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Okay. You can do this. You're only being forced to use your psychic powers, which you hardly understand yourself, under pressure. Or should you use anomalous instead of psychic? Is there a difference-

You swear you heard a footstep approaching you. You don't got time to dick around. Okay. Deep breath. With swift, precise motions you pull out the CACHE MAP and DAMAGED MAP from your inventory. Focus. You just need a way to see through the smoke. You spread them across the floor while scanning through them. How different is this building compared to the ones here, right?

Sparks of multi-colored light fly from the corners of your eyes as you try to strain your brain to see past the fog. Shit, this isn't working. This isn't working. You're only straining your head. You need something to push you over the edge. You don't want to do this but fuck it! With a bit of telekinetic help, you toss an UNMARKED VIAL into your hand and down it in one go.

It's thick, mushy, reminds you of curled milk that's been out in the sun for too long. As you force the liquid down your throat, it burns your tongue and throat and for a moment, you swear your teeth were going to melt if you didn't swallow it as quickly as you did.

You cough blood onto the floor below. FUCK. Yet as quickly as you did that, you feel your mouth patch itself up.
>-1 MAX FLESH UNTIL YOU REST OR UVX REGENERATES IT. FLESH DAMAGE NEGATED BY REGENERATION

Your head immediately explodes into the worst cluster headache you've ever experienced. Your body gives up on you as you send yourself reeling to the floor, a thick foam tinted green from the A-Energy in the vial oozing out of your mouth. It hurts to even think, let alone do anything else.
>-1 RESTRAINT, -1 COGIZANCE AND -1 MAX RESTRAINT UNTIL YOU REST or UVX REGENERATES THE LOSTSTATS

Through sheer force of will, you force yourself into a crawling position to be able to read the maps. Then it clicks almost immediately. Through pain, it all makes sense now. Your vision twists on itself as you see...something you didn't quite expect. It's hard to explain even to yourself.

Around you, the layout of the room is laid out in a bright yellow hue that's visible even through the haze. Everything inside of the room is clear as day to you. The room you're in is small, cramped, probably only enough to hold the three people inside comfortably.

There's a desk to the north of you, a chair a few feet away from that, two shelves with lit incense candles on them, and the padded section of floor you're on. It's all highlighted in this weird yellow hue that makes it impossible to NOT notice these nearby objects.

That and you notice that there's a hidden safe underneath the padded section of floor. Somehow, a whisper in your mind tells you the code to it and that there's a non-lethal sensor installed. You lift up the padded mat you're sitting on and with some quick hand movements, you pry the safe open and pull what's inside of it.

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A slip of paper reading "EX".

You pocket it for now, noticing a beep coming from the desk. Interesting. The room can't be any bigger than 130 square feet so it's clear he can't be THAT hidden in here. Now, you can only see the layout of the room but there's only two hiding spots you can see. Behind the desk and behind one of the shelves.

You doubt he's at the desk so, picking randomly, you decide to go with the right shelf. Right is right.

You lunge forward with vicious intent. As you do so, you swear you saw the smoke in the room swirling around your arm as you did so, clearing your vision just enough to see the shocked look on Sebastian's face. For a moment, your vision shifts. You see...yourself, foam still dripping from your mouth and a crazed smile on your face. Lunging towards you. You can see the shocked look on your face as you process this vision, are you seeing through his eyes-

Before you have time to process it, your vision clears as you grab him by the collar and pull him over with your MECHANICAL ARMSLEEVE improved grip. The smoke clears the moment you do so.

"H-huh." <"My head feels funny. I swore I was...lunging at myself? How does that work?> he's clearly shaken by whatever you just did. The two of you just stare awkwardly at each other while Kiara stops mid-repair. She seems to be doing better, at least.
>KIARA FLESH: 2/3!

You take a moment to process what just happened. Huh. You look over at Kiara and with some effort, you focus...and for a moment, you see yourself and Sebastian standing nearby one of the nearby shelves. Your vision is tinted with a weird light cyan hue to it, like you're looking through a security camera instead of human eyes. Then your vision returns back to normal.

The awkward silence lingers as everyone in the room stares at everyone else. You pull out the slip of paper and hand it to Sebastian. He takes it.

ONE MAIN POWER AND ONE SIDEPOWER UNLOCKED!
>WHISPERS OF THE CITY (FREE/1): The City whispers to you and you shall listen to it. You will passively gain more loot when exploring abandoned buildings or when searching through your supply cache. You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to gain the layout of the room you're currently in and a rough layout of the adjacent rooms. Most safes, passages, or other hidden knickknacks in the room will be revealed to you and you'll get a +2d6 COGNIZANCE modifier to figuring out how to open them.
>SIGHTJACKING (MIND READ SIDEPOWER, 1 RESTRAINT): For 1 RESTRAINT, you may attempt a DC 18 (modified by target's mental resistance) WILLPOWER check to temporarily see through the eyes of another person within a small radius around you. In addition to seeing what they're going and doing, you'll get a solid glimpse at their inventory and what special abilities they have.
>TELEKINESIS, PUPPETEERING, and MIND READ have also been temporarily boosted by UNMARKED VIAL! Those abilities will be listed later.

"Well!" Sebastian claps. "You found me! And the EX paper! N-nice!"

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<"She scares me she fucking scares me let's get her out of her ASAP!"> "L-let's get you through your next course! Where do you want to go next?" There's a palpable buzz of fear and, at the same time, morbid excitement in his voice. Like he's staring not at a human but something exotic, feral. An abnormality even. But you're not an anomaly. You're a human, just like everyone else, right?

[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Then why does no one have your powers? The only things with similar powers are anomalies and that one half corroded anomaly...or PARADIGM user?
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Would it change anything whether you were a human or not? They would still kill you for meddling with their plans.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Should you even care? The City welcomes all. The City NEEDS people and without it, what is she but useless buildings and forgotten stories?
[UNSTABLE] THEY WOULD FEAR US. WE NEED TO BE FEARED. THAT'S HOW WE'RE PROTECTED, NICOLE.

Your legs give out beneath you again. Kiara immediately rushes to pick you up. "Woah, woah, uh." She wipes at the foam still dripping from your mouth. "Yeah! Humans are, uh, weird sometimes right? Haha!" She pats you on the back while forcing you back into a standing position.

"R-right. O-oh, yeah, about the EX papers. For every one you find hidden in the course, y-you get a nice reward at the end! I-Isn't that fun!" He tries to keep his up energetic façade but it's clear he's wary of you now.

What's your second and final course? As you try to think of what to pick, you swear you see a brief vision of your two other allies, the two Company Reps, and Alex stomping over to the building you're in. You imagine that they'll barge in once the second course is underway if you don't delay them
>"MIND INTO REALITY. HOW TO MANIFEST USEFUL MENTAL CONSTRUCTS TO HELP YOU IN THE REAL WORLD!"
>"FOCUS AT ANY COST. HOW TO KEEP A LEVEL HEAD EVEN WHEN REALITY ITSELF FAILS YOU."
>"UNSHACKLING FROM THE PHYSICAL WORLD. HOW TO FLY FREE AND TO HAVE NO BAGGAGE HOLDING YOU DOWN!"
>"MIND OVER BODY. HOW TO POWER THROUGH EVEN THE WORST PHYSICAL ALIMENTS AND PAIN! YOUR BODY IS YOURS TO CONTROL!"

Do you tell Kiara to delay them?
>YES. You rather not horrify them, thanks.
>NO. LET'S SHOW OFF OUR PSIONIC MIGHT TO THEM.

UPGRADED POWER DESCRIPTIONS. ONCE UNMARKED VIAL WEARS OFF, YOU CAN PICK ONE TO KEEP.
>TELEKINESIS: You can now pick up large items (Around the size of a car) with the same ease as other objects. You also roll 2+WILLPOWER+VIOELNCE when throwing objects at people.
>PUPPETEER: You can use your puppeteering to help allies in a snag. You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to give an ally +2d8 to any attack, VIOLENCE, or TALENT roll they make. Can only be used once per check.
>MIND READ: You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to analyze the stats and abilities of an enemy or ally. In addition, your MIND RADAR will be more accurate and detailed about what targets it detects when you use it.

Back to the grind.

>>5944289
>"MIND OVER BODY. HOW TO POWER THROUGH EVEN THE WORST PHYSICAL ALIMENTS AND PAIN! YOUR BODY IS YOURS TO CONTROL!"
This could help us save people or ourselves if we're in deep shit
>NO. LET'S SHOW OFF OUR PSIONIC MIGHT TO THEM.
Duh!

And welcome back QM

>>5944289
>"FOCUS AT ANY COST. HOW TO KEEP A LEVEL HEAD EVEN WHEN REALITY ITSELF FAILS YOU."
>NO. LET'S SHOW OFF OUR PSIONIC MIGHT TO THEM.

>MIND READ: You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to analyze the stats and abilities of an enemy or ally. In addition, your MIND RADAR will be more accurate and detailed about what targets it detects when you use it.

>>5944289
Oh we pick a power to keep too? Sweet
>MIND READ: You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to analyze the stats and abilities of an enemy or ally. In addition, your MIND RADAR will be more accurate and detailed about what targets it detects when you use it.
Our trump card. Only Ashley knows we have it, and maybe Kiara knows about the radar bit but not the mind read

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>>5944322
Eh, I was intending on saving that vote for later but fuck it, yeah. Vote for one of the listed upgrades to keep as well, anyone who votes. You'll have all three boosts applied until the UNMARKED VIAL wears off.

>>5944289
>"FOCUS AT ANY COST. HOW TO KEEP A LEVEL HEAD EVEN WHEN REALITY ITSELF FAILS YOU."
>YES. You rather not horrify them, thanks.
>TELEKINESIS: You can now pick up large items (Around the size of a car) with the same ease as other objects. You also roll 2+WILLPOWER+VIOELNCE when throwing objects at people.

>>5944289
>"FOCUS AT ANY COST. HOW TO KEEP A LEVEL HEAD EVEN WHEN REALITY ITSELF FAILS YOU."

>NO. LET'S SHOW OFF OUR PSIONIC MIGHT TO THEM.

>MIND READ: You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to analyze the stats and abilities of an enemy or ally. In addition, your MIND RADAR will be more accurate and detailed about what targets it detects when you use it.

>>5944368
+1

>>5944289
>"FOCUS AT ANY COST. HOW TO KEEP A LEVEL HEAD EVEN WHEN REALITY ITSELF FAILS YOU."
Useful vs schizovisions?
>YES. You rather not horrify them, thanks.
>TELEKINESIS: You can now pick up large items (Around the size of a car) with the same ease as other objects. You also roll 2+WILLPOWER+VIOELNCE when throwing objects at people.

>>5944436
Change
>>5944289
>"FOCUS AT ANY COST. HOW TO KEEP A LEVEL HEAD EVEN WHEN REALITY ITSELF FAILS YOU."
>YES. You rather not horrify them, thanks.
>TELEKINESIS: You can now pick up large items (Around the size of a car) with the same ease as other objects. You also roll 2+WILLPOWER+VIOELNCE when throwing objects at people.

>>5944289
>"FOCUS AT ANY COST. HOW TO KEEP A LEVEL HEAD EVEN WHEN REALITY ITSELF FAILS YOU."
>YES. You rather not horrify them, thanks.
>MIND READ: You may spend 1 RESTRAINT to analyze the stats and abilities of an enemy or ally. In addition, your MIND RADAR will be more accurate and detailed about what targets it detects when you use it.

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Locking in.

COURSE TO DO:
MIND OVER BODY: IkB
FOCUS: EVERYONE ELSE

DELAY OR NAH?:
YES: QKD, 6Tc, GQc, Cp5, GWO
NO: IkB, ykw

WHAT TO UPGRADE
MIND READ: ykw, ikB, GWO
TELEKINESIS: QKD, GQc, Cp5, 6Tc

So, FOCUS AT ANY COST + DELAY + TELEKINESIS UPGRADE is what wins. Let's see how you handle this course. Writing.

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"Kiara." You force your throat to spit out your android friend's name. "People coming. Don't want to see me like this." A part of you DOES want to show your might off to them but frankly, it looks like you have rabies at the moment. Best to wind down from everything before you talk to them.

Kiara quickly nods her head. After making sure you can stand on your own, she rushes outside of the MENTAL COURSE BUILDING. That should buy you enough time to deal with whatever new powers you get and-

Lord above. Your head is SCREAMING! A pressure is building around the top of your head that, with every passing second, is building up more and more pressure. Feels like at any second, something is going to burst out of your head.
>-1 RESTRAINT, -1 FLESH. UVX AND UNMARKED VIAL ARE INTERACTING IN A WEIRD WAY. SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING TO YOUR BODY.

It takes you a moment to realize that the pain in your leg is gone. Neat. One horrid pain for another. Fair trade you suppose.
>TORN LIGMENT REPAIRED! +1 FLESH!
>FLESH: 3/4. RESTRAINT: 4/8.

"O-okay!" Your hands barely respond to your attempts to move them but you manage to force a clap. "L-let's do the focus on, Mr. Sebastian!" You manage to say that without slurring it so you feel like you achieved something today. Well, you suppose you already did a LOT today, but that's besides the point.

He proceeds to the second door inside the small lobby area you two stumbled out of without saying a single word. Okay. Yeah. You don't blame him. You force yourself to limp after him as you struggle to regain control of your body. He holds the door open and ushers you into the room before closing it behind you.

In stark contrast to the other room, this room is brightly illuminated in the sickly white glow of fluorescent tube lights. The faint buzz coming from them almost brings you some measure of peace from your body trying to handle the A-Energy it had to consume. The only object in the room is a plastic chair that seems remarkably uncomfortable to sit in. At the back, there's a reinforced airlock with a keypad next to it. Sebastian is standing right next to it, waiting for you to sit down.

With no other option, you do. Once you do, Sebastian clears his throat before addressing you with a stern look on his face. "I'll cut the showman act now. We both know that I'm nowhere near your level. Hell, no one here is. This is probably the first time one of our courses has manifested that kind of potential in someone."

"Then why-" You try to speak up but he immediately shushes you with a sharp "SHH!".

"We've done a more successful run of these tests before but it involved a mixture of P-Company, Z-Company, and C-Company chemicals and products to induce. We wanted to see if you could bring out latent potential without those things." He clicks his tongue. "But now? Well, you're a willing test subject. We'll use the data you provide to adjust our course to provide more satisfying results."

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It's like he's a completely different man now. No longer does he yells at the top of his lungs or ramble with an ecstatic, buzzing energy. If it wasn't for the purple robe he was wearing, you would think he was a scientist or researcher. "Are you willing to help us?"

You don't really have an option here. Well, you do, but you DO want to finish the courses and you rather not piss off a military base full of people while you're inside one. You nod. "Yeah. Not like I got a choice."

"Excellent." Sebastian returns an oddly bright smile despite his obvious wariness to you. <"Good. No need for reinforcements."> He taps some sort of code into the keypad. Once the airlock opens, he immediately rushes it and just as quickly as he entered, it shuts close. You're now left alone in a brightly lit, empty room with nothing to do but to try to not pass out from the pain you're feeling.

Huh.

Only now do you realize there's an intercom speaker in one of the corners of the room. "The goal of this course is to find a way to keep your focus, regardless of what happens to you." Sebastian's voice drones out of the speaker. "To aid in this, a hallucinogen will be pumped into this room. I wouldn't bother holding your breath, it soaks into your skin."

[PERSON OF INTEREST] You immediately knock the chair over and move to put on a gas mas-

Before you can even move, your vision fails.

...

...

https://youtu.be/ABCwX_ERUmw - THE PATH

Nicole is on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin, someone is waiting for her. She is here to talk to this person. Her goal is to find out every dirty secret they have. Then she slays them. If she doesn't, she'll die. Simple, right?

"W-wait." Nicole hisses to herself. "Where am I?" She flexes her hands. She doesn't quite know what's going on. For some unexplainable reason, she feels like she's detached from herself. Of course, no one responds to her, since she is alone out here. Not even the thoughts in her head are responding to her.

Of course, it's very obvious where she is. She's in the woods. Where else would she be? She can't quite remember anything BEFORE the woods. All she knows it that her head is oddly quiet.

Now, what does Nicole do?

>Follow the path.
>Disregard the goal and turn around, walking away from the cabin. "I'm not doing this."
>She tries to remember how she got here. (COGNIZANCE DC: 11, rolling 4d6. Pass and she'll get some of her memories back.)
>"Hello? Voices? Where are you?" She tries to bring a voice back. Foolish, really. (WILLPOWER DC: 21, rolling 6d6. Succeed and one of them will return, willing to offer her advice in this weird situation.)
>Sit and wait. There's no real reason to go anywhere, right? Something about that goal she was given sounds fishy.
>She tries to use a power. That's the only thing she has access to right now... (Write in how she wants to use her powers.)
>Write in.

>>5945065
>She tries to remember how she got here. (COGNIZANCE DC: 11, rolling 4d6. Pass and she'll get some of her memories back.)
QM should actually play StS more and finish it properly at least once before reading the certain hit crossover fanfic, then being unable to hold himself back from giving it a spin in his own quest writing.

>>5945065
>"Hello? Voices? Where are you?" She tries to bring a voice back. Foolish, really. (WILLPOWER DC: 21, rolling 6d6. Succeed and one of them will return, willing to offer her advice in this weird situation.)

>>5945065
>Nicole is on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin, someone is waiting for her. She is here to talk to this person. Her goal is to find out every dirty secret they have. Then she slays them. If she doesn't, she'll die. Simple, right?
>"W-wait." Nicole hisses to herself. "Where am I?" She flexes her hands. She doesn't quite know what's going on. For some unexplainable reason, she feels like she's detached from herself. Of course, no one responds to her, since she is alone out here. Not even the thoughts in her head are responding to her.
>Of course, it's very obvious where she is. She's in the woods. Where else would she be? She can't quite remember anything BEFORE the woods. All she knows it that her head is oddly quiet.
>Now, what does Nicole do?

Is that a Slay the Princess reference?

>"Hello? Voices? Where are you?" She tries to bring a voice back. Foolish, really. (WILLPOWER DC: 21, rolling 6d6. Succeed and one of them will return, willing to offer her advice in this weird situation.)

Yeah 100% this is a Slay the Princess reference.

>>5945192
It's because of this masterpiece in progress
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51760693

>>5945065
>"Hello? Voices? Where are you?" She tries to bring a voice back. Foolish, really. (WILLPOWER DC: 21, rolling 6d6. Succeed and one of them will return, willing to offer her advice in this weird situation.)

>>5945065
>>She tries to remember how she got here. (COGNIZANCE DC: 11, rolling 4d6. Pass and she'll get some of her memories back.)

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Aight. Two anons, roll 3d6. If the total of both equals 21, you win. You may reroll two dice rolled (but only once).
Let's see how you do.
>>5945301
I'll be honest, the fanfic was the last thing on my mind when writing the last update. It's a good read but that's besides the point.

Rolled 2, 5, 4 = 11 (3d6)

>>5945647
Good writers recognize good writing. Real recognizes real. What can I say?

Rolled 6, 3, 2 = 11 (3d6)

Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>5945655
>>5945677
22. Barely passes. Rolling to see what voice you'll get, then writing. (Don't worry about it being a 1d3.)

Dice+3d6

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"Hello?" Nicole yells out. She feels like she shouldn't be THIS alone out here. In the woods. Yet that's a silly thing to worry about when there is a MONSTER to SLAY, isn't there? "Voices? I k-know I had them! Where are you?" She continues to yell out. The only noise she hears is the caw of nearby crows and the rustling of small animals through the wildlife-

>22

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Nicole. This isn't real. You're not in the woods. This is some Silver Agent style tomfuckery. Listen to me.

The fuck is a Silver Agent? You can't remember much of anything but you feel like that's important- Wait. You?

Huh? You look around. You're still in the Woods but now, you actually feel like you're...here? Before now, it was like some weird narrator was describing your actions. Best not to dwell on that.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Yeah. I don't like this either. But we're stuck here. Turn around.
[POI] Actually, first, let's condense that name a bit. I'm going to be talking a lot. We'll return back to full length later.

You do so. You notice how there's nothing there. Not in the sense of nothing of interest, it's nothing as in 'there's literally a void about fifteen feet away from where you're standing'. You rather not fuck with a void so you step as far away from it as possible.

"Well shit. What am I supposed to do, then?" You mutter to yourself. No need to hold pretenses when you're by yourself. "C'mon. Talk to me here." You feel silly doing this. You're talking to yourself. In the middle of the Woods.

[POI] We have to go to the cabin it seems. You're not supposed to be here and this place isn't real but we're on a script. I don't like it anymore than you do.

You pinch yourself. It feels real enough to you so you have no idea what the voice is on about but, well, something about what it is saying sounds true. "Then how did I get here?"

[POI] That's the thing. I don't know. Last I remembered, we blacked out and awoke here. Then some annoying narrator started talking. Then you heard me. Now we're here.

"How helpful." You hiss under your breath. With no other option, you head down the path. The cold air at your heels. You notice that you're wearing a bright orange bomber jacket. Weird, you feel like that's familiar for some reason. No time to think about it. You feel like you shouldn't be loitering here.

https://youtu.be/19Ftb8p1l5U - THEIR CABIN

You are now in front of the Cabin. At least you assume it's supposed to be the Cabin. A massive blocky structure made out of twisted metal and wood stands before you. Spiky protrusions leaking a foul, darkly colored slime the walls of it. The top of the cabin seemingly stretches on forever into the sky in a twisting spiral of metal and wood. Every few seconds, the walls of the cabin sink in before pushing back out, as if the cabin was alive and breathing.

No windows show you what's inside of it. The only thing remotely normal about the cabin is the wooden front door.

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It's only now that you realize that everything nearby is soaked in a monochrome hue of greys, blacks, and whites. The only colors that break that is your jacket so far.

[POI] I know who has to be in there. I recognize his presence anywhere. Don't you?

"N-No? Who?"

[POI] Well, he, her. I suppose it depends how you perceive him. We have to talk to them regardless. Carry on.

You take a deep breath. With hesitant steps, you head to the front door of the cabin and throw it open. The inside of the cabin isn't much better than the outside. A thick layer of that same slime coats the walls and floors, preventing you from really making out any details of the room you're in. The only unslimed objects are a table, the door to the basement, and a mirror.

On the table is a pristine...shotgun? It looks more like what a child would draw if you told them to draw a shotgun. Barely looks like it's even real. You grab it anyways. Best not to go down there unarmed.
>PRISTINE SHOTGUN ACQUIRED. Only has one slug in it. Make it count.

Looking at the mirror...you see yourself. Short and messy hair, a wiry frame that's showing some signs of getting thicker with muscle, jeans, leather boots, the bomber jacket, and a pair of pink eyes staring back at a the young woman in the mirror.

[POI] You should have some shades to hide those. Must've not been brought over. Tsk. You have to hide those eyes, Nicole. I don't care how.

"How else am I going to see, jackass?" You hiss.

[POI] Point is, you're still normal looking. You're still yourself. That's good. Keep that image of yourself in the back of your head. Don't forget it.
[POI] You'll need every advantage you can to make it out of here.

Before you have time to respond, the SMELL of the slime around you hits you. It smells like curled milk, moldy fruits and mint in here. Not a good combination of smells. It's starting to seep into your boots and god this is repulsive. You immediately kick open the basement door and head down.

The staircase is slick with even more slime. Every step is like trying to wade through a quagmire. A few clean paths on the stairs tells you that the staircase is supposed to be made out of some kind of strong, reinforced metal.

[POI] If you want some advice, listen to me. Be very careful how you use that shotgun. Once you use it, it's nothing more than a worthless hunk of plastic.
[POI] Make sure you're certain on what target you use it on.

"NICOLE. WELCOME HOME." A booming voice echoes from the bottom. "I WAS BORED OF WAITING HERE."

That voice sounds familiar. You immediately rush down the stairs to see who it is, well, as fast as you can rush down it without breaking your legs. Once you arrive at the bottom, you see that you're in a very small basement made out of the same reinforced metal as the stairs. A thin layer of slime has coated every possible inch of the room.

At the back, a figure is chained to the wall by a thick iron collar around their neck.

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https://youtu.be/TSjmLfdw_qo - THEM

It's you.

Well, not exactly you but it looks close enough to fool anyone at first glance. Young woman, same outfit, same wiry frame. But there's a few things about her that look WRONG.

Her mouth is filled with a set of razor sharp teeth. Her eyes keep darting around, sparkles of bright blues, greens, and pink light flickering in the corner of her eyes. Her clothing is covered in scratches and holes, barely covering up her body. Two weird growths, almost like horns, are spouting from the top of her head.

It's more like staring at an animal in a human body than anything. It's like staring at...Someone UNSTABLE.

"LOOK. NICOLE." UNSTABLE stares back at you with a wicked smirk. "THEY WANT YOU TO KILL ME. ISN'T THAT FUNNY? THEY HAD TO CHAIN ME HERE."

"W-what?" You can't quite process what's going on here. Why is there another version of you chained to the wall? Why does she look like that? Why are you HERE?

"SOMETHING ABOUT ME BEING A THREAT. BUT I'M NOT A THREAT, NICOLE. YOU NEED ME AFTER ALL." UNSTABLE struggles with the chain around her neck. She wants out. Badly. "SO BE A PAL AND BLOW THIS COLLAR OFF. HOW ABOUT THAT?"

[POI] I'm conflicted. On one hand, she is you. And we don't deserve to be trapped. On the other, fucking look at her.
[POI] She's been a threat to everything we've done since you existed. She's the reason they're after us.

"C'MON. I DOUBT WE CAN STAY HERE FOREVER." That smile it gives you is boiling your blood. It shouldn't have your face. "I'VE BEEN WITH YOU SINCE THE START. DON'T YOU OWN ME THIS MUCH? Don't you?" Her voice trails off at the end.

You take a deep breath. Fuck, what do you even do in this situation? You feel like whatever you do to her is important. But only to you, no one else.

>It is you. And you don't deserve to be trapped. Blow the collar off. Free her.
>It is you. But a fake you. A horrible you. Aim your shotgun at her and blow her head off.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Throw your shotgun away. You're going to TALK to her before you THINK about doing anything else. (You may write in any number of questions or statements to say/ask of her.)
>Keep your shotgun close to you but step closer to her. You're not doing anything until you can see you can trust her.
>Throw the shotgun away. Walk to her. Hug her. You don't know but you feel like she deserves it.
>...There may be another option. Raise the shotgun to your own chin. Pull it. See what happens.
>Write in.

>>5945682
To roll dice, you put it into options in the posting box thing. Just to clarify for later.

>>5945717
>Throw the shotgun away. Walk to her. Hug her. You don't know but you feel like she deserves it.
>”You and me have been their for each other this whole time. I am not about to change that”

I’m in the mood to embrace Schizo. Also thanks, next time I’ll do that right.

>>5945717
>Throw the shotgun away. Walk to her. Hug her. You don't know but you feel like she deserves it.
She likely exists because we've had a shit life.

>>5945717
>She's been a threat to everything we've done since you existed. She's the reason they're after us.
Hold the phone. What did she mean by this?
>She is here to talk to this person. Her goal is to find out every dirty secret they have.
But it's herself?
>[UNSTABLE PSYCHE]
>Your mind has cracks in it and it shows. As your Restraint gets lower, your perception of the world starts decaying, the more unstable your abilities will become, and you might just totally lose control over yourself. Try to keep your head on straight.

>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Throw your shotgun away. You're going to TALK to her before you THINK about doing anything else. (You may write in any number of questions or statements to say/ask of her.)
"Was I born like this, or did some gene get switched on somewhere along the way? Or did I become like this from something else one day?"
"The weird anomalous powers I have and whatever you represent in me, they're not the same are they?"
Then backing >>5945731

I wonder how this all began? There has to be some reason since the medication works at all with UNSTABLE. If it were Nicole herself as she is, self-deluded or otherwise, then the medication would accomplish nothing because she's already completely there. What's the goal then? What do we want to do here? UNSTABLE did help out at times, but can also self-sabotage like anybody can do to themselves. If she's a non-foreign part of Nicole that simply behaves like a Disco Elysium voice character, then it stands to reason she can simply reabsorb or balance UNSTABLE out. Becomes less unstable and more stable crazy as needed or wanted. Masks are still part of people. Maybe this is happening because Nicole's still wearing New You, which is a PARADIGM. That combined with the consumed A-Energy vial and lots of power use in a short time, and the hallucinogen gas on top of it all?

>>5945766
Maybe that's why? Maybe UNSTABLE exists because Nicole can't be like that all the time. Because the City sucks, and existing in it also sucks, but people are people and life finds a way.

>>5945767
The only reason I want to go for the hug immediately is because I think that will increase its effects. While pausing and asking questions is more logical, I think that going for acceptance of UNSTABLE right away will have a stronger outcome there. I also think Nicole’s strongest moments are emotive (and schizo).

>>5945717
>>It is you. But a fake you. A horrible you. Aim your shotgun at her and blow her head off.

>>5945863
>Nicole’s strongest moments are emotive (and schizo).
Nicole has NOT had a woman moment yet either

>>5945717
Changing my vote from >>5945767 to backing >>5945731
But I still wanna ask questions after if possible

>>5945731
+1

File: ALLYOUCANOFFER.jpg (113 KB, 770x1077)

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There's silence between the two of you. Neither of are sure what the other is going to do.

The clattering of the cheap, fake shotgun hitting the floor breaks that silence. UNSTABLE tries her best to hide her confused expression. The only sound heard throughout the room is the two of you breathing as you slowly begin to approach her. With every step, you can feel your legs getting heavier and heavier, as if they don't want to get anywhere near this thing.

[POI] What are you doing?

You feel a hand clasp your shoulder. You can see another you in the corner of your eye. Well, the outline of one. More like a blurry shadow than anything. As if it's scared to be seen by anyone. You shove her hand off. You set your mind to this and you'll complete it. At any cost. You don't want anyone to ever stop you. Never again.

[POI] This is a bad idea. Please.

UNSTABLE is hesitating, uncertain if she should even do anything. "UH." She's not sure what you're trying to do here. Another step. You're now only a few inches away from her. Before she even has time to react, you wrap your arms around her and pull her into your embrace.

Something rips through your gut the moment you do so. You look down to see a thick, barbed growth growing out of your stomach. Reminds you of a deer antler. You look up at UNSTABLE to see that she's scared. "H-HANDS OFF! D-DON'T DO TH-"

Your hearing blanks for a moment from the throbbing headache in your head. Two growths erupt out of your head, letting fresh blood dribble down your face. You can't really see anything around you but UNSTABLE anymore. "No. You deserve this. This...hug." You clench your teeth, hissing out every syllable. More and more growths erupt across your body as you hold onto her. Your arms, shoulders, legs, stomach, head, ears, heart, lungs, liver, nerves-

"DON'T YOU DARE TO TRY COMFORT ME! IT'S...It's better that way." Despite all of this pain, you cling onto her like she's the only thing that matters.

"Look. You and me? We've been with each other this whole time." You try your best to put on a confident smile. "I'm not about to change that." Another antler erupts out of your body. Yet you cling on. You know this is the right thing to do.

[POI] LET. GO. NICOLE, SHE ONLY APPEARED WHEN WE HAD POWERS. THEY FOCUSED ON US BECAUSE WE HAD THEM.
[POI] THEY'RE HUNTING DOWN EVEYRONE WE EVER INTERACTED WITH. EVERYONE WE HAVE EVER CARED ABOUT. ALL BECAUSE OF US.
[POI] BECAUSE OF HER, EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO EVEN REMOTELY LIKES US IS BEING WATCHED BY SOME FUCKING SPOOK.
[POI] ARE YOU GOING TO LET YOUR EMOTIONS SHADOW THE REAL DANGER YOU PUT YOURSELF AND EVERYONE ELSE BECAUSE OF HER?

"..." You can't see what expression UNSTABLE is making through the blood constantly flowing over your eyes. All you see is red.

You flinch when you feel the hug being returned. It feels warm. Too warm. Yet at the same time, you wouldn't have it any other way.

File: BLEEDINTHEGUTTER.jpg (25 KB, 770x510)

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"Okay." Her voice still has a trace of that loud, erratic energy to it but most of it has been replaced with something else. When you feel a drop of something warm hit your shoulder, you know it isn't blood this time. It's a tear. "I'll accept your damn hug."

"Thank you."

Your body gives up underneath you. UNSTABLE comes down with you, softening your fall. The two of you are now sprawled on the slime coated floor. Something else bursts out of you. You don't have much time, you think. Yet you're not letting go. You're not.

"...I guess it's better this way. You can't get rid of me. I guess you should know that, at least."

"So what?" You mutter. You can't feel anything anymore. Just the warmth of her hugging you back and the coldness of the air around you. "I said what I said."

"I guess." You feel her shift on the floor, pulling you closer. As if trying to protect you. "We don't have much time. I guess you can ask me something. If you're deadset on this."

"Was I born like this?" You mumble. "This psionic freak? Messed up girl with four voices?"

"Sadly. It was manageable when you were younger. More innocent. But I had to be hidden. Maintained. Chained up. Medicated. I don't think..." UNSTABLE clicks her tongue. "I've ever been hugged before, even. This is new. Weird." UNSTABLE chuckles to herself. "Regardless."

"I'm the thoughts that everyone has in their darkest moments. You just had the poor luck of not being born to a rich Nest. So you couldn't let me free or to find a healthy way to manage my existence. I'm just, well, this. And I doubt I can ever be anything else."

"Will you remember this? If this world vanishes?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"I guess it doesn't matter." You rest your head on her chest. Your body's turning cold. "You're me. I'm you. Nothing is going to change that." Your consciousness begins to blur. "I'm fine with you not changing. Again, we've been together forever, haven't we? Even if I'm all alone, I still have you and the other three, right."

"No matter what you do, I'll be here. Even when you're alone in the dark. You can look to me for guidance."

"Good." Another growth bursts out of you. It's hard to move your mouth anymore. Yet you can still talk just fine. "I'm glad I could talk to you."

"...ME TOO. SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE." She squeezes you with her arms. You hug her as tightly as you can.

[POI] So be it.

"Yeah. See y-" Everything goes dark.

...
...
...

https://youtu.be/n5xQlrouNBU - AWAKE

The first thing you notice upon waking up is two things. One, seven silhouettes are standing around you. Two, FUCK YOUR HEAD HURTS FATHER ABOVE, HOLY SPIRIT, HOLY MOTHER. WHAT THE FUCK. Reaching up to touch your head, you feel something hard? Please don't be bone, please don't-

"Yeah." A tinny, feminine voice speaks up. "You should look at this." A mirror is held up to you.

File: YOURHEADLOOKSWEIRD.png (427 KB, 857x1200)

427 KB PNG

Why are there antlers growing out of your head? You poke at them. Yep. Those aren't your mind playing tricks, those are real. They're small nub-like growths around six inches in length. You pull on one of them- OUCH OKAY THAT HURTS. You pull your hand away.

You slowly stand back up to see who's surrounding you. Your three allies, Alex, Sebastian, and the corporation reps (Quincy and Emily) are all staring at you with a shared look of confusion, concern, and fear. Mostly confusion, if you had to be honest.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Great. Now we're even more identifiable. Glowing eyes is one thing, now deer antlers?
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] To be specific, caribou. The species most adapted to cold environments. Those are the only ones where the females typically get antlers.
[UNSTABLE?] Hey. It looks cool! Fuck off!

"Do I even dare ask what the FUCK happened here?" Alex is staring down at Sebastian like he just walked into him fucking his wife. Sebastian is muttering to himself about 'this wasn't the plan' and 'oh god oh fuck'.

"I. I don't think it was what he did." You try your best to calm the situation down. "It's fine. Trust me. Don't punish him on my behalf." God, your head hurts.

>+1 FLESH. FLESH: 4/4. RESTRAINT: 4/8!
>UVX HAS WORN OFF! NEGATED THE DAMAGE YOU WOULD'VE TAKEN FROM FUCKING ANTLERS SPOUTING OUT OF YOUR HEAD.
>NEW MUTATION: ANTLERS! (+???. You have a feeling it involves your powers somehow?)
>COURSE COMPLETE! +1 MAX RESTRAINT AND WILLPOWER!

>[UNSTABLE PSYCHE] has been replaced with [UNSTABLE RESOLVE], a neutral trait!

[UNSTABLE RESOLVE]
Your mind has cracks in it and it shows. Yet, you won't let that hold you back.
The lower your RESTRAINT is, the more your perception of the world starts to decay and the more unhinged your abilities become. Yet, as your RESTRAINT lowers, UNSTABLE will occasionally temporarily unlock unique skills and abilities to help you out if the situation calls for it.
It will be a balancing act between high RESTRAINT and better self control vs low RESTRAINT but far more powerful abilities.

"Riiight." Alex shakes his head. "If you say so."

"SO. LET'S IGNORE THE DEER IN THE ROOM AND, UH. FUCK." Quincy is clearly trying to recover from something. "HOW EXACTLY SHOULD WE START THIS? WHY WERE WE SEARCHING FOR HER?"

"To ask for her opinion on what proposal we should finalize with? She did complete the courses here, right? Surely her input would be valuable?" Emily chirps out.

[UNSTABLE] LOOK. I THINK IT'S BEST WE GET OUT AND RECOVER. WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT, NICOLE.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Ditto. Let's make this quick.

"Alright, well, hit me with it." You prop up the chair you must've knocked over when the gas hit. You take a seat.

"I leave for one hour and this shit happens." Alexis throws her hands up in the air. "Fuck it! Yeah, okay, this is fine! Let's just get this over with."
Naomi clicks her tongue in mild disappointment. "Calm down. Let's not cause any more trouble than necessary."

"I SAY THAT YOU SHOULD INTRODUCE MORE DRONES. THE UPKEEP TO KEEP THEM AROUND IS FAR EASIER THAN ANDROIDS AND, TO BE QUITE HONEST, WE CAN SHIP OVER MORE DRONES THAN HUMANS OR ANDROIDS COMBINED. OUR SHELLS ARE VERY MASS PRODUCABLE."

"While that is objectively true, your 'shells' are also made out of barely held together meat and printer paper." Emily says with the same upbeat cadence she normally has but with an underline of hatred to it. "We saw the footage of you going through the training course. We saw how many times your android saved you-"

"Wait, hold on, HER android?" Kiara stomps her foot. "I am not her goddamn property! She's my friend, not my fucking ow-" Naomi promptly covers Kiara's mouth.

"Again, older model. Please don't be angry at her." Alexis shakes her head at Kiara before turning her focus to Emily. "Continue."

"Right. So, simply put, OUR kind is more suited to protecting human life. While you can throw a million Drones at something, they'll be squashed like the bugs they are."

"YET YOUR KIND CAN'T BE HEALED BY MEDICINE. YOU MUST BE REPAIRED. THAT REQUIRES MORE RESOURCES. MORE EXPERIENCED STAFF TO REPAIR YOU. THOSE ADD UP."

"If I may have a say?" Alex says with the cadence of a question. No one bothers to interrupt him when he starts talking. "I say we just listen to how the HUMAN felt about our courses and we can improve it for our HUMAN staff."

Which one do you want to side with? You'd imagine this is the last choice you make on this mission.
>"'ve seen what Drones can do in a combat scenario, I'd say they're far more useful in case of a war." Side with Quincy. (+Q-COMPANY FAVOR, allowing you access to biological upgrades, integrated tools to improve your body, and surplus goods. X and Q-Company will become allies, unlocking useful biological combat upgrades down the line. E-Company will be annoyed by this.)
>"Frankly, without Kiara, I would've been toast. And while it costs more to repair them, they don't need to eat or sleep or breath. More efficient." Side with Emily. (+E-COMPANY FAVOR, allowing you access to a variety of useful tech gadgets and upgrades for any Android allies. X and E-Company will become allies, unlocking useful military tech down the line. Q-Company will be annoyed by this.)
>"Alex is right. I went through the courses, let's just improve them, we'll keep you two on the backburner for a later time." Side with Alex. (+X-CORP FAVOR, granting you even more access to powerful weapons, armor, and military-grade supplies. X-Company will be VERY interested in keeping you around and will offer you exclusive corporate items. E and Q-Company will feel neutral about this.)
>"Actually, let's try to work together." Try to get the three company reps to compromise. (CONNECTIONS DC: 40, rolling 11d6 with the help of your allies. Succeed and you might just be able to get favor from everyone involved and make a power trio with the companies. DC can be lowered with the right WRITE INs.)
>Write in.

I think pulling compromise is the best play. That training course is the key to all this

>>5946503
>"Actually, let's try to work together." Try to get the three company reps to compromise. (CONNECTIONS DC: 40, rolling 11d6 with the help of your allies. Succeed and you might just be able to get favor from everyone involved and make a power trio with the companies. DC can be lowered with the right WRITE INs.)
>The drones are most useful in the office space, this will help X company employees as well as they don’t have to be forced into office work when they have gotten too old to serve. Moreover, the office needs more people and a revamp and Q Company would provide both.
> E company would do very well with giving older models to serve as medics and support staff. X company should rely on the high level support offered by Emily.
>For X company, the combat trial should be toned down, and the mental trials seem appropriate though more resources could be given to have greater results. With better support offered by Q and E companies, X company could continue to bring a powerful force of humans with a more regulated training course.

I think the horns can be interesting, and I’m glad we did these courses. Damn it’s nice to get Nicole some upgrades. Glad we also got a positive to low restraint finally. If anyone has any problems with the write in feel free to say so. With the drones I think I have them pegged, but I’m not so sure about E company. Taking off the stringent “no harm” models is probably a good deal for them though.

>>5946492
Six inches is not small nor nub-like, it's whole-ass horns.

>>5946503
>"Actually, let's try to work together."
Drones and androids aren't actually a case of quantity vs quality, they are good at different things. Sometimes the threat is so big that no amount of toughness will help and the situation calls for overwhelming numbers. Sometimes numbers simply can't be applied, and a little damage resistance goes a long way. Adaptability is the name of the game.
Moreover, some specialities lend itself to being filled by a drone or an android. Alex will know more than us, but surely he found himself wanting a tougher or a more expendable soldier for this or that position.
Finally, we think X-Corp is gearing up to fight something anomalous. Anomalies are unpredictable, and the wider range of potential measures you have to throw at them, the more likely you are to find something that's effective. Adaptability again.

>>5946528
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] The fully grown antlers of a female caribou are 20 inches in length. So, they are quite small compared to what their full size is.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] That and, well, let's be honest. You rather convince yourself they're small and nub-like. Especially after the acid trip you've been on.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] ...Fuck. We're going to have to cut holes into all of our jackets and hoodies. This is going to suck.
[UNSTABLE] I WANT BIGGER HORNS. THEY LOOK COOLER.

Anywho, going to update the pastebin real quick with your new stuff.

>>5946533
Based, big horns>smaller horns.

Also I’m curious if being deer related is actually a hint to our true nature. It keep coming up, whether on drugs or not. POI becoming the “common sense” voice is deeply funny too.

>>5946503
>>"Actually, let's try to work together." Try to get the three company reps to compromise. (CONNECTIONS DC: 40, rolling 11d6 with the help of your allies. Succeed and you might just be able to get favor from everyone involved and make a power trio with the companies. DC can be lowered with the right WRITE INs.)

>>5946533
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] ...Fuck. We're going to have to cut holes into all of our jackets and hoodies. This is going to suck.

>>5946524
+1
Kiara can back us up in the combat trial portion with her own input. Looking back:
>sounds of something whirring in the air
Sawblades in a literal meat grinder. Way too over the line. Let's not forget X Corp loses enough money for medical supplies and prosthetics as it is. Look at those poor bastards in medbay and tell me that's OK. Look at the old bastards in admin office and tell me that's OK.
>Absolute death trap of at least thirty dots each.
>FIVE DOTS TO THE LEFT
>SEVEN DOTS NORTH
Several DOZENS of killer robots guarding the paths in the dark maze portion. To much for singular soldiers or small squads of less than 10 to handle in an hour tops. Maybe if they had 2 hours or so, they could stealth through better. Either way, this part needs much MUCH less "enemy" androids for the benefit of training soldiers better.
>Trying to get recruits used to working in low light conditions, maybe?
>"Maybe it's trying to teach you to keep your guard up?"
Now I like this bit in particular. A low light environment in the combat trial is a solid section with how dark parts of the City can get. It's great for training X Corp operators. I say keep this
>"DO YOU TRUST YOUR COMRADES?"
The mind fuckery and vibe checks I also love, as they train soldiers to know their fellows and fosters teamwork. It also instills caution against anomalies and weird trickery in the City. On the other hand, the fake ally baits only matter to people with others with them here, and not to solo guys going through the gauntlet
>35:00 REMAINING
Going the dark maze took a total of 25 minutes, and that's with a flawless run through for Nicole and Kiara, and with solid knowledge of the maze beforehand due to SEEING THE FUCKING PLANS BEFORE. That's unrealistic as hell for any regular non-special soldier, human or android or drone. You're not gonna have much battlefield intel going into a new zone, are you?
>NO MAN'S LAND
Brutal, but also the only real fast way out for anybody that makes it to the flag. I say there should be more varied cover outside of fake wooden structures and cardboard buildings, to help simulate different environments. Brick, concrete, metal, pipes, maybe some offbeat materials?
>caches
Always good to have for soldier resourcefulness. Maybe adding a few to the dark areas and the meatgrinder paths is also good, if there weren't any already.
And of course
>a very small one room building where recruits would gear up but, to your dismay, seems like no one has felt it prudent to resupply the lockers with fresh equipment for the course
Somebody should ALWAYS try to keep this stocked. Maybe soldiers that keep their starting gear set through the combat trial can return them for further use by other soldiers, and get paid in extra mags for it? A reward for both not wasting gear and supplies needessly, and for succeeding with minimal expenditure.

>>5946524
>>5946547
Adding a random mid of lethal and nonlethal weapons and items is also a good idea. Nicole and Kiara took pains to go nonlethal through No Man's Land specifically because we saw the absolute state of Medbay earlier, and decided not to hurt X Corp by putting more of their guys there. You're not always going to have lethals available in some environments in the City and the Wastes, so forcing soldiers to try minimizing casualties with their resources is also a good change for the combat trial

>>5946547
Yeah I think your add on with mine works best. Good details on the training especially. Q company is good for throwing bodies too.

E company could also provide some androids for training as they’ll be more easily recoverable. I really feel like there’s more we could pull with E company in particular.

>>5946554
Maybe part of the combat trial could be an anti-android section or there could be anti-android measures here and there? Maybe pheromone stuff for drone soldiers too.

>>5946554
I keep forgetting we're here to get GIRLS to want to join X Corp too, right? Add some porno mags for girls as a combat trial reward kek

Man if we only had plastic surgery on the offer for the girls.

Generally, I think the reward could also have something to do with connections or a better offer at the end of their lifespan as a soldier. Q company leaves that space open, so maybe a space for them to take that experience on their resume and work for E company? Maybe promise of leave when you win? Idk.

>>5946538
https://youtu.be/ObOKkQhSemE
https://youtu.be/x2Q3Ytk-7OY
https://youtu.be/A975NU5RW_g

>>5946503
>"Alex is right. I went through the courses, let's just improve them, we'll keep you two on the backburner for a later time." Side with Alex. (+X-CORP FAVOR, granting you even more access to powerful weapons, armor, and military-grade supplies. X-Company will be VERY interested in keeping you around and will offer you exclusive corporate items. E and Q-Company will feel neutral about this.)
I like X

>>5946503
>"Actually, let's try to work together." Try to get the three company reps to compromise. (CONNECTIONS DC: 40, rolling 11d6 with the help of your allies. Succeed and you might just be able to get favor from everyone involved and make a power trio with the companies. DC can be lowered with the right WRITE INs.)
>>5946524
>>5946528
>>5946547
>>5946551
>>5946554
>>5946567
>>5946570
>>5946575
Support

With all of the write ins, I'd say you lower the DC to 35 and you get to reroll any four dice you roll. I need three anons to roll the following
>4d6
>4d6
>3d6

Rolled 3, 4, 1, 6 = 14 (4d6)

>>5947169

Well, hopefully this time I did it right. Also I gotta good feeling!

>>5947176
I assume you messed up and wrote Dice instead of dice. It has to be lowercase. dice+4d6 or dice+3d6

Rolled 5, 3, 4, 4 = 16 (4d6)

>>5947178
Yeah that’s the problem. Thanks for the help. Man these dice better be good for how much trouble I’ve had getting them.

>>5947171
>>5947179
30/35, still have 4 rerolls. We got this

Finally got to my computer. glad we got decent rolls. Just one more, and even if those rolls suck we can get away with it.

Rolled 5, 6, 4 = 15 (3d6)

>>5947169

>>5947181
We didn't even have to use our rerolls. That's the power of good mission work done and dice gods not fucking with us

>>5947182
Damn nice! We smashed that DC. Even without lowering it we had it.

>>5947171
>>5947179
>>5947182
Zamn. A 45, you would've beaten the DC anyways. Tell you what, roll another 4d6. This won't affect your success or rewards on the skill check since you passed that just fine.
Consider this a "you did the work to make some compelling write ins, you deserve a small reward for that" roll. Locking in and writing regardless of what you roll.

Rolled 4, 4, 3, 3 = 14 (4d6)

>>5947185
Here ya go.

>>5947169
Wait, if we have rerolls left after a successful check, can we still use them to greed all in and try to get a higher result? Asking for future reference of course.

>>5947210
Could just not use them and instead cash them in for a second X Corp favor?

>>5947210
>>5947216
Still writing but that's what the extra 4d6 roll was for. It's for a bonus reward for managing to pass without using them. You'll see what you got when the update is out.
But I suppose to set a rule, if you are given rerolls via a write in or a creative use of an ability/item and you pass without needing them, you'll get a bonus proportional to the amount of rerolls you save.

Exact rewards will depend but an extra 2d6 might offer a small boon, 4d6 might offer a moderate boon, 6d6 is a major boon, etc (i.e some extra ammo or a small FLESH/RESTRAINT heal for a small boon, a corporate favor or unique item for moderate, a tweak to an anomalous ability or a new skill unlocked for major.)
Anyways, back to my writing cage.

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"Why not try a compromise?"

It's so quiet now you could hear a pin drop. The two corporate reps and Alex are staring down at you like you insulted their mother. Alexis makes a throat cutting gesture. <"FUCK FUCK WHY DID SHE SAY THAT WE'RE FUCKED YOU DON'T SAY THAT-">

Your other allies simply back away from you, ready for something nasty to happen.

"What."
"What?"
"WHAT." If looks could kill, you'd be dead by now.

"Look. Quincy. Your drones would be useful to fill up the office cubicles in the Administration Building. To be quite blunt, your workers-" You point at Alex. "-barely want to be there. They didn't even stop some random civvies from breaking into a secured computer because they rather put a gun to their mouth than be there."

Alex immediately deflates upon hearing this. "Look. Where else would I be able to put them? It's that or throw them out-" And everyone immediately flinches when Naomi, out of the blue, slugs him across the jaw. He barely stumbles back from the impact but the shock is enough to prevent him from doing anything about it.

"W-what?" <"She's gotten so weak. Yet she still managed to stagger me.">

"Maybe. If you bothered to use their knowledge, their experience, their decades of experience? To improve your course? To get new recruits?" Naomi bares her teeth. Her one eye visible through the bandages covering her face is bloodshot red. "You wouldn't NEED us to get recruits. You wouldn't NEED Q and E-Corp. But your own INCOMPETENCE has gotten you into this situation. So let us offer a SOLUTION."

Most of the other people in the room (you now notice that Sebastian has fucking dipped) are sitting around in awkward silence. No one wants to interrupt what's going on.

"So be it. Fine. I'm fine on that front. But the course is fine-"

"BULLSHIT." You and Kiara yell in unison.

"25 minutes. That's how long it took us to go through that maze with HER powers and both of us knowing where to go. 25 FUCKING MINUTES!" You swear that Kiara was about to break her voice box with her yelling. "HOW OFTEN DO YOUR SOLDIERS GET PERFECT INTEL? AND HOW MANY ROBOTS DO YOU NEED TO PUT IN THERE? THERE WERE LIKE 70 OF THEM IN THERE! IT ISN'T THE ANTISEPTIC WAR ANYMORE, ASSHOLE!"

You decide to butt in. "Let's not even fucking mention the rewards! I got hired to get more girls yet all you give for the hardest course is porn mags? Fuck, man, offer something else for that course! Restock it too, we had NO supplies besides what I brought!" You point at yourself. Your antlers (which are ABSOLUTELY NUB LIKE SHUT UP) are throbbing in agony.

Alex grits his teeth. <"It's been a while since anyone has spoken up to me like this."> He relents with a shaky sigh. "Fine. You completed it, you had your issues. Can't fault you there."

You nod towards Naomi and Kiara. "They'll give you some advice on that end. I liked the low light conditions on the maze and most of NO MAN'S LAND, at least?"

File: RESOLVED.jpg (81 KB, 900x752)

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While your two allies badger Alex with their training course suggestions, you and Alexis turn your attention to the corporate reps.

Quincy seems to be somewhat calming down from your 'compromise' comment. "IT DOES SEEM LIKE THEIR CURRENT STAFF IS UNSUITED FOR EFFICENCY. IT WOULDN'T BE HARD TO ASK THE MOTHER TO PRODUCE MORE FOR THIS COMPANY." The Mother? You faintly recall hearing something about a Mother of a Thousand Legs in Quentin's head.

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] The most likely answer is the CEO of the whole Company. Though you doubt it would be a normal Drone or human. Corporate CEOs ARE usually incredibly powerful and very bizarre compared to normal people.

"ALL DEPENDS IF-"

"Absolutely not." Emily is trying her best to hold back her contempt. "You want more Drones here, that's fine by me. But I'm here to protect human life. Not a bunch of centipedes pretending to be them."

Alexis decides it's time for her to step in here. She pulls out her proof of CORPORATE OWNERSHIP before pointing at the various pins on her jacket. The two reps immediately notice this and tense up. They share the same look of fear and unease. "Listen. I get you two don't like each other." She puts the piece of paper back. "But think about it like this."

"Emily, yes?" Alexis points at the nurse android. Emily nods. "Right. I'm not remotely the military type but you two have very different applications. Simply put, both of you can benefit even if the other party works here. Quincy's drones can handle all of the boring red tape bureaucracy while YOU provide useful units to support the military, Emily."

"Right!" You jump into the conversation. "Like, look, they have robots in the training course already but what if you supplied more? Think about it. Get some models to be used to train soldiers how to deal with any rogue robots or anomalies with mechanical properties! They don't even have to harm humans! Training ranges, you know?"

"Or! More nurses, more moral support, maybe even a few shrinks? God knows that PTSD needs treatment too." Alexis nods along.

Emily sinks into her chair with an uneasy expression. She doesn't say anything but it's not like that's necessary for you. <"They're making a compelling case here.">

Quincy offers the best smile he can given his half melted face. "THAT WOULD BE A SUITABLE ARRANGEMENT. I BELIEVE ALEX WOULD KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY USE THE RESOURCES FOR THE BEST. INCLUDING TO PREVENT EXCESS HUMAN HARM, EMILY."

"S-shut up." Emily tries her best to sound angry but the conversation has worn down her preprogrammed hatred, it seems. "Fine. Fine. I don't like working with them but-" As if a switch flipped, a bright smile and chipper tone replaces her sour tone and expression. "Anything to prevent human harm!"

Alex, Naomi, and Kiara finish whatever conversation they were going on about. Alex takes a deep breath before holding out his palm. There's a nasty cut across it, leaking a fresh stream of blood.

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"Don't question it." Alexis notices your confusion. "X-Corp tradition."
"Once got a nasty disease from it." Naomi nods. "Luckily, those two should be immune."

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] A bloodpact. Once signed, it is incredibly hard to break. The strongest contract the City can form. Even paper contracts are nothing in comparison.

Emily grabs onto Alex's hand and shakes. Quincy tears at his own palm with a letter cutter before shaking Alex's hand. The bloodpact has been signed, it seems. The three reps nod amongst each other.

"So it is done." Alex mutters.
"INDEED. I BELIEVE WE MUST CONTACT THE HIGHER UPS ABOUT THIS NEW ARRANGEMENT." Quincy is pulling out his cellphone.
"Hopefully this isn't a mistake." Emily mutters as her LED eyes dim. <"CONTACTING CORPORATE.">

Alex then turns his attention to you and offers you three a curt nod. "Well. Your friends gave me some very interesting advice on how to fix the course for more human recruits. With those two backing us, we can push some of our less desirable jobs onto them. This is good. Thank you."

MISSION COMPLETE
REWARDS: +$629, +X-CORP FAVOR (TO ARMS), +HANDLER FAVOR, X-CORP GOONS WILL KEEP AN EYE ON YOU OVER THE FOLLOWING DAYS TO KEEP YOU SAFE.
BONUS REWARDS FOR THE COMPROMISE: +$222, +X-CORP FAVOR, +Q-CORP FAVOR (QUOTA), +E-CORP FAVOR (NUTS AND BOLTS), You felt like your action has started a chain reaction in the corporate world.

>MODERATE BOON GRANTED!
"Here." He pulls something out of his pocket and stuffs it into your hand. "For the incompetence this base has displayed, your assistance in rectifying that, and our shared goals." Glancing down at it, it's a tarnished gold metal with a piece of stripped green, white, and blue fabric tied to it. "For your service."

>X-CORP ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL ACQUIRED. (Passively grants the user a 10% discount in all X-Corp neutral and allied corporate stores and the ability to add +1d4 to any attack roll they make (once per attack). Also counts as two X-CORP FAVORS if spent.)

"If you ever need me, contact your Handler. He'll patch you in. Now. I need to deal with the boring business side of our new alliance. Mind leaving?" Alex clicks his tongue.
>You may now contact Alex in order to spend X-Corp Favors. A list of what he can offer will be provided later.

You return his curt nod with your own. You put the medal in your pocket before gesturing at your allies to follow you. The three of you promptly make a beeline out of the MENTAL TRAINING COURSE and over to the front gate leading in and out of the base. Your allies glance back at you with a flurry of emotions but most of all? Relief.

"Fuck." Kiara mutters. "That was something."
"Indeed. It was nice returning here." Naomi looks back at the base with a wistful look.
"...Can't believe it." There's an almost religious reverence in Alexis' eyes. "Never knew I could kickstart a three company bloodpact."

"Say-" Alexis touches your bomber jacket. Uh oh.

It immediately shifts into a bright white business jacket. Just like the one she's wearing.
>NEW YOU (ALEXIS) FORM REVEALED. (+1 CONNECTIONS, grants user CORPORATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT)
[CORPORATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT] The Companies WILL know to respect you. No matter what it takes. When spending a corporate favor, you gain +6d6 to the CONNECTIONS roll instead of +4d6. You also gain +1d4 to all CONNECTIONS and CHARM rolls for every three CORPORATE favors you own.

Naomi immediately takes this chance to touch it herself. It turns into an old, tattered military jacket with an odd symbol on it. Naomi flinches on seeing this. <"My old Antiseptic War jacket?">
>NEW YOU (NAOMI) FORM REVEALED. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT, grants user TACTICAL EXPERIENCE.)
[TACTICAL EXPERIENCE] You're prepared for war. You may add +3d4 when attempting any of the following actions: Scouting a building, attacking with a firearm, preparing an ambush, creating makeshift weapons and explosives, and staying conscious through intense pain.

Kiara immediately shifts it back to the orange bomber jacket it was before.
>NEW YOU (KIARA) REOBTAINED.
>YOU MAY CHANGE WHAT FORM IT TAKES ONCE PER MISSION. THIS WILL INCREASE WITH USAGE.

"Not gonna question. Let's just go." Alexis states.

Pick three actions to use during your FREE TIME (and any free actions.)
>[KIARA ALLY] An odd, familiar buzz is in the air. Kiara is giving you puppydog eyes. Follow her. (You'll enter an ANOMALY EVENT. You might get some unique valuables if you play your cards right. A secondary vote will be called to determine what you stumble upon if you pick this.)
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban place in X-Corp's district and get drunk. (You'll gain RAPPORT with NAOMI and ALEXIS and you'll get a chance to learn more about them and Kiara.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Once you arrive somewhere more urban, take a walk around District 24 with your allies to decompress after everything. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT. You're likely to stumble into an old cache, a new store, or some other interesting place to return to later on your walk.)
>[NAOMI ALLY] You don't want to pry into her Silver Agent past too much but it couldn't hurt to learn about the Antiseptic War while you travel away from the base, no? (You'll get some valuable insight on how to handle yourself in combat and if you ever encounter an anomaly based on it.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Huh, she actually bothered to stay this time. Ask her if there's any place she would recommend you four visit. (You'll get some more insight in the CORPORATE WORLD and how to handle yourself in it.)
>[UNSTABLE] "HEY. CAN WE TALK? PLEASE? WON'T TAKE TOO LONG. I HOPE."
>[X-CORP FAVORS] Cache in a favor before you leave. (FREE ACTION, -1 X-CORP FAVOR. Write in up to four items to get from X-Corp. You'll roll 4d100 to determine the quality and amount you get.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] WAIT! WE NEED TO SHOW THEM OUR POWERS! GO BACK! (Write in what you want to show them.)
>WRITE IN.

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I apologize for the delay but it seemed like God had a sense of humor and sent a storm my way, knocking out power for a solid hour and a half RIGHT as I was finishing up the negotiation scene. That was fun.
HOPEFULLY won't happen again. In case you use the X-CORP FAVORS cache out, you have 3 Favors to use (will update the Pastebin with your new FAVOR counts), so you'll be left with 2 if you spend that.

>>5947323
I don't wanna spend ANY company favor yet. We got plenty of favors banked and I want to keep that going. That NEW YOU (Alexis) sounds OP with our favors combined if we ever need to take a corporate mission again.
The moment to show powers off has passed, and I know Sebastian will talk to Alex offscreen about what he's experienced and his suspicions. We got enough fame in-base with going through the combat trial hell alive, so let's leave the "show off powers to X-Corp soldiers" to if we ever have to have them protecting us. Then they can spread the word in the base about how the crazy chick who blew the combat trial out has cool psychic powers.
As much as I'd want to go for the Naomi option, there's other good options to go with here. It does imply we could run into an abno based on the Antiseptic War with how traumatic it was for the City and the Companies. More rapport with Naomi would also be good.
Hesitant on the Kiara option, because we already got real hard anomalous in this mission at the end there. I'd rather leave it be for now, but I might be inclined if somebody makes a good enough case.
Scholar option to walk around is good because we get to see more of X Corp, and more cache loot. Maybe we can run into that spot where the captive silver agent got "scouted"?
Alexis has NEVER, not ONCE, stayed behind to not ditch us the moment a mission ended. This is a special occasion, and I really want to follow up on it.
The UNSTABLE option is very very tempting. It's one hell of a mystery box as presented. Based on the quotation there, it must be UNSTABLE wanting Nicole to talk out loud to her allies. It might make for a good moment, but the question is... before or AFTER the bar?
And of course, the bar option.

>>5947323
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban place in X-Corp's district and get drunk. (You'll gain RAPPORT with NAOMI and ALEXIS and you'll get a chance to learn more about them and Kiara.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Once you arrive somewhere more urban, take a walk around District 24 with your allies to decompress after everything. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT. You're likely to stumble into an old cache, a new store, or some other interesting place to return to later on your walk.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Huh, she actually bothered to stay this time. Ask her if there's any place she would recommend you four visit. (You'll get some more insight in the CORPORATE WORLD and how to handle yourself in it.)

>"You better not get sea-sick easily, we got a crew over at District 19 who needs someone to assist them during their fishing trip. Help them harvest, protect them from any thieves, and try bringing back something special." REWARD: $975, the tough work will likely improve your FLESH and VIOLENCE stats permanently. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110)
>[UPG] QUENTIN. Incredibly loyal ally who has a hard time staying dead. Poor stats and tends to freak others out. (Free if brought alone. Allies with less than 3 RAPPORT with you, sans Adam, will ask for an extra cut (30% for Alexis, +$25 for the others) to hire.)
>ADAM. A long career of working as a chef has instilled amazing levels of accuracy and technical precision. Hard worker. Tends to overcorrect when situations get dicey. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)
>ASHLEY.
>NAOMI. She has gathered a lot of experience and knowledge over the years. More than willing to teach you and your allies her tricks. Has a knack for analyzing the quirks and potential of people around her. Old age and scars have ruined her body. ($195)
>BENEDICT. A chef that's partially transformed into an anomaly. Unique half-machine, half human anatomy grants immense strength and physical resistances, has anomalous powers and abilities. Fractured mind that requires careful observation, UNSTABLE. (+$320 if you hire him. You get more money hiring him as you raise Adam's RAPPORT.)

Question everyone: What do your think my team setup and mission?

Question: Should we bring FRANK on mission too?

>>5947360
That's like WAY too many people man

>>5947323
>[NAOMI ALLY] You don't want to pry into her Silver Agent past too much but it couldn't hurt to learn about the Antiseptic War while you travel away from the base, no? (You'll get some valuable insight on how to handle yourself in combat and if you ever encounter an anomaly based on it.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Huh, she actually bothered to stay this time. Ask her if there's any place she would recommend you four visit. (You'll get some more insight in the CORPORATE WORLD and how to handle yourself in it.)
>[UNSTABLE] "HEY. CAN WE TALK? PLEASE? WON'T TAKE TOO LONG. I HOPE."

>>5947323
Fuck it I need to make my own vote
>ALEXIS
>UNSTABLE
>BAR

>>5947323
I think that the Alexis option is a huge thing to grab, of course the bar is required as well. The last option I’m not 100% sure on. If it’s an anomaly like the one that got us our cool jacket then I’d be up for it. However, I also like the Unstable option. We hugged that bitch, so I want my returns on that besides admittedly cool horns.
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban place in X-Corp's district and get drunk. (You'll gain RAPPORT with NAOMI and ALEXIS and you'll get a chance to learn more about them and Kiara.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Huh, she actually bothered to stay this time. Ask her if there's any place she would recommend you four visit. (You'll get some more insight in the CORPORATE WORLD and how to handle yourself in it.)
>[UNSTABLE] "HEY. CAN WE TALK? PLEASE? WON'T TAKE TOO LONG. I HOPE."

Also while it sucks your power went out, glad it wasn’t anything worse than that. Thanks for the update, always love these resolutions to our missions.

>>5947323
>[KIARA ALLY] An odd, familiar buzz is in the air. Kiara is giving you puppydog eyes. Follow her. (You'll enter an ANOMALY EVENT. You might get some unique valuables if you play your cards right. A secondary vote will be called to determine what you stumble upon if you pick this.)
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban place in X-Corp's district and get drunk. (You'll gain RAPPORT with NAOMI and ALEXIS and you'll get a chance to learn more about them and Kiara.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Huh, she actually bothered to stay this time. Ask her if there's any place she would recommend you four visit. (You'll get some more insight in the CORPORATE WORLD and how to handle yourself in it.)

>[X-CORP FAVORS] Cache in a favor before you leave. (FREE ACTION, -1 X-CORP FAVOR. Write in up to four items to get from X-Corp. You'll roll 4d100 to determine the quality and amount you get.)
Weapons and body armor

>>5947323
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban place in X-Corp's district and get drunk. (You'll gain RAPPORT with NAOMI and ALEXIS and you'll get a chance to learn more about them and Kiara.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Once you arrive somewhere more urban, take a walk around District 24 with your allies to decompress after everything. (Heals 2 RESTRAINT. You're likely to stumble into an old cache, a new store, or some other interesting place to return to later on your walk.)
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Huh, she actually bothered to stay this time. Ask her if there's any place she would recommend you four visit. (You'll get some more insight in the CORPORATE WORLD and how to handle yourself in it.)
>[X-CORP FAVORS] Cache in a favor before you leave. (FREE ACTION, -1 X-CORP FAVOR. Write in up to four items to get from X-Corp. You'll roll 4d100 to determine the quality and amount you get.)

>>5947352
Change
>>5947323
>It's tradition at this point. Travel into a more urban place in X-Corp's district and get drunk. (You'll gain RAPPORT with NAOMI and ALEXIS and you'll get a chance to learn more about them and Kiara.)
>[UNSTABLE] "HEY. CAN WE TALK? PLEASE? WON'T TAKE TOO LONG. I HOPE."
>[ALEXIS ALLY] Huh, she actually bothered to stay this time. Ask her if there's any place she would recommend you four visit. (You'll get some more insight in the CORPORATE WORLD and how to handle yourself in it.)

>>5947602
+1
Grab some armor and other protective kit

BOOZE TIME: EVERYONE
SCHOLAR: EM0, ykw
ALEXIS: EVERYONE
UNSTABLE: DHO/hwm, IkB, Cp5, IkB, dfH
KIARA: QKD
NAOMI: Cp5

X-CORP FAVORS?
YES: EM0, ykw, QKD
DIDN'T PICK: DHO/hwm, IkB, Cp5, dfH

Seems like BOOZE + ALEXIS + UNSTABLE wins out. Don't worry, you'll be able to get X-Corp supplies later (you have contact with a higher up at X-Corp, after all), just not enough people voted to pick it this time around. Writing.

>>5947382
>Also while it sucks your power went out, glad it wasn’t anything worse than that.
Trust me, it could've been way worse. Last time power cut out because of a storm, I was out of internet for four days.

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[UNSTABLE] LOOK. I. UH. YEAH, I WANT TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. REAL QUICK. ONCE WE'RE ON THE TRAIN.
[UNSTABLE] FEEL FREE TO DO, UH, DO OTHER THINGS FIRST. YEAH. THIS IS NEW FOR ME. SORRY.

You let out a shaky sigh. Great. Now the literal manifestation of your unstable impulses is wanting a one on one chat- Wait. You hugged this bitch. Why are you acting like you're beneath her? You slap yourself. Get your head in the game.

"Sure. In a bit." You mutter outloud.

Your allies are giving you a weird look but only Naomi's stare has any real concern to it; the other two are rather nonplussed. Like they're used to it at this point.

"So. Alexis." You snap your fingers. "The hell are you still doing here? Normally you fuck off by-" You stop yourself. "No, no, that sounds bad. I'm just shocked, you know?"

Alexis squints at you before giving you a half-hearted shrug. "You've proven yourself to be a valuable asset and someone who, despite her eccentrics, has been shockingly competent. Once was a fluke. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern." <"Certainly better than that shitty ETF pair I had to deal with. Benny and Fronk or something?">

"You should've seen her in the course! Waow! She was- Okay no need to suck her off, let's get going." The sheer whiplash in tone Kiara gave you nearly made you burst out laughing.

The four of you step onto the train that got you here. You group sits down onto the cheap, shoddy seats inside the train cabin. Learning from your mistake last time, you cling onto a nearby handrail...but the train seems to be moving slower this time. You look confused for a moment until you hear Naomi chuckling.

"Told them not to do it this time. A long time to talk and decompress is all we need right now. Isn't that right?" Naomi offers you a shaky smile. It's clear she's still uncomfortable being TOO cordial around you due to what happened with the Agent. You offer her a smile in return.

"Thank you." You nod. No need to alienate her. "So. Alexis. Got any places you could recommend us visiting? I normally go to some shitty rundown bar and get wasted but c'mon, you gotta have a better place in mind."

Alexis isn't quite sure how to react to your question at first. She looks equal parts insulted, confused, and ecstatic? "I'm not sure. To be quite honest, this is new to me. Most of my 'free time' is spent meeting new associates to work with and, don't take this the wrong way, most are VERY high ranking corporate people. Not..."

[UNSTABLE] "Worthless schizophrenics?"

"Yes." Alexis bluntly states. "Well, you're not worthless but the second one tracks. At least your horns won't be a problem in most of those places. We can pass it off as a very unique body mod."

[UNSTABLE] Your eye twitches. You felt like popping her head open like a grape but you barely have the RESTRAINT necessary to hold back.

"But there is this one place. A lot of the corporate elite go there. Just do what I do and we'll eat like queens tonight."

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"Mind enlightening us with the name?" Naomi taps her foot on the floor of the train cabin. "No need to keep us in the dark."

"Oh that's rich-" Alexis clears her throat. "No. No, sorry. It's a simple place down in District 24. 'Sugar Mountain'. Small little restaurant with some of the finest dining outside of F-Corp's district. I have a membership card and a reservation that took me FIVE MONTHS to get." Her smile widens but it's clear it's somewhat forced. "You better enjoy it. Even the senior vice presidents of Alphabet Companies can't waltz in."

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Sugar Mountain, huh? It's an unofficial meeting ground for C, D, F, G, L, M, S, and V-Corp corporate officials if the rumors are true. Maybe even more. You might be able to meet some VERY important people over there.

As Alexis and the others start to ramble amongst each other, a familiar voice rings in your head. Best to address the elephant in the room.

[UNSTABLE] SO. I'D LIKE TO SAY I'M SORRY.
[UNSTABLE] I CAN'T PROMISE I CAN CONTROL MYSELF BETTER. I CAN'T PROMISE YOU CAN ALWAYS RESIST ME.
[UNSTABLE] BUT I CAN PROMISE I WILL TRY MY BEST TO HELP YOU. YOU KNOW? IF YOU DIE, I DIE. ALONGSIDE THE OTHER THREE.

"It's fine." You mutter. "Look, I didn't do the hug expecting you to pay me back. I did because you needed it. Self love or something, you know?

[UNSTABLE] FAIR ENOUGH.
[UNSTABLE] LISTEN. YOU KNOW THOSE ANTLERS? THOSE ARE A PART OF YOUR TRUE SELF, ME, MADE MANIFEST. THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO HUG.
[UNSTABLE] EMBRACING ME TOO MUCH DOES THAT.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] True self? Wait, you remember that Benedict started to physically mutate when he started to succumb to his anomaly transformation...
[UNSTABLE] INDEED. YOU AND HIM ARE NOT ALL THAT DIFFERENT.

"Hey, they're cool." You tap on the antler. "No harm no foul. Feel clear headed enough. But, what do you plan on doing to help me? If you feel obligated to do so."

[UNSTABLE] WELL. ASIDE FROM HELPING YOU USE YOUR POWERS MORE, I WILL TRY TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND OTHERS LIKE ME. IT'S ONE THING TO EMBRACE YOURSELF.
[UNSTABLE] IT'S ANOTHER TO COMFORT AND EMBRACE SOMEONE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING. I WANT YOU TO BRING COMFORT TO OTHERS LIKE ME. AND I WILL HELP YOU DO SO.

>UNSTABLE will now offer helpful advice when encountering other anomalous/UNSTABLE humans.

[UNSTABLE] AS A TOKEN OF MY GRATITUDE, HERE.

Everything goes dark.

When you next wake up, you notice that you're stumbling out of the train with the help of Kiara and Naomi. Both of them are looking at you with equal parts worry and fear. Alexis is the first one to break the silence with a short, simple cough. What the hell just happened?

"She told us." Alexis cryptically states. "You know who. Told us a LOT about what happened back at the MENTAL COURSE. About what she is. I can't pretend to understand what you're going through but she asked us to do something."

"Whuh?" You tilt your head in confusion.

"We won't hold it against you. If something happens."

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>Naomi, Alexis, and Kiara will take 1 less RESTRAINT damage when UNSTABLE acts out.
>Naomi, Alexis, and Kiara will sometimes be able to heal your RESTRAINT when UNSTABLE acts out.

"Something about a safety net?" She shrugs. "Let's move on from it."

[UNSTABLE] THE OTHER ALLIES CAN LEARN LATER. BUT THEY NEEDED TO KNOW.

"U-uh. Okay?" All you can think of is that somehow, your body was highjacked for a moment. The last hour or so is a complete blur to you now. You take a look around in the more urban section of District 24. In stark contrast to a lot of other districts, it's shockingly...welcoming?

The streets and buildings are statured in bright, warm colors that remind you of summertime. Bright yellows, oranges, pinks and reds as far as your eye can see. Most of the buildings around you are decorated with equally inviting and bright decorations as well, as if they were family owned businesses instead of the soulless and nameless businesses you normally have to go to.

Most of the people passing by on the streets are remarkably healthy and clean looking. No scars, no tattoos, no one too obese or too skinny. As your group walks through the streets, most of the passersbys give you a warm smile and a polite greeting. "Hello!" "Hey!" "Welcome to X-Gamma-2!" "Enjoy your time here!" "Nice antlers!"

The cars passing by through the roads also look remarkably new and well maintained, same with the roads they're driving on. Pleasant ambience is playing in every single business you pass by and, for a moment, you thought your eyes were playing tricks on you. As you two take a right turn, you see something in the distance that shocks you.

A park. An honest to god park. With actual real grass, trees, and wild animals going through it. It's not even gated off, you could go right in there if you wanted to. A few families are walking around in there, small children playing in it like there's nothing wrong going on. No paranoia.

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Yet you know this isn't a Nest. Normally Nests require extensive paperwork and going through a border more armed than fifty X-Corp bases combined.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] This is a normal District section. Maybe not even far away from the ghettos. When your Company is the one protecting the City, both inside and outside its walls?
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Corps give you a LOT of resources. And your citizens are given AMAZING peace of mind. Imagine what a NEST here must be like.

"Wow." You and Kiara mutter at the same time. Naomi is too busy wistfully watching the happy-go-lucky citizens to bother saying anything. Alexis eventually points towards a remarkably boring looking restaurant that, from the outside, looks nothing like what an unofficial Alphabet Company meeting spot would be. Yet it has the name 'SUGAR MOUNTAIN' so you know it's the right place.

As the four of you head over and enter it, you realize two things immediately.
1: WOW THAT'S A LOT OF SECURITY.
2: The outside was VERY deceiving.

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A waitress with a fancy dress made out of Nouveau Fabric stands behind a small desk. Dozens of guards, disgusted as waiters, stand around her. The waitress looks up with a conceited smirk. "Do you have a reservation?"

Alexis nods. "Alexis Morozov." The smirk disappears from the waitress' face. "These three are associates. Don't mind the antlers. Body mod." The waitress nods along. She marks down something on a page in front of her before gesturing at you four to follow.

Looking around, it's a rather cozy place with an undeniable air of high class to it. Men and women of high society and high corporate status chatter around candlelit tables, eating expensive meals and washing it down with expensive wine. There's no windows in this restaurant so the only source of light comes from the candles and the massive, awe-inspiring chandlers hanging from the ceilings.

Alexis grabs you by the shoulder as your waitress shows you your table. "Listen. There's a simple way to get corporate officials on your side. Walk up to them like you know what you're doing. Like you belong. DO NOT SHOW FEAR. DO NOT FLINCH."

You glance around the nearby tables. No harm in trying.

Pick up to three officials to talk to. You'll learn more about their company, how to interact with them, and maybe even get a corporate favor or gift.
>An old man with a long, flowing beard and a very old-fashioned outfit is eating a simple meal by himself. His hands are caked in calluses. (O-CORP. An old fashioned company focused on farming, mining, and other manual labor.)
>A group of police officers are sitting around a table, chattering about how to deal with 'undesirables'. (J-CORP. The main judicial and legal power in the City.)
>A crazed woman in a fancy dress is scribbling something down on her notepad. A wild smile crosses his face. (W-CORP. An anti-anomaly company who develops tech to deal with them. Also explores abandoned districts.)
>A man very similar looking to Maruyama keeps glancing at his watch. He impatiently taps his foot, clearly waiting for someone. (T-CORP. A time-based company associated with trains and futuristic, bleeding edge tech.)
>A nun is praying at one of the tables, muttering in tongues. An oddly tense atmosphere surrounds her. (N-CORP. A religious and literature-focused company. Their religion is VERY widespread through the City.)
>A punk in deliberately obnoxious clothing props his feet up on the table. He's strumming a tune on his guitar. (M-CORP. The other main creative-focused Company besides A-Corp.)
>A nervous wreck of a woman is working on a pile of papers at her table. She looks like she's about to pass out. (D-CORP. Similar to P-Corp, contains anomalies, but aims to study and understand where they came from.)
>A girl in a poncho is half passed out at her table, muttering to herself. (R-CORP. A Company who mostly operates in the vast deserts of the Wastes. Also contains anomalies.)
>You spot someone else (Write in a ALPHABET COMPANY [A-Z] to meet)

>>5948350
>>A nervous wreck of a woman is working on a pile of papers at her table. She looks like she's about to pass out. (D-CORP. Similar to P-Corp, contains anomalies, but aims to study and understand where they came from.)
>A girl in a poncho is half passed out at her table, muttering to herself. (R-CORP. A Company who mostly operates in the vast deserts of the Wastes. Also contains anomalies.)
>A punk in deliberately obnoxious clothing props his feet up on the table. He's strumming a tune on his guitar. (M-CORP. The other main creative-focused Company besides A-Corp.)
Seems like we have a clear specialty in anomaly handling, we should probably try and get in good with the people who do that as their business.

>>5948350
Stay safe, hopefully your internet doesn’t go out anytime soon. Fun update, it’s interesting to see Unstable take a bigger part in the “real world” as it were. Also Alexis took us to a great spot, nice of her.

>A crazed woman in a fancy dress is scribbling something down on her notepad. A wild smile crosses his face. (W-CORP. An anti-anomaly company who develops tech to deal with them. Also explores abandoned districts.)
First off this seems nearly perfect for us. Like these hit two of our major buttons.
>A nervous wreck of a woman is working on a pile of papers at her table. She looks like she's about to pass out. (D-CORP. Similar to P-Corp, contains anomalies, but aims to study and understand where they came from.)
I am really on the anomaly train, since we found out more about our nature and how close we are to an anomaly for sure. Also studying sounds better than containment.
>A man very similar looking to Maruyama keeps glancing at his watch. He impatiently taps his foot, clearly waiting for someone. (T-CORP. A time-based company associated with trains and futuristic, bleeding edge tech.)
I am only doing this one for Maruyama connections, whether they be just getting a foothold or getting a job we can take him on to help him get promoted. I think we really connected to him the film mission and want to hang with him again.

Just to check, it’s not the time for saying what we want to say to the officials. It’s just choosing who to talk to right?

>>5948350
>A group of police officers are sitting around a table, chattering about how to deal with 'undesirables'. (J-CORP. The main judicial and legal power in the City.)
>A man very similar looking to Maruyama keeps glancing at his watch. He impatiently taps his foot, clearly waiting for someone. (T-CORP. A time-based company associated with trains and futuristic, bleeding edge tech.)
>A nun is praying at one of the tables, muttering in tongues. An oddly tense atmosphere surrounds her. (N-CORP. A religious and literature-focused company. Their religion is VERY widespread through the City.)

>>5948350
>A crazed woman in a fancy dress is scribbling something down on her notepad. A wild smile crosses his face. (W-CORP. An anti-anomaly company who develops tech to deal with them. Also explores abandoned districts.)
WOW! She's just like Nicole!
>A nervous wreck of a woman is working on a pile of papers at her table. She looks like she's about to pass out. (D-CORP. Similar to P-Corp, contains anomalies, but aims to study and understand where they came from.)
Darkness Corp, I assume?
>You spot someone else (Write in a ALPHABET COMPANY [A-Z] to meet)
Let's get interesting. C Corp?

>>5948350
>A nervous wreck of a woman is working on a pile of papers at her table. She looks like she's about to pass out. (D-CORP. Similar to P-Corp, contains anomalies, but aims to study and understand where they came from.)
>An old man with a long, flowing beard and a very old-fashioned outfit is eating a simple meal by himself. His hands are caked in calluses. (O-CORP. An old fashioned company focused on farming, mining, and other manual labor.)
>A group of police officers are sitting around a table, chattering about how to deal with 'undesirables'. (J-CORP. The main judicial and legal power in the City.)

>>5948403
>Just to check, it’s not the time for saying what we want to say to the officials. It’s just choosing who to talk to right?
Correct. Though I doubt I'll call a vote to decide how you speak them since you're focusing on being able to talk to them in the first place without having a schizo meltdown or pissing your panties.
Would be weird to rush up to a corporate executive and scream "HEY BROTHER I NEED YOU TO GIVE ME FIFTY MILIGRAMS OF CRACK, THE NAMES OF OTHER OFFICIALS LIKE YOU, AND FIFTY FIREARMS" as the first step of communication, you know?

>>5948544
Tell me what C, F, G, L, M, S, and V-Corps does

>>5948574
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Hoo boy. Let's run it down real quick.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] C-Company, to your knowledge, is mostly a cosmetic and clothing based company. You know that 'Nouveau Fabric', the bulletproof kelvar like fabric? It's likely they make it. You saw a weird alternate version of one of their district sections when meeting Heart on My Sleeve.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] F-Company is a high dining and food related corp. You went there to deal with Benedict and his failing restaurant. Essentially, that's where most restaurants and junk food companies produce their products with.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] G-Company is your home company. You know that they mostly invest in all non-train based forms of travel and they're well known for exploring every single inch of the City, Wastes, and beyond. They're a minor power in the grand scheme but they offer very competitive products, letting them earn a spot as an Alphabet Company.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] L-Company is pretty new to you, honestly. You just learnt about it only a little bit ago. Apparently they make good luck charms and are associated with Light? That's about it.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] M-Company is a music related corporation that's very popular with punks, hippies, and other creatives. So there's VERY weird but in a 'dude drugs' way instead of how you're weird. Alongside A-Corp, they have a lot of big names in the City (when it comes to celebrity status, not corporate power).
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] S-Company is the main construction company in this City. If there's a building that's bigger than a one story house or a shady bar, S-Company or a shell company of theirs made it.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] ...You frankly have no clue what the fuck V-Corp is. You hate to admit it but even with your PARADIGM improved knowledge, all you know is they make VICTORY branded products which are...shoddy at best?

>>5948593
>C
Cosmetic Corp
>F
Food Corp
>G
Go/Globe Corp
>L
Luck/Light Corp
>M
Music Corp
>S
Structure Corp
>V
Victory Corp?

>>5948350
Changing my vote from >>5948449 to
>W CORP
>D CORP
>write in: G CORP
Because G is the corporation in charge of Nicole's home district

>>5948458
Swapping O-Corp for G-Corp

>>5948350
>A crazed woman in a fancy dress is scribbling something down on her notepad. A wild smile crosses his face. (W-CORP. An anti-anomaly company who develops tech to deal with them. Also explores abandoned districts.)
>A group of police officers are sitting around a table, chattering about how to deal with 'undesirables'. (J-CORP. The main judicial and legal power in the City.)
>A nervous wreck of a woman is working on a pile of papers at her table. She looks like she's about to pass out. (D-CORP. Similar to P-Corp, contains anomalies, but aims to study and understand where they came from.)

>>5948350
>G
>J
>N

>>5948544
>HEY BROTHER I NEED YOU TO GIVE ME FIFTY MILIGRAMS OF CRACK
To be fair, the M Corp official punk would probably nod and pull a bag out without hesitation and with a "say no more", but he's the only guy here who would say yes

>>5948350
>A group of police officers are sitting around a table, chattering about how to deal with 'undesirables'. (J-CORP. The main judicial and legal power in the City.)
>A crazed woman in a fancy dress is scribbling something down on her notepad. A wild smile crosses his face. (W-CORP. An anti-anomaly company who develops tech to deal with them. Also explores abandoned districts.)
>G-Corp

QKD: G, J, N
GWO: J, W, G
IkB: W, D, G
Cp5: D, G, J
T2m: D, R, M
nnk: W, D, T
TWx: J, T, N
QVB: W, J, D

4 for G, 5 for J, 4 for W, 5 for D, 2 for N, 2 for T, one for M, and one for R.
J-Corp and D-Corp are going to be someone you're going to talk to but there's a tie between G-Corp and W-Corp. So let's call for a short tie breaker vote. Which one do you want to be your third one?

>W-CORP (Anti-anomalous tech, explores abandoned districts, known for being VERY zealous in their beliefs and mindsets. Products from them include weapons and ammo that deal specialized damage that can damage otherwise hard to hurt abnos, containment cubes to trap abnormalities, special stones that 'slow down mental corruption', and the second leading producer of psychiatric medication.)
>G-CORP (A travel and exploration based company that explores the City, the Wastes, whatever lies beyond, and everything in between. Products and services from them include all manner of exploration equipment + supplies, maps and books filled with useful info about the city...and, if you're lucky, your OWN FUCKING CAR!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH A CAR COSTS???. Also your district's home company.)

I'll leave this open for a bit while I cook myself something to eat so take your time.
>>5949001
Oh, absolutely. Though frankly you feel like he would challenge you to a snort off and you would pass out before he's buzzed.

>>5949199
>>W-CORP (Anti-anomalous tech, explores abandoned districts, known for being VERY zealous in their beliefs and mindsets. Products from them include weapons and ammo that deal specialized damage that can damage otherwise hard to hurt abnos, containment cubes to trap abnormalities, special stones that 'slow down mental corruption', and the second leading producer of psychiatric medication.)
As sick as a car is, we probably want as much abnormality containing shit as possible, plus some meds never hurt.

>>5949203
+1
No guarantee Nicole will ever stay in G District. Who knows where her future family will be?

>>5949199
>W-CORP (Anti-anomalous tech, explores abandoned districts, known for being VERY zealous in their beliefs and mindsets. Products from them include weapons and ammo that deal specialized damage that can damage otherwise hard to hurt abnos, containment cubes to trap abnormalities, special stones that 'slow down mental corruption', and the second leading producer of psychiatric medication.)
Gotta give W corp the W. Not to mention the representative seems very Nicole like so I’m looking forward to them bouncing off of each other.

>>5949203
>>5949212
>>5949217
Aight. Was gonna leave it open for longer but no need to wait when a majority like this exists. I need three anons to roll the following to see how your first impressions go. Due to Alexis being nearby, you can't TOTALLY fuck it up.

W-CORP: 1d100+15 (Similar madness. Similar interests.)
D-CORP: 1d100+7 (Not your first time dealing with a tired office worker)
J-CORP: 1d100-5 (Lacks the espirit de corps with the LAW.)

RESULTS
1-19 [ALEXIS NEARBY] [BARELY SUCCESSFUL] You'll get your foot in the door but you doubt you'll get anything more than some info on how they work and where to contact them later.
20-39: OKAY SUCCESS. You'll likely be able to get a random corporate item from them, a pleasant conversation, but that's it.
40-69: DECENT SUCCESS. You'll get a corporate item, a corporate favor, and a small bonus to interacting with their company.
70-85: MAJOR SUCCESS. You'll get a corporate catalog to buy items from them, a corporate favor, and your Handler might be able to provide you with supplies from that corp on occasion
86-100: INSANE SUCCESS. All of the boons of the previous successes combined alongside learning something about their singularity, which will offer insight into their true business model and clue you into what dark secrets they have.

Rolled 85 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>5949246
W-Corp

Rolled 47 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>5949246
D-Corp

Rolled 75 - 5 (1d100 - 5)

>>5949246
J

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>>5949249
>>5949251
>>5949260
INSANE, DECENT, AND MAJOR success. the W-Corp one is gonna be fun to write, writing.

Of course the schizo girlie gets along best with the other schizo girlie. Overall pretty good rolls.

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You barely have time to look around before you feel a set of eyes on the back of your neck. Turning your head ever so slightly, you see her. A woman in a dull brown yet remarkably fancy looking dress is staring at you with the same look a predator would have with a wounded prey animal. Doesn't fucking help you have deer antlers now. You take a deep breath.

Fuck it. What's the harm? No fear, go up there, DO YOUR THANG.

You walk a bit too quickly over to the mostly empty booth and force yourself to sit across from the W-Corp rep. She's a girl around your age and build (well, before you became a Cleaner) with a short, pragmatic pixie cut. A image of a "W" wrapped around in barbed wire is stitched right below the neck of her dress. A set of bright yellow eyes are staring right down at you.

She's not saying a single word to you. She keeps staring. Waiting for you to fuck up and sperg out. Her smile widens to show a set of slightly crooked but pearly white teeth. You return the same smile. She widens her smile even more. You do the same.

She leans forward. You do. Her eyes widen. Your eyes widen.

Both of you say nothing to each other for the longest time. Eventually, the W-Corp Rep is the first one to break. "Well, well! I didn't expect such a disgusting creature to hold itself back in my presence."

[UNSTABLE] "Takes one to know one, faggot." Your eye twitches. "At least I know what a good dress color is and it's not brown."

"At least I'm wearing a dress unlike you, dyke." Her eye twitches just like yours. "What's up with the antlers? Are you THAT much of a whore, you need handlebars? Or are you even more disgusting? One of THOSE creatures?" Every word she says is laced with equal measures malice, morbid curiosity, and amusement.

"I killed one. I forced another to give me its power. I knocked out another one. If anything, I am directly responsible with killing more of them than you." You lie through your teeth. They're not wrong in the most literal sense, at least. "With only what I had on hand. I'm not even an ETF agent. So fucking excuse me if I have weird antlers. Exposure is a bitch."

Her glare softens upon hearing your cover story. "Is that so? Any exposure to A-Energy lately? You do know that shit is made from those foul creatures, right?"

"Sadly." You keep up the persona. "Sadly."

A small frown crosses the rep's face. She leans even further over the table to sniff at you. It's only now that you realize the only thing she's been eating at this table is a single muffin for some reason? Whatever. She leans away once she's done her weird sniff thing.

"How many you hear?" She cryptically states. <[HUNTER OF THE CITY] She smells like one of them but she's not like one of them. Weird.>

[UNSTABLE] AH. ONE OF US.

"Four. You?"

"Three." She reaches for something on the seat on the side of the booth she's on. Before you realize what's she doing, she drops a handful of random objects onto the table.

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A magazine with a muddy brown cover reading "HOW TO EXTERMINATE THE WASTE AROUND YOU" with pictures of generic anomalies being shot at, a bright purple gemstone glowing with a faint hue, and a handful of bullets with a yellow-green tint to their primers.

ITEMS ACQUIRED!
>W-CORP CORPORATE MAGAZINE (Contains a variety of anti-anomaly tech and other W-Corp products. Can be used during FREE TIME and the SET UP PHASE to purchase items, or for a huge upcharge, in the middle of a mission.)
>MOONSTONE (A W-Corp product that automatically triggers when you would use RESTRAINT for an ability or take RESTRAINT damage. Can negate up to three RESTRAINT loss before shattering.)
>ANTI-ANOMALY ROUNDS x3 (Can be used as PISTOL or REVOLVER ammo. When hitting an anomaly or a person with anomalous abilities with one, the target takes 2 extra FLESH and RESTRAINT damage.)

"It's been a while since I met someone who I could understand. Someone who knows what it's like to think like that. To have all of THOSE thoughts in your head." She glances around nervously. "Fight fire with fire, you know?"

[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait, is she saying that she has abilities like us?
[PERSON OF INTEREST] No, I doubt that, given her revulsion to the anomalous. She's referring more to US.

"You need to think FASTER than them, right? More voices, more thoughts, more moments to notice the enemies approaching. Four minds is better than one. Fracture one mind. That's how we work." She mutters almost incoherently. "Tell me who your boss is. They tell me I can trust him." You hand her your phone. She quickly searches through it before tossing it back at you. "Good, good. Leave. Before they notice. Be my eyes on the ground."

"Kill those fuckers for me. Especially if they glow. Their minds, they don't FUCKING GET WHAT WE DO!"

>+2 W-CORP (EXTERMINATION) FAVORS
>-2 DC to all future skill checks when trying to talk to W-Corp.

You quickly leave before she starts having an episode. It was like looking at a fucked up reflection of yourself. So their Singularity revolves around the human mind somehow, huh? Interesting.

You decide to approach the D-Corp official next. She's...barely even awake when you check up on her. She's a thin pale woman with jet black hair, a generic white and black office uniform, and narrow eyes. She looks like she's from T-Corp's district, like Maruyama? She's currently sprawled out onto piles on piles of papers with one motto written on all of them.

""We die in the darkness so you may live in the light."

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] D-Company's motto. While most of the meanings behind the Alphabet Company's letters are usually some form of double entendre or otherwise hidden, D-Company doesn't hide that their true name is Dark Operations Incorporated.

"Hello?" You shake the D-Corp Rep's shoulder. You immediately step back when she throws a punch at you. "Shénme?" The young woman glares in your direction.

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"Wǒ huì dài nǐ xiàqù-" She babbles in some foreign district tongue. Yeah, whatever district she came from, it wasn't T-Corp. "...Who are you?" She immediately switches to the more universal, 'business friendly' one most people speak.

"Nicole Smith." You hold your hand out. "Simply looking for connections. You work for D-Corp, right?" You sit down at her table.

"Yue Xia. At your service." Yeah, you definitely don't recognize that naming scheme but you'd guess Yue is actually her last name. Some districts have a custom that have the last name first. T-Corp's districts have that but D-Corp?

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] You don't recall anything like this from D-Corp's district. Though you know that S and T-Corp's borders are adjacent to each other.

"Came from S Corp?" You throw out a guess.

Yue raises an eyebrow. "Correct. Regardless, I don't really have much to offer you." She looks back down at the pile of paperwork she was skimming through. "Too busy with this. Can't really talk. Sorry."

"It's fine. Just wanted to offer some help since I'm good with handling anomalies."

This immediately catches her interest. She narrows her eyes (even more than they normally were) at you. "How so? Got any proof?"

"Well, you're in cohoots with P-Corp, right? And containing anomalies too?" This gets a nod out of Yue. "Does the name 'Heart on My Sleeve' ring a bell?" You get another nod out of her. "I encountered it. Survived it. Hell, this jacket?" You point at the bomber jacket you have on. "It gave it to me."

"...You. A random civilian. Encountered an anomaly and not just survived but got a fucking PARADIGM FROM IT?!" She smashes her hand onto the table before collapsing in sheer despair. "we spent the last few hours trying to get it to react positively to anyone. we were about to ship it to p-corp so they can handle it."

"Huh? I just told it to wear a dress. It wanted to 'go to the city' or something so I told it to make a good first impression."

"Wait. Dress to go into the City?" Something clicks in her head. <"Oh. It tries to mimic whatever environment it wants to go to? It kept rambling about our facility..."> "You know, that gave us a bit of a break through. We've been trying to find out the origins of where anomalies are coming from, you see. We were established only 30 or so years ago to do this very thing."

"Do you mind telling us everything you know about anomalies, please?" Yue gestures at you to speak.

You give her a quick run down of every anomaly you've encountered and what their quirks were. She nods along, taking it all in. "So, you said you've encountered two people who either became or were going to turn into anomalies during a mental episode when they were exposed to A-Energy? Interesting. That actually fits in line with a theory I was working on..." She hums.

"We've had isolated cases happening but...hm. I have to tell the Overseers about this. If anomalous energy can turn other people into anomalies..."

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She hands you a small slip of paper. Glancing down at it, it seems to be the address to some sort of coffee shop? No, wait, it's a coupon. Seems pretty exclusive by the looks of it.
>D-CORP COFFEE COUPON ACQUIRED! (Can purchase of three items of a D-Corp coffee shop near your apartment for free. Coffee purchased this way will grant temporary abilities and boons depending on the type purchased.)
>+1 D-CORP (DARKNESS) FAVOR ACQUIRED!
>-2 DC to all checks involving contacting or interacting with D-Company employees.

"Keep this between us. If word of this goes out to anyone, people will panic. P-Company needs to know about the dangers their products pose." Yue mutters. "We've already been having problems keeping up with how many anomalies are manifesting lately. And if people are intentionally, or unintentionally, being turned into them..."

"Look. This information may save lives. Thank you for your service."

"No problem. You pocket it. "Thank you for your time-" And she's already passed out. Could've gone better but eh, you don't feel like pressuring her. One last table to go. The cop table.

There's five of them sitting at a booth, chattering away and eating a platter of random breakfast foods. Despite it being late in the afternoon. All of the cops look shockingly similar to each other. Each of them is a man in their late 40s with bushy mustaches, lightly tanned skin, and a muscular body type. Each is wearing a bright orange police uniform with a pin of a hand crushing something on their breastpockets.

The only way you can tell them apart is by their hair color. Red, black, silver, blonde, and brown hair.

Mr. Brown is the first to look up at you. His mouth twists into a conceited sneer. "Missy, we're on a break right now. If someone is breaking into your house, bother us later."
Mr. Silver snorts when he sees who his partner is talking to. "Aw, don't be rude to her. She's probably looking for a lost dog or something."
Mr. Red, Black, and Blonde don't even acknowledge you aside from laughing at your expense. Hrm.

You click your tongue. Time to think of something that might impressive them. "Ace Strikers ring a bell to you?"

Mr. Red looks up from the pancake he was eating. "Those cunts? What about 'em? We tried to deal with them once they started making a fuss in I-Corp's districts but we couldn't do nothing. Something about 'company relationships' and 'not stirring the pot.'"

"I killed their leader. Crippled them. They're no longer a thing." You grin. "All me."

The table goes silent.

Mr. Black stares right at you. "Excuse me?"

"Killed him." You pull out the revolver you stole from the Boss of that syndicate and place it onto the table. All of the officers stare at it with shock and awe plastered on their face.

"Holy fucking shit." Mr. Blonde mutters to himself. "Look, kid. You saved us a lot of hassle with this. Do you know how much of a pain in the ASS it is to deal with inter-district crimes lately?"

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"You gotta get a permit to operate in that District if you're working by the book, THEN you have to get approved nd assigned to the case..." Mr. Red mutters.

"And then, even after all of that, sometimes they won't let us use firearms!" Mr. Silver huffs. "Something about 'it cuts too much into our budget'. Buncha nonsense from the Head, I tell you. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH THIS, NOT RANDOM BITCHES!"

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Gun permits and ammo can be VERY annoying to acquire if you're not R-Corp, J-Corp, X-Corp, or an ETF agent. And usually, it costs an arm and a leg if you aim to keep it above board.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Most of your ammo and guns were stolen from random people you killed, for instance.

"You saved us a lot of paperwork." Mr. Brown nods. "Tell you what. If you don't mind us taking credit, we'll give you a small favor. How's that?"

You shrug. "Sure, fuck it. I already got paid for doing it, you guys can take the credit."

"Excellent!" The mood in the table suddenly swings from 'what is this bitch doing here' to damn near praising you for saving them from having to do any work.
>+1 J-CORP (LAW AND ORDER) FAVOR!

They promptly throw you a bright orange catalog with a police badge on the cover and a clip of pistol ammo before promptly blabbering to themselves about what a great job they did. Huh.

No wonder why Cleaners exist if doing police work is so mired in red tape. Seems like trying to keep things in check requires way too much red tape from them to be effective...

>+6 ARMOR PIERCING PISTOL ROUNDS (Against armored targets or machines, roll an additional +3d6. Used by J-Corp to deal with high risk targets.)
>+J-CORP CATALOG (Contains a variety of training manuals and equipment to improve your combat abilities, on hire guards to keep you safe, and specialized ammo and grenade types.)
>-2 DC to all future skill checks when trying to talk to J-Corp.

Neat. You decide to head back to your table where your allies are at. Sitting down, you realize that they already ordered you something to eat. It's a juicy, medium rare steak with a glass of red wine. The steak looks way bigger and juicier than any meat you had before in your life. You look up to see Alexis flashing a smile at you.

"A reward for not fucking up. Don't worry about paying it and, please, feel free to order another one if you wish."

Fuck. You're not going to complain. As you prepare to dig into your stake, you wonder what to ask Naomi and Alexis. You already bothered Kiara with questions after the training course so you don't feel like bothering her. If she wants to say something, she will.

"Thanks." You offer your best smile to her.

Kiara looks up from the pile of pasta she's been devouring. "I always wondered why they installed fake taste buds into me." Kiara mutters. "I know now what heaven tastes like."

Naomi is busy just eating at a simple sandwich in silence. It's clear she's still a bit tense when it comes to social interactions. Hm.

Select three questions to ask Naomi and Alexis, given how they're your main focus.

ALEXIS
>"So, you work with a lot of people. Cleaners. Alphabet Companies. Would you mind telling me anyone you think might be useful for me down the line?"
>"Where the hell DO you get all of your equipment? Got any shops you could recommend? You seem to be able to get a lot of stuff in a REALLY short amount of time."
>"Say. Apparently my Handler is some rich, important fuck. You deal with rich, important fucks. Does Otto Foxtrot ring a bell?" Try to pry a bit into your Handler and his motivations through Alexis.
>"Did I do well? Mind telling me where I fucked up?" Ask her for feedback on how you handled talking to the company reps.
>"Random guess. I think you might know something about two people I know. Frank and Bennett. What do you know?" You met Frank but you don't know much about him. Knowing more about an ally you might hire later could be useful.
>Eh, no need to bore her too much with business talk. "Mind telling me what you'd recommend to eat here? Way out of my depth with fancy shit." Just have some normal chitchat with her.
>Write in.

NAOMI
>"What was your history with Alex? You two seemed to have a past with each other? Did you work for X-Corp before?" Pry into her relationship with X-Corp and its officials.
>"If you don't mind me bringing down the mood, the hell is up with the Antiseptic War? My memory on it is foggy these days." You ask, just in case it's relevant in the future.
>"Hey. You know we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Try to make her feel welcomed in the group. She's been a useful presence and what's in the past is in the past.
>"So, you were an ETF agent, right? What is that like? Got any tips you can pass down to me?" Maybe she can give you some useful advice. She is a old hag, after all.
>"If you don't mind me prying-" You point at the burn scars she keeps hidden away in bandage wrap. "Where the hell did you get those? I'm curious."
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.
>Write in.

Sorry for the delay, had to write a lot this update. Most updates probably won't be this big.
Good job on not fucking up on your first impression rolls. Seems like being a deer schizo is remarkably charming, eh? Will update the pastebin later when I'm not bone tired.

>>5949497
>"Did I do well? Mind telling me where I fucked up?" Ask her for feedback on how you handled talking to the company reps.
>"Random guess. I think you might know something about two people I know. Frank and Bennett. What do you know?" You met Frank but you don't know much about him. Knowing more about an ally you might hire later could be useful.
>Eh, no need to bore her too much with business talk. "Mind telling me what you'd recommend to eat here? Way out of my depth with fancy shit." Just have some normal chitchat with her.

>"Hey. You know we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Try to make her feel welcomed in the group. She's been a useful presence and what's in the past is in the past.
>"If you don't mind me prying-" You point at the burn scars she keeps hidden away in bandage wrap. "Where the hell did you get those? I'm curious."
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.

>>5949497
That was a good series of updates. I especially enjoyed the W corp scene, that was really fun. I hope we can recruit her or someone like her and have a schizo mission.
>"Say. Apparently my Handler is some rich, important fuck. You deal with rich, important fucks. Does Otto Foxtrot ring a bell?" Try to pry a bit into your Handler and his motivations through Alexis.
>"Did I do well? Mind telling me where I fucked up?" Ask her for feedback on how you handled talking to the company reps.
>Eh, no need to bore her too much with business talk. "Mind telling me what you'd recommend to eat here? Way out of my depth with fancy shit." Just have some normal chitchat with her. Also ask her what her favorite fancy shit is.
Naomi
>"Hey. You know we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Try to make her feel welcomed in the group. She's been a useful presence and what's in the past is in the past.
>"If you don't mind me prying-" You point at the burn scars she keeps hidden away in bandage wrap. "Where the hell did you get those? I'm curious."
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.

>>5949497
Wohoo, I hope J-Corp taking credit for Ace Strikers gets that warcrime company off our tail.
>"Random guess. I think you might know something about two people I know. Frank and Bennett. What do you know?" You met Frank but you don't know much about him. Knowing more about an all
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.
>"What was your history with Alex? You two seemed to have a past with each other? Did you work for X-Corp before?" Pry into her relationship with X-Corp and its officials.

>>5949497
ALEXIS
>"Did I do well? Mind telling me where I fucked up?" Ask her for feedback on how you handled talking to the company reps
First thing after we got pulled away
>"Say. Apparently my Handler is some rich, important fuck. You deal with rich, important fucks. Does Otto Foxtrot ring a bell?" Try to pry a bit into your Handler and his motivations through Alexis.
He's our boss and he's in this silver agent shit now too. And we killed his bro's gang for him
>Eh, no need to bore her too much with business talk. "Mind telling me what you'd recommend to eat here? Way out of my depth with fancy shit." Just have some normal chitchat with her.
The FOOD

I don't feel the need to ask Alexis about more useful people yet. We got plenty to work with at present.
I don't wanna ask about the free gear. I'm content with it being a mystery
Not asking about F&B either. Frank we can recruit on a mission and ask ourselves then. Bennett is still unknown...

NAOMI
>"Hey. You know we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Try to make her feel welcomed in the group. She's been a useful presence and what's in the past is in the past.
We we ok with Quentin, we can be ok with grandma here. Ex-Silver or not
>"What was your history with Alex? You two seemed to have a past with each other? Did you work for X-Corp before?" Pry into her relationship with X-Corp and its officials.
Recent enough it feels natural to ask this here
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.
And this is because the antlers are recent too

I refuse to ask about Antiseptic War here. Not with corporate officials listening in and not in this environment. Maybe next time
Don't wanna ask her about the ETF thing either, as I'm leaning to recruiting Frank for our next mission whatever it may be
I REFUSE to ask about the bacon body either. I've seen enough burned girls in fiction to know you leave that to later

>>5949497
>"Where the hell DO you get all of your equipment? Got any shops you could recommend? You seem to be able to get a lot of stuff in a REALLY short amount of time."
>"Say. Apparently my Handler is some rich, important fuck. You deal with rich, important fucks. Does Otto Foxtrot ring a bell?" Try to pry a bit into your Handler and his motivations through Alexis.
>Eh, no need to bore her too much with business talk. "Mind telling me what you'd recommend to eat here? Way out of my depth with fancy shit." Just have some normal chitchat with her.

>"If you don't mind me bringing down the mood, the hell is up with the Antiseptic War? My memory on it is foggy these days." You ask, just in case it's relevant in the future.
>"Hey. You know we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Try to make her feel welcomed in the group. She's been a useful presence and what's in the past is in the past.
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.

>>5949533
Change
>>5949497
>"Did I do well? Mind telling me where I fucked up?" Ask her for feedback on how you handled talking to the company reps.
>"Say. Apparently my Handler is some rich, important fuck. You deal with rich, important fucks. Does Otto Foxtrot ring a bell?" Try to pry a bit into your Handler and his motivations through Alexis.
>Eh, no need to bore her too much with business talk. "Mind telling me what you'd recommend to eat here? Way out of my depth with fancy shit." Just have some normal chitchat with her. Also ask her what her favorite fancy shit is.

>"Hey. You know we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Try to make her feel welcomed in the group. She's been a useful presence and what's in the past is in the past.
>"What was your history with Alex? You two seemed to have a past with each other? Did you work for X-Corp before?" Pry into her relationship with X-Corp and its officials.
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.

>>5949712
>J Corp takes credit openly
>K Corp immediately zeroes in on them instead
Might go horribly wrong depending on how close they were to discovering Nicole was involved. K Corp cleanup crew were there at the silver agent's corpse, and that was only a couple streets away from Nicole's apartment.

>>5949697
I think if she knew the truth, the W Corp rep might be an enemy or fierce rival instead. Nicole is gradually becoming an anomaly, while the W Corp rep and the rest of W Corp are anti-anomaly to their core. They live in two separate worlds, on two separate sides of the insanity coin. Time will tell how events and characters develop

>>5949497
>"So, you work with a lot of people. Cleaners. Alphabet Companies. Would you mind telling me anyone you think might be useful for me down the line?"
>"Where the hell DO you get all of your equipment? Got any shops you could recommend? You seem to be able to get a lot of stuff in a REALLY short amount of time."
>"Say. Apparently my Handler is some rich, important fuck. You deal with rich, important fucks. Does Otto Foxtrot ring a bell?" Try to pry a bit into your Handler and his motivations through Alexis.

>"Hey. You know we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Try to make her feel welcomed in the group. She's been a useful presence and what's in the past is in the past.
>"So, you were an ETF agent, right? What is that like? Got any tips you can pass down to me?" Maybe she can give you some useful advice. She is a old hag, after all.
>"Uh, got any sewing tips for me?" You nervously laugh as you point at your Antlers. Might as well keep the conversation simple and light to make sure she feels comfortable talking with you and the others.

>>5949773
That's fair enough, but I am deeply curious about W corp and their similarities to us. Even if not with her, something with W corp seems within our wheelhouse.

On K corp, I don't know how J corp claiming credit will affect things. Probably the best we can expect is a bigger delay before we have to deal with them though.

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https://youtu.be/YWD2Z14w99Y - SUGAR MOUNTAIN

"So. Did I do good?" You start cutting into your steak into tiny pieces as you talk into Alexis. "Mind telling me where I fucked up? Feels like I could've done better." Putting a piece in your mouth, you can feel it almost immediately melt inside your mouth. Your body shivers from how JUICY it is. God, you never had meat this good.

[UNSTABLE] THAT'S WHAT I-

Alexis hums while she cuts into her own steak. "With the W-Corp one? No notes. You did what you could. Hell, I'll be honest, it was like you were talking to another version of yourself." She takes a small swig from a glass of bright white wine that's probably worth $300 for a single swig. "J-Corp, no comments. D-Corp? Well, you could've done better."

"How so?" Taking a sip of your own wine, you take a moment to savor it on your tongue. You make out some sort of blackcurrant and black cherry flavor from it. Pretty good.

"To be polite? Most of the people who work there are barely awake, barely conscious husks who run purely off coffee. They prefer blunt, to the point discussions. You talked a bit too long and she passed out before you could get anything more out of her." She politely but firmly tells you what faults she saw in your discussion. Huh. You guess the S-Corp thing was a waste of time.

"That company is VERY new and very underfunded so...expect a lot of that from anyone who works there?" Alexis shrugs."

"Oh, yeah! They're probably only still around because they're P-Company's biggest partner." Kiara chirps out. "I even heard rumors that the previous D-Company was 'convinced to retire' by P-Company so they could put a new power in their place."

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] This tracks with an old rumor you heard of. From what you recall, old D-Corp was more focused on exploring the underground sections of the City. Supposedly they merged with something else to make W-Corp?

"And about partners and powerful people, do you know anything about Otto Foxtrot?" You throw the name out before you take another swig of wine. Your head's already feeling quite fuzzy from it.

<"Oh, that prick? Fuck me."> "Well, I've heard about him. His family has a LOT of connections with the Alphabet Companies. I think he has diplomatic immunity with all of them aside from V-Company...which, yeah, don't blame him." There it is again, V-Company, the only major blind spot you have. "I actually talked to him a few times. He's actually pleasant company all things considered."

You raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah?" Alexis is weirdly confused by your reaction. Is she even talking about the same person you are? <"Sure, I want to blow his brains out, but I can say that with most of my associates."> "Only real issue I have with him is that he says freakshit WAY too much."

Might as well drop the present. "Yeah. Trust me, I know. I work for him."

And now the table is dead silent. All of your allies are staring at you. Uh?

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"Fuck me, no wonder why you're like that." Alexis snorts. "Yeah. Makes sense."
"...Pitiful. I feel sorry for you." You barely hear Naomi's muttering.
"Sorry." Kiara tries REALLY hard to hide her smirk.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean???" You try your best to hide your confused expression.

"I can't promise my information is in date but," Naomi finishes her sandwich in one, unnervingly big bite and swallow. "Isn't his family barely respect in the corporate world?"

"I believe so. No wonder why he has to rely on someone like you, no offense meant, to do tasks on his behalf." Alexis's expression is equal parts concerned, conceited, and disgusted. "Don't be shocked if he uses you to boost himself and his family name back into the spotlight. Cleaners are disposable, after all."

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Worrying. If he tries to drag too much attention to the both of you? The agents might move in. You can only hope he has the common sense to keep any power plays hidden for now.

How comforting. Wouldn't be too shocking if he tried using the existence of the Silver Agents to get the Companies on his side. Yet, from what it sounds like, they're about as powerful as an Alphabet Company if not GREATER...fuck. You'll worry about that when you talk to him later.

Naomi seems to notice the worry on your face. All she offers is a cryptic nod. "It's best to be worried." <"She's piecing it together. Good.">

"W-well then!" You try to wash away your worries with more wine and food. Soon enough, your glass and plate are empty. "Mind telling me what you'd recommend to eat here? Way out of my depth with fancy shit and, uh, still hungry."

"Mmh." Alexis waves her hand to get the attention of a waiter. "Tell you what? I'm in a morbid kind of mood. Do you have any deer on the menu today?" Oh this bitch-

The waiter nods.

"Excellent. Get me a cut of meat from it and some of the Syndie you know what." She whispers at the waiter. Before you even know it, he's gone. "I'll be honest. Most of the food here is actually pretty awful when it comes to being food."

"How so?" Your standards for restaurant food is that one Beetleburger place Q-Company owns and, like, the Bazaar of Desires or whatever you ate a few days ago.

"It's all fucking 'experience' slop!" Alexis' face contorts into a sneer of pure fucking rage. "Look at the menu!" You only now notice there's a menu still in front of you. You quickly flip through it. For every normal steak, sandwich, or plate of pasta there's...what the fuck is this? You squint at the pictures on the menu.

FLAVOR FROM 369 YEARS AGO. It's a cracked open can of that ancient 'Coca Cola' soda.
DECONSTRUCTED RASPBERRY CAKE. It's a plate with raw flour, scrambled eggs, and crushed raspberries covered in sugar.
MIDDLE AGED MAN'S DESPAIR. It's just a cup of black coffee and a pack of 'BLACK TAR' brand cigarettes

"What the fuck?"

"I know, right?" Kiara and Alexis yell out in unison.

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"Look, I had to pick a place on short notice and this place is mostly for, to be frank, rich assholes who don't know any better." Alexis lets out an annoyed sigh. "I missed the days where I could just eat a fast food burger. But no, I'm obligated to go to these places."

"You care too much about how others perceive you." Naomi chimes in. "Though I suppose I am no better here."

"Yeah." You take this moment to segue into talking to Naomi about, well, yeah. "You do realize we're not going to judge you on your past, right?" Naomi flinches a bit but otherwise doesn't respond to you. "I mean, look, your presence was helpful this mission and I know the Agent was trying to mindgame us."

[SILVER INSTINCTS] "Don't act like you understand." Naomi's mouth twists into a sneer. "I respect the attempt but there's a reason I've been-"

"Sorry."

This immediately causes Naomi's anger to disappear. "I apologize too. It's just not an aspect on my past I wish to dwell on. Let alone dwell with others who know about it."

"Isn't it more helpful to have someone who understands them? I know basically nothing about them but you're more of an asset than a detriment with that knowledge." Alexis points out. Naomi can only sputter out confused, conflicted noises.

"I literally saw a sentient centipede revive corpses before and he's a valuable ally to me. C'mon. It's all in the past." You try your best to comfort Naomi.

"Word." An electric snort escapes Kiara. "And I'm a robot. Being some mysterious vague agent in the past isn't remotely as weird."

"If you say so." Naomi relaxes a bit in her chair.

"Hell, speaking about how useful you are, got any tips for uh-" You point at your antlers. "Sewing? You know? With these fucking things?"

[SILVER INSTINCTS] "Cut them off." A weird smirk crosses her face. "It can't be that hard."

You narrow your eyes at her. She shakes her head, muttering to herself about 'old habits'. "Well, it's not my first time dealing with outfit modifications. It's best that you measure the base of the horn to make sure, once it's through, there's no space for any water to leak onto your head."

"Pft, what, are horns THAT common in your old line of duty?"

"Yes." Naomi bluntly states. "You could not imagine the amount of degenerates who would use body mods to get animalistic features. I even once saw something I thought was an anomaly. A wolf that stood on two legs. But, alas, it was simply a rich mistress who belonged to a M-Company employee."

"...yeaaahhh, not my first time seeing a mod like that. Once saw a woman with a fox's head. Not sure why people get those." Soon, the conversation devolves into the four of you making fun of various freaks who invest WAY too much money into body mods. Time begins to pass by as the four of you enjoy your meals.

Naomi seems to be escaping her shell with every second that passes by and Alexis starts getting a bit too honest with you as she gets wasted on white wine.
>+1 RAPPORT WITH NAOMI AND ALEXIS!

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The venison steak, as morbid of a joke as it was, was actually quite good if a bit gamey. The 'syndi-cake' Alexis ordered was a cream-filled roll which tasted okay. She said something about it being banned in five Districts for some reason?

"Fuck, you think THAT'S weird? I once heard of a guy who was hooking up with FIFTY different Drones. You would not BELIEVE how jealous those husks can get." Alexis sneers as she recounts yet another story. "There were only bones left when we found his body."

"I once knew of a Harvester who, well, 'consumed' her male partner's special part in one bite when he cheated on her. The amount of blood coming out of it was impressive." Naomi chuckles under her bandage wrap mask.

You begin to tune out all of the weird stories until, before you know it, the four of you are stumbling out of the restaurant in a drunken haze. Kiara and Alexis disappear into the streets of this section of District 24, leaving you and Naomi to wander back into the train.
>KIARA AND ALEXIS LEFT THE PARTY.

"So." You try your best to keep your focus as your vision blurs. "What's up with you and Alex? What's your history?"

"...It's a long story." Naomi whimpers out. A sad, wistful note drenches her words as she continues to mutter. "After I left the Silvers, I ran here. This used to be my home. My district. We met when I was 30 and, well, we worked together for a few decades. That's how I got these-" She gestures at her old tribal tattoos. "It used to be a tradition back in X-Corp. It was my squadron's tattoos."

"I'm guessing it didn't end well?" You mutter as the two stumble onto the train that got you here. It's empty, like it always is. All you can do as it travels back to your district is to talk with Naomi.

"No. We were the only members left after an incident I rather not speak on. Needless to say, I didn't feel like I deserved to come back here. It's been years since I talked to him directly. But, well, he owed me. So he actually gave me a Nest permit. Tried to, at least."

You raise an eyebrow. "Why the hell would you reject that? Aren't those places the best places to live in the City?"

"Yes. But, look, I don't feel comfortable explaining why I rejected it." Naomi clicks her tongue. "All I can say is this. I've been with X-Company for a long while but after what happened, I didn't feel like I deserved to be here."

There's an odd silence as the two of you wait on the empty train. Outside the train is pure darkness aside from the blips of lights from the buildings in the City. "If I could give you some advice? The only home you'll ever truly have is the home you make for yourself. You'll leave your district eventually. Especially if THEY are following you."

The train eventually stops at G-Corp's district. Before Naomi exits the train, she looks back at you for a split second. "All that matters is you survive. Anything and anyone else comes second. That's how a good person lives." How vague and ominous.

Before you have time to question her, she's gone.
>NAOMI HAS LEFT THE PARTY.

Hm. You suppose she'll stay cryptic and vague about herself until you get a better bond. As you walk back to your apartment, you try your best to ignore the X-Corp agents disguised as random workers shoveling snow out of the streets.

You head back inside and immediately collapse onto the bed in an exhausted heap. When you wake up, it's still dark in your room. You feel a bit better, at least? Hard to say really.

>UNMARKED VIAL DAMAGE REMOVED!
>??? UNTIL K-CORP MAKES ITS MOVE?

Select up to three SET UP TIME ACTIONS to take.
>Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT, +1 RESTRAINT, FOR THE MISSION.)
>Best to stock up on some equipment. (Choose between NEAL'S REAL DEALS, WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE, or ordering from the corporate catalogs. NEAL'S offers general supplies, WEIRD ANOMALOUS STORE offers niche and situational but powerful items, and the catalogs offer you unique items from W or J-Corp. You may spend multiple actions to visit/use multiple of these.)
>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (You'll roll 5d100, thanks to your new power, to determine what loot you get from the cache. You may write in a general category of supply to search for to increase the odds of getting it.)
>Call up Gregory to get some supplies from him (CONNECTIONS DC: 10. Pass, you'll get to select one of three pieces of decent equipment. Failure, you'll get some random trinkets with questionable usefulness. You may write in what type of supplies you want him.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Take a long, long walk around the District. (You'll roll 4d100 if you pick this. You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
>[UNSTABLE] HEY. TV MAN. LET'S TALK TO HIM. (You'll get some random but very useful information if you pick this.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. (Choose between the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE or THE PHONE CALL, or both for two actions.)
>Call a contact you have. (Write in. Ms. Anjaro to learn about the Wastes? Ms. Wiltshire about the History of the City? One of the three Corporate Reps you visited? Alex to cache in some favors? Someone else?)
>Might as well visit that coffee shop the D-Corp rep gave you a coupon for. Go there.
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Might as well try to see how your Antlers work. Try to experiment with them! (WILLPOWER DC: ???. The higher you roll, the more information you get on how they work. You may write in how you want to test them in order to affect the DC.)
>Call Sukane to get some more SET UP TIME actions with his T-Corp connections. (FREE ACTION, -$450 per extra action. Write in how many actions to buy, if any.)
>Write in.

>>5950291
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Might as well try to see how your Antlers work. Try to experiment with them! (WILLPOWER DC: ???. The higher you roll, the more information you get on how they work. You may write in how you want to test them in order to affect the DC.)
Lets try and focus our telekenesis or something through them, maybe they act like focusing conduits for our powers.
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Take a long, long walk around the District. (You'll roll 4d100 if you pick this. You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
Hmmmm, Anomalous
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. (Choose between the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE or THE PHONE CALL, or both for two actions.)
Phone call, we should establish this contact.

>>5950291
>Take some time to mediate. Focus. (+1 MAX RESTRAINT, +1 RESTRAINT, FOR THE MISSION.)
>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (You'll roll 5d100, thanks to your new power, to determine what loot you get from the cache. You may write in a general category of supply to search for to increase the odds of getting it.)
Stuff to help us on our fishing trip mission
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. (Choose between the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE or THE PHONE CALL, or both for two actions.)
Phone Call

(From CHOOSE YOUR NEXT MISSION, NICOLE!)
>"You better not get sea-sick easily, we got a crew over at District 19 who needs someone to assist them during their fishing trip. Help them harvest, protect them from any thieves, and try bringing back something special." REWARD: $975, the tough work will likely improve your FLESH and VIOLENCE stats permanently. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH
We are going to do a fishing trip mission in District 19.

My team setup:
ADAM and BENEDICT help with harvest.
LEX, QUENTIN, ASHLEY on guard duty.
bring NAOMI too because ([MILITARY EXPERIENCE] While she's not a great combatant by herself, her past experiences has molded her into an excellent commander and advisor. Everyone else gains +1 VIOLENCE, +1 RESTRAINT, +1 TALENT, and +1 WILLPOWER while she's in the party. In addition, she may add 2d6 to any roll you or your allies make twice per mission.) skill boost on all our teams.

Also, we may potentially encounter an anomalies entity in District 19: "There's also this weird rumor about some sort of admiral roaming around Districts 19 through 21. Apparently he's a Color tier threat." You flinch. If he's a Color, he's WAY out of your league to deal with. "I don't know what his deal is but I would watch out for anyone wearing a buncha medals on his uniform."

No.5885279
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5850165

>>5950291
>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (You'll roll 5d100, thanks to your new power, to determine what loot you get from the cache. You may write in a general category of supply to search for to increase the odds of getting it.)
I trust Naomi. I want to go after a nearby cache before Nicole inevitably needs to run from G District elsewhere
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Might as well try to see how your Antlers work. Try to experiment with them! (WILLPOWER DC: ???. The higher you roll, the more information you get on how they work. You may write in how you want to test them in order to affect the DC.)
We just got them, so I want to try them. No way in hell we're going to be able to Mind Whip or anything close in one fucking day, but baby steps are initial ones.
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. (Choose between the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE or THE PHONE CALL, or both for two actions.)
Phone call, to establish contact as >>5950365 said

>>5950435
Change
>>5950291
>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (You'll roll 5d100, thanks to your new power, to determine what loot you get from the cache. You may write in a general category of supply to search for to increase the odds of getting it.)
Stuff to help us on our fishing trip mission
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. (Choose between the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE or THE PHONE CALL, or both for two actions.)
Phone Call
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Might as well try to see how your Antlers work. Try to experiment with them! (WILLPOWER DC: ???. The higher you roll, the more information you get on how they work. You may write in how you want to test them in order to affect the DC.)

>>5950291
>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (You'll roll 5d100, thanks to your new power, to determine what loot you get from the cache. You may write in a general category of supply to search for to increase the odds of getting it.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. (Choose between the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE or THE PHONE CALL, or both for two actions.)
PHONE
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Might as well try to see how your Antlers work. Try to experiment with them! (WILLPOWER DC: ???. The higher you roll, the more information you get on how they work. You may write in how you want to test them in order to affect the DC.)
>For the testing, I want to focus on either using our horns as a conduit and a focus for our abilities, like a wand, or as a way to research deeper into our nature. I’m more partial to the wand attempt though.

Man, Alexis is a fun bitch. Lots of fun going on missions with her, the venison joke was great. We should also go to the movies with Kiara and maybe like Muryama soon. Oh also, could we maybe have a free action added to put the phone we took from Gregory on the charger? The old one?
>put the old phone we took from Gregory’s stash on the ancient charger (free action?)

>>5950540
>Oh also, could we maybe have a free action added to put the phone we took from Gregory on the charger? The old one?
Sure. No reason not to. I'd just include that as part of whatever the final plan ends up being since there's no cost to doing it.

Question everyone: which district corp should we live in if we pack up and leave the G-corp district?

Maybe X-Corp district will be our new home temporarily, or we can go nomadic routes.

Also, silver agents are planning something in the X-Corp district:

"Achieve one of the following goals."
"Eliminate the Sergeant Major and Command Sergeant Major of this base."
"Divert their attention and resources from our operation involving a Type 4 occurring in their section. Any method allowed."
"Record and transmit any confidential plans that might hamper our operations back to HQ."

>"Divert their attention and resources from our operation involving a Type 4 occurring in their section. Any method allowed."

We haven't told the X-Corp this information yet.

No.5932897
https://boards.4chan.org/qst/thread/5893937#bottom

>>5950553
Think we should call and tell Alex this, or will the silvers intercept it or eavesdrop?

>>5950291
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Take a long, long walk around the District. (You'll roll 4d100 if you pick this. You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
New Shop
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. (Choose between the SILVER WALKIE TALKIE or THE PHONE CALL, or both for two actions.)
Phone call
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Might as well try to see how your Antlers work. Try to experiment with them! (WILLPOWER DC: ???. The higher you roll, the more information you get on how they work. You may write in how you want to test them in order to affect the DC.)

>>5950291
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] We have a phone number Kiara gave us a while ago, something about a contact that might know about the spooks. That and the radio. Let's fiddle with them. THE PHONE CALL
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Might as well try to see how your Antlers work. Try to experiment with them!
>Write in. Look for a new home.

>>5950291
>Check out one of your old caches nearby. See what stuff you have hidden away. (You'll roll 5d100, thanks to your new power, to determine what loot you get from the cache. You may write in a general category of supply to search for to increase the odds of getting it.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Take a long, long walk around the District. (You'll roll 4d100 if you pick this. You know your home district better. Pick between ANOMALOUS, SECRETS, INFORMATION, SHOP, CACHE, or MYSTERY when picking this. You're more likely to find something in that category when rolling the dice.)
New Shop
>Might as well visit that coffee shop the D-Corp rep gave you a coupon for. Go there.

ANOMALOUS ABILITIES: T2m, 9VB, IkB, O5H, QKD, Cp5
COFFEE SHOP: GWO
NEW HOME: Cp5
PERSON OF INTEREST (PHONE CALL): Cp5, QKD, O5H, 9VB, IkB, T2M
SCHOLAR OF THE CITY: T2m, QKD, GWO
CACHE: GWO, O5h, 9VB, IkB
Seems pretty solid on what to do. But before we do the absolutely insane amount of rolls, I'll ask for a small vote since SCHOLAR OF THE CITY and CACHE were pretty close. Do you want to spend $450 to get an action to do that as well or just stick to three this time?

>SCHOLAR TOO. WHY NOT? (-$450, you'll get a chance to find some interesting things around your District depending on how you luck out.)
>NAH. JUST STICK TO THE ANOMALOUS ABILITIES + PERSON OF INTEREST + CACHE (Rolls will commence for the mentioned actions.)

>>5950929
>>SCHOLAR TOO. WHY NOT? (-$450, you'll get a chance to find some interesting things around your District depending on how you luck out.)
I feel like this is worth more than the $450

>>5950929
>SCHOLAR TOO. WHY NOT? (-$450, you'll get a chance to find some interesting things around your District depending on how you luck out.)
Honestly a really good deal for us. Thanks Handler. Do you want a write in on what we search for? Or are you using what people put down before?

>>5950945
I'll use a combination of NEW SHOP + ANOMALOUS (which is what the SCHOLAR OF THE CITY voters picked) as what you're more likely to find, so don't worry about having to add another write in.

>>5950929
>SCHOLAR TOO. WHY NOT? (-$450, you'll get a chance to find some interesting things around your District depending on how you luck out.)
Arigato, T Corp-san

File: THELOOPBEGINS.jpg (193 KB, 628x900)

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Time is underneath our control.
Time is nothing but a construct.
Time is nothing but a tool.
The end only occurs when we want to. We will only end when we want to.
Dark Hour Protocol activating. Readjusting current stream. Adjusting timetable.
Practical delay for our plans: 2.1 milliseconds.

...

You feel weird. Something, somewhere, you know something has changed but you can't quite put it your finger on what just happened. You check your phone. Huh, was it always 12 AM?

Whatever just happened, you probably have a few extra hours to burn. Only now do you realize that your pocket is shockingly light. You were just about to call him but it seems like whatever you planned was already done.
>-$450! $1258 left.

-------

Now onto the actual rolls. Since we have a lot to roll, here's how we're going to handle it. I need four anons to roll the following
>5d100 (CACHE)
>2d100 (first half of SCHOLAR)
>2d100 (second half of SCHOLAR)
>6d6 (WILLPOWER check, whoever rolls this may spend one charge on your AMULET to reroll any two dice.)
Using them as a focus is the most suggested course, so a DC 17 to see how well they focus your abilities (if at all) is what you'll need to beat for the WILLPOWER check.

TABLE FOR CACHE LOOT (UNCHANGED FROM NORMAL TABLE)
1-20: Consumable (self explanatory)
21-40: Defensive (armor, tasers, pepper spray, etc etc. Something to help protect you.)
41-63: Offensive (Melee weapons, molotovs, etc etc. Something meant to hurt people.)
64-81: Supportive (Counterfeit IDs, tools, advanced cameras, etc etc. Something to help you out in the field.)
82-93: Exclusive (Stolen company resources, company exclusive items, etc etc. Something that usually only highly connected people get.)
94-100: Anomalous (You're not quite sure what you'll get if you roll this.)

TABLE FOR SCHOLAR (MORE LIKELY FOR SHOP AND ANOMALOUS)

1-9: The sea of people passing by you makes you wonder how their lives are... (You'll learn more about the people living in the district. May be useful down the line.)
10-40: Oh, that's an interesting looking building! (You'll gain a new place to visit during your SETUP and FREE TIME phases.)
40-45: "Hey, miss! Come over here!" (You encounter a potential ALLY.)
46-57: A crowd of Cleaners pass by you, muttering and yelling about something. You keep an open ear. (You'll learn some advice that'll be useful for later missions.)
58-66: There's something weird about the alleyway you walked past. You decide to take another check. (You'll learn a useful secret about the City.)
67-97: The air grows thick and heavy. Your legs move on their own. You can sense something ANOMALOUS nearby. (ANOMALY ENCOUNTER)
98-100: The air grows thick and heavy. You swear the streets were crowded moments before. What's going on? (???)

Rolled 76, 87 = 163 (2d100)

>>5951008
rolling scholar part 1

Rolled 38, 86, 26, 60, 67 = 277 (5d100)

>>5951008
Rolling Cache

Rolled 1, 5, 6, 2, 2, 6 = 22 (6d6)

>>5951008
Here we go. Max willpower!

Rolled 28, 44 = 72 (2d100)

>>5951008
QUADRUPLE ANOMALY ENCOUNTER BLAST, GGGRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH

RESULTS
CACHE: DEFENSIVE, EXCLUSIVE, DEFENSIVE, OFFENSIVE, SUPPORTIVE
SCHOLAR: ANOMALY, ANOMALY, SHOP, ALLY.
WILLPOWER: SUCCESS.
Writing.

File: GLOWINGHORNS.jpg (49 KB, 960x540)

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Time nonsense aside, you have some tomfuckery of your own to do. First thing first? Testing out your new antlers. You open up your closet and, with a small sigh, you take Naomi's advice on how best to cut some horns into every piece of clothing you have with a hood. It's a slow, annoying process but you literally bought an extra two hours (you think?) so you have time to spare. Small circles of cloth and leather fall to the floor every minute or so.

After twenty minutes, you have antler-proofed all of your clothes and hats that matter. Looking down at the pile of circular cloth and leather pieces cut out of your outfits, you wonder something. No point letting these go to waste. You levitate a handful of circular leather pieces into the air with no resistance and, with a deep breath, you focus with your antlers.

You decide to try to see if they can be used as a focus. A wand, almost. After your deep breath, you begin to strain your telekinesis through your antlers to get any sort of reaction out of them. A throbbing headache unlike what you normally feel when you use your powers immediately makes itself known. You're on the right track at least.

Letting your hands rest by your sides, you try your best to focus every inch of your telekinesis through your antlers. Sparks of orange and pink energy crackle from your antlers as, suddenly...

>22. SUCCESS!

A bright flash of light erupts from the pieces of leather you were messing with. No, not just any light. They're in flames now. In the corner of your eye, you can just barely see your reflection in the bathroom mirror. Your antlers are glowing a bright orange-pink hue as the leather pieces continue to burn.

The moment you stop focusing, the pieces drop to the floor into melting heaps of burnt leather.

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Leather doesn't start to melt like that until you reach 550 degrees.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Your telekinesis can damage objects but not like this. It's normally only able to crush things on par with your grip strength. So to press down on leather so hard, it heats up to 550? That's damn impressive.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] Granted, this was with tiny circles of leather. A full jacket or more durable materials would require more effort.

>ANTLER ABILITY REVEALED: FOCUS (You may spend 1 FLESH, 1 RESTRAINT, or increase the DC of a power activation by +4 to temporarily boost the next power you use. This may unlock choices otherwise impossible with your regular abilities. A list has been added to MAIN CHARACTER SHEET)

Hot damn. You don't mind these things. You use your antler-focused telekinesis to ignite every loose piece of fabric and leather laying around before, with a simple thought, your phone levitates up to your ear. You dial in the number Kiara gave you and wait for someone to pick up.

"Don't say who you are. I don't need to know." A masculine voice with an electronic filter masking it responses. "I am Zeta-Zero. Friend of Camera?"

File: THEVOICEONTHEPHONE.jpg (60 KB, 615x461)

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[PERSON OF INTEREST] While you can't make out much through the electronic filter, you can tell he's already suspicious of you through his voice. Can't blame him.

Camera? Must be about Kiara. "Yes."

"Good. Connection established. I assume this is about the glows, correct?"

"Yes. Targeted by them. PoI. Anomalous potential. That's all I think you need to know." You hiss out. Something who understands who you're dealing with.

"Correct. They can trace our calls, so don't say anything too specific. Zeta-Zero is used by 5367 ETF across 26 districts, for instance. Select a code name I can refer to you before this call ends."

Well then. What codename do you pick?
>NS. Your initials, first thing that came to mind.
>DEER. Some part of you feels like that's an apt codename for you.
>WILD. You're probably seen as a wild card by all of your associates, best to own up to it.
>KILLER. We already killed one of them.
>EXPLORER. Let's be factual about what we are.
>SMITH. Simple, to the point.
>No, no, something better. (Write in.)

"Here is what I can offer you. I can supply you with one of three things from them once a day. A classified document from them. The location of one of their bases. The names of people they are associated with."

"Only one of them per day?"

"Too risky until we can establish an in person connection. Need to know I can trust you first."

"Hm. I have a 'connection' with one of them. A 'wire'. Do you know what I'm talking about? I need a 'charge' for it." You mutter as you plug in that old cellphone charger into a plug in your apartment. You plug the antique cellphone in. It'll be finished charging once the Handler calls you on your mission.

"Understood. Will supply you with that as well. I found another 'connection'. Too 'unreliable' for me, might have a 'charge' for you. When the line goes quiet, whisper what you want me to deliver. I will leave in a nearby location to where you are at." Whoever this man is, he seems like he's on your side. Even though, how could he know where you're calling from?
>You'll get a battery for your SILVER WALKIE TALKIE when the Man on the Phone delivers his package.

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Probably a safety measure in case a Silver called him. Can't blame him. He doesn't know you, you don't know him.

As the line goes silent, you whisper that you want...
>"A classified document, please." (You may add in one KEYWORD to narrow down what the document is about.)
>"A base location, please." (You may ask for one in a specific DISTRICT.)
>"Names, please." (You'll get some clues into who they associate with. They can't be working alone, after all.)

Immediately after, the line disconnects. All you can do is to wait for him to deliver the package, you suppose. You change into fur-lined boots and a thick fur-lined jacket (luckily, the holes you cut in its hood were perfectly sized to not let any snow or rain slip through) before exiting your apartment building.

File: THESNOWYSTREETS.jpg (9 KB, 261x193)

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The streets of District 7 (to be specific, G-ALPHA-1) are like they always are. Iced over and coated in a thick layer of powdery white snow. The dark streets are only illuminated by scattered street lamps and the occasional 24/7 open BEETLEBURGER or pawn shop. There's barely anyone outside aside from three very conspicuous men shoveling snow near your apartment.

X-Corp could be a bit more subtle, you know-

"Miss." One of the disguised soldiers calls out. "A man was running through here. Shades, leather jacket, baseball bat. He ran when he saw us. Just to inform you." Ah. Ashton was trying to pull another sneak attack on you, huh? You simply nod at them before walking away from your apartment. You decide to simply let your legs move on their own, taking you wherever they feel like.

>28

The first thing you notice on your walk through the maze of barely illuminated streets is a shop that's still open despite how late it is. "LILY'S BONES AND BLADES" is written above in blocky, blonde-yellow paint. It's a small, pa and ma looking butcher's shop that clashes hard with the rest of the buildings around it. While the other buildings around it are generic, modern aged buildings, this one is made out of mostly brick and old wood.

Racks on racks of various types of meats and sausages are visible through the window. The counter is currently being occupied by a young woman with silver-blonde hair in a green butcher's apron. She looks up from a bloody cleaver she's cleaning and stares RIGHT down at you.

Her mouth opens into a smile. There's way too many jagged, sharp teeth in her mouth. You count at least fifty razor, pearly white teeth. Humans have 32, right?

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] A Harvester, no doubt. Harvester is a term for a sub-species of human best known for cannibalistic urges and far, far too many teeth. Their blood is black due to a weird physiological quirk of their carnivore biology.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] They're rare outside of F and W-Company's districts though. Rumors say that a large amount of Human and Harvester crossbreeding in the past has resulted in razor sharp teeth being a common biological quirk in normal humans.

Despite the fact that all of that meat probably isn't regular animal meat, you feel an urge to return back here before you go back home. You keep walking.

>76, 87

And then you fall. Once you hit the floor, you realize you're no longer in your snow-bound District.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7qMUxvGzlM - HOLY LAND

Rows on rows of golden pews surround you that seemingly stretching on forever behind you. Looking up, the ceiling stretches on equally as long, disappearing into a mist of bright golden light. About a hundred feet away, you can just barely make out an alter and a confession booth. The only sound you can hear is a series of bells ringing in the distance.

As you walk over to the alter, you only now notice that the floor is coated in bright white feathers. Huh.

File: THEHOLYLAND.jpg (178 KB, 900x695)

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It doesn't take too long to arrive at the back section of the church you're in. The alter is currently being unattended and, for the most part, has nothing of value to it aside from an old N-Corp bible. Your attention turns towards the confession booth (in no small part to the ruckus that suddenly erupts from it the moment you got here).

Something bursts out of the visitor's side of the confession booth. A roughly five foot sphere of darkness surrounds whatever this entity is but you can make out just the outline of a horned man in the shadows. Its face is being covered by his hands. It's only now that you realize that the anomaly is sobbing?

"WhY? WhyYY? WhEre Is MY SalVATion? WhY AM I ForSAKEN?" It chokes out another sob. "WHY DiD SHE get To REACH HeavEN While-" It stops dead in its tracks.

"C..CarOl?" The shadowy figure stares right at you. Even though you can't see his eyes, you can sense a predator's instinct just fine. "Is ThaT YOU? I...I wantED to See yoU agaiN. To HoHolD you." His voice sounds WRONG. VILE. Like a mockery of a human voice being stretched and contorted through a throat not designed for it.

One tender moment, shared between me and her. Just this last moment, please.

"To KiSS You. T-TOUCH yoU." The shadowy figure croaks out.

"C-CC-RuRUCRUSH yoUR thROAT. DDrrRink the water in your Vveeeins." In between every sentence, it chokes out a sob that's equally parts mocking and heartbroken. "WhY? WhYY did YOU COME BACKkk?"

What sort of things will human beings do out of love?

You stumble back. W-What the fuck is this thing? It's not like the other anomalies you've met. They were passive or, hell, misguided. This one, no, this one is clearly barely holding itself back from ripping you to shreds.

Something else pokes out of the confession booth. A large eye connected to a spindly, wiry stalk slowly creeps out of the confession booth before floating above the two of you, watching. Judging.

Will Man resist the urge to sin? Or will He fall yet again due to temptation?

"WHAT SHALL YOU DO?" A voice croaks out from the eyeball. Loud. Stern. Fatherly. "WHAT SHALL YOU DO?"

You imagine that thing is an anomaly too. Did it drag you here to see what the other anomaly would do if provided with fresh meat? Fuck-

"CaROL?"


What do you do?
>"I'm sorry. It's time you move on. I'm not her." Apologize to the shadowy figure.
>[UNSTABLE] "It's okay, darling. I'm here for you." Open your arms out to it. Offer it a warm embrace. (This will hurt. Badly. But perhaps there will be beauty in the pain.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Immediately grab your Holy Candle, light it up, and hold it at the creature's face. "BEGONE, DEMON!"
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Maybe an ability will help you out in this situation! (Write in.)
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] You faintly recall an old N-Company ritual. Clap your hands four times and kneel at the feet of the shadowy figure and the eyeball. Pray for them.
>Write in.

Due to the growing wall of text that was your main character sheet, I split the inventory section of it into its own pastebin.

https://pastebin.com/n0MH6M17 (INVENTORY)
https://pastebin.com/3y638TfK (MAIN CHARACTER SHEET, focuses on your favors + abilities + stats + implants)

Just to clarify before anyone went "WHERE THE FUCK ARE OUR ITEMS???". I'll make a pastebin about all of your knowledge on the Companies and other SCHOLAR OF THE CITY tidbits tomorrow so you have easier access to that without having to rely on archive delving to understand what the fuck A-Company does when I mention it offhandly.

>>5951246
> deer
Always liked animal base codenames, and it’s apt.
>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] You faintly recall an old N-Company ritual. Clap your hands four times and kneel at the feet of the shadowy figure and the eyeball. Pray for them.
Now this one is a bit harder to decide. But I think the solution lies in stopping the horned guy from doing anything and gaining the beholder lites approval. Hugging him could work too, but I’m not sure he could restrain himself. Not to mention N is the divine worshipping company, so something from them will probably work decently here. Hugging is a close second option though I think.

>>5951246
>>[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] You faintly recall an old N-Company ritual. Clap your hands four times and kneel at the feet of the shadowy figure and the eyeball. Pray for them.
Let the grace of god protect us.
>Codename
>Explorer
I want to avoid anything too easy for us to be traced too, Deer or Wild is a little bit on the nose.
>"A base location, please." (You may ask for one in a specific DISTRICT.)
Lets find out where there base is in our home district.

>>5951251
Oh forgot to vote on the phone call.
>"A base location, please." (You may ask for one in a specific DISTRICT.)
I agree with the other voter, let’s get the home base in our district. If we are leaving soon we can take care of them before we go.

>>5951266
+1

>>5951266
Supporting

>>5951266
+1

>>5951246
We kept avoiding him in abno selects back in HELP WANTED! and in this quest, and now you finally get to use him. Feels good don't it?

>>5951234
>No, no, something better.
Fish. Because there's nothing fish-related about us at all. Such a codename won't give anyone any clues.
>"A classified document, please."
Keyword: type 4
>>5951246
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Immediately grab your Holy Candle, light it up, and hold it at the creature's face. "BEGONE, DEMON!"

>>5951234
>NS. Your initials, first thing that came to mind.

>"A base location, please." (You may ask for one in a specific DISTRICT.)
G

>>5951246
>>[UNSTABLE] "It's okay, darling. I'm here for you." Open your arms out to it. Offer it a warm embrace. (This will hurt. Badly. But perhaps there will be beauty in the pain.)

Question, All Anon: How confident are you in our capability to cause damage to silver agent operations in our home district?

Do any your have any plans on how to cause a lot of problems for silver agent operations in our home district?

>>5951368
They'll recover somehow like the metal radioactive roaches they are. But remember what TV MAN said. If we can get more photos and real evidence of them, it'll back up our case as well as Handler's. Getting enough people in power on our side and in the know with us will scare them regardless. W Corp will enemy them for making more anomalies from people. I had the idea to tell P Corp about them via Handler, but we still don't know if P Corp will go all "wow, turning people into anomalies means more energy and more work and more money for us!" or "WHAT? THEY CAN'T DO THAT WITHOUT OUR APPROVAL!". We don't know how much D Corp will echo P Corp's verdict either; there could be a divide with D Corp being more pro-human. Those guys have enough experience with "dark operations" to potentially hold their own.
Knowing the silvers base means potentially infiltrating or attacking them directly. Even cooler if we blow it up somehow. Ideally we do whatever we do right before we pack our bags and flee to another District.
But I had the thought with how entrenched and enmeshed the silvers are, there must be one ally of them in every corp for every potential enemy in the same corp. We can't expect a whole Wing to be fully hateful of the silver agents, as people are people and there will always be turncoats and dissenters on both sides. Even in the silver faction itself, there's defectors (Naomi) and insiders (Man on the Phone) working against them. I hope Handler, in his work to regain influence and respect for his family, doesn't end up on the wrong person's ear not knowing the corpo he's talking to is in real thick with the glowies.

>>5951234
>KILLER. We already killed one of them.
>"A classified document, please." (You may add in one KEYWORD to narrow down what the document is about.

>>5951246
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] Immediately grab your Holy Candle, light it up, and hold it at the creature's face. "BEGONE, DEMON!"

CODE NAME
KILLER: EM0
NS: QKD
FISH: Cp5
EXPLORER: T2M, 9VB, H+a, IkB
DEER: O5H
WHAT TO ASK OF THE MAN ON THE PHONE
BASE LOCATION (HOME DISTRICT): T2m, O5h, 9VB, QKD, IkB, H+A
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT: EM0, Cp5
WHAT DO WITH ANOMALY
PERSON OF INTEREST: EM0, Cp5
UNSTABLE: QKD
SCHOLAR: O5H, T2M, 9VB, H+A, IKB

Seems like it's obvious what wins here. Here's the document for COMPANY LORE (trademarked), at least what you immediately recall so you don't have to scratch your head when A-Z-Corp is mentioned (except for the companies you know nothing about.)
https://pastebin.com/ZP2JN7mT

Writing update now.

>>5951331
This entity? Not from this universe.

File: FINALFLASH.png (254 KB, 946x1310)

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Okay. Let's hope your memory isn't playing tricks on you. You clap your hands four times. One, two, three, four. The shadowy figure tilts its head in confusion. You then fall to your knees a bit too hard for your liking before clasping your hands together and closing your eyes.

[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] You were never a fervent believer of N-Corp's religion but this ritual is a simple prayer meant to offer safe passage towards someone.

"WhAATTtt...arE YOU DOING, CAROL?" A hand roughly grabs you by the shoulder. A set of razor sharp claws dig into your shoulder. You grip your teeth as you feel some sort of thick liquid leaking onto your shoulder from the entity's hand. You keep your focus on the prayer. "InsULLLTING ME?! SHOWING meEEE MY SAlvvaTTTion I caann'TT REACH?!"
>-1 FLESH! 3/5 LEFT!

"I TASTedDD yoUR blOOD WATErrrrRR! I HelLDDLDDD you aSS you CriED for HElPP. YEEeeTTT YOU REtuRNEDdd. TO MOCCKkk ME WItH THEIR tonGUEs-" You suddenly feel the entity let go. "I. I. Are you doing this for me?" Its voice clears up for the briefest of moments. You hear it back away from you with heavy, hesitant footsteps. "T-To give me yoUr SalVaat-" It stops mid sentence.

This is His last chance to find his True Salvation. Shall He take it?
She won't even look at me. She doesn't want to see me like this. After what I did.

"I'm. I'm sorrRRY." FINAL FLASH OF EXISTENCE mutters out. "I'm Sorry. I'm Sorry. I'm soRRy." You open your left eye just enough to see that now, the anomaly is on its knees. Sobbing. Covering its face with its hands in a desperate attempt to hide itself away from you.

"It's okay." You mutter out before standing back up. You glance back at the eyeball staring down at you. It simply shakes itself in a rough attempt to mimic a human nod.

"I'M SorRRy I'm SORRY I'm SorrY I'm SorryYY." Final Flash keeps muttering to itself. It's curled up in the fetal position on the feather covered floor. "please forgive me pLEAse PLEASE."

"YOU REMINDED HIM OF THE LIGHT. GOOD. YOU MAY LEAVE NOW, 'CAROL'." The eyeball says with a knowing tone. "IF HE CAN PROMISE TO REACH HEAVEN WITHOUT VIOLENCE, HE MAY REACH HIS SALVATION."

"GOODBYE."
"PlEASE, don't ForGEET ME-"

Salvation is available to even the most horrid of sinners.
I wish I could hold her again. Just for a moment. Why did I do it?

https://youtu.be/XQKsSNk9Fyc - ABANDONED

You are falling again. Upside: It was only for ten feet. Downside: Landing back first onto a faux-wood table fucking hurts. Thankfully your combat bodysuit blocked THAT damage. You glance around to see you're in a small break room in the middle of some random abandoned building.

Wait, you recognize this place. This is a cache about three blocks away from that meat shop you were walking away from. Huh. The anomalies were nice enough to drop you to your next location. "Thanks." You say to the empty room.

File: ABANDONED.jpg (160 KB, 1280x720)

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As you get up from the table you landed on, you notice that you landed on two small trinkets. A small vial of liquid with a cross scriblled onto it and a blackened tooth leaking a foul, dark substance. They're not PARADIGMs but they seem useful enough.

TWO ITEMS ACQUIRED FROM ANOMALY ENCOUNTER!
>HOLY TEARS (A small piece of liquid with a minor yet comforting presence to it. Can be drank to grant minor RESTRAINT regeneration for a short duration. Has enough for three sips.)
>FOUL TOOTH (A canine-like fang leaking a foul substance. has three charges. Can use one charge to heal 1 FLESH and boost VIOLENCE and TALENT by 1 temporarily at the cost of temporarily increasing the frequency of UNSTABLE freakouts.)

Neato. If nothing else you can sell them later. After pocketing the trinkets, you start to search around the break room you're in. It doesn't take too long. Due to that new power you awakened back at the training course, you seem to know which spots had something hidden and which spots were a waste of time. After finding all of the hidden items here, you place them on the broken table to see what you got.

CACHE ITEMS RECOVERED
>BARRICADE GRENADE x2 (A X-Corp product made for use in the battlefield. Using one creates a small barricade that can resist small firearm fire and can block most narrow passageways. Useful if you need to slow down someone chasing you.)
>METAL DETECTOR (Has three charges, consumes one automatically when searching a cache to find an additional item. Can consume a charge in the field to detect any nearby traps like landmines or tripwires.)
>Y-CORP HANDHELD TELEPORTER (Can teleport you to any place in the City you know the exact location of after a short booting up sequence. Has one charge. Useful emergency button.)
>SHOTGUN SLUGS x4
>FLASHBANG x2 (Can be used to temporarily stun and daze a small group of enemies. Anomalies may attempt to make a FLESH check to resist this.)

You take a moment to collect your thoughts after being shoved around like an interdimensional piece of garbage. Shit, you hope that this is just a you thing and random people aren't being thrown around through weird anomalous realms like a paper bag in the wind. After settling your nerves, you exit the abandoned building. Back into the snow covered streets you understand.

It takes a moment to orient yourself but you manage to find where you're at. You start heading back to that new shop you found as you hear your phone go off. You pick it up to see it reads "3 AM". Weird, it was 12 AM when you left. You answer it-

"Hallo, hallo, miss freakshit. I got a call from some VERY interesting people today." The Handler rattles on. "A W-Corp AND J-Corp rep? Praise the Lord himself, I didn't know you could even TALK to them without pissing your panties. So, for the next...fuck if I know, you get to choose a few items from them that I negotiated for on your behalf."

"Oh, word?"

"That's besides the point, though. You know what time it is. MISSION TIME."

File: MEATMEATMEATmEAT.jpg (167 KB, 721x768)

167 KB JPG

"Well, you caught me RIGHT as I was checking this shop, so-"

"Pft." The Handler snorts. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look. I'll rattle your ear off while you shop. You can do two things at once. Also-" He takes a deep breath before clearing his throat with a wet, MOIST cough. "Thanks. For the good job on the last mission. Heard the reports from it."

"please don't cough like that next time-"

"I'd say after that mission, you earnt my honest to god respect. Keep up the good work and you might just earn a favor outta me. Now-" He begins to rattle off. You take this time to finally step up to the butcher's shop (after walking for a few blocks) while you subconsciously note down whatever the Handler is rambling to you.

https://youtu.be/EcA24RTmnF8 - LILY'S SHOP

You're honestly shocked a butcher's shop would be open this late. The store interior is pretty damn small with only enough room for the front counter and two small tables with two chairs each. On the counter is a radio playing an old song from god knows how long ago, the 1950s? Might as well be listening to classical music with how old it is.

The woman at the front counter is the same one you saw while passing by earlier. The Harvester. Now that you're up close and personal, you can see how her skin is rough and coarse. Almost like sandpaper. The sclera of her eyes are also an odd tint of mint green that's the same as her apron. "Hey, someone left this for you. Tall man. Smelled like ash and coffee. Said to leave it for a certain girl passing by. You seemed like the type."

She places a small makeshift bag made out of butcher paper onto the counter. You quickly grab it. Opening it up, you see that there's a slip of paper with a set of coordinates on it and a walkie talkie battery. You quickly skim the paper.
"BASE LOCATED AT G-ALPHA-2, NEAR THE O-CORP BORDER. MAIN FUNCTIONALITY IS AS A HOLDING CELL FOR 'HIGH VALUED ANOMALOUS ENTITIES'. CURRENT STAFF AMOUNT: 15 AGENTS, 5 MODIFIED ANDROIDS. CODE FOR BACK ENTRANCE IS THEMOONHATEFULHOWL."
"GENERATOR ROOM IS LEFT, RIGHT, UP FROM BACK ENTRANCE. DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY, EXPLORER."

>SILVER AGENT BASE LOCATION OBTAINED (A slip of paper with the exact location of a Silver Agent base in your home district.)
>SILVER WALKIE TALKIE fully charged now! You may use it as a free action whenever you want!

You pocket the piece of paper. "So, what do you sell, uh, Lily?"

"That's my name. Don't wear it out." Lily flashes another toothy smile. "Well, take a look for yourself but before you do, an associate of mine was trying to get into contact with you. Does Wendy ring a bell?"

[PERSON OF INTEREST] Wait. Wendy. W. W-Company-

"Just hand me the catalog." You do so. Lily pulls out a sharpie and doodles something down onto one of the pages before handing it back to you. "She wanted to offer her 'services' to a like-minded person. Now, focus on the meat." She points at her menu.
>WENDY, a W-Corp rep, has been unlocked as an ally!

File: HANDLERCALLING.jpg (9 KB, 600x338)

9 KB JPG

LILY'S BLADE AND BONES MENU. SELECT AS MUCH AS YOU'RE WILLING TO BUY
CURRENT MONEY: $1258
BARTERABLE GOODS: 2 A-ENERGY ($350 EACH), 2 HIGH CLASS JEWELRY ($200 EACH), 7 HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY ($75 EACH), 3 C-EXTRACT ($625 EACH)
>TRANQUIZLER SYRINGE (1 per $150. Can be used to reduce the amount of FLESH and RESTRAINT damage you take by 1 until it wears off or to instantly knock out a human on a successful attack.)
>MEAT BAIT (Three handfuls per $50. Chunks of half rotten, wiggling meat of unknown origin. Can be used to lure animals and anomalies to and away from a location of your choice.)
>CLASS B MEAT SHIPMENT ($125 per day. The shop will ship packages of high quality meat to your apartment for each day you purchase. While shipments are developed, you'll heal 1 extra RESTRAINT and FLESH when you wake up or fall asleep at your apartment.)
>HARVESTER TEETH NECKLACE. "Freshly picked from me! I regrow them!" ($300. Supposedly lucky to have this on your purchase. Once per mission, you may reroll all dice you roll on any check.)
>OIL BLACK BLOOD VIAL. "Drink up." ($111 per vial. When used, improves your sense of smell, temporarily grants you +3d6 to all checks relating to locating a human, drone, or anomaly.)
>HARVESTING KIT ($400. You unlock the ability to EXTRACT from anomalies you encounter, assuming they aren't trying to attack you, granting you access to anomalous extracts that could prove useful.)
>MEAT LOVER'S SANDWICH. "Sticks to your ribs, ha!" ($555 per. Grants +1 MAX FLESH when consumed.)
>Sell a barter item for some pocket change. (Select which one(s))
>"I don't feel hungry, thanks." Exit the store without buying anything.

CHOOSE TWO ITEMS FROM THE HANDLER.
>CONTAINMENT CUBE (From W-Company. GREATLY eases the transport progress of anomalies and other high risk captives. Can be used as mobile cover as well.)
>LALILU BRANDED PILLS x3 (From W-Company. Immediately snaps a target out of a panic attack and heals their RESTRAINT by 3.)
>J-CORP RADIO (Can be used to call in emergency backup during a combat encounter. 1d4+1 J-COMPANY officers will interfere with the fight. Useful if dealing with an anomaly or someone else FAR outside your paygrade.)
>CRYO GRENADE x2 (From J-Company, made with the assistance of I-Company. Immediately freezes over most soft materials, allowing you to easily break through walls, doors, or people.)

CHOOSE YOUR MISSION, NICOLE
>[ANOMALOUS] "You remember that P-Company facility I mentioned before? They're STILL whining about not having enough employees. They're desperate, all you gotta do is work a few hours with them and you'll make BANK!" REWARD: $1765, improved relations with P-Company, the experience will help improve your and your allies stats and abilities. RISK: VERY HIGH
(1/3)

File: WHATHISVOICESOUNDSLIKEOVE(...).png (21 KB, 640x640)

21 KB PNG

>[ANOMALOUS?] "Those tunnels over District 10 are still there. No, we don't know how or where they go. We keep hearing rumors about something being down there. Investigate it, please. You're apparently able to find actual glowies, maybe you can figure this out." REWARD: $1222. That's it. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM
>"You better not get sea-sick easily, we got a crew over at District 19 who needs someone to assist them during their fishing trip. Help them harvest, protect them from any thieves, and try bringing back something special." REWARD: $990, the tough work will likely improve your FLESH and VIOLENCE stats permanently. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH
>[ANOMALOUS] "We got reports of a certain anomaly that's been terrorizing District 14. Some sort of big crash test dummy thing called APEX PREDATOR? Whatever it is, it's been killing a lot of people. Recontain or weaken it enough for the ETF to get." REWARD: $1345, improved favor with P-Corp, 5 A-Energy packets for recovering a high valued anomaly for P-Corp. RISK LEVEL: HIGH. Regardless of who you pick, Benjamin and Max will offer you intel to help you on this mission.
>"Low risk, easy job. C-Company needs a night guard for one of their establishments. Just keep an eye on it, everything should be fine." REWARD: $625, improved favor with C-Company, access to a C-CORP CATALOG (Offers ANOMALOUS FOOD AND DRINK, surgical tools, and clothing with unique stat boosts). RISK LEVEL: LOW.
>"O-Company is reaching out to me for the first time in, fuck, forever? There's apparently a big clusterfuck happening at one of their farms. Go down and figure out what the issue is." REWARD: $745, improved favor with O-Company, access to an O-Corp catalog (Offers better food, simple but practical tools, and soothing to the mind trinkets.). RISK LEVEL: LOW-MEDIUM
>[WARNING] "I hope you like the sun because you're going to the WASTES. Your task is to find an old artifact somewhere in that fucked up desert. Bring it back here. Intact." REWARD: $1666, 3 C-Extract, you're likely to find various rare and unique items out in there. RISK LEVEL: VERY HIGH.
>"We tried to send some poor bastards to scout out an R-Corp building that went radio silent. None of them have returned. Go in there and try to recover them if you can. See what happened to them and the former operators of the building" REWARD: $800, 'finder keeps on any loot you find', twelve revolver bullets 'to recoup costs'. RISK: MEDIUM
>[BONUS MISSION] [ANOMALOUS?] "V-Company is calling me. I'll be honest, Nicole, I don't like these guys. I hate them, in fact. Please. Do me a solid. Head over to the building they're telling me to visit them at and kill them." REWARD: $1250, +Favor with V-Company(?) and you'll earn even more of the Handler's respect, V-Company will provide you with their catalog (you know this to be certain. Despite it making NO sense). RISK LEVEL: ???

WHO TO HIRE?
>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110)
(2/3)

>[UPG] ALEXIS. A supplier of equipment and connections. Somewhat flaky and liable to draw attention. (Will ask for a 14% cut of the reward money.)
>[UPG] QUENTIN. Incredibly loyal ally who has a hard time staying dead. Poor stats and tends to freak others out. (Free if brought alone. Max, Ashley, Naomi, Frank, Clover, Casey and Wendy will cost $35 more to hire.)
>[UPG] BENJAMIN. Fully licensed as a pharmacist and is Open Minded to the supernatural. Delusional, credulous, and naive. ($45)
>[UPG] MARUYAMA. Resilient mindset and has a way with negotiations and blending in with crowds. Emotionally and physically spent. ($95 to hire.)
>[UPG] KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Prone to making rash decisions. (Free if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $100 otherwise.)
>ADAM. A long career of working as a chef has instilled amazing levels of accuracy and technical precision. Hard worker. Tends to overcorrect when situations get dicey. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)
>MAX, an Aristocrat. High in demand with the Companies and has extensive access to corporate assets. Held in contempt by other Cleaners, very sheltered. ($160 if hired without Benjamin, $80 otherwise.)
>ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($105)
>NAOMI. Well versed in all military matters and a great commander. Has old glowie habits she's trying to break out of.. Has a knack for analyzing the quirks and potential of people around her. Old age and scars have ruined her body. ($180)
>FRANK. His main job as an ETF agent grants incredible combat and non-combat experience and higher base stats. Has access to resources you could never hope to get by yourself. Incredibly blunt and crass, liable to piss other people off (including you). ($275)
>CLOVER. A casino manager who larps as a cowboy, has the sharpshooting skills to back it up. Unshakeable morale and has a resolute will that's hard to break. VERY stubborn. ($200)
>CASEY. Optimistic spirit lightens the mood of everyone she interacts with, very experienced at convincing people. Emotional. ($100)
>BENEDICT. A chef that's partially transformed into an anomaly. Unique half-machine, half human anatomy grants immense strength and physical resistances, has anomalous powers and abilities. Fractured mind that requires careful observation, UNSTABLE. (+$320 if you hire him. You get more money hiring him as you raise Adam's RAPPORT.)
>WENDY. A W-Company rep who seems to share the same wavelength as you, will mesh well with you and will follow your commands for the most part. Feared in the corporate world. Fucking LOATHES anomalies and will take any chance she can to rip them to shreds. UNSTABLE. ($222 or +$333 if you spend a W-CORP favor while hiring her.)
>NO ONE. YOU'RE GOING ALONE.

MISSION TIME. Sorry for the pile of choices.

>>5951892
>Sell 7 HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY ($525)
>HARVESTING KIT ($400. You unlock the ability to EXTRACT from anomalies you encounter, assuming they aren't trying to attack you, granting you access to anomalous extracts that could prove useful.)
>MEAT LOVER'S SANDWICH. "Sticks to your ribs, ha!" ($555 per. Grants +1 MAX FLESH when consumed.)
Anomaly Extraction, and extra flesh to actually survive extracting it.
>Two Items
>CONTAINMENT CUBE (From W-Company. GREATLY eases the transport progress of anomalies and other high risk captives. Can be used as mobile cover as well.)
>LALILU BRANDED PILLS x3 (From W-Company. Immediately snaps a target out of a panic attack and heals their RESTRAINT by 3.)

>Mission
>[ANOMALOUS] "We got reports of a certain anomaly that's been terrorizing District 14. Some sort of big crash test dummy thing called APEX PREDATOR? Whatever it is, it's been killing a lot of people. Recontain or weaken it enough for the ETF to get." REWARD: $1345, improved favor with P-Corp, 5 A-Energy packets for recovering a high valued anomaly for P-Corp. RISK LEVEL: HIGH. Regardless of who you pick, Benjamin and Max will offer you intel to help you on this mission.

>Companions
>ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($105)
>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110)
>[UPG] KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Prone to making rash decisions. (Free if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $100 otherwise.)
>WENDY. A W-Company rep who seems to share the same wavelength as you, will mesh well with you and will follow your commands for the most part. Feared in the corporate world. Fucking LOATHES anomalies and will take any chance she can to rip them to shreds. UNSTABLE. ($222 or +$333 if you spend a W-CORP favor while hiring her.)
Alright, its Anomaly hunting time. This one seems like its not gonna be the 'redeemable' type.

>>5951892
>TRANQUIZLER SYRINGE (1 per $150. Can be used to reduce the amount of FLESH and RESTRAINT damage you take by 1 until it wears off or to instantly knock out a human on a successful attack.)
Buy 2
>MEAT BAIT (Three handfuls per $50. Chunks of half rotten, wiggling meat of unknown origin. Can be used to lure animals and anomalies to and away from a location of your choice.)
Buy 3
It be useful to attract a large group of fish
>CLASS B MEAT SHIPMENT ($125 per day. The shop will ship packages of high quality meat to your apartment for each day you purchase. While shipments are developed, you'll heal 1 extra RESTRAINT and FLESH when you wake up or fall asleep at your apartment.)
Buy 2
>HARVESTER TEETH NECKLACE. "Freshly picked from me! I regrow them!" ($300. Supposedly lucky to have this on your purchase. Once per mission, you may reroll all dice you roll on any check.)
>OIL BLACK BLOOD VIAL. "Drink up." ($111 per vial. When used, improves your sense of smell, temporarily grants you +3d6 to all checks relating to locating a human, drone, or anomaly.)
Buy 2
>Sell a barter item for some pocket change. (Select which one(s))
2 A-energy

>CONTAINMENT CUBE (From W-Company. GREATLY eases the transport progress of anomalies and other high risk captives. Can be used as mobile cover as well.)
>LALILU BRANDED PILLS x3 (From W-Company. Immediately snaps a target out of a panic attack and heals their RESTRAINT by 3.)

>"You better not get sea-sick easily, we got a crew over at District 19 who needs someone to assist them during their fishing trip. Help them harvest, protect them from any thieves, and try bringing back something special." REWARD: $990, the tough work will likely improve your FLESH and VIOLENCE stats permanently. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110)
>[UPG] QUENTIN.
>ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($105)
>ADAM. A long career of working as a chef has instilled amazing levels of accuracy and technical precision. Hard worker. Tends to overcorrect when situations get dicey. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)
>BENEDICT. A chef that's partially transformed into an anomaly. Unique half-machine, half human anatomy grants immense strength and physical resistances, has anomalous powers and abilities. Fractured mind that requires careful observation, UNSTABLE. (+$320 if you hire him. You get more money hiring him as you raise Adam's RAPPORT.)
>NAOMI. Well versed in all military matters and a great commander. Has old glowie habits she's trying to break out of.. Has a knack for analyzing the quirks and potential of people around her. Old age and scars have ruined her body. ($180)

Result spending = 392 money

Don’t sell all the whiskey. Keep whiskey strictly reserved for celebration, to gain rapport, or as a gift.
Don’t sell all the jewelry because I want to give it to Benjamin so that he can gift it to Max.
Also, don’t give two tickets movie to anyone. The two-ticket movie should be given to Benjamin and Max when the opportunity arises.

>"You better not get sea-sick easily, we got a crew over at District 19 who needs someone to assist them during their fishing trip. Help them harvest, protect them from any thieves, and try bringing back something special." REWARD: $990, the tough work will likely improve your FLESH and VIOLENCE stats permanently. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

> try bringing back something special.

CONTAINMENT CUBE It will be very handy if we come across a anomalies stuff.

>>5951923
I’d be willing to support this, but I really want to get the harvester kit for anomalies. Especially when we can probably harvest some stuff from other things and maybe even Benedict (depending on how harmful EXTRACT is).
So something like:
>buy one less oil black blood vial, one less meat chunk, sell one high class jewelry and high class whiskey.

Basically, I really think getting access to a harvester kit will be an investment that pays off going forward.

>>5952034
Also, do not sell C-EXTRACT. That stuff is reserved for buying special stuff from shops or bribing literally anybody.

>Three small syringes filled with a cherry red liquid. (C-EXTRACT x3. Allows you to buy very unique items from various shops around the City or to bribe essentially anyone in the City. Has random but potent effects if injected into someone.)

No.5922008

https://boards.4chan.org/qst/thread/5893937#bottom

>>5951892
>TRANQUIZLER SYRINGE (1 per $150. Can be used to reduce the amount of FLESH and RESTRAINT damage you take by 1 until it wears off or to instantly knock out a human on a successful attack.)
>HARVESTER TEETH NECKLACE. "Freshly picked from me! I regrow them!" ($300. Supposedly lucky to have this on your purchase. Once per mission, you may reroll all dice you roll on any check.)
>MEAT LOVER'S SANDWICH. "Sticks to your ribs, ha!" ($555 per. Grants +1 MAX FLESH when consumed.)
Only if the max flesh buff is permanent
>LALILU BRANDED PILLS x3 (From W-Company. Immediately snaps a target out of a panic attack and heals their RESTRAINT by 3.)
>CRYO GRENADE x2 (From J-Company, made with the assistance of I-Company. Immediately freezes over most soft materials, allowing you to easily break through walls, doors, or people.)
>[BONUS MISSION] [ANOMALOUS?] "V-Company is calling me. I'll be honest, Nicole, I don't like these guys. I hate them, in fact. Please. Do me a solid. Head over to the building they're telling me to visit them at and kill them." REWARD: $1250, +Favor with V-Company(?) and you'll earn even more of the Handler's respect, V-Company will provide you with their catalog (you know this to be certain. Despite it making NO sense). RISK LEVEL: ???
I'm curious AF

>ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($105)
>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110)
>BENEDICT. A chef that's partially transformed into an anomaly. Unique half-machine, half human anatomy grants immense strength and physical resistances, has anomalous powers and abilities. Fractured mind that requires careful observation, UNSTABLE. (+$320 if you hire him. You get more money hiring him as you raise Adam's RAPPORT.)
Team Violence

>>5952119 #
Okay
>>5951923 #
change
>>5951894 #
>TRANQUIZLER SYRINGE (1 per $150. Can be used to reduce the amount of FLESH and RESTRAINT damage you take by 1 until it wears off or to instantly knock out a human on a successful attack.)
Buy 2
>MEAT BAIT (Three handfuls per $50. Chunks of half rotten, wiggling meat of unknown origin. Can be used to lure animals and anomalies to and away from a location of your choice.)
Buy 3
It be useful to attract a large group of fish
>CLASS B MEAT SHIPMENT ($125 per day. The shop will ship packages of high quality meat to your apartment for each day you purchase. While shipments are developed, you'll heal 1 extra RESTRAINT and FLESH when you wake up or fall asleep at your apartment.)
Buy 2
>HARVESTER TEETH NECKLACE. "Freshly picked from me! I regrow them!" ($300. Supposedly lucky to have this on your purchase. Once per mission, you may reroll all dice you roll on any check.)
>OIL BLACK BLOOD VIAL. "Drink up." ($111 per vial. When used, improves your sense of smell, temporarily grants you +3d6 to all checks relating to locating a human, drone, or anomaly.)
Buy 1
>HARVESTING KIT ($400. You unlock the ability to EXTRACT from anomalies you encounter, assuming they aren't trying to attack you, granting you access to anomalous extracts that could prove useful.)

>Sell a barter item for some pocket change. (Select which one(s))
2 A-energy, 1 jewelry, 1 whiskey

>CONTAINMENT CUBE (From W-Company. GREATLY eases the transport progress of anomalies and other high risk captives. Can be used as mobile cover as well.)
>LALILU BRANDED PILLS x3 (From W-Company. Immediately snaps a target out of a panic attack and heals their RESTRAINT by 3.)

>"You better not get sea-sick easily, we got a crew over at District 19 who needs someone to assist them during their fishing trip. Help them harvest, protect them from any thieves, and try bringing back something special." REWARD: $990, the tough work will likely improve your FLESH and VIOLENCE stats permanently. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM-HIGH

>[UPG] LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110)
>[UPG] QUENTIN.
>ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($105)
>ADAM.
>BENEDICT. A chef that's partially transformed into an anomaly. Unique half-machine, half human anatomy grants immense strength and physical resistances, has anomalous powers and abilities. Fractured mind that requires careful observation, UNSTABLE. (+$320 if you hire him. You get more money hiring him as you raise Adam's RAPPORT.)
>NAOMI. Well versed in all military matters and a great commander. Has old glowie habits she's trying to break out of.. Has a knack for analyzing the quirks and potential of people around her. Old age and scars have ruined her body. ($180)

Result spending = 307 money

>>5952130
Edit
Result spending = 257 money
>>5952121
>>5951908
Do we really need MEAT LOVER'S SANDWICH? Our FLESH is 3/5, and we have a lot of medicine supplies in our inventory.

>TRAUMA KIT x3. Oddly user friendly. Bought mostly by P-Company facilities. (Has 5 charges. Heals 1 FLESH with 1 charge. Heals a crippling injury with 2 charges. Can heal near lethal damage with 3 charges.)
>STANDARD ISSUE CLEANER MEDKIT x2 (Four charges, use 1 to heal 1 flesh, use 2 to recover someone in Critical State to half of their MAX FLESH (any ally who hits 0 FLESH enters this state. They can't do much at all in this state. Any hit after permakills them.)
>PAINKILLER BOTTLE x2 (Comes with three doses each. Grants a +2d6 bonus to any FLESH check when consumed.)

>>5952130
Supporting. Thanks for the changes. Next mission we should 100% do an anomaly hunt too. Depending on how hairy this mission goes of course. With the upgrades from the fish mission we’d be in a good position to go fighting.

Also in regards to the base, we both know a bit about it and points of weakness. We can 100% do a raid and get proof of their activities before we leave this district in the future.

>>5952135
Yeah agree
Bring Casey, Frank, Wendy, Benjamin, Naomi and Kiara on the anomalies hunting mission after we finish the fishing trip mission.

>>5952130
Fuck it. I don't like us bringing SIX people along on a mission, especially Naomi so soon, and especially since TV MAN said to bring less people on missions so there's less silver eyes on them. But you are one stubborn and stupid autist, who refuses to delete your old posts and instead make lengthy edit posts that take up needless text space on the thread. You could simply reply to the vote post and yours and go "I'm changing X to Y" and leave it at that. You are a bothersome pest, but you seem to have a good plan for this fishing trip mission, so I'll give you my
>+1

>>5952151
And please for the love of god restrain yourself on the amount of people in missions. Every person we bring along is one more person we pay for working with us. As for your pick ideas, I am still against Naomi again, and would rather not bring Benjamin along by himself despite his affinity. I'd rather bring Clover because of Casey, and keep it to 5 people instead

>>5951892
>TRANQUIZLER SYRINGE (1 per $150. Can be used to reduce the amount of FLESH and RESTRAINT damage you take by 1 until it wears off or to instantly knock out a human on a successful attack.)
>HARVESTING KIT ($400. You unlock the ability to EXTRACT from anomalies you encounter, assuming they aren't trying to attack you, granting you access to anomalous extracts that could prove useful.)

>CONTAINMENT CUBE (From W-Company. GREATLY eases the transport progress of anomalies and other high risk captives. Can be used as mobile cover as well.)
>LALILU BRANDED PILLS x3 (From W-Company. Immediately snaps a target out of a panic attack and heals their RESTRAINT by 3.)

>>5951893
>"O-Company is reaching out to me for the first time in, fuck, forever? There's apparently a big clusterfuck happening at one of their farms. Go down and figure out what the issue is." REWARD: $745, improved favor with O-Company, access to an O-Corp catalog (Offers better food, simple but practical tools, and soothing to the mind trinkets.). RISK LEVEL: LOW-MEDIUM

>ADAM. A long career of working as a chef has instilled amazing levels of accuracy and technical precision. Hard worker. Tends to overcorrect when situations get dicey. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)
>CASEY. Optimistic spirit lightens the mood of everyone she interacts with, very experienced at convincing people. Emotional. ($100)
>BENEDICT. A chef that's partially transformed into an anomaly. Unique half-machine, half human anatomy grants immense strength and physical resistances, has anomalous powers and abilities. Fractured mind that requires careful observation, UNSTABLE. (+$320 if you hire him. You get more money hiring him as you raise Adam's RAPPORT.)

>>5951885
>clap your hands four times
World of Horror?
>this entire event
I doubt Mr. Eye here is truly benevolent, but he did drop us off nicely and he seemed a bit straightforward in the religious test he gave

>>5951886
>HOLY TEARS
Would be nice if anybody has an episode over Nicole's UNSTABLE again. Speaking of, we should completely ditch the old and shitty antipsychotics after the UNSTABLE hug, but keep the ones Benjamin made just in case. How will we explain all this to Ashley?
>FOUL TOOTH
Good heal and Talent boost. With UNSTABLE RESOLVE from the mental hug, the increased UNSTABLE freakouts might actually benefit us
>BARRICADE GRENADE
If we're in a heavy protection mission or if Ashton is chasing us again, this buys time and breathing room
>METAL DETECTOR
Maybe if we go on that "explore the secret jew tunnels" mission?
>Y-CORP HANDHELD TELEPORTER
We could do this to immediately teleport back to X Corp, or somewhere else safe. Problem is this ditches any ally with us, so it needs to be used alone
>random people aren't being thrown around through weird anomalous realms
News flash Nicole... they are.

>>5951888
>Tall man. Smelled like ash and coffee
That could be anybody for all we know
>G-ALPHA-2, NEAR THE O-CORP BORDER
I don't think we have any allies related to O Corp
>HOLDING CELL FOR 'HIGH VALUED ANOMALOUS ENTITIES'.
Could be someone in there just like Nicole. A prison break rescue of a fellow PoI in the works?
>THEMOONHATEFULHOWL
Reminds me of Nyarlathotep
>DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY
(+)
>WENDY
The moment she realizes Nicole's becoming an anomaly, maybe, then she'll be dangerous. We can't field her with Benjamin or Benedict either

>>5951892
>>5951893
Same missions. I'm definitely curious about the V Corp one. I hope we can return to doing an "easy" or offbeat mission next time. The tunnels job is calling out to me