((Assuming there is enough shadow/shade around, the Shadow will cover Ike's vision and make it look like he shot and killed me. In reality, the shadow diverts his aim somewhere else. It's a last-ditch effort to protect the host. Remember, the shadow is all about providing illusions.
This is all hoping everything goes according to plan and the host still has enough power left to form the shadow, thought considering my luck he's probably dead.))
Yeah, I feel really bad for you. Such bad luck this mission. At least in the previous mission you helped save people and such despite your bad luck. Oh well, better luck next time. Sorry. Hey, at least you can hope Target Amethyst survives so that you get the team's points.
Zechariah floats hopelessly in his host's consciousness (or rather, lack thereof).
One last try. Willpower was always Zechariah's thing. Pray to Eido Aeterno it still is.
This couldn't be the end for his host. It wasn't fair, it was Zechariah's fault, not his host's. His host did everything he could, Zechariah didn't. It wasn't his time to die yet. Not now.
"Live. Come on, you can make it. Don't move, don't waste your energy. Let him get away. If you live to fight again, that's all that matters. Nothing else. Keep your energy, wait for help. You have to live. Don't die, you can't die. The future depends on your life. Don't lose it, don't lose that life. You still have a chance, take that chance. You need nothing else right now except for the chance to live.
Live.
>LIVE."
>Use the Shadow to feign complete death to the agent.
"Hm... do I want to risk it? Eh, probably not."
>Finish off this guy with a shot through the back of the head. Take all of his identification and any other evidence, then vacate the premises with Raul. Drag him back to my car if it's close enough.
You try to force your host to shoot that guy. He raises his gun and almost does this, but he stops at the last second. There's no reason to do this. He's not a danger to him anymore. Unlike that traitor, your host thinks, he's not a savage. Besides, he'll gain much more by interrogating him. He could learn who else in the Agency is a double agent. And those science guys may want to cut him up while he's still alive to see what makes him tick. Not everyone can make crystals out of nothing. Yes, at least in that way, he'll be able to offer something and not be the parasite he was in life.
Your interface beeps several times. Your vision is slightly blurred and you have trouble hearing exactly what your host is hearing or thinking.
Your host gets Raul out of the car and tries to make him wake up. After a while, the police arrive and he explains the situation to them. And by explain, I mean that you tell them that this is official Agency business and that they don't need to know anything more than that. You instruct them to form a perimeter and keep the man in the car under watch at all times, since he is a dangerous criminal. The police are followed shortly after by ambulances and news crews.
It's a bit hard to figure out exactly what's going on with your host, everything is kind of fuzzy, but from what you gather, at some point Raul wakes up and after some "persuasion" on your part, informs you of three locations in the city that are currently being used by members of the Cause. A hideout in the Abandoned Church in the Radiation Zone, a safe-house with some kind of VIP in the Northern Suburbs and some kind of Lab or Warehouse in the Residential District. He says the others consider the VIP to be of great importance. He then gets shoved into some police car to be shipped to Central and be interrogated.
Your host gets in his car, picks up his radio and briefly contemplates informing Central of what transpired here, but decides against it. That might alert any other traitors in there. Plus, they probably won't approve of how high profile this mission turned out to be. Better follow this lead as far as he can before some bureaucrat finds an excuse to pull him back to submit an incident report in triplicate. Instead, he switches to the police frequency and prepares to give the signal for a raid. He needs to move quickly. News about this will spread, if they haven't already. The question is, where should he focus his efforts? Where should he go?
((Sorry for fast forwarding you so much. If you want to have done something during that time or have your host do something differently, just say so. I'm just trying to catch you up to the other's time.))
Listen to polka music while the timelines synch.
http://youtu.be/iiClaM8gMtoThe police cars continue driving towards the City Centre, eventually stopping among several other police cars near what appears to be a shootout.
As luck would have it, there's also one of your targets there. He's currently in a car, holding a radio and... Hmm... That's not good. That guy, your target, looks like he's working for the government. You weren't paid enough to go after government agents, at least not when there's an army of policemen between you two. And you really try not to get in the government's bad side in general. They'll leave you do your business as long as you play by the rules but if they think your organization is going after them...
http://youtu.be/hbe3CQamF8k
Bryan
Of course the church wouldn't be empty, hope this goes well.
Faron
Let's try some stealth.
Your host gets out of his car and slowly approaches the building, keeping an eye out for ambushes. This part of the city hasn't had electricity since the war and only people who wish to hide live here. The only light comes from the stars and the gray pillar in the east, meaning you don't need to worry too much about being spotted.
He approaches the church from the side and then he jumps, landing on the second story of the building. He gets in through a broken window that seems to lack wooden boards. That will make sure nobody knows he's here. There's noise coming from downstairs. People are moving things, shouting. Looks like something has stirred them up. Maybe you didn't wound that man enough.
{Irine}
What kind of strange occurances? What makes people that are... different... different?
There have been rumors of people that can do things. Subtle things. Maybe they're a bit faster, a bit more lucky, a bit more intuitive. Some look slightly different. A few can do more impressive things. Move things. Know things. Change things. They say the government has been taking any one of those it can find. Some say to experiment on them. Others say they ship them to the Soviets for who knows what. Maybe that's how the Soviets managed to make nukes appear out of thin air all over the world. One of those people did it. Or maybe not. It's all rumors after all and your host hasn't seen anything that proves otherwise. Except maybe for that strange man earlier tonight.
There were some strange things happening around Amelia. Light in your peripheral vision that disappeared when you looked at it directly. Discolored clothes. And one time your host thought she heard a voice in the back of her mind. But that was nothing. It was nothing important. Amelia is just a normal girl. She doesn't deserve this.
Your host approaches the address Ed gave her. There seems to be a van parked outside, its back door open, waiting. As your car gets closer, you can see people outside. One by the van, another near the door of the house. And then the door of the house opens. And Zoe sees Amelia for the first time in years. She looks older and yet the same. She's being carried on a stretcher by two men. There's a storm of emotions in your host. Joy, confusion, fear, hate. All she wants to do is get out of the car and run to her, to see if she's okay.
<Target Amethyst located. Target Amethyst must survive until the time limit expires.>
((And the linked picture is awesome, did you draw it?))
Haha. You flatter me for even thinking that, but no, I suck at drawing. I'm fairly good at Photoshopping though. So I can sometimes find an image and alter it to suit my needs if I have the time. Like the one with the green planet/red moon I did in the start of the BETA mission. This time though, I only needed to crop an image, since that was an almost perfect fit for the situation. It was just a lucky coincidence that I found it while writing this turn.
It's made by
Vitaly S. Alexius, one of the artists of
Romantically Apocalyptic. Great artist, great series. Should had probably acronymed that or subbed that or something when I linked that image.
Peregrine
...Then I will only possess her when the time need be. What if I warn her beforehand? Will other spirits intervene or something bad?
Reach out and 'poke' Irene.
Hello! Zoe seems sorta troubled from here--doesn't seem to realize how Awena understands the world; spirits are real, and we're pretty much spirits here.
...Erm, Hi, I'm Theri?
Dear gods that didn't go well.
...
Wait I was talking out lou-GRAH.
Also, are you doing ok there?
((You can see Theri talking to Irene in the thread.
As always, feel free to ask me if you have any questions or tell me if I have forgotten anything/done something wrong.))
<I'm not sure. It would probably make her more receptive to you, less likely to reject you if she trusts you enough.
But this isn't an exact science and I... I'm not sure. There's a small chance she might have the opposite effect, it might make her frightened and cause her to reject you.
Just... do what you feel is right. Follow your instincts. I trust you will make the right choice.>
You and Zoe continue to drive. As you near your destination, you can see Zoe getting more agitated. Poor girl has been through so much. Now this... The fear, the anticipation, the hope... Awena can't imagine how's she's feeling.
You're almost at the address Ed gave you now. There's a van parked outside, its back door open. As your car gets closer, you can see people outside. One by the van, another near the door of the house. And then the door of the house opens. You see a woman being carried on a stretcher by two men exiting the house.
"Amelia..." Zoe whispers. That's her! That's the girl you were supposed to find.
Still, those men look dangerous. And Zoe is very emotional right now. She might do something rash and put herself in danger. Better watch out.
((Sorry if I'm doing turns too fast. I just trying to finish this mission or at least get it as close to finishing as possible before Lenglon has to leave so that she can see and participate in the entire story.))