Saisai 2013/01/03(Thu)15:38 No. 482068 ID: a68e3e
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Saisai wakes up from a nightmare.

What the hell..?

Thasti..?

Well looks like we're gonna have more then just one dragon to resurrect.

Oh hell. Regulus killed Thasti? Shit.

Although, was that a prophetic dream? (Ie, something that will happen). Or an sympathetic one? (Sensing something as it happened).

Kind of affects our priorities. Are we rushing to prevent his death, or do we need to get a vessel to the dying dragon for him to inhabit before he's gone? And um... who do we use as a vessel?

An insight here Ombra? Was that a vision of things yet to come, or of something that has happened?

Has anyone ever thought that maybe destroying the sword is a fucking excellent idea?

If anyone could do it, it would probably be Sharaes. Too bad we'd have to get it first, then get it TOO her, and hope that it's dragon weakening aura doesn't make her unable to un-make the blade.

>>482076
Yeah, like curing cancer is a fucking excellent idea.

Let's do that. Right now.

we need to get there fast. grab a buddy and get to the tigerfolk king. tell him you need to see thasti.

FFFFFFFF- Great, that makes two dragons we have to find a way to revive. I hope there's something left of his body, or that gets a lot more complicated. Maybe we'll be able to pull off something using one of his Chosen? That reminds me, I noticed that Maggie is purple while Saisai's using darkness. Are psionic abilities related to Oraes?

>One down, five to go.
>That one that died before he was even born doesn't count
Shit. We need to let Myli know about that.

>>482068
Looks like he wants to kill ALL the dragons. This means the king is not in on it. We need to talk to him asap.

Actually, born after Ombra died means whoever did that wasn't Regulus.

>>482090
Which doesn't make it safe to go to the king, actually. Just because the bozo with the sword at the moment wants all the dragons dead doesn't mean Myli and Regulus don't want all the others dead. This could mean those two found another pawn to wield the sword who's planning to backstab them.

So it's still not safe to approach the king openly about this.

>>482098
(I think you're forgetting that Oraes is the one who died even before Regulus was born. A few hundred years before the story even began.)

>>482098
Regulus explicitly said he wanted to kill all the dragons I don't think excluding any of them and last time I checked the king was against killing the dragons (check the fucking archive).

>last time I checked the king was against killing the dragons
You're assuming he was being completely honest during the conversation with the knight captains. We already know he's capable of lying to them (Myli does hide who he is). And it makes sense that if he was playing some kind of dracocide game like before that he wouldn't necessarily trust them all with that information, or might want to put on a face like he opposed it (plausible deniability after the shit goes down).

Even if Regulus is out to kill all the dragons, it still doesn't necessarily make it safe to approach Myli. If Myli is working with Regulus, he may still want Ombra dead. He may not believe that Regulus is going to turn on him. Etc.

Yes, it's possible Myli is completely innocent and would be cooperative if approached. However, we don't know that, and if he is involved, approaching him is dangerous.

If we're going to warn him, not doing so in person seems the safest route. Send him a note or a message, without exposing Saisai.

Saisai 2013/01/08(Tue)17:55 No. 483718 ID: a68e3e
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This....


Is -so- not my problem.

Hey! Hey get up you lazy girl! Thasti is dead dammit! Like, dead dead! Even more dead than me! Look I don't care about the guy honestly but if too many of us die baaaaad things happen! To everyone! WAKE UPPPPPPP!!!!

Actually it is your problem Saisai, to kill a dragon inside something you gotta destroy the vessal.

Thats you by the way.

He wants to kill all the dragons. Which, since Ombra's in your head, includes your death.

Also, even if you get Ombra out before this dude finds her, killing all the dragons is bad. Like, world ending bad. Unless you're suicidal or dangerously apathetic, that is is your problem.

Gotta make the words stand out for her to hear you, remember.

Also, is it really too late for him? You sure we can't rush a compatible host over for his dying ass to inhabit? Or we could track down Aeryr and jump back in time to prevent this before it receeds too far out of reach...

Or could we get the remains to Masil? Can't she fix deader-than-dead?

if you don't move your ass them ombra may decide that blowing you up to escape may be worth it. as in, if you wont help the dragons, why should she care about your well being?

Saisai, if more dragons completely die like Thasti, bad shit happens to the entire world. It very much is your problem, and you're the only one who can do anything about it.

Don't worry though, this isn't that hard to deal with. We can get the king's help, we just have to tell him without Regulus finding out. Maybe if you told Captain?

We also need to warn all the other dragons, and fast.

>We can get the king's help
...what evidence to we have that Myli's not a jerk, or trustworthy, exactly? Just because someone else is going all Draco-genocidal doesn't mean he's safe to trust with this shit.

Hell, we don't even know for sure that was Regulus we saw in the dream. And even if it is Regulus, we have no proof to bring before the king. It would be our word against his.

>This.... Is -so- not my problem.

Let's see here...
1) Bad things will happen to the entire world if too many dragons die,
2) You're Ombra's host, so you'll eventually be targeted, too,
3) You're a rightful wielder of the Dragonslayer, and therefore have the duty to keep it from being abused like this,
4) You have us, and
5) You're a knight. You literally signed up to deal with shit like this.

How, exactly, is this not your problem? Look, we're not saying you have to go fight that guy right now, you're nowhere near ready for that, but you do need to start making preparations to deal with it. Talk to Myli, hang out with Art, find someone to give you some hardcore combat training, maybe even some other things if something comes up or we get an unexpected opportunity. You know, stuff that you would have eventually done even if Thasti hadn't just been murdered.

(I remember saying that dreams of the future are relatively common)

>>483736
I realize that but I suspect that Regulus has an entire history of illegal dealings/actions, he's just really good at hiding them.

>>483718
Saisai if you really don't want to help then why don't hand us over to Eluria.
(And guys judging from our capabilities I think our purpose is also to protect the world's order)

Saisai 2013/01/08(Tue)22:30 No. 483776 ID: a68e3e
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Saisai grabs her pillow and sits up. She hugs it close to her chest and sighs

Guys...
I know it actually -is- my problem but...
What can I do about it?
I'm not a great hero.
I'm not an awesome leader.
I don't have any super powers.
I'm a girl who just barely got into the knights and couldn't even face up to her parents until a few days ago.

>>483776
Didn't we just like, tell you what you can do about it?

You don't have to be a magnificent fighter or anything, c'mon. Just talk to the right people, get the right forces aligned against Regulus, and take the relatively easy path to restoring Ombra and maybe getting Masil to resurrect Thasti.

the only big problem is the dragon slayer, you can grab it and then hide it somewhere. without that no one can kill a dragon.

Well, you do have some things going for you. You're fairly determined, resourceful, and capable when you put your mind to it. You've got us. You've got friends and allies.

Now as for the problem at hand... there's two things. The sword, and whoever's using it. Take the sword away, and they can't kill dragons. (Although, then we have to worry about them killing a path to the sword). Take out the person... and he can't use the sword.

The hero's they tell of in stories? They were just regular average people, just like you. They just happened to be the ones who stood up when they were needed.
Besides, you have a huge advantage Saisai. You have us.

Saisai 2013/01/08(Tue)23:18 No. 483784 ID: a68e3e
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>>483782
Heh... Thanks.

>>483781
>>483778

Saisai falls back and lays in her bed

See that's the thing. I can't do either of those right now. At least not by myself.

You have friends you fool. Use them

Maybe I should speak to the captain about this? I'm worried she'll either not believe me or believe me and like try to attack Regulus or something. She seems unhinged enough to just do one extreme or the other.

>>483777
Masil... Is that another dragon? I can't remember.

She's the Light Dragon you fool. She's also a huge bitch. I wouldn't expect her to do anything for you unless there's something in it for her. Her not dying might do the trick...

!? Stop doing that! Or at least tell me you're there!

But I'm always here Saisai~

Bluh...
Ok so you think she can revive Thasti? Where would I even find her?
And to bring... -Her- back to life I need mana so....
I guess I should hang out with Artemis some more?

I don't even know what to say to the guy.
'Hey, Artemis. I need your powers so let's go to the park'

we mean if your dream is happening right now then the sword is sitting there, if you grab it you can claim ownership and run off with it.

Well, one advantage of confiding in Maggie is she kind of has to believe you. The whole mind reading thing means she'll be able to tell you're not lying to her.

We could start small. Before we can do anything about the sword, we need to know where it is, and who's using it. Is Regulus still carrying it? Has he found another lackey to kill dragons for him, like he did with Sable and Eluria? Or has it been stolen by someone new?

Masil's in the catfolk city, I think. Not sure what we offer her for cooperation. She'd be a lot easier to bully into helping if we let the situation get worse before asking. Or if you were carrying the dragon slayer.

Does Morgan have mana? We could consider hanging out with her instead

>>483784
Do a mission with him.

Ask him to go clothes shopping with you.

Find out if he's got his eyes on any ladies, ask for a double date with Morgan.

or blow all this off and ask Morgan out.

>>483789
that doesn't matter, yes she does HAVE mana personally, but saisai wont get any. it's complicated. but while being friends with morgan as well would be good, art is the one that has what we want.

Um first off how do we know that Thasti is dead beyond Saisai's dream.

Second off technically we could train Saisai ourselves but we would still need someone to teacher her magic.
(I've been developing martial art techniques that are pretty like Hokuto Shinken but we first Saisai needs to learn sage magic)

Really the only reason that king does trust Regulus' word is because he has a good public reputation. In order to take him down without starting a war we have to destroy his PR.
One of the ways we can do this is by revealing things like how almost got an entire team of knights killed, or that he used an assassin to kill a dragon, or we could go for the holy grail of them all and try to prove that he killed Sable.

GP:70 Saisai 2013/01/10(Thu)21:51 No. 484358 ID: a68e3e
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He's dead. He's dead and whoever killed him took the Dragonslayer with them. I can pretty much feel that he's dead dead. It's the same as it was with Oraes.

I guess the first thing I gotta do is hang out with Artemis.

>>483790
I think I'll just ask him to go on a mission with me... All those other options seem a bit... Not good.

Saisai does her usual morning ritual and goes to see Artemis. It doesn't take long for him to respond to her calling his name.

>"Hey Saisai! What brings you here?"

"Hey Artemis. We don't have any missions to do today so I was wondering if you... Wanted to do a mission with me."

>"I'd love to! Let me get my staff."

Artemis gathers his things and in no time they're in front of the job board.

Hmm..
All these missions suck.
And there's one completely horrid looking poster of some guy trying to advertise his services...

>>484358
Huh, what's this? A1 has a job posting? G13 is the reward? Hmm. Maybe we can ask her what that's about later.

What are those posters hidden behind the others?

let's try the evil cave. if that seems too much then the lost ball is good.

>need someone to spy on my wife
>need someone to pretend to spy for my husband
Oh my Tagon, an opportunity to get paid twice! ...domestic spy work is kind of boring and frustrating through.

>A1
Huh. I wonder if she has an actual lead she needs help on? Or if she's just shooting blindly and hoping someone useful shows up. I mean, we'd love to help, but we don't know how.

>>484358
Grr... as much as I would love to help A1, I feel it would only distract us from forming bonds with Artemis. We can't both empathize with Art and A1 at the same time.

As for the two "spying" missions. Doing both seems like a terrible idea. Getting caught would make a bad reputation for Saisai.

I think the best ones are the Cave or the Church missions. Both for monetary reasons, and because if the mission is too simple, it won't provide the necessary conflict we need for Saisai and Art to work together.

Well, that's regrettable. Although, to the best of our knowledge, Masil can fix that kind of dead. She just hates Oraes. ...and probably wasn't found of Thasti either.

The problem will be getting her to cooperate.

...and making sure we get her to cooperate before our opponent kills her. If he's aware she can reverse the deaths, he's going to make her a target as soon as possible.

Saisai 2013/01/11(Fri)11:45 No. 484484 ID: a68e3e
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She hates all of us! That bitch is just... BLUH! It's cause of her that my people even get any soul illnesses! I hate her so much...
If you want to get her attention though just go to the catfolk city and look for her. She's always looking for attention so when someone's trying to find her she finds them. She... Probably spent more time with her people than any of us... But not for a good reason!

Oh A1 is looking for someone. I don't know anything about robotics though... Maybe after the mission I'll check up on her.

"I like this cave one. The pay is good too."

>"I was just about to say we should take that one." He pulls down the flier. "It's not too far from the castle too. It looks like it's in the mines."

"You know where that is?"

>"Of course. I know pretty much the entire kingdom."

"I honestly don't.. Lead the way."

He smiles at her

>"Sure, just follow me."

The two of them walk a mile or so from the castle and arrive at the mine that was listed in the flier. Someone is outside to greet them

>"Hey. You two knights?"

"Yes. We're here about the mission."

>"Right. There be some bad things in that there mine. Been scaring off all my workers. Think you can take em out?" The man eyes the two of them, a bit doubtful of their power.

"We're knights of the Royal Army. We can handle a simple mission like this."

>"Right. Well head on in when you're ready."

"Ready Artemis?"

>"Yep."

The two of them go inside the mine.

Saisai 2013/01/11(Fri)11:51 No. 484485 ID: a68e3e
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Saisai clutches her spear close to her as the two of them make their way through the dark mines.
There are fallen, broken, fairy fire torches scattered around them.

>"Hey Saisai." He calls to her in a hushed voice.

"Hmm?"

>"Why do you use a spear? I don't think I've seen many people in the Knights use them."

"Why? Not really a choice. No swords around. There were sticks. Sticks with rocks that could be fashioned on top."

>"You made your own?"

"Always have. This one right here is one I made too."

>"Really? It looks so professional."

"I've had time to practice. I'm actually pretty good with my hands."

>"It shows. Mages pretty much buy their staves. But each is handmade so the one we pick is unique. The one I'm using now was handed down in my family."

"Hmm. Could never really get magic."

And now we know why I can't use magic.

>"I'll teach you a bit some day. It's easy once you get the basics down."

"Thanks."

Hmm.. Other than this place being dark and creepy looking I'm not seeing much that suggests something is haunting it.

on your left, dark shadow around the corner

>not many people us a spear
That can actually be advantageous. Having an unorthodox fighting style or chosen weapon makes it harder on your opponent. ...although, actually, maybe that doesn't matter so much, seeing as how nearly everyone seems to have an unorthodox something or other. Telekinesis, mechanical claws, cardboard, shark hands... I mean, jeez, pretty much the only time we see an actual sword is when the dragon slayer pops up.

>And now we know why I can't use magic.
Kind of amusing, actually. Art is offering to teach you a few things, because you're a friend. Which is precisely the reason you'll even be able to learn! Self fulfilling.

>Don't see anything
Hmm. The poster and the miner weren't too specific about what was down here, or where. We might have to keep looking.

Although it kind of looks like there's something around the corner down the passage to your left.

>>484485
Evidence suggests that whatever it is doesn't like the torches. You could light one to see if you could lure it out.

Saisai 2013/01/17(Thu)20:18 No. 485999 ID: a68e3e
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"I think I see something.. Stay close."

Saisai leads Artemis further down the corridor. They eventually catch up to some... Thing.
It seems to be growing straight out of the ground. It stares at them...

"The hell is that...?"

What the hell is that?

don't attack, we have no idea what it's speed and such are. could be a counter beast. we also need light, ask art to make some lights.

What's that symbol on the ground under it? It looks familiar... let me see if I can figure out what it is.

Don't make any light, I guarantee you that it will be angered by it. We're too close to risk an attack now.

>>486001
OR it could be something that kills us instantly if we don't attack it.

Let's hope shadowstuff is soft and try to pin its arms together.


Or we could act rationally instead of only considering a few possibilities.

Okay. The symbol stands for the lack of morals/emotions. Or maybe you already knew that.

I don't suppose this could be a Soulless, could it? Regardless, maybe you should just stab it.

Whatever it is seems to have specifically destroyed the lights, which implies that it dislikes light but is capable of getting close to them.

>>486031
Oh! It IS a Soulless. A Creeper, most likely. If it touches you, you will die. Do not not not not NOT get within range of those claws.

Soulless cannot be killed except by Light spells. They can be wounded by other things though.

So, have Artemis here cast Holy on it if he can. If not, we need to get out of here and come back with someone who has Holy spells. Like for instance A1.

>>486038
Do what he says.

Also, it occurs to me, if that things eat souls, you've currently got a dragon soul in here with you. You probably look pretty tasty. o_o (To say nothing of us. Are we edible, I wonder?)

It's a soulless. A monster that feeds on souls. Takes holy magic to kill them. Unless art knows any, we'll have to retreat.

GP:93 Saisai 2013/01/20(Sun)00:19 No. 486463 ID: a68e3e
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A Soulless..? I never heard of them.

"Art, do you have any light spells..?"

"One..."

>"Use it. N-"

The thing lunges at Artemis with it's claws out. Artemis casts his light spell and the moment he does the creature changes course and attacks Saisai. She barely has enough time to react but manages to block it's claws with her spear. It's strength is greater than she had anticipated and she finds herself struggling to stay up. Part of it seems to be burning off.

Don't let that thing cut you no matter what! You may have two souls in this body but like... It could take either of us! Don't want to gamble on a 50/50 do you!?

That's not an offensive light spell dammit! Run! It can't detach itself from that symbol. It won't be able to chase you, so take advantage of that!

Art might be able to drive it back with some fireballs while you both retreat.

tell art to amp up the power!

>>486463
would she get killed anyway without you by this thing? could you actually do anything useful with this body without here just in time? I don't think there is much gambling here anyway...
try to stay close to artemis, not creating a shadow in the attacker's direction.
Artemis should power it a bit up, then flee a bit away... watch carefully what it is doing during that!

>Run! It can't detach itself from that symbol. It won't be able to chase you, so take advantage of that!
No, that won't work. The symbol moved along the floor. We're in section of hallway with two right angles. The symbol was originally on the floor past both corners, now it's in the short section in between the two.

SaiSai, you cannot let that thing cut you.

It changed course when Art's light spell went up. It veered away from him. Try moving closer to him, so you're covered by the spell too?

>>486497
It must be because it has an aversion to light that's why it's down in the mines.

Well, if the symbol moves, an alternate way of dealing with it would be to Seal it.

Saisai 2013/01/25(Fri)18:26 No. 487600 ID: a68e3e
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Saisai backs away and goes into Artemis's light spell

"Make it stronger!"

Artemis nods and amps up the light on his spell. The monster slinks away and cowers as Artemis's staff illuminates the hallway.

Saisai 2013/01/25(Fri)18:27 No. 487601 ID: a68e3e
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It slashes in the air behind it. It seems to rip into nothingness, as though a hole were punched into the world. It flees into the rip which soon seals itself

>"Geeze... What was that thing..?"

"Not sure. I have some idea but I've never seen it before.."

Well, at least it's gone.

if it can get out, it can get back in.

I told you they're called Soulless. They exist in the Dark World most of the time, and venture into our world to try to steal souls. Almost all of them are basically mindless beasts, acting on a desire to retrieve their own soul that they lost somehow. There are... some that are not mindless. They never leave the Dark World though, as far as I know.

I think their creation had something to do with dark mana? I can't remember much more, sorry. Also, no, this isn't future knowledge or anything. I don't think we even have any of that left now. This timeline is far too different at this point for much of anything from the other timeline to be applicable.

Proceed further into the place to make sure there aren't any more. Keep that light spell up and stay close to eachother.

Well, problem is, it could be anywhere.

Best case, you drove it away, and no one will ever see it again (ha!). Worse case, it'll show up in the mines again as soon as you leave. Worst case? You've pissed it off and it's going to use that slash slash teleport move to ambush you later.

I think it's time to do some research. Where could we find more out about soulless? The library, the church? We might be able to find something by the symbol, too.

We need to alert the knights that we encountered a Soulless in the mines now.

GP:100 Saisai 2013/01/30(Wed)05:11 No. 488770 ID: a68e3e
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Yeah this is a bit much for me.. Maybe with Captain, definitely with A1, but just the two of us? Not working.

"Artemis, let's go back to the castle. We need to tell the King about this."

>"I agree."

Sticking close together the two of them leave the mines. They explain what the monster is to the one who gave them the mission. They tell him they need to get stronger knights in on this. The man thanks them and pays the two of them G150 for at least checking it out.
Back at the castle the two of them find themselves in audience with the King.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

>"The monster sure sounds like a Soulless.. Along with Shades and Thought Eaters they are a blight upon the land. Regulus?"

>"Yes, your majesty?"

>"Go to the church and tell High Priest Lark and tell him to get some of his most powerful priests to scan the mines."

>"Right away."

Regulus leaves the room. Saisai and Artemis are alone with the King. The Dragonslayer is there...

>"So, how are the two of you liking your stay in the Royal Army?"

"!! It's uh... It's great, your Majesty."

>A "Same. The missions are really tough but it's been great so far."

>"Captain Maggie always speaks very highly of the three of you, especially you Saisai."

"M-me..?"

>"Yes. She says you've shown great leadership potential. And the way you wield spells Artemis, very clever. I was there during your match against Miss Falladay here and seeing you shove the Barrier spell against her was quite impressive."

>"Th-thank you.."

He smiles at them

>"I only expect more great things from the two of you."

I think that's the most compliments I've been given in one conversation, ever. If I had a tail it would be twitching in joy.

Hey, the Dragonslayer is like -RIGHT THERE-. We should totally just steal it...

>"The day is still young, if you two want I do have a mission I need done. It was supposed to go to Regulus and his small team but he'll be busy for a while. And I think you two would like this mission."

>"What is it?"

>"Well a thief has been reported stealing from quite a few people around the kingdom. We know she was last seen around the shopping district nearby and I wanted to send a group to investigate. If you took the mission I would be more than glad to reward you for it."

sounds fun.

Well, you sort of had to abort the last mission... so why not? ((Apple?))

In our experience petty thieves can be pretty easily dispatched with a gravity spell, and maybe a whack from the non-business end of a spear.

It's a little harder to steal from someone right in front of you. We don't know exactly how Art would react. And even if we were successful (and didn't get stabbed in the process of trying to steal it...) that leaves us on the run as the known thief with the entire might of the human kingdom chasing us. We wouldn't have the sword for long.

Plus, um, should Myli be that comfortable right next to the dragon slayer? It passively weakens dragons, donit? Something smells wrong to me.

Sure agree to it, sounds right up your alley. You have the speed and Art has... well one of his spells should prove handy somehow.

Steal it here and now? You really think we'd get away with that? Over Regulus and the King? And where would we go with it? We need more of a plan than that.

>>488783
I think he doesn't feel it, since he's fully human in that form. Or it effects his powers more than his body.

>>488770
Ask to speak to the king in private. I think it's time we set things in motion against Regulus.

I suspect that Regulus does not know the king is Myli.

>>488862
I still think it's too risky to approach Myli openly.

Last I heard, the king is powerful enough to annihilate someone just by glaring at them. Lets not test if he can still do that.

Anyway, we should not approach the king until we are sure he both is Myli and isn't in on the scheme.

>>488968
Well, if we want proof... let's have Ombra spy on them after we leave.

Do you think it's possible to listen in on their conversation via the window without being seen?

>>489002
You realize if she picks it up that will make it extremely obvious who her father is?

Saisai 2013/02/04(Mon)19:40 No. 490433 ID: a68e3e
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>>488972
Regulus was able to see me even when I was invisible. Somehow. I doubt I'd be able to spy on them without possessing someone's body. Maybe Maggie?
Anyway I know we can't -really- steal the Slayer right now. It's just so damn tempting. Perhaps we can hire a thief?

"Yeah, sure. Our last mission ended a bit quickly so I guess we'll take another. What do you say Artemis?"

>"Sounds good to me."

>"Excellent! Now, the last person to see the thief in question is a gentleman named Daniel." He hands them a picture and address "If you want you can see him to get more information."

Saisai takes the info on the man.

"Thank you. We'll head off right now."

>"Good luck you two."

They give a small bow and leave the castle. Artemis looks over the profile of the last witness with Saisai.

"I know this man."

>"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean not like personally but he's a friend of my family. I've seen him at some of the luncheons. He's pretty well off."

>"Do you think we'll be able to catch the thief?"

"Just a normal thief doesn't stand a chance in hell against knights."
------------------------------------------------------

>"Hrm, yes. This lady was no normal thief."

Daniel strokes his long beard as he talks to the two knights. His home is large, almost as large as Saisai's old home. It's completely furnished with rather showy furniture, which seems fitting for the man.

>"Yes she seemed quite unusual. My son is in the knights, you may have seen him in fact. Do you know of Sir Lancelot?"

"I've.. Heard of him."

>"Hmm, quite. Well even someone as powerful as my son was overpowered by the thief. She's been talked about quite a lot among my group. We call her the Dark Knight on account of her black armor. She's been quite the thorn in our side. Yes, I'd say with her recent theft of my prized Golden Piglen she's risen to the top of the wanted list. Do you think that my beloved Piglen can be returned?"

"We'll do the best we can sir."

>"Good, good... If you do that I'll be sure to reward you quite handsomely."

"Thank you. Is there anything else you can tell me about her?"

>"Hrm.. I remember there was a symbol on her buckler.. Let me see where... Leonard! Get me my pen!" A moment later a butler appears with a pen and writing pad. "Hrm... Like this."

He hands Saisai a piece of paper with a symbol on it.

>"I'm not entirely certain what it means but maybe it will help."

Saisai and Artemis examine the symbol. Neither of them have seen it before either.

"It might. Thank you, sir."

>"Not a problem, not a problem. Let's hope you catch her, hmm?"

Hmm.. We have an odd symbol now. And we know she was last spotted in the marketplace.

>Perhaps we can hire a thief?
Perhaps, if we knew one good enough, and who we could trust.

>We have an odd symbol now.
Is there any place where we could look that up?

>>490433
Let's go snoop around the marketplace then.

Does that symbol mean anything to you?

Wait a minute, does a thieves guild exist in the kingdom? What would their relation be to this thief? We should check with them, on the off chance that this crook isn't associated with them they might prove helpful.

Saisai 2013/02/06(Wed)20:22 No. 491021 ID: a68e3e
File 136021096573.png - (67.55KB , 800x600 , 289.png )

>>490436
Symbol doesn't mean anything to me personally.
As for a thief.. Maybe Saisai's half sister? Or was she just an Assassin/kidnapper? She owes us one anyway.

>>490443
I don't know if such a thing exists honestly. If it did it'd probably be in the Shadow and I don't really feel like going back there again. How does one even go about -finding- a thieves guild?

>>490436
"Hey, Artemis?"

>"Hmm?"

"Know any place where we can get this symbol checked out?"

>"Hmm... The School maybe? If anyone knew about it they would be there."

"Alright, let's go there then."

It is a short walk from Sir Daniel's house to the School. The trip is silent and once the two arrive they present the symbol to the the librarian there. He takes the paper and examines the symbol. Without saying a word a book appears in his hand. He opens it to a page and points.

>"That right there is the old emblem of the Royal Army. Around 40 years ago when Cecil Von Central went missing and our current King, King Valier, took the throne. Suddenly, around 5 or so years ago, he decided to do away with that symbol. It was supposed to represent the Earth Dragon Myli. You'd find it commonly on the knight's shields or banners back in the day. Sir Gawain Walwen would know more about it. Actually I think any of the Captain Generals would know more about it than I do."

Explains why I didn't know. I don't really keep track of the humans

"Thanks."

Saisai takes back the drawing and leaves with Artemis.

"Hmm.. That wasn't too helpful."

>"It does give us a bit of insight on the person though."

"How?"

>"Well this means either the thief is a old knight, in which case we should be careful, or she managed to steal this armor from an old knight. That also means we should be careful."

"An old knight or she's robbed an old knight... But she also could have gotten the armor from like a store or something. Maybe the knight pawned it."

>"I don't think that's very likely. Armor and weapons tend to get passed down the line. Even if the descendant doesn't use it it's still an heirloom. You'd be hard pressed to find functioning armor from a knight on the market. Standard armor, sure. But something that's colored and blazoned? Very unlikely. I mean, would you sell your spear?"

"Never."

>"Exactly. I think if we find out more about the thief we'd have a better chance of catching her."

He smiles at her

....
Since when did -he- become the leader of this?

He's got a point though. We could ask and see if a knight left within the last few years. That might end up with too many possible suspects though.

I need to take back the initiative in this.

>>491021
Do you? It doesn't matter who the ideas come from so long as you both work together and make an effort. Nothing wrong with competitiveness though I suppose.

Let's ask about knights who left the army recently, and who had black armor.

>SaiSai's sister
Possibly. Although I'm not sure how good a thief she is, and she'd be an immediate suspect anyways, since Regulus knows she knows about the sword (he lent it to her) and he knows her background. He also likely knows she has a daughter that can be used against her.

We need a better plan. Once we take the sword, anyone involved will be at risk, and they're going to come after it.

What do we do with the sword once we have it? And where do we run with it? Or if we don't run, how do we hide it? A mimic isn't good enough, I promise you that. The people holding the sword are capable of leveling a city looking for it.

>Since when did -he- become the leader of this?
Hey, he's not wrong. The symbol on unique gear is the best lead we have. It's a far cry better to try and track her this way than trying to just bump into her.

And you did ask him to loop up the symbol. He's just following the evidence.

Saisai 2013/02/06(Wed)21:58 No. 491045 ID: a68e3e
File 136021671953.png - (151.57KB , 800x600 , 290.png )

I'm sure my people would shelter us. We need to make our way there anyway to get me back to life.

Yeah I guess it all works out in the end anyway..

"Alright, let's go back to the castle and see what we can dig up on her."

They return to the castle and ask the nearest knight if he knows where a Captain would be. It turns out the man in quest is Lieutenant Captain General Arthur.

"Oh.. I'm sorry."

>"Don't worry."

"Me and Artemis here wanted to ask you a few questions."

>"Ask."

"Uhm.. Do you recall a knight who wore black armor? And was around before the Dragon emblem became disused?"

>"Hrm... Yes. Older knight, named Apple. Quit a while ago. Only knight with black armor. Had two daggers and a buckler. Not sure why she quit. Why do you ask?"

"Ah well our mission right now is to find her."

>"Hrm... Regulus would know. Has records on everyone. Should be in his quarters. It's near the King's room."

"Thanks. Come on Artemis."

They go back to where the started the quest but instead knock on the door next to the King's. The door opens the moment Saisai knocks revealing a rather sparse room. Other than a black orb on the desk there's literally nothing else noteworthy, not even a single painting.

>"I guess he's not here."

Quick, while he's gone, go through all the things! ALL THE THINGS!

>a black orb
Touchittouchittouchittouchittouchit

>Apple
Ha. Was her, after all.

>Black orb
...it probably breaks all kinds of rules to go through someone else's private quarters when they're gone. And there's a good chance touching the orb will do something bad.

We're totally gonna touch it anyways, aren't we.

Saisai 2013/02/07(Thu)00:03 No. 491057 ID: a68e3e
File 136022422935.png - (44.08KB , 800x600 , 291.png )

....

Saisai walks inside and touches the black orb

>"Saisai!"

The orbs spins and suddenly three screens display. They are see-through and seem somewhat solid.
A small stick pops out of the side.

"What is this..?"

>"I know that thing. It basically stores anything you write inside it so you can easily get it later. You can just write on that slab in front of you and it'll bring up the document you wrote. So if I wrote like Water on that front part it would bring up anything related to water that the owner has written."

>>491057
I believe that says
REGULUS
WELCOME

I'd like to input KING, DRAGON, THASTI or MYLI but we don't have all the symbols for those. SAISAI would be a great thing to look up too.

You could try copying that first word (regulus)...

>>491057
Let's see here, a very quick bit of cryptography says...

Regulus Welcome

How specific do we have to make these searches? Does it have to be a noun, verb, or phrase or can we just pull up a list of all documents containing a given word? Because I can't think of any useful words using what we have here.

Saisai 2013/02/07(Thu)02:02 No. 491075 ID: a68e3e
File 136023137505.png - (39.39KB , 854x412 , 292.png )

"Artemis, you know how to write this script?"

>"I don't. It's pretty archaic."

Saisai frowns and grabs the pen. She does her best to write in the word REGULUS. When she finishes writing more symbols appear on the screen

So it seems you guys can read it at least.
What's it say?

>>491075
Front:

Regulus
Current captain general of the royal army
Orphaned at age 7. Adopted by the king at age 7.
Became a knight at 13. Captain at 16. Captain general at the age of 20.

On right:

Notes
(black space)
Key word needed.


Looks like we won't be gaining any private information here. Wanna bet Myli killed his parents and he wants to kill all the dragons out of revenge?

From the translation, you should be able to spell APPLE. Put that in, since we need that info and I'd rather we avoided speaking to Regulus as much as possible.

Suggestion 2013/02/07(Thu)02:30 No. 491078 ID: f2c20c
File 136023304193.png - (1.29KB , 473x191 , APPLE.png )

Actually let me just show you.

Saisai 2013/02/07(Thu)02:43 No. 491079 ID: a68e3e
File 136023380475.png - (50.64KB , 854x412 , 293.png )

>>491078
>>491077
You guys are good... Ok, let me try that.

More words appear on the screen once Saisai has finished writing.

>>491079
Front:
Apple Dieba

Recruited into the knights at the age of 17. Passed by defeating captain Sable in what he called 'The best damn game of flipcoin I ever played' While doubtful at first she has proven her worth in the knights and is an excellent fighter.

This person is no longer a knight

Side:
Notes
Possibly the thief that has been reported lately. Resides in the small house on the bridge of hope. Left because of the XXXXXXXX incident.

Interesting. We have a location, and a mystery. Poke the orb again to see if you can turn it off before we leave. Our next destination is Apple's house. Personally, I'd like to speak with her instead of attempting to fight her, and ask why she left the knights.

>>491080
Yeah, that's right. I think we can take two things from this:
1) If Regulus is redacting stuff like this, then we're probably not going to find any incriminating evidence here regarding the dragons.
2) Do not gamble with Apple. Well, unless you feel like playing a damn good game of flipcoin, anyway.

Before you turn it off, though, type in your name. And Artemis's, I guess, he'll probably appreciate knowing what his file says.

Suggestion 2013/02/07(Thu)16:09 No. 491163 ID: f2c20c
File 136028215669.png - (1.01KB , 329x124 , SAISAI.png )

>>491087
...I didn't really want to spend much more time in here and risk getting caught, but it could be very useful to know how much Regulus suspects her. Here is Saisai's name in this script.

Looking up Artemis would be rude.

Well we could always ask him if he wants us to look him up... but I agree we don't want to stay for too lonag.

Saisai 2013/02/12(Tue)01:57 No. 492211 ID: a68e3e
File 136066302359.png - (34.66KB , 876x459 , 294.png )

... Ok, I'll type in my name then we're out of here.
You see it? Ok, I'm leaving.

"Come on Artemis, let's go."

>"Go where?"

"Uhm.. I was able to uh.. Infer what this thing said. And it gave me directions to Apple's house."

>"Really? That's perfect! Let's go then!"

Saisai 2013/02/12(Tue)01:59 No. 492212 ID: a68e3e
File 136066317544.png - (39.63KB , 800x600 , 295.png )

The Bridge of Hope is a short walk from Morgan's Shop. Saisai remembers when it was built almost a decade ago by the King. He said that the gold used to build it was a gift from the Dark Elves, in hope that the peace between them would continue. A similar bridge was built in their own land using funds from the Kingdom.
There is a lone house on the bridge.

Huh... It looks rather homely for a thieves den.
Should I just go up and knock or are we gonna do a stealth mission?

knock. never expect it.

Oh, huh, I don't think I'll tell you exactly what it says, no need to feed your ego too much, but there is one point of interest there. All of the higher ups know you're part tigerfolk, but acknowledge it's very weak and don't think it'll cause you to turn against the knights.

Knocking seems fine to me.

(Here's the translation for anyone who doesn't want to do it themself:
Saisai Falladay
Joined the knights after passing the knight's entrance exam.
Very strong, a skilled spear user.


She's proven herself to be a great leader and has come back from a few missions that less powerful knights would have died on. Captain General Maggie suggests that, if we needed to, we should promote her to captain.

Saisai is part Tigerfolk, though their blood is very weak in her. She comes from a noble family with no history of crime. So far she has given us no cause to believe she would turn against us.


Notes
Anger issues. Known abuse in childhood may lead to problems later on. Maggie has been trying to cure her of that without Saisai knowing.
)

>>492216
(whups you beat me to the punch! I was going to try to keep the translation out of our general knowledge pool entirely)

>>492211
There's some blacked-out info in the notes section, and that worries me. Later on let's talk to the Merchant about spy tools. A scrying tool to catch the password, or something we can use to hack into that orb thing to bypass the password. Also, next time we use it, summon Ombra for it so we don't risk getting caught and killed or kicked out of the knights or whatever.

(guys, please don't tell her the rest of what's in there. Especially that they looked into her abusive father and that Maggie's... maybe messing with her mind via psychic powers to help her get past it)

>>492212
Knock. But don't stand on the welcome mat, there could be a trap or something under it. Besides, how could we be stealthy here if she's home? If she's NOT home then we could see if the key is under the welcome mat, and let ourselves in to investigate a little.

Saisai 2013/02/12(Tue)02:45 No. 492223 ID: a68e3e
File 136066595046.png - (73.88KB , 407x590 , 296.png )

>>492220
Remind me when the mission is done and I'll see about getting something like that from Morgan's dad.

>>492216
They... They really do know I'm part Tigerfolk..? And there ok with it..? That.. You don't know how much of a relief that is. I was worried the king would find out and kick me out or something, or even Regulus. Still I'm guessing if -everyone- knew that would still be bad. I'll still be keeping it hidden..
Oh, right. The door.

Saisai knocks on the door, careful to avoid stepping on the welcome mat. A moment later someone opens it

>"Hey there." She looks over Saisai. "A knight? What's the problem, Miss?"

>>492223
"cook"? Must've caught her in the kitchen. Also, I guess she must know that script if she's wearing it. Interesting. Can you smell what's cooking?

Just tell her that we'd just like to ask her some questions about her time in the knights. We heard she left for some reason and we're curious as to why.

Tell the truth. A theif wearing dark armor with the old symbol of the knights has been stealing things around town. As she is one of the few knights who wore such armor we were wondering if she can help us track the thief down.

>I was worried the king would find out and kick me out or something, or even Regulus.
Well... remember that they can still use it as an excuse to fire you out of hand if you ever make the wrong people really angry, and it would save them from having to disclose the real reason.

Although, I suppose the king already has the power to kick anyone he wants out of his knights, so it's not like that changes much.

>>492216
(Confirmation SaiSai can't read parenthesis? I would have thought she'd react to that).

>Hey there
Introduce yourself, and ask if she's Apple before asking her about the stuff.

Saisai 2013/02/12(Tue)21:10 No. 492383 ID: a68e3e
File 136073224179.png - (95.20KB , 800x600 , 297.png )

"My name's Saisai, and this is my teammate Artemis." Artemis nods at her. "You're Apple, right?"


>"Yes I am." She smiles at them.

"I'd heard you left the Knights some time ago and I was wondering if I can ask you some questions about it."

>"Oh.. that was some time ago. I'm afraid I really can't say too much, for legal reasons, but please come inside."

She opens the door for them letting the two of them step inside. As soon as they step in the first thing they notice is the heavy smell of chocolate.
Apple walks up to them holding a tray of sweets.
She's quite clearly pregnant.

>"Cookie?"

"Uhm.. No thanks.."

>Artemis: "I'm good..."

....
She's pregnant.
Can thieves be pregnant?

She sets the tray down

>"So what did you want to know?"

>She's pregnant.
>Can thieves be pregnant?
...well, yes. If you're badass enough, you can do just about anything and still be pregnant. It just makes things harder. Well, a lot harder. But there are some very capable people out there as well, and it often doesn't serve one well to underestimate them.

Granted, it's unlikely the thief is pregnant, and that doesn't match the description / picture we were given here >>490433. The thief pretty clearly has a bare, non-pregnant midriff.

So unless our witness is shit, or this woman here is faking that pregnancy, she's likely not our thief.

She still might have information that would be useful to us, though.

>"So what did you want to know?"
Explain the situation. That you're looking for a thief, who apparently is using some of her old gear. Does she know anything that could help us find who has her stuff? Or how they might have got ahold of it?

>>492383
Well, we should ACTUALLY ask her about the incident before we go on about the armor and thief. I mean it's kindof weird to immediately change the subject.

So uh, say that we don't really know anything about what happened and if she can give us a basic summary of what happened that'd be nice. Was it a disagreement between knights? Or something to do with how Myli's symbol is no longer used?

After you've covered the event itself, continue along those lines and ask her what she did after she left. Did she sell her old gear? What did she do for money afterwards?

ask about who is the father.

Even if she is, she was a theif and she likely has contacts and specialized knowledge, like how a heist would be pulled.

>>492383
Ask "May I?", then rub her belly. Try to tell if it's real or not.

If it feels real: "Since you used to be a knight I'll be honest here. There's been a rash of robberies by a thief matching your description in old knight gear.
Naturally this means you're a prime suspect, but I'm leaning towards it being a frame job.

I understand you left the knights following an incident. Would you please tell us, in your own words, what happened?"

Saisai 2013/02/15(Fri)23:38 No. 493417 ID: a68e3e
File 136100032969.png - (119.51KB , 726x493 , 298.png )

So uh, say that we don't really know anything about what happened and if she can give us a basic summary of what happened that'd be nice. Was it a disagreement between knights? Or something to do with how Myli's symbol is no longer used?

"Well we really don't know what happened back then. Was there some kind of disagreement or something?"

>"I'm sorry I really can't say. I'd love to tell you but.." She shrugs. "It's part of my contract not to reveal what happened."

"Not a thing?"

>"You'd have to ask the King."

"Alright... I know that back then the Knights used to have a symbol, it looked kinda like a dragon. It was supposed to represent Myli, right?"

>"That's right."

"Why did the king decide to get rid of it?"

>"Oh well.. From what I know a lot of people didn't follow just Myli and wanted to wear different symbols on their armor. Eventually he agreed and took it off the armor and shields. Anything from that time with the symbol on it is pretty valuable."

"Oh? I.. Well I hate to ask this but did you ever sell your armor?"

She sighs and grabs the tray again.

>"I did... You guys sure you don't want a cookie?" The two of them shake their heads. "Ok. Well yes, I did sell my armor. I really needed the money so I pawned it some time ago.. It was a low point in my life... Why do you ask?"

"Ah well... Someone has been committing robberies and they used armor very similar to the armor you used. It might even be the very same armor."

>"Oh my... I'm so sorry if that's causing you trouble..."

"It's really not your fault. I'm sorry for even thinking you committed the robbery. It's obvious that someone in your condition wouldn't possibly be able to do such a thing."

Saisai stands up and moves toward Apple.

"May I?"

Without waiting for a reply she reaches forward and rubs Apple's stomach.

>"Ah."

It feels... Fake.

Saisai 2013/02/15(Fri)23:39 No. 493418 ID: a68e3e
File 136100034794.png - (166.43KB , 800x600 , 299.png )

"..."

>"... It would've been a lot simpler if you'd just kept your hands to yourself."

Saisai 2013/02/15(Fri)23:39 No. 493419 ID: a68e3e
File 136100035430.png - (174.66KB , 679x508 , 300.png )

SLAM

OH SHIT!

Saisai 2013/02/15(Fri)23:39 No. 493420 ID: a68e3e
File 136100037107.png - (161.94KB , 800x600 , 301.png )

Apple reaches under her shirt and pulls out a small buckler. It twists around her arm and begins to spin, weaving some kind of thread around Apple's body.
In only a few seconds she's covered by ebony armor

>"Follow me and you die."

With that she leaps out of the window.

Did you see that!? She just straight up smacked her with a hot cookie tray! Goddamn! Saisai, you ok!? Saisai!?

Saisai 2013/02/15(Fri)23:39 No. 493421 ID: a68e3e
File 136100038609.png - (75.87KB , 397x600 , 302.png )

That hurt...

tell art "next time i fall over start shooting lasers or something, just slow the perp down so i can get back up"

and then chase scene.

Go look to see if it's even possible to follow her. If you can, do. Comparing her file to yours, I think you can match her in strength. Artemis is with you too, so you'll have backup.

Alternatively you could stay here and investigate her house. If she's fleeing then she probably has some other hideout, and we might be able to tell where that second base of hers is from the contents of this house.

>>493423
Constructive criticism comes after the action is over! The priority now would be getting Artemis to come with us on the chase, if we are chasing her.

Run to the window. If she hasn't disappeared already, it's time for pursuit. And some payback (get Art to back you up).

...although, isn't this a lone house in the middle of a bridge? She's either on the bridge now, or she jumped off the bridge. That's slightly difficult to follow...

>That hurt...
You alright? The bruise and/or burn should be superficial, and something we can get treated later, but a blow to the head can leave you dazed or disoriented. If you're in no state to fight, don't.

Yeah, she's one tough cookie alll right.

Seen anything like those shadow fabric threads before?

Chase Scene!

Also it might be wise to ask for backup. Ya know she WAS a full knight when she left and we... aren't.

Her disguise was horrible. Pregnant women get belly rubs; it's a constant among humans.
After her, I guess.

Saisai 2013/02/17(Sun)23:11 No. 494046 ID: 66adb0
File 136117147009.png - (164.39KB , 800x559 , 303.png )

Actually I am familiar with the armor type. A long time ago a bunch of those suits were found washed up near the land of Ran Tersa. No one really knows where they can from or even who made them but they're very rare and valuable. Only problem is since no one knew how it was made no one knows how to repair it either. Most of them have crumbled to nothing

I'm fine, it didn't hurt at all!
This bitch is dead though!

"Art, stop being so damn useless and follow me!"

>"R-right..!"

They run out of the house just in time to see Apple leap up a building. She starts jumping from roof to roof.

"Dammit! Art, do you have anything that can get her down?"

>"Already working on it.."

Saisai 2013/02/17(Sun)23:11 No. 494047 ID: 66adb0
File 136117150398.png - (95.28KB , 629x600 , 304.png )

>"Gravity!"

>"!?"

The spell catches her mid-leap..

Saisai 2013/02/17(Sun)23:13 No. 494049 ID: 66adb0
File 136117160191.png - (77.12KB , 800x512 , 305.png )

They see her trip over a ledge and fall off the side of the two story building.
There's a horrible crunch sound.

As they round the corner they see Apple lying on the ground, blood pooling around her head.

Yeah, I think the bitch is dead.

roll her to her side. you don't murder people you take them in for a fair trial. if she is stable get her to the nearest place that could have a healer. or morgan and dump a potion on her face. after she stops bleeding everywhere strip her armor and take her in.

Oh fuck.

Saisai, we need to check her out. She's already got you once already with a fake out- assume she's not really down until you've confirmed she really does have a bad head injury. And get the gauntlet off of her- that should strip her of the armor it came with.

Art should stay back and cover us, in case she jumps up and it's another trick.

If she's actually hurt, we need to get her medical attention, ASAP (call for help via Maggy, maybe?). The penalty for theft or assault isn't death.

The other thing you may need to do if she's really hurt is help Art. He... didn't mean to do that. It'll be bothering him.

If she's not really hurt, make with the hurting, of course.

>>494049
That doesn't make a lot of sense. She's wearing a helmet with a faceguard. This is probably a trick. Like, she took out a fake blood capsule and purposefully smashed it on the ground after landing.

Approach warily. Kick her over. If she's really knocked out, get the buckler off her and then carry her to a hospital if she's got a big head wound.

1/3 Saisai 2013/02/17(Sun)23:59 No. 494067 ID: 66adb0
File 136117438192.png - (143.84KB , 800x512 , 306.png )

>"Oh man... I... I didn't mean to.."

"It's okay Artemis. I have a healing potion and the Church isn't too far off."

Saisai carefully reaches out and touches Apple. Apple's body suddenly lets out a hiss sound and begins to dissipate. Saisai jumps back as smoke begins to form around Apple.

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)00:10 No. 494069 ID: 66adb0
File 136117502383.png - (11.19KB , 800x512 , 307.png )

The body completely vanishes leaving behind a small black chip of metal.

>"Yoohoo~"

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)00:12 No. 494070 ID: 66adb0
File 136117514598.png - (54.55KB , 419x489 , 308.png )

They look up to see Apple waving at them from atop the building.

>"Did you really think that normal gravity magic can stop -this- suit? You're gonna need something a bit more powerful than that~"

keep closing in, you want to get near melee range, we will the use darkness and launch a shadowball. that should do something.

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)00:16 No. 494072 ID: 66adb0
File 136117540097.png - (16.89KB , 526x472 , 309.png )

> melee range

Slight problem with that

>>494070
Her gauntlet where the buckler sits... there's a crack.

Artemis can cast his strongest spell at her, and you... Jump while she's distracted defending. Try to time it so you DON'T land on Artemis's spell.

jump dat shit

oh, sorry

Jump

Hmm. Interesting. She gets immunity to gravity spells and illusion powers from that suit.

...of course, illusions only matter if one can see.

Saisai, jump up to the roof to fight her- have Art boost you with a gravity spell. As you get close, we'll suddenly cast darkness and then you can strike. Darkness should blind Apple, and no cheating illusions made to fool the light should show up for you while you're seeing through magic dark. I think.

No one knows how to repair them... but did anyone figure out how to break them? Crumbling that gauntlet to nothing would be pretty hand right now...

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)00:42 No. 494080 ID: 66adb0
File 136117696799.png - (81.32KB , 800x600 , 310.png )

Hmm.. I've never Jumped that high.
But I think right now that's our only shot.

"Artemis, make me lighter."

Artemis nods and casts Gravity on Saisai.
She holds her spear, focuses..

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)00:43 No. 494081 ID: 66adb0
File 136117698724.png - (25.88KB , 526x472 , 311.png )

And jumps.

GP:100 Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)00:45 No. 494083 ID: 66adb0
File 136117712050.png - (47.76KB , 800x600 , 312.png )

Just a reminder~
Guardian abilities:Change Form GP:10, Shadow Ball GP:10, Last Stand GP:50, Darkness GP:00, Summon Ombra GP:100, Limit Break- Avatar of Ombra GP:100

Saisai easily clears the jump and lands near Apple. The moment she has Apple in sight the Guardian uses Darkness, blinding Apple completely.
Saisai strikes with her spear but it's blocked by Apple's buckler. There's a faint cracking sound

it's old. keep up the pressure. aim at her we are gonna use a shadowball.
[shadowball]

Right. Keep up the pressure. We keep landing blows and that crack is gonna give way. Then no more super-power armor for her.

We'll giver her a blast, you go for another smash.

[shadow ball]

>>494083
Aim for the buckler on purpose! Break it and poof goes her armor.

1/2 Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)01:07 No. 494096 ID: 66adb0
File 136117842810.png - (107.29KB , 800x600 , 313.png )

The Guardian uses Shadow Ball. Once again the buckler is hit, cracking it even further.
Soon after Saisai strikes it, shattering the thing completely.
The Darkness dissipates and along with it Apple's armor. she stares in shock as it falls to pieces around her.

>"My..."

"That's what you get for hitting me with a cookie tray, bitch."

Apple drops to her knees, covering herself up with her arms.

"Also, you're under arrest."

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)01:16 No. 494097 ID: 66adb0
File 136117901945.png - (44.03KB , 396x413 , 314.png )

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

>"Amazing, simply amazing. You know when I sent the two of you off I had expected you to come back with just some information not the actual criminal! Astounding. You both have earned your G300! Artemis, Saisai, you did a great job."

>"It was mostly Saisai, your Majesty."

"Artemis helped out too. If it weren't for him I would've been stumped a few times. And his magic came in handy."

>"Hahaha. Artemis don't be so modest about your contribution. I'm sure you both worked together splendidly. Again, great job. You're dismissed."

The King smiles at the two of them. Artemis bows and steps out of the room. Saisai lingers behind a moment.

Should...
Should we talk to him now?

>>494097
Uh, why's the sword still here? Doesn't that mean Regulus is still around? Heck, it might even be possible that the sword has a... scrying... wait if Regulus isn't in the room but the sword is, you could reveal Regulus's plan to kill all the dragons and then if the king believed you then you could get the sword!

Huge opportunity. Huuuuuuge.

Well, approach the king carefully. Like, ask about the symbol of MYLI on the buckler, and what his thoughts are on the army not being so closely associated with the dragon.

>>494098
Oh and in case it isn't obvious, ask for a private audience with the king. As private as he can manage.

say... that heard a rumor that thasti is dead. you aren't sure how that could happens since the dragon slayer is the only thing that could kill a dragon and he has it safe with him.

So... did anyone recover the golden piggy that got stolen from the old dude?

>Should we talk to him now?
...I guess we won't have a better chance than this. And if he is in on it, better to find out sooner rather than later.

Now would be a good time to ask what caused her to leave the knights in the first place.

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)20:07 No. 494280 ID: a68e3e
File 136124684059.png - (44.03KB , 396x413 , 315.png )

>So... did anyone recover the golden piggy that got stolen from the old dude?

Of course. Everything stolen was returned, even the Golden Piglen.

"Your Majesty..."

>"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

>"By all means, Saisai."

"While we were investigating Apple we found out that she was kicked out of the knights a while ago. But since then no one's really told us -why-. Do you know why?"

>"Ah, I'm sorry Saisai. I can't really give exact details but... I can tell you it has to do with the Shadow Dragon, Ombra."

"Ombra? How so?"

>"I can't say."

"Right.. Also another big clue to finding her out was that she wore the old Knight's emblem on her buckler. You know, the one of Myli? Is there any specific reason it was removed?"

>"Ah, yeah... Not everyone wanted to wear the symbol. While we all may be human some of the knights identify more with other Dragons like Sharaes, Aeryr, Masil... Some don't want to have any dragon symbol on their armor. It was easier to simply remove the symbol and have everyone where what they wanted."

He shrugs.

>"It's a shame but... So, any other questions?"

"Ah uhm... I uh... Heard a rumor that uh..."

Someone knocks on the door. It's opened and Regulus steps in. He nods to Saisai before looking straight at the King.

>"Your Majesty. The Soulless are gone now. Master Ion and Sister Cheryl helped destroy them."

>"Ah, great. Try and keep a few people from the Church stationed there in case they return."

>"I've already done so."

>"Excellent. Saisai, I need to speak with Regulus. Perhaps we can speak later? Why don't you come by tonight?"

"Ah... Ok."

She bows and leaves the room

Dammit. Well, at least I have an audience with him tonight..

I've still got a few hours before night time, anything else you guys think we should check out?

>I can tell you it has to do with the Shadow Dragon, Ombra.
Your king-bother is throwing you under the bus. Know anything about Apple? Ever meet her before?

>Dammit. Well, at least I have an audience with him tonight..
We'll have to be very careful with that meeting. By tonight Regulus may have turned it into a trap.

>I've still got a few hours before night time, anything else you guys think we should check out?
Weren't we going to see if A1 had any luck with her ad?

Yeah, we can check with A1. Also, hmm. Did we get 4/4 with Artemis yet? Seems like we didn't.

Ombra, the king said that Apple left because of something that had to do with you. Did you get killed somewhere around that time? I wonder if the decision to kill you wasn't very popular with the Knights.

Saisai 2013/02/18(Mon)20:51 No. 494318 ID: a68e3e
File 136124951724.png - (127.71KB , 713x600 , 316.png )

Did we get the thing with Artemis? I don't -feel- any different.

Hmm? Apple? Can't remember a thing from when I was killed to be honest. You'd have to ask someone else who was there or knows about it.

Also I do remember A1 had a sign up. Let's see what crazy girl is up to.

Saisai heads downstairs and into the girl's quarters. She already knows where A1's room is so finding her is trivial. She knocks on the door and to her surprise A1 opens it with a smile on her face.

>"Saisai? What brings you here, beep?"

"Hey A1. I saw your post on the Mission Board. What is it you need help with?"

>"Ah. Come in, beep."

A1 takes Saisai's hand and leads her into the room. She pulls her over to a table covered in papers

>"Look."

Saisai examines a few of the papers but most of it's contents go over her head.

"... What is it?"

>"It's a new body I'm considering getting. See? It runs on a Soul Gem placed in it's center and by using the mana stored in someone's soul it can keep running no matter what. It recharges daily and the body itself is really really strong. Also it never has to eat, sleep, or anything. It's way better than my current one!"

A1 gives Saisai a childish smile

"Uh... So... You want to...?"

>"I need an escort to take me to the Shadow so I can find a Dark Elf. They're the only ones that can make Soul Gems. Then I need my escort to take my soul back here and place it in my new body."

She's not even going Beep.

>"Will you help me Saisai? I was willing to accept anyone's help but.. I think it's better if a friend joins me."

"........."

Uh....

Go on Saisai. Dazzle us with your mastery of navigating through social situations.

>>494318
Do it, but suggest that you may need permission from Maggie first.

I actually remember seeing a dark elf in the Shadow.

Do it, SaiSai. Crazy team-mate wants your help to become a robot.

But ask if she can return to her old body if the new one isn't to her liking?

>>494318
Only 500? That seems incredibly cheap for such a powerful magical item.

Saisai, keep in mind you NEED to find a Dark Elf at some point to learn Soul Magic so we can revive Ombra. However, the Shadow is extremely dangerous. I think you will need your sister's help to navigate it safely. And of course we will need Maggie's permission.

ask her if she asked the professor about this. the opinion of everyone that could be affected by this is important. what if the rush of having an artificial body at last wears off and you realize something important is missing, something you didn't even notice before it was gone. you still wont be a robot, you will have traded one wrong body for another.

>>494323
Yeah.

Why aren't there more people doing this? It's LITERAL IMMORTALITY unless the gem breaks!

>>494318
Well... this is risky and a bit disturbing. But we shouldn't refuse or agree right away. This is way too dangerous to rush into, agree to help her only if she agrees to do more research, have a back up plan to return to her body if needed, talk to the dark elves about matters of souls, and to talk to someone who has some experience with soul controlled golems. Also to talk to that scientist she liked.

On the plus side, we have a reason to see the dark elves now.

Is there anyone or anything specific we should look into there? Maybe you want to talk to someone directly?

Huh. Design kind of reminds me of the overlord's body. Similar crystal power system, too.

>Art stuff?
Hmm. Not sure if we got anything. Maybe we should talk to him again. Say thanks for the help, apologize for snapping at him, maybe?

>Can't remember a thing from when I was killed to be honest.
Dang. You know, we don't really remember what went down either, and by all accounts, we should have been their with Sable. I wonder what's up with that.

>Dazzle us with your mastery of navigating through social situations.
A1... I'll be honest. I don't completely understand why you want to do this. But... if it's important to you, and this is really what you want, I'll help. You should have a friend there.

(...plus, you've kind of been meaning to check out dark elf land for a while now. Ombra, soul magic, and all that).

>>494330
Because that sort of immortality sucks.

>>494334
>Badass robot body that is customizable

>Sucks

>>494335
It's obvious you don't understand what I mean
>>494318
Wait would a dark elf even be willing to help? Isn't this the sort of thing they're against

>Wait would a dark elf even be willing to help? Isn't this the sort of thing they're against
...well, if they aren't willing to help, Ombra was pretty sympathetic that time she met with A1. So we got all the more reason for Saisai to be the one to go. If need be, we can have Ombra pop out and yell at them. Are the dark elves really gonna argue with their miniature fairy dragon god?

>>494318
At the very, VERY least, this is a good excuse to visit the dark elves.

>>494318
Ask her is she has the full details, or if she is making assumptions about this. Are there any known bugs or flaws with this new body? Has it been done before or is this just a prototype?

I want to see her through this, but we have to do what we can to cover all potential problems. Everything that can go wrong, will.

Saisai 2013/02/19(Tue)00:49 No. 494416 ID: a68e3e
File 136126378787.png - (67.48KB , 495x600 , 317.png )

"Uhm.... We probably want to ask the Captain first..."

>"I already did! She said 'You can do whatever you want with your own body, who am I to say otherwise?'."

"Ah... So uhm... Have you looked into this? Like, is there a way to change back if you decide you want your uh... Old body? And what are the risks? Are you the first one?"

>"I've done a lot of research into this already and I'm certain that this is exactly what I want. There -are- a -few- tiny problems with it. Like the new body can reject my Soul Gem. That would shatter the gem. But that only happens 15.346% of the time. And once I'm transferred my current body has to be destroyed to uhm... Prevent it from changing. Into a Soulless. I could have my body frozen but the cost of doing such a thing... Either with Time Magic or Ice Magic, it's just too expensive. Also eventually the Soul Gem burns out. My remaining lifespan would be reduced to about... 10 years. Also Dark Elves are completely against it."

I was about to say.

>"That's why we need to find one in the Shadow. I got into contact with someone and they're willing to preform the procedure. I just need someone with me to make sure it's actually done and to retrieve my soul."

"That's a lot of negatives... Have you talked to that one researcher dude? What's his name..."

>"Cid? His opinion in this is irrelevant."

She says this with a cold look. Saisai doesn't bother pushing it.

>"So, will you help me? I really think that this is exactly what I've been looking for. Please."

"not until you can answer that last question without getting snippy. try again."

Hey. Um. Ombra? You offered to help her before, if you could. Or that there were beings you knew who could. Was what you had in mind anything with better success rates or less risk than this? 15% failure for only 10 years seems pretty bad for me. Alternatives would be nice if we had them.

I don't suppose you could help with the 15% failure rate, or the gem burning out? Soul magic is kind of your thing, right? Maybe if we changed SaiSai's form and let you drive?

Also... do the dark elves have a good reason for (mostly) being completely against this? There terriblebad consequences?

>freeze her old body with time magic
...I don't suppose we could get your newfound half sister to do that? Aeryr should have her practicing anyways in order in eventually free him.

Don't you kind of need to have the new body ready and everything before we stick you in a gem?

A1... I'll be honest. I don't completely understand why you want to do this. But... if it's important to you, and this is really what you want, I'll help. You should have a friend there. I'd kind of like to see what we can do to reduce the risks, too.

>>494416
Um. 15% is 3/20ths of the time. Almost a fifth of the time. That's not a good percentage when risking death. Also you'd probably want to be friends with her for more than 10 years. If it was less likely to kill her and would let her live a normal lifespan we'd be all for it!

Also, let's not exploit your friend's deepest desire as an excuse to meet a dark elf. There are other ways to manage that. You could just ask your sister to arrange a meeting.

and yeah that is a good point "what i wanted to still be with my friend 11 years from now?"

Wait a freaking minute.

Is this a robot, or is it a GOLEM? The difference is one runs via technology, the other via magic.

If we say no, she'll end up going along with it with someone else. Tell her we won't let anyone else do it. But ask her if these methods are really all that good, I mean I'm sure she has researched the best there is but it seems like it could be better. It can't be that commonly done, so maybe we could find a way to improve it with the schools research or Cids technology? I'm sure he could improve on the golems body, if not the soul gem interface itself.

Emphasize that we aren't trying to stop her, just give her the best chances and the longest life possible. Certainly she'd be willing to wait a little while if she could improve her her future body.

Could you take her body for yourself? And what would happen if she underwent a soul bind before the transfer took place, would it strengthen it?

Suggest that it might be better to work on improving this so that she can enjoy her new body for longer, and so she has better odds of actually getting to enjoy said body. Also, you wouldn't want to lose a friend.

15% is pretty dangerous... Ten years isn't a long time, can soul gems be recharged? If so I'd be willing to help, otherwise I think we should do a bit more research and see if we can't find something that's even more what you'd want.

>>494416
We are 100% behind the idea of getting her a body which she is happier with.

The 15% risk of death and 10 year lifespan, though... those we are not so behind. It would be terrible to lose a friend like this. Is she absolutely sure that there's no safer, longer-lasting way? Maybe if she got a more customized new body she could lessen the chance of rejection, or maybe the body could use supplemental power sources to lessen the strain on the soul and keep it from burning out?

It would be great to support A1 in achieving her dreams, but we want to be sure that she's actually getting what she wants instead of settling for something close but ultimately flawed.

Does the new body have a self-repair function? If no, who can fix it and would doing so put the Soul Gem at risk? Her current body can be repaired by a great number of individuals, cheaply, and has a limited self-repair function. It is also going to last much much longer. While the new body seems higher performance, it does not seem more efficient, when one takes the long view of things.

Also...

[Summon Ombra]

Let's see what Ombra has to say about things. She and A1 are friends after all!

I say do it. 10 years of being happy is better than however long of jst being super self-hatey and depressed. Besides, We can just walk up to some Dark Elf and say, "Hey, your creator god wills you to do this thing, so do it," and Ombra's will be done. Easy morality fix.

>>494608
of what she thinks will make her happy.

having a new body and then alienating all her friends wont make her happy. she already doesn't care what cid thinks. in fact, i am sure she said that because cid asked her not to.

>>494609
What friends?

1/3 Saisai 2013/02/25(Mon)23:19 No. 496216 ID: a68e3e
File 136186317233.png - (62.49KB , 431x600 , 318.png )

"Hold on, why is Cid's opinion irrelevant? I thought you two were.. Friends or something."

>"We're not."

"You seemed pretty happy when he complimented you."

>"That means nothing."

"You're not telling me the whole truth. Did he say something to you."

>"... He told me that I was making a foolish mistake. That I should enjoy what I have now. He doesn't understand how I feel though. No one knows what I really feel like, beep."

The whole trapped in another body? I get that.

"I... I can't really say I understand it myself. I don't know... It seems like you're rushing into this. I mean, it doesn't even seem like a robot or anything. More like a golem."

>"Golems and Robots are very similar. One runs on technology and the other uses magic. However the end result is the same, you get a body that performs far better than than... This one."

Saisai shakes her head.

"A1 I can't let you do this. There's too many risks... And shortening your lifespan by that much? All that just to get a different body? Sorry but I think it's just crazy."

>"..."

Dammit Saisai, don't use the C word around this girl

>you get a body that performs far better than than... This one

What? Uh, her current body is already the best machine there is. It grows, repairs and even contains a factory for making more. What else could you ask for?? Any golem or robot is going to be a downgrade.

Power armour, on the other hand, is totally worth looking into.

yeah... it can repair a surprising amount of damage, if it isn't instantly fatal there is a good chance you will fully heal in time. and yeah as a girl she technically has a self contained construction platform.

2/3 Saisai 2013/02/25(Mon)23:53 No. 496223 ID: a68e3e
File 136186522854.png - (74.44KB , 404x600 , 319.png )

"Ah! I uhm... I didn't mean like... Not 'crazy' just uhm... I don't think it's uh... It's just a little insane-I mean stup-I mean..!"

>"Get out."

"Huh?"

A1 pulls off her helmet and glares at Saisai

>"Get out of my room!"

Saisai 2013/02/25(Mon)23:59 No. 496224 ID: a68e3e
File 136186555439.png - (80.72KB , 800x600 , 320.png )

A1 starts pushing Saisai out

>"I don't need your advice! I don't need Cid's advice! I'll find someone else to take the mission!"

"A1 wait! I wasn't calling you crazy or anything! I just think you haven't thought out the plan all the way!"

>"LEAVE!"

SLAM

....

I fucked that up.

Yes.

sigh, go back to the room, we'll have ombra try her luck.

Oh Saisai. You just don't understand. Better is subjective. A1 doesn't care about a heart beating in her breast. A1 may appreciate wounds closing on their own over many days, but considers the pain and the hardship much greater than that. Even being healthy to her is a trial, so many resources devoted to preparing for an injury or illness that may never exist, and it seriously upsets her. A1 enjoys the thought of being able to reattach a limb simply, and could care less about the thought of complex and irrepairable neuronal and muscle connections. She's not crazy. She just likes what you don't like. You shouldn't stop her from liking things that you don't like. And now you've gone and called her crazy, evoking the increasing internal pressures that bother her so much more than they bother you. That is to say, emotions.

Way to not listen to any of our advice at all for how to say no, saisai.

Tell her you're going to find a way for her to get a new body, without the risks involved with that procedure.

>>496227
>Tell her

NO.

We leave. She isn't listening right now. Just...

Just go.

Summon Ombra GP-100 GP=0 Ombra 2013/02/26(Tue)00:41 No. 496237 ID: a68e3e
File 136186809911.png - (72.37KB , 800x600 , 321.png )

Move over you idiot, Ombra's gonna fix everything.

What?

Ombra summons herself into A1's room. She sees the girl hugging herself and sobbing in the corner.

...
You know I said all that but what the hell do I tell the girl?
I'm not exactly as people friendly as Sharaes.

let's start with something simple and a greeting.

a... "hey, i felt you were feeling down and came to see what's wrong"

>>496237
That depends on how you want to approach this. Do you want to act like you were listening in?

If so, here's a plan: tell her that Saisai was being an idiot (because she was) and was just worried about her dying. Promise her that we'll work to find a better way for her to get a new body. One that doesn't have so much risk, and would give her a full life.

If you don't want to act like you were listening in, you'll have to sortof sidle up to the situation by asking her why she's crying, then asking about what happened, and getting a description of what Saisai said.

>>496237
Sit on her shoulder and ask if she wants to talk. Channel Jiminy Cricket in reverse.

Damnit Saisai, you weren't supposed to call her crazy.

>I'm not exactly as people friendly as Sharaes.
Yeah, but Sharaes hasn't died yet. You understand this girl's position. You know what it feels like to trapped in the wrong body. You know what it's like to be tempted by a quicker, wrong route back. After all- you could chose to try and posses and kill Saisai for your freedom, instead of playing the slow route of helping us, getting Saisai mana, and earning your freedom via soul-magic.

So you can relate to her. You've shared the same pain, and the same frustration. You can show her you understand.

...and if I remember right, you offered to help her before. That you knew people who might be able to help. Maybe it's time to come through with some of that? If she had hope for something more viable or safe, maybe she wouldn't be so willing to throw her life away on the risky quick fix.

If things go well, maybe you could also point out Saisai's kind of an idiot, but it's only accuse she was afraid for her friend. You own... somewhat hash attitude towards your host will give this more credence.

OP:99 Ombra 2013/03/02(Sat)22:55 No. 497446 ID: a68e3e
File 136229370897.png - (82.63KB , 504x598 , 322.png )

I don't really want her to know I was hanging around so....

"Hey."

A1 looks up at Ombra. She wipes away some tears and sniffles but the tears are quickly replaced. She takes a moment before responding, her voice a bit choked up.

>"Oh. Hello again."

"I could sense your sad from like, all the way back at my lair. What's wrong?"

>"It is... Nothing."

Ombra points to the destroyed helmet.

"Doesn't seem like nothing to me."

>"... I... I found a body that I w-wanted. And a... A way to get it... But everyone that I've asked to help me said that it's... Not a good idea. And I know what I'm talking about... But everyone thinks I haven't thought this out. Not Saisai, Cid, my Captain... No one thinks this is a good idea but it's what I always wanted..."

Ah.
How should I reply...?
Stupid people and their complicated emotions...

>>497446
Well, maybe there's another way to do it? Did any of them say that she should give up on what she wanted, or just that this particular way was bad?

>>497446
"It's a short term solution, for a long term problem. What happens when the lifetime on it runs out? When that short term happiness ends? You can't go back - and you can't switch to something better than that. Your friends advise against it because they are scared of losing you. Because they are worried. They don't think you're less of a person because of what you want, they are scared of how you're going to achieve it. I know people who can help you - me and Saisai can take you to find them. All you have to do..." Hug her... uh... nose? "Is ask..."

"did they say the idea itself was bad, or just that some things about it were bad?"

we know it was just some reasons not the body swap itself. she will slice off most of her lifespan. and it has a chance of outright failing to work.

after she says the lifespan thing. say "maybe it's because they still want to be your friend 11 years from now."

Well, at the very least, you have people in your life who care about you enough to worry if you're making the right decision. Even if they have a hard time understanding why this is important to you.

You understand what it's like to be trapped in the wrong body, too, Ombra. You also know what it's like to be tempted to take the quick path. Empathize with her.

You know about this soul magic stuff, right? Why do the dark elves think this kind of thing is a terrible idea? You offered to help her, before. Can you come through with that now? Can you offer her a reasonable alternative, some hope besides the rather risky plan she's come up with?

>>497446
Commiserate. Explain your own body troubles. When it comes to emotions, sometimes it can make people feel better to be aware that someone else has a similar kind of pain, even if they don't have easy answers. Given that the root of A1's current sadness is that she feels no one understands or empathizes with her, it would probably help her a great deal to be made aware that she's not the only one who isn't in the form they would prefer.

>>497449
>>497458
These.

>>497449
We're pretending to have not witnessed the earlier exchange, that's too much specific knowledge of their issues with the procedure. She'll figure out something is up and freak out.

OP:98 Ombra 2013/03/06(Wed)19:26 No. 498404 ID: a68e3e
File 136262681048.png - (82.25KB , 504x598 , 323.png )

"I don't think that they don't want you to be happy or anything. Maybe they're just worried about something going wrong?"

>"..."

"Is there anything that can go wrong..?"

>"... There are a few possibly mistakes. But the chances of them occurring are minimal."

"Is that the only downside?"

>"... There are a few things that could be viewed as negative side effects..."

"Liiiiike?"

>"... Shortened lifespan, lack of senses, possible insanity. Nothing that I am not prepared to deal with of course."

Ombra shakes her head.

"Sorry A1 but even -I- wouldn't agree to that. Look at me, I'm in this tiny ass body and I can't even go out and about unless some insane magical artifact wills it. As it stands I could easily get a new body but right now I'm just waiting for the right time, a time where I know I can get one that I really really want. I know what you're going through, truly I do. My advice? Just wait. You'll get what you want eventually."

>"... But... I could get it now."

"I know, and I could get something similar to what I want to. But I don't think you really want that, it's just the only thing being offered to you right now. Trust me, you'll end up regretting it later."

Lying somewhat. I could just take Saisai's body and nothing bad would happen to me. But she doesn't need to know that.

>"... Perhaps... I was being a bit irrational then..."

"Happens."

>"... I yelled at a few people."

"Everyone needs to vent sometimes."

>"I assaulted someone who's company I enjoy."

"That... Might not be good."

>"He and I haven't spoken since."

"I... Maybe you should uh... Go apologize? Explain you were upset?"

>"I can not."

"Why not?"

>"Every time I try to my joints lock up, my body heat rises, and I find myself unable to articulate what I'm trying to say. I end up just running away as fast as possible. I don't think I can even bring myself to face Saisai and Captain now. You have been helpful so far... Is it possible you can go see them and apologize on my behalf? Tell them I'm thinking a bit more clearly now?"

Uh...

>>498404
"Write a note. We can deliver it."

A note sounds good.

>I could just take Saisai's body and nothing bad would happen to me.
Except pissing off us. You know, the crazy magic artifact tuned to the bloodline of people specially able to wield the one thing capable of permanently killing you? I mean, it wouldn't be the smartest thing for the world to lose another dragon, but we can be surprisingly short sighted and vengeful when people we care about are hurt.

And even ignoring us, I'd assume you have some kind of conscience. It was my understanding that you'd come to some kind of understanding with Saisai the last time we were gone- and you'd be betraying that.

...threats and bluster aside though, the biggest cost you'd face wouldn't be guilt or making enemies of us- it would be the loss of allies. Someone is out to kill the dragons, and you shouldn't face that alone. We're all better off working together than talking about the ways we could kill one another, if we really wanted.

And for what it's worth, we really do want you to be free, to be yourself again. We'll have to have SaiSai bug Art again, and see if we can get them close enough so that she gets some mana (so then we can get to teacher her soul magic). I'll bet it was those stupid insults she threw at him during the chase scene that kept us from getting there...

>needs help
A note could work, or you could use mind control to help her through the apologies.

she is totally in love with cid, but the fear has mixed in and she spazzes around him now.

yes a letter sounds good. but even better would be an offer to "give her some courage" and then use suggestion powers to make her do it.

Maaaan. Well just tell her you can talk to Saisai, explain that she's the one you're hanging out with. No sense keeping that much a secret from her at this point. Note isn't a bad idea, but I think we're going to have to go around and help her patch things up. Not right now of course.

>I could just take Saisai's body and nothing bad would happen to me.
Except for that possible permanent death by dragon slayer thing.

OP:97 Ombra 2013/03/10(Sun)23:26 No. 499437 ID: a68e3e
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>Note isn't a bad idea, but I think we're going to have to go around and help her patch things up. Not right now of course.

Why not now? I got plenty of OP left.
Hell I could possess her. That'll help her out.

"If it really bothers you you could write a note."

>"A note?"

"Yeah. That way to can put all your feelings into it and not worry about freezing up."

>"All my feelings?"

"Yeah."

>"...."

She picks up a piece of paper and begins writing. Eventually she hands her the note.

......

Maybe I -should- possess her.

>>499437
Get her permission first. You can look into someone's memories and emotions, so you should be able to have her speak honestly, even though you're the one talking.

>>499437
We will just... deliver the note and the apology. Yeah.

...you mayhave used a little too much efficient machine compression in expressing your feelings for the meat-heads to understand.

Would you like me to help? I could... do this kind of fairy possess thing and help you find the words to talk to them.

OP:86 Ombra 2013/03/21(Thu)22:01 No. 501649 ID: a68e3e
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"Would you like me to help? I could... do this kind of fairy possess thing and help you find the words to talk to them."

>"You can..? Sure... If it will help..."

Alright, time to possess crazy.

Ombra flies into A1 to possess her
and is soon kicked out.

What the hell..?

>"??? Is everything okay?"

I couldn't possess her...
It's like there was nothing -to- possess...
What in the w

OP:85 Ombra 2013/03/21(Thu)22:02 No. 501650 ID: a68e3e
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There is a terrible shaking feeling followed by a deep rumble. Outside Ombra can hear things crashing.

An earthquake!? In Myli's kingdom!?

>>501650
Oh BUTTS.

Go see what it is, in case it's, I don't know, Regulus trying to kill the king or something.

>Nothing to posses
...she really is a robot. She's got a completely different kind of mind, one that your possession ability isn't compatible with.

I suggest you tell her that. She could use a little validation. It's more than how she feels. It really is how she is!

>Earthquake
Oh shite. I think we need to investigate that. Whatever's happening can't be good. Excuse yourself, and then you need to investigate.

>Earthquake in the earth dragon's kingdom

I assume this is like, say, an unexpected eclipse in yours.

CHECK THAT SHIT

OP:84 Update 1/2 Ombra 2013/03/21(Thu)22:28 No. 501654 ID: a68e3e
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"Dammit... A1, you might be a robot or something! I gotta go!"

>"W-what..?"

Ombra flies out of the room and grabs Saisai's sleeve.

>"Ombra! What's going on!"

"Something bad, follow me!"

Ombra turns invisible and moves with Saisai to the King's room. The castle is shaking still and their progress is slowed but they eventually make it.
They open the door to see Regulus grinning as he points the Dragonslayer at something.
Ombra gets a horrible feeling. Myli the Earth Dragon has been slain. It's not a full death but his mortal body is gone.
Regulus turns to Saisai with that same smile.

>"Oh dear. I didn't expect visitors. Sorry you had to see that."

>"Regulus..."

>"Catch."

OP:83 Ombra 2013/03/21(Thu)22:34 No. 501656 ID: a68e3e
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>"We can't have him possessing you. That would ruin it."

Regulus tosses the Dragonslayer to Saisai. She catches it without even thinking but the blade is light and it's edge is dull in her hands.

>"Hahaha. I knew it. The King didn't tell me but I knew. You're Sable's child."

The brown light surrounds Saisai for a moment. It stays around her then begins to form around Regulus.

>"Regulus... What did you do?"

>"I killed the Earth Dragon, Myli. Isn't it obvious? And now he has possessed me." He laughs again. "It's all coming together."

>"What is?"

He keeps laughing.

>"Almost all the Dragons on our land are dead. If I can just kill the vessel of the others Sharaes doesn't even matter. They'll all be gone."

fuck shit avenue. RUN. he is way to fucking strong to handle alone. he wont kill himself until you and the others are dead.

...why are you doing this though? What's the point? Don't you know killing all the dragons will break the cycle or reincarnation and cause the end of all life in this world? What do you possibly hope to gain?

And. Hmm. Technically he just killed your king, SaiSai. As a knight, you should be expected to put him down. Except for the annoying fact that Myli's possessing him now so that would kill him the rest of the way...

Oh fuck. You are going to get pinned for killing the king.

1/2 Saisai 2013/03/21(Thu)23:04 No. 501660 ID: a68e3e
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Ombra returns to Saisai as the castle continues to shake and crumble around them.

This man is insane... Maybe if I can just keep him here until the others arrive.

>>501658
"Why the hell are you doing this Regulus!? Don't you know what happens if all the dragons are killed!?"

He smiles again. There's another crashing sound coming from outside.

>"I'll tell you why, Saisai. Maybe you'll understand. When I was just a young boy I'd already started asking myself something that few others do. I asked 'why am I here? What's my purpose in this world?' I spent most of my childhood trying to find out why. Then I learned that the Dragons made us. From there I studied all I could, going to the greatest libraries in the kingdom to read about them. I learned all their secrets. Like if you destroy the vessel their soul is in they die forever. Or how once a Dragon possessed someone it could only truly live in the bodies of those related to them by blood. Then I learned the terrible secret. I learned why they created us."

>"We were all born into this world to fight their petty battles and to die for them. Can you imagine? All the time I wasted learning my purpose, learning why we exist, only to find out it was so that we could be pawns in some sick god fued?"

>"That's when I began my plan."

Saisai 2013/03/21(Thu)23:09 No. 501662 ID: a68e3e
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>"Before my 8th birthday I killed my parents so that when I eventually reached this point there would be none that Myli could retreat to! I became a knight and warmed up to the King, using his trust in me and my intellect and strength to rise up in the ranks. I became the one who handled the knights, second only to the King himself. I went with Sable to insure that Ombra, the Shadow Dragon, died! I took the Dragonslayer for myself, enduring all the pain that went with wielding it so I could slay Masil! I made sure Aeryr was killed by the hands of Sable's child! I killed Thasti myself! And now Myli! Almost all the Dragons have died by my hand! And here's the real kicker Saisai. The best part. Once reincarnation is broken the god who created the Dragons has only one means of fixing it. HE WILL HAVE TO DESTROY THE DRAGONS SOULS COMPLETELY!"

The castle groans and shakes. It's falling apart.

Two big flaws with that.
1) He might not care.
2) He might force the reincarnation of the dragon souls regardless.

FUCKING RUN! he is insane in the membrane! get away an call out to maggie. once she is listening inform her that regulus has gone nuts and is breaking shit.

...you'd cause all this death and destruction just because the dragons created us for petty violence? Who cares why we were created! Your life isn't what your parents or creators or whatever want. It's what you choose to make of it.

And if the dragons are so awful, why would you think the being that created them is any better? Why would he care if the dragons were destroyed by their own broken war-toys? Why would he care to sacrifice them to save us?

You'll kill us all for pointless vengeance.

Oh, and physic shout to Maggy if you can. The King is dead, and Regulus is soaked up on Earth Dragon Superpowers on top of his Earth Chosen Superpower and insane.

>Dragon possession ends up getting them tied to a bloodline.
...wait. That sounds an awful lot like how we work. The guardian. And Aeryr had intended to posses an artifact. Does that mean we're a... Ombra, were we a dragon?

>>501662
Okay, ask him how he knew Myli was the king in the first place.

>>501672
Actually I think his information is getting mixed up with the gaurdian legend because we KNOW dragons can rebuild their bodies. It just takes their hosts mastering their own magic.

>>501672
Hahaha we could actually be uh, that old dragon who died first! Whatsername.

That doesn't mean we're a dragon. The Dragonslayer's also tied to a bloodline.

I don't think debate'll do anything. The guy's committed enough to kill his own parents. Hell, his plan implies committing suicide to permanent-kill Myli once he's done with the others.

Not only that, but he has a reason to kill Saisai. Better escape. This guy is far more experienced than you. Ideally take him down with a good team.

>>501662
How good an actor are you?

Start laughing.
"Oh, man, you're really that clueless?
Ok, history lesson time.
We were made as toys and sycophants, not pawns; the proxy wars came later. Much later. And they were fought to prove whose toys were the best. They only learned of the power split between them when Oraes died.
Sharaes and Oraes actually cared about their children and refused to participate.
This blade? The dragon slayer? Sharaes made it to scare the other dragons into treating their own children with respect. That stopped the wars.
Eventually Masil, Myli, and Ombra realized what they had done and started nurturing their people to make up for it, and we forgave them.
Thasti... Less so. He became more a gruff father figure, but his people loved him.

Aeryr never learned, though. So fuck him.

But you? What's your game? Avenging people who neither needed nor wanted it?
Did you never think that this sword was given to the very people who had the most reason to hate, yet still went unused?

No, you have an ulterior motive. You think you've found a way to take their power for your own, haven't you."

Saisai 2013/03/24(Sun)01:40 No. 502108 ID: a68e3e
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Fuck this, I gotta run.
He's insane.

Saisai turns around flees. She hears Regulus laughing even as the room collapses around him. She mentally calls out Maggie and begins to run through the castle. Pieces off the castle are falling down all around her and a few times a large chunk barely misses her.
People are rushing pass her and shoving as they try and flee the crumbling castle.
She sees her captain holding up chunks as they fall and protecting people who otherwise would have been crushed.

"Captain!"

>"Saisai! Go! Grab Artemis and A1 and get out of here!

"Captain, I-"

>"Run you idiot! The whole place is coming down!"

Saisai hesitates for a moment longer but follows her captain's orders. A1 is the closest so she runs to her room.

Oh fuck, she is killing herself.

Alright. No time to worry about our captain. First A1! I hope she is still there.

Saisai 2013/03/24(Sun)01:43 No. 502110 ID: a68e3e
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The door is unlocked.
Saisai runs inside but freezes...
A1 is lying still under large pieces of rubble.

break shit. if.. we are right then she's fine. if you can't break the rubble then cut her legs off.

no... oh no...

Can you lift that at all? We need to get her to a healer.

OH! We should still have healing potions I blieve. We never used them. They won't do much but it should ensure she lives.