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Breaking Reality Chapter 5: Nation at War Linda McCallahan 2013/12/12(Thu)21:46 No. 551789 ID: d77784

It been a day since the announcement from the government that had basically damned every breaker in the nation to being hunted by everyone else. Already there were reports of riots occurring in major cities across the nation, in no small part to the panic caused by the very idea that people can warp reality at will. It can't help but be noticed by you and your crew however, that most of those riots are occurring in the east. Most likely D7 stirring up trouble. Everywhere else just seems to be in a state of shock, uncertain what to do, although the panic is slowly spreading. Thankfully, even without orders from you, your organization is already actively helping to calm the panic by taking any breakers it can find and taking them to safety, and barring that, warning them against using their powers. At least until you can come up with a plan.

Which is what the hastily put together strategy meeting is for. You assembled in a conference room scrounged up from somewhere, and all of the inner circle is here, talking quietly amongst themselves while you brood on things in your head. Everyone here was someone who'd received a... what had the doc called them? Reminders. They'd received a Reminder from you, a focus you'd tuned and handed over to them to keep hold of. some wore them openly, like Cass and Aria. Others preferred to hide it away, as Elizabeth and Chris did. You find your attention drawn to each in turn, noting things that had changed over the past few months.

As always, Cass is the first one to garner your attention, and despite her protests to the contrary, her life is improving in leaps and bounds. Over the past few months, her suddenly highly protective, if no less violent, personality, has polarized a lot of people around her, either they came to love her or hate her. Regardless, she is given the respect she has earned, being one of the lieutenants to "El Jefe" as you are being called now. While she isn't the most dedicated when it comes to leading people, resorting mostly to yelling at them till they do what she wants, when it actually came down to the few instances where a fight needed to be broken up, she was the first to step in. You've also spent countless hours teasing her over her slowly growing relationship with Isaac Grimm, who she insists is "just a friend", but you are certain is steadily becoming a bit more than that.

Elizabeth, your daughter, is slowly changing as well, although whether or not for the better, you don't know. She occasionally disappears for hours on end, rarely telling you when she'll be gone, but always returning. More and more you've noticed that she tends to be twiddling her fingers around, as if idling doing something. Still, she also seems to be getting steadily more lucid, focusing less on the weave and more on what actually IS. If anything she seems to be deliberately weaning herself off of her reliance on that other sight. Why, you can't seem to get out of her, but the process has made her a bit testy, although you suppose it's partly your fault that she's also getting steadily more sarcastic as she rejoins the world of the living.

Chris, as always, remains as stoic as ever. Her small group, wielding katanas and the like, has grown into their own, and follow her with an almost rabid devotion. After apparently finishing her training of them a month ago, she has since ignored them, although that hasn't stopped them from mimicking her in her steadfast silence and vigil over the others. Many of her trainees have taken it upon themselves to follow her example, and it's slightly off putting to walk into a hallway just to find one of them silently standing guard. Still, the woman herself, if anything, has gotten more silent, especially whenever her estranged sister can be found in the same room. Rise does little to cause issues, instead spending much of her time corralling the fairy Sidhe, but on the occasions that the two meet face to face, conversations have been short and awkward. You are not sure how to help the situation without seeming like your being rude, but even a few night time sessions with Raphael have revealed little about Chris, or her thoughts on the matter.

Nicole and Michelle are in and of themselves the most stable of your group, being from the west, they have a lot of concern regarding recent events, especially because they hope that perhaps, with the much different culture of western breakers, that the normals of the region won't react in the same way as those of the east. The meeting today is supposed to help address that, along with a few other things that the others have to bring to your attention, but you feel like these two are the most desperate for a favorable solution. You suppose you can understand. You wouldn't want to be hated by your home either. Even if you already are.

Still, the most drastic change has been in Aria. The woman has spent considerable amounts of time with you, going out of her way to be in the same room as you. Still, at time she disappears completely, and you get the feeling you haven't seen as much of her avatar, Golem, as you had before. For whatever reason, when you do see him, there's always a rumbling accompanying him, and he always seems to be facing you, regardless of where or how you move. Still, the time you've spent with Aria has been entertaining, if nothing else, and it provides a welcome distraction from your work. Still, in the face of recent events, even she is looking grim, and she seems to be idly checking her phone at regularly intervals.

Then it's to your own matters that your attention moves next. Jacob, despite some small misgivings, has been let out of the room provisionally. He's allowed to move about the base, under guard, and has been instructed to only answer questions directed specifically at him. That helped somewhat, until people started to realize that he remembered everything you said around him. He's been treated somewhat like an outcast since, given that many people say things they wish weren't remembered and repeated for other people to hear. Still, it's at least marginally better than having him locked up all the time. Maria, on the other hand, proved a larger issue. It took nearly two months for you to agonize to a resolute decision, and even that took some actual coercing from your friends to get done. Still, the woman had, with some help from Aria, been wiped and relocated to Britannia. There, Aria pulled some strings to have her looked after and cared for till she could get on her feet. The LR had originally been the chosen spot, but it had later been changed, thanks to the possibility of Raul getting his hands on her. Still, you'd rid yourself of the woman, and while you'd gone to Chris in an attempt to make sure she was fine with the result, your friend, in her exact words, "not care what happened to the one who lost". You'd left it at that, although that had somewhat unnerved you. If Chris had lost, would she have just gone along with whatever they had decided, without complaint?

You'd also spent some of your time, when you could spare it, playing around with Raphael's fusion. You'd nicknamed it Nightmare Linda(Raph's suggestion) and had gone tromping through dreamtime about once a week, had spent most of that getting used to the new body and picking up a few new fears. Cass, upon learning you could do it, freely gave permission to take hers, as long as it didn't take you too long, and similarly, Chris had given hers as well. That gave you two new forms, That Which Cannot Be Cut, and Berserker Cass. You felt a little guilty pulling Cass' out, but she simply shrugged away your apology. It just meant facing herself again, and she'd already done that. Still, despite you playing around with Raphael, you'd found yourself putting off coming into contact with Cally again. Some part of you didn't feel comfortable, especially because you still felt guilty over having shot her. Still, you can't put if off forever. Maybe you'll do that later...

And that concludes self-reflection time. You clear your throat to get everyone's attention, and the group goes silent, all eyes on you. For once, you can legitamately claim you feel like the leader of an organization, instead of just the person who signs all the paperwork.

"Well, we all saw the thing from yesterday. Thoughts?"

"It's bad. If the government is getting involved, we have issues. A lot of em."

"I have to agree with Ms. Reed on this one. More than likely, other nations will quickly follow suit, or at least admit to the existence of breakers. Britannia, my own homeland, will probably be one of the first. Everyone knows that the UNA will weaponize the breaker population, whether they say they will or not, after all."

"So where does that leave us?"

"Honestly, I don't know. The only options I can see are somehow going to ground completely, and making it impossible for the UNA to find you, or going up against them head on. Either way, you'll be declaring an unconditional war with Division 7. After all, if you don't deal with them, you don't have a hope either way."

"Regardless of your decision, Mother, it would be best to start doing something about the local population. If you can somehow win the normals of the west coast to your side, then you'll have a much easier time in the events to come."

"I agree with Elizabeth. Gaining some allies wouldn't hurt. We could try the breakers of other nations as well. I mean, Raul up and disappeared, not that he was trustworthy or anything, so stop giving me that look, little miss stuck-up. But gaining outside help would be a good move."

"So basically, regardless of the path we take, we're going to need help."

"That sounds about right. Ah... the sewer rats of Central would be a good group to get into your debt, helping them escape into our territory might win them over. The fixers are a lost cause in my opinion, but if you wanted to, we could send an envoy, I guess. That leaves the breaker communities of other nations we could go talk to. I could start setting up a list if you like."

"I'll think about it."

"Also... seems like a bad time to bring it up, but we've had multiple reports of activity along the borders of our territory. I don't want to get into too much detail right now, we have bigger things to discuss, but when you get the chance, I think you should look them over."

"I will, Nicole. Later. For now..."

You NEED to be the leader right now. You could tell that everyone in the room, even Aria, is uncertain. Looking to you. You've pulled them through a lot already, now they need you to keep pulling.

Which means you need a plan.

>>>Input Command

118 posts omitted. Last 50 shown. Expand all images

>>	3bb36a.jpg Ginger Bubbles 3bb36a Zaealix 2014/01/28(Tue)06:22 No. 559841 ID: 3bb36a Lust-Asmodeus Wrath-Behemoth Envy- Leviathan Gluttony- Belial Pride- Beelzebub Sloth- Belphegor Greed- Mammon Hrrrm...I'm not very familiar with Alaster Crowley but I'm guessing he's related to Michelle?

Unexpected Consequences Michelle Crowley 2014/02/03(Mon)03:57 No. 560716 ID: d77784

Redeath got it right all the way in the beginning, actually.

You suddenly remember, as if your thoughts were being guided like a moth to flame, and your hand slips into your pocket and wraps around the small object hidden inside. It's influence is subtle, but there, and the comfort it provides is unnaturally potent. You feel your heart rate slow, your mind sharpen, your body relax. A single breath, and then your recall. Leviathan considered Her to be an angel. Considered Her to be someone worthy of his respect and loyalty, such as it was. Even Moth, on the occasions he spoke, gave Her a grudging acceptance. And She was with you, even now. She was always with you. You close your eyes and draw on the power that sleeps within the object in your pocket.

A small bullet.

You open your eyes again, just as Michael finishes his mantra, and two things happen seemingly at once. The first is something shooting out of a nearby container and stabbing the bull-man through the back, an massive spiked hand potruding through the man's body and out the other side, attached to the woman from earlier, Sarah. As still remains with her, whispering words in her ears, but her breathing has calmed and she seems in far more control. If targeting new people. This seems to catch the bull-man by complete surprise, and his grip on Moth loosens.

"Sarah?"

"-So that all foul beasts may be-... Wha-"

Michael's weapons shoots forwards, aiming to stab into Moth, but just as he does so, a flash of light explodes from in front of Moth, and you watch as the angel-man's body jerks to the side as if struck, the sword scraping across Moth's side at the last moment. Painful, but nowhere near deadly. Moth breaks free a moment later, and the look on Michael's face, full of surprise and fear, is satisfying to an unnerving degree. Moth goes to work, brings claws and teeth to bear in an instant, tearing the man into bloody pieces. The other targets fair little better, and with the archer apparently gone without a trace, the rest of the fight becomes simply mop up. You make your way down to the ground floor as soon as your opponents are dealt with, Aria's target having been incapacitated for later interrogation, although the one's your demons are fighting have no such chance. They will be satisfied.

Still, as you arrive in the open area, you are approached by the Sarah woman, her hand reforming into something normal, even as you hear As once again within your thoughts.

Look what I found, Mother! Can we keep her?

The woman bows as she reaches you, looking just a bit fearful.

"I... I'm told you are someone I should respect, and that you are the mother of Lord Asmodeus, and are my mother too."

"... Lord... Asmodeus?"

"Yes... he... uh..."

The woman flushes red, even as the Prince of Lust cackles happily in your mind.

I granted her pleasure beyond anything she has or ever will feel amongst the humans. In exchange for her loyalty, I have promised her more. She is ours now, Mother, in body and soul. I have taught her as much. You disgust me, As. You're just jealous because you don't have any presents to give Mother. Besides, she is ever so much fun. So many perverted dreams left unfulfilled. So many dreams I could make reality. Why, even now she's thinking about a rather lustful fantasy involving Mo- THAT IS ENOUGH, AS! Of course, Levi. Of Course.

"Um..."

The woman interrupts your attention on your children, and you blink away your confusion to focus again.

"Ah... As told me... about... um... what happened... uh..."

"I... see... um... As?"

"His... nickname..."

"Right. Nickname. As. Uh... I think I'll stick with Lord Asmodeus. Uh... do you have... a name I should use... or should I just stick with Mother?"

"Oh! I'm-"

She is Lilith to you, Succubus, or Mother, or Mother Lilith. Her name is for other to us-

"I'm Michelle."

"But Lord Asmodeus just said-"

"You can hear him!?"

"Uh... yes?"

"I wonder if it's because... anyway, you can call me Michelle. It's easier."

"O... k... Then, Michelle, from here on, I'm yours to do with however you want."

"Um... ok... uh..."

"What's going on over here?"

Aria trots over to the group, looking curious, even as Golem follows behind her, clutching the captured and unconcious breaker behind her. She's tossing his focus from one hand to the other, but it seems to hold little of her interest.

"Uh..."

"Are you another servant of Michelle?"

"Serv- Did you just get a servant, Miss Crowley?"

"Um..."

"I don't know if you should be talking to her like that."

"And she's already over-protective of you. It's the beginnings of a full blown cult. How... entertaining."

"Um..."

"Keep being disrespectful and-"

"Oh, hush. I mean no disrespect. I'm equal to her within the organization. I suppose you'd called us comrades. Regardless, who are you wi-"

Aria is interrupted as Golem suddenly drops it's cargo and bullrushes you, arm extended to grab at you. Everyone is taken by surprise, except, it seems, Sarah, who is suddenly in front of you, arm expanding into a hammer-like fist to smash the avatar aside. Moth suddenly descends on the metal foe as well, ready to tear into it, before Aria steps in, eyes blazing with barely contained fury and fear.

"Golem! Halt!"

The avatar freezes, and you call off Moth as well, although the demon, as well as Levi, stick close by, eyeing the offender warily. Even your new disciple keeps herself ready, interposing herself between you and Golem. Your own concern, however, is for Aria.

"Um... what happened?"

"I... do not know. I didn't order him to do that. I... have some idea, but it may be best that I stay away from you for awhile. Or at least keep Golem away from you. I'll leave you to deal with the questioning of our prisoner and your new servant, I need some time to think."

"Um... alright. Just... if you need to talk..."

"I understand. Thank you, Miss Crowley. I'll see you later."

Aria leaves, and you take a moment to watch her before turning to Sarah and the prisoner. You frown a moment, then your brother moves to pick him up and you dismiss your own avatars into their doll forms. This seems to intrigue Sarah, but she keeps her words to herself and falls into step behind you, seeming to you like an overprotective bodyguard or something. It's clear she doesn't know how to act, and neither do you, but maybe your demon's will know what to do.

Experience Gained:
Aria: 4
Aria Total: 6
Michelle: 4
Michelle Total:9

Making Arrangements Linda McCallahan 2014/02/03(Mon)03:58 No. 560717 ID: d77784

You reach the edge of the barrier a half hour later, and easily step through. Jean, on the other hand, meets resistance, and looks very unhappy about it.

"Well... it seems we've found the edge. Closer than it was last time, they must already be seeing to the damage."

"They're fixing it already?"

"Or at least trying to fill in the hole as best they can."

"Seems like a relatively good idea to me... Alright. Elizabeth, you there?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Time to get their attention for me."

Mere moments, you feel something change in the air around you, and someone seems to step from nothing. The woman glances around, looking a little puzzled, before she calls out softly.

"Um... Hello?"

"Curious how she can't see you at all, isn't it?"

"Mother, speak and I'll translate."

"Alright... Hello, you can't see me, but I need to talk to you.

The woman jumps before glancing upwards at something you can't see, then frowns. A quick whispered conversation with something, then with more volume as she addresses you, or rather, something to the right of you.

"You are the one we can't see, right? I've come for multiple reason's myself. It seems that, um, once our business is concluded, I'm to deliver a message to you."

"Uh... ok... well then... I need you to let the tear that's in there out for me. We've come to an... arrangement, of sorts."

"I'm afraid I can't just let it out. It would go against my duties."

For the love of- Of course they'd pull this shit. It makes you wonder how they get anything done. Of course, you suppose leaving your daughter alone and letting a tear out are two separate issues. You'll have to come up with some better argument then simply "He's with me".

>>>Input Command

Zaealix 2014/02/03(Mon)05:06 No. 560720 ID: 3bb36a

Hrrrm. Looks like we're at a stand-off here...Not unlike how you guys are at a stand-off with tears like him. I'm guessing you guys can't actually deal with him.
Basically... I intend to put him... On Parole, so to speak. I'll keep a close eye on him. Right now I don't want to try and take out another tear, assuming I even know what method to use, they all carry a heavy price...
However, I heard something interesting from Jean, about it being possible to fix tears into normal people? I don't fully understand why that shouldn't happen. It's not like they wanted to be born a tear, right?

Suggestion 2014/02/03(Mon)08:14 No. 560729 ID: 4a75fa

Oh, neato. The angel-light thing worked.

>Redeath got it right all the way in the beginning, actually.
Pfff. And you let us keep guessing.

>cult of Michelle / lust disciple Sarah
Holy crap, geeze. Um. Not sure how to feel about that, really. We literally just mind raped someone. Conditioning her to serve with lust (or addicting her to it?) is a lot more morally uncomfortable than just temporarily immobilizing her with it.

Although I suppose she's still mostly in possession of her faculties (does that mean it was a choice?), and if she was on the self-destructive fixer path, maybe we gave her something to live for? ...sure, I'll go with that. Tactically, if Michelle now has a dedicated bodyguard, that does make using her avy's offensively easier.

...I can't help but think this is going to make the next time Elizabeth and Michelle hang out entertainingly awkward. (Liz amused or completely non-pulsed, Michelle still embarrassed or uncertain, and poor Sarah with no clue).

>no such chance. They will be satisfied
Er, after Aria's bit about Linda not wanting us to kill them, we still did? And that's really awkward after Sarah switched sides. She shouldn't have had to watch them die.

>golem
Huh, what set him off. Michelle tapping into the Linda-essence? Her providing Aria with the idea there might be something else inside her to listen to? ...her use of the word comrade, perhaps? (Accepting herself as part of the organization, rather than a temporary hanger-on. Not someone who would leave).

>some better argument
As I understand it, you can't actually hold him here. Your choice is to let him walk out, or watch as he damages reality further ripping his way out. Is your duty to contain him greater than your duty to reality?

And without his help and information, I wouldn't have been able to stop the other one eating an entire compound full of people. That's threads- lives- you had written off and trapped inside that now aren't lost. Call it a win.

(If she responds that they helped get those people out- I know. And I thank you for that. But it still wouldn't have happened without him).

Look, I know you don't have a permanent solution to the tear problem. Let me try to find one. It'll be a lot easier if I have access to one who's cooperating.

>last words
After we've dealt with everything else- I'm coming home, Elizabeth.

Setting Things Up Linda McCallahan 2014/02/07(Fri)15:44 No. 561354 ID: d77784

"As I understand it, you can't actually hold him here. Your choice is to let him walk out, or watch as he damages reality further ripping his way out. Is your duty to contain him greater than your duty to reality? And without his help and information, I wouldn't have been able to stop the other one eating an entire compound full of people. That's threads- lives- you had written off and trapped inside that now aren't lost. Call it a win.

Regardless, I intend to put him... On Parole, so to speak. I'll keep a close eye on him. He'll be under constant supervision, no need to worry about that."

The woman pauses again, then sighs. For a moment, nothing seems to happen, then Jean gets an odd look on his face before hesitantly stepping through the unseen barrier. He pauses another moment, as if not quite believing what just happened, before nodding to himself and striding over to take up a position behind you.

"The message I am to deliver. You are going down a dangerous path, trusting a tear, especially as you draw closer to the open war with another. Be careful you do not lead the enemy to what it is he desires."

The woman is suddenly gone after that, leaving no room to reply, and Jean snorts in disgust.

"Typical. Vague words that mean little. Regardless, before we go any further, I think I should hand this over to you. A... last resort, so to speak."

The tear removes an object from his pocket, and upon receiving it, you discover it to be another bullet. This one, however, doesn't feel like any foci you've ever felt before. It pulses with reality, a strong pulse. For some reason, you feel like the thing is alive somehow, and you glance at Jean questioningly.

"A remnant. Of... someone else."

He doesn't offer anything else, regardless of how much you try to prod after that. Eventually, you simply give up, and stow the focus away, but you find your thoughts constantly trying to work the problem. Could you use it like Cally's and Raphael's? And if so, who would come out? You shake the thoughts away and focus on the task at hand. Or rather, your own eminent return to Sun City.

"Elizabeth! I'm coming home!"

"Will not meet you there."

"... What?"

"Investigating disappearnace of Risa Muramasa. She missed her report time. Taking a few people and going out."

"Are you- Elizabeth, just leave it to me! I'll take care of it-"

"No. Need to be more useful. You have public address to work on. I'll deal with Risa issue. Also, expect call from Warrior at some point. She's having... relationship issues."

"Uh... okay?"

"Talk to you later, Mother."

The line goes dead, and you frown, uncertain about Elizabeth's decision. While you have faith in her abilities overall, combat is not exactly your daughter's strong area. You make it back to the hotel without incident, and take some time to get yourself cleaned up before laying out everything you might need to spend some time on.

The focus received from Jean(who's currently on your couch watching TV) is now on the table, awaiting your decision to do... whatever with it. Then of course, there's the issue with Elizabeth. You could decide to ignore her recommendation to leave it to her and meet her there. Wouldn't take too long to find out where Risa was last. And of course, there's the all consuming issue of what to do about Jean. While he's fine right now, and will continue to be so, you have to figure out what overall he's going to be doing. You can't just have him hanging around uselessly, and by what it sounds like, he doesn't exactly relish the thought of being idle either.

>>>Input Command

Zaealix 2014/02/07(Fri)18:02 No. 561387 ID: 0d86f9

"Lead the enemy to what he desires."...
That would be exactly the sort of sneaky crap I'd expect from the Tear of Paranoia, McCarthy.
As far as Jean goes...
First off, Jean=/=Elizabeth. We should hold the two apart as much as we possibly can.
Secondly, Jean? Would it be REALLY BAD if a Tear made a public speech? Because of Lindy's Nobodiness, she'll be forgotten-we need a face, and we might as well use someone who probably will look the part decently enough.
As for the foci...I can't think of a reason NOT to check it out. It'd be something else if Jean planted a trap that only Someone else, and on top of that, Remember the Fallen, could access.

Suggestion 2014/02/07(Fri)22:43 No. 561419 ID: 4a75fa

>a dangerous path, trusting a tear
>Be careful you do not lead the enemy to what it is he desires.
She's damn right that it's dangerous. Don't forget how quickly Holiday turned on those who trusted him. And we still don't know what really McCarthy wants from you. If we misjudge Jean at any point, or play into McCarthy's hand... this could all go very wrong, very fast.

>Typical. Vague words that mean little.
For what it's worth, she was fairly straightforward with her warning. (Unless they actually know something about McCarthy's plans they're withholding?). He's the one being oblique with this remnants and last resort nonsense.

>Could you use it like Cally's and Raphael's? And if so, who would come out?
The big questions that occur to me: would you even be able to do that with the focus of someone you never knew? You... got close to the others. You don't know if it works without that connection. And secondly- Jean described it as a last resort. Would it even be safe to tap into? It might not be something you can use without serious consequences.

Seems to me you might want to try... communing with it before waking it up. (If it's alive, does it dream?). Or maybe seeing what Elizabeth has to say. Not something we should rush into, for now. Whatever, or whoever, is inside there, you don't have a good reason to take that kind of risk, yet.

(I'd be against spending an XP to wake it up right now, that's for sure. We don't know enough, yet. That bullet was created by Guy's death, his final break, and Jean's rebirth. Who's inside? Guy, Jean, Brother? None of them, someone in the middle, some combination? The last thing Guy broke was to make his gun into something that could kill a tear- which that focus still might manifest. But would using it be similarly fatal for Linda?

Traditional tuning also seems a bad idea. As dangerous as what's inside that focus might be, trying to force it out and put a piece or ourself into something that's alive seems worse).

Actually, is there anything written on this bullet? You have your trusty 12.7×99mm of fuck reality, what's this one?

>Risa
*Cough* Rise.

>uncertain about Elizabeth's decision
Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and calm down. Nicole said to trust her- and she's right. You should. As much as you want to protect her, you have to accept you can't fight every battle for her. Trust her. She's not foolish enough to run off into danger alone, and you left Nicole in change- who's not going to let let her leave without an escort. Nic will make sure she's safe, go with her, or make sure other people do. You left good people back in Sun City (Michelle, Aria, Nicole, Rodriquez, Mike...), even if they don't all remember who you are anymore.

If we really wanted to butt in, you could send a message to Nic via Twinda to look out for Elizabeth. (Or if our spirit is finally high enough for perspective swapping to work, you could check yourself that she's going to be okay, and even hug her goodbye, wish her luck).

>You make it back to the hotel without incident
Where we're staying near Holiday's mess, right? We haven't made it back home, yet.

>you have to figure out what overall he's going to be doing
I would start by asking him what he had been expecting to be doing. Had he thought this far ahead? Hell, what does a walking antithesis of everything that's real normally do, anyways?

>You have public address to work on
I've been champing at the bit to actually write our appeal to the normals, to the other breakers, and our response to the government. A good part of how I shape the last part is kind of stuck until I find out what the law-types have to say, though. Waiting on that.

The immediate problem Linda needs to think about is how she's actually going to give this speech. Because it seems important to me (and it should be important to her) that she make this herself. But she needs to be remembered to do that. And I'm not sure we want to be wearing someone else's face, or if we did, who's face we'd wear.

I was hoping the Doc would have a temporary way around it. Maybe Jean will have an idea? You're stuck in the middle, and he kind of looks at reality from the other side, as it were. (Failing that, I may have some ideas of my own, but I'd have to flesh them out. Could we burn a focus maybe? Use everything in one to forge a temporary presence or thread).

>Rise
Speaking of not letting people go off alone. We could do a quick test to check if Rise is still alive, at least. Become her, just for a minute. You can't displace a thread that isn't there. Then let go, putting her back where was, awaiting Elizabeth's help. And maybe, just maybe, a small disruption might help her our of whatever mess she's in.

(And for out of character reasons- we might get a reaction out of Jean. He knows Rise. Or Guy did, anyways. That gives Linda a question to ask- something to follow up on. And he might care if she's gone missing, or have an idea what she may have ran into).

>>	2f4b71.jpg Moon Candy 2f4b71 Suggestion 2014/02/07(Fri)23:27 No. 561425 ID: 2f4b71 >Rise >Someone Else People being kidnapped is exactly the sort of thing Someone Else is for. We could check up on Aria, see how she is, and if she's free to help Elizabeth.

Suggestion 2014/02/08(Sat)09:31 No. 561457 ID: 4a75fa

>>561425
Problem is, Linda doesn't know if she's back from the fixer thing, yet (and do to jumping perspectives, niether do we). In character, I'd be more for trusting Elizabeth, and trusting Nic to see she's taken care of. Out of character- if Golem went off on Michelle, there's a worse chance he might go off on Elizabeth (since she's way closer tied to Linda and Aria's current conflict).

Although talking to Aria should be something we get to, soon. (When even ghosts and strangers are pushing you...). Still, we have to deal with the immediate problems of what we're going to do with Jean and about the speech, first.

A Phone Call Linda McCallahan 2014/02/10(Mon)04:39 No. 561828 ID: d77784

A thought pops into your head, that this is the sort of situation that becoming someone else might be useful for. Very useful for. Still, Elizabeth wanted to be the one to take care of it, and as much as it worries you to let her be, and simply trust her judgement... she's proven herself time and again to be trustworthy. More so than you have been, actually, given your record of royally screwing things up. You have to trust her. That won't stop you from checking on the wayward sibling of your friend, and you flicker her out of existence for a moment, taking her place. You hear dull thud as you let her thread go, satisfied that she isn't dead at least, and turn to notice the couch in your temporary home literally gone, eaten completely, as Jean reigns his unexpected outburst in. He mutters something you don't quite catch, and you frown as you stare at the tear.

"You alright?"

"Hm? Oh yes. Just... didn't expect to see her here..."

"Her? Rise?"

"Yea- Ah... I'd rather not get into that. It wouldn't matter anyway, the woman wouldn't recognize me, regardless. From my... uh... days of being 'real'."

"O...k... you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"What can I say? The emotions are, unfortunately, there for me. They aren't for her. Conveniently, my loss of reality forced others to forget I ever was real. And besides, me and Him are two separate people. I think. Mostly. Regardless, I don't think this is something I want to discuss right now. Perhaps another time. I'm sure you have other things you could be doing anyway."

Jean frowns a moment, then huffs as he's forced to sit on the floor to watch TV, and you leave him alone, confident that pushing him will get you nowhere. At least, not without the right questions. And you do have other things you could be doing. You spend the next half-hour getting some of your paper affairs done, the reports and the like that you barely glance at. They don't interest much, not at the moment anyway, most of it is just reports from lawyers who still don't have any definitive answers for you. You take the opportunity to contact Nicole, and tell her to make sure Elizabeth is safe for you, or at the very least isn't going alone to hunt for Rise. Your friend assures you that your daughter is in good hands, or at least trustworthy hands. You sigh in relief, a little of the tension in your body lifted, but you quickly shake it away. There's still more to do before you turn in for the night.

You pause a moment to pull out and examine the newest bullet you've added to your collection, before tucking it away again. While you're certain something is written on it's side, you find yourself feeling a little dizzy staring at it, and you decide it would be best to have others on hand when you do decide to mess with it further. Besides, you have no idea what it does, and would prefer further opinions before jumping the gun... so to speak.

Which just leaves a couple of things before sleep. Jean seems largely uninterested in what he's watching, although that hardly stops him, and it's highly unlikely he'll be going to sleep anytime soon by the looks of it. So, you decide to contact someone else first, and you hesitate a moment before picking up your phone at dialing the number. It rings twice before the other side picks up, voice sounding worn out and devoid of her usual spark.

"Hello, Ms. McCallahan. How can I help you?"

"Hey, Aria... you alright? You're not sounding so hot."

"Yes and no. It's... complicated. Golem is becoming increasingly... independent. And violent. It's just very tiring having to- No. This is hardly your problem, and not something I should trouble you with. But I digress. You have something you want to speak to me about?"

You pause, your original questions sticking at the back of your throat. She seemed a little... preoccupied. Was asking her another favor really something you should do right now? Not to mention she seemed quite ready to brush her own issues under the rug to help you with yours...

>>>Input Command

CalimariGod 2014/02/10(Mon)05:24 No. 561832 ID: f461c5

>>561419

We already know that what we do as metapersonas like the Godslayer can be remembered. Perhaps we could use that, be introduced as the godslayer and speak from behind a screen, so they only see the silhouette. As long as we can abstract our Linda-ness enough, we can expect to have our words remembered, right?

Suggestion 2014/02/10(Mon)09:07 No. 561858 ID: 4a75fa

>me and Him are two separate people.
I wonder if that's a problem. Will he still want to become real if that means ceasing to exist and someone else stepping in?

>it's highly unlikely he'll be going to sleep anytime soon by the looks of it
Assuming he chooses to, or remembers to, at all. It's all an act for them, remember.

>Aria
>Was asking her another favor really something you should do right now?
...no, that's not something you should do right now. You've taken her for granted long enough. She's waited a good long time while you tried to sort out your own head. But when even complete strangers and ghosts are telling you to push harder, maybe they have a point. She deserves some of your attention.

Just talk to her. Be there for her. Maybe it will help. She's been someone you've relied on, so let her learn on you. I mean, it sort of is your problem, isn't it? Or at least, you contributed. Hell, even if you can't do much to help sort her issues from here, maybe you just taking an interest and taking the time will cheer her up some.

>>561832
Potentially, yes, hiding our face and using a meta-identity would work. (The Doc mumbled something about shadow or masks way back then).

The biggest problem with that having our face hidden kind of undercuts our message. If we're coming out, stating who we are, what be believe, trying to assert our humanity in the face of those who would demonize us- appearing to be trying to conceal our identity hurts that. And not having a face makes us harder to empathize with. We come across less as the person we're trying to portray, and more as the villain the government has painted us.

Secondly, I'm not sure the godkiller pilot is the meta-identity we would want to use. She has good press, but she's also the reckless giant who fights monsters in densely populated areas and causes massive property damage. Kind of helps D7's case more than ours. And it also politicizes any further use of the bot, as it would be seen by the public, other breaker factions, and D7 as our faction's leader taking direct, highly visible action. I think the godkiller is better left with vague affiliations.

A Short Heart to Heart Linda McCallahan 2014/02/11(Tue)03:29 No. 562023 ID: d77784

The words spoken by Cally, and the other woman, seem to echo in your ears, before you shake them from your immediate thoughts and focus on trying to actually follow their advice. At least a little.

"Aria, if there's something going on and you need to talk, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

"I... yes, Ms. McCallahan. I am fully aware. However, you... it would not be good for me to rely on you, not now. Not with... Please, Ms. McCallahan, let me take care of it?"

"I'm not letting you do this on your own if you don't have to. At the very least I consider you a dear friend, Aria, and I don't leave my friends to suffer alone. Regardless of whether they want to or not."

"... If you keep talking like that, Ms. McCallahan, your going to have me falling for you even harder..."

You barely catch her muttered words, and you realize quickly that you weren't meant to hear that. Still, the words manage to make you a bit uncomfortable, still uncertain as to where your feelings lie in regards to her affections, but you easily push them aside thanks to the problem put in your face. Still, a moment passes before Aria speaks up again, a bit more confidently.

"Your words are a comfort, Ms. McCallahan, truly. But in the end, I don't think you helping me would aid in resolving this particular issue. I don't believe anything really will, besides... No. That is something I truly don't want to drag you into. Still, I thank you for your concern."

"But you aren't going to tell me the problem."

"No. No I'm not. Perhaps, in time, when it becomes less of an issue. But for now, I think it best if I dealt with this on my own."

"... I can't force you to tell me. Just remember that I'm here for you."

"How could I forget? Will that be all, Ms. McCallahan?"

"Yeah. For now."

The conversation ends, and you hang up, tossing the phone onto the table. You find yourself slightly annoyed, getting your help turned down wasn't new, but with the insight provided by Cally, you'd discovered that you were rather insistent on helping irregardless. You might have to do some prying of your own into you friends affairs. Still, thoughts for another time. The final issue on your agenda for the night rears its head, and then you can get some sleep. You get up and make your way over to where the tear sits, leaning against a wall a little ways away. As if sensing your attention, Jean turns to face you, looking slightly curious.

"Did you need something?"

"I've been trying to figure out what to do with you, and I figured I might as well get your take on things."

"My take on things? I'm not sure I understand exactly what you're asking."

"I don't know... what is it you expected to do?"

"To be honest, I never thought that far ahead. I mean, I can hardly do what a tear is supposed to do, or not supposed to do, which is eat reality. That seems a bit counterproductive to your goals."

"... Yeah, that would be a bit destructive, wouldn't it?"

"Mm."

"Uh... what did you normally do? Before deciding to help me?"

"Perform horrible, torturous experiments on defenseless breakers."

"... Uh..."

"Or went on missions for Division 7, in which I captured breakers so that I could subject them to said experiments."

"..."

Well...

>>>Input Command

Zaealix 2014/02/11(Tue)05:26 No. 562024 ID: ddfb02

Not to say that those things aren't horrible but why? Getting ordered around by a bigger Tear?
I can't help but think it'd be all too easy to go active, eat the gaurds, and run like the wind...But I guess the Wardens kind of make that difficult, Tears gotta stick together if they don't want to get captured in barriers and all that...

>>	c3a253.jpg Royal Emerald Puff c3a253 Suggestion 2014/02/11(Tue)05:47 No. 562026 ID: c3a253 I feel like trying to tackle the "What can Jean safely do" question alone is silly. I'm sure the Doc would love to figure that question out, as well as invent new answers to it.

Suggestion 2014/02/11(Tue)07:43 No. 562031 ID: 4a75fa

Ah- heh. Kind of a literal and forceful interpretation of just being there for someone, but I guess that's how we do things, huh.

>Jean
...really not helping your case here.

What the hell is the connection between Division 7 and tears, anyways? They found a way to control you? Are they making you? I assumed McCarthy just found a way to take over. Or hell, maybe he's been around long enough to have founded it. But if there were more of you, that goes past coincidence.

>>562026
Assuming bringing his back to a base filled with breakers is a good idea. A good deal of them are going to be able to feel the wrongness of him, and there are those who would realize what he is. He wouldn't exactly be a popular addition. In fact, his whole presence would probably work against the whole safe haven thing we're pushing (scaring people away), and probably sour relations pretty fast if and when we're approached by any other breaker factions.

...plus, if we ever lose control of him, the damage will be so much worse than when Marc showed his true colors.

Disturbing Thoughts Linda McCallahan 2014/02/12(Wed)05:10 No. 562154 ID: d77784

"...really not helping your case here. Why? Because some other tear told you to?"

"No. I felt like doing it. Or faked felt like doing it? No one told me to do it. I just did."

"... Um... that's a little..."

"Disturbing? So I've been told. I can't change the past, however, so what's done is done."

"I suppose you're right. What's the connection between Division 7 and tears, anyway? Do they make you? I mean, it seems a bit more then coincidence that you'd just start popping up."

"I don't know about that. While there are quite a few that have aligned themselves with McCarthy, there are more that are just going about their own business. The only thing Division 7 offers is money and political power. Why McCarthy wanted that is beyond me. And unfortunately, I don't know where tears come from, although I'm fairly certain I could artificially induce the creation of a new one. Maybe."

"You can make tears?"

"Well, I can set up conditions so they have a high likelihood of appearing. Whether they actually will or not is beyond me. So yes, it is possible McCarthy is creating tears. Might have made me, as well. Which is oddly unpleasant."

You frown in annoyance, non of this was making the situation any better for you and your little gang. Still, you have to hope the situation can't get any- No. Better not think that. You might as well just shoot yourself in the head if you completed that thought. Still, it didn't seem like you were going to get very far with this tonight, so you figured it was about time for sleep. As you stand to head towards the bedroom, however, Jean's words stop you, apparent curiosity egging him on.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"... Doing what?"

"Pretending to sleep."

"What? I don't pretend."

"Really? You're like me though, aren't you? Reality can't define you, and therefore shouldn't be able to apply it's own concepts to you. Like fatigue. Or even aging."

"Uh... well it does."

You slip into the bedroom after that, suddenly aware of the fact that what Jean was saying was getting uncomfortably close to him equating you as equal to a tear. You feel yourself shudder in unease, and as you start to drift off, you can't help but feel like maybe what you are now is proving to be making you less... human.

----------------

The next morning is uneventful at first, although you can't shake the feeling of unease. At least, not until you get a phone call in the middle of breakfast. You glance at the caller, than frown a little before answering.

"Cass?"

"Linda! YougottahelpmeIdon'tknowwhattodoImeanIdon'tevenknowwhatI'mdoinginhereohgodwhatifsomethinghappanedandIwasdrunka
ndIcan'trememberwhathappanedlastnightandI'mfreakingoutandIsaacandthepartyandIcan'tfindChrisandthere'stoomuchan
dIdon'tknowIneedhelpLindaI'msoconfusedrightnowan-"

Cass continues rambling incoherently into the phone as you pull it away from your ear slightly, frowning at it. Clearly, something happened. You take a moment, letting Cass continue to ramble on, as you decide how you're going to calm her down and get her to explain the situation without causing more panic. The usual should do.

"-AndwhatifIscrewsomethingupwithoutmeaningtoan-"

"Cass!"

"-Yes!?"

"Slow down. I'll listen as long as you want me to."

"Oh... right. Slow down. Um... where was I at?"

"I didn't even get the first bit, Cass."

"Right. Right. Calm. Slow down. Stay calm. Um... this could take awhile, Linda. I'm barely holding in the screaming."

"Take your time Cass. I'm here for you. And please, don't scream into the phone."

"Right... well... uh... It started, um... a few hours after we drove off D7-"

>>>Vote: Chris Wayneright(Repel a D7 Counter-Attack)/Isaac Grimm(Deal with Drunken Cass)

>>	ddfb02.jpg Diamond Powder ddfb02 Zaealix 2014/02/12(Wed)05:51 No. 562157 ID: ddfb02 >Chris IT'S NINJA TIME!!!

Suggestion 2014/02/12(Wed)08:30 No. 562164 ID: 4a75fa

>Making new tears
Yeah, that's the last thing we need.

>Disturbing
To say the least. A harsh reminder that he is a monster. He's literally incapable of compassion for others, and is only working with us because it serves his goals. And the only reason we're putting up him instead of putting him down is because he may be our only way to stop a whole lot of monsters. And because we feel just a little bit of pity for them.

>like a tear
>reality shouldn't be apply to apply concepts like fatigue or aging to you
>less human
Well, we already know that aging is something breaking messes with. (Maria looked a lot younger than she was, and Aria has no problem breaking herself to a child. And commentary in the dis thread implies that's no illusion). Fatigue, though, so far that's proven to be the great equalizer. No matter how strong a breaker is, they can only go for so long. If we could choose to ignore that, that would be a game changer.

Not that I think we should try. If Linda's making herself human out of habit (something above and beyond the pretending the tears do- actually applying the rules she expects to herself, since reality can't), that's a good thing. We shouldn't try and make ourself less human for a tactical edge.

It had occurred to me though, that Linda's not so much a tear as at a halfway point. She's less real, still human. And if we're halfway, maybe it would be easier to try and make a tear like us than like everyone else.

There's also a flipside to that- if we can figure out how to make a tear all the way real, maybe we can fix what's wrong with ourself too.

Possibly the idea of fixing a tear by using ourself as the template is something we should discuss with the Doc or Jean later. The question of how human we are might be something we save for private and Elizabeth later.

>who follow
So... fight scene or more talking and drunken silliness. Kinda torn, really. On the one hand, getting a peek inside Isaac's head is interesting, but trying to direct how things go between him and Cass from both sides feels almost cheaty. On the other, a nice simple fight is appealing, and there's more we need to understand about Chris' head too. I guess I'm leaning Chris, but I'm not sure if that's selling Cass short, here.

Poor Nic, stuck at base and getting no action while these two are getting a second session.

Knife in the Dark Chris Wayneright 2014/02/13(Thu)04:35 No. 562343 ID: d77784

It had been only a few hours since you'd repelled the attack, and in that time, you'd taken the rooms used by Division 7 and set up a more suitable base of operations within a safer location within a privately owned hotel. The assets provided by the Master had easily secured the locations and, in keeping with the Master's wishes, allowed you to reserve the entire space for your own crew to the exclusion of any others. You had to keep the chances of normals being killed to a minimum. You'd also taken what you could from the D7 "war room", hoping to gain something more from their files, but with little success. They mostly only had plans for causing mayhem and destruction here, preparations really for the true assault to come. Still, it was something, perhaps proof that could be used the Master to bring some credit to her speech later.

And now you find yourself here, standing off to the side as your companions celebrate the victory. You find yourself disinclined to join in, but with little else to do at the moment, you find yourself observing the controlled chaos that seems to engulf the room. Even Cassandra is getting dragged into it, although she is certainly looking suitably uncertain about the whole thing. Still, the other leader here, Isaac you believe he was called, seems to be watching out for her, so you feel comfortable retreating from the area and instead heading outside to check on the guards posted around the building. Nothing is reported as a problem, so you decide to head back towards the party, if to do nothing more than observe silently, but as you reenter the lobby area, you find one of the guards, knocked unconscious. You quickly wake the man, and when he says he doesn't know what happened, you frown in distaste. The way you see it, you have only two options.

You can alert the entire compound to the danger, but with most of them being drunk, you doubt they'll react well to the news. Or you could try to deal with this as quickly and quietly as possible. Keep those who are aware to a minimum.

>>>Input Command

>>	ddfb02.jpg Diamond Powder ddfb02 Zaealix 2014/02/13(Thu)05:42 No. 562348 ID: ddfb02 Hrrrm. Tough call but... Not probably isn't going to be made better by alerting the party-goers.

Suggestion 2014/02/13(Thu)08:33 No. 562360 ID: 4a75fa

You already broke the initial forward force of the enemy, and from the papers and plans at their base, and your own familiarity with their operations, you should have some estimate as to their number. That means, unless they managed to bring in a large number of reinforcements in a very short time, you should know they do not numbers for frontal attack. This is, instead, a surgical strike. As the disabled guard would support. A precision attack by the surviving agents and their subjects.

Riling up a large group of drunk people and sending them searching in all directions would be counter-productive. The level of confusion and disorganization would only play into the hand of an enemy infiltrator. In their current condition, the others are safer from attack in their current group than if they split up.

Best response is the quiet one. Turn to those who follow your instruction- the ones who are still in control and disciplined. Hunt down the threat.

Also, should it become necessary to warn the entire group, you still have the comm system. And a even without active break, breaking to enact some manner of alarm strikes me as well within a spirit 7's capabilities.

Suggestion 2014/02/13(Thu)15:27 No. 562421 ID: 2f4b71

>>562343
>Or you could try to deal with this as quickly and quietly as possible. Keep those who are aware to a minimum.
Inform Cassandra and Isaac, then begin sweeping. They can take care of corralling the rest of the group and will be pre-warned if the infiltration turns out to be a precursor to an all-out assault.

Ready the Guard Chris Wayneright 2014/02/14(Fri)03:43 No. 562511 ID: d77784

Your mind makes connections quickly and efficiently. This is a surgical strike, not an full assault. They would not have resorted to such quiet and controlled measures otherwise. They don't have the numbers for that. Still, this needs to be dealt with, and you deem it best not to alert the partiers. At least, not all of them.

You quickly get in contact with one of your disciples and instruct him to warn Cassandra and Isaac of the danger, and to inform them that you are dealing with it. Once he is on his way, you grab a couple more and lead them towards the security room. It would be the first place you would take control of, as it limits the enemies ability to find you. As you enter the hallway to the security booth, you spot a suited man standing next to the door, a weapon you subconsciously identify as an MP5 resting in his hands. For your disciples and the man, a second of surprised inaction occurs. For you, that second results in the man's death, his head neatly severed from his shoulders with the flash of a blade. You catch the body before it can fall to the floor and lay it down gently, then silently direct your disciples to either side of the doorway. Once in position, you kick the door in with one solid blow, and your followers dart in, weapons flashing in precise strokes as they cut down the suited men in the room. The bodies thud to the floor, and one man screams, his arm taken off instead of his head. Your followers cringe at the sight, they are still unused to the sight of death. You don't have any such qualms, silencing the man with a merciful swing of Muramasa. Then your attention is turned to the cameras, eyes flickering across them in search of the intruders. It's mere moments before you find them. Two groups, in fact.

The first seems to be heading for you "war room", likely hoping to get their hands on whatever data they can. There's nothing physical there of any importance, except the documents you'd stolen from them, but the laptops contain far more precious information. Lists of numbers and possible plans are already saved onto the devices, not to mention the locations of your security bases throughout the region. It would be vital to keep the enemies hands off of that information, and while there are guards there, they couldn't hope to handle the enemy on their own. The other, however, seems to be heading down, below the ground floors, with heavy bags on a number of them. You frown, uncertain as to what they are attempting to do, but regardless, you resolve to stop them. Whatever it is, it can't be good. A quick count reveals each of the enemy groups to be about 30 persons in size, with perhaps two breakers to each group.

You turn your attention to the pair you have with you and notice that they've multiplied into 10 total. About half of the total number of disciples you'd brought with you. Those here are your best students, although they are far from reaching your level of skill. You'll need to split them up somehow if you hope to stop each group. Or, of course, you could simply deal with one group yourself and leave you students to deal with the other.

>>>Input Command

Zaealix 2014/02/14(Fri)04:40 No. 562512 ID: 759db3

Heavy bags? Either they already got what they came for, or it's explosives...
I don't know how well explosions work on Breakers, but I feel like while it would seriously suck to get our current base blown up, it's not as bad as letting D7 have the intel to hit ALL of them.
You, and the best student of that bunch, are coming with you, to stop the men going after the laptops-the rest go for the bags.
Christ+1Disciple protects data.
9Disciples on bags.

Suggestion 2014/02/14(Fri)09:40 No. 562538 ID: 4a75fa

>war room, data
We can cheat, there. The data doesn't have to be there when the enemy arrives. We can break the documents and laptops out of the room and conceal them elsewhere (calling a nearby object of known location to hand isn't a difficult break, and we have a whole group of people. The concentration penalty won't be big outside of combat, and some of the disciples might have active break. Assuming the papers are in boxes and there are only a few laptops, it would just be several members of the group each sacrificing 1BP to protect our interests). Then, instead of becoming a critical point we have to defend, where we actually stand to lose something, the war room becomes a trap, an ambush point.

>bags, below ground
It's an attack of some kind. They plan on planting explosives, or gas canisters, or something similar. I'm not exactly sure what would be most effective against breakers, but it's some means to kill all the breakers in the building again and again. It's the only tactic that makes sense with inferior numbers and infiltration versus a large group of breakers in one place.

Regrettably, there's no easy solution there. They will simply have to be attacked and dealt with. Granted, if we familiarized ourself with the building when we moved in, we're more prepared to ambush them effectively.

>how divide forces
I would say asymmetrically. The group without Chris gets more students, but Chris doesn't go into combat alone either. (Split the ten 7-3 maybe?). Theoretically, Chris might be able to go solo, but it would be foolish to play into hubris.

As to which group goes where- look at the monitors, again. You see anything about either of the subjects that would demand you personal attention, or make them the bigger threat? (Like if either was Jin). Failing that, the bag team are the bigger immediate threat. You should run that team.

...master might approve if any of the subjects could be taken alive. (George, especially now that he's had a chance to check out Rise's resistance, might be able to free some of them). But their lives are a secondary objective. Neutralizing the current threat is your priority.

Creative Descent Chris Wayneright 2014/02/15(Sat)04:24 No. 562636 ID: d77784

You pause, considering options and strategies. The first thing to come to mind, really, is why should you simply leave the data where it is to be stolen. Or rather, why you haven't just moved it with your powers. You consider a moment, then take a calming breath and reach out with, simply telling reality what you want. And, just like that, reality discovers that you are right, the data wasn't in that room. It was in the room with the partiers. Because that's where you'd put it earlier. You smile to yourself as you check the camera feeds again, the enemy now heading for an empty room. Now all that was left was to enact the ambush.

"Two of you, stay with me. The rest of you, get upstairs. If you can, alert the guards their to simply let them enter the room, then ambush them inside. Understood?"

"Yes, Master."

"Go."

The eight remaining students dash off to do your bidding, while you turn back to the cameras to check the progress of the second group. They're already a few floors down, choosing to take the stairs to avoid messing with the elevators, and you frown in annoyance. Either route would be slow going. Unless...

Your certain your mother would claim your new Master as a bad influence.

You unsheathe Muramasa as you leave the room, entering another just as quickly, your two disciples in tow. You pause a moment, considering the ground, and then simply cut the floor from beneath you and drop down a floor, landing with a heavy thud on the floor below. You pause a moment, considering, then repeat the process once more, before pausing again and smiling in satisfaction at the shouts you can hear audibly.

Found them.

Muramasa returns to its resting place, and you poke your head out the door to see the enemy group having paused in the corridor. The lead man spots you instantly and hesitates, not sure what to do when just your head is poking out. You duck back inside the room, hand already resting on the hilt of your blade, a single deep breath readying yourself for the performance to come. Before you can finish, however, you find yourself interrupted.

"Master? What is the plan?"

Ah... you had forgotten those two...

>>>Input Command

Suggestion 2014/02/15(Sat)08:45 No. 562653 ID: 4a75fa

>You're certain your mother would claim your new Master as a bad influence.
Haha. Draw inspiration where you can. And she does have a certain style, doesn't she. Almost a flair for practical solutions, if that contradiction makes sense.

Wait. You remember your mother?

>what's the plan?
The bags likely carry some manner of weapon they intend to plant. Your objectives are to secure them, and prevent any of the enemy escaping with them in the confusion.

As for yourself, Chris, you're going to get right inside the enemy formation (blink) and begin causing as much damage and confusion as fast as possible. Attacking the agents from the inside makes it easier for your pupils to close the distance without being slowed down or stopped by enemy fire. A central attacking position also make it hard for the panicked enemy to fire on you without hitting each other.

After the initial bloodbath, your priority shifts to dealing with the two subjects while your students contain and/or finish dealing with the agents and secure the bags.

Neutralizing the threat takes first priority. Taking any of the subjects alive for deprogramming is a luxury we will consider if and when we have the chance.

Zaealix 2014/02/15(Sat)09:05 No. 562661 ID: 567c6a

It IS a ninja move to come from the ceiling. Though traditionally that's done through ceiling panels instead of just cutting through. Still, points for awesomeness.
Anyhow, tell them to charge when they scream, then blink away to the center and make the bad guys howl!

>>	2f4b71.jpg Moon Candy 2f4b71 Suggestion 2014/02/15(Sat)14:13 No. 562746 ID: 2f4b71 Their job is to cover either end of the corridor, to keep the enemy contained while you relieve them of their cargo (and sundry appendages).

Strike First Chris Wayneright 2014/02/16(Sun)03:24 No. 562839 ID: d77784

"Follow. Kill."

The two disciples blink in confusion, right before you dart out into the hallway and are suddenly in the middle of the enemy, crouched low to avoid an instinctive gunshot. There's a brief pause, silence, and the only sound you really hear is your own breathing. And then, as if to signal you to begin, one of the agents breaks the calm before the storm.

"Oh shi-"

He never finishes, as your blade leaves its home and you begin your dance, flashes of steel accompanied by the screams of the dead and dying. Within moments, at least six are dead, another three on their way. Without warning, however, a small pellet looking object bounces against the wall next to you, and you glance at it before it explodes in your face, hurling you through the concrete wall and into a room on the other side. You wake and shake confusion from your thoughts. Your blade and sheathe managed to remain in your hands, but as you stand, you watch as a man and woman step through, both looking deadly serious. The Breakers it looks like. Their agent handlers step through after them, shouting directions over their shoulders at the remaining men in the corridor.

"Get those charges in place now! We'll hold her off!"

"Hey, Em. You know who that is?"

"Uh, no? I'm new, in case you'd forgotten."

"That's 23... I don't know if we can win."

"23? The fugitive? THAT 23?"

You tense as the two handlers continue their conversation, the subjects under their control waiting for the order to kill. You remember these two. 58 and 59. Siblings. You'd helped catch them. Hadn't heard much of them afterwards. One had pellets he'd chucked around, could do all sorts of things with them. The most annoying were the adhesive ones. Destroyed your speed. Others were used for killing of course, but that one was the worst. The other preferred combat up close and personal. A mace, if you recall correctly. A mace with spikes on it. She'd been easy. When her brother wasn't helping her. Regardless, you had to finish this quickly. Your disciples weren't going to last long on their own. You hadn't taken out nearly as many agents as you'd hoped.

>>>Input Command

Suggestion 2014/02/16(Sun)05:09 No. 562845 ID: 2f4b71

>>562839
Our targets are the agents. Take them out, and we can deal with the breakers at leisure. Either call in your disciples, or go for Instant Movement to arrive behind them, seeing as they've sent both their captive breakers forward through a choke point without any rear guard.

Zaealix 2014/02/16(Sun)06:15 No. 562846 ID: a181d1

Blink, kill handlers, declare them captured.
Alternatively, if that ends with you receiving a pellet or mace to the face, We adjust our plans...Hrrm.
Actually, with just how SHARP Muramasa is, couldn't you just go for blocking Mace's attacks so the force of the swings ends up cutting through Mace's weapon?
As for pellet boy...We want to keep him in close range to you as much as possible-it'll limit his ability to use his pellets on you without getting caught in them.
In short-
Mace Girl's Mace is as much an option as the girl herself, stay close to Pellets to negate his abilities, and you should be able to win this fight. Cowardly? Maybe, but it's 2 on 1. Not actually much of a fair fight to begin with...If not a bit familiar.

Suggestion 2014/02/16(Sun)08:48 No. 562873 ID: 4a75fa

Okay, that's one blink, and one free-form break. Assuming Chris started at full BP, that brings her down to 41. Could be lower though, if it hasn't been long enough since the previous D7 attack for her to fully regen.

>two word instructions
>Get those charges in place now!
Dangit, Chris. This is why I wanted you to tell your students to focus on those.

>Your disciples weren't going to last long on their own.
Which means you unfortunately have two secondary priorities. If your students find themselves in dire straits, you may be forced to blink to their defense. You may also be forced to blink to the agents setting the charges to kill them / disrupt their work, if they get too close to completion.

>couldn't you just go for blocking Mace's attacks so the force of the swings ends up cutting through Mace's weapon?
Easily. So far, I don't think we've seen anything that Muramasa doesn't cut right through, even with negligible force. Possibly her sibling's weapons, if they're similarly enhanced, and potentially Aegis might allow Cass to block (it worked on Jin, but we don't know for sure his blades have the same crazy cutting edge Chris' does).

>What do
You captured these two? That means they may still see you as a subject. Agents are briefed on who traitors are- subjects are given orders on a need-to-know basis.

Best plan- terminate the handlers, and normalize. Make yourself appear, in the sibling's eyes, to have never surrendered your position as subject 23. (Shouldn't be too hard- presumably they're lower spirit than us, you still dress and move like a subject, and they remember you in that role. Only out is if one has really good will- but the brainwashing should have hurt their ability to think for themselves and get though this kind of deception. They're conditioned to accept the truth that they're told- and this one isn't far off). Then, order them to slaughter the agent 'traitors' (that way their mission profile even stays the same- you've just switched who's who) on your master's authority.

Best part, if this works, you can even order them to surrender their foci when the fight is over.

>tactics (whether or not the gambit to control the siblings works).
Fighting in the middle of the agents, when possible, is preferable. Crossfire becomes an issue for the enemy- agents risk getting hit both by you and the siblings (really a problem for his area of effect pellets), the agents will have difficulties firing on you without hitting each other or the siblings, and difficulty focusing on your students or setting up their explosives.

If you do have to fight the siblings, rendering one unconscious as soon as possible is probably the best way to deal with them. Since that will be hard when they're working together, you may need to work with your disciples to separate them.

Explosive Tactics Chris Wayneright 2014/02/17(Mon)03:23 No. 563059 ID: d77784

You tense, and the two breakers tense as well, with the two agents behind them barely starting to react before you blink forward and are standing next to them, blade already sliding out with a hiss of steel. Unfortunately, before you can complete the action, you feel something snap against your right shoulder and suddenly your arm freezes in place, covered in an almost plaster like substance. You frown in annoyance, eyes narrowing, before you tumble through the hole in the wall and back into the corridor, a mace missing your skull by easily. A quick check reveals your students, at least for the moment, have everything well in hand, the agents trying to get past them finding nothing but the biting steel of swords in their path. Still, they're starting to wise up that someone's obstructing them. You try a second to wrest your hand free of the odd prison its found itself in, but you aren't strong enough to break the stuff. You frown again, not happy at all, but simply flip the sheath and draw Muramasa as the whole assembly passes you by on the way down, cutting a man in two while your at it. That makes 10 dead, at least. Meanwhile, the handlers are hardly staying quiet.

"HOLY SHIT! DID YOU-"

"SHUT UP AND DON'T PANIC! 58, bring the boom!"

Pellets get tossed through the hole, but you're already heading further down the corridor, killing as you move. The explosion that follows is bigger than you'd expected, however, and your hurled into one of the agents, sending you both sprawling. You're dazed for a moment, and someone manages to get it through their head to shoot you in the back, unloading what sounds like another MP5 into your back. Your spine takes a solid beating, and you know you're going to be sore, but unfortunately for them, the armor you're wearing, stolen from the Division themselves, can easily handle the small caliber rounds the gun uses. The attackers legs, however, can't withstand getting cut off. You leap to your feet, ready to go again, only to have a mace nearly smash you in the face. You cut the weapon, and the offending limb behind it, clean in two, but unfortunately, the pellets that come behind it are not so dodge-able. They explode in your face, sending you and 59 hurtling in opposite direction down the corridor, with you colliding with the same agent who'd just gotten up. You put him out of his misery as you rise to your feet, eyes glaring down the corridor.

"Holy hell! She's STILL not down?"

"She was McCarthy's personal bodyguard. You think he'd have picked someone that would go down easy?"

"Hey... she's still wearing our armor. You think she might...?"

"Don't bother. We have our orders. 58 and 59 seem to be doing alright against her anyway. I don't know what's going on behind us though. I'm gonna check that out. You stay put, make sure these two keep her occupied."

"Yeah, yeah... Still... I wonder... Hey! 23! It's ok! We're... uh... friends! Remember? Division 7? McCarthy? We just came to get you back."

>>>Input Command

Zaealix 2014/02/17(Mon)04:01 No. 563062 ID: 606aa1

...Oh man. I just had such a hilarious idea. I just hope Chris goes through with it.
Just say "Password". They'll probably go NUTS trying to figure out what you're talking about, and the distraction's sure to give you time to kick some butt and take names.

Suggestion 2014/02/17(Mon)08:23 No. 563086 ID: 4a75fa

>kill the handlers
Hmm. Well that didn't work. Sucks about the arm-plaster thing, but apparently Chris can get away working left handed.

I suppose we could try breaking the stuff away, but she'd need an opening or lull to try it without getting killed. And we'd suffer the full concentration penalties, although our spirit is probably high enough to overcome.

>fight siblings in the middle of enemy agents
Well, that worked, at least. 58 Probably did as much damage to the agents as we did.

>Holy hell! She's STILL not down?
...that was kind of an amazing amount of abuse without a death. (Although, minus a blink, we're now down to 36 BP or less). And that D7 body armor is crazy impressive if someone can unload a clip in your back at close range and only leave bruising. (Even if the bullets aren't getting through, you're tanking the hits. I'd expect a risk of internal bleeding or ruptures, especially from sustained, close fire).

A death might have freed your arm. Although, then again, facing multiple enemies, tow of them breakers, we don't really have good respawn conditions. We could very easily end up pinned or chain killed if we did die.

>Hey! 23! It's ok! We're... uh... friends! Remember? Division 7?
...I almost feel sorry for this handler. Poor Em.

This one is a lot less experienced and more gullible than the other, and she's currently alone. Pretending to play along probably has a tactical advantage. If you can get her to lower her guard (and/or the subject's) you can exploit the opening. (Either of the siblings unconscious would be useful. Or dying slowly, so they can't contribute to the fight for a few minutes, allowing you to deal with the others).

If there's anyway we could combine that with a normalize we might actually be able to get the siblings thinking they're on the same side as you. Problem is, we'd have to remove the handlers if you wanted to control them, and in a manner that doesn't set them off. ...I'm probably reaching, here.

Strategic Retreat Chris Wayneright 2014/02/20(Thu)03:38 No. 563581 ID: d77784

"Password?"

That single word seems to throw the enemy into confusion. You hear her mumbling things to herself for a moment, then suddenly, with more volume, she addresses her comrades.

"Hey so, uh... anyone know any passwords?"

Silence reigns, no one willing to say the wrong thing as you simply stand there, acting as if you are waiting quietly. Instead, you analyze, watching for the moment you can strike. It comes quickly, the two breakers reacting with confusion towards the handlers actions. You understood the feeling as well, if only because you'd lived it. Why weren't they ordering the attack again? Why the sudden questions? Why does it matter?

"Shit... uh... Hey, Robert? You know anything about a pass-"

The words are cut short in an instant as the freezes up in shock at the sudden burst of movement coming from in front of her. Your blade becomes a steel blur, and your enemies, so much slower than you, lose limbs and tumble to the ground, flailing helplessly. A moment later, you are in front of the handler herself, and her head is separated from her shoulders. You step past her as her body falls forward, and you take the moment of stunned silence to try breaking this cast off your arm. You almost feel your concentration slip, but then your arm is free, and you switch Muramasa over to your dominant hand. The other handler, is far more experienced than his now deceased comrade, and at least knows a few tricks. Like killing his Subjects to bring them back into play.

"Don't just stand there! Kill the Subjects! Get them back in the fight!"

The remaining men behind you move to obey, but you dart back into their midst, settling once again into your deadly dance, even as gunfire erupts around you. Within moments, all those that remain near you are dead. That just leaves the handler and those your disciples are fighting. You turn to go back that way, only to instinctively block as a mace comes hurtling towards your skull. Unfortunately, you'd blocked with the bladed end, and with such a fine blade, instead of deflecting the blow you merely cut a slit down the middle. You head caves as metal meets bone, and you black out before waking again, forced to your knees with the force of the blow. Pellets roll and land at your feet, and you are suddenly blown backwards down the corridor, the force of the explosion twisting your body violently and causing you to die again, this time waking on your stomach. You pull yourself to your feet again, glaring down the corridor to see 59 glaring right back, even as pellets coming shooting out from behind her. You cut them out of the air, with disdain. But it seems, that they were meant merely as distractions. The handler and two breakers disappear into the room through the hole you'd made, while your two disciples finish up their task and appear from behind them, looking out of breath and physically tasked.

"Master? The bombs are destroyed."

That was one task complete, at least. You rush forward to the hole and dart through to find the three already disappearing into the actual door entrance. It seems escape was his plan now. A wise one, all things considered. However, you had no intentions of letting him escape.

>>>Input Command

>>	606aa1.jpg Iris Flyer 606aa1 Zaealix 2014/02/20(Thu)04:20 No. 563583 ID: 606aa1 Hrm. "Deal with the girl with the mace." So that mace girl is tied up, while you fight pellets boy.

Suggestion 2014/02/20(Thu)07:30 No. 563589 ID: 4a75fa

1 break, 2 deaths, brings us down to 33 BP or less. It was definitely worth taking those hits in order to eliminate the other agents, though. That simplifies things a lot.

>newbie-girl decapitated
Yup. Definitely feeling a little sorry for her. Not really sure how to read D7 putting inexperienced or unprepared people in the field. Should we be encouraged that they're getting desperate, or discouraged that they can afford to just throw bodies at problems? Does this mean they're succeeded at large scale recruitment, or that they're drafting warm bodies and putting them out there to die?

I do hope our PR campaign will make staffing harder for them.

>"Master? The bombs are destroyed."
Excellent. That's what I brought them along for.

...I know there's not much time for it in the heat of battle, but spare a word or two of encouragement for your students when this is over. Your approval means a lot to them, and they did their jobs well.

>Escape
Yeah, you shouldn't let that happen. The last thing we need is for D7 to retrain experienced handlers, or to be able to reuse subjects.

Blink in front of the retreating enemy to cut them off. Then they're pinned between you and your students, and it's 3 on 3, and one of them is normal. That's a fight you can win. Instead of 58 and 59 having an advantage working together against you, you'll have the advantage if you coordinate your attacks with your students. You can divide and overwhelm the enemy. (Try and capture the subjects alive, if you can).

Be alert, though. If you're cutting off the enemy's escape at the door, that means you're exposed to whatever may be outside. It's possible the enemy left forces to cover their retreat or escape. Say, another subject (Muramasa family boss fight yet?), or a sniper covering the door.

>>	2f4b71.jpg Moon Candy 2f4b71 Suggestion 2014/02/20(Thu)13:03 No. 563627 ID: 2f4b71 If you have a radio, or if the building has a PA system, now would be the time to announce the attempted incursion.

Suggestion 2014/02/20(Thu)19:14 No. 563650 ID: 88960e

>>563627
Well, hacking the PA, if there is one, would take concentrating on a freeform break, which Chris can't do effectively while trying to stop the enemy from escaping. Cass is the only person on our comm network in range, but she's kind of drunk right now, making her reaction unpredictable. I kind of think sounding an alarm or filing up the party goers isn't a good idea, though. Confusion and chaos wouldn't help unless we needed to rally or move the whole group.

>>	a30945.jpg Sparkling Flutter a30945 Suggestion 2014/02/20(Thu)22:22 No. 563665 ID: a30945 >>563650 >hacking the PA I was thinking more 'grab the handset off the wall and hit the "all zones" button'.

Capture or Kill? Chris Wayneright 2014/03/03(Mon)04:37 No. 565028 ID: d77784

"After them!"

You take off after the enemy even as you shout the command, and your students fall in behind you quickly, although they swiftly lose ground to your sheer speed. Regardless, you round a corner to find the enemy halfway down the hall, and for you, the task of cutting off their escape becomes simple. You blink forward, suddenly among the group, and Muramasa sings as it cuts flesh and bone. Then you blink again, this time appearing on the other side of them. You smile in satisfaction, the brother of the two subjects is not missing his leg and is clutching at the wound in obvious pain. His sibling barely notices, the girl charging you at her handler's command, the man clearly willing to sacrifice the girl to save himself. You end her resistance by severing her arms from her torso before Muramasa returns to its sheathe. The agent, clearly spooked, turns to flee back the way he'd come, only to encounter your two students, blades drawn and eyes challenging. The man glances between the two paths, clearly trying to decide something, before he throws up his hands in defeat and sighs.

"I surrender!"

Your two students begin to lower their blades, but you remain tense. Expectant. Confused. From what you can remember, Agents rarely surrender, preferring to die for their cause before give anything up. Then again, your only experience with other Agents were those your... handler... had loaned you to, and you couldn't be sure this was one of those.

Still, it was a matter of accepting his surrender or simply ending his life now. While you are certain your master would prefer the humane option.. Sometimes, your master could be too trusting, and it was part of your duties to protect her from all threats. Including her own bad decisions.

... What to do?

>>>Input Command

>>	ae43f7.jpg Fire Sea ae43f7 Zaealix 2014/03/03(Mon)06:38 No. 565037 ID: ae43f7 Hrrrm... Honor your Master's Wishes. He will be under your personal surveillance-your students can return to the party and continue watching over them.

Suggestion 2014/03/03(Mon)08:26 No. 565043 ID: 4a75fa

Pff. I would have preferred taking naive-handler alive over competent-handler.

>protect her from all threats, including her own bad decisions
Haha, wow. I think we've successfully taught Chris to think for herself, again. She's playing directives against each other to get the interpretation she wants. (And I think I detect a rebuke over the way Linda handled the Maria situation).

>what do
Order your subjects to stand down, and surrender their foci.

If he complies, once you're holding their foci, render him unconscious and take him alive. If he tries anything, kill him.

Now, what are the real risks of taking a surrendered prisoner? Well, if the enemy is familiar with your master, it could be a trap. An enemy who knows how you behave can use that against you. This whole attack could have been a move of desperation, or a poor tactical decision, or severely underestimating your forces, or it could have been a deliberate sacrifice to put a piece in position.

Obviously he will need to be extensively vetted by those who are skilled in such things. Searched for anything concealed on (or in) his person (tracker, transmitter, anti-breaker tech, a 'break object' like Aria's gem, a concealed weapon of any kind, etc etc). Then and only then can he be moved to another location, or passed on to interrogators.

58 and 59 will be held until they can be handed over to George. Your master would be interested in their freedom. (Odd feeling, there).

>Your two students begin to lower their blades
Flash a look at them telling to remain vigilant. Combat isn't over until it's over. This could still be a trick to stall for time. (Our back is to the exit they were feeling towards, right? If that's open, we could still be attacked from that direction).

Once the situation and prisoners are secure, spare a few moments to give your students encouragement / assessment, then arrange to have the area swept again to make sure no threat remains and report back to the others. Be sure to check up on what happened with the other group. (And once we've double checked security, cleaners will have to deal with the mess).

>>	2f4b71.jpg Moon Candy 2f4b71 Suggestion 2014/03/03(Mon)10:57 No. 565070 ID: 2f4b71 The one thing we don't do is take him further into the building or bring him to everyone else. He gave up a little too easily (didn't even try of shooting the breakers to allow them to revive).

Suggestion 2014/03/03(Mon)11:24 No. 565074 ID: 4a75fa

>>565070
He's surrounded by three swordsmen, his subjects are disabled, and we know how fast Chris is. If he tried a shoot-revive, he'd very likely be dead before they respawned (probably before the second shot), and 58 and 59 wouldn't win the 2 v 3 fight. If he's doing cold hard math, surrender is a better option for survival.

Of course it could be a trick, too. Confusing or distracting the enemy long enough to try something is a better strategy than just shooting, as well.

>don't want to bring him to everyone else
We would want to keep him isolated, yes, but regrettably, we will have to get someone else involved at some point, too. Chris can only search for a certain level of concealed threat. Anything on his person, sure. Anything hidden with surgery, or an innocuous object that might have a hidden break trigger (like Aria's gem) she might not be able to locate. (D7 does have access to superscience, breakers, and tears, after all). He'd need to be checked by an Elizabeth-alike. (Even without the precog, there's gotta be other people in the organization who are more geared at scanning and examination than combat).

Shipping him home for interrogation (or moving him to a new location) is definitely out until we're sure he's clean.

Suggestion 2014/03/09(Sun)16:14 No. 565768 ID: 4a75fa

One last thing for Chris to consider: her students are watching. It may be your duty to protect your master from possible mistakes, but you can't afford to teach them disobedience, or to disregard mercy. Long term, that would cause problems too.

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