281 lines
No EOL
25 KiB
Text
281 lines
No EOL
25 KiB
Text
THIS IS TO BE TOLD ONCE ALL TWELVE DOMAINS HAVE BEEN VISITED
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The scene opens early in the morning with a phone call. (Player) answers, and it is Nash. He tells your group King Akarui is requesting you come down to the Town Hall for a special meeting.
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Upon arrival, Nash will flag your group down to his desk again, still perky as can be. "Right on time! The King will see you now." He grabs a nearby clipboard, guides you to the meeting room, and opens the door for you.
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You see King Akarui and Anais already in the middle of a heated discussion. Nash will turn around and freeze in place, looking like he just saw a ghost. But before he has a chance to go back out the door, Akarui will point at him.
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"You. Wait right there. I'll be with you in a moment." He will visibly gulp and move a little more inward into the room, standing almost militantly at attention, partially hiding behind his clipboard.
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King Akarui sighs and returns to his prior conversation. "Anais, you can't expect people to follow these nitpicky rules. Fence color restrictions, hedge height requirements, heavy volume level regulations... I don't care how many complaints you've received, this is nonsense and I won't enforce it."
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Anais will reply with a whiny tone. "But think of how much it'll beautify the Gated community! It'll be so much more pleasant for the seniors to see, plus you'll get to see a much cleaner and quieter neighborhood!"
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Akarui will just stare at her deadpan in the eyes. "Okay one, the seniors face the opposite way. Two, I practically live HERE. And three, the people who own those properties can do what they want as long as they don't set them on fire. "
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Anais will slam her hands into the desk. "Sir, I respect your authority, but I need you to at least take this seriously. The noise complaints and slow self destruction of these properties are going to drive down the value of the district! We'll start losing money when noone wants to live somewhere so ugly!"
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Akarui will continue to just stare at her. "You've been reading too many of the books about outside property values. The only places to live are the Gated homes, Residential houses, and apartments. We set those values and you know damn well they won't fluctuate." Anais will try to respond, but Akarui will riase a hand. "That being said... I will have the noise complaints investigated and the general condition of the neighborhood therein given a thorough look. We can discuss the rest on another day. Will that suffice?"
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Anais will pause for a moment. "... I suppose. But if I get one more noise complaint--"
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"--I'll be the first to hear about it, yes. Just like the last seven. Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to with our local heroes. Or should I call them... 'Kings of Kings?'"
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She will exit in a huff, and will glare at the entire party on the way out the door, giving an indignant HMPH. She will slam the door behind her, leaving Akarui alone with your group. Akarui sighs in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his beak. "My apologies for that one, she is always in some kind of mood when it comes to the Gated community. Thinks it should be some pristine living community."
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His gaze will immediately turn to Nash. "Now Nash, we've had this conversation before. You know you're supposed to announce anyone coming my way, even if it's just you, specifically for situations like this." You see Nash's ears droop a bit before Akarui continues, "However, your inadvertent interruption gave me the perfect excuse to get out of THAT meeting, so I'm going to let it go. This time." He will smirk a bit before continuing, "Just... don't let it happen again."
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Nash will perk up a bit before heading out the door and closing it behind him with a sigh of relief. You hear a sharp YELP from behind the door, before Akarui grabs your attention. "On to business..."
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-----
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(IF THEY JOINED TF)
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"I understand you signed up to be Thunder Force. Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your acceptance. After all the contributions you and your team have made to this town already, it makes me proud to see you dedicate yourselves to the protection of the people. In fact, Commander Harken and I had a discussion regarding your first assignment."
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(IF THEY HAVE NOT)
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"I understand you are technically an unaligned team of 'vigilantes' for lack of a better term, and ordinarily that would be frowned upon legally, but you've proven to the public that you are here to help. The fact you haven't joined the Thunder Force is a curiosity to many, but I'm sure you have your reasons. Either way, I would like to ask you to work with them on a special assignment."
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"A business in the ESSENTIALS district has requested extra security for an upcoming delivery. There is an important shipment coming in for a special project we need to keep safe."
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"Harken will brief you on the mission at TFHQ." He will reach over and push the intercom button, asking Nash to escort your group out. A minute later, a disheveled Nash opens the door to let you out and walks down the hall with you, fixing his outfit as you all walk, laughing nervously and apologizing the whole way.
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IF THEY ASK WHAT IS WRONG
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He stammers some before sighing with frustration. "Anais is very... easy to frustrate. She uh... demanded my assistance in cooling down."
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IF THEY RETORT
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"She just kinda... used me as a punching bag. I'll be fine, but I might need to visit the tailor on my way out." His eyes widen and he suddenly hides behind you all as you head out of the lobby, passing by a female postal worker delivering a package and blowing a bubblegum bubble.
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(CONTACTS ROLL) She looks like the same wolf girl that delivered the mail the other day.
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Once he is out of sight range, he will breathe a heavy sigh. "And SHE just scares me." Once you are out by the doors, you see him scurry to his car and take off out of the parking lot.
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AT THUNDER FORCE HEADQUARTERS
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Harken meets your group at the door and guides you directly into his office, locking the door once you go in. "I appreciate you showing up so promptly for this job. Ordinarily I would prefer to leave protection assignments to fully trained officers, but we are a bit shorthanded at the moment. Plus..."
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-----
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*IF THEY ARE TF*
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"As you have prominent combat experience before even joining, I felt this would be a suitable assignment for your group."
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*IF THEY ARE NOT*
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"The people know you now, and as such, you have earned a modicum of trust on our end. As such, I wish to deputize you for the day regarding an important assignment, if you are interested."
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"Your assignment will be to go to the Research and Development Lab in the Essentials district. We have a rather large shipment of steel, copper, aluminum, and brass coming in from the Red and Brown domains, for a special construction project. You simply need to guard it until the end of the day to ensure it is kept safe."
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*IF THEY ACCEPT*
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"You are expected to arrive in one hour, work an eight hour shift of hourly building inspections one at a time, and otherwise are to stay inside with the containers until the end of your shift. They will be picked up and transported after. Afterwards, report back to me here. That is your mission for the day.
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*IF THEY ASK ABOUT PAY*
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He will reach into his desk and lull out several small bags full of coins. "I had a small budget approved by King Akarui before we set this up, you will be paid the same as any Thunder Force agent starting out. 25z an hour, 8 hours of work, that entitles each of you to 200z, all paid upgront. AND, since you are with us, you are owed access to our special uniform selection. Feel free to pick some up on the way out."
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"Dismissed!"
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*IF THEY PARTAKE*
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You are met by TF agent Binx the Cat, whom escorts you to the wardrobe area, with multiple tables full of gear to match all shapes and sizes.
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(IF THEY ASK) They don't really provide armor, since the magic everyone tends to use bypasses it anyways. It more is just a basic uniform.
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- The first table is full of chrome colored bracers and chest covers
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- The second table is full of black slacks, boots, and short & long-sleeved shirts
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- The third table is full of chrome bottom-half masks, black sunglasses, and folded black & silver long coats
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-----
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AT THE SITE
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A chameleon man in a red dress shirt greets you at the door, his eyes flicking back and forth between all of you, and his nametag reading ELEAZAR. "Oh good good, you made it! Appreciate your time, Officers."
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"Your station is this desk, the fenced in area is your patrol circle, and there is coffee & doughnuts if you are hungry."
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Right on cue, a vehicle suddenly backs in to the facility, and a group of four muscled oxen men unload ten wooden crates, each one emblazoned with a burn mark in the shape of a hand.
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(NOTICE ROLL) You spot Nash with a clipboard on site, scribbling down information with a smile on his face. And he hasn't seemed to notice you.
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*IF THEY APPROACH*
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When he sees you, he LITERALLY jumps three feet in the air screaming "OH FUCK" and flops on his back. "Owww..."
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*HELPING HIM UP*
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"Jeez, didn't expect YOU guys to be here... wait, are you the security detail for the shipment?"
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*IF THEY CONFIRM*
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"AWESOME! This is so perfect! I don't care what anyone says, Akarui is AWESOME!!!" He realizes he is acting a fool and straightens himself out. "Sorry, I uh... may or may not have overheard about that "mole" situation, and since you didn't show up until AFTER that started, I gotta assume it's not you guys."
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*HOW DOES HE KNOW*
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He is a little taken aback by the third degree. "Those intercoms we use are kinda junky, so I hear alot of those private meetings without meaning to. Among other things..." He will lean in and whisper to your group, "...Apparently the King is trying to supplement his height with platform shoes on the sly..."
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*ASK WHAT HE IS DOING THERE*
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"Oh, uh, right... so this is kind of a secret, but you know how we got those hydroelectric generators giving Diadem power, right? Well, my dad was an engineer here. He helped create the hole through the Diadem floor like 20 years ago, and he had a dream we MIGHT be able to use that to escape from this place."
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"But since we're on an island in the middle of the ocean, going out through the hole is a bit of a suicide mission. So, we need a safety vessel. Some scientists and I proposed this idea about two years ago to King Akarui that we could build like... a test submarine and see if it could descend far enough to get out, make it to some nearby land, and then get some actual help!"
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"And he finally approved it a month ago! Full ride budget and everything! This here is the last of the shipments of raw material we need to make a test sub. We're thinking a fifty man vessel would be enough to get ourselves into the outside world. Can you believe it???"
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"All I gotta do is get this to the secure location this evening, and we can finally finish building it. We might just be making history."
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He looks up to a clock on the wall. "Anyways, we can talk about it later. King Akarui only gave me an hour to come check on stuff. I'll see you guys later!" He pauses and turns around with a cheeky grin. "...or if this works, maybe not?" ;D
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-----
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The shift goes pretty much without issue, and around 5:30pm, you see an all new flatbed truck pull in to the same entrance. This time you see a dozen much more normal sized men approach, each one wearing different degrees of clothing. "We're uh.. we're here for the shipment?"
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(EMPATHY ROLL VS DECEIVE ROLL)
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*IF PLAYERS PASS* These guys are not dressed right, are fidgeting like hell, and the one in front can't even look you in the eye properly.
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One of them will suddenly pull out a gun, aiming it right at (Player who beat roll)'s forehead. All eleven of the others will run in, going for the boxes.
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*IF CHALLENGE*
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They will hear a familiar voice shout DONT EVEN TRY IT! They will turn to see LUCKY with the chameleon in his arms, a gold dagger against his throat. YOU TAKE ANOTHER STEP, YOUR FRIEND IS DEAD.
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*IF THEY RESIST*
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A familiar scent of burning ozone will appear behind (player), a gun pressed against (PLAYER's) back. "Braver than I expected. Unfortunate."
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The rest of the party sees someone new behind you, a man of authority and stature inside of what looks like a modified motorcycle outfit. The shoulders, arms from elbow down, and legs from knee down are layered in thick blue padding ridges. The rest is standard black, including the elongated motorcycle helmet with a white letter A on the front above the shaded eye visor.
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*IF THAT PLAYER PLAYER RESISTS*
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The person will counter, pinning that player to the ground with lightning speed. He will quickly turn to the others and shout "HURRY UP!"
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*IF ANYONE ATTACKS HIM*
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He will manage to dodge his way out, but not completely. The attack will catch the front of his helmet, cracking it open to reveal his face for a quick moment.
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(NOTICE ROLL) The inside is dark, but you see dark fur, possibly brown or black, and you see a deep brown eye with a small rounded scar under it.
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He will cover his face quickly, then speed to the truck, the Marauders finished getting the crates inside before taking off in a hurry. However, they have left LUCKY behind, still holding the chameleon hostage.
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"... they just left me..." He suddenly lowers himself onto his knees, staring at the place the truck used to be. "I did everything they asked... I escaped prison three times... and they STILL left me behind..." He finally releases the chameleon and the knife, just staring at the floor.
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*IF THEY SAY ANYTHING*
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"He promised he... he was gonna get me out... and he just left me behind... again..."
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*WHO IS HE*
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He will look up to your group, a tear in his eye. "The Crooked King."
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-----
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THAT EVENING
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THUNDER FORCE HEADQUARTERS
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Back at Harken's office, Harken is pacing in front of your group. "This task was supposed to be simple, a guard position of no real strategic import. Instead, tomorrow's headline will read that a hostage situation resulted in the theft of the entire shipment of research and building materials under our watch." He slams one hand into the desk in frustration, rubbing his eyes with the other.
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IF THEY OBJECT
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"I know what happened. Fact is, you followed your orders perfectly to a tee, you defended an innocent from harm in a hostage situation, and you proved you value lives over cold hard metal. You even re-captured LUCKY, AND got him to cooperate for the first time ever. We finally have solid intel on their organization."
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He will pull out a folder, slap it on the table, and pull out a document with information scrawled all over. "We now know there is a genuine hierarchical structure in the Marauders. What we thought were random acts of thuggery were coordinated and strategic from the start."
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"Add to that we now have confirmation of an active general, the man with the A on the helmet. We don't know his name, but we have dealt with him in the past. He uses lightning magic to move same as we do, so it is safe to assume he is also the mole. Which would explain how he knew about the shipment. But the issue comes in with this... Crooked King."
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"Noone within their organization knows who he is, but he is the mastermind behind the Marauders. He picks whom to recruit & when, supplies the coin for their weapons, coordinates every attack, and supplies them with THESE." He places the gold dagger LUCKY had on the table inside a glass box.
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"This is career defining evidence. If it were anyone else, you would have a fucking parade in your honor. But due to these... unfortunate circumstances, the public will choose to ignore those positives, as will the media. They will expect some form of punishment for your 'failure' to protect the shipment."
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IF THEY ARE NOT TF
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"Worst of all, given you were wearing our uniforms, they will assume you are with us, which doubly complicates the matter."
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"As third commander, I have to take some form of action. Firing you would be too harsh, and a slap on the wrist would be too easy."
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He grabs a handful of papers, quickly scribbles some information down, turns them around, and passes them to your group. "This is a form stating you are being taken off active duty and placed on two weeks paid leave, effective immediately."
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IF THEY INTERRUPT, STATE THE FOLLOWING LOUDLY
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"During this time, all activities you do, including but not limited to any & all criminal syndicate altercations, cannot and will not be associated directly with the Thunder Force. They will instead be seen as the activities of a group of rogue REGALIA HUNTERS working to save the people of Diadem from their imprisoned fate, no different than those that attempted before."
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"And if, within those fourteen days, you manage to gather them all and free the people, well... I doubt anyone would care about this debacle anymore, and you may even become... heroes again. But THAT is information I, and the Thunder Force, cannot and will not be responsible for OR associated with during your two week paid leave." He gives you something of a sly smile.
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IF THEY ARE TF
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"Now this does mean I will require your badges for the next two weeks."
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He will walk behind you and open the door for you. "You are all dismissed."
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As you leave the Thunder Force office, everyone around you slowly begins to applaud you. The Thunder Force does in fact know what happened, and even if they can't really do anything about it, they are showing their support in whatever way they can. Once you leave the doors, they will slam behind you, leaving you as free agents with a convenient paycheck.
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----- ----- ----- ----- -----
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You are met with a phone call the next morning.
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*IF THEY ANSWER*
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It is a female voice you don't recognize, asking you to come to the Capitol and meet with the King. He has a favor to ask of you, and requests your presence ASAP. Before you get more than two words out, she will hang up.
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Upon arrival, you are greeted by a Parakeet woman sitting at Nash's desk, and she does not look happy. "I assume you to be the Kings of Kings, yes? Please follow me." She marches you quickly through the office area and right to King Akarui's door. No kindness, no nonsense, just professionalism.
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Once inside, you see a concerned Akarui stamping documents. He pauses for a moment and drops the stamp, looking up to your group. "Kings of Kings, I know this is a bit pedestrian of me to ask of you, but I'd like you to do a wellness check on Nash."
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"When he came in this morning, I let him know the metal for his project was stolen, and... well, he looked like the sound of glass hitting the floor. I gave him the rest of the week off, but based on what I saw... I'd love some peace of mind."
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"And as long as you're out there, for the sake of my sanity, could you also ask around and check on the supposed 'noise complaints' coming from that area? Killing two birds with one stone and all that. Plus it might keep Anais out of my office for longer than five minutes."
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*IF THEY ACCEPT*
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He hands you a folded document made of a strangely textured light brown paper, with a stamp on the top reading FROM THE DESK OF KING AKARUI. "The guards there are likely to be an issue. This will get you in. Please don't lose it."
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-----
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Upon arriving at the Gated community, you are confronted by a pair of Doberman guards, one brown and one black, but both wearing identical silver Thunder Force outfits. They both see your group coming and the brown one asks in a German accent, "How may ve help you today?"
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*ASKS ABOUT ENTRY*
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The black one will chime in. "Sorry, ve vere not informed about any visitors, ve cannot permit entry."
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The brown one will respond. "Da, now please vacate ze premises. Danke, nice day."
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*IF PRESENTING PAPER*
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The brown one will open it so they can both read over it and start sniffing over it excitedly. The black one will wince a bit and shake his head. "Vell, ze scent matches ze king bird, so zis is legit. Danke for ze papers, you may pass." They manually open the striped bar of wood up and out of the way.
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The brown one will nod. "Please pick up all ze trash you drop und have ein nice visit. Ve vill be expecting you on ze vay out."
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Before you go more than ten feet inside, the black one calls out "VAIT! Ve almost forgot to tell you. Ze Mr. Nash is at ze family home due to renovations!" He waves a slip of paper at you with a different address than the one you were given.
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The brown one adds "Please do not tell anyone else, he has asked us only to tell ze delivery people."
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They both chuckle at each other with big shit eating grins, before the black one responds. "Ja ja, especially ze pretty little wolf girl~"
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They chuckle again before clearing their throats. "Uh but.. given your credentials, I am sure ze Mr. Nash vill understand."
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-----
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The neighborhoods are considerably fewer in numbers per house, but every property has a full acre MINIMUM of land and the houses are minimum TWICE the size of the ones in the Residential district. The lawns are trimmed, the fences are painted, there are several with animal-shaped ornamental bushes being maintained by landscapers right this very second. But when you reach the property you are looking for, all those homes are put to shame.
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The house is easily three floors, has a colossal front yard, a massive bird bath, perfectly trimmed bushes along the immaculately painted fences, a multiple car garage with Nash's car parked in front of it, and even a chandelier style light hanging from the porch.
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*IF THEY KNOCK*
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It takes a few seconds, but you eventually see Nash greet you at the door, and he looks exactly like how King Akarui described.
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His ears that were always perked are slumped against his head, his chipper smile looks like it was manually pulled downward, and you could even swear his fur looks less colorful. But at least his hair looks brushed, sorta. When he sees your group, he looks a little perkier. "Oh.. hey guys.. you wanna come in?"
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*INSIDE*
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His home looks almost too immaculate, the cushions on the furniture all look borderline unused, and there is zero dust on anything that you can see. But the lights are on, even if it is just the living room.
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(Notice roll) There are no pictures on the walls either, even though there is clear evidence there used to be. The only real furniture is the roaring fireplace and a couple pillows & large couches in front of it.
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"Sorry about the mess, I uh... kinda just... didn't feel like going upstairs to any of the bedrooms."
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*MENTION KING WAS WORRIED*
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"He was.. worried about me? I just thought he didn't wanna deal with me being upset, but.. huh. That makes me feel better knowing he cares."
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*ASK ABOUT HOUSE*
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"Well technically it's not MY house, it was my parents'. I inherited it when they died. It's a bit much for me, so I stay at my own place down the street. But I come here once in a while to keep the place clean and... ya know... remember."
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*WHY SO UPSET*
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"Well.. my dad was an immigrant here, and when he found out he was trapped, he made it his life's mission to get out. Spent his whole adult life doing that, right until he met my mom. They got together and had me, and between the two of them, they made the first drill to get out of Diadem.
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But during their first actual test, the drill exploded. And they both died. I made it my life's goal to resume his plan, if for no other reason than in his memory. And after the theft, well... the entire project is on hold for a bit until they get a replacement shipment.
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I just... I waited so long, ya know? To get the approval, then when the supplies started coming in, I was so happy, and then finding out they got stolen... It was crushing. I fully planned to work through the pain too, just like before, but... I guess King thought I needed a break instead. And he might've been right."
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*MENTION NOISE COMPLAINTS*
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"Ugh... Anais... those noise complaints are my fault. I was having my home renovated, wanted one of those underground car garages put in. I'm afraid my car might get stolen, even in here. That's the other reason I'm over here, thought it'd be a good idea to get away from the noise. They should be done soon."
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*NO MORE QUESTIONS*
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"Well listen.. thanks alot for stopping by guys, I honestly feel alot better getting all of that out of my system. You can tell King Akarui I'll be back in tomorrow morning if you want, or I could make it a nice surprise. But for right now, I think I just need to... ya know... sleep this all off." He will stand up and walk you guys to the door, closing it behind you.
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(NOTICE ROLL) Through the nearby window, you can see him slowly shuffle his way back to the pile of pillows and flop into them face first.
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(INVESTIGATE ROLL)
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On the way to the gate, you can see a house in the distance vaguely matching the direction Nash pointed out with several stacks of metal sitting in front of the hole. Each one is covered by a fabric tarp of some kind, and the hole in the ground is easily twice as big as the van you've seen. |