BrokenPromise

Re: Zero: The High Council

@Letter Bee@Rune_Alchemist (And @FamishedPants, only cuz husbando)

Thanks for riding this thing all the way to the end with me, my dudes.

It was a little touch and go in spots, but when you realize that the original GM left it and we all hung on until we got to the end, I don't think it turned out half bad.

May all of your dreams come true, you lovely bastards.

Re: Zero: The High Council

After everyone stated what they wished, Mie invited herself into the room. Sandra watched with mild irritation as the fox woman mocked everyone and turned to shoot one last hair razing line at Vertti. But she had not been idly waiting in her seat when Mie appeared. As soon as the fox entered the room, Vertti stood up and walked towards her. When Mie finally spoke to her, Vertti was already standing right beside her. The aristocrat placed her hands on Mie’s face.

"You can call me Linnea."

Vertti did not give Mie time to react, and closed the breach between their lips. Mie flailed her arms a bit before Sandra tossed a coat over them

”Alright, Lady Vertti wants to stay I guess. Not that I’m surprised.” She looked to Ashton and Flame. ”I guess you two are the only ones going.” Sandra raised her hand and pointed at Ashton and Flame.

[+]

”I’m surprised to see you go so soon. I don’t know what happened back there, but I wouldn’t be standing here if you weren’t there.” Ashton and Flame’s bodies started to go transparent, and red lights flickered all around them. ”A shame we didn’t get to know each other better. May you find peace in the world you wake in.” In the moments following, Ashton and Flame would vanish into the shadows of the room. There would be no trace of them, nor Alistair’s phone.

---

Jameson would wake up outside his church. He would wave the entire thing off as a dream seconds later.

Yuuki would awake beside the girl he was running with. He would continue to run through the snow with her, putting as much distance between his father and himself as he possibly could. The world of Re Zero taught him to fear his father even more.

Hilda would wake up in her kitchen. She became a far more cautious person after her return, figuring that someone must have drugged her.

Aaron Yang left the world committing suicide, but woke up in a hospital. Having experienced death many times, he decided it would be best to wait for it to come naturally next time. He became a carpenter and would eventually make a living as a motivational speaker.

Ashton and Flame would wake up where they were taking a walk. If not for the fact that they held Alistair’s phone, or the fact that they had a shared dream. Ashton’s pain would heal with time though. He would grow up into one of the world’s greatest doctors, and save many lives. Every once in a while, they would hear the voice of Od Laguna beckon to them in their sleep.

Their jouney in the fantastical world of Re Zero was over. Their quest ended, and Lord Talus lay in ruin along with his nefarious scheme. But for those that stayed, a new adventure awaited…

Chieko, Alistair, Vertti, and the other natives had their work cut out for them. Priestella was spared from more racial conflicts thanks to Crunch’s story, but it would be a long time before relations between the humans and demis mended. Especially with the high council trying to bait them to attack each other. But they had lost the favor of the artificial witches. Whether they were damsels that needed to be saved or heretics that needed to be killed was unknown.

And then there was Aerith, who was all by her lonesome. She knew where the witches were, and she would do anything to be reunited with them. She would have many run ins with the party as they attempted to cleanse the lands of the high council.

All of this might leave one wondering how it will all end.

A tale for another time perhaps…

FIN ~

NR: IWCBADALWOCBTWWTAUA for Short or NI for Shorter

Kingdom Come was amazing, Alex Ross is an amazing painter. He typically does cover work, but he's done a handful of comics. It's a shame Mark Waid is king baby. But I won't get into that here.

Did you read the entire thing? That's not quite how I remember it ending, and it seems like a few plot points were left out.

Question about pestering RP partners

If you're the GM, it's your job to make sure things move forward.

Sadly, most RP goers are relatively poor communicators, and they won't speak up unless personally addressed. If they are waiting on someone to post, going on vacation, etc, chances are they are staying silent. It's also not uncommon for people to ghost or flake. Flakes in particular are a problem because they will constantly tell you that they are going to do something and never will. If you're the GM, you should let everyone know via OOC or discord that you are going to post soon and move everything forward. Sometimes people lose track of time, etc. Don't be angry or belligerent, but staying silent is not the answer.

As for 1x1 RPs, that's something I've had little luck with. But I don't see how speaking up can hurt.

Re: Zero: The High Council

---

E N D O F A N E M P I R E

---

Flame Brooks was not among Alistair’s favorite people. Alistair always respected people who could take charge of their lives and stubbornly refused to bow down to their oppressors. Essentially, people who had walked a similar life to himself. Seeing him rest on the floor did not make the haughty young man happy. He had thought that if Flame had done anything else, it would be better than just succumbing to the urge to sleep. Alistair was proven wrong. Flame was able to hear what Alistair was whispering to the few people who needed to hear his plan for it to work. He then stopped Ashton from distracting Talus, made Talus aware there was a plan, and then proceeded to talk about things that even Alistair didn’t understand. Alistair had worked so hard to try to dig out a victory, and yet…

But Flame wouldn’t have much time to parade in front of the witches. Talus was no longer distracted and was made aware of the plan. In a flash, he appeared behind flame and drove his hand through the boy’s back. Talus’s arm was emerging from the front of Flame’s chest, covered in his blood. He was able to witness the giant hand turn around and make an “L” symbol over his head as the light faded from his eyes.

DEATH COUNT: 279

With a snap of his arm, Flame’s lifeless body was cast to the ground.

”On the other hand, That is to say the one that went through Flame’s chest, I could just remove them.” He chuckled. ”I wonder what made flame think I didn’t have the power to do that. The two of you are entirely expendable. Mere pawns of Od Laguna. You’ve served your purpose.” He turned to look at Ashton. ”And now you can be removed.”

Alistair might not have liked Flame, but he wasn’t happy that he was dead. In the end, he was just trying to help. Alistair was so distracted by Flame’s interaction with the witches that he left Aerith mostly unattended with Chieko. Not like raining down suppressing fire was going to help her case any. Aerith might not have looked very threatening, but Alistair knew she had some fearsome power. If Odessa didn’t like her color, she must have had the power of a witch. He didn’t want to find out what it was, even if he was confident in his ability to use spells. Ashton had just been through a gruling battle, and lost Flame. Chieko looked like she was at her limit as well.

"Is that so?" Aerith took a step closer. "Funny how you only get around to saying it at a time like this." Her hands were shaking, but she didn’t release the knife. "We have a bit in common. You want to be a hero, I want to be a lover. You see? We both want to be liked." Her breathing was becoming more ragged. "Why didn’t you ever try to save me?" Her eyes dropped to the knife. "I don’t know what to do. It seems like whatever I do, it’s always the wrong choice. Is it even possible for me to make good choices?" She held her head and fell to one knee.

Vertti had run up to Flame’s corpse and was attempting to heal him, but it was a futile endeavor. Her magic was too weak to perform a miracle like this. Blue light lept off of her fingertips and into Flame, but it had no effect. "Come on." She whispered to flame. "You have to get up now." Vertti bit her lower lip. "Any time someone dies, there’s someone who’s going to cry for them. No matter how insignificant you may think you are, there’s always a pair of eyes who cries for someone." Her jaw trembled as she watched his unmoving body. "How many more times is this going to happen?"

The witches looked conflicted. They were talking among themselves, paying no mind to the scene that was unfolding before them. Finally Melancholy stepped out of the group. ”We have come to a decision.”

Talus looked away from Ashton, as if he had forgotten he was even there. ”Really?” He cracked his fingers. ”So who did you decide on? Simply give the word and I’ll make it happen.”

”We have selected all of them.”

Talus blinked once, then laughed. ”That is not how the game works. You must choose one of them.”

”You know I have a flair for the dramatic Talus, so let me explain.” She marched over to the giant. ”Love is not something that you can just force on someone. It’s clear that the canidates in this room are all acting strangely, they wish to force an outcome with all their heart. Since we are unable to come to a decission, we have decided to take the option that will make everyone the most happy.” Melancholy pointed to Vertti. ”We have selected Lady Vertti as the winning candidate.”

Talus was unmoving. His body looked like it was engulfed in a black flame, but even that flame seemed to freeze. Alistair looked between his remaining companions to see what the giant was going to do next. That was when the giant laughed. ”Let me see if I understand this.” he gestured with his hand. ”You are unable to make a choice, so you’re going to choose the one that you don’t want? The one that made the lot of you construct this game in the first place?”

Melancholy rolled her eyes. ”Not to put tooooooooo fine a point on it, but the majority of the rules for this game were made by you. Undoubtedly to exploit us for your own gains.”

”You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying.” Talus’s smile turned. ”The lot of you are witches, and yes, we love you very much. Those of us at the high council. We made you ourselves, brought you up, watched you mature for many years, and put you here so that nothing could hurt you.”

”A prison, essentially.”

”Exactly right, Melancholy!” The flames on Talus’s head seemed to get bigger. ”You’re pissing off the one person who has complete control over your lives. The fact that you can see anybody is because I am here to let it happen. So let that sink in.” Talus stood up straight. ”Do you still want to choose Vertti?”
Melancholy turned away from Talus and looked at the other witches. With a nod, she looked back. ”Do I stutter?”

Talus looked around at everyone. ”So this is it?” He swung his head around. ”I endure the war, I watch my family die, my kind pushed to the brink of extinction…” He turned to Chieko. ”Watch them sully my name, mock me…” He turned to Aerith. ”Then they have the nerve to call me a monster…” He looked to Alistair. ” And then after holding on to-”

”Yes Talus, it failed.” Melancholy folded her arms. ”You orcastrated a game you were sure you’d win, and you lost. Now, make Vertti the permanent sentinel again.”

Talus lifted his hand to point at Ashton, and all of the witches shifted. It was clear that if Talus didn’t do what they wanted, there would be some resistance. The giant mouth turned from a hidious scowl to a twisted smile. He moved his hands over the sides of his head. ”I won’t give you the satisfaction.” And with a loud crack, Talus’s head turned into a fine black mist betwean his hands before sinking to the ground. Even though there was no wind, his body blew apart into ash. The void shook, and everyone felt their grip on reality weaken.

---

Alistair had barely regained consciousness when he felt a hand smack him. "Gah!"

”Gah!” It was captain Crunch, kneeling over him.

Alistair cleared his throat. He never liked being touched, but again, he couldn’t fault the woman for trying to bring him back. "Where is everyone else?"

When Crunch stood up, he could see that he had been moved inside the Vertti household. Chieko was there, as was Ashton and Mistress Vertti. There were servants everywhere and a few mages trying to heal the wounded. Crunch remained with everyone to tell them what had happened. After crunch came back from the siege, she found most of them thrown about the room. Apparently Mie and Aerith had killed Fritzi, but she had enough power left to unleash one last spell. It seemed to be the reason why everyone in the mansion had been knocked unconscious. However, there appeared to be no lasting damage to the people or mansion.

Fritzi’s body was found in the kitchen, allowing the authorities to confirm that elder sibling had died in the siege. Vaux’s body confirmed the presence of archbishop activity in the region, and its ties to the demihuman bandits. Crunch is pretty sure these were two separate groups working together, but wishes to sell the story that the demihuman bandits were just a front for the witch cult and not a separate entity composed of disgruntled demihumans. This would remove the demihuman’s association with the bandits and shield them from even more prejudice. She’s also requested that everyone keep Fritzi’s true identity a secret. She was a beloved member of the comunity, and it would do a lot more good if everyone believed she was killed protecting the mansion.

"That’s going to be hard to sell to Mie." Vertti groaned. "I’ll try talking with her."

There were sightings of Aerith fleeing the mansion just a few minutes ago, but no one knows where she is now.

”I’ll take it from here.” Sandra stepped in front of Crunch and looked at the foreigners. ”You four, follow me.” None of them felt like moving, but it was a relatively short walk to Vertti’s study. Once there, Sandra locked the door behind them and stepped behind her desk. ”Alistair, Chieko, Ashton, and Vertti. I’m pretty sure most of you know who I am, but I’ll introduce myself again just in case.” She placed a hand on her chest. ”I’m Sandra Photos. I’m a very accomplished pyromancer who has their own division of cat boys who works under her. But all you need to know is that I am the new Witch of Envy. I know about what you guys did, and I’m really glad Talus is gone now. I’ve waited a decade or two for this to happen.” She sighed. ”I was seperated from the others because they didn’t want a repeat of last time. The witch cult that is. They tried to seal me away, but I managed to escape and I’ve been opposing Talus’s game ever since. It’s a long story, so I’m just going to get to the point.” She leaned over the desk. ”I have two goals. One is to stop the high council, and the other is to undo all of the nasty shit Talus did. Where I’m a little conflicted is to what should be done with the lot of you. So here’s the scoop.” Sandra folded her arms. ”It is possible for me to send you guys back to your old worlds. Sadly, there is nothing I can do for Hiro. Fortunately for Flame, the game ended in time and Wrath was able to save him with her authority.” And as if on cue, Flame walked through the door. He must have had keys because that shit was locked.

SUKKAH: 278

”Which reminds me, I have lost contact with my sisters. Without Talus, they have no way of observing the world at large. His was done without the approval of the high council, and I doubt they will risk following in his footsteps. Especially seeing as Talus failed. But I’m getting off point.” Sandra leaned across the desk again. ”You can go back to your own world. Your real world with your families and friends, who are probably looking for you. You’ll wake up somewhere and think whatever you want to think. ”

"Or we take the red pill?"

Sandra snorted. ”What red pill? The only other choice is that you can stay here. If you guys like opposing the cult, there’s plenty of cult left to fight. But you’ve already laid the ground work. The high council lost big today. The kingdom is only going to get stronger now.” She closed her eyes. ”This isn’t something I can freely do, mind you. This is a permanent choice you’re about to make. It’s only been a week so I can easily send you back to your own worlds, but it’ll be a lot harder as the weeks turn into months. So you guys need to decide what you want to do, preferably now.”

RPGC #24: Tactical Espionage Action - Voting and Critique

Alright, let’s get this show on the road.

Three stories, three reviews.

I’m keeping it short this time, but I’ll freely elaborate on anything.

The Army Destroyer

I don’t have a whole lot of complaints about how the story was written. It was simple, but that made it easy enough to tell what was going on. I was able to navigate the story just fine, and it was paced well.

Something I was far less impressed with was how inadequate the army going after Steve was. Espionage hinges on a storie’s ability to make the reader feel “clever” when the hero outsmarts the bad guys. The big bad left Steve alone in a cloth tent with nothing but a rope holding him in place. Not just any tent, a tent with Bendul. A guy important enough to have “Grand commander” prefixed to his name. Despite how woefully inadequate a tent is at confining people, they are left unattended for an extended period of time. When their missionary cloaks failed them, they just dawned a new disguise to escape. The exact same kind Steve used at the beginning of the story. It was a little hard to suspend my disbelief. Steve was a one trick pony that was handed his victory by inadequate opponents. It would have been more interesting if they put up more of a fight.

I did like that Steve had some difficulty sneaking out as a missionary. Fallible characters are good in any story.

by @Calle

The Amulet of Friall

The story had all the correct beats, I feel. Counter-stealing sensitive objects with an uncertain ally is always a fun experience. It also had a juicy betrayal and enough evidence to suggest such a thing might happen.

There are several instances of past and present tenses getting mixed up, missing punctuation, run-on sentences, all permeating the work. A few example of what I’m talking about.

He had send her a note that he wanted to see her as soon as possible. The wall was full with shooting holes every ten steps there was one.

He had sent her a note that he wanted to see her as soon as possible. The wall was filled with shooting holes. Every ten steps there was one.

It hadn't been easy to find the vampire that tried to frame a werewolf colony for the murder on human knight Ger nor did he come without a fight.

A run-on sentence. Consider something like this

It hadn't been easy to find the vampire. The one that tried to frame a werewolf colony for the murder on human knight. He didn’t turn himself in without a fight.

“Hazel.” he responded as he picked up some pieces of paper. “We have a report that followers of Reitrome are making a move to steal the amulet of Friall.” Hazel gritted her teeth when she heard her least favourite name in the world: Reitrome. The ever elusive Reitrome. Hazel's eyebrows arched as she heard about the amulet. “You mean that amulet that is supposed to be hidden away by the Elementals so it would never fall into the wrong hands?”

It’s not a good idea to include dialog from two different characters in the same paragraph.

“Hazel.” He responded as he picked up some pieces of paper. “We have a report that followers of Reitrome are making a move to steal the amulet of Friall.” Hazel grit her teeth when she heard her least favourite name in the world: Reitrome. The ever elusive Reitrome. Hazel's eyebrows arched as she heard about the amulet.

“You mean that amulet that is supposed to be hidden away by the Elementals so it would never fall into the wrong hands?”

The story could benefit from more exposition. Hazel had a lot of magical powers, and it would have been interesting to know what made her magic different from Estelle’s. It makes it a little uninteresting when the characters can just “do magic to it” and escape any situation. At least it feels that way when you don't know the extent of their power.

There’s definitely a good story here. It just needed a bit more work to fully come out.

by @Salenea

The Inevitable

While some of the scenes were verbose, I do feel this entry had a level of detail that the other two entries were lacking. It was nice to get all the important bits of the story in place before it starts. I was surprised that my favorite bits came in after the actual assassination.

And oddly, that’s also my biggest problem with it. I think you wanted to present this idea about how people like Orlov get screwed in the end. While I think that’s an interesting and noble thing to pursue, The rest of the story needs some love too. This was a fairly routine assassination that got botched at the end. Everything else is just inner thoughts. Spy stories are about action.

by @Fiber

My vote

Difficult to pick one. They all had one thing they did really well, and something else that missed the mark. I think I’ll give it to The Army Destroyer, if only because it fit the theme best. It was a hard call though.

MASC #1: Throwback - Voting and Critique

I fully intended to vote, but the deadline passed me by with everything else going on.

I'm glad someone mentioned the other contest though, I didn't see the voting thread for that one go up.

Re: Zero: The High Council

---

Alistair Archibald was usually a benevolent and tolerant man, but there a three things he simply could not stand: People who stood in his way, people who insult him, and people who forced him to make hard choices.

Of these, Talus was all three.

Alistair Listened to everything that was said. It was a lot to take in, But he understood the gist of it. Chieko and him would essentially be replacing Vertti. Talus wanted a new host, presumably because in order to forward his plans.

But it seemed like Talus was vulnerable right now. Not physically vulnerable, as Ashton was proving. Talus didn’t possess Fritzi’s speed, but he was able to dodge every attack Ashton threw at him. He didn’t know how long he planned on toying with Ashton, but this was good. He was underestimating them, and letting himself get distracted. ”Such a tiny knife, I have to wonder if it’ll even break my skin.”

While he found Ashton’s bold move pleasing, he was put off by Flame’s choice to take a nap at this time. He wouldn’t have wasted his mana on him if he thought he was just going to collapse on the ground. Ashton was a man of action. He despised weaklings, people who would nap when there’s work to be done.

And then there was Chieko, who fell somewhere on the line. It was clear she was stressed to her limit. Alistair was too, but he was a bit better at hiding it. She asked Vertti if killing her would really solve everything.

"I believe so." Vertti placed her hand on her chest. "It’s in our contract. He’s defective that way. Something that happened to him after encountering the witches. He can only draw his mana out of one person at a time. If you kill me, he will die shortly afterwards."

Alistair was not sure how Chieko would respond, but he chose to give his input on that plan. "No! Now’s not the time to be dead!" It was just principle. Ashton thought killing Hiro would reset the timeline, but it ended up just killing him. He wasn’t going to let someone else die and hope the magical mumbo jumbo all worked out okay. He approached the two girls and spoke in a hushed tone. "Killing Vertti is exactly what he wants, that’s why he’s getting ready to trade hosts. We don’t need to kill his current host, we need to make sure the witches can’t pick any of us." Alistair groaned. He just needed to understand the game better. "I take it the vote has to be unanimous? It seems like Lust’s vote was holding things up for everyone."

"Excluding the witch of envy, the other eight have to all agree on one, yes."

Alistair folded his arms. "Hey ladies!" Alistair spoke in his normal voice. "Are you watching this?"

That was when the shapes of the witches started to appear all around them.

”I, wouldn’t, miss, you, for, the, world, Alistair.” Sloth hovered over Alistair.

”Chieko has always been my favorite.” Gluttony ran her hand over her stomach. ”I would not miss her for the world.”

"Well, there you have it." Alistair looked at his companions, speaking quietly again. "The reason why Lord Talus is pulling such a risky stunt right now is because he’s trying to force the witches to pick one of us. The fact that Vertti is here with us means that she can still be nominated. All we need to do to claim victory is make sure the witches don’t pick either of us and instead pick Vertti."

"That might work." Vertti nodded. "It’s worth a try. I’ll see what I can do."

"We can deal with him once the game ends. Meanwhile, I think I know what will make Lust happy." Alistair stepped over to Chieko with a finger raised in the air. "Chieko." Alistair said a bit louder. "We might not survive this. I’ve encountered a lot of woman since I got here. However…" He wrapped his arms around Chieko and kissed her on the lips.

”Noooo!” Lust cried. ”It’s like Lin all over agaiiiihahahaaaan…”

Gluttony chuckled before placing a finger on her lower lip. ”I actually think my opinion of Alistair has improved a bit.” she giggled. ”It’s hard to pick between the two now.”

While all this was going on, Aerith trembled in anger. "What? Where did this come from!? You could have held me like that!"

Disappointing. It didn’t even bother Alistair that he might have to kill Aerith. Not that he looked forward to it, but she didn’t have a single redeemable quality. She was human garbage, and the fact that she wanted to kill them for a shoulder to lean on. Not that he would do so willingly, of course. That would be giving into wrath after all.

"Survive, Chieko!" Alistair turned to face Aerith and started flinging ice spears. It seemed the two of them were racing against the clock to disappoint as many witches as possible.

Re: Zero: The High Council

Chieko was able to easily land her shield bash on Chiyo. The girl couldn’t see, and her daggers hardly possessed the ability to deflect such an attack. With a yelp, she was thrown backwards into Quill. The oni instinctively wrapped an arm around Chiyo and jumped backwards down the steps, landing at the base of the stairs.
 
”Owowowowowowowow!” The little girl cried. ”She seems serious.”
 
Quill blinked a few times. Her vision must have been coming back. “We should have known better than to do something so reckless, but it won’t happen again.” The two assumed a stance again. Chiyo had climbed onto Quills shoulders and crouched like a frog. “We’re getting up the stairs this time!” Again, Quill sprinted up the stairs. Half way up, Chiyo threw one of her daggers at Chieko’s head before leaping off Quill towards Flame. Chieko barely managed to dodge the knife, the sharp object grazing her skin lightly. The oni let out a war cry before the molten steel behind her surged forward as four multi-pronged tridents. She held her club behind her head, waiting to swing.

This time, Flame was ready, transforming his fireball into a fiery whip instead, ready to parry any attack Chiyo and Quill made while keeping the latter two at a distance. Another fireball lit up in his left hand, weaker due to the lack of a spoken spell, and he launched it at the two foes as a counterattack to further push them back and down the stairs.

“You two are not the only ones who can fight in tandem!” he shouted. 

The fireball was noticed, and Quill was able to move one of her molten spears in the way of the blow. It caused her to flinch slightly, but she was a tough woman. Weak magic wasn’t going to have much of an effect on her.

“I can't let you pass, Quill, and if you won't stand down I'll make you.” Chieko readied her own club, ready to deflect Quill's own while using her shield once more to stop the molten tridents.

Chieko’s shield was more than enough to repel Quill’s tridents, but she wasn’t the target of all four of them. Quill thrust two of them into the steps under Chieko’s feet, causing the wooden floorboards to catch fire. “Algoa!” The spears were becoming liquid again, and seeping up through the floorboards as molten metal. All the while, Quill was still trying to press through Chieko’s shield. 

Flame wasn’t fairing much better. Chiyo lacked any magical capabilities, but a close quarter fight fell squarely in her area of expertise. She landed on the ground and rolled backwards under Flame’s burning whip, as well as flame himself. Once she was behind him, she extended both of her legs and kicked flame down the stairs. ”Chiyo doesn’t like hurting friends, but…” She quickly retrieved her second knife and dashed towards Chieko. She had quite a bit of momentum, and Chieko would only have a moment to deal with the incoming threat.

Flame managed to right himself by grabbing one of the steps, badly bruised by Chiyo’s moves but not gravely injured. Standing up once more, he raised up his right hand, formed another whip of burning fire, and swung it at Quill’s right leg, hoping to curl its length on the latter. If he succeeded, he’d try and pull the Oni off her footing, or at least distract her from her attack on Chieko.

Fighting in tandem was not as easy as I thought it would be.

Chieko ground her teeth together. This was going slightly against them. Chiyo had rolled past Flame, trying to get to her. She couldn't fight the both of them like this, she was good, but – no, she could handle it. Even if she had to give a little.

Chieko allowed herself to step backwards, enough to let Quill gain some ground. Hopefully avoiding Chiyo's blow, while her momentum carried her forward enough so Chieko could land a gut blow on her with her club.

Chieko’s sudden shift in targets wasn’t something that Chiyo expected. She attempted to deflect the blow, but there was only so much two daggers could do against the heft of a club. The club was able to push past the daggers and nail Chiyo in the rib cage, possibly even her left arm. To that end, Chieko’s gambit seemed to have worked.

The caveat was now Quill was on equal footing with Chieko. Flame attempted to slow Quill down, but he paid for the delay by being dragged through the fire and molten steel below her. With a whimper, Chiyo trapped chieko’s club between her torso and her arm. Quill drove her heel into Flame’s sternum before running towards her adversary. Though the molten puddle was moving faster than she was, setting the floor ablaze as it raced towards Chieko’s position.

It seemed the only good thing about Flame’s position was that his face had avoided the fire and molten steel, although the rest of his body needed medical attention. Now prone on the stairs, the boy didn’t give up as he lifted up his free left hand and lashed out with another fire whip, this time at Chiyo’s right arm, hoping that a delay would affect the small ‘girl’ more than it would Quill.

“Goa!” Chieko turned her palm towards Quill, blasting a fireball in her direction in hopes of slowing her down just enough to let her disentangle herself from Chiyo. It hurt to attack Chiyo like this, but she had to do it no matter how good little sister material she was.

Ahem~

Chieko slammed the bottom of her foot into Chiyo, while pulling back on her club so she could use it to fight Quill. What was Flame doing? She couldn't let it distract her. She had to – she had to win here.

Chiyo cried out in pain as she was burned and then kicked. The frail girl was using the last of her strength to deny Chieko her weapon, but that strength faded between the two attacks she suffered. Chieko was able to pull her club free as the girl collapsed to the floor. 

“Filth…” Quill dropped her club and used both of her hands to seize Flame’s outstretched hand. With a quick squeeze she broke every finger on his right hand before swinging him up at Chieko in this confined space.

At least Flame can content himself with this - That he had at least helped incapacitate one enemy. Note now that he couldn’t do anything against Quill using him as a club, though, so he waited for his body to hit Chieko’s or the staircase.

Chieko, unprepared for having Flame tossed at her barely managed to catch the boy. With a grunt, she planted her feet firmly in the floor, wrapping her arm around him. In one motion she tossed him to the side not quite having the luxury of being gentle about getting him out of her way. She didn't have much time to bring her weapon up to try and defend herself from Quill's attack. Quill did not have a weapon, but she was close enough that it hardly mattered. Her weight was enough to knock Chieko to the ground. She sat on top of her and tried to punch her out, interchanging between left and right fists. She kept screaming “Goa! Goa! Goa!” over and over again as her molten steel attempted to coil around Chieko’s legs. 

Flame was pretty roughed up and badly burnt, and he might have broken an arm. But his other arm - He was too un-lucid to see if it was the right or left - was pointed in the rough direction of Quill, and with one more cry of ”Goa!”, sends out a strong stream of fire at the Oni as she punched a hopefully prone Chieko - Even with Flame dazed, he can still see Quill’s raised profile.

This should catch her by surprise. This should save Chieko’s life.

“Gah!” Chieko shouted as she was tackled by Quill. All she could do was hold her arms in front of her face – but purely playing the defensive wasn't going to get her anywhere. She could feel the molten heat on her feet, and each punch Quill made she felt each sweltering blast of heat more. If she got a little burned – fine then. Reaching a hand up, she attempted to grab one of Quill's hands with her own. The other shot forward, open palm as she took one of Quill's punches right to her face. “GOA!” An explosive blast of fire escaped from her palm. That was all Chieko could say before Quill’s fist dislocated her jaw.

The oni threw back her head and screamed. Chieko’s flames weren’t a direct hit, but the flames seared the side of Quill’s face, moments before Flame’s attack batted her from the side. The oni was thrown from Chieko and tumbled down the stairs before coming to a stop at the foot of the stairs. She didn’t show any signs of movement. 

”Mmmmm!” Chiyo was attempting to crawl down the hall, but she was progressing slower with each passing second. She had dropped both of her daggers, so it wasn’t clear what she was going to do once she got to her target.

The molten tendrils that hovered over Chieko’s legs would never touch her. With Quill’s defeat, they seemed to have cooled into solid metal. Sharp, but  no longer an active threat. 

And Flame chose this time to go unconscious, satisfied that he had saved Chieko’s life and she can deal with any remaining enemy…

Chieko shakily rose to her feet, breathing heavily. Ugh, she hurt all over. She was pretty sure she was badly burned, but she couldn't rest quite yet. She needed to make sure...Looking to Flame, she quickly made sure he was still alive. Good, he was. She glanced down the stairs towards Quill. She clenched her fist, resisting the urge to make sure she was still alive as she ran over to Chiyo.

“...Chiyo, that's enough.” Chieko positioned herself in front of the small human. She wasn't taking no for an answer. Wincing lightly in pain, Chieko picked up Chiyo in her arms, carrying her princess style back down the stairs, before setting her down next to the down Quill.

“Just...rest, okay?” She patted her on the head.

The small girl was laying on her back with her hands folded over her chest. She fret her brow at Chieko. ”Why are you being nice to Chiyo?” She grumbled. ”I don’t get it, but if you insist.” Quill’s fingers twitched. She was just barely on the verge of consciousness. Chiyo reached for her hand.  ”If we survive this, we’ll have to do it again later.” Chiyo pulled her hood over her eyes before laying down her head to rest. 

Chieko frowned, patting Chiyo on the head. Argh, how was she going to solve this? She didn't want either of them to be arrested or - She'd figure that out when she got there. Chiyo was already out, and Quill seemed equally out of it. She walked back up the stairs to where Flame laid. Still unconscious, huh?

“Hmph.” She reached down...and promptly smacked him right on the side of the face. “Are you just going to sleep, rival!?” Chieko shouted loudly. “We won this battle! On your feet and enjoy the spoils!”

Flame woke up, grouchy and drowsy, before mumbling as he got up, “Do you know how to set a broken arm?”

He almost swooned again from the pain.

---

Aerith had been knocked down, but not out. When she returned to her feet, she could see she was in the dining room. This was made evident by the long rectangular table going down the center of the room. All of the servants had fled, and the only person in the room other than her was Fritzi, who had seated herself at the other end of the table. She was pouring herself a glass of wine with one hand, and the other was propping up her head.
 
”I knew I hadn’t seen the last of you.” Once the glass was full, Fritzi tossed the rest of the bottle over her shoulder. It shattered, but the noise could hardly be heard over the fighting in the other room. ”I wonder what we’ll do while Quill’s busy in the other room.” After giving her glas a slosh, she took a sip. ”You know nobody likes you, right? Not me, not even your own allies. Even I can see that.” She set down her glass and pushed it aside. ”It’s because you’re selfish, Aerith. In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve burned down a clinic, attempted suicide, and aborted a dialog between two parties that you didn’t want to see joining forces. You see the problem here?” She stood up. ”All the same Aerith, I do like you. Not the way you claimed to like me, heh, but you don’t seem like you’re intentionally trying to be this way. I’ll never forgive Ashton, but I can forgive you.” She dragged her hand along the table while she walked towards Aerith. ”I’ll give you a chance to surrender. If you become my hostage, I’m confident I can talk Chieko into letting Quill take the seal. Then we can avoid any more pointless bloodshed.”

Hooo, so that's what was going on. It wasn't long to track down what was making her feel so...twitchy. So anxious. Fufu, seemed like Fritzi had some amusing secrets as well. Two knives left her sleeves as she landed in the doorway to the room, aimed right for Fritzi's head.

The wolf woman vanished from sight as soon as the daggers came close to her head. Once they hit the far wall, Fritzi reappeared. 

”Not the first time someone’s tried to kill me.  The whole ‘nail ‘em while their doing a monologue’ trick is something I’ve come to expect.” The room started to vibrate, and there was a metallic clanging sound coming from the pantry at the far side of the room. ”Seeing as you’re in the mood for knife throwing…” A gust of wind blew the door to the pantry off of its hinges, and every utensil inside was blown out as if fired from a cannon. Not just knives, but pots, wooden spoons, and anything else a servant would need to prepare a meal was flying towards Mie.

“Heh.” Mie grinned under her mask, superior agility avoiding several blades as she dove behind the table, rolling along the floor under the table. Using her momentum, she leaped up wards as she came to the end of the table, aiming one of her blades right for Fritzi's neck. ”You're pathetic, you know that?” She taunted in a bored, disinterested voice.

Mie was swift, But Fritzi’s movements, if they could be called that, were more akin to teleportation. She was actually moving though. Not just anyone would notice, but Fritzi was definitely running around the room instead of teleporting. Her shes had gotten dirty, and she was leaving behind footsteps every time she “teleported.” But the result was the same. Fritzi could move out of the way as soon as the projectile left Mie’s hand. From Mie’s position under the table, she couldn’t tell where Fritzi was. That was, until she started walking on top of the table. 

”Pathetic is what humans have been calling our kind since we were born, Mie. You’re not going to get under my skin by uttering it now..” The tools that flew past Mie earlier had fallen to the ground. She could see them, scattered around the table in all directions. ”I am curious as to why you changed sides. I don’t think you ever believed in our cause, but this is going to hurt your reputation as an assassin.” She stopped walking. ”It’s not too late to make amends. I won’t hold back if you insist on defying me.” All of the items started to vibrate, and Mie could see the table cloth flutter in the swirling wind. 

“What can I say, my foxy friend.” Mie grinned. Ah, ah, she wasn't teleporting..just moving extremely fast? “I've never been good at doing what I was told...besides, throwing a little chaos into the mix is fun.” Now how to figure this out. Her eyes shifted from side to side. She had some ability to levitate or throw something? Or was she simply moving extremely fast it looked like she was? “Besides...don't act like you're better than the humans.” Mie exhaled. “Humans, demi-humans...we're all the same sort of scum.” Mie dashed out from under the table – being caught in a confined space with potential flying weapons would be bad. She immediately launched herself into the air towards the nearest wall, spinning and pushing off of it as she launched a knife in the last direction she heard Fritzi in on the table.

Mie’s aim was true, but all Fritzi had to do was “teleport” out of the way before Mie hit her.  ”If that’s how you feel.” While Mie was no longer trapped under the table, her trajectory placed her directly over the table, and thus surrounded by potential projectiles. Mie normally would have just flown through Fritzi’s position to the other side, but she was caught in a whirlwind, spinning in place. It forced her against the ceiling, and the spinning winds were starting to draw the kitchenware swirling towards Mie. 

Aerith couldn’t afford to stand idle any longer.

She had mostly been trying to figure out how to defeat Fritzi through all of this. Like Mie, she noticed that Fritzi was just very fast and wasn’t actually teleporting. But there had to be some strange rule in how her power operated. She always used her power to escape or catch up to targets, but her attacks always came at normal speed. Otherwise this fight would have been over already. So she can only walk and run fast. But she was able to move on top of the table. If that was true, how was she able to accomplish that? Can she jump too, or did she step up on one of the chairs? It didn’t really matter. The important part was that Aerith never saw Fritzi “teleport” out of sight. So she was only capable of moving short distances, probabgly to areas she could see. That meant that Fritzi’s powers were based on sight. Aerith believed she had what it took to turn the tables. 

"Shamak!"

Aerith started by casting her weakest spell, one that did nothing but threw black spores into the air. Fritzi was swirling the air, so the spores were being dispersed about the room. But she cast it again, and again, and soon it was becoming difficult to see more than a few feet in any direction. This was draining on Aerith’s mana, but she wouldn’t need to hold it up for very long to win the fight. And just to give Mie an extra advantage, she activated the authority of wit. This caused both Mie and Fritzi to start laughing, and Fritzi’s wind storm ended. Not that she could see it, but she could hear the kitchenware clatter to the ground and no longer hear the wind. The main reason Aerith did this was so that Mie, while blind, could find Fritzi among the black smoke. Aerith prayed Mie would end this battle quickly, as she wasn’t sure how long she could hold up the authority of wit or this black fog.  

“How I feel, huh?” Mie's dagger missed, and she landed back on the floor. “How I feel...is that you're messing up my stuff, and I really, really, don't like it when people do that.” The black fox grinned viciously, intending on pouncing once more, but it seemed like the human finally had the guts to do something. Black spores filled the room, cutting visibility...and, was she laughing now!?

“Ahaha! I don't-ahaha-I don't know what the hell this-ehehe, magic is but I’ll take the opportunity-!” Mie managed to breath out. She could hear it. The kitchenware clattering to the ground. Fritzi's own laughter. Mie leaped forward, having already mostly memorized the layout of the room. She made a beeline for Fritzi, her knife stabbing forward into darkness.

It was too risky to join Mie. The two demi humans were likely aware of their positions, and would be attacking each other. She could hear the two cackling, their voices moving closer to each other. Aerith groaned as the last of her mana reserves were drained away. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep this up, but it was imperative that Fritzi wasn’t allowed to use any of her magic. She didn’t know Mie for very long, but she seemed to favor a physical approach. She could hear the sound of limbs flailing, steel hitting steal, and then one of the laughs were silenced.

It was Fritzi.

Just to be sure, Aerith held up everything for a few seconds longer before dropping her spells. She collapsed to her knees as the black dust swirled away into the air. When she looked to the two combatents, she could see Fritzi leaned up against a wall holding her chest, and Mie was sitting on the floor with her arms spread, bloody dagger in hand. If she had to guess, Mie had been kicked or punched away shortly after stabbing Fritzi. Even in her weakened state, Fritzi still managed to smile. ”I don’t suppose.” She inhaled. ”You’ll consider my offer, will you?”

“Aha,” Now that she wasn't laughing, Mie simply gave Fritzi a sadistic grin. “Begging are we? How boring.” Mie leaned in a bit closer to Fritzi. “I was hoping for a bit of a show, but you’re not even trying to defend your position...which means you’re just a pathetic, sad, hypocrite. At least take pride in your life and gracefully accept your end.” Not that if Fritzi tried, she’d give her any other response.

Aerith growled before walking over to Mie. She practically tripped over her own legs on the way over. She was not very magically potent, but had some of the strongest spells among the foreigners. Authorities were nothing to sneeze at, even weak ones. Once she was standing over Mie, she gestured with her hand. "Hand me the knife." There was an intensity in her eyes that only someone as downtrodden and beat as Aerith could possess. "I’m ending this!"

Mie was about to end it herself, but Aerith made a rather amusing suggestion. Well then. Mie smiled. “Eager, aren't you?” The fox chuckled. “Well alright then. Go on. End this hypocritical fox.” She handed Aerith the knife, watching what she would do eagerly.

”Wolf, actually.” Fritzi chuckled until she started coughing. ”Mmmm, so Aerith is the one who takes my life?” she sighed. ”I suppose this makes the most sense. You attempted to kill yourself, that’s when Ashton decided to kill Hiro. I suppose in an indirect way, you’ll be responsible for both of our deaths.” Aerith was making a low growling noise as she neared. Her short hair was hanging in front of her eyes. ”I hope you’ve gotten better at killing people, that attempt on yourself was messy.”

Aerith held the knife against Fritzi’s neck. "Back then, a week ago, you said I wasn’t the very best. That I wasn’t your type." She bent over in front of Fritzi and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Back then, a week ago, you said I wasn’t the best. That I wasn’t your type." She pressed the knife a bit harder into her neck. "Do you still feel that way? You felt something for me back then, right? You had to!"

Fritzi sighed. It was hard to say if her breathing was labored because of her wound, or some emotional connection to what Aerith said. ”I had no idea you were this lonely Aerith.” Fritzi let her head fall against the wall. ”This entire time I thought you stuck by your friends because you genuinely cared about them. But that’s not it at all, is it?” Fritzi leaned folward, Aerith held the knife against Fritzi’s neck, but found her hand trembling as they came closer. ”You’re a giant fuck up who hangs around people in the off chance they’ll notice you. You have nothing of value to offer, and bring down everyone around you. I’m right, aren’t I?” Aerith’s hand was uncontrollably shaking. She needed to put another hand over it just to keep it somewhat steady. Fritzi leaned against the wall again. ”Just kill me, Aerith.” Fritzi smiled and closed her eyes. ”Free me of this world where you linger. Send me off to see Hiro in the afterlife.”

Aerith bit her lower lip. She had no thoughts, her body was opperating entirely on emotion now. She drove the knife into Fritzi’s neck, only to pull it out and stab again. Over, and over, and over again. Aerith screamed, and crimson ran down the length of her arm, but Fritzi herself never stopped smiling, or otherwise made a sound. If it weren’t for the gaping hole in her neck, she might have looked like she was having a peaceful dream. Aerith stepped away from her body and turned to face Mie. There was some blood splatter on her face, and she was on the verge of tears. "You love me right?" Without wasiting for a response, she held her knife out against the fox girl’s neck. "I saved your life!"

---

W H E R E E T E R N I T Y E N D S

---

Chieko, Flame, Ashton, Alistair, Aerith, and lady Vertti all found themselves in that dark space again.

"Oh, I should have known." Vertti folded her arms. "Of course you’re all from the old world."

"What’s going on?!" Aerith was still drenched from head to toe in blood. "Are you here Joy? Fritzi?"

”Pretty sure you escorted that last one out of this world.” Lord talus appeared in a swirl of smoke. ”The game has neared its conclusion. The last votes are being tallied, and we’ll have a winner announced shortly.” He turned to face Vertti and bowed. ”You’ve just lost your ability to return by death. I’m so sorry.” Vertti only groaned in response.

Alistair extended his hand towards Flame, and he could feel healing energies gradually repair his arm. He was unlikely to fully recover any time soon, but it was better than nothing. "Do you have any idea what’s going on here?"

"Unfortunately." Vertti turned to look at the others. "Lord Talus is a spirit I encountered shortly after arriving here. He’s able to facilitate the love of the witches. That is to say that he can bring other worlders to this world, and grant them the ability to restart the world on death." She narrowed her eyes before looking at Talus. "He cannot give the love of the witches to anyone who they do not truly love, however, which is why he is not capable of having it. That’s why he chose to make a contract with me."

Alistair groaned. "So we were all called here to replace you? Why does he need to do that."

”I can answer this one.” Talus chuckled. ”I find the direction Vertti is guiding the world in to be distasteful.” he raised a finger into the air. ”To move things along, lets just say I’d like to see a bit more war in the world. It was a nicer place when the population was just a few thousand. There wasn’t room for hatred over things like race and creed.” He took a step towards Ashton. ”This game was set up to show the witches a more attractive option. It was hard to get lust to abandon Vertti, but she came around once she showed interest in Mie. Oh, that went deliciously well!” He looked at everyone else. ”Ashton and flame are only here by the will of Odd Laguna, which means that my next host will be one of you. Chieko, or Alistair.”

"What about me?" Aerith stumbled towards Talus.

”Oh, now you are a sad story.” He chuckled. ”So after your little thing with ‘Joy’ she got bored of you. You see, Vainglory is like that. She just wanted you as a challenge, and once that was done, she was ready for something else. It was rather disappointing, even the witch who originally wanted you here lost all faith in you. You’re nothing now.”

"Nothing…" Aerith hung her head. Talus stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

”It doesn’t have to be that way of course.” He chuckled. ”The only reason why you’re still here is because they feel you are worth considering. But if you removed either Chieko and Alistair from the equation, you could take their place.” He leaned in close to her ear. ”They would all love you.”

"All…Love?" Aerith looked at her knife.

"I don’t think we can reason with her." Vertti walked up to Chieko. "If she manages to kill one of you, Talus will kill Aerith and make a contract with the one who survives. In order to end this we have to deprive him of his mana supply." She sighed and closed her eyes. "He’s contracted to me, and my death won’t reset the world any more. So…"

Collab, for Total Scrubs: A guide on collabs for the rest of us

UPDATE: Corrected some of the phrasing and wordiness in preparation for "Writing Collabs Like a Total Boss."