Of the various teams across the country building ANIMA prototypes, yours was the first to succeed. Your group numbered five in total. Noble Jurick, yourself. Serena Foster, your anchor. Su Holt, secondary pilot. Nicky Friedman, Su’s anchor and engineer of the ANIMA system. And of course, the Old Man.

You’ll deal with the Old Man soon enough. But for now, you have a dream to escape and an enemy to defeat.

---

You stand in midst of a rolling landscape dotted with trees. The moon is out tonight, round as a silver dollar. Autumn leaves in red and yellow are carried up to your head by a gentle breeze.

A giant stands in the distance, the club held in its twig-like hand like a chunk of mountain. Its heavy footprints leave deep craters in the green earth. It turns slowly. Its head is a searchlight.

You look around for cover, but there’s none that could hide the bulk of your ANIMA. Even the tallest of these hills only come halfway up your shin. The giant’s light slices apart the night like a sword. A black cloud forms above it. Just before the light reaches you, it cranes its head upwards, illuminating the cloud. A blast of lightning falls down, striking it, making its light glow brighter. Its head comes down, its gaze falls upon the landscape… and the land burns against it. Trees caught in its sight burst into flame then explode into ash. The ground it leaves behind glows red, the soil heated to its melting point.

It’s walking towards you.

The beam of light moves towards you, and you run off to the side to evade it. Its passage scorches the air behind you, but doesn’t touch you. You feel its incredible heat, though it never came close.

>>29901882

An anguished wail comes from the giant. Its searchlight’s glow returns to its normal intensity. It grabs its mountainous club in both hands and swings down into the earth with its twig-like arms, again and again. Soil and stone fly through the air in all directions. You summon your shield against the debris, holding it in front of you as chunks of earth clang against it. You glance at the animal on your shoulder –

-It’s not there. You don’t know what happened to it.

Your cannon falls back into place, clicking neatly onto your pauldron. The ANIMA knows you’re in a fight.

The searchlight giant, hearing the clatter, turns its head towards you instantly. It wails. A black cloud forms far above it, slowly descending.

You get in close, where your superior speed and maneuverability will give you an advantage. The ANIMA roars with power, steel legs set in a dead gallop, footsteps gouging chunks of earth from the ground. Your shield smashes the air in front of you, your passage rips leaves and limbs from the trees to either side.

The thin giant readies its club, preparing to swing, its face shining like the sun. The black cloud floats far above. It swings, but you’re more than ready to meet it. You angle away at the last second, deflecting the blow off to the side. Stone chips fly off like shrapnel, plunging into the wood. Even so, the force was enough to take your balance from you. You dig in your heels, skidding across the grass, and only now that you’ve approached it do you see the scale of the thing you’re fighting. The club in its hand is easily larger than Aegis; at your tallest, you barely make knee-level.

The giant yanks the club out of the earth with a torturous twist of its body.

You don’t know how many shots you have in your cannon, but it had better be enough – and like magic, a number appears in your vision, just above your radar. Six shots. Only one more than the last time. You hope they’re stronger.

>>29901907

You take aim at the giant’s knee, hold down the trigger, and release. Light blasts forth, striking the giant where you aimed… glances upwards away from it and into its arm, instead. The drone is stunned and unbalanced, but otherwise unharmed. The black cloud hovers in place, far above. It twists its massive body back towards you slowly.

This is no good. If you had something more focused, something solid with which you strike, you might be able to wound it.

The cannon hums, as though in assent. It sounds crazy to you, but…

You heft the cannon off your shoulder. Something more focused, something solid. The barrels bend down toward the ground. The weapon groans in protest – this is clearly not what it was made for. You sympathize, but you don’t have another option. Your ammunition counter suddenly reads 3. 3 strikes with your hammer. You pull the trigger, and light gathers in its barrels, coalescing compact balls. This will do.

You rush at the still-recovering giant once again, swinging the hammer up from behind, and letting it fall on its knee. Poor wood-chopping form, you think.

The light explodes as your hammer slams into the giant. The recoil spins you back around for a second blow. Another hit. Your ammo counter reads 2.

The drone crumples to the ground, its leg missing from mid-thigh down. It cranes its head upward, crying out in pain and desperation. The cloud above descends faster. You circle the now-disabled giant quickly, moving towards its back where it will be less able to slap you off. It forces itself off the ground just as you land on it. You hold tight, your hammer hooked on the blade of its hip. Another swift leap, and you’re at its head.

>>29901924

You pull the trigger, and bring the hammer around and down, once again. The searchlight explodes. The giant screams like something possessed. The sound startles you, and you falter-

- tripping over a stone in your path. You catch yourself, planting your weapon into the ground. Your ammo count reads 1.

You look around. No greenery, no trees. Only sand and dust and pillars and far ahead, a massive wall. You glance at your shoulder. The animal seems to have fallen asleep, undisturbed by your actions. You turn to look behind you and see a huge searchlight, shattered and still-sparking.

You wish you’d chosen the alien world instead. You have no idea how long you’ll be stuck in here.

“Well. Least you’re still around, buddy.” You prod the creature carefully with a finger, and it wriggles.

A fizzing sound in your ear. You turn back towards the wall, and it grows louder. It’s somehow not unpleasant, reminding you of waves on the shore where you grew up.

You continue walking.

---

The spires around you cast eerie shadows. You steadfastly ignore them, closing your eyes. Threats within illusions surround you. You focus on the swirling sand as it bounces off Aegis-

- and hear a girlish laugh.

You open your eyes. It’s raining. Flowers bloom in an open meadow. Another illusion.

The laugh again, like a woman’s scorn, full of mocking pity. You look around you, not daring to move, releasing the tension in your joints. Let go. Relax. Let her make the first move.

There. A ghostly form almost invisible in the rain, drifting towards you like a plastic bag in the wind. You feel as if a single movement would cause it to flee, and you would lose sight of it. You can’t let that happen – killing these things seems to be the only way out of these illusions.

[Roll 1d100’s.]

Rolled 26

>>29901946
Rollan for Justice and /m/

Rolled 32

>>29901946

Rolled 54

>>29901946
>[Roll 1d100’s.]

>>29902135
>>29902176
>>29902192

You stand still, not daring to so much as draw a breath, every limb tense. Relax. You can’t hit it if you’re tensed like that. Thunder cracks overhead. The wispy, laughing thing draws close, floating on the breeze, testing your patience. It comes just a little too close, and you strike. Metal groans as you rotate your arm up, bringing your hammer through it. You press the trigger. Light forms, compacting, in the head of the hammer. You swing!

And strike the ground. Violet flowers fill the air a moment before they burn away. Rain hisses into steam around you. Your ammo count reads zero, and the hammer becomes a cannon once again.

Laughter in your ear again. The drone was clearly unharmed. You flick your eyes down at your radar – nothing. This was going to be a frustrating fight. You consider the cannon, but with five shots and a slow charge time, there was no way you’d hit it even if you saw it. You need something faster, something more accurate…

[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, I will try to incorporate it.]

Rolled 28

>>29902474
Leave the area, maybe we can force it chase us or to attack us.

Rolled 93

>>29902474
I'm flummoxed here...

Can we charge a shot without firing it? Leave our weapon hot?

Rolled 9

>>29902474
>[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, I will try to incorporate it.]
Turn our weapon into a short range laser gun then leave.

>>29902663
Your mech is literally powered by love and made of dream-stuff, but everything has to have some kind of internal logic in order for Noble to make it real. To him, energy cannons need to charge before they fire.

... is the excuse I'm going with.

File: 1391118538546.jpg-(102 KB, 516x806, 1390964803450.jpg)

102 KB JPG

>>29902518
>>29902663
>>29902715

Your cannon thrums in your shoulder, as if it might have an idea of its own. Later, not now. You can only see it when it approaches you, when it’s close by.

“This is fucking impossible.”

The rain was murder on your visibility. It’d be much easier to see the damn drone if it stopped for a while. You glance around you, assessing your options. More field, or dense forest. Neither called out to you. Still, a change of scenery might help.

You tower over the trees, trampling your way through, and the drone follows. You can’t see it, but its footsteps, crushing the underbrush, are as clear as day.

“Now’s a good time. You can turn into a hammer, how about a laser rifle?”

The cannon groans in protest. Its barrels rotate around, splitting apart, attaching themselves over your fist. Your ammo count reads 10.

“Shotgun… knuckle duster? What the hell, close enough.”

You raise your arm. The drone moves. Trees fall underneath it. You take aim and press the trigger.

A hideous scream of pain fills the air once again. Scraps of something like cloth float down from the air, and your enemy is revealed.

[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, I will try to incorporate it.]

Rolled 40

>>29902972
Melee? Tackle it??

Rolled 10

>>29902972
>>29903048

Rolled 70

>>29902972
Punch it with the fist of an angry god

>>29903048
>>29903147
>>29903298

It is an ugly thing of unnatural proportions, small limbs twisted almost backwards. An overlarge head the size of its body, dotted with far too many eyes. A leering grin filled with teeth like needles. You’ll tear that grin from its face.

You charge forward with no pause, shield held in front. The drone steps to the side, arms twisted back behind it and then lashes out. You knock its thin, flexible arm away, then follow up with a punch. It bends over backwards, lashing out with a kick. It strikes your fist, knocking it away. You twist in with the edge of your shield, keeping up the onslaught.

The drone screams just before your shield strikes. The metal bites into the thing’s face, shattering many of its blinking eyes. You bring other fist around in a vicious cross, right the drone’s mouth.

You pull the trigger. Pink mist fills the air, a sound like a dying balloon-

- sand pelts your body. Ammo count: 8.

The animal on your shoulder shifts in its sleep, obviously uneasy. You raise a finger to it, and it growls. You prod it gently. It doesn't wake up.

The path to the wall ahead seems to have grown even longer, yet the static in your ear is louder than ever.

What do you do?

Rolled 33

>>29903512
CHeck around, there might be something near still.

Rolled 59

>>29903512
Look up

>>29903545
>>29903735

You look up. Same red sky as before, filled with sand so thick the sun was invisible. You look around. Great endless spires like mushroom stalks in all directions. A great wall like a half-moon far ahead, and behind you-

Well. That was curious.

The shadow from before was no shadow. It was nothing. Black and empty. It was close. The static grows louder when you turn towards it. It fills you with inexplicable dread. You glance at your shoulder, the animal is gone. A mocking laugh, an anguished wail.

What do you do?

Rolled 92

>>29903925
Start charging the shot, aim at the shadow.

Need food. Will write as soon as I get back.

Rolled 33

>>29903925
>>29903998
Sounds good

>>29904147
>>29903998

Roll 1d100's.

Rolled 20

>>29905376

Rolled 47

>>29905376

Rolled 7

>>29905376
rollin

Rolled 75

>>29905376

>>29905405
>>29905435
>>29905453
>>29905504

You bring your weapon up to bear, and it transforms back into the cannon. Ammo count: 5. You hold down the trigger, bracing yourself. You aim into the void. Static roars in your ear painfully, causing you to wince. You roar back, determined not to falter, and release the trigger as the shadow falls over you-

-You fall into an empty place. Gray skies. Gray clouds. Gray floor beneath. Ammo count: 4.

Not so empty. Four holes open up around you, filled with black, like the cracks in glass, like lightning transfixed in space. Four arms reach out, grasping the edge of the world. Four blazing swords stab upward, their light driving away the gray.

High above you, a dark cloud forms. You know what is within – another hole in the world, just like the ones around you. You recognize the forms of the drones breaking into this world; they were like the first one you fought.

You heft your cannon up, and raise your shield. Time to see how much you’ve grown since then.

[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, I will try to incorporate it.]

Rolled 67

>>29905740
>1d100

Rolled 45

>>29905740
Show them that there is no room in this world for monsters like them!

Shoot!

Rolled 61

>>29905740

>>29905782
>>29905814
>>29905872

You fire at the first one before it fully manifests. Its upper body disappears in a blast of white light, its arms fall limp, and the portal closes around it. Two emerge from their portals, swinging their blades at your neck and weapon arm.

You slam your shield into the attacks, blasting their swords away. Your cannon shifts into a shotgun-knuckle, and you swing at an attack, slamming into the drone’s stomach, perforating it. Reaching into the hole it left, you grab its machine innards and lift it into the other drone. A third sword stabs at you from behind.

[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, I will try to incorporate it.]

Rolled 100

>>29906209
Punch the third drone and then pull back, keep space and do not get trapped by the group.

Rolled 61

>>29906303
Can't disagree with a nat 100

>>29906303
>>29906391

You lean to the side to avoid it, then trap the fiery blade between your arm and your body.

You ignore it. The burning, the pain, you fight it down with a growl. You step backwards into the drone, letting Aegis’s spikes penetrate its body. Spinning around, the second drone still impaled on your hand, you drive your fist into the third and pull the trigger twice. The lights in their eyes fade. Three dead. Ammo count: 5.

A blazing sword aimed for your eyes. You shift your arm slightly, and it stabs instead through the heads of the dead drones you're still holding. It’s stuck.

This one is still uninjured. You’re about to change that.

[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, I will try to incorporate it.]

Rolled 35

>>29906500
Take that sword, use it now. The Rules of Nature.

Rolled 59

>>29906500
Rip it to pieces

File: 1391127564563.jpg-(755 KB, 900x1200, 1390961147781.jpg)

755 KB JPG

>>29906527
>>29906555

You drop your shield and grab its sword arm, crushing the flimsy metal in your grip. It pulls away from you, leaving the arm behind, as you dislodge the bodies of its allies from your weapon. Your knuckle duster shifts into cannon form as it staggers back, holding the stump. It looks like it’s in pain.

It doesn’t know the meaning of pain, you think, as you release the trigger. Light shoots forth. The drone vanishes into dust and scrap. Ammo count: 2.

You look up, overhead. The big one’s about to come down.

It splays its six wings as it lands. Five encircled runes float around it like planets. They focus into a single rune of unparalleled complexity, glowing, its light directed down solely at you.

What do you do?

Rolled 24

>>29906716
Shoot at the focus

Rolled 32

>>29906716
Strafe to the left, and try to close with caution. Do not be afraid to get close to it.

>>29906757
>>29906765

Roll 1d100s.

Rolled 82

>>29906848

Rolled 15

>>29906848
Rollan for /m/

>>29906854
>>29906889

You raise your cannon as you approach, charging a shot. The rune blinks, and you release. Light surges toward the rune. The discharge impacts perfectly, shattering it with a tremendous crash like glass. Fire rains down. You’ve hurt the thing, somehow.

Ammo count: 1. You need to make this last shot count.

You pull off to the left, away from its sword arm, closing in fast. This drone dwarfs even the searchlight giant from earlier, but you have no fear.

It stabs its sword down at you.


[Roll 1d100’s. If you have a suggestion for a course of action, I will try to incorporate it.]

Rolled 30

>>29906934
Dodge the sword and fire our last shot at point blank range.

Rolled 56

>>29906934
Dodge, and use the close range weapons. Use the Sword to climb the monster and then punch.

Rolled 100

>>29906934
Bare handed blade block. Then break its arm.

>>29907052
The nat 100 speaks... let's blade block.

Sorry, was out for a bit. Writing now.

File: 1391131886944.jpg-(382 KB, 1200x600, 1390964233227.jpg)

382 KB JPG

>>29907944

Some part of your mind screams at you: this is insane. You do it anyways. You stab your stolen sword into the ground, shift into the knuckle duster, and prepare to catch the falling blade.

Impossibly, you manage it. The force tears into your shoulders like nothing you’ve experienced, drives you straight into the ground, but you manage it all the same. Aside from your aching arms, you’re undamaged.

The drone draws sword high into the air, dragging you back out and flinging you into the air. You let go, and take careful aim, squeezing the trigger five time into its head, shattering its faceplate. Shotgun into cannon. You hold the trigger. At face level.

You stare into its eyes. It’s almost human.

“s….nd… you…. he..l…” Static roars in your ear.

Yeah. You’ll send it to hell.

You release.

Something bursts out of the drone’s ruined skull as you land. Another enemy, and you’re out of ammo. It is cloaked in shadow, wielding a great sword of ivory. It charges at you.

What do you do?

Rolled 4

>>29908255
Run

Rolled 5

>>29908255
Another blade catch, If it's our size then steal it.

Rolled 34

>>29908255
Deflect the blade
Punch it in the gut.

>>29908339
>>29908356

Roll 1d100's.

Rolled 51

>>29908374

Rolled 58

>>29908255
Get into a low stance, prepare to evade and counter his swing with a punch.

Rolled 19

>>29908374

Rolled 79

>>29908374

>>29908382
>>29908394
>>29908406
>>29908413

You crouch down, bringing your center of balance low. This one isn’t like the others. It moves with purpose, agile. The static in your ear is louder than ever.

It makes a mistake: it gets too close to swing its blade. You capitalize, stepping forward into it and slamming your heavy fist into its gut. It bends over against your blow. The blade falls – Aegis’s arm dashes out, catching its edge as it lands. You lift it the new drone by the gut, holding it high overhead, and slam the blade down into the gray ground hilt-first.

“…. St…. no…”

You pay it no heed, and impale it through the stomach on its own blade. It writhes in pain, hands grasping, arms kicking.

“… hur… ple…”

What do you do?

Rolled 23

>>29908541

Break It!, Punchie!

>>29908541
Take blade, back away.

>…. St…. no…
Did we fuck up?

Rolled 55

>>29908572
Probably...

The drones... are people!!

Rolled 13

>>29908541
Try to get into his face before he has a chance to swing it

>>29908572
Do this but be ready to fight.

>>29908565
>>29908572
>>29908788
>>29908793

You raise your fist.

Something stays your hand. A note of familiarity. A great ivory sword. Su mentioned something about swords before.

“…No… ble…”

The drone vanishes, and with it, its sword. The static resolves at last into Serena’s shrill voice, half-mad with terror and pain.

“Noble, stop! Stop!”

You look back at where the drone was.

“Serena? What just happened? Serena!”

It’s no use. She won’t stop repeating your name, begging you to stop.

You wake up at last, suck in a huge gasp of air, blink your eyes as you look around you. The Cradle’s straps hold you tight, though you’re still slick with creche fluid. Su is at your side, in the same condition, still spasming in pain. Nicky is there beside her, bleeding from her nose and eyes, but there all the same. And Serena…

She’s still at her console, sobbing.

---

“Noble, you asshole! You have any idea how much getting stuck through the gut by a big-ass sword hurts?” Su punches you in the arm as she walks by, a smirk on her face.

What do you say?

>>29908838
I-I... did not want to lose.

Rolled 67

>>29908838
>What do you say?
I am sorry

>>29908838
Apologize, then apologize more.

>>29908856
>>29908878
>>29908935

“I, uh, didn’t want to lose. I thought you were another drone, thought you were gonna kill me.”

“And to top it all off, it was my own sword you got me with! Come on, man. That just stings even more.” She takes a seat down beside you at the small table.

“… I’m sorry…”

“Hmmmm? What was that? I didn’t quite catch it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Say it again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I dunno if I’m ready to forgive you yet. Maybe… if…” She leans in close, biting her lip, looking into your eyes as she presses against you. And then, she flicks you in the forehead unceremoniously. “Hah! I got you that time!”

“Come on, that’s not fair. Besides, Serena’s my girlfriend.” You lean back in your seat, staring at a bowl of now-soggy oats and raspberries.

“Oh, I know. Give me a little credit, I’m no homewrecker. But every once in a while, I can’t help but tease you. Someone’s gotta loosen you up, right?”

“I guess. So, what happened? Why’d the connection cut out on me?”

“… Well, what do you think happened? I wanna know from your perspective.” She clearly isn’t willing to say, just yet.

What do you do?

>>29909102
Be honest, we need the information. We do not really understand what happened

>>29909102
No worries, Su's on the level.
Tell her what happened with us and she'll share her bit.

Rolled 67

>>29909157
Seconding this

>>29909148
>>29909157
>>29909170

“Well… I guess I got separated from Serena when I entered the dream world, and then… Su, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Come on, I apologized.”

“It’s not that.” She wipes her face, then throws her arms around you.

“Then what is it?”

“One month. Two weeks. One week. Now, two days.”

“I… almost Blissed out.” Your voice sounds small and far away.

“It was hours, Noble. Hours before we could wake you back up. God dammit.”

“Hey, come on. I’m still here. I’m still alive and everything, aren’t I?”

“For how much longer, huh? For- God, I shouldn’t be saying this to you, but I don’t know if I’ll have another chance! You might have come to terms with it, you might know, but the rest of us, Serena, Nicky, me... What do we do without you? What do I do without you?”

“What do you- Come on, Su. You’re stronger than that. You’re the s-“

“You dense bastard, Noble, I love you! I loved you for so long. It broke my heart when you chose Serena over me but I didn’t say anything, I wanted you to be happy. Why am I saying this... Fuck!” She kicks the table and turns away. “This is the last thing you need right now, and I…”

What do you say?

>>29909381
I...I... Thanks...

No idea what to say... this is random.

Rolled 49

>>29909381
Silence

>>29909381
Hold her.
Tell her it's okay, and that your not going anywhere. That you love being here with everyone.
Her included.

>Now, two days
I think it's time we go check out the old man.

>>29909455
It's to be expected, given the situation, and the setting we're playing.

>>29909381
>>29909455
>>29909485

this is why I don't like quests were we don't chose relationships or skills/interests. makes me feel like everything is out of control, like i would rather read it as a story... idk I am going to post any more... still a good read

>>29909550
Sometimes not all MCs can be blank states.

But I feel the best thing to do is just hug her and thank her, but we already have someone.

>>29909550
>I don't like quests were we don't chose relationships or skills/interests.

Really that's less of a problem with this quest and more an issue with Bliss Stage in general.
I know what you mean and it sucks but that's just the kind of game this is.

Though I get the feeling that if Su were our GF harem route would actually be more manageable.

>>29909480
>>29909601
>>29909468

For a while you don’t say anything. Instead, you just hold her.

“Fucking… I’m shouldn’t have-“

“Hey, now. It’s okay.”

“You could drop dead any minute and you tell me it’s okay.” She wipes her tears. “That’s just like you. Jerk.”

“Come on. I’m not going anywhere. I love being here, with all of you. All of you.”

She huffs. “And how are you gonna do that when you Bliss out?” She turns towards you, resting her head on you shoulder.

You don’t know, but… Wait. The Old Man. He’s stayed alive for all of these past six years. As much as you despise him, you’ll have to figure out his secret, and you’ll have to do it soon. You hope you can keep yourself from killing him for that long.

“I’ll figure something out. I promise."

---

END

>>29909702
Thanks for running, MARS.

Rolled 56

>>29909702
Thanks for running MARS

That's it for today. Thanks for playing, everyone.

Any questions, comments, suggestions?

>>29909764
BLUECHAMP PLS.

>>29909702
The best Mars, the best!

Is this the halfway point?

>>29909781
This is, in fact, right around the halfway point. Still more SUFFERING and mecha battles await.

>>29909652
>Though I get the feeling that if Su were our GF harem route would actually be more manageable.

Oh, definitely! But it wouldn't be nearly as interesting or dramatic, I think.

>>29909550
>>29909455
Sorry you feel that way, guys, but unfortunately Bliss Stage is basically all about things spinning madly out of control, especially relationships. I understand it's not for everyone, and I won't take it badly if you decide it's not for you. Also, the quest has gone on for several more threads than I ever thought it'd get. I originally intended it to be a one-shot, and then things just went out of control. A little fitting, I guess?

>>29909881
Thanks for running Mars. I enjoy reading each one of these threads.

>>29909881
Don't feel to bad OP. I happen to enjoy my SUFFERING, even if I'm too pussy to write it in my own works.

Don't let a good narrative slip away. If bad stuff needs to go down, it needs to go down.

Keep on chugging, I'll be there to roll.

>>29914117
>>29914906

Aww. Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me.

I'll keep at it until it's done. I don't want this to go on for 50 threads or anything like that, though, so we'll keep it relatively short and sweet.