tengaku squared

Joshua shook his head. "The only way to reopen the World's Gate after collapsing it is to summon the One, from all three personalities, and utilize its power to force a new path from the Gate. Which is, of course, impossible. Not just for humans, but for angels as well. And I'm pretty sure SAISEI couldn't open it back up either if he wanted to. So we're stuck here." "Well, that's sad, now isn't it?" When you turned to the source of the new voice, you realized it was Aero. She had a wide smirk on her face. "What are you doing here?" Joshua asked. His expression was completely neutral. Aero shrugged. "Bored out of my mind. SAISEI took all the armies and led them into the various worlds. Once the rest of humanity is crushed, we'll move onto the angels. But right now, I have nothing to do, you know? Since the universe is coming to an end soon, why don't you all try to fight me?" Her mechanical arm began to whir and spin. "Hey, did you know? I can open up holes in the Rift that lead to the outside world. So...if you beat me, I'll let you leave this place, not that you'll stop SAISEI anyway." Her words charged you with energy. A way to exit the Rift had shown itself. But you also felt a tinge of vengeance. This Jaeger was special: she killed Alita without any mercy. It's time to reciprocate, you believe. "Ah! You're all ready. Show me what you all got, swine." Her eyes closed and she began to chant a series of words that seemed to hold significant weight. "I am Aero, Curse of the Twelve, Born from Chaos, and the Signal of the End!" With each word, she seemed to gain more power, and she began to glow. Her mechanical arm began to turn from a rusty gray to a shining gold. Joshua showed little reaction from her power surge, only noting, "You expect me to reveal my title in return? That won't be necessary. These humans will deal with you without me needing to interfere." ===================================== Objective: Escape the Rift Aero has awakened into her true form with the declaration of her title. She will likely be several times stronger than Moto ever dreamed of being. So...good luck, I guess? For reference, the longer the title, the stronger the entity. Joshua's title is quite long, and so is SAISEI's. Aero's title is far more moderate in length, but she is still a powerful entity. For comparison, Moto's title is Warped Warrior. I would imagine that a title can get longer as the individual gets stronger and obtains a stronger identity. Oh, and a regular human has a title so short that it's literally useless.

"Get out? There is no longer a way out," Joshua commented. You turned to look at him, shocked at this statement. "The last exit out of the Rift has been closed for good with the rise of SAISEI. The World's Gate has closed." He raised a single hand. Despite his shaken appearance, he still emitted a sense of leadership. "The World's Gate - a passageway originally used by the One back when all existence was still unified. Now that SAISEI has risen once more, he has likely collapsed the World's Gate to prevent any of us from escaping. There is no longer any other escape route we can use to leave the Rift." "My original plan was merely to take you through the World's Gate. However, the World's Gate had a toll that must be paid to enter. Like how entering the Rift results in the loss of your memories, the World's Gate takes away your memories. It was the least I could do to protect humans from the Rift. And memories of the Rift - that's a dangerous possession. It would be best if you lost those anyway."

All of a sudden, the illusion cast on everyone except Alice faded. The Rift grew darker, from white to a deep blood maroon, then royal purple, then became completely dark. It was impossible to see, but the presence of an immensely powerful adversary was in the air. FINALLY. The ground shook with the sheer vibration of the words. FINALLY. It came again. You turned around, trying to track the source of the sound. It was impossible. The sound seem to come from everywhere, every angle, every spot in space, every point in the world. BURNING EARTH. SMOLDERING CAULDRON. FATE AND FORTUNE. HOPE AND DESPAIR. I AM ALL. The voice paused between every odd statement. After every pause, the voice grew louder, the darkness grew more thick, the ground shook harder, and you felt more hopeless. AND SO IT SHALL BE. A YOUNG GIRL, CONSUMED BY HER ID, EMERGES TO SERVE. A young girl? Despite the circumstances, you couldn't help but wonder. Who was the voice referring to? Alice? You could hear the faint sound of Joshua moaning, an odd sound to be coming from him. If you focused, you could barely make out his words. "Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless..." The words didn't make you feel much better, especially coming from your main pillar of support. IN THE BEGINNING, CONSCIOUSNESS WAS ONE, EMBODIED BY THREE PORTIONS. THE ID, THE EGO, AND THE SUPEREGO. THE TURMOIL SPLIT THE ONE INTO THREE PARTS. "The id became you, the superego became me, and the ego became man's ancestor." Joshua seemed to have regained his composure, but in the darkness, you couldn't tell his expressions, let alone where he was. You couldn't help but think about Joshua's and the voice's statements. What exactly did they mean by the id, ego, and superego? But you felt that suddenly that all the pieces of the mystery were starting to become apparent, ready to put into place. MAN AND THE ANGELS DEFEATED ME IN TIMES LONG PAST, BUT I SWORE I WOULD RETURN. I CREATED AERO TO LEAD MY ARMIES INTO THE MANY WORLDS, IN SEARCH FOR THE INDIVIDUAL THAT WOULD FINALLY FREE ME FROM MY PRISON. "I should have realized that was your plan. Why else would you throw so many humans into the Rift, then continue to throw Alice in after she escaped every time?" BUT YOU FAILED TO UNDERSTAND. AND MY SEARCH DREW TO ITS TARGET. AS ALICE ENTERED THE RIFT OVER AND OVER, HER EGO BECAME CORRODED AND INCREASINGLY INFLUENCED BY THE ID OF THE RIFT. Joshua had no response, but you could hear his shaky breathing. AS AN INDIVIDUAL THAT REPRESENTED EGO, HER ACT OF SUCCUMBING TO ID WAS ENOUGH TO SHATTER THE BALANCE OF THE WORLD. HER TRANSFORMATION INTO THE VERY JAEGER SHE SOUGHT TO DEFEAT PROVIDED THE NECESSARY ENERGY FOR ME TO BREAK MY BONDS. THE GIRL HAS SERVED HER PURPOSE. NOW I CAN LEAVE THE RIFT AND CONSUME THE WORLDS OF THE HUMANS THAT SEALED ME IN THE PAST. I WILL BRING ALL INTO ONE ENTITY, ONE PERSONALITY. Then the voice subsided, and the darkness faded, but left behind a remnant of the entity's power. The Rift's endless white no longer seemed comforting, it felt expansive and cruel. When you finally recovered from the moment, you turned to Joshua. His facial expression was taught, and he was sweating visibly. "SAISEI. He has come back into the world." =========================================== Well, I need to end this round eventually. I guess. Objective complete? New objective: ??? SAISEI I can answer this question in more detail now that I've revealed my hand.

(Ah, a Jaeger? Allow me to do the honors.) The Jaeger gestured to the large army, which quickly shuffled around to surround your group and itself. Then the army waited, as if waiting for an order to charge. The Jaeger kept walking towards you, and as it came closer you noticed a few features about it that differed from Aero. Instead of a brown robe, it was wearing a high-class suit, and an eyepatch covered its left eye. "Humans? Here? Aero's been going overboard with throwing humans from the invaded worlds." The Jaeger frowned. "Coffee shop? That's the first I've heard of a coffee shop. Is it, by some chance, called the Twelve Kirin Cafe?" You wondered how it knew the name of the cafe. Then the Jaeger continued, "Of course. Your expressions tell me. So, Joshua is here as well, huh?" As if in response to that statement, several beams of light came through the circle of Shadows and incinerated every Shadow it touched. One beam of light came towards the Jaeger, who dodged it easily. When the beams of light faded, Joshua could be seen from the hole he created in the circle. "Moto, huh?" he asked, referring to the Jaeger. Joshua put his cell phone away and turned his attention to your group. "Sorry I'm late. I had other business to take care of. But my, what a big mess you've landed in. An army of Shadows and a Jaeger. Honestly, you humans never stay out of trouble." "It's a honor to meet you, then," the Jaeger known as Moto said, bowing mockingly to Joshua. "Did you come here to save these humans?" Joshua didn't answer the question, but his fists began to tighten. You get the feeling that he's beginning to get extremely angry. "It's because of these humans that Alita died. She put her life on the line to give these humans a chance to escape." He paused for a moment, allowing you to grasp the meaning behind his words. "Humans are damned foolish. But I gave them a chance to prove themselves, and their fighting spirit showed through. I began to see why Alita thought the need to sacrifice herself for them. Therefore," he said, expanding his arms out, "I feel that I should probably reevaluate my opinion of humans. Or these humans, at least." He took a step forward, which resonated across the entire Rift, and his whole body began to glow. He turned to the group. "I'll fight with you. I'll get you out of the Rift." Hundreds of beams of light came down from the sky, cutting down large parts of the Shadow army into dust. When each beam of light cleared, a golem made entirely of light, holding a large shield and sword appeared, and began engaging the Shadow army. "Alita probably told you all not to engage a Jaeger, right? And yeah, if you did back then, you'd probably die. I get this feeling, though, that you're worth more than you look. Why don't you take that Jaeger down? I'll keep this army busy." ============================================= Moto

Yes. Is seven the key number? I think there's another number that's far more significant than seven. Not that a single number could possibly help you. Ha! On a completely relevant note, how exactly do you guys plan to contact Joshua?

(Your statement feels a bit non sequitur.)

(Scuttle? That means to blow holes into a ship in order to sink it. I don't see any ships here. )

(This is going so well, I'm almost afraid to mess it up. Then again, that never stopped me. ) Your group whittled down the army of Shadows to a handful and engaged the Reapers, the commanders. Infused with adrenaline, you kept fighting. Then one of the Reapers did a very odd thing: it began to cackle. The sound seemed to echo off nonexistent walls. All the Shadows went silent, then the Shadows and Reapers you were fighting disappeared into the ground. Your group began to look around, wondering what was going on. The ground began to rumble, and a force of hundreds of thousands of Shadows began rising out of the ground a distance away, led by several more Reapers. The emerging Reapers made a similar noise to the first Reapers, but with the larger numbers the sound was greatly amplified. Then, the emerging army moved to surround your group on all sides. As you see the emerging force, you realize that the force you fought paled in comparison to the emerging force. While the force you fought was several thousands large, this one appeared to be in the millions. While the previous force was a scouting force, this one was a full-fledged army. You just ran straight into a trap. The question is now: what can you do now? Try to get Joshua's attention? Run away? Hold your ground and make a last stand? Is fighting this large a group even an option?

(I would say a lot. If I have to give a number it would be thousands. Five thousand? Lead by one or two Reapers? Maybe too much?)

(I imagine they would be found in large distant clusters, just so I have an excuse to throw hordes of Shadows at you guys.)

"You really all don't learn, do you?" Joshua noted as he closed the door behind him, a pack slung over his shoulder. He threw the pack at Hesh's feet. "I took out all the explosives," he noted, then added, "What the hell are you?" It wasn't a question to be answered, and his tone made it absolutely clear. "As a group, you're barely capable of taking on the creatures, and now you want to split up? Do you humans even think?" With that steely remark, an unusual silence fell over the cafe. "Apparently you don't," Joshua finally commented after a minute of silence. "Not only were you planning to split into smaller groups unable to defend themselves, but you were about to lead Hesh out into the Rift, where the poison was going to kill him." He mumbled something under his breath, something like "impossible humans", and then cleared his throat. "Knowing Alita, she told you that I distrust humans. Well, here's the reason why. You humans are damned foolish." He took a chair and quickly sat down. He grabbed two cups, somehow filled with the same black mixture, and slid them across the table. His intention was clear, and he didn't bother to explain, instead moving to a different subject. "After you get those two ready, then you can move out. As a group. It would be best to hurry." His expression tightened. "Aero's arrival means that the Rift army will be returning eventually. You don't have much more time to recover your memories and get out of here." Some more time passed, but once you got the two new members readied and armed, you headed out the cafe. Joshua didn't speak while you readied your group, but his eyes glowed dangerously. As the group began heading out, Joshua put a few more words in. "Show me what you got. The strength of the ego will be the your way out of the Rift." ==================================== Objective complete. New objective: recollect your memories The objective to survive remains. The comment Joshua makes regarding the ego will become quite important much later on. Or not? Who knows?

Perhaps that is the case, but people know how to read. A long time ago, many people simply didn't read the announcement on the Watch section on why it was down. As you can see, those numbers of people have diminished significantly.I am of the opinion that experience is the best teacher. I hold a little faith in my fellow man, and trust that they will figure out like I did. Besides, what would a video tutorial show that is so valuable to merit its creation? Everything we would put in a video tutorial can either be figured out, or put in a simple topic if there is a need for it (which has YET to be shown).

Alita sighed. "The reason we gave you those weapons in the first place is so you could hopefully take out a few parts of the enemy. Now...this will get me in pretty serious trouble," she began, and then mumbled under her breath "I'm really going to be boiled, you know", and then continued, "But my superior really doesn't feel like you humans are worth saving. It's why he treated your sword and weapons, but not your armor...he doesn't care about your survival in the slightest." Alita quickly shushed the outrage her statement caused, and continued to explain, "Watch your mouth. Don't insult Joshua. He's not a mere angel, you know, like I am." Once again, Alita then decided to stop talking, and didn't let out another word until they reached the impact site. Alita looked at the two unconscious people, and then looked around. Then her eyes widened at the sound of a voice. "How you all still alive, huh?" The voice came from a hooded figure, with the only two distinguishing figures being eyes that would constantly change color and a large, misformed mechanical right arm with gears and pistons jutting out of it like spikes. The figure sneered. "And I went to all the trouble of throwing you all in here, too. You just won't die, human swine. Though I suppose the only reason you survived is because Kitty girl and God complex didn't let you guys die." Alita didn't take her eyes off the figure. She barely moved except for moving her right hand onto the scar on her neck. Only a single sentence escaped her lips: "Aero...why her?" Unlike her other words, this time, fear emanated from Alita. She clenched her shaking fists and clattering teeth, and shouted an order to your group. "Go to the shop! Take those two with you! I'll buy you time!" Aero cackled, a harsh sound that resonated through the nothing of the Rift. "That's right! Run, human swine! The Jaegers will get you, just like they did the rest of your lot!" "Just go!" Despite the confusion of the moment, you heeded her orders. Some of you went to carry the two unconscious individuals, and then all of you, as a group, ran back to the shop as quick as you can. As you turned to see behind you, the battle between Alita and Aero began to fade in the distance. So you turned around, with the uneasy certainty that Alita had sacrificed herself for your continued survival. ======================================= The two new people are Lukyan Hondou and Rye. Objective complete. New objective: Regroup at the shop Certain NPC profiles have been updated.

This is something that I have never seen any forum do. This is likely because most functions of a forum are accepted to be common sense: you post by pressing the post button, you create topics by pressing the create new topic button, you quote by pressing the quote button, and so on. (Even the more obscure functions, like following a topic and upvoting a post, can still be figured out simply.) So, making a video tutorial which many people probably won't need anyway doesn't really make sense. You real strange, you copy my post. You real strange.

Shouldn't be that surprise-invoking. I barely watch it myself because 1) it's too long and 2) long series are boring.

IT IS MY OBLIGATION TO POKE MY HEAD IN THE INTRODUCTION TOPIC OF ANYONE WHO IS A RELATIVE OF ANOTHER MEMBER IN THIS FORUM SO HERE I AM WELCOME TO DCW KBYE ...No, it's not. I'd be here all day if it was. Welcome to DCW!

You can never ever use "that" with people. So "who wants to learn" is correct. Anyways, welcome to DCW! To answer your question, my favorite character is Kogoro.

Joshua nodded. "Iyana, that's a pretty passable summary. The only issue with your summary is that the person who threw you in here didn't take away your memories. That is a result of the characteristics of the Rift. The entry fee into the Rift is your memories. But other than that, it's a decent summary." "Now then, let's get onto more business. Misaki, you're the only one with an actual weapon here, but it's not going to do you much good, so," he said, gesturing to Alita, who was suddenly behind Misaki. Alita took out Misaki's sword in one swift motion and threw it to Joshua, who caught it by the hilt and dropped in into one of the boiling coffee pots beside him. He took another pot and dumped its contents, a collection of weapons, all over the table. The weapons in the pot were varied, from revolvers to knives to a hammer, but they were all similar in they had a yellow tint. When Joshua finally took out Misaki's sword from the pot, it had the same yellow tint, and he handed the sword to Misaki. "These should fare pretty well against your opposition. They've all been boiled in the same mixture you drank, and forged by my faction. They should be able to harm your enemies." Joshua waited for everyone to pick their weapon of choice, then continued his explanation. "I realized I haven't explained who, or what, I should explain, these enemies are. This will take some time." He gestured to Alita and said, "So, Alita, you do the explaining. I need to do something important for a moment." He pulled out his cellphone, dialed a number, and disappeared in a burst of light. Alita sighed, then stood up. "Sometimes I don't understand my boss. I told him...we don't have the resources to do this, but..." and Alita trailed on and caught herself, realizing she was probably saying something very inappropriate to the situation. "Anyways...the Rift is home to an army of vicious creatures. For example, the Shadows. They resemble dark, thin, silhouettes. They have claws, and they move in large hordes. They feed on these yellow crystals that house memories, but they aren't hesistant to tear you apart limb by limb." Alita was beginning to look very uncomfortable, as if she wasn't used to being so focused upon. "The Shadows form the base of the army, and next up are the field commanders, the Reapers. Reapers take the appearance of skeletons. They're armed with skeletal swords, bows, and shields. If you see them, they'll often be leading groups of Shadows. It's best to take them out to cause the group of Shadows to panic." "Finally, the Jaegers. The Jaegers are the generals of the army, and they take on humanoid appearances, though they are far from human. You can distinguish a Jaeger from a person from their eyes - their eyes constantly change color. If you ever see a Jaeger, you run. You don't fight them." She turned around to reveal a large, pulsing scar on her neck. "This scar was dealt to me by one of them. I still haven't recovered fully from my recent battle with one. If I find dealing with one difficult, you have no chance. You're lucky that most of the Jaegers are off in the war..." and suddenly Alita turned around and pursed her lips. You get the feeling she made a major slip up in her words, but then Alita gestured for all of you to exit the cafe. "Look...forget what I just said. Anyway, find these crystals, take down any Shadows and Reapers you find, and run away from any Jaegers if you're unfortunate enough to find one." She took a look at each member of your group, then sighed. She stepped outside the cafe, closed the door, and put a closed sign on the doorknob. "Actually...I probably should watch you guys, huh? I'll follow your group, just in case anyone has more questions." All of a sudden two bright flashes of light came from the sky. From these flashes, two objects with burning tails sailed into the air and crashed into ground far away from your group. Alita's eyes widened. "That is how you entered. The Jaeger that threw you in, Aero, has just claimed more victims. Hurry, let's go!" She began running towards the impact site. =========================== Objective complete. New objective: Investigate the crash site. New objective: Survive.

"We had you drink that to ensure you survive, but we both have another way to adapt to the toxins in the environment. Alita over there has the ability to manipulate precedence, so she simply sets her precedence above the poison." Joshua explained. Alita nodded. "The reason I can't save you all this way...is because I can only manipulate two objects at a time." Joshua continued. "So as you can see, we don't need to drink the poison. In fact, what you all drank wasn't really poison, but a liquid that alters your precedence on the existence scale. I'll spare you the complex theory and explanation: the liquid is basically clouding you from the Rift." Joshua then remained silent until the next question was asked, and you realized that he never answered how he manages to adapt to the environment. Joshua raised his eyebrows at Prem's remark. "There are things I can't tell you. Some because you won't understand, and others," he started "...because it's confidental information," Alita finished. "Nevertheless, assure yourselves that we are both on your side as long as our interests meet. And that brings me to Tamsin's question." He clapped his hands together and continued. "Leave the perpertrator to us for now. Focus on gaining your memories. I mentioned before that your memories were shattered upon entry into the Rift. When memories exit your mind, they take a form like a yellow crystal like so," he said, holding up a glowing yellow crystal. "The larger the crystal the more memories contained. The brighter, more significant. How you can tell if the memories belong to you, you will feel a sensation. Bring these crystals to me when you find them. And I advise you watch yourselves out there. There are things...that are out for these very crystals. If they get to them before you do, you lose those memories forever. Any other questions?"

Objective complete. Out of the blue, a small shop appeared in the distance. As you got closer, you could read the name on the sign - "Twelve Kirin Cafe". You exchange uneasy glances, then open the double doors into this cafe. The inside of the store was mostly barren, with a single large round table with chairs around it. On the table there was a coffee cup was there for each of you, full of black coffee. A short red haired teenager was sitting at the table, talking to the silver haired one behind the counter at the back of the room. "It's cruel, you know, even for that guy to turn him into alphabet soup," the girl was saying. The other one shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I guess it's a cruel and unusual punishment. That's why it fits him." The silver haired one turned his attention to your group, and gestured to the table. "It's ready for you." You share more uneasy glances, then take a seat at the table. For a moment, everyone is silent, then the girl spoke up, "You should probably drink that before it gets too cold." You grab the cup in front of you and look at the insides. A black, steaming liquid awaits. You take a small drink, and all of a sudden a jolt goes through your head. You put the cup down and try to recover from the extreme bitterness of the coffee. When you recover your senses, you realize the cup is empty, and the silver-headed one was going around the table collecting cups. "What you drank right now was a kind of poison. In larger doses it would've killed you. Luckily, none of you decided to down the whole cup, though I imagine you will all be a bit nauseous for a while," the silver-headed one explained. "Fight poison with poison. The Rift, where you are right now, is poisonous. Stay too long and you melt, you know." She paused for a moment. "Right now you should be fine," the red hair girl continued. The silver-headed one stacked all the paper cups and threw them away. Then he turned to look at the group. "I don't know why you're here, but until we can get you out, we have to make sure you stay alive." He paused, then continued. "I'm sure you want an explanation for recent events." "Someone threw you into this world. We've been trying to find this individual...but she's an elusive one," the red-haired one explained. "Yes, and you should feel lucky we managed to get to you before you all died. I think this is a good time for introductions. I go by Joshua and the girl there is Alita. I'm just a simple coffee shop owner." The last part was such an obvious lie it was painful. "And right now, you're in the Rift, a place between worlds, with no known way out. As for your memories, they've been scattered upon entry in the Rift. I managed to collect a few pieces and slip them in what you drank, so you should start remembering some things about yourself. Before you can leave, you need to gather your memories." Objective: understand your situation

You wake up in a strange place entirely white. You don't remember anything except for your name, and especially not how you got to this strange place. As you try to grab your bearings, you realize there are other people with you. Some look confused and lost, and others have already began to strike conversations with others. Perhaps you should talk to the others. They could help you make sense of this situation. At least you know your name, right? ========================================== New objective: Form a group How this round will work is through a series of objectives which I will assign to you on a regular basis. The objectives will tend to be extremely vague, and when I feel you've made enough progress towards the objective, I'll call it cleared and assign a new one. Anyways, round starts now! I will take a few more late signups, if there's people that still want to join.

it was colonel mustard in the library with the candlestick George Cook and Anasato Shinji both have relatively high-paying jobs, so having a five-star hotel room appears normal. However, Harajuku Ishi is a housewife. Most housewives don't have the money or time to get a room in a five-star hotel, so that looks somewhat suspicious. Though this alone isn't enough to accuse her of wrongdoing, the fact that she is present should raise a flag. It was also mentioned that Harajuku Ishi was small. Because the details of the room are so sparse, it's literally impossible to tell, but it is possible that she could have fit in a passage hidden from the CCTV and doorman's view, and enter the victim's room secretly. This could be the reason the detective called the room curious. The other two suspects mentioned have no known way to enter the room without being caught on the CCTV footage or by the doorman. I concede the point that the CCTV footage may have been hacked, but Anasato Shinji doesn't have any way to enter the room. I think that Harajuku Ishi did it. But seriously there's a sparse lack of detail here. Noting that there was a curious thing about the body but then keeping mum? That's serious OOC for a detective, and bad style for a whodunit, especially if there is really no way to figure out what it was. It could have literally been anything, from laceration marks elsewhere to the fact that drugs were present in the victim's circulation.

2 years. That's pretty much all the time I'm willing to devote to DC.