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"This is the place," Theresa says as we stop at the main entrance of a skyscraper. "The owner of this building got a calling card from Faceless the other day that he'll be showing up today."
"Hm."

Craning my neck, I look up at the massive skyscraper. From where we're standing, I can't even see the top floor... but there's no doubt that this place is even larger than Charlotte's hotel.

"Whoops," Theresa blurts out as she pulls us away from the door. "We need to keep clear of the doors until the timing's right."


>so we're on camera now?
>how are we supposed to get in?
>how'd you even find about all this?
>just leave it to the theresa, she knows what she's doing
>[OTHER]

>>45806211
>how are we supposed to get in?
>how'd you even find about all this?

>>45806211
>>just leave it to the theresa, she knows what she's doing

>>45806211
>just leave it to the theresa, she knows what she's doing

>>45806211
>>just leave it to the theresa, she knows what she's doing
She's the pro at breaking and entering with her power.

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>writing

>>45806211
>just leave it to the theresa, she knows what she's doing
Oh man, I'm late and I have to leave immediately. What a terrible day.

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>>45806192
>Faceless said that he's gonna target some fancy sculpture of a turtle that's made of hold and platinum and rubies and shit,
>made of hold and platinum and
>hold

>>45807740
Stop bullying turtle, anon!

>>45807272
I want to pounce on the Suika and molest her.

>>45807779
You'll just gore yourself on the antlers.

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>>45807770
oystere

>>45807740
Bad anon

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Even though I'm standing here right in front of the place, I still have no real idea what the hell's going on. But even though I'm sorely tempted to grill Theresa about every last detail of our invasion plans, she's the expert here so I'll just trust her judgement.

"Okay..." Speaking in a low murmur, Theresa eyes the door while steadily increasing her grip on my hand. "Almost there..."

Just as I spot a woman in business attire approaching the doors from inside the building, Theresa practically yanks my arm from its socket.

"C'mon, we need to make it in before the door closes!" she calls out while pulling me along.
"Wha!?" I stammer.

Somehow I manage not to to stumble over my own feet and we reach the door just before it closes behind the departing businesswoman.


>[1/?]

>>45808309
>[2/2]

"And that's step one," Theresa says with a smirk as we make our way into the main lobby. Aside from two guys in black suits who look like they're on their way to the elevator, this entire area is pretty much empty.
"So what now?" I ask in a hushed voice.
"Now we just need to make our way to the location of the main event," she replies. "I'm pretty sure it's on the top floor... you up to climbing a bunch of stairs?"


>hell no, let's follow those guys to the elevator
>let's take the elevator after these guys leave
>hooray for cardio?

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>>45808567
>hooray for cardio?
get ready cc

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>>45808567
>>hooray for cardio?
This is it, CC.
This is the day you've been training for.
Show em what you're made of!

>>45808567
>>hell no, let's follow those guys to the elevator

>>45808567
>hooray for cardio?
Queue the montage music

>>45808567
>hooray for cardio?

>>45808567
>Craning my neck, I look up at the massive skyscraper. From where we're standing, I can't even see the top floor... but there's no doubt that this place is even larger than Charlotte's hotel.

>>hell no, let's take the elevator after these guys leave

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>writing

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"Stairs?"

She can't see them behind these stupid goggles but my eyes are bugging out of my head.

"Yeah, they're right over there," Theresa replies, pointing to an alcove that extends just off this main lobby.
"Hooray for cardio..." I mumble as I imagine the horrors that are sure to be met upon my poor legs.
"I mean I do this all the time but if you don't think you're up to it then that's okay."
"I'll at least give it a shot," I reply, completely dejected.

Besides, I really don't feel comfortable with getting into the same elevator as those two obvious goons over there and it'd probably be really suspicious if a seemingly empty one arrived at the floor where a burglary is supposed to be taking place.

I guess I'm not going to get to skip the day's legmurder after all.


>[1/?]

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>>45809181

Not wanting to waste any more time, we head for the stairwell and begin the long trek upwards. One flight... two flights... it isn't until we hit the fifth that my legs start to feel the strain of all these goddamned STAIRS.

"How many stories is this building again?" I ask, ever so slightly out of breath.
"Eighteen," Theresa replies.
"One more than the hotel..." I groan.
"We can take a little break if you want," she says. "I know this is a lot for you."
"It's a lot for -anyone-," I mutter under my breath.


>[2/3]

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>>45809541
>[3/3]

Just as the urge to bemoan this current situation begins to really well up from within me, we're both put on full alert by the sudden sound of a door opening.

"Shit," Theresa growls. "Quick, hug the wall."
"Got it."

Seconds later, five men in black suits similar to the guys who we saw when we first snuck in here file into the stairwell from a floor above us. They all really seem agitated.


>take this opportunity to catch my breath and eavesdrop
>continue upwards at the first opportunity

>>45809730

>take this opportunity to catch my breath and eavesdrop

>>45809730
>take this opportunity to catch my breath and eavesdrop

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>writing

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C'mon, Cecile. Deep breaths. We're not even halfway up yet, it's way too early to give up!

While I try and recover from the strain of SO MANY STAIRS, I shift my attention to the men who are coming down the stairs. It looks like they're having a conversation about something... maybe I could take this time to indulge in my old pastime of eavesdropping.

"I dunno why the hell anyone'd want to steal that ugly thing," one of the men says. "It looks fuckin' retarded."
"Yeah," another replies, "but even just melting the thing down'd get you a decent amount of cash."
"I guess," he shrugs. "Still seems like an awful amount of trouble to go through for something so stupid. Gauthier said this guy can walk through walls, right? Why's he pulling shit like this instead of just waltzing into bank vaults or something?"
"Probably doin' it for kicks," another says. "You know how those types are."


>[1/?]

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>>45810217
>[2/2]

"I wish the boss would've hired one of them to help us out," a man says as the group passes way too close to us. "That would've made this a lot easier."
"You know he never does anything that makes sense," another groans. "Could've just called the cops instead of having us try and handle this shit without outside help."
"Tell me about it," the man in the lead says with a long sigh of exasperation. "Or at least put all of us in the room where that ugly thing is instead of spreading us through the entire building like this. He KNOWS where the guy's gonna strike so why not just have all of us line up and open fire on him when he shows up?"
"He's probably worried that we'll hit the statue instead," one man laughs.
"So fucking stupid..."

With that, I hear a door opening up and it sounds like at least a few of them leave the stairwell. But from the continued sound of footsteps, it's clear that a few of them are still going down.


>I've recovered enough, let's get going
>try and eavesdrop some more, sound really carries in tight spaces like this.

>>45810340
>try and eavesdrop some more, sound really carries in tight spaces like this

>>45810340
>try and eavesdrop some more, sound really carries in tight spaces like this.

>>45810340
>I've recovered enough, let's get going

>>45810340
>try and eavesdrop some more, sound really carries in tight spaces like this.

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>writing

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"You ready?" Theresa turns to me.
"Wait a minute," I say. "I want to hear what else these guys were talking about."
"If you say so," she shrugs.

I'm going to have to thank Theresa for putting up with my selfishness when this is all over with, I can tell from how tightly she's gripping my hand that she's getting antsy. But at least we're getting some information out of this, right?

"The old man hates Gauthier, right?" a man asks.
"Yeah," another replies. "Why?"
"Well he's the one who gave us all this information on the asshole who started this whole thing, right? Why would he do that for someone who hates him?"
"Probably 'cuz Gauthier's got it in for this 'Faceless' guy. You -did- hear about how his daughters are in town, right?"
"I remember the hot blonde was in the news last month because she got kidnapped or something..."


>[1/?]

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>>45810743
>[2/2]

Crap, I forgot about how they did an article about us on the news. And of COURSE these guys saw it.

"Yeah, well -apparently- she got one of those challenge notices from this thief guy too," the man says. "I guess Gauthier wants us to take care of him before he can get to her."
"Of course he's only helping out because it benefits him..." the other man groans. "It's like he doesn't have an altruistic bone in his body."
"What else is new? You know that everyone who crosses him has a tendency to commit suicide, right?"
"What!?"
"Or for their -friends- to commit suicide... I'd bet you a month's pay that he's one of those Branch people too."
"Man, it's always the fuckheads that get ahead in the world..."

After opening a door, the men continue their conversation. Unfortunately, said conversation moves outside of this stairwell so my eavesdropping comes to a premature end.

"Looks like that's it, huh," Theresa says.
"I guess," I sigh.


>contemplate with the theresa about the stuff we overheard
>forget that for now, let's just head on upstairs

>>45811019
>forget that for now, let's just head on upstairs

There was nothing immediately relevant to the task at hand (Faceless). I'd think we should piece together all the odd pieces of Gauthier after we finish what we came here to do.

>>45811019
>forget that for now, let's just head on upstairs

>>45811019
>forget that for now, let's just head on upstairs

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>writing

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"I guess that's that," I say to Theresa.
"So -now- you're ready?" Theresa asks.
"Yup," I nod.

No sense in wasting time going over the stuff we just overheard, we can always do that some other time. And so, me and Theresa continue our climb up what feels like an infinite staircase.

"Twelve..." I groan as we pass another floor marker.
"C'mon, it's only six floors left," Theresa replies.

All I can do is groan.


>[1/?]

Why exactly was having this thread against your better judgement turtle?

I'll give you that it's not as active as the one from last night, but I take it your hesitance wasn't for a reason as mundane as that.

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>>45811326
>[2/2]


At long last, I have reached it. The eighteenth floor of this stupid Goddamned building. As I step onto the flat landing in front of the stairwell's exit, it's like all the strength in my legs evaporates at once and I fall to my knees.

"Whoa!" Theresa exclaims as she's pulled downwards with me.

But at least I didn't let go of her hand.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Theresa asks. "Maybe we should've taken the elevator after all.
"No," I wheeze, "I just need to take a little breather. That's all."
"You sure?"
"It's not like I have asthma," I reply with painfully dry laughter.

Man... I'd probably be dead right now if not for the (tiny amount of) stamina I built up through jogging with Theresa every morning. But even -with- that, it still takes me a full five minutes before I'm able to stand up properly.

It's clear that I still have a long ways to go.


>we have finally reached the top of the stairs. let us go onwards
>before we move on, let's...

>>45811503
>we have finally reached the top of the stairs. let us go onwards

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>>45811328
>Why exactly was having this thread against your better judgement turtle?
>I'll give you that it's not as active as the one from last night, but I take it your hesitance wasn't for a reason as mundane as that.
Running two nights in a row isn't exactly the best of ideas for me, and I have things that I wanted to take care of in the early afternoon as well. Sleeping in late thanks to questan kind of interferes with that.


>writing

>>45811503
>>we have finally reached the top of the stairs. let us go onwards

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"Sorry for holding you up," I say, finally having caught my breath.
"It's okay," Theresa shakes her head. "I shouldn't have asked you to walk up all those stairs to begin with."

With our apologies out of the way, Theresa we pass through the stairwell's exit and into the main part of this, the highest floor of this stupid building. And like the pro she is, Theresa's even careful enough to manually close the door after us so nobody's able to notice that it was even opened to begin with.

The hallway is filled with suited goons who are patrolling the hallway in pairs while others are posted at every corner. It's kind of tricky to keep from bumping into them thanks to the way they're going around, but somehow we manage. Following the general density of goons to its source, we swerve and hug walls and creep onwards to what looks like a closed office.

"It's probably in there," Theresa says, glancing at me. "This is your deal so I'll let you decide how we do this."


>we've wasted enough time as it is, let's just (carefully) go in
>wait until someone else opens the door and sneak in behind them

>>45811781
>>wait until someone else opens the door and sneak in behind them

>>45811781
>wait until someone else opens the door and sneak in behind them

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>writing

"I guess we ought to wait until someone goes in," I say.
"Got it," Theresa nods.

And so, we flatten against the wall as best we can and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

"They sure are taking their time..." I mumble to myself.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that someone'll come in or out any-"

Theresa is cut off by the sound of men screaming inside the room.

"HEY, WHERE'D BILL GO!?"
"I dunno, he was just h-"
"RICK!!!"


>[1/?]

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>>45812099

Alerted by the screaming, the two guards who were positioned down the hall make a mad dash towards its source. When they throw the door open, me and Theresa hurry in after them... and find four more black-suited goons searching all over the place, all with their weapons drawn.

"Did he show up!?" one of the men who we followed in asks.
"I dunno," a very frightened-looking goon replies, "but Rick AND Bill are gone!"
"What!?"

After looking around, the man's jaw drops when he realizes that his comrade was telling the truth.

"T- the fuck!?" he shouts. "Where'd they go!?"
"I dunno..." the man says, taking a deep breath. "Rick was the first one to notice that Bill was gone and then he disappeared too!"
"Shit," the other goon who we followed growls. "He didn't get the statue, did he?"
"No," another one says, "it's right there."

Right in the middle of the room, in one of those glass cases that you'd expect to see in a museum, is the statue that is apparently Faceless's target. And I have to admit, it's really kind of stupid-looking.


>[2/?]

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>>45812197
>[3/3]

"They said this guy doesn't kill..." one of the goons mutters to himself.
"Then what the hell did he do with Bill and Rick!?" another shouts, clearly on the verge of hysterics. "I thought this was supposed to be some kind of ghost Lupin shit, not a slasher m-"

Before anyone in the room can even react, a pair of arms sprouts out of the wall that he's standing by, wrap around his face and torso, and pull them back through it.


>let's let this play out, it's too dangerous to take action just yet
>we ought to help these guys

>>45812321
>let's let this play out, it's too dangerous to take action just yet

>>45812321
>let's let this play out, it's too dangerous to take action just yet
I really want to take action even though i know it's stupid to.

>>45812321
>we ought to help these guys

Unlike these heartless bastards, I will be the one to vote to save you, nameless goons.

>>45812321
>>let's let this play out, it's too dangerous to take action just yet

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>writing

>>45812376
A true hero

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Oh... oh wow. I hadn't even considered that he could use his Branch like that.

I really want to do something right now to help, but I know it's probably the dumbest thing I could possibly do in this situation. All these guys have guns and we did kind of sneak into the building on top of that so me appearing out of the blue (especially dressed like I'm trying to steal something) is like asking to get shot in the face.

So instead, me and Theresa move well away from the scene of the action and far out of the line of fire. Them not knowing that we're here won't keep us from getting hit in the crossfire, after all.


>[1/?]

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>>45812468

While four of the remaining five goons here proceed to freak out, the one who's managed to maintain his cool lets out a loud whistle that stops the complaints outright.

"Alright, you faggots!" he calls out, "it's clear that this WASN'T a hoax and that we really ARE dealing with one of those Branch fuckers!"
"How the hell're we even supposed to fight this guy!?" one of then cries.
"First off," he replies, "everyone get the hell away from the walls. He already got three of us that way."

All doing as they're told, the surviving men gather in the center of the room where the gaudy statue is.

"Weapons out and if you see a pair of arms where arms shouldn't be then you SHOOT THE FUCK OUT OF THEM!"
"Y- yeah!"

Somehow, this feeble show manages to restore their bravado.


>[2/?]

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>>45812545

The room is painfully silent as the remaining guards do their best impression of The Expendables and pose with their manly handguns in formation around their precious statue. Theresa clearly finds this every bit as amusing as I do and she's doing her best not to start snickering while we stand here off to the side of all of the non-existent "action."

CRASH

In the corner of the room, the sound of some kind of ceramic shattering fills the room.

"HE'S OVER THERE!" one of the men screams. "GET HIM!"
"YEAH!"

Both me and Theresa thank God that that wasn't our hiding place, as it's quickly turned into Swiss cheese thanks to the constant gunfire of the goon squad.

"Did we get him?" one of them calls out.
"I dunno..."

After the ringing in my ears subsides, I also look over at the corner of the room that they just completely destroyed... and then I realize that there are only -four- of them left.

"Clever girl," Theresa laughs.


>[3/?]

>>45812630
Wait until only 1 is left. Start charging our lazor. Get ready for him to waltz right into the room as soon as he is done. Shoot him?

I wish we were Faceless. He knows how to have fun.

>>45812630

"Wh... what the hell!?" the goon squad's apparent leader gasps, realizing his mistake a few seconds after I did. "He got Ralph!"
"Aw shit aw shit aw shit..."

Two of the men begin fidgeting and messing with their guns.

"G- gotta reload befo- AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

First it's two black shoes, then a pair of white slacks... a white dress coat followed by one of those not-tie things, all dropping from the ceiling like Batman if he had ghost powers and even worse fashion sense. And just as that stupid mask comes into sight, both me and Theresa are hit with a sharp Synapse headache.

The men all point their guns towards the ceiling and pull their triggers, but it seems that three of the four used up all their bullets firing at nothing and the one guy whose gun was actually still loaded hits nothing but air. Unimpeded, Faceless drops down towards the ground... reaches out towards two of the men...

...and pushes them through the floor as he lands.

"And then there were two," he says, sounding particularly proud of himself for that lame remark.


>[4/5]

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>>45812712
>[5/5]


Effortlessly, Faceless charges the remaining two goons and kicks their guns out of their hands, rendering them completely helpless. Well I guess they're still huge burly men but I very much doubt that any of them are willing to try to get into a fistfight with him after that little stunt.

"Wh..." one of them chokes out, "...what the hell are you!?"

The masked man lets out a low chuckle as he casually steps towards the witless goon.

"Who am I?" he asks. "Le voleur sans frontières," he says as he removes off his fancy hat and takes a deep bow. "Faceless."


>now is the time to take action
>wait until he gets rid of these last two first

>>45812750
>>now is the time to take action

He's not going to get rid of them. He'll just take the statue and leave and CC will be standing there feeling like a moron.

>>45812750
>now is the time to take action

>>45812750
>Charging my lazor.
This will take a while, so we can do this while we wait for him to get them.

>>45812750
Attack from stealth! Gotta get that sneak attach bonus!

Gotta end the thread here, but it looks like a really good point to do so so I'm not too disappointed there. This thread was pretty fun despite the LONG real-life-related delay early on so I thank you for that.

The next thread will probably be on Sunday night.


and now questions

>>45812863
What is you stance on killing people for (nearly) non-violent crimes?

>>45812874
>What is you stance on killing people for (nearly) non-violent crimes?
Pop pop pop, niggas gon' drop.
My bike was stolen once and I only wished for the thief's legs to be broken as opposed to a painful death, so something along those lines?


And now I sleep. Thanks for playing!

For further questioning:
http://maouzenigame.tumblr.com/

Game production blog:
https://studioarchelon.wordpress.com/

>>45812956
Arch confirmed psychopath

>>45812956
Thanks for writing.

>>45812956
>tfw sleep through the whole thing
Thanks for running arch