Crystalwatcher's Magical Girl Quest!

Gore17 · Aug 30, 2016

ReaperofInterest said:
And yes, I've gotten that the Peace team will be the only Cores and Drives participating in this quest.

That was if anyone hadn't gotten the memo. It's the only reason I shared that information, afterall.

ltmauve · Aug 30, 2016

[X] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.
[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.
[X] Plan "Spend Spend Spend"

ReaperofInterest · Aug 30, 2016

Gore17 said:
That was if anyone hadn't gotten the memo. It's the only reason I shared that information, afterall.

So, is the fact that they're connected to pieces of the same Divine Being the reason Sega and Revy have such enormous sister complexes?

Gore17 · Aug 30, 2016

ReaperofInterest said:
So, is the fact that they're connected to pieces of the same Divine Being the reason Sega and Revy have such enormous sister complexes?

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ SPOILERS! /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

Vilegrave · Aug 30, 2016

[x] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.
[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.

Think it would be better to wait for 80xp so we can buy 'lesser gods' rather than just a upgrade to what we have.

random_npc · Aug 30, 2016

UberJJK said:
Where is the XP for killing Laic? I feel quite cheated here. Nepgear brutally, he exploded into a shower of gore, killed someone but didn't get any XP from it.

Gore17 said:
Folded into "The Conceptual Language". That was 60 xp otherwise.

see this is kind of what I'm talking about. Nep already has such a growing backlog of things to breakdown about that killing an npc we've never seen before is barely going to register to the players. Its pointless and all it does is induce a possible plothole when people point out how screwed up it is we didn't react.

If you want drama meaningfully injure a team gear member or someone we care about, if you want to drive home a point about how dangerous the language is have us severely injure someone more impressive than a doctor we've never heard about. Just throwing in "oh yeah, your a murder now." is pointless bit GM dickery.

ReaperofInterest · Aug 30, 2016

Vilegrave said:
Think it would be better to wait for 80xp so we can buy 'lesser gods' rather than just a upgrade to what we have.

In that case, it'd be better if you voted to [] Save XP. It's an option that has won a few times, but it needs to be voted for.

justinkal · Aug 30, 2016

Now that I think about it, it's a damn shame we can't go speak to Gaia about our dream and a our newly discovered ability to speak/comprehend The Conceptual Language.

At the very least, it should give Gaia (and in turn, Nepgear IC) some major clues as to the mystery of our true nature, and quite possibly might lead to Nepgear getting a brief tutorial on "What is The Conceptual Language useful for, and how can I use it without accidentally-ing my allies?".

Gore17 · Aug 30, 2016

Current tally:

Vote Tally : Original - Crystalwatcher's Magical Girl Quest! | Page 346 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.4

[x] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.
No. of Votes: 22

[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.
No. of Votes: 21

[X] Plan "Spend Spend Spend"
No. of Votes: 13

Plan: ◈"Spend Spend Spend"
Decim
glitchrrr36
Gore17
justinkal
LightMage
LostDeviljho
ltmauve
NHO
pianoman
ReaperofInterest
tryrar
UberJJK
Vanguard_D

-[X] Buy Purifier Beam 14 (360 xp)
No. of Votes: 13

Plan: ◈"Spend Spend Spend"
Decim
glitchrrr36
Gore17
justinkal
LightMage
LostDeviljho
ltmauve
NHO
pianoman
ReaperofInterest
tryrar
UberJJK
Vanguard_D

-[X] Buy Indestructible Core 6 (60 xp)
No. of Votes: 13

Plan: ◈"Spend Spend Spend"
Decim
glitchrrr36
Gore17
justinkal
LightMage
LostDeviljho
ltmauve
NHO
pianoman
ReaperofInterest
tryrar
UberJJK
Vanguard_D

[x] Follow Team GEAR. Lucky and Aquila need to get plugged in.
No. of Votes: 12

LostDeviljho
banjo2E
BoundaryPhantasm
hcvquizibo
indra
Nordik
Pyro Hawk
ReaperofInterest
Serous
UbeOne
Vanguard_D
veekie

[X] The base's population is booming. Lets see who all's here.
No. of Votes: 3

veekie
Jrin
justinkal

Total No. of Voters: 29

Decim · Aug 30, 2016

crystalwatcher said:
death worthy of the greatest of Epics.

crystalwatcher said:
I'm female and we're in heaven!

Unneccessary capitalization.

crystalwatcher said:
-/NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED LINE BREAK IDENTIFICATION GAME\-

crystalwatcher said:
names from the dream

crystalwatcher said:
The back and forth would have continued, had it not been for Rei barging in and latching a collar around your neck out of the blue. Complete with leash.

crystalwatcher said:
[/COLOR]

Did you mean to leave this in at the end?

crystalwatcher said:
"I was more into the Goddesses and Red Rose. I was a bit of a MGroupie back before all this. Now... everything from my life before just seems really small."

Nice name for MG followers. Now, Nep is no longer a MGroupie, she's Goddess Gold's pet.

crystalwatcher said:
Your voice trails off towards the end, as the melancholy returns. The weight of never again seeing the home that Sega had worked so hard to give you hanging from your shoulders. As you droop slightly, Gabriel takes several quick steps forward and draws you into a hug.

Alright, so you weren't completely over it.

Sega's rich now. She still worked for it by killing those Dark Lords years ago. You'll have another home soon enough Nep. Just wait until the war is over, and you'll find peace.

crystalwatcher said:
"Goddess Grey taught me." It is silent enough to hear a pin drop at those words, as the ancient being turns to Gabriel. "I was not always as I currently am child. Not so long ago, I was a bitter old fool that was drowning in his own hate. Then, one day I met a young girl dressed in red who so desperately wanted to be a hero. 'So long as I can save at least one life, brighten one day, bring a single smile, I shall not regret the choices I make.' Even in the end, even if it all amounted to nothing, she refused to regret her decision. That young girl taught a bitter old Angel what it means to be a Hero. She held that gap in Elysium's wall alone for twenty five hours with nothing more than sheer bloody-minded determination. They told her to hold her position near the evacuation Gates, but she went anyway. She saved the defenders of that gap, and held it closed on her own."

He sighs, drawing his shoulders taught, before throwing his right hand into a human salute towards the Shrine.

"She taught us all what it meant to be a Hero that day. It cost her everything, and drove her sister into insanity with her Death when she finally fell. But I believe it to be a death worry of the greatest of Epics. Worthy of having her story recorded in the halls of Heroes a thousand realms over... So it is in memory of that, I do what I can to see her sacrifice was not in vain..." He shakes his head, obviously trying to shed his melancholy as he turns fully away from the Shrine and nods to your group. "There are things I must see to. My time for introspection is over, good day to you all. And worry not for an old angel's ramblings."

Dayum. Ichi made one hell of an impression. It explains so much why he's willing to throw it all into the Invasion of Hope, even his life. He no longer wants to destroy the Unified Dark because of revenge. He wants to do so to build a better world. He wants an end to the conflict so peace can come.

crystalwatcher said:
It is a deceptively simple place. Barely even twenty feet across at it's widest. But none of you could refute it as a work of art. The central piece are four statues, made by the laser-guided precision of Human computers, they were sculpted with picture perfect accuracy. Rei is in front of the others, and slightly off to the right. Her Chains of the Earth arching throughout the room in intricate patterns as her shattered breastplate hangs around her through magic, the black shirt that rested beneath it flapping in a non-existent wind. Immediately behind her are Grey and White, with the former's endless arsenal frozen in an endless dance around her while the latter stands regally with her blade swept back, as if she had just struck a demon down. And behind them, kneeling upon the ground, with her hands clasped in prayer and her Black Knight standing protectively over her, is Goddess Red.

Alone, these statues would have been awe-inspiring replicas. Each detailed to a nearly impossible degree by Human technology and Fae Magic. But what made the exhibit truly breathtaking was everything else that gave life to these statues; Around the Goddesses, a battle raged. Skeletal Soldiers clashed with Demonic Hellspawn, 3-D imaging along the walls giving the illusion of thousands upon the field. Even more statues, each as detailed as the last, faced off against the Goddesses. A rendition of the Invasion of Parshath brought to life by magic and technology combined. A monument to one of the Light's greatest triumphs in the last thousand years. A cruel reminder of what had been lost.

Standing in that Shrine, for what else could it be, you felt your heart tear. Together, the Goddess Four had been unstoppable. Literal, Physical, Gods. There had been none as strong as them, before or since. The Drives had come close, but in the end, even they had fallen before just one of them.

This is one hell of a memorial. I like it.

crystalwatcher said:
Goddess Gold. The Golden Annihilator. She was the strongest mortal to ever walk the world. Absolute Destruction made manifest.

And all her power was for naught, for she could not save one from the Dark's assault. Nor could she save another from herself. Lastly, she was abandoned by the last sister, who left in search of a non-existent hope.

crystalwatcher said:
Goddess Grey. The Blacksmith. The Hero. She had stood as a shining example to what a Magical Girl should be. What they should strive to be.

And now, she fights for a force that would annihilate those she once protected.

crystalwatcher said:
Goddess White. The Kind One. She had been there, always in the background of the other Goddesses, ready with a kind word and a warm hug for anyone that needed one. If Goddess Grey was what Magical Girls should be, then Goddess White was what they were meant to be.

She who was the kindest of the four, turned to false hope, a being who likely would not grant it anyways. An Entity born of destruction would not let anything we would consider 'good' be created if it could meaningfully oppose it.

crystalwatcher said:
And finally, Goddess Red. The Mother of Monsters. Once upon a time, she had been the ultimate irony. Her endless Spawn had clashed with the Legions of Hell again and again, smashing and rending, before coming back even more numerous than before. Out of all of them, she had most represented Hope.

Hope died, and with her downfall, she brought misery, pain, and despair.

crystalwatcher said:
"Why me?" Is his response, though he gets up regardless, passing around drinks as they're requested. "Why not Gabriel? I for one wouldn't mind having a beautiful and sexy angel in a toga hand me a Bud Light." He says, his teasing grin wiping away any kind of real malice that could have been taken from the comment.

Gabriel though, imperiously turns her nose up at him, with an over-done huff that would be better fit for a kindergarten acting class, "As flattering as your words are, Sir James, I must decline. You are far too old for my taste, I'm afraid your creaky old bones would break under even my gentlest ministrations."

:lol

crystalwatcher said:
Everyone breaks into laughter as James glares in mock offense at the angel. You on the other hand quickly stick your own hand into the air to give a high-five to your new BFF. Giggling, Gabriel accepts and the muffled clap is lost in the laughter of friends. Grinning, James waves a dismissive hand at the two of you. "Just for that, neither of you get any pictures of me in my swim wear."

Gasping in horror, you and Gabriel try to jump up from your positions, but tumble over each other into a heap at his feet, "No! Don't! We're sorry! We take back everything we said! We'll even give you a full body massage!"

"Woah, down girls! And Nep, you're still too young for me."

"I'm Female and we're in heaven! It's just a massage! It shouldn't matter!" Ignoring your libido screaming at you...

"I know what you'll try to do." And there goes your plan.

"Damn."

crystalwatcher said:
You cling to him, amidst Team GEAR, and simply let everything out.
The Core pulses sadly... a wish of peace.

crystalwatcher said:
Arcs of blue and red dance across the sky, bending the surviving clouds into impossible shapes that could never be attained naturally.

It is a sight that takes your breath away.
You remember this light...

I have a feeling that a major theme for the rest of the quest is going to be [PEACE]. Either the search of it, or sundering of it.

crystalwatcher said:
-/THE LINE BREAK IS MISSING\-

crystalwatcher said:
-/THE LINE BREAK HAS BEEN FOUND\-

crystalwatcher said:
-/LINE BREAK IS IN THE HOSPITAL, I'M HIS COUSIN; PLACE HOLDER\-

crystalwatcher said:
-/I'M PLACE HOLDER NICE TO MEET YOU!\-

crystalwatcher said:
-/NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED LINE BREAK IDENTIFICATION GAME\-

You cheeky bastard.

crystalwatcher said:
Something...

Something is different...

Everything is as it's always been.

What does that mean?

Don't you remember?

Of course not. I haven't always been here.

Here; let me show you the beginning.

Beginning?

I wonder who Nep is talking to? It has to be a Divine Entity that was there, so that majorly limits the number of things that could show us. My guess is on Cosmos.

crystalwatcher said:
CALAMITY
There is no other world to describe it.

The first to exist is [TIME]. Chronos rises from the [NOTHING/EVERYTHING] in a single [ ].

And in so doing, he brings with him [BEGINING] and [END]. And through them, [LIFE] and [DEATH].

The [ ] is absolute, it does not want to [EXIST]. But it knows that it must, because of what is coming. For it to return to [ ], then it must first [EXIST]. But in so doing, it brings forth even more: ripples in the [ ] congeal, billions of trillions of galaxies and would-be universes all converging into the inside folds as the dress of the newcomer forms...

[REALITY] / Cosmos, the instigator of all of this, comes forth second. And with her, [HOPE], [DESIRE], [LOVE]. And so much [MORE].

[EMPTINESS], a tide of darkness that gives meaning to [COLOR], forms into wings.

[DREAM] / Void, the one that Cosmos is doing this all for, comes forth third. She brings [DESPAIR], [NEED], [OBSESSION], and even [MORE] than Cosmos.

And, between them, infinitely more come forth.

That's surprisingly clear for an explanation regarding something as incomprehensible as primordial concepts.

crystalwatcher said:
Is this what you want?

[PEACE] is born. A progenitor to the universe as it is desired for the first time.

Yes.

Even if we all turn against you?

Yes. I think it's worth it.

... Then let us settle this.

[WAR] is born. A progenitor to the universe as one existence strikes out at another for the first time.

[PEACE] and [WAR]. I guess we now know who the Sister of War was.

crystalwatcher said:
Countless join in the struggle. The least of them would have been considered [infinite] by the mortal beings to come, but in this battle [infinite] was but a transitory state. A dream that never was.

In the struggle, [PEACE] was brought low. Struck aside by a blow meant for another as it tried to stop the struggle. [WAR], angered by the strike against her sister, retaliates even though she was to be neutral in the affair.

Then she is struck down as well.

[PEACE]

[WAR]

Two sides of the same coin, and the balance upon which the conflict had been placed shattered. And without them to restrain the conflict, it quickly spirals out of [CONTROL].

Escalation, present even in the very beginning of existence!

crystalwatcher said:
And the first moments of [EXISTENCE] is marked by an unfathomable explosion, that is still felt even today-

And that's the Big Bang. That's one hell of an origin story.

crystalwatcher said:
You snap awake with a gasp.

"Anastasia!" The chorus of voices pierces the veil hanging over your mind instantly, and you start coughing, your dry throat protesting the sudden increase in air flow. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Here, take small sips."

A straw is brought to your lips and you suckle on it carefully, remembering the last time you had woken to something like this.

After a few moments, it is drawn away and a hand on your back slowly rubs away the haze that is blocking everything out. And after a few moments, you are able to confirm that it's Michael that is beside you. Surrounding you are the members of Team GEAR, along with an extra Angel you've never met.

"You alright, Nepgear?" Mike's worried voice warbles oddly in your ears.

"I... don't think so... Everything is wonky. And my head feels funny."

The unknown angel coughs softly into his first, drawing attention to himself. "That is perfectly alright. All it is is a bit of an overdose on Magic. It's nothing to worry about, especially for a Magical Girl. A bit of rest and you'll be feeling like your old self in no time, but I want to run another scan just in case. Is that alright?"

Well, that was reassuring. "Yes. Thank you." The healing Angel smiles at you, before waving his way past Michael so he could draw up a soft blue glow around his hand and place it on your back. As he did this, a thought occurred to you. "Umm... Are dreams from Magic overdose normal at all?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. They're not overly common, but they do happen from time to time. Mostly they tend to be mostly incomprehensible. Humans that overdose on Magic tend to see memories from Gaia, but they don't tend to understand much from them."

"Huh... that's strange. My dream didn't seem all that hard to understand." You feel his hand shift slightly to your lower back, and his magic trail down into our hips and thighs.

"Really? Anything specific? If you remember pieces of it, it could help others that have seen similar."

"Um... yeah. I remember there being this thing called-"

[PEACE]

Shrill screams around the room cut you off as everyone that had moved away to collect their belongings suddenly dropped to the floor clutching their heads in sudden agony. Gabriel, being closest - at most only three feet away - vomited blood in a sudden fountain that sprays it across the wall opposite of the bed. But even that paled in comparison to the angelic healer that had been tending to you.

Turned away from him as you were, you don't actually see what happens to him. But you feel when the mass of suddenly there liquid splashes across your back and drenches you from head to toe. The smell of blood as sudden as it is unwelcome.

The healer dead and his remains covering you, and your team out cold, sprawled across the room. Your mind refuses to acknowledge what happened. But your body responds regardless.

You scream. You scream until you pass out.

The right aligned text makes this frickin' weird to read. I'm not sure what it was supposed to do. But on the topic of Nep, Poor Nep. Not much else to say.

crystalwatcher said:
"When I was studying Human magic before I joined the Suicide Squad, I came across a lot of weird things. Mostly because Human Magic can tap into even more."

That's a really morbid nickname for the Death Squads. Must be because of the mortality rate.

crystalwatcher said:
"Well..." Lucky scratches at her back of her head, as if embarrassed about where her thoughts led her. "I think what Nepgear did, was use this "Concept Speak" when she described her Dream. As you'd probably guess, mere mortals like us were never meant to hear something like that. So our existences were forced to compensate, leading to physical damage as we tried to twist ourselves into a form that wouldn't be instantly... well..." She grimaced, "The human saying would be "gibbed"." Which was exactly what happened to Laic. "Anyway. As far as I can tell, Nepgear here will be able to use, and understand, that language herself." This time she looks at you directly. "Just remember though: you'll disable everyone within hearing distance, and anyone within a foot are going to die pretty much instantly."

crystalwatcher said:
'Does tat mean we cant ~~sick~~ stick arond if Nepger neds to negotitate wit a Divine Beng?'

The tension in the air dies with a whimper as everyone reads Gabriel's written question. The first one to break into laughter is Michael, unable to hold it in. And just like that, the dam breaks.

Laic's family would mourn his death. But for now, you really didn't think he would mind if his patient was just relieved that her friends still trusted her. "You know Gabriel, you're usually so eloquent with the way you talk, that I sometimes forget that you were prayed for by a bunch of preschoolers. I didn't think that your written grammar was this bad!"

Get that girl a tutor! My inner grammar Nazi is screaming for me to fix it!

crystalwatcher said:
Rei was looking with disinterest at a small storage unit. It wasn't big, but it had everything the Boheart's owned. Supposedly, anyway. She turned to her escorts, a Pillar soldier and Sega. "So this is it, Private?"

"Yes, ma'am. Everything the recovery crews were able to salvage from the Boheart's residence is in this unit," the Private said, sweating bullets all the while, "But, uh… Even though, you're, well, you, I still can't open it for you without Anastasia Boheart's approval. It's legally hers now."

Rei raised an eyebrow at that before replying, "It's a good thing I brought Sega along then."

The man turned to Sega mouthing 'Sega?' before doing a double take and a rather impressive impression of a fish. "Oh," was his elegant response to the obvious situation at hand.

Rei just raised her other eyebrow while Sega stood around awkwardly.

After ten seconds or so, one unfortunate Private Hunter got his mind back in gear and said, "Never mind all that then, ma'am. I'll just open this for you. I'll be at the front desk. Just tell me when you're done so I can lock it back up."

"Excellent! Alright, Sega, let's take a looksee."

-----

"So the take of stuff that's useful and not junk or miscellaneous crap I'm not gonna use is just my wallet, my birth certificate, a grand total of two sets of clothes, and my favorite shampoo." Sega's face twisted into a grimace at this. "I'm trying to find something to joke about this, but all I'm coming up with is something to do with jaywalking."

Rei looked confused at that. "What's jaywalking got to do with anything?"

"Exactly."

Rei gave her a funny look, before shrugging at Sega's response. "Oh, well. At least you got the important stuff for sorting out the inevitable paperwork headache you're gonna get." A grimace. "The sheer chaos of war sometimes spits out people who the Pillar thinks are dead, but somehow beat the odds to come back alive. In the aftermath, they tended to get swamped with calls and paperwork from companies and people insisting they're still dead."

"Great, I thought I was done with tons of legalese paperwork after I got custody of Anastasia years ago," snarked Sega. "Maybe it'll weigh enough to bash someone on the head. Make 'em feel a headache like the one I'll have."

"Hah, dark humor. I didn't think you had it in you."

"I can be a real nightmare at times. Just ask the Dark Lords that Rev, Alex, and I owned."

"Hmph. If that's all you're gonna take, lets get to the PX. We have shopping to do."

"The 'PX?'"

-----

Sega looked around at her surroundings, before dumbly replying, "Why didn't you just say we were going to the base store?"

Rei was holding an insufferable smirk from her position in the center of the PX's clothing section. "It was funnier this way. Sadly, the base doesn't keep much on hand in terms of casual clothing. At least getting a couple of pairs of t-shirts, jeans, and underwear to wear for a week should be okay. We'll have to stop at actual stores sometime soon to get something better. I wouldn't want to get caught wearing any of this crap personally."

"So that's why you have a wardrobe costing ten grand sitting in a trunk with the tags still on them?"

"Two weeks ago it would've been fifty grand. It might've been higher though. I don't recall looking at all the tags. Even then, I haven't dealt with money outside of doing taxes in a long time."

-----

One golden (and usually insufferable) goddess stared at the scene in front of her. "Sega, I went off for one minute. The hell did you do?" That scene being a confused Sega in front of an equally confused cashier with the machine's display saying, 'Card Declined'.

"I tried paying for the clothes?" Sega mused.

Rei had a hard time not rushing up and hugging her since Sega just looked too cute confused like that. Self control prevailed for the moment, with a promise to indulge later that night. "Remember the conversation we had at the storage unit about paperwork? That includes unlocking your bank account. So! Cashier whose name is completely inconsequential! Tell your boss Rei Mitsubishi came by, 'kay? Come on Sega, we're going to the motor pool."

-----

Sega looked dubiously at a worn down jeep. While it looked to have been recently painted, signs of wear and tear were everywhere, from rust on the frame to the cracked and stained seats. A jeep this dubious deserved no less than an equally dubious statement. "This jeep looks really old."

"And? It still works. You know how to drive stick right?" Rei questioned.

"I do..."

"Great! Since I've checked it out for us, we can get going. You're driving by the way."

-----

The two absurdly powerful magical girls were sitting in the branch managers office. In front of them was a rather unassuming man in a suit with a neatly trimmed beard and a placard saying 'Branch Manager Jon Wagner'. He took a sip from his cup of coffee before starting to speak. "My apologies for causing you to wait a bit Ms. Mitsubishi and.. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Sega Dreamcast Boheart. And before you ask, I'm the reason my father wasn't allowed to name anything else."

"Ah, okay then. How may I help the two of you today."

"Well, Sega was recently declared dead. But," Rei drawled, "As you can see, she's very much alive. I'm afraid I can't tell you any specifics about it. Opsec. I know you understand." She smiled.

"That's explains your visit here today, as well as why you completely bypassed working with any of my associates. Fixing this is absolutely doable, just time consuming," Jon sighed. "Let's get started. Do you have any forms of identification with you, Ms. Boheart?"

"I do, and please, just call me Sega."

-----

"And there's another chunk done. All that's left is unfreezing your account so you can access it. Due to the reset, I'm afraid that any auto debit payments you might have set up won't work."

"It's okay, the only one I had like that was rent, and it doesn't really matter anymore," said Sega sadly. "The place is a wreck now."

The manager just nodded and turned back to his computer, continuing his work clearing up Sega's account for a minute. Until he stopped suddenly, that is. "Hmm? Well then. That's odd. There's more on the file on the reasons for locking the account. 'Deceased' we already took care of. You mentioned the time today that you tried to use it. But this last reason, 'flagged for suspicious activity', specifically because of three extremely large deposits? Just to confirm, you haven't tried anything else with your account other than using your debit card today?"

"Correct."

"Then something is seriously wrong here. The amount deposited just yesterday totaled 3.6 million dollars. That's well beyond anything I might have expected normally. I'm sorry, but it's very likely that your account is going to stay frozen for a while, while this gets sorted out and the funds returned to whoever… what? The money came from the Akashic Pillar?"

Rei jumped in, "Did they put any particular reason?"

"Uh… The system says for the first deposit, 'Dark Lord Bounty Award #13, Dark Lord Eligos'," Jon stated in confusion. "Um, actually, all three are bounty awards for the Dark Lords the Drives killed five years ago." Then recognition started to dawn on him, his eyes going wide from looking at Sega. He started, "You… You're one of the Drives?"

Rei broke her promise to herself to indulge in hugging the cute girl later to indulge now, because Sega clearly needed it. She'd gone completely still and pale from shock.

You made my omake canon. Huh. ~smugness intensifies~

crystalwatcher said:
Sega was looking a lot more relaxed then the last time you had seen her. And while San looked tired, you could almost feel how happy she was.

Sega having some mundane (if inane) problems to deal with while having a chance to manage the fact that she wasn't around when Nepgear really needed her must've helped. I suspect that Rei being there with her at all times played a pretty big role. As for San, I'm not entirely sure what happened with her, but I'm betting it has to do with happy times with her sister.

crystalwatcher said:
James' response leaves out the fact you nearly killed them with a word. It's absence painful to you, but the look he shoots you says everything. She doesn't need to worry about that. Lets put it behind us.

Oh, like this isn't going to bite us in the ass at all. /sarcasm

crystalwatcher said:
"That was just day one. I've been in and out of meetings and appointments to clear all this shit up the entire time you've been on vacation. I can finally buy myself a damned KitKat bar and not get a dozen different calls claiming fraud!" Her sullen pout was somehow funny, with the way she had a hand on her hip and was leaning to the side while waving her free arm about. As you started giggling, it gave way to a sly grin, "Hey, why're you giggling? This could cause you problems as well!"

"Doesn't mean it's not funny! You always hated paperwork. You've always hated work in general, you lazy bum!"

"Gurk, my heart! To be pierced so cruelly by the sister I love so much! To be so unloved."

"Oh, stop that you drama queen!"

Gurk! D'awwww.

crystalwatcher said:
The back and forth would have continued, had it not been for Rei barging in and latching a collar around your neck out of the blue. Complete with leash.

Still Rei's pet.

crystalwatcher said:
"I'm running out of ideas on what to spend my free time on..."

Whatever you do, don't let any NCO know. They'll be happy to remedy that.

UberJJK · Aug 30, 2016

crystalwatcher said:
'Does tat mean we cant ~~sick~~ stick arond if Nepger neds to negotitate wit a Divine Beng?'

Wait a second! This feelings been bugging me for the last 10 minutes that we'd already seen communication in brackets like this:

crystalwatcher said:
[PEACE]

before and I just finally remembered.

Gaia did it when she summoned the Mega Scorpion:

crystalwatcher said:
But right before you follow yourself, a flicker of white draws your attention off to the side. You turn and see the most beautiful woman you could ever remember laying eyes on. Her hair is a long brown, her eyes a soft blue.

Her white dress dangles down to her ankles and bare feet, her mostly bare shoulders shaking from silent laughter as you stare at her for a moment. Then that moment is past, and you flinch, "Umm... Ma'am? Please clear out, it could get very dangerous here!"

She smiles at you, amused. "Don't worry too much about me. I'm in no danger." She adjusts her hands, and you notice she's holding something: a scorpion. One the size of her hand. "Besides, there is something I must do while I'm here."

She bends down, and releases the arachnid. Once on the ground, the creature quickly scurries off in the direction of the battle instead of away from it like you thought small animals would have. Suddenly, you feel the woman's breath on your cheek and she whispers into your ear. "Don't worry little one. You're not alone here." You blink and turn-

She is gone.

"What?"

[INSTANT EVOLUTION]

(Instant Evolution: 945337

Hyper Evolved Scorpion enters the Battle)

The words hit with an almost physical impact and sound stops. You feel the magic in the air pulse, and center on the scorpion that is now on the edge of the street... then reality seems to scream to your senses.

The animal rapidly expands. Going from the size of your hand, to the size of a police car in less than a second. You watch as it writhes, its carapace cracking and buckling, spikes of iron forcing their way through, replacing it all. It's stinger melts and reforms, gaining a bladed edge that it stabs into the concrete sidewalk and rips out again. Pincers expand and curve, edges becoming serrated as the material that makes them up changes over moments.

Steel grey, highlighted in red, the new monster roars with newly formed vocal cords, fangs dripping acid that visibly melts the ground.

justinkal · Aug 30, 2016

UberJJK said:
Wait a second! This feelings been bugging me for the last 10 minutes that we'd already seen communication in brackets like this:

before and I just finally remembered.

Gaia did it when she summoned the Mega Scorpion:

Talk to Gaia about our dream is now way higher on my priorities list.

kelllogo · Aug 30, 2016

LostDeviljho said:
Story based (i.e. non-Nepgear) Super Abilities have "lots of trauma" as a prereq. What happened to her to give her a Super?
It's a bit underwhelming for what I expect from Super Abilities as well.

Got it. High Energy Magic is no longer indicated to be a super ability.

A proper Super for her would be something that pulls the Quintessence (magic, merit, luck, power, perfection) from things she doesn't like and sends it to herself. Throwing her magical weight into spells is a simple manifestation of having that much magic.

[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.
[X] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.

[X] Plan "Spend Spend Spend"

I'll follow Gore's lead here, it's only a slightly different order than my preference.

justinkal · Aug 30, 2016

Actually, I just realized something that's rather odd.

If all the Cores and Drives so far have such a deep connection to the primordial being who embodies the concept of Peace, why do they have Purity and Faith as their primary affinities? Seems odd that Peace isn't one of the affinities.

It does give me the theory though that all of us have the potential to unlock Peace as a fourth affinity, probably accompanied by improved access to the Conceptual Language.

SaltyWaffles · Aug 30, 2016

[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.
[X] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.

We just spent days of time with Team GEAR, and Nepgear hasn't spent much time with her sister yet (nor San). It's also been quite a while since we've seen Truth or Carnage.

Nix's Warden · Aug 30, 2016

[X] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.
[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.
[X] Plan "Spend Spend Spend"

Next chance we get we have to Train and 'Plug In' our new team members. We Can Not lose control of our Apocalypse Laser Rifle and our new team members are going to need the Core Boost to survive.

MoonlightSpark · Aug 30, 2016

[X] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.
[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.
[X] Plan "Spend Spend Spend"

LostDeviljho · Aug 30, 2016

Decim said:
Spoiler: Typos that LDJ missed... Poor guy.

brb seppuku.

Nix's Warden · Aug 30, 2016

Hey @crystalwatcher there is...a thing going on apparently that I though you might like/dislike find funny/be annoyed by.

You know Maugan Ra? Well he's started up a Exalted/40K quest where the exaltation is based on the Emperors Soul. How does this involve you? It doesn't yet.

But it does affect you when the leading character option is for a female member the Adeptus Mechanicus, as the pilot of one of the emperors God-Machines, and said heroines name is.....Nepgear.

So yeah Nepgear is getting her own Gaint Robot. I thought you should know.

Logos · Aug 30, 2016

justinkal said:
Actually, I just realized something that's rather odd.

If all the Cores and Drives so far have such a deep connection to the primordial being who embodies the concept of Peace, why do they have Purity and Faith as their primary affinities? Seems odd that Peace isn't one of the affinities.

It does give me the theory though that all of us have the potential to unlock Peace as a fourth affinity, probably accompanied by improved access to the Conceptual Language.

It... could be the case that, as [Peace] was destroyed, Peace doesn't exist as an affini...

Huh, interesting thought. A quick check of the front page didn't contradict it, but perhaps in the other sheets there is something. Does anyone know if a War affinity has been seen anywhere?

Mannan · Aug 30, 2016

[X] Hunt down Truth. You haven't seen her or Carnage in a while.
[X] Visit Rei, San, and Sega. Your sister might need you to help clear some paperwork.
[X] Plan "Spend Spend Spend"

LostDeviljho · Aug 30, 2016

Logos said:
It... could be the case that, as [Peace] was destroyed, Peace doesn't exist as an affini...

Huh, interesting thought. A quick check of the front page didn't contradict it, but perhaps in the other sheets there is something. Does anyone know if a War affinity has been seen anywhere?

I know of at least one.

Crystalwatcher · Aug 30, 2016

Holy shit I've got a lot to reply to.

Funny thought: I can't log into SV from my PSP at work, but I can read the thread when I find it. So I got to watch a good portion of the current conversation 'bloom'. It was slightly horrifying but amusing at the same time.

OmegaS said:
@crystalwatcher , do you care to weigh in on this theory.

A massive amount of this is under spoilers, but I can pretty much guarantee that [ ] (the space is actually important between the brackets) is only peripherally involved in events like these.

Titanic extinction-level events on the other hand can usually be traced back to his remains in one fashion or another.

If the war spins out of control and huge numbers of casualties start mounting, then you know it's because his remains intervened.

Highwind said:
We've seen more of the others than we have seen of Truth and Carnage lately. We really need to hang out with the closest there is to normal people in our social circle.

I'm not sure if this says more about my writing style or your companion choices.

ReaperofInterest said:
Oh? I just noticed this...did Chronis get a power upgrade I wasn't aware of?

Gore17 said:
Background power decrease.

/hasnoactualclue

More like a retro upgrade/degrade.

When he was first born he was far more powerful then he is now. The problem is that he didn't make it through The Calamity unscathed. When he started out, he was somewhere near Cosmos in power.

LightMage said:
Nepgear has yet another way to deal horrible, horrible AoE damage.

Hey Nepgear+Megaphone = Wipe Out Demons on Hope maybe? [Peace] op. Plz nerf. (Jk).

As fucking hilarious as this image is, the mechanics behind the Conceptual Language are a hell of a lot more complicated then that. Later on if you guys decide to take the options to look more into it, you'll figure out why.

justinkal said:
@crystalwatcher
I just noticed that in the shop, Echo of Peace still has only it's name crossed out. The description never got crossed out.

I'll go fix that.

UberJJK said:
Where is the XP for killing Laic? I feel quite cheated here. Nepgear brutally, he exploded into a shower of gore, killed someone but didn't get any XP from it.

The fact this is what you focused on makes me think I over did it and broke you guys.

LightMage said:
Also yikes, I'm kinda worried about what might happen if Nepgear brings about [Peace]. I.E the peace of death.... :I

[PEACE] Is a lot scarier concept then one would initially assume one you start any kind of deep thought into it.

There's a reason Anastasia is becoming a killer bunny to make Chaernabog look downright cuddly.

justinkal said:
True, she has had quite a few conquests in her time

LightMage said:
But instead it's one of those 'sacrifice ally for insta-kill enemy... based on worth'. So does that mean Trauma Core plays chess?!?

... Maybe?

justinkal said:
Hey, that's actually a completely bullshit OP ability if Goddess Red (or a comparable necromancer) is on the same team! Unless, of course, true resurrection isn't enough to make someone or something become a reusable sacrifice.

It gets worse.

ReaperofInterest said:
So, is the fact that they're connected to pieces of the same Divine Being the reason Sega and Revy have such enormous sister complexes?

Well...

Gore17 said:
/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ SPOILERS! /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

Among other things.

Decim said:
Nice name for MG followers.

I was about to leave it as MG Groupies, but decided the MGroupie contraction would be better.

Decim said:
Dayum. Ichi made one hell of an impression. It explains so much why he's willing to throw it all into the Invasion of Hope, even his life. He no longer wants to destroy the Unified Dark because of revenge. He wants to do so to build a better world. He wants an end to the conflict so peace can come.

Ichi was the kind of hero that people got off their asses and followed because not doing so would not only be insulting, but prove that you were less then industrial waste.

Decim said:
This is one hell of a memorial. I like it.

Thanks. My favorite part was describing Ni's skeletons fighting the demons.

Decim said:
And all her power was for naught, for she could not save one from the Dark's assault. Nor could she save another from herself. Lastly, she was abandoned by the last sister, who left in search of a non-existent hope.

And now, she fights for a force that would annihilate those she once protected.

She who was the kindest of the four, turned to false hope, a being who likely would not grant it anyways. An Entity born of destruction would not let anything we would consider 'good' be created if it could meaningfully oppose it.

Hope died, and with her downfall, she brought misery, pain, and despair.

Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

Decim said:
You cheeky bastard.

Lost said the same thing in the Workshop.

Decim said:
That's surprisingly clear for an explanation regarding something as incomprehensible as primordial concepts.

I was trying for "Understandable, but you know that you don't really fathom the scales involved."

Decim said:
And that's the Big Bang. That's one hell of an origin story.

I was trying for originality while not going totally off base.

Decim said:
The right aligned text makes this frickin' weird to read. I'm not sure what it was supposed to do. But on the topic of Nep, Poor Nep. Not much else to say.

It was an attempt to paint the medium. As an expression of how screwy Anastasia's perception was after seeing Calamity.

Decim said:
You made my omake canon. Huh. ~smugness intensifies~

Second omake to make total Canon.

UberJJK said:
Wait a second! This feelings been bugging me for the last 10 minutes that we'd already seen communication in brackets like this:

before and I just finally remembered.

Gaia did it when she summoned the Mega Scorpion:

Not even Lost or Gore noticed that.

justinkal said:
If all the Cores and Drives so far have such a deep connection to the primordial being who embodies the concept of Peace, why do they have Purity and Faith as their primary affinities? Seems odd that Peace isn't one of the affinities.

There's a reason for this.

LostDeviljho said:
brb seppuku.

*pokes a Deviljho corpse* Dammit. I'm not Ni! I don't have a resurrect button!

Nix's Warden said:
Hey @crystalwatcher there is...a thing going on apparently that I though you might like/dislike find funny/be annoyed by.

You know Maugan Ra? Well he's started up a Exalted/40K quest where the exaltation is based on the Emperors Soul. How does this involve you? It doesn't yet.

But it does affect you when the leading character option is for a female member the Adeptus Mechanicus, as the pilot of one of the emperors God-Machines, and said heroines name is.....Nepgear.

So yeah Nepgear is getting her own Gaint Robot. I thought you should know.

...

I feel showed up.

LostDeviljho said:
I know of at least one.

Which sheet?

LostDeviljho · Aug 30, 2016

crystalwatcher said:
Which sheet?

6th.

Crystalwatcher · Aug 30, 2016

LostDeviljho said:
6th.

Umm....

*flees to the workshop*

Crystalwatcher's Magical Girl Quest!

"Excuse me?"

Herald of Disaster

Herald of Disaster

On again, off again lurker.

I am dissapoint, son

Welcome to Hades

Flame Dragon Princess

Welcome to Hades

Flame Dragon Princess

(Verified GM)

Flame Dragon Princess

(Verified GM)