[DEAD] Stand Against The Darkness: A Magical Girl Quest

[veekie]

Petty crime it is then

 

[Nevill]

I don't think Jen as we've seen her is very open to the idea.

But I suppose...

[ ] Try and find work.
- [ ] Go to the major. See if you can cut some kind of deal. (Transformed)

[ ] Try and find work.
- [ ] Demolition expert? Must be quite a few buildings that need to be safely collapsed after the rampage. (Transformed)

[ ] Try and find work.
- [ ] Something requiring physical strength? You can expedite a lot of things if you put your mind muscle to it! (Transformed)

[ ] Try and find work.
- [ ] Something something untransformed..? Yes, I have no idea either.

Delivery, maybe? I imagine there are currently a lot of people who huddle in their houses, afraid of venturing outside. Plus, we have super-grace and speed, and are unlikely to get robbed.

[ ] Borrow some money from Emily
-[ ] You know you still have to return it, right?

[ ] Miz got the right idea! Look for a shop to protect.

[ ] Rob an ATM. The city has bigger problems to deal with. (Transformed)

[ ] Shoplifting?

Any other ideas?

 

[wingstrike96]

[X] Investigate a Sin Chosen.
-[X] Greed
-[X] With Shadows

 

[Kadmus]

Spoiler: AN

Vote results:
[X] Investigate a Sin Chosen.
- [X] Greed. - 3 votes
-- [X] With Shadows. - 2 votes.

Part 8
Wednesday, Week 3

Tuesday night passes in a blur of motion and sleeplessness. You spend the whole time yet again moving from house to house for Emily, Ostin and your grandmother, heading off violence, putting out fires, and interrupting crimes. With a significant chunk of the police force gone, and the shock and terror of the attack on Monday night, it seems like your destruction of Lust barely slowed the degeneration of the city.

You're glad for the distraction, at least. It means you don't spend another night waking every half-hour, convinced you're freezing or suffocating or massacring everyone you love. Instead, you spend the time between brief bursts of violence to think about what your plan is for the rest of the week – or for tomorrow, at the least. Light contacted you in the evening, asking for everyone to meet up on the Anderson tower again to discuss the idea of holding territory, so that's the afternoon tied up.

You don't think the meeting's going to be all that long, but you suspect the emotional fallout might be unpleasant.

That's not what you're really worried about, though. You want to make a move on as many of the Sin Chosen as you can, as soon as you can, to prevent a recurrence of Cynthia's rampage. And, frankly, there's a couple that you think are the most likely to be a problem for the people of the city – Greed and Envy. You doubt Envy actually has a Sin Chosen, as it has no Sin-Eaten, but Greed? The first Sin-Eaten you fought was from Greed.

And Greed is what's driving a lot of the attacks, you can tell. What's hard to tell is if it's natural greed, desperation, or actual, supernaturally-influenced Greed. You doubt you're the only family in the city that needs groceries but doesn't have the money for it. Horrible as it sounds, there's a little voice in your head that murmurs to you that Greed's Sin Chosen would have a lot of money that they won't need once you defeat them. That it would be put to far better use feeding you and your grandmother.

You've always tried to ignore those little thoughts, but they still squirm through your skull like parasitic worms.

The real reason you want to look into the Greed Sin Chosen is that you think they'll be less dangerous than Cynthia, and that by defeating them you'll clear a path to the Sin itself. Greed sits in the heart of the city, winding amongst the skyscrapers that house big businesses and the steel-and-glass banks that pump money through the city's circulatory system. The Sin is there, too.

You stumble to a stop on a convenient rooftop, tired and hungry, and stare at the pink glow on the horizon that precedes the rising sun. You've seen more sunrises in the past few weeks than you've ever seen before, and you're beginning to wish that you had the chance to miss a few. Ideally because you were asleep for once. At least with the sun rising, people are going to start to get up to head out into the city and to work; for all that those who are influenced or simply opportunistic have been quick to jump on the chance to ravage the city, the majority are still living everyday lives. That sends most of the less devoted criminals back into the shadows.

You wonder, briefly, if there's something literally magical about the sunrise. It may well be the case that the symbolic rising of the sun, banishing night, has a tangible impact on those influenced by the Sins. It's certainly worth considering, and maybe asking Light about if she's in a good mood at some point in the near future. It could happen.

You shake your head and return home, trying not to pay too much attention to the scorch marks and broken glass along your route from where you were too late or simply weren't present. You head inside, grab a quick shower, and head back out into the city once more, pausing only to give your grandmother a quick hug.

You call Shadows while you move, stopping on a barren warehouse roof when she picks up the phone.

"Hey, Shadows, want to help me try and hunt down a Sin Chosen?" you say.

"U-um, well, like, hello, Jen?" she says, sounding like you've short-circuited her 'greetings' loop. "Yeah. Hello, Jen! How are you today?"

"Exhausted and hungry," you say. "I've been up all night making sure no-one had any stupid ideas about my house or my friends' houses. You?"

"Achy and, um, also tired," she says. "I, um, I didn't do, like, the running around thing? But I, um, I did stay up late. And, like, the, um, the noises kept me awake some more."

"Want to get out of the house and find Greed's Sin Chosen with me?" you say, hoping for an actual response this time.

"Um! Yes. Please, I, um, I'd like that," she says, and you hear a window slide open. "I'll, um, I'll meet you where we were yesterday?"

"Sounds good. Greed's in the business district, so it's a good starting point, too," you say, smiling. "See you in, uh, ten? Fifteen?"

"Ten, um, ten minutes, yeah," she says, sounding distracted. "Bye!"

"Bye," you say, but she's hung up already.

Well, that was a little weird, but it is Shadows you're talking about. You stash your phone away wherever it is that these things go when you're transformed – some sort of pocket dimension, maybe? Look, it's magic, you don't understand the mechanics of it. You can hear it ring, though, which is the important part. You stash your phone, and then take off towards the building that will forever be known to you as the cheese twist.

It doesn't take long to get there, and the trip up the building is even faster. You can cling to horizontal, perfectly smooth surfaces for a second or two, so a less-than-vertical skyscraper is more-or-less like a brisk walk. Except, you know, with super powered jumping and some sort of weird thing you can do that means you don't leave craters and cracks wherever you launch from.

You get to the top and land, cape billowing dramatically, and are only slightly disappointed that no-one is there to witness your awesome co-ordination. Then you're slightly embarrassed at being disappointed at all. You take the opportunity to stride over to one of the AC units and lean your forehead against the metal. It's already hot enough that if you were untransformed it would be uncomfortable, but in your transformed state it feels fairly cool and soothing. You close your eyes with a sigh and relax for a few minutes.

"U-um, are you okay?"

Shit. You open your eyes and turn around quickly, aware that you've probably got a red mark on your forehead from where you were leaning. Shadows is standing a few feet away, looking worried, black-gloved hands twisted together in concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm-" you yawn, covering your mouth with one hand "-I'm fine. Just taking a second to relax a little."

"O-oh. Okay! That's, um, that's good," she says, not looking convinced. "So, um, what's the plan?"

"Uh. Oh, hey, the wings are gone!" you say, thinking hard. "That's good."

"Y-yeah, they, um, they disappeared overnight. I can finally sleep on my back again," she says, looking much more cheerful at the reminder.

So. Plans. You... probably should have come up with one of those by now.

What's the plan?

[] Comb the area block-by-block, using the rooftops to get a good view of everyone below. Challenging due to the pretty extreme distances at some points, but takes less time.
[] Walk around at ground level, untransformed. Low risk, but will take a long time and also probably be quite difficult.
[] Write in.

I will also need 2 rolls of 2d6, please. One roll per poster.

 

[Alchemist767676]

[X] Comb the area block-by-block, using the rooftops to get a good view of everyone below. Challenging due to the pretty extreme distances at some points, but takes less time.

Alchemist767676 threw 1 6-faced dice. Reason: 1 Total: 1

 

[Kadmus]

Oops! Forgot to add that I need rolls. Post updated.

 

[Varano]

[X] Comb the area block-by-block, using the rooftops to get a good view of everyone below. Challenging due to the pretty extreme distances at some points, but takes less time. ​

 

[veekie]

[X] Comb the area block-by-block, using the rooftops to get a good view of everyone below. Challenging due to the pretty extreme distances at some points, but takes less time.

 

[Nevill]

Horrible as it sounds, there's a little voice in your head that murmurs to you that Greed's Sin Chosen would have a lot of money that they won't need once you defeat them.

Click to shrink...

I don't think that's how it works, Jen. The Lust Chosen was a bald, terminally ill girl who hadn't even kissed before she got the Eikon. The very first Greed Sin-Eaten didn't have anything on her but dirty rags.

Leliel emerges from behind you – was it there the whole time? - and bobs in the air near the girl. She's now slumped against the wall of the alley, knees held to her chest, arms wrapped around them, her face hidden behind her legs. Lank blonde hair and tattered, dirty clothes are all you can see of her.

Click to shrink...

If we had a chance to look at Cynthia before her transformation into a juggernaut of fury, I am almost certain we'd find a frail and weak girl. I have a hunch that only the ones who do not have something the Sin could grant could be tempted into their service. And any such gifts are revoked once the service ends.

If you defeat Greed Chosen, I think you will only find someone who is dirt poor like yourself on the other end.

"Hey, Shadows, want to help me try and hunt down a Sin Chosen?" you say.

Click to shrink...

No greetings, straight to the hunting business? We may be becoming obsessed with this war.

[x] Comb the area block-by-block, using the rooftops to get a good view of everyone below. Challenging due to the pretty extreme distances at some points, but takes less time.

Rolling the 2nd set... 4 + 4 = 8 - slightly above average.

Nevill threw 2 6-faced dice. Reason: 2nd die Total: 8

 

[Andres]

[X] Walk around at ground level, untransformed. Low risk, but will take a long time and also probably be quite difficult.

We want to have the advantage of surprise when we fight one of these things. They're dangerous.

 

[wingstrike96]

[x] Comb the area block-by-block, using the rooftops to get a good view of everyone below. Challenging due to the pretty extreme distances at some points, but takes less time.

wingstrike96 threw 2 6-faced dice. Total: 8

 

[Kadmus]

Spoiler: AN

[X] Comb the area block-by-block, using the rooftops to get a good view of everyone below. Challenging due to the pretty extreme distances at some points, but takes less time. - 5 votes.

Rolls: 8 and 8.
Champion: 8 + 5 (Insight) = 13.
Shadows: 8 + 5 (Insight) = 13.

2 successes with consequences

Part 9
Wednesday, Week 3

"Plans! I have plans," you say, glad that Shadows is so gullible. "I thought we could start by going block-to-block by the rooftops. It's not going to be as easy to make stuff out, maybe, but we'll cover the area pretty quick."

Shadows nods, smiling. "That sounds like a good start!" she says. "Um, what- what are we going to, um, do if we find them?"

You scratch your cheek thoughtfully, eyes pointed towards the sky as you ponder. "Uh, well, we probably shouldn't attack them straight off. Unless they're doing something really awful. So, we'll, uh, observe them and see if we can figure out what they're up to?"

"That, um, that sounds like a good idea. I don't, like, want to, um, fight right now? I mean-" Shadows waves her hands insistently "-I mean, like, I totally will if, um, if we have to, but I don't want to right now?"

"No, that's fine," you say, smiling to show you mean it. "This is a scouting mission. We'll come back with the others later to actually deal with the Sin Chosen. I don't want to set them off and have another Cynthia on our hands, you know?"

Shadows nods shallowly, looking pained. You step closer and put a hand on her shoulder, and she gives you a strained smile.

"Hey, you saved a lot of lives, Shadows," you say. "We couldn't have done it without you."

She swallows. "Does- does it ever get, like, easier?" she whispers. "Knowing, um, knowing you've... you've killed someone?"

Your own smile slips off your face and you have to look away. "I'll- I'll let you know if I ever find out," you whisper back.

Shadows sniffles, and raises her arms to scrub at her eyes. After a few moments, she's smiling again, that glass-brittle smile that you don't dare question for fear of shattering it forever.

"Well, um, we'll- you know, we'll make it. Let's go, um, find some Sin Chosen?" she says.

"Yeah," you say, not really feeling it any more. "Let's go find them."

The search starts slowly. Neither of you are in the right headspace to be efficient or to keep track of things properly, so you spend the first hour or so backtracking and re-scanning areas you've already covered, or going through areas you missed. It's dull work, and neither of you really feel like talking very much to begin with.

Once you settle into the groove it's much easier. One of you will scan the streets while the other scans the roofs, then you swap to make sure the other didn't miss anything, and then you move on. Rinse, repeat, hundreds of times across the business district of the city. The only reason you can do anything is because of your enhanced senses – from up here, you'd never be able to make out individual people on the streets below, otherwise.

You have to break the silence, though.

"So, uh, I take it your school's shut too?" you say, scanning the streets to see if you can catch sight of someone who might stand out as a Sin Chosen.

"Yeah," Shadows says. "Um, thanks- thanks for, like, giving me an excuse to, um, to get out of the house."

"No problem," you say, leaning further over the edge and narrowing your eyes. "Hey, come check this out. Is that what I think it is?"

Shadows leans over the edge next to you and follows your pointing finger. You noticed a latina woman in a black jacket and dress pants, her dark hair in a fancy crown braid that's threaded with what looks like actual gold. She's surrounded by a small crowd of men and women in identical black suits, but they all look odd, even from this distance. You hop across to another rooftop to get a better angle on them, but still can't make out why you're getting the 'off' impression from them.

Shadows hops over next to you, and frowns, staring off into the middle distance. "They're- I can feel them?" she says. "Well, um, I can feel her, but not, like, the suit guys?"

You keep staring at the small group as it travels down the crowded street. People flow around the cluster of identically-suited men and women without seeming to notice, and none of them come within ten feet of the woman in the centre. She turns her head to point it right towards the two of you, and she smiles. Her sunglasses reflect the glare of the sun for an instant before she lowers them. Her eyeballs are solid gold, and she winks at you before she slips her sunglasses back up.

You jerk back behind the lip of the roof, dragging Shadows with you, and swear quietly. "Fuck. She saw us. She's definitely a Sin-Chosen, though."

"Um. Um. Um, Cha-Champion?" she says, staring at something on the roof behind you. "Champion, you, um, you really need to turn around."

You do so, and come face-to-belt with a very smug looking young man. He's incredibly attractive, with perfectly styled hair, expensive clothes, and a completely self-confident stance. He smirks down at the two of you, one hand on his hip, the other holding a mobile phone to his ear.

"Wha-"

He holds up a hand, interrupting you.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Mel," he says, and even his voice is appealing, a deep, confident baritone. "I've got this. You know you can trust me."

He hangs up and slips the phone into a jacket pocket, then points a hand at each of you in a finger-gun gesture and mimes shooting, before chuckling. You've climbed to your feet while he's been taking, and Shadows follows suit.

"So!" he says cheerfully, rummaging about in his jacket for something. "Two Chosen. We've been ignoring your flitting around, because, well, you know how it is. Not worth our time to bother, right?" He pulls out a pristine cigarette carton and flicks it open, somehow managing to make a single cigarette pop up at the same time. "Now, since the two of you-" he raises the carton to his mouth and sets the cigarette between his lips, then stashes the carton away again. He begins to pat his jacket again, looking confused.

"You want to back off and tell me what the fuck you think you're doing?" you say, manifesting your axe in one hand and wreathing the other in flames.

He doesn't reply, simply grabs your burning hand – and completely ignores the fire – raises it to this face, and lights his cigarette. "Yeah, that hits the spot," he says, ignoring the axe strike that bounces off him. "I am, as you no doubt already know, Rafael Alessandro Di Napoli," he says, blowing a cloud of smoke in your general direction.

"Never heard of you," you say, starting to edge around him and dragging Shadows with you.

He doesn't seem to hear you. "I am, of course, the most important ally of the most important Sin, and as such I am in charge of the servants of all the Sins."

"Um, Pride?" Shadows says, staring at the smirking man in a mixture of confusion and wariness.

"Of course!" he says, gesturing with his cigarette. "You've been bothering my little minion down on the street, Chosen."

"Does she know you call her that?" you say, still trying to get into position to escape without too much risk.

"Duh," he says, smirking wider. "Why would it bother a minion to be called what they are, young ladies? Now, there is a reason I've bothered to come up here to talk to you."

"Other than puffing up your own ego?"

"Darling, it's only arrogance if you can't back it up," he says, running a thumb along his belt buckle. It is, you now notice, the letters RADN. He has his own initials as a belt buckle. "No, what I am here for is to offer the two of you a chance to serve. We've got two fresh openings, thanks to, well, the two of you – good work by the way, not as good as I'd do, but a good effort. And if you aren't me, well, effort's the best you'll get."

"I'm pretty sure the whole Sin Chosen thing doesn't work like that," you say, starting to back away. He doesn't follow you.

"It works how I say it works," he says, not bothered in the slightest by your actions. He is, you now notice, not actually standing on the roof. He's floating an inch or two above it, like he's too good for the ground. "You, the blonde one, you are a shoe in for Wrath. I know what I'm talking about here, you could be an excellent replacement. The freckled one, well, you'd be surprised by how well she'd fit Lust's requirements."

"Lust is dead," you say, now nearly the entire rooftop away. You're having to raise your voice to be heard, but he doesn't seem to be talking any louder than before, for all that you're hearing him like he's right next to you.

He waves his cigarette again, dismissing your comment. "Details. I can fix that."

Your blood runs cold at his offhand statement. "What the fuck do you mean, 'you can fix that'?"

"Well, that's for me to know, and you to stew over, Chosen," he says, his smirk widening further. "In any case, call me when you decide to serve." He flicks a pair of business cards towards the two of you, and they land perfectly tucked into your armour and Shadows' neckline. "And don't bother Melissa. She's busy making lots and lots of money. Cynthia and Olivia may have thought they knew better than I did, and see where that got them? The rest of them do not suffer from that delusion. They all obey me, and if you decide you want to fight against one of them, you will face all of them."

You don't know if you believe this puffed-up idiot, but he certainly talks a good game. He's also seemingly immune to being smacked with an axe and set on fire, at least superficially so.

"You're going to let us just leave?" you say, still ready to lunge forwards if the need presents itself.

"Why should I care?" he says, leaning back in mid air and folding his arms behind his head. "You'll all serve, in the end. It's not like any of you can stand against me. Go on, run along. Tell your friends, the offer is open to all who'll bend knee." He blows out another cloud of smoke. "And keep away from my minions. I'll be very annoyed if I have to send someone to smack you down."

You drag Shadows with you as you leap away, waiting until you're facing away from the Pride Sin Chosen to roll your eyes at his overblown theatrics. Shadows looks worried as she follows alongside, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, rapidly leaving the business district in the distance.

"Well, he was a total dick," you say, your shoulders finally relaxing a little now that he's out of sight.

Shadows lets out a startled giggle, and raises a hand to cover her mouth. "That, um, that was- he was, um, pretty..."

"Pretty much a self-obsessed asshole?" you finish.

"That," Shadows says, smiling. "Do you- do you think he was telling the truth?"

"I fucking hope not," you say, shuddering at the thought of the defeated Sin returning. "But I dunno how much connection that guy had to reality."

"It's, um, it's still a scary thought," she says, and you can't help but nod your agreement.

"Well, he gave us some useful info," you say, plucking the business card from the front of your armour. It reads 'Rafael Alessandro Di Napoli' in elaborate calligraphy, above a mobile phone number. "We can always hit him first, if he really is organising the Sin Chosen. Cut the head off the snake, you know?"

"Mm," Shadows replies, looking uncertain. "We should, um, should we head to the, um, the meeting?"

You manifest your phone and check the time, then nod your agreement. "Yeah."

The two of you head towards the Anderson Tower rooftop, to meet with the other three Chosen.

What situation do you want decided at the meeting?

[] The five of you define a set area and defend it, taking it in turns and shifts so everyone has a chance to rest, and so that you can cover a much larger area.
- [] Any extras? Write in.
[] Each of you picks a separate area to defend. You won't have as much space covered, but each of you would have your own territory.
- [] Any extras? Write in.
[] Write in.

I will also need 1 roll of 2d6.

 

[veekie]

[X] The five of you define a set area and defend it, taking it in turns and shifts so everyone has a chance to rest, and so that you can cover a much larger area.

 

[Kadmus]

Apologies, all, but I've come down with a bug and am not currently able to do any writing. Hopefully should be recovered by the weekend.

 

[Nevill]

Finally got a chance to get back to this.

No wonder the Sin CHosen decided to band up, they would be fools not to. I don't know if Jake is with them, though. Doesn't seem like much of a team player, that one.

So no scouting runs anymore. We can just as easily fall into their trap as Lust did in ours. And they outlevel us a bit, so we will need to do a bit of preparation before we face them. Could probably try to split them, since we hold a numerical superiority for now.

The current vote... having a single area to defend with shifts and with the ability to call for backup is our best chance... though I still think we should at least attempt to offload the lesser crimes to the police. People need to know those are still around and have power.

[x] The five of you define a set area and defend it, taking it in turns and shifts so everyone has a chance to rest, and so that you can cover a much larger area.
-[x] See if you can cooperate with the police. You should defuse the hottest of the conflicts, but should not supplant their functions entirely.
-[ ] Neighbourhood watch? It could work if you back them up. At this point you are vigilantes yourselves.

Five people simply do not have the capability to manage a large part of the city between themselves... especially if they are only active in pairs or threes at a time. Besides, what do they do with the ones stirring up trouble? Beat them up and then let them go? Maim them?

I maintain that we should keep our focus on supernatural threats and let people watch themselves. If they need help setting this up, fine, we'll do what we can, but I don't think we can do that much more for them while also working against the cause.

 

[Andres]

[X] The five of you define a set area and defend it, taking it in turns and shifts so everyone has a chance to rest, and so that you can cover a much larger area.
-[X] See if you can cooperate with the police. You should defuse the hottest of the conflicts, but should not supplant their functions entirely.

 

[Kadmus]

AN: Feeling better now, thankfully. Enjoy!

Spoiler: AN

[X] The five of you define a set area and defend it, taking it in turns and shifts so everyone has a chance to rest, and so that you can cover a much larger area. - 3 votes.
- [X] See if you can cooperate with the police. You should defuse the hottest of the conflicts, but you shouldn't supplant them entirely. - 2 votes.

Part 10
Wednesday, Week 3

The Anderson Tower rooftop is as you remember it; gravel and air conditioning units, high above the rest of the city, overlooked only by the Eye. Miz is already there when you arrive, sat cross-legged atop one of the AC units, cleaning her rifle. She raises a hand in a short wave, but otherwise doesn't bother to acknowledge you.

You and Shadows land on the gravel with a soft crunch, and head towards the middle of the roof. There's a space, boxed in by the AC units, making a sort of natural meeting place. Miz slips off her perch and saunters over to the two of you, and before you get a chance to talk, Angel soars overhead in a broad swoop, spiralling down to land next to you with a flurry of silver feathers.

"Afternoon," Angel says, slinging an arm each over you and Shadows. "We just waitin' on Light?"

"Yeah," you say, jabbing her in the ribs with a stiff finger to get her to let go of you. "We should wait 'til she's here to discuss anything."

"Fine, fine," Angel says, jabbing you back. "You hear about the National Guard? They're due in tomorrow."

"Not surprised," Miz says, studying her nails. "The only surprise is that it took so long for them to get called in."

"I don't want guys with tanks and machine guns to get mind-fucked by Wrath," you say. "That would be really, really fucking bad."

Angel shrugs. "We can take 'em."

"Sure. But can your family?" Miz says. "Where is Light, anyway? I was expecting her to have arrived by now."

Light chooses that moment to step around an AC unit, arms folded behind her back. "I was simply waiting for an opportune entry point," she says, and you can see the amusement in her eyes. "Everyone is here. Excellent."

"What you call us all together for, then?" Angel says, folding her arms across her chest and spreading her wings.

You put a hand on Angel's arm and shoot her a meaningful look, and she relaxes a little. Still no love lost there, it seems.

"It is, in fact, as a favour to Miz," Light says. "She raised the issue, and I thought it would be best for all of us to discuss and decide on a course of action."

"Um, what... what issue?" Shadows says, still huddled next to Angel.

"The city is, as you all know, falling to pieces. After the attack by the Wrath Sin Chosen on Monday, the police are unable to keep the peace in any way, shape, or form," Light says, gesturing with one hand to manifest a scale model of the city in golden light. Red dots flare up all across it. "As you can see, violence is present across the entire city. Miz suggested that we pick areas to defend, and that we enforce the rule of law within those areas. I think she is thinking on too small a scale. We should, together, defend a section of the city; having five of us would allow for shifts and rest."

"I was gonna suggest the same thing," you say, stepping forward to study the map. "I'm sure we all want to keep our friends and families safe," you continue, leaning in closer to the golden buildings. "I think we need to co-operate on this one."

Miz snorts. "Whatever. If you want to pick out a bigger patch, I'm down with it, but I think we're going to end up at each other's throats."

"Shouldn't the National Guard be doin' all this anyway?" Angel says, frowning. "They're gonna freak the fuck out if we start divvying up turf."

"They, um, they probably won't, like, be able to do that much?" Shadows says, looking down at the map with a narrowed green eye. "There's, um, six Sins left, and the, um, the influence is still building. They... they're probably, um, going to end up being more of a threat than a help."

You nod, and catch Light doing the same out of the corner of your eye. It's weird, agreeing with her.

"Is anyone opposed to the basic plan we have outlined?" Light asks. "That we define an area and defend it and enforce the rule of law within it?"

Miz shrugs, you and Shadows shake your heads, and Angel scowls.

"I still ain't sure about this," she says. "But if everyone else is in, I'll go along with it. Keeps my family safe, anyway."

"We need to figure out the best area to hold," you say, waving an experimental hand through the projected map. "Can we mark up the important locations for everyone on here?"

"Of course," Light says. "Simply tap the right area, and I will highlight it."

You nod, and start scanning the map for the spots you need. Angel and Shadows step up next to you to do the same, while Miz stands next to Light and points at four points on the map. Between the five of you, you light up a good thirty locations, across a significant chunk of the city. It's an imposing area to have to cover, even if you only did the absolute bare minimum.

"Shit," you mutter. "I dunno if we can cover all of that, guys. That's gotta be a quarter of the city, easily."

"Between all of us? I think we can do it," Light says, studying the map intently. "It will require us to set up a warning system of some kind, but between myself and Shadows, it should be feasible."

"How long would it take to get it all set up?" Miz asks. "Because this is, like, a seriously big area. No way can any of us deal with it without some sort of way to find out where the trouble is."

"Um, maybe... like a couple of days?" Shadows says, staring into the distance while she thinks. "The, um, the real problem is, um, that we're going to be covering... three? Sins with, um, with this. Wrath, Envy, Sloth."

"We should try and take one of 'em out before the end of the week, at least," Angel says. "Maybe Sloth? It don't sound like that one's gonna give us much of a fight, right?"

"We can discuss that later," you say, frowning. "I think we should see if the cops are willing to work with us to keep the city safe. They saw us wreck Cynthia on Monday, didn't they? Pretty sure I saw a roadblock full of them watching. I think they might be a little grateful, and we can probably use that."

"You and Angel should do that," Light says. "I am not the most... personable of the five of us, and Shadows and I should get to work designing the warning system in any case."

"Yeah, I have no idea how I'd actually get that sort of thing organised," you admit. "Who would we even talk to?"

"Chief of police," Miz says. "I can probably get us in to see the mayor or the sheriff, too, if you guys want." She shrugs. "Rich parents, you know."

You think hard. What's the best plan, here?


1. Who sets up the warning system?

[] Write in.


2. Who goes to talk to the police? (Cannot be anyone working on the warning system.)

[] Write in.


3. Do you need to do anything else? Who does it? (Cannot be anyone working on the warning system or talking to the police.)

[] Write in.


And I will need a roll of 2d6, please.

 

[Nevill]

Ok, so it's as Light said. She and Shadows should be working on the warning system.

[x] Light - warning
[x] Shadows - warning

The idea about police is ours, and we have the highest CHA, strange as it may sound. So it's us who will do the talking.

[x] Champion - police

So that leaves Miz and Angel. Is there anything we need from them?
We can't send them to check on Sloth, with just the two of them.

I want Light to develop some sorcery implement that could hold Jake in place and nullify/disrupt his teleportation... but we can't distract her from her work.

Is Miz still wanted for murder? Would she be any help talking to the authorities? Or is her part just getting us in?
Can any of them help with the warning system?
Would they make any differences assigned to either of the prime locations?

Edit: changed the formatting.

[x] Miz - warning
[x] Angel - police

 

[Andres]

[x] Light - warning
[x] Shadows - warning

[x] Champion - police

 

[veekie]

[x] Light - warning
[x] Shadows - warning
[x] Champion - police
[X] Miz - Recon Sloth
[X] Angel - Recon Sloth

 

[Kadmus]

Spoiler: AN

Vote results:
[X] Light – Warning. - 3 votes.
[X] Shadows – Warning. - 3 votes.
[X] Champion – Police. - 3 votes.

[X] Miz – Recon Sloth. - 1 vote.
[X] Angel – Recon Sloth. - 1 vote.

[X] Miz – Warning. - 1 vote.
[X] Angel – Police. - 1 vote.

Rolled a D2, came up 1. Miz and Angel will try to recon Sloth.

Part 11
Wednesday, Week 3

"How about you and Angel go have a run-by on Sloth's territory, see what you can pick up," you suggest to Miz. "We don't know anything about it, other than that it's in the tourist district, and it's one of the three that's going to be in our turf."

"Sounds like a plan," Angel says, punching a fist into her palm. "Means we get to go and do shit instead of standin' around talking, too."

Miz simply shrugs. "I'm not going to jump into anything dangerous, but Angel and I are the toughest of us. Probably won't have too much of a problem, even if it comes down to a quick fight."

"Myself and Shadows shall begin planning the warning system, then," Light says. "Come, Shadows. We shall plan somewhere more comfortable."

She starts to walk away, and Shadows shoots the rest of you a nervous look before trotting after the haughty Chosen. You restrain the urge to flip Light off, though Angel makes no such effort.

"Any idea where the chief of police is gonna be, Miz?" you ask.

"Central headquarters," she says. "It's just off the city centre, on one of the main streets that feed towards the Eye. I don't think Cynthia hit it."

"Well, that's where I'm headed, I guess. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Angel says, and punches you on the shoulder. "Not that you'll need it, right?"

You shrug, and Miz snorts out a short laugh. "You'll be fine. They can't hurt us, no matter what they do, so it's not like you need to worry about being arrested or anything."

"I guess," You say. "See you guys later. Meet back here?"

"I'll text you if we ain't gonna be here," Angel says. "Stop stallin' and go already."

You flash her a quick smile, and then you're moving. You jump off the rooftop, aiming your descent so that you land on a roof a good three hundred yards away, not even disturbing the gravel as you touch down. Then, it's a quick fifteen-minute circuit you have to do to locate the police station in question; it's an ugly building, one of the few concessions to practicality near the city centre. It's not made of glass and polished steel; instead, it's an imposing block of solid concrete, set well back from the road to allow for a parking lot that is filled with police cars and riot vans. The entrance is protected by a set of heavy steel gates that are currently open, gates that block access to the parking lot when they're shut. They match the heavy chain-link fence around the lot, and the winding barbed wire and razor wire stung up along the top of that fence.

The station seems busy, incredibly so – there are people being brought in every few minutes, and more being shipped off somewhere in batches. You guess they have to stick the criminals somewhere, and the headquarters doesn't seem to have much room for any sort of cell block.

The situation changes, however, when you land at the entrance. It's like you're a stone dropped into a pond made of people; first, those nearest spot you, and go pale. Then, the rising wave of panic spreads, and before long you've got every gun in the area pointed right at you, held in shaking, worried hands.

A gun goes off, and you feel the bullet flatten against your cheek. It doesn't even sting.

"Do you mind?" you say. "I'm not a bad guy. I'm here to talk."

"Is that what happened on Monday?" one of the cops yells at you. "Talking?"

You stare at him, brows furrowed. "Well, you obviously weren't there, or you'd know that I'm one of the reasons that there's any of you left at all. None of you were at the barricade? None of you saw us take her out?"

A different cop speaks up, sounding less concerned, but still wary. "I was there. I saw you girls vanish the crazy bitch, sure. You're all just as dangerous as she was."

"What, you wanted us to be less dangerous than the murderous psychopath we stopped? I don't think that would've gone so well. We barely survived as it is," you say, trying not to let your frustration bleed into your voice. "I just want to talk to the chief."

"Murder him, more like!" the first cop shouts. Yeah, he's definitely the guy who shot you.

"If I wanted to kill him, there's no-one here who could stop me," you growl, before realising what you've just said and struggling not to slap yourself in the forehead. "Look, if I was here to kill cops, you'd all be dead already. I wouldn't be playing nice and asking politely to talk to the chief of police, would I?"

"You would not," a new voice says. You look up to see a solidly-built older black man stood in the entrance to the station, glowering down at you. "Well, why don't you come on in for a spell?" he says. "And I distinctly remember the rest of you have some jobs to be doing!" he barks, glowering at the rest of the cops just as balefully as he was at you.

You start to walk towards him, and the police surrounding you part like the ocean before Moses, lowering their guns and looking equal parts worried and sheepish.

"You the chief?" you ask, once you're close enough you no longer have to shout to be heard.

"Yeah. Come on, then, follow me," he says, looking disgruntled.

You do so, and he leads you through the chaotic police station, past the front desk and the cuffed criminals, through the bustling bottom floor, and up some stairs to his office. It's plain, barely furnished; the only thing sin there are a desk, a computer, and some chairs. There's a potted plant in one corner, and there are certificates hung on the walls, but other than that it's undecorated.

"Sit. Make it quick," he says, stomping around to sit at the desk. He leans forwards, elbows on the table, and observes you over interlaced fingers.

You settle into one of the chairs in front of his desk, and clear your throat. "We want to help," you say. "We want to defend an area of the city, and try to keep crime as low as we can, but we'd like to do it with your assistance."

"Yeah?" The chief doesn't look impressed. "How about you answer some questions for me, first. What are you?"

"We're called the Chosen," you say, matching his stare with your own. "We've been granted superhuman powers to fight things like the woman that wrecked the city on Monday, and worse."

"So I've got two groups of super-powered people slugging it out in my city," he says, scowling. "You couldn't have picked somewhere else? Like Pittsburgh? You'd be doing the place a favour."

"I wish," you say. "The 'worse' are here, and they're the cause of all the recent trouble. They're provoking certain emotions and empowering people to be like lesser versions of the attacker on Monday."

He runs a hand through his short-cropped salt-and-pepper hair. "And where are these 'worse' guys? Just hiding in an office somewhere? Why haven't you stopped them, if that's what you've got these powers for?"

"They hide in, uh, well, it's sort of a separate dimension that's attached to this one? You're not going to see them," you say, and then pause. "Well, I hope to hell you're not gonna see them. If you do, we're gonna have bigger problems than half the cops in the city dying."

"Bigger like...?"

"End of the world?" you say, and shrug helplessly. "We're working on it. We killed one last week, but they aren't something we can take on lightly. They've killed two of us already. I'm hoping we can get another one this week."

He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Okay, say I believe all of this crazy bullshit," he says. "And, honestly, the only reason I am is because I saw what happened on Monday. Say I believe it. Why do you want to waste time doing our jobs?"

"We have people we care about in the city," you say. It's safe to tell him that much, at least. "And, well, you weren't capable of protecting everyone before the massacre. You definitely aren't now."

His scowl is back, but he nods at your reasoning. "The city isn't exactly prepared to deal with full-on riots, you're right. Tell me this, though. We've run you five through the systems. Had officers who saw you check every face we have that matches your general descriptions. Now, I'm not saying we're infallible, but no-one could identify you."

"That's just one of the, uh, the things that being empowered grants us?" you say. "Super identity protection. If you saw me when I was normal, you'd never recognise me."

He makes some notes. "Okay. Okay, this is... so far outside our regulations you can't see them. But there is... precedent... for working with concerned citizens. I think we can arrange something. I can't exactly turn down your help, can I? You'd just do it anyway, and we'd be left to pick up the pieces."

You can feel the guilt creeping into your heart at his defeated expression, but you steel yourself. You've done far worse than upset a police chief to protect your home.

"We would, yeah," you say. "It was my idea to try and co-ordinate with you guys as much as we could. We want the city to still be standing when we win, you know? We don't want to take over or anything."

"We'll see," he says. "I'll pass you to Davies. She'll be your point of contact for all of this. Keep her informed, and keep her in the loop." He gets up from the desk, walks to the door, and sticks his head out. You hear a bellowed "DAVIES!" and then he stalks back to his desk and turns to his work.

"Thank you," you say.

"Thank me by not making any more messes," he grumbles. "Go wait outside for Davies, please."

You do so, unwilling to piss off the chief of police any more than is absolutely necessary. It feels like you just strong-armed the man into doing what you wanted, and maybe you did, but that's the situation you're all in right now – the police simply don't have the capacity to do what you need them to. You do.

Davies turns out to be a slim middle-aged woman in what you recognise as 'detective clothes' – a cheap suit with her badge pinned to her belt. She looks thoroughly unimpressed a she passes you, although she's obviously wary, and she slips into the chief's office. A few minutes later, she's back out, and the two of you head for an empty room to discuss the situation.

It takes a while, and by the end of it your head is spinning a little, but you've made copious notes, and you have a direct contact number for Detective Davies. You hope it's going to help.

What's the plan for tomorrow? You'll find out the results of the Sin investigation tomorrow.

[] Spend time with a friend.
- [] Who?
[] Hang out with one of the other Chosen.
- [] Angel.
- [] Shadows.
- [] Miz.
[] Investigate a Sin.
- [] Which?
- [] With who?
[] Investigate a Sin Chosen.
- [] Which?
- [] With who?
[] Hunt Sin-Eaten.
- [] What kind (Any but Lust and Envy)
[] Try and find work.
- [] What/where?
[] Try and find some groceries.
- [] How are you going to afford them?
[] Write in.

 

[veekie]

[X] Try and find some groceries.
-[X] Scavenge. Look for recently closed shops or recently abandoned warehouses and break in.

 

[Nevill]

Well...

[X] Try and find some groceries.
-[X] Scavenge. Look for recently closed shops or recently abandoned warehouses and break in.

Since no one seems to have time for honest work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I wonder how our 'identity protection' works on telephone numbers. Do they show up as 'UnID'd caller' or something? Else it'd be trivial to track it all the way to Jen.

We didn't roll the last time. Is the offer still standing, or will you roll for us?

 

[Kadmus]

AN: If people don't roll, I roll and use the results to determine the outcomes of the posts. It's not been anything particularly important recently, just some minor social stuff, and my dice seem to love the Chosen way more than the forum dice do, so you've been passing with ease.

Spoiler: AN

Vote results:
[X] Try and find some groceries. - 2 votes.
- [X] Scavenge. Look for recently closed shops or recently abandoned warehouses and break in. - 2 votes.

Part 12
Wednesday, Week 3

You spend the rest of the afternoon – what little of it there is left, after your meeting with Davies – on the roof of the Anderson tower and trying not to think about all the terrible fates that might have befallen Angel and Miz. You've paced and you've sat and finally you've pulled out your axe and decided to work through some of the instinctual motions you've been granted by your power.

You're in the middle of a sweeping-side-strike-into-roundhouse-heel-kick-into-overhead-cleave combo when your blade meets unexpected resistance. Angel is there, sword locked against your axe, and she's grinning broadly. You let out a sigh of relief and grin back, settling both hands on your axe as you fight to overpower her. She holds out for a moment, but the sheer force you can bring to bear is too much for her, and she disengages, sliding back a step, and brings her sword up into a high guard.

"You're good?" you ask, scanning her for injuries.

"Fuckin' ace," she says, and darts forwards, blade swinging. "Didn't see a thing, though. Fucker was there-" she rattles your axe with a staccato of blows, forcing you onto the defensive "- we could both feel it. Just couldn't find it."

You push forwards, getting inside Angel's guard, but before you can smash the butt of your axe into her stomach she flaps her wings once and gets just out of range, but she's on the back foot now.

"You think we're gonna need Shadows or Light to pinpoint it?" you say, turning your aborted jab into a vicious uppercut slash, pushing Angel further back. "Not sure I'd be much help."

"It's slippery, I'll give it that," Angel growls, turning to the side so that your overhead cleave passes by her face with less than a millimetre to spare, stabbing forwards in the same motion. "Miz thought it might be movin'. I ain't certain of that, but it wasn't where we were expectin' it to be."

You slide under the stab, axe swinging out to try and take Angel's legs out, and she jumps a good thirty feet off the ground to avoid it. "Run into any trouble at all?"

"Nah," she says, dropping like a meteor to smash her sword against your weapon. It's a struggle, but you're clearly strong enough to hold her off, even with her advantage. "Not even any Sin-Eaten. Reckon they're just sat somewhere, doin' nothin'."

"Wouldn't surprise me," you say, and you take a quick few steps around Angel to stand behind her, the edge of your axe against her neck.

You can see her grin broaden, as she turns to look at you, and then her eyes flick down. You look down, and she's got her sword held in both hands, pressed against your breastplate, ready to drive it home. You both hold the position for a moment, and then the two of you are laughing. You dismiss your weapon and wipe the tears from your eyes.

"Draw?" you say.

Angel offers her arm, and you intuit her intent without needing words. The two of you clasp forearms, smiling broadly, and she claps you on the shoulder hard enough to make you stagger a little.

"Draw," she says.


Thursday, Week 3

You thought you might be able to get some proper rest, with a few things resolved and others at least put into motion.

You were wrong.

Between the hunger – you told your grandma you'd eaten already, lied to her face so she'd eat some of the last of your meagre supplies – and the nightmares, it's a long night. You're starting to feel the exhaustion when you throw off the covers at two in the morning, giving up on the idea of sleep, and slip out of the window to go patrol and try to keep your friends safe. For a normal human, this lack of rest would be crippling, but for you it's currently just inconvenient. You aren't sure how long that's going to last. You feel fuzzy-headed and miserable, though, that's for sure.

You doze off on a rooftop, once, huddled against the stairwell entrance, and jolt awake less than an hour later, woken by the red dreams again. You can't physically exhaust yourself any more, not now, not with what's at stake, but you don't really see any other options to get you some sleep.

You almost regret the sun rising above the horizon, because it means you'll have to do more than just lurk on rooftops and scare criminals. Honestly, the only things you want to do right now are eat and sleep. Your stomach grumbles to emphasise the point, and you scowl down at it for its betrayal.

Sleep, you can't fix. Not at the moment. Food, though? Food, you might be able to get hold of. The idea is... pretty repellent, but there's not much of a choice, here; you're going to have to appropriate some.

No, you can't lie to yourself like that; you're going to have to steal some.

It won't even be difficult, either. You know that what seems like half the businesses in the city have run off already, writing off the assets stored here as already lost. Big businesses, mostly; they're the only ones that can afford to consider the loss of an entire city's worth of assets as 'acceptable losses'.

It wouldn't really be stealing, then, would it? You'd just be... using the stuff that's been abandoned. Salvaging, really.

And honestly, the city owes you at least a little, for helping out so much. No-one's going to notice a couple of boxes of groceries disappearing from an abandoned Walmart distribution centre.

Yeah, even you aren't buying that justification. It's not going to stop you, though; the truth of the matter is that you need food, and you're going to get food.

Your mind made up, you turn towards the desert. The warehouses that supply the city are on the outskirts, clustered together like a grim, monochrome chequerboard. You've been past them a few times over the years, and more than a few times in your jaunts across the city, but they've never been particularly interesting before now. Just big concrete boxes to store things in.

You jump from roof to roof with practised ease, headed towards the nearest set of warehouses. There isn't much traffic out at this time of the morning, especially with the state of the city, but you still leap over a few early commuters. You get a couple of horns honked at you, and you wave as you pass, but you don't really spare much time to bother with it.

As you approach thee warehouses, it's immediately apparent that other people have had the same idea as you; you can't see a single door that hasn't been knocked down, and there are pieces of packaging strewn across the loading bays from where people have been opening their acquisitions before moving on.

You walk into the first one you find, anyway.

It's dim, inside; the lights are all out, and the tiny amounts of sunlight filtering in through the high, narrow windows are barely enough to make it gloomy, much less well-lit. The inside space is enormous, with no dividing walls. It's just what seems like endless rows of shelves, all the way to the ceiling.

It isn't abandoned, either. There are a few people who emerge from around the shelves at the sound of your entry – your armour is not what you would ever describe as stealthy – and all of them are armed in some way. They see you, and a couple of them raise guns.

You manifest your axe, and they open fire. The bullets feel like warm raindrops as they patter against you, and you scowl. Your free hand bursts into flame, and you raise it high above your head.

"I'm not here to hurt you," you say. "Just leave me alone, and I'm not gonna bother you."

The two who opened fire on you share a look, and then they're sprinting away, desperate to break line of sight, closely followed by all the others. You sigh, and shake your head. You really need to work on your 'dealing with people who have guns' skills. A problem for later.

You spend a few minutes looking around, and find nothing of use to you. The bottom shelves have all been stripped of anything remotely valuable, while the people who have evidently begun living in here have re-purposed a lot of the packaging to make places to sleep. You jump up to the top of the shelves to look over the stuff up there – a lot of it is still present, due to how hard it would be to get to for a normal person – but it's all electronics and clothes. Nothing useful to you, right now, although you do have a faint urge to go through the boxes filled with nice dresses.

The next few warehouses are just as useless, filled with more squatters and more useless boxes of random crap. You're sure it would all be pretty valuable at most other times, but a crate of non-stick spatulas isn't what you're looking for. You spend several hours combing the warehouses, turning up disappointment after disappointment, before you come across what you're looking for.

The warehouse is just like all the others, just as ransacked and just as filled with squatters, but this one has the high shelves stocked with a whole selection of canned and dried foods. You find the sturdiest crate you can, and begin to load up on supplies. Years of living on a shoestring budget combined with a keen interest in keeping healthy have taught you the best canned and dried foods to get, so you make sure you collect as many as you can. Cans of beans, jars of peanut butter, cans of vegetables and fruits – all of it goes into the crate. You wonder briefly if you might be overdoing things as you add a couple of enormous bags of rice to the collection, but you realise you're being silly even as you think it.

There's no telling how long this situation is going to last, and you need to be prepared. It's much better to get far too much stuff now and not need it, than to run out later and not be able to resupply because the warehouses have been burned down or something. It's not like you can't carry a crate full of stuff, either; you've carried cars, before, so this is nothing.

The city feels different as you make your return trip, and it takes you a moment to realise why. There are people in army uniforms on the streets, patrolling in groups of two or four, all of them heavily armed. Major intersections you pass have what seem to be checkpoints set up on them, a couple of Humvees with what look like machine guns on the top of them positioned so they can sweep the streets if need be at each one.

Every citizen you pass over seems significantly more... muted, than normal. They tend to be walking quickly, with their heads down and shoulders hunched, and trying not to draw the attention of any of the soldiers. The whole city feels oppressive.

It's... not your problem, right now. If it takes oppression to make sure the rioting and murders and arsons stop for a while, it might just be worth it; a temporary measure to keep things controlled while you and the other Chosen deal with the actual problem.

You hope.

You land on a roof near your home and realise the main problem you're going to have.

How the hell are you going to get this crate inside without anyone noticing?

1. How do you manage it? (Flavour choice)

[] You know enough magic to manage a portal, of sorts. You could open one to place the crate into your room.
[] Shadows could help. She can do magic stuff, right?
[] You can transport the stuff in piecemeal. It'll take longer, but it's certainly doable.
[] Write in.

2. What's the plan for this evening?

[] Spend time with a friend.
- [] Who?
[] Hang out with one of the other Chosen.
- [] Angel.
- [] Shadows.
- [] Miz.
[] Try and pin down Sloth's location.
- [] With who?
[] Investigate a Sin Chosen.
- [] Which?
- [] With who?
[] Hunt Sin-Eaten.
- [] What kind (Any but Lust and Envy)
[] Try and find work.
- [] What/where?
[] Write in.

 

[veekie]

[X] You know enough magic to manage a portal, of sorts. You could open one to place the crate into your room.
[X] Try and pin down Sloth's location.
-[X] Shadows