/q/ - Quest

>Both
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmOR6DmmlAY

The trail continues, ascending and descending, curving and straightening, rocky and worn here, smooth and level there, further and further into the hidden depths of the mountains which enshrine the Lake. It's all anyone among your allies can do to keep their eyes as straight as Shorthorned's. Yet on all sides, above and below, the frozen light remains a window to the past. Good memories… as well as bad ones. Poor choices of words, misunderstandings becoming mistakes, accidents becoming disasters… and yet also, the victories large and small, the successful rescues, the hard-won battles… and the rumors of war yet to come. Regret and triumph. Many memories which the bearers long wished that nobody else would find out… All they have witnessed, all they have suffered, all they have done, all they have failed to do… whether for evil, or for good…

But, what else is there to do? Whatever your allies come to think of those ahead of them, and those behind them, there is nothing they can do more now but follow the trail unto their destination, and aid one another in doing so. The time manipulators keep up their rotation, sneaking what little sips of water they can take between their call-outs and their labored breathing. The powers of healing continue just the same, as does the interminable road…

>>768031
Shorthorns continues to keep her focus as she leads the charge, knowing that its her responsibility as the head of her herd to keep everyone moving in the right direction. But all the same, she can't help but reflect on her journey up to this point… how far they've gone and how much she's lost, and how much she's gained.

It pains her to say she has a hard time remembering her mother and father's faces, though it hasn't been SO long since she broke off from the herd, angry and refusing to leave their ancestral home even when the demons came to take it over. How lost she'd been until she'd found Amy and joined the guard with her, the fateful meeting with Shei and Pryce and their company, and just how far they've traveled all over the world in search of a way to save it. She'd gone to places and seen things she's certain most buffalo never even imagined, and as it came to here, the depths of Tartarus itself at one of its deepest and critical junctures, having ascended beyond a mere buffalo into a goddess of her own right… it's still almost overwhelming to imagine how much can change in just a single year. She feels like she's grown so much since the eager little firecracker she once was, even if it's only into a slightly wiser firecracker, and though she is not without regrets for those who couldn't be here now, she wouldn't change anything in this moment.

>>768031

Amy does all she can to avoid looking at the memories of the past. She doesn't have much to be proud of. When she thinks about it, she knows that an enormous percentage of her life is devoted to self-service and maliciousness as compared to the good that she tries to do now.

Still, a part of her wonders… She can't help but contemplate whether or not the parts of herself that even she has forgotten exist in those memories somewhere. Perhaps she could find out where the demon part of herself came from. Perhaps she could even find out about the mortal that the demon was before that - if such a thing were even true.

And, if such a thing were even true, would she know it? If it's something about herself she didn't remember or recognize, would she even realize it was her own memories?

Amy chances a brief glance, hoping against hope that somehow she sees the one thing that might mean something to her. She's pressed her luck before, why should this be different?

[1d10] to catch a glimpse of a memory that Amy has forgotten

Roll #1 7 = 7

>Both
In a kaleidoscope of light and sound, scent and weight, your memories and those of your myriad allies whirl about, as countless journeys blend and zenith here as one. No matter how far apart they may have begun, no matter how disparate their initiation and intentions, here they are now, blending into one strange and tangled bond. Stranger still that this bond should be forged here, in Tartarus, the antithesis of place, the antithesis of time, that which unravels all bonds… yet here you are. Even those who have died are, in their own faded way, here with you still, as their memories flow forth and weave themselves into the tapestry of your tale, your holy quest…

Weary calls of time stopping and starting again overlap with one another, exhaustion piling up no matter how much the healers do their best to keep pushing you along. Your pace, and the pace of your allies, starts to falter. The trail grows steep, the rocks looser and more scattered, no longer held by the dirt that once was there long ago. Worry pulses through the party, transmitted by Shei's chain, though such a thing is redundant. For though your bodies lose their earlier unity, you sense now that your spirits are still unified. The thought of being lost here, of your quest failing, interminably paused, is enough to terrify everyone involved, no matter who they are or what they entered Tartarus to do. What use would I have in naming any of your allies here now, dear reader? For in fear and hope alike, you move as one.

And as one, a surge of second wind rushes through your allies. Time freezes. Time slows. Time stops again. Time speeds up. Time…

…loses now all meaning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8TrST06phc

For as you crest the last great arch of the trail, you emerge above a meadow valley, hidden deep within the clefts of a titanic mountain range. The trail smooths out, and runs down through the valley in a reverent column, as those who once walked it took care not to disturb the wreathing constellation of flowers and vines. The meadow encircles a colossal lake, a lake whose far end you cannot fathom, whose breadth and depth rival those of the sea. The sunset-honeyed hues of the Soterio Field leave you at once, and your bodies lighten and reinvigorate, as the dreadful, crushing weight of the Field lifts from you also, as if carried away effortlessly by the gentle breeze which carries the Lake's cool relief over you.

Here the past has no claim, neither of guilt nor of nostalgia, and the future has no business to worry or pine for. There is only the 'now', the eternal present of the Momentary Lake. An impulse rushes through the time-manipulators of the party, as they realize that their chain of temporal manipulation has had a lapse. Yet, nothing happens. The Soterio Field may surround the Lake, yet by no means is the Lake imprisoned by it, and neither are you.

Here is all that you and yours have entered Tartarus to accomplish. Here is all that Sir Pryce and the others are guarding, up upon the surface. Nothing, neither hellish Tartarian phenomenon nor wicked or desperate Umbral, stands between you and the Lake now… only a mere mile or so of calm, smooth trail, from here to the beach.

>>768034
There, among the tapestry of history, you see…

…a young and ordinary wolf, sniffing at the edge of a monstrous cavern in the earth. There was some enticing smell, or a flicker of movement, beyond the boundary of light. Thus this singular wolf… perhaps having been driven from her pack, perhaps having set out on her own volition, ventures inside, holding no special powers, nor almighty abilities, but her body, her mind, and her curiosity.

The wolf stops after some steps. She turns and peers back over her shoulder– at you.

Then, she looks back down into the chasm. You still feel, somehow, that she is still looking at you.

>>768035
As the herd finally breaks free of the time-rending grip of the Soterio fields, Shorthorns lets out a gasp, as though she'd been holding in a breath for an eternity. With their objective ahead of them in all its vast splendor, the dangers of the sleep-inducing fields finally behind them as they leave the past behind them, in its most literal form, Shorthorns brings her stampede to a full stop as the breach the fields to take view of the lake.

"There it is… look at it." Shorthorns says, paused and overlooking the vast, timeless lake with the others, taking in both the lake itself and the collective journey it has taken them all to arrive here. It's almost overwhelming as Shorthorns wants to collapse at the sight of it, but she remains strong, for herself an the others around her.

"It's so beautiful."

>>768036

Amy smiles at the simple memory. It brings her a strange sort of peace to know that she has had an appropriately simple origin all along. A part of her wonders if there is more to the story. She remembers again her strange bond with Kerberus. But, there is no time to think about such things right now.

>>768037
>>768035

"It IS beautiful," Amy says with a frown.

Then, in a more hushed tone, Amy pulls out some attunement stones and shows them to Shorthorn. "Moody still owes me a conversation."

>Both
"Yeah… it is," someone says among your allies. A few others whisper their awe, in small and reverent words.

Despite the travails of the hike through the Soterio Field, the mere sight of the Lake restores a little vitality to the party. Perhaps without even thinking about it, they begin walking down the trail, taking care to step only on the weathered dirt and stone, not disturbing any of the empyrean meadow. Their pace is focused as ever… yet dilly-dallies just a little, for the enjoyment of the flowers.

Without really meaning to, Mudi emerges at the head of the herd. Vizsla follows a short distance behind.

>>768038
Shorthorns nods her head in understanding. "Do you need me to keep Vizsla busy for a little bit longer? I had a nice conversation with her, did you know about 'shaved ice'?"

>>768039
Shorthorns follows along with the others, keeping pace towards the head of the group but now at a much calmer trot than the full-blown stampede they'd had going through the fields.

>If Amy responds positive to distracting Vizsla, Shorthorns will approach her again to speak

>>768040

"I think you might just need to be ready with your own attuning stone," Amy says to Flaming. "So that we can get her to listen."

>>768039

"Moody," Amy calls out as she catches up. "You still owe me a conversation."

>Both
As the two of you approach, Vizsla hangs further back, while Mudi walks a little ahead. Each slides to one side, permitting you a space next to them – picking up rather easily where you left off last time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcnwSCUaeRA

"Yeah, I suppose I do, don't I…?" Mudi says to Amy.

"Hmm…" Vizsla hums. "Shaved ice, you said…?"

The two slow their pace.

As a result, so do the rest of your allies.

>>768042

"Are you going to really listen?" Amy asks, still having the attunement stones in her hands. "I could just throw them at you instead," she says as more of an offer than a threat.

>>768042

[1d10] perception

Roll #1 3 = 3

>Amy
Mudi wiggles her ears– as equines are wont to do. But, they're a little… twitchy.

"That's… what I have my ears… for, isn't it?" Mudi breathes. "Hahaha. Ha. Well, what… is it?"

>>768041
>"My own attuning stone?" Shorthorns asks. "What for?"

>>768042
Hoping to give AMy and Mudi the space they need to speak, Shorthorns hops back into the conversation with Vizsla immediately. "Oh, uh, yeah! I was just telling Amy about yours and how good it was, I was curious if she'd ever had anything like it before. Did you invent it?"

Perception
[1d10]

Roll #1 7 = 7

>Both
"Hm…?" Vizsla says. "Oh, um… no, it… I… think it was…"

As Vizsla speaks, her voice is lightly strained, and her speech intermittent, distracted. She loses her train of thought time and again.

What's more, Shorthorned notices that Vizsla and Mudi's pace is slowing, even more. It doesn't seem deliberate, nor even the result of absent-minded distraction.

It's… as if they're walking through water, through a creek whose waters are becoming deeper, and muddier, by the step. Every step forward is a struggle, despite how much they wish to press on.

>>768045
>>768047
>>768046

Amy furrows her brow, becoming annoyed with the stubbornness - predictable though it may be. "You know exactly why that doesn't… work…"

Amy slowly stops talking as she observes Flaming, Vizsla, and Mudi all three becoming noticeably slower and more fatigued. "A-are you guys alright?" she asks with growing concern.

Amy looks to see if everyone else is becoming similarly visibly fatigued.

>[1d10] perception

Roll #1 5 = 5

>>768047
Shorthorns takes notice of Vizsla and Mudi appearing to slow down, moving as one would through a bowl of pudding and yet seeming completely unaware.

"Are you two okay? You seem like…" Shorthorn's eyes burst open in realization, shouting towards Holy Hours

"HOLY HOURS! Everyone with the ability to manipulate time, cast your magic again! We're not out of the woods yet, hurry!"

[1d10] Perception

Roll #1 8 = 8

>Both
"Future Foundation!!" Holy Hours barks as Shorthorned calls out to him. The apex of his temporal mastery spreads to all of you, and the fear of the Soterio Field falls upon your group once more. Your allies rush forward as if time were no object, massively accelerated, crossing much of the last third of the mile toward the Momentary Lake in naught but a blink…

…Except, some are missing.

Two are missing.

The ends of Hours' temporal charms, and Shei's chain, flutter behind you, having been loosed from the two who remain behind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GPQFTnNFZQ

Mudi keeps her eyes forward, yet her mouth is coiled tight, as if she were ready to vomit. She strains toward where the temporal charm lays on the ground, and picks it up… yet, even with it, she staggers as if every step may be her last… as if she were about to die, here and now.

No… neither time nor sleep are the issue here.

You see tears dotting the edges of her eyes. Tears of deep and existential frustration.

Mudi wants to move forward.

She desperately wishes to move forward.

She would give anything to be able to move forward.

And yet she cannot.

Vizsla stands there, eyes cast low.

>>768050

"Wh-what?" Amy says as she sees the two missing links in the chain. "Who are we missing-" Amy begins to ask the question before she realizes that they likely aren't missing anyone.

She looks to Holy Hours in disbelief, her eyes wide, almost pleading. "You didn't…"

>Amy
Holy Hours glares at you. "No, damn you, I didn't! Look! She's got it now! My Future Foundation should be helping her as we speak!"

He looks at Mudi. "But it's just not working!"

>>768052

"Who? How? Why?" Amy asks, loudly, looking around in a panic. Tears start welling up in her eyes.

>>768050
Shorthorns struggles to watch as Mudi and Vizsla continue to freeze up. The mystery of who could have disconnected the links from these two could wait as far as she was concerned! All that matters now is fixing this before the field takes them fully.

Shorthorns races to them, casting Covalent Bonds in a hope that she might transfer the ill effects of the time dilation from them to herself
>Covalent Bonds: Auto Instant; Recharge 3; Ranged; Choose an ally. All damage they would normally take this turn will be applied to you instead. The most damage you can receive from using this ability is (Full Hits) + 2 Wounds.

As she also weaves her Sphere of Magic, hoping whatever meager power she might have might be enough to at least allow Mudi/Vizsla time enough to figure out how to fix this

[1d10] Sphere of Magic to reverse time-dilation

Roll #1 8 = 8

>Both
Shorthorned tries what she can, as Holy Hours protests his innocence, to bring Mudi and Vizsla back into the fold.

But, neither his temporal charm, nor Shorthorned's benevolent powers, seem to be helping them.

Blessings slowly turns her head, and blinks at Amy. Then, she unhooks both the chain, and the temporal charm, from her shoulder. She steps backwards away from Holy Hours, separating herself from his accelerated time. She moves slower than you… but it's not the same as the Witches of Gehenna. No, indeed… you can see that the Witches of Gehenna are moving just as fast as you. They are indeed benefitting from Hours' temporal manipulation.

No… look again, and see the truth.

There is a ripple in the air. A shimmer, like a heatwave curling above the ground on a hot summer's day. Yet the air here is pleasant, neither too warm nor too cool. Neither is it any optical illusion nor making of a strained imagination.

No. No matter what alternative that one might think it–

It is a wave of Distortion that passes through your allies.

But what – or who – could be its source? There are no others here, not besides you.

Indeed… the only possible source of the Distortion lies among your allies.

In truth… at least all of them contributed but a little.

Private doubts. Unspoken misgivings. Disagreements in method, or of the vision of the future that would come from all this.

Some, certainly, had harbored much deeper wounds that begat this Distortion.

Consider them–

Wireframe, loyal one of the Spiders, holding her grudge of sworn vengeance against Sir Freischutz.

Volkama and Deriva, the elder ones of the Saviors, whose homeland's anti-demon defenses were sabotaged by Vizsla the Kind.

Flow, the old friend of Hope, of Vitalya, of Zophie, of Eligos… and many more comrades, trapped inside the pocket dimensions in the Witches' possession.

Blessings the demon huntress, who sought to avenge the souls of the countless Shades whose youth Mudi stole, so as to prolong the three Witches' lives to an approximated, false immortality.

Rus Tea and Leather Cloak, loyal soldiers of Ecclesia, torn now between loyalties to nation, to friends…

Busta, the weakest of all who have entered Tartarus… and his heart of desperate love for the Witches who took him in, and gave him purpose.

Or, of the aforementioned disparate visions for the future held by each faction. The penitent theocracy of Ecclesia, subjugating demonkind; the divine anarchy of the Spiders, embracing demonkind; the extermination of demon, angel and god alike, waged by the Light Brigade; the eternal totalitarian supervision of the world and all within it, under a transcendant Mudi. The simple peace imagined by the Saviors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmGmuIAmWok

"I told you… dear sister."

Mudi winces as Vizsla speaks.

"From when you first told me of this plan, in Vitral," Vizsla breathes. "It could never have ended in any other way besides this."

Mudi casts her eyes to the ground. Teardrops stain the dirt between her hooves.

Vizsla looks back at your allies. "Now then, my friends… do what you have come here to do."

Peering through the waves of distortion, every faction looks at Vizsla… and at one another.

>>768055
>>768054

As Amy slowly comes to realize the truth of the situation, she looks about as downtrodden as Mudi.

But, when Viszla begins to speak, Amy turns to the witches with an expression on her face that shows frustration and determination in equal measure.

"I came here to help everyone," she says in a tone that matches her expression. "You two included. I will NOT let it end like this."

"EVERYBODY HERE is going to listen to me," Amy shrieks the words in a voice that is shrill to the point of sounding manic. She looks around at the crowd of people who they gathered to save the world as she screams it.

"Shortyhorns, if anyone seems like they're not listening, give them some stones," she demands to the god.

She then takes some of her own attunement stones and presses them into Viszla and Mudi. "I just want to help you all," she says more quietly as she methodically removes the witch's ability to block her speech.

"SO, JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND!"

>>MANTRA OF EQUALITY
Attribute: Buff
Tag: Instant
Effect: Counts as a Critical Hit of the Mind Attribute; Target cannot harm the User, except with AoE Actions, next turn
Duration: 1 Turn
Recharge: 2 Turns
>[1d10+4]
>DC-4

Roll #1 10 + 4 = 14

>>768055
Shorthorns looks around at all the others, FEELING their doubts among them, the small corners of their minds that still recall how the Witches had wronged them in the past, and Shorthorns can't help but feel at least a little sympathetic as to why. She couldn't simply tell them to DISMISS their grievances, for when she can feel their minds like this bonded with her own, she can understand the hurt they feel and how they couldn't prevent such distortion from affecting the witches.

Shorthorns realizes that perhaps the only way to counter-act this wave, might be a wave of their own. For the witches have had their own suffering to be certain, and if the others could FEEL what the witches have been through, to gain sympathy from them in a way they simply couldn't share themselves, perhaps it would relieve the dilation.

>>768056
She begins thinking for how to accomplish this with Shei's links, but as Amy commands attention from everyone, Shorthorns nods, knowing it should fall to one witch to save the others as she lets her take the lead.

She takes the atunement stones that Amy passes her, and begins looking over the herd, spotting out any who don't seem intent on listening to Amy.

[1d10] Perception

Roll #1 7 = 7

>Both
All in the name of saving mortalkind, these utopian phantasmagorias of the world they shall save, through fire and war, bullet and anathema, machine and spellcraft, diablerie, benediction and mortal effort…

(1/?)

Of Ecclesia, the Nation of the Penitent:

[9d10+9], [25d10+8], [15d10+8], [7d10+7], [5d10+4]

Roll #1 2, 1, 8, 1, 7, 2, 4, 5, 9 + 9 = 48 / Roll #2 6, 4, 9, 5, 3, 2, 6, 6, 3, 4, 7, 8, 6, 2, 5, 10, 3, 10, 2, 7, 1, 8, 9, 1, 4 + 8 = 139 / Roll #3 3, 10, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1, 8, 7, 4, 5, 2, 1, 2, 10 + 8 = 69 / Roll #4 6, 8, 2, 1, 8, 8, 2 + 7 = 42 / Roll #5 3, 4, 6, 1, 1 + 4 = 19

Of the Spiders, Vanguard of the Divine Rebellion:

[9d10+9], [8d10+8], [14d10+7], [2d10+4]

Roll #1 5, 4, 5, 2, 6, 4, 8, 7, 5 + 9 = 55 / Roll #2 6, 8, 3, 9, 7, 2, 6, 9 + 8 = 58 / Roll #3 10, 1, 2, 10, 1, 3, 1, 8, 9, 9, 6, 8, 5, 1 + 7 = 81 / Roll #4 9, 8 + 4 = 21

Of the Light Brigade, the Bane of the Supernatural:

[9d10+9], [14d10+7], [3d10+5]

Roll #1 2, 5, 2, 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 7 + 9 = 45 / Roll #2 10, 10, 6, 8, 4, 9, 3, 3, 6, 5, 4, 1, 10, 3 + 7 = 89 / Roll #3 5, 8, 2 + 5 = 20

Of the Witches of Gehenna, the Extinguishment of Suffering and Wickedness:

[18d10+9], [16d10+8], [1d10+3]

Roll #1 3, 8, 2, 10, 9, 8, 5, 4, 5, 1, 9, 3, 5, 8, 1, 7, 7, 6 + 9 = 110 / Roll #2 7, 7, 10, 9, 6, 3, 6, 1, 7, 1, 2, 4, 3, 1, 9, 6 + 8 = 90 / Roll #3 2 + 3 = 5

Of the Demon Lords, Tyrants of Vitral:

[12d10+4]

Roll #1 5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 5, 1, 5, 5, 10, 8 + 4 = 60

Of the Saviors of Mariposa and Fantasia, as they hunker together just to survive:

[3d10+4], [8d10+3], [1d10+2]

Roll #1 4, 4, 7 + 4 = 19 / Roll #2 10, 10, 7, 6, 8, 5, 1, 9 + 3 = 59 / Roll #3 10 + 2 = 12

So begins the war to save the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J1PnQydEEQ

>>768065

When everyone ignores her and begins to break out in a panicked combat, Amy's expression goes from frustrated to furious.

"THAT'S IT!" she shouts, ready to take serious action. "I… said… LISTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" Amy shrieks the word in a pitch so shrill and loud, it can only be described as otherwordly. The painfully high pitched shriek is backed and contrasted by a deep-booming howl that somehow paradoxically also seems to be coming from her own voice simultaneously.

As her booming shriek reaches everyone's ears (hopefully) over the sounds of their own combat, darkness envelopes everyone's surroundings.

>Shadow Drag on everyone fighting

>>768066
Shorthorns looks to Amy as she immediately loses her cool, not sure how she can contribute to keeping all these hostile forces at bay from each other while also doing what she can to keep Mudi and Vizsla from slipping any further into stasis. She realizes their problems are both symptoms of the same cause - distrust in one another and letting their aggression take hold, and in a rare moment Shorthorns can't help but find herself sympathizing with the Vestal.

As Amy's voice rings out, Shorthorns does what she can to safe guard EVERYONE, summoning a flaming buffalo herd to take the hits delivered unto each other as needed
>Ultimate Move: Stampede of the Inferno: Automatic. After activation, instantly create a flaming buffalo minion (ignoring minion cap) with 'Protect' equal to your Hit Total / 1 wound for each Wound lost since activation, up to a total of 3.

>Both
In the mere split second after Vizsla's declaration, an overwhelming deluge of hostility swells–

–and you both leap forth to dam that tide.

Every attack, every counterattack, every strike and curse and shot and spell and benediction and malediction and everything else, the Shorthorned Dragon breaks upon the bodies of her summoned guardian minions. Then, just as you sense that tide brimming and building once more, Amy invokes the strength of the loyal Kerberos. A swell of darkness explodes out from beneath everyone, and just as Tirac and Grogar had sunk beneath the swamp of the Styx, so too do your… shall we still call them, your allies? You must be the judge of that, my dear reader…

In this microcosm of darkness, there are some dozens of points of light, where each of your "allies" float, like little star-caverns amidst the darkness. Each member of your party floats there, imprisoned separately, surrounded by shadowy copies of Amy, who snarl and growl, echoing faintly Amy's own declaration to stop. You see also some surprise guests among them – the six demon lords of Vitral, once petty tyrants over their subjugated mortal slaves and their demonic masters… now nothing more than meat shields for Vizsla, who had seduced their leader, Imaal.

You've brought the battle back under a fragile standstill, just as it had begun. Still, even though they've been sealed up, and imprisoned… you may not be able to hold them here for long.

>>768068
>>768066
Shorthorns winces, trying to maintain the fiery guardians she'd summoned to protect her allies from… well, her allies, making them take every possible blow meant for another as she means to stem the tides of distrust and disharmony amongst them. But, for all she can do to stop the battle from raging, Shorthorns has few thoughts on how to win the war being fought over their hearts.

She looks to Amy, the only one she can turn to in this moment, and struggles out a question, "Any ideas…? I don't know how long we can keep them from each other like this… and the longer we take to talk them down, the worse off Mudi and Vizsla will be. Should we try talking to them one at a time, all at once?"

>>768068

"Good. Now that I have your attention," Amy begins, speaking through all of the versions of herself in the pocket dimension. She also speaks to Mudi at the same time. "We can settle this like adults. I can't believe *I* have to be the voice of reason around here… And, just in case anyone gets any funny ideas, anyone who starts any funny business is going to find it really hard to do anything. They're gonna have some real bad luck. I might even have to take away some of your abilities if you can't be trusted with them."

Amy refers to her abilities Bloody Murder "Accidents" and Princess of Hunters. It's her intention to use this subliminal space to impart an understanding to her audience of what these abilities can do (though, in vague terms, she doesn't need anyone turning the tables on her). But, she has no idea if she's actually capable of or successful in such a thing. Either way, she moves on.

"Mudi," Amy says, turning to her directly, though her voice still echoes through her pocket dimension versions of herself. Mudi and Vizsla have both already had the attunement stones placed into them, removing their resistance to mind damage entirely.

"I'm doing this for you. As you can see, a lot of people here don't really trust you. I mean, you can't blame them. Gehenna's power kinda makes it impossible. But, I'm not here because I don't trust you. I'm not doing this because I don't trust you. I'm doing this because I LIKE you. I'm doing this to HELP you."

"You could become the queen of demons, stronger than anyone else in the worlds, but you'd be miserable. You'll never be happy while you're a witch of Gehenna. I don't know anything about her. But, I know that you said you're not happy. It's obvious why. You can't truly form a bond with anyone. I can't imagine how miserable that is…"

"What you NEED is someone ELSE to be the queen of demons. You need someone ELSE to be strong enough to save you from what Gehenna has done to you. No matter how strong you are, I'm sure that you can't betray someone who gets stronger from betrayal. You'll never be able to save yourself from her. But, if *I* had that power, I COULD save you."

>[1d10] persuasion
>DC-4

As she speaks, her right eye appraises Mudi for info on her abilities.

>Appraise on Mudi [1d10+1]

Roll #1 7 = 7 / Roll #2 9 + 1 = 10

>Both
Perhaps surprisingly, silence reigns over your allies as they stare down the talking shadow-Amys. Though everyone hears your words, you sense that not everyone is quite as receptive to them. Perhaps because they take after Kerberos, the shadow-Amys can sense, on an instinctual level, the brute killing instinct of everyone around– save for the Saviors. Your audience gauges the number of shadow-Amys… how tough they look… the size of the caverns which trap them… their mundane and magical properties… the strength of the prisons… weak points where they might break free, and continue their violence…

And there is none from whom that treacherous instinct radiates stronger, than from the two surviving Witches of Gehenna…

Mudi's head flops down again, crying to the ground… yet one hoof still holds her staff. Murderous magic still circulates around the crystal ball topping the staff, like a cloud of blood and television static.

Vizsla simply looks straight at Amy.

And, as Amy sizes up Mudi, she beholds the sheer obscenity of the gulf of power between them. Mudi, at the apex of possible mortal strength, gained through theft and deception, vexation and extraction…

===== Mudi the Young =====
==== Statblock ====
HP: 15,000
Psychic HP: 7,500
Class: Witch
Race: Crystal Pony

Deathly Weak: Ice, Gravity
Severely Weak: None
Weak: None
Resist: Fire, Magma, Corrosion, Bloom, Noise, Poison, Lightning
Null: Slash, Blunt, Pierce, Physical, Time, Dark, Light, Status Conditions
Absorb: Non-Elemental Magic, Smoke, Ichor, Salt, Earth, Water, Wind
Repel: Mind, Magatsuhi, Dhyana, Qi, Illusion, Instant Kills
Available Attributes: All except Almighty, Ice and Gravity

DC to Hit: 13
DC to Persuade: 13
Skill Bonus: +9
Other Action Bonus: +8
ATK Support: 9
DEF Support: 9
Critfail Support: 9
Actions per Turn: 6

==== Skills ====
=== Ultimate Skill ===
>BUT IT'S MY STORY
Attribute: ???
Tags: ???
Requirement: Weapon - Feather of ???
Effect: The User of this Skill can write any word on any Target, and that Target will take on the properties of that word. The word cannot exceed seven letters, but multiple words can be applied to a single Target.
Duration: ???
Recharge: ???

=== Unique Skills ===
>THE YOUNG
Attribute: Buff/Debuff
Tags: Spell
Effect: User can steal away the Talent of the Target and replace it with another. Against NPCs, this means free reign over one of their Stats. User can use this on Self to change their own Talent with one of equivalent power.
Duration: Until the original Talent is taken back
Recharge: 3 Turns

>LIFEDRAIN
Attribute: Almighty
Tags: Instant Kill, Ranged, Spell
Effect: User can spend multiple Actions on this Skill, equal to the number of Targets. The User gains the Skills and their corresponding Roll bonuses of those who are killed by this Skill.
Duration: N/A
Recharge: Twice the # of Targets

>THE WITCH OF BETRAYAL
Attribute: Passive
Tags: N/A
Effect: This Skill can never be Negated, Dispelled, transferred or altered by any force. User is constantly assailed by intrusive thoughts of unspeakable content. Every three Turns, the User must take an offensive Action against their Allies. Outside of Combat, the User must at least thrice per day do something wrong to those nearby.
Duration: N/A
Recharge: N/A

=== Superboss Exclusive ===
>MORTAL SIN
Attribute: Buff
Tags: Passive
Requirement: Factional Allegiance: Witches of Gehenna
Effect: So long as this Skill is active, this Character's Instant Kill effects treat all Targets as Common enemies.
Duration: N/A
Recharge: N/A

=== Boss Exclusive ===
>VENIAL SIN
Attribute: Buff
Tags: Passive
Requirement: Factional Allegiance: Witches of Gehenna
Effect: So long as this Skill is active, this Character's attacks pierce through the Resist, Null and Absorb Attribute Relationships.
Duration: N/A
Recharge: N/A

=== Faction Exclusives ===
>MALLEUS MALEFICARUM
Attribute: Buff
Tags: Passive; Free
Effect: If this character scores a Critical Hit on an Attack in Combat, all other Witches of Gehenna-aligned allies can make a single free basic attack. Critical Hits scored on this attack do not proc further activations of MM, and MM can only Activate once per turn.
Duration: N/A
Recharge: N/A

>WALPURGISNACHT
Attribute: Mind
Tags: Ranged
Requirement : Weapon - Improved Witching Lantern
Effect: This character can spend an Action to issue a command to any Demon whose current highest roll bonus is less than this character's current lowest roll bonus, as if that Demon was their Minion. The Targeted Demon, if it does not Null, Absorb or Repel Mind, must obey that command. Those with Resist Mind may attempt a Resistance roll. This character may spend more than one Action on this Skill per turn, and doing so increases the number of successes a Demon with Resist Mind must get to disobey that order.
Duration: N/A
Recharge: N/A

>UNENDING CURSE
Attribute: Buff
Tags: Passive
Requirement: Factional Allegiance: Witches of Gehenna
Effect: So long as this skill is active, this character is immune to all Negation Effects, except those which would Negate this Effect.
Duration: N/A
Recharge: N/A

>>768071
Shorthorns looks at Mudi with concern, hoping Amy's words reach her as she takes a step forward, hoping she can do something to help her listen.


"I don't know a lot about Gehenna's curse in regards to witches like you and Amy do, and I know we never got as close as we could have… I'm sorry for that. But please, if there is one thing I've learned over my time with her, it's that Amy is the most genuine, trustworthy person I know. She wants to help you, you can trust HER on that with your life!"

"I can tell you, you don't HAVE to be what Gehenna wants you to be… I was replaced by a Daughter of Perdition, I could *feel* what she was going through as she was forced to turn against her friends she thought was truly hers, but in the end? She disobeyed, she fought AGAINST what Gehenna wanted her to do and saved us all. You don't have to be what she wants you to be, I know that's the truth!"

[1d10] Persuasion

Roll #1 10 = 10

>>768071

Amy frowns as she gains an understanding of Mudi's power. She tears up a little bit. She's not sad, scare, or overwhelmed by how much stronger Mudi is. Instead, she's filled with an unfathomable grief over the pitiful existence the Witches of Gehenna have been exposed to. The idea of being forced to betray people daily is a woe Amy would wish on no one.

"I see that you have to hit someone you like soon," she says to them both, abject pity obvious in her voice. "If you have to hit someone, you can hit me. Just… try not to kill me."

>>768075

But, Amy is soon distracted by Flaming's accidental revelation. "Wait, what?" she says, snapping her head in Flaming's direction. "Gehenna is the Lord of BETRAYAL!?"

"That makes things easier! We're already here in Tartarus. We're literally about to become the Lord of Limbo. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but we've already toppled the other Lords. And, when she's not BETRAYAL anymore, she shouldn't have so much power over you."

Amy thinks this over for a moment. "This also makes me even more right than I thought I was. You definitely can't betray BETRAYAL. Mo matter how strong you become, you can't be the one to free you from this curse. It HAS to be me."

>Mantra of Equality
>[1d10+4]
>DC-4

Roll #1 8 + 4 = 12

>>768076
"Huh? Oh, yeah! Sorry, with all the business in Midnight Castle I didn't really get the opportunity to explain much, but in that moment, when me and the Daughter Shorty were sharing our link, I could feel what she felt, know what she knew. Gehenna herself is the LORD of BETRAYAL, the mother of all Sons and Daughters of Perdition."

"And… that's a good point. if Gehenna's no longer a LORD, could her curse finally be broken?"

>Amy
Mudi leans down as she continues to weep, her neck rolling lower and lower as her legs buckle, until it almost looks like she's about to perform a somersault.

Her voice begins at a crackling, warbling whisper. "Amy… Would you… please…"

"…ShuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUT THE FUCK UP!!!

"What are you TALKING ABOUT!?" Mudi snarls, seething much like a rabid hound herself now. "I don't want to become the queen of demons, nor of angels, nor of gods, nor of mortals! I am here to become imperator of everything! All of existence!!! That's what ALL of this has been for for CENTURIES OF WORK!!! Of course you can't take my place! You're a demon! You should know this better than anyone! The Devil's Instincts, as they're called. The second a demon encounters someone of strength equal to or greater than their own, every demon is compelled to choose– fight, flight, freeze or flee! No demon can ever escape it! You'd never know peace! You'd never be able to achieve peace, always forced to square up every time a greater demon chases you down! Nor could any Angel do it – Angels are bound by the Law of their ascendance, slaves to a code whose every stipulation might as well be a binding geas!! And don't even get me started on gods! Cogs in the machine, every single one! Don't let these avatars Buiwong and others conjure up to manipulate you. Once they've become one with the aspect of their patronage, they serve no purpose other than to sustain that element of existence! Scales weigh things because a god makes it so! We feel hot and cold and hunger and fall asleep because gods make them so! Heretics and dissidents sneer at religion because it "controls the masses!" What a bunch of nonsense from a bunch of idiots! The faith of every church and temple and mosque and shrine builds the gearworks and greases the wheels! A god has no more freedom than a timing belt or a branch swaying in the wind! They serve the world, they could never govern it!!!"

For a moment, the murderous aura of the audience is delayed yet again, this time by the spectacle of meltdown before you.

"Only a mortal can break this cycle! A mortal is the only one who is free in this world! War, poverty, disease, economic exploitation, drought, famine, flooding, betrayal, usury, deceit, covetousness, discontentment, wanderlust, longing, discomfort, loneliness, bad smells, high prices, inconvenient roads, missing supplies, slightly-too-hot, slightly-too-cold, too-much, not-enough, devil's instincts, angelic dogma, divine slavery, back pains, stains that won't come out, annoying chores–!!"

As Desert Lamp, Busta and Supper of Crows gawk at Mudi's increasingly incoherent rant, her gaze snaps toward them. In her treacherous rage, the staff glows…

[1d3]
[1d10+9]

Vizsla, seeing this, turns her gaze towards Mudi. "Dear sister…"

[1d10+8]

Mudi flinches– no, it's more like a spasm enraptures her whole body, which jumps as a cold shock jolts through it. Her face screws up in a pavlovian pain reaction, the invariable result of Vizsla's conditioning.

Roll #1 3 = 3 / Roll #2 5 + 9 = 14 / Roll #3 10 + 8 = 18

>>768079
Shorthorns looks on in shock as Mudi lets out her vitriol point blank at Amy, only imagining how much grief has been stored up in the usually soft-spoken Mudi all this time as she makes her argument. Before she can retort, she takes note of the staff charging up with energy…

Moving quickly, Shorthorns puts herself between Supper and Mudi. Her fiery buffalo guardians currently preoccupied with protecting the rest of her allies from one another, Shorthorns instead decides to gamble on her own well honed defenses against what is sure to be a terrible blow, but one she is willing to take for her friends. ALL of her friends.

>Activating Commandment of Harmony: Once per combat; Automatic; For 3 turns, you and all allies may ignore all Recharge periods, and the DC for all rolls is reduced by 2.
>Activating Covalent Bonds: Auto Instant; Recharge 3; Ranged; Choose an ally (SUPPER OF CROWS). All damage they would normally take this turn will be applied to you instead. The most damage you can receive from using this ability is (Full Hits) + 2 Wounds.

>Will likely need to roll Huge for taking the hit meant for Supper, intending to stay standing at one hit if this does reduce Shorthorns to 0 Hits (or even 0 Wounds)
>Huge: instant, recharge 4; Your sheer size makes knocking you down no small feat, as you can shrug off damage that would cripple most others. Use this skill whenever you would normally have become helpless. On success you remain standing at 1 hit.
[1d10+1] (adding +1 for natural environ of the fields and Child of Gaia, DC 4 thanks to Commandment of Harmony)

Roll #1 9 + 1 = 10

>>768080
>>768079

Amy listens with a sympathetic expression as Mudi vents her frustrations and desires. Then, when Mudi attacks Flaming, Amy takes a moment to watch and ensure Flaming is okay before moving on.

"First of all, I'm not JUST a demon. I'm more than that. I'm a witch. I'm a mortal. I'm a demon. But, more important than all of that…"

Amy takes a step toward Mudi with confidence. "I'm Amy-Fucking-Thest, the Inescapable Revelrous Friendmaking Heartthief Hugger. If I've learned anything over the course of the past 2 years, it's that we're all more than just a few words. And, we're even more than THAT when we work together."

"Which is why you could never lead ANYTHING. You can't work together. And, no matter how strong you get, you'd just be putting Gehenna in charge, not you."

>persuasion [1d10]
>DC-4

Roll #1 3 = 3

>Both
You hear a surge of energy. Currents of aether, blindingly replete in hatred and pain hidden to moulder for centuries. A nebula of rotten agony darkens around Flaming.

A cosmic explosion engulfs Shorthorned, the shockwave knocking Amy back to the shore of the Momentary Lake.

Dust clears and settles. Everyone gazes in shocked stupefication at the crater where Flaming once stood. There now, an immolated fragment of divinity lays, clinging to the last tattered threads of mortal life.

>Flaming 0/1
>Grace of Life lost…

Mudi drops her staff in shock, eyes wavering and watering.

Then, Vizsla back-hoofs her across the face, with her forehoof encased in jagged ice. Mudi stumbles to the ground, clutching her cheek, as blood runs down the many gouges running through the flesh. But, more than the physical wound, the damage seems to be mental. Mudi's eyes have flown wide open, and her mouth trembles as incoherent, weeping apologies fall out, the very syllables cracking in the midst of her panic.

Vizsla turns away, and runs her bloody hoof through her own mane over and over, a compulsive tic as the shock of her abuse, fresh every time, sinks into her frozen heart.