You know the core of how your faction will function, good.
But there's more to a group than the mechanisms it follows.
Its Name and Symbol are both the simplest, yet most important parts of something.
A rose by any other name would still be just as beautiful...
But would it just as iconic under any other name?
What we call ourselves is important, but what we allow others to call us by is more important.
This part of faction founding will revolve around deciding on a Faction name and a symbol or flag to go by.
[] Faction Name: (Write in) - Decide the name of the faction you want to found. NOTE: Any inappropriate or joke suggestions will be immediately vetoed by the Quest Runner. Please do not abuse the freedom given to you.
[] Faction Flag: Describe the flag or symbol you would like to represent that faction. The chosen result will be drawn by me following the conclusion of all faction voting matters. Example:
DEFAULT FACTION NAME: "The BOUNDERS" Default Faction Flag:
Voting will begin on Saturday, 1 PM EST. Please use this time to discuss ideas, workshop names, and such. If I recall there were already some interesting names thrown around before!
Orphans of Gaia- Part 1. "Rei… there's some guy in Bunyan's bed!" Teepo whispered frantically, backing away from the furniture in question.
"I'll check it out. Stay back." Rei, a young tiger uplift, slowly crept forward, before peeking at Bunyan's mysterious guest. A white-haired man with delicate features.
The young tiger immediately grimaced, the poor guy was covered in dozens of bandages, under which Rei could see some pretty terrible-looking burns. He would think the guy was dead if he couldn't see his chest rising every so often.
"Don't worry he's pretty out of it, nothing should-" Rei and Teepo both jumped at the sound of breaking glass, turning to see Ryu pushing himself off the floor, where he had tripped into Bunyan's dining table and knocked a glass off.
The mystery man didn't so much as stir.
"Ryu… I know it's your first break-in. But you need to be careful. Go check downstairs or something." The blue-haired child nodded shyly and rushed downstairs.
"I've been meaning to ask Rei. Where did you find Ryu? I mean, I'm happy for him to join us but… is he an orphan like us?"
"I guess I don't really know. I found him when I went hunting earlier, passed out next to the train tracks in the woods. He didn't have anything on him Teepo, no money, no weapon, no clothes, hell I stole the stuff he's wearing right now."
"I don't see what other explanation there is. How does a kid end up in the middle of the woods like that?" The sharp sound of a knuckle hitting wood drew their attention. Not to the door, but downstairs.
"Did you find something Ryu?" Teepo and Rei quickly slipped down stairs, where Ryu pointed to an open cabinet full of dried meat.
"Good find Ryu! We'll make a good thief out of you yet" Teepo clapped Ryu on the shoulder, nearly knocking the smaller boy down.
The jovial mood was shattered by the sound of a door opening above them.
"Oh crap… Old Man Bunyan's home. We might be in trouble. If something happens, I'll distract him, and you get away. Okay?" The three orphans nodded grimly
Rei leaped up the stairs and ran…
Right into Bunyan's waiting fist. "I knew you were up to no good, but I didn't think you had sunk this low!" Bunyan towered over the three children and cracked his knuckles. "At a time like this, when everyone is suffering… don't you know that if you don't work, you don't eat?"
"We were working!" Teepo protested, wiggling uselessly as he tried to slip the rope around his arms off.
"Thievery isn't honest work! You're not making anything, or helping anybody, you're just taking what you want! Why can't you be more like Rudy!"
The drifter, who had been watching the exchange with a guarded, slightly guilty expression, blinked in surprise as all eyes turned towards him.
Rudy was a drifter who had come to McNeil's hamlet earlier that season and decided to stay in town to not travel during the harsh winter. Bunyan took him on as a temporary ranch hand, and though he disapproved of their thieving ways, Rudy had been nicer to Teepo and Rei than the rest of the town usually was.
"He's alone too, and instead of letting it turn him into a selfish thief, he works as hard as anyone. I have half a mind to drive you all out of the woods… but I could forgive and forget if you were to mend your ways…"
"What do you want us to do?" Rei was the first to cotton on.
"Rei, you're a strong lad aren't you?" Bunyan crouched down to one knee, looking Rei in the eye. "You know the mountain to the northeast of the forest, Mt. Glaus? Have you heard the rumors?"
"I have…" Of a monster rampaging, killing everything in it's path. Was Bunyan seriously suggesting-?
"You'll know it when you see it. I want you to go there, understood?" Rei nodded, a lump in his throat. Bunyan reached down to untie him.
"What about them?" Rei stood up, shooting a worried glance at Teepo and Ryu.
"I've got something else in mind for them."
"Hostages you mean, to make sure I do what you want. Fine, I'll go to Mt. Glaus. Teepo, keep an eye on Ryu." With one last worried look back, Rei set off towards the mountain.
"What about us old man?" Teepo raised his chin, trying to look tough.
"Work Teepo. If you want to eat, you've got to work. Understand?" "This sucks…" Teepo whined as he moved more logs in position. So far Bunyan had forced them to feed his animals, brush his animals, and move his crap around.
It didn't seem to bother Ryu, and Rudy had been doing this for a long time of course. But Teepo was anxious and impatient. Why did Bunyan send Rei away? Was it something dangerous?
"How much is left, old man?" Teepo demanded.
"Be patient Teepo, we're almost done. All that's left is the firewood." Bunyan pointed towards an old tree stump and several small logs.
Despite the reassurance the kid was practically seething as he went to work cutting the firewood.
"Stupid Bunyan! Keeping us busy with this crap while Rei's on his own. We watch each other's backs, he's probably walking in circles without us." Rudy gave him one of those indulgent smiles, like an older brother who knew the other was lying and went along with it anyway.
He considered throwing a rock at Rudy's head.
"You're… not who I was looking for." The sudden rasp surprised Teepo so much he dropped a log on his foot.
Bunyan's guest had awoken, leaning heavily against the doorframe of the house. Bandages clung to his narrow form, hiding a patchwork of burns and other injuries. Despite that his face, white hair, and… horns, seemed in surprisingly good shape.
Teepo felt like he'd seen him somewhere before… The same way he saw Ryu and already knew his name.
"I didn't expect you to wake up this soon. I've seen people dead from lesser burns than that." Bunyan approached the stranger but stopped a few steps away, seemingly wary of the wild expression.
"Where are… The Empire?" The stranger demanded.
"You're in Windia, specifically near the hamlet of McNiel. The empire's border is about 50 or 60 miles northeast of us." When the man didn't respond Bunyan continued.
"I found you washed up on the bank of the river. You're lucky you didn't drown, or die from the temperature difference."
"The Empire… We must-" He had barely taken a step before he stumbled and almost fell off Bunyan's porch. Ryu rushed forward to catch him, though he nearly fell himself trying to keep the man on his feet.
"You shouldn't push yourself!" Bunyan reprimanded, taking the weight from Ryu. "You need to rest and recover. It's a bad time to be traveling anyway, this winter has been extra difficult."
Bunyan took the man inside, leaving Teepo, Ryu, and Rudy alone.
"Hey! Ryu!" Teepo chopped the last log and haphazardly tossed it in the pile. "If we stick around Old Man Bunyan is gonna give us another chore. Let's go catch up with Rei!"
Ryu spared a worried glance at the door of Bunyan's house before nodding. Teepo turned to Rudy, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently "You coming with us or not Rudy?"
Rudy wasn't quite an official member of the gang, he didn't join them for any of their crime sprees, nor did he talk much. But he was one of the few people in town to give them the time of day, even offering them some food when they were down on their luck and visiting their treehouse once or twice.
Chances were, Rudy cared enough to help Rei out.
Rudy frowned slightly, seemingly thinking deeply. He dropped his hands to his belt, considering the weight of the object on his belt. Teepo had long since given up on asking Rudy what the item wrapped on the left side of his belt was, but he couldn't help but wonder again as the boy briefly gripped the end.
Finally, he nodded. Mt. Glaus wasn't a common destination for the people of McNeil's village. Sometimes hunters would scale it in search of prey and there was a cabin near the peak used by hunters instead of forcing them to camp. But it was far away and difficult to climb, stalked by more aggressive creatures than Cedar Woods.
Despite that the group's ascent was easy. Teepo was capable of casting a weak fire spell, which wouldn't be impressive to a master magician but was seriously impressive for a kid. Rudy didn't have any magic, but he was tough and surprisingly strong.
The weakest link was Ryu. He had somehow learned how to cast a healing spell, but he was absolutely hopeless at fighting. He would close his eyes and swing wildly whenever the need arose.
With their combined skillset the climb wasn't too hard, but by the time they reached the area near the cabin, the sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the peak which was slowly getting dimmer and dimmer.
The cabin was unlocked as always, the lonely wooden building creaking open and revealing stockpiles of old hunting equipment, some beds, and-"Rei!"
"Teepo?" The tiger uplift startled, reeling back as he stared at his three companions. "Why are you here Teepo? Bunyan sent me up here alone."
"As soon as we were done with the old man's chores we raced after you." Teepo bragged. "We were worried about you being up here alone."
"Teepo…" Rei sighed, shaking his head. "The reason he sent me alone and kept you down there is 'cause he was worried about you."
"What do you mean? He was keeping us as hostages right?"
"You've heard the rumors right? The Monster that lives on this mountain, the Nue…" Rei looked at the ground, deep in thought. "Bunyan wanted me to kill it."
"Why does he want you to kill it? We're just orphans and thieves! Isn't it supposed to be huge and strong?"
"It is, but I'm stronger. Or… I would be, if I was alone." Rei looked down at his knife, admiring the shine along the edge. "But with you here I won't be able to… Aw hell. Doesn't this just beat all?"
"There's no use worrying about it. The Nue hunts in the morning, and it's dangerous to travel at night. Let's rest and tomorrow… I guess we'll go kill it."
Teepo and Ryu brought out their bedrolls and within minutes the two kids were fast asleep.
"Rudy I really need to talk to you. Or, talk at you? It doesn't matter I just…" Rudy put his hand on Rei's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Alright… my plan for the Nue was to rely on… my ace in the hole. But I can only do it alone, on my own. If I tried I'd just end up putting you guys in danger. Between the four of us we might be able to handle it but if we can't…"
"If you have anything that can help, please use it." Rei clasped his hands together. "I'll beg if I have to, but I can't lose my brothers."
Rudy swallowed heavily, reflexively reaching for the weapon on his belt, covered in long strips of cloth, but wrapped loosely enough that he could draw it if needed. His bad luck charm, the weapon of doom, an accursed relic of the earth…
His ARM.
"I will." Rudy's voice was quiet but resolute. He very rarely talked, but when he did everyone listened.
"Thanks Rudy. You're a good guy." Rei sprawled out on the floor, all the tension drained away by Rudy's solemn words. Before long he was asleep too.
Rudy didn't go to sleep for a long time that night.
A little bit of Breath of Fire 3, 4, and Wild Arms 1. I don't want to seem like I'm harvesting EXP or anything but, I really didn't want to post this story as one huge story, and this is the best stopping point I think. If Cross wants to dock me for the whole "part" thing I'm fine with that. I'll see if I can't make it a 2 parter, but if that part ends up being like 4K words, I might make it a 3 parter. That's the limit though.
Now for characters. Rei, Teepo, and Ryu are all from BoF 3, where you (Ryu) spend the first chunk of the game as a young vagabond under Rei's care. Technically Rei is a "Woren" in Breath of Fire terms. But I think the most fitting race for him in this setting is Uplift.The unnamed "stranger" is of course Fou-Lu from BoF 4, recovering after being shot down in his last Omake. Bunyan is interesting because he appears in both BoF games and shares a similar role in both. So I basically combined his roles from 3 and 4 into one character.
Rudy is from Wild Arms, a Drifer with a strong constitution, kind heart, and weapon of mass destruction hidden in his pocket. Normally he's silent but, well, Ryu is also silent and I kinda didn't want to have 2 silent folk. Rudy does actually have some lines. Just not when he's the main character. Which he isn't in this case.
You know what methodology you'll use, you know what name you'll be called and what flag will bare. There is much to still decide about your faction...but that must come through your actions, not simply your choices. Yet all groups have a founding basis, a tenet, a personality of sorts to them. Once that is decided, things can truly begin...
Starting Org. Trait:
Organizations, much like characters, can possess traits. Starting out your organization will only have one, but as you develop, grow, and make choices, your faction will gain more. Please vote on what trait you'd like your faction to start with.
[] Thuggish:It's not that they're any better trained, simply that they're better motivated. That or they're trying to mimic how you act. Martial Checks involve mobilizing the manpower of your faction in attacks, riots, or similarly offensive actions gain a +10 bonus.
[] Critical Thinkers: Don't focus on always being right, just learn from when you're wrong. Should a research or engineering related Learning Action end in failure, a +10 bonus will be granted to the following re-attempt. This bonus is increased to +20 if it's a SMAAASH Failure.
[] Self-Supplying: They're very self-sufficient, money minded- Okay, no. They're looting. They're very good at looting. Any Funds requirements for actions involving purchases, supplies, materials, or compensated work can be waved at the cost of an equivalent hit to Reputation.
[] Community Minded:You of all people know how someone is viewed effects everything, the others seem to be grasping onto that too. Whenever your faction receives positive Reputation they receive +2 additional rep. Whenever you damage another faction's reputation, or a faction is put into a poor light by your actions, any negative reputation they receive will be increased by +5.
[] Discrete: Can't get blamed for something you're not seen doing, right? The cap for Suspicion is increased by +10, giving greater leeway for reckless action or mistakes.
[] Psychic Gravity: Your faction subconsciously attracts those with PSI abilities, much like a celestial body draws in meteors into its gravity. A small fraction of your faction's starting manpower are very weak non-Hero PSI users. This allows your faction to take certain PSI related actions immediately that would otherwise require time or research. However this might make you more prone to raising suspicion.
New Mechanics!
Suspicion: You are going to be waging a secret war against a genocidal alien plot. It was made abundantly clear to you by Buzz Buzz that should the truth of this become known, the Big 3 will attempt to intervene in such a heavy handed manner that the end result would be more destructive then anything Giygas could dream of. As such you must balance your efforts to stop Giygas with avoiding raising suspicions in the public.
Suspicion has a minimum of 0 and caps at 100.
Suspicion is raised when rumors, reports, or outright evidence of PSI, aliens, or abnormal activities spreads. Openly using PSI powers, sightings of aliens, and other such actions can raise Suspicion.
At every 20 points of Suspicion as 'Suspicious Action' will occur, denoting the notice of one of the Big 3. These still start out small, and escalate.
Should Suspicion reach 100, there may be grave consequences.
However Suspicion decreases at a rate of -1 point per turn and can be further decreased by taking certain actions that intentionally hide the truth, muddy superstitious rumors with mundane explanations, or simply distract the public or discredit the idea anything is wrong.
Reputation: Reputation is a general measure of how the public does, or will, see your faction. 0 is neutral, -100 is utterly reviled, and +100 is beloved by all. Your faction's reputation can increase, or decrease depending on actions taken or events that occur. How loved or hated your faction is can effect a variety of things.
Individual Faction Reputation: However, general rep doesn't govern all. Individual Factions may have a view of you that is divorced from your general reputation. Possibly liking you more or less based on a variety of factors such as your ideology, superficial appearances, or past deeds with them. Some factions may forever irrationally hate you, while others can potentially be worked into the good graces of, or start off as surprisingly welcoming.
The final stretch. I'll give you all till Tuesday, 6 PM EST to talk things out. Then voting begins.
Your feet dangle over the edge of the crude porch that juts out the side of the treehouse.
Chin perched against a branch, you stare out at the town barely visible through the trees.
Cresting the distance, the sun begins to set.
Onnet, the entire world, is cast in soft oranges and slumbering purples.
It was a sight you had seen countless times before and hadn't cared less about.
But seeing it now, you can't help but wonder if you had ever really been able to see it until this moment.
…
Behind you the sound of impatient talking, fidgeting, and whispering becomes steadily louder.
A pit forms in your stomach.
"Are you sure you don't want me to simply show myself?"
Buzz Buzz speaks to you from a nearby tree branch, effortlessly clinging to it upside down in the way only bugs truly can.
"No way."
You shake your head, chin grinding into the branch as you continue to stare out at the town.
"People hate aliens. All aliens. Even the Cornians-Cornerians? The Uplifts from off world, get the stink eye something fierce when they showed up. Not that Uplifts in general don't get that."
You continue to stare out at the town and for a moment Buzz Buzz does the same, before speaking again.
"I hope you know that I'm sorry, CD."
A soft chittering is audible from Buzz Buzz as they speak.
"At the time I didn't consider how selfish I was being. I thought I was simply saving your life and giving you a choice. But, I hadn't truly considered the danger you would face, how soon you would face it, or that your family would have to face it as well."
Immediately you lift your head and look at him.
"Don't be an idiot."
There's a firmness in your voice, past the fatigue and the heavy weight of everything that's happened.
"My life was heading to the trash fire long before all of this happened. If you'd saved me from that lamp and just flew off, I'd probably have to deal with all of this anyway. With no friggin' context. So, I'm just glad I wasn't left in the dark."
You grit your teeth, unable to keep eye contact with Buzz Buzz.
"Besides, it's not like I was facing it alone. For once."
Silence stretches out between you and Buzz Buzz as the sun continues to slowly set in the distance.
"I'm used to it. Being alone."
A frustration builds inside of you.
A bruised vulnerability that you want to bandage and bury.
But you push through it.
Forcing yourself to speak.
Because if you don't say it now, maybe you'll never say it.
"I have Kart and Floppy, but I'm supposed to take care of them. They're also younger than me. There's a lot I can't talk about with them and a lot they just…don't remember happening from when they were little. The whole town hates me, and for a long time I hated them back. Part of me still hates this place, this world."
Off on the hazy horizon, past the borders of The Eagle Quarter, the rest of The City is visible.
Looming, impossibly tall structures. Black skyscrapers and sprawling urban buildings are visible even at the greatest of distances.
Like a black wall that desperately wants to creep closer.
You grip the branch in front of you, twisting the bark off it with ease.
"Being alone is easier. You don't have to babysit anyone's feelings, you don't have to worry about getting hurt, and you don't have to deal with any problems that aren't your own. After a while, the idea of anything else became intolerable. Especially since it felt like it would always be that way."
"Would you prefer to be alone?" Buzz Buzz asked.
"I never had a choice before. But even if I have one now, it's pointless. Because I can't do this alone. I never could. That's why I'm even up here to begin with."
The sounds of restless talking from the treehouse grew steadily louder as you spoke.
"I can't put this off anymore then I already have, can I?"
Temptation presses down on you.
The desire to sit and watch the sun fully disappear over the horizon briefly freezes you in place.
Just the thought of escaping the feeling, the responsibility, even for one day is intoxicating.
A doubt eats at you.
Slowly, quietly, but irrefutably.
Like thousands of ants picking apart a carcass.
Even if you went in there and did your best, would it result in anything good?
Could you really achieve what you set out to do? Was there any amount of preparation, any amount of 'good days', that could allow you succeed the way you needed to?
The way you wanted to?
If you failed, you would know the limits of what you were capable of.
And you'd have to live with that knowledge hanging over you.
But if you never tried, if you simply walked away and left things unfinished, you'd at least be able to hope for better things.
To believe you could do more, instead of being shown that you couldn't.
…
Buzz Buzz flew off the branch and briefly perched himself atop your shoulder.
"You can. Just like I could have put off 'betraying' Giygas. However, the things we want to avoid doing today are almost always the things that need to be done now."
Slowly you turn your gaze to the alien, trying and failing to hide your apprehension.
The insect's buzz briefly drowned out the voices from inside the treehouse.
"It's like your sports. Isn't it better to play and lose than to never play at all?"
You let out a heavy sigh as Buzz Buzz flies up towards the roof of the treehouse.
"Yeah, yeah it is."
Slowly you push yourself to your feet and turn towards the doorway.
"Well, time to step up to bat." The inside of the tree house was a claustrophobe's hell.
A single room, that was cozy for five people, had a little over twenty people in it.
Not counting the treehouse boys themselves, Porky, and the tarp-draped object he 'fiercely guarded' in the corner.
Teens and kids had resorted to hanging out of the floor hatch and hanging from anywhere they could to secure some more leg room.
"What's taking so long?" One kid called out.
"Yeah, what did you want us here for anyway?"
More questions were pitched to the Treehouse Boys, with Mr. B in particular squirming on the spot in discomfort. Pulling down his Mr. Baseball cap to hide his eyes as none of them had any answers.
That was when you finally made your way inside.
The instant you did, the room fell quiet.
A small ocean of shocked, angry, half-frightened faces stared at you as you stood before everyone.
It was like a microcosm of what you were used to seeing in town.
"Listen up!"
You called out, taking center stage.
"You don't trust me or like me, but I have something you all need to know and you're going to listen to it."
The words came out in a threatening, growl-like bellow.
You refused to allow yourself any room to falter. Any room to show how tired, how miserable, you were after everything that had happened.
Under your narrowed gaze all movement stopped and the starts of whispers were threatened into silence.
"What I'm about to say is something you aren't going to believe. It's going to come off as lunatic bullshit, but every single word of it is true. And I have the evidence to prove it."
Porky, at that, pushed himself to his little feet. Dusting potato chip dust off himself he seemed reflexively tempted to let one rip. Yet despite everything the portly boy seemed to consciously make an effort not to do so as you spoke.
"The Eagle Quarter is being invaded by aliens, led by something named Giygas."
Straightening your back, you stared your captive audience down
"He blames humanity for stealing the secrets to psychic powers from his race. Years ago he tried invading Earth, and failed. Now he's trying to invade this world, and plans on enacting genocide on the human race. Starting with the Eagle Quarter, this very town included."
The small gathering's jaws began to drop. Some looked between another as if trying to understand the joke.
"But he's not crashing out of the sky with flying saucers and rayguns. He's being slow. Subtle. Methodical. Secretive. Animating objects, driving the local wildlife crazy, abducting people in secret, and influencing people in power to work for him."
For a few moments you can see something approaching snickers or laughs forming on some of the kids' faces.
But others weren't laughing.
The longer you spoke, the more uncomfortable they seemed.
Was it because they realized that you believed what you were saying? Or was it because they were starting to believe.
You stop for a moment to gauge the room, seeing the concerned shakes of teens heads when a voice abruptly speaks out of the brief silence.
"...My mom had to go to the hospital because the door of our oven slammed on her hand like, seven times."
Another girl turned, throwing up her hands.
"Yeah! I broke one of my sister's dolls yesterday and she thanked me for it! Told me it kept climbing up to the end of her bed and watching her while she slept."
Similar unusual experiences were voiced one by one before an older boy stood up.
"Yeah, weird stuff is going on lately, we get that. But that doesn't mean it's Aliens. Why would they come here of all places? And if she is telling us this, then it's going to be some kind of a trick or a grift."
The boy thrust out a finger and all eyes turned towards you.
A renewed sense of doubt and hostility bristled.
You scowled back and began to walk forward.
Everyone in the room tensed up, some ducked down expecting you to start swinging.
But you brushed past, walking over to Porky and the tarp.
"I'm not asking you to believe me just because I said so. What I'm saying is the truth, and I brought proof."
With a nod Porky stepped aside as you reached down and grabbed the tarp.
As it was ripped away the doubtful faces of the onlookers twisted as they recoiled backwards.
Propped up against the treehouse wall, was a warped husk.
It looked like a machine, or the wreck of one.
Yet the smell that came off it, something between burned plastic and charred meat, was undeniably organic.
Once sleek, unnaturally brilliant chrome was left tarnished and threadbare in places.
Its limbs, or where limbs should have been, were missing. In its place were hanging strands of material, like unwound fabric.
Something closer to nerves than wires dangled out of breaches in its smooth body. A dull, cracked black visor reflected the gazes of everyone staring at it.
For a few moments no one was able to look away.
There was something about the thing that contrasted everything around it. As if it possessed some unnatural aura, even in death, that made it seem aberrant to the very world it lay on.
"This is one of the aliens." You start watching as everyone, especially Porky, gives the husk a wide berth.
"It's called a Starman-."
You briefly struggled to remember the word used to describe it before grasping at the first one that came to mind.
"Junior."
You jerked a thumb towards the corpse.
"It tried to kill me, but I managed to kill it…if only barely. And this is apparently one of the weaker ones. You know that fuss everyone raised about that street being messed up? That was this thing's fault."
The kids in the room stared at the husk, looking unnerved or visibly sick. Some of the kids hanging out the floor hatch were suddenly happy to have tired arms and fresh air. Porky's look of near perpetual boredom had become one of confusion and growing dismay.
"That could just be a robot!" One girl pointed out, coughing as she coughed her mouth.
"Yeah, or some cyborg she murdered." Another spat, nearly causing you to flinch.
Quickly the kids began to nod along with what was being said, as if some defensive urge had kicked in.
They didn't simply step back physically from what they saw, but they did so mentally.
"There's no proof that's an alien!"
Just hearing the words causes your chest to tighten.
Creeping panic sets in as you look back to the husk.
Your mind begins to race.
What else could you do to prove the truth? This was all you had. It should have been enough. You should've planned more! They're all going to leave. This is all going to fall apart.
You-
The hairs on the back of your neck stood on end.
In an instant you know what you need to do.
Your fists tighten into balls as you wheel your head around to glare at the loudest doubters amidst the course of kids.
"Alright. You want proof I'm telling the truth?"
Reaching into your jacket, you pulled out a kitchen knife.
"I'll give you the truth."
The room went dead silent as you brandished the sharped slice of steel, light gleaming across the length of the blade.
Looking between all those present you tighten your grip on the knife and raise it.
Stabbing it through the palm of your left hand.
At the back of the room a young girl screamed.
Everyone practically threw themselves away from you, pressing into the opposing wall as blood pouring from your palm.
"CD, what are you doing!?" Porky screams, seeing the blade sticking clean through the other side of your hand as you twist the blade.
Your pupils shrink.
Adrenaline screamed through your body.
Every nerve in you demanded you make the pain stop.
But you pushed the knife in deeper.
"Giygas-" You hissed through grit teeth, nearly on the verge of screaming.
"That alien invader bastard is going to kill everyone because he thinks humans stole something from his people!"
Everyone in the room looked on in utter horror as you ripped the knife from your hand and jammed it into the wall behind you.
"He thinks we stole the secrets to PSI, to psychic powers. So if psychic powers don't exist, then I'm a liar. RIGHT?"
Blood streamed from the wound as you held it up for all to see, unable to move your fingers.
Then, through the near paralyzing pain, you concentrated.
Something began to course through you as your hand began to grow hotter and hotter.
Bright, horrified eyes grew wider as everyone present saw visible heat began to rise from your hand.
What was once a near constant stream of blood didn't just stop, but seemed to briefly reverse.
A blinding, agonizing pain was slowly drowned out by the feeling of warmth.
The wide red wound through your hand boiled and squirmed as the flesh slowly, but steadily shrank. Muscle and flesh knitting itself back together, accomplishing what would have taken weeks or months in mere moments.
Then it was gone.
Just like that the horrible wound that had scared the teens and kids before you into shock wasn't there anymore.
Sweat rolled down your face as you flexed your hand, still sore but functional.
An exhausted pressure pushed down on you, but you fought through it. Raising your head to meet the awe-struck gazes of your audiences, flashing a smile.
"Oh, would you look at that?" You laugh breathlessly, panting. "PSI. Guess I'm right, huh?"
No one spoke.
Anyone who could sit down, did so.
All of the angry-eyed skeptics stared at the floor as the revelation sank in. Occasionally they opened their mouths, as if scrambling for some objection. Their faces soon showed desperation, simply not wanting to believe what they were hearing.
The first voice to break the silence cracked with fear.
"We…we have to tell someone! If we're being invaded, if the aliens are back, if they're trying to kill all of us, then we have to tell the cops! Or the corps! Or anyone!"
"We can't tell the public about this, or anyone for that matter." You stomp your foot, the heavy thwomp shaking the kids from their daze.
"Not only would they not believe us, but if the Big 3 found out the truth things would just get worse."
You clenched your fists, glaring as countless horrible possibilities played out in your mind.
"Why do you think an army of psychic aliens would try to carry out all this in secret? Giygas can't win a war against the whole planet. As divided and fucked up as The City is, just about the only thing anyone has in common is that they hate aliens. And even if it wasn't some unified hug-fest, enough of the planet would be against them that they'd lose eventually."
A young boy shook his head.
"So why don't we tell someone? You're basically telling us the Big 3 could probably beat them!"
"Yeah, and kill all of us in the process."
Your words cut through the crowd.
"Think for a fucking second! If the Big 3 found out there were aliens invading and they were concentrated here, in this glorified speed bump in The City, do you think they'd hesitate in going all out?"
Realization sunk in. As if the countless horror stories, or real stories, they had heard about the corps and rulers of The City, all came rushing back in that moment.
"More people would be killed in the Big 3's response alone than Giygas could kill in a couple of years. We'd be lucky if the Eagle Quarter survived at all, nevermind anyone actually living here."
"So…what are we supposed to do!?" One of the treehouse boys spoke up, pale and struggling to breathe.
Everyone around you grew still. Their bodies tensing up as the grim reality painted rolled out before them. All sense of hope slipping through their fingers like sand.
Then you pulled your bat off your back.
"We join together and fight back!"
You screamed the words at the top of your lungs.
Mr.B, adjusting his baseball cap, looked around as if expecting someone else to show up.
"...Us?"
"Yes! Us! All of us! I know what I'm asking you sounds crazy, but what other options do we have?"
You grit your teeth as your temples pounded.
"The world is fucked up! If we weren't in Onnet, or even the Eagle Quarter, we'd be living in concrete mazes worrying if Robuttnik or Wily was going to come along and turn us into paste with one of their robots."
"Maybe in the grand scheme of things we're privileged because we're not drinking sewer slime, or worrying about being monitored every second of every day. But are any of you actually happy? Can any of you honestly look around and tell me that the world is fine as it is?"
"And are any of you fine with having your lives, the lives of the people you care about, your futures, destroyed by some space bound freak with a petty grudge?"
"The only ones who can do something about this are us. So that's why I'm asking you to join me."
"Everyone wants to be in the spotlight. Everyone wants to be the star player, the one who wins, the one who gets thanked for doing a good job and rewarded. No one wants to get stuck in the outfield, catching balls that are probably going over their heads anyway."
"But right now the world needs outfielders. It needs fuckups like us to put their foot down and play what looks like a losing game. If we don't fight this secret war, then no one will."
"...You need a team to play baseball. And I've learned that I need a team to fight this war. I can't do this on my own."
You look to everyone present, feeling defenseless as you prop your bat against your shoulder and hold out your hand.
"So…who wants to play ball?"
One by one those before you look to one another, then look down at their hands.
Then, in total unison, nearly everyone rises up and shout.
All their hesitation, all their fear bleeds away.
Replaced with a reckless anger, an outrage, a desire to strike back even if it means striking out.
Throwing their fists into the air the treehouse is filled with the chanting of a single word.
"OUTFIELDERS!
"OUT-FIELD-ERS!
"OUTFIELDERS!"
As the chanting rises, relief washes over you.
And for a moment, you swear you almost feel happy.
Amidst the chanting however, one individual remained completely silent. Staring in awe-struck bewilderment.
Porky looked between you, then looked at the corpse of the Starman, then looked at the crowd.
Realization hit him like his parents did.
"Wait...This is real? WHAT THE FU-"
-Your Faction, The Outfielders, has been founded!-
One of the delivery boys for Mach Pizza claims to have seen a truck pass through the roadblock leading into town. Since the Lockdown started no one has been allowed in or out. Yet the delivery boy claims that when the truck arrived, the police simply let it pass on through.
It was dark and nearly midnight so details are limited, it's unclear if this is even the truth. Despite this the boy claims adamantly that the truck did arrive and didn't look like any typically seen in the Eagle Quarter. It looked like it had traveled a significant distance and was quite large. Outside of that the only thing that he could say for certain was that it headed straight to the police station.
Since then the police are out in force on the streets more intently. Something about their attitude seems a lot bolder then before, they seem eager to pick fights.
[The OPF has acquired something...]
Shark Fins Circling
The Sharks have been seen all over town lately. Riding about even in areas where they normally don't tread, areas where the OPF are concentrated. While they're still doing their usual antics, they seem fixated on something that's not entirely clear. It could be that they're simply spinning their wheels and poking the bear for fun, but every night the arcade bristles with cheering and rowdy shouts.
They're riling themselves up, and it's only getting more intense.
[The Sharks...?]
Deafening Silence
It's quiet, too quiet...
There's been seemingly no activity in the forest since the last time you checked. The amount of bugs doesn't seem to have changed. Whenever you go into the woods even remotely close to the shack however you feel something is...off.
And sometimes when you walk around town, even for just a few moments out of the day, Onnet starts to feel equally as off.
[The Aliens in Onnet...?]
Disappearance Scare
Over the course of a week this month a number of people were reported as not returning home after work. This number increased to as many as twenty people and many feared the absolute worst.
However before the OPF or any locals could form a search party, they all abruptly returned home late at night.
Though staggering and smelling foul, none of the missing individuals appeared harmed. In fact, though they slurred their words, they insisted they weren't missing at all. The missing explained they were simply having a 'party' to blow off steam.
Given the stress of the lockdown many expressed disbelief that excessive drinking and partying hasn't been more prevalent.
Chief Strong later published an announcement in the local paper, discouraging citizens from recklessly drinking even in groups.
FACTION FOUNDED
Now that CD has founded a faction, faction actions will no longer be under the context that she is doing everything herself. CD has also gained the time needed to take proper Personal Actions.
Going forward, barring drastic changes or faction collapse, this Quest will now shift to the more typical format seen in similar quests like Rocket Quest, etc.
Each turn there will be five faction actions that can be taken and CD will be able to take 4 Personal Actions.
The 'Character Sheet & Hero Units' Threadmark has been updated to include the Outfielder's current faction information, as well as their Reputation and Suspicion level.
The rules have also been updated to include relevant info on Reputation and Suspicion.
State of Faction
THE OUTFIELDERS
Type: Criminal Size: Miniscule Reputation:
-40 General Reputation
+ 15 with Nook Real Estate
Neutral or partially positive starting rep with some criminal factions
Org. Traits:
Community Minded: Whenever your faction receives positive Reputation they receive +2 additional rep. Whenever you damage another faction's reputation, or a faction is put into a poor light by your actions, any negative reputation they receive will be increased by +5.
Assets:
Treehouse ✰ [HQ]: A simple one room treehouse located in the woods behind the local library. It provides a relatively hidden place to meet, discuss in private, and lay low. Outside of that however it lacks any real amenities, but plenty of room for improvement. [1 Slot for facilities]
Childhood Home ✰ [Personal]: Your two floor plus basement childhood home on the outskirts of Onnet's suburbs. It was where you were born and where you've lived till now. With your mother leaving, it belongs to you now. You don't think you could bear to sell it. [0 Slots for Personal Facilities]
Resources:
None
Income Sources:
(+1) Baseball Bat Factory Investment dividends ]
Current Total Funds: 5
Territory:
None
Average Organization Member: -Drawing to come soon!- Personnel Profile: Kids, teens, and young adults. No real adults are in your organization. Training: None. Flying by the seat of their pants. Equipment: Sticks, branches, the clothes on their back and whatever they brought from home. Disposition: Enthusiastic if somewhat lost on the full scope of what this may entail. Loyalty: Placid, neither hesitant nor particularly loyal. They're more engaged with the cause then they are with you.
Suspicion Level:
▣□□□□□□□□□
10/100
FACTION ACTIONS
Current Funds: ☆6☆ Effects of Note:
[CD] is Depressed: CD is incapable of taking certain actions while depressed. This status can only be mitigated or buried using certain Personal Actions.
[Porky] Is well rested due to last turn's personal actions and will grant a +10 bonus to whatever action he is assigned to this turn.
Items of Note:
Tattered Plushie: A plushie you've had since you were a baby. It has more patches in it at this point then original fabric. Despite growing older, you couldn't conceive of throwing it away or giving it to someone else, even your siblings. You carry it with you everywhere, albeit out of sight. That being said you have no idea what it's supposed to be. It's purple and cute. Some sort of...eggplant...wizard? It's weird.
[????]
Repaired Baseball Bat:A bat you've had for a long time. The resin you bought has restored it to it's prior state, it's much sturdier. Still, maybe there are even more ways to improve it? [+2 to Martial]
Sound Stone: A shard of an ocarina that was used (somehow) to 'defeat' GIygas during the first invasion. It is a PSI artifact capable of detecting places burgeoning with PSI, namely sanctuaries. It can also record special 'sounds' though this function doesn't seem to have a use to you. [Greatly reduces the DC for finding sanctuaries and largely eliminates the dangers of trying to claim a Sanctuary as your own. Provided it remains in your possession]
'Meteorite' Shard: A strange, currently unidentified stone. You have no idea what it could be, but you have no doubt someone would likely want to buy it for a high price...
Prefilled Mayoral Paperwork: A paperwork form for a 'mayoral decree' with blank spots that can be filled out to be just about anything. It was pre-signed and pre-stamped for the mayor's convenience. It can only be used once, but this could potentially be used to give out a fake order to those working for the mayor...
Lab Equipment: A myriad of stolen equipment from the Onnet Hospital's medical lab. A lot of it is out of date, but it's still professional equipment. Useless on its own, especially without the right knowhow or setup. However it would make setting up a semi-proper lab room significantly easier and remove more or less all material cost.
Beeject & NELCON: An as of yet unidentified drug with an injector. The instructions state to press the injector to the side of the neck and pull the trigger. No needle experience is needed. Anyone could use it, but it could be dangerous, or even outright lethal.
Martial
[] Tagging Territory [Onnet]: If the Sharks have been throwing their name up around town then it's only fair your group does the same. You need to keep the fact you're fighting aliens a secret, not the fact that you exist at all a secret. Little gangs like your get money, influence, and power from controlling territory. A certain amount of vested influence or presence in an area is needed before it can even be attempted to be taken over. No one rolls over for strangers and the force needed to make people do so is a bit beyond your reach right now. Of course, the Sharks will be pissed off that you're a new crew in town and the cops won't be pleased, but nothing you do short of bending over backwards for them is going to make them happy. DC: 15/30 (Reward: Additional Martial Actions in Onnet)
[] Expand Treehouse: The treehouse isn't even close to what you need it to be. Thankfully, everyone's pretty keen on the idea of building off the existing treehouse. The materials will be pretty simple and the tree is large enough to support quite a lot, some members even seem willing to bring in materials to help. They're hardly going to be professional quality, but who hasn't wanted to build their own treehouse? DC: 30 (Reward: +2 Facility Slots)
[] Build a Facility: The treehouse is the only base the Outfielders have to call their own at this time. And right now it consists of a single empty room. Maybe it's time to change that.
-[] Build a Lab:Maybe calling whatever you can fit inside a treehouse a 'laboratory' is a stretch, but with the stolen Lab Equipment you have would make it pretty well equipped. With the issue of the equipment out of the way the hardest part is already done. Well, the hardest part will be getting someone who knows how to properly USE any of it… DC: 35 (-Lab Equipment, -1 Facility Slot, Reward: Labratory)
-[] Build a Crude Workshop: It'd be an enclosed room with a bunch of 'borrowed' power tools, benches, and vices to hold things. However even with that you'd probably be able to get up to some pretty heinous stuff. What you could make would be simple, but being able to make anything at all would be a boon by itself. DC 35: (-1 Funds, -1 Facility Slot, Reward: Crude Workshop)
-[] Build a War Room: MEETING. ROOM. The Treehouse boys keep talking about something called 'Dr. Strangelove' and they're calling this a 'war room'. Holding meetings sounds about as appealing as tying nooses for yourself and everyone you know. However making a dedicated place to gather would make it easier to address everyone and maybe give more impact to addresses or, god forbid, speeches. DC: 35 (-1 Funds, -1 Facility Slot, Reward: War Room)
-[] Build a Radio Room: With the treehouse already as high as it is, it's actually a lot easier to set up a small radio tower of sorts then you'd expect. You can even disguise it to look like just another part of the tree. It'll be expensive getting real radio equipment, but with a dedicated set up you could broadcast and receive. You might even be able to spy on the cops chatter if you tune things right… DC: 40 (-2 Funds, -1 Facility Slot, Reward: Radio Room)
[] Teach Members How to Brawl:Almost none of the Outfielders have been in a proper brawl in their life and they're carrying around sticks and filed down butter knives for weapons. Taking them aside and showing them the ropes might give them a fighting chance to, well, actually fight. DC 40/80 (Reward: First step into whipping the current Outfielders into a proper gang)
[] Claim Territory by Force: Actually taking control of places requires either a lack of interest/control in an area, or a certain amount of vested influence or presence in an area. Even if a gang or criminal group doesn't own an area on paper, it doesn't mean it isn't theirs. Having kids squatting with baseball bats and rocks on street corners is the next best thing. Given the Outfielders literally just started existing, you have jack and shit for influence or presence. However there are places in town no one currently gives a shit about.
- [] The Hill: That god forsaken, bird invested fucking hill. It's not far from your house and it's got a good view of the town. Piss all is actually there, save for pain, misery, and you guess Liar's house which has been abandoned since he somehow skipped town. He did find something weird under his house and the tunnels are still down there. If you had the Outfielders 'house sit' they could do some digging themselves. Technically the town owns the hill, but you'd be genuinely shocked if anyone gave a rat's ass if you all put a flag down and started loitering there. DC: 40 (Reward: Bring 'The Hill' under your control and gain access to the tunnels under Liar's House)
[] Challenge the Sharks: Walk right up to the Arcade and call the Sharks out. Fight them outright at their base of operations. They outnumber you, and outgun you, but with the backup you have maybe it can work out. As long as you can smash your way to Frankie then you can force them to bend the knee, maybe even give up or get absorbed. If it goes tits up though, the Sharks will be out for blood and there will be plenty of yours in the water. DC: 90 (Reward: Initiates Battle with the Sharks, giving a chance to destroy or absorb the group)
[] RIOT!: Fuck the police! Causing a ruckus to draw the police into a fight. Straight up beating the cops asses for the whole town to see will make it clear you're not to be taken lightly and will weaken the police a substantial amount. Of course, that's easier said than done and the cops are pretty well equipped to deal with a bunch of untrained, rowdy punks led by one or two people who actually know how to fight. DC: 100 (Reward: Initiates Battle with the O.P.F, giving a chance to end the Lockdown and permanently damage their control over Onnet)
[] Raid City Hall: The mayor hasn't left city hall since all this started. Its high security walls make it look like a fortress. Trying to bust down the front gates with the cops still walking around would be borderline suicide. If you want a piece of the mayor you'll have to build up and deal with some of the other plays in town first.
[Action cannot be taken at this time]
[] Assault Giant's Foot: The Entertainer's Shack is still sitting there. It's oddly quiet. The shack is locked up tight and there's no easy way to get to the cave behind it. Maybe you could try rushing in there, try to break in with your group but…some part of you can't help but feel that's a bad idea. It's too soon.
[Action cannot be taken at this time]
Diplomacy
[] Recruiting (Onnet):You need people if you want this organization to work. With the OPF and the Sharks around, to say nothing of being limited to JUST Onnet, it won't be easy to pull in people to the cause. Recruiting will allow you to gather more members to your organization and will give you the chance to recruit a Hero unit. You'll probably just get more kids and teens, but that's hardly a bad thing with how useless other people are around here. If you look hard enough you might be able to find some special, heroic people to bring into the fold. You know for a fact Kyoko is around so you're guaranteed to get her, but maybe there are other people? DC: 20/60/90 (Reward: Increase the Outfielder's manpower and recruit a hero from the local populace).
[] Pick Up Trash: Oh. Oh god. You think you just threw up in your mouth a little. It's going to be a hard sell to go from "Aliens are coming to kill our loved ones, join me and do crimes" to "Let's go pick up trash and help out the community". Your new members are going to look at you like you're a goddamn lunatic and you might very well have to swing the bat around to get them to cooperate. However, doing this would help improve your reputation in town. The Sharks will probably laugh their asses off and lose what respect you gained from them after you tagged the cop's signs. But, it's a start, and who knows? Maybe you can deposit cans you find for money. DC: 35 (Reward: +??? Reputation and +??? Funds)
[] Make Connections at School: Have your new faction members talk to other kids, maybe even the teachers, and trying to foster some sort of beneficial relationship could lead to places. The school might be a glorified underfunded prison, but it does have facilities that would be pretty useful to freely, or even occasionally access. Plus the school would be a good source of manpower to recruit. You…can't go there yourself though. Not with how you feel. DC: 40/90 (Additional options regarding the local school)
[] Protest!: Like rioting, but you're not supposed to punch the cops in the balls when they attempt to mace you. Gathering up the Outfielders and protesting out front of the mayor's office and making a racket over the lockdown could cause some problems for the cops. And if they swing at you for it, that might not look super good for them. Of course, your reputation could end up having people in town dismiss everything you say. But it could shake the town into voicing their dissatisfaction. DC: 60/80/100 (Reward: -??? Decrease to OPF's reputation)
[] Talk to the Sharks: You have the vague respect of the Sharks and you haven't done anything to directly fuck with them. They likely won't take kindly to the fact you have your own posse now, but it shouldn't be impossible to arrange a meeting with their leader. By talking with Frankie you might be able to work things out with words instead of your fists. It won't be easy, even if you do meet him there's no guarantee he'll be reasonable. But if there's any chance of allying with the Sharks, or somehow pulling them into the fold, it's this. DC: 65 [Additional checks or options may follow on success] (Reward: Possibility to join or absorb the Shark or strike a deal)
[]Baseball Factory Deal: The Outfielders are…well you're a gang. But that doesn't mean you can't have some kind of front, or put on airs. No one's going to look at you and think you're out to fight genocidal aliens. With the lockdown, the Baseball Bat factory has been hurting. You could talk them into some sort of deal with your group. It won't be easy given how small the group is, but if you succeed a beneficial arrangement could be made. DC: 75 [Additional checks or options may follow on success]
[] Confront the Police: Shit stinks to high heaven. The police are up to something. You have no clear idea of what, but they're the mayor's lapdogs and the mayor sure as hell doesn't have people's best interests at heart. It'd take a goddamn miracle to arrange a meeting with the OPF that doesn't have you looking out from the bars of a cell but…it's still an option. DC: 90 (Reward: Learn the OPF's intentions directly)
Stewardship
[] Pay the "Hint Man" for Information: Porky has brought to your attention the fact that there's a bizarre information broker of sorts named the 'Hint Man'. They're here in Onnet, but then again it's claimed that they're all over the Eagle Quarter. If you have the money, they have the information. Claiming they can give you 'hints' to just about anything that you so desire to know. Of course, the cost is quite steep.
[Autopass: -5 Funds] (Reward: Learn information regarding a subject of player's choice)
[] Buy Baseball Bats in Bulk: Getting a shit-ton of baseball bats from the factory will make the factory a lot keener to you. It'll also ensure every member you have, and every member for quite a while, has a proper swinger to wreck people with. And these will be weapons one could easily argue as being sports equipment. This will improve the Outfielders combat abilities in so far as they'll have actual weapons. Just don't expect it to be cheap.
[Autopass: -3 Funds] (Reward: Proper weapons for the Outfielders, increasing the effectiveness in mass or gang combat)
[] Start a 'Public Fund' Using Paperwork: Surely the generous and publicly minded mayor wouldn't hesitate to give back to the needy public. Using the Mayoral Paperwork you stole, some of the members of the Outfielders think you could use it to get some money. Present it to the right people while dressed up in suits and a bit of money from the city's coffers will go into a 'public fund', rather than the mayor's pockets. One that only you and the Outfielders will know about. The mayor isn't likely to notice a little bit of money disappearing every month. Even if it doesn't last forever or someone loyal to the mayor eventually finds it, it could help fund the Outfielders for a bit. DC: 15 [-1 Mayoral Paperwork] (Reward: +1 Funds for ??? turns)
[] Run a Lemonade Stand(s): Look, you're trying here. It's still the warmer months and you don't have to be the one selling it. It could help make some extra money and it's better than the drip feed you currently have to work with. If the Sharks see you doing this though, they'll probably mock you for it or worse try to rob you. DC: 25/40/80 (Reward: Additional Funds based on level of success)
[] Pawn Crap from the Woods: Having your crew searching the woods for something to sell is a bit desperate, but it could make some scratch. Plus there's no telling what could be found with a bunch of bored teens combing the forest. Well, besides trouble that is. DC: 45/80 (Reward: Chance to find Funds or Items)
[]Invest More Into the Factory: They took your money once, they'll probably take it a second time. You're not actually sure if it'll increase the amount of money you get from the factory, but it'll certainly make them more reliant on you. If you play your cards right you might be able to make them indebted to you, but that's probably a long shot. DC: 50/80/100 [-5 Funds] (Rewards: Increase standing with factory, chance to increase passive income)
[] Psychic Healing for Money: Same verse, same as the first! Only now with additional help! You're the only one who can do the actual healing, but the others can point people in your direction. It'll probably draw in a lot more attention, for better and for worse. You have a chance to make some proper money, but the spiritual healing bit will get people suspicious when they realize it's not bullshit. (This action will use the PSI Stat). DC: 40/60/80, +???Suspicion (Reward: Immediate Funds based on level of success)
Intrigue
[] Listen for Rumors: There's a lot of weird stuff going on in town, but that doesn't mean you learn about all of it. With everyone getting stir crazy from the lockdown, it should be easy to pump people for information. There's no telling what you could learn about, but separating hearsay from actual leads may be difficult. DC: 30/40/50/90 (Rewards: Additional information on what's happening in Onnet)
[] Monitorthe Entertainers Shack: You still don't know where those Antoids went and you doubt whatever is in that cave behind the shack is just twiddling its thumbs. Setting up a rotating watch for the Entertainer's Shack using your new group will make keeping an eye out for what's going on there easier. Of course, you know what those slugs can do, so the watch will need to be distanced a good distance away. Even then, it's not free of danger. DC: 50 (Rewards: Gain insight into the alien's actions next turn)
[] Sneak Into the Arcade: The Sharks are packed into the arcade lately and they're pretty busy. It won't be easy to slip in, but it's not impossible. They likely won't appreciate you inviting yourself in, but if you can get to Franky you might be able to force a chat. Alternatively you could find out just what the Sharks are getting up to in there. DC: 65 [Additional checks or options may follow on success] (Reward: Possibility to join or absorb the Shark or strike a deal)
[] Steal a Police Cruiser: There are more cops on the streets lately. That said, there are also a lot of police cruisers just lying around. Unattended ones even. If you could find the right people to jack a cruiser, there's almost certainly places you could hide it. A stolen car could be refurbished, or simply broken down into parts for other uses or selling. Of course, if the police catch you trying to steal a car or pursue a stolen car, it could lead to a big incident. DC: 70 (Reward: Stolen Police Cruiser)
[] Look into the O.P.F's Plans: The police are up to something. You've had that feeling for a while and you really doubt they're just going to stop at signs and billboards. If you want to find out just what they're up to, you'll need to find a way to sneak into the police station, or at least hear and see what's going on inside for a bit. Knowing their plans will make it easier to thwart them, or at least survive them… DC: 80 (Reward: Learn the OPFs plans and an estimate of their faction strength)
Learning
[] Read Up on Aliens: As far as you are aware, Aliens don't exist in The City. Or at least they're not supposed to. The only Aliens you've heard about growing up were the Invaders. But according to Buzz Buzz lots of aliens exist, though he doesn't have much in the way of specifics if they aren't related to Giygas's Army. Reading whatever you can, asking who you can, and maybe a healthy dose of speculation could help better prepare the Outfielders. Of course, it could just result in a whole lot of nothing, but it's guaranteed to give everyone some ideas at least. DC: 25/40 (Reward: Possible Alien enemy info and a chance for additional research topics)
[] Research: You don't exactly have people in lab coats pouring over computers and playing with test tubes, but never underestimate what a bunch of disgruntled teens with out of date textbooks can do. If school had kids learning how to blow things for homework then everyone would be getting straight A's. Your options are limited until you have a proper place to do research, the right people to do research, and a certain understanding of other research topics.
- [] Research Simple Weapons: The Outfielders are armed with sticks and whatever they brought from home. You know from experience that baseball bats are a pretty ideal melee weapon, but there has to be other ways you can arm your members. Hopefully on the cheap. DC: 40/80
- [] Research Simple Explosives: Less 'Dynamite' and more 'Firecrackers', but even amateur chemistry can do wonders. If they fuck up though they'll probably blow off a few fingers. You can…hopefully reattach those if that happens. DC: 40/80
- [] Research Simple Pharmaceuticals: If anyone sees this, they're going to be dead certain you're trying to make drugs. And they're not technically wrong. You won't be making any Power Pellets anytime soon, but there has to be something your group can make. DC: 50/100
- [] Starman Jr. Autopsy: [This option is locked until more advanced facilities are acquired.]
- [] Meteor Identification: [This option is locked until more advanced facilities are acquired.]
- [] Study PSI Basics: [This option is locked until more advanced facilities are acquired.]
- [] Inventing: [This option is locked until certain Hero requirements are met.]
- [] NELCON Examination: [This option requires additional research before it can be done.]
[] Check Local Disturbances: You've almost been murdered by two different kinds of lamps and most of the wildlife in the area wants to start shit. However you've never really thought too hard if other people have had to deal with this. Researching the matter, or at least investigating it, could shed light on the situation and the extent of Giygas's influence. DC: 40/80 (Reward: Learn more about the state of Onnet and Giygas's influence)
[] Categorize Crazed Wildlife [Onnet]: Going out of your way to actually note what wildlife has been riled up by the aliens, and what hasn't (if there even is any that hasn't), could be useful. You can't really remember anyone ever putting the local wildlife in the Eagle Quarter to paper anyway, the names and what they do is all a matter of word of mouth and personal experience really. Being the first ones to do that could prove beneficial. Of course with the Lockdown you'll be limited to what you can find in and around town. DC: 60 (Reward: 'Bestiary' Volume 1 Item, Additional Research Topics)
[] Read Up on Different Areas: The Eagle Quarter sits at a unique crossroads in the City. The Outlands are to it's west, various paths to other territories line it's borders, and there are even rumors of extensive entrances to the Pipework below. Despite this the Eagle Quarter is relatively isolationist and has thrived primarily by not getting involved with other areas. With the Lockdown you can't leave Onnet, and unless the OPF stops existing entirely trying to exit the borders through conventional means will be tough. But that doesn't mean you can't look into better ways you could travel to other areas in The City. There's no shortage of stories of underground highways or tunnels. If you have some kids put their noses to the grindstone, you could find some direct or discrete routes to other places in The City. Just because Giygas is focused here doesn't mean he'll stay here forever... DC: 40/60/70/80/100 (Reward: Discover routes and gain access to areas Outside Onnet after Lockdown, one route per degree of success)
Personal Actions
C.D
It's…fucking weird having free time again. Given everything you almost don't want it. All the more reason to find things to do. Even if you don't feel like it.
[ ] Give one of your projects some of your personal attention (Costs 3 personal actions)
-[ ] Write-In
[ ] Try to Foster Loyalty: The current members of the Outfielders are onboard with the idea of stopping the death of everyone they love at the hands of space aliens. However, that doesn't mean they want to give you a hug. Just because they listen to what you have to say, doesn't mean they like it. Trying to ingratiate yourself to the members, or at the very least ensure their opinion of you doesn't endanger the group, will take time.
[ ] Hang Out with a Hero: You're a mess, but you're in charge now. And bosses are supposed to check up on the people who work for them. Right? Pick one hero unit to spend time with. That unit will gain a +10 opinion of you for the next three turns and you may learn more about that hero.
-[] Buzz Buzz
-[] Porky
[ ] Go To School: Attend classes, for once. It likely won't make you any smarter but it will temper your ability to put up with people. Who knows, maybe you might be able to graduate someday. (Action unavailable due to Depression)
[ ] Study at Library: The local library has all kinds of weird books and old records from before The Crash. You've never been one for studying but going there makes it less like work and more like exploring. (Action unavailable due to Depression)
[ ] Practice Meditation: Buzz Buzz told you that there's no 'simple' way to train PSI. Everyone's mind works differently. However he stated meditation can be a good start. Just being with your own thoughts sometimes can be enough to learn more. (Action unavailable due to Depression)
[ ] Play Baseball: It's been a while since you were able to play a game of proper baseball. You'll get some exercise and get to practice your swinging and pitching. Maybe you'll even have fun. (Action unavailable due to Depression)
[ ] Do Your Taxes: Or…your Mom's taxes. You don't want to think about it. You've never been particularly good with managing money or numbers. But maybe that's something that needs to change. (Action unavailable due to Depression)
[ ] Go Shopping: Onnet's shopping is limited, especially with the lockdown. But that might simply make any oddities stand out even more. You have the cash, might as well burn it right?
[ ] Spend time with Kart and Floppy: Just spend some time with your siblings. See how they're doing at school, make them dinner, hang out with them and be present in their lives.
[ ] Pick a Fight in Town: You're in a mood. Going into town and finding someone to throw down with could be a good way to blow off some steam.
[ ] Find a Way To Cope:After what happened with your mother, having to take care of your siblings, the unaddressed issues that you have, it's left you a wreck. You're depressed. You either feel numb or feel purely negative emotions. While you can keep going, there's only so much you can do in this state. You need to find a way to deal with your feelings. Choose one of the following:
-[] Go To Therapy:No. You're not willing to talk about your feelings with some stranger who's just out to collect a paycheck. Besides, healthcare in the Eagle Quarter is horrendously expensive and outdated. You don't want to imagine what the mental health practices are like. Not that the rest of The City gives a shit about mental health. (Unavailable at this time due to lockdown)
-[] Just Sleep In: There are brief periods of time after waking up that you feel…good. Maybe the solution to all this is that you need to sleep more. Time you could spend doing something else will be spent curling up with your Eggplant plush and sleeping late into the day. If things go well, you'll have larger windows where you feel well enough to be productive. Who knows, maybe you'll even have a nice dream?
-[] Embrace a Vice:Drugs, alcohol, gambling, there's a lot of options. None of them are good for you in the long run, but it will be easy to start and likely provide immediate relief. All that matters is feeling better again. All that matters is making what you feel now stop.
-[] Self-Medicate: There's a difference between abusing drugs and simply using medicine to manage a condition. Even if you can't really go to a doctor or any sort of professional that doesn't mean you can't potentially find what would be prescribed to you anyway. Or an equivalent. It will likely cost you, and there's no telling of the side effects, but what matters is dealing with this.
-[] Compartmentalize: Just try to forget what happened. Just cordon off those feelings, those thoughts inside you. You have PSI powers, right? Mind over matter should also even out to mind over mind. If you spend enough time, and enough energy, you should be able to just force yourself to keep better. Bury what you feel so you never, ever have to deal with it again.
Buzz Buzz
[ ] Invent Cover Story: Now that the Outfielders have been founded the C.D has some people to help her, directly helping her yourself might be difficult. It's one thing to have to hide from the public, it's another to have to hide yourself from the people CD herself leads. Simply revealing yourself as an alien seems deeply unwise at this time. Inventing some kind of convincing cover story for your powers and your ability to speak would eliminate the need to hide. But you'll need to take time to think of a good one.
[ ] Fly on The Wall: You're not a fly. However it's a turn of phrase that could be appropriate. By using your own time to do some personal spying, you might be able to learn some things that C.D and the Outfielders wouldn't be able to learn otherwise. Especially with how negatively people seem to react to them. The risk of discovery could lead to someone trying to swat you however.
[ ] Practice your own PSI: Outside of PSI Shield Σ, your capacity to use PSI abilities is very limited. However you still harness your PSI energy in order to fight, so practicing your abilities never hurts.
[ ] Find Small Objects: Being able to get into tight places has benefits when it comes to scrounging around. While the idea of delving into storm drains and floor vents is far from appealing, ensuring C.D has some amount of the local currency would likely assist with their efforts. Plus, who knows, maybe you'll find something interesting. Beyond moth balls and trash that is.
[ ] Think Back on the War: You don't like thinking about when you served in Giygas's Army, under the being that he used to be. However there's a chance you may have forgotten something. Anything you could remember might help CD in her efforts to battle Giygas, or at least help you become more comfortable with your past.
[ ] Lick Tree Sap: What? You enjoy sugar. And you don't see any of the humans crawling up and enjoying the sap that the surrounding trees occasionally secrete. Helping others means helping yourself, sometimes to a treat.
Porky
[ ] Cope With What You've Gotten Yourself Into: ALIENS? GENOCIDE? PSYCHIC POWERS!?!? AHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!
[ ] Loaf Around Some More: CD has more people working for her now, which means you have more opportunities to n o t think about what you just learned about. Stuffing your fact and lounging around might not be 'productive', but it'll ensure you'll be better prepared for whatever fresh hell comes next.
[ ] Get some GOOD Snacks: Nope. Not going to think about it. While you're not particularly caught up in the quality of what you eat, you do enjoy some fancier snacks now and then. Always in bulk of course. During your snooping around you think you might know a guy who can hook you up with some good fricking stuff. And it shouldn't cost you anything in the long run.
[ ] Try to get a...mole?: Now that you're apart of t h i s, you suppose you should have informants and spies and stuff? You have no idea what you're doing, but the time you spend figuring this out is time you're not thinking about the world shattering revelations you've learned.
[ ] Just a LITTLE Scheming...: C.D isn't crazy, at least not in the sense that she's wrong. And since she's not wrong, she's right. And thus needs all the help she can get. However C.D doesn't exactly have the right mindset for this sort of thing. Especially with how miserable they look lately. You probably shouldn't bother them right now. Taking some action on your own to help them would probably make them feel better. Right? (This Personal Action will allow a second Intrigue Action to be taken with all the usual bonuses. However it will be chosen at random from the Intrigue Actions available this turn that weren't chosen prior and it's exact outcome will not be made apparent to the players until later. C.D and the others will not be aware of this action being taken under normal circumstances)
So the quest updating again inspired me to finally write up one of the ideas I had floating around.
The initial idea was 'Why was Porky named that?' and grew from there. Hope I did these characters justice.
Uhh... trigger warning for abusive parents.
How The Minch Boys Were Named
Several years ago, Onnet Hospital.
Aloysius was in a foul mood. Granted, this was not new. Even before the Invaders blew up his homeworld in a spectacular fireworks display, his disposition was rougher than sandpaper. Life in the City did nothing to improve it. However, today was different. Today Aloysius would be a father.
"Come on, hurry up," he muttered as he paced up and down the hall. "I could've been out on the town with the boys or watching the F-Zero semi-finals at home. But noooooo, Lardna's water just had to break."
Social pressure causes people to be impulsive. Talks of 'the next generation' were not unique to the Eagle Quarter, but its American roots certainly amplified such sentiments. Seems not even the notoriously independent Minches were immune.
The father-to-be soon took a seat in the sterile hallway. 'The brat better be worth it. I did not risk my wife just to bring a fat, screaming lump of flesh into the world. I should've made the time to check the laws. We might be eligible for a tax break.'
A sigh left his lips. "At least I won't have to hear her screaming. Woman was putting banshees to shame." He rubbed his aching head, thankful for the reprieve for his eardrums.
Fifteen long, blessedly quiet hours later.
The doors swung open. "Congratulations Mr. Minch, it's a boy! And don't worry, your wife is-" the doctor cut off his words. Blinked. Rubbed his eyes. Blinked again.
On the far wall was a row of chairs alongside a basket of magazines. Aloysius Minch was not seated, not conventionally. Instead, he was stretched across three chairs, an old furniture magazine on his face. Loudly snoring.
"Mr. Minch."
"ZZZZzzzZzz…"
"Mr. Minch!"
"zzZZZZZzzZZZZZz…"
"MR. MINCH!"
"Huh… Wuz dat?" slowly, oh so slowly, Mr. Minch sat up.
"Your doctor." the flat reply came. "As I was saying, congratulations, it's a-"
"Out of the way!" he bolted past, surprisingly quick for a man of his girth, knocking the doctor flat as he did.
The birthing room was tranquil, surprising given its occupants. On the bed, a mother held her son. She wore a hospital gown in place of her gaudy dresses, looking somewhat easy on the eyes; Lardna Minch was one of those rare people who looked better without makeup, though this spoke more of how much she overdid it than any kind of natural beauty.
"Whew. Glad to see you're all right darling."
"Hrmf. Why wouldn't I? After all, I married you."
"Ha! That's what I love to see."
The parents shared a chuckle before Lardna lowered her voice.
"Now, comes the hard part."
"Harder than giving birth?"
"Oh, can it. I'm being serious. What shall we name him?"
Naming a child can be quite a challenge for any parent. Hundreds upon hundreds of options need to be considered. Should we name them after a relative or a fictional character? What about a virtue? Or some famous historical figure? Is this name too simple or fancy? Usually, after much consideration, parents-to-be would narrow it down to two choices, one for a boy and one for a girl. Thus, no matter their gender, the baby would have a suitable name.
The Minches suffered from the opposite: they gave it no thought till the baby was do.
Aloysius gave his son a hard look. He was a hefty one. Got his mother's hair. He also had a stupid face. But the boy's fatness stirred something in his mind. Synonyms for fat raced through his head. One of these was shared with his favorite cartoon character while growing up. What was it again?
"Goldie."
"Bwuh?"
"His name is Goldie."
"No, that's a girl's name. How about Fatty?"
"Nope. Goldie."
"Still dumb. Fat Al?"
"Goldie." Lardna's mind seemed set.
"No! Hefty? Girther? Chunky?"
"No, his name is Goldie."
"NO!" the baby started to cry, "What was it? Oh, Porky! We'll name him Porky!" his face beamed with pride.
"NO, IT'S GOLDIE."
"DAMN IT WOMAN, I DESERVE SOMETHING TODAY."
"I GAVE BIRTH TO IT. IT'S MY CHOICE."
"WHY ARE YOU SO PICKY?"
"BECAUSE- wait, that's actually a good name."
Aloysius was about to continue the screaming match when his mind caught up.
"Well, I'm glad you could see reason-"
"Picky."
"Excuse me what?"
"We'll name him Picky."
Aloysius sighed for his heart was free from care. He decided to save his throat the trouble.
"Okay darling, how about we split the difference? We name this one Porky and our next child will be Picky."
Lardna looked opposed, but after a moment of thought, said "Only if we wait a few years for the second."
"HA! Don't have to tell me twice."
"Then it's a deal. Porky it is."
'Finally.' The Minch parents were untensed and smiled at one another.
Your voice carried through the woods the same way the crack of sticks and fists against skin had moments before.
A young boy lay on his back in front of you.
Sweating, panting, and more than a little bruised up, the boy made no effort to move as he struggled to catch his breath.
All around you, in a circle along the edge of the crude fighting ring outlined by branches, nearly every other member of the Outfielders lay splayed out on the ground.
One by one after their bout with you they had waddled off the ring and crashed into their own personal little craters in the ground.
Soft groans still rang out, with few having the energy to even look on at the fight going on.
"Get on your feet, if you were fighting anyone else they'd be kicking you in the ribs or stomping on your balls by now."
You kicked at the dirt next to the boy, but all he did was roll onto his side with a weak grunt.
"Is this really a good way to learn how to fight?"
Off to the side a girl spoke out.
"Shouldn't we be taking things more slowly?" They half-mumbled, pressing an ice pack to their face as they leaned against a fallen tree.
"You taught us the basics of how to throw punches and swing things, and then made us fight you. And we've kept having to fight you for like, a week straight so far."
A few of the exhausted members of the Outfielders rolled over, gazing on with equally weary and questioning looks.
"I heard that improper training can injure people and this doesn't feel like ideal training circumstances. I thought we'd be doing pushups and weights, not punching each other in the gut."
The girl shook her head.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing? You're not exactly a professional…"
Slowly turning to face the questions, you simply stared back for a few moment.
"So you want ideal training conditions when we're not going to have ideal fighting conditions?"
You looked around, your own question giving the doubtful around you pause.
"Yeah, I'm not a professional. But none of us are professionals, and none of us are going to be professionals for a long ass time. But we don't need to be professionals to win, and we sure as hell don't need to be in order to make a difference."
There was none of the normal tension that you felt when dealing with social situations. None of the exhaustion that punctuated so many of the things you did.
It didn't feel like you were talking out your ass for once.
This was something you knew.
"I didn't bring you all out here to teach you how to march in a straight line or run into machine gun fire because some asshole with a big hat told you to. I brought you out here to teach you not to puss out when things get bad."
An edge crept into your voice as you spoke.
"A fight isn't decided by who dies first, it's decided by who gives up first! Death just comes afterwards in the more serious fights."
Starting to shout, you watched as those still lying on the ground were all but forced to look at you.
"We can focus on getting stronger and honing techniques down the road. But none of that will matter if you all don't learn one thing, and learn it soon."
Narrowing your eyes you made a point to stop and pause, meeting the eyes of each kid watching.
"When a fight breaks out, you all need to be able to act. It's easy to say you will, and think you can, but it's another when it actually happens. That's why I'm doing this!"
You raised your hand and clenched it, knuckles going white.
"When the adrenaline starts pumping, the pain starts coming, and some prick throws a punch to your face, you don't flinch. You go for their face in return! You all need to learn to believe you can win a fight, even when you're not sure how. Learning anything before that besides the bitch basics isn't going to do a damn thing."
The girl who had voiced their concerns said nothing. Instead many of the tired, laid out teens and kids stirred. Looking on with a renewed sense of involvement, or at least understanding.
"Alright. So who's nex-"
SMAASSH!
Your words disappeared as the air was knocked from your lungs by a clumsy punch.
As you doubled over, the boy who had laid out before you was standing fists raised.
Everyone, including the boy who threw the punch, seemed equally shocked by what had happened.
But you? You were smiling, albeit between gasps of air.
After all you weren't teaching them to fight fair, you were teaching them to believe they could win a fight.
And the Outfielders?
They were learning.
"Good *gasp* punch *gasp* kid-" You sucked in air, forcing yourself to stand.
"Now try that again!"
...
Your efforts to train the Outfielders on how to fight went surprisingly well. Bit by bit your own experience with fist fights and street brawls helped blood away the timid nature of many of your members.
While they still lacked real experience and were about as far from a 'professional' fighting force as you could get, they had made remarkable improvement. How they were now, you couldn't imagine they were far from how the Sharks probably were...
The training of the Outfielders has improved significantly!
[Training Level: No Training → Hooligans → Ruffians --> Inexperienced DelinquentsThey think they know how to throw a punch, but more importantly they're eager and willing to do so.]
Recruiting (Onnet)
DC: 20/60/90
1d100=31+7 = 38
Tier 1 Success! Recruiting was slow and as indirect as it could get.
It's not like people were coming to you and it certainly wasn't like you could go up to other kids and go "Hey, want to fight aliens and do CRIME?"
Instead it happened in a slow trickle over the course of a month.
Mostly from connections that the Outfielder members already had. A friend here, a study buddy there, even a sibling or two who seemed willing to hear out someone already in the group.
All in all, you couldn't have recruited more then ten people to the group. Which didn't feel like a lot, but given how small the group was starting out it was a good effort.
Available Manpower partially increased!
However, it would be much harder to draw in anymore recruits without some kind of incentive or access to some place besides Onnet.
Most kids in town were split between the ones simply trying to keep their heads down, the troublemakers who almost all naturally migrated to the Sharks, and the outcasts.
And the pool of outcasts you could bring into your fold was steadily shrinking as they joined your ranks.
That wasn't the only hurtle.
There was a decided lack of capable people in Onnet. At least ones who were willing to even entertain the idea of joining up with you.
Kyoko had made it clear she was willing to join your ranks a while back. However you'd feel guilty, and concerned, if you couldn't find at least one other option.
For a while it looked like you had no real candidates. However, you hadn't considered looking at people you already knew. And remembered someone you had, technically, met very close to when everything started.
Now it was only a matter of choosing who you wanted... RECRUITMENT OPTIONS
Name:Kyōko Stats
PSI: X
Martial: 15
Diplomacy: 7
Stewardship: 8
Intrigue: 9
Learning: 9
Opinion: +15
Traits:
River City Girl: You can take the girl out of River City, but not the River City out of the girl. During Combat Encounters Kyoko will always have access to one of following actions for 0 Action Points per turn unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Find Weapon [0 AP]: A stick, a bat, a chain, a rock, a brick. It'll fall apart after the fight, maybe even during the fight, but you can always find something. And disposable weapons have their place...
Throw Something [0 AP]: A rock, a trash can, a bicycle, maybe even an enemy!
Pat Down Bodies [0 AP]: Money has a habit of disappearing as soon as it hits the ground in River City, so making a habit of looting is natural. In combat using this action on a defeated has a chance to give a temporary item, a small amount of Funds, or information.
Bird of a Feather: Kyoko has really hit it off with you. People tend to focus on two delinquents rather then what the delinquents are doing. Kyoko's resting Opinion with CD will always be +10 unless betrayed. When assigned to an action with CD that would otherwise generate Suspicion due to PSI usage, etc, roll a 1d100. If the result is 1 to 5, no suspicion is generated. Otherwise the amount of Suspicion generated is merely lowered.
Homesick:The current state of River City is upsetting to Ryoko, even if they don't show it or make it clear. As the situation deteriorates, so too will Ryoko's mood and ability to focus...
Description
A peppy yet rough and tumble girl from River City. They moved to Onnet recently due to the troubles going on in their old home town. Having helped you in a scrape, they seem friendly and reliable. They seem to have moved to Onnet just prior to the lockdown and only really became known after finishing up with the hassles of moving so abruptly. Seems the River City residents knew things were getting bad long before the news got out...
Name: Bauler "Mr. B" Doubleday, The Mr. Baseball Cap Kid Stats
PSI: X
Martial: 4
Diplomacy: 4
Stewardship: 4
Intrigue: 4
Learning: 4
Opinion: +0
Traits:
Timid: Mr. B's timid, awkward nature means he lacks assertiveness and confidence in the face of force or coercion. He suffers disadvantage any rolls made in combat to resist hostile actions that inflict status effects.
Adventurous Spirit: Mr. B wants adventure and may even attract it without knowing. The fact he met you should be proof of that. Whenever Mr. B is assigned to an action that would take him somewhere unexpected, unusual, or far off he will received an additional random Personal action. These can be positive, or dangerous, but will always be opportunities of some kind.
Potential:Anytime Mr. B would receive a stat increase, that stat is increased by an additional +1. After hitting a certain threshold for capability, this trait will be replaced with one of the players own choosing.
Personal Gear:
Mr. Baseball Cap: Mr. Baseball is a brand of sports gear in the Eagle Quarter. However this particular cap was given to Bauler by a famous player at a ballpark. As such he considers it his lucky charm. The first time in combat the wearer of this cap would suffer as critical hit by an enemy, that attack is turned into a normal attack. However afterwards the kept must be mended.
Description: Mr. B is a member of the treehouse boys, the 'founders' of the treehouse. One you bribed/threatened into showing you the place. They are something of a pushover, timid, and occasionally prone to saying inane things. However they seem to harbor a desire to do greater things. Their current abilities are rather lackluster, but they seem to have the capacity for great improvement.
-Choose One To Recruit-
[] Kyoko:"Hmm? What are you up to CD? Do you need my help? There's always been plenty of gangs where I'm from, so I shouldn't be surprised you'd start your own. I suppppose I could come along for the ride, if you're running things then I'm sure it'll be fun!"
[] Mr. Baseball Cap Kid:"You've wanted this Mr. Baseball Cap for a while, right? Why don't you take it? It's perfect for someone brave like you. Huh you don't want it? You want me? Well I've always wanted to go on an adventure. I'd like to come with you, but…I don't know if I'm strong enough..."
Buy Baseball Bats in Bulk
DC: Autopass
At the Onnet Baseball factory, a man sat at desk and wrung his hands.
His tie felt like a noose and the normally well fitting suit he wore to work made him feel like he was swimming in his own sweat.
The ceiling fan spun dully overhead, masking the sheer silence of the office room.
Normally he would have loved getting paid to do nothing, but every day of inactivity made him wonder how much longer he'd be getting paid at all.
The ring of the phone nearly caused him to choke.
"Boss, listen if it's about my employment-!"
"..."
"Oh! I'm sorry ma'am I thought you were someone else. Yes, this is the factory-"
His hand was so sweaty he nearly dropped the receiver.
"..."
The man winced, knowing the sale would slip through his hands like sand due to the lockdown.
"Yes, we have those for sale. However we're not able to deliver outside of Onnet at this time..."
"...!"
He blinked.
"Oh, the deliver is for here in Onnet? Well uh, how many would you like to purchase? Normally this is done through store fronts but-"
"......."
The man laughed to himself, wiping the sweat off his brow.
"...I'm sorry, I must have misheard you."
". . . . . . ."
He nearly dropped the phone.
"Oh...oh! Yes! That's...right away! Naturally for buying in bulk it will cost less, and we're having a sort of...sale right now due to the circumstances. I'll just need your contact information and we can get payment and delivery out of the way."
"..."
"We already have it on file? Let me see." Setting down the wired receiver he pushed his swivel chair backwards, rolling across the floor to the filing cabinets.
Rooting through the files he eventually came to what he was looking for. The information inside seemed a little vague in places but it matched what he was told.
Swooping back over to his desk and he snatching up the phone.
"I'm reading it over now and- Oh. You're a shareholder in our factory! Well thank you again for your continued patronage! Yes, we can deliver to the specified location. We should have these to you in a few days at most."
"...?"
"Yes, yes of course! Please don't hesitate to call again. We're anticipating doing business with you, we'll keep this in mind for the future."
The line went dead and the man felt his body turn into jelly.
Head plopping against his desk, all the tension left his muscles as relief washed over him.
"Maybe I'll get to keep my job at this rate!"
[-3 Funds, Resource Gained: Baseball Bat Stockpile]
Listen for Rumors (Porky)
DC: 30/40/50/90
1d100= 65+3+24+2+ 10 = 104
SMAAAASH! SUCCESS!
It was supposed to be simple.
Porky was good at picking up on gossip and hearsay, and with people to actually help him he knew it would be a breeze. He was already primed to sit back and pig out on a pizza while total strangers did all the work for him.
Telling the 'Outlanders', or whatever they were supposed to be called, to go search the town, Porky made his way to the line of Mach Pizza.
The white and red interior soothed his nerves as he envisioned biting into a thick slice of meat lovers-
"I'm here to pick up the order of uh...50 cheese pizzas? Are they done yet?"
Porky's blissful visions ground to a halt.
He leaned to the side to see past the man in front of him, staring at the front of the line where several teens in mohawks stood.
The cashier eyed the teens before gesturing to the freakishly tall stacks of pizza in the back, a visible tension and suspicion in their gaze.
Porky shared his surprised look when the teens pulled out the money needed to pay, albeit in quarter rolls.
Watching each boy take a hefty stack of pizzas, Porky eyed each of them as they walked out the door.
Without thinking he followed.
Not out of any duty, or because of the expectation of what he was supposed to do.
Instead it was simply what the pizzas implied to him.
Porky knew food, or at least he liked to think he did. Everyone liked pizza, and anyone who didn't needed to pretend they did if they didn't want to become a social pariah. The kind of pizzas that were ordered all had a purpose and a meaning to them.
Which was why the teens order was so confusing.
Typically when older kids were having a party, they ordered pepperoni. It was a staple and if anyone didn't like it they could always pick it off or go hungry. Plain cheese pizzas were usually what little kids got for parties because they didn't have the pallet for the lovely red disks yet.
...But there was another reason to order a lot of cheese pizzas.
It was the cheapest.
If you wanted a lot of food and were willing to put the order in ahead of time, a stack of pizzas could last you a while. Leftover pizza was a delicacy and the grease might as well have been a preservative. And if you had the means of refrigerating them, reheating them made them almost as good a new.
Porky knew just from the way the boys carried the pizzas that they weren't having any sort of party.
He slinked behind them, keeping close enough that he could hear them complain about what they carried.
When they came to a crosswalk, Porky heard one of them growl.
"Man, is this going to be enough?"
"Totally! It won't be long before things hit the skids and we go to the mats bro!"
The teen in front of them groaned.
"Mattresses. The term is go to the mattresses."
Porky could practically hear the shrug from the teens.
"Whatever, man. All I know is that things will be over just as quickly as they start! Even if it doesn't start soon, that just means we get to prepare even more!"
"Yeah, once those coppers make a move we'll make them regret it. And after that we'll be on top in no time with what Frankie has ready."
Sticking his head out from around the corner Porky watched the teens finally cross the road, seeing them head in the direction of the arcade. Even across the street, unable to see over the high fence walling in the vacant lot behind the arcade, Porky could feel a palpable activity in the air. Like watching a disturbed beehive behind to hum in anger.
"Nope."
Porky shook his head and headed in a completely different direction.
He would tell CD what he saw and heard, but he wasn't going to stick his neck into danger.
Instead Porky took a long walk around the edge of town, avoiding the arcade entirely before reaching the Skip Breakfast Bakery. He could already smell the fresh bread as he walked inside, licking his lips at the thought of all the sandwiches he could get. A dozen or so would tide him over. As soon as he tasted the crisp bread and satisfying filling, he'd forget all about the implications of what he just-
"Are you sure things are going to work out? What about the public backlash?"
Inside Porky found himself standing in line behind two cops. Their stiff blue uniforms and heavy black belts giving off an aura of threatening authority. Despite this they didn't seem to notice Porky, no one ever really did, and talked as if he wasn't there at all.
"You worry too much. Besides they'll thank us once we get to work. Everyone knows that once those brats grow up they'll be shilling power pellets and shooting up convivence stores."
The slimmer of the two officers growled.
"Broken windows theory is right I guess. And with the money the department will get sending them away it'll be easy to turn this town into something proper."
The acidic smell of coffee being poured behind the counter punctuated the shake of the other officer's head.
"But that doesn't mean it will go over without a fuss. The public isn't exactly rational, we'll need a justification."
Porky watched as the men collected large boxes of donuts, heading for the door without so much as realizing he was behind them.
"Don't worry, those idiots will give us a justification. We just have to wait. Until then its like Captain Strong says, boil the frog..."
When the officers left the bakery suddenly felt cold and unnaturally empty. All Porky could do was stand, the words he heard pressing down on him like a vice.
"Hey, kid."
Eventually Porky looked up to see the cashier leaning over the counter, glaring at him.
"You going to buy something or what?"
Porky stared at the floor, before looking back at the cashier.
"Uh, do you have a bathroom I can use?"
The man rolled his eyes.
...
Porky was done.
It was getting late, he was hungry and worse he had somehow lost his appetite.
Walking down the street he made a beeline for the convivence store. Refusing to go home without SOMETHING. Even if it was just a candy bar or a frozen dinner.
Stumbling his way inside he slid by the checkout, looking for the spots beneath where the candy was kept...
Only to find nothing.
"Sorry kid, all out." The cashier said, eyes barely open.
"What!? Who bought all the candy?" Porky fumed, mouth agape.
"Dunno man. Lots of people seem to have a sweet tooth these days. Even gone so far as just buying straight up sugar cubes."
The cashier laughed and Porky grit his stained teeth. Shuffling towards the freezer section he grabbed a stack of TV dinners and didn't bother suppressing a groan as he found himself standing behind someone in line again.
Thankfully they didn't talk. As soon as they were asked to pay they simply craned their head, fumbled in their pockets before plopping down bills and shambling out the door.
Porky exited the convenience store holding a plastic bag of meals, stepping out into the cool night air awash in the hazy fluorescents from the store.
Just as he turned to leave however he stared down the shadowy and caught sight of something.
There, near the end of the street, barely visible under the dying street lamps, was a sight that made him drop his bag.
Porky considered himself a connoisseur of junkfood. Even the lowest quality trash held some appeal to him.
No matter how foul, or nonsensical, or abhorrent it might have seemed to others, Porky was probably willing to try it at least once.
But even he didn't just get raw sugar out of the bag.
At the end of the street however a man did just that. Pouring sugar down his own throat as if drinking milk out of a carton.
For a minute Porky watched as the man emptied the bag into his mouth and tossed it away, like he did with potato chips.
He began to shamble down the street and Porky followed.
His heart raced, his fat hands were so slick with sweat he could have slid on them like greased skates, and every part of his better judgement screamed at him to just leave.
But Porky couldn't.
There was simply something so raw, so intensely wrong with what he had seen that Porky could not bring himself to cower away. Because no matter how much he was scared, Porky knew he'd be even more frightened if he had to go home without knowing exactly what he had seen.
Moving down a few streets felt like an eternity. Porky slowly found himself closing the distance, ducking behind bushes and trash cans as the man repeatedly looked over their shoulder.
When Porky found himself just a few dozen feet away, he felt his whole body lock up.
The man was standing in an alley, poking around the edge like Porky had so many times before.
He fumbled with something as he stared down the street, intently watching something.
Porky strained to follow his gaze, but all he could see was a police officer standing at the corner. Barely illuminated by the orange street light from above as the man watched the silent arcade across the street.
The boy struggled to figure out what the man wanted until he saw it.
The shine.
Ripping the packaging off a cheap kitchen knife, the man brandished it before hiding it behind his back.
Dominos fell in Porky's head as it all made sense to him.
The man's back was to Porky as he shambled out of the alley, totally oblivious of his existence as he attempted to make a beeline for the cop.
Seeing the knife hidden behind the man's back Porky looked around.
He didn't know what to do. Run, scream, cower, hide, his body simply refused to listen to him.
Time seemed to slow.
Every step the shambling man took felt it took an eternity.
The street seemed to grow darker, the cop seemed to shrink totally unaware of what was coming, and the windows watched like glistening eyes-
"Window!"
Like a wrench jammed into gears spun out of control, every other thought stopped for Porky.
Without hesitating or thinking another thought, he did what had come naturally to him since he was five.
CRASH!
"WHO THE FUCK IS THERE!?"
The rock Porky through shattered the window of a nearby house.
In an instant, like some karmic alarm come to life, the house lit up and a furious voice screamed out.
At the end of the street the cop turned on his heel at the noise and the shambling man stopped.
Porky, hidden in shadows turned and booked it.
But not before the shambling man turned and started to run away.
And when he did Porky caught sight of one last thing.
Porky fought every impulse in his body to scream as he ran to CD's house.
He knew he needed to tell someone, anyone, what he had seen.
- The Outfielders have learned that the Sharks are gearing up for hostilities with the police and seem to have ambitions to greatly expand their control over the town.
- The Outfielders have learned that the Police intend on taking drastic actions and are looking for any provocation from the undesirable elements in town to use as justification for extreme measures. - The Aliens attempted to kill a police officer near shark territory in the dead of night.ENEMY ACTION INTERUPTED DUE TO SMASH SUCCESS!
Check Local Disturbances (Buzz Buzz)
DC: 40/80
1d100 = 82 + 8+ 10 + 2 = 102
SMAAAASH! SUCCESS!
After what Porky had relayed, Buzz Buzz took it upon himself to sweep the town.
It would have been easier if he had some way of working with CDs new friends, but things worked out in his favor.
Going between houses that CD had mentioned to him and checking the edges of the woods, Buzz Buzz learned of the full gravity of the situation.
A number of crazed animals loitered in the woods around town. Birds, dogs, snakes.
They stalked, and growled, but they very deliberately stayed out of the way.
Waiting, watching, and slowly becoming more and more numerous.
Meanwhile in the town itself Buzz Buzz saw evidence of all manner of possessed objects. Or at least the aftermaths of them.
Children crying in their bedrooms, injuries on their faces and their toys smashed to pieces on the floor.
Mothers lying on kitchen floors, fathers laid out in garages, the smoldering remains of power tools and appliances that had a convenient 'accident' at the worst possible time.
A foul emination seemed to blanket the town. Buzz Buzz knew that so many more things could have been animated by Giygas, but there was restraint behind what he saw.
All the 'attacks' could be written off as accidents and the ones that couldn't always happened to the ones no one would believe.
It didn't target anyone 'important', merely the residents of the town. Children, fathers, mothers.
To anyone else it would have seemed like pointless terror.
But Buzz Buzz knew from the first war that there was no such thing as pointless terror.
The town of Onnet was slowly being consumed by negative emotions. The lockdown, the stress of mundane demands, the inhibited freedom, the rising tensions, all of which were being made steadily worse by the animated objects terrorizing people.
Every day the humans in town grew more upset, more consumed by negative feelings, all the while the number of crazed animals grew.
Were it simply that, Buzz Buzz would have been alarmed, but what Porky had revealed made his own relevations far more horrifying.
The reason he hadn't been able to find any trace of the Antoids in town was because they were hiding where Buzz Buzz could never search.
Inside the residents.
There was no way to directly confirm, but Buzz Buzz watched out for the things Porky had relayed to CD.
The odd movements, the odd behaviors, the stranger eating habits.
Dotted throughout the town were people who seemed to shamble through their day. They did what they were supposed to do, they tended to their obligations and wandered through their schedule. With everything going on no one questioned their glassy eyes or lethargic movements. Their monotone voices and shambling gates were lost in the growing malaise that threatened to poison the town.
All the while eating nothing but sweets. Pounding down sugar as if they were feeding something besides their own stomachs.
That alone confirmed Buzz Buzz's worst suspicions.
The Antoids were controlling some of the town's residents, puppeteering them from the inside.
He hoped it was simply through PSI, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of more invasive physical means. At the very least he knew the 'filled' residents weren't dead. At least not yet.
Flying above the town, Buzz Buzz saw a horrid plan unfolding in front of him.
The Sharks and Police were becoming more aggressive. The town's residents were becoming more upset and more hopeless with each passing day. All the while the enemy's position grew stronger. Growing the number of their animal thralls while their 'agents' wandered the town, acting as their hidden eyes and hands.
It was a miracle they had figured things out when they had. The town was reaching a boiling point and it was clear Giygas's forces wanted to tip it over the edge.
Why fight when you can let the humans weaken one another?
Their plans to further sow chaos had been interrupted, but they wouldn't be stopped for long. Now that Buzz Buzz knew what they were trying, the Outfielders would have a chance to interfere.
Buzz Buzz could only hope CD and her friends prevent things from getting any worse.
-Personal Actions-
[CD]Try to Foster Loyalty
1d100 = 20
You made efforts to try and approach the members of the Outfielders on friendlier terms.
They seemed scared of you, or hated you.
It made sense to try and meet them on equal ground. To show them that you were still a person.
...But your efforts didn't have the effect you hoped.
No matter what you said, or offered there was this barrier between you and the ones you spoke to. Even the ones who smiled seemed only tentative in their belief in you.
You continued to try, and try, and try, but it was like grasping at air.
Everyone wanted to deal with the aliens for their friends, for their families, for the sake of getting back to their own lives.
But they weren't doing it for you.
They simply didn't have a reason to.
Eventually you realized that, to some degree, they had a point.
If you wanted their loyalty, you would have to earn it. You'd need to prove that you were someone worthy of being followed, worthy of trust.
...But as you sat and thought you struggled to conceive what you could even begin to do to achieve that.
They weren't eager to walk out on you, at least that was a small comfort.
[CD] Hang Out with a Hero: Porky
1d100 = 78
"Are you okay?"
"NO! Why would I be okay with this? Why would I be okay with ANYTHING RIGHT NOW!?!"
You sat and watched as Porky rolled around on the floor of the treehouse. Shouting and pounding his feet against the floor in a raw, unbridled display of panic.
"When you asked me for help, I admit I was happy someone wanted anything to do with me. But I thought you'd be getting into pranks, or crime, or working for the mayor, or a revenge scheme, but not ALIENS!"
His nasally voice cracked as he continued to flail around, clearly letting out all the pent up fear and shock that had built up in his body since your speech.
"I'm-"
"Don't say it!" Porky floundered up from the floor, his rotund body bouncing.
"I don't want an apology, I don't even want sympathy! I just want to know what I'm expected to do!"
Porky looked at you, breathing heavily. Looking like he was ready to fall back over on the floor.
"Just keep doing what you've been doing. I'm not asking you to fight." You tried to explain, but Porky groaned.
"It doesn't matter if I fight or not, I'm still in danger. I'm in CONSTANT danger! Even if I ran away I'd still end up getting killed by the aliens!"
The fat boy grabbed his head, sounding stuck between angry shouting and blind panic.
"I'm not cut out for this! I'm not some crummy hero! When that weird noise happened on the hill I ignored it and went back to sleep! I have trouble bending over fully, how am I expected to fight magic space aliens that are mind controlling people to stab cops!?"
You stared at the boy, listening to his questions. Beneath the intense emotion and the layer of petulance, they weren't unreasonable questions.
And yet you struggled to think of a real awnser to them.
"I won't let anything happen to you."
"No, no!" Porky pointed at you. "You don't want anything to happen to me. That's different from being able to stop something from happening."
The fat boy fumed, marching around. Filled with a manic energy that he tried to get rid of. His mind racing as quickly as his heart.
"I can try to stop them, we can all try. I don't have a concrete plan yet, but that doesn't mean we can't get them. Giygas was beaten once before, by kids younger then us."
Porky paused at your words. He stared at you from behind his blonde bangs, searching your face for any hint of a lie.
But he quickly gave up, realizing you were saying the truth.
"That's...a little better, I guess. But...does it really have to be us? Can't we just write a letter to the Big 3 and move out? They're in charge of the planet for cripe's sake! They won't just break it cuz of some aliens, right? I'm sure there's some place in the Outlands, or space, or anywhere not here that would be safer."
You shook your head.
"Porky, people like your dad run the world. If he had to deal with something carefully and thoughtfully when he didn't have to, do you think he'd do it?"
All the color drained from Porky's face.
"...Okay. So letting anyone know will get us all killed. That's great. That's just fantastic...Is there any option that doesn't get me murdered?"
"Keep helping me."
"Alright, is there any option that doesn't get me murdered and where I'm not actively mooning the scary space demons?"
"No."
"Graghhh!"
Porky doubled over on the floor, pounding his fat fists against the ground. However the intensity wasn't the same as before. The energy was bleeding out of him. Anger and fear fading to a recognition of the situation.
Rolling onto his back, Porky stared at the ceiling.
"CD?"
"Yeah?"
"You will be able to think of a plan on how to win, right?"
"Maybe. With your help, and everyone else's."
The fat boy grimaced.
While your words had been few, your presence, your open ears, they seemed to be enough to let Porky calm himself.
He wasn't anymore enthused, but he seemed less wildly panicked.
Slowly, get got off the ground.
"I'm going home."
"Will I see you tommorrow?"
"Yeah, but you owe me. For all of this, maybe even forever!"
"...I'm fine with that."
Porky seemed caught off guard by your words, seeming to deflate a little.
"Why...why me? No one ever asks me for anything."
You took a moment, before looking at Porky.
"I don't really know how to be subtle and I always thought you were really clever when I was little, Porky. If anyone can trick aliens it would be you."
Managing a small, weak smile Porky took one look at you and sighed.
There was a defeated air to him as he left, but not in the usual sense of the word.
It was like the worst part of Porky had just lost to himself.
+Porky's Opinion of CD has been raised!
Spend time with Kart and Floppy.
1d100 = 80
You go home.
Even as numb as you feel you go home and they're waiting for you.
Sitting down at the table you listen to how their day went. You make dinner for them, wash up with them, and end up being the only one who doesn't go to bed at the right time.
It's hard to find the words to say anything meaningful.
Some part of you wants to tell them what happened.
What happened with her.
You fear that the question is on their mind. On the tips of their tongue hidden behind smiles and laughter.
But...slowly that feeling fades.
No. They aren't thinking of that. Not yet at least.
The way Kart and Floppy hug you, eyes bright with thankfulness at having you present, pulls at something inside of you.
A momentary warmth, however chimeric it soon becomes, lets you smile back in a way that doesn't feel like a complete lie.
The things they tell you, the words they say don't stick. It goes by in a blur, but you continue to be there for them. And though you don't feel any better, you know they do.
And that's all that matters.
CD's Relationship with her Siblings has been maintained
CD's Relationship with her Siblings have been improved!
Pick a Coping Mechanism: Just Sleep in
1d100 = 45
It's all too much.
Everything feels so heavy. So overwhelming.
Even your siblings laughter feels like nails on a chalkboard.
The looming weight of what's coming, the eyes of everyone you now lead on you, the absence of someone who should be holding you in their arms and telling you it's alright.
How can you feel nothing, yet still feel so bad?
All you want is an escape.
From the feelings, from the absence of anything good.
Countless ideas come to you.
Banishing the emptiness with a needle or a pill.
Exorcising your stress with the spin of a wheel or the flourish of playing cards.
So many temptations...
But all equally fleeting.
All unappealing and worth far more effort then you can summon.
So you do what comes easiest to you.
You sleep.
You turn off your alarm, you abandon the day and you climb into bed.
Shades drawn you clutch at your eggplant plushie, soft and brittle in your hands, as you sink into your messy yet warm covers.
Exhaustion and stress pulling you into a deep sleep.
---
But not a dreamless sleep.
A world blooms before you.
A planet of pastels.
Of soft skies and softer people.
Where the chains of responsibility shatter and crumble.
Where the only thing clinging to your back are the softest pajamas you've ever worn.
Someone is waiting for you. You race up to the table, so much shorter then you remember being as you climb into a chair.
Sweet words and sweeter treats are given to you.
A warm hand tussles your hair.
You smile and laugh.
It's not empty.
Just as soon as you climbed up, you jump down. Racing away, the figure waving you off and watching with a smile.
Your toy flops around in your hand as you run through purple grass and race by green water.
Wonder fills your eyes. Your perception isn't clouded, no jade poisons your thoughts.
Everywhere you go you're greeted by fond feelings. You can't stop smiling, can't stop laughing.
Because you know this is somewhere where nothing can hurt you.
This is a place where you can be happy.
This is a place where you can be you.
As you crest the hill you see something in the distance.
A circle of white Greek pillars.
For the first time you pause. You're confused. You-
You wake up.
It's nearly 2 PM.
The day is all but over.
But you don't care.
Because when you wake up, you feel...alive again.
You go about your day, feeling all the things you're supposed to. All the things you want to, good and bad.
And when the numbness comes creeping back...
You simply sleep again.
And again.
And again.
Hours slip through your fingers...but you don't care.
Because every moment you spend asleep is a moment where you're finally happy.
...
CD's Depression has been alleviated for 3 Turns!
Additional Personal Actions have been unlocked. DREAMER Trait Gained!
Buzz Buzz: Find Small Objects
1d100 = 36
With everything going on, Buzz Buzz found it very difficult to comb over the town like he had wanted to. Looking for bills and lost trinkets was so much harder with the thought of the town dissolving around him. Despite that, he did what he could. Flying, poking, and prodding.
However is heart wasn't fully into it.
He had found some things, but the worth of them seemed paltry in the grand scheme of things.
However Buzz Buzz refused to give up without giving CD something of value.
When he found it in the storm drain, Buzz Buzz knew he had to get it back to CD's house.
It was an awkward and clumbsy journey, but it was one he felt proud of.
However small a return it might have been for his efforts, it was something.
+Item Gained! Xterminator Spray:A potent insecticide no longer produced due to it's toxicity. Could be useful when dealing with pests. [One time +10 Martial bonus against Insect-like enemies. Usable in combat or with applicable checks
Porky: Cope With What You've Gotten Yourself Into
1d100 = 43
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!"
Porky wasn't sure what he had been expecting.
…No, actually that was a lie.
He had VERY concrete expectations for what he was expecting.
When CD asked him to help out he had expected shoplifting, gang activity, pranks, maybe some revenge plots, perhaps even trying to work with
ALIENS was not what he was expecting.
The idea of aliens showing up in the podunk city of Onnet would have been funny on the worse days.
He had slept through the commotion on the hilltop for a reason.
Porky knew he could probably talk his way out of being involved. Even if CD wouldn't let him weasel out of things completely, he could always play the little brother card. She had a soft spot for younger siblings, and if he talked enough about Picky she'd probably cave. Let him take a smaller, backseat roll to things that he could eventually shrink to barely being involved at all.
…But if he didn't do anything, things would probably get worse.
If it was just a matter of money, or the town, Porky could bail and sleep soundly.
But how the hell was he supposed to enjoy himself when the threat of e v e r y o n e dying loomed overhead?
And worst of all, it was a SECRET war.
The fact he hadn't heard or even suspected anything made it clear the aliens knew what they were doing on that front.
But CD? CD was about as secretive as a neon sign with a bad attitude.
If he walked away, he really doubted things would just get better on their own.
He would probably die...Picky would probably die.
His parents would probably die too, but Porky figured there had to be one silver lining even in the end of the world.
But knowing he had to do something didn't make it any easier to stick with it. Porky struggled to think of anything besides how he did not want to be involved.
He realized that if he wanted to get things done, he needed to give himself a reason to keep going.
Besides dying and the world possibly ending.
So Porky thought, and he thought, and he thought.
And eventually he found something. Grabbing onto the first thought he believed would keep his feet planted in the face of overwhelming odds.
Cool stuff.
If he stuck with the Outfielders, if he kept helping CD, he'd get repaid somehow. All his efforts would pay off and he'd get the chance to get cool things.
Nice food, nice clothes, and all the cool things he had wanted but always secretly knew he'd never be able to have.
Now that the aliens were invading though? Nothing was off the table.
Thinking about everything he could potentially get helped Porky avoid thinking of how he, and his little brother, would probably end up dead.
Porky has gained a personal ambition!
Personal Ambition: "Cool Stuff" - Porky has many material desires and fanciful ideas. Being able to gain these things or fulfil these desires will motivate him further and ensure his loyalty.
Finding the Nue was easy, and so was chasing it back to its den. There's only so stealthy a lion-headed ogre could be, especially when it was dragging a fresh kill behind it.
Killing the beast was another matter.
"Look out!" Rei grabbed Teepo by the back of his shirt and dragged him back, the Nue's claw shaving a few purple hairs from his head.
The bolt of fire Teepo threw went wide and impacted the wall of the cave. The snarling beast advanced, as Ryu closed his eyes and wildly slashed with his sword.
Every swing missed, and the Nue dismissed the blue-haired child with a backhanded swing that sent him crashing to the ground. Before the dazed boy could rise the Nue raised it's clawed foot, ready to stomp.
"Ryu!" Rei shot a terrified glance at Rudy, who solemnly made his choice
Rudy grabbed the weapon at his waist, the wrappings falling away as he raised it to shoulder height. A long wooden handle and metal barrel, though large enough to be called a rifle the boy held it in a single hand.
His ARM. The Handcannon.
It sounded less like a gunshot, and more like a point-blank lighting strike. The muzzle flash briefly lit the cave, blinding all but Rudy.
The Nue reared back, howling in agony and grabbing the cave wall with its clawed hands to remain standing. Rudy advanced, a look of cool concentration on his face as he fired again.
This was a battle no longer, merely an execution.
The three orphans watched on, half awed and half horrified as the formerly kind young man rained death on the beast, bullet after bullet sending the lion hybrid into spasms of agony where their blades had done almost nothing.
By the time Rudy stopped everyone's ears were ringing in the sudden burst of silence.
The Nue was holding onto the cave wall, still on its feet but unmoving. After examining it for a moment Rudy lowered his ARM.
"Dead."
"Wow…" Rudy averted his gaze, waiting for Teepo's judgment. "That was awesome!"
The gunman blinked in surprise as the kid ran over, bombarding him with questions. "Is it heavy? What kind of weapon is that? How far can it shoot? Can I hold it?"
Rudy silently lifted the ARM out of Teepo's reach.
"The Nue died on its feet like it was protecting something." Rei gave the still-standing corpse a suspicious look as if expecting it to spring to life.
"Like treasure!" Teepo didn't share his adopted brother's concern and quickly slipped past the dead Nue.
"Teepo!" The three others rushed after him, ducking around the Nue's body and entering its den. All 4 froze when they saw the Nue cubs.
The dead Nue cubs.
Each one was small and sunken as if it were malnourished, scattered around the den, and completely still. Bits of food were around too, scraps of meat in various states of decay. There wasn't a single injury on any of the cubs, but they were all unmistakably dead.
"Must not have been very smart. If it couldn't tell its children were dead." There was a tremor behind Teepo's usual bravado.
"Let's… go home." Rei put his hands on his little brother's shoulders and steered them away. But despite his brave face, he barely made it outside before he burst out. "I can't believe Bunyan would have us kill a grieving mother! Even if it is just a beast!"
"... Would you have stopped fighting if you knew?" Rudy asked softly.
Rei paused, thinking of how hard his heart pounded every time it turned to his brothers. How adrenaline and panic raced through him with every attack it sent their way.
"... No. I wouldn't even have hesitated." The next time Fou-Lou awakened, the pain had receded to a more bearable level. He was swathed in a fresh set of bandages and was once more lying in a bed. He made to get up-
"Don't." The owner of the cabin gently, but firmly put a hand on his shoulder. He silently offered a glass of water, and the former emperor nodded slowly.
As he drank, Fou-Lou tried to gather his thoughts. The empire had clearly failed to capture or kill him. He remembered falling into a river… Ah, that would explain it.
One blessing that he had kept although he had lost much of his divine power. He was a Water Dragon. It cursed him with a weakness to fire, but water could not hurt him. When he fell into the river, it must have spirited him away.
By the time the man pulled the water glass back, Fou-Lou had emptied it. "May we ask, who are you and where are we?"
"M' name's Bunyan. You're in McNiel Village, in the kingdom of Windia." Fou-Lou didn't know where that was. "Now, let me ask. What's your name?"
"Fou-Lou-" As soon as the name slipped out the former emperor wanted to curse himself for giving his name out so easily
"Ah, named after the first Emperor of the Fou-Lou Empire?"
Fou-Lou eyed Bunyan warily but was unable to discern any tricks or falsehood. "... Yes."
"No need to be embarrassed. Being named after an important figure… well, it is a bit strange but it happens. The first Emperor though… That's a hell of a name to live up to."
"... Hmmm." What was he supposed to say to that?
After an awkward pause, the former Emperor asked "How far away is the Empire?"
"Oh… I'd say a little over a hundred miles or so. Only made the trip once myself."
That was less than ideal. Of course, Fou-Lou could walk indefinitely, but to travel that far with hunters dogging his steps would be difficult, especially in this condition.
"Before you start thinking of traveling, you need to heal. You're still burned to hell and back." Bunyan shot him a stern glare.
The former emperor huffed in annoyance but didn't protest. "Thou mentioned taking the trip once. Dist thou leave the Empire?"
"Mmm… Not a happy story." The man seemed to dither for a moment, before sighing.
"I lived in the empire for a time, was a soldier for them. But over time it just seemed… pointless. All the fighting, all the killing, and for what? A different flag? To make more people answer to a man I've never met?"
He held out his hands, rough and scarred. "I thought maybe if I mended my ways… I could wash the blood off."
Fou-Lou didn't know what to say. He thought of mortals as foolish and fickle creatures. To have pained one of them so greatly…
His successor must be a madman.
(The irony of his own blood-stained past didn't occur to the former emperor. As a god, he was above such things.) Rudy set out at night. His ARM was bound tightly and his pack slung over his shoulder. He said his goodbyes to Bunyan, claiming it was time for him to head out.
He didn't visit Rei and the others. He didn't want to risk the curse of his ARM striking them too.
He didn't even reach the woods before he got caught.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rudy didn't draw a weapon, merely tensing at the young Uplift's voice. "Why are you leaving?"
"... I'm a drifter." The boy explained simply.
"That's a load of crap and you know it! You were talking about sticking with Bunyan for another few seasons not too long ago! Why are you leaving? Is it because of the weapon?"
"Yes."
"Why?!" Rei moved into his path, arms spread wide as if to stop him. "It's dangerous and all but you own it right? I trust you with it."
"It's cursed." Rudy tried to explain.
"What do you mean it's cursed?"
"Bad luck, spreading decay, death and destruction… that's all an ARM is good for." Rudy gripped the wrapped weapon, thinking back to the many times he'd been kicked out of towns. Not that he could blame them for it.
"... it's a weapon, Rudy. No better than the sword on your belt. But you saved our lives earlier today. Are you really going to say it's good for nothing?"
"Look… I'm not particularly safe myself. The truth is before you all came to follow me, I was going to fight the Nue myself. It would have been easy. But once you three showed up I couldn't risk hurting you. So I had to hold back."
"Your ARM thingy is dangerous, but at least you can control it. As for the whole 'bad luck' thing… who cares? I've had bad luck since I was born. Can't get any worse can it?"
Rudy stared at Rei, trying to collect himself. Part of him wanted to leave, save them the trouble, and eliminate the risk he would bring with him. The other part… It was lonely being a drifter. Always moving on, never stopping for too long. No friends, his only family was buried a long time ago.
"Are you going to come back to the treehouse, or am I going to have to drag you there? I'll adopt you if I have to Rudy." Rei held his hand out.
After a long pause. Rudy grabbed it.
"There we go! Welcome to the family Rudy. Although we uh... don't really have a last name for you to change to or anything. Most people just call us orphans and troublemakers."
"My last name is Roughknight."
"Oh that's way better! Can I borrow that?" After the death of the Nue, spring rapidly approached, as if winter tself was waiting for the death of the fell beast. Within the month trees were brimming with fruit, bushes were laden with berries of all kinds, and animals woke from hibernation.
The lean times were over, McNeil village was flooded with food, and everyone was celebrating. Rumors were flying about the Nue's disappearance.
'I heard a bunch of mercenaries came and took it out.'
'I bet it was Windian soldiers, we're their people after all.'
'Maybe it just starved to death on its own?'
"A bigger, even badder monster killed it! We should evacuate!"
Eventually, Bunyan put his foot down and revealed the truth. The group of vagabond children, the little thieves everyone hated and chased away. They were the heroes who killed the Nue.
That was a hell of a slap in the face to the villagers. However, to Bunyan's delight, his little ploy worked.
When next the kids were in town, they got a standing ovation. Thanks and apologies were shared, stolen goods were returned, and gifts were given. Without a need to steal, it seemed like their troublemaking days might be over, and the town almost became fond of them. Bunyan and Rudy's little band of vagabonds.
'The Roughknights'
After their first taste of heroism, the child thieves were eager to feel it again. Being liked, loved, and respected by their peers for doing good deeds. One little good deed was all well and good. But why not give it another go?
In a few weeks, the raid on McNeil Manor would be put into place. Changing McNeil Village, and the children's fates forever.
I don't know if this qualifies for Beyond The City or not. This was already most of the way in the works when the quest took its break, I just needed the little kick in the butt to finish it. There will likely only be one chapter left in this series, and then I'll set these characters on a more... vaguely familiar trajectory.
The reason I decided to have Rudy here is because he actually ties in really well to the themes of BoF3. Strength and domination, the wrath of a gentle man, when it's right to use brute force, and if the strong should be feared or respected. Rudy, Ryu, Rei, and Teepo are all stronger than normal humans, to varying degrees. And over the course of BoF3 it explores those themes in a way that I love. I'd have to time skip to later in the game to get to the juicy stuff, but here Rudy taps into his forbidden power to kill a monster and save his friends. I'd trust him implicitly with the ARM.
The Fou-Lu bit might seem like a non sequitor but I promise, it's important for the finale.
All in all, Stewart thought, it was quite the inspiring little moment. Other than the fat kid in the corner freaking out, everyone in the room seemed ready and willing to throw down, no matter what crazy nonsense came next. It was almost like something out of a movie. And he was getting to be part of it!
And then of course some idiot had to ruin it. "Ok boss, what's our first move?"
The room got quiet. Everyone stared expectantly at CD. And the deer in the headlights look on her face told everyone instantly that she had not thought one single second past this point. 'Oh brilliant,' thought Stewart.
"You do have a plan, right?" Someone called out. Stewart thought it might have been Martin Rodriguez, captain of the football team.
"Uh…yes. Obviously"
"Ok, so what is it?"
"Well…first we have to…"
"Learn how to fight," the fat kid stage whispered from the corner, where he was still hyperventilating.
"We have to learn how to fight!" CD yelled, as though she hadn't just been fed the idea by someone who clearly wasn't even using his whole brain on this right now. "Who here has actually been in a real fight before? Show of hands?"
There was a lot of awkward shifting and mumbling from the crowd, and maybe eight people put their hands up. "Um, how are we defining 'real fight'?" Someone asked.
"One or both participants goes to the emergency room when you're done"
Everyone put their hands down.
CD looked like she was having some serious second thoughts right now. "Ok, so that's clearly something we need to work on. Everyone meet at the bottom of the tree tomorrow at…uh, what time do you all get out of school again?"
Stewart grimaced in pain as he lay in the dirt. CD had kicked him in the knee when he had tried to tackle her from behind, and now he was wondering how he was going to explain his limp to his parents. He certainly couldn't tell them he had joined a fight club run by the local delinquent.
"This is ridiculous," He heard Inga mutter from a few feet away. Inga Teeger was probably one of the few people here who had a reputation almost as bad as CD's, and even she had been tossed aside like a rag doll.
They watched as CD knocked a kid who couldn't have been more than twelve years old to the ground and then started berating him.
"I'm gonna say something." Inga whispered.
"No don't-" Stewart tried to stop her, but it was too late.
The confrontation that followed was… surprisingly educational. CD responded to Inga's points with an unexpectantly coherent explanation on how fights were best won by whoever was most willing to take a bit of a beating and keep going, which made a lot of sense, Stewart thought. Their opponents weren't going to give them a fair fight, after all. So why should CD?
And then that twelve year old got back up and sucker punched her in the gut, and suddenly everyone was ok. The training got going again a minute later.
"I still don't like this." Inga muttered as she turned to face Stewart. "If we all have to stay in bed for the next week, it's not going to do a damn thing to stop these aliens"
"Yeah well, what are you going to do?" Then he chucked some dirt in her face and socked her across the jaw. The headlock she put him in after sucked, but was worth it for the look on her face.
-------------------------------------------------
"So what are we doing here again?" Lenny asked
"Listening for rumors," Inga told him. Stewart was a little confused by her continuing to hang out with him and his friends. She said he had impressed her with his dirt throwing trick during practice, but he couldn't think why that meant she wanted to be around him and his nerd buddies. They had nothing in common. She was into metal music and motorcycles and sneaking beer into parties, while they enjoyed video games and musical theatre and organizing their Pokemon cards.
They were sitting at the local burger joint, where that fat kid (Porky, what a name, dear God,) had told them "Just go hang out there and see what you can overhear,". So he, Lenny, Don and apparently Inga had sat down and prepared to play a lengthy game of Robot Masters.
"Ok sure, but rumors about what? Uh, I use Metal Blade on Wood Man." Don said
"Rumors about anything. The Sharks, the cops, anything weird going on," She replied. "Uh, how do I resist the blade thing again?"
"You don't, Wood Man is weak against Metal Blade."
"What?! I thought it was Bubble Man who was weak against that?"
"He is," Lenny said. "Everyone is weak against Metal Blade."
"What? But that's stupid! How am I supposed to beat an attack that's good against everyone?"
"That's kinda why I keep using it. Your turn," Don said.
"You little twerp, I'm gonna put you in a headlock, you do that again-"
"'Sup."
Everyone stopped what they were doing to turn in confusion to CD, who was sitting down at their table. She didn't say anything for a moment, so they all sat in awkward silence, until she finally spoke.
"So, I know I kinda dropped a lot of stuff on everyone all at once, but I just want to say you've all been handling it like champs so far. You've all been picking up what I've been trying to teach you really well, and I know when we eventually take the fight to the bad guys, you're all gonna do great. And uh, I'm proud to be your leader." She kept glancing nervously down at her lap through all this, and Stewart thought he saw an index card hidden in her hand.
Another awkward moment passed. "Ok," said Lenny.
She sat there a moment more, clearly not sure where to go next with… whatever this was. "Oh hey, Robot Masters. My little brother loves this game. Uh, never quite got into it myself. Rules always seemed really complicated. Metal Blade sucks, am I right?"
"Uh huh" Stewart nodded.
She drummed her hands uncertainly on the table. "Uh….Anyone catch the Eggbeaters game last night?"
"Eggbeaters? What's that?" Lenny asked.
"Uh, you know, Robotnik's personal baseball team? They played the Space Pirates last night?"
"We don't watch sports" Stewart said.
"Of course you don't, who watches sports these days anyway? Way more important stuff to do. It was a boring game anyway, nothing happened until the last inning."
Everyone just stared at her.
"Uh…..Inga! Did I ever apologize for that fight we got in last year? Uh, heh, you remember that fight, right? It was pretty stupid, you probably don't even remember."
"You broke my arm in three places. I had to wear a cast for two months. And all because I said I didn't like pink hair."
"I was trying a new thing, I was insecure about it! You said it looked like someone had vomited bubblegum on my head!"
"Yeah, still does."
"I like it!" Lenny said.
"See, Benny likes it." CD got quiet again. She looked very uncomfortable. "Ok, so…I'm gonna go. I'll see you all at training tomorrow. I just bought a bunch of baseball bats, and we're gonna practice swinging them at each other. Uh, bye!" She got up and very quickly marched out of the restaurant.
The four friends sat in stunned silence for about two straight minutes after that.
"What the hell was that?" Stewart finally asked.
"I think she was trying to… make friends?" Don asked more than stated.
"She got my name wrong." Lenny pouted.
"Yeah, even I'm better at talking to people than that. That was just weird." Inga said through a mouthful of food.
Stewart looked at her in confusion. "We didn't order anything. What are you eating?"
"Hey, has anyone seen my Metal Man card?" Don asked.
"Ok, so let me see if I've got all this." Martin said. They were all gathered in the little treehouse again, where CD had called an emergency meeting. Thankfully Stewart had managed to get a seat at the actual table this time. Lenny and Don were both crammed in the corner stuck behind someone taller than them, and Inga was stuck halfway out the exit hole.
Martin attempted to pace, didn't get very far, and settled for just glowering at CD with his arms folded. "The town is surrounded by hostile, mind controlled animals."
"Correct." She nodded.
"People are being attacked by sentient appliances, and it is being deliberately done in such a way that no one will believe the victims."
"The sentience is questionable, but otherwise also correct."
"Someone tried to murder a cop last night and blame it on the Sharks. The only reason it didn't work is because someone threw a rock."
"You're welcome" Porky muttered from his corner.
"Even without the frame up, we could still see a small war any day now, as the Sharks and cops both want each other's blood. The cops in particular maybe want to start shipping kids they don't like to a concentration camp somewhere. And it's all being orchestrated by people who are being piloted like robots by alien bugs. Did I get everything?"
"More or less" CD confirmed.
"Oh great, so long as that's all. No biggie," Martin threw his hands up in exasperation. "And opposing that is what, thirty high school kids?"
"Thirty high school kids with baseball bats!" Lenny said, helpfully holding up his own. He had taken to wearing it stuffed down the back of his shirt like some kind of sword.
Martin glared at Lenny. Lenny gulped and hid behind Don.
"Oh right, we have bats now. Made of wood. Surely we cannot fail." Martin flopped down into his chair, jostling Stewart's arm. He began massaging his forehead. "Tell me there's some sort of good news. Tell me you have a plan of some sort." Stewart wasn't sure he had ever seen the bigger kid this stressed out before. Then again, he had never been this stressed out himself.
CD thought a bit. "We have some new members coming in. I know a girl from River City who might join up."
"How many new members?" Someone asked.
She shifted uncomfortably. "Nine? Maybe ten?"
Martin groaned. "That's not enough. And where are we supposed to put them? It's cramped enough in here as it is!"
"They could dangle from my legs," Stewart heard Inga mutter from the hole in the floor.
"A plan? Please?" Martin looked pleadingly at CD.
CD took a breath, looked at them all for a moment, then began pushing her way to the hole. "I'm working on it." She lowered herself out, and left.
The treehouse was quiet for a moment, as everyone digested the news they had received. Then Lenny helpfully broke the silence.
"We're all gonna die."
Author note: My take on a few of the new Outfielder's perspectives. Probably strictly non canon since I took a few liberties with CD here and there, but I hope you all enjoy.
And here we are.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you:
The Secret Sellers
To most within the Eagle Quarter, the Dusty Dunes Desert was considered a drive-by county to be skimmed over on one's way to or from Summers or Fourside. The name said it all, really—for the average traveler, all it had to offer was dust and dunes. What little novelty those features had tended to run empty in about an hour, and many would call even that a generous estimate.
About the only real point of interest it had was the stopover drugstore that was built purely because road trippers had submitted one too many complaints about the lack of opportunities for bathroom breaks between the nearest two towns. That's right—all the Dusty Dunes Desert had to offer the layperson was a singular drugstore.
Then again, if one was inclined to believe in rumors, they might be interested in the supposed stashes of valuable minerals said to be hidden under the layers and layers of sand and rock. But as of this moment, only two people were actually willing to pursue those pipe dreams, and the man driving the armored van veering off the paved road was not one of them.
Because, as it would happen, the complete lack of interest most people had in this particular desert made it a very good place to conduct deals away from prying eyes, and he was about to make one with a promising up-and-comer.
The Arms Dealer would never have expected to say that about an entity calling itself "Anna & Sisters," let alone one that was allegedly said to hail from the Outlands of all places, but he'd found that Princeps Dominare had a way of throwing everything anyone knew about the universe on its head.
He took a moment to reach into his fatigues to retrieve a note documenting his destination. Comparing it to his map had him turning the wheel a little to the right. Moments later, the van shuddered, and he heard a muted crunching noise. Had he bothered to check his rear view mirrors, he would've caught the sight of a flattened Skelpion for a moment before it became indistinguishable from the sand.
Instead, he was preoccupied with swerving out of the way of a Smilin' Sphere who'd suddenly decided to float out from behind a dune. The rugged tires slipped, slid, and spewed sand everywhere, but ultimately caught enough traction to swing the vehicle away from the explosive fate that a head-on collision with those insufferably cheeky bastards usually heralded. He'd already lost one shipment too many to those damned living bombs, and he refused to lose another.
It wouldn't be too long now, though. The cave he'd been told of supposedly didn't have what could be called a gaping entrance, but it was wide enough to fit a good-sized car, so he doubted it would be terribly easy to miss. He just had to keep his eyes open once he reached the cliffs—
…was the hell was that noise? He'd swear it was a zapper, but he'd never heard of a zapper that sounded quite like…
The Arms Dealer blinked at the sight through his tinted glasses in abject bemusement.
Was that a UFO with a ribbon tied to its top? And… a pair of eyes?
The thing answered his unspoken list of questions by firing another beam at the van.
This led to the Arms Dealer promptly picking up the Hyper Beam he'd laid down in the passenger seat, rolling down the window, and blasting the annoyance.
He was soon disappointed by the reveal that it wasn't dead, and… seemed to be regenerating itself through a fancy light show.
So he blasted it again.
The explosion and scattering of parts that followed indicated that the second shot did the trick. He checked the rear view mirrors just to make sure, and beheld a rolling collection of scrap coming to a stop.
It was abundantly clear to him now—in terms of bot designs, there was no accounting for taste. He rolled the window back up and laid the Hyper Beam back in its cushioned seating.
Some minutes later, the Arms Dealer found himself rolling up to the cliffs. Now, all he had to do was find the cave… aaaand there it was.
The van leisurely rolled into the cave, still lit to a comfortable degree by the setting afternoon sun. The Arms Dealer took a moment to park away from the entrance, just for a little extra insurance, then exited his vehicle and walked over to its back.
Checking his watch revealed that he had arrived precisely 64 seconds ahead of the designated meeting time. Not so early that he looked eager, and not so late to affect disinterest. Perfectly suited for how he was approaching this.
32 seconds later, he couldn't help but notice the other party was still conspicuously absent. Naturally, with this being his first meeting with the upstart, he had no idea what to expect. But that didn't stop him from wondering what possessed them to arrive late to—
A bright light filled the cave. The Dealer quickly ducked behind the van, palming the holster at his side. He had no idea how the hell the meeting had leaked, or who was after him, but—
"Goooooood day to you, mister mysterious Arms Dealer! I hope you're ready to barter, because we've come to sell, sell, sell!"
The Dealer stepped away from the van, and beheld a genuine horse-drawn carriage. Holding the reins was a woman with striking red hair, a full winking grin, and a finger on her chin.
[
He found himself sighing. "And people call you the 'Secret Seller?'"
"Well, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone capable of tracking magic-based teleportation, I'll tell you that much!" The woman hopped off from her perch and strode over, thrusting a hand out. "Anna, head of Anna & Sisters. The family tells me you're in the market for some of our products, and that you're willing to offer fair compensation."
The Dealer opted to roll with the punches, accepting the handshake and turning to open the van's back doors. "They'd be right. Hoping you might help me and everyone else in the Eagle Quarter out with some spots of trouble that've been popping up." A click revealed a grand stash of goodies—zappers, bombs, slugthrowers, and enough ammunition to supply a gang war. "Lots of weird shit going on lately, and zappers don't seem to work too well on half of it. So my clients have been asking me to rustle up something different, and from what I hear, you might just be it."
"Oh?" Anna subtly wiped away a thin stream of drool at the shiny loot. "And what, precisely, are you hoping to source from me with this fine stock to take care of these troubles?"
He held up a hand. "I think I'd rather see what you brought with you before I answer that question."
The Secret Seller chuckled. "Savvy! I like that in a business partner. Alright, then, allow me to bring out the goods!" The Arms Dealer picked up the odd-shaped blade and noted it smelled faintly of ozone. "So how exactly do you make it work?"
Anna grabbed her own and pointed to the handle. "Hold the button here, thrust it up while keeping your sights and mind on the target, and it does the rest." She eyed a larger boulder on the other end of the cave. "Like so." A quick skyward brandish saw the blade flash, and an honest-to-god bolt of lightning streak down and strike the rock from a thundercloud that had appeared from nowhere.
Tinted lenses stared at the impossible feat they'd just seen performed. "It's really that simple?"
"Try it and see for yourself!"
…well, at worst, he'd know if it was worth buying. His finger found the button, and the boulder seemed like a good enough target, so he held it down and sharply swung it up…
And down came a second shocking strike.
He hummed appreciatively. "And you said these came in elemental variants?"
There was that winking grin with the finger on her chin again. "Wind Edges, Pyre Blades, and more Levin Swords like these, yup! Light Brands are unfortunately harder to find, but if I do get a line to one, you'll be the first to know!"
The Dealer could practically hear the unspoken "provided nobody outbids you before then." Regardless, this ought to be his primary objective for the meeting satisfied; odds were that magic swords would be just the thing his customers needed to give them the edge they craved over all the madness overtaking the Eagle Quarter. But he'd be a poor businessman if he just up and broadcasted that right away, so he moved on to a different set. "Interesting. What about these beauties?"
"Ahh, taken by the Killer series, are we?" A set of sticky fingers traced their way down the curved razor edge of one of the swords. "Nasty pieces of work, these things. Purpose-forged and lightly enchanted to facilitate surgical targeting and brutal exploitation of enemy weak points." She picked one up, settling into a stance and giving it a few snappy test swings to allow her audience to hear how it seemed to effortlessly slice through the air itself. "Granted, they're not exactly the easiest things in the world to use properly, but if you know your way around one, well!" The redhead smirked. "Let's just say that making metal bleed is well within your reach."
Her prospective buyer had to admit that the red tinting certainly gave them a distinctive air of deadliness. "They kill bots, do they?"
"If they can cut through the powered plate suits of Grust's Sable Order, then they can definitely cut through any old security bot you'll find wandering around," Anna asserted.
The Dealer hummed. "They might just go on the list, then." His sunglasses surveyed the selection again, and found themselves zeroing in on a weapon set themed around a different primary color. "We've gone through yellow, green, and red. How about the blues?"
"Ho-ho! Now we're getting to some of my personal favorites!" Anna practically skipped over to the display. "My dear Dealer, feast your eyes on the Brave set! The ideal fusion of expert forge work and the finest artificers Khadein has to offer. Lethally sharp, light as a feather, and packaged with a particularly special touch of magic that makes it work like an absolute dream in the right hands." Once again, she grasped the gem-capped hilt of the sword on display and settled into a stance. "Observe."
She began swinging, and the Dealer felt his eyebrows steadily rise as her figure began to outright blur while the sound of a blender striking air flowed through the cave. He counted two, four, eight full strokes in the time it had taken her to perform just two with the Killing Edge. By the time five seconds had passed, he'd already lost track of how many cuts she'd performed.
"Hot damn. That's all the weapon's doing?"
The redhead shrugged. "Well, I like to think I'm pretty quick myself, but for the most part? It's like Haste on demand." She held a finger up. "Which, unfortunately, does take a fair bit of getting used to. Word of warning: do not give these to a newbie. They'll be liable to make a mess of things. These are meant for bona-fide capital-H Heroes' hands only."
The Dealer folded his arms. "I imagine they're not cheap."
"Not at all! It's why—and it kills me to say this—they're not for sale." For the first time, he saw her smile drop. "Much as I'd love to trust a fine purveyor of arms like yourself to pay in kind and cart these off to worthy owners, we did only just meet each other, and selling things as valuable as these puppies to a first-time customer would set a precedent we'd like to avoid here at Anna & Sisters."
"Sensible," the Dealer agreed. "Say, while we're on that thought, do you have anything that might act as an upper limit to what you're willing to part with?"
Anna took a moment to think, then moved over near the back of her showcase and hoisted something up with considerable effort. "Maybe… this."
At a glance, it was easy to identify as a shield, but the design was like nothing anyone in the Eagle Quarter had seen before. It had no round edges to speak of—what little curves it had only served to flare out into more points. At the top sat two horn-shaped decorations that looked like they could pierce a man just on their own. And the face itself seemed to be covered in a literal rainbow of what the Dealer could swear were scales.
Anna's description was spoken with no small amount of pride. "For your consideration… the Dracoshield. Hard as all get-out to actually make, on account of being crafted out of real scales from actual-factual dragons, which also makes it a huge pain to lug around, but no other shield I know of can beat the results. You put this thing in front of an attack of any kind, and I guarantee that once everything's over, you're going to be more worried about the arm holding it than anything else." She spared him a smirk. "Hell, it even works against magic—and if it works against magic, I'd be willing to bet it also works against this PSI stuff I've been hearing is popping up around here."
The Dealer squinted at the thing as he silently filed away the information she'd just let slip. "So you're willing to sell this, but not the Brave set?"
"Indeed I am! And that's all the explanation you're getting out of me for the moment." She winked. "I wouldn't be much of a Secret Seller otherwise, now would I?"
It earned her a huffed laugh. "Suppose not. Either way, I think that's enough sampling for now. Whaddaya say we move on to the fun part?"
The grin came back in full force. "I thought you'd never ask!" The sun had just finished tucking itself under the horizon by the time the van left the cave.
All things considered, the Arms Dealer would say he'd made out pretty well. A good chunk of what had been surplus was now a pile of exotic weapons, items, and other implements that he had a feeling would really shake things up throughout the rest of the Eagle Quarter. For better or worse, perhaps, but that wasn't his problem. He was just the middleman.
But now that he was in between locations, he might as well figure out where to go next. Fourside had been rather good to him, but now that he gave it some thought, Monotoli's slow-growing stranglehold was starting to tighten a little too much for his tastes. So he'd be going west for sure, but where to stop?
…well, Threed was going to be first on the way regardless. He could cement his decision then, after he'd had a good night's sleep on an actual bed. And had some time to check up on the local scuttlebutt—news had a tendency to get muddled up in Fourside. He thought he recalled something about a large-scale police cordon in Onett, which seemed insane, and might be worth checking out just to make sure with his own eyes.
If it was true… hm. Kids tended not to have much of a budget, but they could be pretty devious about fixing that particular issue if they wanted something badly enough. Could be a good opportunity for the Dealer to build his skills on talking up his wares.
That was for later, though. For now, he had to—
"MOTHERF-!" He yanked the wheel again at the sight of another Smilin' Sphere… then hit the brakes. "No, you know what? Forget this. You want what's coming to you, you cheeky bitch?" He climbed to the back, grabbed some of his newly-acquired product, and kicked the doors open. "You'll damn well get what's coming to you."
Little miss redhead was right, though. The Dracoshield was a pain in the ass to haul around. Nothing he couldn't handle, though. The Killing Edge fit into his hand nicely too.
Now, to business. "OI! YOU! C'MERE!"
The Sphere, utterly oblivious, took up the provocation and zipped towards the Dealer. While it approached, he caught a flash of orange-red, and snapped the shield up. The next instant, a conflagration exploded in front of it, trying to erase the man behind it… and found itself wanting before the power of the shield.
The Dealer began to feel gloriously vindicated. The feeling only grew when he then heard the sound of something round colliding with and bouncing off the shield, and realized that he'd barely even noticed so much as a vibration.
And now that it was recovering from slamming face-first into an immovable object… "Take this!"
True to Anna's word, the blade cut right through the thing. Which meant that he had to get the shield back in place before it really ruined his day.
Moments later, the desert was lit up by the flash of an explosion. Wonder of wonders, the shield actually moved this time. About half an inch, to be precise.
Parts rolled and rattled away as the Dealer peeked back around. Finding no other hostiles, he spun the shield around to take a look at the damage… and found none to speak of.
"Well, shit," he muttered. "Worth every penny."
Whatever else happened, it was clear that Anna & Sisters had a new customer.
I feel I should note that before the GBA Era, Killer weapons were the ones with the blue color scheme… save for the Killer Bow, which the 90s TCG shows as using a red color scheme. But since I'm of the opinion that red suits them best and blue should be reserved for the Brave weapons, that's how they're appearing here.
And since Gaiden was an NES-era entry, that also means we get access to the equippable variant of the Dracoshield instead of the stat-boosting variant. I've taken the liberty of using the 3DS remake's design of it because fuck it's so cool.
For how the Annas get around, the WARP STAFF! felt like a good explanation for how they've been able to maintain their Secret Seller monikers. They'd certainly have the funds and the capacity to acquire lots of them, I'd think.
On a different note, a little secret—Anna's also been hearing whispers of a project to exceed the results of the Brave set. Supposedly, they'll be paired with ranged capabilities, but the only thing she's been able to confirm is the series' name—'Meister.'
Anyway, I think that's all I've got in me for now. I'm open to changing some stuff if it's not to canon standards, though.
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