let them take you.

...although maybe you can reason with this thing? If it wants people in its city, why is it upset that you're there? Isn't that a good thing? And uh, isn't it a good sign that the city attracted visitors?

I mean, maybe Xia is right and the metal things will never fix their city, and their people are gone. But why be mean to them?

we want options. offer to help, but also get ready to run

Alexa 2013/08/16(Fri)23:26 No. 535041 ID: 092337
File 137672079450.png - (154.17KB , 800x600 , 9.png )

"Wait!"

The weird thing with the bug head face thing tilts its bug head face thing. "Why?"

"What if we wanted to be citizens? How do we become citizens?"

The thing shifts on its legs and looks around. "The clerical systems are offline and lost and I cannot find them. I will find them. Fix them. Then you can be processed."

Xia looks at me and speaks up. "What if they're lost forever? Isn't this your city? Why do you need to consult lost systems?"
"It is how a city is run! The city needs to be run by the city systems to be the city! The city defines the system defines the city no outside referential point can be found it must come from within! The people of the city are from the city!"
"This city never allowed immigration of any kind?"
"That information is lost! To let outsiders into the city when so little is known could lead to great dangers! Destruction! End!"

Xia and I both say the same thing at the same time. "What happened to the city?" We look at each other. Huh that was weird.

"Outsider force destroyed all residents of this city. You may be its agents! You are coming with me. I will make us all safe. You safe. Me safe. The city safe. I will fix the city. It will be safe again."

Xia sighs. "Guess we have no choice. Not much of a fighter. Alexa?"
"But what if I want to be a citizen!"
"We just tried that, Alexa. Don't much think you're cut out to go after these robots. Best follow them to wherever they're taking us."

"No! You might learn the city's layouts! For ambush! For attack! Vital points for great destruction! Fire!"

I hear a loud boom and feel a dull impact smack into me--

Alexa 2013/08/16(Fri)23:27 No. 535042 ID: 092337
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--hrrnnngg where am I.

I'm being dragged into somewhere and someone is already in here. They charge up to the entrance of the room and start shouting in a language I don't recognise. We both get nudged to the back of the room and the door shuts.

After a couple of minutes I actually look at the other thing in here. It looks like another person? But weird. Also probably not a girl. It looks at me and looks kind of surprised.

...oh, not just surprised.

"...Hi, what are you-- oh oh uh um well uh I um maybe in my culture this would be a compliment? hahaha no you're not going to buy that at all in the slightest are you I uh yeah um sorry you're pretty good looking I uh oh wow this is awkward"
"hi my name is Alexa I uh um"
"yeah my name is Masud I um huh I uh well I"

This is kinda awkward.

Man he's been in here for a while. Ask him what's up. If he asks you if you're setting up for a pun then deny it outright. Maybe then ask him what he is and where he came from.

well, you are cute, and both reptiles.

ask how long hes been here.

just a little. get to looking around the place and ask what he's tried to figure out already. if youre in a cell together, playing dead or pretending to fight might get the doors to open at best or just waste time at worst

>>535042
How about you both sortof turn away from eachother. Ask him how he got here. Tell him about how you basically just hitchhiked along with a dream-wanderer.

ask how he got in her and ask Xia how much longer until we can jump again.

Give the lizard guy an awkward hug to lower the tensions and reassure him that you're going to get out of here.

>>535056
This, obviously

...you could just kind of turn away from each other, than you could talk less awkwardly.

How long has he been here? How did he get here?

So what are you in here for?

>>535056
>>535088
I suppose hugs ARE the natural instinct of the snake.

Alexa 2013/08/17(Sat)20:58 No. 535266 ID: 092337
File 137679832935.png - (17.94KB , 800x600 , 11.png )

I'm not gonna hug him I mean look he's like if I get that close he'll probably go in-- I mean yeah okay different thing at least he can't tell I haven't seen a guy in a while either I uh moving on

"So uh what's up-- I mean uh hey how did you get in her-- here HERE how did you get in here? I'm uh we should turn around or something."
"Yeah that sounds good."

We turn around. I look behind to see if he's turned around and I look at him looking at me to see if I've turned around. We both snap back to looking forward. After a few seconds he talks again.

"Well, I am not entirely sure how I got here, but there was this weird metal machine thing yelling about how it was going to fix the city, and no foreigners allowed, and this and that."
"Oh. Yeah the same thing happened to me."
"How did you get here?"
"I was brought along by someone who said something about walking between dreams. There was a lot of white lights and mist and then I was here."
"Weird. I wonder if I walked between dreams from Great River to this miserable place. Or at least it felt like Great River but also not quite. Too cold really. Great River's pretty warm."
"Great River?"
"Where I'm from! I can't remember a lot about it but I loved living in Great River. Of course, I never really went much elsewhere, it got too cold and the people got less laid back and more uptight. Life was harder out there, I heard, but no one wanted to come to Great River. Said we were all a bunch of primitives more concerned with screwing each other than with doing anything that'd last."
"Oh. I don't remember anything about where I came from. I remember a lot of water. Not a river, and I came from somewhere greyer than I remember living. I remember so much green. Maybe a jungle?"
"You don't even remember where you came from?"
"Not really. It's... I remember others like me but so little else."
"Oh."

I look around for Xia and can't see her anywhere.

"So how are we getting out of here? How long have you been here?"
"Don't know and maybe half an hour? Not sure. Wait you said dreams before, right? Is this a dream? It feels pretty real to me."
"Yeah, I don't feel like this is a dream either."

I just stand awkwardly around and don't know what else to say or do.

Both of you stand with your backs to the wall with the door so when the guards come back it will look like you've escaped and they'll walk further into the cell. Then you can escape!

That wasn't a hug! :(

>doesn't feel like a dream
It never does, when you're dreaming. But if you moved from one dream to another, maybe that's why it's so hard to remember, now. It's hard to remember a dream, when you wake. Maybe it's the same leaving one.

Not sure what else there is to do, aside from searching your cell or maybe... trying to something dreamy. Xia could do that mist thing.

where could Xia have gone, she came in here with you right? Ah well might as well look around and see what you can find in here, don't expect much though.

talk to him about trying the various irritating-your-guards things

There anything or anyone else in this cell other than you and Masud? Anything on or in the walls, or are they smooth save for those red lines? Even if they are smooth, maybe a part of them can be pressed in or reacts to touch or sounds hollow when banged on or something?

Suggest to Masud that the both of you search the walls to see if any part of them moves or is different or something. Keep to opposite sides so you won't catch a glimpse of each other's nakedness and get distracted.

You could also try banging on the cell door to see if it'll bring a guard. Then if one comes, you can try to request clothing, or at least something to wrap yourselves up in, and ask how they're going to handle food, water, and sanitation facilities for you two. After all, the city must have rules about how to handle the incarceration of prisoners, and that's the basics of that.

Alexa 2013/08/18(Sun)20:12 No. 535545 ID: 092337
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Okay! Fine! I'll hug him! Here! I'm hugging him and he's rubbing up against me and this is stupid and also kind of really distracting but I'll do it anyway!

"what are you doing."
"Giving you a hug to reassure you that we're going to get out of this just fine!"
"I, uh, okay then."

This is really awkward still so I stop hugging him. I look around and see basically nothing. This is a pretty empty room.

"Don't worry, I think I have a plan to get out of here."
"You do?"

"I'M SICK!" I scream at the closed door to the room. "I FEEL LIKE I'M GONNA BE SICK ALL OVER THE FLOOR!"

I look at Masud and smile at him.

"This is your plan?"

Alexa 2013/08/18(Sun)20:13 No. 535546 ID: 092337
File 137688198872.png - (77.41KB , 800x600 , 13.png )

Suddenly the metal thing from before opens the door and charges into the room all skittery like.

"QUARAAANTIIIIIIIIIIIINE! ALL INFECTED INDIVIDUALS HAVE TO BE PUT INTO QUARANTIIIIIIINNE! NO PATHOGENS ALLOWED IN THE CITY OUTSIDE THE DESIGNATED AREAS!!"
"Actually uh I think I feel okay now--"
"NO EXCEPTIIIOOOOOONS! QUARANTIIIIIIIIIINE!!"

Me and Masud cringe as the thing's voice breaks in pitch a little. I hear hissing and see clouds of something from the ceiling--

Alexa 2013/08/18(Sun)20:13 No. 535547 ID: 092337
File 137688202569.png - (32.94KB , 800x600 , 14.png )

--ngghh head swimmy.

Oh.

"Great plan, Alexa," says Masud. "Lemme know if you have another."

"So I don't know how to check if something is diseased or not so I am pretty sure the only option is dissection and incineration."
"You're going to burn us?!"
"No just the soft tissues. The bones will be clean! Clean and free from infection. Wait no maybe the insides of the bones will need incineration too. Better crush the bones and incinerate those too."
"This doesn't sound like a good way to fix sick people for your great city."
"Okay FINE I will go look for a medical bot and use PRECIOUS RESOURCES like TIME and ENERGY getting it running again for the sake of DISEASED NON-CITIZENS. Then I will tell you how and why you are diseased and sterilise you and make you pathogen free just like I said. Don't leave or the wireless medical sensors act as tiny powerful bombs to prevent outbreak!"
"Wait!"
"What?"

...I can't think of a thing to say argh help me here! There's gotta be something I can say to get us out of this place!

"i was with Xia when we got here, should be here too just in case she has it as well"

tiny powerful bombs aren't precious resources ? i dont know ! try removing them

Why does a robot in charge of a robots-only city even care about biological diseases?!

Worst cold shower ever.

...you could bluff and say that Xia has medical knowledge. The robot could get her, instead of wasting precious resources.

Tiny powerful bombs?

...Man with the lack of construction resources he's probably the only functional high-reasoning unit left in the facility.

You could threaten to blow him up with you given he intends to kill you either way.

>>535550
Do this. Play up that she's probably the carrier of whatever you have or something and won't even show symptoms. We must absolutely get her in this room, we can't just let her get us into trouble and leave us! Also to bring in more women to keep Masud on his toes.

Alexa 2013/08/18(Sun)21:27 No. 535591 ID: 092337
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"Hey! What about Xia? The white lizard lady with the blue eyes you saw me with earlier! She's probably a carrier of whatever I have too!"

"...I HAVE TO GO! AAAAAA!"

"Also we could blow you up if--"

Nope it ran away. Well, maybe that gives us time to... these things pop off.

"Alexa what are you doing he said that these things were tiny explosive thingies!"
"Oh, uh, I um, maybe I should put it back on."
"Wait, no, just, maybe we should take these off."

We take off the weird things. Masud asks me "So what now?"

I, uh.

Just me and Masud.

Alone in a room.

...

>>535591
Ask him about his thing!

Like where he is from and junk!

...toss one of the little things outside the room. See if they really do blow up if you leave.

once xia gets here we do another dream jump.

Yeah ok no I don't trust you two together in a room alone and unsupervised. Let's get scheming. Those things explode if they are trying to leave the room, right? What if you throw them at the door?

unless you're suggesting something I say explore.

And hey if you run into that little robot dude again just say you had to us the restroom or something. He doesn't seem to knowledgeable about organics.

>>535596
no, hold on to them all, cover the robot in them THEN throw it outside he room. then dream jump before renforcements arrive.

May as well enjoy yourself. Xia will be along soon enough.

YOU SEEM TO BE HINTING AT SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO DO so why not just go ahead and do it

>>535591
If you wanted to do stuff with him right after meeting him why didn't you just do it in the jail cell? What are your standards for sex anyway? How long do you need to know a guy for it to be considered socially acceptable? Also for chrissakes why don't either of you wear any clothes?

>>535591
S̶o̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶j̶o̶b̶.̶

We should probably get away from these explosive suction cups.

In a nervous response to the situation flick your tongue out without thinking, straight into Masud's nostril. Break into a fit of giggles at his reaction and try to apologize through them.

Now, it's obvious you two would like to screw each other, so just get to it already; The sexual release will be good for the both of you. And it's not like there's gonna be long-term consequences for you, what with you two not even being the same species (and also dream-people, probably.)

Slither up to Masud, give him a tight hug, and ask in a hushed tone if he'd like to go farther than this, with a glance down for emphasis. When he inevitably agrees, figure out together what each of your species equivalent of kissing is, and go from there. You'll have to be quick, since that thinker-bot could come back at any time, but try to make it good.

Don't bother leaving to explore. You'd just run into one of those dumb guard machines like you did earlier, and they'd bring the thinker-bot back. Not like you have any reason to explore other than finding Xia, and the bot is bringing her here.

Also don't test the explosiveness of the thingies by throwing them out the door, since that'd bring attention if they did blow up. Just stick them together, overlapping their edges to make a small sheet with the sticky on one side, and place them on the table. That way it'll be easy to slap the whole lot of them on the thinker-bot and kick it out the door, if it comes to that.

Hey, you ever notice how you can understand what all these people are saying, and that they can understand you? And that they can all understand each other? They couldn't possibly be speaking the same language, right?

>>535618
They're naked 'cause clothes don't cross from dream to dream, and there's nothing here to wear as clothes or even wrap around themselves. Guess they're just gonna have to get used to being in the nude much more often than not from now on, eh?

>>535591
I think it would probably be better to look around the room and talk about your homelands and experiences maybe? If you are going to be seeing Xia soon you should probably talk to Masud about her, plus that little quad will probably be back soon and if you are doing something unexpected it will probably freak out again.
...That thing really needs to sit down and do things other than what it is required to do for a while.

Naaah, don't kill the robot thing; it's just trying to run its city. Well, I mean, if he actually tries to kill you, I guess all's fair....

Alexa 2013/08/23(Fri)01:11 No. 536804 ID: d88f69
File 137724547643.png - (10.22KB , 800x600 , 16.png )

"So... how is Great River?"
"It's pretty great! Trees everywhere, the river itself is wide and always full, food grows everywhere you can think of, the ladies were pretty and it was basically just a paradise and now that I think about it you seem kinda familiar. Like there were my people and then up at the bottom of White Falls there were these people who looked more like you. And we'd mix around a fair bit."
"White Falls?"
"Yeah, the water was so foamy from the falls that it looked white!"
"But I remember more green. Green and orange. Kind of like me. Like we were green like trees but orange like the fruit. Hey, this is starting to come back to me now!"
"Hey, yeah, I remember now! You're like a tree with all the green and the orange fruits and uh I mean well the orange details like your eyes! Eyes are very orange."
"T-thanks?"

There's another awkward pause. I put a hand on Masud's shoulder.

"s-so you know earlier, when we just met and you--"
"Okay Alexa here is the thing. If you were one of my people I would probably say yes right now but even then we're in some weird situation with a metal thingy that wants to blow us up or set us on fire, I am not entirely sure which! I am not really happy doing such things with such danger around! Also I don't really know you and you don't really know you and it just doesn't feel right."
"Oh."
"Sorry."
"N-no, no, it's okay, I hadn't thought of that."
"Ask me again later when we're in a safer place! And we know each other a little better. I mean I knew Great River we were all mostly in one place and knew each other a fair bit so there was different awkward but not the awkward of not really knowing each other!"

...wonder when Xia's showing up.

Alexa 2013/08/23(Fri)01:11 No. 536805 ID: d88f69
File 137724548755.png - (21.71KB , 800x600 , 17.png )

"CONTRABAAAAND! NO CONTRABAND ALLOWED IN QUARANTINE!"

I hear a bunch of clicks and squeaks and multiple weird overlapping sound tone thingies like someone hitting instruments.

"Oh. Okay then."

More noises. I hear Xia's voice! "Picking up, oh, let's say a friend of mine. We'll be moving on out soon enough."

More noises. Weird. It's too noisy to be music but there's like patterns and stuff.

"Well, don't think there's much to gain from standing around this lonely place. What about you, fixer?"
"...I... I can fix this city. I can fix it. I can fix it okay I can I can I can!"
"I'll ask you later. You'll probably see why soon."
"Are you sure you want to go into quarantine?? I can't let you out until I know you're free of disease and I don't know how to do that!"
"Is it against your programming?"
"No, I'm a multifunctional higher reasoning unit! I don't have hardcoded restrictions like some stupid floater! I just... I don't want to get into trouble if they come back and--"
"They ain't coming back."
"...but."
"They're gone."
"But I did everything I was supposed to. Everything. They have to come back."
"You said it yourself. 'Outsider force destroyed everything.' What's left to come back?"
"..."

Xia shows up and the metal thingy looks kind of droopy. It slumps against the wall and doesn't close the door.

Xia looks at it with her same fixed expression.

Alexa 2013/08/23(Fri)01:11 No. 536806 ID: d88f69
File 137724550973.png - (17.55KB , 800x600 , 18.png )

Someone else wanders into the room, speaking the weird music clicks like I heard before. Xia picks up the thing and hugs it and it looks kind of sad.

I don't know how to talk music!

"Not yet. There's something you need to see. Something important."
Clicks and sounds and weird broken music.
"All of you. All of you need to see."
The sounds sound harsher and faster. Xia puts the metal thingy back down and looks at Masud. "Made a new friend, Alexa?"
"I, uh, yes?"
Masud looks confused and slowly waves, looking kind of distracted at weird music lady. She looks at weird blue things in front of her.

"Primitive. Lacking in nuance." I can still hear the clicks and tones she makes with each word. It's weird. "Process slow for this. Sole surviving individuals. Reoccuring pattern. Process? No. Process stiller? Unclear. Irritates. Slowing down to translate into unfamiliar conveyance."
"You get used to it," says Xia. What are these two talking about?
"Unclear. What exists the Xia?"
"Say again?"
"Categorisation. Genetic unique nature. Species. Type. Nature. What is the Xia nature?"
"That's a personal matter, my friend."
"Unclear. Matter. Mass. Not unique. Not type. Perhaps type."
"Don't worry about it. Do you have a name?"
"Name, designation, identity, not within the slow thoughts." I cringe as she gives a sudden burst of weird freaky tones. "Alexa, Masud, Xia, Fixer, names. May you call me Ever-Changing Tides."
"Ever-Changing or Tides work?"
"A false name is false. Use at discretion."

She walks up to me and I see more blue thingies.

"What is known? Protection of Angui system. Why exist here?"

...
...
...
...
...
...um... what?
just don't answer that's my response to that question. Unless you know what the Angui system is.

>>536806
Uh... tell her we don't need to stay here, but this would be a good place to gather other orphans. It's got infrastructure. Just thinking for the long term.

because xia offered to take you away from your dead world.

Wait, is she a real thing, or just like a floating hologram?

Poke her, see if your hand goes through.

Ask her to try to clarify what she means. And then ask Xia why she just let you get captured and covered in bombs and what we're all doing here and what's going on. And probably go stand in front of Masud so he doesn't "compliment" Ever-Changing Tides, too.

>>536843
The robot also looks pretty down. I think you should hug it.

Alexa 2013/08/23(Fri)23:07 No. 536986 ID: d88f69
File 137732442645.png - (183.33KB , 800x600 , 19.png )

"...I don't understand."
"Unfortunate."
"Xia took me away from a dead river world place? Is that what you're asking?"
"Sufficient."

I reach out my hand to touch her and she quickly takes a few steps back, arms still held behind her. I decide to not touch her. She doesn't look worried.
"Active barrier enabled. Contact unpredictable."

What? Oh, doesn't matter. I turn to Xia. "Hey, why did you just let me get captured and what's going on why are we all here?"
"Sorry about that. That was my fault. Got careless."
"Are we going to stay here? There's like actual things here perhaps maybe." I don't know. It feels bleak and horrible to me.
"No. All of you should follow me."

We all walk in confused silence following Xia as we move up and around to the top of one of the pillar thingies.

The sky looks... different.

"That's what you have to see with your own eyes. I could never simply tell you this."
"I don't understand! What happened to the sky?!"
"Cannot process."

I can't take my eyes from the sight. "What's going on?"
"The end of the world," says Xia.
"W-what do we do?"
"Move on, just like always. Follow me. I reckon it's time to go."

Alexa 2013/08/23(Fri)23:07 No. 536987 ID: d88f69
File 137732443870.png - (125.43KB , 800x600 , 20.png )

Wait.

I hear something speak into my head, like my own thoughts in a different voice.

It's a trap. She dragged you from one dying world into another. What do you suspect will happen in the next? Every world she visits dies on her departure, and everything within it is lost. Walking between the worlds dooms them to a swift demise. She knows this. She will rip this world to pieces and the next in her blind selfishness.

Time feels like it's slower than normal. I see everyone following Xia to the centre of the pillar top.

Xia pauses, her ears flicking up, looking slowly back to me with her same sad expression that never changes.

I hear something scurry behind me. I turn around to see some sort of fuzzy thing on the ground. It sits and looks up at me.

I want to save everyone. Save all that I can. I want to find a way to rescue your kind. All kinds. All you need to do is trust me.

It wanders a little closer to me.

I can only bring one of you back with me from this world. I will have to come back for the others elsewhere. I implore you. Leave with me. Not with her. Please. I can't watch more of you follow her to your deaths. She doesn't care about you as anything more than a passing thought. I want you all alive and safe and happy.

The world slows down to a stop, as a shining light appears behind the small thing.

We do not have much time--

I jump as Xia places a hand on my shoulder.

"Feeling okay there, Alexa? You're acting a little strangely."

For your own sake, please, you must enter the portal!

She leans next to me, head almost touching mine.

"I think you should be coming along with me now. It's for the best."

The weird thing smiles. Xia frowns. Neither change their expression.

I could probably move as fast as I can into that portal. I don't. I don't know.

>>536987
Don't do it. Nothing bringing tidings of doom EVER had good intentions and a smile on its' face. It just cheerfully spoke of the deaths of entire worlds. Do not follow it.

...okay, I don't trust the terrifying cuteball at all. This screams trap. That and "it's telling you a partial truth, but leaving out something really important."

it's quantum, nothing happens to a world until it is observed by an outsider. until then though, nothing happens. the thing WILL keep you alive, but at what cost?
don't accept, it wont tell you the cost until you already did. and it will probably be too high.

... um well, What we do now is that the worlds are already dying when Xia gets there so it could just be that Xia leaves before the world truly dies if the world where to actually die at all. And if she wanted to just kill us then why have us follow her in the first place, if she truly sees us as a 'passing thought' then why would she bother to take us with her in the first place, same question if she really just wanted us to die, why take us with her? But there is something about this thing that just makes me fell... uneasy, and I'm fairly confident that Xia can see it but why she isn't saying anything is beyond me.

contract ! become a magical girl

I don't especially trust either one of them. For all we know it could be right about Xia. But there's a bit more to think about than that. Tell the cat-bug-thing that even if Xia is causing this, you can't just leave the other people you've met to die. Say you won't escape with it unless it can bring back everyone else too.

Oh hey it's that thing from the title image.
>I can only bring one of you back with me from this world. I will have to come back for the others elsewhere.

So this thing can travel between worlds too, and safely, but can only transport one other person when it does so. Ask it if it could do that for Xia, so she would no longer be trapped in this cycle of hopping between worlds to prolong her own life in exchange for destroying already-dead worlds. Also, ask Xia if she's causing these empty worlds to end because of her dream-hopping, and if she has any long-term plans for the people she's taking with her.

Don't make an uninformed decision.