305 lines
No EOL
25 KiB
Text
305 lines
No EOL
25 KiB
Text
THIS IS TO BE TOLD ONCE ALL TWELVE REGALIA HAVE BEEN EARNED
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----- ----- ----- ----- -----
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You receive a call very early in the morning.
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You hear Vivid, and she is panicking.
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"Guys, something's wrong! I'm in King Akarui's office and he's not here! Have you--" The line suddenly goes dead.
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Within seconds, you hear and feel a rumbling sensation from your living room. Anyone who WASN'T awake would be fully awake at this point.
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*IF THEY LOOK*
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You can see the remnants of a massive fireball and a smoke trail coming from the center of the city.
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-----
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*AT THE CAPITOL*
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The center Capitol building has a massive burning hole in the backside of it, and the ground is littered with flaming debris & paper. Noone appears to be hurt severely, but a few people have some scratches and burns. But you don't see Vivid anywhere.
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*RESOURCES OR PHYSIQUE ROLL*
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You eventually dig her out from the debris, and she looks VERY badly banged up. Her fur is singed and her skin is scratched all to hell, but she IS alive. She shakily manages to stand up, sees the damage to the building, and punches a nearby piece of wall, causing it to crumble.
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"Fuck... I didn't know they booby trapped his office..."
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*WHAT IS GOING ON*
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"I've been tailing the FACES, trying to find out their next step, and they took a big one."
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She will slowly try to take a couple steps, but she will only get a few feet before she flops on her knees. You hear a blaring horn sound and see a pair of boxy vehicles pull up, one red and one white.
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Within seconds, you see a fleet of firefighters run out and start blasting the exploded office with bursts of magic water, while a fleet of white coated & uniformed men & women all set up special tents, and start helping various people inside to treat any injuries. Two of them pull up a stretcher and carefully roll Vivid onto it, immediately running her into a tent.
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*INSIDE THE TENT*
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You watch as a VERY tall elephant woman in a white nurse outfit casts violet colored magic on Vivid, her scratches and burnt fur slowly starting to undo and heal. You see the pained look on her face slowly let up as she turns to your group. "I figured out the next step of their plan, they're trying to incite a riot from the people, led by the Marauders."
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She slowly sits upright. "They're gonna blow up the hydroelectric plant and cut off everyone's power supply, make them all retaliate at once. When he does that, he thinks everyone will blame the king."
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*WHERE IS HE*
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"They invaded a home in the Gated district, turned it into their new base. They kidnapped that Nash guy, I spotted him tied up. And they had a huge sack next to him, figured they got Akarui in there. Came here to confirm, set off some kind of bomb."
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You see in the distance of the Gated Community some trails of smoke in a semi-formal line.
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-----
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*GATED DISTRICT ENTRANCE*
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You see both of the dogs' guard shacks are on fire and the protective bar is completely destroyed. At the gateway, you are met by three Marauders AND the stoic stick in the mud himself, ACE. He tightens his gloves and sighs. "You really think yourselves heroes, don't you..."
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He reaches out to two of the three men, and smashes their heads together, before the third one turns around to face him, and he punches that one hard enough to knock him out. "Call me old fashioned, but I prefer a more personal fight."
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*WHY HE IS DOING THIS*
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"I'm an immigrant to this land. United States military, assigned here twenty-five years ago. My mission was likely the same as yours, information gathering and eventual extraction.
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In my case, they wanted (1) information about what makes this place so specifically indestructible, (2) to see if it could be replicated for military purposes, and (3) to discover what happened to the prior soldiers sent in before me.
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From the moment we arrived, we carried out our mission as best we could. Researched everything about the island we could find, and our conclusion came down to a unique magic we simply could not pin down the nature of.
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Eventually, we all began to assimilate, despite our best efforts. We made friends, started families, became pillars of the community, members of the Thunder Force, some even higher than that.
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When the Marauders became an active threat. I did everything I could to stop them and put them away, but every time we did, two more would appear. These were not just new people gone criminal either, these were the citizens I was supposed to protect.
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It became very clear that so long as they were stuck here, they were their own worst enemy. I infiltrated the Marauders and attempted to bring down the entire organization, for their sake. And failed.
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But much like Joker, I entered into an uneasy alliance with the Crooked King. He helped me reach the conclusion that the island itself is to blame for everything. They stay prisoners, attack each other out of misery, promote that attitude to the next people, and more will spawn. An unending cycle.
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He promised me that, in exchange for creating coordinated distractions with the Marauders and delaying the Thunder Force long enough for the damage to cause its desired effect, he would allow me to get all the people off the island.
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-----
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Running further inside, you see the black and yellow Jack in the distance between you and your goal. Some of the houses have their standalone bushes on the edges of the property set on fire, almost giving it a kind of gladiator arena feel. "Sure as shit took you long enough... I had money riding on Ace not stopping you... looks like I win the bet."
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IF THEY ASK WHY
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"I've run into fifty different immigrants to this land, and seen every kind of currency they carry. Do you know how many of them use magic infused coins? ZERO. We literally have the single rarest currency in existence here in Diadem. Not because it's scarce either, but because we exclusively hold the ability to make it.
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Do you have any idea how much that information is worth? I could literally take ONE of these coins to any nation on the planet and be set for life. And the Crooked King promised me my weight in Z once we are free. He even paid half up front! It's honest business, nothing more."
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-----
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You reach the front yard of Nash's family home, the bushes set on fire and clear evidence of explosions. This time, you are met by Queen with her own group of thugs. "Hilarious, Jack wasn't worth a single Z he was paid. Oh well, guess that means I get to finish you off afterall."
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IF THEY ASK WHY
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"Oh honey, it's all in the title. I'm a queen, tandem to his being, my King. And a king and queen are nothing without their kingdom to rule, of course. And my kingdom is, was, and always will be DIADEM ITSELF!
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Once his plan is fulfilled and King no longer needs Diadem, the queen shall rule in his stead! The entire island will be mine to do with as I please! I can establish any rule, any structure, any taxation rate I wish! And as the queen, anyone whom wants to stay will either get on board or get out!!!"
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(If it wasn't obvious, she is a control freak.)
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-----
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You run into the house and start rummaging through the rooms.
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(INVESTIGATE ROLL) The most material and damage appears to be in the upper floor.
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There are crates and bags all around one of the bedroom doors.
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You find it to be locked, and you can hear muffled yelling from behind it.
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(FIGHT/PHYSIQUE ROLL) Once you break into the room, you see Nash lying on the ground, tied up with rope and blindfolded & muzzled by torn up rags. He hears the door open and starts thrashing, muffledly screaming for help.
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Once you remove the rags and rope, he starts pounding at the closet door. "KING AKARUI IS IN HERE!"
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After a few moments of trying, he will make a mad dash for the door. "HANG ON, THE KEYS ARE DOWNSTAIRS!"
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Once everyone is back to work at the closet door, the bedroom door is slammed shut. And you hear several heavy objects barricading the door. And you see fire seeping in from under the door. You have been trapped.
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*INVESTIGATE ROLL*
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The smoke is starting to roll in, but the room is pretty simple. Bed, dresser, chest of drawers, cabinet, closet, window, walls, barricaded door.
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ONCE THEY ESCAPE
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You all land around the back side of the house, you see the entire building is slowly catching fire, starting from the room you were all in and working its way down. You suddenly hear a loud bellowing in the front yard, from a male voice.
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In the front yard, you see the Crooked King standing in front of the burning house, cradling Queen in his arms. "You people couldn't just curl up and die, could you? It would have made my job SO MUCH DAMN EASIER."
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(NOTICE ROLL) You spot in the distance the other three FACES, specifically JOKER carrying ACE and JACK in on her shoulders.
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Joker sets the two down and approaches him, arms crossed. "Face it fucknut, they beat you fair and square!"
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King doesn't move an inch. "I suppose I have you to thank for that..." He turns and hands QUEEN to JOKER, then kicks her in the stomach and pushes them both away so they fall beside ACE and JACK.
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Ace is visibly disturbed by what he saw. "King, that is enough! She's right, they beat you at every corner. Whatever this insane plan of yours is, it won't work anymore."
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King turns to them. "Oh no, everything went exactly as planned. Everyone thinks Akarui is dead. Noone is running Diadem now. Which means..."
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Ace responds after a moment. "You cannot be serious."
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King laughs a bit. "Oh I am very serious." He walks over to ACE and leans in real close. "We all know what happens to a kingdom without a competent leader."
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Even JACK is shocked at this revalation. "You mean we did all of this JUST so YOU could actually be the KING?"
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KING shrugs a bit. "Only for a short while. The King's throne, as ot were, is the second to last step of my plan."
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He will turn to your group, both gold weapons in hand. "That only leaves my competition, the so-called Kings of Kings. ANY of you could be the next King of Diadem, if you so desired, and the people would back any one of you 100%. And I can't have that."
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He places the back of his sword on his shoulder and aims the gun at your group. "Once you're gone, everything falls into place."
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----- ----- ----- ----- -----
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AFTER THE FIGHT
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The Crooked King's helmet shatters in front of you, and you see Nash panting heavily, blood dripping from his forehead and mouth. But unlike before, his eyes hold a bloodthirsty rage you have NEVER seen on him. "I am so... God damn... SICK... of you people. This was a two year plan. TWO. YEARS. And all you had to do was literally NOTHING but leave it alone."
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-----
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QUEEN suddenly shrieks "WHAT THE FUCK," pointing at Nash in disbelief. "YOU?! HOW COULD YOU BE THE CROOKED KING?!"
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JACK is tilting his head a bit. "Damn, I lost that bet. Thought for sure it was Akarui on stilts or something. Only way he had that kind of money."
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QUEEN is furious. "THIS DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE! YOU KNEW WHO I WAS UNDER THE HELMET, AND YOU STILL LET ME BEAT YOU UP ALMOST EVERY TIME I SAW YOU?!"
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NASH just rolls his eyes. "Please, your never hit me THAT hard. Besides, if you knew, you wouldn't have followed me."
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ACE turns to QUEEN. "He has a point. King's aide or no."
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"STUFF IT!" She yanks off her helmet, revealing herself to be Anais of the HOA, and throws it on the ground. "YOU WERE NEVER GOING TO GIVE ME THE ISLAND, WERE YOU?!"
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JACK removes his helmet, revealing himself to be JERRAS. "And what about my money?"
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ACE pulls his off, revealing himself as Harken. "I assume you didn't intend to free the people either."
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Jerras and Anais turn to him. "HARKEN?!"
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JOKER is laughing her ass off in the grass. "This is the best day of my life!" She sits up and yanks her own helmet off, revealing herself to them. "The leaders of the infamous and terrifying Marauders are the second in command of the country, the third in command of the Thunder Force, the weapons dealer, and the Wicked Bitch of the HOA! You are dysfunctional as FUCK!"
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You hear a gunshot and see a smoking hole right beside Vivid's head, which shuts her right up. And an identical trail of smoke from Nash's gun. "For the record... I missed on purpose." He will pause and pick himself up a little. "Also for the record, I DID plan to give you all exactly what you asked for, as an end result to my plan."
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-----
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*WHAT IS THIS ABOUT*
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"This is about getting the FUCK out of this dead end rat's maze. Nothing More."
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*WHAT IS YOUR PLAN*
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"Still haven't figured it out yet? Let me spell it out for you.
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I told you my father was an immigrant and an engineer. Built the drills that dug the hole down through Diadem currently being used for the hydroelectric generators. And I told you the drill exploded and killed my parents.
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What I DIDN'T tell you was the drill didn't explode on its own, it exploded because it came in contact with this fancy golden magic metal. It runs through the entire underside of the island. And as I learned, it gets volatile when it's hit hard enough.
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That explosion killed my parents, and scattered huge chunks of it all over the place. Once I regained my sense of thought from watching my parents die, I decided to collect the metal and look into why it was there in the first place.
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I spent eighteen years educating myself and job hopping until I would up as the King's aide, while ALSO using the resources from the college and grand library to figure out what the gold metal was. And I couldn't find SHIT.
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I "did" find some super obscure wordings and religious text about someone named Zeroth. Supposedly, HE built this place, something about elevating mortals to a higher plane of existence. Didn't make an ounce of sense.
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But ya know, eighteen years of fruitless efforts is a long time to focus on such an outlier project, and I almost moved on with my life. Decided to continue my dad's project.
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I proposed the submarine plan to Akarui, poured my heart and soul into the project. He said he would consider it. Waited a week. Then two, a month, three months, nothing. It felt like I watched my parents die all over again.
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In a fit of depression and rage, I decided I wanted revenge. I took a bag of that gold metal to the Volcano domain Forge, wanted to make a poetic weapon out of it and uh.. "hand deliver it" to the king.
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Bad news, it can't be melted down like normal metal. Good news, it could be bent, sharpened, and whittled. But it was delicate, couldn't take more than a couple hits. And as we already discovered, can be volatile in larger amounts.
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But the edge itself? Sharper than any blade and packs a HELL of a punch. The first shitty one I ever made accidentally cut through an anvil. AN ANVIL. I also found out 'by accident' that it eats magic to make gold dust, which is so much fun.
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I spent six months experimenting with new and improved versions, slowly learning to bend and shape it into different blades, and even tubes for guns. The tiny pieces I couldn't use for THAT went into those fancy magic shields, made a killing on the side for those and funded my whole operation on it alone.
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I took my largest piece and poured my heart & soul into making THIS Cutlass. It cut so cleanly, glided so smoothly... But even with that, it needed a handle that was just as glorious as the rest of it. I couldn't go around carrying a magic blade with a handkerchief.
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Now I couldn't be seen carrying this around, so I grabbed my dad's old biker gear and went to the dark domain in disguise. People didn't go there at night, figured I could harvest some wood for a handle. And apparently Cassius is fucking psychic, because he came out of nowhere and scared me shitless.
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Words were exchanged, I fumbled a bit and called myself the Crooked King, and kinda ran with it. Decided to challenge him and see what my weapons could really do, even without proper handles.
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Lodged a gold bullet in his summon's brain and made it go ballistic, put a hole in his chest, cut off his arm, blinded him with the gold dust, I basically kicked his ass. I still don't know how he hid his Regalia, but I got pissed and started screaming things I was... VERY grateful noone else was around to hear.
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At one point I got so mad, I kicked him through an unbreakable magic barrier, or so I thought. I didn't realize until after that the SWORD was GLOWING, and it... changed the rules so things COULD through the barrier, but only one way. I... decided to NOT press my luck and ran off with the wood.
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I got home and.. I.. had a mental breakdown. I kept replaying everything that happened in my head over and over, and none of it made sense independently. Once I calmed down, I noticed a strange pattern on everything I hadn't before.
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Gold magic metal in Diadem, gold magic barrier around Diadem, gold magic barrier circles, domain masters and their regalia with bits and pieces of gold on them... it's all connected. Everything here shares a common magic source.
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And then it hit me. If this is all from the same magical source, then everything about this place must be made by the same person. Which had to be Zeroth, who is... I don't know, GOD or something. And then it clicked.
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He made this island, put people on it, lined it with magic eating metal, has them fight his twelve henchmen for a few trinkets of God power, and once all twelve of them are collected and gathered in the center of town, you call for big daddy Zeroth, and SUPPOSEDLY GOD HIMSELF IS SUPPOSED TO COME DOWN and reward them with freedom and some fetters of mention of a god tier prize that FIVE HUNDRED YEARS WORTH OF TEXT CAN'T SEEM TO GIVE A STRAIGHT ANSWER ABOUT?!
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THIS IS ALL JUST SOME STUPID GAME! This stuff is the cardboard walls of this magical rat maze, and we're the lab rats! The domain masters are glorified referees and their Regalia are promotional incentives!
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The wish, the freedom, the power, whatever prize that was offered was just the fucking piece of cheese at the end of it all! Which means my parents died to escape some FUCKING COSMIC SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!
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Well when I figured that out, I decided I had enough of being a specimen to some asshole celestial scientist or WHATEVER the fuck Zeroth is, and I started plotting my escape.
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First I had to destroy all the knowledge I had up to that point, including the books in the library. If I could figure this out, someone else could too, and I couldn't risk anyone stopping me.
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Then I started the Marauders, a band of Freedom Fighters sick of being stuck in Diadem, whose sole mission was to distract King Akarui by inflicting directed attacks on certain strategic locations. But I'd keep the mortality casualties to a minimum because I AM NOT A MONSTER. Mostly just irritating property damage, unless a point needed to be made.
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Once I got enough good strong people, I would give them higher rankings, and the lesser quality gold weapons as proof of their higher role. THOSE would go off and fight the Domain Masters, both to test the weapons against them and to generate even more civil unrest.
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I would have them distracting Domain Masters, drawing the eye of the Thunder Force, and pissing off King Akarui. They'd cause so much chaos, the people would become unsettled!
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It would promote the idea that MAYBE someone really SHOULD try focusing on getting us out of here sooner, without relying on some mythical playthings all being in one place at the same time that, AFTER 500 YEARS, noone seemed able to do.
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And guess what? MY PLAN WORKED. My escape plan submarine proposal FINALLY got approved! Supplies were coming in, the escape vessel was underway! Once it was done, the Crooked King would magically disappear, the generators in the hole would be shut down, we would send a crew of people, and we would have earned our freedom!
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And then, at the WORST possible time, YOU SHOWED UP. You started giving these people HOPE that their fate could be solved by your quirky can-do attitudes and following the legend's rules. AND to make matters worse, you were competent at collecting Regalia. And as a result, faith in MY submarine idea plummeted."
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"So I changed it up a little, decided to kidnap King Bird Boy and hold him somewhere, fake his death, and take over as active leader. As the king's most trusted aide, I would fill the void until we got out of here. All that was left was to destroy any... competition."
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"So yes, by getting us out of here the easy way, the people WOULD be freed, HARKEN. They wouldn't need any of their own currency anymore and could be collected on the way out, JERRAS. And as the acting King, I would be able to leave YOU in charge, ANAIS. Everything would've been wrapped up in a nice little bow, everyone would have been happy."
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Vivid glares at him. "And what about me?"
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Nash stares back for a second. "Oh you mean about the-- no, it was a heat of the moment thing, I just wanted to sound menacing."
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-----
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*IF THEY ASK ABOUT AZAR*
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"Okay to be fair, THAT was an accident. I heard a rumor about some dragon out in the Violet Domain, and had to see it for myself. I followed the purple one when he went out into the middle of nowhere to feed the thing.
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When it went out for a flight, I tried grabbing some dragon scales to see if they could make a more comfy handle, and that thing dropped out of the sky and scared the shit out of me.
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I took a swing in self defense, you can hardly blame ME for that one. It was LITERALLY fight or flight."
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-----
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*IF THEY ASK ABOUT THE SHIPMENT*
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"That was plan B. On the extreme off chance I DIDN'T beat you, I have a mini-sub my team and I built hidden away JUST big enough for myself and my four most loyal teammates to bail out in." He will pause and turn toward the FACES. "Or at least they WERE, until they started questioning EVERYTHING I EVER DID FOR THEM!!!" He will sigh VERY loudly before finishing. "Good help is so hard to find, I swear."
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-----
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*IF NOONE PROPOSES ANYTHING*
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All four of the faces stare at Nash for a few seconds in silence, then look at each other. Jerras is the first one to speak up. "You really expect us to believe you intended to do all of that...?"
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"I don't EXPECT anything. That is the fucking truth, plain and simple." He pulls out a large HP potion and chugs it rapid quick, wiping the blood from his lip after. "And I've come too far to stop now."
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Harken speaks up finally. "You are going to kill yourself, you realize that right?"
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Nash pulls out his gun, loads it with fresh ammo one bullet at a time, and clicks it closed. "I'm not giving up until either they go down or I do. I'm willing to die on this hill."
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Anais actually stands up and walks up to him, and for once all the rage in her eyes is gone. "Do you have any idea how much I want to kill you right now?"
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"No more than them I assume--" She interrupts him mid sentence by grabbing his shirt collar, yanking him down to her level, and KISSING HIM. Right in front of everyone. He takes a few seconds to process what just happened. "...you are giving me really mixed signals, you know that?"
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"Shut it." She pulls out her own rifle and loads a fresh magazine. "If we make it out of this alive, you and I are gonna have A LONG TALK."
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Harken stands up and lights a cigarette, sighing a bit. "Well you can count me out. At this point, if I join either side, I stop being a neutral entity. Whomever wins, is the one in the right."
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-----
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ROLL FOR JERRAS
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*DOES NOT JOIN*
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"Well you can count me out too. As a businessman, I know when the coin ain't worth the effort."
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*DOES JOIN*
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"Well you can count me in. I make it a habit to see every business deal through to the end." He marches himself over to Nash's side, hefting his hammer on his shoulder.
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Vivid rolls her eyes and groans. "Fuuuck, this is such bullshit..!" She picks herself up and walks to your group, pulling out her sword. "Harken, you and I are gonna have words after all of this. But I know HE gave you the order to shoot my dad, so I'm gonna kick his ass TWICE as hard for the BOTH of you."
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REDO FIGHT WITH FULL HEALTH ENEMIES
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*IF THEY WIN*
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Nash will flop against the ground HARD, curling up a bit in severe pain. Anais will slowly drag herself toward him through the ground, panting raggedly all the while.
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-----
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*IF JERRAS JOINED*
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Jerras will lie on his back, half conscious. "I think it's safe to say it's over, Boss..."
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*IF JERRAS DID NOT JOIN*
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Harken will take a long drag off his cigarette. "You lost fair and square. Twice. Time to pack it in."
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-----
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"NO! I'M NOT GIVING UP!" Nash will slam his fist into the ground in frustration, and Anais will put her hand over his, holding it tight. He will stop shaking for a moment, muttering a bit in frustration, and she full on hugs him tightly from behind.
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*IF THEY APPROACH*
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Nash will suddenly raise his arm and reveal a green potion bottle. "THIS ISN'T OVER, YOU HEAR ME?!" He will slam the potion bottle into the ground right in front of him, causing a whirlwind explosion to send him AND Anais clinging to his back flying into the distance.
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Harken just stares, his cigarette finally gone. "I'll give him this, he is persistent." He walks over to your group, helping each of you up. "This is going to be one hell of a report I'm gonna have to write." |