DiscoDude: ---BEGIN SESSION---
DiscoDude: Session logging commenced
Ryusui|GM: So, recap from last time!
Ryusui|GM: Your mission - to retrieve the idol of Cthulhu from the auction, and render it no longer a threat, has been a smashing success. The eldritch arcane diagram now burned permanently into the floor of the safehouse is flame-seared proof of that.
Ryusui|GM: Cthulhu has lost interest in pursuing a battle he's clearly lost, but he still has a loyal, horribly corrupted pawn banging on your front door, or rather the mystical barrier keeping said door proof against him.
Ryusui|GM: There's only one way out of the safehouse right now, and it's through him!
Ryusui|GM: "Come out! Come out!" the thing screams, over and over. Jocelyn gasps, and visibly starts to cry a bit.
Casper: Casper's staying put and waiting for it to (try and) come to him. It has to get through a lot, courtesy of him and Patricia.
Ryusui|GM: "It's him in there," she says. "What's that monster done to him..."
Ryusui|GM: !f 2
DiscoDude: <@Ryusui|GM> rolled 4dF+2 for 3 [4dF = [ ][ ][+][ ]]
Ryusui|GM: The safehouse shudders as it beats against the barrier again.
Ryusui|GM: So long as the barrier holds firm, it will take some serious effort for Cthulhu's last remaining pawn to break through!
Casper: Casper... continues to wait. He checks his watch, even points to it and raises an eyebrow in a way <@!Zeta> can see without coming out from behind cover.
Ryusui|GM: (Zeta can willingly lower the barrier, just an FYI)
Ryusui|GM: (she's the one who cast it, if memory serves)
Zeta: Zeta's flopped on the floor, face down, groaning and doing other sounds indicating general annoyance with nearly everything material and inmaterial...
Casper: Casper rolls his eyes and groans internally.
Ryusui|GM: Jocelyn approaches the door. "Can you hear me? It's me, Jocelyn Sands! Your assistant! I know you're still in there!"
Ryusui|GM: "Jocccelyyyyyyn..." The voice which responds is slurred.
Ryusui|GM: !f 2
DiscoDude: <@Ryusui|GM> rolled 4dF+2 for 2 [4dF = [+][-][-][+]]
Casper: (... Are we really doing this, or is Jocelyn trying to get herself killed? XD)
Ryusui|GM: And Jocelyn leaps back from the door as the creature smashes against it again.
Ryusui|GM: She shakes her head, a sad, confused expression on her face.
Ryusui|GM: Patricia grabs the nearest bludgeoning implement in sight. "We have to put it down," she says. "It's the last piece of Cthulhu's influence in this city."
Casper: Casper glances between Jocelyn and the others, making a voice-slitting motion and jerking his head away from the barrier as if to say "what are you doing, get back."
Ryusui|GM: "P-put it down?!?" Xia sputters.
Ryusui|GM: Jocelyn gestures to the others to step back. "Zeta. Lower the barrier. We finish this."
Zeta: Zeta made some sound and tried to gather her thoughts on making the barrier go poof...that's probably not how you were supposed to go about those things but, her mind is a big headache right now, she couldn't care less about how it disappears.
"Uuuughhhh, There you go....I need...a Nap." She says in-between groans.
Ryusui|GM: The difference is imperceptible, but the determined look on Patricia's face (and the panicked look on Jocelyn's) tells that the deed is done. "He comes!"
Ryusui|GM: The door splinters in an array of claws, tentacles, and...limbs. Arms, legs, even the odd bit of torso. A screaming face in lieu of a kneecap. Judging from the scraps of formal attire and police uniform still visible, it's clear this final pawn stitched itself back together from the remnants of the other pawns, and several of the officers who stayed behind to investigate the carnage.
Ryusui|GM: At the center of the mass is...well, it's an absolute mess. Parts of it used to be the Auctioneer's face; parts of it are...other things. The jaw, if it can be called that, trembles as its voice comes forth.
Ryusui|GM: "Heeeeere youuuuu aaaaare..."
Ryusui|GM: Jocelyn screams at the sight.
Casper: And then the first trap goes off.
(I say Patricia goes first and "attacks" with the traps. Also, <@!Zeta>, you're acting like you've been fully Taken Out. Are you conceding for this fight?)
Ryusui|GM: (ha ha. So its grand entrance gets met with a Crafts attack roll, correct?)
Casper: (Dunno if CRAFTS can normally be used to Attack, but yeah. XD)
Ryusui|GM: (oh wait, that's right, Patricia set the traps last time)
Zeta: ( I mean she is at 1HP in the mental track which is like, a bad look away from going out, and like you said she is acting like a drama queen XD)
Ryusui|GM: !f 3 (Patricia's Improvised Weapons)
DiscoDude: <@Ryusui|GM> rolled 4dF+3 for 4 [4dF = [ ][+][ ][ ]]
Ryusui|GM: !f 2 (Physique)
DiscoDude: <@Ryusui|GM> rolled 4dF+2 for 4 [4dF = [+][+][+][-]]
Ryusui|GM: (holy shit, his first lucky roll XD)
Casper: (Can she boost with the two free invokes on the traps?)
Ryusui|GM: (...yes, let's do that. thank you XD)
Casper: (So it's looking at 4 stress.)
Ryusui|GM: (yeah, taking out 2 boxes and its Mild Consequence)
Ryusui|GM: Patricia swings, but not at the creature. Instead, her blow strikes the makeshift pressure plate rigged directly in front of him. The carefully-placed containers of sharp objects go flying in a lethal cone of shrapnel. Assorted limbs and tentacles get severed, and a well-placed screwdriver pierces its one surviving milky white eye, rendering it [Blinded]. The scream that comes out of its mouth is anything but human.
Ryusui|GM: Stress: [X][X][1] Consequences: Mild [X] [Blinded]
Ryusui|GM: (Casper, Zeta, either one of you can deal the killshot if you like ❤️ )
Casper: Casper leaps out and goes for the kill.
(Using my Grim Reaper stunt for an added +2 to FIGHT for being out of sight.)
Casper: !f 5 (FIGHT)
DiscoDude: <@Casper> rolled 4dF+5 for 6 [4dF = [+][-][+][ ]]
Ryusui|GM: (Flavor it.)
Casper: He's wielding a cut and sharpened drainage pipe; he jabs it into the creature before it had time to process his appearance with its sluggish brain of only flesh, thrusting down until it's pinned to the floor!
Ryusui|GM: Gouts of eldritch green blood spray from the wound, foaming as they hit the floor. The thing writhes and screams, and everyone else present stares as the howls become less and less bestial. "Aaaah...aaaah..." The tentacles stop writhing; there is still a huge mass of flesh in the door, but it's no longer trying to kill you.
Ryusui|GM: "Jocelyn...I'm sorry..."
Ryusui|GM: The face finally vomits up a stream of noxious green bile, and all is silent.
Ryusui|GM: "It's done," Patricia says. "Holy shit," Xia mutters, checking his pants to see whether he peed or shat himself during that. Jocelyn says nothing; she's on the floor, staring at the horrible mess that used to be her boss, and whimpering quietly to herself.
Casper: "Target neutralized. Operation complete... I think."
Ryusui|GM: (folks wanna skip ahead a bit?)
Casper: (Will we finally meet our debriefing traveler after the time-skip and assign cascades?)
Ryusui|GM: (yes, that's the plan)
Casper: (BTW, does taking out that last bit of eldritch influence give us a Ripple?)
Ryusui|GM: (yes.)
Ryusui|GM: (so you end this arc with a full cascade.)
Casper: (Aces, we've got three good cascades now.)
Casper: (<@!Zeta>, you good for a time-skip?)
Zeta: (Got no issue here)
Ryusui|GM: (so...how does an airport lounge or bar sound for the next scene? like, you're discussing your plans for where you're headed next, and since Zeta can tell where Cthulhu's influence is, you're safe to talk about it in public?)
Ryusui|GM: (you definitely need somewhere that isn't half-full of dead eldritch monster XD)
Casper: (Sounds good.)
Ryusui|GM: (to be clear, the next one the gang is likely going to tackle will be "Bytes and Bodies," correct?)
Casper: (Yeah. Back to Arkham! ... Where we started. XD)
Casper: (I guess it's fair to say the auction was more urgent. XD)
Zeta: (Heh, this will be fun...)
Ryusui|GM: (and does <@!Zeta> want to introduce that to the group, or should her fuzzy memory of the future give out here and leave the marching orders to our time-traveling companion?)
Ryusui|GM: (<@!Zeta>?)
Zeta: (Uh, yeah let's leave it to the future guy)
Ryusui|GM: A few days pass. There have been no stirrings of the eldritch in the vicinity. With their business in the UK concluded, Casper and Zeta meet with the other three at an airport lounge to discuss next steps, their flight due in a couple of hours.
Ryusui|GM: "Let's begin with the obvious," Patricia says. Jocelyn seems to have regained her composure, although her attire is now much more sedate; Xia looks annoyed, either by being dragged into these proceedings again or perhaps Jocelyn's change in attire. "What else do you remember about what comes next, <@!Zeta>?"
Ryusui|GM: (again, you're free to be vague, or outright be unable to remember the next part in detail XD)
Zeta: "Ah... Next part..." Zeta was a bit absent-minded, looking at the airport. "... I think, we have to go back to... Where I met Casper... ." oh
Casper: "What happens in Arkham?"
Ryusui|GM: "You're already going there, aren't you?" Jocelyn lilts. "Don't you recall anything more specific?"
Zeta: "Oh, uh... No, nothing." she feels a chill down her spine, did she forget about that? That would be a bit REALLY bad.
Casper: "You... don't know what the new operation is?"
Zeta: "I remember something important would happen in Arkham!!" she sounds a bit nervous now.
Ryusui|GM: "Excuse me."
Casper: "It's for an A.R.G." Casper turns to the new person without a moment's hesitation.
Ryusui|GM: None of you heard the figure as it approached. Whoever they are, they're short, and hooded, and wearing what Zeta will recognize as something very like her old cultist robes. They're also wearing a full face-concealing mask with an unfamiliar squiggle on it.
Ryusui|GM: "Casper Skye. Zeta Santasofia." The figure bows respectfully.
Ryusui|GM: The mask muffles their voice somewhat, so you can't tell the newcomer's gender.
Casper: Casper's hand goes to his concealed pocket knife.
Ryusui|GM: Xia mutters, "shit, shit" over and over again under his breath. Patricia seems on edge as well, but Jocelyn seems curiously unconcerned.
Zeta: "That..." Zeta remembers an old handsign that went along with those masks. "... I recognize the attire, they are a good guy!" or at least so thinks the Cultist Ferret-Weasel...
Ryusui|GM: The figure nods and gives the sign. The mark of the scientist-occultists who helped you travel back in time to stop all this.
Ryusui|GM: "I come as a friend. I bring news from the future." Xia has not stopped muttering "shit" under his breath, but Patricia's hostility changes to tentative interest.
Casper: "State your name, sir."
Zeta: "News from home?!" And Zeta went forward, she was most interested about how their efforts were rewarded after all.
Ryusui|GM: "I will speak my name when it is time," the figure says. They turn to Patricia, Jocelyn, and Xia. "What I have to say is for Casper and Zeta alone to hear." They turn back to the two of you: "You may dismiss them, or you may come with me to where we may speak in private. Your decision."
Casper: "They stay here where the public can see them. We'll go if we must. If this is a trap, I've likely dealt with worse."
Casper: (I'm assuming <@!Zeta> feels something about this guy.)
Ryusui|GM: They don't ping as eldritch to Zeta, other than a faint trace of something about them. Like they've metaphorically "stepped in" something. Considering the eldritch means of her own time travel, it definitely supports the figure's story.
Zeta: Zeta turns back to the rest of the group "Can you guys wait? If something happen's, I'll scream, okay?" of course that trace also helped Zeta trust the stranger, but then again she already believed the story.
Ryusui|GM: Patricia frowns, but nods. Xia is still in low-key panic mode. Jocelyn chirps, "I'm sure it'll be all right!"
Ryusui|GM: "And you, Casper?" The figure nods to you. "I promise you, we won't be going far. Just out of their earshot."
Ryusui|GM: (<@!Casper>?)
Casper: "Fine."
Ryusui|GM: "Follow me, then." The figure steps away, and heads towards the lounge exit, just rounding the corner where a wall blocks the view of them from your table. You know they haven't gone any further than that, because there's a window right past where they stopped.
Casper: Casper follows - not that he has much of a choice, the way Zeta is almost skipping after them. Someone needs to makes sure she doesn't get her gullible self murdered.
Casper: (I assume that's in-character for her?)
Zeta: (pretty much, yeah)
Ryusui|GM: Now you both are face-to-mask with the mystery person.
Ryusui|GM: "Phew. It's exhausting, keeping in character like that." The figure removes their mask...
Ryusui|GM: Now that the mask is gone, you can recognize the enormous ears under the hood. She - you can tell it's a she now - is surprisingly young. Not older than her late teens. And on both sides of that unmistakable fennec muzzle are dark brown red panda markings.
Ryusui|GM: "Hi," she says. "I'm Jessica. Jessica Xiong-Sands."
Casper: "What."
Zeta: Zeta stopped besides the window. "Yeah, Being into the obscure has its drawbacks someti-" Zeta stares in a combo of awe and horror. Her mouth is open.
Ryusui|GM: "Yeah. You've probably figured out why I didn't want them seeing me." She tries to steal a look around the corner without being spotted, but can't quite manage more than a glimpse. "So weird, seeing them so young."
Casper: "I... wasn't aware a mixed-heritage kid could split the difference like that. Don't their genes usually just pick one parent's species or the other?"
Casper: "... Is this what time-traveling did to you?"
Ryusui|GM: "I think they were surprised, too. I came out fennec but with markings like my dad. And...no, actually. I was kinda expecting time travel would do something, but..." She looks at Zeta. "I think I inherited whatever it is mom and dad and the others got. 'Incorruptibles,' they called us. There weren't many but we were out there."
Zeta: "Ha...haha...." Zeta is MORE than a bit surprised at the fact both of them are together...maybe she should have kept Xia in jai- WAIT NO THAT'S RUDE TO HER CONTACT... "So uh...They really did figure out why some people were just fine after that whole schism with the old one, huh?"
Ryusui|GM: Jessica frowns. "No. They never figured out what our deal was. And it didn't necessarily mean we were some kind of supersoldiers. We were...moral support, mostly. And targets for cultists. Just because he can't get into your head doesn't mean a knife...can't..." She shudders. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just..."
Zeta: "I-It's fine! I got a knife in my path once or twice back then too!" Shit, shiiiiiiiit, shit. She tries to avoid causing any damage to the just arrived comrade. "So...Uh....A-Alright, are you enjoying past, Or well, Current day earth?"
Ryusui|GM: She regains her composure a little. "I...I've only been here a couple of days. God, it makes me...it makes me think of what things were like when I was really little." She looks at both of you and takes a deep breath. "2035. You did it. You bought us a little time."
Zeta: Ah, Zeta's eyes light up at that date. "..thirty...five... THIRTY FIVE!" She hugs both Jessica and Casper as she jumps about a bit, this seems to be a good outcome!
Casper: (Is this where we spend Cascades to determine what she says next?)
Ryusui|GM: (i realize this is pretty much where we have to spend cascades in order for her memories of the future to line up with the timeline we'll establish XD)
Casper: (That's what I mean.)
Ryusui|GM: TIMELINE REALIGNMENT START
Ryusui|GM: okay, so, since doing this in parentheses would be obnoxious, let's go into a brief "OOC" mode that will still be recorded in the log XD
Ryusui|GM: FIRST OFF: "Artifacts of Cthulhu Speak to Those Who Listen"
Ryusui|GM: We've capped that one!
Ryusui|GM: Let's see now...this should now be something like "The Artifacts of Cthulhu Grow Silent," perhaps? Or "Are Silent"?
Ryusui|GM: ...hmm, we generated one whole Cthulhu ripple, did we?
Casper: Wait, we're changing the aspect itself? Your wording seems fine, as long as it costs nothing.
Ryusui|GM: Page 222 of the book!
Ryusui|GM: Anyways, there's two steps to this
Ryusui|GM: First off, while it's not really mechanically necessary, we update the event itself to reflect all we did
Ryusui|GM: If we generated 3 + ripples and 1 - ripple, then two things change for the better
Ryusui|GM: let's see here
Casper: Ah, so it costs nothing, and I just missed a step.
Ryusui|GM: I'm thinking Person should become "[+]: Xiong Xia, reluctant ally of the resistance"
Casper: Obviously, the Thing is [-] no longer.
Ryusui|GM: and Thing should become "[ ]: A grotesque statue, successfully neutralized"
Casper: Although, if the Foe was slain, how are they still [-]?
Casper: (Though I guess they're a Thing, now.)
Casper: (Can a pile of eldritch corpses be [-]?)
Casper: Maybe the Farm gets to do something fucky when they get their hands on the pile.
Ryusui|GM: 😉
Ryusui|GM: it's Cthulhu-infested corpsemeat, ready to be a problem sometime~
Ryusui|GM: So anyways
Ryusui|GM: We have 3 + ripples and 1 - ripple
Ryusui|GM: I'm gonna go ahead and propose we apply a + ripple to Rise of the Great Old One
Casper: Agreed, but which one?
Ryusui|GM: Thing becomes "[ ]: Icons of Cthulhu, rare but potent, whisper to the unwary."
Zeta: I myself was thinking of the Foe to work on your the things you laid down earlier
Casper: But the Foe is dead, man. It's an inert Thing, now. XD
Zeta: Fair enough
Casper: But yeah, that works. (Remind me what the "expanded" ladder rung above Abysmal (-4) is?)
Ryusui|GM: so, interesting
Ryusui|GM: there doesn't seem to be an official adjective for -3
Ryusui|GM: i mean, not in FATE at present
Ryusui|GM: I'm finding a chart that gives "Abysmal" as -4, but "Terrible" as -3
Casper: Oh, "Awful," I think it was.
Casper: Or was it "Horrible?"
Ryusui|GM: let's go with Horrible
Ryusui|GM: So that leaves us with two + ripples and one - one
Casper: I say we throw the {-} at the next Event somehow. XD
Ryusui|GM: Righto! What becomes worse? >8D
Ryusui|GM: Person or Foe?
Casper: Make the "mysterious C00l@ir" a bit more actually threatening (assuming this doesn't throw a wrench in some "he's not the bad-guy" twist... actually, especially if that's the case).
Ryusui|GM: is it wrong i wanna just...add the - to the box but not change the description? XD
Zeta: Hmmm, Cool@ir sounds like a hacker name, how about making them like a rainc- That sounds scary, we don't know what changes to make them more dangerous!
Ryusui|GM: i mean, they are "the mysterious C00l@air..."
Ryusui|GM: right, so, now, let's turn around and add +s to the last two events
Casper: Hm... Maybe make it clear they're doing more blatantly dangerous stuff?
Ryusui|GM: maybe
Ryusui|GM: but i like just keeping it mysterious XD
Ryusui|GM: like
Casper: Okay, I'm 90% it was Awful that RG said.
Ryusui|GM: i don't know if i can change the aspect without possibly tipping my hand
Casper: Fair 'nuff.
Ryusui|GM: but i promise you there won't be any more bullshit like an auction house fulla monsters invalidating your prepwork
Ryusui|GM: okay so, there are no +s on the last two events, obvs, so that leaves us with all four options open
Ryusui|GM: for Dreams of R'lyeh, we have Person, Place, Thing, and Foe
Ryusui|GM: as well as for The Great Serpent's Lament
Zeta: How about giving a + to the foe of Dreams of R'lyeh?
Casper: I want to think that Nicholas Landor is a well-meaning visionary who just... struggles to compromise between his own vision and... something that only feels like it's supposed to be his 'vision,' but... gah, why is he doubting his own thoughts?
Ryusui|GM: okay, then!
Casper: (Voting to put it on the Person.)
Ryusui|GM: i don't think i need to change the aspect here
Ryusui|GM: just the rating
Casper: On which?
Casper: We picked different catalysts.
Ryusui|GM: on the Person, like you said - OH
Ryusui|GM: sorry i didn't see Zeta's vote
Ryusui|GM: okay so
Ryusui|GM: thanks for updating the rating, but we still need to work out which catalyst to +
Casper: <@!Zeta>, can you explain your reasoning?
Casper: (For the record, a Foe can never be on our side unless we change their status through play; them having a + just means they're ineffectual.)
Zeta: I was just gonna say they picked a pretty incompetent PSC/ One that constantly bickered with the Heads of the museum on how to actually secure the place.
Zeta: your idea does seem better though.
Casper: Museum?
Ryusui|GM: it ain't a museum
Zeta: Err, place, sorry.
Ryusui|GM: the next one is about the hackers
Casper: He was talking about the tower, I think.
Zeta: Yeah the Very Messed up Skyscraper.
Casper: So; Nicholas Landor might be (open to being) on Team Good (or at least fighting his own 'vision' enough that he might as well be)?
Casper: <@&646786011103363104>?
Ryusui|GM: righto!
Ryusui|GM: ONE MORE TIME~
Ryusui|GM: what changes in The Great Serpent's Lament?
Zeta: Hmmm I assume putting in in Foe would not reveal a single thing about said foe, would it?
Ryusui|GM: nope. XD
Casper: Hm... Perhaps the town itself isn't as hostile (i.e. Alphonze isn't able to sink his fangs into it as much)?
Ryusui|GM: sure, we can work with that 😉
Casper: Or perhaps Cthulhu has to awaken him to more to achieve the same effect, making his first draft of his eldritch bible contain the cult equivalent of corporate secrets, and we'll need to get our hands on it for ourselves instead of destroy it?
Zeta: Heh, I agree with the first suggestion.
Casper: Fair 'nuff.
Ryusui|GM: okay, less hostile town then! got it! ❤️
Ryusui|GM: and with that, I believe i can say...
Ryusui|GM: TIMELINE REALIGNMENT COMPLETE
Ryusui|GM: (back to IC mode!)
Ryusui|GM: Jessica looks like she's on the verge of crying - possibly from the hug, possibly from something else. "Y-yeah. The world still came to an end, but...but the fight's still going. Five years. More time to prepare. I just..." She sobs a little. "This is so hard for me. I just..."
Casper: Casper holds her cuff and slaps her.
"Calm down."
Ryusui|GM: Jessica is quiet for a moment as she regains her composure. "Right. What...what I'm supposed to tell you is this." She reaches into her robe and pulls out several printouts. The date stamps range from a couple weeks ago to today. The first few are your typical kooky conspiracy blogs - "Hitler and Bigfoot's Baby Running for State Senate?" - but given all you've seen and known, the headlines pertaining to occult rituals being perpetuated across the Internet smack of terrifying reality.
Casper: "Already? Zeta, you said this was all happening over the course of this year. Is it just the first two that are front-loaded?"
Ryusui|GM: (i said "a couple weeks ago")
Ryusui|GM: (not "years")
Casper: (And I meant "we just did the auction a few days after meeting, and now the rituals are already happening?")
Ryusui|GM: "This has all been happening in the course of the past month. A post claiming to contain eldritch secrets went viral. Two different and distinct rituals are described within. The first...is a ritual to bring Cthulhu forth into this world. I don't know if it's the same thing that was used in 2035, but...it requires bodies. Corpses. Hundreds of them." She makes a disgusted noise. "Lucky break, I guess. Nobody who had the wherewithal to try it would, and nobody who would had the wherewithal. But then there was the second ritual."
Zeta: "I feel that second ritual is far worse than the first one..."
Ryusui|GM: She nods. The news articles transition from the likes of "The Eye of the Illuminati" to local news sites. There's even one or two national news syndicates in there. The headlines are now pertaining to inexplicable, grisly murders and mysterious mass grave robbings. "The second is a ritual to summon and control 'the feral flesh-eating beasts from below.'" She looks at you, Zeta. "I think you'd know them as 'ghouls.' The accompanying text indicates they're supposed to harvest bodies for use in the first ritual. There's a catch to both, though."
Zeta: Zeta takes a deep breath, "...ghouls." Well, that explains.
Ryusui|GM: She flips through the pages, giving you a look at several recent postings on various social media sites discussing the phenomena and the rituals, till she gets to Ground Zero. "The rituals are incomplete. There are clues in the original post that lead to, well..." Her expression turns awkward. "It's sort of like an ARG? I think nobody's made the connection between the rituals and the murders and grave-robbings because everyone thought it was some kind of weird marketing stunt. You follow the clues, solve the puzzles one after another, and at the end, the original poster gets in touch with you and tells you how to get the missing pieces of the ritual." She takes a deep breath. "Some people figured out how real it all was the hard way."
Ryusui|GM: "The good news is, we don't have to solve anything. The dots have all been connected for us." She mutters under her breath, "mom and dad's work paid off." There's a printed note with a long series of letters and digits. "The person distributing the ritual is a hacker known as C00l@ir. A big financial institution traced a security breach to them, and...well, C00l@ir basically blackmailed them into backing off. But we still have their location. They're working out of Arkham, which...I suspect you already guessed we were getting to."
Casper: "Apparently. Zeta here said we needed to go there, but somehow forgot everything about what actually happens. What's the deal with that?"
Zeta: "...Damnit, So they are really gonna lure people in like that... It's clever, but cruel." She sighs again. "Yes, we are going to Arkham, we can't...did you really need to phrase it like that?" She looks a bit annoyed at Casper.
Ryusui|GM: "Yeah, about that." She looks at the both of you sternly. "There's the thing I was supposed to tell you, and now...here's the thing I want to tell you."
Ryusui|GM: "Don't go back to Arkham."
Casper: "No."
Zeta: Zeta tilts her head a bit. "Wait...What? Why not go to Arkham?" She also rolls her eyes at Casper, the gall of that bird...
Ryusui|GM: Her voice begins to crack with emotion again. "Mom and dad...they were killed by cultists two years after the apocalypse. I was 12 at the time. I'm 15 now. They still told me everything they knew about what happened, what they'd seen, what they'd been through in the years leading up to the apocalypse." There's a pleading look in her eyes. "You two...the both of you...you get killed trying to stop C00l@air."
Casper: "We won't now."
Ryusui|GM: "...You don't know that."
Casper: "You gave us the info to actually know part of what we're getting into. I'd say that changes things."
Ryusui|GM: She shudders. "Mom and dad...they were sure too." She looks at Zeta. "And you're with him on this? You'd go back there, even knowing in my history you die?"
Zeta: "....Well." She places a hand on Jessica's shoulder."....Future is like a big plate of curry, it's really tempting to go eating it all at once...and i might just go eat one right now..." ...what. "Err... What I mean is..." ...
Zeta: She remains silent for a moment after she realizes how stupid that sounded.
Ryusui|GM: Jessica gives Casper a despairing look.
Zeta: "...You came back in time, To change your future...that we change...So...You kind of, already accomplished your goal!" ...Seta shudders a bit, even she knows she isn;t helping the case.
Casper: Casper stares back into her, cold, unfeeling.
"It doesn't matter if she agrees, in the end. She hired me to do this. We're going. I'll eliminate the target even if it means burning all of Arkham down."
Zeta: "...You...aren't gonna burn the entire place down...are you?"
Casper: Casper doesn't answer at first. The constant pitiless look in his eye almost takes on a predatory meaning despite his yard-bird genus. "It is humanity that is at stake."
(I'm gonna love seeing how different characters alight at different speeds over the course of this campaign to "Casper is full-on Neutral Evil, even if he's on our side." XD)
Zeta: Zeta...Sighs, hard. "...I'm Glad he's the hero from my timeline." ...is she smiling a bit? wow.
Ryusui|GM: Jessica shudders under Casper's stare. "Then that's it, then. I guess...I guess I can only wish you luck." She dons her mask again. "I'll be going now. I'll see if there's anything else I can find out that might...that might improve your odds." She looks in the direction of the table. "Don't tell them who I am, please?"
Ryusui|GM: And without another word, she runs off.
Casper: "Stop." He grabs her collar.
Ryusui|GM: "Erk?"
Casper: "I think you should start with how we died. I'd think that would be important information."
Zeta: "Oh, don't wo- Oh." Maybe she should teach Casper how to take things a bit chillier, maybe.
Ryusui|GM: "I'd have told you if I knew," she says, struggling against your grip. "Mom and dad...they were sure we were going to win the war. They didn't tell me everything. They didn't know I was going to be sent back in time. They wanted to keep me safe." She starts pulling against you. "All I know is what the historians told me...there was a big fire at Miskatonic Polytechnic, and the complete ritual was posted on the Internet hours later. You two...you didn't make it out alive."
Casper: "Right then..." He throws her forward - not hard enough to necessarily make her fall over, but still. "Don't fail us."
Ryusui|GM: She doesn't say anything else, just runs from the crazy bird and his crazy boss/accomplice.
Zeta: Zeta waves her hand, with a bit of a expression telling 'Sorrryyyyy' to her.
Ryusui|GM: "Hey!" Patricia's voice calls out. "You done?"
Ryusui|GM: "That stranger certainly left in an awful hurry," Jocelyn pipes up.
Zeta: Zeta turns around. "Oh, Hi scary lady, Yes we are done!" Zeta then walks up to Jocelyn as if it was nothing serious. "It was nothing serious, we got a lot of future intel from them!"
Ryusui|GM: "Sheesh, what a creep. Like a bad guy out of a Japanese RPG," Xia mutters. "Did he ever take the mask off?"
Zeta: "None of your concern." creep she thinks, How the hell did he and Jocelyn get together...just how?
Casper: "She is your daughter."
Ryusui|GM: Xia coughs and sputters. Jocelyn's expression turns positively jubilant. "Oh, that's lovely!" she chirps. "It's a shame she was too shy to say 'hi' to her father!"
Zeta: Even Zeta looks at him, too surprised to even say anything.
Casper: "Yours too, Jocelyn."
Ryusui|GM: "Oh, there were two people under that robe? That's adorable!" Jocelyn giggles.
Casper: "No, just one."
Zeta: Finally she forms another sentence that, even with no hopes of getting through to him, she still says."...you...you are taking the piss out of them, aren't you?"
Ryusui|GM: "I do hope our daughters are friends!" she says, giving Xia a friendly elbow.
Casper: "Zeta, she does not pay me to keep her secrets."
Ryusui|GM: Xia just turns pale, and gives Jocelyn an odd look. After a few seconds, his gaze turns downward from her face, and an odd smile creeps up on the corner of his mouth.
Zeta: "...But I do...As of right now???"
Casper: "Statement noted and added to the receipt."
Zeta: "Good." In the meanwhile, she puts a hand on Xia's shoulder, looking at him with a not so friendly face.
Ryusui|GM: Jocelyn doesn't respond to the revelation, except with a surprised little "oh" as she realizes the implication. She clears her throat and takes a sip of her drink.
Zeta: Zeta sighs for the third time so far. "Miss Scary Lady... How long until we go to Arkham?" she hopes at least the Seal Lady isn't overwhelmed about this.
Ryusui|GM: "Flight's in another hour fifteen. You're certain you want all three of us along?" She gives Jocelyn and Xia a look, as if she's convinced they're both dead weight.
Zeta: "... I'm not sure..." she simply lays her head on her arms...
Casper: "Jocelyn has a method of detecting eldritch presence that is much more reliable than Zeta's." He gives a look to Zeta. "Meanwhile, Xia has money and clout. Enough to, say, screw the rules with. I understand, however, if he decides he'd rather not sink costs into this job."
Ryusui|GM: "...I'm goin' wherever she's going," Xia says, indicating Jocelyn with his thumb. "It's destiny or some shit, right?"
Zeta: "..." she gives a quick look to Xia, then whispers to Casper . "Can't we get another one?"
Casper: "... I admit that he hasn't been acting like a foreign entrepreneur," says Casper out loud.
Ryusui|GM: Xia shrugs. "It's the apocalypse. Decorum is for board meetings."
Casper: "... Beginning to doubt the 'foreign' part especially."
Ryusui|GM: "I spent my college years in the States. Anything else you'd like to question?" He says it as if legitimately inviting you to ask him anything, possibly because he knows a confrontational tone will probably result in a snapped neck, or worse, mutilated privates.
Zeta: "B-but, the apocalypse hasn't even...!"
Casper: "Drop it. Jocelyn, are you coming?"
Ryusui|GM: "Well, I don't see any reason not to come. My job's covered in Cthulhu slime right now and if I stay around I imagine I'm going to spend a lot of time being questioned by police." She gives Xia a wary look that goes unnoticed by him. "And it's like you said, I do seem to have a knack for seeing things."
Zeta: "W-well, I suppose everyone is coming alone, Miss..." A small, tiny bit of Zeta left her body a few moments ago and it's just getting lost into the void of despair that is the future...
Ryusui|GM: (closing in on the four-hour mark and 8PM on my end)
Ryusui|GM: (last lines?)
Casper: If Zeta coming back turned the tides for me and the statue, I don't have any doubts about our well-being now that 'Jessica' came back.
Zeta: "Miss Patricia, Can you give me a hug?" she doesn't even wait for a response and just hugs her.
Ryusui|GM: Patricia seems surprised, but returns the hug. "Oh, that's just beautiful! Jocelyn happily chirps. "Everyone, group hug!" She grabs Xia and Casper and wraps them into the hug with Patricia and Zeta. Neither Xia nor Casper are pleased with this development.
Ryusui|GM: (and with that, let us...)
Ryusui|GM: !end
