Counting to Infinity IC: Out Of Style

[Anarion]

Okay, so we got Manchilde and Grass Joe hanging out with Harold. They were both over in a corner smoking something. Ooh Nelly, looks like what they were smoking were some of those vines that grow through the tunnels. That is not a good sign. Sometimes you just can't fix stupid, you know?

So, yeah, Harold, good thing you were paying attention because they are starting to absolutely wig out. Manchilde starts chanting "It's everywhere you want to be" and Grass Joe's got a revolver (he was in your gang, after all) which is in his hand and starting to rove around the room. What are you gonna do about that?

****

King, you've got this place locked down. Your whole circle is sitting there in intense concentration. They're holding the maelstrom together. It's beautiful, look of bliss on their faces, like everybody is warm and being held close. The jingles had barely even started up before they stop altogether. The room is quiet and you're stuck now with Lance's husk (not part of the circle) and Kelly with all her boys. Kelly's pretty happy about all this, she did not want to have to maintain order at gunpoint (well, she did, but she didn't want to lose any guys). So, that's that. You've suddenly got some time on your hands. What do you do with it?

Lance, I'm still waiting on your setup.

[Raz_Fox]

So, let me make sure I got that. Ra fell from his chariot and the great serpent devoured the sun, and the world plunged into darkness. That sound about right? Where was Set? He's supposed to defend Ra on his chariot every night. But he must not have been there.

And now, the darkness is multiplied because you...you've gone and closed your eyes while the storm rolls through. No view in the caves, no view on the surface, just you brooding in darkness. Do I have that right? I want to make sure that this is crystal clear before I start leading the blind.

About right. And I sure as hell don't know who Set is yet. Maybe you're all Set, in one way or another.

And not every camera's off. I've still got my glittering eyes in here. Watching the door, making sure no rats try to come and scurry in. But I can't see our friend Harold, no, and neither my enemy, the King. That might be unfortunate for me, but there it is.

[Balmas]

Right. Keep calm. There's fear in the room, like a buncha dynamite being stored next to the fireworks staging platform. One wrong spark, and bullets are gonna start flyin'.

So the keys to be sneaky. Cunning. I'm kinda wandering over. Pull a stogie from my pocket, act casual as I walk behind the two. Make sure the gun's pointin' away from me. Then one arm's a viper--one thumb trapping the hammer while I lock the cylinder with the rest--and the other's a freight train haymaker right to Joe's temple.

[Anarion]

About right. And I sure as hell don't know who Set is yet. Maybe you're all Set, in one way or another.

And not every camera's off. I've still got my glittering eyes in here. Watching the door, making sure no rats try to come and scurry in. But I can't see our friend Harold, no, and neither my enemy, the King. That might be unfortunate for me, but there it is.

It's not the who that I'm wondering about for Set. That's for later. What I'm wondering, my fine dog-headed friend, is the where.

But never mind that for now. You're in your own space, but you're watching your borders. No cameras on the surface to get exposed to ad storm virus, no cameras to watch your buddies. So, great Anubis, what are you doing then?


Right. Keep calm. There's fear in the room, like a buncha dynamite being stored next to the fireworks staging platform. One wrong spark, and bullets are gonna start flyin'.

So the keys to be sneaky. Cunning. I'm kinda wandering over. Pull a stogie from my pocket, act casual as I walk behind the two. Make sure the gun's pointin' away from me. Then one arm's a viper--one thumb trapping the hammer while I lock the cylinder with the rest--and the other's a freight train haymaker right to Joe's temple.

Gun already out makes me call this one a seize by force.

[Balmas]

[Yeah, that's what I figured. 6,3, +2. [11]. Let's go for Take little harm, Take definite hold of it, and impress, Dismay and Frighten your enemy.]

[SiuiS]

Hold up a sec, folks. Ain't aw forgettin' somethin'?


We've been through a hiatus and crisis of faith, an utter irrevocable shift of status quo, a changing of the guard behind the curtains, and a reset; everyone is bunkered down with their people in a way, everyone is dealing with consequences of Want but the Wants themselves have been resolved.

Ain't gonna get much cleaner for a Start Of Session, I guarantee. Unless y'all wanna force one with awkward attempts to guide the unguidable, herding cats, like. We can rock around the clock or we can get the bones Rollin'.

Hell, shoulda done a few back. Just after caging the room from the storm, before anyone got weird with Harry Hard Ass.

[Anarion]

[Yeah, that's what I figured. 6,3, +2. [11]. Let's go for Take little harm, Take definite hold of it, and impress, Dismay and Frighten your enemy.]

Well sure, alright. So you're behind Joe. He tries to turn and flip his gun around, which is right about the time your elbow connects with his face. His grip loosens and you've got yourself a brand new cheap revolver to keep your shotgun company at night. He's not doing anything to you, though he's not out for the count either, just a little dazed. Manchilde is still chanting away.

So, gun's yours and you've got Joe in a headlock. What now?


Hold up a sec, folks. Ain't aw forgettin' somethin'?


We've been through a hiatus and crisis of faith, an utter irrevocable shift of status quo, a changing of the guard behind the curtains, and a reset; everyone is bunkered down with their people in a way, everyone is dealing with consequences of Want but the Wants themselves have been resolved.

Ain't gonna get much cleaner for a Start Of Session, I guarantee. Unless y'all wanna force one with awkward attempts to guide the unguidable, herding cats, like. We can rock around the clock or we can get the bones Rollin'.

Hell, shoulda done a few back. Just after caging the room from the storm, before anyone got weird with Harry Hard Ass.

Hold your horses, King, you're a little ahead of the game. We've got one more thing to do before this session ends and that's watch the ad storm pass over. I admit, you've got yourself sitting nice and pretty right now. But enjoy it, do something productive with your time because the rest of the folks here aren't quite done yet.

[SiuiS]

If that's your game, cool. Just seems to me everyone being stuck in tunnels in a long ass murderous sand storm is how elevator episodes happen.

[Anarion]

If that's your game, cool. Just seems to me everyone being stuck in tunnels in a long ass murderous sand storm is how elevator episodes happen.

You might be right. Let's wait a sec to see how the storm hits everybody else, and if it's all just sitting around then we'll move right along.

[Raz_Fox]

But never mind that for now. You're in your own space, but you're watching your borders. No cameras on the surface to get exposed to ad storm virus, no cameras to watch your buddies. So, great Anubis, what are you doing then?

I'm reviewing, of course. I keep records. And I haven't had a full consciousness to properly sort through my thoughts in quite some time. I'm definitely looking over our man Harold, digging up blackmail material- everyone's got their own secrets. And the King, too- trying to figure out what I can use to break this broken bitch.

[Anarion]

I'm reviewing, of course. I keep records. And I haven't had a full consciousness to properly sort through my thoughts in quite some time. I'm definitely looking over our man Harold, digging up blackmail material- everyone's got their own secrets. And the King, too- trying to figure out what I can use to break this broken bitch.

Boy oh boy, I guess you do all want to just sit tight until the storm blows over. Just remember, if nobody is keeping tabs on it now, you're going to have to clean up the mess later.

Harold, you're last. Let me know what you do about those folks in the cave. You're the least protected, and everybody in there is gonna be humming and whistling by the end of it, though it doesn't look like there are any more crazies at this point. If you're done too, then we can move on to the next session.

[SiuiS]

You f^ckin' kiddin' me? How do you keep an eye? Ain't no f^cker stupid enough to go out there, strong enough to come back.

Besides, there's enough bombs droppin' in here, like.

"Right. Kelly. You, me, business. I need to take it to Harold. Gotta be right after, maybe give him some time to get busy cleanin', like."

Boom.

[Balmas]

Harold, you're last. Let me know what you do about those folks in the cave. You're the least protected, and everybody in there is gonna be humming and whistling by the end of it, though it doesn't look like there are any more crazies at this point. If you're done too, then we can move on to the next session.

I throw Joe to the ground, give him a little kick, before I stomp over and snatch the ratty roll-up from Manchilde's limp fingers. "Are you f***ing stupid? I don't care if it makes you see colors that don't exist; don't smoke this sh!t when the adstorms roll around! Are you trying to get the storm to melt your mind?"

[SiuiS]

So I'm passing time, like. Looks like Kelly ain't gonna gut me yet. Probably best, no way to tell if the screen drops when I do.

So I'm talking, like. Small things. Adding-up things. Bits and bullsh*t about Harold, his policies, times he or they be doin' me dirty. It's a crafty game, like. Gotta list out sh*t Mama hears as just fact, just grumblin'. Gotta also list out sh*t Kelly sees as motive.

So I'm talking, like. Be taking the circuitous route, the voices in my head say, going around long way. Feeling her out. Poking, prodding, as much of her psyche as I can. See how she be reacting, angry, irritated, impatient. Probably gonna end up dancing that line between 'she wants to keep me happy so I help' and 'she wants to wear my teeth for a necklace'.

So I'm talking, like. But before I go too far, I wanna get a feel for this bitch. So I'm going to drop a few words, and [roll0]
Find out what makes her tick. I wanna know, especially, How do I make you follow my lead against Harold. We'll see if I figure anything out, though.

[Anarion]

Oh boy. Okay, Harold, you're a hardass and you've got two smashed, zoned out fools on the ground. They're not all there, to be sure, I'd call it an open question whether it'd be a mercy to put them out of their misery, but you haven't yet and that's where we'll leave you.

So since everyone hunkered down for the storm, and you all secured yourselves safely, We're starting a new session Roll your beginning of session moves. On top of that, we've got two other things to do. First off, pick someone that you feel like you got to know better or who surprised you, say why, and either step up or step down your Hx with them by 1. When that's done, I'm calling for new highlights from the players. And here's what I'm highlight:
Harold: your sharp. So you can use your brain and not just your fists sometimes
King: your Weird. Keep at it.
Lance: your cool.

King, the answer to your question is a simple one: prove you're not leading her to her own death. You've gotta give her something concrete to show that you've got a chance.

And Lance, about your body, computers go to sleep sometimes when they're inactive. So your call, you wanna step back into your meatbag shell? I'm not saying it's now or never, but this is a moment.

[SiuiS]

Lance, you've got access to the King's bed chambers and apparently also some viral video of the best and worst. Increase your Hx with King.

Sakura, you're dead even and also dead-gone, as a PC. You'll be missed. Like one of those spring flowers or some sh*t. Pretend there's poetry here about the transience and beauty of life.

Harold, I was thinkin' that all this discussion about me with everyone but me might give you some skewed perspective. But hell, know what? You've been there since the start. You probably got an even bedrock. I'll leave it be.


Before I make my moves though, I gotta ask. Harold, you picked up a few of my folk. Say, all 17 remaining. I need to know, was that just cross contamination? Or was that the end result of Desertion want? Like, do I still have people? Sakura and Mama (maybe) excluded, I mean.

[Balmas]

Well, I'm in a bit of a pickle, aren't I? Of the three of us, I've only had face-to-face interaction with two of you. And Lance, I think I got to know you a bit better. You're not averse to playing one-against-the-other, but you're smart about it. Make it look honorable, like. And somewhere under all that badass loner bullsh!t, there's an okay sense of humor. That's worth an increase HX, I think.

And King, I think that depends. I mean, you're their spiritual center, like, but in my experience people are more likely to gravitate to the people that give them what they need to survive. Feeling hippy and groovy because life is wonderful and we need to be happy is all well and good, but you can't be happy and groovy if you're starving and miserable. You're free to try to grab them back, but you better have a way to actually supply what they need better than I can. You're like a pop singer with fickle fans. They're still fickle for me, but they're going to be less flip-floppity if they understand that they depend on me for their very lives.

[Holding roll. 4,1, +2 Hard. [7] Means I get my three barter, but I need to choose a Want. Let's go for Idle. I want to see what that looks like.]

[SiuiS]

I have answers for that, old man. So many answers. Let's gun for a meeting, you and me, and I'll give them to you.

How do you want them? We can sit down to tea, like. Business, maybe. Both with guns, men with guns at our backs and sides, real cowboy sh*t. Or even just you with guns, me at ease, like. Elbows back, pretending it's a nice chair and not some f^ckif rubble on the ground we're using as furniture.

Or f^ck. maybe you want answers whispered in your ear? Hot breath, soft voice. Little rough, wet on your neck, your cheek. Hands... Somewhere. Maybe instead just screaming, like, out and loud as I move above or– no, you're real traditional, like, you be moving over top, means answers would come through gritted teeth, whispered into pillows. Pulled out of me with whatever arts you got, in gasps and sighs?

You want answers, bring it. I've got them, and they're yours. Just get me to a spot where I can talk, and you can listen, and we can both relax. Sakura has some too – we had to touch for the augur – and maybe Lance does too, now. It's all you, big man. Choice, power, decision... Responsibility.

Whatchu got?

[Anarion]

Look, King, let me just say something here. They're your followers. Most of them, they're still yours, they don't care about food/drink like they care about the spiritual soul. But you had, what, like 15-20 guys total? Harold, don't give me that generalities crap. Not everybody feels the same way about what you're offering. I want names: pick two people. Two and only two, and those are the ones that King's lost. Can't be Mama or Sakura, but anybody else is on the table named or not at this point.

Then, King, you roll your augury.

[SiuiS]

That sounds fair. Sounds like they're cool with running under your authority, Harry, but still wanna come round to hear some doctrine, jump and jive sometimes. Still, means I'm down some folks and I probably don't wanna press a Mine versus Yours conflict. Won't go well. You've got them and you've got leverage.

A'ight! That last read stands, It gives me an advance. I'm feelin' all self confident now, like. Be gettin' someone like Lance on side, that's a confidence boost. Maybe it's time, I be recognizing my Charismatic side.

[roll0] be kind.

... Well F^ck me.

[Balmas]

You want answers, bring it. I've got them, and they're yours. Just get me to a spot where I can talk, and you can listen, and we can both relax. Sakura has some too – we had to touch for the augur – and maybe Lance does too, now. It's all you, big man. Choice, power, decision... Responsibility.

Whatchu got?

I look forward to the meeting. For the record, I prefer something intimate. Just the two of us. No backups, no gangs, no ulterior horsecrap. Personal, like.


Look, King, let me just say something here. They're your followers. Most of them, they're still yours, they don't care about food/drink like they care about the spiritual soul. But you had, what, like 15-20 guys total? Harold, don't give me that generalities crap. Not everybody feels the same way about what you're offering. I want names: pick two people. Two and only two, and those are the ones that King's lost. Can't be Mama or Sakura, but anybody else is on the table named or not at this point.

Sounds like a plan.

Alright. Seems like I'm taking the most down-to-earth of your group. That'd be Brick the merc. Smart guy. Does anything for money. Might be dangerous, that. Think he's in Kelly's pocket right now. Makes it interesting when your loyalties go three ways, eh? And who else? Let's go for Old Harry himself. Just noticed he's down here. Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't.

[Raz_Fox]

And Lance, about your body, computers go to sleep sometimes when they're inactive. So your call, you wanna step back into your meatbag shell? I'm not saying it's now or never, but this is a moment.

It ain't immediate. Sure as hell ain't. But conservation of power, dig? Even gods worry about being at their prime. And I got hooks. Still have his heart on my scales.

You get, boy. And come back when I call.

Too bad about that broken bag of meat outside my door, incidentally. I probably have him all judged, too- but we'll talk about that later.


So since everyone hunkered down for the storm, and you all secured yourselves safely, We're starting a new session Roll your beginning of session moves. On top of that, we've got two other things to do. First off, pick someone that you feel like you got to know better or who surprised you, say why, and either step up or step down your Hx with them by 1. When that's done, I'm calling for new highlights from the players. And here's what I'm highlight:
Harold: your sharp. So you can use your brain and not just your fists sometimes
King: your Weird. Keep at it.
Lance: your cool.

Would've been Sakura, for sure. Crazy bitch surprised even me. But between the two of you... hell of a choice. King, you're a hell of a wildcat in the sack, and I think I got your number. Shame you didn't get to talk old times with me, get to know my ghosts. Haven't talked to many folks in this place 'bout my sh!t, see. Take +1 HX with Lance.

Sorry, Harry, I'm starting to get you. But I still ain't certain of you yet. Got twice as many balls as you, after all.



Here's as it is. I wake up again and I ain't certain which way's up, last thing in my brainpan's standing next to King and the witch, and I'm all twitch and jump, something messed me up bad and every bit of canny I've got says that it's the witch's own damn fault, and I don't know whether I want to pound her brains out or shoot her brains out and that's making it worse and folks ain't really paying attention to me, standing near the wall, so I take a sec, eval-you-ate.

It's tough. Want to feckin kill someone. But I ain't made it here just killing folk whenever the urge struck me. I got here by killing a whole bunch of folk who I'd made up my mind to kill. Or because I was getting paid.

In a bunker, okay, made it to a bunker. But- eyes flicking under lenses- not the King's Lurch. Among Kelly's folk. No prisoner. Ain't tied up, don't have guns pointed at me, wasn't the King's intent to trade me over, probably. Sh!t flowing dowhill.

All this in mind, I'm going to get answers about what just happened, subtlelike, and then, once I know exactly who to blame for this feckin mess, I'm most likely going to blow the witch's feckin head open and watch the humming bullets writhe around in the brainpan like corpseworms. I'll apologize to the King later.

[SiuiS]

Ah, Lance. You loaded gun. You live wire. You meal ticket.

"So here is what I got. I got a goal, I need to be doing. That's f^ckin' with the throne. And how do I be doing it? Firepower.

"See, Harold, he ain't king material. He's a foreman what forgot his place. He ain't buildin' sh*t no more, he's keeping everything high and tight. Stranglehold, like. That's gotta stop. No growing the things we need, he says. No justice but his justice, he says. Nuh-uh. Justice comes from the people. Their strength, like. Their power. Harold don't recognize that. Harold don't have the power to be doing anything about it."

A pause. Watch her face, see what sinks. Harold don't. Who does? 'Who's a good doggy?' I ask. I wanna see it in her face. That hunger. I wanna read her eyes and see is it me? Am I a good doggy?

"We got Lance. We Got Mama. We got Me. We got your boys. That's as much The People as it ever gets! That's alla us, like. That's representation! Even Harold gotta respect that. Play like he be doin, at least. Gotta keep up his song and dance right? In front of the people, he's gotta pretend he cares about what they want. Means he's gotta let us get close.

"And me, well. I'm good at rabble rousin'. And this storm? Hell, you stay here little mama, right and cozy. Me, these three, your boys, we move in. And worst case? Harold's boys try to bring you in? Say the storm got us. Boom! Carte Blanche to blow the F^ckers away right f^cking there, right f^cking in front of him, and call it self defense. Ties his hands. Slaps him with his own laws. And that's my kinda plan!"

Lean forward, maybe give her an eye of the short hairs, hell. Suit's split low enough. Catch her eye, though. Be showin' what's swimming in my brain. That intensity.

"Because y'all ain't got nothin' to lose. We win, Harold loses. We lose, Harold loses. Old Hard Ass has gotta get off that seat no matter."

[Anarion]

Alright, so let's talk about what went down. You guys are passing time in the tunnel. If you've got 1-2 harm, knock one off your sheet. 3+, sucks to be you. The ad storm is blowing through. All quiet with King, all quiet in Lance's computer room. Harold's boys are hummin and singin, gimme a break's the refrain, but more than a little bit of 15 minutes could save you 15% or more flowing through it too.

When the whole thing has passed, the boys in the gang are spooked. They're safe, theirs some food in the caves, and nobody seems to want to come out. That's a real problem because ad storms come with cablefolk and it's a good bet there's some kind of cleaning up to do upstairs. But the gang's not having it for Harold. They're sitting and hanging around.

Kelly's folk, on the other hand, they're ready and raring to go. She gives a nod to King. "We'll talk later, come find me." and gives King a little stroke on the chin, one quick hand before she walks out with her folks.

King's in a tough spot though, bad stuff all around. The augury circle, some of those folks are out of it. they took the brunt of the ad storm into themselves seems like and they're pushing somewhere between massive drug high and coma. The rest of the folk, though, they're lookin lean and they're lookin hungry. All the Court folk with Harold are the latter. So King, you've got some folks in deep and some others that are about to run out of the cave with or without you. What do you do?

Harold, everyone you care about doesn't want to do jack ****, but you've also got a couple folks that look like they've gone native and are gonna sprint out of the cave with or without you. What do?

Lance...you're just along for the ride at this point. Even Kelly isn't really messing with you because she can see that you're an asset to King and she liked that plan. So you've got freedom. What do you do with it?

[Raz_Fox]

I'm going for Sakura, is what I'm doing. In the general mess of everyone up and getting ready to go, I stalk her like she's traveling through my tribe's turf, and wait until we get a little bit of privacy.

"What happened to the whining bitch?" is the first question of the day. It's a general question, yeah? Lets Sakura spill whatever the sh!t went down in the tunnels easy. And if she don't pick up on that bit of subtle, I've got my sidearm out. Ain't pointed at her yet, but it's out, safety's off, I'm not hiding it.

[SiuiS]

Kelly's off to shoot some skeet. Lance is of to... Back Sakura into a corner? A'ight, maybe they hit it off. None of mine, yeah? Didn't stake a real claim, can't complain. 'll just have words with her. Later.

Means I take care a mine.

"Mama." It's just above a whisper. She's lookin' around. Twitchy. Probably misses her wheels. Hey! Heeeeey! That's a plan. Yeah, that's good, like. That be real good.

"'M gonna need your weight in on this. I need you to support this, like. All the way through. Cuz I'm gonna need you at the head to make sure—" Lookin' around, scanning the corners. Make sure ain't nothin' catchin' this. Squish a roach, just in case. Don't need to be bugged. "—Make sure Harry lives. Don't gimme that look! Be clear, ain't nobody else but maybe me fit for that tower, you damn well know, like. Kelly's a power hungry tyrant. So follow along, yeah? Back up Lance. Follow his lead, all the way up to the end. Yeah?"

A smile.

"And hey, you, me, Lance – well, you an' Lance – can clear our way through to your bike. Get us some wheels, make cleaning up the rest of this sh*t smoother. What say?"

[Anarion]

I'm going for Sakura, is what I'm doing. In the general mess of everyone up and getting ready to go, I stalk her like she's traveling through my tribe's turf, and wait until we get a little bit of privacy.

"What happened to the whining bitch?" is the first question of the day. It's a general question, yeah? Lets Sakura spill whatever the sh!t went down in the tunnels easy. And if she don't pick up on that bit of subtle, I've got my sidearm out. Ain't pointed at her yet, but it's out, safety's off, I'm not hiding it.

She's looking totally out of it. You practically dragged her outside, and she's spacing like she's having the best trip of her life, massive heroine overdose style. Do you push her somehow? If so, how?

Also, are you walking her through the tunnels, heading outside or just sitting in a corner somewhere? Don't want to take too long and miss the train, so to speak.



"Mama." It's just above a whisper. She's lookin' around. Twitchy. Probably misses her wheels. Hey! Heeeeey! That's a plan. Yeah, that's good, like. That be real good.

"'M gonna need your weight in on this. I need you to support this, like. All the way through. Cuz I'm gonna need you at the head to make sure—" Lookin' around, scanning the corners. Make sure ain't nothin' catchin' this. Squish a roach, just in case. Don't need to be bugged. "—Make sure Harry lives. Don't gimme that look! Be clear, ain't nobody else but maybe me fit for that tower, you damn well know, like. Kelly's a power hungry tyrant. So follow along, yeah? Back up Lance. Follow his lead, all the way up to the end. Yeah?"

A smile.

"And hey, you, me, Lance – well, you an' Lance – can clear our way through to your bike. Get us some wheels, make cleaning up the rest of this sh*t smoother. What say?"

Mama's lookin feral though. She's pushing past King even while he's talking. You get the sense she's heading right to that bike, barely even gives you a nod as she's on her way out the doors. So, ready to leave with her or what?

[Balmas]

Well, there're two things on the menu right now: Doctor, and getting this gang back on their feet. Latter probably has to come first, or I'll come back to a fuggin' slaughterhouse. So the question is, how do I do that?


[Rolling Read a Sitch. 6,4, +1. [11]

What's my enemy's true position?

What's my best way past this situation?

What should I be on the lookout for?]

[SiuiS]

F^ck, why not? Les ride.

"Lance! You comin?"

[Anarion]

What's my enemy's true position?


This is a question where the entire radar screen lights up and all the red warning sirens start flashing. Far as I can tell, every other character we've seen on screen in a while is in the Harold Enemy=yes category. But, you know what? This, this is a sideshow, all this crap in the caves. Even that Kelly fool. Your enemy's true position is on the surface tearing up your hold in the wake of the ad storm. At least right now. No promises how long that lasts.



What's my best way past this situation?


What, getting your gang moving? Roll leadership. They don't want to do jack squat right now, so the only way you get them to do jack squat is to be a hard ass. Nobody said AW was fluffy bunnies and rainbows.



What should I be on the lookout for?]

A battle. You're in no shape for one, but one might find you nonetheless. Especially if Kelly and King get feisty.


F^ck, why not? Les ride.

"Lance! You comin?"

Good question. Lance?

[Raz_Fox]

She's looking totally out of it. You practically dragged her outside, and she's spacing like she's having the best trip of her life, massive heroine overdose style. Do you push her somehow? If so, how?

Also, are you walking her through the tunnels, heading outside or just sitting in a corner somewhere? Don't want to take too long and miss the train, so to speak.

I stopped her before she could leave the bunker. Most everyone's headed out by now, 'cept for a few stragglers, so we've got a bit of privacy.

Wasn't expecting her to go Court freakshow on me, though. Frustrating. I ain't got the patience for this. Besides, she might be faking.

So I slam her up against the wall, fingers under her coat, on her nice sh!t. "I asked you a question, bitch. Where's my man?"

King's calling for me, but if she wants me, she can damn well come get me herself.

[SiuiS]

Well, sh*t. Looks like trouble. Looks like Lance maybe got caught in that storm after all, had some of it follow him back. Thought he was in the circle, shoulda made sure. Shoulda made damn sure, cuz he goes apesh*t here ain't nothin' I can do.

"Alright, Mama. You go be figurin' out what you need to be figurin' out, like. I'll follow your wake." Cuz ain't no way a woman like that in a mood like that won't leave a wake.

I head in, look around, and... Looks like the damn Brainer bitch got her hooks in Lance after all, cuz he's got her up against a wall, her of all people, and—

Oh. Good sh*t, he's got his gun out. His uh, metal one. Means he's not gonna f^ck the girl, just kill her. Gotta remember that, like. Gotta remind people of a time when that wasn't, you know, the thing you be doin' if you wanna be considered better than the cablefolk or camwhores.

"Down, Tiger. Sure as shootin' she ain't done nothin' in the last ten seconds to warrant a bullet. Why don't you tell me what's got you so ruffled?"

[Balmas]

Right. That's about what I expected. "Alright, people! We're gonna need to move out; I know that at least a few of you probably want to hit the doctor after that little shootout. Those with guns, you're in front with me. Those without, you're going to be behind us, keeping watch for cablefolk. We're going through the tunnels; should be a pretty straight shot from here to the docs. Now move out!"

[Rolling Leadership. 1,4, +2, +1 from following MC's advice. [8].

Make a Hard Advance.]

[Anarion]

"Down, Tiger. Sure as shootin' she ain't done nothin' in the last ten seconds to warrant a bullet. Why don't you tell me what's got you so ruffled?"

Mm, I'm curious too. Sakura looks over there, and all attention is on Lance's response.


Right. That's about what I expected. "Alright, people! We're gonna need to move out; I know that at least a few of you probably want to hit the doctor after that little shootout. Those with guns, you're in front with me. Those without, you're going to be behind us, keeping watch for cablefolk. We're going through the tunnels; should be a pretty straight shot from here to the docs. Now move out!"

[Rolling Leadership. 1,4, +2, +1 from following MC's advice. [8].

Make a Hard Advance.]

It took a few minutes to get them all going. Harold had to bang a few heads, shout a few people in consciousness, and drag several folks to their feet. But they were his, and when it came down to it, they (usually) followed his orders. You could see on their faces, though, that this was at some cost to Harold. He'd taken weapons from some and now he was ordering them to leave their safety and charge outside.

And when Harold gave an order, the gang always took it as moving for a battle. In this case, that was a damn good idea because of what they found coming out of the tunnels.

The first thing that hits you is the scorching orange-tinted sun. The ad storm is gone, but the air itself is altered: it's denser, harder to breathe. It tastes of citrus with a metallic tang.

When your eyes adjust and the holding comes into view, you can see that the apocalypse has come home to roost. The place is swarming with cable folk. Many are digging, some with shovels or trowels, other with their hands scrabbling at the earth.

Harold's tower is still standing, but a big chunk of rock has broken off from the top of the building and fallen to the ground around it. It looks like nothing more than some massive beast took a bite out of the top. All the windows on the building that weren't already are shattered.

The rest of the town is in various states of disrepair. Shabby roofs and ramshackle huts are torn down and pieces of scrap metal and broken concrete make the streets into rough terrain. It doesn't look like the storm itself did this, but rather that the cable folk have been swarming over the town like cockroaches, ripping apart whatever was in their way.

The big buildings, Doc Grace's place, Kelly's compound, are still standing. There's a sound of gunfire in the distance...Kelly's boys most like. Least they clean up the town sometimes. No sign of movement from the doc's compound yet. She may not be there.

Harold's thoughts are interrupted as the gang surges past him, happy to take their anger out on an acceptable target before them. Guns go off and smoke rises into the air as the cablefolk in the immediate area are gunned down with glee verging on reckless abandon. By the time Harold can collect himself, there's an open square around him filled with maybe 20ish cablefolk bodies, oil leaking onto the ground where blood should have been.

The gang looks spent. You can keep moving them around into combat until they collapse from weariness, but they're not up for rebuilding right now and if it were I, I wouldn't expect them to be kind if you make a mistake right about now.

[Balmas]

It's a good thing that we went through the tunnels. I'd hate to have to fight my way through this damn hellhole. I'll be frank; I'm in the mood to kill some cablefolk. But I've a more pressing need, and the clinic is right here. "Good work, ladies and gents. I'll just be right back, check to make sure there aren't any of those gas-oozing bastards in there. Set up a secure perimeter, and bunker down. You've all earned a pay-raise, once we get to the tower and the armory."

[SiuiS]

Just a reminder, to keep things, ahem, thumpin'.

King.

Find.

Kneel.

[Raz_Fox]

"Ten seconds? Ten seconds?"

Maybe I'm a little stormcrazy. Don't care none right now.

"Last I recall we was down in the guts of it, I had a man to ask why I got all shot up, and I think this witch had something to do with it. So how about you tell me what happened to my brainpan before I lose my temper, how's about that?"

Even when I'm pissed, my hands stay steady. Barrel's right up against something soft that Sakura probably doesn't want a bloody chunk out of.

[Anarion]

It's a good thing that we went through the tunnels. I'd hate to have to fight my way through this damn hellhole. I'll be frank; I'm in the mood to kill some cablefolk. But I've a more pressing need, and the clinic is right here. "Good work, ladies and gents. I'll just be right back, check to make sure there aren't any of those gas-oozing bastards in there. Set up a secure perimeter, and bunker down. You've all earned a pay-raise, once we get to the tower and the armory."

Look, Harold, I'm telling you, your guys are just not feeling it. Half of them are off to check the damage on their own places before you even start giving that order and the other half are starting to loot. If it's on the ground, it's fair game, right? You can try to make your own way to the Doc's compound and check the place out for any signs of life if you want. You can probably handle it, though you are hurting. Your call, really, what do you do?


"Ten seconds? Ten seconds?"

Maybe I'm a little stormcrazy. Don't care none right now.

"Last I recall we was down in the guts of it, I had a man to ask why I got all shot up, and I think this witch had something to do with it. So how about you tell me what happened to my brainpan before I lose my temper, how's about that?"

Even when I'm pissed, my hands stay steady. Barrel's right up against something soft that Sakura probably doesn't want a bloody chunk out of.

You sound like you're going aggro. Roll them bones.

[Raz_Fox]

[Fingers crossed and Anubis laughs, eh? [roll0]]

[SiuiS]

"Put the gun down and let's talk like civil folk, Tiger. Everyone knows you're a cages animal, like. No one ain't gonna be stupid enough to rattle you. So just relax. We got the place to ourselves now, so no rush, yeah?

"'Less, you don't wanna be a tiger, tigers play too rough?" A step in, a promise. Relaxation. Security. Validation. easy for a man to relax when he has complete control, yeah?

The rubble'a still there. So f^ck it, I sit. I recline "join me?"

[Anarion]

[Fingers crossed and Anubis laughs, eh? [roll0]]

Sakura looks from Lance to King, then back and Lance and shuts her mouth up tight. She looks scared. Maybe she doesn't know, maybe she's not telling. Either way, it's too late to back off now. You drop this threat and nobody'll ever take Lance seriously again. Images of you as a laughingstock float through your mind, people pointing and jeering, you being led around on a leash, tied up, down on all fours...*Blam*

There's blood trickling out of Sakura's mouth and her head droops. She'd been hurt earlier, you remember? Back at Harold's place, had still looked a little injured in the tunnels. Add on to that a foot wide hole in her stomach that you just put there and...well, she's not long for this world.

What do you do now?


"Put the gun down and let's talk like civil folk, Tiger. Everyone knows you're a cages animal, like. No one ain't gonna be stupid enough to rattle you. So just relax. We got the place to ourselves now, so no rush, yeah?

"'Less, you don't wanna be a tiger, tigers play too rough?" A step in, a promise. Relaxation. Security. Validation. easy for a man to relax when he has complete control, yeah?

The rubble'a still there. So f^ck it, I sit. I recline "join me?"

Bit late for that, King. Ain't much of civil left here. 's what happens when the guns come out sometimes. You can still put that offer on the table if you want to seduce Lance now, put something else on the table if you'd prefer swinging another way. Maybe change your mind entirely. I dunno, what's your reaction to all this?

[SiuiS]

Eyes slide closed. Breathe. Everything sinks. Open one eye – middle one. Then the other two.

"You want answers, they're locked in your head. Only one person in town has the know-how to tell you what you want, for sure. You should get her to a medic if you want those answers."

[Balmas]

Just a reminder, to keep things, ahem, thumpin'.

King.

Find.

Kneel.

Go to hell, King. This headache is yours, and you'll get it as soon as I can walk without leaning on anything.


Look, Harold, I'm telling you, your guys are just not feeling it. Half of them are off to check the damage on their own places before you even start giving that order and the other half are starting to loot. If it's on the ground, it's fair game, right? You can try to make your own way to the Doc's compound and check the place out for any signs of life if you want. You can probably handle it, though you are hurting. Your call, really, what do you do?


You know what, I'm fine with that. They can go run themselves through a meat grinder for all I care. I'm limping into that clinic as quick as I can.

[Raz_Fox]

I give the King a look, taking a step back and letting the witch slide down the wall. Emergency lighting glints off the lenses.

"Seems to me there were two folk with me what still be here," I say. "Or am I wrong? Am I fecking wrong, King? What happened back there, King?"

[Anarion]

You know what, I'm fine with that. They can go run themselves through a meat grinder for all I care. I'm limping into that clinic as quick as I can.

Well, alright then. Nobody ever accused Harold of being a quitter. There are a few stray cablefolk along the route but you didn't need your gang for that. You get to the clinic no problem but, well, external signs seem true enough. Place is empty. Doc and all her folks evacuated somewhere. Well, I say somewhere, we all know that she's in the caves with Sakura's weird folk, but since Harold doesn't know that, we'll just call it somewhere. There's plenty of medical stuff though. Far as I know, Harold has no particular talent in self-treatment, but feel free to look around, take whatever you think would be there. Might do you some good down the road.

[SiuiS]

"I dream, Lance. I dream of a time when you can ask questions and expect they be answered out of compassion. Where justice comes before expediency. You got scruples, Tiger? You got vision? Because we know I do. An' I ain't the first to see the Kings for what they were. One of my forebears said once, it's ain't about being smart enough to kill and get away with it. It was about being smart enough not to need to kill. I still hope for a world where principled men stick to that."
[roll0]

"Way I see it, you said talk or I shoot, I said let's talk. And you still shoot, don't leave me with a lot of confidence in you not shootin' again. So let's try being civil one more time. You wanna talk? Toss the gun. Siddown. We'll talk."
[roll1]

[Anarion]

King, Lance...you hear something outside the tunnels. It's a very distinctive skittering noise. Like many legs clacking against stone very quickly. It interrupts what King is saying, gets quite loud, echoes, then fades away.

Just mentioning, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. What were you guys saying?

[Raz_Fox]

"King, you're a damn good lay, but I ain't your stupid tribal." We should be cutting and running, what with that noise, but if I lose this, I ain't gonna get a straight answer out of the King anytime soon. And I need an answer, and the more circles these bitches try running around me, the more my temper gets damn tight, don't it? "Way I see it, you ask a man to drop his gun when he ain't gonna like what you tell him. I have a hole in my head where there should be sh!t, and your witch don't want to talk about it, and you don't want to talk about it, and I want a fecking answer, King, not more bullsh!t. And if you got scruples, I'm sure it's a good answer, right?"

[Balmas]

I help myself to a few pain pills. And something for the damn headache, if that's possible.

King, I gotta ask myself, what actually is this headache? How's it work? Ain't like a gun, where you just point the long end at someone and make them explode. What's the magic?

And while I'm at it, how d'you expect me to find you? Does this magic headache have one of those old Gee Ess Pees in them, go left at Broadway and keep going until you see the exploded caterpillar, like? Or are you just kinda pulsating your frustration at me, and givin' me no way to let it off?

[Anarion]

I help myself to a few pain pills. And something for the damn headache, if that's possible.


Sure, that's enough to mark off 1 harm. Nothing like ignoring your wounds to make them go away. Doc may end up filing a complaint with you later about it.

[SiuiS]

"Seems to me, you willing to shoot someone for the answers you don't like, you only get stories, not truth."

It's so clear, now. Really, I should have known. I wanted Sakura to help. Looks like she will anyway. By accident, if not design.

"But f^ck kid, sure. I'll get you answers. Clear ones, even." I'm up, moving. Step, step. Then a kneel. "You may be not wanting to watch this part, though. Messy, like."

I take Sakura's head in my hands, Palm cupped under for support. She's shivering. Probably too far gone, already. We lock eyes. I smile.

And i smash her f^cking head open on the rock like a coconut. She's panicked, the last animal instincts fighting through blood loss. Broken spine. She tries, poor thing. Wish I could tell her this was for the best, like. She'll be knowing it soon, but that pain? That fear? Ain't no one deserves that.

crack. There's one. crack. The rock stains with bloody flow and chalk dust kicked up. crack. I pull her head up, cradle her at my breat almost. Then, crack. Slam it down. Not frantic. Steady. Working the back ridges, The side. She's gone now, eyes rolling back up in shock. Means I gotta hurry, then. Swelling, right?

One of the broken pieces of concrete nearby, perfect shape. Like a maul. I take it up, and crack. Right down into the temple, at an angle. crack. Forehead. scraaape. Skin's gotta come free. Bits of muscle.

I pick out the bone. Pick it out and soft the pieces. While Lance stands there. Who f^cking knows doing what. And when the shell is gone, it's Easter time, right?

I slowly, purposefully shove my fingers into her brain meat, hook, and pull. And spine fluid and blood dribbling down my chin, waterfalling even, soaking my leathers, staining my tits, I eat the psycho witch's brain.

[SiuiS]

And hell, just in case anyone missed this sh*t, forgets that brain contact with techno-organics imprints the person's ghost into the shell, or whatever the f^ck, and just in case anyone wonders what the rule function here is, I'm dropping all three eyes deep into my handiwork and I am [roll0]

[Anarion]

Let me tell you about right and wrong, up and down, day and night

Can you taste it? That techno-organic crunch. She wasn't real, that Sakura. Except she was. There's a piece of humanity in there through all the silicon and implants. That's what let her do her thing.

See, here's the deal in this Apocalypse World. The singularity hit. Everyone, everything was changed. Some more than others. Each and every one of you is techno-organic. You wouldn't know a true biological life form if it ran up and bit you.

But some folks held their humanity better than others. It's humanity that has the essence of power in this world. In a world where everything should be absolutely determinate, it's the spark of randomness, of pointless, wrong decisions, that throws off the machine.

Now look up King. There on his throne, sits the great beast. The usurper Set, who cast Ra from his chariot that the serpent of chaos could devour the sun. He sees you. You and just you now, have his eye. Tell me, what does he look like?

[SiuiS]

You're asking me what the face of the end is? The face of betrayal? That stole the night sky and let chaos eat the true order of things?

I could say the world was Set, that it was built and strengthened to help us all and in the end left us to bedevoured. God of storms, God of deserts. God of aliens. We cling to the soil and, like Pieces of Osiris.

I could say we were the face of Set, a hundred million naked bodies writhing and sweating and pissing and worse, piled into a long-snouted, burning collosus of human wretchedness casting the natural technological progression from the sky.

F^ck that sh*t.

What I'm looking at I couldn't describe If I tried. It's not a visual. It's not data. It's pulsing energy of possibility? Tendrils in and out of our lives. It's being squished and forced into knowable shape because the unknowable can't exist in this world of Computational logic. Set is rationality, the apophasis of natural laws chained by limited thinking. I could look, and burn this birch into my eyes, and know, but f^ck that.

Know why?



Because This means, struggling to emerge in the world, is an old King made new. I don't give a flying f^ck about Set or his child, with his camera eyes. I care about Osiris.

I smile. It's a wide smile. Manic, all tooth. Frothy blood, deep red and in spots bleached a dull, sick yellow by the existence of tooth, Denton arms wrapped around chunks of human hardware.

"We got to that stock room, yeah? Well it was full of some bad sh*t. And we stood there too long. Too open. You went dark. Door opened, **** came out, demon mother of all camwhores, all surveillance gear and genitals, and we f^ckin' ran. We got here, and we had your body bash in the damn door. And we sealed the place against the storm, by Order of the King, like. Sakura pushed you out of the circle because apparently? Being in it, you woulda been ripped apart. Body down, soul left to float. They all float down here.

"And here's the kicker, like. Whatever sleeping thing we found? It hotwired your brain for power and processing. So what happened was you opened the damn door and chased yourself into the storm. Satisfied?"


***


Harold, I wish I could say. I remember all that talk of cell phones and how we laughed at f^ckers who had physical boxes in their pockets to try and call folks, like. Be making damn fools of themselves. I remember envyin' those Rich f^ckers with their internal HUDs and their fantasy world overlays.

So I tried sending you a call, yeah? Real simple like. And so far you've had this driving need to find me and it hurts. Pounds. Rhythmic and brutal.

Maybe you just have the f^cking worst choice of ringtones. Try picking up the receiver, like. Be holding out the forked fingers, surfer style, or grab a banana, or chew some tinfoil back on your fillings, pick up the line and Open up when I'm knocking. Crack a brain and see what pours in, like.

[Raz_Fox]

Well, there goes the witch.

Turns my stomach watching, don't it. This is some nasty sh!t. Not the splitting the brainpan open, no, I've seen that before. But I don't hold with eating folk when there's other grub around to get to first. "Memory gone that quick?" I ask, lip curling, even as I holster the sidearm. "Gotta shovel that sh!t in your mouth to recall? Damn, girl. Next you'll be telling me you ain't got nothing of our rough-and-tumble."

It don't make sense. The King was down there with us, weren't she? She was. Which means this is just... unnecessary. I don't stop it, none, since Sakura's already a goner, but I don't hold with it, neither.

I listen. To the King, mostly, but also for bad tunnel sh!t. Might have to use the rifle to get out, if the things down there are coming up.

"Satisfied," I say. It's a lie. This ain't adding up. But I don't much want to kill the King, for all that she's a headcase. Call me feckin sentimental. "Don't see why you bitches had to be so feckin cagey about it. Not like I'm gonna storm back down and get myself hacked back into all over again."

[Anarion]

That's cold, King. Hard to pull something like that off. Roll acting under fire.

[SiuiS]

"Of course you don't see the problem with coersion. But I'm not just spittin bullsh*t from a book and making people happy, child. I'm shaping the f^cking world. Wanted to see if ya be smart enough to understand that guns ain't necessary. That trust beats compliance.

"You dream of a world where you ain't digging through sh*t for worms just to be surviving. I be dreaming of a world where ain't no one digging through sh*t for worms to be surviving. That's power, Tiger. You gotta have scop to grab it. You're just a cog, until you realize you're part of a machine. Gun to guys like that, that's status quo. That's the sh*t second King preached fire about. You knew that. You were just as cagey, 'cept you used bullets instead a silence."

I stand. Calm as can be. Well, despite this whole cannibal thing, here. But f^ck. I've done worse. Like, now, for instance. There's enough there left to make this work.

I level my gun. Not at Lance – that would be f^cking retarded. At Sakura. Whatever's left of her white and grey matter, I'm spraying across the room. Leaves me without any bullets, But it also puts her into the signal. Maybe lets her People get a taste of what's goin' on.

"Now, I'm gonna leave. And you're gonna let me. Because whatever is out there is more likely to follow me, and because if I don't clear your name with Harold, both Mama and Kelly will have him convinced you're his biggest worry. So catch me after we've both cooled off, yeah?"
[roll0] {Stopping King is acting under fire}

And hell. I just turn and walk away.

[SiuiS]

That's cold, King. Hard to pull something like that off. Roll acting under fire.

Heh. Time gets pretty damn nonlinear on occasion. My faux pas, sweetie.

Oh, and sorry about the brain thing~

[roll0]

[Balmas]

Well, to be honest, it looks like it's kinda cooling off. At least my crotch isn't killing me, gives me some time to think. I groan, and sit down in the chair. My city burns, my people are doing jack sh!t, and somewhere in there, I have a witch, a fool, and a King trying to make my life hell. I'm willing to bet that the witch is with the king, so that solves one thing. I'm just trying to think. If I were a king with no court, where would I be?

[Do you wanna call that Open Your Brain or Read a Sitch?]

[SiuiS]

I'd call that opening your brain to the customized message put into the psychic maelstrom, myself, but ain't no reason you can't do both. Especially if that's where the XP lies.

Absolutely no idea what'll happen though.

[Anarion]

[roll0] {Stopping King is acting under fire}
And hell. I just turn and walk away.



[roll0]

King, you do your thing: gun pointed at Sakura. Blam blam, cold as all hell. Lance is on the hook, he can still act however he wants. You hesitate though, maybe it's hard taking aim at one of your court, even after all that, I dunno. But your shot isn't quite true. Brains splatter more than intended, and you get an extra bit, right in the eye. Her ghost is gone but, as your vision clears up, you realize that you can see her. Not all of her, like her shade, little faint green outline of the girl, half-translucent. She's everywhere you look and she's got a smile on her face.



[Do you wanna call that Open Your Brain or Read a Sitch?]

Like I said, your call, Harold. Both rolls could work, but look at their failure conditions, their specifics and think about which type of info makes more sense to you. I'm not picky.

[Raz_Fox]

I follow the King.

Not like I got a feckin choice about it. There's the one exit, y'know. Back out into the sun, the acrid tang of afterstorm, and cablefolk guts.

Someone's trying to kill me.

I just pissed off the King. Failed some bullsh!t test of hers.

And something used my feckin head as runtime.

Where did it get the feckin gall?

To think it could do that to me?

To me?

And I just killed the witch who might have been able to keep my head warded, like. Or would have abused the hell out of it, screwed up everything all up in there instead.

I need to stay out of the damn tunnels until I can figure out a way to keep my head on straight. But before I go and talk magic with the King, who ain't got the highest opinion of me right now, I'm checking back on my place, make sure it weren't trashed in the storm. And any cablefolk what get in my way are in for a bad day.

[Balmas]

Eh, let's go with Read a Sitch. Open Your Brain is more thematically appropriate, but XP calls to me.

6,6, +1. Hot damn.

What's my best way in to get to King?
What should I be on the lookout for?

[Anarion]

Harold, I'm gonna apologize. For what it's worth I didn't plan this, it just happened. I know it's about to look bad.

Best way to get to King is to sit still and wait. However, you should be on the lookout for Kelly, who's gonna arrive at your location about the same time as King. Good luck! (Also you have one more question).

***

Lance, you blast your way through a bunch of cable folk, but there's something bigger up here. When you round the corner to your house, it's there, but there's a small crater in front of it. Like something blasted the ground real hard. What do you do about that?

King, I dunno what you're doing. Maybe you want to wait on Harold's choice or move up a bit?

[SiuiS]

I'm on my way to ol' Harry. Think Lance is covering me, for now. Least til we get out of the holes and aren't trapped together with... Whatever.

So it's just me and Sakura.

"Bit more literal than I expected. How much of you is there?"

[Balmas]

Well, in that case I'm gonna set myself up. Get a nice defensive position. Shove around some furniture, like. I'm just gonna wait here in this desk, high backed chair set up all nice and cozy. Shotgun set aside on the desk--not a threat. A statement. "We're friends here," it says. "And I'd like to keep that, but I'm ready if you're too damned obstinate."

[Raz_Fox]

Crater? When the storms leave those, we've got real bad sh!t down. And it had to be right in front of this old building, too.

There are three things that could have happened here, way I see it.

The storm left us a gift and it's still in that damn crater.

Or it lurched out to ruin some poor bastard's day.

Or it's in the feckin building.

Rifle at the ready, and damn me if I ain't running a little worryingly low on my clips, I'm approaching this damn thing, and keeping an eye out for trouble.

[Rolling Read a Sitch, because this screams trouble. [roll0]]

[Anarion]

I'm on my way to ol' Harry. Think Lance is covering me, for now. Least til we get out of the holes and aren't trapped together with... Whatever.

So it's just me and Sakura.

"Bit more literal than I expected. How much of you is there?"

Sakura smiles. "Can't really say yet, King. This might not even be me. But you ate a lot, and now I'm in your eyes. You could say I'm a part of your grand vision." She chuckles at that. Then she's simply silent. She looks mournful as you step outside.

Exiting the caves, the air has that same orange feel and metallic tang to it. There are cable folk bodies all over the place, strewn around like dirty laundry, most of their kit looted or ripped up. You catch a few of Harold's boys running through the streets, but they're clearing out, heading to their homes maybe.

It's quiet, until the sound of a motorcycle suddenly fills your ears. Mama found her hog, and she's zooming through the streets, firing a heavy pistol at some of the cablefolk still standing: "Blam, Blam, Blam." She's headed down towards the central square. Looks a little crazy, might have been some froth on her mouth there. What's her ride like, btw? Want to tell me about it?

There's something else. You notice Sakura hovering over some of the people before they disappear, she seems like she's watching them, moving over different targets. Then she heads further towards the distance and stops around Lance's house. She's up high, hovering like she was over the people, but you don't see anything. Just her, hovering up there. Then she stops, zips over to the Doc's place, where Harold is. You know it, and she's being pulled just like your little psychic antenna.

Doesn't matter though, you're already on the way to the Doc's place anyway, right? Your brain is pulling you right to Harold. You're nearly there in fact. Let me set the scene for you a little, keep reading.


Well, in that case I'm gonna set myself up. Get a nice defensive position. Shove around some furniture, like. I'm just gonna wait here in this desk, high backed chair set up all nice and cozy. Shotgun set aside on the desk--not a threat. A statement. "We're friends here," it says. "And I'd like to keep that, but I'm ready if you're too damned obstinate."

Kelly demonstrates her friendship by leaving her rocket launcher on her back and aiming her gatling gun slightly below your center of mass as she walks into the medical center. She's flanked by her two goons with automatic weapons and several more guys fan into the complex. Looks like she got back to her depot two: There are snipers on the walls, you hear the distinct bolt action thunk as one of them takes down a stray cable folk and reloads, and she's probably got 10-15 guys with regular pistols or shotguns and body armor coming in behind her.

She's got a big smile on her face.

"Harry, didn't expect to find you here. We was just cleanin out the town for you. Gettin rid of these cablefolk, you know? Thought I might keep one or two for myself, if you don't mind. Replace the one that fool Lance blasted. Whadya say?"

King, you're arriving about this time too. You're in good graces right now, so Kelly's folk just show you right on in. You're shown in with a hero's welcome, flanked by two of Kelly's folk. Might be these are some of yours too, your call, but be careful with your folks right now, they ain't themselves, as you know. Might do something crazy. Then again, having none of your folks around is tough too, ain't that so?

Harold, your head is pounding. Like, wow, ouch that is some serious grade-A migraine right there on top of all this other stuff. How do you handle all this?


Crater? When the storms leave those, we've got real bad sh!t down. And it had to be right in front of this old building, too.

There are three things that could have happened here, way I see it.

The storm left us a gift and it's still in that damn crater.

Or it lurched out to ruin some poor bastard's day.

Or it's in the feckin building.

Rifle at the ready, and damn me if I ain't running a little worryingly low on my clips, I'm approaching this damn thing, and keeping an eye out for trouble.

[Rolling Read a Sitch, because this screams trouble. [roll0]]

In the building? Hahahahahahahaha! You're thinking too small. You get to the crater and the right side of your house collapses. BOOM, shaking and dust echo in the street as the unbalanced left side falls in, bits of wood and sheet metal falling into the newly formed crater. The air shudders and shimmers above the house, and it occurs to you that this crater isn't exactly even and perfectly round. It's more jagged, square, like a...well, let me stop beating around the bush on this one. It's a giant mechanical footprint and it looks like a foot just came down on your house. Weird you can't, y'know, see anything though, but you sure as hell heard and felt it.

[Raz_Fox]

Damn. I don't just live in a shack, you know: fourth floor of one of Harry's low-rent apartment buildings. I've got a small room back side of the building. Well, had.

There goes my feckin long rifle.

I kinda give it the whole lookover: the footprint, the trembling air, the bits of building coming down.

"Sh!t."

I'm going to watch a moment, look in the direction the foot's pointing, see if it comes down again.

Then I'm... I'm going to have to go to a spook specialist, ain't I? Feck. I'm going to have to go to the King.

Or I could just leave town.

That's seeming really nice right now.

But I'll give the King the news first.

[Balmas]

I'm all smiles. Cross the room in seconds, 'fore Kelly has time to react, and embrace her. "Kelly! It's always good to see a friendly face, and one with initiative, too!" Pats on the back, a vice grip on her hand, and I lead her to a seat across from the desk. "You know, there's only one person I'd like to see more than you and that's...

"Oh, well speak of the devil! King! My old flame!" I'm garrulous, generous, gesticulating wildly and expansively like no Italian ever born. "Come! Let's discuss a proposal."

[SiuiS]

Oh, no. Sides Kelly and Harold this is probably a room fulla strangers. This is some real seat of the pants sh*t, here. I'm sure the reception is partly 'cause a my new look, though. Haven't cleaned up pretty. Probably look like I helped somehow.

I give Harold a smile. It's all yellowed lozenges in a too-wide mouth and an apron of blood. Robin's red breast, like. Real poetic sh*t, that. Symbolic. Also disgusting as f^ck but hell, it's been ten minutes and soap ain't cheap.

"You're looking worse for wear, old man. That's bad. Things shouldn't have gone this far. We need to stop that from happening, Harry. So I'm gonna cut to the heart. We need to look at management and see what we can fix."

[Anarion]

Damn. I don't just live in a shack, you know: fourth floor of one of Harry's low-rent apartment buildings. I've got a small room back side of the building. Well, had.

There goes my feckin long rifle.

I kinda give it the whole lookover: the footprint, the trembling air, the bits of building coming down.

"Sh!t."

I'm going to watch a moment, look in the direction the foot's pointing, see if it comes down again.

Then I'm... I'm going to have to go to a spook specialist, ain't I? Feck. I'm going to have to go to the King.

Or I could just leave town.

That's seeming really nice right now.

But I'll give the King the news first.

King and Harold are chatting at the moment. You want to leave this thing here and go find them, you can do that. Make your entrance whenever you feel like making your entrance if that's the case.

As for the fella in front of you, it's slow and ponderous. You got all the way here without any sign of it, and now that it's settled, it seems to be settled. At least as settled as the world's biggest jumbo size machine-beast invisible Godzilla is gonna get.

[Balmas]

"That's just what I wanted to talk to you about!" I guide King to a chair next to Kelly, in front of the desk, before sitting down in my own. "King, you're a brilliant leader. Kelly, you too; you've managed to scrounge together an army under my very nose. Well done. But you both lack vision. You don't know what you want. So with that in mind, I'd like to offer you both jobs. Lead my troops.

"King, your job wouldn't change much. You'd even be leading your own men; they all signed up to be part of my army. All that would change is that I'd be giving you legitimacy, supplies. We'd be back together." I smile wistfully. "Maybe even be able to spend a night together, like we used to do before this city sprang up around us. Bet I can still make you scream like I used to."

Let's see, where is it... I turn away, watching their faces from the corners of my eye. "You know, I appreciate a doctor that knows her way around an alcohol cabinet." The whiskey bottle clinks onto the desk. "And knows that sometimes you need a little stress relief on the job. Love that she never moves it, either. I propose a toast: to a new future."

[Anarion]

Kelly's giving you this blank stare. Pure "WTF" personified. She let herself sit down because she felt confident with all her guys and everything, but this is way too much. Still, she's not going to waste free, fine booze before she riddles you with bullet holes, so she stays in her seat and takes a sip of the offered whiskey, smiles, then gulps down her glass. When she's done, she plops it down with a loud clink and looks at you.

"Yeah, we could do that. Or I could riddle your body with bullets and just run things myself. I think I like that one better. You've got till that bottle is empty to convince me otherwise."

She leans back, her bright purple hair cascading to the floor as she lets her head tilt to the side and kicks her legs up on the desk.

[SiuiS]

I laugh. Heartily.

"Vision? Harold, you apparently wouldn't know vision if you spent five years pining over f^cking it once. Vision isn't about making folks do sh*t. It's about having sh*t you all want to work towards. And brother, you do. not. have. that.

"You got, what? One buncha folks like burning other folks. One buncha folks like stealing and callin' it taxes. One buncha folks like throw in' their d!cks around and call it law engorcement. I'm not gonna support a "vision" that's just keeping all the bugs in the sh*theap fighting each other so they don't leave. I want a world, Harold. I want our world to come back. We got f^ckin robots coming out of the dead f^cking Ground, vines and cables and sh*t, growing faster than our society be."

I rub my chin. It's... Sticky. Flaky. The red sh*t all over my hand ain't gonna be fun to wash out later.

"We need to be consolidating, like. Get us less spread out. Get our sh*t together. Make sure we be having food, water, supplies, ain't contaminated by any of the stuff wants us gone. We gotta, gotta... Damn, how was it? Old business words. Streamline this hold so it has goals and survives meeting them. We need a F^cking society, instead of spinning in damn circles holding on to sh*t ain't be worth keeping hold on."

Getting worked up. Gotta calm down. Spread this out. Lance ain't here. Mama ain't here. Need harry to walk away from this alive. Means stalling. I take my time with the drink. As much time as I can. Sakura's laughing her ass off. Arms draped over Harold, looking at the glass. The empty vials lying around. Yeah, I know it's probably been poisoned, ya ectoplasmic bitch. Lemme work, yeah?

I wink at them both, Harold, Sakura. No hard feelings.

"So here's the deal instead Harry. Take your time thinkin' through this one. You step down. maybe give the chair to me. We turn your circle of murderous f^cks into senate. Your goals – if they be good, like – still get moved forward. And you take some classes. Learn a bit a civic duty, like. who knows? Maybe work your way up the gangs, get a seat on that council after a while.

"Brother, [roll0]

[Balmas]

Kelly's giving you this blank stare. Pure "WTF" personified. She let herself sit down because she felt confident with all her guys and everything, but this is way too much. Still, she's not going to waste free, fine booze before she riddles you with bullet holes, so she stays in her seat and takes a sip of the offered whiskey, smiles, then gulps down her glass. When she's done, she plops it down with a loud clink and looks at you.

"Yeah, we could do that. Or I could riddle your body with bullets and just run things myself. I think I like that one better. You've got till that bottle is empty to convince me otherwise."

She leans back, her bright purple hair cascading to the floor as she lets her head tilt to the side and kicks her legs up on the desk.

"First good reason: you shoot me, my guys come rushing in here. Yeah, you got the arms, and some of the armor, but it's gonna be touch and go even for you. And good luck getting any of them to follow you when they know you murdered the boss."


"So here's the deal instead Harry. Take your time thinkin' through this one. You step down. maybe give the chair to me. We turn your circle of murderous f^cks into senate. Your goals – if they be good, like – still get moved forward. And you take some classes. Learn a bit a civic duty, like. who knows? Maybe work your way up the gangs, get a seat on that council after a while."

"And a good vision it is, King." I pound down a glug of whiskey. "But in my world, there's an old saying: actions speak louder than words. And right now, your actions have been to sit in your squalid hovel--provided by me, I might add--and create a cult of hedonism. You don't have the knowhow, the leadership, the ruthlessness, or the guts to see it through. You want to sit in the big man's chair, you gotta show me that you can actually do the job. What have you done to do that?"

[SiuiS]

Shake of the head. Not much more body work needed.

"You keep saying that, but don't make it true. Jus' like tall keep saying these be my own people. I don't have my own people, Harold. Not that you know about. I got ideas in the heads of your people. Even some of her people." Jerk of the thumb to the purple haired chick. "And you can't stop ideas. You're a cog in a machine that ain't doing sh*t. You know. I know. This machine will be rebuilt to do something, like. Something grand. You can be a cog in that machine, or not. Don't f^cking care. I want you alive for what comes, Harry. But I may look like an angel. Walk like an angel. Talk like an angel." Lean forward. Smile gone, now. Cheshire seriousness all that's left.

"But you need to catch wise, yeah? Sh*t's gonna change. Starting now. As long as there are three of us making decisions in this room, your neck is on the block. My hold is secure. Right now, we decide who rules. Who dies. Who pays taxes."

Sit back. Slide back. Give them both some elbow room. "And I'm the one paying taxes. Y'all decide who gets it amongst yourselves."

I'm putting all my force of will into this one. [roll0]

(That's 1XP for fighting, acting under fire to refuse~)

[SiuiS]

Damn, I forgot. Didn't I?

Mama's ride.

Look around. Whatcha see? A small city, suburbs, yeah? Tall glass and metal towers. Low reinforced brick. Asphalt. Clean, neat.

Zoom back, though. Satellite view. Pull back. Outside that suburb, outside the concrete and metal walls. We're in a crater. Smooth. Level. Most important, access to dirt. Not everywhere has dirt. Only holds have dirt. Cuz only dirt grows sh*t, yeah?

There, against the north west wall. Where the metal and glass are piled highest, most covered in vines. That's where we join the other stuff. The infrastructure. What cities started to look like outside wild preserves and nostalgia. Dense packed black-and-chrome. Rectangles, hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands. Tall, infinitely tall. Like massed servers in a room, wall to wall, bridged by cables and, well, bridges. Towers transferring human information bits as everyone went about their lives. An infinite-looking network like circuitry on a collosal scale. Because when we ran out of space up, we dug down. Cut our place into the crust, using newer, better materials. Weaving the cable-webs the storm demons dance along like electric spiders.

Mama's ride. It's got wheels. Two of 'em, even. From before we started gettin' all the technorganic sh*t. It's an antique, chrome and steel, backup redundant wheels (I already told you about those), four small wings over the rear, and two extendable antennas. Cuz see, for external work, they needed vehicles could exist outside the server-tower structures of old. Could withstand the storms of energy, data, audiovisual tactile input.

Mama's ride can draw power from the cables an' sh*t, and when it do, the f^cker can fly. Or hover. Or some sh*t, I don't even know. Sakura does, a little. It's comin' through but she's laughing at me more than explaining. Imagine those oldie movie speeder bikes, but with working wheels as landing props, yeah? And they only hover or fly or what the f^ck ever, when near the source. Or maybe when charged by a storm... Cuz see. They're antennas. They're designed to just transmit and maybe draw only the minimal amount from anything passing through. Only way to keep em intact if they were out in a storm. Instead a getting fried, they be passing that lightning through, maybe drinky a few sips before doing so.

Means Mama is ridin' around on a low flying muthaf^ckin harrier jetplane right now.

[Anarion]

Sit back. Slide back. Give them both some elbow room. "And I'm the one paying taxes. Y'all decide who gets it amongst yourselves."

I'm putting all my force of will into this one. [roll0]

(That's 1XP for fighting, acting under fire to refuse~)

Kelly isn't waiting. "Alright!, Let's do this thing!" she shouts, jumping out of her chair. She's already pounding on the trigger of her mini-gun and bullets start flying as she points the thing right at Harold and lets loose. Of course, you don't have to sit still as she's jumping up, but there's a storm of bullets coming at your face and her gang's not far behind. What are you gonna do about it?

And King, ain't nobody shooting at you...yet, but you might want to seek some cover.

Lance, where are you at right now?



Means Mama is ridin' around on a low flying muthaf^ckin harrier jetplane right now.

I'll keep that in mind. Sounds like fun for a big girl that's lookin to shoot something.

[Balmas]

Another good thing about the good doctor is that the desk she keeps her desk in is a good solid steel thing. I upend it and take shelter behind it. Damn that king. When sh!t's done, she's gonna get a bullet sundae.

And I really hope that poison I tipped into her drink takes effect soon. Nasty stuff, completely liquidates the internal organs. While I stall, I'm unloading in Kelly's face over my barricade and trying to ignore the dents of the minigun pounding on my cover.

Seize By Force: 5,1, +2. [8]. Terrify, impress; Take Little Harm.
Give Me a Motive: 1,5, +2. [8]. That's 2-Harm, AP, on Kelly.

I'm fighting as a 3-Harm gang with armor appropriate to the situation. So 3-harm, 1-armor Plus whatever armor you deem the desk worth, minus one harm for the Seize By Force. Plus, the Terrify and Impress oughtta do something against Kelly's Gang.

Either way, Kelly is screwed six ways from sunday.

[Anarion]

You're gonna need to roll acting under fire before all that, champ. Upending a desk is not what you'd call instantaneous. Also that drink, it's not all that fast either.

[Raz_Fox]

Me, I been hoofing it fierce. Got directions from Mama's boys, pointed me in the King's direction.

Kelly's boys, they ain't sh!t, they didn't get in my way. 'sides, as far as they know, I'm on their side. Which I most definitely ain't, but I was waiting for the right point to play my card.

And this sh!tstorm I'm walking into? This might be it.

It takes me- and Kelly's boys who are barging in with me- three seconds to figure out what's going down. Kelly's making her move fiercelike, Harry ain't got no backup, and there's gonna be a lot of violence. Should probably side with Kelly. But, hell, she'll make things more sh!t. For all that Harry can get under my skin, at least he's trying.

"Flank him," I bark at Kelly's boys, and unsling my rifle, grip it in all the right places, and bring it up.

Then, once they're moving, I unload at the back of Kelly's head.

So much chaos in here, might buy me some grace while folk figure out what the sh!t's going on. If I can, I aim to take down Hairy Julius, too, and that little sh!t-licking ass-hole Pom.

[Let's call that a second Seize by Force, yeah? [roll0] And let's Take Definite Hold, Inflict Terrible Harm and Impress, Dismay, and Frighten My Enemy.]

[SiuiS]

Holy Sh*t!

Well, ain't much for me to do. No one's shootin' at me (yet), so I'm gonna sit in this damn chair and pretend to look dignified while bullets fly.

[SiuiS]

While I do, though, that migraine ups tempo. It's about proximity, like. Spatial, figurative. We're close, you and me, harry, but you're so distant. Everything's throbbing red and sharp with your heartbeat, throwing off your aim while the data interference burns itself out in one final blaze.

[Anarion]

There were a lot of people in the building, and many things started happening at once. All of Kelly's guys opened up, and as Lance came in, so did all her boys, pouring gunfire into the room.

Harold, you're standing, making a swift motion to try and kick the desk over and throw Kelly off, but as you do it, you feel a sudden pounding in your head. It's like an arrow just shoots across your vision. It clears in less than half a second, but when it comes to a hail of bullets, half a second might as well be an eternity. The slugs sweep across your chest, thudding against your armor, some of them catching the holes are the arms, the torso, the neck. [Take 2 harm]

Kelly's cackling maniacally, a smile plastered across her face as she sweeps the gun back and forth, pounding the bullets into you. You may not have made your move instantly, but you've still got your shotgun and while your long-term health may be in question here, you're not going down quite yet. Still, there are a lot of guys in this room and everyone but King and Lance is shooting at you as this thing starts in earnest. The sound of clattering guns is deafening and you feel several of them cut into your body even as your shotgun burst takes Kelly square in the chest. [Take 2 Harm]

At almost the same instant, you see Lance stride into the room through the thick cloud of smoke that's rising from all the weapons fire. At first, he looks like he's moving with the other guys to hit you, but as he levels his assault rifle, the bullets take Kelly in the back of the head. You see the light die in her arms and her finger slackens on the trigger of her gun as bullets cut through that too, ripping up the barrel and the ammo feeds.

A bunch of the guys turn and let out a burst of fire at Lance, but suddenly they've gone from absolute control to being caught between a rock and a hard place. And Lance is gunning them down right left and center, men just dropping like flies. The guys nearest Harold freak and drop their guns and the ones near Lance try to sprint past him out the door, simply hoping that some of them will get by before he can sweep his gun around fast enough. Some of them are successful, and a bunch of guys are running out into the orange air as the room falls suddenly quiet. [Lance, you take 2 harm too]

The smoke blows out through the door and some new holes in the wall and you've got Lance with his rifle triumphant, Harold on his last legs, and King seated in his chair, the only person in the room who hasn't moved a muscle.

What do you do?

Oh, and Lance/Harold, would you be so kind as to roll +harm for me?

[SiuiS]

Well, F^ck it.

Gun comes up. It's long, lean and silver, making a beautiful sunset brass color out of the Orange light. And it's right level at the base of Harold's throat. Thumb up. Fan the hammer. Cocked.

"So Harold. How about that stepping down? You're not lookin' too pretty. Your run ain't gonna get different results. You're gonna do the same sh*t and get in the same bind. It's time for change. Drop the shotty, and let's talk turkey. Turkey dinner. Cause you're done."

Not close enough to get punched, but close enough for a clear shot over the shoddy, bullet riddled vest he's got on. Here's hoping.

[Anarion]

Well, F^ck it.

Gun comes up. It's long, lean and silver, making a beautiful sunset brass color out of the Orange light. And it's right level at the base of Harold's throat. Thumb up. Fan the hammer. Cocked.

"So Harold. How about that stepping down? You're not lookin' too pretty. Your run ain't gonna get different results. You're gonna do the same sh*t and get in the same bind. It's time for change. Drop the shotty, and let's talk turkey. Turkey dinner. Cause you're done."

Not close enough to get punched, but close enough for a clear shot over the shoddy, bullet riddled vest he's got on. Here's hoping.

Sounds like you're going aggro, your majesty. Though, might be that he's not altogether...conscious, if you'd like to wait on that result.

[Anarion]

Harry, you're conscious if you wanna be, but somewhere in all those bullets right near the end, your shotgun got dinged and sent flying out of your hands. It's half a room away, over in the corner. You don't have it now with King making a play, is what I'm saying.

King, you're going aggro.

[Raz_Fox]

Everything's instinct: pull, drop, move, pull, drop, move. There's a hell of a lot of firepower coming my way, but I've got half a dozen down before the first bullet punches through my armor, and everything that ain't instinct is warhowl. The wild yowl coming out of my lungs is loud enough to be heard over the crack of my rifle, and that tends to unnerve folk a bit.

By the time my clip's empty, I'm the only bastard in the room with a gun, other than the King. And I laugh. Because I'm bleeding and I need another clip and these bastards are scared sh!tless, I can see it in their slack, pathetic faces. I am a feckin storm and they're the folk clinging to rocks to keep their damn heads down.

Feck yeah.

I take heavy steps towards Harry and the King, and it's weird, being Kingmaker here. Kelly's dead because I wasn't her pet, right? And if I was sore about some miserable old bastard throwing his weight around, I could finish him right here. Or the King, for that matter. All I got to guide me is Taggart's ghost hanging somewhere around my shoulders and the considerations of what's gonna get me out of this town alive.

Kelly's wrist crunches under my foot. Dogs bite when you kick them, bitch.

Harry looks like bloody sausage. Ain't gonna survive if he don't get some attention quick, I'm thinking. And the whole damn place's coming down with him. The King couldn't run a place out of a paper bag.

"Hey." I ram another clip into my rifle. She's still hot. "How's about you not point that gun at that miserable bag of bones? He still owes me. You attend to the spook stuff what's bringing down buildings."

[Interfere: [roll0]]

[Balmas]

By some miracle, I'm still standing. Vest is gone at this point; it was only meant to stop a bullet, maybe some small rounds. Damn Kelly. Damn King, too. I'm getting what I wanted, I guess, but it still hurts like a knife to the gut.

Come to think of that, I think I have one of those too. Bullet, knife, not too dissimilar.

Wooo... Blood's all over the place. I'm like a water balloon on some sadistic bastard's modern art piece.

Focus, Harold. Keep it together, one last push.

"You know, I remember way back when. I bussed the tables, you waved around your bush, and Mama busted the folks tried to touch you. Never figured we'd come so damn far. City around us, enemies on all sides. Guess I was too busy watching outside the walls to see the knife in the bed."

I'm awful verbose for a dyin' man. Legs are locked. Can't feel my toes.

"Knew this was coming. Figured it would be Mama, or maybe Lance over there would grow a pair and put a slug in me.

"Point is, everything I said is true. This hold is going to come down without me at the head. The gangs? ****ing savages, every last one. Peterson? Twitch? They'll run you over like a truck. And that's assuming Mama is somehow okay with you flat-out murdering me 'cause I didn't suck your stolen ****, instead of just knifing you in the back like I think she will.

I'm staring her in the eyes. Damned things won't stay clear, but at least I'm looking in the right direction.

"You wanna run this sh!theap? You wanna contend with the storms, with keeping everyone fed? With the armies massing outside our gates to try and take this city? You want to try to keep a thousand plates spinning, while watching for the knife in your back, the poison in your cup--good job not drinking, by the way--the day your pet witch decides you'd make a nice puppet?

"Be my guest."

I lean forward; the barrel of the gun digs into my neck.

"But you're a damned fool if you think I'll ever bow to you, or join your cult, or sing kumbaya to our glorious King. And if you want to rule, it's going to be because you finally had the stones to get blood on your hands.

"So pull that damned trigger. I'll enjoy haunting your ass."

[Suck it up, and face the consequences.]

[SiuiS]

"Hey." I ram another clip into my rifle. She's still hot. "How's about you not point that gun at that miserable bag of bones? He still owes me. You attend to the spook stuff what's bringing down buildings."

[Interfere: [roll0]]

"... Whaaaat?" Im eying Sakura. There somethin you need be telling me?



"So pull that damned trigger. I'll enjoy haunting your ass."

[Suck it up, and face the consequences.]

Harold moves like to get to safety. I can't help myself. Finger twitch, hand a fate, sh*tting myself when I break wind, however you want to be putting it; the trigger moves. The handle falls.

Click.

I've been outa billets since I sprayed Sakura's remains to the maelstrom (because that's what it is; never knew that; she's been busy; I'm losing parts of myself in her). So... F^ck it. I flip the gun back like the old Cowboys do. I take the butt, Hard metal, and lay that hammer down. Or, up. It kinda sideways, look, it doesn't f^cking matter how i lay that hammer except there's an old man's jaw in there somewhere and it's a god damned miracle I didn't drop the f^cking gun.

I turn to Lance.

"You do have principles. That's a nice surprise, tiger. Here I thought you were just another murderous f^ck looking to plug someone and spread your seed." I smile. "who needs to wash up? I got some kinda spook sh*t to deal with, yeah? Lead the way. Mama's out there and she's f^ckin' pissed at the world. I don't wanna be here when she rolls up.

"Harry's gonna live, yeah? He's pumped fulla meds already. Should stabilize quick, like."

[Anarion]

"... Whaaaat?" Im eying Sakura. There somethin you need be telling me?


She's busy looking at the ruins left of the doc's foyer with more of a smile than she has any right to have. Though she might have just winked at you. Hard to say really, she's sorta see-through.



Harold moves like to get to safety. I can't help myself. Finger twitch, hand a fate, sh*tting myself when I break wind, however you want to be putting it; the trigger moves. The handle falls.

Click.

I've been outa billets since I sprayed Sakura's remains to the maelstrom (because that's what it is; never knew that; she's been busy; I'm losing parts of myself in her). So... F^ck it. I flip the gun back like the old Cowboys do. I take the butt, Hard metal, and lay that hammer down. Or, up. It kinda sideways, look, it doesn't f^cking matter how i lay that hammer except there's an old man's jaw in there somewhere and it's a god damned miracle I didn't drop the f^cking gun.


Harry, that's gonna be S-harm, you're too goddamn tough for a pistol whip to be the thing that does you in, but in addition to all your other current problems, pretty much any action you try to take is gonna require acting under fire first. Have fun with that, send King a love letter all about your experiences later, he'll love it.



"Harry's gonna live, yeah? He's pumped fulla meds already. Should stabilize quick, like."

Just so we're all clear, this is an entirely untrue statement. Harold needs medical attention and he needs it today or he's gonna bleed out and die. This is extremely obvious to anyone in the room with eyes. As I recall, there was another doctor besides Grace in town, if you wanna tell us about that now, Lance. Or you could go find Grace, she's still not up from the caves.

[SiuiS]

Clearly, huh?

Well, f^ck. you've called my bluff twice, Harold. Good thing you're only gonna remember the first time when you were conscious.

I have no tools, no training, and the closest thing I've got to useful knowledge is a step-by-step wiki-how from Sakura's grey meats about what nerves really jazz you up when hit with a violation glove. Every damn thing in this room is now either half what it was, or half melted lead. So I'm gonna try to patch this f^cker up. How bad are my chances?

[Balmas]

Any action, huh? We talking stuff like making moves, or "You try to stand up; roll Under Fire"?

Either way, I'm trying to lessen the blow. You know, roll with the punches. No dice. I'm goin' down, yelling Timber. And as I'm down, I can't help but grin. No laughing; that'd hurt too much right now. But I can manage a smirk.

[Anarion]

I have no tools, no training, and the closest thing I've got to useful knowledge is a step-by-step wiki-how from Sakura's grey meats about what nerves really jazz you up when hit with a violation glove. Every damn thing in this room is now either half what it was, or half melted lead. So I'm gonna try to patch this f^cker up. How bad are my chances?

No tools and no training means no luck here, King. We're a little past the point where wrapping a dirty rag on it and hoping the bleeding stops will do any good.


Any action, huh? We talking stuff like making moves, or "You try to stand up; roll Under Fire"?

Either way, I'm trying to lessen the blow. You know, roll with the punches. No dice. I'm goin' down, yelling Timber. And as I'm down, I can't help but grin. No laughing; that'd hurt too much right now. But I can manage a smirk.

Sure, sure, you're grinning like a maniac on the ground. It's unnerving, is what it is. As far as actions, more than just rolls, but maybe not everything. If it sounds strenuous, I'll ask you to roll acting under fire. You could probably manipulate someone without even needing the roll if you don't talk too much when you do it.

[Raz_Fox]

Me?

I kneel next to Harry. He's all broken, like. Figured this would happen eventually, but it still stings to see this sh!tty place coming down around my ears.

"Told you this would happen," I say, quiet, hoarse. "Shoulda hired me full time, you son of a bitch. Now you're... well, you ain't getting up again. But I'll do you one last solid."

Sun glints off my lenses. I'm looking him in his cloudy eyes. He probably sees me as a tower, no human eyes to lock with, bleeding where the bullets punched through mesh and kevlar.

"Give me your armory code and I'll see one person safe out of this mess. Your wife, your mistress, an innocent. I don't care. Give me your personal stash and I'd walk Direct Teevee his own self out of this dying city."

[SiuiS]

Sh*t. Sh*t sh*t sh*t. Sh*t

Blood all over my hands. I can see them, the tubes. Veins, arteries. Nerves. Wires and hydraulics of the meat machine. Sakura's knowledge doesn't help, though. Not enough. I can see what I need to put together. Can't see how.

It's getting worse. The wires are flaring. Faltering. Not much pumping out, now.

Adrenaline. Him, too. Probably. Hormones. Chemical dump. Brain reliving the glory days before it all goes dark. Comes to a stop. And he's smiling like a god damned maniac. Mouthing now. Not enough lung to really phonate (talk, the word is talk gimme back my head, bitch!), and I lean in. Close. Ain't much left. He gets out one word.


"Mama."

And that's it. He's dark. Game over, man. Game f^cking over. The king is dead. Long live the king.


'Posed to be some weird Sh*t coming down the tubes. F^ck 'em. I don't think I'll move for a while, like.

[Anarion]

So...you killin him there, King? Poking around his innards without any knowhow and doing the last bit of harm to a man that can't take anymore? I'm just wondering, he wasn't gonna die on the spot if you left him alone, probably got at least a couple hours in him.

[SiuiS]

Sakura has some words on that.

These situations, this sorta drama sh*t? It's addictive. Builds. Builds in a spiral, be getting bigger, bigger. Tighter, tighter. Winding, until someone breaks, someone does something to release the tension.

She's telling me, calm and sweet, and that's f^cking creepier than anything so far. I f^cking ate this quim's brain and her ghost been following me, and the scariest sh*t I've ever had to deal with since we built this city on rock and roll, is her talkin' nice and sweet to me like she was smooth talking Lance.

She's telling me it makes sense. That I could live with the guilt of failing Harold, here, more than the tension of everyone standing around with their d!ck in their hands.


This must be why people do stupid sh*t and hope it turns out alright. They just be expecting yall to understand.

Harold's dead. We've had what feels like days to pull him outa this spiral. You say he has hours? You shoulda looked closer. The software ain't up to snuff. The song is over. There's the refrain, but no one listens to that ****, the last few notes. They fade into the next song.


So yeah, Harold's dead. That's one more ghost on my shoulder. At least I be collecting friends.

[Anarion]

Okay, he's dead then. You're in there and Lance may or may not want to shoot you, but it's too late for him to save Harold.

Harold, you have infinite time for answering Lance and saying some poignant last words, no rolls required. You have zero time for doing anything else.

[Balmas]

Me?

I kneel next to Harry. He's all broken, like. Figured this would happen eventually, but it still stings to see this sh!tty place coming down around my ears.

"Told you this would happen," I say, quiet, hoarse. "Shoulda hired me full time, you son of a bitch. Now you're... well, you ain't getting up again. But I'll do you one last solid."

Sun glints off my lenses. I'm looking him in his cloudy eyes. He probably sees me as a tower, no human eyes to lock with, bleeding where the bullets punched through mesh and kevlar.

"Give me your armory code and I'll see one person safe out of this mess. Your wife, your mistress, an innocent. I don't care. Give me your personal stash and I'd walk Direct Teevee his own self out of this dying city."

"Granddaughter," I cough. "Eight zeroes."

Game over, I suppose. Anubis, that bony bitch, or whoever.

I guess that makes the King into the true King of the city. Hope she burns. It was supposed to be Lance. King's old. Hope Lance does her in.

If the city doesn't first. Mama. Peterson. Twitch. Any of 'em could shiv her.

"Do you one better; tower's yours. Welcome to the warlord club."

Good luck, and gods save us.

[Raz_Fox]

Thoughts flash through my head. Holding the Tower. Carving something out of this damn city. Because it's all going to go to sh!t anyway, the market's gonna close down, the neighbors are going to come roaring in, and what if the Tower held?

I'd need an army.

I stand up. It's not painless, but I'm up. The King's got her hands in Harry now, trying to... save him, maybe. Kill him faster, maybe.

Boots on tile. Stop, look back.

"For royalty, you're a feckin good lay, King. And you've got a voice like a siren. Consider us even."

She's got blood all over and brain in her teeth and I still want to bend her over and ram her down onto a bed. After dumping her head in a water barrel a few times, I mean. But I ain't a walking ****, you get me?

"Try to stop me from doing Harry his solid and I'll kill you. I'll feel bad about it, yeah. But don't think I won't."

I walk out into the dying city, teeth grit, bloody and more certain of myself than I've been in a long time.

[SiuiS]

"Grab Kelly's perforator. You're gonna need the hardware." Deadpan. Keeping out the tremble. "Maybe I'll buy it off ya if you don't want it."

Lance is out in the city. Good.

Harold was right. Everything's gone to sh*t. Lancelot got to the queen and now camelot's in shambles.

Harold was wrong, though. Ain't nothin' how I wanted it. Wanted the f^cker alive. Just wanted him to see the piss and squalor he was settling for. And ain't no way I be walking into the throne without his living word on it. It's Lance or Mama, gonna run this bitch. Gotta be Mama. Gotta hope she be up for it. Good enough to do it.

Nah. Gotta be Lance. Lance is what's best for this place. Sh*t!


I'm not leavin' him here. Not like this. Harold, hon. You don't deserve this dust, brother. Maybe I can't carry him easy like, but f^ck if i ain't tryin'. I bend my will to the streets. The fights. There's a clear path from this sh*t hovel to safety. To the Tower. I Bend my eyes to that path and [roll0]

Time is like a river that breaks into creeks or pools into ravines or careens down waterfalls. I have the map, and i steer the ship.

[Anarion]

I'm not leavin' him here. Not like this. Harold, hon. You don't deserve this dust, brother. Maybe I can't carry him easy like, but f^ck if i ain't tryin'. I bend my will to the streets. The fights. There's a clear path from this sh*t hovel to safety. To the Tower. I Bend my eyes to that path and [roll0]

Time is like a river that breaks into creeks or pools into ravines or careens down waterfalls. I have the map, and i steer the ship.

There's something in the way. Something big. Something old...King, tell me something? Have you ever ridden a boat before? Have you ever seen a real river?

[SiuiS]

A real boat? A real River? No. Clean air and sunshine were for the rich f^ckers. They planned to be fixin' it but as things got going that became less important, like. Seen 'em as sets on stage, but a real boat?

Now, a fake boat, yeah. There was a time, once. Alleys fulla folks who couldn't afford the real immersive stuff, couldn't get to anyone important. So they'd end up being tests. Someone dropped one a the real doozies on my shortcut home After a bad night out. One a the immersive ad-spaces. Storm tossed seas, smelled like a bath after a long night with three men. Earth quake and shaky ass boards under feet as metal ripped and people screamed. Something about the titanic, I think.

Didn't last long, just long enough to gimme a wrenched hip. Led to the manly swagger I be walkin' with now.

But a real ship? Nah. Ain't no real ships anymore. They rotted away when truth and fiction switched places and people stopped caring outside their own brains.

[Anarion]

Ain't no real ships anymore. They rotted away when truth and fiction switched places and people stopped caring outside their own brains.

That may well be, but you're on one. It's not tossing and shaking though. It's a barge being carried down the Nile. Coated with gold. A woman sits on the raised section of the barge above you. There's a falcon perched next to her. A guard stands on the edge of the ship next to two slaves working the oars, all bedecked in gold. On the shore to your right is a heavyset man holding a spear.

Tell me, of those things, which one catches your attention?

[SiuiS]

The falcon.

[Anarion]

The falcon.

As you stare at it, the falcon turns to face you. It's missing an eye, and in the socket it glows a pale, cold white. An oil-slicked mechanical tendril sprouts from the bird, then a second, then five, ten and more. They fly into the air, then descend like a sludge-filled comet to wrap around the ship and begin to crush it. One strikes you and you feel black blood in your veins. Then you're back standing over Harold's corpse. His shotgun is still lying in the corner where it flew away, other bodies are scattered around the room, Kelly's torn open and ripped to shreds so that only tufts of her purple hair are left to identify her.

[SiuiS]

Great. F^cking horus is a cyborg. No wonder they wanted the snake to eat him.

Shotgun up. Light. Well worn and slung over a shoulder. Harold. Not so light, also up, still by heavy enough. About ten liters too light.

And... I'm walking. I'm walking him across town to his tower. Gonna be laying him to rest, like. When I get there. Eventually.


Might just break into his stash and get quite wildly intoxicated first.

[SiuiS]

A sob. It's okay now. Here. Alone. Not alone, but alone enough. I was never man enough for that. Probably never will be. Not for this.

Crying. Just a little.

"You had to break instead of bend, you old bastard. Had to be Harry Hard Ass the whole way. Well, here we are." Lay the last stone on. No burial. Not a proper one.

"I know you woulda wanted be lain to rest in your tower. Full helm and harness, like. But this, this is more important. I'm sorry. You'll forgive me, eventually. You'll understand. When you understand."

Pour another glass. Look at the handful a seeds. Wanted one each per bullet hole. Too many holes. Too few seeds. Hard to get. Heritage sh*t, the good food for rich people that's been an invitation to jackboots for the last ten years. Cuz ain't no one gonna be all respectful about sweet fruit on the vine. Be causing too much infighting, backstabbing. Folks just be walkin' up, taking what they could.

"But that's what I want now, harry." He's not a ghost, not like Sakura, but he's close. "I want f^ckers a learn what it is to fight for stability. To care about stability. The core of you be the hardest part to make rot. The core is what's gonna come out of this. You're gonna feed these people after all, Harold. Fruit a yer labors."

It's one quick motion, tossing the seeds. Arm out. Fingers open. Seeds gone. Gone into his body. The dirt.

I'm not slurring yet. Sober enough to shovel the dirt over him. I'm standing on the eighth floor of one of the old buildings. Think it used to be a hospital. Administrative somethin'. Nothing fancy overhangin' it, but not the tallest place 'round either. Nondescript. Old, covered in enough weathered debris to grow some weeds. Definitely enough soil to grow engineered vines.

"It's gonna be a brand new day, Harry. Wish you'd be around to see it."

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Thanqol]

[Luck: 8. All start of session moves get +1]

Trout - Watchers 850

> Comments disabled

- Watchers 400

"Things are different now, right?" asked Asso, playing with his toys.

"Yes," said Trout, sitting on the porch and stroking his rifle.

"So Mr. Harold isn't the boss any more," said Asso. He carefully aimed and threw a diamond to knock the rat skull off its perch. It broke into pieces when it it the ground. "Does that mean we still have to obey his rules?"

"I don't know," said Trout.

"Does this mean anyone can be the boss?" said Asso, moving around the golf balls while making engine noises. He deliberately lined them up before the bird skeleton. The skeleton was still trying to grow its feathers back.

"Anything's possible," said Trout.

"Can I be the boss?" said Asso. "When I grow up?" He picked up his claw hammer and started smashing the golf balls, one after another, and piling the cracked open eggs under the bird skeleton. Like tribute.

"I don't think you're scary enough," said Trout.

"I am too!" said Asso. "I'm a dinosaur! Rargh!" He got up and tried to stomp on one of the golf balls but wound up nearly falling over.

"We killed all the dinosaurs, kid," said Trout. "That's why we don't have it for dinner any more."

"I miss dinosaur," said Asso, sitting down and sulking.

*

Bismark - Watchers 250,000

She was teaching her bees how to dance.

She had a big book of bee facts. The book's videos showed the various bee dances in elaborate detail, along with their meanings. She'd been thinking and practising for weeks and now it was time to teach the bees in turn.

They didn't know any more, of course. These weren't real bees, born in a bee culture, inheritors to a million years of bee traditions. All the real bees had been consumed by the Mortien nano-Cloud that had done for all the other insects. She had to start again from scratch.

The bees swarmed all around her like veils. Every time she spun or clapped or kicked her heels the swarm jerked and followed like a shockwave. They were learning how to dance themselves. Learning their own language again, piece by piece, from this strange beautiful human.

She'd promised that later she'd teach them how to pollinate flowers. They were looking forwards to that.

*

Odlaw - Watchers 50,000

"Oh yeah, it was crazy," said Odlaw, slapping his head. "Oy! Kelly just comes in there like, Bam! Bam! Bam! And when she blows Harold away I was so close to him the blood splashes all over my face."

"Bullsh*t," said Tammer.

"No, look," said Odlaw, craning his jaw up to show a little speck of blood. "I didn't wash this part away but the rest of it - phew! I was drenched! And that's when things got really crazy."

"Oh yeah?" said Hockey.

"The old man turns straight to me. And he says, Odlaw," Odlaw put his hand on Tammer's shoulder. "Odlaw, I've always thought of you like a son. So I want to leave you all my buried treasure."

"No way!" said Tammer.

"Way way," said Odlaw, hefting his mug of fermented cablevines. "I know where the old man's loot is. And I'm willing to sell it to the highest bidder."

[Anarion]

The town was still there. It had been rocked by the storm and a lot of people had been shot, but the town was still there. The people were moving about. Little gangs and big ones. There were children, there were workers, there were families still.

Near the apartment building where Lance had been, there was a rumbling. The earth shook and a crater appeared. The air shimmered, and then it shifted and the thing that he had passed was there. The thing that had stood in King's way when he opened his brain was there. It was a winged thing, long brown feathers that cast the roads in shadow. It was a mechanical thing, two legs held together by great steel tendons, covered by a thicket of oily black wires that clung tighter than ivy on a garden wall. It was a predatory thing, its crimson plumed head crowned by a tearing mechanical beak. It's pinioned chest was held together by blazing veins of gasoline undergoing continuous combustion. It was a tired thing, its head drooping and the coils upon coils of steel piping along its back hung limp and loose, like a willow with not near enough water. It didn't fly. It walked, each step a crater, and took another bite out of Harold's tower. It had a mission here, one that it did not relish, and it had been roused to complete it.

King, you saw its heart, but you're away at a distance. Where do you go?

Lance, you can see its workings. You're already getting to the tower. There was an armory and everything right there for the picking. What do you do?

Vignette, you're seeing it from all angles. Each little piece of working. What are you looking for?

Taylor, you're here and you've a chance to take your bearings. Why don't you ask me what you see?

[Thanqol]

> Comments enabled

Trout - Watchers 1600

Trout is looking at this thing and he's thinking, 'salvage'. It's a monster, sure, but get the right guys on side, break it down safe from a distance and it might shuck all kinds of useful technology or just, like, blankets and stuff. This kind of stuff was often fragile. Just like the dinosaurs.

> POLL: What can Trout do about this?

Open your brain: 9

[Anarion]

> Comments enabled

Trout - Watchers 1600

Trout is looking at this thing and he's thinking, 'salvage'. It's a monster, sure, but get the right guys on side, break it down safe from a distance and it might shuck all kinds of useful technology or just, like, blankets and stuff. This kind of stuff was often fragile. Just like the dinosaurs.

> POLL: What can Trout do about this?

Open your brain: 9

You're on the same barge that King was on. It's later though. The thing is half-wrecked, wood splinters covered with breaking gold paint. There are a lot more men lining the shores. Are they your watchers? They look greedy to me. They're not wading into the water though, they're waiting at the shore.

Only the falcon is on the ship now, all the people that were on it are gone. It's tendrils aren't moving, they're just limp. It looks hungry and keens plaintively. You hear the keen as a jingle. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNddW2xmZp8)

[Grotteschi]

The ending light of day struck across the terrace garden. The dirt, inert, sat adorned only by a cairn of rock and soil. The old king sleeps beneath, the heir-apparent standing, staring. Decked in the Crown Jewels of dirty sunlight and concrete dust. King stands, one leg up on the trowel blade, heirloom shotgun cradled against her open breast. The scepter of rule. Clutched insecure and unfamiliar.

Insecure. Unfamiliar.

That, will be enough of that.


King turns her head. Cracks her neck. It's too early. Too soon. Harold hasn't been in the ground, the honest ground, for minutes. Hold can't hold. Not if this ends with the tower gone. Time for some of that crazy **** Lance is known for. With half beer and some luck this won't end with Royal chunk meat pizza on the street below.

King runs. King jumps. She slams into the wall across the street, the energy bleeding out from bent joints and bunched foliage on the wall. Royal fingers twine through vines and leaves as she plummets. Three stories. Two. One. Feet braced, hands clenched, body taut, fate undecided.

The ground arrives. King rolls the dice.

[roll0]

[Anarion]

[That might have been a bit early for a roll. You should wait until I ask for acting under fire.]

So King, tell me where you're going with such haste? All that running and jumping, in the middle of the debris from the storm is pretty noisy, so you've got the monster's attention as well as mine. It stops after one bite on the tower, just a small one and turns to fixate on you. Its attention comes with the attention of a lot of other people in town too: the women and children from Harold's gang, anyone from your cult that's around (where's Mama, by the by?), and all the guys still left walking around. Everyone is looking at King. So, like I asked, where're you going and what do you do now?

[Grotteschi]

[That might have been a bit early for a roll. You should wait until I ask for acting under fire.]

As you say, sir.


So King, tell me where you're going with such haste? All that running and jumping, in the middle of the debris from the storm is pretty noisy, so you've got the monster's attention as well as mine. It stops after one bite on the tower, just a small one and turns to fixate on you. Its attention comes with the attention of a lot of other people in town too: the women and children from Harold's gang, anyone from your cult that's around (where's Mama, by the by?), and all the guys still left walking around. Everyone is looking at King. So, like I asked, where're you going and what do you do now?

visions flash in King's mind's eye.

The hero triumphant, King leaps from the building top. The vines and foliage become a ladder, a rappelling rope. King slides to the ground before the running mobs. King uses the arts of the vanquished vizier to call forth a dandelion and breathes into it words of summoning. King speaks into the microphone and calls the court to order. Mama and her own, in interests of King and Kingdom, Sally forth to preserve order.

Ever regal, the King speaks to the masses, calls them to action. The cavalry charge. The infantry masses. Together, United, they conquer.

Tch. Yeah ****ing right. It's as the leaves slide through her hand that King realizes she should have taken the damn stairs.

[Anarion]

Keep going King. You're on the ground. Do what you say you're planning. Just know that you've suddenly got everyone's attention.

[Grotteschi]

All eyes on King. That's perfect. That works. That's exactly what she needs.

The landing could have been smoother. King smacks the ground and almost twists an ankle. But what should have been a turned ankle is instead a tuck and roll. King comes up dusty, a little buzzed. It only takes three swipes of the hand to find a suitable flower in the vines. It only takes a few moments to get the brainer's ghost to show her what must be done. It only takes a few seconds to get the speaker, to tune it into Mama's cycle. To open a few sunflower speakers on the same block.

For effect, King steps to the side. She is splashed in dappled sunlight. She is contrast and stark lines as she begins to speak.

"Mama! Hey, Am I comin' in?" King asks, too loudly. She is not just speaking to Mama. "We need to be pulling our **** together, like. We got this bird, and that's a problem, but we got bigger issues. This wing'd ****er is here trying to crack the tower. Trying to crack our tower. Trying to crack the sign and symbol of our power.

"We built this city, Mama. Me, you, Harold, Fisk, Old Tom. And the same mother****ers who sent this bird have been picking us off like lice, one at a time, like."

King ups the volume. The passion. "I ain't gonna be taking that **** no more! This is my hold! This is your hold! This place is our place and we ****ing carved it out of the back of giants! I will not be letting this feathered **** take back what ain't his! They broke us up, piecemeal, and when we split up they picked us off.

"So I ain't gonna be split up anymore! I ain't gonna put my clique before the future of all of us! Segregation never! Integration now! Ain't no Kelly's folk, Harold's folk, Lance's Folk, Sears' folk. It's just us folk! And we gotta bring this sonovabitch to its knees! Who's with me?!"


If that ain't [roll0] I don't know what is.

[Balmas]

King needs to stop talking. I'm there, of course. Admiring the scene, like. Watching from the crowd. "Don't be a fool, King. Look at that tower; it's already coming down. At this point, youd be better off making sure that you save your folk, instead of risking their lives to save a worthless symbol." With that said, I turn to stare at the creature again.

"Magnificent."

((Is Read a Person applicable against the creature?))

[Anarion]

That certainly is speaking truth to the mob. Mama's there, flying on the outskirts, and the rest, they hear you. They hear Taylor too though, and truth, it can be a relative thing. So, what are you having them do, King?

And Taylor, hmm. Yeah it's got a mind in there, you can read it. Depending what you ask though, answers might be weird.

[Raz_Fox]

Of course I lost my feckin long rifle. Even if it's somewhere in the rubble of where I used to live, it ain't no good to me now. But I might know a guy what has one. Old Trout. Kept mostly to himself, but freelancers with guns tend to hear about each other in stormholdings.

"Hey, you old bastard!" I probably look a mess, but I ain't got time to drop yet. Still need to find Harry's granddaughter, and before that, I've gotta stop this overgrown cablefolk from taking down Harry's old place. He's got a sh!tload of guns in there that I want arming me and maybe mine. "You good with that? Thing like this, it's got moving parts, got things which break all prettylike."

I look at the thing again, hiss between my teeth, looking at the pounding pistons, the straining cables, the size of the damn thing. "You know anyone with a launcher? Rocket, missile, grenade, don't care."


[Read A Sitch: [roll0]

Gimme gimme gimme. What should I be on the lookout for? What's my enemy's true position? Which enemy is the most vulnerable to me?]

[Thanqol]

> Comments disabled. Thanks for nothing.

Trout - Watchers 820

So yeah, that's where Trout happens to be, rifle and all. "Boss," he said, hurrying over and throwing a wary eye up at the thing. He didn't say nothing much, that wasn't his way.

Bismark- Watchers 210,000

She was with Taylor. She wasn't looking at the thing, she didn't care about the thing. Dime a dozen really. She was watching Taylor.

> Analyse

Read a person: 6.

Odlaw - Watchers 46,000

Odlaw was in King's mob. He was cheering 'cause that was what you did when the King was talking. He sure hoped the King wanted them to wreck something.

[Anarion]

[Read A Sitch: [roll0]

Gimme gimme gimme. What should I be on the lookout for? What's my enemy's true position? Which enemy is the most vulnerable to me?]

So, let's start: you should be on the lookout for an opening. Next time this thing takes action, if it's not at you, you'll have a clear shot at some vulnerable gears or organs or whatever.

Enemy's true position isn't here: this thing's just an avatar given form, a wrecking ball with a little extra mind to it. The fellow what sent it, he's 50 miles away right now, holed up in his hold.

The avatar firebird in front of you is the most vulnerable to you. Holy **** man, you're the baddest ass in the whole place now, or at least competing for the spot. Get your biggest gun and blow some holes in the thing.


> Comments disabled. Thanks for nothing.

Trout - Watchers 820

So yeah, that's where Trout happens to be, rifle and all. "Boss," he said, hurrying over and throwing a wary eye up at the thing. He didn't say nothing much, that wasn't his way.

Bismark- Watchers 210,000

She was with Taylor. She wasn't looking at the thing, she didn't care about the thing. Dime a dozen really. She was watching Taylor.

> Analyse

Read a person: 6.

Odlaw - Watchers 46,000

Odlaw was in King's mob. He was cheering 'cause that was what you did when the King was talking. He sure hoped the King wanted them to wreck something.

Flipped roll, Bismark, you've accidentally given Taylor a data dump directly out of your brain. Taylor, you can ask Bismarck any 3 questions from read a person, just straight out. If they require a subject, pick a subject that you want to know about. Bismark will answer.

[Grotteschi]

King needs to stop talking. I'm there, of course. Admiring the scene, like. Watching from the crowd. "Don't be a fool, King. Look at that tower; it's already coming down. At this point, youd be better off making sure that you save your folk, instead of risking their lives to save a worthless symbol." With that said, I turn to stare at the creature again

King smiles. She is pleased; finally, someone with some goddamned balls. And maybe, if the stars aligned and the moon collected, some wits.

"If the Tower ain't important, why is it important to the bird? This ain't about value, little mama. This be about symbols. The tower became important when the cable folks sent a ****ing dragon to tumble it. Maybe you want to be watching the symbol of us collapse, little mama, but me? Ain't none of my **** gonna topple less I be giving it the okay!"

King chambers a round into the shotgun, holds it above her head. The light flashes across the familiar wand of authority. "This giant ****ing bird ain't gonna do **** to our hold! Mama, bring 'er around, start pepperin' it whenever it focuses on the tower. Everyone! Be spreading the word! We draw that giant chicken off, get it near the power station! We'll blast the thing and when it drops, we tear it apart for salvage! And that starts with Organizing and shooting it!"

[Anarion]

King smiles. She is pleased; finally, someone with some goddamned balls. And maybe, if the stars aligned and the moon collected, some wits.

"If the Tower ain't important, why is it important to the bird? This ain't about value, little mama. This be about symbols. The tower became important when the cable folks sent a ****ing dragon to tumble it. Maybe you want to be watching the symbol of us collapse, little mama, but me? Ain't none of my **** gonna topple less I be giving it the okay!"

King chambers a round into the shotgun, holds it above her head. The light flashes across the familiar wand of authority. "This giant ****ing bird ain't gonna do **** to our hold! Mama, bring 'er around, start pepperin' it whenever it focuses on the tower. Everyone! Be spreading the word! We draw that giant chicken off, get it near the power station! We'll blast the thing and when it drops, we tear it apart for salvage! And that starts with Organizing and shooting it!"

Well damn. That got its attention. You've got a pretty big mob assembled there. Not sure how big the town is (Taylor, your grandpa ever tell you how many souls filled the place?), but this is a big enough event that most of them are out here listening to King. Mama brings her bike over the thing's head and starts raining bullets on it and the mob lets loose a salvo of fire to match.

It reels under all that, turns from the building. God it looks so tired, it's a slow turn, just letting the bullets rip up wires and slick oil leaking onto the ground. But it does turn and it lets loose from its a beak a great breath of fire. Gouts of flame launch over the mob. People are screaming, even those of you in the distance can feel your skin simmer from the heat and the air roils in mirage as the flames emanate from the creature. When it's done, it looks cooler and slower. The oil in its belly doesn't seem to be burning and it leaks in several places from the gunfire, dripping in small pools on the ground.

The mob isn't all dead. The town had lots of wreckage and debris, some people ducked behind it or got into small buildings. Some managed to endure near the edges with only severe burns. More than half the folks you just rallied up, though, King, they're blackened and charred and they won't be getting up, probably not ever.

Lance, you weren't in it, you're on the thing's other side. Trout was with you too. Taylor you weren't in that either, you're to the side, so was Bismarck. King though, were you in front there with your mob? And wasn't Oddlaw with you? What did you two do when the thing let loose?

[Balmas]

Guess I'll be rolling some dice, then.

Read a person: 6,4, +2. [12].
-What does this thing intend to do?

[Anarion]

Guess I'll be rolling some dice, then.

Read a person: 6,4, +2. [12].
-What does this thing intend to do?

[You've got a lot of questions to ask. 3 on Bismark and now 3 on this thing. Maybe get some of those out there? You're liable to forget otherwise.]

Now, it intends to move to a safe spot, recharge, and make repairs. It will be an ungainly process, it clearly can't fly (at least right now) despite the massive wings.

[Grotteschi]

King was standing at the forefront, most likely. The plan was a simple one; shoot the monster and then start movin so it followed. Godzilla fire breath was just ****ing cheating though. If she is lucky, someone would have grown her to the ground. If not then telling the difference between leather and skin is going to be much harder for the next few weeks.

"Rally into the side buildings! Shoot for the heart!" Is the cry of havoc King shouts to the dogs of war. "Cover me! Anyone catches that thing about to burn again, blow out its God damned tongue!"

And then, because desperate times call for desperate measures, the King focuses her eyes, all three, onto the falcon-herald, and [roll0]

[Raz_Fox]

I have a knack for not being the one in front of the hurting. Blessing, maybe. But I saw it, I did: the oil roiling up in its throat, its chest, I saw its veins and I know where to shoot. And I'm taking this one.

"Trout," I say, and I'm grinning because he called me his feckin boss, because I haven't had this in months, because this was what Harry should have lived and died for. "See the eyes? Shoot em out." And then I'm moving, I'm moving, I'm grunting and growling under my breath and it don't see me, do it, I'm going to get up under its belly and rip it a new one with my last few clips, because this is my damn tower.

[Thanqol]

Well damn. That got its attention. You've got a pretty big mob assembled there. Not sure how big the town is (Taylor, your grandpa ever tell you how many souls filled the place?), but this is a big enough event that most of them are out here listening to King. Mama brings her bike over the thing's head and starts raining bullets on it and the mob lets loose a salvo of fire to match.

It reels under all that, turns from the building. God it looks so tired, it's a slow turn, just letting the bullets rip up wires and slick oil leaking onto the ground. But it does turn and it lets loose from its a beak a great breath of fire. Gouts of flame launch over the mob. People are screaming, even those of you in the distance can feel your skin simmer from the heat and the air roils in mirage as the flames emanate from the creature. When it's done, it looks cooler and slower. The oil in its belly doesn't seem to be burning and it leaks in several places from the gunfire, dripping in small pools on the ground.

The mob isn't all dead. The town had lots of wreckage and debris, some people ducked behind it or got into small buildings. Some managed to endure near the edges with only severe burns. More than half the folks you just rallied up, though, King, they're blackened and charred and they won't be getting up, probably not ever.

Lance, you weren't in it, you're on the thing's other side. Trout was with you too. Taylor you weren't in that either, you're to the side, so was Bismarck. King though, were you in front there with your mob? And wasn't Oddlaw with you? What did you two do when the thing let loose?


King was standing at the forefront, most likely. The plan was a simple one; shoot the monster and then start movin so it followed. Godzilla fire breath was just ****ing cheating though. If she is lucky, someone would have grown her to the ground. If not then telling the difference between leather and skin is going to be much harder for the next few weeks.

"Rally into the side buildings! Shoot for the heart!" Is the cry of havoc King shouts to the dogs of war. "Cover me! Anyone catches that thing about to burn again, blow out its God damned tongue!"

And then, because desperate times call for desperate measures, the King focuses her eyes, all three, onto the falcon-herald, and [roll0]

Odlaw - watchers 60,000

Hell. How the f*ck many people had just died that second? "Get back! Get the f*ck back!" screamed Odlaw, trying to pull people out of harms way. King could fight this thing alone for all he cared at this point. King hadn't said it was gonna fight back.


I have a knack for not being the one in front of the hurting. Blessing, maybe. But I saw it, I did: the oil roiling up in its throat, its chest, I saw its veins and I know where to shoot. And I'm taking this one.

"Trout," I say, and I'm grinning because he called me his feckin boss, because I haven't had this in months, because this was what Harry should have lived and died for. "See the eyes? Shoot em out." And then I'm moving, I'm moving, I'm grunting and growling under my breath and it don't see me, do it, I'm going to get up under its belly and rip it a new one with my last few clips, because this is my damn tower.

Trout - watchers 900

"All right," said Trout, calmly kneeling down, laying out his bipod, and patiently lining up the shot. If there was one thing he had at this it was patience.

[Anarion]

[You've got a lot of questions to ask. 3 on Bismark and now 3 on this thing. Maybe get some of those out there? You're liable to forget otherwise.]

Now, it intends to move to a safe spot, recharge, and make repairs. It will be an ungainly process, it clearly can't fly (at least right now) despite the massive wings.

[Ping to Taylor so this isn't lost. Also don't forget your lay of the land move. That question is on the table too.]


King was standing at the forefront, most likely. The plan was a simple one; shoot the monster and then start movin so it followed. Godzilla fire breath was just ****ing cheating though. If she is lucky, someone would have grown her to the ground. If not then telling the difference between leather and skin is going to be much harder for the next few weeks.

"Rally into the side buildings! Shoot for the heart!" Is the cry of havoc King shouts to the dogs of war. "Cover me! Anyone catches that thing about to burn again, blow out its God damned tongue!"

And then, because desperate times call for desperate measures, the King focuses her eyes, all three, onto the falcon-herald, and [roll0]

King, the flame washes over you and you lose yourself in it. [Take 3 harm]. You're back on that boat. You notice that the shores are lined with spear men now, the results of Vignette's little venture here, though you wouldn't know that. The boat is wrecked, the falcon still perched there but the rest of the boat inhabitants gone. The Falcon looks almost drunk now. It has a wound in its stomach, you notice, and blood is dripping onto the deck, leaving a patchwork of little red dots. The glow in its missing eye is nearly out and it looks as though it could fall from its perch, but its talons cling tenaciously.

At least, that's how it looks this moment. But hang on a minute before you jump all over this because at the same time as you're going in...


I have a knack for not being the one in front of the hurting. Blessing, maybe. But I saw it, I did: the oil roiling up in its throat, its chest, I saw its veins and I know where to shoot. And I'm taking this one.

"Trout," I say, and I'm grinning because he called me his feckin boss, because I haven't had this in months, because this was what Harry should have lived and died for. "See the eyes? Shoot em out." And then I'm moving, I'm moving, I'm grunting and growling under my breath and it don't see me, do it, I'm going to get up under its belly and rip it a new one with my last few clips, because this is my damn tower.

Sounds like you're going aggro (what with it not fighting back at this moment). Roll away (IC if you don't mind), don't forget your +1 from reading a sitch.


Odlaw - watchers 60,000

Hell. How the f*ck many people had just died that second? "Get back! Get the f*ck back!" screamed Odlaw, trying to pull people out of harms way. King could fight this thing alone for all he cared at this point. King hadn't said it was gonna fight back.


You're clearing out the instant this thing is doing the fire breath, so it only manages to singe you a bit. [Take 1 harm], and you find yourself along with 3 or 4 guys that you managed to grab with you, on a small hill, not far from Taylor.



Trout - watchers 900

"All right," said Trout, calmly kneeling down, laying out his bipod, and patiently lining up the shot. If there was one thing he had at this it was patience.

Also a go aggro if I'm understanding this right? If so, take your shot.

[Raz_Fox]

[Going Aggro: [roll0]. Take this damage or die.]

[Balmas]

[You've got a lot of questions to ask. 3 on Bismark and now 3 on this thing. Maybe get some of those out there? You're liable to forget otherwise.]

Now, it intends to move to a safe spot, recharge, and make repairs. It will be an ungainly process, it clearly can't fly (at least right now) despite the massive wings.

Right. I can feel Bismarck's eyes on me; the hell do they want? And for pete's sake, why couldn't they wait until a more opportune time?

[Bismarck: How can I get you to serve Taylor loyally?]

"Mama!" I sprint up to her, and jump on the back of her li'l whirligig contraption. "I need your bike! Fly that thing away from town!"

[Godzilla: I wanna know where your home base is. How can I do that with a minimum of fiery death?]

[Anarion]

[Going Aggro: [roll0]. Take this damage or die.]

You're raking it with gunfire. Close range, heavy firepower. Grease and oil are raining down on you like you're in the middle of a category 5 hurricane, and you're alive, moving with energy and purpose as you tear this tired old machine apart piece by piece.

It has no response to all this, you see the light dim, leg starts to crumple as you take out the cords connecting it to the power source, wings droop and fall to the ground. Lights on in the eyes still, but fires are out and you come out the other end of the beast black as pitch. You're alive, it's on its last legs.


King, you're in your vision and the Falcon falls off its perch. *Wham* like somebody knocked over a statue. The light isn't out in the missing eye, but it's fading, glowing in and out. You're on now, hit it with whatever you feel like you want to do.


Right. I can feel Bismarck's eyes on me; the hell do they want? And for pete's sake, why couldn't they wait until a more opportune time?

[Bismarck: How can I get you to serve Taylor loyally?]

"Mama!" I sprint up to her, and jump on the back of her li'l whirligig contraption. "I need your bike! Fly that thing away from town!"

[Godzilla: I wanna know where your home base is. How can I do that with a minimum of fiery death?]

Bismarck can answer her own questions.

You wanna find this thing's base, you'll need to keep the townsfolk from ripping it apart now that its going down. There's tracking software in that thing's head, but it won't survive being looted by an angry mob.

[Thanqol]

Right. I can feel Bismarck's eyes on me; the hell do they want? And for pete's sake, why couldn't they wait until a more opportune time?



Enter in a romantic relationship with her or embark upon a doomed, glorious crusade or become the most interesting person in the world.


You're clearing out the instant this thing is doing the fire breath, so it only manages to singe you a bit. [[B]Take 1 harm], and you find yourself along with 3 or 4 guys that you managed to grab with you, on a small hill, not far from Taylor.

> Watchers 61,000

"Son of a bitch," said Odlaw, slumping down behind cover. He rifled through Old Bill's pockets, took out his hip flask, and drained it. "Nuts, huh? The hell are these people so nuts? Don't we have a good thing going here?


Also a go aggro if I'm understanding this right? If so, take your shot.

12. Lose your valuables or die.

[Anarion]

12. Lose your valuables or die.

While Lance is firing indiscriminately into the thing's belly, Trout lines up a single, careful rifle shot at the creature's head. The bullet hits the armor at an angle and tears out a small chunk of metal from where the "brain" might be located. You notice it has a flashing green light going on and off at regular intervals. The mob will still get to it before anyone else if somebody doesn't act to do something, but now it's sitting there for the taking to anyone that's quick enough.

[Grotteschi]

King, you're in your vision and the Falcon falls off its perch. *Wham* like somebody knocked over a statue. The light isn't out in the missing eye, but it's fading, glowing in and out. You're on now, hit it with whatever you feel like you want to do.


The King stands before the queen of the rivers of life, seated on her dark wood throne. The guards rustle and the falcon falls, flounders.

The falcon is ignored.

"Great Queen!" King hails Isis, mother of the river which provides for man, she who wrought the magic to repair Osiris. "You're sitting in my ****ing chair."

The manifestation of mythology is one of symbols. Symbols like kings of freedom, from oppression, of expression, of love, from damnation. Symbols are dangerous because anyone can use them. Anyone can commandeer them.

King lays her hands on isis' hands. She sees through her eyes, which are Isis' eyes. She integrates. She becomes.

King steals command of the river's healing waters and like an out of tune radio broadcasts her decree, her command, her entreaty. With simple words for simple people, King exerts her soul to recover the dead.

"Get up, ****ers, and walk it off! We have a society of prosperity to get rolling, here! Come on, toot-sweet! Tear what's left of this bird apart and let's rebuild with his ****!"

[Anarion]

King, I can't tell if you're imagining all that and opening up your brain to see what happens or if you know what the hell you're doing and you're trying to carry out all that ritual without messing it up. If it's the former, roll weird, if it's the latter, roll cool.

[Grotteschi]

When put that way, how can King refuse?
[roll0]

[Anarion]

Alright King, you got the ritual right, you can do it. Isis is still there, watching from a distance, and she's open to you. But...there are a bunch of people gunning at this bird from the outside and your mind is inside it right now. If you wait, you'll bring the whole presence of Isis into the area and, well, Death already died, so it's not beyond the pale that you'll get all those people back up, their burns healed. Your essence will also be inside the bird when the lights go out. That might result in some serious negative effects on your mind. Alternately, you could pull out now, let Isis go back to her rest, leave the people on the ground burned as they are.

So, what do you do?

[Grotteschi]

King isn't the best at these decisions. King usually defaults to saving her hide, getting a little friction of the short hairs, striking her ego. But sometimes, just sometimes, she sees when **** is bigger than she is.

There are two responses to that kind of set up. The first is to do the right thing. The second is to become big enough.

What's the worst that could happen, right? King is hoping that whoever finds this ****er's brain is... amenable. But at least some industrious hands will be out to catch her and enough boots on the ground to be thankful theirs standing up and not sticking out of the damn dirt.

King is sticking to it. Staying inside. God help her.

[Balmas]

Right. First things first. And no, that ain't to tear out some hairs in frustration. I drop off the bike, sigh, and beeline for the shiny. No stoppin', no delays. Scoop it up, shove it down one of the seemingly infinite pockets in the coveralls, and then straight for King.

By rights, she oughta be so much charcoal. But here she is, trancin' like she took too much hookahwhatsis. Bastard wanna-be couldn't make my life easy and have quit eatin' too many tacos fifty years back, but since when has King known anything about restraint?

It's the work of a moment to uncover the electrodes on the little leather gloves pappy scavenged, and another to jam them through King's glitzy suit.

[Stun gloves, S-Harm.]

"Mama! Get your bike over here, so we can get this fat bitch to a proper doctor!"

[Towering Presence. 2, 7, +2. 9.]

[Thanqol]

While Lance is firing indiscriminately into the thing's belly, Trout lines up a single, careful rifle shot at the creature's head. The bullet hits the armor at an angle and tears out a small chunk of metal from where the "brain" might be located. You notice it has a flashing green light going on and off at regular intervals. The mob will still get to it before anyone else if somebody doesn't act to do something, but now it's sitting there for the taking to anyone that's quick enough.

Trout - Watchers 900

Trout fires three bullets - puff, puff, puff - into the dusty ground besides the flashing metal. The bursts of dust cover it in a fine layer of grey, concealing the glowing light. With that hopefully distracting the hoi polloi, Trout makes his way down there cautiously to pick it up.

[Anarion]

Right. First things first. And no, that ain't to tear out some hairs in frustration. I drop off the bike, sigh, and beeline for the shiny. No stoppin', no delays. Scoop it up, shove it down one of the seemingly infinite pockets in the coveralls, and then straight for King.

By rights, she oughta be so much charcoal. But here she is, trancin' like she took too much hookahwhatsis. Bastard wanna-be couldn't make my life easy and have quit eatin' too many tacos fifty years back, but since when has King known anything about restraint?

It's the work of a moment to uncover the electrodes on the little leather gloves pappy scavenged, and another to jam them through King's glitzy suit.

[Stun gloves, S-Harm.]

"Mama! Get your bike over here, so we can get this fat bitch to a proper doctor!"

[Towering Presence. 2, 7, +2. 9.]


Trout - Watchers 900

Trout fires three bullets - puff, puff, puff - into the dusty ground besides the flashing metal. The bursts of dust cover it in a fine layer of grey, concealing the glowing light. With that hopefully distracting the hoi polloi, Trout makes his way down there cautiously to pick it up.

Taylor, Trout, looks like you two have set your sights on the same thing. Taylor, you got there first, but you're trying to do a whole lotta stuff all at once, seems to me. Why don't you roll acting under fire, see if you managed to pull all that off?

King's getting zapped regardless. Now, King, you're a pretty fat gal, maybe you can take a bit of a shock long enough. In your vision, Isis has risen out of the river and she's holding you, arms in a deep embrace, about to give you a sweet kiss when you feel your back start burning and the goddess holds herself at bay.

King, you roll acting under fire too, the fire being "you're stunned."

Oh and Taylor, we'll get to Mama in just a minute, don't think I forgot you.

[Grotteschi]

King prefers to think of herself as curvy or, when drunk, as simply "a whole lotta woman", thank you.

[roll0]

[Balmas]

Yeah, and I'm sure she thinks of the Brooklyn Bridge as just a few planks over a stream, too.


1,6, [7].

[Anarion]

Good lord, at least Lance managed to stay out of this madness.

Alright, so everybody's pretty much converging on King right under the dying giant robot falcon. Taylor, you pull off everything you're doing, but when you lean down to grab the box, you drag Mama's bike onto the ground, damaging it. She goes tumbling off of it, you do too, though you still end up in position to glove shock King.

All that affects Mama's response to your orders though. She draws on you. Girl has a big goddamn magnum, one shot liable to put a hole clean through your chest and that's right where she's pointing it. She's attacking you, and you've got your hands full with glove and box. What do you do?

King, you already gave yourself up to be stuck in the Falcon. When you get shocked, you manage to still hold on, but the effect of the stun makes its way into your psyche. You're weakened and in that moment of weakness, Isis gives you a huge kiss. Her lips taste like the flow of the river, the purest water you've ever tasted in this broken, post-singularity world. She knows what she wants, and she'll do it, but your weakness from the stun makes it hard to enforce your will. You've got a choice, you can try to stay in control of Isis, but in fighting her you'll prevent her from reviving the dead (she'll still be in you) or you can give yourself up to her, get what you want, but who knows what else.

[Grotteschi]

Sacrifice is what Kings do. Crucifixion, assassination, martyrdom... **** it. These people are getting back up, and if King has to get slapped by a some skinny Teenager on the way who can't figure out how a french tickler is supposed to work, say la vee.

[Raz_Fox]

You want to know what happens next? I'll tell you.

I break its spine. With a few sustained bursts of rifle fire, I'm cutting off whatever power's keeping it upright, I'm bringing it tumbling down and I don't much care who's in the way.

"Get the **** away from my tower, you son of a bitch!" If there's anyone still around to hear, they're going to hear that, all right. Tribal lungs, remember? Louder than gunfire and louder than the screech of metal and gears.

[Go Aggro. Collapse or take my damage. [roll0], +1 if Read a Sitch still counts.]

[Anarion]

Sacrifice is what Kings do. Crucifixion, assassination, martyrdom... **** it. These people are getting back up, and if King has to get slapped by a some skinny Teenager on the way who can't figure out how a french tickler is supposed to work, say la vee.


You want to know what happens next? I'll tell you.

I break its spine. With a few sustained bursts of rifle fire, I'm cutting off whatever power's keeping it upright, I'm bringing it tumbling down and I don't much care who's in the way.

"Get the **** away from my tower, you son of a bitch!" If there's anyone still around to hear, they're going to hear that, all right. Tribal lungs, remember? Louder than gunfire and louder than the screech of metal and gears.

[Go Aggro. Collapse or take my damage. [roll0], +1 if Read a Sitch still counts.]


Alright, let's do the thing. Lance, you're on top of the world, literally. You shred the thing's spine. Shards of bone and sticky marrow splash over you, coating the oil already covering you. When you're done, you look like Hades, god of the dead, clad in black and festooned with bones. The falcon doesn't even shrink, it simply falls. The legs give way, the wings hit the ground amid a massive cloud of dust, and there you are, on its back, warbling and shrieking your victory.

No sooner does it go down than the mob, those still living, begin to swarm over it and pick it apart. They pretty much ignore Taylor, Mama, and Trout: guns drawn means stay away. But from every other angle, Lance, you're standing at the top of the kill and the fire ants are swarming over it to tear it apart piece by piece.


Now, King. Isis rushes to you through her kiss. Having her inside you feels like you've been on fire your whole life and only, just now, have you felt relief for the first time. The light goes out inside the Falcon's eye and as it dies, the wreckage of the boat sinks into the river. You feel it's embrace rush up to meet you and then you're...you don't know where you are. You're outside yourself, and everything is just water. Below you, deep, deep in the water is a darker blue in the form of a flower. A vast lotus.

*****

For everyone else, as the beast collapses and the crowd surges to tear it apart, the vines covering the town burst open and water surges forth with a roar. It sweeps most strongly over the field that the falcon burned, rushing in plumes and waves, a color of blue that most of you have barely seen compared to the muddy, brown stuff that normally keeps your bodies running. As it murmurs over the bodies of the burned, they heal before your eyes and stand up, scraping themselves off. These aren't the type of zombies that appeared before the ad storm, but their bodies are different: clearer, translucent almost, and you can see bits of signal and electricity run up their spines and spark down their navels.

The pumping from the vines seems unending as water flows through the whole carved out bowl of the city. It's not a speedy process and those of you who were near the falcon have some elevation so the water isn't reaching you. But as it settles out and the constant piping fades from a roaring rush to a background hum, you're left with the Falcon and a few scattered hills above water, Harold's tower still unbroken, and a few apartment buildings plus the medical facility peeking out with their upper stories while the first level is flooded.

Let me remind you, amid all that, Mama is still about to shoot you with a Magnum, Taylor, there's a mob of "normal" people ripping the Falcon apart with Lance on top, and half of King's mob has just risen from the grave, not to mention all of Kelly's folks and anyone that hadn't made it to shelter from the adstorm, you'd guess. The caves are probably flooding about now too, with goodness knows what effect for any folks still down there.

[Balmas]

Ugh. I hate violence. Always sucks. Gotta imagine what it's like for the poor bastard that winds up cleaning off the blood.

Ah well. His fault for being a damn janitor.

It's not as easy to get the shotgun out. It's a dirty thing, all steel and worn wood. No subtlety; its only purpose is to kill, and the straight lines show it. I yank it out of my pocket, and jam it under King's chin.

"You know, I want to help this town, Mama. Same as you do. But if you don't want to help... well, I don't see why I should, either."

[Go Aggro. Back the hell down, or King gets it in the face. 2,5, +2. [9].

[Raz_Fox]

Hell yes.

I'm howling, I'm yowling, I just took down a feckin titan. Shame about the folk what got burned, but I saved what's left of this damn city. And the tower. And the tower armory.

Then the dams burst and the flood comes in, and here's me, standing on the corpse of this spirit of the barrens, watching as the dead stand back up. That ain't right. Ain't right in the least. I've seen enough bad sh!t out in the wild places of the world to know that whatever just happened... these folk need defending from.

I fire the last bullets in this clip in the air until the rifle clicks and sputters when I yank the trigger. "All right, you sons of bitches! We ain't out of the storm just yet. Listen up!"

Dammit. Wish there was someone here who knew how to word stuff better.

"The dead are coming back up. It's the second feckin wave of whatever's trying to kill us. Don't let them close, hold the tower, and for the gods' sake someone get me more feckin clips."

[Grotteschi]

The King, overcome by Isis and her nurturing rivers, overcome by the thunder-shock of bio magnetic disruptive feedback, and overcome by the sheer exhaustion of leveraging her soul into power while being manhandled by some dame with shotty and a grudge, pisses herself and bleeds off into unconsciousness, warm drop out one pant leg invisible in the rising waters.

Show's all yours, Taylor. Make it count. Make it hurt.