Once Upon a Starlight | Ep. 4 | The Call

The Greenlight District is in chaos as the city block shakes from the reverberations of the Chemtech explosions. Vibrant flames of all manner of hues burn in the middle of the intersections as nearby businesses and establishments catch fire and begin to burn, casting colorful light throughout the night. you're all inside of the van watching this happen and you know that soon at any moment that there could be officers there could be anyone showing up to investigate this you don't have long until you're noticed at the scene and this is the last place especially after what you've been doing tonight that you want to be found i would have been seen if we slammed on the brakes I would assume. Holy shit! Holy shit! There's a head out on Sherry! Grickle, Grickle, calm down. We have to get out. Oh, that dark fucking head is drowning! We gotta drive! Go! I'm going to push the head off of the hood if I can. Oh, you're mine. As you do, the head begins to roll, and as it's rolling over, there's a lull where there's almost a mere moment where you're all just kind of in shock after the initial screaming and freaking out, and you hear at the head rolls the sounds of Zayamax playing from the speakers inside of the helmet as it rolls off of the hood and clatters to the ground. Is there like a fire? Yes, there's neon fire. It's erupting in the buildings all around. You can tell that this strike that happened in front of you was just the first of many. And as these silhouettes are jumping from building to building, you see that they're throwing things into other buildings, catching more things on fire. This is a much bigger... I don't know. Maybe Grickle could have been the one that's seen this, but did it look like the car itself exploded? It looked like somebody shot something down from a rooftop at it. It looked like the car itself exploded. Oh. Car bomb. Dime. Dime. While we, if there's a lot of flames in the way, I'm basically going to reach into my coat and pull out a canister and plug it into my cane and roll the window down. And I'm going to stick my cane out, and it's going to be, it's going to start emitting this gas that almost looks kind of a whitish gray. Mechanically, I'm going to be casting Prestidigitation. Oh! Try to snuff out as much fire as I can as we drive through. Try to preserve Sherry if we can. Do we remember the seating arrangement inside of Sherry? I'm in shotgun. That's the first time. I'm in here up front. Yeah. Okay. That's what I wanted to know. Frost is definitely in the middle. Yep. Oh, that's right. Okay. Oh, yeah. It's like a... I would be shouting from the back trying to keep you calm as the driver. Like, because I know that shit's now hit the fan, and I'm just trying to maintain a level head while everybody's freaking the fuck out. Oh, wait, does Sherry have windows on the side? Like, can we see out the front? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, I think I'd be just, like, looking out the windows to see if, like, if there are people, like, leaving through buildings and throwing stuff, like, looking to see if they're trying to throw stuff down at us or, like, if they're attacking people in the streets or whatever's happening. I'd just be on, like, alert all around the car. Roll a perception check for me. And then I'll just have you roll a D20 for me to see how effective your press of digitization is at... Oh, I probably need to play my service today. I know, crazy, right? It's like we're playing D&D here. That counts. 16. Oh, perfect. Raw. And you're just going to continue to do this as the vehicle is moving? Every six seconds, basically, the idea is that I'm sort of spraying this chemical gas that's snuffing out the fuel for the planes. I'll say it's actually incredibly effective in the sense that it's really just creating a tunnel in all of this neon snow. Anyone up on the building that's looking down wouldn't even notice the vehicle moving through this because it's not dissipating the entire clouds, but just creating a tunnel that you're able to move through and see, and it's quite effective. I was going to make sure that I'm clear. I'm not going to play EMT. I'm not going to save the day. I'm trying to get us a fireless tunnel. No, and what I mean, though, is clearing out that could draw attention to you. If someone sees that all of a sudden there's a van able to maneuver through the flames, but you're so precise with it that you're still able to utilize the flame and the smoke to obscure yourselves, potentially, from any onlookers. I'm backing up Torbeck, saying stay calm, stay calm, stay calm, but anyone who looks more closely realizes I'm probably just talking to myself, trying not to explode in a rageful explosion. Yeah, stay calm, stay calm. Be clear. Make sure that you stay relaxed. That's important. Oh, shit, shit! Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Torbott, please make a charisma check of your choice. Thank you, Mike. Thank you. For me. I actually don't... Well, it's the same either way, but I think for flavor, I would not be trying to persuade you. I would be loud, gruff, and trying to snap you out of here. That's probably what I would do. And not in a mean way, but just to get your attention to the confusion and the... Anxion check, Les. Yeah. 18. 18. Not bad. I will kind of like... You're right. You're right. You're right. Okay. Get the fuck out of here. Oh, no. Sherry's not flame resistant. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Crabby. Okay. We're going to get out of this. Don't worry, Les. Don't worry, Les. We're going to keep a cool head. Don't lose your head, Les. I'm going to just lock Torbeck's head. No, don't lose your head. Don't lose your head. And then I'm going to have you also make a perception check just to see how well you're able, because even though Kremi's helping you, your vision is still obscured. And so I'm going to see how well you're able to make your way through all of this mess. Because of Torbeck and Frost trying to keep you calm, I'll say you can roll at advantage. Oh, thank you. Wonderful. I need it. You got a 13? 13. I need to look at my collection of blue characters here. Sorry. No, you're fine. That's very funny. With a 13, you're able to see that there are a significant amount of these chem tech revolutionaries jumping from building to building. It looks like the majority of the destruction that they are causing is on the buildings themselves. They're trying to ruin businesses. They're trying to collapse some of these buildings. They're trying to cause as much physical damage as possible. Though, I will say, even with a 13, you're able to see that there are casualties. it doesn't look like there are casualties for sure but it looks like they're trying to hmm yeah I would say with a 13 trying to kill people on the streets is going to cause the least amount of casualties as completely demolishing a building and so they're going for the most amount of casualties they're really like targeting the buildings they're targeting buildings because they know that that's going to get them the highest kill count so this was like a full on security installation that we were driving through that had security presumably inside. Not just like a single dude on the side of the room. No, no. He was... The people that you had originally met that had come to the club, Goldo and then the officers that were with him, they were just a small fraction of the security installation that had set up this checkpoint. Mmm. Rico, you gotta get us out of here. They're trying to bring buildings down, man. What's gonna collapse on us? Prescription? 13. Ooh. For perception? Yeah. There are a couple of times that you hit very... There was this huge checkpoint here. There are a couple of times that even though you know these streets, like the back of your hand, that there were barricades or cones and things that were blocking off, forcing a detour through these streets so that everyone could be checked. And there are a handful of times that you hit these, scraping the side of Sherry. causing a small amount of damage to the vehicle. Nothing that's going to hinder the vehicle, but it's going to be work to repair it, repaint some scratches, pull out some dents and things like that. But you are able to navigate through the streets and eventually get out of the main area of damage and begin to head back towards the Starlight Lounge. Okay. Oh, gosh. I'll pull her in. I'll go back and get the side alley around. trying to navigate through the rubble from the wall to Mila's room as I'm going to just do my best to navigate it. I guess we cleared it out for me to pull out. But I'll get back to the garage that I keep it in behind, in the alley behind the club and we'll park and just try to survey the damage. It's alright. We're safe. I'm sorry about your vehicle. Bricko, I... I'm just glad we got out of unscathed as we did. That could have been a lot worse. That explains why nobody was there. Why it's too easy. What the hell? They're right outside their own hideout? I mean, in their backyard? They blew up a security checkpoint and started bombing buildings? They're so messed up, man. They're crazy. That explains why all the chemicals were unguarded. Yeah. And look. I mean, I know, I mean, we know firsthand that Jex is trying to, you know, do something big. And so it doesn't surprise me that he made his move. We were right there. I mean, yeah, you got to fix this as quick as you can. Rico, you better paint some fucking vultures on us or something. I mean, somebody. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm trying to get something. I mean, it's a robo-condo with a vulture, but that's all right. That's not a big deal. They're robots. I should be able to fix it up quick. I mean, you can slap a new paint job on it, whatever you like. How bad is it looking? It's not damage that's going to affect the vehicle. It's not like, oh, if you continue to drive it, it's going to start to break down. It's cosmetic things. There are a handful of dents where you hit some wooden barricades. There are quite a few scratches, especially on the driver's side. And one of the tires looks like it's a little bit low. you're going to need to pump that back up. Well, I think a little suction can probably pull out several of these dents. We get a little putty feeling that it covers the scratches and maybe replace this tire or just pump it up. I mean, probably an hour, two hours, I might be able to have this squared away through a paint job on it. I imagine I can help with the dents. I can apply some light amount of pressure, and it honestly would be a bit of a relief to vent some of the feelings than I'm having right now. And I think we'll need for you to clean up the back. I checked to make sure the road counts. Not just the back, but there is blood coating the hood of this car and the windshield. I think I'll need a frosty touch here. I can clean this up, and if the GM allows it, I'll endeavor to repair the hood and straighten it out. I think with the four of you working on this and Kremi obviously managing, that you would be able to do the things that you needed to do in 30 to 45 minutes. I imagine that you would have tools where you'd be able to go to one of the dents and you'd either stretch across it and do one of those yanks that pops it back into the original form factor. I'm doing that as well, but I don't have a tool. I'm just reaching out with my mind. And I'm going to endeavor to use mending. in order to... It takes me a minute, but eventually the pressure just inverts and collapses in exactly the same way. Maybe for the sake of speed, I'd survey the damage and identify all the spots and then just point you at the... You can handle bigger dents while I'm just knocking out dent after dent. Pulling the things more to power. There's these tinny metallic twangs. It's like... Like that. You're all just a little bit in shock having just experienced this as you work diligently and efficiently to clean up Sherry and make her indistinguishable from the van that was seen at the scene of the explosion in case anyone were to try to or anyone saw the van and were to try and trace it back to you. And within 45 minutes or so, the van looks completely different. And you imagine that the work that you've put into it is good enough to fool at least most people. And with that, you find yourselves now staring at this freshly painted, freshly clean van. and the only thing that's left to do is to get the rest of the evidence out of the vehicle and bring all the chemicals back inside the Starlight Lounge. Does it feel private enough to just open the back of the truck? Yeah, this is your garage. It's completely closed off to the outside. We're not in the alley anymore. No, no, no. You're inside the garage. We drove back to the Starlight Lounge. And we're closed, so nobody's here. I will assist with carrying all of the stolen goods in with the others. Kremi, where do you want this stuff, man? All right, fellas. My office. All right, right away. I'm going to start hauling the heaviest stuff that I can get my hands on. You're going to hold out your arms and I'll say it. Yeah, just carrying as much as I possibly can to use the burden for my companions. It doesn't take you long at all before you're able to haul all the chemicals inside to Cremie's office. And with the final batch of chemicals loaded up, you're able to close the back doors of Sherry and make your way into the Starlight Lounge, hopefully for the final time tonight. It really is a shame we're going to have to get rid of the Molniah's car. That is a very beautiful vehicle in there, and we're going to have to chop it up. oh yeah yeah oh shit we haven't done that yet? fuck it's been a busy 48 hours yeah it's been really we haven't had time yeah well let's hope nobody finds it oh gosh we'll get that taken care of we'll figure in taking that chopping that up taking it apart I mean hell maybe I can just rip it apart right here just reconstitute the parts for other things I mean melt down the hood and body for scrap this is going to be really bad guys this is going to be really bad I mean this is crazy people are going to die civilians are going to die it is escalating it has come in waves and surges before but a targeted strike like that all up and down the roof across the entire neighborhood I've never been so close to such a thing. It's remarkable. I mean, civilians just died. It's a miracle we didn't get caught up in that explosion. I think the good news for right now is Torbeck caught their defense systems. I took them out, so I don't think they know we were at their place. I don't think they know we were anywhere near that. It sounds like, I mean, hell, they sure look like they're distracted up on those roofs, doing whatever the hell they thought they were accomplishing. So, at the very least, they're not going to be looking for us. out for payback. Hopefully. I mean, what's to say that there's a nondescript, unmarked van that was at the scene that sped away. This ain't good, fellas. Oh, no, I sped away. I wasn't inconspicuous. I mean, how could you be with the explosion and all? I think it's actually quite reasonable that we would speed away when there's fire, there's danger. We're not superheroes, eh? We're not responsible for that Nobody on that block was moving slow Everybody was speeding Everybody was running I mean The only one responsible for that are the perpetrators They They chose violence Oh no Oh no What is Nexia Security going to do It's not good It's not good fellas It just keeps getting worse how long until you think news gets out? Hard to say. Well, not long. The next couple of hours, at the absolute latest, I'll say. You imagine at the very least, by the time evening news comes around, that there will be news of what's happened. All right. Well, what can we do to help get you set up to start cooking? We need to make sure that the little ones are right. Oh? I don't see any more holes blown through the NARC clubs. We don't see any more holes blown. You don't see any more holes. I don't see any more holes blown through the Starlots. One problem at a time. We need to make sure that she and Blarby are safe. I agree. Let's get the chemicals into my office and let's check on her. Check on the kid and see how she's doing. Hopefully she's still with us. All right. Understood. So I would be carrying what I can What I can physically lift And basically just You know Just trying to get everything In like the back corner of my office Right here fellas This is good enough Alright That was some nice Tropical fish on your computer I mean I need to find out how to get that Although I'm quite Parcel to the To the twisting pipes that go all around I always care for the flying toasters. I like the bouncing box always. I always kept mine. I just wanted to see where it was. It never hits the corner. It never hits the corner. I hate that. That's the worst one. It drives me crazy, man. This is so fun. There's something I like when it drives me a little crazy. You know what I mean? I think there's a bad man. You know what I mean? I'm attracted to crazy, I think. One of these days, someone's going to invent one that's corners-only square screensaver. It's going to be magical. what the hell are you guys talking about okay i'll show you down on my uh me at the av stand so i was gonna actually gonna i can't sleep so i was gonna work on some graphic design uh heat up some chinking nuggets you know i have a late night snack let's go how do we check on the little one once all the chemicals are in the office uh and i'll say yeah i mean i didn't i didn't pick that I just came with it. You know, I don't know. Can you, like, copy it over? Can I, like, ah, can I send it to you somehow? Oh, no, that's one of the options. Oh. Hey. Well, yeah, I mean, it's a good one. I like it. Oh, great. All right. Well, do you hear what you need in here, Mr. Crummy? I got everything I need. All right. Let's check on the kid. Yeah. You make your way down the hallway past room after room after room until you get towards the end, past Greco's room, to the room right next to it, the one that you've been housing Mila in. You enter the room, and you see Blarby awake and looking over Mila, who is in the bed, fast asleep. But it is clearly not a restful one. She's not screaming or erupting in destructive power, but her face is contorted in distress, and her skin is looking especially gray and sunken. Her temples are still scorched and patches of her hair is gone. And her brow is covered in sweat that Blarby reaches forward to wipe off. Mila is not doing well. Oh, no. This ain't good. But she's alive, so that's the important thing. Oh, you guys are back. Yeah, the poor thing. She's... I'm not sure if she's having bad dreams or if it's just an uncomfortable sleep, But she's been sweating and the color's not looking great. No more events, though, right? No, no screaming, no, you know, explosions of power. Although we did hear something crazy a little bit ago. Oh, yes. The neighborhood we were in was attacked by the Chemtech Revolution. Oh, God. There was a strike against the Nexus Corporation. This close? Yes, exactly. They're moving in this close to the storelight? Basically next door. Oh, God, when it rains, it pours, right? They took the opportunity of the security thugs coming in and leaving their fortifications at the elevators and at the entrances and exits. They took their chance. They didn't wait. They didn't wait one minute. They didn't wait one day. Blahby, none of your boyfriends run with that crowd, right? We don't want you falling in with those hoodlums. None of my current ones, but I got a couple of axes that I know have been skulking around that old train station. Don't respond to their calls. No, I don't. They're bad lads, okay? You don't have to worry about that. You're better than those, okay? That's what I'm saying. Once Blobby's done with a man, she's done with a man, all right? Well, you are better than the rest of us, I suppose. It's good to move on from people. Don't stay wistful. Don't want one artist. Certainly not one artist. You don't want none of that? No. Bad stuff. Well, I'm glad that you're focusing on well-respectable men, Bob Larby. You know, I think those guys have been hanging out down near the noodle shop trying to pick up some of the boys. Who? Are they recruiting? They've been recruiting in the neighborhood for at least the last week. I wouldn't think it was all that serious. You know, most of them don't. Most of them know that the Chemtech Revolution guys are crazy. This null stuff. What even is that? But, you know, there are people in the district that are suffering. This isn't good. We know Jax was having some recruiting problems, so, I mean, he's turning it up to the nth degree. This isn't going to go away on its own. It's just going to get worse. This can't be good for, I mean, he's hitting his own neighborhoods. This can't be good for recruitment unless you think he's trying to... I don't know, he's hoping for Nexus to clap back at him. I wonder if something forced his hand. Forced him to make a play earlier than he wanted to. Wait, where did you say that they did this at? It was a Nexus security in the main turf there, the district checkpoint. Is there any way they can blame Nexus security and make it look like it wasn't even them? No. Recruit people by making it seem like it was Nexus that did it? Oh, no, it was... They were pretty. It was the calling call. They may have said, hey, we did the Kent Tech Revolution, blew this up and killed these people. Oh, gosh. I think the fire that's burning down the district as we speak is neon green. The only thing I can think is they want Nexus to come in harder, try and shut them down. Start putting heavy boots on the ground down here, and that's the only thing I can think of up their numbers. If you want to get more boys to join, get more Nexus down here, it's just going to do it. A neighborhood rises up to fight back against them, man. Oh, no. And the worst thing is, it's going to work. Well, you can't possibly get closer to the starlight, though, right? Like, we're safe here in our little slice of heaven. Right? I used to think that, Bob, man. It's been getting worse and worse. I mean, between Camtech, Molniah, Nexus, there ain't a safe place in the green light left. There's a larger problem, which is, of course, that we may be safe here, even if we are. If people don't perceive us as being safe, they won't come and see the show. They won't come and buy drinks or food. They won't carouse and bring their friends. There'll be nothing to celebrate. Right. Starts to look like an impossible business. Yeah, I mean, when times are hard and people are miserable, they don't come to nightclubs. They go to all the dog bars and drink away their misery. They'll be in the sedia places. You're going to have to get something hotter than glimmer in this place if you want to retain people if things go to shit. And all of this is happening when this poor little peach shows up. Has she been out the entire time or has she been up and down? No, she's been out. she's whimpering here and there saying things and just soft tones. It's hard to understand what she's trying to say but I think it's just all sleep talk, you know. I'm sure she's not enjoying her dreams looking at the fate of her but that's better than being up and down all night. Perhaps she'll squeeze some rest out of it. Yeah. I just don't know. You're looking for the... I mean, Monaya's looking for her. next to security he's looking for I just don't all this on one one little girl who's just trying to get just trying to have a nice breakfast and a comfortable bed and a little stuffed cosmic owl and a family I think I need to stay make it crystal fucking clear at this point that she may get us all killed. I want us all just to be aligned with that and acknowledge that. And if you want out now, now's a chance. You can get the fuck out until the heat turns down and maybe things will go back to normal. But this feeling that I had, it just keeps getting worse. So I want everybody going into this eyes wide open. You too, Blahby. Look at me. If I get killed from this, it ain't going to be this little girl's fault. But I'm not just going to abandon her now. So I get it. You run this club. You got a lot at stake here. I can take it back to my place. It's not going to be a safe starlight. and it's just me, but Miss Cremie, I'm not giving up on her. I can't. We're not going to stay with the starlight. We're not putting a target on your apartment. Yeah, this place has fortifications, Blarby. I mean, you know, who knows who comes knocking on your door if you take her. She's safe as here, and so are you. we gotta listen we gotta we gotta focus on what we can solve right now right where everybody recognizes the fact that we got a thousand problems ahead of us we can only solve one at a time we just got back from fucking chemtech we got the chemicals we gotta try and keep her under control she's gonna start blowing fucking blasts in the wall and suddenly nexus think chemtech's hitting us and they burst in looking for fucking revolutionaries and find her. I love lying when it's necessary. And so we kind of lie to this girl. We can't tell her the stuff that's going on. The more freaked out she is, the more likely we're going to be dealing with one of those moments from her. So I think we've got to find a way to make it seem like things are as safe as they possibly can be. I mean, you're staying in, right? is you, well, no questions it's none of my business, but I'm hoping that you're into the night. I think we're here, and I think the first problem we can solve is to make good of the goods that we got. If we can come up with a solution that perhaps can calm her down, then we can talk about how to introduce the truth, and what timing makes the most sense. Yeah. She's sick, though. And she's not She's not doing well. Can I speak frank to you guys? Yes. Speak frankly. I just... If she keeps going down this path, I'm not sure she's going to make it. She won't. So you're going to make her better, right? Yeah, I shouldn't delay any further. It's got to be Damien Dawn now. All right, fellas. I'm going to do what I can to help her. What are you going to do? You can't take her to a hospital or anything. We already collectively made a decision that we can't. Oh, thank God. We made a promise to her that we would never take her to any hospital. No, she made me promise the same thing. Good. I'm going to make her some medicine. And I hope that it makes her better or at least stops her from blowing up. A chemical solution. No, I understand. All right. Word for Frosty so far. Yeah, worked real well for Frosty. Frankly, the only reason I'm not in her shoes is because I've had a prolonged exposure to the medicine for years and years. I've been able to get it into my system. But for as long as I've known you, lad, you never got this sick. No. It's some bad headaches. Occasional, maybe passing out, but not this. No, I believe... She's got it. I believe for whatever it is in her or whatever was done to her is considerably more volatile. That is clear. I don't understand. All right. It's going to take me at least a few hours to do. In the meantime, make sure the walls are patched up as possible. Start doing making posters or whatever. We got to make this Zeta Max thing look as legit as possible. but we got to make it look like, I mean, tear down a wall downstairs or something. Yeah. Somebody shows up, it needs to look like we're doing renovations, okay? So, and then... Are we getting too tired of doing any of that? Just get some fucking rest. We can tear shit up? And it's part of our jobs? Well, let's tear something up that's worth tearing up, and then we can, you know, put some tarps down. I'll let Frost decide what you tear up. Well, I always did hate that one beam at the center of the dance floor. I'm certain it's not load there. It's a load there, baby! Why do you always say that's Loan Berry? Because you always want to hit the Loan Berry one. And Bronx made vision of the stage. You think it's back in the center of the building? It's not Loan Berry? What's your last? It's architects. I'm sorry. I didn't want to sleep. I'm already gone. And I'll leave them to it. And the four of you chat with Blarby for a while. She decides that it's not safe to, or not that it's not safe, but she doesn't want to leave Mila for long enough as it would take to feed you. So she, you know, quickly rushes out and makes a call to the noodle place down the way. And while you're there to keep an eye on Mila, she runs and picks up a veritable catering platter of noodles, at least enough to get you through the next couple of days with leftovers, etc. And she sets it out for you and then takes back over with Mila so that the four of you can go about and do the things that you need to do, not tearing down the load-bearing wall, but destroying a few other things, making some flyers, attending to all the things that Kremi needs you to attend to while he's busy. And in the meantime, Kremi, you are, I'm assuming, making the way to your office? So I'll go to my office. All the chemicals are stored sort of in the back corner. And I will go inside, I will close the door, and I will lock it. And then I look to the side door that's there. And it looks like a nice kind of wood-paneled door, you know, maybe airs of rich mahogany. It doesn't look that descript, but I'm going to approach him. and on a sort of brass door handle, I'm going to reach down for it. And instead of grabbing it and turning it, I'm going to place my thumb on the doorknob. And one of the wooden panels of the door will sort of slide across a little bit, revealing like a very high-tech panel with some buttons and numbers and things and a kind of screen. I'm going to punch in a pretty long number combination. And then the screen will actually slide over. And from behind the screen, a small needle will sort of emerge with a crystal kind of vial or glass vial attached to it. and I will reach my finger out and I will tap it and you will see in the vial you see the blood kind of get pulled into the vial and mixed with a purple chemical that's in there and then it turns green and then the lights all turn green as the door, as everything sort of retracts and the door slides open Damn! Wow! Okay Okay And I will enter my lab The side door to your office opens the way to a dark room illuminated by a neon green light. A small but effective lab is before you, with various vats, tubes, and instruments arranged orderly throughout the space. The table at the end of the room has boxes and large bottles of various ingredients, but plenty of space for more. I'll look around, see that everything's in order. and then I'm going to go back. It's all kind of all now one space with this door open. I'm going to leave it open. I'm going to take my jacket off and put it on the back of my chair. I'm going to roll my sleeves up and then I'm going to start just transferring all of the chemicals into the lab. And there are these big drums that they carry that I can't physically lift. So I'm going to tilt it on its side and I'm going to tilt it. I'm going to roll them in and then I'm going to pull it back up once they're in there. This alone probably takes me 20 minutes to probably get all these chemicals into my lab. And you're being, I would say it takes even longer than that. You're being incredibly careful because you know a lot of these chemicals are volatile. And so you're going as slow as possible to make sure that there is no reaction or anything to them being jostled around inside these barrels. then I will once all of it's in there I'm going to basically do a full inventory see what I need I'm going to pull out my notes that I had written down based on the calculations and my list and what I think that I'll need to accomplish this and I will begin to cook My hope is I would like to primarily use the kyromethyl tetzal chloride and my ascetic multipazanol that we stole along with some espo catalysts and stabilizers to make a highly intense version of the medicine that I give to Frost, drawing on my experience and my history. and adding any kind of sedation, mind sedation, that I can think of to help keep her calm and stable so she doesn't explode her own brain. I'm going to have you make a chemist supplies check to make the initial concoction, and then I will have you make a second one for the mind-numbing abilities, and then a third one just to see how much of this you're able to make successfully. I will say, however, that you can make all three of these with advantage because you have been, even though this is so vastly different from frost, it is significantly harder with different ingredients. You have been making frost pills for a long time now. And so you have a lot more familiarity with it. but then also the experience that you've had in your past. What ability score do you think I should use with this? I will let you choose. I would say because it's very fine, and I need to be very precise. I'll say it's experience. I love that for you. He smiles wryly. I do, I do, I do. He should be a precise measurement. I think that's very correct. That's a 20. You are, it takes you no time at all. It's almost like writing a mic. As you begin to, as you open the vats and you pull out the, just almost naturally knowing the right proportions of ingredients, the right measurements to use as you begin to mix it up and to grind. Occasionally some of these things are in powder form, but you know that you need to get them finer to do what you need. You take out a large metal or a large glass grinding stone, and you begin to grind and add some droplets of chemicals, and you begin to make these liquids. You've got a beaker going slowly, dripping, getting to the right temperatures. And you're almost in, it's as if you leave the Starlight Lounge completely, and you're in another time and another place, in a younger, cremmy spot. as you begin to work on this. And you don't even have a hiccup as you make this. And you look down at at least the foundation of this medicine, and you know that if you continue on this trajectory, that it is likely to work. Great. I'll sort of mutter under my breath. You still got it. You still got it, the crew. alright, no, I think this will do just fine and I'm feeling hopeful, I think there's still some doubt that this is like even beyond what I've seen so I'm still there's still a possibility she doesn't make it but I at least feel good about what I'm working on you have a good feeling that this medication will do what it's supposed to but she is the outlier here and her biology and how it will interact with this and it's almost impossible for you to know but if you can get this perfect you've got the best chance to save her life and everyone around her if you want to make the next role to see now that you've made the base you're trying to tailor it to what you know about her her age her weight her size what you've seen from her, just her level of illness. So, yeah, I want to make it as strong as I possibly can without killing her. Exactly. And so that's what you're trying to do right now. Now that you have that portion, you're trying to make it as strong as you possibly can without going over and also making sure that it has a little bit of that mind-numbing effect, maybe a little bit of drowsiness to it to keep her emotionally calm as well as to calm her actual mind matter itself. I'm going to say this is an interval then. Okay. Given... I love that. Even though this is a nerf to me, I think that just... I did the dex check, and I think this is going to be... I love that for you. That is a 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. Oh. Holy! Easy. you um you take a little bit from the the dripping beaker and you add it you add a small bit of um this purple mist that you're uh this purple um gas that you're able to add into it and it um the nice part about the gas form of this uh of this chemical is that it is um it's just as potent, but it's almost like extended release, which is what you want for a body this small. You don't want it to hit all at once because your tiny heart might not be able to handle it. And so you infuse this in and your ability to know all of this is, if anywhere, and we're in here watching it, it would be awe-inspiring, the way that you work so meticulously and you just know which one is right and which form, which dosage. And when you look at this, you know that it is complete, but this is only but a small amount. This is enough for maybe a day or two, and you need more than that. But now that you have mastered this recipe, the duplication process shouldn't be that bad. It shouldn't be that difficult. But it's going to take some work, and it's going to take some focus, because these chemicals themselves are all very volatile. So your next role is going to be to see how much of this you are able to create and duplicate successfully. Roughly how many days of medication Two weeks one week one month a year What are you looking how much are you looking to make Maybe con That was my first thought Let make it a con roll Let make it a con But I still need to know how much you're planning to make. Oh, oh, just how much I'm planning. Basically, I want to make... Because that's going to determine the DC. I want to make a week's worth. Okay. to start. Okay. That's very reasonable. Come on. Come on. Fourteen. It's not bad. No, and because it was a week's worth, I set the DC at 13. Oh. So the more you wanted to make, the higher the DC was going to be. So you're, that's good. Okay. You are successfully able to make a week's worth. You, in most things, because you want to make a week's worth, you try to make a little bit more than that just to make sure that the end result does result in a full week. And you do have a couple of failures that you're going to have to dispose of. But when it's done, what you have in front of you is a large bottle of this medication, whereas Frost's medication is in pill form. the only way to make this in a way that would last a week and would not be too much for her tiny body was to make it an injectable. Oh, yeah. 100%. 100%. So I will take, I think by the end of these, probably multiple hours of me working through this, it would not be super quick or anything no I would have I would say it takes you the better part of the evening and by the time you're done here it's well into the night I will have a single large vial of almost like a pinkish purple liquid and I'll sort of hold it up into the light and look at it and make sure that it looks pure and pristine. I might run it through a chemical analyzer to make sure the purity is correct. I'll do some testing on it to make sure that it all sort of it matches all of my expectations. And then once I feel good about it. I would say your final test is opening the small a small box door at the at the very edge of your lab. And when you had come, you'd put a little bit of something in there before you got started. And you'd open it up, and exactly as you had hoped, one of the stump rats has found its way in there and trapped itself and got caught. And you know that the final test is making sure that it works on a live specimen. I should use animal test now that you mention it squeak squeak squeak he's in a glass box he's in a glass box I never digress squeak squeak squeak squeak squeakers squeakers squeakers I will stand up and I will pull back a high drawer and I will reach in and take out a very small syringe. I'll uncap it. And from the vial, I will pierce the kind of rubber stopper that is at the top of this large vial. And I'll pull out just the tiniest, tiniest drop. And I'll open the limbo's box. Alright, fella, hold still. Good luck. You better stop praying to the twail right now. And I'll stick him in the side. It's a very, very tiny needle. And I'm going to inject him with like a pill-a-liter. It wriggles in your hand, desperately trying to escape you. As the needle enters into its flesh, almost immediately, you feel the muscles in its body go limp as the effect of this medication takes hold almost immediately. I'm going to have you roll another another chemist supplies check for me. That's how rat overs came to be. You ever put a peep in the microwave? Oh my god. Oh. I think this is charisma. I love that. Because I'm trying to be friendly to this rat. I'm advantage. Yes, you are. 23. You watch. And if all of your calculations are correct, that even though this rat does not suffer from the same illness that Mila and Frost both suffer from, that you just want to make sure that it's not lethal, that the concoction of all of these is not lethal. And especially that the mind-nubbing, the relaxation properties are effective. And very quickly, you're able to see that that is true. as the rat's muscles go a little bit limp, it does not die. It just relaxes, and it begins to sniff around and look around. Its eyes are a little heavy-lidded as it's looking about. Its whiskers that were incredibly animated start to twitch more slowly. And then it just curls up on the desk and falls into a gentle sleep. And it dreams of becoming a master of French chef. I was going to say find eternal apprentices. I'm over that. Evening you, chef. We've been going through dozens. No, Ratatouille is now our Star Wars mascot. And that is where Wygor came from. Lady Luck was on your side, fellas. All right, enjoy your snooze. And I will also grit and feel satisfied with what I've concocted. And I will go, I will grab my jacket, I'll roll my sleeves down, throw my regular jacket back on, and I will take the vial, put it in my coat pocket, and then I'm going to reach up to the same shelf, but pull out a much larger syringe this time, and put that in my pocket as well. and I will probably join the gang and see what they've been doing the last few hours. You quickly do your best to clean up everything and by the time you are closing the door to your lab you look over the room and it is spotless. The rat is still sleeping away on the counter as you close the door and make your way back through the starlight and towards your friends. The rest of you, I would assume, unless there was something else you wanted to do, have all kind of joined in the communal space downstairs and are having drinks, enjoying some of the noodles that Larby brought by. And just at this point, everything that you had on your task list is essentially done. Kremi has been in his lab for hours. You're starting to get to the point where you're getting a little bit nervous. Is everything okay? You haven't heard anything strange. It's right around this time that you hear the sounds of his alligator shoes clack along the floor of the club. Well done, Gideon. Turning the load-bearing beam into a dancing pole was a genius idea. You know, you've got to give him somewhere to work, man. I mean, some things are just ridiculous if we got rid of. Oh, here comes Crummy. Oh, yeah. We at least fucked up that stage. Man, that was great. Hey, look, Crummy, look. We're benefiting. It's a great wire work, though. Oh, hey, Kremi, how's it going up there? I think it's done. You did it? Well, we're about to find out. Well, we got, I mean, how many pills you got to take? Well, it ain't no pill. We're going to start with one injection and see how she does. If you need a pet subject, I'd be willing to put myself on the line in order to make sure that Someone with our shared abilities is safe before you have to experiment on her. What? Did you say injection? It's an injection. Don't you fucking hate needles? Well, hopefully she's gotta wait. Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. K, but this is starting to sound like one way or another it won't be our problem anymore. I think depending on how this goes we're going to find out if it's our problem or not it's going to work it's not a chance it's not going to work I mean he's one of the smallest people that we know we don't know what her deal is we don't know why they want her so even if this goes poorly for her we may still be doomed but who the fuck knows and we're going to do our best to, you know, make sure she don't die. And I appreciate the offer, Cross, but I need your mind sharp. I need you able and capable right now, and frankly, this shit would, you know, put you on your ass for who knows how long. It could neutralize me entirely, but I wanted to offer. And besides, I retested it. So you have another psychic lying around somewhere? How did you do that? I got some for happens. It's basically the next best thing. You know what kind of chemicals they fucking ingest their whole lives? And he didn't die. The rat's psionic? That's the clear test is whether the access to the psionic powers is there. I mean, maybe not in the way that you and me are, but I mean, I'll pass them some press. Well, there's something behind those arms. they look at you with an aura of smug judgment. I'm just saying that. I've seen it. I've seen it. I've never seen a sump rat destroy a wall or cook a meal. What? He can cook? He can cook now? Not that sump rat. He can walk around out of the box as far as I know. Did he survive? He survived. And I think we've been turning. I gave it a tiny little dose. but it's alive and it's hopefully having sweet dreams. Oh, well, hell, before we do this, give me, give me just a couple minutes, all right? No, you, go on to your thing. I mean, I was just up there for how many fucking hours and now you got to do that. Well, I don't know, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, No, well, clearly I'm going to tour back directly, but it seems like you're going to talk to me in this moment when I'm being rushed by credit. No, you can do it all day here. Okay, see, now see, Frosty, I click the little white box and I click on it and I can drag it out to the corner and it makes it bigger. And about that, and then I click on it again, I can drag it and put it at the top. So, see, Zeta Max goes right there. And then I click this and then I turn it into a little curve. You need to hold shifts when you drag the anchor point, otherwise the aspect ratio gets all fucked up. Oh, you mean it looks fine. He's all stretched out. Absolutely. Absolutely. It looks just fine. It's big to leave this shit. It is horrible. I want to take Torrek to the garage, and I'd like to, as quickly as I can, cut up the Molniacar and harvest scrap metal and make crude, like, just quick and crude, almost like bomb disposal gear. So if Kremi goes in to, like, inject her, I can outfit him in, like, a metal, like a sheet metal covering in his front in case she explodes. Okay, yeah. I will say that you can do that. I need you to make a, what is it called here? Machinist thing. Technology? Yeah, you're about to say. Technology check with machinist, please? Yeah, yeah, let's do that. I'm insisting in any way that Giddy needs help. And so you'll have advantage. Your advantage is because I'm proficient in both. I'm double advantage. Rolled 48 times. Oh, nice. With a 19. And let's just see. Let's just. I want to add the bonus. And for speed, I'm going to mention this one. When you make an ability check, my tech savvy feet, fast work. When you make an ability check using technology, if the check would normally take you 10 minutes or less, You make that check as a bonus action effectively instantly. So I'd like to use my technology ability to basically, whatever, if it would have taken an hour, try and get down to like six minutes. I would say you're getting this done in ten minutes or less. I'm with a 30. With a 30, the only body you know better than Kremi's is your own. And so you're able to take this. What? you're able to take this car apart so quickly and create something that you imagine you can outfit Kremi with to keep him protected while administering. And you think there should be enough metal in the event that like maybe Torbeck or I would have to hold her down if she wakes up I'd try to make something at least for Torbeck. With a 30? Easily. Alright. And then the car. There are so many parts on a car that you could make something for everyone. I think just like the three of us is what I would target, thinking that maybe they would be out of the room. All right. Anybody else who wasn't absolutely critical would be out of the room while this happened. So I'll come back in. I'm practicing. I'm dancing. I'm not there. There's a thing. All right, Kremi, I got you fit out for something, man. In case she wakes up, you're coming at her with an injector. She goes super, super Nova mode. strap this on, alright? What the fuck is this? It's like a disposal for protection, man. It's like a disposal on your front. Your whole front side is protected. So she blew up a fucking wall, man. You can go in there with an injection? Just with your fucking shirt open and a smile? No, she should be asleep. She should be, don't let her see that. She's gonna freak out if she sees her. Yeah, one of those from my brain. I mean, she exploded that one dude's brain. Well, it's got a mask, but I put splits in it so you can see and breathe. So, you know, I don't know how effective it's gonna be. I'm not a whole ass head kid look at how tacky that looks well you don't have to wear the head part man I don't think it would help if she went and tried to blow up your brain but in the event she does like one of those like wall blowing blasts I think this would just knock you clear across the room hopefully that's the goal at least and this is going to make it hurt less or hurt more because look I mean look at how heavy that thing looks well it's probably going to hurt more but I think in the end you're going to be more okay than if you weren't wearing it However, I think it will increase the pain threshold getting hit by an 11-year-old girl, for sure. All right, you know what? Just because you made the effort to make this for me, I'll wait. Well, thank you. I was waiting for a thank you, but I guess I'll take whatever the hell that was. Well, I'm just saying, this is just like when, you know, we have to leave in five minutes and you haven't even begun to get ready. And then you wait when I'm one step out the door. I'll get ready in four minutes. That's why, okay? You're the one. You got to press your shirt and iron your pants, and your shoes got to be shot. Why can't you just begin earlier? I mean, you got to think that you're going to say. I don't need to begin earlier, okay? Make you a fucking stripper pole instead of doing what you want. You fucking wanted the stripper pole. Poor guy. You know what he's going through? You think I wasn't going to make him a stripper pole? I mean, I'm okay with the stripper pole, but I'm just saying that you could have made this just, I don't know, within the three hours I was up in my office. Well, I didn't know how long you were going to be. And I didn't know you were coming down with an injector while this happened. So this is critical to do at this moment. I just think now if I commit this, I can make a star shape. Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. Mr. K, it's very valid to ask that if you could survive, would you really want to? That's a valid question. Yeah, that's exactly right. Gideon is just trying to help, and I do trust his ingenuity. Look, Dorbate's wearing hands. Look how cool he looks. Mine's like a poorly fitted just like square of metal and then like another square of metal. It doesn't really cover much but it's where we're best talking about it. Can you put yours on? Alright. You look like the construction worker and the village people. Perfect. I love it. Perfect. You look great, man. You look like a guy Who's going to survive this fucking ordeal, all right? Let's get up there. I don't know, Gideon. I feel like she comes to me. She sees that me looking at her. I've got you to wear the mask, okay? I'm not a fucking artist. All right? I'm just about to steal the medal. All right? I'm just trying to not get everybody blown up. All right. I'm going to trust you on this one. Well, I guess here's hoping she doesn't wake up, huh? Well, maybe you can be in the room to distract Oh, come on, I'll be right there Yeah, exactly right Yeah, we'll just like hide under the bed or something Or like on the side So if she opens her eyes, she looks at you first And then we're kind of like, come on Prepare another injector Put something mundane Something unharmful in it If we have to prove that the drug is not going to harm her Then I can show that it's safe And you can inject me with the safe injector and we can have a little white lie in order to make the medicine go down. I could go with some water, I guess. You want to inject me full of water? That's safe. It's your idea, probably. What else do you want me to inject? I don't know. It's something nice. Don't you have, like, a relaxing toxin or something? Oh, well, I didn't do anything mind-offing at all. Why are you trying to get more drugs from Mr. Gain? I just wanted more drugs from Mr. Gain. Frosty, we need to have a conversation, young man, about your habits. I feel like it's starting to turn into all our recreation. I understand that you have troubles, lad. I understand that you have troubles, we all do, but it's starting to sound like you're having some troubles. You should do what real healthy men do and crack open a crispy. like real well-adjusted lights I have plenty of crispies there we go as long as the water is safe I don't know water is that going to make you explode or something I feel like putting water in your body like that what do you think is in liquid medicine Frost what do you think is in syringes in the fucking first place it's mostly water Derek knows this is correct but Frost it's horrible bullshit I don't know if I believe it I don't know. Rare formula. Holy. All right, I'll go get the fucking saline, and I'll go back to my office, and I will... Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Beep. Ah. Ooh. And I'll go, and I'll get a vial of completely sterile water. I'd just like to point out he didn't give you any shit for your last minute idea. There's this stupid water injector. Has he been telling you that he irons his shirt? What are you talking about? Frost? We'll talk about it later. Let me hear about it. So fucking sad. I'm going to go ahead of track. I'm going to finish explaining using a magenta paint bucket in order to fill some gaps here. Oh, yeah. I'm going to go and go into Mila's room and get ready, make sure that she is hootie. I'll bring her a glass of chocolate milk in case she wakes up, and I'll just make sure that everything is all good. Yeah, you prep Blarby, let her know what's going on. She looks nervous about an injection while the poor girl is asleep, but she even tries to wake her, but Mila is out and is having none of it. and so um you place the chocolate milk next to her and both of you just sit next to mila and watch as her breath or as her chest shallowly rises and falls um she's even worse than she was when you saw her last it's gonna be all right everything's gonna be all right and if it's not all right we'll make it all right little one we're gonna make it all right blarby makes her way to the edge of the room and just kind of leans up against the wall by the door and lets you have some time with Mila. I wait. I would probably have said, hey, we can all mute Mila's room, so I'm going to go all the way back down to the fucking dance floor and then back up. Nobody gets frost, and so he's just dancing on the pole. Do you believe in life and love for some water only? Yeah, water. That's very funny. That's not good. All right, roll on Mila's room. Yeah. And you make your way to Mila's room. And, Crummy, you enter last having gotten the syringe of water. No, the saline. And you are able to make your way in and see that Mila is still fast asleep. Look, Frost, she's fast asleep. Look. Anyway, I'm going to set the saline and the extra needle aside. She's still fast asleep. She's still looking rough. Please just hurry up. Make it quick. Don't let her wake up. Yes, go quickly. All right. Couldn't you use a smaller needle than that? This has gotta be a quick delivery method. You put that thing in a freaking silver diner? Jesus. You vise on this. I can't... You know what? I'm sorry. I take off the portion of it. It's still on my chest. She blows up my head. At least I have a pretty corpse. There you go. I will sit down. Thanks, sir. Alright. Get ready to keep the seal. This is going to stop. You understand? I will ready myself to jump in and try to use my abilities if things go very wrong very quickly. And I am going to pull out the vial. I'm going to check it to make sure that nothing's changed. I'm going to tap it. And then I'm going to take the syringe and I'm going to insert it into the vial and pull out roughly one-seventh of this medicine. This is a big vial, and so it's still a large needle, and there's a good amount of liquid in there. um and uh i need the side of the neck okay no no no no hoody says sweet little dreams sweet little dreams says hoody hooo it's me don't leave don't leave for the first time you hear her begin to say things that she's clearly having some sort of dream, but she doesn't seem to have any idea what's happening in the world around her. Sweet little dreams. Sweet little dreams. I'll put some gloves on. I'll make sure that there's no air in the vial, and then on the, I'm going to basically just gently press down and place the needle kind of going up into the side of her neck and up, trying to get as close to her brain as possible. roll a medicine check for me please is he an advantage because I'm helping yes thank god thank god I'm glad we have an advantage come on come on come on just make it poorly fellas fuck medicine you said I really should have been proficient in this now that I think about it uh 18 okay she you press the tip of the needle to her neck and as it begins to sink in as you begin to administer the drugs to mila she winces in pain and convulses as her veins turn a bright green beneath her skin as the medicine courses through her bloodstream her breath becomes strained as her temples pulse and you feel as if the static electricity in the room is oppressive like the moments before a sudden violent storm. All of you wait and hold your breath as she lets out a groan of distress before calming back down. She settles as the green hues fade from her skin and a warm tone returns. She sleeps peacefully for the first time since her destructive nightmare. Did it work? Was that it? I think that's it. What? Say little dreams. Me, let's walk out of the room. Say little dreams. Hold on. I'm going to, like, all apply some, like, this sort of foam that will, like, instantly stop the bleeding on the wound and all sterilize it and make sure that everything is good and in order. And I'm going to pull out in one of... I had gotten something out of a drawer in my room, and I'll put this super ancient box, and I'll pull out a band-aid with a bunch of little llama cords on them, and I'll put a band-aid with a llama cord over the foam and do that. Okay. Let's go. I would just wordlessly knock back out of the room the way we came in without trying to make any noise so that I don't wake her or disturb her. And I won't say any to her. I don't rule. As you all leave the room, Gricko, you're the last one as you turn around to close the door and you see that Blarby has made her way over from the wall, and she climbs into bed next to Mila and pulls her into her arms and gently rocks her until she's in a completely soundless place. Keep an eye on her, okay? She looks like she's very distressed by what happened. You just scream for us if anything changes, all right? Yes. No, I got it. If anything happens to this little one, I'll make sure you're the first to know. Bobby, everything's going to be okay. And if it's not, we'll make it okay. It's heavy shit. Sorry, sweetheart. It's heavy stuff that's happening here. We've got a handle. Can you do... You're going to be here for the rest of the night? Yeah, we... Yeah, we gotta go to sleep. I haven't been able to stop thinking about what you told me about the Chemtech revolution. Would you mind just checking out the news tonight, seeing if there's anything? I know some people. I got some friends down in that area of town. You know, just let me know if you hear anything. Oh, yeah, no, we was going to, after we dealt with Mila, we'll sit on the couch with a couple of celebratory crispy boys. We'll turn on the local news like real men. All right. All right. Okay. Sleep well, young lady, okay? All right. Sleep well, young lady, okay? Sleep well, young lady, okay? Sleep well, young lady, okay? Hootie's orders, okay? No, you got it. All right. Good night. I close the door. So fine. And you all make your way. There's a lounge, an employee lounge, and more like a family-style lounge up in the apartment, the top area of the Starlight Lounge itself, And this is a place where you have a couple of couches. There's another refrigerator up here to store drinks and other things. And it's a place for when employees are on their breaks or when anyone wants to commune together. Sometimes you'll hold meetings here, especially when they're more intimate meetings. And you know that this is the perfect place to see if there's any news of what happened earlier today, if there's any more information you can glean. And it's getting close to time for the news. And it's the perfect place to grab some noodles, sit down, discuss the evening, and then check and see if there's any additional information. Anybody want a nightcap or a morningcap? Middaycap? I don't know. I'm still working through my crispy boy. I'd take one. Already? No, finish that. I'm working on it. It's like 7 in the morning. Yeah! Who finished that? Who does that? All right, man. Okay, I'll grab a couple extras. Oh, yeah, all around, all around. I'll pour a glass of, like, a purple liquor and all hand it out to anybody drinking that. Nah. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Damn, I'm good at what I do. I mean, I knew you were good. I didn't know you were that good. It's like you're some sort of genuine doctor or something No, no, no, I ain't a doctor I ain't a medical doctor anyways Well, hell, man, good work I mean, that really seemed to kick in That seemed to help the kids smooth out Well, I feel like let's enjoy at least a minute or two of the local weather And some smooth jazz And then kick it over to the local news What do you think, lads? Yeah. I mean, they've got to be covering that explosion by now. They're on. Okay. Oh, it's 08. It should be Local on the 8th. Okay, there we go. The weather should be on right now. Oh, it's that commercial that I really enjoy. Though it was never clear whether it was EdFX or EdFX's motors. We enjoy a couple minutes of smooth jazz from Local on the 8th, and then try to find the local news channel to see what's going on. you flip between channels and eventually you set it to the local news channel. And you see footage of the aftermath of the revolution's attack on Nexus security, with businesses and apartment buildings burning with a colorful neon fire as Nexus fire response tries to put it out. The news anchor's voice overlays the footage mid-sentence. Still counting the casualties, but the estimated number of deaths has risen to 34, with many more missing. In response to this violent attack from the radicals, Nexus Security is locking down the borders of District 87. No one will be permitted in or out of the district, and Elevator 87 will be closed until further notice while an investigation is underway and a response effort is prepared. And now, a message from our sponsors. The news segment is temporarily interrupted with an advertisement for Warbos, promoting their new Big Steel, a new take on their classic Steel Donut Burger. The TV turns to background din as you realize the repercussions to Jax's attack. I have a question before we jump into any kind of repeat. I'll ask this. Has Torbeck ever heard or seen an incident where they shut down the elevator? This seems like a huge fucking deal. No, this is a huge deal. Completely unheard of. It's also presumably we've been exposed to chemtech attacks before. Yes, but not to this scale. Have we ever seen a response like this? Well, I'm actually not even, I would say you've seen something similar scale, just not necessarily at a checkpoint like this. Roll a, roll a, just a straight int for me. And they said last time that, like, basically, the security usually stays at the elevator and, like, they're fortifications. Yeah. Krenny and Gideon saw that just a couple of days ago when they came back down to 87. Them going out into the district is actually really rich. Sure. You know, whatever. Everyone has advantage. The point that it's written in my ears is the reaction. The reaction is unprecedented. As far as my life goes. You've been in the district, especially in the places that you frequent. This seems strange. My first was a natural one. My second with Torbeck whispering in my ear. Oh, don't forget. It was a 23. Yeah, you have... Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark, don't forget. Mark, remember the time. There is not a direct one-to-one attack comparison that you can use, but the overall scale does not seem... Not that it wasn't devastating. It very was. It very well was. You were in the middle of it. But the Chemtech Revolution has done stuff like this before. They've targeted places. This is what they do. The response to this is unusual. And though there was, obviously, there was the checkpoint that was involved in this one, there have been law enforcement casualties that have happened in a handful of their attacks, and it has never caused a closure of the elevator. and especially never caused a complete lockdown of the district. It does feel completely unprecedented. I shoot the rest of my drink, and I set the glass gently down in front of me, and I look at Mr. K, and I say, this is real bad. Yeah. Shutting down the whole sector. I don't think they've ever done that before. Not as far as I've ever seen. Not any time I can remember. Shut down the elevator? the whole sector? Trying to get out of District 87 with Mela is no longer an option, I suppose. This ain't good. We're fucking trapped like rats. I don't... I don't know what they want. What, is this what Jax wanted? Maybe this is what he wanted I mean it doesn't make any sense Why? He wants them to lock down the The district? He wanted something unprecedented Something to, you know Burn the fiery Passion and rage of the young people That live here There may be other reasons that We can't see Right on the surface But it does two things It does hurt the corporation With the elevator shut down and security at high, they can't move up and down things like steel donuts. Think of the lack of trade, the economic burden, without being able to go up to the surface and back down again. This is absolutely devastating. You won't be able to get, did somebody say pizza? We won't be able to get, did somebody say pizza? And did you see that big steel, man? I mean, I want to try that. No, I want to try it too. But it also just brings attention to their message. They say that even bad news can be good news. They are spreading their message. They're making people aware of what they're trying to do. And anyone who dislikes corporations and runs into a recruiter next to the noodle shop, well, they might be more likely to listen. I mean, District 87, I think it's probably some of the most Keogian plants in the undercity. And so what about all those lads trying to come back and forth? I guess they're not going to get a visit from corporate. So maybe the lads, me lads that worked out with the plan might prefer this, I suppose. It's a lot of pressure. There's going to be a huge push to open the elevators back up, and there's going to be a huge push to keep them closed back down. It's not just Chemtechs anymore. A lot of people are going to get involved very quickly. I can't help but feel like everything's starting to close in on us. Like we're running out of time. Yeah We are running out of time It's definitely getting that feel to it We've been Gracefully given more time Thanks to the medicine that you were able to produce Kremi But we have limited time to Repair and actually Renovate this place for the show And get the word out And hope By some miracle that Stresses are low when the day comes Well, this is just like what you were saying before, Frost. If the 87 shut down, we're not getting traffic from any other district. This fucks us hard, man. Yeah, no one's going to come to see. I mean, people will probably be too scared to even go see a hologram show. Even if it is later, Max. And even if they want to. Oh. I mean, what's going to stop them from just going door to door now? If they're looking for Mila, and Monia's looking for Mila, I mean there's no getting her in or out they said that they were gonna plan maybe they're not they're gonna stay at their fortifications too much risk exposing themselves maybe that's a bit of good luck they can't check every single corner of the club we can keep her here we can keep her hidden she's small I can find a little hole for her that we can hide her away in What are we going to do if we try to take her out of the district anyway? What are we going to do with her? Take her off worlds somewhere? What kind of life is that for her, Frosty? She's going to live in a hole in the wall in the starlight? She's 11 years old, man. She needs a fucking life. She can't just live in the inner bedroom upstairs. I don't disagree with you, but I lived in a hole when I was that age. But that wasn't right either. And I turned out just fine. And I just turned... look it's better to be alive than having a life yes I don't think so it's temporary it's temporary it's temporary it's not we need to write this out and we need to figure out how to keep this place alive right what we need is some rest none of us are thinking straight and we can't be making serious decisions in this state Well, that's right. It's nothing we can solve now. Yeah, I think we all need one more crispy and then go to sleep. I'm not having another crispy. I've had one. I feel like crispies are best enjoyed in the evening. What? I mean... Never heard of a breakfast crispy? I had one. Frost, we're in the entertainment business. This is our evening. Yeah, it's 8 a.m. and scientists say that's in the top 24 hours of drinking crispy alright that's right I'm running a little low you know what I'll take a crispy too oh see hey look at that Mr. K was having a crispy man oh one more before bed yeah I don't know that Mr. K was going to send from his artery tower to drink a beer I'm going professor professor chemist over here I don't know what's that bad yeah well to us lads too. No matter what happens, we'll weather the storm. And like I told Blavi, and like I told Mila, everything's going to be okay. And if it's not okay, we'll make it okay. Right, lads? Here's the one more day behind us, one more day in front of us, huh? One more day. One more day. Here, I'll pour you some chucky milk. Here you go, buddy. I'm fine. I'm fine. It's a combination of milk and beer, doesn't it? I've crossed my legs to start enjoying this. Because if you're all pick up the newspaper and I'll say, oh, look, it says that Blobos tested the product in Space Portugal. How about that, fellas? I'd like to try it now, too, given that. Yeah, I mean, their marketing campaign, I mean, it's part of the local news. The Oogleport? That's remarkable. That's where all the testing happens. If it's good enough for Oogleport, it's good enough for me. Grab a big steal. Well, you know what, Lance? I'm going to wind down by watching some reruns of Forza Crowd, and then I'm going to knock out. What do you think, lads? Yeah, it's bedtime for sure. I have some ironing to do, and then I'm going to go to sleep. No, it's ironing for sure. We're all set. Hey, guys. Hey, bros. I'm clocking out. I'm going to bed. You know where to find me. Well, yeah. I'm going to watch a rerun. I'm going to watch one episode of Forza Crowd. I will sit and watch Forza Crowd. You enjoy your crispies and you watch force a crowd You wind down for the evening and eventually one after another you make your way off to bed Unless there anything else that you wanted to do you all head straight to bed You know, I always liked that not doms. He's the best part. For sure. He's definitely the best part. And you all get a peaceful sleep and enjoy a long rest. Hey! Hot dog. Hot dog is right. I'm presuming being in the entertainment business, a long rest for us is like, what? Yeah. Yeah. The four of you wake up much earlier, and you begin to make your way about the day. Krami, you sleep in a little bit longer. You don't tend to, you have a lot to run, but this time you got your beauty sleep. You enjoyed a crispy boy. and so when you wake up this morning you find yourself alone in the apartment but there is a lot that you have to do a lot that needs to be done especially if the lockdown in the district is going to cause any interference with Zeta Max Last Anoon Love that song I would get up and I would just head in my office and check my Hmail or whatever it's called and, you know, start to go through my things and start to just wrap my mind around the situation. Your office is still and quiet and is totally dark besides the colorful tropical fish on your screensaver. Then the silence is shattered by a ring from the phone on your desk. Ring, ring, ring, ring. When you look at the information screen on the communicator, the caller line is completely blank. Not even an unknown. And that's where I'll take a break. Oh, shit. Now? Now, Mickey. Now? Right now. Wow. Hey, everyone. Andy Quinn here, and I have huge news. Our next Kickstarter campaign is coming, and it's called Neon Odyssey. It's a 1,400-plus-page space opera trilogy for Dungeons & Dragons 5.5e. It has tons of options for players and GMs alike, including an entire galaxy to explore, 30-plus species, 40-plus subclasses, a brand-new space combat system, and so much more. It's taken us three whole books to fit it all in. You can become a VIP at neonrpg.com to unlock a free set of Neon Knights Sharp Edge Resin Dice and more. It's only a dollar. Become a VIP now at neonrpg.com. Thank you. I'll hesitate. And I go... It runs through my head like we did shortly during the break of all the different people this could be. center myself, and I'll say, Salud! There is a pause. All you hear is static on the end of the line. Then you hear the voice. Good morning, Mr. LaCrue. This is Zinia Monaya. Although we have never met, I know of you by reputation. And I am certain you know who I am. To get to the point, you have something that belongs to me. And I want it back. There is no need to make this any harder than it has to be. Speak, Mr. LeCrew. It's a pleasure. There, Miss Monia. I know who you are. Of course I know who you are. I've been down here a long time. Mind filling me in on... What you think I might or might not have of yours? Do not play stupid. I want you, little girl. You have her. I know you do. asleep in a room upstairs with your little waitress. She is mine and you will return her. How precisely do you know that? Hmm. I have my ways, but... The screaming man from the little tech store You heard them enough And they'll tell you everything that you want But I mean, to be frank Did I leave him much of a choice? You should really be more careful You know What's she to you? What she is to me is none of your business Aside from the fact that she is mine and not yours. So it sounds like she's something to you. Is that right? What is she to you, Miss Delacru? Well, that's why I ask. Precisely nothing. Then it should not be much for us to meet and for you to hand her over. No more casualties on your end. Well, She holds the phone out, and you can hear an echo for a moment, and then you hear very clearly the sounds of Zed screaming in the background. Last for 15, 20 seconds before you hear shuffling on the phone again. Have I made myself clear? One voice you recognize Could become two Three Four Five A chorus I'll just Be careful on making threats Miss Monia Given that she's something to you And nothing to me What's stopping me from putting my look down at my holster. Putting a laser bolt in the back of the head. Well, it doesn't make a difference to me. Frankly, nothing. But I think there are a few people in the Starlight Lounge that you would hate to lose. An eye for an eye, you see. Yeah, but I mean, she seems pretty special I don't know if anyone I know is that special I feel like I'll take that trade Well, and then I guess we have an agreement You take from me, Mr. LaCrue and I will take from you tenfold I'm not saying we can't make a deal. He buckles so quickly. I need to understand what you're looking for. And I'm happy to have this discussion, but I want you to understand that you have something to lose. Everyone has something to lose. so do you need her alive or not you hear the line go quiet the sounds of Zed screaming slowly peter out and for a minute you wonder if she's gone if she's just left the phone there to dangle on the cord and then you hear the sound of her fingers, her long fingernails. You can tell it through the through the receiver as they tap along the mouthpiece. It's almost agitating. The click, click, click as she runs her fingers along the mouthpiece of the phone. Her fingernails. I need her to lie. Alright. But it sounds like we need to come up with a business arrangement, don't we? I suppose there is no choice but for us to sit down and come to an accord. Let us meet at a neutral location. You, me, and each of our seconds. No one else. Meet me tonight at midnight at the Vesuvio meat processing plant. Do not be late, Mr. LeCrew. I wait for no one. I look forward to our negotiations. And before you have a chance to answer, you hear the line go dead. I immediately grab a pen and drop down. Hold on. What was it? It is the Vesuvio meat processing plant. Vesuvio. And I'll hear the dial tone. If you would like to make a call. Click. Fuck. I'm going to get up. And I will... I'll head downstairs. Presuming that everyone else is already up if I slept in. And try to basically... I'm gonna go down there. And again, there's no one else in the club. No. Everyone's having breakfast noodles. Alright, fellas. We gotta talk. Hmm? Yeah, what's up? Yeah, you still have a lot. Yeah, did you have a good sleep, Mr. K? I did. But I'm having a pretty fucking shitty afternoon, let me tell you. What are you talking about? You all been up a couple minutes. It can't be that bad. Is Mila still sleeping? Yes. Okay. But I would say you've checked on her a couple of times. Yeah, I would have... Your initial check, her and Blarby were fast asleep together. After your second or third check, you were able... Blarby was up and reading one of her magazines, doing her nails, doing her hair and makeup, and Mila is just fast asleep on the bed, but she is snoring gently, the colors returning to her face, the hollows beneath her eyes look better. She looks like she's on the mend, but what she's been through, you imagine she's going to sleep through at least the rest of the afternoon, if not another full evening. Before I check on her last, I'm checking in first every 20 minutes, then every 30, I'm checking, and then I said, okay, I'm going to eventually have to get to work here, Blah, but here, as soon as Mila wakes up, if I'm busy working, Mr. K's having another meeting, you can have some too. And I'm going to hand a box and there will be like a frosted cupcake with a big smile on it. And it will say Fluffy Puff brand sweet cup and cakes. And I'm going to say. Oh, gosh, I love cup and cakes. Yes, yes, here you go. So I think that she's going to love it as soon as she. You know, I didn't have any. You want to give her sweets for breakfast? Yeah, sure. She wants her dough, obviously. I love that because I'm going to be washing her all day. But you know what? She's been through a lot, sure. Yeah. I mean, she can have as much as she wants. I'm just going to treat yourself. I hear this. I know where that came from. So I'm going to do fluffy puff brands, three cups and cakes. And so then I will kind of, you know, give her a dip of her head. I'll make sure she knows these are from you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Bobby. You're the best young lady. and then I'm gonna get back to that I got bad news already? what is it? I got a phone call you'll never believe who it was who? what did I say you get about phones it's always bad fucking news you know what I mean? I want to rip the damn thing out of the fucking wall. You're answering the phone, that's for sure. You always make me leave the voicemails. It was one Xenia Monia. If you don't know who that is, she's the leader of the Monia family. Like, the leader? Like, the whole head? Yeah. Fucking Monia head boss called you on the phone. She called me on my office phone. Well, what the fuck she want? That's not possible. She knows we have the kid. Damn it. Hang on, hang on. Xenia knows about Mila? She knows we have Mila? Yeah. That doesn't make any sense. Nobody knows we have Mila. Well, first of all, Zed sold us out. Well. Fucking Zed, man. Not sold us out, but. I think Zed's dead yeah well if he's not dead now he'll be dead by nightfall probably Zed's dead? they got him they were torturing him I could hear her screams oh fuck but I got a feeling like she knows more than that more than what Zed could know that doesn't make any sense I'm so fucking careful. I know. I don't fucking understand it. But she wants the girl. I mean, she wants the girl. For what? She wants the girl? I don't know. I mean, why were her goons coming around looking for her? Why is Nexus looking for her? I mean, clearly because of what she is, what she can do. Who knows why? But look, she knows it was us. She knows we have her. And she wants some meat tonight at midnight. Again, have you heard of anybody else? Have you heard of the Suvio meat packing plant, meat processing plant? Have I heard of that? Yeah, I would say you've all heard of it. You know what this plant is. Okay. You know that this is part of District 87. And especially you, Gid, you're very familiar with where this is because the shop that your family used to run was in the same neighborhood. And you know that this is a neighborhood of warehouses and other shops and things that has been taken over by the Molniah family. It's not far from King Cole's, man. That's in the old neighborhood. not super close, but... In the industrial part of town, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I had to pull some strings to make this meeting happen. And I need to take this meeting. You got a mate with Moldiah? The head of Moldiah! Who's to say that you don't end up like Zed. Dang. Because she needs the kid alive. Well, you ain't going your damn self, that's for sure. Well, that's the thing. I can bring a second. That's it. Done. So Gid's coming with me. Well, obviously. I didn't mind. I mean, obviously. Come on. Come on. Of course. But we won't be there to help if something goes wrong. I don't think she's going to pull anything. Because I threatened her to deliver the girl perhaps not alive. Not that I ever would. But those were the strings I had to pull, alright? I just, to be fully up front. You've lost. Rico's got a point though, I mean, what if she's trying to pull us out? Because she knows the fucking kid's here. What if she's trying to pull us out, you know, and make this place less secure. There's no possible way that we can convince you not to go or to take all of us, is there? If I do either of those things, what's going to stop every single soldier and boss that she has from storming this place? She knows exactly where the fuck we are. So I have to take this meeting, but I need each of you to understand that If anything goes down, if anything goes south, if anyone shows up, we have to be ready to convince them that we'll cut a throat at the fucking drop of a hat. You understand? It's the only thing that's going to keep any of us safe. I don't know. I mean, what if she's away for all that? Well, it's got to be Torbeck. These two muffin tops can't pull it off. I thought gave me the throat slit I think they do just fine Are you kidding me? Look how soft they look Like Jim Kim Nuggets Wearing shoes Look at Jim Winnick's doorbell Look at the shoe wearing motherfucker Shoe wearing motherfucker Unbelievable Man wears boots I keep telling you Don't say that You don't put shoes on You don't put lights on I wear shoes Well you don't put lights on your shoes I was just getting to the lights part Alright Hey All I'm saying is Hey One second Somebody gonna believe that these two are going to slit that girl's throat. I can't. I will not. She can't be fucking bored with that, all right? I know. I will not even indulge her. But if we have to have somebody to fit your bar that Tolbeck would do it. You can count on me. I'd make it convincing. And look, I mean it, right? And it's not going to be pretty. I didn't feel good when I said it, all right? But I They need this girl alive I'm guessing Nexus needs her alive Naya needs her alive Mr. K I'm not sure that it even has to come to that Though I do have an idea What's your idea? Seeing everything that you've told us And given the situation at hand With your permission I'd like to take Frost and Gricko and the girl back to the drain. To the fucking drain? I know it sounds crazy, but... With the mutant abominations? The fucking rat cockroach thing? We don't... We won't be going back to that area. There are people who live down there. I guess you're from there. Yeah, I guess there's gotta be people that live there, huh? But most importantly, they aren't corpos. They are in district security And not even the crime families Are stupid enough to wander around down there Well we knew Monia wasn't going down there We took the bodies I mean It's not ideal But like you said They know exactly where we are right now You know a safe spot down there? Safe enough No you're right They can't stay here We can't stay here she certainly can't stay here you think you can keep her safe? I'm confident alright then maybe tonight when it gets dark kid and I will go to the processing plant three of you we take Blobby and the kid we take her down there I think Blobby has to come with us So it's too late now? Yeah, it's too late now Gotta mix up in all this shit Oh gosh, I don't know Blobby, she's gonna freak what you hear We're going to the train I understand it's not ideal But it's the best shot we've currently got What does it come to? what are we mixed up in when the drain is the safest part of the Greenlight District? Fuck. Well, and, I mean, I guess we'll have to have some sort of signal. If you guys don't make it, well then, just let them take over the starlight live down there like seal rats no offense man tallback no i'm taking for the rest of our fucking lives that's no way for a little girl to live they do whatever it takes to survive i mean if we don't i mean i don't see them betraying us grammy said that i they wanted me alive man They're not going to take a shot at us at this meet, I don't think. Gideon's right. One thing at a time. As long as the two of them make it very clear that they don't get the girl unless they get out alive, we're all going to be okay. For now. And so, if they killed Zed, that means they know that we dropped off the weapons which means that they know that we killed those guys. And she must have figured it out. Well? What do you think? You don't think that Bobby... No, man. She said that she didn't have any boyfriends that were in chemtech at the moment but what if she's got a boyfriend or an ex? Blarby's solid, man. It's not Blarby, man. I mean, maybe it's one of us got Blarby. What if she's blabbing to her boyfriend? I mean, since I've known her, she's probably had like 50 of those guys. What if one guy is mixed up with Mon-Eye? What if she's blabbing to him? What if she knows? What if she's getting paid? I mean, it's almost a guarantee one of them just by the numbers, man. I mean, she's definitely had a lot of guys. But, you know, but it's not Blarby, man. She's rock solid, okay? She cares about that kid. I feel horrible even if she does say such a thing, but I know that I'm insane. Look, man, if they had Zed, Zed had all the information on us, all right? He didn't know about the girl. He did. He gave us the scanner. He knew about her. I guess he was a wizard from a certain point of view. I mean, you know, I don't know how the hell he knew Blarby was here, but, I mean, everything else, Zed would have known. One thing at a time. Yeah. If it turns out that we have an internal leak, we'll plug it. But we don't have to worry about that for now. Let's behave not be hazy, doorback. I know this is what you're very good at. And I'm a little out of me depth. And Frosty especially is out of his depth. It's going to be okay, Frosty. You're shaking in your lot of sneakers, man. They're like changing cars. I can't imagine that Blarby would be to blame. It doesn't make any sense to me. She's done nothing but care for the child. She wouldn't turn over Mila. That's ridiculous. I don't think so either, all right? And hey, listen, you make a good point. If they know we took out the goons, they know we had the guns, they know we took them to Zed, then they probably know one other thing, and it's that he would have been able to tell that they were chrysalis weapons. So we know they got some kind of connect To the Corpo And they're not going to want that getting out Chrysler sure as hell Is going to want to get that out That's one more point of leverage we got on them Alright I don't know how the hell to use it But we start doing something like that I mean hell Maybe the Corpo's come down They're like well It's becoming too much of a problem Cause I'm an AV guy And a part time graphic designer I'm not an intergalactic super spy This is, my brain is starting to hurt I trust both of you lads to handle this I know that you've got each other's back And if anyone's going to keep each other safe It's going to be you lads And if anyone's going to outsmart this Xenium Mornaya It's going to be you Mr. K Y'all just got to keep us safe She's the only bargaining chip we've got, you understand? Whatever time your meeting is at, give us a head start and as soon as we feel like we can slip out of here, we'll get out an hour early. We'll be long gone before you ever meet with her. She may anticipate a move like this. We're going to have to find some way to get out of here without drawing attention to ourselves. If we're under surveillance, I don't know what we do. alright she stays safe it's a shield for us I may have one more ace up my sleeve but I prefer to keep that up my sleeve alright alright we're trusting you toolbag trusting you Kremi I'll go along with whatever you guys say I'm right or die and at this point it's looking more likely it's going to be the die but I'm here till the end You know that. We're going to protect that little girl. We're going to protect Mila and give her the best possible shot. Krami, will you need to give her another dose or send us along with some of your medicine so that we can make sure she stays stable? Yeah. I'll teach Blahby how to administer it. Maybe I'll teach all y'all. I think that would be wise. I don't need that. I'll teach the three of y'all I trust Blobby to do it Griggo I think it's important that you learn In case anything could happen to any of us And you're the only one left to administer it Alright Don't like needles It's alright I'll do it How hard could be Right Easy as can be and before we all leave this place I just want all y'all to assume that everything that remains in this place they'll find so destroy what you need to delete what you need to and when we come back let's hope the joints still stand them alright I'm going to go get ready everybody get what you need we'll meet back here before we leave alright I'd like to go to my office and go into the lab and my office and basically take all of the paper notes and stuff that I had made for the medicine and the calculations and I'm going to burn them in a fire safe like glass vessel just to make sure that there's you know no evidence of what I was doing if they somehow get into my office or get into the lounge, get into the office, get into my lab. I want to try to delete as much as I can and scrub what I can in case this goes south. How much can you commit to memory? I actually roll an intelligence check straight to see how much you are able to keep. Please! Nineteen. Woo! You, one last glance at your calculations, and the recipe for this medicine. You believe that you've committed it to memory. You've committed all of it to memory. You feel very comfortable in burning these things. You do. You move some of the barrels over, and you even change up some of the labeling so that at least if they're unaware at first glance, they won't notice the chemicals that you have in here. And you feel like you've done a good enough job, should anyone get in here, to hide what you've been doing in here. Is there anything anyone else would like to do during this time? I deleted my browser history when Barbie spent her first night, so I feel comfortable and good. I would just go to the garage and make sure I'm geared up. I have everything I need in my belt. I'll go to probably one of my main lockers, like tool lockers in the garage, and I'll open it up. and just with a sigh, I'll reach in and grab what looks like a little rivet gun, and I'll strap it to the back of my belt, and then just come back when everybody else is ready. Yeah, I have a to-go bag that's basically like my fixer bag. Not fix it in the way that Gideon fixes things, but fixing problems like a Winston Wolfe style, you know, like a to-go bag. I have nothing to destroy. I don't have anything that I'm worried about them taking or stealing or destroying themselves. My needs in life are pretty simple. And I grab my to-go bag and I meet everybody down in the main gathering area. I will, to presumably we're taking Sherry, I will go and I take, go back into the back room and get that box out from all of my AV equipment that, where I pull Hootie from. I'll bring it to my room and I, there's a ton of shit that I have and I leave everything except I just grab all of the pictures of Lorelei that I have throughout the space and I grab them and I put them in there and I'll probably put one in a couple of my pockets and I'll have my best. And I'll look down at the phone in my room and I'll pick it up and I'll punch in Min's number and I'll put it to my head and after it rings ring ring I hang up as you hang up you hear a very gentle hello and then click I hear a voice and I just immediately hang up and I kind of look back at the phone, and I close up the box, and I get it, and I put it, stats in with everything else, and I bring my favorite guitar and the stuff that I need to be able to fight, and then I'm ready to go. I did think of something. It's not shoes. It's not cleaning supplies. It's thanks to chat. What are we going to do about the hologram? Oh! Gideon would have remembered. I think Gideon or Frost would have remembered. Yeah, mean fun. And if it's alright, I would like to store it and put it on my person. I would have told Crummy and Gideon that I want to keep it safe and that it's not safe in the club. And so I would put that in my pack and be the bearer of a ticket to success if we ever see the day. Yeah, Frost would have to remember. Yeah, absolutely. Keep that thing safe. Now that you reminded me Yes, I will I know we have a lot going on But I want to make sure that This performance is still intact If the Club should be damaged Or firebombed Or destroyed Or we're all killed horribly I don't know It's almost like I just Lost sight of the future But never mind club Anyways Good luck you all Mr. K and we'll see you again I just wanted to take a moment if for some reason I don't see you again I wanted to thank you sincerely for all of these years and I hope you know how grateful and appreciative I've been I appreciate that you don't have to mention it I mean you know you've earned your keep and you know we we're a team but I I thank you nothing will happen to the girl you have my word alright that goes for all you and I want to echo what Torbic said y'all you let you blokes are going to be fine but I just want to say thank you after everything with Lorelai and Mim you you brought me out of it you gave me something to do gave me a reason to believe and now we're here we've got our neighborhood and our community so I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you Mr. K thank you very much I think we all need a little reason to believe and if anything happens to us you know just stay down there live in the drain and if you can find a way out of the district the sector, do what you can. We'll figure something out, but I'm not going to think of that until we know for sure something's happened to you. Nothing's going to happen. We're going to hear your voice again. We're going to see you again. And, uh, I'm sure Tolbert is giving you the directions that you need to find us. Or a way to contact us once it's done, but we're going to do everything we can and keep an eye on him, Gideon. I know you will. We'll give you a call once all said or done. and we can find you. Yeah. We'll be fine. All right. I know, uh... I know... Sherry's not as flashy as Gideon's hog. But not as comfortable. Enjoy that ride, lads. I guess we're taking yours. Can't take yours. Yeah. A little too showy, huh? Yeah. Not in that neighborhood. All right. I'll get my helmet. Good luck. Good luck, lads. Yeah, us too. Stay safe down there. There's this really, really sweet slow motion montage as we all start to part ways, and you hear the music kick in. I don't feel a thing. And I've got some memories. He's playing outside. He's playing outside. Anyways, we make our way to the drain, which is where the lyrics go. I'm assuming you're going to grab Larby and leave her all the way down. Oh, shoot, we forgot. We're all the way in the ring now. Oh, I remember the name of us would not be in one. Oh, fuck. Oh, the character's just like me. But, yes, Kremi and Gideon make their way first, and you watch as they leave. I think we will probably leave first. Yes, absolutely. You get on Gideon's hog, and you make your way off into the night. Do you have a sidecar? Absolutely. No, actually, I think on this, in my mind, it looks almost like the Fenrir, but instead of leaning forward, it has the cruiser-style handlebars that come back out. It has the stack of seam on the back? Yeah, so exactly right. It was never a wing fan when you attach yourself by a rope. Yeah. No, so it has almost the dual seat or the extremely large seat designed for both. I think that's exactly how. I love that. Sounds way better than a sidecar. Yeah. I put my motorcycle helmet on. All right, drive safe, kids. Always do. Ooh. Here we go. And with that, the two of you peel off into the night and head towards the meatpacking plant to meet with the head of the Molniah family. leaving the three of you downstairs alone in the quiet of the starlight lounge um i would say just for for the sake of brevity that you had already primed larby and she was upstairs packing a small bag for mila getting her ready um cremmy had taught her how to administer the medication so she made sure to do that um while you finished up your preparation and within the next 15 minutes or So she makes her way down, and she has a very sleepy but slightly awake Mila, piggyback style on her back. As Mila has her arms wrapped around her neck. She keeps dozing off. She's very clearly struggling to stay awake, but occasionally she wakes up enough to have a small conversation. And you overhear as Blarby attempts to explain to her what's going to happen. That we're going to go meet some friends, that we can't stay at the Starlight Lounge tonight. She looks up at her at one point and says, You're not going to leave me or take me to someone else, and you've never come back. And Blarby looks at her and... Actually, not me. Of course we're not going to do that, sweetheart. It's going to be okay. And she seems to trust all of you as she rests her head on Blarby's shoulder and falls back into a gentle sleep. All right, well, we got everything that we needed. You want me to have a little cooler here to put some of those noodles in if you think we're going to get hungry or, you know. I've already filled the cooler with beer. My cooler? Oh, you have your own cooler? Yeah. Okay, I guess it'll fit. I think having some food along the way would make sense. We don't know what to expect. I'm going to keep my eye out alongside Torbeck if there's any danger. But just make sure Mila's all right. Yeah. She has multiple bags strapped to her. She's got a cooler where she puts the noodles. She's got a bag for Mila. And then, Frost, you notice, I won't make you roll for this, you notice that she has a small bag of cleaning supplies and rags and even some mind puzzles she knows that you like to do. Oh, mind puzzles. Yes. And so she has that. She attempts to hide it. She doesn't want you to see that she's got it. But you notice. And it's one of those games of she sees that I see, but I pretend that I don't see, even though I know she knows that I'm pretending that I don't see kind of operation. And with that, she straps everything to herself. She looks like the main character in Adventures in Babysitting, as you all make your way to Sherry. Once we're all in the van and we're on our way, then I have something to do. But if there's anything else we want to do before, follow in the van, please. Okay, Big Dog, you're shotgun with me. Frosty and the ladies in the back. Frosty, keep an eye on those ladies to make sure there's no misbehaving. I'll follow your lead, Torbeck. There's nothing you need me to do, right? I'm just keeping the girls safe. I don't really want to go to the train. No, none of us do. I don't know what to do down there. They're like monsters, isn't they, right? We're following Torbeck's lead, and we're apparently going to a place that's potentially monster-free. Once the van starts rolling and I'm directing Gricko where to go, I would basically explain what my plan is, what everyone to expect. I basically tell them that, and we can arm kids, but it's a lot of them. I want to take them back to, my goal is to basically take them to where I believe my old crew still is. And I know that this place is not going to be infested with monsters. I would tell them that the name of my crew is the Hellhounds. Because I don't want them to be shocked. I don't want them to be scared. I don't want any of this to be a surprise. I know that there are no monsters where they run. You know, I kind of give them some heads up about that this is a very rough group of people. I ask them to try not to speak if I'm not speaking. Right? Don't, you know, say something that they might regret. that these are people who are dangerous. But I believe that it'll at least give us a place to hunker down until, you know, some of this has blown over. Okay. And, you know, answer any questions that I might have. But I try to at least set up, you know, where we're going, what the expectations are, and how dangerous this actually is. But it is the lesser of two evils when it comes to dealing with the Molai family and the corporates and things like that. And it really is. Well, they sound like an all right bunch of blokes with the name of Hellhouser. Pretty cool. Yeah. I won sugarcoat it There many reasons why I left But I do believe this is the best course of action for the shitstorm that we in Alright. We're out of options, and I trust you, Torbek, and if you think that we'll be safe there and that we can negotiate with these hellhounds, or if they still are there, then I say we do it. Just stay close, stay behind me, and let me do the talking. Everything will be fine. You got it. Are these the same hellhounds that invented the bluffing game Brain Pan? And with that, you all take Greco's van even deeper into the Greenlight District, occasionally asking Torbeck questions and getting at least suitable answers. As you continue deeper in, you get so close to the edge of the borders of the district that you begin to see the flashing lights of Nexus security All around the district's exit, the rough neighborhood's high concentration of Talusium energy refining plants has increased the heat by more than 20 degrees, and the various grates and pipes belch plumes of piping hot steam from the depths below. Torbeck guides you to a different street, and you find a place to park before heading to a large grate into the ground that seems to blast hot air. Down in the dark depths below, you see the dull glow of red and orange, as if cacophony itself is waiting for you. All right, this is it. Oh, wow, you lit down there for more years than I wish to admit. It's a little warm. Stay close and remember what I said. Come on. All right. Very gozy. The warmth didn't hurt anybody. Come on, and I'm going to gesture to Blarby to sort of take a moment. She's pulled out a little fan, and she's fanning herself and Mila. Mila is still just sleeping peacefully. The bouncing form of Blarby almost rocking her to sleep and keeping her comfortable and cozy. Okay. You keep an eye on the ladies, Rusty. Holler if you need anything. I'm told that's number two right now. You descend once more into the drains, and the heat is far worse in this part of the sewer system than when you dispose of the bodies. You hear voices and barking and shouting echoing through the pipes, and you immediately see evidence of a civilization down here. As you enter the large tunnels beneath the city, you see barbed wire and ramshackle lighting fixtures that cut through the glow of the energy waste management. You see off in the distance makeshift structures and fortifications that have been erected in the sewers. From a watchtower, you hear a growling bark that is suddenly met by howling and shouting of dozens of voices. And suddenly, a crowd of people in patchwork outfits with bright red jackets approach you. All manner of species are in this group. They are predominantly Laika. As they confront you, growling at you, you hear amidst the jeers and shouts the word Torbek repeatedly. They hold pipes, spiked bats, chains, and other improvised weapons as one member of the Hellhounds pushes through the crowd. He is a huge Laika that resembles a Rottweiler, who is even more scarred than even you, Torbeck, with one eye completely missing. He is not quite as tall as you are, but he's close, and he snarls at you with wild eyes as he keeps his focus on you, ignoring your friends, and he lets out a low growl. I thought I told you that if you ever came back, You better be prepared to fight and die, Tormek. Clay, it's been a while. I knew what would happen if I came back. I had no choice. I'm prepared. Whatever you want. What do you want? Need a place to lay low for a while All the Laika, all of the people around him are barking and howling All kind of cacophonous noise They're rearing up for a fight You see him cracking his knuckles You see scars all over his body What are you here for? I told you. Need to lay low for a while. Here? You chose here? Like I said, I told you. I know what would happen if I came back. Listen to this, boys. I'm prepared. The little pup has come home, and he wants our help. Let's cut it all. What do we need to do? You and me. You coward. At the mention of that, I'll kind of stiffen up a little bit, and I'll look over my shoulder at my friends, and I'll take a step closer to Clegg. I know you think I'm a coward. I know you're a coward. You ran from your family. You couldn't do the smallest thing. If choosing not to murder some kid that got mixed up way in over his head is cowardice. He had it coming. So be it. I made my choice. It's time to pay the price, isn't it, little man? I guess it's the thump, then. Are you ready for a fight? And they all start howling and barking. And they all start pounding their chests as they start moving around you in a circle. They push your friends out so it's harder for them to see as they all surround you and start moving you towards a small depression in the ground where they kind of push you down into. You stumble a little bit as you're knocked forward, and you watch as Clegg cracks his knuckles, and he begins to flex, and you can see the muscles on his back just rippling, these large, giant gouge scratch marks in his back as he spits. And you see that it's already mixed with blood, almost as if he's bitten his cheek, riling himself up, ready to take you on. His eyes are alight with fury. I take off my jacket. I take off my chain. I take off my shirt. and I'm also equally scarred up, you know, messed up underneath. I don't even know how much Frost and Gricko would have seen the scarring that's all over my torso for the most part. I would say this is probably the first time they've seen the extent of this. Am I able to get the jacket and the chain to that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're pushing them away, but you have enough time to kind of do what you need to do before you're knocked down into this makeshift ring. I would walk back to Gricko and Frost, and I would hand them my jacket, my shirt, my chain, and I would say, don't worry, I'm going to handle this. Are you sure this is okay? They look like they fucking hate us! and I unclip the hand cannon from my belt, and I give you Dricko the hand cannon. I'll have the clothes on the chain. I unclip the knuckles from the back of my belt, and I say, just watch the girl, all right? Yeah. Okay. I'll trust you to a bit. You hear a bunch barking and howling as they continue. It takes a while to get to this point as they continue to push you through the sewer systems. Dorbeck, I'm going to open up a channel. If you reach out with your mind and need help, you let me know. I will hear you, and no one will ever be the wiser, and I may be able to assist. I won't intervene unless you ask, but just know that's an option on the table if you get in trouble. I give you a solemn nod. I don't say anything. We've got your back no matter what, Tobit. We trust you, big dog. And everything, Blarby, I don't know if she's still asleep. No, she's like absolutely shaking. She looks like, she looks like someone shaking a bowl of Jell-O. Everything's... Barbie looks scared? Oh, she's horrified. And Mila's probably on the show. Mila's... Fuck him off! Fuck him off! Fuck him off! Keep him there! Keep him talking Then you'll review them! No, she's fast asleep. Okay. She's fast asleep. Once I've handed over my personal effects, I'll make my way back towards Clegg. You make your way back towards Clegg as they're continuing to push you deeper and deeper into the sewer system. Something is changing you, Tormek. Maybe you're not the coward you used to be. Or maybe you're finally ready to die. I have something worth fighting for. He lets out a howl, which is returned by the rest of the gang, as the group guides all of you deeper into the strange sewer civilization. As the heat becomes almost oppressive, and you understand why this gang calls themselves the Hellhounds. Eventually, you arrive to the absolute depths of the sewer system, hundreds of feet beneath the streets of the Undercity. And what you see before you is a fighting pit. Makeshift stands surround this pit as the glow of the walls of Talusium pipes burn hot orange. The hellhounds fill the stands and shout, cheer, and snarl as Torbeck and Clegg step down into the sump, both prepared for a fight. Torbeck, your friends look on anxiously among the crowd of gang members who are hungry for blood. You face the leader of the hellhounds, armed with only his fists and the brutal iron knuckles he wears. Last time I let you leave the drain alive. The cowards and cravens don't deserve to share our air and besmirch the name of the hellhounds. This time, I won't make that mistake again. Let's see how much the easy life has softened you. Time to die, Torbeck. I need you to roll for initiative. Oh, what the hell? Shit. Okay, here we go. I got an 18. A 19? 16 plus 3. Okay, let me actually have to get my... My Kindle where I wrote all this stuff. My Kindle. Jesse, cut this. Okay. Don't cut it. People love this stuff. Jesse, cut this. No, don't. I also got a 19. Oh, shit. So then what do you say? We just discovered this. GM Choosers. Oh, GM Choosers. Raw. Oh, yeah, that's right. Oh, boy. This just happened. The GM Choosers. Or I think, it was on the GM Choosers. I think we'll go by the dexterity modifier. So his is plus three. So is mine. So rules is written, you lose the tie. But as GM, you get to decide. No, if I lose the tie, then we'll let Torbek go. It's up to you. I'll say. He looks at you, and you see a smile on his face as he looks to the crowd, and he winks and smiles as he begins to bark again. and you can see that he's letting you make the first move because he believes you're weak. He believes that there's no chance that you have it beating him, so he doesn't feel like he needs to go in first. We're doing this stare-up thing, like, rowing at each other a little bit of parking. I can sense that, like, there's not hesitation from him. The hesitation is, like you said, him, like, egging me on. And after a very tense moment... Come on, move in, you fucking coward. I lunch, and I go in, I lean full in, drooling, gnashing teeth fists raised as I go to make my first attack. Can you put on some battle music for me, Michael? I'm very nervous. I'm very nervous. Yeah, like heavy metal. Some like industry grungy... The first attack is only a 14. You swing in and he dodges out of the way seeing you come easily. I practically raised you, boy. You think I don't know how you fight? I'll take my second attack. This is almost like we're starting just a few weeks out here. Better. I got a 16 that time. Misses as he moves to the fire. And I'll say, you do know him really well. And you know that when he is unarmored, there is something about him that makes him not indestructible but stronger. you know that he is a lot harder to damage. Like his skin is so scarred under all that fur that he's just a lot harder to hit. You sparred with him many times. That's good to know. Then essentially we're feeling each other out here, checking each other. He basically gets the first turn then. He moves to the side and then moves to the other side as he, that's caught. That is definitely not going to hit. an 11 to hit. I have an 18, 17. As he goes in, you said 17? Yes. As he goes in to hit, he also misses you. You hear the entire crowd erupt, furious. They're slobbering and slavering as they see the miss, but they are directing it at you. 11 plus 16. So he goes in to hit again, and similarly, he misses. He goes in for his third hit. and that's going to be a 17 to hit. Me to beat. So he lands the first blow. We're kind of like boxing each other and then he gets me, he cuts me on the chin. Doing six points of bludgeoning damage but I need you to, are you carrying anything? Do you have anything on your person? Technically, no. No, I mean, nothing in the pants that I'm wearing in my boots. I mean, nothing that like, you know. He, I need you to make a constitution saving throw. He moves to one side, misses. You can see. Natural fucking throw. Yeah! So I got a total of 22. Perfect. He slides in with another swing at you, and that one misses as well. You see the spit just dripping from his jowls down his face. It's flying everywhere. hitting you like you're in the front row of a Broadway show. As you move to the side one more time, and he expects it as he connects with your jaw, your head completely cracks to the side, and you are reminded of his tactics, and you're able to steal yourself quickly as the iron knuckles on his fist collide with your jaw, and if you hadn't taken that moment to steal yourself, you know that you would have been stunned. Oh, shit. That's really nasty. Oh, my God. Unfortunately for him, he activated my trap card. I use my Like a Lineage Warden. When a creature damages me or my allies, I have advantage on the next attack roll I make against a creature before the end of my next turn. So if it's my turn, my first attack will be an advantage. Perfect. Oh, here we go. I did make a Clegg initiative card. Oh, I got a 22 to hit. That hits. and when I make this attack, as part of the attack, I'm going to use my punch and grab feature, Feast. Once per turn, when I hit a creature with an unarmed strike, as part of the attack, I can use both damage and grapple options. So he is grappled. Let me roll for damage on the first attack. Six points of bludgeoning damage from that attack, and then grappling. I don't know if he needs to make a check to see if he's grappled or if he's just grappled. I think it's generally what you hit. So as part of this, he's hit me, and now all of a sudden the realization of what has happened is said it. I'm in a brawl. And so I hit back and I grab him. And as I'm grabbing onto him, I'm going to attempt to basically make my next two attacks at advantage because he's grappled. Right. And as part of this grappling, I activate my Rage of the Streets. there is something that deeply bothers Torbeck about someone who bullies people who are weaker than them. Someone who uses power to crush the weak and this is going directly against my code as an enforcer and it fills me with anger so I'm going to make my next two attacks. So grapple's not advantage. Oh, it's just that you've seen my map. My speed is zero. So we can't move, but you're still Oh no, I have attack advantage I have advantage on attack rolls against creature grappled by me. There you go. That's part of my feet. Sorry, I knew I had it. I knew I had it. Thank you. But thank you for keeping me honest. Thank you for keeping me honest. And I get an extra. I get my third attack as a bonus action as part of my Rage of the Treats. Love that. I love that. So the next hit is going to be 24 to hit. That hit? Hell yeah. For max damage of 13 bludgeoning damage. Did you do damage with the first hit? Yeah, it was only 6. 6 and then 13. So I mold minimum and then max. Nice. Nice to get it. Wow. And then 13. It should be 13. Yeah, 13. And 19 total. I got you. And then bonus action attack. As I'm basically holding him, I'm kneeing him in the side and just laying into him with my knee. 18 plus 8 is 26. That hit? That's huge. And then another 11 bludgeoning damage. Oh, pretty goodness. He's activating. and I'm salivating as you can hear the barking the growling and I'm trying to end this quickly because after she connected with my jaw I remember how deadly this guy is and I don't want this to go on for too long is that like big white foam they both look like they have rabies he is you have him held he is huge and you can feel him already trying, he's not even necessarily trying to break out of your grapple but as this happens, you're connecting with him, slamming your fist into his stomach, into his side, a kidney shot in the back. He flips around in your arms and immediately goes in to do the same, not even attempting to get out of your grasp. With an 18. Yeah, that'll hit. 22. That'll hit. and a 17. That'll hit. Oh, boy. So all three of them are going to... So I'm going to have you make a dex and two con saving throws. Oh, boy. Okay, first one's the dex. I do not pass the dex check. That's a six. Seven. That's a seven. He actually... Oh, that's right. I still don't think I'm going to pass, but it is a total of seven, a 12. 12 dex. Okay. It is a 13. is the DC. Okay. All right. Good to know. He stays in your arms as you think he's going to go in to punch you in your side, and that's what you prepare for as you stiffen up, but he actually swings his leg around behind you and sweeps you, knocking you prone as you slam into the ground taking seven points of bludgeoning damage. I'm a goofy boy. Then I need the two con saves. Yes. Oh, crushed these pretty good. The one is well over 20. The low one is going to be... It's got to hit 13. I got just 13. Just 13 on the low one. Damn, that was close. But I'm on my back. He is on top of you, holding himself up. Because as you fell, you were still holding on to it. So he plummets down on top of you, but as he's over you, his strings of spit are just spilling out of his mouth, completely coating your face as he slams his knuckles into you, doing six points of bludgeoning, 12 in total for two more hits. Okay. All right. And you are not stunned, but he is... as he's just pounding in you. You can see years of fury in his face. He's blaming. You know that what you did was something that the hellhounds saw as dishonorable and as cowardly. But the way that he is fighting you, it's very clear that he's blaming you for every grievance that anyone has committed against him. He is so enraged that all he can see is the red in his eyes. as it is now your turn. The first one is going to be a 22 to hit. And as part of this hit, I'm going to use my street brawler portion of my dirty fighting. When I hit with an unarmed strike or improvised weapon, I can activate the push or sap weapon mastery with it. So I'm going to flavor this that he's on top of me, and I kick him off of me to knock him back 10 feet with my push feature. as so that I can stand up and then redouble and go after him. I'm going to roll a deck to see if he can stay on his feet. Oh, easy. You kick him off, and he flies ten feet back, but he's able to land on his feet as he skids backwards in the dirt and the muck of the drain. Yeah, get him, Tropic! That'll be eight bludgeoning damage. And then I, again, I get up. I just have my movement to get up, and I go after him to redouble to make two more attacks. This one is not at advantage because he's no longer grappled. That is... 17 to hit. Just enough. It is not. It doesn't hit. His AC is 19 when he's unarmored. Oh, my God. My mistake. My mistake. Oh, way. And then I'll use my bonus action then to make one final attack. That's gross. I got a natural 19, which is 27 to hit. And so on this one, as I run at him, I shout at him. I say, all of this strength, and you use it to make people fear you. And I'm actually going to use my one charge of cosmic judgment as I will turn this into a cosmic smite hit. and so you'll watch as I'm winding up running at him and the first one misses but as he ducks I come up into the gut with my left hand and the gut will crackle. Oh yeah you uppercut him. You see his jaw like part of the bone cave in and you see the spittle that flies from his mouth is tinged with bits of viscera, like bloody viscera and teeth. So it's a 3d8 plus 6. Thanks to Gideon buffing me. Oh, I've never seen anybody survive more than one bunch from Torvek. This is remarkable. Fuck him up! Yes, fuck him up! Damn, that's me! That's me, lad, too! He's a big dog! Hug him up, yes. Very good. It's 20 total points of damage with the smite, and as I connect, I shout at him, Crushing the weak isn't strength! You, as you do this, he crumbles to the ground. You see that half of his jaw has completely, like, cracked in. Some of his teeth has lodged up into the top of his, into the roof of his mouth, but he's still attempting to bark and howl at you. As he is, he looks like he is on the verge of collapse. But he slowly rises himself back up to the ground, and he goes in for three more hits. Oh, boy. I got a natural one. Oh, boy. But then the next one hits with an 18. Yep. and then a 16, so he's only going to get one hit on you. Okay. He's throwing down. He is going to try to stun you, so I need a con save. You need to pass this. Oh, God. You're back. You got to pass. Two turns, two turns. I'll mess it up. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. I got a nine on my con save. I was due. I was due. How much speed do you have left? A good amount. We'll see how much damage is with the one hit. I just felt the constable. It's just one hit. Okay. You, as he rises up, he wipes off his mouth, and you see bloody spittle just completely litter the ground. As he leans forward, he attempts to pummel into your face, but you can see that there's a huge gash on his head, and the blood is streaking down into his eyes, and he's struggling to see as he's only able to land one hit, but it's enough as you weren't expecting it. And you feel your muscles lock up and you hear the, and everyone starts to bark along with him, all of them in unison. You hear people, kill him, kill him. And you watch as Torbek is completely immobilized as this Laika towers over him now, blood dripping all down his face, new gashes open on his body. As Torbek, you are stunned, so you lose this turn, and he's going to go in for three more hits. How much damage did I take? Oh, you took six. Perfect. I'm okay. I'm technically not bloody yet. He's going to fail that one. He's going to get the second hit. Yep. I only got an actual 20. Jesus. Uh-oh. Okay. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Sorry. Torbic? Okay. Six damage for the first one. Okay. Okay. I'm all right. And you have to survive a crit. Yep. You're good. Seven. Nine damage on the crit. No, I'm okay. I'm good. I'm good. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're good. We're good. We're good. And I'm going to have you roll all of them as death checks. He's going to try and knock you on your ass. Two death checks, right? Yeah, because only two heads. Did you fail when you're stunned, or is that incapacitated? I think that's just incapacitated. No, you do automatically fail death checks. For the sake of this one, I'm going to let you roll it. Okay, cool. Because he is incredibly weak. That's a lot. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. 16 is the low one. for deck save. Listen, I might actually be more cinematic. You know what? No, we're going to do rules as written. Okay. Yeah. With the final, he misses the first one, but he wipes the blood out of his eyes as he hits, and your head spins to the side. You watch where his blood has splattered the left side. Your blood splatters the right side. As he then mirrors your move and uppercuts you, and as he does, you fly backwards and land on your back as he rushes over and gets right above you. He's breathing heavy. The stun is over, so you do get to take this turn. Okay. I use my movement to stand up. You shouldn't have come back here, you coward. But as I'm getting up, I basically lunge at him to try to, like, grapple him up again to see what I can do here. I need a big hit. That's going to be a 23. So I will grapple him. How do you want to do this? As long as you do one point of damage. Holy shit. Let me think for a second here. I'm on the ground. I come out of the stun, and he calls me a coward again, and I use this as an opening. He looks up at you. Looks like I got old. I'm sure you've been thinking about this for years. Do it, coward. Um, I would actually, as I, as I lunge, get up and lunge at him, I, uh, lunge at him, and I go to put my jaws around his neck. And basically, like, bite down and tackle him into the dirt like I'm gonna finish it and snap his neck. Let him out, get him, get him! And when I, when I, and I know that I have the upper hand and he's done, I remove my jaws from his neck, but I put my hand around his neck. and I pull back and I say, This is it, Clyde. Give up. I've won. Do it. Coward. There's no strength in killing you, little dog. I've proved everything that I need. And yet you still hold your punches. I'm going to pull all the way back. and I'm going to punch down as far as I possibly can, but I'm going to punch the ground next to his head. You watch as the absolute fear of this, his eyes roll back in his head as he loses consciousness. There is complete silence in the arena. And then you hear, And they begin to chant. I'll stand up and I'll just, it's over. It's over. Gideon, you know where the old Vesuvio meat processing plant is. Oh, my Lord. What the fuck? And you take your motorcycle. What the fuck? Boy, I thought I was there for a second. And you take your motorcycle through the streets of the Greenlight District. Kremi, as you're driving closer, you can't help but shake that feeling that you felt as you rode in the taxi leaving the meeting from the Gemini group. Something is coming. Is it fate? Is it destiny? Fate? Doom? You're not sure. And the grinning face of the faded pig plastered on the side of the plant makes you feel even more unsettled. As you pull up, you see that there is a single vehicle parked outside. It is a beautiful luxury cruiser with pristine upholstery and a custom hood ornament of a gliding skull-like necromoth. They are already here. You make your way through the plant and eventually you see a light coming from the industrial meat locker. And you know that's where you're meant to go. Both of you enter the frigid space and you see your breath as well as the meeting that has been set up. Among the corpses of slaughtered hogs is a metal table with four chairs placed, along with a dim lamp. Two figures sit side by side, facing you. One is absolutely huge. A shaggy, gray-haired Yon-Goo folds his arms and remains utterly motionless, watching you as you enter, focusing his gaze on you, Gideon. You recognize him as Yenko, the Molniya enforcer who ran the racket on King Kohl's and extorted your family's mechanic shop. And beside him is a stunningly beautiful human woman with brown hair, elegant makeup, and tattoos that depict the Necromoth. She wears a fur coat and smokes a cigarette as she gestures to the seats across from them. Seat. I'll pull out a creme of your hair Thank you, kid I'll push you in And then I'll sit I will Sort of gesture at her cigarette And pull out a pack of my own Man Yenko Light it Pleasure to meet you face to face, Miss Mournaya. It's been a long time coming. I think I know you're a reasonable businesswoman. If you weren't, you wouldn't have had all the success you've had over the last decade or two down here in this district. So I just want to start by saying I'm ready to have a fan negotiation. You know what I want. And you know what I have. What is your price? If it is notes you want, I can get you notes. Notoriety for your little club. I can get this for you too. Protection. Demonia family can protect you. Anything you want, Mr. LeCrew. For one little girl. That means nothing to you. Nothing. Nothing at all. you want the real Zeta Max let Mama Munaya get it for you you can do that I can do anything I'll like stop and think for a moment I'll look over at Yenko do I know that this is the guy have you mentioned Yenko before oh boy I think I probably would have told you about it so I have a sneak anticipation that this is the guy yeah I think I would have maybe described him um or like talked about that experience but you'd probably you'd probably connect the dots you know Xenia you mind if I call you Xenia I'll have off some ash for my second round it is my name Mr. LaCru you can call me friend. My friends do. Or Mr. K. I guess some friends call me that. Would you like a drink? What do you got? What do you want? Well, if I order anything other than pig's blood, are you going to have it on you? What do you want, Mr. LaCru? I'm feeling vodka on ice for some reason. Yenco. Vivoca. And you watch as he gets up, and he looks. His eyes linger on you. Then he looks towards you. Whatever you want, Miss Malaya. And he walks over really slowly, and he watches. He shoves a long line of hanging pig carcasses over as the chains grate and groan against the wire. and he moves towards the back to this huge meat locker. And as he opens it, you can see it's filled with pieces of, carved off pieces of meat. And in there are a smattering of bottles. And as he knocks pieces of meat to the side, he reaches in and grabs out a large bottle of vodka, the glass completely frosted as he makes his way over. Would you like one glass or two? Two, please. Well, actually, get four. For the lady. I'll take two glasses. And then the two for Mr. LaCruz. And for you. Will you drink? Nothing for me, thank you. I'm driving. One. Oh, wait. For number two. That's right. Two for me, please. That's exactly right. And you watch as he pours the glasses. Drink up. You mind if I make a toast? To a... Hopefully mutually beneficial business arrangement? A toast, then. To a... Successful deal, I have no doubt. To getting what we both want. That's right. Hmm. that's not bad does it taste poison or anything well I mean there's a faint hit of no she is a scary figure but you from what the reputation that you've heard is she has no need for poison and if she wants you dead she'll make sure that you're dead. And she doesn't need a laced bottle of vodka to do it. You have no fear drinking this alcohol. And as the vodka warms your throat, you do, just for a second, scan the flavors for anything off. And it tastes like the perfect vodka. Expensive. Damn, it's good. You would imagine the bottle of this vodka is worth more than what you would pay Blarby in a month. Yeah, you got to try this. I know you're driving, but, you know, I think we'll be here for a while. I'm all right, Krami. Somebody's got to keep their head on us forever. All right, well, I'll just leave that there for you in case you get thirsty. So what is it that you want? Here's the tricky thing, Zanya. For me to properly negotiate. I need to know exactly what this girl is I need to understand why you want her and I know that that hasn't put me in the strongest negotiating position but given that I've given orders that if I return in a handful of hours what we're negotiating will cease to exist in terms of your utility I figure there's no reason for you to not lay your guard down or just tell me what she is so that I can properly assess her value and what she's worth to me. Roll either a persuasion or a deception check. Your choice. 17. I am tired of the games oh yeah I can calm my head give me give me and you see as he reaches into a pouch at the side of his um at his side and he pulls out a tiny delicate little um porcelain container. And on it is a very elaborate mosaic of that same necromoth. And as she pops it open, she pulls a chain out of her shirt and there's a tiny little golden spoon that she dips into this strange, curlescent, almost iridescent powder. She puts it up to her nose and she takes in a long draw. much better. And when her eyes open up, you see that for a moment they turn this almost insane color of purple. And then they fade back into their natural color. I don't want to spend my entire night here with you arguing about all of this. If knowing what the girl is will help you get to the correct decision faster than I... Fine. You really want to know what is so special about this girl. What is the harm in you knowing? Number 21... 29. Despite that name, is the first of her kind. A weapon to be trained, hardened and molded into a super soldier. Then replicated and shipped across the galaxy. and then sold to the highest beater. And that is where we'll end the session. Oh! Holy! Oh! Oh, my gosh! You're trying to get me drunk! It's them. Good luck, you see it. It's them. Oh, my gosh. Look at the sides of you. What the hell? Man. Oh, my. Thank you for running the session. You're welcome. Goddamn. Whee! I already know my favorite moment that I've been. I'm sorry