>>43873151
>Cool yourself (Bonus to rolls on logical actions)

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118 KB JPG

>>43873151
>>Cool yourself (Bonus to rolls on logical actions)

>writing

>>43873151
>>Run with it (Bonus to rolls on riskier actions)


EVERYBODY PANIC WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!

Also there is a >90% chance we'll return to the world into a smoking crater.

You shake your head. You need to calm down.

If tonight's plan had remained as simple as it was supposed to, you could afford to be a little more reckless. But until you know why Claire chose to enter the Arena tonight, you need to be on your toes.

You hate the fact that you have to see her as an enemy...

The door to Jessica's office opens, and shines a bright light into the red warehouse. You breathe deeply, and step through.

...

You're back in this damned maze once more. You're pretty lucky that Safi knew a way to crash around this place, otherwise you'd be pretty much fucked when it came to finding people.

Speaking of finding people, it's time to get down to business. First thing's first: get to Abigail... how exactly?

You have no idea where she is, nor did you think to work out a way to find he- hang on. You feel something. A humming similar to what you felt whenever Abigail was using Aeromancy.

Of course. This is the same way you found Safi last night. It's nearly perfect, as Claire wouldn't be able to sense Aeromancy. In fact, the other two might be in the same boat...

The only trouble is that it's definitely not as clear a signal as Safi's. You can already feel her approaching, and you know almost exactly where she is.

Abigail's signal is significantly less clear, but you think you can still work with it...

>Roll 1d20, taking the first 3 rolls and adding them up.

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>43873751

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>43873751

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>43873751
Please be at least 10+

>>43873798
praise be unto you, anon

>>43873798
Saif can, truly, paint with all the colors of the wind.

>writing

You concentrate.

Just like when you were searching for Moriarty, you try to feel out the direction. Of course, it comes from deeper in the labyrinth. You won't know how close or how far she is until you start to move towards her.

So that's exactly what you do.

Taking a step back from the wall, you enter fast time for your running start and drop into slow time to become a cannonball. You smash through the wall, landing on your feet on the other side and running down the straight hallway before you.

You can sort of feel Safi's confusion as she notices that you're not heading her way. You don't worry too much about it, she'll understand once she meets up with you.

Wall after wall, you can feel that you're getting closer. Until it feels like she's just behind the next one.

So you jump a little higher, and break in further off to the side. When you land, you see a very welcome face.

"Yo" You say.
"Saif!" Abigail says. "The warehouse, Jessi-"
"I know..." You say. "Nothing we can do about it now"
"What do we do?" She asks.
"We stick to the plan" You say. "If things go sour out there, I'll feel a lot worse if we don't even manage to do what we came in here for"

Abigail takes a breath, and then hugs you. She squeezes for a second before pulling away, seeming calmer than she was before.

"Okay" She says. "What now?"

>Wait for Safi, go find Boss as a group

>Go find Boss now, then wait for Safi

>Wait for Safi, go up and find the Puppeteer while they search for Boss

>Other

>>43874322
>>Wait for Safi, go find Boss as a group
She can't be that far away.

>>43874322
>Wait for Safi, go find Boss as a group

>>43874322
>Wait for Safi, go find Boss as a group
This is a "choose who you want to be in danger of death" choice, isn't it? I don't like this, but we can't risk Safi dying.

>>43874322
>Wait for Safi, go find Boss as a group

>writing

"Now we wait for a bit" You say.
"Wait for what?" She asks.
"Safi" You say.

Abigail looks confused for a second. "Oh, right" She says. "I forgot that you two could both do that wall smashy thing"

"Rarest magic in the world, and we use it to bust through walls" You say.
"There are worse uses of magic" She says.
"I agree" You say.

After a second, Safi comes crashing through the wall and flies straight into you. You were expecting this, and you stood there so you could catch her.

"Hey" She says.
"Hey" You reply.
"Hey" Abigail says.
"Hey" Safi says to Abigail.

You smile as you put her down, and you feel the connection between you strengthening.

"What's she doing in here?" Safi asks.
"She's a part of the plan" You say.
"And I'm your partner" Abigail says, as she steps up and hugs your arm.

Safi looks confused.

>Explain the situation

>Go find Boss

>Other

>>43874763
>Go find Boss
First things first.

>>43874763
>>Explain the situation
>>Go find Boss

Quick rundown, then off to find Russian Santa

>>43874763
>Go find Boss
>Have you or Abigail explain the situation on the way
Time is of the essence.

>>43874763
This >>43874831

>writing

"I'll let Abigail do the explaining, while I do the smashing" You say. "I think Boss is this way..."

You can kind of sense him. He isn't broadcasting the way Abigail did with a constant signal, his comes in pips and bursts...

It almost reminds you of Morse code... You wonder if this is a way that some mages used to communicate when more modern methods weren't available.

... well if he is trying to tell you something in Morse, then you have some bad news for him: you don't understand Morse. It might be worth learning, if this is a way it could be used.

You can consider that later, right now you need to follow that signal. You step back, and crash through the nearby wall. Jumping and smashing through each consecutive wall, you look back every now and then to make sure Abigail and Safi are keeping up.

They're both running to keep up with you, but that doesn't seem to stop them from talking.

You finally make the final crash, and the wall opens up to a raging fire. You land in a spot that isn't engulfed, and try to take in your surroundings.

Before you can get your bearings, something with a lot of teeth rushes out of the flames.

It does not look happy.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>43875183

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>43875183
pls

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>43875183


JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>43875183

>>43875227
Dammit, just a few seconds too late.

Ah well, 33 is still pretty good.

>>43875225
I...I should stop rolling.

>>43875304
Or keep jesus away from the wheel. The man never saw cars why on earth would you think he'd know how to steer?

Smiley, Jesus has no place amongst the Blood Moon Pantheon, may we rescind his vote?

>writing

>>43875338
Sound logic

You swipe your hand over the Archive, grabbing something that you haven't gotten much practice with, but seems useful right now.

You pull out a shotgun, and blast the strange creature's head clean off.

The recoil surprises you and you almost lose the damn thing. Luckily you keep your grip, as two more of the strange creatures emerge from the fire shortly after. Getting a tighter hold on the gun, you fire it into their faces as well.

Surveying the damage, you make a mental note to get some more practice with these things. They may only be good at close ranges, but they are VERY good at close ranges.

The carnage seems to have died down, when another figure emerges from the fire. This time you put the shotgun away.

"Sorry about the mess" Boss says. "Wasn't expecting you so soon"

You shrug, as you look over his choice of outfit. It's bulky, but it looks very well armored. "Is that fireproof?" You ask.
"It is" He says. "Working with tool and partner that shoot flame, I decided on extra protection"
"Makes sense" You say.

"If you don't mind me asking... what's with the butler outfit?" He asks.
"It's a long story..." You say. Well... it's not that long. More pointless than long.

You shake off that train of thought, and lead Boss back through your hole in the wall to a place where everything isn't on fire. Abigail and Safi were smart enough to wait back there, though Safi looks to be on guard.

"You good?" Safi asks.
"Yeah" You say.

>Discuss the situation

>Get to work

>Other

>>43875615
>>Discuss the situation

>>43875615
>Discuss the situation

>>43875615
>Discuss the situation

>>43875615
>Discuss the situation
Shits fucked yo.

Also tonight The Puppeteer gets Strung Up.

>writing

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>>43875760
Don't forget our punchy finisher

Some questions popped up while I was checking the app info again.

Can the Keeper's power work on others?
If so, can multiple champions enter it?
If that is possible, he could use it to protect both the Puppeteer and himself in a pinch (assuming they are together). He could also throw someone hostile in the "safe area" to take him/her out of the game for 10 minutes.

I'm only speculating here since I don't remember if we've seen the Keeper yet or not, but his boon may have some interesting uses if it affects others.

"Hey Boss" Safi says. "Sorry I've taken so many days off work"
Boss ruffles Safi's hair. "I'll let you work those hours off when this is done" He says.

"So what now?" Abigail asks.
"Now..." You say. "I need to go up"
"Alone?" Safi asks.
"Yep" You say.

"There's 2 of them and one of you, you know" She says.
"Then we're even" You say. "2 of them who can die once, and one of me who can die twice"

"Saif..." Safi says.
"I'll be fine" You say. "Worst comes to worst, I can always bail and jump back down"

"What about the rest of us?" Abigail asks.
"Stay down here, and focus on staying in one piece" You say. "And definitely keep an eye out for Claire"

"Is she not friendly?" Safi asks.
"She is almost certainly not" Abigail says.
"What do we do if she shows up?" Safi asks. "I don't think I could take her on"

"We stay in one piece" Boss says, before nodding to you.

>Anything else?

>>43876066
>Anything else?
Focus on escape and evasion. Stay safe.

>>43876066
>No fresh horrors from Harvey I should know about?

>>43876066
Maybe someone should tell Claire that Jessica is in mortal danger.

If it doesn't calm her down, it may distraxt her long enough for someone to kick her in the ovaries

>>43876066
kiss the Abigail for good luck

>>43876066
These >>43876147 >>43876178

>>43876178
inb4 Claire shows up RIGHT at that moment.

Remember: Claire has no idea that Saif has continued banging Abby; she thought he had stopped seeing her.

>writing

>>43876066
>"What do we do if she shows up?" Safi asks. "I don't think I could take her on"

See, I like this magic system, Smiley; a super wizard, with all the bells and whistles, can still lose (badly) to a pure muscle mage, like Claire.

"And hey, if all else fails you can let Claire know what's happening back at the warehouse" You say. "Jess is like a sister to her. If it doesn't make her stop fighting, then it might distract her long enough to get a good kick in on her ovaries"

"That might hurt my foot more then her ovaries" Abigail says.
You put a hand around her waist. "Yeah, but I'm sure you'd get some satisfaction out of it" You say.

"I'll be satisfied when I know you're safe" She says, closing in on your face just a little.
"I'm always Saif" You say.
"That's no-"

You cut her off with a kiss.

"Tell you what" You say. "I promise to come back, if you promise to be here when I do"
Abigail's face blooms into a nice red, and she has the cutest shy smile. "Deal" She says, tapping her cane on the ground. "Now go get 'em"

You give her one last quick peck, before waving to everyone else as you start to float upwards.

"Oh man" Safi says. "I cannot wait to see the look on Harvey's face when I tell him about that"

You frown as you get higher. You hadn't considered that...

Too late now.

It doesn't take long to reach the top of the maze. It goes on and on for a long time in all directions, but there does appear to be an end to it.

No sign of the Puppeteer... though you do see a door.

>What do?

>>43876525
Ooo, looks like we found Keeper.

Juuust wait; they can only be in there for 10 minutes.

>They leave
>"Hello there, chaps"

>>43876525
>Open the door carefully while watching out for traps
>If it's safe, go through it

>>43876525
open the door without going through it just yet

>>43876588
I don't think anyone but Keeper, and those he lets in, can open it; that would be pretty useless at keeping him alive.

>>43876584
Heh, wait outside, leaning on the sword, or brandishing the shotgun.

>Cock shotgun just as they step outside.
>"Hey, fellas"

>writing

>>43876584
>>43876711
I'd really rather not leave our friends waiting for that long if we can help it

>>43876657
You have a point. We don't decide how his power works, so we may have no choice but to wait if we can't open it.

>>43876732
As it stands, we don't really have a choice if we can't open the door.

Besides, Keeper can probably tell when someone jiggles the knob, so, it's best to make him think that no one is outside.

Plus, we don't know how many minutes they've been in there.

You walk over to the door, carefully leaping over the gaps of the hallways below. It would be unfortunate and embarrassing to fall back down and have to ask Abigail for a lift again.

When you reach the door, you try to get in. It's locked...

You might as well wait for them here. They have to come out eventually. If you remember right, the app said that they can only be in there for 10 minutes. Depending on when they went in, they could be running out of time.

So you kick back, reload your shotgun, and wait.

"You really are new at this, aren't you?" A voice calls behind you.

It's male, but you don't recognize it.

You quickly turn and point your shotgun at its source, finger on the trigger and ready to squeeze.

You see the Puppeteer... with their hands up.

"Whoa there!" They say. "Don't shoot, I'm just here to talk"
"So talk" You say.

"You know I had the perfect opportunity to kill you back there, but I chose to announce myself instead" They say.
"And I would have revived" You say. "You wouldn't have gotten a second chance"

They shrug. "It was worth a shot" They say. "I'm interested in getting out of this game"
"Just you?" You ask.
"And my partner" They say. "She's chosen to remain inside while negotiations are happening"
"Drew the short straw, eh?" You ask.
"So did you" They say.
"I chose to come up here" You say.

"But you didn't choose to be a champion" They say.

>[1/2]

"I'm right, aren't I?" He asks.
"Didn't you say something about surrendering?" You ask.

"I did" He says. "But first, I'm curious..."
"About what?" You ask.
"About your 'allegiance' with the Witch" He says. "She still has her allegiance to the Glutton... but seems to be working with you...."

>Tell him?

>>43877168
>Yeah, tell him.

Everyone hates the Harts.

>>43877168
You have literally 5 seconds to surrender before I shoot. You do that, and then I tell you.

>>43877168
sure, i guess.

>>43877212
If he surrenders, he vanishes from the arena

>>43877168
Make sure to also let him know how a shit ton of the contestants were Harvey's slaves; this game was rigged.

>>43877168
>Glutton likes his slaves. He got his hands on someone i care about, so I'm making sure she lives longer than him.
Avoid details for now.

>writing

"You should know by now who the Glutton is" You say.
"I do" They say.
"Good. Then you hopefully know that a good portion of the champions going into this were slaves to the Hart family" You say. "The Witch is one of them, and they're also someone close to me"

"You have proof of this?" They ask. "Keeping slaves breaks several laws. If you have proof, then I might be able to help"

"I do" You say.
"Then I'll make you a deal" He says. "You accept my surrender and give me what proof you've got on the Hart family's crimes, and I can have a strike put together to shut down the entire operation before dawn"

"You have that kind of pull?" You ask.
"I work for a government branch" He says. "Very secretive. Most mages don't even know about it"

"Not like the Coven?" You ask.
"No" He says. "If anything, the Coven's been getting in the way recently. We keep order and law, not secrecy"

You nod pensively.

If he's telling the truth, then this is an amazing deal for you. You get to take 2 more champions out of the mix, and have Harvey shut down...

>Do you accept?

>>43877237
Hey might as well ask him to check on Jessica.

>>43877766
>Fuck yeah

>>43877766
I don't know if we can trust him

>>43877772
Not how it works. When you surrender you still have to stick out the rest of the arena.

>>43877766
Would "shutting down that operation" involve killing Hart or do they have some other way to break free slaves.

>>43877766
I need your word that the slaves will not be harmed, EVEN if they engage you because of mind control. Subdue them, but no killing.

>>43877852
As far as we know, the only way to free a slave is to either kill the mage controlling them, or stuff them into a simulacra.

We should trust him. What's the worst than can happen?

>>43877766
>Do it
He's taking himself out of a contest that grants wishes. I think the deal is pretty solid.

>writing

I feel like maybe we should try to distribute surrendering around so not everything's in one saif shaped basket.

GUYS. GUYS.
You know Claire's sister? You know how she hates Saif.

WHAT IF? WHAT IF?
She's a time mage and just hasn't told anyone or shared our secret?

>>43878304
Claire's got a cousin (Julia), not a sister.

"What would shutting down the operation involve?" You ask.
"Getting rid of the source, or the sources" He says. "It's not the first time that we've dealt with slavers, and it certainly won't be the last"

"And the slaves?" You ask.
"Dealt with non-lethally" He says. "Rehabilitated if necessary, memories altered if needed, and sent back to society"

"I think we have a deal" You say.
"Excellent" He says. "You have any info about what his compound is like?"

"It's a mansion, down by the old area of town" You say, finally lowering your gun. "Best time to go in would probably be around now. Slaves are controlled by a two-fold connection: one to the head of the house, one to a crystal near the house's center"

You didn't know any of that stuff. It all came from your link with Safi.

"I know the place" He says. "Near the Beaumont household, correct?"
"Yeah, that's the one" You say.
"Excellent" He says, extending his hand to seal the deal.

As you reach out to accept it, your eyes go wide.

It happens before you can react.

>[1/2]

>>43878304
Nope, we already know her affinity, it is Body. Also she hates everyone, not just Saif, she only pretends to not hate for Abagail.

>>43878388
Fucking christ,

Were going to have to watch it with our next life

>>43878388
Fuck, did he play us? Did the Keeper get us? Is Claire here?

Claire pops over the wall, her massive stone hand poised to strike.

Before either of you can do a thing, it slams straight into the Puppeteer's head.

"The Puppeteer has been slain" The obnoxious arena announcer calls.

"Claire!" You shout. "What the FUCK?"
"Oh, zat wasn't you?" She asks, bringing her hand back for another go. "Second time's ze charm"

She thrusts forward, and you just barely dodge it.

"Fucking shit, Claire" You say. "What the hell is your problem? Do you have any idea what you just did?"
"I removed a pest" She says. "Sorry... I am removing a pest"

She punches again, and again, each time just barely scraping you. Your reflexes are lacking, distracted as you are by your anger.

"What the hell is with you?" You ask. "What happened to wanting to talk?"
"What happened to being finished with Abigail?" She asks, as she strikes again.

>What say?

>>43878529
Abigail isn't fucking crazy nor is she a murderous bitch

>>43878529
>Claire isn't retarded it's not her fauuult!
>Abby is best girl lol it's not a bad choice!

suck it fags

>>43878529
Two words

"Fuck... me"

I knew gettin' with Abby was gonna bite us in the ass...

SHE (OR JULIA) WAS THE ONE WE FELT WATCHING US.

>>43878529
"That was before 'hey its only good luck that my sister wasn't among the slaves killed by the girl i've been crushing on'"

>>43878529
>"It's not my fault she's not crazy."
We're killing her, right?

>>43878529
Abigal doesn't murder people for fun you fucking maniac! Christ you're almost as bad as Harvey, at least he has an excuse, however shit it might be!

Let's just kill Claire. Done with this bullshit tbqh family

>>43878529
It's not my fault you're a psycho

we are going to have to fight now she will probably try and kill Abby.

>>43878659
Sorry waifu fags, she's an unrepentant mass murderer who has only caused us trouble, and has murdered us twice and just damned Safi. She's gotta go.

>>43878701
Wait, wait, wait... when did she kill Safi?

She just killed Puppeteer, bud.

>>43878729
Damned, as in safi could've been saved but then SUDDENLY CLAIRE

>>43878701
I agree though it's going to piss off a lot of people.

>writing

>>43878729
Yes, and the puppeteer just made a deal with us to free safi and the others and kill Harvey if we let him surrender and live

>>43878729
She fucked up something that would have gotten Safi potentially saved.

Well at least we can still talk to Keeper.

>>43878752
Not really. Look at the reactions this vote.

>>43878779
Worse. His backup thinks we killed him. He was talking to us.

Nuts as this may be, you have to admit that resuming the relationship with Abby caused this.

I'm impartial to the waifu stuff, but this could have been avoided.

>>43878773
Well that's what you get when you can't stop sucking face for ten seconds.

>>43878729
She didn't, but the deal with the Puppeteer(if it was genuine) would have freed Safi without us needing to bust our asses. Now we have to kill Harvey ourselves.

Could we still talk it out with the Keeper? I hope she could hear through that door and we won't have to convince her that we didn't kill the Puppeteer.

>>43878823
/tg/ was weak and Claire turned out to be a maniac, not exactly a bad situation. Let's just kill her, man fuuuuuuck

>>43878815
Nah it says who killed who.

>>43878868
We pretty much had her pegged as the psycho slut. The issue is that a few fags with a fetish for french girls made excuses for her left and right.

I hope it was samefagging that saved her rather than the majority being that fucking stupid.

>>43878904
That's on the app, so not until she's back out.

Wait. How the fuck did Claire get up here?

>>43878927
Well also saif was already supposed to like her and doesn't have an IC reason to assume that everyone in the blood moon is someone he already interacts with like the players do

>>43878868
Seriously, though, THIS is why Traitor likes screwing with Saif, and tries to manipulate him: he betrayed a girl he had a burgeoning relationship with for a 'physical reward' from Abby; Traitor manipulates him by taking advantage of this weakness. It's just a matter of time, in her mind.

>>43878977
This

>>43878979
Fuck Traits, we'll never fall for her bullshit.

After the initial rage, I'm reconsidering. We should totally book it and go to the others. Because if Claire's here then I'm assuming the Butcher is close behind and not even 2 lives will save us from a 1v2 like that.

>>43879022
Running back to the others only makes them targets we should draw them away.

>>43879022
We can't risk leading them back to the others. We can handle Claire. The others can 3v1 butcher if she attacks them.

>>43879094
Safi could probably handle Clair if she was careful, shit I'm not even sure we can.

>>43879115
Just imagine Phase 2

You freeze up. You really don't have a good explanation for this.

Yes, you told her that you were done with Abigail. You had a good night that night, until everything went wrong the next day.

You learned the truth about Safi, Yui died, Miles and Mila died. You needed comfort, Abigail needed comfort, so you found it in each other.

"I was" You say, "Until you killed her friends"
"So what?" She asks. "Zey were here, and zey attacked first"

"So you just killed them?" You ask.
"Are we living in ze same world?" She asks. "Do you somehow magically expect to leave zis arena wizout anyone dying?"

"I did" You say. "Until Monday, when Yui died"
"Sorry for your losses" She says.

Something about her apology strikes you as odd... losses. Plural.

You turn back to where you left the others. You didn't notice the bad feeling you've been getting from Safi. She's in danger.

Claire seizes your lapse in concentration and leaps at you.

>Ignore her and get back to the others

>Take her on

>Tell her about Jessica

>Other

>>43879132
Isn't claire like 90% 'no that's just how fucking bullshit claire is'

>>43879154
>>Tell her about Jessica
>Take her on

She's a muscle mage; she can follow us down.

>>43879154
>>Tell her about Jessica
If Safi dies here I'm calling bullshit, no way butcher can 3v1

>>43879171
Just like her sudden appearance.....

>>43879154
>Tell her about Jessica
Then
>Get back to the others

>>43879154
>Tell her about Jessica

>>43879154
Oh come on that's not how any of us actually put it. Nobody mentioned mila and milo.

>>43879154
>Tell her about Jessica
>Take her on
Just do whatever we can to stall. We should be fine if she's alone. Hopefully the arena will end before Butcher gets here. We can run once she comes.

>>43879261
Remember: there's how anons put something, and how Saif puts something.

Anons can pull Saif in certain directions, but, at the end of the day, they are not the character.

>>43879325
Yeah but that's not even a difference in how it gets put. "Its about how your actions affected individuals" and "its about you, generally" are different fucking reasons.

>writing

You twirl aside, deftly evading her strike. Whatever it is that she's throwing at your friends, it won't be enough.

"And another thing" You say. "I was in the middle of making a deal with that guy. In return for allowing him to surrender safely, he was going to shut down Harvey's operation and set my sister free"

"And you believed him?" He asks.
"His solution was better than yours" You say. "Now what was that again... oh right! Kill everyone, including me"

"You were weak" She says.
"Was Jess weak?" You ask. "What about her friends? She's in danger, by the way. Right now, outside"

That seems to stir a reaction from her, but she stays serious. "It's the rule 'ere" She says. "You 'ave to be strong"

You take up your stance. "Let's test that then, shall we?" You ask.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>43879683
Blitzkrieg!

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>43879683

Rolled 7 (1d20)

HACK AND SLASH

File: Exactly.jpg (113 KB, 859x679)

113 KB JPG

>>43879706
>>43879723
>>43879734
Oh, baby...

40 on the fuckin' dot.

>>43879683
She's still a cunt.

>>43879797
I know she's batshit crazy, but we poked the lion. Abigail wasn't the wrong choice, but focusing on saving Safi first was the best option.

>>43879860
Strewth. If Saif had just kept it in his pants for a few days, we'd have had this in the bag.

>writing

>>43879946
I feel a bit bad about the hostility a lot of anon's feel and I'm not saying it's unwarranted, but I wanted to pick Abigail eventual while still helping Clare somehow.

I'm not saying it's not her fault but we know her parents did something to her magically and I think Saif would have wanted to help her if he could. S'magic bro shit's possible.

>>43880078
I feel the same. A lot of anons seem to forget that she didn't CHOOSE to become this.

>>43880078
>>43880182
Nice try, clairefags, let's not forget she murdered dozens of people and enjoyed doing it.

Abigail is a nonentity

You enter fast time as she sweeps her stone arm across to slam you from the side. You duck under it, go back into real time, strengthen your arm, and slam it into her stomach.

Then you go back into fast time to get away before she can counter, but Claire stumbles and clutches her stomach.

"Zat was harder zan usual" She says.
"Well, I've leveled up a bit" You say.
"Do you sink zis is a game?" She asks.
"No" You say. "Do you?"

"Of course not" She says. "Why would you ask zat?"
"Because I'm not the one who treats it like a game" You say. "This is not a game. It's as far from a game as you can possibly get. The people here all have lives. They all die when you kill them. Yet you're the one who doesn't seem particularly bothered by that"

"We're all 'ere for a rea-"
"I've heard that excuse. It's weaker than you are" You say.
"What did you just call me?" She asks.

"Wea-"

You just barely dodge her fist.

"Don't you DARE" She screams. "You 'ave no idea 'ow hard I work to become what I am!"

You try to retort, but before you can speak you're forced to deflect a thrown golem. And then another.

As you deflect a third golem, the first is on its feet. You throw it over the edge, as golems 1 and 2 both jump on you... along with their creator...

>[1/2]

>>43880224
Jessica is my waifu and
>I'm not saying it's not her fault
Never said she isn't accountable for what she did. But we handled this like retards and you're spiteful that it blew up in our face. What the fuck did you think was going to happen?

>>43880358
>Jessica is my waifu
Good taste

>>43880415
Boss is my waifu

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24 KB JPG

>>43880321
>They all die when you kill them.
>Quest about magic death tournament

I see what you did there

>>43880474
Best taste.

Your left arm is broken, your chest hurts, and you can only see out of one eye. But you're alive.

Claire is putting up one hell of a fight. Every Golem you destroy or throw off the edge, she replaces.

You can take her in a 1v1 fight, but she's been keeping it to 1v4.

"You're looking tired" She says.
"It's been a long day" You say.

Claire and her golems circle you like vultures.

"If you don't start taking this seriously, not even 2 lives will save you" She says.
"I am taking this seriously" You say.
"Zen zis is all you 'ave?" She asks, as she reaches down to scoop up another golem. "Pity"

You enter fast time. Not to attack or defend, but to think.

You've been fighting with nothing but your fists. You could do much more than this, but all of your other options are good for one thing: killing.

So you stop to think, and ponder a troubling question: Can you kill Claire in order to save yourself.

It should be easy. She's a murderer. She's nuts. She's killed you several times.

But on the other hand, she is Claire. The girl whose smile would brighten your day no matter how down you felt. The girl who skipped around the museum, full of wonder at the massive skeletons there.

Behind all of the crazy, you want to believe that girl exists.

Despite that, can you kill her?

>Yes

>No

>>43880593
>No

I don't believe Saif would.

>>43880593
>Yes

She's killed before, she gets off on killing people especially us, and if we don't she'll kill everyone we care about (Abby, Dadi, Boss). We can't let that happen

>>43880593
>>Yes

>>43880593
No.

>>43880593
>Don't want to, would rather her just surrender and move with her life, but Safi's safety is more important and she is already jeopardizing that now by having Julia fight the others so...
>Yes

>>43880593
>No

>>43880593
>>Yes
if we don't then she will kill us and move on to the rest

>>43880593
>No

There's something under the surface.

Ok there are most definitely samefags voting right now

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>43880593
>Let lady luck decide

>1: YES

>2: No

It really is a toss up between morality, family and survival. We will burn our chance of being a normal functional person if we do this, but we would do it for safi boss and yui.

>>43880593
>No
We can still beat her ass down, but we can attempt redemption.

>>43880593
>No
>Yes, if she tries to kill our loved ones

>>43880593
>No

I still think that somehow we can still save Claire.

>>43880744
For example see:
>>43880832
>>43880773
>>43880719

>>43880593
>No
''I'm not going to fight you at my max, Claire. This being a game or not, about strength or not, I'm not going to even risk killing you. If you do kill me, you can do it knowing I didn't even try my best.''

File: 5216407+_87ecdcc5287a1d0e(...).jpg (68 KB, 450x632)

68 KB JPG

Yeah, I probably should've done this in the first place...

But it's final destination time!

1=yes
2=no

Your post must link to this one, and contain nothing but the number. No ">"s, no reasoning. Just the number.

Starting now, ending in 5 minutes

>>43880910
Oooo, playing the ego, eh?

>>43880941
1

>>43880941
1

>>43880941
2

>>43880941
2

>>43880941
>No

Smiley, you said you wouldn't do FD after the DW shitstorm, damn it.

>>43880941
>1

>>43881026
Forgot my number
2

>>43881026
Calm down, son

>>43880941
2

>>43881026
>>43881045
>>43881060
>Being this stupid

>>43880941
2

>>43880941
1

>>43881065
I'm calm, dude, I'm just stating a fact.

>>43880941
2

Woop, lost track of time there.

Voting closed.

>writing

>>43881088
>Being this stupid

>>43881163
Here comes to choo choo train, chugga chugga chugga chugga
>No ">"s, no reasoning. Just the number.

No.

You know that it puts you at a disadvantage. But you can't do it.

You stand tall, and accept this weakness. You know that it'll cost you, but sometimes there are lines that you shouldn't cross.

You re-enter real time, and begin trying to heal your surface wounds. You start with your eye, as you dodge the golem she throws.

You roll back and grab the golem behind you, tossing it over the edge to be with the dozens of other golems that you've thrown down there.

As it falls, your vision returns to the wounded eye. You're considering the fact that you have no idea how to mend a broken arm, when Claire solves that issue by smashing your chest.

Your mask shatters, and you are not dead.

"One down" She says. "Still not going to give your all?"
"No" You say.

That seems to anger her.

"Why not?" She asks.
"I'm not going to kill you Claire" You say.
"Zen you'll die" She says.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take" You reply.

"You're an idiot" She says.
"I know" You say.

Claire and all of her golems begin the assault once more.

>[1/2]

You're at your limit again. There are more Golems here than you care to count.

Claire pulls away from her attack.

"In case you're wondering, the answer is still no" You say, giving your watch a quick check, you see that it hasn't been 10 minutes yet.

"Why not?!" She asks.
"Even if the feeling isn't mutual, I am not going to kill you" You say.

Claire shakes, possibly with rage.

"You sink I need your pity?" She asks.
"It's not pity" You say. "This isn't who you are, and for the sake of both of us, I am not going to kill you"
"You sink you know who I am?" She asks. "You don't know ze first sing about me!"

She strides forward, and lifts you off the ground with her stone arm around your neck.

"You love dinosaurs" You say. "Video games are one of your hobbies, you care very much about Jessic-"

She squeezes, cutting off your airflow.

"Shut up" She says. "Shut up shut up shutupshutupSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!!!!!!"

She squeezes harder, and you start feeling some pops in your neck that make you uncomfortable.

"You don't a damn sing know me! You don't care if I'm 'appy!" She shouts. "You don't even know why I'm 'ere!"

"The Smith has been slain" The announcer calls. "Welcome to Phase 2"

Your eyes go wide, and your neck snaps. But half of your mask reforms, and immediately shatters.

You reappear a short distance away from Claire...

>Go to the others

>Stay here

[It'll take a minute to update the pastebin with the new abilities. Please be patient]

>>43881750
>>Stay here

Oh shit.

>>43881750
Fucking thanks, no voters, Boss is dead. And killing Claire may have spooked Butcher enough for us to get an advantage. Long story short our badass dad just died because of waifufags.

>>43881750
>>Go to the others
Fuck we wasted time here and boss is dead, fuck that shit

>>43881813
Nah I really doubt that. Boss is dead because we stuck around in the first place, which to be entirely honest I'm pretty sure was mostly on the merit of "we're better equipped to not die fighting claire than everyone else."

>>43881750
>>Go to the others
we should have killed her, now we kill julia unless you guys are going to "redeem" her as well.

Boss is dead. We're down an ally, down a father, and because waifus we now still have two crazy bitches against us as well as Harvey.

>>43881818
Claire being down there would have gotten more of them killed.

Remember: there are monsters in here, not just Julia.

>>43881846
You're probably right. It does mean that what coulve been an even trade is now us just getting fucked though. Also how the fuck did Julia win a 3v1?

>>43881893
I really wanna know that too, I have a sinking suspicion that despite all logic someone was going to die. Muh drama etc etc

>>43881893
1. There are more things than Julia in the maze.
2. Taking out one dude isn't winning 3v1.

>>43881893
That's a good point. How did she win? Boss has more experience, Safi is far more powerful, and Abigail is just there

>>43881893
Because Quest: Blood Moon is "didn't do everything perfectly? Fuck you!"

>>43881944
Because in this quest having faith in three incredibly competent people is a bad thing

>writing

>pastebin updated

Man MOST things are ridiculous OP in the hands of a time mage but I gotta say the butcher's cleaver in the hands of a time mage would be Ridiculously OP even by the standards of Ridiculously OP things.

Julia's thing is 'Body Reinforcement', which, I'm guessing, means she can becoming strong, fast, and tough, but stay sane.

Maybe she can't go as far as Claire, but, as was said earlier, a strong enough muscle mage can take down the higher affinities.

As much as you'd love to continue this little chat, if Boss is dead then the others are in deep shit.

Without a word to Claire, you turn, enter fast time, and run like hell.

You find them backed up into a dead end. You had assumed that Julia would be the only threat, but she's nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a double threat of the labyrinth's monsters and Claire's golems. You don't have time to question where they came from. You have to help them.

You jump down, staggering yourself in slow time so you aren't falling fast enough to kill you, and land sword first onto the back of an advancing monster.

You roll to the side as Safi lances the crowd with a beam of light, and get back up to slash away another beast.

"Saif, Your d-" Abigail starts.
"Save it" You say, readying yourself again.

There isn't time to talk now, and it's unlikely that you'll get it later if your head isn't in this.

If Claire decides to chase you, which she probably will, then you haven't got much time to deal with these... and there is a hell of a lot of them.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>43882238

>>43882238
How do they ever end up backed into a dead end when safi can cannonball.

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>43882238

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>43882238
Lets go 20!

>>43882286
Muh drama anon, muh drama


>>43882299
nope, hahahahaha

>>43882299
You faggot...

>>43882299
Close enough!

>>43882281
>>43882298
>>43882299

32 ain't bad.

Thank god for no crits.

>>43882325
>Muh drama anon, muh drama
But why does if have to be NONSENSICAL drama?

>>43882371
I'm guessing Smiley just didn't embellish enough.

>>43882371
Because Smiley wanted to push the plot to phase 2, so he did so by killing off boss. Which he won't explain to us.

Sorry if I sound salty, but I kinda am

>>43882418
No I get that, but seriously surely he could have come up with a less silly scenario to kill off boss in.

>writing

>>43882418
Just like when dealing with Yui...Still hurt

Guys, guys. We need to ally with muse and judge. Judge's bullet would fucking instakill Claire or Harvey.

>>43882459
I almost dropped the quest because of that. It just hurt so much when it happened

>>43882445
>>43882459
He couldn't be assed to probably, he just decided to off the one that the players wouldn't freak out about.

>>43882491
Hm...True,true
This IS a deathmatch after all

>>43882479
At this rate everyone we love is gonna die, and we are gonna need to be really fuckin clever with the wish to make it a little less bittersweet.

Smiley said from day 1 that people would die.

>>43882538
What if we wished the blood moon never existed?

>>43882538
Fuck that. Gonna vote for YOLO TIME TRAVEL

>>43882558
Yeah but they've never been so blatantly "someone dies because that's the proper dramatic beat" before.

>>43882560
Then Kyla would never had been born.

>>43882560
Then Kyla would never have become a god. We'd never have enterred the arena. Therefore we'd never have wished for the blood moon to not exist. Paradox, mate.

>>43882558
It was pretty obvious it was just to go to phase 2 anon. I wouldn't complain otherwise, also it doesn't make a lot of sense.

>>43882579
See, I think that everyone here is going to die, but he affects the how, why, where, and when.

His name says it all: Saif; he's the only one who'll survive.

>>43882599
Probably would get the fools attention if nothing else

>>43882583
>>43882599
Even without that we'd butterfly out of existence and besides, most of the potential beneficiaries would be dead by now anyway

>>43882560
If it reverses everything, that means I have my answer.

You slash across the horde in a deadly horizontal arc, as your other hand goes back to the Archive. You pull out an automatic shotgun this time. It has a barrel magazine, and you remember Jess telling you that it could be fired with one hand...

Well, here goes.

You open up into the crowd. The rounds don't really affect the golems, but they pretty much shred the monsters.

With the addition of your own strength to the fighting force, the three of you are able to push back and eventually defeat the oncoming horde.

Abigail collapses as you hack down the last of them, her breath heavy and short.

"I can't..." She says. "I've got nothing left. There's no way I can fight anymore"
"I'm running short too" Safi says.

"What the hell happened here?" You ask.
Abigail is breathing too hard to speak, so Safi does the talking. "It was the golems" She says. "They came first, and they lead the monsters to us in droves"

"How did Boss-"
"Your dad... we... we were retreating" Safi says. "Someone put bombs on the walls. They went off, and he was fine... but then Julia-"
"Julia killed him" You say.

Safi nods, and helps Abigail to her feet.

"We tried to go after her, but we couldn't handle all of them with just the two of us" She says. "Saif... I'm so sorry"
"Don't worry about it" You say. "Right now we need to-"

>Move

>Dig in

>Get to higher ground

>Other

>>43882670
I've got half a mind that the fool might have gotten curious about what happened before the start of the universe and time traveled back to check.

>>43882686
Wait, what if the fool is the sun?

>>43882685
Well we've got the ridiculous mana reserves and can pass it around with makeouts... Sorry safi this is gonna be kind of awkward

>>43882685
>"Someone put bombs on the walls. They went off, and he was fine... but then Julia-"
>"Julia killed him" You say.

Seriously, bombs in the wall....

>>43882741
Saif ain't the only one that can bring shit in, and Spy killed a top tier pyromancer via revolver.

>>43882809
Ain't just that, but Julia killing him is also weird, he was wearing armor or something similar across his body. She can't cut that

>>43882685
>Move

>>43882685
>>Move
forgot to vote, to busy bitching, sorry boss

>>43882685
>>Move
>>Dig in

Dammit, I'm torn...

On the one hand, staying put could help them catch their breath.

On the other, staying on the move could avoid trouble.

Still, not sure if they're in the right state to be runnin' around.

>>43882855
Stab to the head?

>writing

>>43882855
All Julia needs is a break in the armor. The lightest touch from the cleaver chops off whatever body part it hits, just like when she took your arm off through the chain.

>>43882855
Either the bomb blasted something off, or she went for an exposed area, like the neck.

>>43882901
>>43882915
True enough, I'm just whining at this point, y'all can ignore me.

I just liked boss...

>>43882930
A lot of us loved Boss, I'm sure.

I certainly did.

"We need to move" You say.
"I need to rest, Saif" Abigail says. "I've got no energy left"

You pull her in to a hug, reluctant to show too much affection after your conversation with Claire. You link your pathways with hers, and transfer some of your mana.

"How about now?" You ask.
She looks relieved. "I should be good now" She says.
"Good" You say. "Let's go"

You check your watch, and your mask. It's regenerated now. Instead of being black with white crescent eyes and a white crescent smile, it's been split in two. The right half looks the same as it did before, while the left half has been inverted.

There's still about half an hour left to go in this Arena. By now whatever is happening in the warehouse has probably been resolved, for better or for worse. You'll need to save some strength for when you get out. Depending on how things went, you may be exiting into a very hostile environment...

"Thinking about the outside?" Safi asks.
"Yeah" You say.
"Abigail brought me up to speed" She says.
"You told her about the warehouse?" You ask.
"I knew about the warehouse" Safi says. "It's Harvey's men who are there, and Dwight"

"Why'd he send Dwight?" You ask.
"As a precaution" She says. "In case there was a champion there that he didn't know about"
"You know how many he sent?" You ask.
"Probably too many" She says.

>[1/2]

>>43883118
>"I knew about the warehouse" Safi says. "It's Harvey's men who are there, and Dwight"
>"Why'd he send Dwight?" You ask.
>"As a precaution" She says. "In case there was a champion there that he didn't know about"
>"You know how many he sent?" You ask.
>"Probably too many" She says.

Oh shit...

"The Builder has been slain" It says.

The announcement is met with silence.

"You don't think she..." Abigail says.
"I do" You say, squeezing your eyes to hold back the tears.

Boss's death you could handle. It was one death. You could push back your emotions, and leave your tears for another time.

Now both Jessica and Dwight are gone. Along with Moriarty.

You decide to sit down against the wall.

"Think she what?" Safi asks. "What happened?"
"Jess had the warehouse rigged to blow" You say.
"And she-"
"She blew it" You say.

"The Guardian is no more" The announcer calls again.

You shoot to your feet.

"No" You say. "No... Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means!"
"What does it mean?" Safi asks.

"Kyla was there too" You say.
"But Kyla is a goddess" Abigail says. "She's immortal isn't she?"
"She was weakened, short on mana" You say. "As it was, she damn near disappeared entirely"

"Does this mean she's-"

"Due to abnormal circumstances, the Arena will be closing early" The announcer calls.

"What?" You ask.

The labyrinth dissolves, and it's replaced with fire.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>43883306

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>43883306
W-what? the actual fuck

Please...

Not the kitty...

I'm done

Someone else role

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>43883306
Ded

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>43883306
welp, unless something changes, theres little point in continuing.

>writing

>>43883327
>>43883352
>>43883423

>32
Let's hope it means somethin'

>>43883424
Well now there's REALLY no reason not to wish for time travel

>>43883567
For serious.

Holy damn...

The heat hits you like a truck, but you stay focused. In the flames you can just barely make out Abigail's form.

So you run to her, ignoring the flames that lick your body as you go. You pick her up and make a mad dash for the outside, as there are no more doors or walls.

Once you're past the flames, you're pleased to find that it's raining. The rain has soaked the ground, so you drop Abigail into a puddle before rolling into one yourself.

When your clothes are no longer burning, you lay on the ground, letting the rain bear down on you. You have no more energy, no more drive.

Abigail grunts as she sits up. "Oww... fuck" She says. "Saif, are you alright?"
"No" You say.

She crawls over to you. "Look, I know it's a lot to take but we have to go" She says.

You chuckle. "What's the fuckin' point?" You ask. "Kyla's dead, and everyone who's wanted me gone now has what they want"
"That's..." She says.

You laugh a little harder. "Haaaappy fuckin' birthday to me, right?" You ask. "My present? Everything I've been fighting going down the FUCKING TOILET"
"That's not true... you still-"
"It's over, Abby" You say. "Game fucking over. They win. Welcome to the Golden Age"

"You can still fight" She says.
"For what?" You ask.
"For her" She says.

"Meee"

>[1/2]

I wonder how hard it is for Smiley to hold back the apologies. His Canadian nature must be screaming at him right now.

Still got to safe Safi. Only thing we can do.

>>43883770
Never letting Abigail in there again either, fuuuuck this

Your eyes shoot open, and you whip your head to the side. Your eyes met by the tiny blue eyes of a very wet kitten.

You sit up slowly, blinking off the shock.

"M-mori?" You ask, your voice barely a whisper.
"Mew" He replies.

You reach over with shaking hands and pick him up, holding him close to your chest.

Abigail's right.

Now is not the time to lose hope. If anything, now is the time to fight even harder.

You turn back to see Abigail standing, with her hand extended to you.

"Come on... let's go home" She says.

You take her hand and stand up, your determination having been crushed and renewed all at once.

"Yeah" You say, accepting her hand and getting to your feet.

Now is not the time to give up.

You have to live. You have to fight.

You have to win.

>>43883798
Unless we're done by next Sunday (admittedly possible) she'll have to go I'm eventually. Oh and we should PROBABLY check on Jessica's daughter because I wouldn't put it past Harvey to grab her as a potential slave.

That was a thing. I think Abi should surrender and then stay home with her family until all this ends. She'll be safe with them.

That's all for tonight!

This thread was an interesting one, to say the least.

Next thread may be tomorrow, depending on how things go.

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time.

>>43883870
>"M-mori?" You ask, your voice barely a whisper.
>"Mew" He replies.

THANK FUCKING GOD

>>43883913
Re-stating >>43883703


Also fuck boss, I need a drink

>>43883913
every passing thread my murderboner for harvey grows only stronger

>>43883913
So, Smiley, even if Kyla's gone, her Champ stays in the game?

>>43883924
I regret nothing.

>>43883965
You'll see. Things are about to get interesting.

>>43883913
Wait, what about Jessica's daughter?

>>43883982
You can only lie to yourself for so long boss, the sorrys will flow.

Also, I really want you to run that light-hearted quest now, like right now

>>43883982
You've taken almost everything Saif loves, but, dammit, I want more.

Kudos.

>>43883997
That'll be dealt with next in game day

>>43884025
I'm working on the grown up Selene one-shot for Devil's Whim on the side at the moment.

You want light-hearted? It'll be so sweet you'll get cavities just reading it.

>>43884101
Y-you're actually doing it? Smiley you just made my week!

>>43884101
maximum overhype

Is now a point where people stop caring about "fucked with another champion's family?" Because if he DID grab Jessica's daughter it would be kind of nice to sic everyone on Harvey with "he kidnapped my niece!"

You see guys? We just have to wade through the tragedy and despair, and we get our one-shot!

>>43884239
>>43884278
I'm so happy the pain is almost gone! almost....

>>43884261
Could you imagine what the Judge's Pistol would do to him?